The Donkey’s Head, the Boiling Baby, and the Hungry Stampede

(II Kings 6-7)

              The king of Syria warred with Israel, yet again.  King Ahab (the past wicked king) had long been dead, but his sons had taken up the wicked pursuit to destroy Israel.  At the time of our story, Benhadad II, is ruler of the Syrian army, and he has set his eye yet again on the Israelite province of Samaria. 

              I say, yet again, because he has already come against Israel before.  In II Kings 6:8-23, Ben Hadad is hunting. He’s not out hunting birds or rabbits, but he’s after King Joram, and there’s fire in his eyes.  He wants him bad, but BenHadad keeps running into problems with trying to get King Joram. He would gather his men together and map out a strategy, but every time he set up an ambush, Joram would always avoid that area… and this was really starting to upset Ben-Hadad.

              Now what was happening (unknown to Ben-hadad) was that the prophet Elisha, was warning the King of Israel about where the ambush was going to take place. Well, how did Elisha know where Ben-hadad was going? God told him!  Now, even though King Joram was not a good king, and him & Elisha weren’t fishing buddies…Elisha still revealed the plans that God had given him.

             And whenever Elisha would warn the king…the king would first send out scouts to make sure that the information was true (you see, he didn’t exactly like or trust Elisha either). But every time the king of Israel checked on the place (indicated by the man of God) he found Elisha’s words to be true, and he was therefore always on guard in those areas....and Ben- hadad’s ambush attempts always failed.

              Well it didn’t take too long before Ben-hadad, had his fill of this stuff.... He was pretty sure that he had TO HAVE a leak somewhere in his staff (it had to be an inside job), one of his officers must be guilty of treason. There was no way that Joram could have been that lucky. So he calls all of his men into his chambers, and with glowing eyes and a fiery voice, He demanded, "I WANT TO KNOW RIGHT KNOW -- WHICH OF YOU IS ON THE SIDE OF THE KING OF ISRAEL...WHO IS GUILTY OF TREASON!" (6:11)

               All the men looked at each other, afraid to speak and finally one broke the silence and said, "NONE OF US MY LORD THE KING, IT’S NOT US, IT’S THE PROPHET ELISHA WHO IS IN ISRAEL, HE KNOWS ALL THE WORDS THAT THE KING SPEAKS IN THESE CHAMBERS, AND TELLS THEM TO THE KING OF ISRAEL..."

Now, whether this officer knew this for certain or not we do not know.... But what we do know is this, that the Arameans (Syrians) were well aware of Elisha’s power, because they had witnessed it first hand when the General of the Aramean Army (Naaman) was healed by Elisha of leprosy.  Soooooo….this explanation seemed to satisfy the enraged King who replied, "GO, FIND OUT WHERE HE IS, SO I CAN CAPTURE HIM...." 

              Now, Elisha had left and had taken up residence in a city called Dothan (II Kings. 6:13).  Dothan (on a map) is between the Jordan River and the Great Sea about 7 miles SE of Samaria.  It’s here that Benhadad sends a great host of chariots and great army to capture this ONE MAN, Elisha.  Elisha’a servants are just walking around Elisha’s house and they see this great army quickly approaching, and they freak out and say, “What in the world are we gonna do, Elisha?”  BUT Elisha saw what they could not see (mountains full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha on every side).

              APPLICATION: Have you, ever felt like Elisha’s servant? -- one morning you woke up and went outside and found that your world has been surrounded by bad things... that the enemy had come during the night, and now you’re trapped, you’re afraid and you don’t know what to do. Sometimes, the enemy that surrounds us is a health problem of our own or of a loved one; sometimes it is a financial problem or a relationship problem. Other times it’s the fear of rejection or failure, but whoever or whatever it is, the bottom line is this; fear has gripped you (like it gripped Elisha’s servant), and you are paralyzed, trembling unable to move....and your joy is gone.

              Question; What do you do, when problems surround you and there seems to be no way of escape? and nowhere to turn? You need to do, what Elisha’s servant did, you need to ask God to open your eyes a little wider... you need to remember those horses and chariots of the Almighty God, an army of fire sent to protect you…a mighty force God surrounds His people with. 

              We need to pray that the Lord will open our eyes in every situation.  Pray that God will help you through your problems, see you through your trials, see you through your difficulties, and that we can see Him better everyday in everything!! That’s exactly what James is talking about in the first chapter of his letter: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” 

Do problems in life toss you around? Do they blow you here and there? Are you unstable when the flood waters of this life begin to rise? Do you find it hard to consider difficult times as a reason for rejoicing? If you answered yes to any of those questions -- it tells me 2 things about you; one you are normal and two you are honest... We all, at times are, unstable in the midst of difficulty... BUT God wants His people to know that they do not have to be afraid... So what’s the answer? How can we keep our boat stable when the waters of life rage? James says, "IF YOU WANT TO SEE TRIALS AS A CAUSE FOR REJOICING -- IF YOU NEED WISDOM TO STABLE YOUR SHIP -- ASK GOD, AND GOD WILL GIVE YOU THE WISDOM TO STAND UP UNDER TRIALS AND TO CONSIDER YOUR DIFFICULTIES PURE JOY...

              And if you ever find yourself in a situation that seems to be too strong, to pray yourself (you just can’t break through on your own), do what Elisha’s servant did go to a brother or sister who is already standing firm, a brother whose eyes already see God, and ask him to pray for you and with you...And God will open your eyes...

              BACK TO THE STORY:  Now…you would think that for coming against Elisha (the servant of the Lord) that the Syrian army would be killed, but Elisha only wants one thing to be done by the power of the Lord: that they are to be struck blind.  He then says that he will take them to Samaria (the very city which they want to conquer).  As they approach Samaria, the Israelite King comes out and asks Elisha, “Do you want me to kill these men for ya?  I’ll be happy to!”  But Elisha states, “Do you always kill those that you capture with the sword and bow?’  NO…I GUESS NOT.  And then…Elisha does the most amazing thing…He makes a great feast in the presence of his enemies.  He feeds them and wets their whistle until they can eat no more, and then guess what the servant of God does to these men that have come against him with chariots and horses?  He lets them go back to Benhadad. 

How hard would that have been if you were Elisha?  You would’ve wanted them dead and gone (less of an army to fight in the future).  BUT Elisha shows them compassion!  “Jesus said, “Love your enemies, bless them that curse, do good to them that despitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44).  Elisha shows us how to love our enemies even when they are dead set on our death.

              Yet, the compassion Elisha shows on his enemy is not returned, because in the very next verse we read of Benhadad’s wickedness.  Benhadad decides to encircle, to surround, and besiege Samaria.  This gives you an idea as to how BIG the army of the Syrians was…they were vast in number.  But this also tells us the game plan of the Syrians…they weren’t going to attack Samaria.  O NO…they were going to starve it to death.

              This brings us to II Kings 6:25.  We don’t know how long of a time passed between the time of Elisha’s miraculous victory and the besieging of Samaria, but I would think that it would take a while for a city to come to this point…a point to which we can never even fathom.  In Samaria there was a great famine (caused by the Syrian army cutting off supplies) and the famine was so great that a donkey’s head (the literal head of a donkey) was sold for FOOD for 40 pieces of silver.  You know what a donkey’s head looks like. There’s not much meat on a donkey’s head to eat…and you wouldn’t want to eat it either.  But more than that…these were Israelites, and they had rules about what they could and could not eat.  One of the animals that was unclean was (you guessed it) a donkey.  But a donkey’s head (not anything else with it, no fries and a coke) was to be sold for 40 pieces of silver!)  How much was Jesus betrayed for? (30)  This disgusting head was costing more than a slave.  NOT ONLY was a donkey’s head sold for food, but also a pint of dove’s DUNG was sold for 5 pieces of silver.  A PINT of DOVE POO was so valuable (as a source of food) that it sold for 5 pieces of silver.  That was nothing though.

              As the king walked along the wall of his starving city (no doubt checking his defenses) there was a woman that called out to him saying, “HELP MY LORD, HELP!”  And he said to her, “How can I help you…I don’t even have anything in my store left to give.  There are no grapes in my press, and there is no corn on the barn floor…HOW CAN I HELP YOU?  What’s so different in your case than anyone else’s?”  But there was a lot different!  This woman had made a pact with another woman:  If it came to the point where they had nothing to eat and they were starving…they would boil her son and eat him, BUT NOT ONLY that…the other woman would boil her son the next day and they would eat him too.  But after they had eaten the first woman’s son…the other woman hid her son, and wouldn’t give him to be eaten.    

              You can only imagine the feeling of helplessness that the king had after he heard these words.  He couldn’t do anything for his own country to keep them from starving (and even eating their own children).  He is at the breaking point of what to do…his anger grows into hatred and he needs someone to blame for this.  And his mind falls upon Elisha.  Elisha had helped them in the past….Elisha had spoken to the Lord for them in times past WHY IS HE NOT DOING THAT NOW!  So…the King of Israel says a very stupid thing after hearing the story of the woman boiling her son: He says, “God do so and more to me if the head of Elisha be not removed from his body this day.” (II Ki. 6:31)  The king sends a messenger to where Elisha was (he was in a meeting with some elders of the city) and before the messenger even reaches the door of the house where Elisha was…Elisha says these words, “See ye how this son of a murderer has sent to cut off my head…” 

              The messenger comes to the door of the house, and the king is right behind him, but the elders have jammed the door so that they cannot get in.  Elisha (in the beginning of chapter 7) TALKS to the king through the door and says that the city will return back to its proper state in 24 hours.  You already know the state of things in Samaria (the donkey’s head, the dove poo, the boiling of the baby for food)…HOW IN THE WORLD is everything going to get back to normal by tomorrow? (and this is exactly what the king’s right hand man said), “If the Lord were to make windows in heaven where food came crashing down to earth, that would be the only way for us to survive!”)  BAD MOVE on the part of this guy because Elisha said to him, “You’ll see how this is accomplished, but you won’t get to eat it!”

              So…how in the world is the condition of Samaria going to get better in 24 hours?  Well…we are introduced to 4 lepers who were sitting at the gate of Samaria (because they were lepers and cast out of the city). Jewish tradition says this was Gehazi (Elisha’ old servant upon whom the leprosy of Naaman fell) and his three sons, but we don’t know this for sure.  What we do know is that they were talking…and they got to asking the question: “Are we just gonna sit here and die?”  Then, they got to thinking about their alternatives.  First, they could sit here and die of starvation.  Second, they could go into the city and die because there’s no food there either.  Or third, they could go to the Syrian army and beg for food.  If they are killed…they die.  If they aren’t killed…at least they get some food.   So, they all go to the Syrian camp during the dead of night. 

              APPLICATION: There are times when we need to take courageous action, when we’re caught between a rock and a hard place. When we’re in the frying pan…and all we feel is the heat, but why stay there and get roasted?  Why stay there and die…when all you need to do is jump out. Take action, do something, and do it with God’s eternal help in mind.

There was an oil tanker crossing icy waters. The ship caught fire and many people were dying in the flames. Life savers, life jackets, and life boats were all destroyed, and no one wanted to jump into the ice cold water. But there was one boy who survived. And when he was rescued and asked how he made it he made this remarkable statement. He said “I knew that if I stayed in the ship I was going to die, but I didn’t know what I would face if I jumped into the water, so I jumped.” You and I know very well what can happen to us if we live in worry, boredom, sickness, fear, discouragement, sin, etc…and if you stay like that you’re gonna die spiritually. You know what sin will get you into.  SO WHY STAY LIKE THAT? Why stay like that until you die. Take action, get out of the frying pan and into the Lord.

               These lepers were in serous trouble. They were outcast because of leprosy. No one was allowed to be in contact with them. At the same time their nation was under fire from their enemies. There was this severe hunger; babies were being eaten in the city, and donkey’s heads were being sold for 40 pieces of silver. This was a serious and fatal situation. AND (to top it all off) the borders were surrounded by the enemies. There was death in the city and outside the city. Many people preferred to die in the city by just sitting there in fear…but these fellows chose to die fighting. You and I need to die fighting. Wouldn’t you rather die on your knees praying to God, than on your knees begging for life? We need to be bold like these lepers…and face our sinful situations and fight them.

Don’t worry about how people look at you for being a Christian and making right choices. You may be leprous to them, but don’t just sit there and die because you’ve been cast out. You may be facing a giant in your spiritual life.  Don’t waste time looking at how big it is…pick up your rocks and go against it. You might be hopeless right now in the state that you’re in because you don’t have Christ…but don’t stay like that and die. You can make it through. You can bring change to your life through Christ, but you got to have the courage to change the unchangeable…to move the immoveable!   

4 lepers make the trek outside of Samaria into the Syrian army’s camp.  And much to their surprise…the Syrian camp had been deserted.  THERE was not ONE person in the entirety of their camp (and remember this was a vast army).  How in the world did this happen?

              You see…the Lord made the great army of Syrians think that they heard the noise of a great many chariots and horses and soldiers marching.  The way the Syrians interpreted this noise…was that the Israelites had hired a vast army of Hittites or Egyptians to come and rescue them from the Syrians.  Remember now….that this happened at night so that the Syrians could not see what was going on, they could only hear.  When they heard these sounds they just got up and left.

              Well…for these lepers it was dream come true because as they came to the first tent…they gorge themselves with food and drink and riches of all kinds.  But then it hits them:  They haven’t told their brethren about this!  They walk back to the gate of Samaria and call out to the gatekeeper that the Syrian army is gone and they have left their horses, donkeys, food, and riches. 

APPLICATION:  While they were having all this fun and stuffing their faces a little matter came up. What are we going to do about all the people in their country that were still starving? What are we going to do about all those that cast us out of the city…all those who have showed no concern for us during this time? They didn’t know the good news that there was food enough and to spare!  They didn’t know about the buffet of blessings that the Lord had given when He chased the Syrian army away. As far as they knew they were still surrounded by Syrian army.

              And the question I have to you Christians tonight is this…what are you going to do with that good news, the gospel?  Go back to the time that you confessed Christ, when you called on His name in baptism…when you yielded your will to His and became a Christian. Go back to the time when you made that discovery of salvation, and you were able to enjoy the abundant riches of God’s grace. Go back to that time when you first experienced the Lord’s forgiveness. You and I are able to enjoy the bountiful blessings of Jesus Christ…we reap the benefits of the blood of Christ that was shed on Calvary!  BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE THAT ARE IN THE CITY?  What about those who don’t yet know that there are eternal blessings…that there are windows in heaven where God showers His children with mercy and love!  What about those who don’t know? Do we just let them die, or do we tell them?

These lepers had been cast out of society and were treated like dirt.  Yet, they still saw the need to help their fellow men.  If someone does something to you to hurt you…would you hold a grudge against them so much so that you want to see them eternally DAMNED?  These lepers realized that they couldn’t possibly let all their brethren die…even if they did cast them out.

              BACK TO THE STORY: So…the king is told the good news, but he is skeptical.  He thinks that the army of Syria is trying to trick them into coming out of the city.  And while they’re gorging themselves on the food of the Syrians, the Syrians will come out of hiding and kill everybody.  So…the king sends SOME scouts.  He says at first, Take 5 horses. But apparently they had all been eaten because they only took 2.  Maybe the guards were like, “Um…we got hungry and ate all of’em but 2.”  SO….the 2 horsemen follow a trail of Syrian garments and supplies all the way from Samaria to the Jordan River (about 20 miles away) and they come back to the king and report what they saw.  The king gives the go ahead to GET ALL THE SYRIANS FOOD so that Samaria wouldn’t starve.  But…before he told the people the good news, he appointed his right hand man (the one that doubted Elisha’s prophecy) to be in charge of the people as they go out of the city gate.  “OKIE DOKIE!” says the young man willing to do anything for his king.  But as the news traveled through the city…the people weren’t really in the mood to wait (seeing that they were starving) and the right hand man of the king is trampled by a hungry stampede.  And Elisha says, “I told you when you doubted me before…you wouldn’t get to eat any of it.”

              There’s so many times that we are going to come to a breaking point.  There are times in which we are going to throw up our hands and say WHY GOD…WHY?  But I want you to realize very early in your lives…that out of the depths a sea of pain come the biggest pearls.  Out of the deepest and darkest hours come the brightest diamonds.  Never doubt that the Lord can bring you out of pain (whether it be now or later)…always trust in God. And if you haven’t been doing that…today’s a good day to start building that trust.  Today’s a good day for you to ask Him to forgive you and to hold you close for the rest of your days.  If you’re not a Christian…confess the Lord, turn from your sins and be converted to His love.  “He that believes AND IS BAPTIZED shall be saved…” (Mk. 16:16)