2 Kings 7 Study Notes

7:1 The story turns to the coming miraculous deliverance. Elisha announced that the next day at that same time, food would be available at bargain prices at the city gate. Despite the failure of the king, his lack of repentance, and no visible faith, God was still going to deliver—an act of undeserved grace.

7:2 In response to the blasphemous comment of the captain, Elisha prophesied that he would not share in the blessings.

7:3-4 Since the nation’s leaders were such failures, the Lord brought knowledge of deliverance through four outcasts who were quarantined because of their skin disease. Despite their despair, they chose the least hopeless course of action and went to the Aramean camp.

7:5-7 God had already thrown the Aramean army into a supernatural panic that caused them to abandon their camp and foodstuffs to the besieged Hebrews. The Hittites referred to here were the neo-Hittites, remnants of the older Hittite Empire from the second millennium BC. In this context, Egypt was probably the northern Egypt from which Solomon imported horses (1Kg 10:28). The contrast between the miraculous power of God and the impotence of human agents is another great lesson of this story.

7:8-11 The outcasts, after gathering food and plunder for themselves, remembered their people. The outcasts brought news of the deliverance (or “victory,” Ps 20:6) that a righteous king should have accom-plished.

7:12-13 The king, still reacting to God’s miracles with hopeless despair (Jos 2:11), was too paralyzed by fear to act; his servants persuaded him to examine the situation.

7:14-15 A two-chariot scout group reconnoitered as far as the Jordan River and determined that the enemy really had been frightened away.

7:16-20 Now all of Elisha’s prophecy was fulfilled. These details, particularly those dealing with the death of the captain, were repeated in meticulous detail to highlight the fact that God is faithful. The unspoken lessons of God’s reliable character were (1) that people, particularly the king and his officers, should obey and trust God; and (2) that God will care for his people when kings fail.