1

God used four men to defeat the Arameans

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[2 Kings 7:6]

For the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!"

3

Among the countries around Israel, a country called “Aram” afflicted Israel from time to time.

“Ben-hadad,” the king of Aram, led a number of troops to attack Samaria, the capital of Israel,

for a long period of time.

4

The Samaritans surrounded by the country of Aram suffered great pain because they had

nothing to eat. What can be eaten among people has been sold at a huge price.

Even a donkey's head was sold for 80 shekels of silver.

5

One shekel of silver is the amount that an average worker can receive after working for

four days, so to get a donkey head, they have to pay the amount they worked for

about 11 months. The country was in a state of economic ruin where everything it could

eat was sold for huge amounts.

6

There seemed to be no more hope in Israel. King Jehoram tells Elisha the situation in Israel.

He informed Elisha that this problem could not be solved without God's help.

7

Elisha told King Jehoram the will of God. “This is what Jehovah said.

By this time tomorrow, all of these problems will be solved.

One seah of fine flour will be able to live for one shekel of silver, and two seahs of barley will

be able to live for one shekel of silver.”     -One seah is about 7.7 liters.

8

A minister who heard Elisha's words next to the king said to Elisha as if he were overwhelmed.

“If Jehovah opens the window of heaven and pours out grain, that cannot happen!”

The minister thought that one donkey's head was 80 shekels,

and even God thought it was impossible to make one seah of flour a shekel of silver.

9

When Elisha heard the minister's unbelieving words that even God couldn't,

Elisha gave a terrifying curse on the minister.

“You will see it happen with your own eyes. But you won't be able to eat it.”

How did God really do this?

10

At the entrance of the city gate, there were 4 lepers suffering from hunger.

They were talking to each other about how they could live.

 “Isn't it possible to sit down like this and die? There is nothing to eat when we enter

the castle, so we will die of starvation, and even if we sit here, we die.

So let's go to the Aram army and surrender.

If they save us, we live, and if they kill us, we die.”

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The three agreed with this and decided to go to the Arameans and surrender, and at sunset

they set out as the camp of the Arameans, but then the Arameans camp began to rage.

12

God made the footsteps of these four lepers heard by the sounds of chariots, horses,

and a large army in the ears of the Arameans.

The Arameans assumed that the king of Israel was calling other nations to come against them,

leaving everything and running away.

13

By the time the four lepers arrived there, all the Aramean soldiers had run away.

The lepers went around tents here and there,

eating all sorts of good food and bringing good things.

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Then they realized they were doing wrong.

“If we have this good news and wait until the sun rises without telling people,

we will be punished. Go right now and let the people in the palace know this.”

They ran to the guards of the gates of Samaria and told them this.

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So King Jehoram sent a man to see if the words of the four lepers were true.

After confirming that the Arameans had hurried to withdraw, Jehoram opened the gates and

made the people go to the camp of the Aramites and take the goods there.

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The prophet Elisha's prophecy came true.

One seah of fine flour could be bought for one shekel of silver.

Also, two seahs of barleys could live for one shekel of silver.

It was done just as God said.

17

The king ordered the minister next to him to manage the people at the gates.

However, too many people were pushed out of the city gate at once,

and the minister was trampled by the people and died.

This, too, came true just as the prophet Elisha predicted.

The minister died 'he saw the sight but couldn't eat the food'.

18

The God who created the whole world is the One who has no impossible.

God has shown that he can defeat a large army by using the footsteps of four lepers.

The minister who doubted God's power faced a miserable end.

Those of us who have heard the word today must once again believe in the power of

Almighty God, who is impossible, and depend on Him.

Like the minister who spoke of unbelief, we should not doubt the power of God,

and have faith in God who faithfully cares for us in any situation.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM. Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)