Bible in One Year:
Thursday, October 8, 2009
(Lk 10 - Lk 13)

Memorise: "And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb 2:15)

Read: 2 Kings 7:1-11
1 ¶ Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.
2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
3 ¶ And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?
4 If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.
5 And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.
6 For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.
7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.
8 And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.
9 Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.
10 So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.
11 And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within.

The Syrians besieged the children of Israel to a point that after they exhausted their food, some started eating their own children to survive a little longer. At that stage, the king took up the man of God and the latter prophesied a sudden reversal of their economic woes . "And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?" God needed some people He could work through to fulfil the prophecy of supernatural abundance. He searched the Israeli camp and found none. They were so burdened with the harsh economic conditions that nobody thought of a possible solution. When God could find none to use among the able bodied and healthy, He went to the lepers' colony and picked from there. When God could not find the vessels in-house, He went outside. When He could not find any from the healthy and decent, He went to the rejected and sick. This simply tells us that there is hardly anyone or anything that God cannot use. If the pastors and church leaders do not make themselves available for God's use, He will look for members or even new converts. 

Another lesson here is that the lepers were not afraid to die. God could not use the average Israelite because they were scared to death. Even at the peak of the hardship when people were eating their children, why could nobody dare the besieging army to do their worst? Afterall, death was coming either way? They were trapped in fear. Even though they were physically under a siege, they were spiritually under a greater siege - fear. Until you conquer fear of death, God may not be able to use you for special miracles. Not many believers are ready to risk their lives and take up some deadly assignments for God. They want to remain in their comfort zone. To be relevant in God's end-time plan, you must conquer the fear of death. The lepers were not afraid to die hence they took that step and advanced towards their enemies. God has some vacancies in high places but these must be occupied by those who are not afraid to die. Are you available to fill up Heaven's most important seats? Have you conquered death? Ask God for grace to overcome the fear of death so that you can be chosen by God for the greater assignments. 

ACTION POINT:
What you don't fear will fear you. What you fear will torment you. Take your fears to the Lord today.