#Bible Study with #Jairus - 2 Kings 6:33

#Bible Study with #Jairus - 2 Kings 6:33

And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, “This trouble is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”

In 2 Kings 6, Elisha saved the king’s life several times by giving him intelligence about the King of Syria. When the Syrian army ambushed Elisha because of his Spirit-directed spy activity, God struck them with blindness. This gave the king of Israel an unexpected opportunity to kill the army of his enemies. However, Elisha asked the king of Israel to spare the Syrian army. Instead of killing them, Elisha prepared a feast for them and allowed them to go home.

Later, Syria came back to attack Israel after a period of peace. The Assyrian king besieged the city, causing a famine in Samaria. The famine was so severe that the people began eating their own children. This greatly angered the king, and he sent a messenger to kill Elisha. Why was he so angry with Elisha? Why did he accuse the Lord of causing this? Perhaps because God did not allow him to kill the Syrian army in the first place. The king thought that if he had killed the Syrians earlier, he could have avoided the current situation.

In the next chapter, God did a miracle. He chased away the Syrian armies, and the Israelites plundered their abandoned camps, solving the problem of famine. However, since the King of Israel did not show genuine repentance, Elisha soon announced a seven-year famine after this rescue.

What can we learn from this story? We can learn from the king’s response. The king’s first reaction to tragedy was to blame the Lord. He said, “This trouble is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” This statement contains a half-truth. God really was using the Syrians as a tool to chastise Israel. However, the king’s focus was off. He should have said, “How have I sinned against the Lord so that he sent the enemy again?”

When we face trouble, we should examine our hearts. Will we blame God? Will we accuse the Lord? Or will we humbly ask God what he wants to teach us? Our reaction to the trouble shows our heart.