Elisha-Listen to the Lepers

By Mary Vee
II Kings 7

From the Lepers Journals

Photo Courtesy

Men, women, and children who have leprosy were not allowed in the city gates.

We go about begging for food, wherever we can whether in the field or the city. 

We knew the people of Samaria had mostly run out of food and how they suffered. The evil king Ben-Hadad planted his army around the city to prevent anyone from leaving and any supplies from getting inside. 

Still, we were hungry. Really, hungry. There were four of us who chanced going to the city gate to beg for food. Of course no one from the city would give us any. 

We looked at each other and thought for a few minutes. One of my friends said, "If we stay here, we will starve and die. If we try to sneak inside the city, we'll starve and die because there is a famine there. I think we should go to the enemy's camp and surrender. If they spare us, we'll live and will get food. If they kill us then we'll die.

As crazy as the idea sounded, we all agreed with what he said. We waited until the sun had mostly set, the time when the little bit of light confuses what people see. We crept from our hiding places and moved from one bush to another until we reached the camp. 

Strange. No one from the camp made a sound. There wasn't a party, talking, or even snoring. We walked closer to the first tent and listened. Not a sound. Then we became really brave. We opened the tent flap and peeked inside. No one was there. We found food and drink, silver, gold, clothes. 

It was amazing! We sat down and ate and drank until our stomachs filled. Then we gathered the clothes, gold, and silver and hid them. Afterwards, we returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and put them in the same hiding place. 

We brushed the dirt from our hands and prepared to walk back to the next tent. That's when I felt guilty. "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report all that we've found to the royal palace."

The others agreed with me at once. We walked back to the city gate and called to the gatekeepers. "We went into the Aramean camp. Not a man was there! Not a sound of anyone, only tethered horses and donkeys. The tents left just as if the Arameans had left unexpectedly."

The gatekeeper shouted the news, passing it on from messenger to the next until the news reached the palace.

The story will continue next time.

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1. What did the lepers ask the city people for?
2. Why didn't the city people help them?
3. What did the lepers decide to do?
4. What did they find at the camp?
5. What did did the lepers do with what they found?
6. Who did the lepers tell?
7. Do you think the king will believe them?