The Fourth Wall - Day 20

2 Kings

8 When the men with leprosy arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating and drinking wine; and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and hid it. 9 Finally, they said to each other, “This is not right. This is a day of good news, and we aren’t sharing it with anyone! If we wait until morning, some calamity will certainly fall upon us. Come on, let’s go back and tell the people at the palace.”

These are some good lepers! I know that might sound weird, but the truth is that they are super gracious to realize that they should not be hoarding this loot, but they should be sharing it with the community that wouldn’t let them be a part and would not give them safe shelter in the midst of the siege.

They realized that good news is something that is to be shared, and when you get it, you have to give it away as well. So that is exactly what they did. The leaned on God for provision, he provided, and then they shared what God had provided them. This was truly an act of grace.

10 So they went back to the city and told the gatekeepers what had happened. “We went out to the Aramean camp,” they said, “and no one was there! The horses and donkeys were tethered and the tents were all in order, but there wasn’t a single person around!” 11 Then the gatekeepers shouted the news to the people in the palace.

It took a while for the king to believe it. They sent two chariots and scouts to make sure the men were not setting up a trap. But when they realized they were telling the truth, they plundered the Aramean camp as quickly as they could. And sure enough, what Elisha had said previously became true. God had provided everything that they had needed.

If they had only looked into the reality that they could see in front of them, they would have been without hope. However, when they realized that God is working at a completely different level, they began to understand that there is more to this life than simply what we see.

1. How do you think God is working to provide for you today? 
2. How can you lean into that provision, while still working out things for yourself? 
3. Do you think that God wants to provide as much for you as you want to provide for yourself and your family? How could he do that?