(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 here, we die also. Now, therefore come, and let us fall into the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live, and if they kill us, we shall but die. ( 2 Kings 7:3-4 KJV).

Have you ever been between a rock and a hard place? Well, if you have then you are in good company, because this is exactly where these four leprous men were. To understand their plight. We must first understand why these four men were sitting outside of the city gates. Lepers were considered to be unclean. So they were not allowed to be in the company of others. In fact if anyone were to come near them. They had to tell Unclean, Unclean! So that others would know to stay away from them. In the above passage of scripture we discover one thing and that is that there is a famine in the city. I have a question for you. What do you do when there is a condition/circumstance in your life that hinders you from being able to join society. More importantly what do you do even if you could. You risk the chance of dying anyway, because of the famine around you? Here is some of the things that I’ve learned from these four lepers.

1.) We have a choice.

In verse 3 they ask each other. Why sit we here until we die? This may not seem like an important question, but in actuality it was. It was actually the turning point in there lives for there miracle. We reach a point in our lives. Where we are tired of sitting. Sitting can represent being inactive or passive. It’s the place where we can let life pass us by and most of the time. We don’t even try to live. These men were lepers. No one would would have blamed them for just sitting. However, here is something else that I learned from these four leprous men. When we sit. We are sure to die. I love how in verse 4 they began to weigh their options. They say that if we go into the city. There’s a famine and we shall die there, but if we stay here. We will also die. Believe it or not. These two options are choices. Neither of them are appealing choices. Yet, and still it was a choice. Here’s the good news. It wasn’t the only option. The last option was to move on from both their place outside the city gate and also from outside the city. To adventure on in unfamiliar territory. Which was the Syrian camp. They made the statement. If they shall save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. I am learning that sitting in our dysfunction and circumstances will cause us to die. So will trying to go back to what is familiar. That’s what the city represented for them. Familiarity. They made the decision to head into the Syrians camp. That can be scary. Venturing out into the unknown. Yes, there was a chance that they could die out there, but it was also a chance that they would live as well.

2.) God will clear the path. Once we decide to move.

(5) And they rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians: and when they 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. (2 Kings 7:5-6 KJV).

How many times in our life. Have we been afraid to move, because we were unsure of the next step. Or better yet, I should say we feared the unknown? It must of had been scary for these four lepers to veer off into the unknown, but this scripture is also comforting because it shows the hand of God moving obstacles out of the way. One of the things that these men feared was being killed by the Syrians. Yet, when they got to the utmost part of the camp. They discovered no man was there. I can think back to times in my life. When I feared a certain outcome. Only to discover what I feared never happened cause God had already cleared the path for me. Here is something that the Holy Spirit revealed to me. The lepers had no idea how the camp was empty. We know from reading of the scripture that God caused the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots and of horses, but for these men. They had no idea what happened to the people of Syria. We will not always know. Just how God will make a way for us. We just have to trust that he will.

3.) God can use the unclean to bring about a blessing.

In verses 9-12 scripture tells us that these four leprous men returned to tell the Porter. Who in turn told the king. What they had discovered at Syrian camp. In verse 8 it tells us that they found food, clothing, silver and gold. Every time I read this passage of scripture. I am struck with awe over who God chose to use to bring blessings to the Israelites. He used four men. Who no one would go near. Four men who others would consider to be unclean. He chose the ones who was rejected by society. Those who were forced to live outside the city gates. To bring about the blessings. The Holy Spirit showed me something in this. Normally, no one would have paid much attention to these lepers, but if put in a situation dire enough. We wouldn’t care where the provision came from. We are just happy for the break through!

God’s blessings,

Aqua.