(Lessons from The Lepers)
2 Kings 7:8-9 The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold, and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also. Then they said to each other. “We’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves….”
THE FOUR LEPERS
Who Are We?
Do our names matter? Of course not! At least not to anyone else. No one ever asks our names. No one ever walks up and introduces themselves to us. No one ever extends a hand. No one greets us with a hug. No one ever invites us into their homes. We are not allowed in The Temple or any places of worship. No one ever wants to risk touching us---the unclean! Most people look at us and then look away. We stand more than 6 feet apart. In fact, we are made to live far away from any community. We are outsiders. We are supposed to wear ragged clothing, look unkempt by letting our hair hang loose, wear a covering upon our upper lip (to prevent the spread of our disease) and advertise our presence by crying out to others around us, “Unclean, unclean.” Leviticus 13:45 We are the lepers. To everyone, our disease is who we are.
Leprosy defines our existence. It limits our existence. We live isolative lives. Most consider us a walking plague, a curse. It is a disease that gets in our clothing. Leviticus 13:47 It is a disease that can spread in a house. Leviticus 14:33. It is a progressive disease, known for its scabs, swelling of the skin, bright and bald spots, and skin malignancy. Leviticus 14:54.1
There are four of us. We are trying to survive.
OUR TRIALS
Right now, we are barely surviving. For us, every day is a trial. Every day we try to find food to eat and try to stay away from those who would just kill us to get rid of us. We have come together to stay alive. We are trying to survive a disease within and without. We are trying to survive society’s indifference and hostility to our very existence, just because we look the way we look. So, we look out for each other.
But now things are even worse. There is a war going on around us. The Syrians are at war with our king and our people, the Samarians. King Ben-hadad of Syria has gathered his entire army and besieged Samaria. Because all commerce has been cut off and the city’s gates are closed, there is a great famine in the city! Everyone inside the city is starving. The enemy is camped nearby. We four lepers are camped outside the city’s gate. We have no food and the people inside the city have no food to give us. So, we are starving too. But, now is a moment of truth.
We look at each other. We decide to assess our situation. This is what we say to one another:
“Why stay here until we die? If we say, ‘We’ll hide. normally live outside the city, ---the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So, let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans [the Syrians] and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.”
2 Kings7:4 We get up and get ready to move. GOD help us.
HOW WE GOT THROUGH IT
We stay together. We reason together. We made a decision together. We speak with one voice. And, then we started walking, we walked together, in faith placing “our” fate with GOD. And GOD heard us! GOD took over and decided our fate and the fate of our people! Although we didn’t know any of this at the time we started walking.
When we arrived at the Syrian camp to surrender, we are astonished! No one is here! There is no guarded standing watch. We see no one! [THE LORD had made the Syrian arm hear the sound of chariots, and horses so caused them to believe that the King of Israel had hired the Hittites and the king of Egypt to attack them. So, in a panic the Syrian army fled into the night leaving their tents, horses, donkeys and everything else behind.] When we walked together into the first tent, again no one was inside. No one was inside. We see leftover food everywhere! We are hungry---famished! We begin eating and drinking. What a feast! We had never seen anything like these tables full of food! We also see a lot of gold and silver in the tent. And we see some of the finest clothes we had ever seen! So, we make a quick decision to take the silver, gold, and clothing and hide them. Then we returned to the camp, and enter another tent. We do the same thing we did in the first tent. After gathering more silver, gold, and clothes, we leave the second tent to go out hid those valuables too. What a blessing!!!
It was when we were returning to the camp, that suddenly we looked at each other, again assessing our situation. And then, as if reading each other’s minds, we say to one another:
“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 [GOD’s punishment] will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.” 2 Kings 9
In other words, although we were liberally being blessed by GOD right now, walking around with full stomachs, counting our wealth, and our blessings, we knew there were thousands of poor people who were still starving in the city of Samaria. We knew people in the city were probably at the brink of death from starvation, just as we had been at the city’s gate. Although we were still outcasts before, right now we were “the one’s on top” and we needed to do the right thing to help those less fortunate than ourselves! Even though our community did not see us as a part of their community, we knew that all humanity is part of the community of GOD. We knew that GOD wouldn’t continue to bless us so we can just live in comfort and greed, but that GOD was blessing us four lepers so that we could be a blessing to the others in the city! We knew that to do otherwise and to not share GOD’s blessing would be a punishable sin!
We feared GOD. We revered GOD. So, we decided we needed to do the right thing. We needed to share the good news! Other people needed to be saved too!
We rushed back to the gates of the city and told the watchmen at the gate what we had seen at the Syrians camp. And, the watchmen told the king. The king was initially skeptical. He thought that perhaps the Syrians were hiding in the fields trying to lure the people out of the cities. He thought it was a trap. He wasn’t yet ready to just accept GOD’s blessings. So, the king sent out some scouts to see where the Syrians had gone. 2 Kings 7:12-13 But, when the scouts followed the Syrian trail all the way to the Jordan River, the scouts now knew that what we told the king was true. The scouts quickly returned to the city and relayed their findings to the king. The Syrians were gone and had abandoned their camp! Well, good news traveled fast!
The King quickly sent one of his special assistants to the gate to control the traffic, because all of the people, who could, came rushing out of the city to plunder the Syrian camp and eat! GOD blessed a lot of people that day! All of us who entered that Syrian camp ate at the table THE LORD prepared for us right in the presence of the Syrian (our enemies’) camp!
We four lepers stuck together and trusted and obeyed GOD and GOD took care of all of us! We did what was right and shared the good news! GOD was with us and for us and the people and that’s how all of us made it through! GOD just opened the windows of heaven and showered us all with blessings!
We are still four lepers. We still support each other. We now know, without a doubt, that GOD loves us too. Despite our circumstances, despite how people treat us, GOD is still with us! And, despite what people think of us, we have value and were a blessing to the community!
We four lepers walk by faith! Our circumstances are still not perfect, but we know GOD saved us and Samaria. You should trust GOD too!
[Post Script: We four lepers later learned that although we had faith in GOD and GOD blessed us, another fate awaited the king’s special assistant who was placed in charge of the Samarian gate to direct traffic. Apparently, the prophet Elisha met with the king, the day before the Syrians fled and while the people of Samaria were still starving. Elisha gave a message to the king from THE LORD that the Samarian people would soon be selling flour, barley at the gate for as little as a shekel (about a dollar!). GOD was telling the king that there was going to be a drastic turnaround despite the fact that at the present time there was no food or selling going on in the city! But, when the king’s special assistant heard Elisha, the special assistant apparently scoffed and refused to believe GOD’s man or GOD’s WORD. Not believing that such a thing could happen, the special assistant gave an insulate retort to Elisha: “That couldn’t happen even if THE LORD opened the windows of heaven!” We heard, the prophet Elisha told the special assistant: “You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it.” 2 Kings 7:2 All of what Elisha said came true. You see, the special assistant was trampled to death in the gateway when the people came rushing out of the city for food and to plunder the Syrian camp! In death, the special assistant’s eyes were open, but the special assistant did not share any of GOD’s rich blessings because of his lack of faith! Unlike us, the special assistant died and did eat any of the food GOD has prepared for the rest of us! 2 Kings 7:17-20 His lack of faith in GOD and rejection of GOD’s good news leads to another end for him---death! GOD did indeed “open the windows of heaven and showered out blessings! But the special assistant was punished for his unbelief and missed out!]
Although, we are four lepers, please, please listen and learn from what happened to us and Samaria and the king’s special assistant. Fear GOD! Revere GOD’s WORD! Believe GOD and GOD’s WORD, and live!
STRETCHING TOGETHER
- Shoulder Stretch– Place two straight back chairs so the seats of each chair face each other but do not touch. Leave enough space so that two people can sit down. Seater A should sit down, sit up straight, relaxed so your head, neck and shoulders are in a straight alignment. Seater A should place their arms along each side of their sides, so the back of the elbow is in alignment with the back, the hands are making a fist, with the thumbs pointed inward. [This pose will look like a karate pose right before a person is about to straighten their arms to make a punch.] Remember to keep the inside of your arms close to your waist. Seater B will sit in the opposite chair and place a flat hand over Seater A’s upturned fist. Seater B may have to position their chair so that they are also sitting straight in their chair. Seater B’s shoulders should also be in alignment with their back. Seater B should gently apply gentle pressure pushing Seater B’s fist down as Seater A resists that pressure by maintaining their alignment by gently pushing up. Each person should feel a slight stretch along the shoulders. After 3-4 seconds of resistance relax and start again. Try to do at least 3 reps. Then switch so that Seater B becomes the fist-maker and Seater A the one pressing down. Try to relax as to perform these shoulder stretches.
- Butterfly Stretch – One person should sit on a mat or rug with your heels together, as close to your groin as possible, holding your ankles. Be sure to sit up straight. Your partner should gently reach behind you or in front and gently lower your knees to the floor (while you hold your feet together). You will need to tell your partner the degree or limit of your stretch. When you have reached your limit, your partner will hold for about 4 or 5 seconds and then gently allow you to slowly raise your knees up, while you still hold your ankles and try to keep your back straight. Repeat. Then switch positions.
- Back Stretch -On person should sit on a mat or rug with their legs slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Tuck in your gut and slowly lean forward from the hips. Your partner will stand behind you and with their hands around the middle of your low back, your partner will gently assist you as you lean forward. You will need to tell your partner when to stop (or when you have reached your stretch limit). When you say stop, your partner will hold for 4 or 5 seconds and then gently allow you to rise back up from the hips. Don’t slouch or look downward (straining your neck). Try to keep your head and shoulders relax as you bend at the hips, your hand extending forward, one over each leg. Remember your hips are moving forward and your hands are moving forward with your hips. Your hand and shoulders are not reaching out. Your partner should use a gentle touch and may need to remind you to relax or straighten your back. Again, be gentle. Repeat 2-4 times. Then switch positions.
As always, if you have an injury, are concerned about safety or you have a medical condition, speak to your personal physician about what stretches are appropriate for you. If you experience dizziness, discontinue the exercise and again consult your physician. Drink water. Stay hydrated.
SUPPORT ONE ANOTHER, TRUST GOD, BELIEVE and SHARE THE GOOD NEWS
A lot of people feel alone. Many are hungry. Many often feel as if no one cares. A lot of people think others see them as “unclean,” “irrelevant,” or “useless.” Some feel as if they are “invisible,” or of little value. Sometimes people are even afraid to enter houses of worship, afraid of how others might view them or treat them. They feel like outsiders. Everyone should be concerned about anyone who feels this way. These are all areas for personal introspection and self-evaluations. All should ask “Is it I, GOD?” and “What can I do better to rectify any “injustices,” systems of racism, classism, sexism, ageism or other “ism” that tries to separate people from their humanity and equality as a member of the community of GOD.
We all need each other to survive. We need to value everyone. We need to try to be a blessing. We all need to spread the GOOD NEWS!
We also should listen and learn from GOD’s WORD, including the tale of the four lepers and the king’s special assistance. So:
- Revere GOD; Fear GOD, believing that all things are possible;
- Ask GOD to:
a. Help us with those characteristics within ourselves that may lead to unbelief;
b. Help us to have more faith;
c. Help the unbelief around us (our own and anyone else’s that we allow decreasing my faith in GOD and GOD’s WORD or those who have may have lost hope); and - Love and support one another and spread the good news.
Believe in GOD’s blessings, be a blessing to others, and BE BLESSED!
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1Based on the description in Leviticus, the bacteria of leprosy, which affected the nerves, skin, eyes, hair, and lining of the eyes may have also caused and breed infectious vermin that settled on clothes and object in a home like a type of mold or it may have been a type of mold. When the Leviticus rules were established this may have been especially true for Hebrews living in a desert, where there were little water and few opportunities for practicing good hygiene. Biblical leprosy, at least the type described in Leviticus Chapter 13, seems to be different from modern leprosy (Hansen’s disease). Leviticus leprosy is described as greenish or reddish spots on walls, garments, or in the skin. See, Leviticus 13:49; Leviticus 14: 37 Biblical leprosy may have covered a variety of skin diseases and disorders, like psoriasis, vitiligo, which can make the skin white.
