In 2 Kings 7 there is a siege on the city of Samaria and it has gotten so bad that families are killing their youngest children just to stay alive. There is money, but there is no food and the situation is dire. Soon the city will fall.
But Elisha the prophet of God makes a statement to one of the kings men who watches the gate of the city. He tells the man that tomorrow a "seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." What's important here is not what exactly a seah and a shekel are, but that there will be such an abundance of food that these two coveted items will sell for pennies.
In the middle of a siege that appears to have no end in sight it's difficult to believe that anything could ever change. Especially when there is no possible way for it to happen. The Syrians had everything they needed to continue their siege for the foreseeable future - Samaria was going to crumble. It was so dire that the man Elisha was speaking with replied like this, "if the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be true?" In the middle of the siege he was so convinced that there was no way out he could not fathom a way, even if God himself opened the doors of heaven. What he basically said was, "Elisha, you're full of it. There is no way for this to happen even IF God got involved."
Elisha's response was somewhat cryptic, "you shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it."
I wonder if Elisha knew every detail of a prophecy when it was revealed to him? Or maybe God just gave him that one sentence and that was it. I wonder if Elisha even knew exactly what his prophecy meant. It was the voice of God. It was the voice of Truth. But I don't know if either of them knew exactly what it meant.
Turns out, Elisha's prophecy comes true - but while it's a blessing for the people of Samaria and they are saved, it is not a blessing for the man who was in charge of the gate for the king. God had moved during the night and and made the Syrian army hear the sound of a great army advancing on them. They were so scared that they fled with only the clothes on their backs. They left tents, food, horses, donkeys, clothes, weapons, everything.
Once it was discovered and word got out the starving people of Samaria rushed out of the city gate to plunder the empty Syrian camp and in the process trampled the gate keeper. He heard the news - the city was saved and there was plenty of food to fill their bellies but he never tasted a morsel.
The voice of God is heard by people, but my question is, how do we distinguish the voice of truth from that of blessing or curse? From prophecy that will benefit and prophecy that will destroy? They may both be truth but one is certainly more desired than the other!
I know people who claim to have heard the voice of God, the truth about something in their future, so they move forward expecting it to happen. We would call that faith. But it appears that they force the prophecy to come true by means that God would not approve of. They may see the prophecy fulfilled in their lives but it doesn't turn out as they had planned. In the end it ends in pain and heartbreak instead of joy.
I guess as I think through this story in 2 Kings 7 I come to these conclusion about God's voice and what He chooses to reveal to us.
- God's Truth is not always blessing, even if it appears as such because it's what we want to hear.
- God may reveal parts of the story but rarely reveals the whole thing. It is possible to misinterpret the outcome of the prophecy based on a single detail you may be privy to.
- God is never wrong. If it doesn't work out just like we thought it's because we misinterpreted, not because He made a mistake.
- You may have heard His voice but missed His point.
- Prophecy may be for our benefit but it is ALWAYS for God's glory.
God reveals enough so that when it comes true He is recognized as God. But He seldom gives us every detail because first, every details isn't important or necessary to Him receiving glory and second, He is constantly trying to expand our measure for faith.
So keep this in mind the next time you hear God's voice and begin to move toward what you think is His plan... He will always accomplish His will through His means. Let me explain it this way. If you know you have a test coming up and have a vision that you receive an "A" on the test, but then you cheat to fulfill that prophecy you are NOT bringing glory to God or honoring His Word. You may have received a vision of Truth - you got an "A" but there will be consequences you didn't see because you tried to bring it about by your own hand.
When you receive a vision let God be God. He will always bring about what He intends and He will always do so in accordance with His Word and His character. If you have to sin to bring about your vision, it may not have been from God and I would be worried about the final outcome.
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