There are moments in Scripture when a single sentence carries enormous weight. This (verse 9) is one of them.
Four lepers—outcasts, starving, and desperate. They rationalize that if they, being lepers, stay at the city gates they will die of starvation, and if they go into the city of Samaria there is no food to be found there either so they will die there. BUT, if they go to the Syrian camp there is a slight possibility they may get food and the worst that can happen is they will be killed there as well, at least there might be a chance they will live. So they approach the Syrian camp only to discover that the enemy army has fled. The Syrian camp is abandoned. Food, clothing, silver, gold—everything left behind.
For the first time in days, they eat until they are full. They hide some of the treasure. Then they go back and eat and drink again and find more treasure and they hide it as well.
Then you might say a guilty conscience set in and convicts them in their hearts, and they realize they can’t keep their good fortune to themselves.
“9a We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news.”
They realize to keep quiet would be wrong, not to mention the scripture says further in verse 9 that
“9b If we are silent punishment will overtake us.”
The lepers realized they had a really good thing going, but they also had time to consider their brethren back in the city of Samaria who were still starving. They understood it was wrong of them to hoard their good fortune of food, drink, and wealth. They had a driving force, call it a conscience if you like, that made them realize they would be in the wrong to not share the news of their find with their fellow Israelites. They may have been outcasts, not of their own doing, but they were Israelites and children of God first.
Samaria was under siege. Famine had become so severe that people were paying outrageous prices for scraps of food. The situation had grown so dark that desperation had overtaken dignity.
Outside the gate sat the four lepers—already cut off from society, because of their leprosy, already labeled unclean. They were starving like everyone else.
They reasoned:
- If we stay here, we die.
- If we go into the city, we die.
- If we go to the Syrians, we still might die… but maybe - we won’t.
And you might think that would be the subject of the lesson this morning. But it’s not.
So, the four lepers put their plan into motion in uncertainty, realizing death might very well be imminent.
And when they arrive at the Syrian camp? They find the camp is empty. Because the Lord had already worked His work.
• Without their knowledge.
• Without their strength.
• Without their strategy.
God had already solved the Israelites problem.
You see, the Syrians fled because God caused them to hear the sound of chariots and armies. They panicked and ran for their lives. The victory was not human. It was divine.
The lepers simply walked into what God had already accomplished. And that sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
That IS the Gospel.
We did not defeat sin.
We did not conquer death.
We did not overpower the enemy - Satan.
God did. Through the cross of Jesus Christ and His resurrection.
The empty Syrian camp points forward to an empty tomb. The battle was already won. Just like the lepers and then the Israelites found an empty camp, the world found an empty tomb. In both cases the Lord triumphed over the foe!
At first, the lepers enjoy the blessings of what they have discovered in the Syrian camp, privately.
They eat. - They drink. - They gather treasures. - They hide them.
But then comes conviction – “We are not doing right.” Notice what bothered them:
· Not fear of punishment.
· Not guilt over taking the food and treasure.
· But their own silence.
The city was still starving, children were still crying, families were still desperate, I dare say people were even dying.
And they, the outcasts, were saved from starvation. They had good news to tell their people.
They realized that withholding the good news of their plentiful blessings was wrongdoing.
Church, that verse should pierce us.
We know forgiveness. We know hope. We know eternal life. We know the Savior. We have good news, better yet we have GREAT news! And yet sometimes… we remain silent.
So, what is the lesson we get from this story? The answer is “Good news demands proclamation.”
The lepers say, “This day is a day of good news.”
Follow me if you will on a little bit of the etymology of “good news.” The Hebrew word there for good news is “besorah” and it implies joyful tidings or a glad announcement. At it’s root – the word “basar” – means to bring tidings or announce or proclaim news, especially good news. In the Old Testament “besorah” usually refers to an announcement of Jehovah’s decisive victory, his coming to reign, or his saving intervention. There is a connection between “besorah” and our English word “gospel.”
First, when the Hebrew scriptures were translated into Greek (what we know as the “Septuagint”) the word “euangelion” or “euangelizomai” were used to translate “besorah” into the Greek. From there “yoo-ang-GHEL-ee-on” was reconstructed in Koine Greek (which, by the way is closer to the 1st century pronunciation) and became “eh-vahn-JEH-lee-on” – which we of course can here our modern word of “evangelism.”
“Euangelion” is broken down this way – “eu” meaning “good” + “angelos” meaning “messenger” + “ion” which refers to a reward for bearing good news, such as a victory announcement.
From there the translators of the Koine Greek into the English New Testament adopted this same Koine Greek word “euangelion” as “godspel” or good story or good news. And of course godspel over time shifted to our modern word “gospel.”
In the modern New Testament, the word is “Gospel.” And so when we see the word “gospel” in the New Testament we can understand that not only does it mean “good news” it also means that this good news is not meant to be hoarded. It is not meant to be kept quiet. It is meant to be heralded, proclaimed, even shouted out!
Think about it:
• When a cure is discovered, doctors announce it.
• When a war ends, the news spreads like wildfire.
• When a baby is born, parents tell everyone.
Why?
Because good news is too good to keep to ourselves. So why would we keep the greatest news in history to ourselves?
It is interesting that God used lepers to carry the message.
They were:
Outcasts.
Unclean men.
People no one listened to.
And yet they became the first evangelists of that deliverance.
Doesn’t that sound like us?
Spiritually, we were lepers.
- Unclean in sin.
- Outside the camp of God.
- Separated from God.
But we found mercy. And now we carry the message.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20,
“We are ambassadors for Christ.”
But lets make it clear – we are ambassadors for Christ not because we are impressive. But because we have been rescued. Just as the four lepers were rescued from starvation and death – we too are rescued from death – from eternal death.
But what else did the lepers say? Let’s look at the verse again. In the latter part of verse nine the lepers also said:
“9b If we are silent and wait until morning light, punishment will overtake us.”
II Kings 7:9b
What we notice and can take away from this statement is there is an urgency here. It’s not JUST good news – it’s Good News of being saved from death and they realize and feel that urgency to share that good news with their people so that they too will be saved from death.
People were starving. Time mattered. People around us today are spiritually starving:
• Searching for meaning.
• Chasing empty promises.
• Drowning in anxiety.
• Living without hope.
Several years ago, a man named David worked at a company where one of his coworkers, we’ll call her Carla, she was struggling to make ends meet. One afternoon, David overheard that the company had quietly opened a new assistance program to help employees with financial hardship. Anyone could apply — anonymously — and receive significant help.
David thought about telling Carla, but he hesitated. He reasoned, she wouldn’t want me meddling in her business. Days turned into weeks. One day, she came to work visibly shaken; her car had been repossessed, and she had no way to bring her kids to school.
David finally told her about the program, and she burst into tears — partly from relief, partly because she wished she’d known sooner. That night, he couldn’t shake the thought: I had good news that could’ve saved her weeks of worry, but I kept it to myself.
He realized that sometimes, withholding good news isn’t humility or restraint — it’s neglect. Good news, especially news that can rescue someone, is meant to be shared.
Today the world is mostly lost and people today are starving for salvation, for Jesus. Just as the starving Israelites were the four lepers family, we should and need to view the world today as our family. As Christians, as the saved of God, we should feel that same urgency the lepers felt to share their good news. Jesus on the cross and being raised from the dead three days later is our good news. And we know where our bread is.
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35)
How can we sit silent at the gate knowing we have the bread that can give life, we have the good news that can give eternal life?
The lepers brought news of temporary deliverance.
We bring news of eternal deliverance.
They saved a city from famine.
The Gospel saves souls from judgment.
And unlike the Syrian camp, the riches of Christ never run out. There is enough grace for everyone.
But I have a question for us. What if the lepers had stayed silent?
Well, the city would have suffered longer and lives might have been lost unnecessarily.
What if we stay silent? 2 Kings 7:9 stands not only as a testament to conviction but also importantly it stands as a commission.
“This day is a day of good news.” Why would we stand silent?
Let me tell you… For many years now I’ve been overweight and I finally determined I was going to do something about it and not with drugs. I signed on with the weight loss clinic in Greensboro. They assigned me a “counselor” and really that isn’t an accurate title as she is a physicians assistant. She asked me what my goals were, then they weighed me, took my blood pressure, height, took blood samples to check all the various indicators to see just where I was at at the start so they could make a plan for me. That was in December, and in January they presented a plan designed for me to follow. And I did. I stuck to that plan with only minute indulgences. Two weeks ago I went in for my monthly weigh-in. I started at 315 lbs at that first weigh-in and my weigh-in two weeks ago was 273 – down 37 lbs and three pant sizes! Now, that was great news! You know the first thing I did when I got out to my car in the parking lot? Before I even put the key in the ignition I took my cell phone and I typed out my message to my brother, then copied and pasted it into a message to just about all my close friends! That was great news and I wanted to share it. Even though I’m not at my goal weight I just wanted to shout it out for everyone to know.
That’s what good news is. I believe that’s how we should feel about the good news of salvation. We should want and desire to tell everyone, to share the news of Jesus so that they might be saved as well.
We should take every day to tell others our good news! We can begin with family and friends, sharing the joy we have that Jehovah God has given each and every one of us a way out, a way to be saved eternally. With every sunrise our first goal should be to share Jesus with those with whom we come in contact so that they too might be saved. We should take advantage of every opportunity to speak of Christ to anyone who will listen.
This is a day of good news. Let us not remain silent.
I’ll leave you with this, we have eaten at the tables of the Syrian camp, now, let’s go back to the Samarian gate. Let’s tell the city. Let’s tell the world the Good News of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and resurrected. You do not need a theology degree. You just need to say: “I was starving… and I found food. I found the bread that gives eternal life.”
Comments