Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Saturday, December 1, 2012 Read – 2 Kings 7 & 8 We have just heard the story of Elisha leading the Arameans into the heart of the city of Samaria where they faced certain death. They were spared, however, and the narrator told us that “the Arameans no longer came raiding into the land of Israel.” In the concluding story of chapter 6 and on into chapter 7 we hear of the Arameans once again besieging Samaria. Apparently some time has passed and the Arameans have forgotten what happened when Elisha brought them in and then spared them. Perhaps the explanation is that a new king was now in charge as we are introduced to Benhadad. At any rate the struggle between Israel and Aram persists. This time it becomes clear that Samaria will not be able to hold out. The Arameans are just too strong. However, Elisha assures that besieged Israelites that Benhadad will not succeed. The leaders of Israel do not believe the words of Elisha. That is the main point of the story – the lack of faith of the Israelite king and his advisors. God miraculously intervenes by making the Arameans hear the onslaught of chariots and flee for their lives. The story of the lepers outside the city wall adds humor to the story as well as identifying the tragic plight of lepers in Biblical times. The lepers find no help from inside the city of Israel and decide they might as well put themselves at the mercy of the enemy. What they discover is that the enemy has fled. The lepers bring the good news – typical of God’s way of acting. Shepherds will bring good news of the birth of the Messiah. God seems to revel in using the outcasts. The story of the Shunammite woman serves to highlight the fame of Elisha. That story is followed by a rather strange story of Elisha going to Damascus and meeting with Hazael, the son of Benhadad, who has been sent to inquire of Elisha whether or not Benhadad will recover from an illness. We might wonder what business Elisha has in enemy territory. Apparently his fame has spread even there. But, more than the wonder of Elisha’s presence in Damascus, is the point of the story – Elisha weeps upon seeing Hazael because he knows that Hazael will brutally slaughter the people of Israel. Hazael proceeds to murder his father and take charge of Aram. At this point the story moves back to the Southern Kingdom and tells of two kings whose reigns were rather short and mostly uneventful. These two kings, Jehoram and Ahaziah, adopted the policies of the Northern Kingdom and ruled like Ahab. The reason becomes clear in that Jehoram’s wife was Ahab’s daughter, Athaliah, and consequently she was the mother of Ahaziah. The North and the South are now intertwined but the alliance is not for good.