Tomorrow is always a different opportunity and a different game. It is natural to talk about tomorrow and things to be done tomorrow, but clearly speaking, tomorrow is not in our hands. No one knows what tomorrow brings. It is uncertain, it is mysterious, and it is beyond us. No one can boast of it and no one is sure if tomorrow will ever come. That’s the more reasons the Scripture advised: “Do not boast of tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring” (Prv.27:1).
Nevertheless, the day a man begin to die in bits, is the day he limits God and ceases to expect anything good from tomorrow. God is not man, at times, if He wants to proof Himself and His awesome nature to the earthlings, what He shall do tomorrow morning, no one will have knowledge of it in the evening of today, even His Prophets will not have insight to it and that is why He’s Jehovah God!!!
When issues got to a head in the land of Samaria during the Bible days, God the Almighty and All-knowing rose to proof his awesomeness (2 Kgs.7). Before this time, things had degenerated so badly. The ravaging famine in the land of Samaria had made the unthinkable happened. The Samarians had started eating their children for the sake of survival as a result of the acute famine in their land (2 Kgs.6:25-28). No pragmatic solution worked out – everything failed, every humans’ intelligence came to nowt and some that aversed to eating human flesh were dying and people wailed endlessly to God for rescue.
But why was this hapless fate? Why the endemic situation in the land of Samaria where there were people of God? Why must God allow issues to degenerate to that worst extent before He rose to change the situation? Was it as a result of sin? What exactly was the reason behind this acute situation in Samaria? Let’s examine the Scriptures: “And it happened after this that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey head was sold for Eighty Shekels of Silver.” (2 Kings 6: 24-25).
Clearly from the above Bible passage, the war that the Syrians’ callous monarch raised against the Samarians was the cause of the chronic famine in the land. The Syrians placed the entire land of Samaria under a virtual siege. They shut their borders against the Samarians and cut them off entirely of food and water supplies. Consequently, Samarians’ economy became crippled and the situation became so acute and insuperable to the extent that the Samarians’ authority could not see a way out of it (2 Kings 6:28-29).
Famine, as you already know is the corollary of war. If there is no war there can never be a famine. Similarly, if a life is not experiencing a spiritual siege, there can never be famine of good things of life. Many lives that are ravaged today by famine of children, famine of good jobs, famine of husband/wife, famine of sound health etc are experiencing such as a results of the siege the callous “Syrians’ soldiers” has raised against their lives. These unknown soldiers are in legions, and they manifests in different ways. As we have the family Syrians, so we have the in-laws’ and offices’ Syrians. Even among the children of God there are Syrian soldiers aplenty, and each of this wreaks havoc of unimaginable proportion upon the lives of their victims so that their tomorrow will be uncertain.
Years after I left secular work for ministerial job, I experienced so many things and I forfeited things unimaginable as a result of the siege of the Syrian soldiers against my life. The beginning was extremely rough, it was a life in squalor. By the time I was trying to come-off hunger and get stabilized, this unseen Syrians soldiers besieged my family and inflicted an incurable injury in my heart. They took away my son and my joy, even when I had become a full time minister of God.
In similar vein, if you see your business in coma, even if they are already crumbled, if your life is stagnated, if you suffer loneliness, barrenness and joblessness and if sickness and squalor does not permit you to live your original life as designed by God, you should know that it is the Syrians’ soldiers that has laid siege against your life.
However, providence always take its course each time we are drawn to the limit of our endurance. The Bible says: “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you” (1 Pet.5:10).
Suddenly, Elisha’s spirit became ignited when the problem of the Samarians got to the climax. With flaming zeal, he made a prophetic declaration in the presence of the emissary of king Ahab and that declaration finally settled the problem that was intractable for all the intelligentsia in Samaria, and he said: “Hear ye the word of the Lord, tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria” (2 Kings 7:1).
Evidently, this sounds so incredible. Here was a Prophet that didn’t have a barley farm or a storehouse for barley anywhere but was confidently declaring and dictating what would be the price per measures of barley about twenty four (24) hours to the time he was speaking. Whereas, if you must own tomorrow, you would have done enough preparation today – He that shall move mountains tomorrow, must have started lifting stones today. How credible could this prophesy be? But the Bible says, to man, this is impossible but to God all things are possible (Mtt.19:26).
However, as Elisha was giving this prophesy to the Samarians, there was a Chief that immediately faulted it. Of course, this Chief was a paramount Chief in the land of Samaria. He was an Advisor to the king, and the Bible describes him as, “The lord on whose hand the king leaned” (2 Kgs.7:2). He doubted the efficacy of the prophesy because he thought there was no way it could ever work out and said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” (2 Kgs.7:2). He clearly said this out of ignorance. He never knew that the naked eyes can never see what the spirit eyes can see. Hardly did he know that Elisa was speaking from the mind of God and not out of conjectural thoughts. But Elisha who was at this time under a terrific unction of Holy Spirit got angry and in anger, he declared “…..you shall see it with your eyes, but shall not eat of it.” (2 Kings 7:2).
Frankly speaking, if your tomorrow and your success is not doubted by people around you, then, your testimony is not awesome enough. A glorious future must surely be doubted, a future that is fully glorious must have fought many battles and tarries too long in the durance – vile of the Syrian soldiers. That Samarian Chief never knew that a glorious morning could ever come as quickly as it was predicted by Prophet Elisha. He never knew that when God is ready to work, He can tamper with nature just as He did for Josua when he routed the Amorites and caused the nature to work against the aggressors (Josh.10:10-13). He did it for Mordecai and king Ahasuerus became sleepless (Esther 6:1-3; 6-11), He did it for Mephiboshet and king David became restless (2 Sam.9:1-7). The Bible says, “The secret things belong to the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever… (Deut.29:29).
That Samarian Chief might have spoken out of impulse but he failed to understand that there’s a sharp difference between an experience and the things of the Spirit. While he was talking from experience as an Administrator, Elisha the Prophet was talking directly from the innermost part of the Lord. After all, the secret of the Lord is with his people and as many as those that worships Him (Ps.25:14).
Therefore, when a true Prophet talks, Heavens talk. A true Prophet speaks the mind of God to the people. His voice, is the Voice of the Lord and he is the mouth-piece of God. Therefore, whatever words that comes out of their mouths are words of authority, and their pronouncements are always supported and activated by covenant. That is why prophetic declarations often work faster and quicker than either fasting or prayers. Prophetic pronouncements are so powerful and are like a double edged sword. Satan dare not wait at the arena where prophetic declarations are made.
Lo and behold, the Syrians laying siege at the border region took to their heels when they heard the noise of chariots, the noise of horses and the noise of the unseen armies of the Lord (2 Kgs.7:6-7). All these are not physical. God only shook the ground to terrify the enemies out of their hideout because it was time for Him to show His awfulness. The Syrians had thought that the Samarian authority had enlisted foreign armies to combat them without knowing that it was God that had risen in Heaven to fight the cause of His people. I pray that God shall rise for you over that terrible situation, He shall fight your battles and you shall become victorious.
In haste, they fled and left behind their weapons in safety of their lives. Consequently, the Samarians went enmasse and plundered their camp and began to sell a seah of fine flour for a shekel, while two seahs of barley was sold for a shekel in line with the declaration made by Prophet Elisha the previous day.
Incidentally, the King’s Advisor that was earlier skeptical about the prophesy actually lived to witness the manifestation of the prophesy but he did not eat from the surplus as he was trampled in the manic rush that trailed the food surplus at the gate of the Samarians (2 Kings 7:3-19). I pray that henceforth, a terrible fright will arise against the Syrians that are tormenting your life. Heavens shall declare your goodness in surplus and when your tomorrow shall come your enemies shall not live to see it in Jesus Mighty Name (Amen).
