Famine was in the land of Samaria. It got so bad that the citizens started eating their children. It’s hard to even fathom such a desperate situation! One citizen cried out to the king for help but he replied, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you?” And again he said, “Surely this calamity is from the Lord.”
The historical account from II Kings 6:24-33 is very humbling to read. It appears to have started when the enemy besieged Samaria, cutting off the food supply, which lead to inflation, famine, and starving citizens. But in reality, the root cause had been going on for generations.
Abandoning the Lord
For decades, since the reign of King Solomon, the people of Israel had been slowly replacing worship of the One True God with pagan worship and sacrificing to false gods. They sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, even to the point of killing His prophets and performing child sacrifices. Finally, the Lord had declared disaster on the people. Viewing things from a human perspective, we might consider this a harsh punishment. However, God had warned the nation of Israel that He is a jealous God and would not tolerate false religions or other gods. He was now returning their evil on their own heads.
Around one hundred years before the famine hit Samaria, King Solomon dedicated the (first) Temple in Jerusalem unto Jehovah. We read the account in I Kings 8 and verses 31-40 are especially prophetic of the events to come for Israel:
“When anyone sins against his neighbor…then hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness. When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and when they turn back to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication to You in this temple, then hear in heaven, and forgive the sin of Your people Israel…”
The next few verses list the consequences for sinning against the Lord, which include drought, famine, pestilence, enemy attack, plague, sickness, etc.
Applying this passage to modern-day events, one can understand why many Christians asked if the recent plague of Covid-19 was from the Lord. Of course, based on this passage, it could also apply for food shortages, inflation, terrorist attacks, natural disasters, political unrest, etc. Most definitely, God sends judgment when His people of covenant turn their hearts from Him.
God’s Consequences
In the very next chapter, we read the Lord’s reply to Solomon’s prayer. He confirms the consequences that follow when a nation that has been established by God forsakes the Lord.
“And the Lord said to him: ‘I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness…then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever…’” (I Kings 9:3-4)
“But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this calamity on them.’ ” (I Kings 9:6-9)
The Lord clearly laid out the requirements for blessing and the consequences of forsaking. It was up to the people to remain faithful and keep their hearts pure before the Lord.
The Power of Prayer
Another time when God’s hand was turned against His people, due to the sin of Solomon’s father towards the end of his reign, David cried out to the Lord for mercy.
“And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.'”
The story goes on to say, “So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.” (II Samuel 24)
Through prayer and repentance the plague was stopped. America would be wise to follow the example of King David’s humble repentance. Our nation must turn back to God and repent of our abandoning His ways. We were founded as “one nation under God” and our forefathers entered a covenant relationship with the Lord. Across this land we have forsaken the Lord, from the church pews to the government buildings. God is our only hope for salvation, both eternal and from the consequences of sin. Both require heartfelt repentance and a turning away from sin.
In the words of the prophet Elijah, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him…” (I Kings 18:21)
All Scripture passages taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.
