And they came and called to the porters of the city, and told them saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one there, no sound of man, but the horses tied, and the asses tied, and the tents as they were.
Four men shut out of Samaria have just walked into an abandoned enemy camp and eaten their fill. Now they turn back to the city, and their report is not of what they did, but of what they found.
The camp they describe is empty, and no one in Samaria lifted a finger to empty it. One commentator reads it as a picture of a victory won by One who had no helper:
If the enemy is to be defeated, it must be the Lord's own work. No one was with the Lord when He broke the power of the enemy. The city is in desperate need and can do nothing. The Lord does all the work, and the city, in sovereign grace, shares in the blessing. There was no man with the Lord of glory when He went to the cross. Alone He looked ahead to the terror of Calvary; alone He met the enemy; alone He suffered on the cross. Alone He endured the forsaking; alone He bore the judgment. But guilty sinners who believe share in the spoils of His victory.
Between the feast and the gate, the four men stop and weigh what they have just received:
Death was conquered and judgment cancelled for these four lepers... In their place they found life, plenty of goods, riches, and food to satisfy their hunger — all the spoil of the enemy, at no cost to themselves... There is peace in the camp. No one opposes them. They are satisfied, and they take hold of the treasure they have found. But can they keep silent and keep it all for themselves? No — the joy of salvation must be passed on. These men become messengers of good news to others.
The men on gate duty hear it first, and from them the news travels.
These four men make a bold confession. They start with the gatekeeper of the city — a very humble man. He tells the gatekeepers of the king's house. They in turn tell the good news to the king's household inside, and at last it reaches the king's ears. So the good news spread from the lowest to the highest in the land.
Samaria's leaders had already heard the promise of plenty and were unmoved. God's answer was not a louder announcement but a different messenger:
The great ones of Israel were unmoved by the announcement of immediate plenty. Meanwhile God was preparing reliable witnesses to its reality, who could say, "We have seen and bear witness."... God was pleased to use the testimony of these four leprous men to relieve the famine-stricken people of Samaria. Those lepers had nothing to lose and everything to gain; their condition could not have been more helpless or worse than it was. They had the sentence of death in themselves, and they accepted it.
Commentators apply the lepers' decision to anyone who has been fed while others starve. One puts the weight on what silence costs the people outside:
Now full and satisfied, the four men began to think of others... Those whom God has blessed carry a deep responsibility. Do we realise that the world is perishing for lack of the knowledge we already have? The four lepers felt they dared not settle down to enjoy their plenty and leave others to their fate.
Another turns it around and asks what silence costs the silent:
The selfishness of our nature would keep quiet, and so bring trouble on ourselves. Perhaps we have tasted the grace of God only faintly. Perhaps we have grasped too little how richly God has supplied us with silver and gold and clothing of His own providing. So we have little to say, and we stay silent. The result is that we are in danger of slipping back into the world, and of trouble coming upon us.
The message that reached the household was not welcomed at once. Writers note that the king's response cost the city time:
When Elisha announced that "tomorrow" the famine would cease, he said, "Hear." That word is addressed to all without distinction — to the people, to the king, to the officer who mocked — just as the sower's seed falls on every kind of ground. It is the same with the victory won. All are invited. The famous "tomorrow" announced by the prophet has been changed to "today." All may come, feast, and enrich themselves, though they are far from sharing the joy of the lepers.
- Found, not won. The lepers report an empty camp because the Lord alone broke the enemy's power. Those in need add nothing and still share the spoils.
- Fed first. Only after they had eaten and gathered did they think of the city. They carried a message they had already tasted.
- Gate first, throne last. The news began with a gatekeeper and climbed to the king. Tomorrow's promise had become today's food, offered to all alike.
- Nothing to lose. God passed over the great ones who were unmoved and used four outcasts as witnesses who could say what they had seen.
- Silence costs twice. Staying quiet leaves the starving to their fate. It starves the silent too: those with little to say drift back into the world.
And the porters cried [it] and told [it] to the king's house within.
Four men shut out of Samaria because of their disease had found the enemy camp empty and full of food, and they carried word back to the gate. Here the news moves inward: the gatekeepers shout it, and it climbs from the gate into the king's household.
Four men with no standing in the city had to start somewhere. One writer follows the chain, link by link.
These four men make a bold confession. They begin with the gatekeeper of the city — a very humble man. He tells the gatekeepers of the king's house, and they in turn tell the good news to the king's household within; and at last it reaches the king's ears. So the good news spread from the lowest to the highest in the land.
What made the gatekeepers act on a story told by four outcasts? The answer lay in how they spoke and in what they carried.
So they came to the city and told the gatekeepers at the gate. The eagerness of the men convinced the gatekeepers, and so did the treasures they showed, which proved their words were true. Then they woke the king from his sleep.
The lepers had said that staying quiet would bring harm on them. The same warning lands on us.
Further, they spread the "good news." They say, "If we are silent … punishment will overtake us." Our selfish nature would keep quiet, and so bring harm on ourselves. Perhaps we have tasted the grace of God only faintly. Perhaps we have barely grasped how richly He has provided us with silver and gold and clothing. So we have little to say, and we stay silent. Then we are in danger of slipping back into the world, with harm coming upon us.
The lepers ate first, and then they told. Well-fed Christians do not always do the same.
Sometimes it happens that the believers who are the best fed are the poorest workers. They would rather have endless Bible readings than a vigorous gospel campaign. Is this right? Peter and John had no doubt that the facts of the gospel matter. When they were told to proclaim them no more, they replied: "We cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). … In 2 Corinthians 4:13 Paul and Timothy give their reason for preaching: "we also believe, and so we also speak." … Do we believe that "Christ died for the ungodly"? Do we believe that "God raised Him from the dead"? … If so, let us not stay silent. This day is a day of good news.
Elisha's promise had gone out to everyone in Samaria, the king included. Watch what the palace does with it.
When Elisha announced that "tomorrow" the famine would end, he said, "Hear." That word goes out to all without distinction: to the people, to the king, to the mocking lord. The sower's seed falls the same way, on every kind of ground. It is the same with the victory won. All are invited, and its results are offered to all without distinction… We see how the king and his servants receive the announcement of deliverance. For them, this salvation which costs them nothing hides a trap. Their thought, faced with the good news, is pure unbelief… Sight, for them, replaces faith. Even if they share in the results of the deliverance, like the others, sight does not save them. It has never saved anyone.
Yet his hesitation did not shut him out. Another writer sets the arguing king beside the nobleman who scorned the news.
We see weak or slow-hearted faith in the king. He reasons about the good tidings. He does not, with the bold unbelief and scorn of the nobleman, refuse them outright. But he reasons about them… Yet grace abounds. Grace, as in Naaman's case, can provide a minister as well as a treasury. The slow-hearted king shares the spoils of the Lord's glorious victory, and so do the readier lepers. And all the famished city follow… None come short but the unbelieving nobleman. On the day of this feast, only distrust of God's generosity cuts a man off.
- Told. The chain starts with four outcasts and one gatekeeper. It climbs until it reaches the king. Good news spread from the lowest to the highest in the land.
- Shown. The eagerness of the men convinced the gatekeepers. So did the treasure they carried, which proved their words true.
- Risked. Silence is not neutral. Keep quiet about grace, and you are in danger of drifting back into the world.
- Fed first. The best-fed believers can be the poorest workers. Peter and John could not stop speaking of what they had seen and heard.
- Received. The invitation went out to everyone. The king argued, and still shared the spoils. Only the open scoffer came short, because sight has never saved anyone.