When the windows of heaven are opened

 

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus and to take Him at His word; just to rest upon His promise, and to know, "Thus saith the Lord."  --Louisa Maria Rouse Stead, 1882

Thus saith the LORD.  This phrase is found in the Bible over 400 times.  That's 400 times when people's faith was shaken and/or tested.  400 times when God spoke to a specific issue or problem.  400 times when God's word came to pass, and His words proved true.

Today I want us to look at a story from the life of the prophet Elisha found in 2 Kings 6:24 through 7:20.

Desperate Times

"Afterward Ben-Hadad king of Syria mustered his entire army and went up and besieged Samaria.  And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey's head was sold for 80 shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver." --2 Kings 6:24-25

You may have heard stories from your grandparents or great-grandparents about rationing that was imposed during World War I.  Commodities were scarce, and people had to do without things we would take for granted.  Every adult at the time had already lived through the Great Depression in the 1930s, so they knew how to do more with less.  They accepted scarcity because to them it was normal.

In our Bible narrative, we get another lesson in the economics of scarcity.  Israel's capitol city experienced a double-whammy of the famine (where food was already scarce) plus the military siege of the city (where they were unable to establish trade with other cities or nations--or even to solicit charitable aid from their neighbors).  A shekel of silver was worth about $2.25, and we can see how expensive things were getting.  A donkey was an unclean animal, but since all the "clean" animals were gone, the people were forced to eat what they had.  A donkey's head had very little nutritional value, but it was selling for about $180.  That's a very expensive soup stock.

As for the phrase "dove's dung", it was selling at about $11.50 per half gallon.  Some commentators posit that this was a not-so-nice name for a cheap food like falafel.  I don't think this theory is supported in this narrative, as it does not communicate the abject desperation that the story portrays.  Things were so bad that in verses 26 to 29, a woman complained to the king that they had resorted to cannibalism, having boiled her baby so that the rest of them could eat.  A more plausible explanation is that it was literally the dung of birds, who could fly outside the city walls and eat grains from the fields, some of which would be excreted.  In better times, dove's dung might be gathered to fuel a fire.  As things got worse, it might be used as a salt substitute.  In the worst of times, it might be a person's only source of grain food.

Blaming God

"When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes--now he was passing by on the wall--all the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath his body--and he said, 'May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.'  Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him.  Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived Elisha said to the elders, 'Do you see how this murderer has sent to take off my head?  Look, when the messenger comes shut the door and hold the door fast against him.  Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?'  And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, 'This trouble is from the Lord!  Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?'  --2 Kings 6:30-33

 Ahab saw the situation was as bad as it could possibly get.  According to the sermons that Elisha had been preaching, God was punishing Ahab and, by extension, Israel.  Out of desperation, Ahab wanted to kill Elisha.  Yet his own words show that he knew the truth.

"This trouble is from the Lord!" he said.  His conclusion was correct.  Ahab's own sin had brought about this calamity.  His conclusion, though, was incorrect.  "Why should I wait for the Lord?"  When Ahab's faith was tested, he failed miserably.

A lot of religious people have trouble believing that God brings calamity.  Tim Challies, a Canadian Reformed Baptist theologian, pastor and blogger, says, "If God is not sovereign over the bad things that happen, they happen for no reason.  If God is sovereign over the bad things, we can be confident that he is working even those things for His glory and our good."  Augustine wrote, "God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist."

Richard Sibbes, an Anglican exegete from the early 17th century, wrote, "As the winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory."  We will see how God brought glory from this desperate situation.

Opening the windows of heaven

"But Elisha said, 'Hear the word of the Lord; thus says the Lord, Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.'  Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, 'If the Lord Himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?'  But he said, 'You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.'  --2 Kings 7:1-2

 God was not so concerned that His people were forced to eat non-Kosher foods.  He was concerned that they had forgotten Him.  Did they not know that God had provided for their forefathers in the wilderness?  Psalm 78: 12-24 says:

In the sight of their fathers He performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.  In the daytime He led them with a cloud and all the night with a fiery light.  He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.  He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.  Yet they sinned still more against Him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.  They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.  They spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the wilderness?  He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed.  Can He also give bread or provide meat for His people?"  Therefore, when the Lord heard, He was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; His anger rose against Israel because they did not believe in God and did not trust His saving power.  Yet He commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, and He rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.

So here's what God did for Samaria.  There were four men who had leprosy, sitting outside the gate.  They weren't allowed in, because they were unclean (quarantined).  They were also hungry because of the siege.  They decided to go visit the Syrian camp.  The Syrians would either let them in and feed them, or they would kill them--they thought they were going to die anyway, so it was a risk worth taking.  When they got to the enemy camp, however, it was deserted.  God had brought about a sound of a great army, and the Syrians fled in terror (thinking that Samaria had somehow hired mercenaries to come to their aid).

The lepers went from tent to tent, finding food and clothing, gold and silver.  They couldn't believe it.  They ate their fill and took away all they could carry.  Then their conscience got the better of them; they decided to go into the city and tell the people that the enemy was gone, and more importantly, there was food in the camp.

The king's adviser's were cautious.  They thought the Syrians were trying to lure them in, and would be waiting to ambush them.  They sent a small squad of fighting men to check it out, but it was just as the lepers had said.  They also found, in the direction the Syrians had fled, a trail of clothing and weapons that the soldiers had thrown away in their haste.

When the people heard about it, they rushed out the gate.  The king's servant, the one who had been so incredulous about God opening the windows of heaven, was trampled to death by the hordes of hungry people rushing out to plunder the enemy camp.  Thus was Elisha's prophecy fulfilled, that he would see the prices reduced for commodities, but that he would not eat from it.

The economics were turned upside-down.  Instead of spending $180 for a donkey's head, they now found that $2.25 would buy two gallons of fine flour; instead of $11.50 for digested grain product excreted by birds, they could buy four gallons of barley for that same $2.25.  The same God who could bring judgment and calamity can also bring healing, forgiveness, and abundance.

Let me be clear:  I am not advocating a prosperity gospel.  God is sovereign, and we have no right to "name it and claim it."  However, His word does promise in Malachi 3:10, "Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.  And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need."  Philippians 4:19 promises, "My God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

How to avoid "I" trouble in marriage

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.  For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.  But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.  Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.  And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.  --Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NKJV)

I thank God daily for my wife.  Why?  Because the "we" of us together is much better than two "I's" of us alone.  When we bring two "I's" together, there must be alignment and singular focus in order for the "we" to work.  

When my daughter was born, we loved her dearly.  We discovered in a few months, however, that her eyes were crossed.  This condition affected her vision, of course, but it also affected her overall development.  She was able to sit up when she reached the age when most babies learn to sit up, but she did not crawl much at all.  She would sit in one place until someone picked her up and carried her.

When she was about 9 months old she had surgery to correct the eye alignment.  The muscles behind her eyeballs were stretched or shortened so that her eyes were no longer crossed, and both eyes were looking in the same direction at all times.  She could look up; she could look down.  She looked to the left; she looked to the right.  And as soon as we brought her home from the hospital, she began crawling all over the place.

What made the difference?  She could see!  Her eyes were able to focus and agree, and therefore she was able to develop mobility, which led to accelerated motor development.  She reached for things.  She was able to pull herself up to a standing position, and learn to walk--all because her eyes were in alignment.

In a way, the two "I's" coming together in a marriage relationship are much like the "eyes" in a living body.  When they are crossed--that is, when the two people do not see "eye to eye" on important matters, and each one has their own vision of which direction the marriage should go--then there is little or no progress.  But when the I's are aligned to a singular vision, other areas of the relationship flourish.  Living together in harmony means working toward the same goals, setting objectives that each can attain, and agreeing on a mutual timeline.  Jesus said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  So then, they are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate." (Matthew 19:5-6, NKJV).  Becoming one flesh, making one person out of two, means aligning your sights together so that your future comes into clear focus.

Having a synoptic vision does not, however, mean forever squinting while your spouse stares into a telescope.  We are not called to be a one-eyed monster or to have pirate vision, which happens if one "I" is shut off completely (as would happen if a person wore an eye patch).  There are problems that can surface  without both eyes open at the same time.  If only one eye is open, a person suffers a lack of depth perception.  You can see clearly enough with one eye, but it is hard to gauge how close something distant might be.  Your peripheral vision also suffers, as it can be difficult to see dangers coming at you from either side.  I think this is why God said in Genesis 2:18, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." (ESV)  

My wife and I often marvel at how we fit together.  She will often exclaim to me, "You're my match!" especially after we sing the same song spontaneously, or when we finish one another's sentences exactly as the other intended.  Both our needs are met when we agree on such things as a budget, or church membership.

One more point.  Most people have a dominant eye.  It is usually associated with whether one is right handed or left handed.  In our relationship, I (the husband) am the dominant "I".  Under God's leadership my wife trusts me to take a leadership role in our relationship.  Paul's admonition to married couples in Ephesians 5:22-33 encourages wives to submit to their husbands, but also commands that husbands love their wives with a sacrificial kind of love.  Becoming one flesh, according to Paul, is a great mystery. "However, each man among you [without exception] is to love his wife as his very own self [with behavior worthy of respect and esteem, always seeking the best for her with an attitude of lovingkindness], and the wife [must see to it] that she respects and delights in her husband [that she notices him and prefers him and treats him with loving concern, treasuring him, honoring him, and holding him dear]." (Eph 5:33, AMP)  

1 Corinthians 2:9 says, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the hearts of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."  Neither my wife nor I have plumbed the depths of God's mercy, but together we are able to His works more clearly, not the least of which was bringing the two of us together in holy matrimony.  When we see eye to eye, we can more easily say, "Not I, but Christ."

True repentance

 

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.  --Proverbs 28:13

In 1985 Laura Joffe Numeroff published the story "If you give a mouse a cookie."  

If you give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to ask for a glass of milk. When you give him the milk, he’ll probably ask you for a straw. When he’s finished, he’ll ask you for a napkin.

Then he’ll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn’t have a milk mustache.

When he looks in the mirror, he might notice his hair needs a trim. So he’ll probably ask for a pair of nail scissors.

When he’s finished giving himself a trim, he’ll want a broom to sweep it up. He’ll start sweeping. He might get carried away and sweep every room in the house. He may even end up washing the floors as well!

When he’s done, he’ll probably want to take a nap. You’ll have to fix up a little box for him with a blanket and a pillow. He’ll crawl in, make himself comfortable and fluff the pillow a few times. He’ll probably ask you to read him a story.

So you’ll read to him from one of your books, and he’ll ask to see the pictures. When he looks at the pictures, he’ll get so excited he’ll want to draw one of his own.

He’ll ask for paper and crayons. He’ll draw a picture. When the picture is finished, he’ll want to sign his name with a pen. Then he’ll want to hang his picture on your refrigerator. Which means he’ll need Scotch tape. He’ll hang up his drawing and stand back to look at it.

Looking at the refrigerator will remind him that he’s thirsty. So… he’ll ask for a glass of milk. And chances are if he asks you for a glass of milk, he’s going to want a cookie to go with it.

 The hubris comes full circle.  The story is an illustration of an old adage, "If you give him an inch, he will take a mile." That quote had its origin from a quote by John Heywood in 1546, "For when I gave you an inch, you took an ell." In this context, an ell was a measurement of cloth measuring about 45 inches. The proverb highlights the tendency of people to take more and more liberties, instead of being happy with what they were given.

In Scripture, we see this illustrated in the life of David.  Starting in 2 Samuel 11, we read about hubris in the life of the king.  In the spring of the year, the story starts, the time when Kings go out to battle, David was at home, having sent his general Joab and all of the men with him to make war against the Ammonites.  Bored, David was on the roof of his house when he saw a woman through a window of the house next door.  The woman, called Bathsheba (or bat-seba, meaning "daughter of an oath" in Hebrew) bathing in her home.

David was aroused and asked who she was.  When he was told that she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and knowing that Uriah was out on the battlefield with Joab, David sent for her.  Hardly in a position to refuse the king, Bathsheba showed up at the king's residence and was ushered immediately to his bedchamber.  David had relations with her, and then sent her home.  Later she sent word to David that she was with child, and David compounded his sin.

The king sent for Uriah, and asked him how the battle was going.  Uriah gave the news from the front lines, then encamped at David's doorstep.  When David asked why he didn't go home to his wife, Uriah answered that his comrades-in-arms were not able to come home to their wives, so why should he?  David tried again, getting Uriah drunk and sending him home.  Again, Uriah proved himself more faithful than the king.  David had no choice but to order Uriah's death in battle, but in an ironic twist, the orders were written and sealed, and given to Uriah to deliver to Joab himself.

Once Uriah was dispatched, David took the grieving widow into his harem, where she delivered a son.  "But the thing that David had done," the Scripture says, "displeased the Lord."  God sent Nathan the prophet to accuse David of his crimes--voyeurism, adultery, rape; lying, treason (because he deprived Israel of one of its best warriors, thus giving aid and comfort to the enemy), and finally, murder.

Nathan went on to accuse David of despising God.   2 Samuel 12:9-10 says, "Why have you despised the word of the Lord, to do what is evil in His sight?  You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites.  Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah to be your wife."

Note the use of the word despised in both verses 9 and 10.  In the first instance David despises the word (the law) of the Lord.  In the second instance, God, speaking through Nathan, says, "You have despised Me."  We see from this that sin is a despising of the law of God.  But we also see that to despise God's law is to despise Him.  Now, it is easy for us to think that David's sin truly was grievous and fail to grasp the application of Nathan's words to ourselves.  But as we have already seen, all sin, whether large or small in our own eyes, is against God.  Therefore, when I indulge in any of the so-called acceptable sins, I am not only despising God's law but, at the same time, I am despising God Himself.  --Jerry Bridges, Respectable Sins (2007).

Sin is likened to a cancer.

Another term for cancer is malignancy.  Medically, the word malignant describes a tumor of potentially unlimited growth that expands locally into adjoining tissue by invasion and systematically by metastasizing into other areas of the body.  Left alone, a malignancy tends to infiltrate and metastasize throughout the entire body and will eventually cause death.  No wonder cancer and malignant are such dreaded words.  Sin is a spiritual and moral malignancy.  Left unchecked, it can spread throughout our entire inner being and contaminate every area of our lives.  Even worse, it will often "metastasize" from us into the lives of other believers around us.  --ibid,

In the 2000 movie Remember the Titans, football player Julius tells outside linebacker (and captain of the squad) Gary, "Attitude reflects leadership, Captain." In David's case, the cancer of sin led from lust to adultery, and from adultery to murder.  The sin was not limited to David alone, as he ordered Joab to be complicit in the cover-up.  As a result, Nathan prophesied that: 1) the sword would never depart from his house; 2) David's wives will be given to another, who would sleep with them openly; and 3) the child born of this unholy tryst would die.

Fortunately, unlike his predecessor King Saul, David offered true repentance.  He confessed his sin openly.  2 Samuel 12:13 says, "David said to Nathan, 'I have sinned against the Lord.'  And Nathan said to David, 'The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die'."  God showed David forgiveness because of his confession and repentance, but there would still be consequences to the sin.  David showed contrition and concern for others affected by his sin when the child born to Bathsheba became sick.  David fasted and prayed for 7 days.  God heard his prayers, but did not spare the child.  The child died, but God blessed David and Bathsheba with another son, Solomon, who would go on to rule Israel after David's death.

We can read about David's confession and repentance in Psalm 51.  One of the most beautiful passages in Scripture shows David (and us) how repentance works.

Appealing to God's mercy

Psalm 51:1 says, "Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions."  God is holy; we are not.  Romans 3:23 reminds us, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  When we fall short, it is important that we acknowledge God.  It's all about him, not about us.  Isaiah 43:25 says, "I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins."  The NIV translates this as, "I will remember your sins no more".  God is sovereign and unchanging.  He will not hold our sins against us if we confess and repent.

Isaiah 44:22 says, "I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like a mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you."  And in Acts 3:19 we read, "Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out."  We as Christians know that Jesus bore the penalty for all our sins.  Colossians 2:13-14 says, "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with is legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross."

Acknowledging our sin

God cannot abide sin.  He is holy, and will not allow sin in His presence.  We, therefore, need to be cleansed of all sin.  In Psalm 51:2 we hear David's cry, "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."

How can we approach a holy God when we have acknowledged that our hands are not clean?  We need an intercessory, an intermediary, one who can stand up for us and plead our case before God.  Who can this be?  In Old Testament times it was a priest, who would offer up sacrifices for the sins of the people.  This was an imperfect system, because the priest himself was sinful and unholy.

God foresaw this problem.  In Malachi 3:1-3 we read, "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me.  And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.  But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?  For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.  He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord."

Hebrews 9:13-14 says, "For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God."  And 1 John 1:7, 9 says, "But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Admitting that all sin is an affront to God

Psalm 51:4 say, "Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight."  David had acted selfishly, as we all do when we choose to sin.  Nathan reminded David that to willfully sin is to despise God's law, and by extension to despise God Himself.  Other people may have been caught up in our sinfulness, and we should make amends to them as we can.  But the most important relationship to work on was not with the woman who was impregnated and subsequently widowed, although we can all agree she was a victim.  It was not with the subordinate who carried out the orders to kill the husband, although Joab was certainly a partner in crime here.  It was not even with Uriah or with the unnamed child who lost their lives as a result of this soap opera.

The most important relationship to re-establish was with God, our creator, and with Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).  1 Corinthians 8:12 says, "Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ."  Yes, we should make amends with our brother, but not before confessing and repenting before God.

Affirming that God can make us clean

In Psalm 51:3 David laments that "my sin is ever before me."  He may have had nightmares.  He may have been reminded of Uriah every time he looked at Bathsheba.  He may have later thought of the lost child every time he saw Solomon.  This is why in Psalm 51:7 David pleads with God, "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."

Isaiah 1:18 says, "Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."  Through the shed blood of Christ we have a restored and renewed relationship with a holy God.

It comes full circle.  In the children's story where the mouse was given a cookie, but he desired so much more; in the end, after demanding so many other accommodations, he realized all he wanted was the cookie.  In the same way, God has given us a relationship with himself.  When we selfishly go after other pursuits, we end up realizing that all we need is the relationship with God.  

This is true repentance.