The Inspiration of a Servant

"One of his servants [of Joram] answered : Let us take five of the remaining horses ... Let us send them and we will see ... And the king sent ... saying : Go and see." 2 Kings 7. 12-15

Throughout the Bible, there are scarcely more frightening scenes than those recorded from 2 Kings 6: 24 to 2 Kings 7. 20 from which is derived the second verse of the day. Joram, son of the criminal Jezebel, should have, as king of Israel, copy the law to "keep all the words", as God had commanded (Deut. 17: 18-20). He would then have learned that in case of rebellion, the Lord would chastise Israel "because of their sins," and if it were by starvation, then the people might be reduced to eating "the flesh of their sons." (Lev 26. 18-29).

But what is Joram doing in this distress ? Rather than humiliate himself, the only way to appease divine wrath, he accuses God of being responsible for the famine. Then, clothed in a bag, an outward sign of mourning, but ineffective if accompanied by sincere repentance, Joram threatened to decapitate Elisha and renounce God. Finally, at the announcement of the flight of the Syrians, Joram imagines that they have simulated a stratagem intended to deceive Israel and it prolongs famine unnecessarily.

It is then that an anonymous servant with no definite function proposes that "we take ... five horses" to explore the Syrian camp, an initiative of such common sense that it is adopted on the spot. It makes it possible to note the entire deliverance effected by God alone; His power and grace are thus gloriously manifested ; The abundance of provisions and joy immediately follow famine and distress.

But who was this servant ? His discretion, his wisdom, and the timeliness of his speech show that God sometimes accomplishes his plans unbeknownst to the leaders of this world, often by people in their service. While the incredulous king sees a trap, one of his servants discerns an answer to the word of the prophet. Rather than recall Elisha's prophecy, which would put the king in a rage, he simply proposes to check the facts ...

Today, in every believer, the Holy Spirit is manifested as the Spirit "of power, and of love, and of good common sense" (Rom. By giving him complete freedom to act in us, he will inspire our decisions, direct our initiatives as opportunely and effectively as he did for this servant.

Source (To pleasing the Lord)