In 2 Kings chapter 7, the city of Jerusalem is besieged by the Syrian army. Ultimately God works a miracle on behalf of Jerusalem. He causes the entire Syrian army to abandon their siege and flee back to their own country.
Jerusalem, where the Temple of the Lord was built, represents the church. Syria represents paganism and the culture of the world that is opposed to the gospel.
Now, look at who’s outside the city of Jerusalem, between the boundaries of the church and the enticements of the culture.
2 Kings 7: 3 Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”
The 4 lepers, exiled and unwelcome within the city/ within the church, see themselves in a dilemma. They look at what’s going on inside Jerusalem/ inside the church and they are not impressed. There’s famine on the inside. The people on the inside have their own and problems.
Outside, in the streets of the world there’s danger. But, the lepers decide that they might as well surrenders to Syria/ the world. They never deal with the fact that neither the problems inside the city nor the enticements in the enemy’s camp change the fact that they are lepers. They know there’s something wrong with them, but they ignore that and focus on what’s going on with everybody else. They never seek a remedy for their infection.
They ignore their condition.
When we mark people as untouchable, they watch us. Oh, they watch to see if we are really as holy inside the walls of the church as we imply ourselves to be.
When we personally are convicted that our sin has rendered us spiritually untouchable, we perform the same spiritual comparison. Unfortunately, we often decide to focus on what’s wrong with everybody else instead of dealing with our own spiritual infection.
We’ve been told that we are sinners, but we choose to ignore the diagnosis.
The 4 lepers don’t seek a cure. They don’t ask for treatment. They decide that they might as well surrender to the enemy’s forces.
When we ignore the diagnosis of spiritual uncleanness, it is easy to just go all the way into sin, to say, “Whatever,” and surrender to all the temptations of the enemy.
2 Kings 7: …”Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”
When the lepers get to the Syrian camp, they find it abandoned. They eat and drink and carry off property back to their lepers’ camp.
When we surrender to the world, it at first seems profitable.
Mark 8: 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
But then conviction sets in. Our conscience pricks us.
2 Kings 7: 9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
They share their stuff. They do the right thing. The unclean can act with decency, but if they never deal with the actual sin, even after they’ve done that god thing they’re still spiritually unclean.
These lepers had money they could not spend in the city. They had new, beautiful clothing they could not wear into the city. They had shared blessing with the church that would bless the people of God. But they were still untouchable. They had dealt with everybody else’s condition but ignored their own. They were still going to die from in their uncleanness.
While we are yet in sin we can do the right thing, even things that greatly bless the church, but if we never deal with the actual germ of sin in our lives, if we never receive the cure of Christ, we will die in your sin and never get inside Jerusalem.
Like the 4 lepers of 2 Kings chapter 7, we can choose to ignore our spiritual uncleanness.
Other people try to get along with their sinfulness. They try to manage their spiritual leprosy.
Read 2 Kings chapter 5.
Next Time:
MANAGING OUR SINFULNESS
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