God Has Not Finished Dealing with the Leaders of Our Nations

It is interesting that the king of Israel, Joram, instead of repenting, seeking a solution in Jehovah, and acknowledging that they have sinned, does the opposite: he becomes furious and blames Elisha—and, by extension, I would say he blames God as well—for the misery his nation is living through.

Let me focus on the king of Israel himself. The king is an unjust man, a man without piety. He is not a man who fears God; he has done evil in God’s sight. He is, for all practical purposes, an ungodly ruler, and it is partly because this king’s ungodliness corrupts his people that the nation finds itself in this crisis.

This king understands that there is a connection between God’s punishment through the Syrians, who are surrounding Samaria, and the sin among the people of Israel. And so, when he realizes the terrible situation his nation is in and hears these women speaking as they do, he becomes furious with the prophet Elisha and says, “May God do so to me and more also if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.”

Why does the king of Israel react this way and blame Elisha for what is happening in his nation? I believe it is because he knows there is a connection between God’s work in his nation, represented by the prophet Elisha, and the terrible situation the Israelites are going through.

And we can see that this often happens in our own times. When there is terrorism, when there are terrible natural cataclysms, when there are wars, people ask: Where is God, and how can God allow these things, and why is there so much violence in societies if God exists? And instead of looking at themselves and acknowledging their own injustice, which is what has brought God’s judgment upon the nations, these people accuse God himself of being unjust, of not caring for His creation, of allowing bad things to happen, instead of acknowledging: We have sinned, and we must repent and seek mercy from God’s hands.

The Bible says that when King Joram hears these women and sees what is happening, some citizens notice that he has sackcloth beneath his shirt. Even though this king is ungodly, he is making use of a symbol and a spiritual practice, because wearing sackcloth was a way of fasting, a form of spiritual sacrifice, of expressing repentance and mourning, of seeking God’s mercy, of expressing grief before God.

That is to say, it is curious that this man, who is ungodly, also has something like a seed of faith and belief in God within him. And that is what is happening in our times: there are many rulers who renounce God and apparently reject God, reject religious things, and strengthen laws that we know are ungodly and bring God’s just judgment upon the nations. Nevertheless, there is also something at their core that can still be drawn upon, that can be used.

Deep in their hearts, they know that God exists, and it is that tiny spark of faith that the Church must try to stir up, intensify, and help grow. I believe that there is still something in the nations, still something in the nations, still some fear of God in our rulers that we can tend to, like a little flame that is almost dying and that we want to breathe on so it will grow.

And the Church is being called at this time to speak to the heart, to speak to that instinctive fear of God that is in rulers and leaders and nations, and in the people as well, and to make use of that little flame. It has not gone out completely yet; we must stir it up and call it back to life once more, because God wants to do something important.

Often that core of faith hidden there will show itself through anger, rejection, and resistance, but secretly there is also a need for God. We must believe that God is doing something, that there is something there in the nations that can still be used to call our nations to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We must believe that God has not yet finished dealing with the leaders of our nations, or with the people in general.

How interesting that this king recognizes that Elisha has the power to change history. Of course, he blames him for causing the evil, but at least he recognizes that there is power in him. May the time come when rulers must fear the Church and know that the Church has the power of God even to declare God’s judgment upon the nations so that they will repent.

Right now we have just the opposite: a powerless Church, a Church that no one pays attention to, a Church that no one respects, much less fears, because we do not have the power of God. We must ask God to send down His prophetic power so that once again we can unsettle the nations with the Word of the Gospel. May God continue to bless you; we will continue in our next segment.