November 12 Bread o;f Life

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

WHAT would you do if God had delivered you from your enemy? As recorded in our last lesson, God blinded the Syrian raiding party, and Elisha led them into the hands of Israel's king. At Elisha's urging, the king of Israel, Joram, set a feast before them, and "the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel." God had given to Israel a great victory. He had also demonstrated his remarkable mercy to Israel's enemies. Certainly in response to God's salvation King Joram would have led Israel to repent and worship God, wouldn't he?
    But he didn't. His heart remained a stone against the Lord. In response, God raised a new leader in Syria to again attack Israel. This time, though, God does not save Samaria, the capital city. Instead there are horrible consequences as a siege on Samaria brings terrible famine to its citizens. The slightest food cost a great deal.
    What is your response to God's salvation? Do you recall that in his great mercy, the Father sent the Son to die on a cross that we might be saved from our enemy Satan? Do you gratefully recall how the God of Heaven's armies has defeated Satan's death siege on our lives? Do you consider that God sets a table before all who hunger and thirst for his righteous truth? If so, your only true response is to worship your Lord and be saved.
    Israel rejected God and starved. Receive his salvation and be filled with the Bread of Life.

Prayer: O God, you are so merciful and loving. Turn my heart to ever worship you, rejoicing that you have delivered me from evil. Amen.