Part 191 (1/2)

_How Elisha Returned Good for Evil_.

Now the king of Syria warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, ”In such and such a place shall be my camp.”

And the man of G.o.d sent to the king of Israel, saying, ”Beware that thou pa.s.s not such a place; for thither the Syrians are coming down.”

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[Ill.u.s.tration]

LEPERS AT THE LEPER HOSPITAL, JERUSALEM From a picture by Prof. D. G. Lyon and used by his kind permission

Leprosy was one of the terrible diseases in the days of the Old Testament. It was much more prevalent then than now, and it spared neither king nor commoner. ”To be a leper was to be treated as dead--to be excluded from the city as a corpse: to be spoken to by the best beloved and most loving only at a distance: to dwell with none but lepers; to be utterly unprivileged: to be denied the rites of the temple and the synagogue: to go about with rent garments and covered mouth, except when crying 'Unclean! unclean!' to find home in the wilderness or in abandoned tombs; afraid to die, yet without hope except in death.”--_Gen. Lew Wallace in ”Ben Hur”_ [End ill.u.s.tration]

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And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of G.o.d told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice. And the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, ”Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”

And one of his servants said, ”Nay, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.”

And he said, ”Go and see where he is, that I may send and fetch him.”

And it was told him, saying, ”Behold, he is in Dothan.” Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compa.s.sed the city about. And when the servant of the man of G.o.d was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host with horses and chariots was round about the city. And his servant said to him, ”Alas, my master! what shall we do?”

And he answered, ”Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.”

And Elisha prayed, and said, ”Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.”

And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, ”Smite {152} this people, I pray thee, with blindness.” And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

And Elisha said to them, ”This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek.” And he led them to Samaria.

And it came to pa.s.s, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, ”Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see.”

And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, ”My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?”

And he answered, ”Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.”

And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

_How the City of Samaria Was Sorely Besieged, and How It Was Wonderfully Delivered_.

And it came to pa.s.s that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and after they had besieged it for a long time, so that the city was in desperate straits, Elisha said, ”Hear ye the word of the Lord: thus saith the Lord, 'To-morrow about this time shall a{153} measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.'”

Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of G.o.d, and said, ”Behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, might this thing be?”

And he said, ”Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.”

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate: and they said one to another, ”Why sit we here until we die? If we say, 'We will enter into the city,' then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us go over to the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; but if they kill us, we shall but die.”

And they rose up in the twilight, to go to the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the outermost part of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no man there. For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, ”Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hitt.i.tes, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.”