Have you ever wondered why the lepers of 2 Kings 7 thought they would be welcomed among the Arameans? They certainly were not welcome among the Israelites. Perhaps the story of Naaman mentioned earlier helps us to understand that other peoples were much more tolerant of this disease – not that that is a good thing.
I continue to be struck by the repetition in this book.
Remember when Elijah was taken up to heaven, Elisha was amazed by the appearance of the army of God to escort Elijah. He cried: “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” We zip right past that, but he is not seeing the actual army of Israel. Rather, he is seeing the army of God on which Israel may depend. When the king of Syria (Aram) tried to capture Elisha, he was surrounded by the army of God (2 Kings 6). Elijah says “Those who are with us are greater than those who are with them.” In chapter seven, the very sound of the army of God so frightens the Arameans that they flee.
Again, Israel had every reason to believe in her God – but she didn’t. She will continue to be faithless, and her end will be that of the king’s chief-of-staff, whose unbelief left him trampled by the fulfillment of God’s promises.