PLENTY IN SAMARIA.

had had no food for a long time;
and now, they felt so weak and ill,
that they thought they must soon
die. But God had food to give these
poor men, when all their hopes were
gone. They said one to another,
“Why do we stay here? We must
die soon. If we stay here, we must
die; and if we go into the city, we
must die. Let us go to the Syrians’
camp; perhaps they may save us;
or if they kaill us, we need not care;
for it is better to die by the sword,
than to perish with hunger; let us
go.” So they arose, and went to the
Syrians’ camp. It was God that
made them wish to go. Why?
Because he had provided food for
them there. When the lepers came
to the camp, they saw no man; they
went into a tent, but no soldiers
were in it. Food was there in
plenty ; and the poor hungry lepers
eat and drank, and then they looked
round, and saw gold, and silver, and
garments in the tent, as the Syrians
left them. The men took all these
things and hid them ; and then they
went to another tent, and found
more ; and they eat and drank there
too, and took the gold and silver,
and hid them. Then the lepers said
one to another, “We must not be
selfish, and keep all to ourselves,
while the poor people in the city are
starving. Let us go and tell the
good news to the king’s servants.”
So they went to the man who kept
the gates of the city, and told him
what they had seen; and the man
told the king’s servants, and the
servants told the king. It was still
night: but the king rose directly he

 

245

heard the news, and called his ser-
vants, and commanded them to go
with horses, and seek the Syrians.
He thought, perhaps, they might be
secretly hidden somewhere; but no;
the servants went as far as Jordan,
and could not find them. The
Syrians had escaped to their own
country ; and the road was covered
with vessels and garments which
they had thrown away in their
haste. Then the servants returned,
and told the king that the Syrians
were really gone. So the people of
Samaria went without fear to the
Syrians’ tents, and took away all
that was in them; and food was
sold in plenty in Samaria that day,
as Elisha had foretold.

But where was the unbelieving
lord? The king commanded him
to stand at the gate, and keep it.
Multitudes of people passed by,
carrying food in plenty; and this
lord saw that God had power to do
what He promised, and that: Elisha
had spoken truth. But the great
plenty in Samaria did no good to
that unbelieving nobleman. He did
not live to enjoy it. The crowds of
people pressed upon him, and threw
him down; and he fell, and was
trodden under foot, and died, as
Elisha had said. What a sad thing
unbelicf is! Though people may
not believe God, nor care for what
he says now, they will be obliged to
believe and care in another world.
They will know then, that all God
says is truth. All His promises to
the righteous will come true, and all
His threatenings to the wicked.