TREASURES OF THE BIBLE, Week of November 14 to 20, 2022, Jehovah made the unexpected happen, Prepared Speech.

TREASURES OF THE BIBLE, November 14-20, 2022, Jehovah made the unexpected happen, Prepared Speech.

“Jehovah Made the Unexpected Happen” (10 min.)

I invite you to read the first letter to the Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 2 and 3 says: Because you know very well that the day of the Lord will come exactly like a thief in the night. when they are saying "peace and safety!" then sudden destruction will come upon them, like the labor pains of a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape.

In this biblical text that has always aroused much interest, the apostle Paul uses two illustrations under inspiration, in verse 2 we speak of a thief who arrives at night when least expected, but also does not arrive at any time and in verse 3 speaks of labor pains of a pregnant woman. Let's use these two illustrations also to refer to something sudden, something unexpected.

That's what we're going to talk about in this section of Bible Treasures: "Jehovah caused the unexpected to happen." For this we are going to locate ourselves in the biblical story. At the time of the ninth century, before our era, the armies of Sirius transmitting to samaria and for a long time they had the people without food reaching them. Suddenly Eliseo appears and a prophecy that we will see how long later it would be fulfilled. For this we are going to read 2 Kings 7:1.

WE ARE GOING TO READ 22 KINGS 7:1.

Elisha Then said: “Listen to the words of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: Tomorrow about this time, at the gate of Samaria, a sheaf of fine flour will be worth a shekel and two sheafs of barley will be worth a shekel." 

Let's try to understand this verse. The situation in Samaria was very complicated. Syria had surrounded this city and would not let anyone in or out. They also had no food of any kind. It was so severe to surround this land so that no one could get out, that the king was informed that in at least one case, a woman had eaten her own child due to the hunger that existed in that place. It was a terrible situation. We can not even imagine that scene so, so sad.

But what is happening now in verse 1 of chapter seven? Elisha is prophesying that the next day, 24 hours later, there would be plenty of food. So much so that fine flour would cost a shekel and two grains of barley would cost a shekel. We must remember that the coins at that time were by weight, the amount of metal that had a shekel weighed 11.4 grams, to try to understand a little more approximate the equivalent of $2.20 dollars that indicates book insight in relation to the shekel 

What Eliseo was saying here was that the next day there must have been so much food that the best quality fine flour would not have a value of more than $2.20 dollars, so it was something unexpected. 24 hours later there would be plenty of food. Who would believe it? It's like when we, In our homes, and our houses, We don't feel so confident that we have built it so safe that no one could enter. 

But as we read in 1 Thessalonians 5, when you least expect it like a thief in the night, the day of the Lord will come. Perhaps you have heard what is the most appropriate time for people who are dedicated to stealing to arrive at a house? It is when the sleep is deepest around 3 or 4 in the morning, when the human being has a very, very deep sleep. 

Or what to think of a pregnant woman? it is expected that after a lapse of approximately 9 months, she will give birth. But for how many of these women have labor pains come as a surprise before, perhaps a month before the date they thought?

Suddenly something strange was happening here. 24 hours after opening food in abundance. But when someone, an official of Israel, heard this prophecy something happened that we are going to read about in the next verse of 2 Kings 7:2.

LET'S READ 22 KINGS 7:2.

Hearing this, the king's trusted officer replied to the man of the true God: "Even if Jehovah opened floodgates in the heavens, how could that possibly happen?" Elisha replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat anything."

Here we are talking about a man who was a worshiper of Jehovah. He was someone trusted by the king. And he tells Eliseo, how is it possible for this to happen? how much lack of confidence. But also the words that were addressed to him were very clear. He was going to see the fulfillment of this prophecy, but he was not going to benefit from its fulfillment.

In these days we clearly know that the great tribulation is about to begin. We talk about Armageddon, but Armageddon is the final part of The Great Tribulation. Apparently things could be looking up at certain times. We have been through a pandemic. It has apparently calmed down a bit, although new variants appear from time to time.   

There are worldwide war threats of a third world war or even a nuclear war, but as things are calming down one would think that it is impossible for the Apocalypse to come. There still has to be some terrible chaos that has to happen.

But remembering the text of the first Thessalonians 5:2,3 said that he would come like a thief in the night or like labor pains of a pregnant woman. From one moment to the next, Jehovah causes the unexpected to happen. What happened to the situation that Elisha mentioned? In 2 Kings 7:6,7 Jehovah makes the Syrians listen to something like war chariots and horses. He makes them very scared and they run away. They left the whole camp, abandoned it. If we now look at verses 16 and 18.

LET'S READ 22 KINGS 7:16-18.

So the people went out to plunder the camp of the Syrians. Thus, according to the words of Jehovah, a sheaf of fine flour came to be worth a shekel and two sheaves of barley came to be worth a shekel.17 The king had put his trusted officer in charge of the city gate. But the people trampled him there at the gate and he died, just as the man of the true God had said when the king came down to see him. 18 He passed by just as the man of the true God had told the king: "Tomorrow at this time, two seas of barley will be worth a shekel and one sea of ​​fine flour will be worth a shekel at the gate of Samaria."

I expected that 24 hours later everything had changed, if we see here in the Illustration that is presented, many are listening in a place where they are selling food, in a restaurant or cafeteria, perhaps listening to a declaration of peace. Countries that were previously enemies, rulers that were enemies before, are now united giving a declaration, perhaps that everything is fine, there is nothing to worry about, what did the Thessalonians say in the first text? when they are saying peace and security, when things seem to be already calm, without any worries. That is when Jehovah will do the unexpected he will end this evil system and of course he will start something beautiful, the best kind of life we ​​have ever imagined. 

Jehovah sees the unexpected. Although many even question some servants of God, like this trusted man of the King, Jehovah will fulfill it, he will come like a thief in the night or like labor pains, but the word of Jehovah will always be fulfilled.