Without a title / 2 Kings 7:9
If you don't tell the content/2 Kings 7:9
The lepers said to one another, Our deeds are not good. Today is a day of good news, but we are still. If we wait until dawn, the punishment will come upon us. Now, let's leave and go to the palace and tell us (2 Kings 7:9).
* Reference Bible: 2 Kings 6:24-7:10, Mark 16:15, 1 Corinthians 9:16.
Once upon a time, the Syrian army besieged Samaria. They cut off the supply of food and anything that could be food. And he was about to sit around and wait until the people of Samaria starved to death. When all food and aid from outside were cut off, the castle was in an uproar. After a few days, people starved to death. Moans, screams, and clamors were heard all over the place. Those who did not eat must have lost all their strength and were only sucking their fingers, turning yellow. It was because he had no other choice but to sit like this and starve to death.
Then one day, the king of Israel was so upset that he wore sackcloth underneath and inspected the city. Suddenly, a woman ran up to her and begged her for help. The king knew that this woman was asking for something to eat, so he said, "If God doesn't help you, how can I help you? Let's hear what the hell is going on." This woman answered. "Well, my lord, this woman made a promise to me, but she doesn't keep her promise. Since we're going to die of hunger, I'd rather boil my baby today and cook that woman's baby tomorrow. The woman hid the medicine when it was her son's turn to eat the next day, so what should I do?" When the king heard this, he was so miserable and in agony, he tore his outer robe and sighed.
How hungry must I have been, how hungry would I have been to boil my own son and eat it? Dear children, what do they need? Much money? Diamond? nice clothes? power and glory? nice house? Or getting a PhD? So what do they need, or most importantly, what do they need? Yes! Yes. It only eats one thing.
If you were a person who lived in that castle, would you exchange 50 million won for this one piece of bread? Would you trade this bread for a nice house? No, would you exchange this bread for taking off the crown? You can't. I will not exchange it for anything in the world.
But there were four lepers living outside the gates of Samaria. If you get leprosy, you will not be able to live in the castle and will be driven out. They had nothing to do but wait for them to starve to death. If you went into the city you would starve, and if you sat there, you would starve to death. So they came together. "We'd rather surrender to the Aramaean army. If we save us, we will live, but if we kill, we will only die. We die this way, and then we die, so let's try some food and die." So when it was getting dark in the morning, I got up and went to the camp of the Syrians.
But what is this? There were no Arameans there. It was because God miraculously made them hear the sounds of a large army, their weapons, and their horses at night, so they left everything behind and fled to save their lives. The four lepers ate and ate and ate and ate and ate as much as they could. I'm hungry now. So they went from tent to tent, gathering gold, silver, clothes, etc. and hid them. But after doing this for a while, I thought of my fellow countrymen who are still starving to death in Samaria. So we talked to each other. "Hey, what we're doing is not right. Today is the day we have good news, so should we remain silent? If we don't bring this good news to the city by daybreak, we will be severely punished. Go ahead and go to the palace. Let me tell you."
What good and beautiful news must have been for those who were starving to death. The news miraculously saved Samaria from starvation.
“Man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
“I am the bread of life; he who comes to me will never go hungry.”
The gospel is good news, just like the news that food is piling up for those who are starving to death. That's why the gospel is called the gospel by using the characters "blessed" and "sound" (音). It means good news.
To the rich, to the doctor, to the president, to children and adults, to men and women, Jesus is the Bread of Life. If we do not obtain this bread of life, we have no choice but to starve to death just like the people of Samaria. All we need is Jesus, the Bread of Life. Just as bread is joy, hope, happiness, strength, and salvation to those who are dying of hunger, Jesus is the bread of life that is the joy, hope, happiness, strength and salvation of all mankind.
How many souls are starving in every corner of the world, not right next to our church, in our village, in our school, because they can't get the Bread of Life?
When the rich man saw the beggar Lazarus, he did not help, but instead laughed and ridiculed him and went to hell. If I have bread, I need bread, and if I have knowledge, I need to know how to help others. Above all, we must deliver Jesus, the bread of life we have. It is impossible to ignore people whose souls are starving to death.
Thousands of people are dying of starvation every day in places like Rwanda, Africa. That's why we send relief items from many countries. Still, it's not enough. Even in North Korea, many people suffer from hunger because they have nothing to eat. It's easy to think like a fire across a river
But above all else, North Korea is starving for the bread of life. The soul is at risk of malnutrition. From Kim Jong-il, all communists must first hear the word of God and eat the bread of life. So, if they believe in Jesus, the unification of the country will inevitably come. The seeds of the gospel must be sown in North Korea as well.
Heed the conscientious words of the Samaritan leper. "Our conduct is not good. Today is a day of good news, but we are silent. If we wait until bright morning, punishment will come upon us, so let's go and tell the palace."
The gospel is good news, just like the news that food is piling up for those who are starving to death. This news must be delivered promptly. If you don't, you will be punished. Before ascending to heaven, Jesus asked us to pray. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” The land we should go to is the whole world. The people we need to share the news with are Manmin all over the world. Spreading the gospel to the world is called mission.
However, missionary work is not a good thing to do or not to do. This is the Lord's command. No, it's a matter of life at stake if you do it, or you die if you don't. If we do not preach, we will be silent, and if we do not speak, we will all perish. All of them would not have survived if the Samaritan lepers had not communicated until dawn.
We, our church, and our country are in danger if we do not preach the gospel of the Lord.
Teacher Paul said. "... woe to me if I do not preach the gospel."
We must risk our lives to preach the Gospel. If you don't, you will perish.