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(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
2 Kings 7:12–20, “And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city. And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see. They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see. And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king. And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him. And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria: And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.”
Israel’s king was very careful and certainly did’t believe the prophecy that Elisha had brought him the day before. He thought that the Syrians were just trying to trick him so he told his men that the Syrians were just trying to ambush him. One of the king’s advisors suggested that some men go out with a few horses and just check the Syrian camp to make sure that they men were telling the truth. Some of the men took two chariot horses and went, quietly out of the city gate. They saw that the camp was empty and followed the tracks of the fleeing Syrian army all the way down to the Jordan River. They could see that the Syrian soldiers had run away in sheer terror and had thrown their gear away as they ran to lighten their loads and run faster. Those men came back and told the king and the people went out to take the plunder from the Syrian camp. Some people brought the food back in carts and sold it to other people. The man who had mocked Elisha was standing near the city and heard the news and knew that it was true but the people trampled him to death as they rushed out to get the food. The Lord’s promise to the man who mocked God and said that even God could not provide relief to the siege came true, he heard about the Lord’s miracle but was unable to enjoy any of it at all.
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