# Famine in Samaria - The Book of 2 Kings

An episode of [Kids Bible in a Year with Julia Jeffress Sadler](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1696638708), 14 Dec 2023, 10 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/f8ddd7fd-69c6-48d0-804f-b4d6010c327c/f849d45b-8a0e-4f94-b91c-b4d6018b423e/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=14e8ed60-20b2-4d5c-a832-b4d6010c3283

Join Julia Jeffress Sadler as she takes us on an incredible adventure in Episode 109. Join us on an incredible journey in the latest episode of our podcast, where we explore a dramatic story from the book of 2 Kings in the Bible! We'll learn about a severe famine in Samaria and how four brave men with leprosy made a daring decision that changed the fate of their city. Discover how God's power and Elisha's faith led to an unexpected miracle, providing food and hope in a time of despair, and how one doubting officer learned a life-changing lesson. This tale of courage, faith, and surprise is perfect for young listeners looking to explore the wonders of the Bible! Sign up to receive Kids Bible in a Year devotionals in your inbox every weekday: https://www.kidsbibleinayear.com/ Get ready to experience the Bible designed specifically for children with the official KidsBibleinaYear.com podcast, led by Julia Jeffress Sadler. This captivating audio series presents the age-old wisdom of the Bible in an engaging format that will captivate your kids. Each episode Julia translates biblical teachings into real-life applications, making Bible comprehension a breeze for young minds. And if you want more Christian resources and content, you can download the Pray.com app. Pray.com is the digital destination for faith, offering over 5,000 daily prayers, meditations, bedtime Bible stories, and cinematic stories inspired by the Bible. For more resources on how to live a successful Christian life, visit Julia Jeffress Sadler's website at https://ptv.org/julia/. This episode is sponsored by Little Passports. Visit LittlePassports.com/blessed and use promo code BLESSED to receive 20% off. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: Then they said to one another, We aren't doing right.
[0:04] Speaker 1: Today is a day of good news, and we keep silent.
[0:08] Speaker 1: If we wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now, therefore, come,
[0:14] Speaker 1: let's go and tell the king's household. 2 Kings 7,
[0:19] Speaker 1: 9 Dear God, you've given us the greatest gift in
[0:22] Speaker 1: the whole world, your one and only Son, Jesus. Because
[0:27] Speaker 1: he died for us, we get to live forever with
[0:30] Speaker 1: you in heaven. This is the best news ever. Help
[0:34] Speaker 1: us to remember to share this good news with those
[0:38] Speaker 1: around us. So many people still need to know that
[0:42] Speaker 1: you love them. Give us the courage to tell them.
[0:45] Speaker 1: In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
[0:49] Speaker 2: Thank you for praying with us today. The Kids Bible
[0:52] Speaker 2: in a Year podcast is sponsored by Little Passports. delivering
[0:55] Speaker 2: monthly activity kit subscriptions that help kids explore the world,
[0:59] Speaker 2: cultivate curiosity, and discover new interests with hands-on crafts and
[1:04] Speaker 2: activities in cooking, science, crafts, and more, all with a
[1:07] Speaker 2: unique cultural twist. Visit littlepassports.com slash blessed to learn more
[1:13] Speaker 2: and save 20% with code blessed.
[1:22] Speaker 3: Famine in Samaria In our last story, the king of
[1:27] Speaker 3: Aram sent soldiers to capture Elisha, but God blinded them,
[1:31] Speaker 3: and Elisha sent them to Samaria. In this story, the
[1:35] Speaker 3: king of Aram went to attack Samaria, but there was
[1:39] Speaker 3: a great famine, and Elisha will help to end it,
[1:43] Speaker 3: as inspired by Second Kings.
[1:50] Speaker 1: Hi, it's Joy Sadler. I'm so glad you're here for
[1:52] Speaker 1: the Kids Bible in the Air podcast. Today we come
[1:55] Speaker 1: across four men with leprosy who get to have a feast.
[2:00] Speaker 1: Then they do something that in many ways makes them heroes.
[2:04] Speaker 1: The kind of heroes we want to be. Let's find
[2:08] Speaker 1: out what it is.
[2:12] Speaker 3: There was a famine in the city that lasted so
[2:15] Speaker 3: long and was so bad that everything was being sold
[2:19] Speaker 3: for a very high price. The king of Aram wanted
[2:22] Speaker 3: to go to Samaria. So he had all of his
[2:25] Speaker 3: army line up and they went to Samaria. There was
[2:29] Speaker 3: a woman in Samaria who was very poor. And when
[2:33] Speaker 3: she saw the king passing by, she cried to him
[2:35] Speaker 3: for help. The king knew that if God could not
[2:38] Speaker 3: help her, then he could not help her. The king
[2:42] Speaker 3: got so mad that he ripped off his robe. Elisha
[2:46] Speaker 3: was at home, sitting with his people. And a messenger
[2:49] Speaker 3: came to him and asked why God had done that.
[2:52] Speaker 3: And Elisha said, Tomorrow there will be food at the gate.
[2:56] Speaker 3: The messenger was shocked to hear that and scoffed at
[3:00] Speaker 3: Elisha's answer. Elisha knew God was going to do it
[3:04] Speaker 3: and told the messenger it would happen and that when
[3:06] Speaker 3: it does, he would not eat any of the food.
[3:11] Speaker 3: There were four men at the gate who had leprosy
[3:14] Speaker 3: and they knew they were going to die. So they
[3:17] Speaker 3: were the ones sent out to go into the city
[3:20] Speaker 3: to check for food because they knew that they were
[3:23] Speaker 3: either going to die of leprosy or die from the soldiers.
[3:27] Speaker 3: When they got there, no one was in the city
[3:29] Speaker 3: because God sent the soldiers away, making them think that
[3:33] Speaker 3: they were going to get attacked. The four men started
[3:36] Speaker 3: to take everything from the tents, but started to feel
[3:39] Speaker 3: guilty because they knew they were going to get punished.
[3:42] Speaker 3: So they went back and told the king. The king
[3:45] Speaker 3: thought it might be a trap, so he sent out
[3:48] Speaker 3: some men with horses and chariots to see what would
[3:50] Speaker 3: happen to them. When they went out, they saw everything
[3:54] Speaker 3: that was left behind from the Arameans, and they went
[3:57] Speaker 3: back and told the king. When the people heard of this,
[4:01] Speaker 3: they all went out and gathered up everything from the
[4:03] Speaker 3: tents and ate food. But the same officer who scoffed
[4:08] Speaker 3: at Elisha was placed as gatekeeper by the king and
[4:12] Speaker 3: was trampled at the gate and died. Therefore, what Elisha
[4:17] Speaker 3: said came true.
[4:22] Speaker 1: As today's story opens, the people are getting very hungry.
[4:27] Speaker 1: There was a famine in the land, meaning that there
[4:30] Speaker 1: was very little food. And the available food was way
[4:34] Speaker 1: too expensive to buy. Elisha received a word from God
[4:38] Speaker 1: saying there would be food at the gate within 24 hours.
[4:43] Speaker 1: And not only that, but he also said that the
[4:46] Speaker 1: food prices would soon drop very low so that people
[4:50] Speaker 1: could buy it once again. And, as we know by now,
[4:54] Speaker 1: when Elisha gets a word from God, it always comes true.
[5:00] Speaker 1: But the king's officer didn't think so. He doubted this
[5:03] Speaker 1: prophecy and didn't believe God could do it. Big mistake.
[5:08] Speaker 1: Because of that, Elisha told him that he would see
[5:12] Speaker 1: the food with his own eyes, but wouldn't get to
[5:14] Speaker 1: eat it. Next, we meet four lepers who sat at
[5:18] Speaker 1: the city gate. Remember, no one wanted to be around
[5:22] Speaker 1: someone with leprosy. They heard there was food in the
[5:26] Speaker 1: Syrian camp, so they figured they might as well risk
[5:29] Speaker 1: invading the Syrian army in a search for food. Whether
[5:34] Speaker 1: it was dying of starvation from leprosy or being attacked
[5:38] Speaker 1: by soldiers, things were not looking good. When the lepers arrived,
[5:42] Speaker 1: they found that the Syrian army had left their camp,
[5:46] Speaker 1: thanks to interference from the one true God, They found
[5:49] Speaker 1: a tent and enjoyed the food they had longed for.
[5:52] Speaker 1: They ate and ate and ate. I guess you could
[5:56] Speaker 1: say they had their own private dinner party. Food was
[6:00] Speaker 1: finally available. This was very good news. So these men
[6:04] Speaker 1: did something we can learn a lot from. They shared it.
[6:09] Speaker 1: Instead of keeping that good news and blessing from God
[6:12] Speaker 1: all to themselves, they went back to their city and
[6:15] Speaker 1: told the gatekeepers. Can't you just see them? Hurry, quick.
[6:20] Speaker 1: There's a ton of great food in the Syrian camp
[6:24] Speaker 1: and no one is there. Like these four men, you
[6:27] Speaker 1: and I have some pretty incredible news too. It's news
[6:31] Speaker 1: that we don't want to keep to ourselves. And it's
[6:34] Speaker 1: even more amazing than getting to eat after being hungry
[6:39] Speaker 1: for so long. The news we have to tell is
[6:42] Speaker 1: called the gospel. This word in the Greek language actually
[6:46] Speaker 1: means good news. And just like those four men, God
[6:51] Speaker 1: wants us to share our good news with those we love.
[6:55] Speaker 1: And then the whole entire world. What exactly is this
[7:00] Speaker 1: news again? Because we sin and do things that are
[7:04] Speaker 1: not right, we are separated from God. But God fixed
[7:09] Speaker 1: that problem when he sent his one and only son, Jesus,
[7:12] Speaker 1: to take our sin and punishment and die as a
[7:15] Speaker 1: sacrifice on the cross. And do you know how we
[7:19] Speaker 1: know it worked? Because Jesus didn't stay dead. He rose
[7:24] Speaker 1: from the grave, defeating sin and death so that we
[7:28] Speaker 1: could do the same when we put our faith in him.
[7:32] Speaker 1: Because he did that, our sins are erased and we
[7:36] Speaker 1: are now able to be with God again. Not just today,
[7:40] Speaker 1: but forever. He promises to never leave us and has
[7:45] Speaker 1: given us his Holy Spirit to comfort, encourage, and guide
[7:49] Speaker 1: us through life. No matter how sad or awful things
[7:52] Speaker 1: get on earth, we have hope. It's the hope of
[7:57] Speaker 1: a wonderful place called heaven. with the one who created
[8:01] Speaker 1: us and loves us with the strongest love.
[8:04] Speaker 4: Of all time.
[8:06] Speaker 1: Is there any better news than that? Okay, let's get
[8:10] Speaker 1: back to the ending of today's story. Remember, in biblical times,
[8:14] Speaker 1: they didn't have text messages, email, or TV. So the
[8:19] Speaker 1: word spread from one person to another person until it
[8:23] Speaker 1: eventually reached the king. Everything Elisha had spoken from God
[8:28] Speaker 1: came true. No shocker there. And the Bible even says
[8:33] Speaker 1: that the doubting officer was trampled and did not get
[8:37] Speaker 1: to enjoy any of the food. Again, just as God
[8:41] Speaker 1: had spoken. Thanks for listening to this story today. Be
[8:45] Speaker 1: sure to come back next time and find out why
[8:47] Speaker 1: Elisha is crying, as well as some good news about
[8:51] Speaker 1: how God always gives us everything we need. And remember,
[8:56] Speaker 1: the Bible is the best story ever told. It's God's
[9:00] Speaker 1: story to you. And it's all true. Enjoyed the podcast?
[9:06] Speaker 1: Leave a review and help other parents discover the show.
[9:10] Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to Pray.com's Kids Bible in a Year.
[9:13] Speaker 1: For more inspiring stories and wisdom to last a lifetime,
[9:18] Speaker 1: download the Pray.com app for free today.
[9:30] Speaker 4: Thanks for listening to Kids Bible in a Year. I
[9:32] Speaker 4: want to invite our adult listeners to check out my
[9:35] Speaker 4: other show, Unapologetic, God's Truth on Today's Topics. It's unfiltered, important, inspiring,
[9:43] Speaker 4: and we have awesome conversations and amazing guests such as
[9:47] Speaker 4: Candace Cameron Bray, Vice President Mike Pence, Dr. Robert Jeffress,
[9:52] Speaker 4: Shannon Bream, Maddie Pruitt, and so many others. We are
[9:57] Speaker 4: helping you have conversations that empower you to have bold
[10:02] Speaker 4: faith in a broken world. You'll be excited, inspired, and
[10:06] Speaker 4: encouraged in your faith as you check out Unapologetic. Remember
[10:10] Speaker 4: that you can tune in wherever you get your podcasts
[10:13] Speaker 4: and on Pray.com.

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