Quote from Forum Archives on October 30, 2005, 3:59 pm

Posted by: biblenotes <biblenotes@...>

The Windows of Heaven

"Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he" (Elisha) "said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof."  II Kings 7:2

When the man in this Bible narrative, the king's righthand man, expresses his doubt about help coming from God, he attempts to emphasize the seeming impossibility of the fulfillment of the prophecy just given in his hearing.  He states, "Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?".  The prophecy, just given by Elisha, expressed that the LORD would cause the city of Samaria (capital city of Northern Israel) to have plenty of provisions after having suffered famine and deprivation for a very long time, because the Syrians had besieged the city.

Well, he was quite mistaken.  Nothing is impossible with God!  And, yes there already are windows in the heavens!

Interesting it is that the windows in the heavens that God opens often look far different than the windows that we imagine must be up there.  In fact, many "windows in the heavens" actually take the form of circumstances and miraculous occurances here on earth.  The "windows of heaven" (at least in a physical, weather-related sense) were actually used of God to bring swift and complete judgment upon mankind during the time of the Great Flood (Genesis 7:11, 8:2).  Later, we read of God's promise that He would "open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10).

Let's go back to the biblical narrative of the city of Samaria's plite.  The man who doubted God had way too much self-reliance and pride to realize that God has ways and means of accomplishing things beyond our ability to comprehend.  We are finite in our understanding and awareness of all the elements and resources at God's disposal.  So many times, He has the answers to our prayers on the way long before we see any evidence of them.

God used three lepers just outside the gate of the city to acquire the provisions so desperately needed.  The lepers basically said, "We are going to die here of starvation, or we can take our chances by going to the Syrian camp.  The worst they can do is kill us.  Either way we die.  So, let's go and see what we find."  God caused the Syrians to flee in fear with no apparent enemy to chase them.  When the lepers arrived, there was a feast of goods left ready to consume.  There were whole plates (or baskets) of food prepared.  The lepers, after getting a good bit of a meal themselves, returned to bear the good news to the city.

It was while the important man, the skeptic who was the king's righthand man, was trying to administer the benefits to the people that he was trampled under their feet.  He saw the provisions, but he died before partaking of it.  This was in fulfillment of Elisha's prophecy to the man, that he would see the provisions with his own eyes, but would not personally partake of them.

It seems to me that the "WIndows of Heaven", the very same windows, may be used both to bless and to judge different people at the same time.  I often wonder when someone states as a matter of fact that God has blessed them in a certain matter.  Is it truly a blessing?  At other times, I wonder about the so-called "curses" or "misfortunes".  Do they truly result in permanent or eternal loss?  This is just something to think about and perhaps to encourage us to look for the true and far-sighted purposes of God.

One time, I was seeking to contact a longtime friend.  I had heard some bad things about him, which I did not believe.  I wanted to give him an opportunity to give his side of the story.  When I contacted another party who provided me with my friend's phone number, this party informed me that my friend had backslidden and was far from God.  Suddenly, the former matter did not seem to matter so much anymore.  Oh, how one's perspective changes when more pertinent facts are revealed!

Let us look to the LORD of Heaven for what He sees is best for us and others.  Let us seek Him and His will with all our hearts.  Finally, let us believe that He is well able to do whatever needs to be done.

"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."  (Ephesians 3:21)

"For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." (Matthew 6:13b)

Yours in Christ,
Martin Overfield

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