Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - God is Our Help | Historical Books | 2 Kings 6:24-33

Episode Date: October 8, 2025

Do you ever feel helpless? Where do you look for help? How does God help us? In today's episode, Jensen shares how 2 Kings 6:24-33 reminds us that in Jesus, we have a helper who will deliver us. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 2 Kings 6:24-33

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. Have you ever felt helpless? It isn't a good feeling, not knowing what to do, how to fix your problem or how to find relief. Many studies have indicated that individuals who really need help often don't ask for it. They don't ask because seeking help for their problem implies a certain amount of incompetence. dependence, neediness, and powerlessness. And in the Western cultures of our time, being powerless is never a desirable outcome. We live in the world of rugged individualism, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, make a name for yourself. Everyone is trying to look strong, capable, and in control. Everyone is fighting to make sure it looks like they have it all together. They can accomplish anything, succeed, make their own way.

which is why the idea of being helpless is incredibly unattractive. It's why when people find themselves in helpless situations, it's devastating. And the people of Samaria find themselves in a helpless situation in Second Kings 6. They're surrounded, besieged by the king of Syria, and because of this, they have no food. Things are dire. They're desperate. And we learn just how desperate things are as the king of Israel is walking the wall and a woman calls out to him. Help me, my lord, the king. And the king replied, if the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor, from the wine press? Then he asked her, what's the matter? Believing that this woman is just asking him to give her food, the king replies helplessly. If God

hasn't given us food, then how can I give it to you? The king admits here that he is powerless against the siege on his city. He cannot provide. He is helpless. But this isn't exactly what the woman is inquiring about. She answers him. This woman said to me, give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son. So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, give up your son so we may eat him, but she had hidden him. We now know just how helpless the city of Samaria is. With this devastating request for justice, the darkness, the powerlessness of God's people is on display, resorting to cannibalism of children. And in light of the devastation of their helplessness, the people seek out their king. a king who should be able to administer justice to his people as part of his role.

It reminds me of the woman who came before King Solomon, seeking justice for herself and her son, and she finds justice from Solomon who sought wisdom from the Lord. Will this king be able to provide justice as Solomon once did? Well, we find our answer in the next few verses. When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his robes, As he went along the wall, the people looked and they saw that under his robes he had sackcloth on his body. He said, may God deal with me be it ever so severely if the head of Elisha, son of Shafat remains on his shoulders today.

He shows his motives for his decision at the end of the chapter when he says, this disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer? So the king, he tears his clothes. He mourns the woman's situation. He mourns their helplessness. And then he decides to assert his power in the only way he can. He will kill Elisha the prophet, believing that maybe in doing so the problems that he faces may also be removed from the city. God brought the disaster, so he'll remove God's spokesman from the city. Rather than seek wisdom from the Lord in this time of need, the king rebels even further against him and his prophets and seeks to prove his power in a time of helplessness. It seems that no matter the century, it's not uncommon for the

human heart to despise the feeling of helplessness, to desire to remain in power, to prove we can fix the problems before us. The trouble is there are truly helpless situations. Situations we cannot overcome on our own situations where we have to seek out help let's imagine for a minute though that we're the woman who's seeking justice from her king rather than the king seeking power in times of helplessness now imagine how she felt she knows she's helpless she has made desperate horrible choices in her helplessness and now she seeks out help from her king the one who is appointed to bring her justice and he fails her. He cannot provide justice for her. He cannot provide food for her. He cannot bring deliverance. She's looking to the wrong place. She's looking to the wrong

king. She's seeking out human help in a situation that only God can bring deliverance. The universality of humanity's disdain for helplessness highlights a truth found throughout all of scripture, across time and cultures, the feeling of helplessness is a desperate one that we all must face because deep down, we are all helpless. We all have need. We have all been infected by the weakness of Adam. From the third chapter of scripture, all of creation has fallen ill to the curse. We need a rescuer, a hero, a savior. And as much as we would love to be the hero, love to be the one in power, love to be the one who rescues, who redeems, who saves humanity and creation from its helpless decline, we can't. This story in Second Kings highlights the reality that humanity faces. It highlights

what happens when we try to fight the reality of our helplessness and the devastation that comes when we look to the wrong places to find relief from our helplessness. How often are we like the king, trying to fix our helplessness, our weakness, our need by finding a fix on our own, proving our power, trying harder, performing more perfectly, doing more, being better, or like the woman, seeking justice from the wrong people, seeking help from the wrong place, numbing the pain of helplessness, distracting ourselves, hoping modern medicine, science, philosophy, technology will solve the problems that plague us. See, this story highlights our helplessness, but in doing so, it should also point us to the one who can save. See, as we read this story, as we watch the king

rebel against God seek to kill Elisha, we should be yelling at him, no, are you crazy? Don't kill the prophet of the only one who could save you. This never goes well. Hasn't Elisha proven the or its power? See, it seems so clear from this perspective. They need to turn to God, to look to God for their rescue, to seek wisdom from God like a king should. It's easy from this side of the pages, but in our own life, we see the ways we mirror their choices in our own helplessness. How often we forget the promises of Scripture. Romans 3 confirms our helplessness, but reminds us that God has already made a way for us to find help. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That is our reality. And all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

We have been justified by Christ Jesus, King Jesus. We were once helpless, but he has redeemed us. He has made a way for us when it seemed like there was no way. He brought just a way. He brought just justice to the world through his death and resurrection, and in Isaiah 42, we're given a glimpse into what is to come for all of creation when he returns. Behold, my servant whom I uphold, my chosen, and whom my soul delights, I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice or make it heard in the street. A bruised reed, he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. He will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth

and the coastlands wait for his law. Jesus is the king who will bring justice to earth. As we cry under the helpless weight of this world, the injustices of sin, of death, and evil, we can lift our eyes to the true king, King Jesus, and be reminded of his promises. He will redeem all of creation. He will break the curse. When you are confronted with your helplessness, cry out to the one who can provide, who can heal, who is made a way for you to live in his coming kingdom of love, justice, and mercy as righteous and redeemed. The pain and devastation of helplessness will be no more. But in order to live in that reality, we must first admit our own helplessness. We have to stop trying to fight it, to grasp for power. It is those who see their weakness, who acknowledge their inability to overcome

their helplessness, who cast themselves at the feet of the one who can bring true justice, true freedom, true redemption. It is they who will find themselves lifted up, resurrected into redeemed and whole bodies no longer marred by the curse of sin and death, no longer slaves to helplessness, but strengthened by the power, of the one true king. May we look to Him to King Jesus alone. Amen.