“...if the LORD...”

2 Kings 7.2

When we are seeking the Lord’s will in some matter, we may often say something like, “If the Lord leads us to...”, or, “If the Lord opens the door...”.  And our heart’s attitude is happy to follow however the Lord may be leading.

However, the man in the passage above is just the opposite.  “...if the LORD...” he says.  He is a lord in the court of the king of Israel, and in speaking these words he is mocking God.  His attitude is one of doubt and ridicule, “...if the LORD...”

With a whole lot of sarcasm, I have named this man “Lord If.”  “Lord If, of Trode-Upon-Manor”.  His Manor is down in some dark, weedy, overgrown valley, and he is happy there.  He never climbs a mountain to see the view, TOO RISKY!  In fact, he never raises his head at all, TOO MUCH EFFORT.  His shoulders are slumped, he drags his feet everywhere he goes, and if you asked him if the sky is blue today he would ask, “What sky?”

“Lord If, of Trode-Upon-Manor”.

Things do not turn out well for this lord.  Just as things do not turn out well for anyone with such an attitude toward God!  “...if the LORD...”  meaning, “...can the LORD...”?  “...will the LORD...”? “...would the LORD...”?  with the attitude of “I don’t think the Lord can!!!

“Lord If, of Trode-Upon-Manor”.  If we find this “lord” living anywhere around us let’s remind him he is standing in a very “iffy” place!

“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.” 2 Kings 7:17