The Bible says, ‘Do not judge by appearances,

but judge with right judgment’ (John 7:24).

Although the king of Samaria did not believe the news brought by the lepers,

 one of his officials reasoned that even if they stayed within the city,

"there is nothing to be gained, but death" (2 Kings 7:4).

He suggested, "Let some men go and find out

what happened to those lepers and report back."

The king listened to his official and sent out scouts

to investigate the situation with the Aramean camp.

The scouts found that the Arameans had fled,

leaving behind their belongings scattered everywhere.

They returned and reported to the king, "It's just as the lepers said" (vv. 13-15).

Only then did the king believe the news brought by the lepers.

The statement highlights that while the king of Samaria

did not believe the truth when it was reported

by the lepers about what they saw at the Aramean camp,

he believed it when his own scouts reported the same facts.

The same truth was conveyed to the king

by two different groups of people: the lepers and his scouts.

He chose to believe the report of his scouts

while disregarding the report of the lepers.

This suggests that the king judged people

 by their appearance and discriminated against them.

The Bible says, "Do not judge by appearances,

but judge with right judgment"

(John 7:24).

"But if you show favoritism,

you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers"

(James 2:9).