Every story involving Elisha, the prophet in the Bible, reveals how magnificently God used him. At the same time, we see Elisha exhibiting unwavering faith and trust in the Lord.
This story of Elisha has to be one of my favorite stories in the Bible. In chapter 5, Elisha helped the king of Aram by healing his army commander, Naaman, from leprosy.
But when we get to chapter 6, we see the king plotting to attack the Israelites. But God revealed his plans to Elisha every time this king devised a strategy.
Immediately Elisha, the man of God, would warn the king of Israel, “Do not go near that place, for the Arameans are planning to mobilize their troops there.” 2 Kings 6:9
Time and again, Elisha warned the king of Israel. And each time, the king would send Word to the place the man of God indicated. So they would be ready for the ensuing attack.
The king of Aram became very upset. He gathered his officers and questioned their loyalty by asking, “Which of you is the traitor? Somehow, one of the officers, though, knew what happened.
It’s not us, my lord the king,” one of the officers replied. “Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the king of Israel even the words you speak in the privacy of your bedroom!” 2 Kings 6:12
Upon hearing that information, furiously, the Aramean king decided to get Elisha out of the way. So, he issued the following order.
Go and find out where he is,” the king commanded, “so I can send troops to seize him.” And the report came back: “Elisha is at Dothan.” 2 Kings 6:13
The King of Aram Tried to Stop Elisha
Determined to stop Elisha in his tracks, the king assembled a huge army to capture him. But, I don’t know how much thought this Aramean king put into pursuing this man of God.
God revealed to Elisha story after story the king told in his bedroom. I wonder why he thought he could make a surprise attack against Elisha? But the king went ahead with his plan anyway.
The next verse describes what happened the following morning in Dothan. Once, I heard a preacher give an excellent descriptive visual of what happened that next morning.
When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. 2 Kings 6:15
Visualize in your mind this part of the story when the servant of Elisha went outside. While on the front porch, he bent down to get the morning paper, oblivious to his surroundings.
With the paper in his hand, he gave a big morning stretch. Then he looked towards the sunrise, but something very disturbing caught his eye. He immediately alerted his master.
Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 2 Kings 6:15-16
Confused, the servant looked at his master and then glanced at the surrounding army. Then he pointed to Elisha and said, “One,” and pointed to himself and said,” Two.” Then Elisha prayed;
“O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. 2 Kings 6:17
Spiritual Forces in the Air
The army sent by the Aramean king had no idea that an army in the spiritual realm outnumbered them. So they made advancements to seize this man who had caused them so much trouble.
As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, please make them blind.” So the Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked. 2 Kings 6:18
Did you notice the two opposite prayers Elisha prayed up to this point in the story? He asked God to open his servant’s eyes and to blind the army’s eyes. And he prayed them both calmly.
Some people feel they need to ask for God’s authority. When we know Jesus, we already have his authority. We just need to stand firm on it. Elisha knew where his authority came from.
Now, he had the undivided attention of this entire sightless Aramean army. Elisha could have ended this story by killing them all, or he could have just scattered them. But, he chose neither.
Instead, he decided to lead these blinded soldiers to Samaria. Then, he asked the Lord to open their eyes. When He did, they discovered they were right in the middle of Samaria.
He took them directly to the king of Israel. Not knowing what to do, the king asked Elisha, not once but twice, if they should kill them. Elisha had something else in mind.
Of course not!” Elisha replied. “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master.” 2 Kings 6:22
Before sending them back to Aram, they prepared a great banquet. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel.
Let the Story of Elisha Influence You
This man of God trusted the Lord and placed his unwavering faith in God alone. Because of the wisdom displayed by Elisha, this story ended happily for everybody.
Just saying you have faith means you could have it in anything. Our faith must be fixed on Christ and Christ alone. On that foundation of faith, we can build godly wisdom and understanding.
In his wisdom, the writer of Proverbs penned steps to attaining wisdom and understanding.
Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.
For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. Proverbs 2:2-6
Lord, thank you for this story of how Elisha dealt with a problem bigger than any we would face. Help us to trust you as we build our lives on godly faith.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Christian Perspectives
Featured Image by Gidon Pico from Pixabay
