II Kings 6:8-23
“Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.” (II Kings 6:8-10)
Though Israel had repeatedly defeated Syria, they still had a desire to rule Israel and continually tried to invade them. When they tried to secretly invade Israel and catch them by surprise, Elisha warned the king of Israel of their location. As a result, the king of Israel was able to catch the Syrians by surprise and defeat them several times.
“Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?
And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him.
And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.” (II Kings 6:11-14)
After several times, the Syrian king became convinced there was a traitor spying for Israel among them and demanded to know who it was, Some of his advisors said even a spy couldn’t get the information to Israel that fast. Instead, they said it was like Elisha had a listening device in the king’s bedroom and could hear exactly what his plans were. The king was convinced that it would be impossible to defeat Israel as long as Elisha remained free and ordered him to be found.
Learning that Elisha was staying at Dothan, the king sent troops surround the city by night in hopes of capturing him.
"And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.
And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (II Kings 6:15-17)
When Elisha’s servant came out to run some errands, he discovered the city was surrounded and asked Elisha what they were going to do. Elisha told him that though they were surrounded, there were more on their side than the king had. He then prayed that the servant could see them and believe.
When God let him see, there was an army surrounding Elisha and his servant, and they were angels with chariots of fire. They just couldn’t be seen with the normal eye. There was nothing to fear when seen through eyes of faith.
“And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.” (II Kings 6:18-19)
When they tried to come down to arrest him, Elisha asked the Lord to make them blind and he did. Then Elisha told them they were in the wrong place and led them to the capitol in Samaria,
“And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.” (II Kings 6:20)
One can only imagine the dismay of the Syrian army to suddenly find themselves surrounded by the Israelite army in a completely different city.
“And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.” (II Kings 6:21-22)
The king of Israel wanted to just execute the whole bunch. Elisha pointed out that it would be murder to kill people who had surrendered. Instead he advised that they feed them and send them home.
“And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.” (II Kings 6:23)
Up to that time, there had been frequent raids by small bands of Syrian After Elisha caught the entire army, the raids stopped. It was obvious that the risks were too high for small groups. Future attacks would have to have full military support.
“Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.” (II Kings 6:8-10)
Though Israel had repeatedly defeated Syria, they still had a desire to rule Israel and continually tried to invade them. When they tried to secretly invade Israel and catch them by surprise, Elisha warned the king of Israel of their location. As a result, the king of Israel was able to catch the Syrians by surprise and defeat them several times.
“Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?
And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him.
And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.” (II Kings 6:11-14)
After several times, the Syrian king became convinced there was a traitor spying for Israel among them and demanded to know who it was, Some of his advisors said even a spy couldn’t get the information to Israel that fast. Instead, they said it was like Elisha had a listening device in the king’s bedroom and could hear exactly what his plans were. The king was convinced that it would be impossible to defeat Israel as long as Elisha remained free and ordered him to be found.
Learning that Elisha was staying at Dothan, the king sent troops surround the city by night in hopes of capturing him.
"And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.
And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (II Kings 6:15-17)
When Elisha’s servant came out to run some errands, he discovered the city was surrounded and asked Elisha what they were going to do. Elisha told him that though they were surrounded, there were more on their side than the king had. He then prayed that the servant could see them and believe.
When God let him see, there was an army surrounding Elisha and his servant, and they were angels with chariots of fire. They just couldn’t be seen with the normal eye. There was nothing to fear when seen through eyes of faith.
“And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.” (II Kings 6:18-19)
When they tried to come down to arrest him, Elisha asked the Lord to make them blind and he did. Then Elisha told them they were in the wrong place and led them to the capitol in Samaria,
“And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.” (II Kings 6:20)
One can only imagine the dismay of the Syrian army to suddenly find themselves surrounded by the Israelite army in a completely different city.
“And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.” (II Kings 6:21-22)
The king of Israel wanted to just execute the whole bunch. Elisha pointed out that it would be murder to kill people who had surrendered. Instead he advised that they feed them and send them home.
“And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.” (II Kings 6:23)
Up to that time, there had been frequent raids by small bands of Syrian After Elisha caught the entire army, the raids stopped. It was obvious that the risks were too high for small groups. Future attacks would have to have full military support.
Appropriate post and passage for current events. I wish world leaders would read and understand the Bible and follow God's will and directives.
ReplyDeleteThanks as always for the great post.
God bless,
Laurie
Thanks, Laurie.
ReplyDeleteSadly, even Christian leaders seem to place more emphasis on human weapons and effort than on obedience to God.