Transcript

There once was an older man who loved to play golf. But he was approaching eighty years old, and his vision wasn’t very good anymore. He always had golf partners with him when he went out to play so they could watch his ball and tell him where it went.

One day his golf partners did not show up to play golf with him. It was a beautiful day for golf, and as he waited at the clubhouse, he got more and more agitated that he wasn’t going to be able to play a round of golf that day.

After a while another old man in the clubhouse saw him, came over, and asked, “What’s wrong?” The first man explained his dilemma: “I was really looking forward to playing golf today. But I don’t see very well anymore, so I need someone to watch where the ball lands after I hit it.” Now the second old man was even older than the first man.

“That’s no problem,” he said. “I’ll be glad to ride around with you. I’ve still got twenty/twenty vision. I can see like a hawk. You just hit the ball, and I’ll watch to see where it lands.” “Great!” said the first old man.

So they went out to the first tee. The first old man put down his ball, and smacked it straight down the fairway.

He turned to his partner, and asked, “Did you see it?” “I saw it all the way until it stopped rolling.” As they walked down the fairway a ways, he turned and asked him, “Well, where did it go?” The older man paused for a moment. And then he said, “I forgot.”

It doesn’t help to see well when you have a bad memory. In the account we’ll look at in this episode, Elisha opened the spiritual realm for his servant to see what he saw, and what that servant saw he would never forget.

2 Kings 6:8-13: “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.

“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 shew 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.”

It’s interesting as you read this account that of all the major characters, no one, except Elisha, is mentioned by name, not the kings in the account or Elisha’s servant.

Even Elisha is called three times “the man of God” (6:9,10,15) rather than by his name. This suggest to us that the focus of the reader is to be on the Lord most of all. And in this account we see His protection and deliverance of His people, Israel.

At this time in Israel’s history, the Syrians “warred against Israel.” What this means is that they would make border raids into northern Israel.

They sought to make inroads in different areas of that part of the country by surprise attack and to pillage and plunder Israelite towns.

This made life miserable for the Israelites who were living in the villages that were being terrorized by these raids.

Verse 8 takes us into the tent of the king of Syria and to the meetings he had with his general staff. His servants mentioned in this verse were his chief officers.

In these meetings, the king, in preparation for another raid, would make plans to pitch his camp on the border of Israel in a certain area from which they could strike unexpectedly.

However, the Lord would inform Elisha of the place and the prophet would pass his information on to the king of Israel with a warning to beware.

By this early warning system through the prophet, the king of Israel would then prepare for the encounter and would frustrate the Syrians’ secret attack.

And the Lord kept revealing to Elisha every secret plan and movement the enemy was going to make ahead of time. And Elisha then kept warning Israel’s king of where the Syrian army was going to camp and position themselves for a raid.

And, each time, troops would be sent to that position to defend it, before the Syrians even arrived there, and Israel would be prepared for the attack. And the plans by the Syrians would be thwarted.

Verse 10 says that this happened, “not once nor twice,” but at least three times. No matter what strategy the Syrians devised and no matter what location they chose, Israel was already aware of it and was already there waiting for them.

This mystified the king of Syria and made him upset and suspicious. Verse 11 says that “the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing.”

And naturally, he was convinced there was a traitor and spy in his camp, a double agent who was acting as an informer for the enemy.

So the king asked his staff, “Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?” One of them then responded, “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.”

After the king asked, “Okay, who’s the traitor?” One of the king’s officers quickly reassured him that they were all loyal to the king and then he informed the king that it was the prophet Elisha who was responsible, and that this prophet was supernaturally telling the king of Israel what the Syrian king said in the privacy of his own bedroom.

It took intelligence experts more than 2,500 years after this to be able to bug a room, but God is much more effective than the CIA! He hears every word; He knows every thought and every motive of every human heart! Nothing is hid from Him. He sees all.

As David wrote in Psalm 139:4: “For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.”

Hebrews 4:13 reads, “Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

We should remember, too, that in the spiritual battle, God has provided special revelation for us, His Word, that we might be informed ahead of time to protect ourselves against our enemy’s schemes and attacks, the devil.

We learn from His Word that the devil attacks the believer through temptation, discouragement, false teachings, doubt, fears, and other ways. And we need to be prepared that we “may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

When the king of Syria discovered that it was Elisha who was revealing his secrets, the prophet became the focus of the king’s animosity!

Now the plans for attack changed and focused on him. The logical solution was to eliminate the informant. Since they would be unsuccessful as long as he was free, the plan was to locate, capture and probably kill Elisha.

Spies were sent into Israel to find the prophet. The king’s spies searched and came back with word that Elisha was in Dothan, a city located about 11 miles north of Israel’s capital of Samaria, and 60 miles north of Jerusalem.

It was in the central highlands of Israel. It was a major town on the main route used by merchants and herdsmen going north to the Jezreel valley.

Its previous mention in Scripture was in Genesis chapter 37, as it was the location where Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers.

2 Kings 6:14-17: “Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

“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.”

Learning that Elisha was in Dothan, the king of Syria immediately dispatched horses, chariots, and “a great host,” to Dothan to arrest and seize him.

The king’s consternation at his plans being continuously found out is shown by the fact that he sent such a great amount of men and resources to seize just one man.

Now, stop and think about this. If Elisha knew every location and scheme the king planned for the border raids, wouldn’t he know in advance about this surprise scheme to capture him in Dothan too? Not too bright!

But this also shows us that Elisha could have hidden from the Syrians, but he knew that God wanted to solve this problem in a way that would teach the Syrian king and the king of Israel some lessons about the reality of the living God.

The king sent a strong contingent of his army to Dothan, made up of a large company of foot soldiers, cavalry, and charioteers.

They came down under the cover of night and completely surrounded the city. They came by night to take the prophet by surprise, which again, is ironic. And they surrounded the city to make it impossible for him to escape.

The servant, or attendant, of Elisha was an early riser. I picture him as being a little groggy yet, still rubbing his eyes and yawning and stretching after a full night’s sleep. He stepped outside the place they were staying, taking in the morning air and rising sun, preparing to do his morning chores.

And when he looked around, he looked again, wondering if he was seeing things, and he saw all these war horses, chariots, and soldiers round about him. And he rightly surmised that they weren’t paying a social call, and he was naturally afraid.

Alarmed at the sight of the besieging host, this young man then ran back inside to Elisha, and pointing out the surrounding army said to him, “Alas, my master! how shall we do?”

The word “alas” indicates a heart seized with terror and panic. In fear, he appeals to Elisha, wondering what they should do, and if there was any way to save themselves.

He knew that there was little chance of escaping or surviving an attack from so many, and he anticipated either capture or death.

In contrast to the panic of the young man, Elisha’s response was one of peace. “And he answered, Fear not.” That command is found very often in Scripture.

The prophet was facing a major crisis: He was surrounded by a foreign army that intended to take him captive. But his reaction here was like David in Psalm 27:3: “Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.”

And the reason his heart didn’t need to fear was as Isaiah 12:2 says: “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation.”

Major trials of life can hit suddenly like this! Elisha’s servant went to bed peacefully, with no thought of being surrounded by a menacing army the very next morning.

Probably none of us has ever walked out the front door in the morning to be confronted by an armed horde of soldiers in the front yard waiting to do us bodily harm.

But we do know what it’s like to wake up one morning expecting it to be a normal day and be suddenly confronted with a serious problem beyond our control. And we all can relate to the servant’s panic when faced with that kind of crisis.

And the uncertainty of life should make us realize of the need to live every day in faith and dependence upon God.

Both men here were faced with the same crisis. And we see by this account that we have two choices in times of crisis. We can react like Elisha did in peace, or we can react with the response of his servant and panic. In other words, we can react with faith or fear.

Elisha knew God was aware of the crisis, was with them and for them, and available to turn to for aid and strength. The servant had yet to learn this.

Elisha saw beyond what could be seen and saw the invisible God who was in control. The servant saw only the war horses, the chariots, and the great army surrounding them. The servant panicked because he was living by sight only and not by faith.

Elisha told his servant to “Fear not,” and then he gave his servant a reason to not fear: “for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” Or those that were with them were greater in number and strength than the Syrian army.

This was not empty hope or wishful thinking that led Elisha to react with peace and not fear; there was a real reason for confidence, even if his servant could not see it.

The prophet’s chief concern was not the surrounding army. He didn’t care who or how many might be against him, rather his concern was for his frightened servant and to help his faith grow. His friend needed to learn to see with the eyes of faith as Elisha did.

When Elisha said “for they that be with us,” the servant had to have wondered who that was and where they were. He could not see anyone who was with Elisha and him. All he could see was himself and Elisha, and this great host surrounding them.

Thus, to help him understand what he meant and for his faith to grow, “Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.”

And in response to Elisha’s prayer, “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.”

Elijah prayed to the Lord that his servant’s eyes would be opened, as it was only through God that the servant could see the superior forces encircling the Syrians.

And suddenly the normally unseen spiritual realm was opened to the servant and he could see it. He saw that the mountain upon which the city of Dothan stood “was full of horses and chariots of fire” all around Elisha!

This was the heavenly host, God’s heavenly armies of angels, who are constantly ready to do God’s bidding. Psalm 68:17 reads, “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the Lord is among them…”

He saw that there really was more with them than those assembled against them, as countless chariots and horses were all around them in the spiritual realm.

The prophet did not pray for these heavenly hosts to come, they were already there. He just prayed for his servant to have his spiritual eyes opened to see them.

Elisha had seen and learned that the unseen realm was filled with these hosts of God’s angels and horses and chariots of fire at the catching away of his predecessor, Elijah.

2 Kings 2:11 states, “And it came to pass, as they [Elijah and Elisha] still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”

The Syrians had their war horses and chariots. And God has His war horses and chariots of fire. At the Lord’s Second Coming, we again are told about the horses in the spiritual realm. Revelation 19:14 reads, “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.”

The fire in the “chariots of fire” is symbolic of the glory of God.

When Israel was at Mount Sinai after being delivered from Egypt, Exodus 24:17 tells us, “And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.”

The invisible army of God had much more “firepower” than the visible horses and chariots of the Syrians. A far superior, more powerful, and more numerous army of angels surrounded the city and protected Elisha. And what the servant was shown was that it was the Syrians who were the ones surrounded, not Elisha.

This angelic host was there all along. The problem was, Elisha’s servant didn’t have eyes to see them. But his not seeing them didn’t make them unreal or non-existent.

Most determine reality by our physical senses. If we can see, hear, feel, smell, or taste it, it is real. But the spiritual realm is just as real.

And Elisha’s prayer opened his servant’s eyes to see the spiritual reality that was around them, a reality which is all around us too at all times (2 Cor. 4:18).

Matthew Henry wrote this, “When we are magnifying the causes of our fear, we ought to possess ourselves with clear, and great, and high thoughts of God and the invisible world. If God be for us, who can be against us?”

“The opening of our eyes will be the silencing of our fears. In the dark, we are most apt to be frightened. The clearer sight we have of the sovereignty and power of heaven the less we shall fear the calamities of this earth.”

2 Kings 6:18-23: “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.

“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. 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.

“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.”

The Syrian soldiers could not see the spiritual armies of God, so in verse 18, they did not hesitate to converge and descend upon the city to capture Elisha.

When they did so, in contrast to how Elijah had previously prayed for God to grant spiritual SIGHT to his servant, he asked God to “Smite this people…with BLINDNESS.” And God answered his prayer.

This also is unlike Elijah before him, who, when soldiers were sent by King Ahaziah to capture him, Elijah had called down fire on two different sets of 50 soldiers (2 Kings 1).

Elisha did not do this with the Syrians. He acts in grace toward his enemies and prayed that the soldiers be stricken with a temporary blindness.

Through Elisha’s one-sentence prayer, all these soldiers were humbled and completely at his mercy. Elisha told them to follow him, and they willingly followed his instructions. They were under the impression that they were being led to the house of Elisha.

Instead, humorously to me, the sightless Syrian soldiers were then guided by the man they were sent to capture, one man leading this large army of soldiers, horses, and chariots, 11 miles south into the very capital of the enemy, Samaria.

Without a struggle, they unknowingly followed Elisha right inside the walls of Samaria, where they were then surrounded by Israel’s army.

Elisha’s gentle deception demonstrates a principle: the blind are easily deceived. This should remind us that those who are spiritually blind around us in life, can and are easily deceived regarding spiritual things.

After the Syrians were led right into the clutches of the king of Israel and the Israelites, Elijah prayed again and asked God to restore their sight.

And when their eyes were opened, they realized that they “were in the midst of Samaria” and that they were in big trouble. They had come to take Elisha captive, but now they were the captives.

The king of Israel then “said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?”

The king of Israel referred to the prophet as “my father” because he realized that this great victory had come from Elisha, who was to be respected for accomplishing it. And thus he deferred to Elisha for what to do next and if he should kill them.

Elisha reminded him that he would not kill captives whom he had taken by the point of a sword in battle, so why would he kill those who were delivered into his hands without any effort on his part and who had been captured by the miraculous power of God?

Elisha prohibited the execution of the captives and instructed that they be shown mercy.

He told the king to “set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink” and then send them on their way in peace back to the king of Syria.

In this, Elijah practiced the wisdom of Proverbs 25:21: “If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink.”

Instead of blood being shed, a banquet was prepared by the king and shared with the Syrians.

The Syrians sought Elisha to capture and destroy him, but he met their hatred with love and had them set before a banqueting table.

They were fed a hearty meal and were then set free to return to Syria. Amazed by this hospitable treatment, verse 23 states that they ceased raiding Israel for a time.

The Syrians learned that their strategy could never win against a God so powerful and all-knowing, nor an enemy so gracious as to feed them instead of executing them.

And by all this, Elisha killed Israel’s enemies, he killed them with kindness.