In the days of Elisha, the prophet of Israel, the king of Aram had waged war against Israel. Each time this king planed his strategy to attack, the man of God, Elisha, knew precisely what his plans were. This word came to him from God. Time and time again he warned his king of Israel. The king of Aram was befuddled! “How is this happening? Is there a mole in our ranks?”, he asked his officers. “Who among us is for Israel?” One of his officers said, “There are none of us who helps Israel. Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells his king the very words you speak in your bedroom.” And this was long before there were any wiretaps.
When the Aramean king heard this he was enraged. “Someone find out where this meddlesome prophet is”, he ordered. It wasn’t long before the king received the report that Elisha was in the city of Dothan. This pleased the king. He was going to put a stop to this blabbermouth once and for all. The king of Aram summoned the best of his fighting men, an imposing army, along with horses and chariots and sent them off to capture Elisha. They went to Dothan by night and surrounded the city where Elisha and his servant were sleeping.
Very early the next morning Elisha’s servant got up and went out on the porch to have his coffee. Before he took one sip he looked out and saw a great army awaiting with their horses and chariots surrounding the place where he and Elisha were. He ran back into the house, woke Elisha and exclaimed, “Oh no, my Lord! What are we going to do? What on earth is going to happen to us?” Elisha calmly took the young man outside and said, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” The servant must have wondered about Elisha’s math skills; I see you and there is me which makes two. And there are so many of them that it is impossible to count. Needless to say he was not comforted by what Elisha had just told him. He was scared out of his wits.
Elisha, prophet, man of faith, one whose ear was keen to God’s voice knew exactly what to do. He prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Immediately God opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked up into the hills. To his surprise he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around. He saw the awesome, glorious army of God waiting to destroy these Arameans if God so commanded. As the enemy approached to attack, Elisha prayed that the whole army be struck with blindness, and so it was. The entire bunch became blind as bats. Elisha told this weakened army that they were in the wrong city. “Follow me and I will lead you to the place you want to go.” So they “blindly” followed him.
Elisha led them into Samaria, the capital of Israel. Elisha prayed again asking God to open their eyes. Can you imaging what the king of Israel must have thought? The king asked Elisha if they should kill them. Elisha answered, “Do not kill them. Instead give them food and water so that they may eat and drink”. A feast was prepared for these men, and after they had finished eating and drinking they were sent on their way back to their king. After that the king of Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
This is a story of faith, trust, obedience and most of all forgiveness and grace. It sounds like something Jesus might have commanded. “You’ve heard it said love your neighbor, and hate your enemies. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” Yes, I believe Jesus was actively involved in that situation on that day. And finally, for those of us who believe in the power and might of our God and the forever presence of the Holy Spirit, let us not forget that when we are under attack by the enemy, there are more of us and for us than there are of them who are against us.
2 Kings 6:8-23, Matthew 5:43-45
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