2 Kings 6:8-238Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. 9And 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. 10And 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. 11Therefore 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? 12And 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. 13And 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. 14Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. 15And 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? 16And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17And 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. 18And 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. 19And 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. 20And 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. 21And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? 22And 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. 23And 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. (2 Kings 6:8‑23)
The king of Syria had several times sent his soldiers to capture cities in Israel, but when they reached the places, they found the men of Israel had been warned of their coming, and were prepared for the attack, and they could not conquer them.
The king of Syria could not understand how the men of Israel were always ready for them, and decided that some one of his officers must tell someone in Israel of his plans. He called his officers to him and asked which one of them was for Israel. An officer answered,
“None, ... . O king, Elisha the prophet in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bed chamber.”
Elisha was not in the room of the king of Syria, nor even in that land; yet it was true that, each time he had told the king of Israel where the enemy planned to send the soldiers, so each time they were warned and ready. It was the Lord who told Elisha the plans.
When the king heard there was one in Israel who could tell his thoughts, he should have feared and honored him. Instead, he wanted to make Elisha a prisoner, and sent men to learn where Elisha was. When he knew the place, he sent soldiers at night to surround the place and take Elisha.
Early in the morning a voting man, who was Elisha’s helper, saw the army with horses and chariots all around them. He was very much frightened and said to Elisha,
“Alas, no master, what shall we do?” Elisha yeas not afraid, and said,
“They that be with us, are more than they that he with them.”
How could that he when Elisha had no army Elisha payed to God to show his servant that He could help them. The man looked about again; this time he saw there were horses and chariots of fire in the mountains all around them and the man knew those meant that the Lord had power, and he need not fear.
The soldiers came to take Elisha, but God caused them to become blind for time, and, instead of their making Elisha a prisoner, he led them to the king of Israel. Then he prayed God to let the soldiers see again: they saw, hut were helpless to take Elisha they themselves, were prisoners with the army of Israel around them.
The king of Israel would have killed the men of Syria, but Elisha said he should treat them kindly and give them food. Then Elisha sent them back to their country, and they did not try to take Elisha again.
The Lord is still the helper of His people, although not with chariots and horses of fire, but by the Holy Spirit which He has given, for we are told,
Find the name of the place where Elisha was surrounded (vs. 13).
To what city did Elisha take the army? (vs. 20).
ML 07/02/1939