(2 Kings 6:8-23)
In the episode of Elisha being surrounded by the Syrian army, we are reminded of how our Lord spoke of having at His disposal twelve legions of angels. Thus the mountain was full of horses and chariots waiting on the prophet. The simplicity of Elisha’s faith is very remarkable. He needed not pray for himself; he had already seen the “chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof” at the ascension of Elijah (2 Kings 2:12). He rested in the certainty that they were always ready for his use. And now in the time of his need, he knew that they were at hand. While he is in great danger for his life, he has no fear for himself. His desire is that his servant may stand on the same elevation of faith. He would have him in the same sense of this divine security.
Chariots and Horses of Fire
These chariots and horses of fire, which filled the mountain and which in the day of the translation of Elijah were accompanied by a whirlwind, were, I doubt not, a host of angels. These heavenly creatures, excelling in strength, stand in the presence of God and go forth to minister on account of those who are heirs of salvation. We read of them that God “maketh His angels spirits [winds] and His ministers a flame of fire” (Heb. 1:7); also, “The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels” (Psa. 68:17). At the divine command, they are ready to serve in whatever the exigency of the saint or the occasion under the throne of God may require. They formed a traveling chariot to convey Elijah to heaven and to carry Lazarus to Abraham’s bosom. They now form chariots of war, when Elisha is beleaguered by the hostile bands of Syria. They visit the elect on earth and, either alone or in concert, celebrate the joy of heaven in the audience of the earth. They have drawn the sword to smite a guilty city, or with the strong hand of love dragged the reluctant man Lot forth from the doomed city. They are either as winds or as fire. They are messengers of mercy and executors of judgment, as “the Lord” who “is among them” may command. They attended on Mount Sinai when the law was published, and they hovered over the fields of Bethlehem when Jesus was born. And here, in their order and strength, they are as a wall of fire, a wall of salvation, around the prophet.
This is very blessed! And still it is more blessed to know that before long the hidden glories, which are now only known to those who have faith like Elisha, will become widely manifested. Then the threats of the enemy, the noise, the din and the clang of arms, which are the present apparent things, causing fears and sorrows for the heart, shall have rolled by, like the past thunderstorm, only to leave the bright sunshine.
Power and Grace
But there is more here than this calmness and certainty of faith. We have traces of the power and of the grace of Jesus in the path of our prophet. “When the wicked ... mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.” Thus David spoke concerning Jesus (Psa. 27). And accordingly, in the garden, when the band of men and officers came to lay hold on Him, “As soon as He had said unto them, I am He, they went backward and fell to the ground” (John 18). So it is here with the prophet. The bands of Syria came to Dothan to fetch him, but the Lord smote them with blindness, as they were making ready to make him their prey.
Elisha demonstrates grace, as well as power. He overcomes evil with good. The King of Israel says to him, “My father, shall I smite them?” for he had the Syrian bands caught in the net of Samaria. But the prophet answered, “Thou shalt not smite them. ... Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”
Blessed and precious expression of the mind of God! What constellations of moral glories shine in His ways! And these ways of the Lord, in combined power and grace, are displayed in this honored prophet. How much he was in the intimacy of God, if I may so speak! How fully his friendship with the Lord gave him to know His secrets! And how largely does his history illustrate those words, “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7). He knew of mountains of strength and salvation that were altogether invisible to others; he knew of abundance at the doors tomorrow, though today all was famine and death in the city. Oh, for power in our souls to value such goodness in Him and such dignity and blessing for us!
J. G. Bellett, adapted