The special interest of the living God in those who are in relationship with Himself is amply shown in connection with the efforts of the Syrian king against Elisha. Being desirous of getting rid of one whose warnings to Jehoram so thwarted his operations, he sent a great host with horses and chariots to Dothan to apprehend him (2 Ki. 6:1313And 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. (2 Kings 6:13), etc.). What could a helpless man do against such an array! Clearly nothing. But the King of Syria should have known, from the remarkable way in which his secrets had been revealed, that he was really contending with God, a very serious matter assuredly. The God whom he entirely overlooked soon covered his fresh schemes with confusion.
To the terror of Elisha’s servant, when he arose one morning the city was encompassed with an army. “Alas, my master,” said he, “how shall we do!” “Fear not,” the prophet replied, “for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” The eye of faith in the man of God could see what the eye of nature could not see. When the young man’s eyes were opened, in answer to his master’s prayer, he beheld the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. The man who saw the heavenly vision when his leader was translated had Heaven always very near his soul. His whole course as a servant of Jehovah was deeply colored by the circumstances of its commencement. It was so with Isaiah. He saw the glory of the Lord (Isa. 6), and received his commission from thence, and in how many passages does he speak of the glory of Jehovah in his writings! The apostleship of Paul is even more to the point in this respect. The fact that he saw Christ in glory at the beginning of his career stamped a special character upon his whole subsequent ministry. Christ glorified is more the theme of Paul than of any other writer.
There were two hosts around Dothan that day. The servant saw the Syrians, and was dismayed; the prophet saw the heavenly armies, and was confident. In like manner when the angels of God met Jacob, as recorded in Genesis 32:11And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. (Genesis 32:1), he called the name of the place Mahanaim— “two hosts.” As the Psalmist puts it in Psalm 119:150-151150They draw nigh that follow after mischief: they are far from thy law. 151Thou art near, O Lord; and all thy commandments are truth. (Psalm 119:150‑151), “They draw near that follow after mischief, . . .(but) Thou art near.” Danger may indeed be imminent, but God is nearer to us than all our foes. We may well ask ourselves, which host do we see today—the assemblage of those who hate us, or the company of “ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of [inherit] salvation!” (Heb. 1:1414Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? (Hebrews 1:14)). In all our perplexities and perils, surely we can say with Elisha, “They that be with us are more than they that be with them.”
A remarkable thing then happened. Elisha prayed that the Syrians might be smitten with blindness. This was as truly mercy as the smiting of the Sodomites with blindness was judgement (Gen. 19:22And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. (Genesis 19:2)). The Syrians were to be taught two great lessons: (1) the impossibility of harming God’s people, and (2) the goodness of the heart of God even towards Gentiles. The wording of verse 19 in the Authorized Version has caused Elisha to be suspected of untruthfulness by some; substitute “and” for “but,” and all is plain. When the Syrians reached Samaria, and had their eyes opened, they were indeed in the presence of the man they sought, i.e., Elisha; there was no subterfuge whatever. The King of Israel was willing on this occasion to obey the directions of the prophet, with the result that the captives were feasted, and then sent away to their master. “So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.” This astonishing incident closed the campaign. If Israel learnt nothing from the wonderful ways of God, Syria did—at least for the time being.
It is interesting to us as Gentiles to observe in the Old Testament these occasional flashes of divine grace to men outside of Israel. Truly the heart of God is good and gracious. It is significant that the exhortation to Christians in Romans 12:2020Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. (Romans 12:20), “If thine enemy hunger, feed him, if he thirst, give him drink,” is a quotation from the Old Testament from Proverbs 25:21-2221If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: 22For thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head, and the Lord shall reward thee. (Proverbs 25:21‑22).
Our chapter (2 Ki 6) assuredly teaches us that there is a God who is able to outwit every enemy device, and to bring to naught all his strategy. This is the God to whom His people are entitled to look in all the trying circumstances of wilderness life.