The school bell has rung, class is not in session
Have you ever felt like your back was against the wall or that you have reached a point where you could not fight or run? I was reminded of story I read in the Book of Second Kings Chapter 6, when Elisa said,
Let me tell you a little background of the story of a man who woke up one morning and was literally surrounded by his enemies. God’s prophet, Elisha had a great enemy in the King of Syria. The prophet Elisha had warned the King of Israel of his impending danger of attack by the King of Syria, and of continuing to sin against the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So in the past, the King of Israel had avoided a lot of pitfalls by listening to the Prophet Elisha. One thing that was noted in Matthew Henry’s Commentary is that the King of Israel listened when it came to protecting himself from dying at the hands of the King of Syria, but did not listen to repenting of his sins against God. (Ironic right?)
Either way, the Prophet Elisha found himself in quite a situation after giving valuable advice to Israel’s army yet again because the King of Syria decided he wanted to take him as a prisoner and told his army to collect him dead or alive.
They were tired of Elisha listening to God and providing the King of Israel information on how to overcome their enemies. This information proved to help them win again and again, as long as they were in obedience with God’s Word. So they knew their only solution in defeated the Israelites were to rid them of their Prophet from God.
One question pondered in the commentary was, “Why did the King of Syria decide to send an entire army after one man? A man who was not hidden behind a fortress like royalty or guarded by men?” To send an entire army after a one man proves how much of a threat he was to them. So under the cloak of darkness, the Syrian army began to surround the city and wait. As the morning’s sun began to rise, so did the voice of Elisha’s servant. He exclaimed in panic and I am paraphrasing, “Master what shall we do? We cannot fight or run, we may as well just give up!” The servant saw their enemies surrounding them with swords and spears.
Elisha responded calmly, “Do not fear! For there are more on our side than theirs.” The servant was confused because he only saw that they were about to be destroyed by what was in front of them. Then Elisha said a quick prayer to the Lord, asking Him to open the eyes of his servant, so he could see. Suddenly the servant could see with the same enlightened eyes as Elisha and he saw that the hills surrounding the Syrian Army were not empty, but were full of horses and chariots of fire.
As the horses and chariots of fire descended, Elisha prayed that the Syrian Army be smote with blindness and they were. He led them to a city called Samaria. Once they arrived, Elisha prayed that the Lord would allow the men to see. Once their eyes were able to see, the King of Israel asked Elisha could they kill them? Elisha said no, feed them and let them go back to their king. Once they returned to the King of Syria, they no longer bothered the Land of Israel. Elisha’s simple faith in God, reduced an unstoppable enemy to nothing.
This should be an encouragement to believers today because scripture says that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrew 13:8) We do not have to feel like we are alone, or that we have to rely on our own strengths. We also do not need to only trust in what we see with our own eyes because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesian 6:12)
Reflecting questions: Where do we put our faith? When we encounter an enemy during our daily situations, do we react like Elisha, or do we react like his servant?
The school bell has rung, class dismissed!
