History – 2 Kings 6-10

If we have been following the book of Kings, we would have realized that from 1 Kings 17 right up to today’s passage, although there have been sections that recounted battles and summaries of kings, the focus has been on the 2 prophets – Elijah and Elisha.

We are going to read a bit more about Elisha today before returning to the historical chronicles of kings for which 1 and 2 Kings are famous for – and we will learn more about King Jehu today.

Bible Passage: 2 Kings 6-10

Have you ever been in a pitch dark situation whereby it is so dark that even with your eyes wide open you are not able to see even the faintest glimmer of light?

It’s funny but I was reminded of an incident around 6 to 7 years ago when a couple of church families and my family went to Mount Ophir.  We stayed at a hotel at the foot of Mount Ophir and no… we were not climbing it… we were going to take the easy way up – by a jeep!

Anyway, when nightfall came, it was very dark at the hotel as it was miles away from any city lights.  So we went to bed, intending to wake up early for our Mountain trek :).

In the middle of the night, there was a sudden power blackout and all the lights went off.  And my wife and I woke up and for a short moment there was a slight panic as we just could not see anything.  We could just hear voices but could not make out anything.  We were worried that our daughters would wake up terrified (actually we were a little too).

Finally, we had the bright idea of using our handphones as a source of light.  So after much fumbling, I found my handphone.  Hearing our fellow member’s voice outside the balcony, we opened the balcony door and step out to check out what was happening.

A most marvellous sight greeted our eyes.  Although all around us remained pitch dark… when we gaze up to the heavens, a host of stars twinkled down merrily at us…  it

What is the point of this whole story?

They Have Eyes But They Do Not See

It is a scary situation, even for adults to have our eyes wide open and not be able to see.  And this experience remains for me a graphic illustration of God’s judgement (Jer 5:21) when He said “They have eyes but they do not see.”

Physical sight is often used as a metaphor for understanding and discernment.  And in 2 Kings 6 to 7, we see the writer using the metaphor of seeing as the focal point for a message about God and where He is in our world.

The Seeing Prophet

Pr Lin mentioned last week that Prophet Elisha was a very unique worker of God in that in all but one of the miracles he performed, you never see him seeking God first.  He had total faith that God will do as he said and he was indeed an extraordinary man of God.

Elisha had a very tough job as he was to lead the wayward Israelites back to God but they were so set in their disobedience that it was almost a thankless and hopeless task.  But God’s grace was still with them… in the hope that they will turn back to him in true worship.

So from 2 Kings 6:8-10, we read a very interesting thing about Elisha.

The Syrians were a constant menance to Israel in those days.  But the man of God (Elisha) seemed to be able to ‘see’ the very thoughts and plans of the king of Syria!  No matter what the king planned, his ploys were foiled.  This went to the point that the king thought that there was a spy in his midst.  And when he found out that it was just Elisha doing it… he decided to end that problem once and for all by sending his great army with horses and chariots to where Elisha was.

Now the king of Syria was not very insightful was he?  After all Elisha knew every secret plan he had so far… so what made him think that Elisha would not know that he was sending his army to now take his life?

But this incident tells me one thing – there will be opposition any time we truly respond to God and serve Him.  That is what it means to take up the cross and follow Jesus.  In the face of conflict, we can remain steadfast, assured, fearless in the face of our enemies and they simply cannot understand it.  But we must know that they are not opposing us, but God (1 Sam 8:7) and God can handle them!

The Unseeing Servant

When the army of Syria arrived at Dothan where Elisha was staying, the servant of Elisha panicked.

The servant saw the vast army of soldiers, chariots and horses and he could not see any way out for Elisha.

“Oh my lord, what shall we do?”  That was the cry of the servant to Elisha.  That is also a question most of us have asked, or will ask at some point in our lives.  And we will probably ask more than once!

When faced with opposition or problems in our Christian service, our first instinct is to fight back.  We want to do something.  Of course there are times we have to take action but if our first reaction is to strike back, perhaps we need to stop and think what our motives are.  It is very easy vent our human frustrations and anger at others under the cover of speaking or acting in the name of God.

But the man of God, Elisha was calm and unperturbed.  His response was a simple “Don’t worry” but it is one of profound faith that understands that God will provide for us in the midst of opposition and crisis in our lives.

He told his servant not to fear for there are more of us than them.  And then he prayed for the servant’s eyes to be opened and then the servant saw!

He saw now the horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.  He could now see that God’s army was infinitely stronger and larger than the Syrians.

This was just like his spiritual eyes were opened and he could now see God and have faith in Him and His providence.  This is spiritual discernment.

And spiritual discernment does not come automatically.  It comes from a matured faith in God.  A faith that allows us to remain steadfast amidst all the turmoils of life.  Here Elisha prayed for the servants eyes to be opened.  We can pray for it as well.

The Blind Syrians

From here, the story suddenly shifts focus and the attention is now on the Syrian army.  Elisha prayed that they would become blind – and they did.  Elisha then led the blind army to Samaria and gave them over to the King of Israel!

The king of Israel wanted to kill all of them.  This would be the normal reaction for most of us.

But here Elisha reacted with compassion and told the king not to kill them but to send them on their way – after giving them a feast!

And because of this, the Syrians stopped raiding the Israelites for a period of time.

To have your worst enemy helpless in your hands!  And then you prepare for him a great feast.

This is one of the real tests of being a Christian – when you have the chance to get rid of your enemy once and for all – and you don’t.  We may never face what Elisha is facing but we all have our Syrian enemies.

But when you think of the example of Jesus on the cross when He asked the Heavenly Father to forgive His enemies for they did not know what they were doing (Luke 23:34) – how could we do anything less.

Jesus understood this teaching… and He forgave them.

Do We See?

How often do we have eyes and yet, do not see?

We see the problems, the opposition, the people who are against us clearly.  Yet we have trouble to see beyond our adversity to what God can do for us and provide for us.

When the eyes of our heart are enlightened (Eph 1:18), we can see God at work bringing hope in the midst of despair, turning darkeness into light.

However, sometimes after witnessing God’s grace and workings in our life, our eyes go blind once again.

In 2 Kings 6:24 onwards, we read of the time when the Syrians once again renewed their raids against Israel after years of staying away because they were spared the last time.

Israel was to be tested to see if they had learnt the lessons of 2 Kings 6:8-23.

But apparently not.

After the seige laid on Samaria by the Syrians, the Israelites were desperate for survival and the situation was desperate beyond imagination.

The situation was clear – the king’s eyes needed to be opened and trust in God.  But they were not.  Instead, they turned their hostility and hatred against ELisha and the king verbally rejected God in 2 Kings 6:33, “…why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”.

What about us today?

It is very important that we see God as Elisha sees God.  We should pray for our spiritual eyes to be opened so that we can truly see God and also perform acts of compassion and love.  And once our spiritual eyes are opened, we should not allow it to be blinded once again and return to our old ways.

May God help us.