My bookmark had me read II Kings 6 this morning. I quickly realized that this chapter included one of my favorite Bible stories and I felt the excitement rising as I read on.
The king of Aram was at war with Israel. [v.1 All quotes from the NCV unless otherwise noted].
This king held regular council meetings with his officers during which they made plans to attack Israel. Each time they made a plan, Elisha, the man of God, sent a message to the king of Israel saying, "Be careful! Don't pass that place, because the Arameans are going down there!" [v.9]
Each time, the king of Israel had his soldiers check out the area where they quickly realized that Elisha was telling the truth.
After this happened repeatedly, the king of Aram was angry about this. He called his officers together and demanded, "Tell me who of us is working for the king of Israel." [v.11]
One of the officers said, "None, my master and king. It's Elisha, the prophet from Israel. He can tell you what you speak in your bedroom." [v.12]
The king demanded that they find out where Elisha was so that he could capture him. His servants came back and reported that Elisha was in Dothan.
Then the king sent horses, chariots, and many troops to Dothan. They arrived at night and surrounded the city.
Elisha's servant got up early, and when he went out, he saw an army with horses and chariots all around the city. The servant said to Elisha, "Oh, my master, what can we do?"
Elisha said, "Don't be afraid. The army that fights for us is larger than the one against us." Then Elisha prayed, "LORD, open my servant's eyes, and let him see."
The LORD opened the eyes of the young man and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. [vs.14-17]
As the army of Aram descended toward Dothan, Elisha prayed that God would make the entire army be blind.
As the entire Aramean army stumbled into Dothan, Elisha met them and explained that they were in the wrong city. Then, he volunteered to take them to the right place. Elisha then led the army of Aram directly into Samaria and into the presence of the king of Israel. Then he prayed that God would restore the sight of the soldiers of Aram. They immediately realized that they had been entrapped!
The king of Israel asked Elisha if he should kill these soldiers?
Elisha suggested that he feed them and release them to return home. So the king of Israel hosted a feast for the army of Aram and then released them to return home.
The armies of Aram did not come anymore into the land of Israel. [v.23]
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The LORD says, "My thoughts are not like your thoughts. Your ways are not like my ways. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. [Isaiah_55:8–9]
Let's remind ourselves that God can do anything He wants to do - any way He wants to do it, when He wants to do it! God can do anything! [Luke 1:37]
Around the time of 585 B.C., God seemed to favor working through called and designated prophets - such as Elisha! Today - not so much!
We live in the age of the Holy Spirit! Pentecost - which we just celebrated two weeks ago - changed EVERYTHING!
Wise followers of Christ will seek to be filled with the Spirit!
They will pursue the direction, wisdom and guidance of the Spirit!
We will also train ourselves to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit!
The Holy Spirit is God! The Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity! The Spirit has perfect unity with the Father and the Son! The Spirit is co-eternal with the Father and the Son! They are in perfect fellowship! If heeded, they will lead us to that same unity and fellowship! And what could be better for our world than for the Church to be unified under the direction of the Holy Spirit?
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