And the king of Syria warred against Israel; and he took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place [shall be] my camp.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place, for thither the Syrians are come down.
Elisha is the prophet in Israel. He sends word to Israel's king: do not take this road, because Syrian troops are waiting there. God hands His own inside knowledge to a king who has no real interest in Him. Why would God do that, and what did the king do with it?
The same prophet who had rebuked this king now protects him. Both acts are grace:
Elisha, having used the grace of God to relieve a distressed individual, now becomes the instrument of grace to save a guilty nation. Earlier he had rebuked the king of Israel for his unbelief over the letter from the king of Syria. Now he warns that same king of the secret plans by which the king of Syria seeks his destruction. So the grace of God intervenes to save the king of Israel, "not once nor twice," by the hand of one who knows how to rebuke and when to warn.
This warning was not approval. Jehoram's heart had not changed, and God had another audience in view:
Elisha comes to the aid of the king of Israel, warning him repeatedly of the location of the Syrian camp. Was God's favour resting upon Jehoram? Not at all, for this king's heart had not changed since the day Elisha had said to him, "What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother" (2 Kings 3:13). But God wanted to prove something to the king of Syria and his army. There was a prophet in Israel, and the Lord was there. He had shown this once before, when He healed Naaman. In acting this way He showed His patience toward Jehoram and his people. If this wicked king would not turn to the Lord after such favours, he had no more excuse.
Another writer sees the prophet treating Jehoram less harshly here:
Here the prophet seems to look on Jehoram with a little less disfavour than he did on the campaign against Moab. The king of Syria seems to have been chasing him. There may also have been some change in his conduct, which Elisha would be quick to notice and encourage in every way he could. God is that gracious in His dealings with people.
Syria planned behind closed doors, and it changed nothing. The lesson reaches every leader who plans without God:
All people, even those who do not value the grace of God shown in the gospel, are still the creatures of His hand, and He cannot help caring about their welfare. God meant Jehoram to learn that deliverance does not depend on "men, money, and munitions." There is always a God to be reckoned with. He is well able to get round the plans of the mightiest enemy, and to rescue without any military effort at all. Kings and their advisers should remember that God knows every secret of the council chamber, however well they hide it from the people.
Information alone saved nobody. The king acted on what he was told, and escaped again and again:
The King of Syria was a master of strategy, and he prepared his plan of campaign well. An ambush here, another there, and still a third — surely the unsuspecting King of Israel would be caught! But he wasn't. He saved himself, not once nor twice. The Syrian King was baffled and puzzled. Why did all his schemes go wrong? The answer was very simple: the king of Israel kept in contact with the man of God, and in that lay his salvation from the snares of his great foe.
The same pattern holds now. We have an enemy who studies us, and a Lord who shows us the trap:
The devil has studied every one of us. He knows our tendencies and our weaknesses well. He is full of tricks, and he lays his snares with great skill. We are no match for him; if we meet him in our own wisdom and strength we are sure to be caught. How, then, may we save ourselves, not once nor twice, from his traps? There is one sure way. We must hold to the Lord with settled purpose of heart. We must keep in daily, constant contact with Him. He watches us more closely than the devil does... He knows every snare that the devil can lay for our feet, and He knows how to minister His own word to us, the right word at the right time.
- Contact. The king stayed in contact with the man of God, and that is what saved him. The warning came through relationship, not merit.
- Grace. The prophet who had rebuked this king now warned him; one hand knows both how to rebuke and when to warn.
- Not approval. Commentators differ on whether Jehoram changed at all. All agree the rescue came from God's patience, not the king's worth.
- Exposed. God already knew every plan made in the private council chamber. No enemy secret holds, and no rescue depends on men, money, and munitions.
- Escape. The prophet's word kept the king from the trap. The Lord's word does the same for us — the right word at the right time, not once nor twice.
And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and he was on his guard there. [That took place] not once, nor twice.
A prophet keeps telling Israel's king where not to go, and ambush after ambush fails. The verse turns on two small facts: the warning came repeatedly, and the king acted on it every time.
One writer sees the same man rebuking the king earlier and warning him now, and reads the rescue as grace reaching a guilty nation:
Elisha had used the grace of God to help one person in distress. Now he becomes the instrument of grace to save a guilty nation. The prophet had rebuked the king of Israel for his unbelief over the letter from the king of Syria. Now he warns that same king about the secret plans by which the king of Syria seeks his destruction. So the grace of God steps in to save the king of Israel, "not once nor twice," through a man who knows how to rebuke and when to warn.
Syria's strategy was sound. It failed because God exposed it. A secret plan loses its value the moment the other side knows it:
It was of little use for the Syrians to plot and plan if God threw His light on their schemes, so that their secrets became known to the enemy. This is a remarkable display of God's goodness to His people Israel. No one asked Him, yet He keeps defeating the plans of the enemy without any special act of power.
Notice that nobody in Israel asked for this. God worked no miracle and struck down no army. A word given in time was enough.
These warnings went to a king. One writer draws out what rulers are meant to learn from them:
Jehoram was meant to learn that deliverance does not depend on "men, money, and munitions." There is always a God to be reckoned with. He is well able to defeat every plan of the mightiest enemy, and to give deliverance without any military effort at all. Kings and their advisers should remember that God knows all the secrets of the council chamber, however closely they are kept from the people.
Information alone saved nobody. One writer names the two things that made the difference: contact with the prophet, and obedience to his word:
He had not taken into account that there was a God in Israel, and that His prophet stood there to represent Him. But now the secret comes out, for one of his servants knew it... The prophet knew all his secrets. The king of Israel was in contact with the prophet, and he listened to his word and obeyed it, and so he saved himself from the traps set by his enemy.
One writer applies the scene to the Christian's own escapes:
If the king of Syria shows us what Satan and his ways are, Elisha is a picture of our living Lord, our ever watchful and all-wise Saviour. The Devil is not all-powerful and not all-knowing. He does not know the future. Those qualities belong to God, and they are found in our Lord. The Devil never got ahead of our Lord. All his plans to trap our feet and destroy our faith are seen and met in advance. "I have prayed for you," He said to Simon. If that self-confident disciple had only listened to his Master's word, he would have saved himself from his enemy.
What came of it all? God warned Jehoram again and again, and his life shows nothing gained:
First we see the LORD speaking once more to Jehoram, king of Israel's ten tribes. He took great pains with this man, yet we have no reason to believe that anything came of it... The "rain" of God's goodness fell "often" on Jehoram, but the record of his life shows no fruit for God as a result.
- Exposed. Syria's plans were good. They failed because God threw light on them. A secret the other side knows is no weapon at all.
- Unsought. No one asked for the warning. Grace moved toward a guilty nation and a bad king anyway.
- Sent. The warning worked because the king kept contact with the prophet. He listened, he sent to the place, and he kept clear of the trap.
- Repeated. The king saved himself "more than once or twice" — a habit, not a single escape. Ongoing danger met by ongoing guidance.
- Wasted. Rain fell often on Jehoram, and no fruit followed. Repeated rescue is not the same as a changed heart.
And the heart of the king of Syria was troubled because of this thing; and he called his servants, and said to them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
A king's war plans keep failing before they begin, and he can find no explanation for it. He decides that someone close to him must be leaking secrets. The verse puts a question to every reader: when a man's plans collapse, whom does he blame?
The king assumes betrayal because betrayal is the only cause he can imagine. One writer reconstructs how his mind worked:
A master of strategy was this king of Syria, and he prepared his plan of campaign carefully and well. An ambush here, another there, and still a third — surely the king of Israel would suspect nothing, fall into the trap, and lose his kingdom to his conqueror. But he failed. All his plans went wrong. The king of Israel saved himself, not once nor twice. And this Syrian strategist, so sure of success, was a baffled and puzzled man. He could only account for it in one way: there must be a traitor in his camp, a Judas in his war council. But it wasn't that. He hadn't taken into account that there was a God in Israel, and that His prophet represented Him there.
His mistake is not only about his staff. It is a way of reading the world that is still common:
His plans kept failing, so the king of Syria suspected treachery in his court. The idea of God, and of His stepping in, never even occurs to him — this comes out again and again in these accounts. The world always thinks this way. It attributes all the events of life to second causes rather than seeing the hand of God in them. One of the king's servants, more alert than his king to the true state of affairs, opens his eyes. As a rule, discernment and spiritual understanding shrink as a man rises. Those who should care most about knowing the truth are the ones who know it least.
His servant's answer points to the room where the king speaks in private. No guard can seal that room, and the lesson reaches past one ancient court:
There is always a God to be reckoned with. He is well able to defeat the plans of the mightiest enemy, and to give deliverance with no military effort at all. Kings and their advisers should remember that God knows every secret of the council chamber, however carefully they keep it from the people. "All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing ... and none can stay His hand or say to Him, 'What have you done?'" (Dan. 4:35). God would teach today's leaders these lessons. It would be good for everyone if they would only learn them.
Jehoram, the king of Israel who got these warnings, was no better a man than the king asking the question. The warnings were not a reward:
God's favour was not resting upon Jehoram. This king's heart had not changed since the day Elisha said to him, "What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother." But God wanted to prove something to the king of Syria and to his army. There was a prophet in Israel, and the Lord was there, as He had already shown in the healing of Naaman. In acting this way He showed His patience toward Jehoram and his people. After such favours, if this wicked king still would not turn to the Lord, he had no excuse left.
The king asks his question inside enemy headquarters. Notice who ends up admitting that God is at work:
God was now acting in grace for Israel through the ministry of Elisha, and even the enemy knows it. The king of Syria makes his secret plans. He pitches his camp in one place or another to catch the king of Israel at a disadvantage. But God warns the king of Israel of the danger through Elisha, so the king of Syria suspects his servants of treachery. God's hand was so clear that even their enemies admit it. If they did not see God, they at least knew that a greater power in the person of Elisha baffled all their schemes.
The king of Israel escaped because he listened to a warning. The same protection is open to us:
If we pay attention to the Word of God we shall be preserved from the deceptions of the enemy.
- Baffled — Every ambush fails, and the king can only think of a traitor. He leaves God out of the calculation.
- Blind — The world blames second causes instead of seeing God's hand. Rank often makes a man see less, not more.
- Bedroom — God hears what a man says in private. No council chamber is sealed against Him.
- Patient — The warnings were no reward for Jehoram. They proved there was a prophet in Israel, and left him without excuse.
- Preserved — What saved one king again and again can keep us too: attention to the Word of God.
And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
A single servant's answer settles the mystery in the Syrian war council. There is no traitor. A prophet in Israel hears what the king says where no one else can listen.
The servant names one room in particular.
The room set apart for sleeping. Because it stood in the most secluded part of the house, it became a symbol of the utmost privacy. 2 Kings 6:12; Eccl. 10:20.
Strategy is useless once the strategist is transparent.
It was of little use for the Syrians to plot and plan if the light of God was thrown upon their schemes, and their secrets became known to the enemy. In this God shows His goodness to His people Israel in a remarkable way. Unsought, He continues to defeat the plans of the enemy without any special display of power.
Faced with repeated failure, the king reached for the only explanation his outlook allowed: a traitor. One of his own servants corrects him.
Seeing his plans foiled again and again, the king of Syria suspected treachery in his court. The idea of God and of His intervention does not even occur to him — this comes out constantly in these accounts. The world always thinks this way. It attributes all the events of life to second causes rather than seeing the hand of God in them. One of the king's servants, more alert than his king to the true state of affairs, opens his eyes. As a rule, spiritual understanding shrinks as a man rises, and those who should care most about knowing the truth know it least. What a troubling, disturbing, even frightening thought! What — an invisible Person is "acquainted with all my ways," and before a word is on my tongue, He knows it altogether. When the heart is not honest and does not reach this conclusion and cry, "Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence?" a man tries to forget and rebels against God.
Elisha had already rebuked this king. The warnings were not a reward for loyalty.
Elisha, having used the grace of God to relieve a distressed individual, now becomes the instrument of grace to save a guilty nation. The prophet had rebuked the king of Israel for his unbelief over the letter from the king of Syria. Now he warns that same king of the secret plans by which the king of Syria seeks his destruction. So the grace of God steps in to save the king of Israel "not once nor twice," by the hand of one who knows how to rebuke and when to warn.
So why did God act for such a nation at all?
Here there was nothing in the nation that God could own, yet His mercy still lingered over the guilty people. Although they had forfeited all claim upon God, the Lord disappointed the plans of the enemy and delivered His people for His own name's sake.
The servant's words are a witness from outside Israel — and the king's reaction to that witness shows what unbelief does with evidence.
God's intervention was so obvious that even their enemies acknowledge it. At least, if they did not see God, they knew a greater power was at work in Elisha, and it defeated all their schemes. The ignorant Syrian king wants to set aside this hostile power, or bring it over to his side. So he sends men to seize Elisha. But his useless effort only makes the wonderful intervention of God more marked.
Elisha, meanwhile, made no attempt to disappear.
"Go and see where he is." The eyes of the flesh could easily discover where Elisha was, for he did not slip away. God has nothing to hide; He is light itself. Men, on the contrary, love darkness and fear the light. This is why the army came up "by night" and surrounded the city.
Writers read the two kings as a picture of the believer's own conflict.
If the king of Syria shows us what Satan and his ways are, Elisha is a figure of our living Lord, our ever watchful and all-wise Saviour. The devil is neither all-powerful nor all-knowing. He does not know the future. These are divine attributes, and they dwell in our Lord. The devil never got ahead of our Lord; all his plans for trapping our feet and destroying our faith are foreseen and anticipated.
The king of Israel escaped because he stayed within reach of the warning.
The devil has made a careful study of every one of us; he knows our tendencies and our weaknesses. … How, then, may we save ourselves, not once nor twice, from his traps? There is one certain way. We must hold fast to the Lord with purpose of heart, and keep in daily, constant contact with Him. He watches us more closely than the devil does… He knows how to minister His own word to us, the right word at the right time.
- Secret — the bedroom was the most private place a man had. God's knowledge reaches inside it.
- Blind — the king hunted for a traitor because the thought of God never crossed his mind. The world still explains life by second causes.
- Undeserved — Israel had forfeited all claim on God. He saved the king for His own name's sake, through a prophet who had already rebuked him.
- Exposed — even the enemy admitted a greater power was defeating him. Trying to seize the prophet only made that power plainer.
- Safe — the enemy studies us, but he does not know everything. Stay near the One who does, and heed the word He gives.
And he said, Go and see where he is, and I will send and fetch him. And it was told him saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
The king of Syria has just discovered why his ambushes keep failing: a prophet in Israel knows his plans. He does not back off. He sends an army to seize one unarmed man in a small town.
The king never asks how a man in another country could know what he said in his own bedroom.
The living God takes a special interest in those who are in relationship with Himself. The Syrian King's campaign against Elisha shows it clearly. He wanted to get rid of the man whose warnings to Jehoram, king of Israel, kept blocking his plans. So he sent a great army with horses and chariots to Dothan to arrest him. What could one helpless man do against such a force! Nothing at all. But his secrets had come to light in a remarkable way. The King of Syria should have realised that he was fighting against God — a very serious matter. He overlooked God completely, and God soon threw his new schemes into confusion.
The size of the force is the giveaway. You do not send horses, chariots and a great army to fetch a man unless you are afraid of him.
He sends a great host to take one man. This proves in a striking way that the ungodly realise their weakness and helplessness before one man kept strong by the power of God. The wicked Ahab felt the same in an earlier day, when he sent his captains with their fifties to take Elijah, who stood alone. So did the Jews in a later day, when they sent a band of officers and men to take the Lord of glory. The world instinctively knows that one man, if God is with him, is stronger than a great host without God.
The arrest of the Lord Jesus carries the point further. Numbers never overcame the power they feared. In the end He let them take Him.
In the same way, the chief priests and Pharisees sent "a great crowd with swords and clubs" to arrest the Lord Jesus (Matt. 26:47). He had no weapons and nothing like an army to protect Him. Why did they think it necessary to have such crowds, either in the case of the Lord Jesus or in that of Elisha? Because they feared spiritual power, but thought sheer numbers could beat it. How pathetically foolish! The Lord Jesus showed His greater power by speaking the words, "I am." The whole crowd went backward and fell to the ground (John 18:6). Thus they were helpless before His face, yet He allowed them to get up and take Him prisoner! Why? Because He had said His hour had come (John 17:1).
The report comes back: Dothan. What follows looks, to the eye, like a closed trap.
To natural sight Elisha's case seemed hopeless. The Syrians had taken every precaution. The great army took every care. It came to Dothan under cover of darkness and surrounded the city. There seemed no way of escape for the prophet.
The king wants this power either removed or working for him. He gets neither.
God's intervention was so obvious that even their enemies admitted it. They may not have seen God Himself. But they knew a greater power was at work in Elisha, and it wrecked all their schemes. The Syrian king knew no better. Hoping to remove this opposing power, or to win it over to his side, he sends men to take Elisha. But his useless attempt only made God's wonderful intervention stand out more. It rescued Elisha in person, and it spoke to Israel too.
The trap failed, so the king turned to open force. The same shift meets believers.
The devil may fail to trap us by his tricks, just as the King of Syria failed to trap the King of Israel. Then he will change his tactics. He will stop his flattery and start to hit us. He will show himself as an open and relentless enemy… He will try to make us feel that a life of faith is full of dangers and impossible problems, and so shake our faith in God… Is the way out to make terms with the enemy? No, that will not do. Stand firm! Have faith in God. A little faith can overcome great difficulties, for faith is the sight that sees God.
- Detected. The king finds out that God knows his private plans. He attacks the messenger instead of facing God.
- Targeted. He sends a great army for one unarmed man — proof that the ungodly feel their weakness before anyone God stands with.
- Surrounded. The Syrians take every precaution and come by night, so that to natural sight there is no way out of Dothan.
- Outmatched. That same fear of spiritual power sent a crowd with swords and clubs after the Lord Jesus. One word floored them. He was taken only because His hour had come.
- Overruled. The plot to seize the prophet only made God's intervention clearer. So stand firm when the enemy switches from flattery to force.
And he sent thither horses and chariots, and a great host, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
The king of Syria found out that his secret war plans kept reaching Israel, and that one prophet was the source. So he sent an army by night to ring a single town. The question the chapter raises is who was really trapped.
The Syrian king never considered that he was up against God. He looked for a traitor instead:
His plans kept being foiled, so the king of Syria suspected treachery in his court. The idea of God and of His stepping in does not even occur to him, and this comes out again and again in these accounts. The world always thinks this way. It puts everything that happens down to second causes instead of seeing the hand of God in them... Did the king of Syria not realize that even if he could get rid of the visible witness in Israel, he would by no means get rid of the eye of the invisible God?
His new plans would fare no better than the old ones:
But the king of Syria should have known that he was really fighting against God. The remarkable way his secrets had come to light should have told him so, and that is a very serious matter. The God he completely overlooked soon threw his new plans into confusion.
The size of the force is out of all proportion to the target. That mismatch says something about the men who sent it:
He sends a great army to take one man. That strikingly proves that the ungodly know their own weakness and helplessness before one man upheld by the power of God. The wicked Ahab felt the same in an earlier day, when he sent his captains with their fifties to take Elijah, who stood alone. So did the Jews in a later day, when they sent a band of officers and men to take the Lord of glory. The world instinctively knows that one man, if God is with him, is stronger than a great host without God.
Why bring a crowd against one unarmed man, here or at the arrest of Jesus? One writer answers:
Because they were afraid of spiritual power, but thought that overwhelming numbers could defeat that power. How pathetically foolish! The Lord Jesus showed His superior power in speaking the words, "I Am," causing all the crowd to go backward and fall to the ground (John 18:6). So they were helpless before His face, yet He allowed them to get up and take Him prisoner!
Elisha was not hiding, so finding him took no effort. It was the army that wanted the dark:
"Go and see where he is." Natural eyes could find where Elisha was without trouble, for he did not slip away in secret. God has nothing to hide; He is light itself. Men, on the contrary, love darkness and fear the light. This is why the army came up "by night" and surrounded the city.
As a military plan, nothing was left out. Judged by sight alone, the prophet was finished:
To natural sight Elisha's case seemed hopeless. The Syrians had taken every precaution. The great army took every care, coming to Dothan under cover of darkness. There seemed no way of escape for the prophet.
The servant was not mistaken about what was out there. His problem lay elsewhere, and one writer holds him responsible for it:
His eyes did not deceive him, but he lacked the eyes of faith. That is why he despaired at once... He has no excuse. As the prophet's servant he was in constant touch with the unseen world, and he ought to have known that no human strength can stand before the power of God.
Elisha saw the same army and felt no fear. He saw more than the army:
Elisha knows no fear, for he knows that "those who are with us are more than those who are with them." He had seen the chariots of Israel and its horsemen before. He knew that the Lord's hosts surrounded him. He did not need to pray for himself, that he might see, for he saw, because he believed. He prayed for his servant that his eyes might be opened.
- Overlooked. The king blamed a traitor for his failures, not God. That is the world's habit: it explains everything by second causes.
- Outnumbered on purpose. The king sent a whole army after one unarmed man. The ungodly fear the power of God and hope that numbers will beat it.
- Overnight. Elisha hid nothing and was easy to find. The army needed the dark, because men love darkness and fear the light.
- Outwardly hopeless. The Syrians took every precaution and ringed the city before dawn. To natural sight there was no way out.
- Outseen. The servant's eyes told the truth, but not the whole truth. Elisha saw because he believed, and he prayed for his servant to see too.
And when the attendant of the man of God rose early and went forth, behold, an army surrounded the city, with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
Dothan wakes to a siege. A whole Syrian army has moved in during the night, and the only man they want is an unarmed prophet. The servant's cry is the honest reaction of anyone who counts only what he can see.
The size of the force is itself a confession. Commentators say it takes fear, not strength, to send an army after one unarmed man.
He sends a great army to take one man. That proves, in a striking way, that godless people feel their own weakness and helplessness in front of one man whom the power of God holds up. The wicked Ahab felt this in an earlier day, when he sent his captains with their fifties to take Elijah, who stood alone. It was the same in a later day, when the Jews sent a band of officers and men to take the Lord of glory. The world instinctively knows that one man, if God is with him, is stronger than a great host without God.
The timing matters too. The army moved at night, while Elisha made no attempt to hide.
"Go and see where he is." The eyes of the flesh could easily discover where Elisha was, for he did not steal away. God has nothing to hide; He is light itself. Men, on the contrary, love darkness and fear the light. This is why the army came up "by night" and surrounded the city.
The servant's report was not exaggerated. His problem was not bad information but a second kind of sight he never used.
Elisha's servant rose early. He saw the whole enemy army, the horses and the chariots, and he was afraid. His eyes did not deceive him; what he lacked was the eyes of faith. That is why he despaired at once: "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" In effect, the confident Syrian army was throwing all its strength at one defenceless man. How could he resist? The servant saw the army and drew that conclusion. He has no excuse. As the prophet's servant he lived in constant contact with the unseen world, and he ought to have known that no human strength can stand before the power of God.
Two men faced the same army that morning and reached opposite verdicts.
Elisha calms the young man's alarm. He says, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." The young man is walking by sight. Elisha is walking by faith. The prophet anticipates the experience of the apostle who could say, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
The Syrians formed the outer ring. Writers point out that the vision granted in the next verses showed a second ring, closer in.
When the young man's eyes were opened in 2 Kings 6:17, he saw "horses of fire and chariots of fire round about Elisha." The host of the enemy lay camped around the man of God, and apparently every route of escape was closed. But nearer to him still, and standing between him and them, was the host of God. In the same way a host is camped against us. The devil seeks by every trick to drive us off heavenly ground.
The prophet asked nothing for himself. He had already watched fiery horses and chariots carry Elijah away, and he expected the same escort on his own road.
There was no need for Elisha to have his eyes opened. He had already seen the chariots of Israel and their horsemen waiting on Elijah as he went up from earth to heaven. The prophet's faith realises that the same chariots and horses of God go with him as he travels through the earth. The young man has seen the horses and chariots and the great army that surrounded the city. Now he sees the mountain "full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." The Syrian army may be around the city. But what can they do if God's higher host is around Elisha?
Elisha's own calm was not the end of his responsibility.
With every anxiety of his own settled, he can pray for others. He asks that the same vision of faith his own eye rested on may make his servant sure too. "Lord, please open his eyes that he may see." It is not enough for me to rest on God's help by faith, or to ask others to do so. I must also help them stand firm in that power.
Writers turn the servant's panic into a question for the reader.
There seemed to be no way of escape. He may have begun to feel that it would have been better to be on the enemy's side than against him, since his power was so great. He was wise to run to his master in his fear, but his cry, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" showed how shaken he was. Have we ever felt like that? ... Is the way of escape to make terms with the enemy? Can you find relief by compromising with him? No, that will not do. Stand fast! Have faith in God. A little faith can overcome great difficulties, for faith is the sight that sees God.
- Counted. The servant's arithmetic was right and his conclusion wrong; he saw the army accurately but never counted the God he served.
- Cornered. A whole army sent by night for one unarmed man shows how weak the strong feel when God is with someone.
- Calmed. "Do not be afraid" was Elisha's answer, and he could give it because his own soul was already settled: those who are with us are more than those who are with them.
- Circled. The enemy ringed the city; God's horses and chariots ringed Elisha, and the unseen army was the stronger one.
- Carried. Elisha did not stop at his own peace but prayed his servant into it; the way out of fear was never compromise, only sight that sees God.
And he said, Fear not, for they that are with us are more than they that are with them.
Overnight the king of Syria surrounds the town of Dothan with horses, chariots and a great army — all to capture one prophet. His servant wakes, sees the trap and panics; Elisha answers by counting a second army the young man cannot see.
The size of the force says something about the fear behind it. An army sent after one unarmed man is a confession:
The king of Syria learns that Elisha, not some traitor, is the one frustrating his plans. So he sends horses, chariots and a great army to take him captive. He sends a great army to take one man. That is striking proof that the ungodly realize their weakness and helplessness in the presence of one man sustained by the power of God. The wicked Ahab felt this in an earlier day, when he sent his captains with their fifties to take Elijah, who stood alone. It was the same in a later day, when the Jews sent a band of officers and men to take the Lord of glory. The world instinctively knows that one man, if God is with him, is stronger than a great army without God.
Both men looked at the same hillside. The difference was not in their eyes but in what each man walked by.
Elisha quietens the young man's alarm. He says, "Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." The young man is walking by sight. Elisha is walking by faith. The prophet anticipates the experience of the Apostle who can say, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"
The next verse identifies the reinforcements as horses and chariots of fire. Writers tie them to the same chariots that carried Elijah to heaven. That protection, they say, has never stopped:
These chariots of fire and this cavalry are angels. Once they gathered to take Elijah up to heaven. Now they gather to protect one defenceless man on earth, bringing all the plans of his enemies to nothing. This divine intervention on behalf of the redeemed has never ceased. Jacob had seen it when angels in two bands met him at Mahanaim. With danger close at hand, he identified himself with the Lord's army and could say of himself, "I have become two camps."
Position matters as much as number. The enemy had closed every road out, yet something stood between the prophet and them:
When God opened the young man's eyes in 2 Kings 6:17, he saw "horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." The enemy army lay camped around the man of God. Every way out seemed closed. But nearer to him still, and between him and them, was the army of God.
The prophet is not content to be calm alone. He asks God for the servant, because only God can give this kind of sight.
Elisha, however, is not content to rest in quiet faith himself, nor to seek only to comfort others. He would gladly bring the young man up to his own spiritual level. Realizing that only God can do this, he prays to the Lord to open his servant's eyes... There was no need for Elisha to have his eyes opened. He had already seen the chariots of Israel and their horsemen waiting on Elijah as he went up from earth to heaven.
No technique produces this sight:
He was not told to cultivate psychic powers. GOD opened his eyes.
Fear pushes toward a deal with the stronger side. One writer names that pressure and answers it:
He may have begun to feel that it would have been better to be for the enemy than against him, since his power was so great... Is the way of escape to make terms with the enemy? Can you find relief by compromising with him? No, that will not do. Stand firm! Have faith in God. A little faith can overcome great difficulties, for faith is the sight that sees God.
Commentators apply the count to believers now, even without the vision:
Is there any less protection for believers today? Believers may not see the angel of the Lord camping around us, but it is still true (Ps. 34:7). Those redeemed by the blood of Christ have no reason to fear any enemy, for God is their Protector.
- Counted. Faith counts what the eye cannot see: the enemy is real, but those with us outnumber them.
- Cause. The servant saw one army and panicked. The prophet had already seen the other, and stayed calm.
- Gift. No one can work this sight up. Elisha prayed, and God opened the young man's eyes.
- Reach. The chariots that carried Elijah up now surround one defenceless man. That protection has never stopped.
- Result. The count holds, so there is no reason to bargain with the enemy. Stand firm, because "faith is the sight that sees God."
And Elisha prayed and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw; and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
A Syrian army surrounds Dothan by night, and Elisha's servant wakes to find every road blocked. The prophet does not pray for escape or for rescue; he prays that one frightened man might see what is already there.
The servant's report was accurate. He did not need better information. He needed a second kind of sight, and only God could give it.
"Do not be afraid," Elisha says to his servant, "for those who are with us are more than those who are with them" (v. 16). Then he prays: "O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see." The eyes of his flesh saw the army of the enemy, and they did not deceive him. Yet he was blind. Some things needed the prophet's prayer and the Lord's own intervention before he could see them. Then his eyes were opened. These chariots of fire and horsemen are angels. They once gathered to take Elijah up to heaven. Now they gather to protect one defenseless man on earth, and they bring all the plans of his enemies to nothing. God has never stopped acting like this for His redeemed.
after-check: splits 59-word sentence, restores ESV wording, adds source material on who the horses are
Elisha asks nothing for himself. Something he saw years earlier explains why.
Elisha is not content to rest in quiet faith himself, nor only to comfort others. He would gladly bring the young man up to his own spiritual level. Knowing that only God can do this, he prays to the Lord to open his servant's eyes... There was no need for Elisha to have his eyes opened. He had already seen the chariots of Israel and the horsemen as Elijah went up from earth to heaven. The prophet's faith knows that the same chariots and horses of God go with him on his journey through the earth.
The fiery host could look like a copy of the army outside the city. One difference sets them apart.
The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around them! It might seem an exact copy of the host outside the city. But there was an important difference. The chariots outside could be burned up. The chariots surrounding them were made of fire, matching the character of the God who had sent them. He is a consuming fire! The host surrounding the prophet and his servant was certainly angelic. They were there not to display heaven's delight, but for service.
Nothing in the story puts the servant to work on himself. The change came from outside.
When the Syrian army surrounded Dothan, Elisha's servant was terrified. So Elisha prayed that God would open his eyes to see the horses and chariots of fire around the mountain. He was not told to develop psychic powers. GOD opened his eyes. This leads us to Psalm 34:7: "The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them." Here we see a ministry of care, protection and deliverance. The word "encamps" suggests that the angel of the Lord has a whole army of helpers behind him.
The order of the two circles matters. The Syrians ringed the city; the fiery host ringed Elisha — closer in.
The enemy's army was camped around the man of God, and apparently every way of escape was closed. But nearer to him still, and between him and them, was the host of God. In the same way a host is camped against us.
The story runs on, and the enemy meets the opposite of what the servant received.
We are also allowed to see that Elisha deals with the enemies of God in the ways of grace. At the same time he shows that they are completely in his power. So the young man had his eyes opened, while the enemies of God's prophet will now have their eyes blinded. The same was true in spirit when the Lord was here. He came "that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind" (John 9:39). To admit one's blindness and submit to God is the way to sight, as the blind man in John's Gospel found.
- The danger was real. The servant saw the Syrian army, and his eyes told him the truth. He was still blind, because only God could show him the rest.
- Faith saw it first. Elisha needed no prayer for himself. He had watched the chariots of fire carry Elijah up, and he counted on the same escort ever since.
- The gift was sight, not rescue. Nothing was added to the mountain that morning. God opened one man's eyes, and no skill of the servant's own had any part in it.
- The nearer circle wins. The enemy ringed the city. The host of God stood closer, between Elisha and them: chariots of fire, angels sent to serve.
- Two results, one lesson. One man had his eyes opened; the enemy had their eyes blinded. Admitting your blindness before God is still the road to sight.
And they came down to him; and Elisha prayed to Jehovah and said, Smite this nation, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
The Syrian army has come by night to seize one unarmed man, and Elisha's servant has just seen the hills full of horses and chariots of fire. So why does the prophet now pray for blindness rather than a sword or fire, and what did that blow achieve?
The same prophet asks God to open one pair of eyes and to shut hundreds. One writer traces both prayers back to a single source.
God, who opens the eyes of Elisha's servant, blinds the Syrian army at the prophet's request. The same God who had closed and opened the heavens at Elijah's prayer opens or closes men's eyes at Elisha's prayer. This is because these requests come from hearts in real communion with the mind of God, who ask Him only for what He desires to do. "If we ask anything according to his will he hears us" (1 John 5:14).
God struck the army, yet the verse ties the blow to Elisha's prayer. One writer sees in that a picture of how God treats the prayers of His people.
What grace the Lord grants us! He counts as coming from us what we have asked by faith and through the Spirit — free gifts of God! From now on the prophet may show himself to his enemies; they do not recognise him.
Blindness falls elsewhere in Scripture as judgment. Here the same stroke does the opposite, and one writer names the two lessons it was meant to teach.
Elisha prayed that the Syrians might be struck with blindness. This was just as truly mercy as the striking of the men of Sodom with blindness was judgement. God had two great lessons to teach the Syrians. First, no one can harm God's people. Second, God's heart is good even towards Gentiles.
Within a few verses God gives one man sight and takes it from an army. One writer finds the same pattern in the Lord's own ministry.
Elisha deals with God's enemies in the ways of grace, while at the same time showing that they are completely in his power. So while the young man had his eyes opened, the enemies of God's prophet now have their eyes blinded. It was so spiritually when the Lord was here, for He came "that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind" (John 9:39). To admit your own blindness and submit to God is the way to sight, as the blind man in John's Gospel found.
Elijah also struck his enemies. One writer weighs the difference between his blows and this one.
There is all the difference even between this act and Elijah's. Where Elijah sends anything of that kind, he leaves them to it. When Elisha seems to step aside from grace for a moment, it is only to show fuller grace in the end. He is just like our Lord. When our Lord appeared to be deaf to the Syro-Phoenician woman's plea, He only meant to send her away with a greater blessing and a deeper sense of His goodness.
The blow left the raiders alive. One writer weighs what would have happened if Elisha had killed them instead.
To have struck them down would only have provoked another campaign. Instead, he struck them with blindness, restored their sight, and then fed them with bread and water in the very heart of the enemy's land. That set the power of God all around them before their eyes so strongly that the raiding bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. It was without doubt a most effective blow, but it was a blow of mercy and not of judgment.
- Asked. God heard Elisha because his prayers came from a heart in tune with God's mind, asking only what God already wanted to do.
- Credited. God struck "in accordance with the prayer of Elisha." He counts what faith asks as coming from us — a free gift.
- Spared. Blindness struck Sodom as judgment. Here it came as mercy, teaching Syria that no one can harm God's people and that God's heart is good even to outsiders.
- Exposed. God opened one man's eyes and shut an army's. Admitting your own blindness is the road to sight.
- Disarmed. Blinded, healed, and fed, the raiders went home. A blow of mercy ended the raids; killing them would only have started another campaign.
And Elisha said to them, This is not the way, neither is this the city follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. And he led them to Samaria.
God has just answered two prayers of Elisha. His servant has seen the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire, and the Syrian troops sent to arrest him are now blind. Now the hunted man walks out to the army that came for him and offers to guide it. Two questions follow: was this honest, and what was it for?
The soldiers came to seize one man. Blindness turned the whole situation around, and God credits the answer to Elisha's word.
"He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha" (v. 18). What grace the Lord grants us! He reckons as coming from us what we have asked by faith and through the Spirit — free gifts of God! From now on the prophet may show himself to his enemies; they do not recognise him. He leads them to Samaria.
The offer to bring them to the man they were looking for has struck some readers as a trick. Commentators answer that it was not.
But was it not deception when the man of God said, "I will bring you to the man whom you seek," and led them into Samaria? It was not. Samaria was the home of the prophet and he was then on his way there. His aim was to show both the Syrians and the king of Israel that the LORD is the God and all-sufficient helper of His people.
Another writer traces the difficulty to one word in older English Bibles.
The wording of verse 19 in the King James Version has led some to suspect Elisha of untruthfulness. Put "and" for "but," and it is all plain. When the Syrians reached Samaria, their eyes were opened. They really were standing in front of the man they sought — Elisha. There was no trickery at all.
The ESV keeps that reading: "And he led them to Samaria."
The same chapter holds two opposite miracles of sight, and the contrast is deliberate.
We are allowed to see that Elisha deals with the enemies of God according to the ways of grace. At the same time, he shows that they are completely in his power. So it happens that while the young man had his eyes opened, the enemies of God's prophet now have their eyes blinded. It was the same in spiritual terms when the Lord was here. He came "that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind" (John 9:39). To own one's blindness and submit to God is the way to sight.
The blinding was not the start of punishment. It was a lesson.
This was as much an act of mercy as the blinding of the men of Sodom was an act of judgment. The Syrians had two great lessons to learn. First, no one can harm God's people. Second, God's heart is good even towards Gentiles.
The march from Dothan to Samaria turned the campaign inside out.
These blinded Syrians come completely under the power of Elisha. He leads them into Samaria. Then, when their eyes are opened, they discover they are captives — led captive by the very man they had set out to take. But if Elisha is in touch with the power of God, he is also the spokesman of the mercy of God. They once surrounded the little city of Dothan. Now they are the ones surrounded, inside their enemy's stronghold. Once it is clear that nothing but mercy can save them from destruction, they receive mercy.
But one man in the scene still could not see.
The unbelieving king sees them and wants to put them to death. Though his own eyes are open, he is as blind as his enemies. He wants to carry out judgment, when he deserves it a thousand times more than this idolatrous nation, because he neither sees grace nor is able to understand it.
Elisha's answer was food, not a sword.
To have struck them down would only have provoked another campaign. To strike them with blindness, restore their sight, and then feed them with bread and water in the very heart of the enemy's land had a different effect. It brought the surrounding power of God so clearly before their eyes that the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. It was a most effective blow, but a blow of mercy and not of judgment.
- Sight — one prayer opened a servant's eyes, another closed an army's, and the king's eyes were open yet blind. Clear sight is God's gift, and admitting blindness is the road to it.
- Honesty — Elisha was on his way to Samaria, and there the Syrians did meet the man they were hunting. There was no trick.
- Power — the troops sent to seize one man ended up following him. The captors walked into captivity.
- Mercy — the blinding taught rather than punished: no one can harm God's people, and God's goodness reaches even foreign enemies.
- Result — a feast, not a slaughter, ended the raids. The blow of mercy accomplished what the sword could not.
And it came to pass when they entered into Samaria, that Elisha said, Jehovah, open the eyes of these [men] that they may see. And Jehovah opened their eyes, and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
Twice in this chapter Elisha prays about eyes: once for his frightened servant, and now for a blinded army standing in Samaria. What they see is not rescue but capture, in the power of the man they came to arrest.
In the same chapter God gives sight to one man and takes it from an army.
We are also allowed to see that Elisha deals with the enemies of God in the ways of grace. At the same time he shows that they are completely in his power. So the young man had his eyes opened, and now the enemies of God's prophet will have their eyes blinded. It was the same spiritually when the Lord was here. He came "that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind" (John 9:39). To own your blindness and submit to God is the way to sight, as the blind man in John's Gospel found.
The whole military operation reverses in a single moment of vision.
The would-be captors were taken captive. For all their show of might, they were helpless prisoners. The Lord had shown Himself on behalf of His servant.
They had ringed a small town. Now the ring is drawn around them.
These blinded Syrians come completely under the power of Elisha. He leads them into Samaria. Then, when their eyes are opened, they discover they are captives — led captive by the very man they had set out to take... Once they had surrounded the little city of Dothan. Now they are surrounded themselves, inside their enemy's stronghold. It is now plain that nothing but mercy can save them from destruction, and mercy is what they receive.
Some readers have suspected Elisha of lying. He had told the blinded soldiers he would bring them to the man they were looking for.
The Syrians were to be taught two great lessons: that God's people cannot be harmed, and that God's heart is good even towards the nations outside Israel. The wording of verse 19 in the older Authorised Version has made some suspect Elisha of untruthfulness. Put "and" in place of "but," and all is plain. When the Syrians reached Samaria and had their eyes opened, they really were in the presence of the man they were looking for — Elisha. There was no trick at all.
Seeing where they stood made what came next astonishing.
What a lesson for these men! Though God had shown them His great power, yet He would also show them His great grace. Would they ever forget an experience like this? The king prepared a great feast for them before sending them away. So we are told that the bands of Syrian raiders did not come into the land of Israel any more.
Now the story turns personal. The king of Israel sees his enemies helpless in front of him.
The schemes and might of the devil may both fail to turn us from the Lord and the life of faith. Then he will try to stir up the flesh within us, and make us act on our natural impulses in times of testing. We see the danger in the king of Israel's feelings towards these captive Syrians... Now they were in his power. He could repay them for all the evil they had done him. He could avenge himself on them now. His turn had come.
The cure for that impulse is to remember how God has dealt with us.
We have to learn that if God had paid us back for our sins we would have perished for ever, but He did not. He overcame our evil with His good, and He saved us by His grace.
- Sight given. One prayer opened a frightened servant's eyes. Another opened an army's eyes to its own capture. The same God decides who sees.
- Sight humbling. What the Syrians saw was not escape but the end of every option. Owning your blindness is the way to real sight.
- Sight answered by mercy. When nothing but mercy could save them, mercy is what they got. God showed His power first, then His grace.
- Sight tested. The king longed to pay his enemies back the moment they were helpless. That impulse, not the Syrian army, was the real danger.
- Sight that ends the war. Fed and sent home, the raiders came no more. Grace ended the raids for good.
And the king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite? shall I smite [them]?
An army sent to arrest one prophet has been struck blind and led straight into Israel's capital. Now their eyes are open, the king sees a crowd of helpless enemies, and he asks Elisha the same question twice.
One writer follows what the Syrians saw when their sight came back.
When their eyes are opened, they discover they are captives — led captive by the very man they had set out to take... The men who once surrounded the little city of Dothan are now surrounded themselves in their enemy's stronghold. When it becomes clear that nothing but mercy can save them from destruction, they receive mercy.
The prophet's way with these prisoners was God's own way, and it never crossed the king's mind. One commentator hears in the repeated question what the king would have done if left to himself.
This was God-like; this was divine; but completely foreign to every thought of the king of Israel. "Shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?" The repetition shows how ready the king was to shed blood.
The Syrians lost their sight and got it back. The king could see the whole scene — and still missed it.
The godless, unbelieving king sees them and wants to put them to death! "My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?" His eyes are open, yet he is as blind as his enemies. He wants to pass judgment — and he deserves judgment a thousand times more than this idolatrous nation. He neither sees grace nor can he understand it. Elisha answers, "You shall not strike them down." Jehoram deserved to be struck down and had no right to strike others. But God wants to show him, and everyone else, that no judgment reaches those who have been brought to see that they are lost.
Commentators read the king differently. One notes that Jehoram, the king of Israel, at least asked the prophet before drawing his sword.
Jehoram would have taken advantage of the situation, but he asked the prophet for direction first. If only leaders today would seek God's direction from His servants, above all in moral decisions!
The outward danger was over. One writer warns that the next danger comes from inside.
The Devil uses cunning and force to turn us from the Lord and the life of faith. If both fail, he will try to stir up the flesh within us. Then, in times of testing, he makes us act on our natural impulses. The king of Israel's feelings toward these captive Syrians show us the danger... now they were in his power. He could pay them back for all the evil they had done him. He could take his revenge at last; his turn had come. His hand flew to his sword hilt.
The same writer turns the scene on the reader.
This king was very human, so very like ourselves. In his place, our impulse would have been just what his was... Someone who ought to have known better has wronged us. We made up our minds that when the chance came we would strike and take our revenge. We knew the feeling was wrong, and we lost our joy and peace by nursing it.
Elisha's refusal was not softness. It ended a war that killing never would have ended.
To have struck them would only have provoked another campaign. Instead came blindness, then restored sight, then bread and water in the very heart of the enemy's land. That put God's surrounding power so plainly before their eyes that the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. It was no doubt a most effective blow, but it was a blow of mercy and not of judgment.
One writer connects that day in Samaria with a rule the New Testament gives every Christian.
We see it acted out in real life, and on a large scale. Divine power drew a Syrian host, sent to arrest Elisha, blindfolded into the capital city of Israel. Then the king asked the prophet, Shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down? But the mouthpiece of God said, No... What was strange then, and must always have seemed strange to the human mind, now feels natural to the Christian. That is why the Apostle was led to quote the words as a rule for any and every day. "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Rom. 12:20.
- Captured. The men who came to seize Elisha ended up surrounded in the enemy's capital, helpless, with nothing but mercy to save them.
- Blind. The king's eyes worked, but he could not see grace. He called for judgment, though he deserved it far more than the men he wanted to strike.
- Flesh. Once the outward danger passed, the real danger was the king's own impulse to settle the score — and it is ours too.
- Mercy. Elisha's no was the stronger blow. Bread and water in enemy territory ended the raids; killing would only have restarted them.
- Rule. What looked like a one-off wonder is now the standing rule: feed your hungry enemy, give your thirsty enemy a drink.
And he said, Thou shalt not smite [them] wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
Syrian raiders came to Dothan to seize Elisha; instead he led them away blinded into Samaria, their enemy's capital. Their eyes open, the king asks twice if he may kill them, and the answer that ends the war is a meal.
Elisha's reply is a question: the king never took these men with his own sword or bow. One writer notes that the king's own eyes see no better than the blinded Syrians':
The profane, unbelieving king sees them and wants to put them to death! "My father, shall I strike them? Shall I strike them?" Despite his eyes being open, he is as blind as his enemies. He wants to carry out judgment. Yet he deserves that judgment a thousand times more than this idolatrous nation, because he neither sees grace nor can understand it. Elisha answers, "You shall not strike them down." Jehoram deserved to be struck and had no right to strike others.
The same writer points out that the army was brought before judgment precisely so that judgment would not fall:
He who alone has the right to judge does not do so; it was His grace that brought them before His judgment. ... God wants to show him, as well as all others, that no judgment is to reach those who are convicted of their lost estate. It was not yet too late for them.
Elisha had just seen the hills around Dothan full of horses and chariots of fire. That is why he can be generous where the king cannot:
A man protected by a mountain full of horses and chariots of fire has the mighty power of God all around him. He can afford to show mercy to those who are completely in his power. The man of nature, with no such resources of power, cannot risk showing mercy. Finding the enemy in his power, the king would have struck them. Elisha, using the power of God, dare not neglect the mercy of God; and this mercy is as great as the power. If the power of God secures a complete victory over "a great host," the mercy of God will provide for the defeated foe "great provision."
The chapter ends with the Syrian raids stopping. Commentators tie that result to the meal:
To have struck them would only have provoked another campaign. But they were struck with blindness, then given their sight back, and then fed with bread and water in the very heart of the enemy's land. This brought the surrounding power of God so clearly before their eyes that the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. It was no doubt a most effective blow, but it was a blow of mercy and not of judgment.
One writer draws out what the invaders themselves learned:
The Syrians had two great lessons to learn: (1) that no one can harm God's people; and (2) that God's heart is good even toward Gentiles.
Elisha does more than spare the men. He feeds them and sends them home. One writer quotes an older commentator who called the feast Elisha's revenge:
Oh, noble revenge of Elisha, to feast his persecutors! To provide a table for those who had provided a grave for him! These Syrians came to Dothan meaning to kill Elisha. He sends them to Samaria full of good cheer and gladness. ... The king of Israel has done by his feast what he could not have done by his sword.
Another sees the prophet anticipating the teaching of Jesus:
What mercy he then showed to his captives. Jehoram would have struck them, but Elisha fed them and had them sent away in peace. In this he is a picture of Him who taught, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:43-44).
One writer turns the king's question on the reader:
This king was very human, so very like ourselves. We feel that our impulse would have been just what his was, if we had been in his place. ... Someone has wronged us who ought to have known better. We made up our minds that when the chance came we would strike and avenge ourselves. We knew the feeling was wrong, and we lost our joy and peace by nursing it.
He points the reader back to how God treated us:
If God had retaliated against us because of our sins we should have perished for ever. But He did not. He overcame our evil by His good, and He saved us by His grace.
- Captives, not conquests. The king had not taken these men with sword or bow, so he had no right to kill them; he deserved judgment more than they did.
- Power first. The one protected by chariots of fire can afford mercy; the man without such resources cannot risk it.
- Great provision. The measure of the victory becomes the measure of the kindness — a great host meets a great feast.
- Mercy strikes hardest. Killing them would have provoked another campaign; feeding them ended the raids altogether.
- Then us. God overcame our evil with His good, and that is the answer to every "shall I strike them?" rising in our own hearts.
And he prepared a great repast for them, and they ate and drank; and he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
A raiding army sent to seize Elisha ends up blind, led into the enemy capital, and then seated at a feast. The king wants to kill them; the prophet tells him to feed them — and the raids stop.
A miracle, not the king's sword, brought the Syrians into Samaria. One writer draws out the irony of a guilty king eager to execute judgment, and names what the prisoners got instead:
The profane, unbelieving king sees them and wants to put them to death! "My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?" Though his eyes are open, he is as blind as his enemies. He wants to carry out judgment, though he deserves it a thousand times more than this idolatrous nation, because he neither sees nor can understand grace. Elisha answers, "You shall not strike them down." Jehoram deserved to be struck down. He had no right to strike others. God wants to show him, and everyone else, that no judgment will reach people who now see how lost they are... Still trembling all over, they find a feast that God has prepared for them, instead of the sword of the king. It is the great supper of grace.
Mercy on this scale rests on resources the king did not have:
A mountain full of horses and chariots of fire protects this man. The mighty power of God surrounds him. So he can afford to show mercy to those who are completely in his power. The man of nature, with no such resources of power, cannot risk showing mercy. Finding the enemy in his power, the king would have struck them down. Elisha, using the power of God, dare not neglect the mercy of God; and this mercy is as great as the power. If the power of God secures a complete victory over "a great army," the mercy of God will provide "a great feast" for the defeated foe.
The verse ends with a military result: the raids stopped. One writer notes that killing the prisoners would have done the opposite:
To have struck them down would only have provoked another campaign. Instead they were struck with blindness, then given their sight back, then fed with bread and water in the very heart of the enemy's land. That set the power of God clearly before their eyes. So the Syrians did not come again into the land of Israel. It was certainly a most effective blow, but it was a blow of mercy and not of judgment.
The same writer connects this scene to a rule Paul gives every Christian:
We see it literally acted out on a large scale when divine power drew a Syrian army, sent to arrest Elisha, blindfolded into the capital city of Israel. The mouthpiece of God said: "Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master." What was strange then, and always must have been to man's mind, is now natural to the Christian. So the Apostle quoted the words as a rule for any and every day. "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head." Romans 12:20. It was God in Christ; it is God in the Christian.
Forgiving an enemy is hard. One writer traces the king's change of heart to the company he kept:
But it is not easy to forgive... you will if you are near enough to the Lord, just as the king of Israel forgave through being near to Elisha. Elisha was the prophet of grace, and here was an opportunity to display it. These Syrians had to go back to their master convinced that there was a spirit in Israel unknown in Syria... The king of Israel seems to have caught Elisha's spirit and acted on it very willingly, for HE PREPARED A GREAT FEAST FOR THEM. And the king gained a greater victory by his kindness than he could have gained by his skill on the battlefield.
The peace had a limit. One writer traces what happened next:
The record of the mercy shown to the Syrian raiders closes with this: the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel. Still, the hostility of the Syrians to God's people remained. So we read that afterward Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered his whole army and besieged Samaria — the very city that had just seen such remarkable mercy.
- Power first. God blinded the Syrian army and led it in. The king, who deserved judgment himself, had no right to strike them.
- Mercy matches it. The size of the mercy answers the size of the power — a great army met with a great feast.
- Mercy strikes harder. Killing them would have started another war; feeding them ended the raids. A blow of mercy, not of judgment.
- Mercy becomes the rule. What was strange then is now the everyday standard for the Christian: feed your enemy, give him a drink.
- Mercy is not a cure-all. The raids stopped, but Syria's hostility remained. Ben-hadad soon besieged the very city that had seen such kindness.