8 Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” 22 He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” 23 So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.
8 Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” 22 He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” 23 So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Caleb Chancey:
Good evening everybody. This thing on. My name's Thomas Ritchie, and, it is my privilege to preach tonight. I'm an elder here at Redeemer, and I am not a professional preacher. You should have heard my daughter about 5 minutes ago, while we were singing.
Caleb Chancey:
She leaned over and she started to grab my hand, and then she pulls back and goes, Dad, your hands are sweaty. I'm nervous. I'll own it. Because I'm not a great preacher and because this is an odd text. It's a bit of an obscure text.
Caleb Chancey:
When my wife Melissa asked me what I was going to preach about, I said, oh, 2nd Kings chapter 6. She says, oh, why? It's a valid question, but it's one I hope that I can answer tonight. I think we see the gospel in this text beautifully. There's a lot that's here.
Caleb Chancey:
There's a lot that I've learned through studying, and I hope that, we can look at it together and that God will, will work. So turn your bibles to 2nd Kings chapter 6. We will read verses 8 through 23. It's in your worship guide as well. Hear these words.
Caleb Chancey:
Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants saying, at such and such a place shall be my camp. But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.' And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself more than once or twice. And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel? And one of the servants said, none, my lord, oh king, but Elisha the prophet who is in Israel tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.
Caleb Chancey:
And he said, 'Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.' It was told him, 'Behold, he's in Dothan.' So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city. When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city, and the servant said, alas, my master, what shall we do? He said, do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Then Elisha prayed and said, Oh Lord, please open his eyes that he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Caleb Chancey:
And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, please strike this people with blindness. So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha, and Elisha said to them, this is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. And he led them to Samaria. As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, oh Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see.
Caleb Chancey:
So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, my father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?' He answered, you shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.
Caleb Chancey:
So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel. Please pray with me. Oh God, many are the words of men, but your words are life. Your words are true, and they teach us, and more than that, they feed us and they give us vision.
Caleb Chancey:
God, I pray that, you will indeed open our our ears to hear from you, to open our eyes to see Jesus Christ lifted up in this text. Give us careful ears that we weigh what is said against the truth of your word. Give us hearts that rejoice in the truth. They're eager to put what is true here, in this sermon into action. God, may we worship Christ.
Caleb Chancey:
In his name we pray. Amen. I'm gonna provide just a little bit of context before we jump right into this passage. The prophet that's at the center of this story is a guy named Elisha. He is the second great prophet of Israel whose name begins with e.
Caleb Chancey:
He was the servant of the first Elijah for 8 years. And then Elijah was taken up to heaven, and of all things, a chariot of fire. After that happens, Elisha becomes kind of the national prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel. He is a famous man in Israel. He knows the king.
Caleb Chancey:
He's known internationally. The Syrians know his name as well. But he's a really interesting guy. Elijah, I think of as being a main street prophet. He did all these fantastic things in the middle of the culture.
Caleb Chancey:
Elisha is way farther out on the outskirts of the city. If you read the first half of 2nd Kings, he has all of these strange and often very small miracles that he performs that say a lot about the character of God. And this is one of them. Elisha becomes known to the Syrians because he's frustrating their military plans, and they send an army to capture him. And the first theme that comes out of this text, I think, is the theme of vision.
Caleb Chancey:
Elisha prays 3 times, and all three times that he prays, his prayers are either, God, open eyes, or God, bring blindness. But what's interesting is that in none of those instances is he talking about literal vision or literal blindness. The His servant, for example, could see just fine. He looked up and he saw, and behold, there was a Syrian army. What he was blinded to was the spiritual reality.
Caleb Chancey:
He could not perceive that God had provided protection in the form of His army. The Syrians, likewise, when Elisha goes out and prays that they be struck with blindness, it's not like they couldn't see the ground under their feet. This journey that Elisha takes them on from Dothan to Samaria is 12 miles over land. I can't imagine that he could lead an army of people who were stumbling around blind that far. What's happened to these people isn't that they can't physically see.
Caleb Chancey:
It's that their ability to perceive or to understand has been taken away. And this non literal vision, this spiritual vision and spiritual blindness is a theme not only in this text, but in scripture more broadly. And the problem is, I think that we'll find that the Bible says that all of us suffer from this at some time, or at least that it's a common problem. Jesus says in Matthew 13 when his disciples ask him why he teaches in parables, he says, this is why I speak to them in parables. Because seeing, they do not see.
Caleb Chancey:
Hearing, they do not hear, nor do they understand. And he would often end his parables by saying something like, he who has ears, let him hear. Jesus is alluding to Isaiah 6, where Isaiah is called by God to be prophet. And this is God's call to Isaiah. Go and say to these people, keep on hearing, but do not understand.
Caleb Chancey:
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive. I'd wager that all of us at some point in our lives, and maybe even this week, know that there are times when we do not rightly see the world. We don't understand what God is doing. We don't understand what other people are doing. Perhaps we're like Elisha's servant, where all we see is our problems, we see our challenges, but we can't see what God is doing to provide for us.
Caleb Chancey:
Or perhaps we're like the Syrians, where this is very common for me, I've got my eyes on my feet. I know what my next step is gonna be, but I have no sense of God's greater purpose. I have no sense of where he's directing me, and I'm completely blind to it. And I'm unaware of the fact that I'm blind to it. I think if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I'm doing fine.
Caleb Chancey:
This is a real problem, and it it calls out for a real cure, and that cure is given to us I think in this text. Here it is. True vision This is very simple. True vision comes from God. It's a gift.
Caleb Chancey:
He gives it, and He withholds it. We see this fleshed out in verses 16 and 17. When Elisha's servant is terrified, Elisha gives us an example to follow and how to to seek vision. Elisha first comforts the servant. He says to him, don't be afraid.
Caleb Chancey:
He doesn't rebuke him for being blind. He engages with him relationally. Don't be afraid. 2nd, he reminds him of the truth of scripture. When Elisha says those great words, those who are with us are more than those who are with them, I think he's alluding to Psalm 3.
Caleb Chancey:
I won't read the whole thing, but it says things like this. Oh Lord, how many are my foes? But you, oh Lord, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around.
Caleb Chancey:
So Elisha first comforts. 2nd, he reminds his servant of the truth of scripture. And 3rd, he prays very directly that God would open the servant's eyes. He asks God to give vision. This pattern, truth I'm sorry.
Caleb Chancey:
Comfort, truth, and vision, is reflected in Psalm 119 that we read as our opening scripture. That that Psalm is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it's this extended meditation, this extended prayer, where David said says that he's comforted because God's word is true, because his law is helpful, because his statutes are uplifting. And it says in there that famous verse that thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path, that the truth of scripture brings vision to us. And I think that this notion of vision is a timely consideration in our culture. As we seek to reach the lost, as we engage in the debate where we seek to bring redemption into our culture, it's important for us to remember that the ultimate goal is vision that comes from God, not from us.
Caleb Chancey:
We cannot argue a blind person into seeing. Now of course we must hold and pronounce the truth of scripture, and of course we must share it and engage relationally, but we do not argue as though our words are what make someone see. There's no point in trying to make someone see what they can't see. You'll make an enemy that way, not a convert. Like Elisha, we should recognize that our chief work is prayer.
Caleb Chancey:
It's God that opens eyes. It's God that brings vision. So while we strive and while we engage and while we proclaim the truth, pray for people. So we've talked about vision now in the abstract, but I wanna hone in more concretely on what the servant's eyes were open to see. Namely, this army, horses and chariots of fire.
Caleb Chancey:
I mean, this is easily the coolest part of the story. Who who would not like to rise up in the morning and go out go out on this hill and to see God's shining army surrounding them? I would love to see it. And while it's so fascinating, it's also really mysterious and frankly, very confusing in context. The author and playwright Anton Chekhov gave this rule of dramatic writing.
Caleb Chancey:
He says, if you say in the first chapter that there's a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter, it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there. And yet, this incredible vision, this wonderful army of God is left, as it were, just hanging there. It doesn't do anything. It's not like the Syrians were just sitting there either.
Caleb Chancey:
In verse 18, it says that they came down against the city. Now, I've never seen an army of horses and chariots come down against the city, but it strikes me as a noisy and rowdy and terrifying thing, And yet, other than this one mention, there's no time that this army of God does anything, even when the Syrians are charging down. Why? Why include this wonderful army if they're not gonna do anything? I've been wrestling with that question this week, and I've come to this conclusion, the first part of which is really obvious.
Caleb Chancey:
1st, God didn't send that army to fight a battle. If he did, they would have fought a battle, but they didn't. So if he didn't do that, why did he send them? And the only other answer I can come up with is that he sent them to encourage Elisha, to remind Elisha about who God is, and that God is in control, and that God is there to help him. I understand you might not agree with me about this, so let me make my argument a little bit more at length.
Caleb Chancey:
When I see an army, my mind immediately jumps to what that army is going to do. But Elisha saw the army, and he was reminded of the whole character of God. Not just God's power, but also God's sovereignty and God's heart for other people. Elisha had faith in God, not faith in God's army. If I were Elisha, I think I would see an army of fire and think that the army was my deliverance, but Elisha doesn't make the mistakes that I would make.
Caleb Chancey:
He sees the army and is reminded that God is his deliverer. This point says something about how God provides for us. I often want God to send an army to fight my battles. If I have anxiety about money, I pray to God and ask for a money solution. If I have frustrations in a relationship, I pray that God would fix my relationships.
Caleb Chancey:
If I have a problem at work, I want God to fix my problem at work. God, fix my problems is what a lot of my prayers boil down to. But in praying that way, I take a narrow view of God and how he loves me and provides for me. He doesn't just give little snippets like that. God gives his whole self.
Caleb Chancey:
He wants me to trust him in all of my actions, not just to desire these small gifts and little solutions. So God doesn't fix Elisha's problem in the way that I would think that he would. Instead, he provides he reminds Elisha of all of who he is, and Elisha has encouraged them to go out and take some really interesting actions. And that's the third thing we're gonna look at tonight. How does Elisha treat his enemies?
Caleb Chancey:
When the Syrians come charging down at Elisha with their horses and chariots, he walks out of the city and goes to meet them alone. Alright. Instead of calling down destruction from this army of God, he hatches this improbable and complicated plan, where first he exposes himself to personal danger, then he asks God for additional miracles as if the army of fire is not enough. But it ends with him blessing his enemies. And the theme is this.
Caleb Chancey:
The Syrians come down to fight a war, and Elisha just ignores it altogether. They come down to fight, and he goes out and says, this is not a war. This is a feast. You come to fight. I come to feed.
Caleb Chancey:
Specifically, Elisha prays that his enemies would be struck with blindness, and he leads them on this journey. He leads them into a trap. It's this great reversal. The Syrians come down and surround Dothan in darkness, and they attack at dawn. But Elisha goes out, and the Syrians are blinded, and now they're in darkness.
Caleb Chancey:
And he leads them into a trap, and when their eyes are opened, they're the ones. They're surrounded, and the Israelites are about to come charging down and kill them. The stage is set for a massacre. Even the king of Israel thinks, you know, he says it twice for emphasis, he's about to strike these people down. But the story doesn't end in bloodshed.
Caleb Chancey:
It ends in a feast. Instead of doing what the Syrians came to do, Elisha and the king of Israel bless instead. There's a great little detail in this story that I'd never appreciated before, and it reinforces this great reversal, this blessing where someone else intended a curse. And it has to do with where the story begins in this town of Dothan. Dothan is mentioned twice in the Bible, of course, here in 2nd Kings, and then much earlier in Genesis 37.
Caleb Chancey:
That part of Genesis tells the story of Joseph. It's a very familiar story, and in broad arc, we all remember Joseph, beloved of his parents, hated by his brothers, is betrayed by them. He's betrayed at Dothan. They sell him into slavery, and he goes down to Egypt. And continues on from there.
Caleb Chancey:
He's in Egypt, and his life is terrible. He's a slave. And when things start to get a little bit better, they get a whole lot worse again. But finally, God gives him this gift, this this gift of vision where he understands Pharaoh's prayers, and he rises up through the bureaucracy of Egypt to become number 2 in the kingdom, second only to pharaoh. He foresees that there will be a famine, and he stores up food in Egypt.
Caleb Chancey:
And when the famine strikes, his family is affected by it, and they come down to Egypt seeking food, and there's this dramatic scene where Joseph encounters his family. And they don't recognize him, but he recognizes them. Right? He has them surrounded, as it were. The the the shoes on the other foot.
Caleb Chancey:
He has his family right in his grasp, and he can finally do to them what they did to him, but he doesn't. He reveals himself, and they're terrified, but he doesn't strike them down. Instead, he blesses them. He feeds them. And for years, his brothers are still scared of him, but he Joseph says these words to them in Genesis 50.
Caleb Chancey:
Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. So do not fear. I will provide for you and your little ones. The parallels between these stories are striking, and it's this little detail of Dothan that links the 2 of them together.
Caleb Chancey:
It reminds us of God's sovereign control, even in seemingly helpless situations, and it reminds us that God's plans are slow. They take a long time to play themselves out sometimes. Thirdly, and perhaps most challengingly, it reminds us of God's desire that we bless those who would harm us. To put this lesson into practice, I ask myself this question. It may be helpful for you to ask it of yourself as well.
Caleb Chancey:
What is my goal when I interact with people that would wrong me or that already have wronged me? Do I seek and do I plot vengeance? Do I plot to protect myself and what's mine, or do I plan and seek out their their blessing, their good instead of my own? When someone, even in small things, when someone walks up to engage with you in a conversation that you don't wanna have, do you try to fight them off, say as few words as possible, get things over? Or do you view that as an opportunity to engage with a real person, to bless them, to to make a friend?
Caleb Chancey:
Or if you're arguing with someone, if you're engaged in a debate, civil or otherwise, is your goal to win, to defeat the other? Or is it to have another person, a brother or sister, come to see the truth of scripture? Are you trying to make a friend, or are you trying to make a point? Are you eaten up by anger and a desire to seek vengeance against people who have harmed you, or do you trust God's long plan, his sovereign hand to care for you even when others don't? But these questions are difficult for me because I know that I answered them the wrong way, And that leads me in this story and in my own life, as in all things, it leads me to the person of Jesus Christ, who sits squarely in the center of this story.
Caleb Chancey:
Because like Elisha, Jesus saw the army of God. Also like Elisha, He restrained the urge to call that army down to destroy His enemies. In Matthew 26, we hear the story of soldiers arresting Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Let me read this. Then they, the soldiers, came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.
Caleb Chancey:
And behold, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. This is the key part. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once send me more than 12 legions of angels?
Caleb Chancey:
But how then should the scriptures be fulfilled that it must be so? It must be so, Jesus says. It must be so that he be delivered into the hands of sinful men. It must be so that he suffer terribly in his flesh and his spirit for our sins. It must be so that he be nailed to a tree and raised up.
Caleb Chancey:
And I think as he is on that cross and he looks around him, what does he see but God's army perched on the mountainside and waiting for the order to come down? I think like Elijah, he sees that salvation, and he holds his tongue. He does not call down destruction because like Elisha, he did not come to fight. He came to feed us. And even though that food that he gives, it's not like what was given to the Syrians, where they were left hungry again, and this war resumes shortly thereafter.
Caleb Chancey:
What Jesus gives us is his own body and his own blood. Like Elisha, Jesus was seeking the good of his enemies, and make no mistake, we are those enemies in our sin. Jesus went out alone against His enemies and submitted Himself. He did not use His power to destroy, but He emptied himself of that power that he might save us. We are partakers of that feast.
Caleb Chancey:
All who are called by his name, all that believe in him. We are saved by his sacrifice, and we can see because he has enlightened our hearts with the knowledge of truth. When we lack for vision to rightly see the world, hear Jesus say these words in John 8. I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
Caleb Chancey:
When we walk in His light, hopefully we will see the ways that we can love others the way that He has loved us. We can see ways to give of ourselves. We can see ways not to use our power for our own advantage, but for the good and blessing of others, even those that despise us. We don't have to cling to our money and hoard it, but we can give freely, because our creator and our savior gave freely to us. Let's go to him in prayer.
Caleb Chancey:
Our father when we see the truth of who you are revealed in your scriptures by your spirit, may it lead our hearts to worship you. God, that we would worship you in our minds as we think on you, God, that in our emotions we would be stirred up to feel and know that the truths of you are the greatest truths, that in 10000 years we could not exhaust our joy in singing of them. But also God, that we might know and worship these truths, or you in these truths, through our obedience to them. That as we hear your word that we would go out and do it, that we would be a people who love our enemies. We don't cling to our advantages.
Caleb Chancey:
God, that we would be a people marked with prayer, marked with vision, rightly seeing the world as you do. Not because we're clever, not because we're good, but because you give us vision for your own purposes. Give us vision, not only of the world around us, but of our own hearts, and we may be able to see sin in our lives, to see dulling habits that we have, and to see opportunities for repentance and for worship. I thank you for the great cost that you paid on our behalf, for not giving us what we deserve in judgment, but instead coming to give us a feast. We look forward to the day that we share in that feast, all of our brothers and sisters, with you and your kingdom forevermore in Christ's name.