2 Kings 6:1-7
Elisha was in Gilgal with the sons of the prophets at what we might see as a school for the prophets. To the people of God, training up the next generation was important. God's people are one generation away from extinction – we must be committed to training up our children in the ways of the Lord.
The prophets saw that their house was too small. They needed a larger place and sought to start a building project down by the Jordan. This was about three miles away to the east. When starting this project one of the men cutting down a tree lost an ax head in the water. Iron tools weren't easy to come by; its not like everyone had an ax head and there wasn't a hardware store just around the corner. The axe head would be something very valuable, not just in possessing it, but also that it could provide a living for someone.
The axe was borrowed so in losing it, the owner was now without and the borrower was in debt to him. Both would be financially affected in a big way. This man reported the problem imediately to the man of God. We that God even cares about caring for His people in things like this. There seems to be no eternal significance or profound moments to teach doctrine. This was simply a man who felt bad for losing this and God, the loving Father, intervened. The Lord provided a miracle making the iron float so it could be retrieved. Wiersbe noted, "It was a quiet miracle from a powerful God through a compassionate servant."
2 Kings 6:8-11
As the Syrians plotted war against Israel, Elisha warned the King of Israel of their traps. The king found Syria waiting in hiding as Elisha said; not just once or twice, but numerous times. This frustrated the King of Syria. He couldn't figure out how Israel repeatedly knew of his plans. He had concluded he had a spy in his midst.
2 Kings 6:12-23
Syria sent an army to retrieve one man, Elisha, who had informed agaisnt him repeatedly. By night they surrounded the city where Elisha and his servant were staying. The servant awoke in the morning and went out saw that they were surrounded. What a surreal moment this must have been. By what he saw, they were at the mercy of the Syrians (not a good place to be) and seemingly without hope. Elisha's answer is one that spoke to the servant as it might speak to every child of God today, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them."
Elisha then prayed that this servant's eyes might see the truth. And he saw! He saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around. When the Syrian army came down, Elisha prayed they might be blinded. It doesn't matter how big you are as an army, if you can't see, your value is limited. These men were blinded to the truth. They did not know or recognize Elisha, even when he talked to them. He sent them to Samaria on a wild goose chase.
Once they were in Samaria, Elisha prayed their eyes would be opened. At once they saw their error and how far astray they had come. They had been delivered to Samaria as war captives. The king of Israel inquired as to if he should kill them. It is noteworthy that he called Elisha 'my father' when there was such a lack of respect or love for the Lord. These Syrian raiders were treated with kindness and were won over so they would not raid the land. The kindness of the Lord leads us to repentance.
2 Kings 6:24-33
Ben-hadad laid siege to Samaria and this brought the city to a servere famine. Things were so severe that a donkey head sold for 80 shekels of silver and dove's dung was being sold for five. This was a months worth of wages for some dove droppings. Only the rich could afford to eat what the poorest man would refuse in normal times.
The king was called to help by a woman as he passed. He felt helpless to assist in any way but aske the woman what she wanted. What a surprise and shock this must have been to the king. This woman complained to the king that she had made a deal with another lady to eat her son one day and other lady's the next. The lady didn't provide her son. Here complaint was that it wasn't fair. The idea of eating children was acceptable but the breaking of the promise was offensive to her. We certainly get a sense of how far they had fallen. The sense of right and wrong were completely off the scale of what we would call normal.
In verse 31, the king blames Elisha, which is the same as blaming God. He swore he would have his head removed. The servant sent to get Elisha was kept at the door by the elders as they waited on the king who was close behind. The king saw that this situation was from the Lord, but struck out against the Lord as if he could angrily change what God would do.
………continued in chapter 7.
©2016 Doug Ford
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