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Elisha, Big Things, Little Things!

Last week, I made the general observation that prophets see things better than anyone else. They tend to see what no one else is able to see, or wants to see. Jeremiah saw that the citizens of Jerusalem followed worthless idols and, in the process, became worthless themselves. He saw current events clearly, he communicated where those events were leading with utmost clarity, and the response was as if everyone on the receiving end had cheap cell phones; you know, the one with too much static.

Isaiah, who lived and preached a good one-hundred years prior to the fall of the southern kingdom, saw that the sins of Judah would eventually bring about captivity at the hands of Babylon. At the time, of course, Babylon wasn't on anyone's radar screen and yet Isaiah clearly saw what would befall Jerusalem. Like Daniel, he saw distant events better than you or I see our tomorrows.

Others, like Jonah clearly saw God's grace and compassion. In fact, this reluctant prophet saw it so clearly that he fled in the opposite direction just so he wouldn't have to convey what he knew was true of God to those who didn't deserve it; as if he did deserve it! Well, you know what happened which simply confirmed that Jonah did indeed have 20-20 vision when it came to the character of God.

To some extent, of course, what was true of the prophets is true of us. Once we were blind to the things of God, just as Paul was before having his eyes opened on the road to Damascus, and now we too have had our eyes opened wide. Wide enough to see ourselves in need of a savior, wide enough to see the love of God in Christ, wide enough to comprehend the Bible, and wide enough to see that whatever our tomorrow brings it will ultimately be for our good.

But while you and I have been equipped to see and understand ourselves and the world from a spiritual perspective, through faith, the prophets were gifted with the ability to see what we can't see at all or what we can only see by faith. No where is this better illustrated than with Elisha. In II Kings 6, beginning in v. 8, we read: Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, "I will set up my camp in such and such a place." 9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: "Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there." 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. 11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, "Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?" 12 "None of us, my lord the king," said one of his officers, "but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom." 13 "Go, find out where he is," the king ordered, "so that I can send men and capture him." The report came back: "He is in Dothan." 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. 16 "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." 17 And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so that he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha. 18 As the enemy came down towards him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. 19 Elisha told them, "This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to Samaria. 20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, "LORD, open the eyes of these men so that they can see." Then the LORD opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria. 21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?" 22 "Do not kill them," he answered. "Would you kill men you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master." 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory. (II Kings 6:8 - 23)

Like intermittent wipers, the Arameans periodically conducted guerrilla warfare against the Israelites. This time, however, it wasn't done haphazardly or randomly. The king of Aram planned to systematically wipe out the Israelites with well-laid plans. He gathered his officers together, carefully decided where and when to strike so as to catch the Israelites off-guard, and then executed the plan with great precision. But each and every time the well-conceived ambush was foiled. It was as if Israeli Intelligence had a mole planted deep within the kingdom of Aram.

The king of Aram tightened up security, the lines of communication were checked and double-checked for possible leaks, the grapevine was severely pruned, and the officers of the king were confronted by the king himself. It was a tense moment, to be potentially charged with treason was enough to make even the bravest man nervous. After a long period of silence, one of the officers dared to speak while everyone else held their breath.

Having kept his ear to the ground, this officer had heard rumors that Elisha telegraphed to his king the very words that were said in staff meetings and even the words the king uttered in the privacy of his own bedroom. Everyone looked at each other and said: "That's the only explanation that makes any sense. Elisha, with the help of his God, knows where we plan to ambush the Israelites before the attack can be carried out." In short order, they agreed that the only solution, the obvious solution, was to stop Elisha from sending telegrams. This meant they had to kidnap him, haul him back to Aram, and keep him under house arrest.
It sounded so easy; locate Elisha and nap him. Problem solved! Aramean Intelligence inquired of their sources and soon established that Elisha was in Dothan, about eight to ten miles north of Samaria. The king mustered a strong force and sent them by night with the simple task of bringing Elisha back - dead or alive. He was a wanted man and he was wanted badly.
The following morning, his servant (not Gehazi, if the stories are chronological) woke up, went out to fetch a pail of water and/or take care of his private needs, and was alarmed to discover that the city was surrounded by enemy soldiers. It was going to be a bad day, a real bad day.

Has that ever happened to you? As you're getting ready for the day something happens that tells you it is going to be a bad day, a real bad day. Maybe you get an unwanted phone call from your boss, maybe your doctor calls and tells you that he needs to see you ASAP, maybe you're subpoenaed, or maybe you're just overcome by an unexplained filling of dread and hopelessness.
Take heart! In v. 16 we have the Reader's Digest version of Paul's glorious summary to the first eight chapters of Romans. You know, the part where he says, "What, then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us . . ." Here, in II Kings 6:16 we read:
"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." The servant responded with words, "Yeah, sure!" Despite his servant's cynicism, Elisha prayed that the Lord would open his eyes. At that juncture in time, it is instructive to note that Elisha wasn't concerned for himself but for his servant. He prayed that his servant would see, really see, that the Lord was encamped around them. It was only after his servant literally saw chariots of fire that Elisha addressed the crisis of the day. Again he prayed, but this time he prayed that the Lord would strike the Aramean soldiers with blindness. And with that prayer the trap was sprung on those who had set a trap for Elisha! Elisha ate breakfast, packed his lunch, and then calmly led the blinded soldiers southward to the man they were seeking. This elite force played follow the leader, though somewhat reluctantly, and was led to the last place they thought about going - Samaria. After they entered the city, Elisha prayed that their eyes would be opened. The Lord opened their eyes and this elite squad of soldiers saw what they didn't want to see. They saw that they were doomed! What had seemed so easy, had turned out to be a total disaster!

They had, however, no room to complain for they had brought this tragic ending on themselves. They could whine, but it would be undignified as well as unjustified. They could shed tears, but no one had any reason to feel sorry for them. They could even beg for their lives, but their pleas for mercy would understandably fall on deaf ears. For these men had deliberately sought to bring death and destruction to Israel. They were now about to reap what they had sown, and rightly so!
They knew that they would probably be tortured and then beheaded. They knew they were about to receive exactly what they would do to their enemies. But, God was gracious and through his servant he extended grace to this fearful band of soldiers. Where no mercy was expected or deserved, mercy and grace was freely given and gladly received.
At Elisha's directions, rather than killing their enemy, the Israelites treated them to a sumptuous feast, gave them provisions for the journey back to Aram, and sent them on their way. The end result was peace between the two nations. It wasn't a lasting peace but Israel's unexpected kindness put an immediate halt to the sneak attacks, or what we would call random attacks by terrorist.

Now you might be wondering why I skipped the first seven verses of this chapter. You're probably thinking that I skipped it because it is such an insignificant little story. If so, you're wrong! I skipped it because I wanted to first remind you that Elisha was a national figure. I wanted to remind you that Elisha's influence within the nation was so great that even the king, who had little time for God, took his advice. I also skipped it because I wanted it to serve as the punch-line to today's lesson. It reads:
The company of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live." And he said, "Go." 3 Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your servants?" "I will," Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them. They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axe-head fell into the water. "Oh, my lord," he cried out, "it was borrowed!" 6 The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 "Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it. (II Kings 6:1- 7)
Here we have a very common story that has no impact on the international or even national scene. It's a simple story of seminary students needing some expanded facilities. They invited their professor, Elisha, to join them in constructing the facilities. He gladly tagged along and in the course of construction an axe-head flew off the handle and sank to the bottom of the muddy Jordan.
The student who had borrowed the ax from a friend turned to Elisha for help. In turn, Elisha replied, "Why bother me with such a simple problem. I've got better ways to spend my time than trying to figure out what to do about some axe-head. If you need help, find someone who doesn't have anything better to do with their time."
Quite the contrary, Elisha was willing to be bothered by the small things in life. An axe-head wasn't as important as Naaman who had leprosy or as urgent as telegraphing vital military information to the king. But it was important to this young man, and as this story reminds us, it was evidently important to God. Hence, Elisha was willing to be bothered by the insignificant things in life. Are we?

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