Elijah and Elisha 26

Elijah and Elisha 26.

Isn’t it wonderful to be a Christian?! Christ comes into your life and all your problems are solved! Hallelujah! Everything is smooth and huncky-dory! Right? Wrong! Yes, it is wonderful to be a Christian; but we were never promised that it would be smooth sailing with no problems. Christianity is not some Polly-Anna philosophy – it deals with the real world; and the real world is tough! Do I hear an “Amen”?! [P] What do you do when it all turns to custard? When you are faced with an unsolvable crisis? When the excreta hits the fan? When the bottom falls out of your world? When you are faced with something that is totally beyond you? Of course, none of you ever have! But it happened in the passage we are looking at today [P] [2 Kings 6:8–23 Now the king of Aram (the country to the north, Syria – the conflict is still going on today!) was warring against Israel; and he counselled with his servants saying, [P]“In such and such a place shall be my camp.” The man of God (that is Elisha) sent word to the king of Israel saying, [P] “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.” The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; [P] thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, more than once or twice. [P] (it happened repeatedly) Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; (it was too consistent to be a coincidence – he had a mole!) [P] and he called his servants and said to them, [P] “Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” (there was obviously a spy, an informer, who was telling the king of Israel his plans) One of his servants said, [P] “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel (they knew about him even in Syria), tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” (nothing is hidden from God, even in the secrets of your bedroom) So, he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” (how naïve, as if he wouldn’t know that too!) And it was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” [P] He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. (he thought that he could overcome God with might!) Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, [P] behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. [P] And his servant said to him, [P] “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” [P] So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (Elisha could already see them, or at least knew that they were there; the problem was that his servant couldn’t see the true reality) Then Elisha prayed and said, [P] “O יהוה, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” (the implication is that Elisha already saw. He wanted his servant to see what he saw) And יהוה opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; [P] (spiritual insight – seeing things as they really are) and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (an unseen army, spiritual beings) [P] When they (that is the Aramean army) came down to him, (because, of course, they couldn’t see the army of fire, they thought that they had him) [P] Elisha prayed to יהוה and said, [P] “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.” [P] So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. [P] (Every time Elisha prayed, it happened) Then Elisha said to them, [P] “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” (meek as a lamb they followed, what else can you do? When you’re blind you are utterly dependent) [P] And he brought them to Samaria. [P] When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, [P] “O יהוה, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” (For the third time, he prays – the same prayer that he had prayed for his servant) So יהוה opened their eyes and they saw; [P] and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria! Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, [P] “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” He answered, [P] “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? [P] Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” [P] (the evil king would have taken advantage, destroyed the helpless; but Elisha showed grace, gave what they didn’t deserve. They came to capture him, but He fed them) So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, [P] and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.] Like all stories of Elisha – it is a story of salvation – saved from a crisis! Elisha’s servant had a problem! A crisis! [P] He served the man of God, Elisha – in the typology, he served Jesus. Then one morning he got up, went out early, to do whatever you do first thing in the morning – perhaps get some water from the well; but as soon as he steps out the door, what does he see? A mighty army surrounding the city! Totally unexpected, unprovoked, they didn’t deserve this. They weren’t in the capital – Samaria was where the king was. What was the Aramean army doing at Dothan? He feared God, served the man of God; shouldn’t he be spared such things? If anybody deserved attack, it was the idolatrous regime that ran the country. What were they going to do?! They weren’t prepared to defend themselves, the army was with the king in Samaria. It was a real crisis! A life-threatening crisis! He hit the panic button: “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” I suppose he did the right thing, he went to the man of God, cried out to Jesus, called him “my lord”. He went to his master for direction. “What shall we do?!” We have to do something! But it is more a cry of despair. Elisha, however, does not seem to be disturbed. It reminds me of the disciples in the boat on the Sea of Galilee in a storm: [Mark 4:37–40 And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. (It was a crisis!) Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; (He wasn’t worried) and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”] There were the disciples overwhelmed by the calamity: “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”. Look, their living came from the sea, they were familiar with boats; when they thought they were in danger of drowning, the danger was real. But Jesus was asleep! It didn’t seem to concern Him. How do you have that kind of peace is a crisis? I mean, the crisis is real! It is a question of vision. [P] You will notice that there is a lot about vision in this passage – יהוה opened eyes on two occasions and closed them on another. The servant’s problem was a problem of vision – of seeing. The servant looked at the problem, not to the LORD. It was a matter of focus [P] And when the crisis strikes, it overwhelms! Like the servant we say: “Alas, Lord; what shall we do?!” The problem is BIG! It fills our vision! So much so, that our vision of יהוה becomes diminished. We are seeing things from the human perspective, not God’s. Jesus told Peter off: [Mark 8:33 But Jesus rebuked Peter. “Get away from Me, Satan,” he said. “Your thoughts don’t come from God but from human nature!”] Peter was thinking from a human point of view, and Jesus said it was satanic! He didn’t want anything to do with it. And how often we look at our situation from a human viewpoint. Where do your eyes turn in the crisis? The Psalmist said: [Psalm 121:1–3 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from יהוה, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber.] He needed help, he lifted his eyes to the mountains, perhaps hoping for some deliverance to come. But help doesn’t come from a natural source. His help came not from the mountains but from יהוה! Hallelujah! He has unlimited power: “He made heaven and earth”; has infinite concern: “He will not allow your foot to slip”. He keeps you. He is never off duty! Always aware, never asleep! Praise His Name. What did Elisha say to his servant? [P] [2 Kings 6:16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”] Elisha saw something that his servant didn’t; something that totally banished all fear. He had his eyes fixed above. The Psalmist had a few problems but he learned not to focus on the problems but to look to יהוה: [Psalm 123:1–2 To You I lift up my eyes, O You who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to יהוה our God, until He is gracious to us.] [Psalm 118:6 יהוה is for me! (Hallelujah!) I will not fear; what can man do to me?] Where is your vision fixed when disaster strikes? We need to have our eyes fixed above! [Colossians 3:1–2 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.] Instead of looking at the overwhelming problem, look at the overwhelming greatness of our God: [P] [1 John 4:4 You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.] Hallelujah! [Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.] [John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”] The problem diminishes to insignificance when we consider the greatness of our God! Having eyes fixed on the things above is what sustained the saints of old. Speaking of Abraham, it says in [Hebrews 11:10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.] And speaking of Moses: [Hebrews 11:27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.] Looking at the spiritual, not the crisis that was pressing in. This is why Elisha was undisturbed whilst his servant was panicking. It was the same with the other men of faith: [Hebrews 11:13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.] – not an earthly focus but a heavenly one. [Hebrews 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.] We need to have our eyes fixed on the things above, then the crisis will not shake us as it does others. But having said that, let me say that it is not the answer: it is not just a matter of focus; it is [P] a matter of revelation: We often say when people are going through trouble: “Look to the LORD!” The problem is that the servant was focused on the problem, not the LORD. But when you are facing a real crisis, the problem is BIG! You cannot help but look at it! It is all very well to say “Look to the LORD!” It is well meant; but it ain’t much help! Christianity is real! It deals with the real world. It is not Polly-Anna answers: “Just trust Jesus!” It faces real crises! I recall, at a church I went to, there was this super-spiritual lady – you know the type! She had some serious disease, and a concerned sister asked her how she was. She said, “I am healed! Praise the LORD! I just have the symptoms!” Well, to me, if you still have the symptoms, you are still sick! She wasn’t facing reality! The Syrian army was still there! True Christianity faces the problem! This is what it says regarding Abraham, the man of faith: [Romans 4:19–20 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; (he faced the reality! But …) yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God,] He looked at the problem, but he also looked to God. Now those verses I read about “overwhelmingly conquering”, “He that is in us is greater”, “I have overcome the world” and the like, are true! They are the Word of God! But when you are in the crisis, they may not be an encouragement, may not seem very real, they may be a discouragement – make you think that God is not with you or answering you. That truth has to be real to you personally, more real than the problem that looms so big in your sight. It is all very well to quote verses, the truth, say “trust the LORD”. Elisha stated the truth: that there were more with us than with them; but, you notice, that Elisha did not say to his servant: “Look to the LORD” “Look at the host that is with us”. Yes, the problem was one of what the servant was seeing, a problem of where he was focused. But it is no help to say: “Look to the LORD” When He couldn’t see Him. What he needed was REVELATION. My Dad used to preach: “we all need a revelation of Jesus!” Elisha didn’t give his servant advice, telling him to look to the LORD. He could see that “greater are those with us than those with them” – what would we do? The Pentecostal preacher would loudly proclaim: “I have a vision of a heavenly army!” All that does is exalt himself and make his servant feel inferior. No, he prayed to יהוה. What did he ask of יהוה? [P] “O יהוה, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” He prayed for revelation! It takes יהוה to open our eyes! He is the only One who can! Praise His Name! When we need revelation (and we do!); the answer is “prayer” (6x in 4 verses). Elisha prayed to יהוה that his eyes to be opened to the true reality. It is not enough to be told the facts; you have to see the truth for yourself – that takes revelation by the Spirit of God – an enlightening of the eyes, having your eyes opened to the spiritual reality. We need our eyes opened! [so, let me pray for that] Bartimaeus knew his need, and he knew who could supply it, so he cried out to Jesus – loud and persistent: [Matthew 20:32–33 And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” Mark 10:52 And Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him on the road.] יהוה opened the servant’s eyes – gave him insight into the spiritual realm! Hallelujah! That is what is our desperate need! That is what we need in the crisis situation. Jesus could sleep in the boat despite the crisis of the storm. “We are sinking! Do you not care that we are drowning?” Yet Jesus could sleep. It is a question of spiritual perception. We do not need to be told to focus on the LORD; we need spiritual revelation! Why are we frustrated, overwhelmed, tearing our hair out – because we are seeing with natural eyes. Was the Syrian army still there? Yes! Was the servant seeing what was real? Yes. But he was only seeing part of the picture. The Syrian army was real – but there is a greater reality! [P] spiritual perception – true reality People are very concerned today with knowledge – it is amassed in vast quantities and accessible through computer technology on the internet. Science is concerned with the material world. But it is only a small portion of reality. There is a whole spiritual dimension which science has absolutely no handle on at all. In fact, the most important stuff in life, science has no way of measuring: love, kindness, faithfulness, loyalty, consideration, decency, righteousness, morality, good – how do you quantify, analyse those?! And there is a realm out there that is not discerned with our natural senses – we need revelation! Paul prayed: [Colossians 1:9 we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,] We need spiritual revelation and it comes by asking God, praying. Jesus said: [Matthew 7:7–8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives”] We need spiritual revelation in order to see things as they really are: Paul prayed for the Ephesians: [P] [Ephesians 1:18–20 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,] There is a spiritual realm out there; and we, even as Christians, are largely oblivious to it! We are so anchored in the material realm, that there is a whole, far greater, reality that we do not see. Jesus was speaking to Christians, to a church, when He said: [Revelation 3:18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.] They were Christians, but they did not see! They need to the anointing of the Holy Spirit in order that they might SEE! We go through a crisis but Paul calls it: [2 Corinthians 4:17–18 momentary, light affliction (it) is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.] All that we see with our natural eyes, is temporal – this world will come to an end; the heavens will be rolled up. The true reality is that which remains, and it is unseen. Cosmologists theorize about cold dark matter and dark energy, they reckon it is 95% of the universe! – they can’t find it, see it, detect it – they haven’t a clue! But they are right in one regard: there is a whole lot out that they are just not perceiving – things that remain, eternal, spiritual. And if we are seeing only with our natural eyes, we will miss it. We need to have our eyes opened, to see with spiritual sight – to see things as they really are and not just as they appear. It is the unseen that is real, true, eternal, that remains. [P] The unseen presence The servant’s eyes were opened and he saw “horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha”. There was a heavenly army! An angelic presence! There is a name of God that appears frequently in the OT – your Bible may render it: “LORD Almighty” or “LORD of hosts”; when I encounter it, I render it “יהוה of armies” – because that is what it says. What are these “hosts” – it is the everyday Hebrew word for army – armies, plural. A vast number! What is it referring to? Heavenly armies! יהוה has thousands upon thousands of angels at His disposal. Jesus said, [Matthew 26:53 “Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?] “Legions” – a large number, yes (about 5,000); but it is a military unit. Vast numbers of angelic beings ready for conflict. A prophecy is quoted in Jude: [Jude 14“Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, to execute judgment upon all, ….] We are aware of conflict on earth; but it is just a reflection of what is going on in heaven. Daniel was praying for the promised return from exile. He prayed and fasted for 3 weeks before he got a reply. What was the hold up? After 3 weeks a glorious being came to Daniel and said: [Daniel 10:12–13 “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia (a spiritual being) was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, (an arch-angel) came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. Daniel 10:20 Then he said, “Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.] Yet another spiritual being. There was a conflict going on in the heavenly realm that was reflected in the national conflicts that were going on on earth. We are blissfully unaware; but there is stuff going on in the spiritual realm. Only God knows how many times angelic help has been sent my way; I am only aware of one of them. But Hebrews tells us about angels: [Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits, (spiritual beings that serve) sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?] That’s us! What are angels? In both Hebrew and Greek the word translated “angels” means “messenger” – one who is sent to announce a message. Quoting Psalm 104 [Hebrews 1:7 says: And of the angels He says, “Who makes His angels winds, (or spirits) And His ministers a flame of fire.”] They are servants; spiritual beings whom God sends out to do His bidding. They are glorious and impressive – twice in the book of Revelation John bowed down to these glorious beings; both times he was told: [Revelation 22:9 “Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.”] Though impressive, they are but servants. But usually we are totally unaware of their presence. Do you remember Jacob (in Genesis 28), fleeing home and stopping for the night at Bethel, he had a dream in which he saw a ladder into heaven and there were angels ascending and descending – messengers, doing יהוה’s bidding – coming down to help him, returning to God for directions, carrying out His instructions on earth, intervening on the behalf of man, on behalf of those who will inherit salvation! This is what יהוה said to Jacob in that dream: [Genesis 28:15–16 “Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely יהוה is in this place, and I did not know it.”] There were the angels, but that was not what mattered; what mattered was that יהוה was there! With him! That’s how it was with Elisha’s servant – God was there, and he didn’t know it! He needed His eyes opened. Many people get excited and taken up with angels – but they are just carrying out God’s directions; what matters is the presence of יהוה! It is the presence of God that matters; it is the presence of יהוה that we need! What did the army of fire do? They didn’t fight, attack the Aramians; they weren’t even aware that the heavenly army was there; like the servant, they couldn’t see it. For the servant, it was enough just knowing that it was there. It is the presence of God that is what gets us through the crisis, knowing: “I am with you!” Hallelujah! Let me tell you: that יהוה is here! He is with us! That is His Name: “Emmanuel”! That is His promise to us: [Hebrews 13:5 He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” ] What is the conclusion from that?: [Hebrews 13:6 so that we confidently say, “יהוה is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?”] Fear vanishes when are eyes are opened to the spiritual truth, the reality of God with us: [P] [Isaiah 41:10 ‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’] Yes, we still face crises: [Isaiah 43:2 “When (not “if”) you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you.] We still go through the water and the fire. יהוה is help in the trouble: [Psalm 46:1–2 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, …. Psalm 46:11 יהוה of armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.] What is the alternative? What if you do not perceive the spiritual, have your eyes opened, know God’s presence? יהוה blinded the eyes of the Aramean army [P] lack of vision – vulnerability There was this enemy, how did God deal with it? By removing their sight. As soon as you cannot see, you are totally vulnerable! Elisha, one man, could lead the whole enemy army and deliver them over to the king. What else could they do? They were blind! When the enemy assaults His own, God blinds them. Remember the men of Sodom assailing Lot’s house, trying to homosexually rape his visitors – the angels blinded their eyes and their attack was futile. Saul was attacking the church, Jesus blinded him and he was led like a lamb, defenceless to Damascus. When you are blind, you are dependent. [2 Corinthians 4:4 the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.] Spiritual blindness that renders you incapable of seeing the truth! If you reject revelation, the truth, you are blinded: [2 Thessalonians 2:10–12 speaks of those who: perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, (God Himself blinds them to the truth) in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.] When God blinds you, you are absolutely vulnerable and defenceless. If you are not seeing spiritually, you have no ability to survive in the times that are coming upon us. The blind army was led to the king of Israel – he wanted to kill them but Elisha told him to feed them. [P] Insight releases grace They had not defeated the Arameans by their own power. It wasn’t their doing, they didn’t deserve it. Their deliverance from the crisis was by the grace of God. Having received grace, how can we then exact retribution, administer harsh judgement?! If you have received grace, revelation; then you should give grace. [Romans 12:20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”] Elisha showed grace, gave what they didn’t deserve. The Arameans came to capture him, but he fed them [Luke 6:27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,] That is grace!

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind but now I see!

Spiritual sight is all amazing grace – we don’t deserve to have our eyes opened, revelation is a gift of God. Having received a great gift; can we then be mean?! Freely we have received, freely we should give.