Lord, Open Our Eyes

2 Kings 6:8-17

8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.
10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.

In this portion of Scripture we find the King of Syria making war against Israel. As he set traps for the King of Israel, the very words he spoke in his bedroom were heard by the prophet Elisha. Warned by the man of God, the King of Israel repeatedly escaped these well laid plans on several occasions. The King of Syria was forced to question if there was a traitor in his midst. “Show me which of us is for the King of Israel?” he asked.

We are not told how, but knowledge of the prophet’s ministry was made known to the warring King. The leak of information is identified and now the strategy must change.

13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

An army is sent out after one man, the man of God. Armies are normally sent against countries, or other armies themselves. The power of the prophet’s ministry can be weighed by the force thrown against it, though it were a feeble attempt to capture him.

15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD 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.

Gehazi was the name of Elisha’s servant. He arises early to discover the waiting army. The city is surrounded, and to the natural eye there is no hope of deliverance. He can only ask his master, Elisha, “what shall we do?”

Elisha’s answer is one repeated throughout the Scriptures on numerous occasions. When faced with overwhelming odds, when to the natural eye it looks as though all hope is lost, God’s Word commands us boldy: Fear not!

Elisha was not bold to declare “fear not” just to calm his servant’s nerves. Fear is a spiritual force that can work against the plan of God. It was important that Gehazi not fear and limit the ministry of angels.

Elisha had reason not to fear. His faith rested in spiritual reality. Gehazi was limited by natural perception. The things that he saw with the physical eye dominated his thinking and placed him in the realm of fear.

Once the man of God prayed, “Lord, open his eyes,” Gehazi was able to see into the realm of the spirit. What was present all the time was now made visible to Elisha’s servant. Elisha was bold to declare, “there are more that be with us than they that be with them.”

Sometimes we miss the truth by its simplicity. Notice what Elisha did not say. He did not say, “there are more that be with us than them.” He was not comparing the host of angels and chariots of fire with the army encircling the city.

He said, “there are more that be with us than they that be with them.” Elisha was comparing the host of angelic forces who had come to his aid with the demonic forces that were driving the King of Syria and his army.

Paul taught us that “we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds…” (2 Corinthians 10:3,4). Our battle is not with men. The real battle lies on the spiritual side, and the real war is waged in the unseen places. There are spiritual conflicts that take place between the host of heaven and the kingdom of darkness.

Again we read, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,” (Ephesians 6:13).

There are reciprocal laws in the natural and in the spiritual. There is a cause and effect that operates. Things that are bound on earth are bound in heaven, and things that are loosed on earth are loosed in heaven, (Matthew 18:18).

It takes a spiritual eyes to discern that spiritual events affect the natural. We also must learn that natural events affect the spiritual world.

Elisha knew this, and he knew how to operate in spiritual law. He realized that fear paralyzes angelic ministry. He understood that his battle was not with the men who had come to deliver him to their King. He saw that Satan and demonic powers were at work in the realm of the spirit. He knew that angelic ministry was sufficient to give him the victory.

Psalms 91:10-13
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.