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1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
7 Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
Elisha the teacher was asked by the students if they could build a bigger school. The school they were attending was too small because more students were enrolling. Elisha said yes. They began building and one of the men lost the head of his borrowed ax. He called for help, Elijah came and God miraculously performed another miracle. (The ax fell into the water and sank. Elisha cut a stick, threw it in the water and the ax came up swimming). God showed us if we do anything in his name, and we run into a problem, he will fix it and leave you wondering, how did God do that?
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.
The king of Syria wants to attack Israel. More than once he sent his attackers to fight Israel, but each time Israel was prepared for battle. The King of Syria could not figure out how Israel knew their moves. He thought one of his men was betraying his orders and telling the army of Israel his next move. One of his soldiers said it is the prophet Elisha that warns the king of your attempts and the king prepares his army. Elisha knows what is being said even from your bedroom.
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.
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.
The king of Syria told his army to capture Elisha. They surrounded the place where Elisha was and one of Elisha's servants saw the great army and told Elisha. Elisha told him God had more than the army he could see with his eyes. Elisha prayed and ask God to make his army visible to the young man. God answered and the young man saw what he could not see, the army of God.
18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
The army came looking for Elisha. Elisha prayed and ask God to make them blind. Elisha told them to follow him, and he would take them to who they were looking for. Elisha did not tell them the truth of letting them know he was the one they were looking for. They followed Elisha. Elisha then told God to open their eyes when they were in Samaria's territory. God opened their eyes and they were surrounded by their enemies.
21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
The King asked the man of God what to do? Should I kill them? The man of God said no. They have been captured. They are helpless. Just give them water and food. This was shocking to me is how God treated the enemies. This more than likely shocked the Syrians too. We want to kill you and you want to feed us. This is mind-boggling to both sides. I believe this is why God wants to lead. There is no way I would have dreamed God would react this way. Jesus said, feed your enemy. Jesus is instructed to tell us to bless those who want to hurt us? Lord, help me to know you.
23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
God was getting his best advertisement about his goodness and mercy to people who do not know anything about him. What a way to do it! Let the enemy know how good you are!
These guys went home talking about how good they were treated and perhaps forgot why they went to kill. God will use anybody to tell how good he is. Even the conversation of our enemies when we turn the other cheek.
24 And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
Syria again tries to attack Israel. Being kind did make them stop momentarily. But real change is in the heart. We can modify our behavior under calm circumstances. But, true change only comes when we allow Jesus to be the umpire of who we are. Without the word of God, we will eventually go back into our old habits.
25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver.
26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
27 And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.
30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
The army of Syria did not change. Neither did Israel change. Some time had past and both sides forgot God. Israel grew worse. Syria seems to be doing the same of "I want to fight Israel."
Israel is starving, eating their own flesh and the king has murder on his mind to kill the only one he was connected to in Israel who also kept him in line with God, Elisha. When the people who know God disobeys God, we will do things that a person who never knew God or knows little about God would ever think of doing.
32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?
God shows Elisha the king of Israel's evil plan. God showed him every detail. Elisha and the elders with him knew how to handle what was about to take place.
33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
The king of Israel thought and spoke; God is causing the problem, so why wait on him to solve the issues he is causing?. Many times we say or take actions just like this evil king. God could have stopped this from happening to me. I will take matters into my own hands. I will not wait on God. The truth is the king was the leader. The leader is responsible for the welfare and condition of the people. When people are not lead right, they will definitely take deadly turns in life.
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