An entire enemy army surrounded the city in the night, horses and chariots ringing the walls, sent for one purpose of capturing a single prophet. When the prophet's servant woke up and saw the soldiers all around the city, he was distraught. But the prophet was strangely calm. "Be not afraid," he said unto his servant, for "they that be with us be more than they that be with them." And then, the prophet prayed and everything changed, not once, but twice. First, there was an unseen army and then a huge enemy force was captured without a single sword needing to be drawn. And, the way this prophet treated his prisoners is, perhaps, even more remarkable and inspirational, a lesson most Christians would do well to heed.
A Prophet Who Knew Too Much
The nation of Aram was Israel's enemy. It was always attacking Israel's borders and sending out raiding parties. But whatever the king of Aram would do secretly to ambush the Israelites would always somehow come to the knowledge of the Israelite king. He would always know when and where the attack was taking place and would be waiting for them. He even started to suspect that there was a spy in his court that was relaying all of the information back to him. But, one of the officers in the king of Aram's army revealed to him the real reason that the Israelite king was always aware of their attacks. It was because the prophet Elisha in Israel was able to tell the Israelite king the things that the king of Aram was saying in his own tent. God was giving the knowledge to the prophet of Israel so that his people would not be surprised by the attacks of their enemies. So, when the king of Aram found out that the reason his attacks were failing was because of the prophet Elisha, he determined to take him prisoner. He found out that he was in the city of Dothan and he sent out a great force of horses and chariots under the cover of darkness to surround the city and take Elisha.
The Servant's Terror
When the servant of Elisha got up early in the morning and went out, he was horrified to see that there was an entire army surrounding the city with horses and chariots. There was nothing they could do about it. He ran to the prophet crying and shouting, "My lord, what should we do?" He figured they were done for, but Elisha did not share his fear. "Fear not," he said unto his servant, "for they that be with us be more than they that be with them." The prophet must have sounded ridiculous, for there was only the two of them in the city, surrounded by a huge army. But Elisha was not as afraid as most, so he prayed a short prayer for his servant. "Open thine eyes," he prayed, "and thou shalt see, and behold, how the Lord hath placed the host round about the city." God opened the eyes of the servant and he saw the hills all around them covered in fiery horses and chariots. They had been surrounded by the army of God all along. They were not outnumbered after all, not by a long stretch.
Elisha prayed that his terrified servant's eyes would be opened. The servant looked up and saw the hills entirely surrounded by horses and chariots of fire. The enemy army had been outnumbered all along.
An Army Struck Blind
While all this was happening, Elisha prayed again, asking God to strike the eyes of the Aramean soldiers so that they would be blinded. When God did this, Elisha saw that this was a good opportunity to act. "Come," he said to the blinded soldiers, "for the Lord hath uncovered their eyes unto us." The sightless Arameans followed Elisha out of Dothan and to Samaria, the Israelite capital. Elisha prayed again and God opened the eyes of the Aramean soldiers so that they could see that they were actually in Samaria and at the mercy of the Israelite king. God had taken an army that had set out to take a lone prophet captive and brought them back to Israel's capital without shedding a single drop of blood. The tides of war had once again turned at the prayers of God's servant prophet.
The Command That Surprised Everyone
The Israelite king was amazed at the turn of events. He was thrilled to have all these enemies at his mercy. His natural instinct and desire was to be merciful to no one and to kill the Arameans, who had come to war with his people. So, the Israelite king asked Elisha twice if he should kill the captives. But, Elisha surprised the king with his answer. "Thou shalt not slay them," said Elisha to the Israelite king, "for wouldst thou slay men whom thou hast brought captive with thy sword and with thy bow?" No, Elisha wanted none of the Israelite army to be stained with the blood of these enemies. So, he commanded the king to bring food and water before the prisoners so that they could eat and drink and then return to their own land.
All of the Israelite king's soldiers and people prepared a feast to feed the Aramean army, which eventually took all of their provisions back to their Aramean king. This was quite the opposite of what the Israelite king and his soldiers expected, and the unexpected kindness seems to have had the desired effect, for the Bible says that after this event the raiding parties of Aram ceased coming into Israel's land for a while. The enemies of Israel had learned a lesson they would not forget, and they left the borders of Israel alone after such a humiliating defeat and kind treatment at the hands of the Israelite king and people.
Instead of executing the enemies delivered into his hands, Elisha commanded the king of Israel to prepare a feast for the blinded army and send them home. The raids against Israel stopped.
When the Enemy Returned
But, the peace between Israel and Aram was not to last. The Aramean king with all his army returned again to war with Israel. He surrounded the city of Samaria and cut off all of the food supplies, causing a famine. The Israelite king and people suffered greatly and the Israelite king threatened Elisha's life, but Elisha prophesized that food in the city would be plenty the very next day and cheap as well. The Israelite king and his servants scoffed and said such a thing would not happen even if God Himself opened the windows of heaven and let out all of the blessings, but Elisha said that the man would see it all happen before his eyes and yet not eat any of it. That night, God made the Aramean army hear the sound of a great host of horses and chariots and they all ran away in fear, thinking that Israel had hired the army of heaven to come against them. When the Israelite people heard this they went to the gates of the city and found the tents of the Aramean army empty with plenty of food and supplies left behind. Four starving men that had been sitting at the city gate were the first ones to realize this and they took the food to the king. Then, just as Elisha had said, the famine stopped the next day and food was plentiful. The same skeptical Israelite officer who had mocked Elisha was trampled in the stampede at the gate and he saw the miracle happen, but died in the process.
God made the Aramean army hear the thunder of horses and chariots — they fled in the night and left their full camp behind. Four starving men at the gate were the first to discover the abandoned feast.
Overcoming Evil With Good
The story of Elisha and his confrontation with the army of Aram has a message for today just as it did for those people in bygone days in Israel. It teaches people that God wants everyone to live in peace with each other. It shows kindness to enemies and teaches that good will always come from good despite what evil men try to do. Even though many people in Israel wanted the lives of the enemy soldiers taken, Elisha showed mercy and made the Israelite king show mercy as well, which brought the enemies of Israel back into the fold and made them leave the Israelite people alone.
Another thing this chapter shows is that good things can come from bad circumstances. God opened the eyes of the servant of Elisha to see the mountains around the city of Dothan covered in fire and horses of fire, revealing that the prophet was not as alone as he seemed. After all that was happening to Israel, the servant probably was scared that there would be no hope, but the prophet told him "be not afraid," for "they that be with us be more than they that be with them," referring to the unseen army of angels surrounding the city. This has comforted many people over the years that, just like the servant of Elisha, they are not alone even when they see things the way they seem to be. These two traits — faith and faithfulness — are what many Christians strive to learn, and even more so to live by, every day of their lives.
