2 Kings 6:1-23

2 Kings 6:1-23

These short stories recounting the many miracles of Elisha continue in 2 Kings 6. First, the sons of the prophets prepare to find a new city in which to live. After receiving permission from Elisha, they set out to a city along the Jordan and began to build a new place to live. In the process, one of their axes fell into the river. The man was greatly disturbed not because he had lost the ax but because he had lost an ax that he had borrowed from someone else. There would have been punishment for that action according to the Law if he was never able to return the ax to the one who had given it to him. Elisha saw no problem, however, as he was able to cause the ax to float in the water. Whether he manipulated the wood or the water, I am not sure. Either way, this went against the laws of nature as Elisha exhibited the power of God (for only God can manipulate the laws of nature).


Not long afterwards, the Syrians began to prepare for battle against the Israelites. Elisha, knowing of the king of Syria’s plans because God had given him that ability, warned the king of Israel. He told Jehoram where the Syrians would be so that Jehoram could keep his armies away from that area lest they be defeated by the Syrians. This rightly enraged the king of Syria. He did not understand how the Israelites had discovered his plans. He assumed that one of his own men was secretly working with the Israelites, but he soon found out that that was not the case. Someone finally figured out that it was the prophet Elisha, and the king of Syria ordered that they surround the city he was living in and destroy it. Think about how foolish this order is. Elisha knew his plans; he had known when and where they would attack Israel. So would Elisha not know that they would be coming his way next? Furthermore, his special knowledge was a gift from God (and probably viewed as some sort of special power in the eyes of the Syrians). If he was able to know their plans, would it not be possible that he could do other miraculous things as well? The king of Syria was so focused on destroying Elisha that he did not think through all the possibilities, not realizing how foolish his actions were.

So when the Syrians approached the city of Dothan, where Elisha was living at the time, there was naturally fear in Dothan. In fact, Elisha’s servant feared that they might be overrun. Elisha assured him that there was a much larger army surrounding them that would protect them from the Syrians. God had sent His horses and chariots of fire (more than likely an army of angels) to protect Elisha and those in the city of Dothan. The servant’s eyes were later opened so that he could see them and find comfort in the fact that God had sent them help. The Syrians were then led into Israel, where Elisha told Jehoram that they had captured the Syrians. The in an act of generosity, they fed the Syrians and sent them back to their homelands. They could have destroyed the Syrians in that moment, but instead, they let them leave hoping that they would see their act of kindness and not try and attack Israel again.

God was with Elisha and his men in their time of greatest need. He was not through with Elisha, so He sent His army of angels to protect him. We never know when the end of our life may come. It could be today, or it could be years from now. So when the hard times come, we must always turn to God, seeking His help and protection, knowing that He may choose to let us suffer for a little while. Nowhere in Scripture do we see that God’s children will never suffer. Sometimes God does provide that way of escape, but there are other times in which He lets us go through the hard times. Either way, it should always draw us closer to Him, teaching us to trust Him in His infinite wisdom. He knows what is best for us, as He knows the end of the story. So whether He protects us as He did for Elisha in 2 Kings 6 or lets us suffer for a while, we can trust that He has a plan. We may not understand it all in the moment, but we can know that God is in control of our lives.

Matt