On Our Side

”The king of Syria was at war with Israel. He consulted his officers and chose a place to set up his camp. But Elisha sent word to the king of Israel, warning him not to go near that place, because the Syrians were waiting in ambush there. So the king of Israel warned the people who lived in that place, and they were on guard. This happened several times.

The Syrian king became greatly upset over this; he called in his officers and asked them, “Which one of you is on the side of the king of Israel?” One of them answered, “No one is, Your Majesty. The prophet Elisha utells the king of Israel what you say even in the privacy of your own room.”

“Find out where he is,” the king ordered, “and I will capture him.” When he was told that Elisha was in Dothan, he sent a large force there with horses and chariots. They reached the town at night and surrounded it. Early the next morning Elisha’s servant got up, went out of the house, and saw the Syrian troops with their horses and chariots surrounding the town.

He went back to Elisha and exclaimed, “We are doomed, sir! What shall we do?” “Don’t be afraid,” Elisha answered. “We have more on our side than they have on theirs.” Then he prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord answered his prayer, and Elisha’s servant looked up and saw the hillside covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. When the Syrians attacked, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, strike these men blind!” The Lord answered his prayer and struck them blind.

Then Elisha went to them and said, “You are on the wrong road; this is not the town you are looking for. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are after.” And he led them to Samaria. As soon as they had entered the city, Elisha prayed, “Open their eyes, Lord, and let them see.” The Lord answered his prayer; he restored their sight, and they saw that they were inside Samaria.

When the king of Israel saw the Syrians, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, sir? Shall I kill them?” “No,” he answered. “Not even soldiers you had captured in combat would you put to death. Give them something to eat and drink, and let them return to their king.” So the king of Israel provided a great feast for them; and after they had eaten and drunk, he sent them back to the king of Syria. From then on the Syrians stopped raiding the land of Israel.“ ‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬-‭23‬ ‭

There’s so much in this passage that builds faith in our God who does the impossible. He took the Israelites from a state of war to peace through the relationship the Prophet Elisha had with Him. This would be one of those stories we would think is fiction if Hollywood turned it into a movie. I say “the truth of life is always more interesting than fiction.”. Writers couldn’t come up with most of what people experience, this is why so many good movies are inspired by true events.

This prophet who has no military service, Elisha was plowing in the field when he was called by God, is able to advise the king on military strategies. He is able to provide information in time for them to divert attack. One time would be a coincidence but we’re told this happened time and time again.

Imagine if there were a prophet who had this relationship with God today. Would the rulers listen to them? Or would they be questioned as a spy or traitor when what they advised played out before the military leaders in charge? And would they even have voice to the ear of leaders who made those decisions?

That’s the God we serve. He puts people in the right places, at the right time, with the right influence and the power when we take the time to abide in Him. Remember how He spoke to Pilot’s wife in her dream before Jesus was crucified? She was the right person, at the right time, with a voice to the leader, but Pilot didn’t really listen.

Not only did Elisha’s gift from God get the attention of his country’s leadership but also the leadership of Syria. The leaders knew it was Elisha who was feeding information to Israel. They couldn’t explain how. Maybe they had a spy in Israel’s leadership.

Are you so close to God that the enemy knows our name? One might think, I don’t want the enemy to know my name; I deal with enough attacks! But then you read the next point of the story and you know abiding with Christ comes with its own level of protection.

The enemy goes by large force to capture Elisha. Imagine the picture a large army for one man. Not the Navy seals or the Army Rangers getting the element of surprise, the large force with horses and Chariots. It kind of reminds me when the soldiers went to get Jesus in the garden, it was a bit overkill in numbers. No element of surprise either!

When Elisha was told that they were surrounded, he didn’t miss a beat or pause to pray before responding “we have more on our side”. He could already see in the spirit realm. Only after telling his servant did Elisha pray,. again not for God to do something to protect him, but for God to open the eyes of the servant so that the servant could see who was on their side. Only after the servant could see what was happening in the spirit realm and they were being attacked did Elisha ask God for an intervention. He didn’t even ask that they be killed! He asked that God would make them blind. I don’t know about you, but I would be praying death if I was being attacked by a massive army!

Then instead of trying to escape, Elisha goes to them. Interestingly, they soldiers weren’t blind when they staked out the village; still they believed him when he said “oops you’re in the wrong place . Follow me.” Now he really was leading them to the man that they were after because he was the man they were after. According to Studylight there’s about 11 miles between the two cities. Elisha was leading a blind army for eleven miles! God was on his side.

Lastly Elisha prays again for God to open the eyes as they enter Samaria. Instead of a battle the king ask for Elisha’s advice. Elisha asks for the army to be fed and given something to drink. Then he asked that they be returned to their ruler. After all this, the invasions stopped. Only in God’s plans and purpose does all this happen.

When God is on our side, He will reveal to us things we couldn’t otherwise know. When God is on our side He will allow our voice to be heard by the right people, regardless of how far up they might be in power. With God on our side He will make our enemies take notice of us, but protect us from their attacks. When God is on our side it doesn’t matter who is against us because He is on our side. Ultimately with God on our side, it will work out for His glory and honor. Others will benefit from us abiding with Him and God being on our side.

Prayer – Lord, thank You for the precious examples of from the Bible of people who walked in Your possible. Thank You for building my faith in walking closer with You, knowing You are my protector regardless what I face. Thank You for Holy Spirot within me that guides and directs me. Thank you for brings the hidden things into the livht6.