SCARY STORIES IN THE BIBLE!
September 25
Havasu Christian Church
Elisha and his servant surrounded!
II Kings 6:8–23
INTRO: Whether anyone else thought it was fun or not, I enjoyed our “Gross” series. But how do you follow it up? Billy and I were talking and the idea of SCARY STORIES in the Bible came up! So, for the next few weeks, we’ll be looking at Bible events that were SCARY to someone! Hopefully, we can learn from how they dealt with their fear and it will help us to better deal with ours!
Our First “SCARY STORY” involves the Prophet Elisha and his servant. This is the man who was the faithful servant of Elijah, and took the place of Elijah when he was “taken up in a whirlwind into heaven.” Elisha picked right up where Elijah left off. He was a great Prophet of God!
Elisha also had a servant who followed him and was his helper. This event happened to them together.
2 Kings 6:8–23 Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.” 10 The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, more than once or twice. 11 Now the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” And it was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 14 He sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, “Strike this people with blindness, I pray.” So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he brought them to Samaria. 20 When they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the LORD opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” 22 He answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.
(I) Elisha has become a thorn in someone’s side.
a. The King of Aram has decided to go to war with Israel.
i. He decides to begin the war with an ambush!
ii. Elisha ruins his plot.
1. He warns the king of Israel.
2. The king of Israel checks things out and finds Elisha to be correct.
a. The king makes sure he is well protected when he travels near the ambush site!
b. The king thinks he has a spy in his ranks.
i. He accuses his inner circle.
ii. “No! It’s Elisha!”
1. “He tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
2. The king is enraged!!!
a. When kings get angry, they have the power to do something about it!
(II) The enemy decides to do something about it!
a. He sends horses and chariots and a “great army” to go and capture Elisha.
i. He sends this “great army” at night.
1. WHY at night?
a. Perhaps he is afraid that THEY will be ambushed in enemy territory?
b. Perhaps he’s just that afraid of a man that “tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
2. Whatever the reason, he sends this huge group of men.
(III) The problem gets dealt with!
a. The attendant of Elisha sees the army surrounding the city and he’s afraid.
i. “Alas my master, What shall we do??”
1. He’s Scared!
a. He runs to Elisha.
b. Elisha tries to reassure his servant.
i. “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
1. This statement apparently has no real affect on the servant.
ii. Elisha prays! “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.”
1. God responds by granting Elisha’s request.
2. The servant is allowed to see the whole picture of how things really are.
a. “behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”
(IV) “The rest of the story…”
a. Elisha prays for God to “Strike this people with blindness.”
i. God does what Elisha asks, but maybe not exactly what he asked for.
1. Instead of total blindness, apparently God blinds them to where they are and who they are talking to.
2. When they meet Elisha, he tells them that this isn’t where they need to be. They can follow him and find the one whom they are seeking.
a. Misleading, but true.
3. Elisha leads them to Samaria, right into the hands of the king.
b. Elisha prays for their “eyes to be opened” and the army realizes they are surrounded in enemy territory!
c. The king wants to kill them!
i. Elisha tells him “NO!”
1. Instead, he is to feed them and send them home.
2. They are fed a “great feast” and are sent home.
a. From this point on, “the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.”
i. Perhaps this is because the king is impressed.
ii. Perhaps it is because his troops would not have gone if he ordered them to go.
Conclusion:
There is plenty of fear in this story!
* The king of Israel is, I’m sure, afraid.
* The king of Aram apparently feared Elisha.
*Elisha’s servant was pretty terrified!
* The soldiers were terrified, I’m sure, when they found themselves in Samaria, surrounded.
All of this fear is done away with!
* The king of Aram no longer needs to fear the armies of Israel.
* The king of Israel no longer needs to be afraid of the armies of Aram.
* After God “opens his eyes” to how things really are, the servant of Elisha no longer is afraid.
* The soldiers no longer need to be afraid.
What life lessons can we take from this story?
* God is just as actively in charge now as He was then!
When we are in a dangerous situation, God is still there, and if He chooses, He can “fix” things.
He WILL get us through that time of trouble.
Sometimes, God chooses not to protect us… For our own good
We learn more from difficulty than ease.
* We need to pray for “our eyes to be opened.”
When we see the world through “eyes of faith,” it changes everything!
God expects us to TRUST Him, even when things are scary! “those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
* We cannot let fear immobilize us!
Someone may not like what I have to say about their need for Jesus.
People still need to know Him!
Calling Sin, what it is, sin is not appreciated in our time.
People still need to know!
* We need to be kind like Elisha.
This army was sent to take Elisha by force.
They had been trying to ambush the king.
Killing them all might have seemed not only expedient, but justified. No army, no enemy??
There are plenty of people who, because of their actions, would be easy to hate!
We are called to make the choice to LOVE our enemies!
Truth without kindness can be mean.
Kindness without truth becomes enabling.
People need truth, WITH kindness!
Sometimes, as with this event, an enemy can be turned into a friend by our actions.
That enemy may even be won to the Lord by what we do and say to them.
