2 KINGS LESSON 6
We will begin this lesson in II Kings 6:1 "And the sons of the
prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with
thee is too strait for us."
It appears, that there had been many young men, who had come to
the school of the prophets. They had run out of space for housing
these young men. This school was at Jericho, and it would have been
difficult to expand here.
II Kings 6:2 "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."
Elisha is suggesting, that they move near the Jordan River,
several miles away. If they all work together, they can build the
facilities they need. The timber in this particular area would belong
to anyone who wanted to cut it. This land had not been designated to
any particular family. Elisha sends them out to begin the work.
II Kings 6:3 "And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with
thy servants. And he answered, I will go."
It appears, one of the young men did not want to be sent by
Elisha. He wanted Elisha to go with them, so the blessings of God
would be on their project.
II Kings 6:4 "So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan,
they cut down wood."
It seems, trees were plentiful here to build their school. All of
the young men cut the wood for the school.
II Kings 6:5 "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."
They were cutting down trees, and trimming them into beams in the
crudest fashion. They were using axes for this purpose. While he was
working with the axe, one blow knocked the head of the axe off, and it
fell into the water. The young man started crying out for help,
because he had borrowed the axe.
II Kings 6:6 "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."
Even though this is a minor miracle, in the sense that the axe
was not an expensive loss, it is a major miracle to get iron to float.
Elisha is the man of God spoken of here.
II Kings 6:7 "Therefore said he, Take [it] up to thee. And he put
out his hand, and took it."
So many times, we do not realize the necessity for miracles. We
must remember, that the men observing this miracle were all in
training to be prophets. This would build up their faith. You must
have an impossibility in the natural, before you can have a miracle.
II Kings 6:8 "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."
We do not know exactly how long after Naaman had been healed of
leprosy, that the Syrians came to war against Israel. The miracle
performed by Elisha seems to be long forgotten.
II Kings 6:9 "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."
It seems, that Elisha warned the king of Israel of the attack by
the Syrians. The king at the time was, probably, Jehoram.
II Kings 6:10 "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."
We see that the king of Israel, on checking out the situation
told to him by the prophet, found it to be true two different times.
The king, himself, did not go to that area, but sent scouts to check
it out.
II Kings 6:11 "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?"
It appears, that the king of Syria thought some of his own men
had been traitors to him. He did not know how the king of Israel found
out about the sneak attack. He wants the men to admit it, if they were
on the side of Israel, rather than on the side of Syria.
II Kings 6:12 "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."
We are not told who this servant is. It could very well have been
Naaman. He would know first hand of the miracle abilities of Elisha.
It was a relief, that none of his own people had played the traitor.
II Kings 6:13 "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."
Dothan was about twelve miles north of Samaria. The spies had
found Elisha there, and brought back the information to their king.
The king intends to send men, and bring Elisha back to him.
II Kings 6:14 "Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots,
and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city
about."
This great host of the army with chariots and horses encircled
the city, so Elisha would not be able to escape. They came by night,
so as to not be detected, until they were completely around the city.
II Kings 6:15 "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?"
This servant was alarmed at the number of soldiers around the
city. He had no idea, they were here just to take Elisha back to their
king. He felt fear in his heart, that they were about to attack the
city and kill them all, or take them for slave labor. He is very
alarmed, and runs to Elisha to find out how they can protect
themselves.
II Kings 6:16 "And he answered, Fear not: for they that [be] with
us [are] more than they that [be] with them."
This servant could not believe the answer that Elisha gave.
Notice, "fear not". The following Scripture is what Elisha is saying.
Psalms 3:6 "I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, that have
set [themselves] against me round about."
II Kings 6:17 "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 young man had been looking with physical eyes. The eyes of
his understanding were opened, and he saw the heavenly warriors around
Elisha. Psalms 68:17 "The chariots of God [are] twenty thousand,
[even] thousands of angels: the Lord [is] among them, [as in] Sinai,
in the holy [place]." Of course, there are many more than even the
ones mentioned in Psalms above. The army protecting Elisha was from
heaven.
II Kings 6:18 "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."
It is amazing, the power that the LORD had given Elisha. This
blindness was speaking of them being confused, and not being able to
take Elisha. It was not total blindness, but partial, since they would
be able to see enough to follow Elisha. We do know, they were not
thinking clearly, to let the one they had come for lead them away.
II Kings 6:19 "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."
They blindly followed Elisha away from Dothan. Samaria would have
been the last place they would have gone, if they had been aware of
what they were doing.
II Kings 6:20 "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."
Elisha had led them inside the walls of the enemy, even into the
capital of Samaria. After he had led them into the city, he asked the
LORD to open their eyes, and let them see where they were. Before,
they had eyes to see, and they did not see; now they have eyes to see,
and they do see.
II Kings 6:21 "And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he
saw them, My father, shall I smite [them]? shall I smite [them]?"
Elisha is not the father of the king. This is a name showing
respect. Now, that this great army of Syria is in the hands of the
king of Israel, what does he do with them? He is an evil king, and
his first thought is to kill them. Since Elisha brought them to him,
he asks him what to do to them.
II Kings 6:22 "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."
You do not take helpless prisoners, and kill them. Elisha tells
him they will not be killed, but fed. Elisha is showing the king of
Israel a way to be at peace with Syria. If he shows kindness to these
helpless soldiers now, perhaps, the Syrian king will stop sending
troops to Israel.
II Kings 6:23 "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."
Jehoram did exactly as Isaiah had told him. He was kind to them,
and fed them, and gave them drink. They went back to Syria humbled by
this whole affair. The raids, that had been regularly sent against
Israel, stopped at this time. We are not told for what period of time,
but at least as long as this incident was fresh on their minds.
II Kings 6:24 "And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad
king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged
Samaria."
This happens much later, than the incident we just studied.
Ben-hadad had forgotten. Here, he is back around Samaria, where his
troops had been freed from before.
II Kings 6:25 "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."
Samaria was a walled city, and the king and his men were inside
the city. The siege had gone on so long, that there was no food left.
We see the extent of the lack of food, when an ass's head would sell
for 80 pieces of silver.
II Kings 6:26 "And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the
wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king."
II Kings 6:27 "And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall
I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?"
The walls surrounding the cities were very wide. In this
particular situation, the king is, possibly, checking on his troops
and looking out across the land to see, if by chance, the enemy had
gone. The woman is starving and calls to her king for food. She,
probably, thought the king had food stashed away for his own use, and
perhaps, he would give her some of his food.
II Kings 6:28 "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."
The king becomes aware, that she wants him to judge a matter for
her. Cannibalism is strictly forbidden. These women have agreed to do
something opposed to the will of God. There are three times in Jewish
history, when this very thing took place. At the siege of Samaria
here, in Jerusalem at the siege of Nebuchadnezzar, and in Jerusalem at
the siege of Titus.
II Kings 6:29 "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."
This is the most unnatural thing a mother could do. The normal
mother will protect her child to the end in every circumstance. The
second mother, who hid her son, is more like a true mother.
II Kings 6:30 "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."
The mourning of the king, over such conditions as this, caused
the king to tear his clothes. Under his outer garment, it was revealed
that he had been wearing sackcloth.
II Kings 6:31 "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."
This is interesting, that the king is blaming Elisha for this. He
is remembering the kindness they had shown the Syrians, and this is
their repayment for letting them go at the request of Elisha.
II Kings 6:32 "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 had warned Elisha what was taking place. The king of Israel
was very evil and was, indeed, a murderer. Elisha was in his home that
was in the middle of Samaria. The elders had come to Elisha, possibly,
for some answers to the terrible predicament the city was in. The king
wanted Elisha, beheaded. Elisha told the elders to hold the door, so
the king's men cannot come in and kill him.
II Kings 6:33 "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?"
Their deduction of why the war had left them in such bad shape
was true. This certainly was from the LORD. The king was very evil,
and the people were worshipping false gods. The king wanted to know,
if they must wait even longer than they had already. He is saying,
"How long can the LORD allow this to happen"? This chapter is chopped
off abruptly here, but will continue in the next lesson.
2 Kings 6 Questions
1. What is the problem spoken of in verse 1?
2. Where was the school of the prophets at that time?
3. What was Elisha's solution to the problem?
4. Why did one young man refuse to go?
5. What river would this new facility be near?
6. What happened, while they were cutting the trees?
7. Why was the young man concerned about so minor a thing, as an axe
head?
8. What did Elisha do?
9. What strange thing did the iron part of the axe do?
10. How could this be thought of as a giant miracle?
11. How would this benefit these young prophets?
12. In the last lesson, Naaman was healed of leprosy, why, then, was
Syria trying a sneak attack on Israel now?
13. Who did Elisha warn of the sneak attack?
14. The king of Syria accuse his men of what?
15. When he found it was Elisha, the prophet, who told of the
invasion, what did he do?
16. Where was Elisha staying at this time?
17. Who did the king of Syria send to bring Elisha back?
18. Who discovered the city was completely surrounded by the army of
Syria?
19. Why did Elisha tell him not to fear?
20. What calmed the fear of the servant of Elisha?
21. Quote Psalms chapter 3 verse 6.
22. How was the servant able to see the army of the LORD encamped
around Elisha?
23. Quote Psalms chapter 68 verse 17.
24. What did Elisha ask the LORD to do to the Syrian army?
25. Where did Elisha lead the Syrians?
26. What happened to them, as soon as they were inside the city walls
of Samaria?
27. What did the king of Israel want to do with them?
28. What did they do, instead?
29. Sometime after this happening, what did Ben-hadad do?
30. How bad was the famine in Samaria?
31. Where was the king, when the woman called out to him?
32. What terrible thing had she and another woman done?
33. When the king heard what she said, what did he say he would do to
Elisha?
34. What does Elisha call the king?
35. What question does the king ask Elisha?
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