The Syrian Crisis

The Larger and Immediate Setting of the Narrative

0:03 Let me encourage you to turn in your own Bibles to the portion of the Word of God which was read in your hearing as we return this evening to our studies in the life and ministry of this great man of God called Elisha.

0:23 Those of you who were with us in our last study in the life of Elisha will remember, I trust, that in the first seven verses of 2 Kings chapter 6 we have this very moving picture of the man of God in deep family intimacy with the sons of the prophets, an aspect of his ministry which in all likelihood was one of his greatest delights as the more mature servant of Christ. And now we move almost abruptly and dramatically. Out of that intimate family relationship of Elisha with the sons of the prophets, building a more adequate teaching hall by the side of the river Jordan. And once again, as in chapter 2 of 2 Kings, we find the man of God not in the company of intimate friends, but we find him the confidant of kings. We find him in the midst of warring armies. And in a very real sense, we find him in the midst of warring armies.

1:31 We find him giving direction and protection as God's representative in Israel to the very nation of Israel and being a witness of the nature and character of God to the heathen nation of Syria. And as we attempt to come to grips with the passage that has been read in your hearing, let me first of all say just a word about the setting of the narrative as bounded by verses 8 and 23. A word about the larger setting and then the more immediate setting. When we open up to this portion of the word of God and read that the king of Syria was warring against Israel, I would remind you that this bit of history is taking place within a larger context of history. And I have reminded you again and again, and I hope not to the point where it becomes tedious, but it's one of the things. I hope I'll be remembered for when I'm gone, is that whenever I directed you in the study of any Old Testament historical passage, I urged you to remember that you were not simply reading a little historical snippet with a few lovely little moralizing lessons that could be applied to the Christian church, but we are reading a segment of that great work of God in the history of redemption.

2:59 Everything that we read, is in some way related to the fulfillment of that promise made by God in Genesis 3 and verse 15, in which he pledged that he himself would put enmity between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. We are not reading about little tribal skirmishes that in some way or another have some lovely little lessons for us. We are reading a segment of history that to some extent is bound up, with our own salvation. For until the promised seed should come, even the Lord Jesus, that seed that had to come through the nation of Israel, every attack upon that nation, everything that would undermine its existence or its stability, is indeed an attack upon the great seed whom God has promised. And so we are not so much reading of a warfare between Syria and Israel, as we are reading a segment of history that to some extent is bound up, as we are reading an account of that greater warfare between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. And so the matter of the preservation of Israel is not a matter of individual and isolated tribal concern. It is a matter of God's ability to fulfill his own ancient promise that the seed of the woman would ultimately come

4:27 and bruise the head of the serpent. And I urge you, I urge you again, when reading Old Testament history, to read it continually in that self-conscious mentality. And it will make Old Testament history live as you read it. But then there is not only that larger setting of the narrative, but the more immediate setting.

4:49 The passage begins with the statement that the Syrians were sending out marauding bands as a pattern in their opposition to Israel. Notice the language of the text. The king of Syria was warring against Israel. And then we read at the close of the narrative, at the end of verse 23, and the bands, translated in the New American Standard, the marauding groups or the marauders of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.

5:21 So this was a time when we do not have a case of all-out engagement in full-scale war, but we have what would be called, in common or concurrent terminology, we have commando incursions. We have these bands of the Syrians who dipped down from the north, for Syria was to the north and a bit to the east of Israel, the ten northern tribes, and they would harass the people of God. And in this particular setting, it appears that they were seeking to capture the king, for the whole military logistics of the Syrians was geared at doing harm or to harm the people of Israel. Or, in some way or another, connected with seeking to seize the king of Israel.

6:06 Now, it is in that setting that this entire narrative unfolds. So as we study it, remember, we're studying, as it were, events that are taking place within two circles. The larger circle of the great work of God in redemptive history, and the more narrow circle of this immediate situation of the marauding bands coming down and seeking to harass the king of Israel. And the larger circle of the great work of God in redemptive history, is to harass the nation of Israel, particularly to seize or to kill its king, its appointed leader, and into that situation, God's representative in Israel, Elisha, the man of God, is found as God's instrument for the preservation of his people and the vindication of his name.

The Cause of the Crisis: Elisha's Omniscient Insight

6:52 Now, so much for the setting of the narrative. Now, how are we to conceive of the facts or the substance of the narrative? And I'm going to ask you, I would suggest, with but little alteration, the paragraph arrangements in the 1901 edition are very helpful. There are three basic units of thought in this narrative, and I have entitled them, The Cause of the Crisis, verses 8 through 15.

7:18 You see, I'm snitching a verse or two from the, I'm sorry, 8 through 14. I'm taking a verse from the second paragraph, as it is found in my translation, and putting it up with the first. We have The Cause of the Crisis in verses 8 through 14, and then we shall consider The Meeting of the Crisis, verses 15 through 19, and then the sequel to the crisis, verses 20 through 23. Now, it's my purpose over the next 15 minutes or so simply to open up the facts of the narrative.

7:51 Now, let me say, as I stand on the threshold of attempting to do that, that there is a problem with regard to some of the details in the narrative, and the problem arises out of two factors. One is our inability to ascertain with precision the significance of certain Hebrew idioms. When one reads the commentators who are very knowledgeable in the Hebrew language, he finds that some of them, equally astute, disagree as to the precise details of the significance of certain Hebrew idioms. And then the second difficulty arises from the fact that we cannot accurately, reconstruct all of the details of ancient military policy and practice.

8:35 But the overall substance of the passage is certainly clear. And in terms of its abiding message to us, nothing is affected by our inability precisely to discern the significance of this particular phrase or that particular phrase. All right, then, first of all, the cause of the crisis, verses 8 through 14. All right, then, first of all, the cause of the crisis, verses 8 through 14.

8:59 of Syria was carrying out his commando raids against Israel. There is no indication that he was present in these raids, but he was certainly the one behind them. He became very frustrated in his efforts to carry out his military designs, and the reason was that every attempt to gain a military advantage upon Israel, in particular upon the king as the leader of the armies of God in Israel, or the armies of the people of God, was that someone, it appeared, was a fifth columnist in the ranks. Every time he would go, and this is one possible meaning or understanding of the text, every time he would propose to send his troops to a given place to ambush the king of Israel, he would find that when he would get there, the king of Israel never showed up. And this happened not once, not twice, but by a figure of speech called a litotes. When the text says it happened not once or twice, it happened many times, until finally he draws the only conclusion that he could draw, somebody spilling our military beans to the enemy. We have a fifth columnist amongst us. And so, of course, being convinced that that was

10:21 the problem, he then asks that his people, his men, rally around him and disclose who amongst them is the traitor. Verse 11, he makes this plea, and the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled, deeply agitated, it's vigorous language in the original, and he called his servants and said unto them, will ye show me which of us is for the king of Israel? Well, he had drawn a wrong conclusion, as we so often do when we have an inadequate set of facts. And into that situation, one of his servants speaks up and tells the king, it's not a matter of having a fifth columnist in the ranks, but it is a matter that has to do with the prophet of God in Israel. And then, in very vivid language, this servant tells him that Elisha, the prophet of God, verse 12, tells the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. In other words, this prophet, by virtue of being a prophet of Jehovah, is able to know anything that God is not able to know. And so, he tells him, God knows. Whatever God is pleased to reveal to him, he knows. And Jehovah is obviously

11:36 revealing to Elisha all of your military plans, all of your proposed strategy. He, in turn, is ratting to the king of Israel, and this is why you're being utterly frustrated. Well, the result is, of course, verse 12 and verse 13, that the king is now determined to lay hold of Elisha. Elisha, in order to stop this military frustration. And so, upon inquiring, and here there is some hint that maybe there was a fifth columnist in the ranks of the people of God, or the nation of Israel. One is a bit suspicious as to how this information flowed so freely between the two nations. And one or two of the commentators point this out, Elisha, especially, that in all likelihood, there was a fifth columnist from the ranks of the nation of Israel. And this is why.

The Meeting of the Crisis: Fear, Faith, and Spiritual Sight

12:28 The king was perhaps even more inclined to think, well, if we do it with respect to them, and they've got someone from their ranks who's giving us information, perhaps someone in our ranks is doing the same. But be that as it may, he receives information without apparently any real deep or extensive investigation that the man of God, Elisha, is in the city or the town of Dothan. Now, the fact that the Spirit of God mentions the place and is wonderfully preserved for us, some facts about this place, is very helpful in understanding the narrative. Dothan was a city or a town situated on the top of a green hill overlooking a very rich pasture plain. And it was surrounded as like an amphitheater by hills. Dothan was approximately ten to twelve miles north of the city of Samaria. It was a place, you remember, where there is earth.

13:28 And earlier in our biblical history, it was in that area where Joseph was sold into slavery by his brethren. Well, here is Dothan then, this city situated on a hill with a rich plain to the north of it, and then, as it were, an amphitheater of hills around it. And to that place then, the king sends, according to verse 14, horses, chariots, and a great host, which could be translated as an amphitheater. Dothan translated, not so much a great host as though this was a great army, but he sent to him, if I can find the translation, a strong power, is the way Edersheim translates it.

14:12 So the indication is that he went with a sufficient band of military might to handle without any trouble, not only Elisha, but any of the people in the city of Dothan who would seek to come to Elisha's aid. So though he did not send out a full army, he sent a great army, and he sent a great scale army, he didn't send out just a token force of a half a dozen foot soldiers. There were chariots, there were horses, and a great power. Well, this is then the emergence of this crisis, the cause of this crisis. Now consider the second paragraph in which we have an account of how the man of God met this crisis, beginning with verse 15. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone, forth, behold, a host with horses and chariots was round about the city. Now what was the servant of the man of God doing up early in the morning? Well, we can't answer it with any degree of finality, but in all likelihood, he was rising to saddle the ass and to get together the provisions necessary for the man of God, in company with the servant of God, to make a journey to Samaria.

15:26 For Samaria was the place, of the prophet's more permanent residence. We read at the end of this chapter in verse 32, but Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And it's obvious that that event takes place in Samaria. So probably what we have is a situation in which Elisha and the servant of God had decided to leave the next day. And so his servant rises early to go out and saddle the ass and to get the provisions together, and when he does, either from his vantage point on the hill looking out over that expansive valley to the plain beyond, he sees then from that vantage point the chariots, the horses, and this strong power that had come and surrounded the city. Well, the moment he sees them, he draws a conclusion that his life and the life of the man of God, if not the entire city, is in jeopardy. And he says, And he immediately pushes the panic button. The scripture says, And the servant said unto him, Alas, my master, how shall we do? This is a cry of despair.

16:41 We've had it. Alas, my master, how shall we do? Look at the chariots, look at the horses, look at the strong power. We are no match for them alone. We as a city are no match for them.

16:53 Now the man of God with a calmness that is born of faith and of sharp spiritual vision answers in verse 16, and he answered, Fear not. He answers with that simple word, Fear not. And then he goes on to buttress that command with a very solid reason. Fear not, servant of Elisha, and here's the reason. For they that are with us are more than they that are with them. He makes a statement to the effect that no matter what appears to the eyes of the servant of Elisha in terms of military might and strength, there is more might and strength, not only numerically but qualitatively, with them. In all of their paucity of military hardware and soldiers and footmen and chariots, he dares to assert in the hearing of his servant, there are more with us than are with them. And he says, Fear not. He answers with that simple word, Fear not. He answers

18:01 with that simple word, Fear not. He answers with that simple word, Fear not. He answers with that simple word, with them. Then apparently sensing that the faith of the servant could not quite lay hold of that reality, that his word was not enough in that instance, for remember Gehazi, the servant of Elisha who had seen other mighty works, had been cursed with leprosy, and this fellow was probably a novice in being close to the prophet and seeing the mighty works of God. And so Elisha, condescending under the Leprosy, was a Novatist. And he said, Fear not. He answers with that simple word, Fear not. direction of the Holy Spirit to the weakness of his faith, verse 17, prays and said, Jehovah I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. He asks Jehovah to give to this man spiritual

18:49 insight to behold with his eyes that which he could not see with his eyes. That is to see with the inner eyes of the soul that which he could not see with the physical eyes of his body. And the Lord wonderfully answered Elisha's prayer, and Jehovah 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. Now what he saw precisely we do not know. Whether he saw this great armadillo, or whether he saw this great armadillo, or whether he saw this great armadillo, or whether he saw this great armadillo, or whether he saw this great armadillo, or whether he saw this great army of horses and chariots of fire immediately surrounding the prophet, whether he saw as it were the prophet framed as you might see a person in a photograph framed by massive mountains, whatever it is, the servant of God saw the reality of what the prophet had told him in the previous words. When the prophet said, there are more with us than with them, God enabled him to see entirely.

19:56 In terms of this spiritual vision, the mighty host of the living God, Jehovah. Verse 18, apparently at that sight all fear leaves, and the prophet and his servant go out, either of the gates of the city or down from the gates to move down the hill. And when they came down to him, that is, the Syrians, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. The man who had earlier prayed, just a few moments before, open eyes, now, praise Lord, shut eyes. Smite them with blindness.

Divine Blindness and Deception in Warfare

20:38 And the text says, And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Now this was not a total blindness. And the word used for blindness here is used only one other place in the Old Testament. It's in conjunction with the blinding of those men at the house of Lot in Genesis 19. I believe it's verse 11.

20:58 And because we read in the subsequent narrative that Elisha led them to a city that was at least some twelve miles away, it's quite obvious that this was not a total physical blindness in which no light was able to penetrate through the eye and register on the retina. But it was that kind of blindness which precluded those who were afflicted from it from seeing the realities that they saw. That is, from truly perceiving what they saw. For immediately now, they no longer recognize the prophet. They no longer recognize the city of Dothan. And so Elisha says unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city.

21:43 Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye see. And so he led them to Samaria. Someone says, Oh, the prophet lied.

21:55 Well, maybe he did, maybe he didn't. And it's interesting again to read the commentators wrestling with this passage. Some say, Look, don't trouble yourself about the ethics of warfare. Deception in warfare is proper.

22:08 And this was warfare between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, the enemy of God and the people of God. And deception in warfare is not an act of sin. Ambush in warfare. Logistical deception is not sin.

22:23 And so they cover, as it were, the tracks of the prophet. Others say, No, this was cryptic language that was true as far as it went. When he said to them, This is not the way, neither is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.

22:39 He did precisely that. He himself was transporting himself to Samaria. And when they got to Samaria, he was there. And the Elisha whom they...

22:48 They sought, they now sought. So in a sense, he wasn't lying. He was telling the truth. But frankly, that doesn't trouble me.

22:56 And I'm not concerned to resolve the questions which you may have about the ethics of this passage. Suffice it to say that God apparently smiled on what happened, and that satisfies me.

23:10 And God would not be party to the violation of his law in such a way as to vindicate the claims and the prayers of the prophet. So that satisfies me. If it doesn't satisfy you, why, you can go home and stay awake tonight trying to resolve the problem. I shall sleep in the contemplation of other things.

23:29 All right? The crisis then is met. The prophet prays. They are smitten with blindness.

23:35 And instead of this marauding band seizing the prophet and carrying him back captive to Syria, you can't help but see the humor in this. Here the prophet of God comes marching into Samaria with the chariots and the horses and the mighty, and the mighty hosts behind him. He's bringing them captive without the raising of a sword, without any shackles upon his enemies. Don't you see something of the humor of this?

The Sequel to the Crisis: Mercy and Its Impact

24:01 God just confounding his enemies in answer to the prayers of the man of God. Well, then there is this account of what I'm calling the sequel to the crisis, verses 20 through 23. Let's hasten through this section of the narrative. After making this journey of some 12 miles, they come to the city.

24:18 And when they do, we read in verse 20, when they were come to 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. You see, their perception is given back to them.

24:38 And now they recognize precisely where they are. Now the king of Israel, Jehoram, standing by, says to Elisha when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them? Here's the indication.

24:51 Here's the indication of his unwise and undisciplined zeal. Here he's done nothing to bring them captive, and he's ready to take out his sword and make it wet with their blood. And Elisha rebukes him, indicating that there are some understood ethics of warfare even. He said, Thou shalt not smite them.

25:08 Wouldst thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? If you had been out on a military expedition, and you had taken captives, would you bring them back, enslave them, in cold blood? No. You would preserve their lives.

25:24 You might make them slaves, as God allowed his people to do, and often directed them to do, in certain situations where they were conquerors. Other times God directed them to extermination. But in this situation, Elisha says, No, this is not the time to slay them. But almost in anticipation of the richer manifestation of the grace of God in the coming ages of redemptive history, he says, in essence, Feed your enemy.

25:54 Care for his needs. And so the prophet commands him to prepare for them a meal of bread and of water. And here you see something of the sovereignty of God. Instead of preparing just meager fare, the text says in verse 23, He prepared great provisions for them.

26:13 And you can imagine what these Syrians must have thought. They were a vicious, bloodthirsty, warlike nation. And no doubt they fully expected when they came to themselves and saw them surrounded by the King of Israel and his military men. They had had it.

26:29 If they had been superstitious Roman Catholics, no doubt they would have crossed themselves many times and reached in for a rosary. No doubt they began to mumble the names of their pagan gods. They thought they had had it. And you can imagine their amazement when they're ushered in to a lush and lavish banquet.

26:47 And great provisions are set before them. And they eat. And they eat. And they eat.

26:51 And they eat. And they eat. And they eat. And they eat.

26:51 And they eat. And they eat. And they eat. And they eat.

26:51 And they eat. Probably all the while wondering, are we just being fattened for the slaughter? And they cannot believe their eyes or their ears when they are given a commandment to return. For the text says, He sent them away, and they went to their master.

27:06 And the ultimate result is that the marauding bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. That is, at least for a period of time, there were none of these commando incursions. It could have been in response to the kindness or it could be that they just realized, well, that man Elisha around is losing business because the next incident shows them engaging in all-out, full-scale military warfare. And that might have come sometime afterwards.

The Message to the Syrians: God's Omniscience and Sovereignty

27:35 Well, those are the facts of the narrative. You have the story now in your mind. There is the emergence of the crisis, how the man of God meets the crisis, and then the sequel to the crisis. But now, what is the message of these events?

27:49 What does all of this have to say? What does all of this have to say? What does all of this have to say? What does all of this have to say to us?

27:53 Well, by this strange series of events, God was speaking both eloquently and powerfully to all those who were involved, both as participants in these events, as witnesses to them, and as the recipients of the account of these events. And I confess I've wrestled for hours as to know how to reduce the massive materials for valid application in this passage. On the one hand, we could simply focus our attention on what this series of events meant to the king of Syria and to the pagan Syrians who would hear of it. For a thing like this, you see, does not remain a matter of silence. It wasn't done in a corner, and it would not remain in a corner. Well, here is a wonderful passage demonstrating that God's dealings through his representative, Elisha, were missionary dealings as surely as God had set Israel in the midst of those pagan nations to be a witness of who he was and what he was like, to be a missionary nation, a light to all the pagan darkness in that section of his own creation. So in this situation, we see something of that powerful and eloquent testimony of the character and nature of Jehovah in contrast to the dead gods and idols of the heathen.

29:21 For surely in this passage, Jehovah manifests himself as the God of perfect omniscience. You see, the pagan's God could only see him when its worshipper could see the God. That's why paganism and idolatry are such a convenient religion. Once you're outside of the sight of the God and you can no longer see him, he can't see you if he can see it all.

29:45 So you're free to do your own thing with some salve upon your conscience. But here, the living God, God is saying to them, look, say what you will, plan what you will, purpose what you will. I am Jehovah, and I am privy to every secret military council you have. And I can make known what I know to my representative Elisha.

30:08 He represents me. You want to know what I'm like? All of your secrets are being told to the king of Israel because I, Jehovah, know every word you speak, every thought you think, I know the intentions of your heart. We could enlarge that.

30:27 We could see how this passage sets forth the absolute sovereignty of God, bringing this partial blindness that allows people to see and yet not to comprehend. God brings it in a moment, and when he's determined to lift it, he lifts it in a moment. He restrains the passions of an unprincipled king. He turns him from a bloodthirsty man into a gracious man.

30:51 The sovereignty of God, ooh, oozes through this entire passage, and it was manifested in the face of these pagan Syrians. It was a missionary demonstration of the character of God. We could see in it the message to the Syrians of the mercy and the grace of God. The God who had wonderfully healed their great military leader Naaman in the previous chapter.

31:16 This is the God who, when in the person of his representative, has them in his hands, he says, feed them. And send them away to their master. Well, you see, that whole aspect could be opened up and fleshed out. Oh, we think of the message of this passage to the king of Israel and to the people of God.

The Message to Israel: God's Longsuffering and Patience

31:36 God is reminding them of his long-suffering and patience. This is a wicked king. This is not a godly king. And yet almighty God, through his prophet, is preserving and protecting him.

31:46 The goodness of God leading him to repentance, seeking to bring him to feel the shame and the horror of truth. Treating so gracious a God of covenant faithfulness in so miserable and rotten a way. Well, we could go on and enlarge what this was as a message to the people of God. But what I've chosen to do for the remaining time is to focus upon the message of God to that trembling servant of Elisha.

The Message to the Trembling Servant: Fear Not, for God is With Us

32:13 Because in a very real sense, I believe that's the word of God to our hearts tonight. And so I turn your attention back to verses 16 and 17. And I want you to try to relive with me that situation. Hear this inexperienced servant of the man of God coming forth in the early morning hours and seeing not perhaps the entire surrounding of the city, but seeing this great expression of military might.

32:46 And he's filled with fear and the cry of despair leaps to his lips when he says in verse 16, verse 16, verse 15, Alas, my master, how shall we do? And I don't believe he said that in a careless or light or flippant way. The man was scared out of his wits. And so would you.

33:10 And so would I be in similar circumstances. And into that situation comes the command of the prophet, fear not. And if you want a wonderful discipline some Lord's Day afternoon, you just take, you take your concordance and you look up the word fear and every time you see the word not next to it, you look up all the fear nots in the Bible. It's one of the most wonderful strands of biblical teaching.

33:39 The first fear not, to my knowledge, is uttered after that great act of redemptive deliverance out of Egypt. And the people of God have been brought over the Red Sea and yet when they turn back,

33:55 they see, I'm sorry, they've been brought to the border of the Red Sea and they turn back and they see the armies of Egypt coming after them, the sea in front of them, the mountains to the left and the right and there seems to be no way of escape. And God says, fear not. I take this responsibility upon myself. And again and again throughout the Old Testament, both to individuals and to His people, right on into the New Testament, beginning with those well-known words to the shepherds, fear not, for I bring you good tidings of grace and great joy.

34:29 Right on through the book of Acts where the angel of the Lord comes to Paul at Corinth and tells him, fear not. All the way into the book of the Revelation when John, falling prostrate before the exalted Lord, is told, fear not. Trace it through some Lord's Day afternoon if you want something that will ravish your heart. God says again and again to His people, when it seems that the circumstances are utterly hopeless, fear not.

34:57 And now the prophet gives the word. The reason for that command, they that are with us are more than they that are with them. Not more in number only, but more in power and in might. In other words, Elisha is very conscious that as he stands in the city of Dothan, surrounded by chariots and horsemen and its host, he does not stand as a private person.

35:26 He stands as Jehovah's representative in Israel. He stands in covenant relationship to the living God. And that as long as the purposes of God in his life are not yet realized, he is utterly invincible. And so he says to his servant, don't be afraid, for, here's the reason for that command, they that are with us, not may be with us or may run to our aid, they are with us, are more, than they that are with them.

36:03 And now, he prays that God will show the servant the realities that attend that reason. That when he says, more are with us than with them, he's not merely trying to give him some kind of positive thinking that will sort of chuck him under the chin and make him feel good. He says, Lord, I want him to know that when I make that assertion, I am simply expressing true spiritual realities. Open his eyes.

36:33 And when God answers the prophet's prayer and opens his eyes, what does he see? He beholds the mountain full, now notice, not of angels, but horses and chariots of fire. Now what is the significance of that vision of the presence of God and the host of God in the form of horses and chariots and chariots of fire? This was not the first time that Elisha is connected with horses and chariots of fire.

37:12 You remember, it was in that context that Elijah was taken up into heaven. Fire throughout Scripture is again and again the symbol of the living presence of the living God. When God appears to Moses, he comes in terms of a burning bush. A bush that burns but is not consumed.

37:35 When he appears to Abraham, he comes in the burning fire between the sacrifices. When his glory would fill the temple, the fire of God falls upon the altar. There was the pillar of fire and the cloud. The fire is the constant symbol of the living presence of the God of burning holiness.

37:57 But you see, he does not simply see a raging fire, as the symbol of the burning presence of God. But that fire is formed into the image of horses and chariots. And what are horses and chariots? Well, they are the instruments of war.

38:15 They are the instruments by which conquerors go forth to conquer. They are not defensive weapons, primarily, but offensive weapons. Horses and chariots. And so what God is saying to this servant of Elisha is, is that when your master says there are more with us than with them, the more is myself.

38:40 And I am with you in all my livingness in terms of the present expression of your need. At this point, the servant of God needed to know that God was present not so much as a comforter or a consoler, but as a mighty conqueror. And so God, God manifest Himself in terms of the symbols of that power and might of conquest. He manifest Himself as horses and chariots of fire.

Faith in God's Word, Not Miraculous Visions

39:19 Now you say, well, Pastor Martin, that's all well and good that God did that for him. But I really don't have much hope that in my next pinch God's going to give me the kind of vision that servant got. I don't even know if I've got any ground to pray for that. Well, let me clue you in.

39:37 You don't. And anyone who claims to be an Elisha and prays it for you, run from him. He's a false prophet.

39:45 No. God is not going to open your eyes to give you some vision that is parallel to this vision in which the Lord will manifest Himself in His livingness and power in forms perfectly suited to your particular need. No. God has revealed this in His Word and all that we need for the support and strengthening of our faith is deposited here for us to lay hold of and to credit God with being true to His Word.

40:22 You have a wonderful example of this in a very similar context in the book of Chronicles. Will you turn to 2 Chronicles in chapter 32? 2 Chronicles chapter 32. 2 Chronicles chapter 32.

40:42 The people of God are in dire straits again. The Lord brings them into that situation again and again.

40:57 Sennacherib,

41:01 Assyria comes to Judah, camps against the fortified cities, determined to obliterate the people of God. Now the king speaks to the people of God in verse 7. Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid nor dismayed for the kingdom of God.

41:21 The king of Assyria not for all the multitude that is with him for there is a greater with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh but with us is Jehovah our God to help us and to fight our battles. You see how similar is the language? Greater is he that is with us than he that is with them.

41:47 Greater are they that are with us than they that are with them. Now what did the people do? Did they say we won't believe it unless we can see it with our eyes? No.

41:55 Look at the text. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. Now wait a minute.

42:07 You mean they dared to put words against swords?

42:14 Soldiers?

42:17 Plements of war? Yes. That's exactly what the text says. They rested themselves in the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.

42:29 What is faith? That's faith.

42:32 When God comes to us with his own word in the midst of our own desperate situation and says we are to do precisely as the people of God did in this situation. We are to rest ourselves upon the words of God. That is we are to throw the entire weight of our confidence upon that word that is to us. The word of the living God.

Biblical Examples of Faith in the Invisible God

43:03 Surely David understood this. Let me just give you a couple of specimens from the Psalms in which the military imagery is dominant. In the third Psalm, Psalm 3,

43:18 David is in the midst of the oppression of many adversaries. Verse 1, Lord, how are mine adversaries increased? Many are they that rise up against me. Many are they that say of my soul, there's no.

43:34 There's no help for him in God. But thou, O Lord, art a shield about me, my glory and the lifter up of my head. I cry unto the Lord with my voice and he answereth me out of his holy hill. Now this is beautiful.

43:47 I laid me down and slept. I await, for the Lord sustaineth me. I will not be afraid of ten thousands of the people that have set themselves against me round about.

44:04 Hear his answer. His adversaries are increasing all around him. They revile and they taunt him and say there's no help for you in God. And what does David do?

44:13 Lie awake all night pumping down sleeping pills and tranquilizers to try to get a few hours? No. He says, I pillowed my head and dropped off to sleep confident that I was within the orbit of the covenant faithfulness and almighty power of Jehovah. I laid me down and I slept.

44:32 I will not be afraid, he says, of ten thousands, of the people that have set themselves against me round about. We find the same sentiments expressed in the 27th Psalm. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear?

44:50 The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers came upon me to eat up my flesh, even mine adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.

45:08 Though war should rise against me, even then will I be confident. Here is the language of a man of faith. We find a similar expression of this concept or this reality in Hebrews 11 when it gives us the clue to the life of Moses. Speaking of Moses as a man of faith, it says in Hebrews 11, 27, he endured as seeing him who is invisible.

45:38 Not that God continually gave him a visual representation upon his mind in the form of vision as we find with the servant of Elisha. No, no. He saw with the eye of faith the reality of his God. Oh yes, there were times when God gave him special supernatural manifestations of himself, manifestations peculiar to his function and place as a prophet of God.

46:03 But the great secret to Moses, his life was not these supernatural manifestations. He endured as continually seeing the invisible God with the eye of faith. The apostle Paul tells us that that was the secret of his life. He says, while we look, we gaze intently not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are not seen.

The Contrast of Unbelief: Seeing Only the Visible

46:27 Now you see, the spirit of unbelief is just the opposite. It refuses in a given situation of crisis to believe that any factor is present but what the physical eyes can see and discern. We have a tragic example of this in the 14th chapter of Numbers. Notice the contrast now.

46:48 In Numbers chapter 14, the record of the spies returning with their discouraging report of the giants that are in the land of Canaan. Only Joshua and Caleb speak of that which God can do. We read now, in Deuteronomy 14, 9, Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land, for they are bred for us. Their defense is removed from over them, and the Lord is with us.

47:21 Fear them not. Yes, there are giants. There are great obstacles to our conquest, but Jehovah is with us. Who are they in the face of the mighty living God of Israel?

47:34 But how did they respond to that? That all the congregation bade, and stoned them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting unto all the children of Israel. You see, their attitude is, there is no reality but what we can see with our physical eyes.

47:53 There are no possibilities but those which we can reason through from human logic and reason. We refuse to operate on any other set of principles but those.

Application: God's Presence in Our Spiritual Warfare

48:06 Well, I trust that by now you all see where I'm going in the application Child of God, as we live at this point in the history of God's dealings with men, what is the Lord doing? He is calling out a people for His name. He's gathering His church from every kindred, tribe, and tongue, and nation. The warfare of the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent is still going on.

48:34 And though that serpent received a bruising at Calvary from which he can never recover, his ultimate, final bruising yet awaits his being finally cast into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. And he continually makes war with the people of God. Your adversary the devil is a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. And here we are in all our vulnerability, in all of our weakness, in all of our sense of being exposed to all of the host of darkness.

49:10 And what is our, our temptation? Our temptation is to be like those children of Israel. To be like that poor servant who all he could see was chariots, horses, footmen, and a poor prophet unarmed, and his poor servant, and some people in the city surrounded. Alas, we've had it!

49:33 There are no other factors but the factors which these eyes can see. How foolish. And the Lord wonderfully showed him that the most significant factor could not be the fact that the Lord is God. He could not be perceived with these senses.

49:45 And that most significant factor was the living presence of the living God as a man of war. He got the message. And oh dear child of God, isn't this the great promise of our Lord Jesus Christ? Lo, lo, in all the ages, of all her tasks, in all her conflicts, lo, I am with you always, even unto the consummation of the age.

50:11 Well, how is he with us? Well, how is he with us? He is with us in the many-dimensioned, multi-faceted glory of all that he is as the God-man and the Savior of his people. And that's why we can bless God for the incarnation, because in the enfleshment of the second person of the Godhead, we have God walking amongst us, meeting this world where we must live in this world, and we see spectrum of divine glory shining out through the Lord Jesus Christ and God is to us precisely what we need in any given situation because we behold the Lord Jesus Christ being just that in the days of his flesh though he is no longer in the period of his humiliation in the language of one writer he is carried back with him to the right hand of the father at the place of his exaltation a reservoir of sympathy with respect to all of his human experiences in the period of his humiliation that's the teaching of Hebrews we have not an high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin so whatever our situation may be greater is he that is with us greater is he that

51:39 is in you is the language of John than he that is in the world and how desperately we as the people of God need to lay hold of that reality and pray that the spiritual eye of faith may be kept clear of any of the cinders and specks of dust that will hinder the clarity of its vision Matthew Henry in his quaint way said when we are magnifying the cause of our fear the causes of our fear we ought to be prodding ourselves and seeking to ascertain clear great and high thoughts of God and the invisible world when we're magnifying the causes of our fear we're looking at the chariots we're looking at the horses we're looking at the footmen he said no we ought to be engaging ourselves in the discipline of getting clearer greater and higher thoughts of God and the invisible world it doesn't mean that we live unrealistically we don't blink our eyes and say when we open them the chariots are gone blink again and the horses are gone blink again and the footmen are gone no no but we see that above them beyond them and around them are the chariots and the horsemen of the living God

53:05 and whatever God leads us into as individual Christians whatever God may allow his church to pass through in this day the great challenges that are before us as a congregation everything from the construction of a building and the securing of adequate more permanent facilities for worship and ministry whatever personal crisis you may face physically economically whatever they may be oh that God's word will come to us again and again and again in the coming year and in the years to come fear not for they that are with us are more than they that are with them and the great heart of that promise is the greater is the Lord himself isn't this what the apostle meant when he said if God before us who can be against us and then he enumerates all the things that come in the form of horsemen and chariots against us tribulation persecution the sword famine in all these things we are what more than conquerors I don't know what more than a conqueror is a conqueror I know what that is but he says we are more than conquerors through him that loved us and you see unconverted friend this is what makes your position so frightening you really live as though there were no world but the world you can see and touch and feel

54:34 that's why the word God the words Christ repentance faith heaven hell as far as you're concerned those are just words that give a preacher something to talk about so he can have the semblance of keeping busy and earning his pay but you see those words are only words in the Bible because there are realities that stand behind the word hell is found in the Bible because there is a hell the word God is found in the Bible because there is a God the word Christ and repentance and faith these are the great realities and I urge upon you if you have any concerns for your soul to pray for yourself what Elisha prayed for that servant oh Lord open my eyes to see that's our prayer for you that the spirit of God would open your eyes to see that these are substantial eternal unchanging never dying realities and until you are rightly related to those realities you are in a frightening position because the wrath of the almighty a wrath that is far worse than the wrath of those Syrians that came down to the city of Dothan is the wrath that is poised to consume you for the scripture says the wrath of God abideth on him that believeth not

56:01 but you don't have a verse in the Bible that says you cannot come within the orbit of the gracious provisions of all of the promises of God that are yea and amen in Christ in fact there are many verses that welcome you and not only do they welcome you not only do they welcome you but they also welcome you you. They assure you that if you come, you'll be received. Oh, my dear friend, what a wonderful thing to have the living God as our portion in life and in death. It seems to me that that's the whole heart of the 23rd Psalm. That's all David needed to know as he faced the great valley of the shadow of death. What was his great comfort? He said, my great shepherd will be with me. That's all I need. What's it going to be like to die? I don't know, but this I know. My shepherd is with me, and I know that I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. May God grant that this word will come to us as meat and drink to our souls as we gather to the Lord's table, that we will find great joy in taking into our hands something that can be seen and touched, something that can be felt and tasted, and to know that behind those who are with us, there is a great joy. In Jesus' emblems, there is the great reality of the God who was enfleshed in Jesus Christ,

57:23 our Savior and Lord, enfleshed that he might be with us, and bless God that he is with us even here as we come to his table. Let us thank him together and pray that he will write his word upon our hearts. Our Father, we thank you for this portion of your word which we have been privileged to study together. We praise you that you have revealed yourself in the concrete situations of life. Though we bless you for those portions of your word that are rich in broad and careful statements of truth, we also praise you for the many sections in which we read of historical events in which you put into the stuff that we can see. Amen. Great realities concerning yourself and your ways with the sons of men. We thank you for this portion. We thank you for its great promise. Be pleased to write it upon our hearts. Be

58:36 pleased to meet with us in this sacred time of remembrance to follow. Be pleased to bless your word to the awakening and the conversion of those who are yet strangers to your grace. O God, we pray with Elisha, open their eyes. Not to have literal visions, but to have spiritual senses that become acutely aware of that world of spiritual reality to which they are answerable and within which they must live even for eternity.

59:10 God, hear our cry and receive our thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.