Two Miraculous Deliverances

2 Kings 6-7

            Twice we are reminded that conventional strength doesn’t matter when the Lord fights for you. In the first incident, it is Elisha himself who is in danger. It seems he has been spoiling the plans of the king of Aram by telling the king of Israel his movements (by the power of the Lord). Elisha’s servant panics at the approaching army, but Elisha prays and the Lord shows the servant the host of heaven arrayed against the Arameans, who are struck blind. The whole thing rings with stories of Jesus. Elisha’s servant, maybe Gehazi, reminds me of Jesus’ disciples, often reduced to just Peter. They are often portrayed as looking on a scene and not knowing how the Lord will handle it, but He does. (I’m thinking of the feeding of the 5,000, where Jesus tells the disciples to feed the people and they can’t imagine how it will be done until Jesus miraculously does it.) Elisha’s command to feed the captured soldiers and to send them back to their master also points to Jesus’ repeated commands to forgive those who sin against us and to love our enemies.

            The second incident sees the entire northern kingdom at risk, as the Arameans besiege the capitol, Samaria. In this instance, the Lord pulls a move much like he did with Gideon and the Midianites: He convinces them that they are under attack and in the confusion they all run away, freeing the city from its starvation. I don’t know about you, but I wish I had an easier time waiting for the Lord’s deliverance and trusting it would come. I find myself fretting an awful lot, “What should I do?” as if everything in the world depended on me. I know full well the Lord’s promise that He will work out all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). I also know full well that that good might take a long time to manifest itself, maybe even into the new creation. I know those things intellectually, but when the Arameans are surrounding me (metaphorically) I’m more Joram than Elisha! How well I understand the father’s plea in Mark 9:24, “Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!”