This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of the “Philippians” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, January 31, 1993.
About this sermon
The story in 2 Kings 6 of Elisha surrounded by an enemy army has its humor as well as its drama. Elisha’s calm already shows the peace of God that passes understanding, the peace Philippians 4:7 names. Paul tells the Philippians that the same peace is theirs in their own predicament.
Sermon transcript
to 2 Kings 6, and we begin reading at verse 8. Listen to the word of God. 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. 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.” 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. Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing, and he called his servants and said unto them, Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? 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 dead chamber.’
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 Gothan. Therefore sent he thither horses and chariots and a great host, and they came by night and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth. Behold, a host compassed the city, both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master, how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. 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. 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. 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. 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. The King of Israel said unto Elisha when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? Shall I smite them? And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them. Wouldst 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. And he prepared great provision for them. 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.”
I’m turning over to Philippians chapter 4, verses 6 and 7 of that fourth chapter. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Let’s pray together. Our God, in this world there may be many occasions for your people to be troubled. We ask, Lord, that in the midst of these troubles we might have peace. We may even be disturbed greatly, Lord, by various things that we find transpiring in our land. We ask that even in the midst of these things we may have peace. And, Lord, may this peace be beneficial, yes, as your word goes forth for the purposes which you have ordained. but also, Father, as it gives testimony to your graciousness to your Church. Father, we ask that there may even be witness that rises from such peace as is given to us, that peace that in fact transcends what peace this world offers, that peace which is known in Jesus Christ and in him alone.
We rejoice in your provision to us and ask that you will guide us with respect to all of our thoughts, for Jesus’ sake. Amen. 2 Kings 6 contains one of the most humorous stories in all of scripture. But I hope that for all of its humor, we don’t overlook its profundity, its power and significance.
It seems that Hawaisha has become an embarrassing nuisance to the king of Syria. Every time the king of Syria would make a military move on Israel, he would find the Israelites well prepared, as if having received advance notice of all of his movements.
The Syrian king, therefore, thought that there was a traitor among his chiefs of staff. But they objected. They objected that Elisha, the prophet, was the one to blame. As they say, Elisha tells the king of Israel, the words that you, king, speak in your bedroom.
And now the enraged Syrian King sends a large army to Dothan, for he has been informed that that’s where Elisha is, for the purpose of capturing Elisha and bringing Elisha to him. Now the army comes at night and surrounds the city of Dothan. Elisha’s servant Rises in the morning, only to be greeted by the sight of this alien army surrounding the city. He exclaims to his master, What shall we do?
And Elisha replies, Don’t be afraid. Those with us are more than those with them. Then Elisha prays. O Lord, open the eyes of my servant that he may see.” And we are told that the Lord does just that. He opens the servant’s eyes, and the servant sees horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Now, we are not told specifically what the response of the servant is to that revelation. But it seems that the proper conclusion is that all of his fears and anxieties were laid aside. He was a man at peace. However, before we relax too quickly at the telling of this story, We want to be sure we haven’t missed the power, the force of this story.
You see, the servant at the revelation of this invisible, mighty host surrounding Elisha may well have felt secure from the threat of that Syrian army. But let me suggest to you that Elisha and his servant could have the protection of that heavenly army against the Syrians and still have been taken by the Syrians to suffer at the Syrians’ hands. There is a security, a peace that even surpasses that of being protected from enemy army bands. There is a security that I would suggest belongs to Elisha in this story that is of a higher Even if he be given over to death, there is a security that belongs to Elisha. For Elisha knows that peace that passes understanding. He knows that peace that is capable of guarding his heart and mind. Father Elisha has this superlative security and peace, this uncommon serenity, is brought out in two ways in the story. First of all, I want you to notice what Elisha says to his servants. Those with us are more than those with them.
Now, the contrast Elisha makes is not exactly what we might think at first glance. To be sure, Elisha wants to make clear a direct contrast between that Syrian army of the flesh and this invisible army that has been revealed to his servants. To be sure, Elisha wants to make it clear that this Syrian army is no match for that heavenly army that has been unveiled. But Elisha does not say those with us are more than these Syrians. Elisha does not say, those with us are more than these Syrians. Instead, he says, those with us are more than those with them.
You see, the contrast is more than a contrast between that invisible army revealed to Elisha’s servants and the visible army of the Syrians. The contrast is actually between two invisible spiritual forces. The one standing behind the Syrians, the other standing behind Elisha. You might find it strange that when the eyes of the servant are opened, that he does not see the enemy, alien, spiritual force. That only the force behind Elisha appears to his servant makes it plain. that the opposing spiritual force becomes as nothing before the might and power of the army that belongs to Elisha. This alien enemy spiritual force behind the Syrian army has as much chance of victory over Elisha’s heavenly army as does the Syrian army itself. There is that sense then in which we are to see the Syrian army and the invisible alien enemy spiritual force as one.
It may well be that Elisha’s servant relaxes and finds peace because he thinks the presence of that heavenly army means that he has nothing to fear from an earthly army. Elisha, on the other hand, is at peace. He is serene because he knows he has nothing to fear from any alien evil spiritual power, any principality or power, any spiritual wickedness that dwells in high places. And because he knows that, he need not be intimidated by any earthly power, regardless of how fierce or what he may suffer from its hands.”
The prophet moves from the greater to the lesser. The prophet moves from the higher to the lower. The prophet moves from the heavenly, or the spiritual, to the earthly. He begins with the greater. He begins with the higher. He begins with the heavenly and the spiritual. and he sees all reality around him in light of those considerations.
May I encourage you to move in your own thinking along identical lines, to apply yourselves now to work at a discipline whereby you would always begin with the higher, with the greater, with the heavenly, and then consider the earthly in light of the heavenly. Above all else, Be confident about those things that you do not see, but know to be true. Above all else, be confident about those things that are hidden, those things that are higher, those heavenly realities.
For it is such confidence as this that will breed in you the peace that you desperately want and seek. Consider your Savior and his serenity. Have you ever been taken back by the calm of Christ in the face of such opposition and even torment? Take stock of your Savior, who, before his interrogators and tormentors, gives every evidence of grasping the nature of a higher spiritual conflict and the truths that pertain to a higher world. He tells Pilate, you will recall, you could have no power over me unless it was granted to you from above. not just the force of that statement with regard to his father’s sovereignty over all affairs, but the incomparable serenity that echoes in those words as Jesus is, obviously, one who is in possession of a full and perfect peace. Apostle Paul covets this full and perfect peace for the Philippians in Philippians chapter 4. He answers for nothing, he writes, but in everything by prayer and supplication. With thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
Those of you who have been persevering with me through the exegesis of these verses know that I have been interpreting these verses in light of the particular problem that had arisen in Philippi, namely the internal strife that had broken out in that church. And surely the peace of God has application for that problem that had arisen in that Philippian congregation. But even more than that now, taking things along a little bit different line, we cannot ignore the fact that this Philippian congregation was at the same time afflicted from without.
Yes, disrupted from within, but also afflicted from without. They were facing a threat, a threat to their very existence. Paul was being persecuted, he was being oppressed for the faith, he was presently in chains in Rome. But likewise, these Philippian believers were being oppressed and persecuted, they were being assaulted, and they were suffering for the sake of the gospel.
It was as if they had their own Syrian army encamped about them, none too friendly, openly hostile, and oppressive. There is an irony here, though, as we consider the circumstance in Philippi, for these Philippians were those who had prided themselves in their citizenship within that city, a citizenship which made them citizens of the Roman Empire. They had privilege as Roman citizens being residents and citizens of that city. But now, as these Philippians are oppressed and persecuted, as they are suffering, they are suffering at the very hands of those who formerly were looked upon as the guarantors of their peace. to their Roman citizenship. As an incalculable blessing, they looked to its guarantees, and one of those guarantees was the Roman peace, cox romana, and the military might that would ensure that peace.
You think that that may well be in mind as Paul speaks as he does in that 7th verse. Pop’s Romana now contrasted with Pop’s day, the peace of God. Paul then telling us about the peace of God and its protective power, capable of guarding hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Even if our Roman citizenship doesn’t benefit us anymore, even if Rome turns on us, even if Rome begins to persecute us and carry us off to jail, as it has Paul.
These benefits then pertain to a heavenly citizenship, a citizenship that was implicit in Paul’s argument all along, laid between the lines in chapter one, verse twenty-seven, but then explicitly stated and mentioned in the twentieth verse of the third chapter. Our citizenship is in heaven, it says. And such citizenship pertains to the realm of perfect peace, where we are perfectly protected. In fact, with such a peace as this, Does it really matter what hostile forces in this world do to our bodies? Since for us, as it was for the Apostle Paul, death is gain, and our goal is the attainment of the resurrection of the body.
Now, I’m going to be bold in conclusion to suggest to you that Elisha understood this. You say, he’s an Old Testament figure, how does he understand this? The resurrection is being shortchanged by modern exegesis and interpretation. The resurrection faith is being shortchanged with respect to the Old Testament in modern interpretation and exegesis. The resurrection from the dead stands at the very center of that former revelation that comes to us. And it is at the heart of what is going on here in this story of Elisha and the army In his Old Testament way, Elisha understands what we have been saying out of Philippians 4.
This is the second way in which the superior security is brought out in this text in 2 Kings 6. found them in Elisha himself. Elisha does not hear death, and he knows that even if the Syrians come and take him, he is secure with the Lord. How do I extract that from the story? How do I know that Elisha has this confidence? Look once more at the description of what Elisha’s servant saw.
He saw horses and chariots of fire all around the prophets. The servant now sees what Elisha knows to be there. He knew that the horses and the chariots of fire were there all along. He had that confidence, and he had it perfectly. Elisha knew that they were there, and he also knew what those horses and those chariots of fire meant. Well, this isn’t the first time that Elisha has seen chariots of fire. Do you remember the first time? The second chapter of 2 Kings, when his master Elijah had been carried away to glory by just such a vehicle. Elisha knows the end of the matter.
He knows the ruin of chariots of fire. God’s fiery chariot is truly a vehicle of conquest and triumph, not simply over earthly forces that may be arrayed against the children of God. But this chariot of fire is the vehicle of conquest and triumph over evil itself, spiritual powers of wickedness, over the ultimate enemy, death itself, and all of those hidden, alien, spiritually evil forces in Yigwigda.
And as his master Elijah had been transported and transformed, he is confident that the same end awaits him, even though death may overtake his body in this world, be it at the hands of the Syrians or anyone else. Both Elisha and Elijah have a greater master. They serve, ultimately, that greater master, and we serve him too.
The one who knew that he had twelve legions of angels at his disposal when he was being interrogated and tormented. and yet entrusted himself to his Heavenly Father in the absolute confidence that in the great spiritual conflict, he was secure. And the peace of God which pass the thorough understanding shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen. Bless us then with a serenity, a peace not of this world. A peace that is conscious of the heavenly army and of its meaning. That our battle against principalities and powers and spiritual wickedness in high places His guaranteed victory in and through Christ, and that, Lord, we share in a triumph that witnesses even the overthrow of death. Bless us, Lord, as we would begin with the greater, the higher, the heavenly realities. being confident of those things by faith in order that we might live our lives here without fear. We pray it in Jesus name. Amen.
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