Elisha and the Blind Army

Well, we're in for a blessing this evening, so if you've got your Bible, turn with me to 2 Kings, 2 Kings chapter 6, as we continue studying the life and times of Elisha, the man of miracles, that we might come to grips with how this 13th miracle, or should I say 13th plus miracles, because there are a number of them that take place in our story this evening, help us understand the greatness of our God and how He works in our lives.

1 Kings, 2 Kings, I'm sorry, chapter 6, verse number 8. Now the king of Aram was roaring against Israel, and he counseled with his servant, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. 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. The king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, saying, He guarded himself there more than once or twice. 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? One of the 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. Whoa! Aren't you glad your pastor doesn't know the words you speak in your bedroom? And it goes on to say in verse number 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.

He sent horses and chariots and a great army there. And they came by night and surrounded the city. 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 servants said to him, Alas, my master, what shall we do? So he answered, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. 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. 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. 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. 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. Then the king of Israel, when he saw them, said to Elisha, My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them? 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. So he prepared a great feast for them. When they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away. And they went to their master.

And the marauding bands of the Arameans did not come again to the land of Israel. This is, again, a magnificent story of this man of miracles and how God uses him in a fabulous way. This is a story about how Syria, the Arameans, would cross over the border with their marauding bands into war against Israel. We know this because Naaman had taken one of the Jewish girls captive. And she was one who told Naaman, we saw a couple of weeks ago, about Elisha, which caused Naaman, the captain of the Syrian army, to come over to the land of Israel and meet Elisha.

And he was healed of his leprosy. But Naaman is not with them. And the reason Naaman is not with them, we're not told. We can only assume that Naaman's conversion and Naaman's commitment to the Lord God of Israel had turned the king of Syria against him. And therefore he wasn't with them. Which maybe fueled his rage, which made him go after Israel once again. And then even after Elisha. The story of the Syrians is prominent in the life of Elisha. We've already seen him heal Naaman, the captain of the Syrian army, of leprosy.

We see him here in this story dealing with the armies of Syria. We will see him again as he goes and deals with Ben-Hadad in Syria. And at the very end of his life, he will tell King Joash that the northern kingdom will rise up and defeat the Syrian armies. So it becomes very prominent in the life of Elisha. But on this event, I want you to notice three things.

First of all, I want you to notice the divine intelligence. And then I want you to see from there the sublime deliverance. And then I want you to see full-time benevolence. Because of all the stories that we have read about Elisha, this one will probably be the most convicting of all. As you will soon see. But let's look first of all at the divine intelligence.

The story tells us that the king of Syria wants to go to war with Israel. So he's going to set up camp. So that when the king of Israel comes by, who is Jehoram, he will be able to capture him, fight him, and defeat him. But with all the spies that the Syrian king had, he did not have the omniscient God on his side. So what God did was tell Elisha what the king was up to. So he could go to the king of Israel, Jehoram, and tell him, don't go here, don't go there. If you do, you'll be in trouble. Stay away from there.

So the king, the king of Israel, would search the matter out, realize that Elisha was right, and he would avoid being defeated by the king of Syria. This is all about divine intelligence. How God himself would reveal to Elisha what was taking place so that Elisha would be used to spare Israel. Isn't it interesting that here is Israel, who is living in rebellion against God, who is steeped in Baal worship, who is steeped in immorality and idolatry, and God is still protecting them. God is still watching out for Israel.

You would think that God would allow the Syrian king to come in and plunder them and destroy them to teach them a lesson, but no, God is still protecting his people. It reminds me of what the psalmist said in Psalm 121, I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, from where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper.

The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever. The Lord manifested that song to them every day. And still they lived in rebellion. And still they lived in opposition to the words of Elisha, the words of the sons of the prophets. And they continued to disobey the Lord. Showing how graceful, how kind our God is to his people, even though they lived in rebellion.

And God would manifest himself to Elisha, so Elisha would know exactly what was happening with Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, and how King Jehoram, the king of Israel, would not be captured. God is so good. Because the Lord knows everything. The Lord knows everything. The psalmist said in Psalm 94, 11, The Lord knows the thoughts of a man. Isn't that amazing? I take great comfort in that. Because when I'm preaching, I don't know your thoughts. But I don't have to know your thoughts. God knows your thoughts.

And if you're thinking bad thoughts, I trust God's going to take care of you. He's going to deal with you. You know what I'm saying? But he knows exactly what you're thinking. He knew what King Ben-Hadad was thinking in his bedroom. What he was saying in his bedroom. That's divine intelligence. He knows everything. The Bible says over in Proverbs 15, verse number 3, The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding evil and beholding good.

So not only does the Lord know your thoughts, the eyes of the Lord are in every place. You can't get away with anything without the Lord knowing, seeing everything that you do and I do. And so the king would go to war. So you would think. And Naaman wasn't with him. Simply because I believe that Naaman had lived out his conversion and therefore was not a part of the Syrian army. And therefore you would think, you would think that King Ben-Hadad would sit back and say, you know what? This guy Elisha in the land of Israel was so good to my captain.

Was so good to heal him of leprosy because he was King Ben-Hadad who said you got to go. And you got to go now to be healed of your leprosy. But even though he was healed of his leprosy and he came back and would be used by the Lord, it had no effect upon King Ben-Hadad. He was a wicked king. And even though he had seen the effects, the miracle of the healing of leprosy in Naaman's life, he would hear the testimony of his servants and the soldiers who went with him. It still had no effect in his life.

He still lived in rebellion against God. Do you know people like that? They see and they hear and they know the power of God and they still live in rebellion. Our Lord says these words in Psalm 78. He says, Speaking of Israel's release from Egypt and how God protected them, watched over them, provided for them, they still lived in rebellion against God. That's just amazing. But you know what? So many of us in that same boat, we lived in rebellion against God even though miracle things have happened all around us.

People have been saved. People's lives have been transformed. He has supplied my needs, taken care of me, given me good health, watched over me and my family. And yet we live in rebellion against the true and living God. Ben-Hadad could care less about the God of Israel. So he went to war against them even though divine intelligence would override all of that. And he would come and he would seek to plot, to plan and to persistently pursue Israel. But they always escaped him because God told Elisha what the plan was.

Kind of reminds me of Satan and how he surrounds us. He's like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And he never stops planning, never stops his pursuit to ruin our testimony, destroy our families. He's that way. That was King Ben-Hadad. He just would not be willing to give up his pursuit of Israel. And so he went after them. And Elisha would warn the king of Israel. He would tell him, beware. Be on your guard. And the king of Israel would seek out that advice. He would investigate it and realize that Elisha was telling the truth.

And that's a good thing because he obeyed. He didn't have to obey, but he did obey. And because he obeyed, he reaped the benefits of obedience. So many times we miss the benefits, the blessing that God wants to give us because we are unwilling to obey what God says in his word.

The Bible tells us in Psalm chapter 19 that God's word is that which warns the servant. And when the servant keeps them, there is great reward. Great reward. And over in Proverbs chapter 1, verse number 33, He who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil. Well, that was King Jehoram. He would live securely. He would be at ease from the dread of evil because he would listen to Elisha the prophet who would tell him about the intentions of King Benhadad and he would obey and reap the blessing.

He would reap the benefit. And that's a good thing. So you move from divine intention to sublime, sublime deliverance. Sublime deliverance. God is so good. And so, what happens? King Benhadad is furious. He goes back to his men and says, We got a spy in the camp. We got somebody who's siding with Israel. They said, No, my lord. It's not that. It's Elisha the prophet. Elisha the prophet is telling the king of Israel what is happening. It's him who's doing it. It's him who is the problem. Now the king's enraged with Elisha.

Now he's going to postpone his trip to the king of Israel and he is going after Elisha. So he gathers together a whole slew of soldiers. He gathers together chariots and horses. He sends these men after Elisha. He goes to where he is. And by the way, he is where? He is in Dothan. Mentioned only one other time in scripture. Very important to the whole story. One other time in scripture, Dothan is mentioned. And that's where Joseph went to find his brothers. Remember that? And when he found them, they weren't very happy with him.

And they threw him in a pit. And they sold him into slavery. Very important. You have Elisha who is in Dothan. Who is surrounded by the enemy. And God gives him a great deliverance. You have Joseph who is a man of God. He goes to find his brothers in Dothan. But instead of a so-called great deliverance, he is put into prison and sold into slavery. But all that is part and parcel to the story. As you begin to understand the providence of God and how God works. How God worked in Joseph's life. How God worked in Elisha's life.

Because God doesn't work in everybody's life the same. But God does cause all things to work together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose. And while Joseph did not experience the same blessing immediately that Elisha experienced, he did ultimately experience the blessings of reward as he followed his God and lived in obedience to his word. And he became ruler basically in all of Egypt. And because of that, he was able to save a nation from destruction. Very important to see that.

So anyway, King Ben-Hadad sends his marauding band and they surround Dothan. Well, this servant gets up in the morning, very early in the morning, and sees they're surrounded. Now this is not Gehazi, okay? Gehazi's gone. Gehazi's got leprosy. So he is no longer the servant of Elisha. He's out of the picture. This is a new servant. This is a different servant. This servant has not seen the power of God displayed in the life of Elisha like Gehazi did. He's new to the scene. But here he is. He gets up and he sees that they are surrounded by the enemy.

And he goes to Elisha and says, Alas, my master, we're surrounded. We're in trouble. He's afraid. And rightly so. He did not have what Elisha had. Did not know what Elisha knew. But what Elisha says to him, listen carefully. What Elisha says to him helps you and me when we face our fears. Because this man could only see imminent death. All he could see was being captured, tortured, and killed. That's all he could understand. So he goes to Elisha. And what does Elisha say to him? Elisha says very easily, hey, you know what?

Do not fear. Do not fear. Isn't it interesting that all throughout the Bible, when God's people are afraid, the immediate response is, don't do that. Don't be afraid. Do not fear. Remember the Christmas story? Christmas story's about fear. Zacharias was afraid. Angels said, fear not. Mary was afraid. Angels said, fear not. Shepherds were afraid. Angels said, fear not. Don't be afraid. Why would you be afraid? But he was scared to death. And the response was, do not fear. If you come to someone and you're afraid of something, and they say, you know what?

Don't fear. How do you respond to that? What do you mean don't fear? How do you just not fear? Listen.

The reason we fear is because our eyes are on the people around us instead of the promises above us. And the providence of God who controls all things. Our eyes are below, not above. Our eyes are horizontal, not vertical. That's why we fear. And the Bible's very clear. Never fear the one who kills body. Just fear the one who kills body and soul in hell. That's what Christ said. And yet we fear the one who can kill body more than we fear the one who can kill body and soul in hell. That's because we have a horizontal perspective and not a vertical perspective.

We look at our circumstances instead of the Christ. We look at cancer instead of the Christ. We look at our loss instead of the Lord.

We look at the wrong things. We focus on the wrong things. And all of a sudden we are engulfed with fear. This man was focusing on the army around him, not the God above him. So automatically he was afraid. But Elisha, who believes in the Lord God of Israel, who understands the Lord God of Israel, who walked with the Lord God of Israel, says, don't be afraid. There's no need to be afraid. Everything's going to be okay. Why? Because the facts about God always erase the fears that we face. Do you remember the first time in the Bible God said, do not fear?

It's in Genesis chapter 15, verse number 1. Abraham was afraid. And so it says in verse number 1, the word of the Lord came to Abram. First time, by the way, the phrase word of the Lord is used in scripture.

And the word of the Lord came to Abram and he said, do not fear. Why? Because the word of the Lord is that which erases your fears. If you know the word of the Lord, there is no need to fear. We fear because we don't know what God says that is word.

If we know what God says, there's no need to fear. If you don't know what God says, yeah, you're going to be afraid.

And so the word of the Lord comes to Abram and says, do not fear. And then he says, I am your shield. I am your protection. Again, first time the word shield is used in scripture.

Because the word of the Lord brings protection to those who are in fear. And so Elisha says to his servant, do not fear. He offers him peace. The Bible says that the Lord will keep you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee.

I remember what Hezekiah said to the people of Israel in second Chronicles. Second Chronicles chapter 32.

He says, be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be dismayed because of the king of Assyria, nor because of all the horde that is with him. For the one with us is greater than the one with him. With him is only an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. That is so good. All that man has is an arm of flesh. No big deal. But we have the Lord God himself who will fight our battles for us. We have the omnipotent God on our side. Why would we fear what man can do to us?

That's why the psalmist said these words, Psalm chapter 36 or 56, verse number 3. In what time I am afraid I will trust in thee. When I'm afraid, I'm going to trust in thee. Isaiah 12, verse number 2. Behold, God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid. Elisha's name means God is my salvation. And because God was Elisha's salvation, there was nothing for him to be afraid of. Nothing whatsoever. Listen to what the psalmist said in Psalm 27. Psalm 27, verse number 1. It says, The Lord is my light and my salvation.

Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life. Whom shall I dread? When evildoers come upon me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and my enemies, they stumble and fell. Though a host encamp against me, my heart will not fear. Though war arise against me, in spite of this, I shall be confident. And then he goes on to say, And there's one thing that I seek, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord forever, to behold the beauty of the Lord. You see, his perspective was upon God. There's one thing he wanted more than anything else.

And that was to behold the living God, to trust in that God, to believe in that God. And because he did, he would not fear what mere man could do to him. So here was this servant. He was afraid. Elisha says, No need to be afraid. Don't be afraid. He says this, For those who are with us are more than those who are with them. Wow. Now you see, he doesn't see that. But Elisha does. Because Elisha sees with spiritual eyes, not with physical eyes. And the servant would only see with a physical eye. Those who are with us truly outnumber those who are against us.

That's why I love what it says over in Psalm 125. In Psalm 125, I love these words. Verse number one, it says, Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

As the mountain surrounds Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people from this time forth and forever. Now if you've been to Israel with me, and you stood on top of the city of David, you stand there and you watch, and you look around, and you see all the mountains, and how they are up high, and they surround the city of David. And David writes Psalm 125 from his palace in the city of David, and talk about how the mountains surround Jerusalem, is the example, the illustration, on how God surrounds his people, and protects his people.

And so he would use the land, and what everyone would know about Israel, and know about the palace of the king, as an illustration of how God protects his people. God protects his people. So Elisha, that's all he sees. He sees protection. He doesn't see destruction. He sees the divine deliverer. He sees the king himself. So therefore, he is not afraid. He has the perception needed for victory. So he prays. He prays. He 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.

Wow. A man of faith prays. Why? Because prayer is that one element, that during your time of fear, is your source of victory. And so he prays, that the servant's eyes would be opened, to see what he knows is all around them. That's why over in Psalm 34, verse number 7, these words are spoken. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them. And this is what Elisha saw. He saw the angels of the Lord, all around, protecting Israel, protecting Elisha, protecting his servant.

And the servant's eyes were opened, that he would be able to see the beauty of the Lord. You know, so many times, we have a hard time perceiving the invisible. Back in Hebrews chapter 11, it is true that it was Moses, who was able to perceive the invisible. In Hebrews chapter 11, it says, in verse 27, By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is unseen. By the way, his parents did not fear the king's edict. And so, the son would not fear the king's edict.

If you want your children to be strong, and not live in fear, you must be strong, and not live in fear. And they will learn from you. They will glean from your example. And Moses did. But the reason he was able to perceive the invisible, is because he always preferred the imperishable. That was the verse before that, when it says, choosing, in verse 25, Choosing rather to endure ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ's greater riches in the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

What reward? The reward that God would give him. You see, the reason we don't perceive the invisible, is because we do prefer the perishable, not the imperishable. That's our problem. We like what we see. We live for the here and now.

We love the world. And that blinds us to the realities of God and His work in our lives. And the reason a guy like Moses could perceive the invisible, the God who cannot be seen, is because he preferred the imperishable. The reason Elisha was able to perceive the invisible, is because he too preferred the imperishable. He would wait for his reward. He would lean upon his God. So all that works together. So here is this servant who comes out and says, Alas, my master, what are we going to do? We are surrounded by the enemy.

He says, hey, wait a minute. Do not fear. Don't be afraid. It's okay. Because the ones who are with us, are greater than the ones who are against us. So he prayed, Lord, open his eyes, that he might be able to see, what I know is already there. And God did. And so you move, you move from point number one, which simply is the divine intelligence, to the sublime deliverance, to full-time benevolence.

And now the story gets really convicting. Okay? Now it's going to get really, really convicting. If you haven't been convicted yet, don't worry. Hang on. You will be. Okay? So when they came down to him, now the army comes down to him. They don't see. They are surrounded by an army of angelic chariots. They will see that. Okay? So they come down, because they were told that Elisha is in Dothan. So they make their way down. And what does Elisha do? He prays. Lord, strike these people with blindness, I pray.

So he struck them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. Okay? That's very important. So here they come, and they are struck with blindness. Now this is not complete and total, utter blindness. This is a blurriness that keeps them from perceiving, number one, who Elisha is, and number two, where they are going.

So they have to be led, because they are still on horseback. They are still able to ride their horses. They are not completely blind. They can't not see a thing. They can still see, but they can't see things in focus. They are completely unaware of who is speaking to them, because they had not heard Elisha's voice. And so he says, Lord, strike them with blindness, so the Lord does. So when they get there, they don't know who he is, and they don't know where they're going. So Elisha said to them, This is not the way, nor is this the city.

Oh. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek. And he brought them to Samaria. Now some will say, Well, Elisha was a deceiver. No, he wasn't. No. I'm going to bring you to the man whom you seek. Who do they seek? They seek Elisha. They don't know he's Elisha. But he's still going to bring them to himself. But he's going to bring them also to the king of Israel. So he's going to give them a double blessing. Not just Elisha, but the king of Israel. They just don't know he's Elisha, because they're blinded to that reality.

So he brings them to Samaria. Now Samaria is some 12 to 15 miles away. But he brings them and leads them to Samaria. And then it says, When they had come to Samaria, Elisha said, Oh, Lord, open the eyes of these men that they may see. Okay, so this is miracle number three.

Open their eyes that they can see, because they can't see. So there's miracle after miracle after miracle. They've been blinded. Now they can see. Lord, open their eyes. So they can see where they're at. So the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. In other words, they were surrounded by the armies of Israel. Okay? So Elisha led them into Samaria, their capital, and they were surrounded by King Jehoram and his men. And he says, Now look, open their eyes that they can see.

Then the king of Israel, when he saw them, said, Elisha, my father, shall I kill him? Shall I kill him now? Is now the time? Can we slaughter them now? What would you do? These are the people that come in, and they raid cities and villages in Israel. They kill parents, take their children captive. They slaughter animals, young children. They come against you as a nation. What would you do? Well, King Jehoram, he said, I want to kill him. Now, my father? Can now I kill him? Can now I slay them? Can now we destroy them?

What would you do? You would think that that would be the way to go. But Elisha, no, no. Remember, Elisha is, God is my salvation. Okay? So Elisha wants to represent the God who is the savior of men. And that's exactly what he's going to do. He's going to allow them to get a glimpse and a taste of the grace and glory of his God. Do they deserve to die? Yes, they do. But they receive grace instead. And Elisha is the one who spearheads it. He said, you should not kill them. Would you kill those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow?

Set bread and water before them. They may eat and drink and then go to their master. We're going to set them free. Really? We're going to give them something to eat? We're going to give them something to drink? And then we're going to let them leave? So King Jehoram says this, or does this, very simply, says, so he prepared a great feast for them. And when they'd eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. This is full-time benevolence. This is the beauty of the story. Because like Solomon said in Proverbs 12, if thine enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat.

If he be thirsty, give him water to drink. This becomes a very pivotal lesson for you and me. Because when we have the opportunity to retaliate, we do. When we have the opportunity to get revenge, we do. And the Apostle Paul would write these words in the Book of Romans. You know them well. Romans chapter 12, verse number 17, Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Not just some people, but never repay evil for evil. Then he says, Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far it depends upon you, be at peace with all men.

Don't be a troublemaker. Be a peacemaker. Be at peace with all men, as far as it depends upon you. You can't control what they do, but you can control what you do. So as far as it depends upon you, you live at peace with all men. Then he says this, Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. Vengeance is the Lord's. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. And if he is thirsty, give him a drink, for in so doing you will heat burning coals on his head.

In other words, you will shame him. You will put him to shame because of your kindness, your goodness. And this is Elisha. Elisha is going to kill the Syrian army. But he's going to kill them with kindness. That's how he's going to do it. Give him something to drink. Feed him. Then let them be on their way. Let them go back to the master. Giving King Ben-Hadad another taste of the God of Israel. Giving King Ben-Hadad another opportunity to understand that the God of Israel is the God of grace and salvation and healing and forgiveness.

So he would be able to see that the God of Israel is different than the gods in which he serves. Again, Elisha is bestowing grace upon King Ben-Hadad. And so it says in verse 21 of Romans 12, Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. That's so good. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Modern day translation, you're not a victim, but you are a victor. Why is that? Because the word overcome is the word nikao. Get our English word Nike. The Greek goddess Nike was the warrior god, the victorious warrior god.

And Paul picks up on Greek culture and says, Look, don't be overcome. Don't be defeated by evil. So evil becomes the victor over you. You instead overcome evil with good. You show that you're never a victim, but you are always the victorious warrior. That you are the winner. And that's what Elisha was. Elisha was the man of victory. He wasn't a man of defeat. He was a warrior. And he killed them with kindness. Jesus said it this way in Matthew chapter 5. He said, You've heard that it was said by the ancients of old.

The sixth illustration he gives in the sermon about this is what you've heard, but this is what I'm going to tell you, is the reality. You've heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. God never said hate your enemy. God never said that. In fact, David says in Psalm 7, these words, Psalm 7, David says, O Lord my God, in you I have taken refuge. Save me from all those who pursue me and deliver me. Or he will tear my soul like a lion, dragging me away while there is none to deliver.

O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is injustice in my hands, if I have rewarded evil to my friend, or have plundered him who without cause was my adversary, let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it. And let him trample my life down to the ground and lay my glory in the dust. So David lived his life. Remember 1 Samuel 24? With Saul in the caves of En Gedi. Whenever we go to Israel, we go to En Gedi and we go to the caves to let you see where these caves are there in this beautiful area and let you know that in one of those caves, we don't know which one, Saul went in to relieve himself and all of David's men said, all 600 of them said, Now you got him.

He is vulnerable and now you can take him and you can ascend the throne and you will be recognized by all as the King of Israel. What a temptation. David sneaks up behind him, cuts off a piece of his robe and is convicted immediately of how wrong he was and lets King Saul leave the cave. His men are like, What are you doing? This is your opportunity. This is your chance. Why would you pass up kingship? Why would you pass? This guy has been pursuing you. He wants you dead. He has tried everything to get rid of you and you're going to let him go?

David said, Yes, I am. For you not to lay your hand against the Lord's anointed. David went out and got Saul's attention. It was on that day, on that day, that Saul realized that David was the true King of Israel. Because David represented the God of Israel as he should. And so should we. So Jesus comes along and says, You have heard that it was said that you are to love, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But God never said that. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

Really? Yep. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you. So that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he causes his son to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore, you are to be perfect as your father in heaven is perfect.

God says, Look, this is how you love. Love is the most important thing you will ever do. But love is the most impossible thing that you will ever do. It is the most important. You've heard that it was say, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I'm going to say no. You love your enemies because love is the most important thing you can ever do. Why? Because it's the greatest commandment. When Christ was asked what is the greatest commandment in Mark 12, He said, You are the love of the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind and your neighbor as yourself.

In other words, the love of God and the love of your neighbor cannot be separated. They're one and the same. It's one commandment that manifests itself in two ways. Your love for God is always seen in your love for your neighbor. How do you know Elisha loved his God? He loved his enemy. How do you know David loved God? He loved his enemy, Saul. Does anybody know you love God because you love your enemy? That's convicting. I told you it'd get convicting. Love is important. Love is impossible. Love is impractical.

Pray for those who persecute you. Why would I do that? Why would I pray for my persecutors? Because your persecutor needs to know Christ. That's why. Your persecutor needs to know the Lord. And the only way they're going to get to know the Lord is because you are going to love them in an impossible way, and in the most impractical way, you are going to pray for those who persecute you. You can't love them for what they've done, but you can love them for who they are. Sinners in desperate need of grace.

Elisha did not love the Syrian army for what they did, but he loved them for who they were. Sinners who needed to see the grace of the God of Israel. So he killed them with kindness. He bestowed upon them grace and mercy. Love important, but love is impossible and love is impractical. Love is impartial. For the Lord causes the sun, he says, to follow the just and the unjust, the good and the evil, because God's impartial. The sinner gets the sun, the sinner gets the rain. The saint gets the sun, the saint gets the rain.

Same sun, same rain. He's impartial. And if love is the most important thing, and love, which seemingly looks impossible because it's impractical and impartial, is the most impressive thing you will ever do. Because it says that this is what proves you to be sons of your Father in heaven. What good is it for you to love those who love you? Everybody does that. The world does that. So you love somebody who likes you. Who cares? That's no big deal. So you invite those to your house who invite you to their house.

Who cares? You invite those who never invite you. Because you want to demonstrate your love for them. You demonstrate to those around you the love of the living God. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, for the love you have one toward another. And my love is a love that for all practical purposes is impossible, impractical, impartial, but is the most impressive thing you will ever do because it will impact people around you for the sake of my kingdom. That's Elisha. That's the 13th miracle plus of the miracle man in 2 Kings 6.

This man was incredible. Oh, he could have killed them. They could have been slaughtered right there in Samaria. Elisha had many different plans. His name means God is my salvation. God's going to protect me. God's going to save me. God's going to deliver me. But more important than that, it's not about me. It's about how everybody else sees that God is my savior. So I'm going to show them his saviorship. I'm going to show them his grace. I'm going to show them his mercy, his kindness, his love. I'm going to show those things to them as much as I can because time is short.

I don't know how much time they have. I don't know how much time I have. But time is short. They're going to go back to King Ben. Hey, Dad. And they're going to tell him what took place here so he can know one more time, have one more chance to embrace the God of Israel. That's leadership. That's manliness. That's Christianity at its best. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you for today and the chance we have to be in your word. Truly, Lord, you are a great God and you alone are worthy of praise. Elisha. Elisha was a beast of a man. An absolute beast of a man. He truly wanted to represent his God. And I would pray that we would do the same. That we would want to represent you more than anything else with the people we come in contact with. Especially those who we perceive to be our enemies. Because you never said love your neighbor and hate your enemy.

You said to love your enemies. You said to pray for those who persecute you. You do that. You approve yourself to be a son of your Father in heaven. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.