Open Your Eyes

We’re now in the thick of the Elisha narrative in 2 Kings for our readings.  Though Elijah was the prophet, Elisha was no slouch either.  We are in the midst of some serious stories during Elisha’s time in ministry.  In particular, today I want to look at one that was… eye-opening…

So the Arameans have been causing some trouble lately.  In fact, they were at war with Israel… sort of…  We are told at the beginning of 2 Kings 6 that the Arameans would gather their army at one place, but Elisha would warn the king of Israel about what they were going to do and steer them away from battle.  Eventually, the king of Aram was getting annoyed with this, to the point that he was convinced there was a traitor in his ranks.  However, they were quick to point out that it was Elisha the prophet that was foiling their plans.  So, having discovered the source of his problem, the king went about attempting to remove it.

He send his army to a town where Elisha is reported to be, and as you can imagine, the people were a little anxious about what was going to happen.  We are told that a servant of Elisha sees the army and goes to the prophet in a panic, “What are we going to do!?!”  At this point, something incredible happens…

Then Elisha prayed, “O  lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire (2 Kings 6:17).

Sometimes, when our problems seem to be surrounding us, we simply need to open our eyes.  We need to realize that God is fighting for us, even when things aren’t looking good.  It’s a good thing to remember.  Elisha was not afraid.  He had no reason to be because the armies of heaven were right there with him.