The sons of the prophets came to Elisha and complained that their place was too small for them and asked if they could go to the Jordan and cut some wood to build a house (v1-3). Elisha had some authority and so he told them to go. They even asked him to go with them, and he agreed. On arrival at the Jordan, they cut down trees. As he was cutting down a tree his axe head came off and fell into the water (v4-7). The man was distraught because it wasn’t his, it was borrowed. Iron was not common in Israel; thus, it was not cheap. Elisha asked where it had fallen so, he cut off a stick and threw it in the water, and it made the iron float. This was a miracle; God made the iron float. Elisha told the man to reach out out for it, and he took it out of the water. God did his part it he miracle of making the iron float. Iron does normally float, but the man had to participate by taking up the axe head.
We switch back to war and Syria was making war against Israel and planned for his camp to be in a certain place. Elisha knew where it was and told the king of Israel to avoid the place (v8-13). We are not told how Elisha knew this, but we must assume that either the LORD told him, or spies informed him. The king of Israel took notice and sent someone to the place which Elisha had told him. This happened twice, and as a result the king of Syria was greatly troubled. Thus, he called his servants and questioned if they had a spy. One of his servants informed him that it was Elisha who was informing the king of Israel, in fact, he hears what you say in the privacy of your bedroom. He asked his servant to make enquiries as to where Elisha was, and he discovered that he was in Dothan.
The king of Syria sent horses and chariots and a great army by night and surrounded the city of Dothan (v14-17). Elisha’s servant went out early next morning and saw that they were surrounded the enemy. In panic, he asked Elisha what they should do. Elisha’s calm reply came back,“Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Elisha then prayed, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” The LORD opened his eyes to see that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. It seemed that the two of them were alone, but God’s protection was all around. Unless God opens our eyes, we cannot see his protection even though the enemy may be all around us. God’s armies had more fire power than the enemy!
It is interesting that the words ‘fear not’ occur so often in Scripture. Often, when his disciples were in trouble, Jesus, first words to them were “Fear not”. Even when angels appeared, they brought the same exhortation, as when Jesus was born, and they appeared to the shepherds. It is comforting, because we are so prone to fear. The Bible says that we do not need to fear what man can do to us (see e.g. Psalm 118:6), because God can do infinitely more than we can ask, think or imagine. (see Ephesians 3:20)
“If our eyes were opened, we should see the angel-hosts as an encircling fence of fire; but whether we see them or not, they are certainly there.” (Meyer)
Elisha’s answer was the same as usual, prayer, he prayed when the Syrians came, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” God struck them with blindness so that Elisha was able to confuse them by giving them wrong directions (v18-23). He led them into the city of Samaria, the capital city of Israel, certainly not the place they wanted to be. God opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant to see the heavenly army, and he closed the eyes of the Syrians, then Elisha prayed that God would now open their eyes to see where they were. The king of Israel said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” So, he fed and watered them. ‘Killed them with kindness’ and they returned to Syria and the Syrian raiders didn’t come to raid Israel anymore.
Lesson for us all as to how we should treat people, even our enemies.
However, this did not change Ben Hadad, the king of Syria’s, attitude for he got together his army and besieged Samaria. He used the common method of surrounding the walled city so that nothing could go in or out. This was made worse by the fact that there was famine in the city (v24-29). This was to starve the city into surrender and a common practice when attacking walled cities. Inside the city, it was so bad that a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver.
Sounded quite desperate! No doubt only the rich people could afford it. I understand that the ‘kab of dove’s dung’ could be interpreted as ‘carob beans.’ Five shekels of silver was more than a month’s wages for the ordinary worker.
It got worse, however, as the king of Israel was passing by, a woman cried out to him. She was calling out for justice it seemed. The king asked her what the problem was, and he clearly was shocked when she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.” The situation had become even more desperate; they were down to eating one another, or their children.
In Deuteronomy 28:52,53 God had warned them about disobedience and rejecting the covenant, and it described in detail some of the horrors that would befall them, and they were fulfilled in this situation. It described their fortified cities and that they would be besieged and would resort to eating their own children.
The king of Israel was angry with the woman’s story and tore his clothes and was dressed in sackcloth in despair. He was really angry against God and his prophet Elisha. He was blaming Elisha for what had befallen them. He said that he would see that Elisha’s head would be removed and if not, that God do the same to him. This was a similar threat that Jezebel had made to Elijah after the victory over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 19). Elisha was in his house with the elders. The king sent a messenger but before the messenger arrived Elisha told the elders that the king had sent the messenger to him. He also told them that the messenger was coming to threaten him with death, and instructed
the men to lock the door and keep the messenger outside. Sure enough, the messenger arrived while he was still speaking. Even the king had to admit that the LORD was in it all.
