October 24 Daily Discovery
October 24 Daily Discovery - Read 2 Kings Chapter 6
This passage below is from the King James Version (ekjv.org).
Remarks from the Berean Fellowship follow the passage below.
[1] And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
[2] Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
[3] And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
[4] So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
[5] But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
[6] And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
[7] Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
[8] 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.
[9] 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.
[10] 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.
[11] Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
[12] 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 bedchamber.
[13] 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 Dothan.
[14] Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
[15] And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
[16] And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
[17] And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And 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.
[18] 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.
[19] 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.
[20] 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.
[21] And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
[22] And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest 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.
[23] And he prepared great provision for them: and 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.
[24] And it came to pass after this, that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
[25] And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.
[26] And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
[27] And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
[28] And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
[29] So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.
[30] And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
[31] Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
[32] But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?
[33] And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
The Reality of Things Unseen
Our inability to perceive something does not mean that something is not there. It only means that we cannot see it. We typically cannot see the air that we breathe and we certainly do not want to, but it is real.
The spirit world is real, - it just is not physical. In this chapter we see that Elisha's servant is alarmed when he sees the Syrians surrounding them but Elisha is not concerned, because he knows that the hosts of the Lord are surrounding and protecting them. He prays and asks God to open the lad's eyes and He does and then he can also see that the army that is protecting them is of a greater number and superior power than the army that is threatening them.
1 John 4:17-21
[17] Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
[18] There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
[19] We love him, because he first loved us.
[20] If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
[21] And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Col. 1:13-17
[13] Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
[14] In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
[15] Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
[16] For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
[17] And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
1 Pet. 1:6-8
[6] Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
[7] That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
[8] Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
Eph. 6:10-12
[10] Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
[11] Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
What we See that Causes us Distress
The things that cause us to stress are the things that we see; the physical things of this world in this life. Continually focusing upon these things is our source of distress. We see things that are evil things that are discomforting things that cause us to worry things that cause us to become stressed. We focus far too much on the things that are seen.
2 Cor. 4:16-18
[16] For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
[17] For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
[18] While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Focus upon the things that last.
What we Don't See that Would Bring us Peace
Once Elishah's servant could see what Elisha knew was there, the servant was at peace. We can believe what God has told us in His Word and we can embrace His promises; with the eyes of faith we can see them.
Heb. 11:24-27
[24] By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter;
[25] Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;
[26] Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
[27] By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.
Isa. 26:1-3
[1] In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
[2] Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
[3] Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
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