2 Kings 6:1-23
The
King of Aram sets up an ambush to attack Israel. Elisha finds out about
this, and leaks the information to the King of Israel. Every time an
ambush is plotted, the Israelites avoid the attack through Elisha's
whistleblowing.
The King of Aram finally decides to get his troops together and find out who's leaking the information inside of his ranks. One of the officers steps up and says, "Master, none of us are doing it. It's Elisha the prophet of Israel. He's leaking all of your war strategies to the King of Israel, including all your bedroom talk."
So, the King of Aram sends the officer to find out where Elisha is. He comes back with the report that Elisha is in Dothan. The King of Aram sends his horses and chariots out to capture Elisha, and they surround the city. Early one morning, Elisha's servant walks out and sees that the city is surrounded with horses and chariots. He goes to tell Elisha about it and says, "Master, what are we gonna do?"
Elisha says, "Don't worry. We've got more people on our side than they've got on their side." Then, he prays and asks God to open the eyes of his servant. The servant's eyes are opened to a whole mountainside of horses and chariots of fire. Then Elisha prays, "God, strike this army blind!" The whole Aramean army is struck blind. Elisha calls out to them, telling them where to go. He leads them right into the heart of Samaria, where they have been plotting attacks for years. Once they get there, Elisha prays, "God, open their eyes so they can see where they are." Their eyes are opened and they see that they're right in the heart of Samaria.
When the King of Israel sees a whole army of his enemies in his city, he asks Elisha, "So, you want me to massacre the lot?" Elisha says, "Really? You didn't even lay a finger on them, and now you want to kill them? No! What I want you to do is put together a huge feast for them, and then send them back to their master."
The King of Israel does exactly that. The soldiers eat and drink their fill, and the king dismisses them. The Arameans left Israel alone after that.
When I find out that someone is plotting to trip me up, my first reaction is not to pray for them or make them a meal. I want revenge. I want to counter attack. I want them to get what they deserve.
In this passage, Elisha strikes first by leaking information. Although it's the right thing to do, it sets off the King of Aram. He retaliates. Elisha could have fought back, but instead believed with all his heart that he was protected and didn't need to fight.
Elisha
wasn't innocent in this passage. He stepped on the toes of Aram, and
Aram wanted recompense. He may have been innocent in the eyes of Israel,
but not in the eyes of Aram. So, he probably understood why the
Arameans would want to capture him. Yet, he didn't budge in his belief
that God would protect him and provide a way out that didn't involve
bloodshed.
Most of the time, if someone is angry with me, it's not because I've done nothing. I've usually done something that may have been innocent in my eyes, but not in theirs. And, the human reaction in situations like this is to retaliate. Retaliation leads to retaliation. If I ignore the fact that I've done something to set the ball in motion, then I'll look at the situation as random and see the person who's pissed at me as evil and heartless. That's just how it is. However, if I take a second to think back to what I could have possibly done to set this person off, I will find something.
Most of the time, people's retaliatory actions are not random. They are based off of something that offended them previously. They are striking back. It's in these types of situations where we have two options. We can trust that we don't have to fight back and continue the retaliation because it's in God's hands, or we can play the retaliation game.
When someone gossips about me, says something mean to me, or does anything that seems unfair, I need to look back to see what I may have done to prompt this. Chances are I've done something that was taken the wrong way, but was innocent in my eyes. In these moments of confrontation, I don't have to fight back or even get angry. I have the option of believing that God is in control. I can pray for the person, and then do something nice for them. So, the question isn't whether I can or not. It's whether I will or not.
Today's Action: Confrontation will happen. When it does, look back to see where we possibly set the ball rolling. Then, instead of playing the retaliation game, trust that God is in control and that we don't have to retaliate back. Ask God for an intuitive way to bless the person. Then, do it.
The King of Aram finally decides to get his troops together and find out who's leaking the information inside of his ranks. One of the officers steps up and says, "Master, none of us are doing it. It's Elisha the prophet of Israel. He's leaking all of your war strategies to the King of Israel, including all your bedroom talk."
So, the King of Aram sends the officer to find out where Elisha is. He comes back with the report that Elisha is in Dothan. The King of Aram sends his horses and chariots out to capture Elisha, and they surround the city. Early one morning, Elisha's servant walks out and sees that the city is surrounded with horses and chariots. He goes to tell Elisha about it and says, "Master, what are we gonna do?"
Elisha says, "Don't worry. We've got more people on our side than they've got on their side." Then, he prays and asks God to open the eyes of his servant. The servant's eyes are opened to a whole mountainside of horses and chariots of fire. Then Elisha prays, "God, strike this army blind!" The whole Aramean army is struck blind. Elisha calls out to them, telling them where to go. He leads them right into the heart of Samaria, where they have been plotting attacks for years. Once they get there, Elisha prays, "God, open their eyes so they can see where they are." Their eyes are opened and they see that they're right in the heart of Samaria.
When the King of Israel sees a whole army of his enemies in his city, he asks Elisha, "So, you want me to massacre the lot?" Elisha says, "Really? You didn't even lay a finger on them, and now you want to kill them? No! What I want you to do is put together a huge feast for them, and then send them back to their master."
The King of Israel does exactly that. The soldiers eat and drink their fill, and the king dismisses them. The Arameans left Israel alone after that.
When I find out that someone is plotting to trip me up, my first reaction is not to pray for them or make them a meal. I want revenge. I want to counter attack. I want them to get what they deserve.
In this passage, Elisha strikes first by leaking information. Although it's the right thing to do, it sets off the King of Aram. He retaliates. Elisha could have fought back, but instead believed with all his heart that he was protected and didn't need to fight.
Elisha
wasn't innocent in this passage. He stepped on the toes of Aram, and
Aram wanted recompense. He may have been innocent in the eyes of Israel,
but not in the eyes of Aram. So, he probably understood why the
Arameans would want to capture him. Yet, he didn't budge in his belief
that God would protect him and provide a way out that didn't involve
bloodshed. Most of the time, if someone is angry with me, it's not because I've done nothing. I've usually done something that may have been innocent in my eyes, but not in theirs. And, the human reaction in situations like this is to retaliate. Retaliation leads to retaliation. If I ignore the fact that I've done something to set the ball in motion, then I'll look at the situation as random and see the person who's pissed at me as evil and heartless. That's just how it is. However, if I take a second to think back to what I could have possibly done to set this person off, I will find something.
Most of the time, people's retaliatory actions are not random. They are based off of something that offended them previously. They are striking back. It's in these types of situations where we have two options. We can trust that we don't have to fight back and continue the retaliation because it's in God's hands, or we can play the retaliation game.
When someone gossips about me, says something mean to me, or does anything that seems unfair, I need to look back to see what I may have done to prompt this. Chances are I've done something that was taken the wrong way, but was innocent in my eyes. In these moments of confrontation, I don't have to fight back or even get angry. I have the option of believing that God is in control. I can pray for the person, and then do something nice for them. So, the question isn't whether I can or not. It's whether I will or not.
Today's Action: Confrontation will happen. When it does, look back to see where we possibly set the ball rolling. Then, instead of playing the retaliation game, trust that God is in control and that we don't have to retaliate back. Ask God for an intuitive way to bless the person. Then, do it.
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