2 Kings 6:8-23 - Secrets Revealed, Protected by the Unseen

2 Kings 6:8-23

The Blinded Syrians Captured

8 Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.” 9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.” 10 Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.

11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show 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 who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”

13 So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.”
And it was told him, saying, “Surely he is in Dothan.”

14 Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city. 15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

19 Now 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.” But he led them to Samaria.

20 So it was, when they had come to 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 there they were, inside Samaria!

21 Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”

22 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.” 23 Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.

This account of the Syrians attempting to attack the people of God reveals two things.  First of all, it demonstrates that God hears every word spoken in secret places behind the closed doors we imagine keep our thoughts from Him, which is impossible because because He is omnipresent.  We see this in how the LORD spoke the words in hidden chambers behind the Syrian king’s closed doors to the man of God, Elisha, to uncover their troop movements to keep God’s people safe.  Secondly, we see the unseen realm exposed in the battles in heavenly (Ephesians 3:10, 6:12) places where again we cannot see but only He who sees all as omniscient and omnipresent is able to do.  The LORD opened the eyes of Elisha’s servant when they were surrounded by Syrian chariots so that he could see the unseen chariots of fire surrounding them all at God’s command in the hidden heavenly realm in which they were standing.  This revelation of God’s power over the angels and the intentions of men was then reinforced by the divine revelation of sight to His own and blindness to those in opposition to Him and His people.  The Syrian army was nullified by blinded eyes as they were led by God at the word of Elisha into captivity and faced a certain destruction inside the city walls of His kingdom.  This is a shadow and portent of the protection of God in Jesus Christ for leading His sheep into the open confession of revealed sins seen by the Lord who now lives in us and gives us no expectation of privacy, as well as His power to keep the enemy blind (John 9:39, Romans 11:7-8, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4) until they find forgiveness and redemption in Christ and enter the walls of His kingdom to escape certain destruction in judgment and see (Isaiah 29:18-19, Matthew 11:5, Luke 4:18) the hidden war for their souls (Revelation 12:17) being waged all around us in this earthly visible world.  The secrets of the heart are revealed (Psalm 44:21, Luke 12:2, Colossians 1:26, 1 Corinthians 4:5, 14:25) and we who are called out to be His have a glimpse into His protection in the unseen heavenly places where the battle is fought for our souls.  There is complete victory over the enemy even if we cannot look into the background at chariots of fire ourselves, because we have His word to give us eyes to see (Luke 8:10, 2 Corinthians 3:16, 18) the world revealed beyond us.  We walk therefore by faith in God’s work to overcome the world (1 John 5:4, 19-20) and not by sight with tangible proofs in this absolute knowledge of these truths revealed only by faith and His Spirit revealing them to our spiritual eyes.