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THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
FEBRUARY 26, 1922 ELISHA’S HEAVENLY DEFENDERS Golden Text: The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them. Ps. 34:7. LESSON TEXT — 2 Kings 6:5-17. (Read 2 Kings 6:8-23; Dan. 6:1-23; Heb. 1:14; 11:27.)
(8) Then the king o f 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 o f Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. (10) And the king o f Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor tw ice. (11) Therefore the heart o f the k in g o f Syria was sore trou bled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, W ill ye not shew me which of us is fo r the k in g o f Israel? (12) And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O k in g; but Elisha, the pro phet that is in Israel, telleth the king o f Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bed-chamber. (13) And he said, Go and spy where he (1) Foreseeing Danger, vs. 8-12 (2) Facing Danger, vs. 13-17 (3) Frustrating Danger, vs. 18-23 Introduction: Time: About 893 B. C. Place: Dothan, near Shechem, at the southern edge of the plain of Es- draelon. Characters: Jehoram, king ■of Is rael; Jehoshaphat, fourth king of Ju dah; Ben-hadad, king of Syria. Syria was subject to Israel under David and Solomon, but became inde pendent after the division of the king dom. It was a powerful kingdom. Constant warfare was LESSON waged between Israel EXPOSITION and Syria. Naaman’s T. C. Horton influence — whatever it was— did not seem to be sufficient to stay the foraging parties. (1) FORESEEING DANGER, vs. 8- 12 . Jehoram was not a righteous king, but he was the king, and Israel was the home of Elisha, and when the king of
is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Be hold, he is in Dothan. (14) There fore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. (15) And when the ser vant of the man o f God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his ser vant said unto him, Alas, my mas ter! how shall we do? (16) And he answered, Pear 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, be hold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. Syria planned an ambuscade for the king of Israel, Elisha warned him. This happened several times. “ Forewarned is forearmed” and so Jehoram’s men occupied every place (6:10). The king of Syria is greatly perplex ed. Is there an enemy in the camp? No— a servant tells him— it is the man of God who knows the words that the king speaks in his bed chamber. The king believes this statement and yet seeks to capture Elisha. Foolish king! He might have known that if Elisha knew when Jehoram was in danger he would surely know when he, himself, was. The man who walks with God knows something of future events. Things hid from the wise and prudent are re vealed to him (Gen. 18:17) “ And the Lord said. Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?” God gave Abraham a chance to plead for has friends. The man of God knows the enemy and knows how to outwit him. You cannot outwit God. Pharaoh
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