2Ki 6:8-10
8 Now the king of Syria was warring against Israel; and he 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 coming down. 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice.
Summary
Vs8 The king of Syria again is warring with Israel. Who is he? Ben-hadad?
Remember:
1Ki 19:15
And Jehovah said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, thou shalt anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;
Vs8 Ben-hadad tells his servants where his camp will be.
Vs9 Elisha warns King Jehoram of Israel where Ben-hadad and his army are or will be. And not to go by there.
Vs10 "And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice." Huh?
Jehoram may have sent spies, to test whether the prophet spoke the truth; or soldiers, to secure the place. Thwarting Ben-hadad.
This seemed to occur multiple times. What would this speak to King Jehoram?
He could trust Elisha.
2 Kings 6:11-13
11 And 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 show me which of us is for the king of Israel? 12 And one of his servants said, Nay, 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 see where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
Summary
Vs11 Ben-hadad is troubled that Jeroham and Israel repeatedly seem to anticipate their moves.
Vs11 What does Ben-hadad king of Syria begin to wonder?
Is there a spy amongst us?
Despite not being named, who do you think the King of Syria might suspect? Namaan
Why?
Vs12 One of Ben-hadad's servants tell him "Elisha knows the words you speak in your bedchamber".
What does this mean?
in the greatest possible secrecy.
Vs13 Ben-hadad tells his servants to find Elisha. Do the servants know?
They seem to know that he is in Dothan. How do they know?
Namaan went to his house?? Maybe that's how he know…unsure tho.
Dothan - "two wells"
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Dothan was a city in central Israel, approximately 12 miles north of Samaria in the hills of Gilboa. Today it is known as Tell-Dothan, located on the south plains of Jezreel. The word Dothan means “two wells,” and both wells are still in existence.
Dothan is first mentioned in Genesis 37:17 as near the place where Joseph was mistreated by his brothers.
Gen 37:17-24
17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. 18 And they saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. 19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. 21 And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life. 22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him: that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. 23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him; 24 and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
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Could it have been a cistern instead of a well?
2Ki 6:14-17
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, a host with horses and chariots was round about the city. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16 And he answered, Fear not; for they that are with us are more than they that are with them. 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, Jehovah, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And Jehovah 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.
Summary
Vs14 Ben-hadad sends horses, chariots, great # of soldiers at night and they surround the city of Dothan.
Vs15 When Elisha's servant awakens, he sees the city surrounded.
Who is the servant? Gehazi? Prob not
Vs15 What shall we do master?
Vs16 Elisha replied, “Don't be afraid, because there are more with us than with them!”
Vs17 Elisha prays for the servant to have his eyes opened. And he is able to see the nearby mountain being full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Just curious. Does Elisha walk past the all the Syrian troops, walk up a mountain and ask God to show his servant what is surrounding him?
What did the servant see? A vision into the spirit?
2 Kings 6:18-20
18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah, 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. And he led them to Samaria. 20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Jehovah, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And Jehovah opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
Summary
Vs18 The Syrian troops came down to Elisha.
Vs18 So Elisha prays to God that he will strike them with sudden blindness. So based on based on Elisha's word, God strikes them with blindness.
Blindness or a state of illusion? Somehow we find that their sight is altered.
Vs19 Elisha says "this is not the city, or the way. But I will bring you to the man that you seek"
This isn't Dothan
This isn't the way to Dothan
Elisha tells Syrians that he will take him to the man he is looking for.
Thoughts? Seem a little fishy? Unethical?
Elisha leads them to Samaria
Dothan - remember the Two Wells
Gen 37?
-Joseph finds his brothers in Dothan
-Joseph's brothers conspire against him and throw him in the well
-We spoke of this before. Joseph is a type of ???? Christ
2 Kings 6? Difference?
-Elisha - "double portion - overcomer ministry on day 7"
-God protects his OVERCOMERS on day 7.
-He doesn't allow them to be deceived
-God acts on the words of Elisha to rescue him out of the hands of the enemy.
Vs20 When the Syrians came into Samaria, Elisha prays "God open their eyes that they may see". And they realize that they are in the midst of Samaria.
Surprise!
2 Kings 6:21-23
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. And the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
Summary
Vs21 Jehoram says "shall I kill them, shall I kill them?"
Thoughts on Jehoram? Fool?
Vs22 Elisha "don't kill them. You don't kill captives with the sword or the bow"
Vs22 Elisha "give them bread and water. Let them eat and drink and go to their master".
Notice the metaphors:
Sword
Bow
Bread
Water
So to sum up the one of the traits of the 7th day overcomer - double portion:
They are divinely protected
God answers their prayers
They show mercy to their prisoners
They spiritually feed those in their possession.
They don't keep prisoners?
Vs23 Syria didn't come into Israel via bands anymore.
2 Kings 6:24-25
24 And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad 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 kab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.
Summary
After this, Ben-hadad gathers all his hosts and besieges Jerusalem.
Does this contradict the previous verse?
What does besieging mean?
So there was already a famine in Samaria when Ben-hadad begins the seige?
They besieged it until:
Ass's head was worth 80 pieces (shekels) of silver (50 in Septuagint).
High price, especially for that which had on it so little meat, and that unwholesome, and unclean by law, Lev 11:3
Fourth part (quarter) of a cab (dry measure) of dove's dung was worth 5 pieces (shekels) of silver.
Maybe a pint?
2 Kings 6:26-30
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 Jehovah do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the threshing-floor, 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 (now he was passing by upon the wall); and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
Summary
Jehoram seems to be walking along the top(?) of the wall of Samaria.
A lady cries to him, "help, O king".
The king replies "If the Lord does not help us, what help shall I be?
From the threshing-floor?
From the winepress?
What do these mean?
What is the state of the king's mind?
The king asks "What's the matter"?
The woman replies "This woman told me, ‘Give up your son, and we’ll eat him today, and we’ll eat your son tomorrow."
"So we boiled my son and ate him. The next day, I told her, ‘Give me your son so we can eat him!’ But she has hidden her son!”
When the king hears this, he rips his garment, he keeps walking along the wall.
Guess he doesn't respond to the two women??
The people see sackcloth underneath upon his flesh.
What does this mean?
He seems to be in a state of mourning?
Seems to be mindful of his predicament before God?
Humility?
9. Before we continue on, let's look at a couple of verses….
Isa 49:26
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh; and they shall be drunken with their own blood, as with sweet wine: and all flesh shall know that I, Jehovah, am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
Who are those that eat their own flesh? Those that oppose God's people.
Does eating your children qualify as eating your own flesh? Sure
Lam 4:10-11
10 The hands of the pitiful women have boiled their own children; They were their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people. 11 Jehovah hath accomplished his wrath, he hath poured out his fierce anger; And he hath kindled a fire in Zion, which hath devoured the foundations thereof.
When do they boil their children?
Day of the Lord
Lam 4:12-14
12 The kings of the earth believed not, neither all the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem. 13 It is because of the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, That have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her. 14 They wander as blind men in the streets, they are polluted with blood, So that men cannot touch their garments.
"Kings of the earth" -don't believe the adversary and the enemy would enter into the gates of Jerusalem.
Who are they?
The church
Who does God blame?
-sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, That have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her.
Why?
Because the church is responsible
Lam 2:20-22
20 See, O Jehovah, and behold to whom thou hast done thus! Shall the women eat their fruit, the children that are dandled in the hands? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the sanctuary of the Lord? 21 The youth and the old man lie on the ground in the streets; My virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword: Thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast slaughtered, and not pitied. 22 Thou hast called, as in the day of a solemn assembly, my terrors on every side; And there was none that escaped or remained in the day of Jehovah's anger: Those that I have dandled and brought up hath mine enemy consumed.
2 Kings 6:31-33
31 Then he said, God do so to me, and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day. 32 But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting 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 my head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold the door fast against him: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? 33 And while he was yet talking with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of Jehovah; why should I wait for Jehovah any longer?
Summary
Vs31 Is the king really repentant?
Vs32 Elisha already knows that Jehoram blames him and is coming to behead him.
Vs33 Jehoram says "God is responsible for this evil. Why should I wait any longer."
