ELISHA AT DOTHAN. 2 KINGS 6:8-23.

GOLDEN TEXT. - Fear not for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. -2 KINGS 6: 16.

TIME.

Probably B.C. 892. Certainly between 896 and 884 B.C., during the reign of Jehoram, king of Israel.

PLACE. Samaria, the capital of Israel, and Dothan (two cisterns) 12 miles to the

north.

RULERS.- Jehoshaphat, or Jehoram, king of Judah. Jehoram, son of Ahab, king of Israel. Benhadad II., king of Syria. Shalmaneser, king of Assyria.

INTRODUCTION.

The events in the life of Elisha, which we studied in the later lessons of the last quarter, together with the first two lessons of this quarter, all took place during the 12 years of Jehoram's reign over Israel. The exact order is not known. Keil regards the whole section describing these miracles (2 Kings 4: 1-8: 6), “as no doubt taken from a prophetical monograph and inserted into the annals of the kings," and as a whole in its true chronological place in the Book of Kings. After the healing of Naaman (Lesson XII., Third Quar.) Elisha wrought the miracle of causing the iron axe-head to float on the water, in behalf of a poor member of a school of the prophets. Then follows the lesson for to-day.

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.

EXPLANATORY.

I. The War with Syria. — Ver. 8. 8. Then the king of Syria. Benhadad II. (son, or worshipper of Hadad, probably the sun). He was king of Damascus and the smaller Syrian states around it. - Gray. It was he that sent the letter about Naaman (2 Kings 5:5-7). This Benhadad was defeated in three battles by the Assyrian king Silimarish, or Shalmanubar, whose victories are recorded on a black obelisk in the British Museum. He was murdered by Hazael. Warred against Israel. The war between the kingdom of Israel and the kingdom of Syria, which had been closed by the battle of Ramoth-Gilead (1 Kings 22: 3) and the death of Ahab (1 Kings 22: 35), was followed by an interval of three or four years of imperfect peace, during which the kings of the two countries were on terms of partial friendship (2 Kings 5: 5); but raids by marauding bands still continued (2 Kings 5:2). The war now recommenced. The first operations, however, were not conducted by large armies. The raids were made on a larger scale, and under the direction of the king of Syria himself. Not meeting with any adequate resistance, the armed parties made incursions into the very heart of the kingdom of Israel, and ventured within a few miles of Samaria, the capital. They were not strong enough, however, to

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 bed-chamber.

undertake any sieges or engage in any pitched battles. Their object was plunder, and, if possible, to obtain possession by stratagem of the person of the king of Israel. -Todd. Among neighboring nations like these, without any very definite boundaries, there would continually arise some occasion for disagreement and war.

Vers. 8-12.

II. The Syrians Defeated by the Aid of the Prophet Elisha. 8. In such and such a place. Of course the place was named each time; but the sacred historian, not caring to enter into details, and treating of several occasions at once, uses a vague term. Todd. Shall be my camp. The word here rendered camp seems to contain an idea of an ambuscade, which the story also requires. Accordingly Ewald, making a slight change in the Hebrew letters, translates here, "in such and such a place shall ye make an ambuscade," and in the next verse," there the Syrians are in ambuscade.". Todd.

9. And the man of God. Elisha; so called because he was God's special servant and messenger, through whom God revealed his will. Sent unto the king of Israel. Neither Elisha nor the king was at this time in Samaria, where both usually dwelt. The prophet was at Dothan (ver. 13), and the king seems to have been moving from place to place, as the defence of the country required. - Todd. Beware that thou pass not such a place. At a time when the Syrians were intending to encamp at a particular spot, and to attack the Israelites when they should pass by, the prophet gave warning to the king; the latter anticipated them, stationed troops in the threatened position, and so frustrated their plan. Lange.

Note the difference between Elisha's method of dealing and Elijah's. Jehoram was a bad king. "He wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made" (2 Kings 3:2). Elisha seems to have lived in Samaria, the capital (2 Kings 6: 32), and to have aided and encouraged the king as a reward for destroying the image of Baal, as a means of strengthening his belief in God, and as an inducement to do better. He was not so much the reprover as the adviser of kings.-P.

10. The king of Israel sent to the place... and saved himself there; i.e., he took care there. He sent spies to the place in order to ascertain if Elisha had given correct information and wise counsel, and he saved himself by observing the counsel of the prophet and not passing through that locality: Whedon. Or, he sent troops and occupied the place, and so defeated the plans of the Syrians, and prevented their invasion. - Keil. No one has ever regretted that he followed the divine advice of a man of God; on the contrary, many have thus been saved from ruin. -Lange. Not once nor twice. That is, several times. II. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore (greatly) troubled. He was angry because his schemes were defeated, and perplexed to account for it. Which of us is for the king of Israel? As the plans for ambuscade were laid in the council of officers under obligation of secrecy, the king naturally thought that one of his officers must have betrayed these plans to the enemy. Todd.

12.

And one of his servants said. This is supposed by some to have been Naaman, the healed leper, whose marvellous cure had made him regard the prophet as almost omniscient. Tayler Lewis. The king of Syria was not in Damascus at this time, but was personally conducting the operations in the land of Israel (ver. 8). Being in constant communication with the people, his soldiers could hardly fail to hear the explanation of the failure of the ambuscades. Todd. Elisha... telleth . . . the words that thou speakest in thy bed-chamber. Literally, "in the secret place of thy bed-chamber." That is to say, "in the greatest possible secrecy." The seclusion of the harem must be taken into account

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 1 Dothan.

14. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

And

15. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, a host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

16. And he answered, Fear not: for 2 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 22 Chron. 32: 7. Ps. 55:18. Rom. 8:31.

1 Gen. 37: 17.

for the full appreciation of the force of the phrase. - Cook. This gift of secret sight, while one is in clear possession of all the faculties of consciousness, is similar to that of prophecy. The prophet only sees what others do not see when Jehovah grants it to him, and his sight does not apply to all things whatsoever, nor to all events as its legitimate objects, but only to those things which pertain directly or indirectly to the relation to Jehovah and to the guidance of the people of Israel as a nation, or as individuals. Moreover, it is not in the power of the prophet, by any physical and ever-available means, to bring about this state of the soul at will. This sight is therefore something entirely different from so-called clairvoyancy, which has nothing in common with divine revelation. - Lange. Tremble with fear, ye obstinate sinners, because all is bare and discovered before his eyes, and shudder at the thought that the veil behind which ye carry on your works does not exist for him! All which ye plot in your secret corners to-day ye will find to-morrow inscribed upon his book, and however secretly and cunningly ye spin your web, not a single thread of it shall escape his eye! Krummacher. Vers. 13-15. 13. Go and spy

III. The Attack on Elisha at Dothan.

where he is, that I may send and fetch him. If the prophet were in the keeping of the king of Syria, he would be unable to communicate with the king of Israel, and then the ambuscade might succeed. It is not probable that the king of Syria wished to avail himself of the prophet's supernatural powers, or to punish him for his interference. He merely wished to prevent him from communicating with the king of Israel.

Todd. Behold he

is in Dothan. A small town on a hill, about eleven miles north of Samaria, and a little south of the great plain of Esdraelon. - Todd.

14. And a great host. Great, comparatively, for the purpose. The horses and chariots were accompanied by a large body of infantry. Benhadad sends out an entire army against one, but finds out the truth of the words in Ps. 33: 18 sq. — Lange. They came by night. So as to take the city by surprise, and Elisha in it, without any warning or opportunity for escape. 15. And when the servant of the man of God. Not Gehazi, who had been dismissed, but perhaps some one of the sons of the prophets who had accompanied Elisha to Dothan. Lange. Was risen early. As is common in hot countries. Something unusual on the part of the servant is implied in these words. Some of the neighboring people had brought word, or the noise of his army had been heard during the night. In one way or another Elisha's servant was alarmed, and he consequently rose earlier than usual to reconnoitre. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? This was a new servant, who had only been with him since Gehazi's dismissal, and consequently had little or no experience of his master's powers. His faith was easily shaken by so unexpected an alarm.-J., F. and B.

IV. Elisha's Defenders. Vers. 16, 17. 16. And he answered, Fear not. He comforts him in two ways: (1) by his own faith and experience; (2) by a vision of those who defended him. They that be with us are more than they that be with them. We need not suppose that Elisha saw the angelic host of which he here spake. He only gave utterance to the conviction of all God's saints when the world persecutes them (comp. Ps. 34: 7; 55:18; 91:11; 2 Chron. 32: 7, etc.). God, they know, is on their side; they need not fear what flesh can do unto them. His angels, an innumerable host, are ever guarding those who love him. Cook. The prophet speaks not of a casual event, but of something continued and always true in the providence of God. — Lewis.

17. Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes. The opening of the eyes signifies elevation