p. 13 | Elisha at Dothan

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Aug 11, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 32.

Elisha at Dothan

Lesson IX.—Sunday, August 28, 1898.

Elisha at Dothan.

Lesson Scripture, 2 Kings 6:8-18, R.V.

8 “Now the king of Syria warred 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. 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. 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, an 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 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, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray Thee, with blindness. And He smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.”

Golden Text: “The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” Ps. 34:7.

Suggestive Questions.

(1) What was the attitude of the king of Syria toward Israel? What plan did the king of Syria lay before his servants? V. 8. (2) How was this plan frustrated? V. 9. (3) Who was this “man of God”? Note 1. (4) How did the king of Israel save himself? V. 10. Note 2. (5) How was the king of Syria affected by the continued failures of his plans? What did he surmise was the cause? V. 11. Note 3. (6) What did one of his servants answer? V. 12. (7) What command did the king then give? Where was it said Elisha could be found? V. 13. Note 4. (8) What plan was adopted for capturing the prophet? V. 14. (9) When Elisha’s servant rose in the morning, what did he see? What did he say to his master? V. 15. (10) What was Elisha’s answer? V. 16. Note 5. (11) Then what course did Elisha pursue? Was his prayer answered? Then what did the young man see? V. 17. (12) When the soldiers attempted to take Elisha, what did he do? How was this prayer answered? V. 18. Note 6.

Notes.

1. “The man of God” is an appellation specially applied to Elisha. After the incident of the bears destroying the children that mocked Elisha, his presence commanded the respect of all classes of the people. He was consulted by kings, and after the healing of Naaman, the Syrian captain, his renown went throughout that kingdom.

2. God’s protection of Israel.—Notwithstanding the continued and persistent wickedness of the King Jehoram, God protected the kingdom of Israel from the ravages of the Syrians. He still bore with His erring people, and gave them evidence upon evidence of His willingness to favor them above all people. Not only once or twice, but many times, did His prophet give the king warning concerning the movements of his enemies. And the God of Israel is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.

3. The king of Syria sore troubled.—So often were the plans of the king of Syria baffled that he was certain there must be a traitor among his counselors. So he called them together to make inquiry as to who was the guilty party. But his servants were aware of the wonderful wisdom of the prophet in Israel, and they became convinced that it was some supernatural power that revealed his secrets to the king of Israel. So he concluded to capture the prophet, thinking that would put a stop to the trouble. Little did he understand the power and resources of the God of Israel. Had it been possible for him to have secured the person of Elisha, the power or purpose of the Lord would have been in nowise hindered.

4. Dothan was situated on a hill on the south side of the plain of Jezreel, about twelve miles north of Samaria, the capital. The name is familiar as being the place where Joseph went to visit his brethren when they took advantage of his absence from home, and sold him to the Midianite traders, who carried him to Egypt, over nine hundred years previous to the time of the incident mentioned in this lesson.

5. “Fear not.”—What were the hosts of Syria to the “man of God”? The one who has a living faith in Him who has all power in heaven and in earth will not be disturbed because of a little display of human wrath. Says David, “Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” Ps. 121:4. So it was nothing to the Lord if the Syrian horsemen and chariots did come in the night. He was just as ready to protect His servant as if his enemies had come in the light of day. Suppose they did “compass the city about,” the Lord’s host was there first, and were more in number and greater in strength than any human army. It is always true, night or day, that “the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them.” Ps. 34:7.

6. Elisha prayed again.—This time it was that the Syrian army might be stricken with blindness. And the Lord immediately answered the prayer, so that the entire host were in the hands of the “man of God.” Thus was verified the words of Christ, “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7. The prophet of Israel, with the aid of his unseen support, was enabled to lead captive the host that had been sent to take him into captivity. This he did by leading them right into Samaria, where he delivered them over to the king. Then he prayed yet once more, that their eyes might be opened. Instead, however, of allowing vengeance to be taken upon them, the prophet told the king to feed them and let them go home to their master. “If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.” Rom. 12:20.