The works of the lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein (Psa. 111:2).
In each of the following scriptural accounts, what did the people actually see? Did they see a miracle as described in Heb. 2:3-4, or did they simply see what appeared to be natural causes? The things that God called “signs,” “wonders,” “miracles” and “gifts of the Holy Ghost” in the Scripture are things that 1) no man could do, 2) could only be done by God, 2) were instantaneous and complete, and 3) were done as a witness to the prophets and apostles inspired to give the Scriptures (Heb. 2:3-4). We need to be careful to use words and definitions, which God gives and not the ones that men invent (John 12:49-50; John 14:10). To do anything else is to add to the words of God, and can cause heresy.
In the book of 2 Kings, we read about the wars between Syria and Israel. You may remember that the prophet, Elisha, had only recently healed Naaman of his leprosy because the little Israelite maid whom the Syrians had captured from Israel had told her master’s wife that the “prophet in Israel” had power to heal her master’s leprosy. 2 Kings, chapter 6 opens with Elisha helping the sons of the prophets to build a shelter for themselves. Soon afterward the King of Syria (probably the same Ben-hadad who is mentioned in 2 Kings 6:24) made war with the King of Israel and determined to ambush him in a certain place, but each time he established his camp, Elisha warned the King of Israel not to go there. You can be sure that there were questions about who was telling the King of Israel these things. Little did they know that it was God, who had given Elisha the information.
Finally, one of the Syrians told the King of Syria that Elisha was the man who was telling the King of Israel all their secrets. Thus the King of Syria determined to capture Elisha and sent a great host (army) to surround Dothan by night. The next morning, Elisha’s servant Gehazi rose early and saw the hosts of the Syrians with their horses and chariots and cried, “Alas, my master! How shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15b).
Next the reader witnesses the work of God in saving Elisha and his servant (2 Kings 6:17). “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.”
Finally the account moves on to 2 Kings 6:18-20, where the reader is privy to another work of God.
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. 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. But he led them to Samaria. 20 And it came to pass, when they were come into 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, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
After the Syrian army was taken to Samaria, Elisha told the King of Israel not to kill them but to feed them and send them away. When Elisha prayed to ask the Lord to open their eyes, they knew they were but dead men if the king had not shown mercy. Being shamed by the kindness of Israel, the Syrians did not come against them again until 2 Kings 7:6—7:7. At that time the Syrians had besieged Samaria, and there was a great famine in the city. The people paid huge sums of money for the head of an ass (an unclean animal) and even paid for the manure of a dove, but when a woman of Samaria complained that she and her neighbor had contracted to boil and eat their own sons, the king became wroth and sent for Elisha to kill him. Ahab knew very well that the man of God was not to be blamed, but he thought to rid himself of Elisha’s opposition and shame. We read that…
“…the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. 7. Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life” (2 Kings 7:6-7).
- What did the people see?
- Was that different from what the reader understands?
- Were those things miracles according to the scriptural definition of a miracle, or were they the ordinary work of God?
–Beth Johnson
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