2 Kings 6
8Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.”
9The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.
11This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”
12“None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.”
13“Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
15When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked.
16“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Strike these people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria.
20After they entered the city, Elisha said, “LORD, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the LORD opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria. (2 Kings 6:8-20, NIV)
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In the blockbuster movie “Aliens”, Bill Paxton plays Private Hudson, a brash loudmouth whose main contribution to the movie seems to be one of comic relief.
With typical military bravado, private Hudson talks tough and acts macho, but when things go sideways, he panics.
At a critical juncture in the movie, Ripley, played by Sigourney Weaver, and her rescue crew seem out of options. It’s at this point that private Hudson provides the above meme-worthy response that has been repeated millions of times by movie-lovers in countless scenarios over the years.
When I read this account in 2 Kings, I imagine Elisha’s assistant acting like the Private Hudson character.
The context is simple: the king of Aram was at war with Israel, and yet, whenever he mobilized his troops for an offensive, Elisha would warn the king of Israel of their exact location and plans.
After several iterations of this scenario, the king of Aram, embarrassed and enraged at being made to look like a fool, brings together his inner circle, hoping to sniff out what he thinks must be a mole.
Amazingly, when one of his officers tells him that there is no mole, but that Elisha knows his plans as if he is right there in his bedroom when he speaks, the king takes him at his word.
The first thing I find interesting is that the king of Aram believes his officer. In our modern culture, we are so desensitized to the possibility of the supernatural that we wouldn’t even entertain this option. Certainly, there must be a traitor in our midst! That is the only logical conclusion.
But the king of Aram believes that Elisha certainly must be the problem, so he orders that he be found and captured. The text doesn’t give any indication of what he intends to do with Elisha when he’s captured but it’s certainly not a dinner invitation.
It’s at this point that we reach our “Game over” scenario. Elisha’s assistant gets up early and discovers that the entire city has been surrounded by the armies of the king of Aram.
The text doesn’t indicate the tone or exact disposition of the servant, but clearly there was panic. I imagine Elisha’s assistant channeling his inner Private Hudson when he says, “Oh my Lord, what should we do?”
Game over man.
Those guys are out there.. They’re going to get us.
We’re going to bite it here on this rock.
While Elisha’s assistant is melting down in full-Private Hudson mode, Elisha is the perfect picture of calm, cool and collected. The reason is simple: he knows something that his assistant doesn’t – that there’s an unseen world at work that changes the equation and reverses the odds.
Elisha tells his servant not to worry. “There are more with us than with them.”
He then asks the Lord to open his servant’s eyes to see the reality of the spiritual realm.
The text doesn’t tell us how Elisha’s servant responded when he saw the hills filled with horses and chariots, the literal armies of heaven ready to do battle on Elisha’s behalf. But I suspect there was a sigh of relief.
“Game not over man!”
“THAT’S what I’m talking about!”
Interestingly, Elisha doesn’t call on the armies of heaven to vanquish the Aramean army. He doesn’t need to. Instead, he asks the Lord to blind his enemies, at which point Elisha tells the invading army commanders, essentially, “These are not the droids you are looking for.”
Elisha then leads them to Samaria, a safe distance away, where they no longer pose a viable threat.
Elisha was God’s prophet, endowed with supernatural abilities that are not normative. We may not be able to blind our foes as he did, but that is not the point of the story. The big idea is that there is a spiritual realm that exists. We are either unaware of it, like Elisha’s assistant, or we acknowledge it, as Elijah did.
There is yet a third option. Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) used to say that most Christians are practical atheists, those who say they believe in the supernatural, but live as though it doesn’t exist.
Sadly, I believe Bill Bright’s statement is still true of many Christians today.
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Reflection
When it comes to the supernatural realm, are you more like Elisha’s assistant, unaware of and unconnected to the spiritual realm, or are you more like Elisha, aware and connected?
Bill Bright described many Christians as practical atheists – those who claim to believe in the supernatural but live their lives as if it doesn’t exist. Why do you think many Christians live as if the spiritual realm doesn’t exist or has little impact?
Describe a time when your eyes were open to the reality of the spiritual realm.
What are some things you can do to avoid reacting like Private Hudson when you’re faced with a situation that seems bleak and out of control?
The Lowedown 