INTRODUCTION:
At the Yalta Conference in 1945, Winston Churchill asked Joseph Stalin to respect the religious freedoms of Eastern Europeans, to which Stalin, who was an atheist, famously replied: “How many [military] divisions does the Pope have?”
Joseph Stalin illustrates a man who does not respect the power of God… He was not the first man, nor will he be the last.
Christians, however, sometimes doubt the power of God; we do not trust what is not seen. In 2 Kings 6, Ben-hadad is the King of Aram, also known as Syria. He perceived that the prophet Elisha was a threat, but he also thought he could silence the prophet of God. His delusion is comical, but also deep in his heart.
GOD’S PEOPLE HAVE ALWAYS HAD ENEMIES – 6:8-14:
Please observe that the “man of God,” the servant of God with the word of God in his heart was the defense of Israel against Syria!
From the first time Jesus mentions the word “enemies” in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 5:43, the NT uses the word 32 times. Some people might be my enemy because I have done something against them. Or, they might be my enemy because I am a servant of Christ. Paul spoke of “enemies of the cross of Christ” in Philippians 3:18.
Of course, you and I know that the being behind all “enmity” is Satan himself. The clearest text on the warfare in which Christians are engaged is Ephesians 6:10-20. But it is a spiritual battle (2 Cor. 10:3-4).
ALL GOD’S CHILDREN DO NOT HAVE THE SAME STRENGTH OF FAITH – 6:15-16:
Not everyone has the same strength of faith. Even some who have been Christians for many years still have trouble trusting God with certain aspects of their lives. All the apostles did not get out of the boat and walk on water in Matthew 14:28-33. We critique Peter because he took his eyes off Jesus and started to sink in the water. But at least he trusted Jesus enough to get out of the boat to begin with!
Having a weak faith should not be “normal” for Christians. It happens from time to time, we do doubt. But that doubt should send us back to the Lord Jesus Christ in Bible study, meditation on the words of God, and prayer, as well as fellowship with fellow Christians and worship. That’s what God designed to strengthen our faith. So if our faith gets tested or becomes weak, we don’t panic!
Elisha tells his servant: “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” God has a host of angels at His disposal, whom He has serve Christians in ways that we do not know and will never know. Hebrews 1:14 tells us that angels are “ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1:14). God has a host of them.
GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS OF HIS CHILDREN – 6:17-19:
Elisha was the man who had a strong faith; his servant had a weak faith. Elisha prayed and asked God to show the servant why he ought to have a strong faith.
God responds to the prayers of His children. There are dozens of verses that show that God responds to man’s prayers. In Matthew 7:7, Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
LOVE YOUR ENEMIES – 6:20-23:
Elisha’s response to the POWs was, you might say, an evangelistic one. That is, his belief probably was that if he was nice to them, they would stop fighting against Israel. And it worked.
If we do things God’s way, we’ll receive the blessings God promises for us!
Faith is seeing spiritually (Heb. 11:1) the horses and chariots of fire in the mountains even when you can’t see them physically. We need to keep in mind that our country does not control the church of Christ. God does.
Christ’s disciples will have enemies, and this will affect some Christians more than others. But Christ answers His people’s prayers and wants us to love our enemies.
Paul Holland
