[IN]SIGNIFICANT INTERVENTION
Opening Prayer
Lord God, I come to you today with a heart thankful for all you have done for me and for those I love. Help me that my life will reflect that gratitude in everything I do.
Read 2 KINGS 6:1–23
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
An Axhead Floats
6 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.”
And he said, “Go.”
3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?”
“I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them.
They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!”
6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans
8 Now 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.”
9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So 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.
11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “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.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
15 When 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 no, 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.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that 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.
18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19 Elisha 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.
20 After 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.
21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?”
22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘Be still, and know that I am God’ (Psalm 46:10).The story about the axe head is a strange one. It seems such a little thing. But for the man who had borrowed the axe (v. 5), it was massive! God intervened and restored the axe head so that the man could continue using it and return it to its owner.
In the next section (vv. 8–23), God used Elisha to foil the plans of an enemy army. Elisha received insight from God, then passed it to the king (v. 9), and the king acted on this knowledge (v. 10). Elisha found himself involved in world affairs, becoming the target of the enemy army (vv. 12–14).
Sometimes I feel my prayers are mundane, small, and even selfish. When I look at the big issues in the world—wars, famines, disease—it seems petty to ask the God of the universe for my little need. But when I think like that, I am imagining that God doesn’t like to be interrupted with something small because he’s busy working on something big, or that somehow he can’t multitask. It’s as if I think God is like me when I’m preparing dinner and my children need help with a game or a craft: for them it’s important, but for me it’s a trivial interruption. God isn’t human though: he can do both at once. Today’s passage is a reminder that God is interested in our ‘little’ needs just as he is interested in major world events.
Apply
Do you have a prayer request that’s important to you, but you have considered too insignificant for God to even consider? Take it to him!
Closing prayer
Father, it amazes me that you care for me in the countless ways that you do. Thank you that you value the things I bring to you in prayer, no matter how big or how small they might be.
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