When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. As the Aramean army advanced toward him, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, please make them blind.” So the Lord struck them with blindness as Elisha had asked. Then Elisha went out and told them, “You have come the wrong way! This isn’t the right city! Follow me, and I will take you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to the city of Samaria. As soon as they had entered Samaria, Elisha prayed, “O Lord, now open their eyes and let them see.” So the Lord opened their eyes, and they discovered that they were in the middle of Samaria. When the king of Israel saw them, he shouted to Elisha, “My father, should I kill them? Should I kill them?” “Of course not!” Elisha replied. “Do we kill prisoners of war? Give them food and drink and send them home again to their master.” So the king made a great feast for them and then sent them home to their master. After that, the Aramean raiders stayed away from the land of Israel. (2 Kings 6:15-23)When it comes to relationships, you cannot fight fire with fire. If you do, you both will burned up.
I knew a little girl who was having problems in getting along with her school mates. They constantly fought. I asked her about it one day. Her reply: I treat them the way they treat me. When they change, I will change.
I told her about the difference between a thermometer and a thermostat. A thermometer measures the temperature in a room. That’s all. A thermostat changes the temperature in a room. We can be one or the other.
With the little girl, it made no difference. She was bound and determined to do what she wanted.
In the passage above, the Arameans, a scary bunch from a neighboring kingdom, were about to attack Israel. They were a superior force and Israel was afraid.
Elisha was the prophet who inherited the office of Elijah, the great prophet. He kept telling the king of Israel, by the power of God, where the Arameans were going to be so that the Arameans couldn’t attack them.
It made the Aramean king mad and he sent raiders to arrest Elisha. In his silly mind, he figured that if he arrested him, he couldn’t tell anybody anything. His reasoning was that he could stop the power of God by putting a guy in jail. Kind of like the Communist countries. Didn’t work then, doesn’t work now.
The messenger who came to Elisha was afraid. Elisha told him to look at the hills. Suddenly, the armies of the Lord were visible to the man. The hills were covered in the chariots and horses of the Lord’s army.
The Aramean armies were stuck blind and Elisha had them led into the city. When they got their sight back, they were surrounded. But instead of being killed, they were given dinner and sent on their way. Needless to say, the Arameans were afraid. It took the wind right out of their sails.
Nothing takes the starch out of your plans for revenge as when the other person is nice and kind to you.
In Romans 12:20, we read: Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.”
Does that mean that when you are nice to someone who hates you, they will suffer? Yes.
People expect retaliation in kind. When they get kindness and love, it baffles them. And they may kill you anyway, or do whatever they were going to do anyway. But remember that Jesus, when he was dying, forgave his killers.
How can we do any less?
The Aramean raiders were baffled and scared by the reaction of the Israelites. They had been blind and when their sight came back they were surrounded by a bunch of people with food.
It worked for them. It has always worked for me. There is enough anger and bitterness in the world without adding more of your own.
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