Those Who Are With Us Are More Than Those Who Are With Them
Many stories in the Old Testament have become “favorites” because of the great faith shown by God’s people. Hebrews 11 is but a small sample of faith that produced heroes worthy of imitation.
As a youth, one of my favorite stories was that of the three Hebrews who were willing to die a horrible death in a furnace of fire rather than bow to a false god. They did not bow; they did not bend; they did not burn. In my “senior” days, a story that has become a favorite is one that began—not about faith—but about fear and doubt.
This story, recorded in 2 Kings 6, took place during the divided kingdom when Elisha was God’s prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel. The king of Syria was waging war against Israel without success because Elisha was warning the king of Israel about the enemy’s plans.
The king of Syria was certain that he had among his servants a “leaker” and called them together and said, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” (v.11). One of his servants responded, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom” (v.12).
When the king of Syria learned that Elisha was in Dothan, the king sent horses and chariots and a great army by night and surrounded the city. When Elisha’s servant woke up and saw that the city was surrounded, he said to the prophet, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” Elisha tried to calm him, saying, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (vs. 15-16).
The servant was evidently still focused on the enemy, so Elisha prayed, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” The servant was able to see the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (v.17).
The story then takes a surprising twist. When the Syrians made their move, Elisha prayed to the Lord again: “Strike them with blindness.” Then Elisha told them to follow him to the man they were seeking. When they arrived, he said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they might see.” and the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and they were inside Samaria!” (vs. 19-20). What a revolting development this was for the Syrians! Elisha had delivered them into the hand of their enemy, the king of Israel, who immediately sought permission to kill them; but Elisha forbade it and told him to give them food and drink and send them home, resulting in peace for a time.
We, just as Elisha’s servant, may be too focused on the formidable sources of evil in our world today. Materialism, violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and many forms of sexual immorality seem to have us surrounded.
Even in religious circles, we see “deceitful workers” who pose as “ministers of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:13-15) teaching false doctrines and leading multitudes away from the doctrine of Christ. Every Sunday, on our way to worship in modest facilities, we pass impressive edifices of sectarian churches that show little regard for the authority of the Scriptures...and their parking lots are packed!
We even see some of our own brethren who have surrendered to the culture, and we may want to cry out, “Alas, my Master, what shall we do?” The answer is to open our eyes that we might see the truth in God’s Word. Satan is alive and well and will be living among us until the Lord comes in judgment. We will appear to be outnumbered, but with the Lord at our side we will “not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21).
Regarding so-called biblical scholars, we need our eyes open to the truth that “not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called” (1 Cor. 1:26). Remember, God had to blind Saul of Tarsus to his early training at the feet of Gamaliel and open his eyes to reject the errors of scholarship.
When seeing ourselves outnumbered, we need to accept the truth about numbers. Our Lord said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there will be many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt. 7:13-14).
Finally, I commend to you the lyrics of a gospel song that has encouraged me.
Little is Much When God is in It
By K.J. Suffield
In the harvest field now ripened,
there’s a work for all to do.
Hark, the voice of God is calling,
To the harvest calling you.
Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.
Are you laid aside from service,
Body worn from toil and care?
You can still be in the battle,
In the sacred place of prayer.
When the conflict here is ended
And our race on earth is run,
He will say, if we are faithful,
“Welcome home, my child, well done.”
Refrain:
Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.
aldiestel@gmail.com
Advice to Beginners (Articles From the Days Gone By)
The Blessed Mary – A Lord’s Supper Message
Lifted Up to Live
No Green Bananas
Darkest Day
Many were excited to view the total solar eclipse that occurred this past spring. A solar eclipse is a rare phenomenon where certain places along the “path of totality” will be completely dark in the middle of the day for just a few minutes. This is an infrequent but natural phenomenon that can be explained by the moon coming between the sun and the earth and casting its shadow on the earth. It is truly an odd sensation to have complete darkness in the middle of the day.
“Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, ‘Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness’” (Lk. 22.52-53).
When the Son of God submitted Himself to the evil will of the people for whom He would die, it was the power of darkness (Satan) that encouraged those events to occur. For a relatively short period of time, God allowed Satan to “win” this battle between our perfect Savior sent to save us and the adversary hell bent on destroying us.
“It was now the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two” (Lk. 23.44-45). For those not familiar with Jewish time keeping, the Jewish day started at 6 a.m. So, the sixth hour is our noon, and the ninth hour is our 3 p.m. Here we have recorded for us that for three solid hours of peak sunlight time, the “sun’s light failed” and the people were shrouded in great darkness as Jesus hung on a cross.
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’” (Jn. 8.12). For a period of time, the “light of the world” was extinguished, as it appeared the power of darkness had won. Creation itself reflected the darkness of the moment as the Creator was put to death by His own creation.
The gospel helps us understand that this was a temporary victory for Satan. In just a few short days, Jesus rose again from his tomb, conquering death and providing access to the “light of life” for all those who obey Him so that we, too, could rise again from the grave. We model His death, burial, and resurrection and showing the path from darkness to light when we enter the covenant with Him as His disciple as we are baptized (buried) into Christ. This is where the journey with Him and commitment to Him begins for those who desire to become His disciples. “… that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” (Phil. 2.15). “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the lamp is the Lamb.” (Rev. 21.23)
As you ponder with amazement God’s creation in a solar eclipse, consider how Christ took on the ultimate power of darkness for our sake so that we can have hope of His light in eternal life with Him. No sun or moonlight is needed in heaven because we will be in the glory of God. Let us be like Him in how we also refuse to walk in the darkness of this world and rather shine as lights for all to see reflecting the light of the Son.
hawkifanz@frontier.com
“Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Thy great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You”
JEREMIAH 32:17
