Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

2 Kings 6 Devotional

A Feast for the Enemy

“Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the hills were full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”2 Kings 6:17 (BSB)

The chapter opens with a small mercy: a borrowed axe head, lost in the river, is made to float (6:5-7). The king of Aram sends horses, chariots, and a great army to surround Elisha at Dothan (6:14). Elisha's servant sees them and cries out. Elisha prays for his eyes to be opened, and the young man sees fiery horses and chariots filling the hills around Elisha (6:17). The danger was real. So was the LORD's protection, unseen until God opened his eyes.

The LORD strikes the soldiers with blindness, and Elisha leads them into Samaria. When the king asks whether to kill them, Elisha tells him to feed them and send them home, and the raiders stop coming (6:21-23). Paul urges believers to feed a hungry enemy (Romans 12:20). The chapter closes with a terrible siege and a king who gives up waiting for the LORD (6:33), but the next chapter answers him. Because God is your defender, you are free to answer enemies with bread.

To think about: Who has set themselves against you, and what might it look like to answer them with kindness because God is your defender?

About 2 Kings 6: The Floating Axe Head and Samaria’s Siege

Elisha makes a lost iron axe head float, then warns Israel’s king of Aramean ambushes. When an Aramean army surrounds him at Dothan, God shows his servant fiery chariots, blinds the enemy, and Elisha leads them to Samaria to be fed. Later a siege brings terrible famine, and the king vows to kill Elisha.

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