2 Kings 6:1-7:2 Comments by Stephen Ricker
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Lord Open the Eyes of These Men
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Outline

MAPS OF ISRAEL AND JUDAH
A MAP OF THE DIVISION OF CANAAN
A MAP OF JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE
OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS TIMELINE
A LIST OF ISRAEL'S KINGS AND PROPHETS
A TIMELINE OF ISRAEL'S HISTORY
A TIMELINE FROM BABYLON TO ROMAN CONTROL OVER ISRAEL

I. An Axehead Floats (6:1-7)

>1. What happened when the ministry of Elisha kept growing?

* 2 Kings 6:1-2 "The company of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live." And he said, "Go."

* "The company of the prophets"

* "the place where we meet with you"

* "is too small for us"

* "the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole"

* "let us build a place there for us to live"

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>What does the request of the company of prophets show about their relationship? (3)

* 2 Kings 6:3 "Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your servants?" "I will," Elisha replied."

* "Won't you please come with your servants?"

* "I will"

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>Why should such ministries exist in our time? (Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 16:13, 18:4-5, 19:9b-10, 28:23)

* Matthew 28:18-20 "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

* Acts 16:13 "On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there."

* Acts 18:4-5 "Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ."

* Acts 19:9b-10 "He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord."

* Acts 28:23 "They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even larger numbers to the place where he was staying. From morning till evening he explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets."

>2. What problem happened as they were building the new Bible study center? (5)

* 2 Kings 6:5 "As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh, my lord," he cried out, "it was borrowed!"

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>How was it solved?

* 2 Kings 6:6-7 "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. Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it."

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>What can be learned about the Lord?

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II. Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans (6:8-23)

Elisha at Dothan

* The painting to the right showing Elisha praying while his servant looks out the window was in Bibles and is now in public domain.

>3. What happened during the building project? (8)

* 2 Kings 6:8 "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."

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>What intelligence did Elisha provide Israel's king? (9-10)

* 2 Kings 6:9-10 "The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: "Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there." 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."

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>How did Aram's king respond? (11)

* 2 Kings 6:11 "This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, "Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?"

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>What did he learn? (12)

* 2 Kings 6:12 "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."

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>How did Elisha know his words said in secret?

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>4. Was Aram's king impressed with this miracle? (13-14)

* 2 Kings 6:13-14 "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." Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city."

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>What did Elisha say to his servant?

* 2 Kings 6:15-16 "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, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked. "Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

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>What did the Lord reveal to the servant? (17)

* 2 Kings 6:17 "And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so 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."

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>What can be learned about the Lord?

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>5. How did the Lord answer Elisha's prayer and protect him? (18-19)

* 2 Kings 6:18-19 "As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. 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."

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>What did the king of Israel want to do?

* 2 Kings 6:20-21 "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?"

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>What was he told to do and how did it lead to deliverance? (22-23)

* 2 Kings 6:22-23 "Do not kill them," he answered. "Would you kill men 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."

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>How did Elisha display turning the other check? (Luke 6:27-31)

* Luke 6:27-31 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you."

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III. Seeing But Not Eating (6:24-7:2)

>6. Did the enemies hostilities toward Israel last long? (24-25)

* 2 Kings 6:24-25 "Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria. 25 There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey's head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels."

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>How desperate had things become in Samaria? (26-29)

* 2 Kings 6:26-29 "As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, "Help me, my lord the king!" 27 The king replied, "If the LORD does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?" 28 Then he asked her, "What's the matter?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son.' 29 So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we may eat him,' but she had hidden him."

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>What does the king's word about the Lord reveal about him?

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>7. Why did the king blame Elisha? (30-31)

* 2 Kings 6:30-31 "When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and there, underneath, he had sackcloth on his body. He said, "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!"

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>Why is it that sometimes our good deeds are turned against us? Think about Jesus' ministry.

* 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

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>8. What did Elisha reveal to the elders?

* 2 Kings 6:32 "Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, "Don't you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master's footsteps behind him?"

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>What was told them?

* 2 Kings 6:33 "While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him. And [the king] said, "This disaster is from the LORD. Why should I wait for the LORD any longer?"

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>Why does the Lord make us wait until all seems ruined?

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>9. What did Elisha tell the king's officer? (7:1)

* 2 Kings 7:1 "Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."

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>How did the king's officer reveal his lack of faith? (2)

* 2 Kings 7:2 "The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" "You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"

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>What can be learned about enduring during the time of tests? (Heb. 12:7-11; Rev. 3:19-22)

* Hebrews 12:7-11 "Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it."

* Revelation 3:19-22 "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

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