“And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?”
My Notes
What Does 2 Kings 6:15 Mean?
"Alas, my master! how shall we do?" Elisha's servant wakes up to find the city surrounded by a Syrian army — horses, chariots, a military force sent specifically to capture the prophet. The servant's response is pure panic: we're doomed. How shall we do? The question assumes the visible situation is the total reality. The army he can see defines the problem.
Elisha's response (verse 16) is the verse that precedes this one in the narrative: 'Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.' Then Elisha prays for the servant's eyes to be opened (verse 17), and the servant sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. The invisible army was always there. The servant just couldn't see it.
The servant's panic and Elisha's calm coexist in the same location facing the same threat: the difference is perception. The servant sees the Syrian army. Elisha sees the divine army. Both armies are real. Both are present. The servant's fear and Elisha's peace are both rational responses — to different data sets.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What invisible reality might transform your current panic if you could see it?
- 2.What does Elisha praying for the servant's SIGHT (not the army's removal) teach about how God addresses fear?
- 3.How do panic and peace coexist in the same situation with different data?
- 4.What prayer for opened eyes do you need today?
Devotional
How shall we do?! The servant sees the army. The horses. The chariots. The city surrounded. And panics. Because the visible situation is all he can see — and the visible situation is hopeless.
Elisha's calm isn't denial — he sees the same Syrian army. His calm comes from seeing MORE: the horses and chariots of fire that surround the surrounding army. The servant sees one layer of reality. Elisha sees two. And the second layer — the invisible divine army — is larger than the first.
The prayer for opened eyes (verse 17) is the most important prayer in the passage: Elisha doesn't pray for the Syrian army to disappear. He prays for the servant to SEE. The solution isn't the removal of the threat. It's the expansion of the servant's perception. The chariots of fire were always there. The servant just needed eyes that could perceive them.
The two responses — the servant's panic and Elisha's peace — exist side by side because they're responses to different data. The servant's data: one army, surrounding the city, sent to capture us. Elisha's data: two armies, one surrounding the city and one surrounding the first army. The additional data transforms the assessment. The same situation produces panic or peace depending on what you can see.
What additional data — what invisible reality — would transform your current panic into peace? The chariots of fire are already there. You might just need the prayer for opened eyes.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And he answered, fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. Meaning the legions of angels…
Here is, 1. The great force which the king of Syria sent to seize Elisha. He found out where he was, at Dothan (Kg2…
the servant The word is the same which in 2Ki 4:43 was rendered -servitor". It is the special and more personal servant.…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture