about them that fear him." Now,
the Lord has promised that His angels are ministering spirits. Sent forth to minister unto those
who shall be heirs of salvation. Before we were converted, the
Lord sent forth His angels to watch over us. I've said many
times, when I think back on some of the stupid things that I've
done, And I mean to tell you, if I tell you some of them, you'd
agree. You'd say, yep, that was pretty
stupid. But how many times was not only myself but God's people
before we were called out of darkness? How many times did
the ministering spirits protect us, minister to us, keep us,
keep us from being destroyed before God was pleased to call
us out of darkness? If we'd have died without Christ,
we'd have died without hope. But even now, the ministering
spirits, the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that
fear Him, and delivereth them. Delivers them. Nothing happens
that God doesn't purpose or will. Great security is promised to
God's people in the midst of danger. By faith, they're kept. By wisdom, teaching, they learn. Don't be afraid. They remember
that whatever is done, whatever our Lord permits, that's what's
going to happen, but nothing else. So truly, we behold first
the great comfort of God's people. They that be with us are more
than they that be with them. But secondly, I want us to see
in this passage a glorious exhibition of God's grace. In the next few
verses, we're going to see the Syrian army. Now these are truly
enemies of Elisha. They're enemies of Elisha's servant.
They're enemies of God's people. And they're enemies of God. But
this army is a beautiful picture of the objects of God's mercy. There are pictures of every believer
who at one time was actually said to be a child of wrath,
even as others, wrathful toward God. Colossians 121 describes
us as being enemies at one time in our minds by wicked works. So I want us to look and just
see how this army that came in rebellion against Elisha, against
God, how the Spirit of God teaches us how God saves a sinner. First
of all, let's consider how the Lord providentially caused them
to be there and to cross paths with the preacher. I know that they were sent by
the king of Syria to fetch Elisha. I know that's what Scripture
says. That's how they got there. The king of Syria sent them to
go fetch Elisha and bring him back to him. But let me tell
you something. Whenever God is pleased to save
one of the objects of His mercy, I'll tell you what He's going
to do. He's going to put them under the sound of the gospel.
That's what He's going to do. And whatever means the Lord is pleased
to use concerning the objects of his affection to get them
to where they're going to sit under the gospel. I've heard
so many times men or women might say, well I started coming, my
wife and I got married years later, but I remember we started
coming because I wanted to date her, I wanted to see him, and
I told him he's going to have to go to church with me or something.
Whatever, whatever. Whatever the reason was outwardly,
that is nothing more than the secondary cause. That's the secondary
cause. How did the Lord get those soldiers
there? King Assyria told them to go
there. But you know what the first cause was? The grace of
God. The grace of God. Almighty God
told the King Assyria, send these soldiers over there. Tell them
that they're going over there to get Elisha. They mounted up
and there they go. I tell you this, if God has purpose
to save an Ethiopian eunuch, you know what the Lord will do?
He'll put him in the middle of a desert and then He'll send
a Philip to preach to him. If God has purpose to save a
Lydia, He'll give her a heart to go into business to sell purple
cloth. a seller of purple, and prosper
her business. And then give her a desire to
go over to a certain place and maybe just because she decided
one day, one Sabbath day, that she was going to go down to this
river where some women were meeting and they were listening to the
Apostle Paul. And God will send Lydia, leave
Thyatira, and she'll cross paths with Paul. If God has determined
to call out a Cornelius, God's going to send a Peter. God's
going to cause His people to hear the gospel. And the Lord
is going to bring His people, and they're going to come together.
And so these men from Syria, they're all pictures of God's
elect, providentially drawn to this place. Why were they there? We're coming here to get Elisha. No. No, you're coming here to
hear the gospel. You just don't know it yet. Jeremiah
30, 21 says, I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach
unto me. Next, if the Lord is going to
show mercy, He is going to bring all the vessels of His compassion
down in their own eyes. This army was powerfully, irresistibly
drawn by the Lord to this place where there was a preacher, where
there was a prophet. But when the Lord moved upon
His prophet to do that which was nothing short of a miracle
of God's grace, God moved on Elisha to pray for him with this
prayer. Here was the prayer. Verse 18. 2 Kings 6.18. When they came
down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord and said, Smite this
people, I pray thee, with blindness. Why did he pray that? Because
the Lord told him. Elisha, I want you to pray that
I blind them. And he smote them with blindness according to the
word of Elisha. The Lord mercifully blinded this
army that they might be brought to behold their need of mercy. All of a sudden, they can't see. None of them. None of them. God blinded all of them. Hold
your place and turn to John 9. John chapter 9. John chapter
9 verse 39 to 41. And Jesus said, for judgment
I'm coming to this world that they which see not might see. And that they which see might
be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which
were with him heard these words and said unto him, are we blind
also? Can't you just hear the sarcasm in that? And Jesus said
to them, if ye were blind, you should have no sin. But now you
say, we see. Therefore your sin remaineth.
Now let me ask you this. What was actually happening here
with the Syrian army? in the words of our Lord. When
our Lord was talking about if you were blind, if you were blind,
you wouldn't have any more sin. Man by nature is blind to God's
grace. He's blind to the grace of God.
He's blind to it. He thinks he sees. That's what
these Pharisees did. We see, we see. The Lord says,
since you say you see. You're still in your sin. What
did they see? Well, they saw themselves as being capable. They're like that Pharisee. You know, over in Luke 18, two
men went into the temple to pray. One Pharisee and the other Republican.
And the Pharisee stood and prayed with himself and said, God, I
thank Thee that I am not as other men are. I'm not. I see myself as worthy. He was blind to the grace of
God, but he saw himself as being worthy. Man by nature is like
that Syrian army. They were proud. You know who
we represent? We represent the king of Syria.
Arrogant, proud, thinks himself in need of nothing, but now with
them being struck with blindness, you know what they are now? They're helpless. Now they're
helpless. They've got to be led. Where
are you going to go? I don't know. I can't even see.
I don't know where I'm going to go. If they went anywhere,
somebody is going to have to lead them like they did Saul
of Tarsus when God blinded him. and led him into Damascus. God
blinded him too. He was blind to the grace of
God. Oh, he thought he was somebody.
You can see what he says concerning himself in Philippians 3. He
said, but I count all that but lost. Oh, but when God brought
him into Damascus and scales fell from his eyes, then he saw. And now God moved on to Elisha
and said, you pray that I blind him. Elijah said, Lord, would
you blind them? And the Lord blinded them, made
them helpless. And here now this proud, arrogant
army, like all of us, before the Lord's pleased to bring us
down in our own sight. Now they're helpless. They're
helpless. And now here's a helpless group
of soldiers. And the Scripture says, now this
helpless group of soldiers, The vessels of God's mercy are going
to be brought to the place of God's compassion. Look at verses
19 and 20. And Elisha said unto them, and
he told them, he said, now here they are, they're blind. He said,
this is not the way. The way you're going is not the
way of life. The way you're going is not the
way unto peace and comfort. Neither is this the city. Man
by nature thinks he's got He's established his own city of refuge.
But God tells me that's not the city. Whenever someone puts confidence
in their profession of faith, praying at the altar, being baptized,
the Lord is saying to them, that's not the way. That's not the way. There was a time in my life when
I thought about what I had done. I thought that was the way. I
had given my heart to Jesus. I had prayed through. Now, I
never have understood what that meant. I just said I did it.
But now, that city that I once rested in, that little c city
of little r refuge, Elisha said that's not the way, not the city.
Follow me and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. God's going to give them a desire
to seek after Him. Here's a picture, here's a type,
I'm going to bring you to it. Elijah now has a picture of the
Spirit of God. And he says, I'm going to bring
you, here's a picture that could be the Spirit of God, could be
the law, the schoolmaster that led us to the Lord Jesus Christ.
But it says right here, the latter part of verse 19, but he led
them, but the literal of that is and, he led them to Samaria. He led them to Samaria. Now here's
this army, blinded, Blinded. Spiritually blind to God's grace,
blind to God's mercy, blind to their need. They're told by Elisha
that he's going to lead them to the place where they need
to go. They thought, I'm sure in their
minds, that he was going to take them to a place where they felt
that they would be safe. A place where their true safety
was actually to be found in a city that they formerly thought was
their enemy. They would have never, never wanted to go to
Samaria. Why? That's where the king of
Israel was. That's the guy that they've been trying to catch.
But let me ask you this. He brought them to Samaria, but
was that really the city of an enemy? They thought so. Man, before conversion, sees
his own works as his refuge. But now, this city is going to
prove to be The place of really their true friendship, safety,
security. Look at verses 21-23. The King
of Israel. Here's a picture. I can readily
see this King of Israel is a picture of the law. The King of Israel
said unto Elisha when he saw them, My father, shall I smite
them? Shall I smite them? And he answered, Thou shalt not
smite them. Wouldst thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive
with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them,
that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. And he
prepared great provision for them. And when they had eaten
and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master.
So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel."
Oh, how beautifully is the gospel of God's grace declared here. Here's a people. Enemies in their
minds. against God. Here's the picture.
God Almighty brings them down. The Lord knows how to humble. The proud God, God can abase.
God is going to bring down His people in their own eyes. What
is it? They're blinded. They're blinded
to the grace of God, but Almighty God in blinding them to the grace
of God is going to reveal to them and open their eyes. to
the Lord Jesus Christ, that which pictures Christ Himself. So when
the Lord is pleased to bring the enemies, those in their minds,
to Himself, He brings them to the place of compassion. He brings
them to Samaria. He brings them where they can
hear the truth. He gets them unto the sound of the Gospel.
And that's where we see that love that just transcends our
understanding. The king of Israel, a picture
of the law, asked, is there grounds for death here? These are our
enemies. Were they chargeable? Yeah, they
were chargeable in themselves. Were they worthy of death? Yeah,
all of us were. But He was made sin for us. And that beautiful picture right
here, what would be the foundation? of not smiting them. God Almighty
smote the Son. He bore their guilt in His own
body. And now instead of wrath, shall
I smite them? Shall I smite them? And Elisha,
beautiful picture here now of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thou shalt
not smite them. I was smitten, the Lord has said. I took their guilt. I took their
blame. Mercy is going to be shown. These
have been taken captive. Picture of when Almighty God
arrests His people by power and grace. No, you shall not smite
them. What are we going to do? You
set bread and water before them that they may eat and drink.
Go to their masters. Bread and water. Naturally speaking
right here, but oh in picture, the bread and water, the bread
of heaven Himself, the water of life Himself, the water of
the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ set forth to the sheep that have
been humbled and brought to the Master and shown mercy and compassion,
and the Scripture says, He prepared, verse 33, great provision. And
when they had eaten and drunk, that's what God's people do.
They feast upon the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
Gospel, and of His grace, electing grace, and redeeming grace, and
regenerating grace, and having been shown mercy. What happened? What happened to them? Well,
the Scripture says He sent them away, verse 23. And they went
to their Master. Now let me ask you this. What
does a believer do when God sets him free? He goes to his master. The Lord said, my sheep, they
hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. They went to their master. Now,
these being servants in type and picture of the Most High
God, made willing in the day of His power. Oh, how beautifully
is this scripture fulfilled concerning this passage, Romans 10, 20.
But Isaiah, very bold, said, I was found of them that sought
me not. Were those soldiers looking for
mercy, deliverance, being brought down. Now they weren't looking
for that. They came there that day thinking that they were in
control. We're calling the shots here. You see how many of us
there are? We've got the manpower, we've
got the horses, we've got the swords, but Almighty God brought
them down. All God had to do was just take
their eyes away. And all of a sudden now those that are so able in
their own minds, now are helpless. And what does God do? He sends
a preacher that shows them a way and brings them to the place
of mercy. And everything that would stand
in opposition to them, let's kill them, let's kill them, let's
kill them. No, don't kill them. No, you feed them. You take care
of them. Watch over them. And that's what
they did. He said, I was found of them
that sought me not. I was made manifest unto them
that asked not after me. And the scripture says in that
last verse 23, so the bands of Israel came no more into the
land of Israel. What happened? Peace was now
wrought by grace in that day for Israel. And God Almighty
in His spiritual Israel has wrought peace. Peace. Peace before God. Colossians, last verse, Colossians
1. Colossians 1, verse 19 to 22. For it pleased the Father
that in Him should all fullness dwell. And having made peace
through the blood of His cross by Him to reconcile all things
unto Himself, by Him I say, whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven, and you that were sometime alien alienated in enemies
in your mind by wicked works hath now He reconciled in the
body of His flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable
and unapprovable in His sight. This is the way God saves sinners.
He saves them, bringing them down, brings them to the place
where they're going to hear the gospel, abases them, Knocks them
off their high horse just like he did Saul of Tarsus. Just like
Saul of Tarsus, he got knocked down. He was blinded. These men
were blinded. Led to the house of mercy. And God took them,
showed mercy to them, fed them, gave them water, sent them to
go do that which they would be pleased to do now. Go serve their
master. That's what God's people do.
I pray that the Lord teach us through this precious passage
of scripture how God saves sinners for his glory and our good.