“Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6 : 16, New International Version)
Chapter 6 sits midway in the Elisha cycle (2 Kings 2–8) and is woven of three short narratives:
Archaeology confirms the setting: Iron-Age tell Dothan, where the Arameans first encircle Elisha, has yielded fortification layers from the 9th–8th centuries BC; Samaria’s acropolis still bears scorch marks from repeated sieges. These stones echo the Scripture’s tension between earthly armies and the quiet sovereignty of God.
Iron was costly; even prophets’ guilds seldom owned their own tools. To break another man’s axe head risked lifelong debt (compare Exodus 22 : 14-15). Yet Elisha simply casts a stick, the iron “floats” (Hebrew : ṣāpaʿ—to surface, rise), and debt is cancelled.
Key theme: The God who parts seas and sends fire also cares when borrowed iron sinks. For disciples tempted to think their concerns are “too small,” Jesus echoes the lesson: “Even the hairs of your head are numbered” (Luke 12 : 7).
Cross-lights
• Matthew 17 : 24-27 – a coin in a fish’s mouth for unpaid tax.
• Philippians 4 : 6 – “in everything… present your requests.”
The Hebrew verb pāqaḥ (“open”) frames vv. 17-20: God opens the servant’s eyes, then closes—sanwērîm (the rare word used of Sodom’s attackers, Genesis 19 : 11)—the Arameans’. Sight and blindness trade places until mercy restructures the battlefield.
Early church writers loved this scene. Chrysostom saw in it a picture of the Gospel: believers perceive a hidden kingdom; persecutors stumble until grace feeds and frees them. John Calvin notes the irony: an army bent on capture is captured by hospitality.
Ancient Near-Eastern war codes expected brutal treatment of prisoners, yet Elisha orders a feast (cf. Proverbs 25 : 21-22; Romans 12 : 20). Archaeology at Megiddo and Lachish displays chains and siege ramps; Scripture here displays tables and bread.
Cross-lights
• Psalm 34 : 7 – “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear
him.”
• Ephesians 1 : 18 – “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”
• 2 Corinthians 4 : 18 – “we fix our eyes not on what is seen.”
Hymn suggestion: Open My Eyes, That I May See (Clara H. Scott, 1895).
The Arameans return home bewildered yet unharmed, and raids cease “for a time.” Some Jewish commentators note the Sabbath-like pause—hostilities rest but human hardness later resumes (v. 24). Mercy does not always guarantee lasting peace, but it always reveals God’s character.
Ben-Hadad’s renewed siege starves Samaria. Excavations in the city gate show refuse pits packed with animal bones—proof of famine diets. The narrative reaches horror: mothers bargain over their children (foreshadowed in Deuteronomy 28 : 52-57; lamented in Lamentations 4 : 10). The king tears his robe to expose hidden sackcloth—public power over private anguish. Instead of repenting, he vows to behead the prophet.
Lessons often missed in the West
• Middle-Eastern rulers wore sackcloth under royal garments to show God,
not the crowd, their grief.
• Cannibalism was the covenant’s severest curse; mentioning it signaled
national spiritual failure.
• Blaming prophets for calamity was a common reflex; inscriptions from
Mari and Nineveh show kings hunting “trouble-makers” who predicted
defeat.
• Augustine: “The Church is Elisha’s house; some run to it with axes
that do not belong to them, and grace causes the iron of their sins to
float.”
• Wesley: “Open my eyes—this is the believer’s constant prayer, for
every degree of grace discovered shows more yet to be desired.”
Where do you feel outnumbered? Where have you lost “borrowed” strength? Pause, ask the Spirit to pāqaḥ—open your eyes. Look for the horses and chariots of fire around your ordinary life, and set a table for someone who once felt like an enemy.
Exodus 22 : 14-15 • Psalm 34 : 7 • Proverbs 25 : 21-22 • Deuteronomy 28 : 52-57 • Lamentations 4 : 10 • Matthew 17 : 24-27 • Luke 12 : 7 • Romans 12 : 20 • 2 Corinthians 4 : 18 • Ephesians 1 : 18
Lord of hidden armies and quiet mercies,
lift what has sunk in our lives, open what is closed in our eyes,
surround us with Your flaming protection,
and teach us to spread tables where we once sharpened swords.
May our cities, our homes, and our hearts know that
“those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Through Jesus Christ, the truer Elisha, we pray. Amen.