1 September 18, 2011 Sermon on the First Lesson: 2 Kings 6:8-23 ...

<strong>September</strong> <strong>18</strong>, <strong>2011</strong>
<strong>Sermon</strong> on the First Lesson: 2 Kings 6:8-23
Theme: Lessons from the Life of Elisha:
Lord, Open Our Eyes
1. To see Your angel armies 2. To see Your amazing mercy
First Lesson: 2 Kings 6:8-23
Psalm 91
Second Lesson: Hebrews 1:6-9, 14
Gospel: Luke 2:8-14
Hymns: CW 198, 196, 431, 416, 196
2 Kings 6:8-23: 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.”
9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place,
because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 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.
11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of
them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?”
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.”
13 “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.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a
strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.
15 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 no, my lord! What shall we
do?” the servant asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than
those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that 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.
<strong>18</strong> As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, “Strike this
army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.
19 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.
20 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?”
22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those 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.
New International Version 1984, ©1984 (NIV1984) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica
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As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and
forevermore. Amen.
Dear Friends in Christ,
Half asleep, I stepped outside for a breath of fresh mountain air. Yawning I looked down
from the hill to take in the view in the early morning light. My eyes scanned the hills ringing the
town and the rich green pastures in the valleys. There I saw it--dark shapes in the valley.
Soldiers marching and they weren’t on our side. Then everywhere I looked I saw them coming
as the sky grew brighter. Horse-archers here, chariots there—yes, chariots, armored horse
drawn carts, the most feared weapon on the battle field! Oh I should introduce myself, though
you’ve probably guessed who I am. I’m a young man who served the prophet Elisha on that day
I saw amazing things, some 2800 years ago! But first I was trembling with fright. There was no
way out. I panicked and ran, almost crashing into the Elisha himself. “Oh no, my lord! What
shall we do?” I shouted.
But you can understand, can’t you? I’m not asking you to excuse. My fear, worry and
panic was wrong. But as a fellow believer in God’s promised Savior who still has a sinful
nature, and wrestles with sinful temptations every day, you can relate, can’t you? Sure, you’ve
never been surrounded by an Aramean army, but you still know what I felt that day. Maybe you
felt it when you were overwhelmed with helplessness, burdened with grief at the death of a loved
one or when a relationship was ripping apart. Maybe it was problems at work or school piling
up, or you wondered how you’d ever get everything done. Maybe you’ve been burdened with a
guilty conscience, besieged with failures and guilt. Was it when you were stuck in a storm or felt
all alone, after an accident or facing sickness? Could you relate to my situation when ten years
ago the terrorists attacked and you still wonder if it might happen again. That hymn you’ll sing
in a bit sums up our life in this sin wrecked world: I walk in danger all the way… and how that
truth can crush and paralyze us with fear!
But our God has the answer we need. It’s what Elisha said: Don’t be afraid, those who
are with us are more than those who are with them. And then he asked God to open my eyes
and comfort me. Let us ask the same thing: Lord, Open our Eyes.
Oh did God ever answer Elisha’s prayer as the enemy soldiers came closer! Hear it
again: 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. There on the hills and all around us there they
were… horses and chariots of fire. Remember, this was long before tanks and planes. There
was nothing faster or more powerful on the ancient battle field than horse drawn chariots. They
stood for power and speed. And if you could see them bright with the fire that stands for the
glory of God, you’d still be impressed even if you have seen tanks and planes!
For just a moment God let me see what is normally hidden and invisible to human eyes:
God’s angel armies. Those powerful beings our second lesson spoke of: “He makes his angels
winds, his servants flames of fire.” There was no reason to fear. God did not forget us. He
sent his angels to take care of us.
Since there are so many false ideas about angels, let’s remember what God tells us about
them. The angels are not believers who have died, no matter what popular culture or the comic
“Family Circus” says. God’s people, believers in Christ who have died, do not become angels,
but right now their souls enjoy the blessed, peace and happiness of heaven, where along with the
angels they praise God in perfect contentment even as they look forward to when Jesus will raise
their bodies.
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The angels are powerful, real, spiritual beings God made during the six days of creation.
Jesus tells us the angels do not die and they do not have children. The holy angels who never
joined the devil in his sin will always remain loyal to God and carry out his perfect will.
Yes, I got to see the Lord’s angel armies. But you’ve seen them too! No you may not
be able to see horses and chariots of fire all around in this morning in church as a picture of the
presence of God’s holy angels. But they are there. And you know it. Because the Holy Spirit
through the Word has given you eyes of faith to see and believe what he told you in our Psalm:
He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. In Hebrews he
says: Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Praise God who with eyes of faith shows us He still sends his angel armies to help His people.
Though you never saw them with your eyes, I bet you can all tell stories of when you
know God’s angels were there to protect you. I know your pastor can could tell you one about a
grizzly bear encounter in Montana. But how many times were God’s angels there to take care of
us as he’s promised, but we never knew it. We never even saw the danger they kept us safe
from. And when bad things did happen, how often have God’s angels kept it from being worse,
or how many times were they there working as a part of God’s promise to do what is always best
for your eternal good! Oh may the Lord always open our eyes to see his angel armies and let
us draw endless comfort from knowing they are there!
But doesn’t all this show us a problem with ourselves? With all God’s promises and the
reminder that He commands his angels to protect us, we should never be afraid, never worry,
never panic. But instead we often cry out Oh No! What shall we do? with hearts if not with
our mouths. Acting like we don’t know God is in control, acting like we’ve never heard the
promises about his protecting angels. And what is it but a shameful lack of trust in our perfect
Lord. And how often have we failed to thank and praise God for the protection of his angels? I
know studying this lesson made your pastor realize how seldom he thanks God for the holy
angels!
And of course, God knows these and all our sins. Remember our reading, how the Lord
told Elisha the very words the King of Aram spoke in his bedroom! It turns out there is no
such thing as a secret sin. Even when we thought we got away with it, God knows.
And so God shouldn’t send his destroying angel to strike us down to death like He did to
Egypt or when his angel wiped out an Assyrian army attacking Jerusalem? Truly, God’s angels
should gather us up like the weeds in one of Jesus’ parables and throw us into the fiery furnace
of hell where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
But instead of such a horrible and well deserved judgment, you and I look forward to
God’s angels carrying us home to heaven when we die, just like they did for poor Lazarus in
Luke 16. Remember how God’s angels were there in that same form a chariot and horses of
fire to escort Elijah to heaven’s glory? In the same way the holy angels will be there when you
close your eyes in death only to open them to the face of Jesus in heaven’s joy!
And how can that be!? Because the Lord’s heart is filled with an amazing mercy that he
has poured out freely on you and me. Love that saved us! Mercy our reading recalls.
3

Remember what happened after I saw the angels? Elisha prayed and the Aramean
soldiers were went blind. And then God granted his prophet another miracle. For he told them
to follow the prophet, and they did! You should have seen it—that long line of soldiers holding
onto each other, stumbling along after Elisha the whole ten miles to Samaria. And when God
opened their eyes in the Israelite capital they found themselves surrounded by the king of Israel
and his army!
But what happened next is more amazing still. They were enemies of God, come to
attack his prophet. But the Lord had mercy on them. Through Elisha he told the king of Israel to
not kill these soldiers, but feed them a great feast and then set them free.
Sounds familiar right? Because God has shown a similar amazing mercy to you and me!
We deserved to be struck by God’s sword of judgment for eternity. Instead He gave us a Savior,
the promised Messiah. You know Him, because the Lord has opened your eyes of faith to see
his amazing mercy in Jesus Christ!
Just think how amazing God’s mercy is! For you and me, for undeserving sinners, the
One who created the powerful angel armies became a man! He humbled himself and was born
of the virgin to save us. Jesus lived the sinless life of trust and thanksgiving that alone saves us
from our sins of thanklessness to God for his angels, and our horrible crimes of not trusting him.
Just think, He who commands the angels, He who is greater than the angels, lowered himself to
the point he needed help from the angels both in the wilderness after he was tempted and also in
the garden the night before he died! And Christ did it to set you and me free from every sin, our
so called secret sins too!
And then think of it. To forgive us, God did not sacrifice an angel on an altar, but gave
up His only beloved Son upon the cross. And then, can you see it?--how the angel must have
smiled as he told the women on Easter morning that Jesus was no longer in the tomb, but that He
had risen. And that angel’s words still ring down to you and me as proof of God’s amazing
mercy. For they show us as truly forgiven by the power of the risen Christ, and tell us we will
truly live with Him forever! Though enemies of God by nature and by our sin, yet God has
shown us mercy. He set us free. He feeds us with the feast of forgiveness we find in Jesus
Christ, the Bread of Life. And know He will feed you with that still greater feast to come at the
celebration in heaven’s perfect home!
Lord continue to open our eyes to see your angel armies who protect us and to see
your amazing mercy in Jesus who saved us! And then let us remember that no matter what the
problem or challenge we face, even if it is death, yet we can say like Elisha of old: Don’t be
afraid, Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” For with Jesus, even
death is outnumbered! So with confident trust and thankful hearts, live for our Lord who at the
last will send his angels to escort us to heaven’s home! Amen.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. Amen.
We ask the Lord to bless the work of His Word in our hearts as we sing the Create in me on p.
20.
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