Jump Start # 687
2 Kings 6:12 “One of his servants said, ‘No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
There are more miracles preformed by Elisha than any other person in the O.T. Nearly every page we read of this prophet doing something. He rescued an axe head that fell into the Jordan River by making it float. He cured Naaman’s leprosy. He made the widow’s oil to be multiplied. Our verse today is yet another one.
The Syrians were fighting Israel. Every move that the Syrians made was known and countered by Israel. The king of Syria that he had a spy within his inner circle. Our verse reveals the truth. Long before high tech bugging information, the words of the king were known by Elisha. God provided this information. This allowed Israel to survive. How difficult this would have made every action of the Syrians. The expression, “words that you speak in your bedroom,” implies the most quiet and secret of things. Even there, where very few had access, the words were known. This king was doomed to fail. How can you lead armies without commands and orders. If those commands were known in advance by the enemy, he was dead in the water.
There are two lessons here—not about Elisha, but about God.
First, God is for His people. He has protected them, rescued them, helped them all through the Bible. The cries in Egypt were heard by God. The pleas of the disciples in a sinking boat were heard by God. The pleas of the slain saints under the altar in Revelation, were heard by God. The people of God often face opposition and difficulties, but they do not face it alone. God is their God. This does not mean that every individual lived, but it did mean that the cause of God was not thwarted. The Egyptians couldn’t do it. The Babylonians couldn’t do it. The Romans couldn’t do it. Do you start to see something here? God cannot be overcome. When He promises that His kingdom will endure, it shall. When He promises that Satan will be defeated, he will be. Great is our God.
Second, the words spoken by the Syrian king were heard by Elisha. That was possible because of God. The words that we speak are heard by God. The things we whisper, text, email, blog or even think. God knows. We can wear masks that hide our real feelings, but God knows. We teach our children the cute little song, “Be careful little eyes what you see…” There is truth in that song. Our words sting if we do not use them carefully. Our words reveal the real us. God knows. This tells us the value and importance of being truthful, sincere, honest and kind in our thoughts and words. God knows.
Gossip is gossip—whether it is spoken on the street corner or whispered in the bedroom. Mean things are mean things. Hurtful things are hurtful things. Kind things are kind things. Compliments are compliments.
This passage is important for us to remember. It’s easy to mumble things under our breath. God knows. He also knows when we are thankful. He knows when we praise Him. He knows when we pray.
There is no one like God—
Roger