Everybody has heard of Jerusalem, Jericho and even tiny Bethlehem, but somehow Dothan is frequently overlooked. Yet, that unassuming village about thirty miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee reminds us to look beyond this world to see a bigger picture - to live responsibly before a greater reality.
Our story begins in the palace of Syria as a frustrated king, Ben-hadad, angrily accused his officers that a spy was among them. Why else would his skillfully contrived ambushes against Israel have failed?
Fortunately for his officers, an intelligence report indicated that there was a prophet in Israel who had been warning Israel’s king about their military movements. Further reports revealed he lived in Dothan. The key to attacking Israel became Dothan. The solution seemed easy enough. Just waltz over to Dothan and capture this pest. Ben-hadad quickly dispatched a great army against tiny Dothan.
The residents of Dothan awoke one morning to discover a Syrian army surrounding their village. Suddenly, the daily concerns of village life vaporized as the shock wave hit, “this may be my last sunrise.” Stomachs turned acidic. In despair Elisha’s servant cried out, “Woe, my master. What shall we do?”
What followed was surreal. To the servant it must have appeared as though some over-active defense mechanism had finally snapped in Elisha’s mind blinding him to reality. His lips simply muttered, “Fear not, for those who be with us are more numerous than those who be with them.” (2 Kings 6:16) Although the phrase was comprehensible, yet it was incomprehensible. The situation demanded preparations to fight or at least to plea for one’s life, yet Elisha merely began to pray. “O LORD, I pray that you may open his eyes so that he may see.” (2 Kings 6:17) The servant must have thought, “that’s precisely the problem - I do see the Syrian army. Elisha, it’s obviously your eyes that need to be opened. You are not being realistic!”
But then suddenly, he saw something he hadn’t seen before - a vast army of flaming chariots which greatly outnumbered the Syrians stood poised for battle upon the mountains. The Syrian army despite its strength was rendered harmless. That day Dothan was saved.
This story reminds us not to be blinded by the lie that “this world is everything that there is.” There is a very real unseen world and it is that world which endures forever. To live as a Christian doesn’t involve being oblivious to this world, rather it embodies allowing the reality of that unseen world to influence how I live in this world. How might you be living differently today if you had seen flaming chariots covering the mountains?
“We do not look to what is seen but to what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.
Barry Newton, Copyright © 1998