“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard” (Matthew 20:1).
Laboring In The Kingdom
Jesus taught in parables using familiar life circumstances to illustrate a heavenly truth. One such parable was about a man who hired laborers to work in his vineyard. The lesson of the parable is that the man hires men at different times of the day, and everyone receives the same wages. Jesus shows the mercy of God is open to all men no matter the time of life. It must also be noted that the hired men were expected to be laborers in the vineyard. These men were not hired to stand around.
T. C. Horton said, “You can measure what you would do for the Lord by what you do.” The kingdom of God is likened to a vineyard where men work to maintain and cultivate the vines. Many of Jesus’ parables involve laborers for the Lord. The parable of the sower shows a man spreading seed. In the parable of the two sons, they were told to work in the vineyard. The parable of the talents is where a Lord gave three servants different talents, expecting them to do their best with what they had. Jesus shows in all of these parables an expectation of doing something in the kingdom.
When a person examines himself to see how productive his life is in the grace of God, he need not look any further than what he is doing. James taught that faith without works is dead. Faith is seen in how a person lives and devotes his life to Christ. Abraham measured his life by what he did for the Lord. A man is “justified by works, and not by faith only” (James 2:24). We measure what we do for the Lord by what we do.
Laborers in the kingdom of God are expected to be workers in the kingdom of God. In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the men were hired to work. If they stood around and did nothing, they would not be paid. Vineyards require labor to cultivate and produce the fruit for harvest. The kingdom of God is the vineyard, and the Christian must work diligently in the kingdom. Through the grace of God, the child of God is part of the divine vineyard. The Father wants His children to show their faith by showing their faith. Passive and inactive faith does not fit the model of the vineyard of the Lord.
Matthew Henry said, “Until we are hired into the service of God, we are standing all the day idle.” The need for the hour is to be enlisted into the vineyard of the Lord. Remaining faithful to the purpose and design of the vineyard is for the individual to do the best they can when they obey the gospel of Christ but work they must. Everyone has different talents to work in the kingdom. All men will be judged by the blessings God has given them to do what they can as laborers in the vineyard. Be busy in the kingdom and, above all things, work – the harvest is coming.
And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)
One Life, Live It
The philosophy of life is to live it with all the gusto possible. Everything a man has in this life should focus on getting all that can be drained from the life experience before death. The world believes there is one life to live. Death is the final act in the drama of life. With this in mind, the purpose of life is to have as much fun, gain all the pleasures, and slide into death like a homerun king. The man with the most toys wins. Popularity and fame will secure a man’s place in history. Books will be written, statues commissioned, and streets named after the movers and shakers of the world for those who succeed. The great human tragedy is thinking there is one life. Because of this, no preparation is made for a greater reality – the second life.
Everyone is born the same way, and everyone dies the same way. From the birth of Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, every human being is born of a woman. There is no other avenue of life as God has given man and woman the creative power to bring life into the world. Only God creates life. By the same creation of life, the Lord God has determined the days of man are like the grass of the field. They blossom one day and then are cut down. Cain was the first child born into the world, and his brother, Abel, was the first to experience death (killed by Cain). The two children of Adam and Eve are the story of life that has continued for thousands of years. This reality will continue until the coming of Jesus Christ.
There is a divine appointment for everyone, and that is death. While death is a reality, that is the minor player in the divine story. Every human is an eternal creature. This is the one story that most people in the world deny and never accept. When a man believes death is final and nothing beyond, he becomes like an animal. An animal is not an eternal creature, which separates man from animal. God created the human form in His divine image of eternity. When an animal dies, it ceases to exist, but when a man dies, there is another life. A man can deny that he is an eternal creature and that he lives like an animal, but this does not change; after death, there is another life. When a man closes his eyes in death, he may think he is finished, and there is no more. As his eyes open in eternity, he realizes there is life after death, and unprepared, he finds himself standing before the judgment bar of the Lord God Almighty. It’s too late to admit there is a second life.
God created the world and everything in it. He formed man and woman as eternal creatures for His glory. Billions of people have died since Abel, and the majority of those billions never believed in life after death. God sent His son to open the vistas of eternity, warning those who trifle with the word of God that there is life after death. All men die. It is a divine appointment and decree. Nothing man can do will change that. All men face life after death. That is a divine appointment and decree. Nothing man can do will change that. There will come a day when no one will die, but all men will cease to exist in their human form: the day Jesus Christ returns. Then, life after death will happen to everyone. No one escapes. The few who believed in life after death and prepared themselves in the grace of God will rejoice. Those who lived life thinking there was one life will not rejoice. Do you believe in life after death?
For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)
Love And Commandment Keeping
God has never asked man to do anything that he was unable to perform. When Adam and Eve were in the garden, the only restrictive law was not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They could eat of every tree but not the one forbidden fruit. Adam and Eve understood the commandment of the Lord. There was nothing difficult in keeping the commandments of God. The Lord provided everything for life and happiness in the garden because God loved His creation. Satan attacked the word of God immediately, questioning whether the commandment was too harsh and unfair. He suggested if the woman ate the forbidden fruit, she could be like God. Sin entered the world when Eve took of the forbidden fruit.
Satan’s most successful tool to claim the hearts of men is to convince them of the unfairness of the Lord God. There is no need to keep the commandments of the Lord. Freedom is doing whatever a person desires without any consequences. If God said that something is a sin, that is unfair and unjust and too harsh. Seeing the tree in the midst of the garden and not being able to take of its fruit was such a burden. Why would God be so unfair? It was such a grievous law to restrict the freedom of the human spirit. God was cruel to expect man not to enjoy the forbidden fruit.
The philosophies of human wisdom try to devalue the need for commandment keeping. This falls in line with the same tactic used by Satan in the garden and his continual attempts to convince the world that God is a cruel, unloving, uncaring, and brutal ruler who demands too much. Satan has repurposed the Lord God into a loving, caring, benevolent ruler who expects no one to keep commandments but only to love one another and love God because God loves everyone, and no one will ever anger God. Jesus said the devil is the father of lies, and the influence of the evil one proves this every day. There is no greater lie perpetuated by the adversary of righteousness than convincing people to love God and not worry about keeping His commandments. Jesus asked why people called Him Lord and did not do what He commanded. The world has bought into the lie of the devil to love God and love who God is and bask in the love of God, and that is all a man needs to do.
Commandment keeping is an expression of love. Refusing to keep the commandments of God is a show of defiance rooted in hatred. The bottom line becomes very simple. If a man refuses to do the will of the Father, he hates God. There is no other way to look at the rebellion of the human heart, refusing to abide by the precepts, commandments, laws, and covenants of Jesus Christ, than to see a spirit that hates Jesus Christ. What is the love of God according to John the apostle (inspired by the Holy Spirit)? The love of God is keeping His commandments. If you do not keep the commandments of God – you hate God, you hate Jesus Christ, and you hate the Holy Spirit.
Face the truth. None of the commands of God are difficult to follow. You can complain and whine about what God tells you to do all your life and die, and then you will no longer whine and complain about what God told you to do. The reality of Hell is there are no complainers and whiners. Everyone there realizes two things: first, they recognize the commandments of God are not burdensome. Second, they wished they had made a greater effort to keep the commandments. But it is too late. God loves you. He does not want any to perish in eternal perdition. Jesus died to save you from your sins. If you refuse to keep the commandments of God, you will die in your sins. It will not be a pretty picture. What can you do? Keep the commandments of God. Then, and only then, can you show how much you love God. If you love God, you will keep His commandments.
Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. (Luke 15:11-14)
Living For Astroturf
Satan has convinced many souls the grass is greener on the other side. The sentiment of the idiom suggests discontentment with life on this side of the fence and that everything would be so much better on the other side. Seeking the green grass, on the other side, is when a person believes others have it better than they do. Instead of working things out, they jump the fence to have a better life. The problem with looking at the grass on the other side is that it is not real. It is nothing more than astroturf or synthetic grass. The astroturf mimics and imitates natural grass, but it is artificial and unnatural.
In the parable of the prodigal son, a young man lives at home with a loving family and enjoys an easy life with plenty. He has an older brother. Dissatisfied with his life, he demands from his father the inheritance due him. This comes as a devastating blow to the father because the young son is acting as if his parents are dead. The father gives his son the inheritance, and the boy quickly leaves for a far country where he enjoys all the pleasures of life. As he leaves his home, the young man is thrilled to cross the fence into a world that is a better place. He knows there will be so much more joy and happiness in the greener pastures of tomorrow.
When the young man arrives in the far country, he immediately wastes his inheritance on every pleasure he can find. His friends suddenly multiply with his popularity. The grass really is greener on the other side, but something is amiss as he looks around. He does not see it at first because the grass seems greener than what he had at home. But this grass is different, and there is something false about it. He discovers in time, when the inheritance is gone, the grass he has been playing on is not real. It looks real, and it looks amazing – but it’s fake. Before he knows it, he is destitute, starving, and hiring himself out to feed hogs. There is no grass in a hog pen.
What the young man had at home was the real blessings of life. His father was full of love and benevolence. The hired servants who worked for his father were blessed with more bread than they could eat. He knew his father was a forgiving man. The young man realizes the deception of green grass is nothing more than a synthetic picture of a world that will never bring happiness. All the pleasures of life that he thought would bring him happiness were fake. There was no lasting happiness or joy. No one cared for the boy when he had no inheritance. He had been used and discarded to feed the swine. The young man found himself in the real world of friendship with the world.
Looking at the grass on the other side is coveting things that are fake. What the young man found in his life was the need to cultivate his acre of ground in his own life. He was blessed with a forgiving father who received him back with great joy. Jesus is telling us how much the heavenly Father loves us. When we seek to find joy in the pleasures of the world, we are dancing on astroturf. It is not real, it will never be real, and it cannot be made real. Nothing in the pleasures of life will bring joy. A man must learn to be content. The grass is not greener on the other side. It’s astroturf.
And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” (Luke 12:15)
Life Has Problems
Everyone experiences problems. Norman Vincent Peale tells of a time he was walking down the street in New York City when he ran into an old friend, George. “Norman, I’m fed up,” George announced. “I have nothing but problems, problems, problems. I’d give you $5,000 right now if you could get rid of all my problems.” Norman ruminated for a minute and then replied, “Just yesterday, I was in a place where there were a lot of people with no problems. Would you like to go?” George pounced on the offer. “Good,” Peale answered. “Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll take you to the Westchester cemetery. The only people who don’t have problems are dead.”
Life can be challenging because it is filled with problems. There are bills to pay and never enough money. Things constantly break down or fail to function as they are designed. People disappoint. Promises made are not kept. Age and health make it hard to enjoy life. If it’s not one thing, it will be something else. Murphy seems to be in charge of running the world, as Murphy’s Law is everywhere. Sometimes, it feels as if the only people without problems are the ones in the cemetery. That’s not quite the answer, but it raises an interesting question.
Job opined, “Man who is born of woman is of few days and full of trouble” (Job 14:1). How true. Life can be a lot of trouble and problems. For those who are of the living, life is a challenge with all the problems that rule the day, but God has not left His creation without hope. It must be understood that the source of problems inherently comes from the consequence of sin. A woman enduring pain in childbirth can go back to the Garden of Eden for the cause. God cursed the ground on behalf of the man and stated that he would work by the sweat of his brow. Disease, natural disasters, and death came as a result of man losing the Garden of Eden. Life has problems because man disobeyed God.
The hope in life is not to remove the problems but to understand how to cope with life’s challenges. God has never promised life to be a bed of roses and comfort. Through the knowledge of God’s word, life’s problems can be understood in the light of God’s grace. Pain and suffering fill the world, but God helps the grieving heart live. Many of life’s problems (debt, for example) come from mistakes made by covetous hearts drowning them in the crushing burden of financial worries.
Jesus told the disciples in the mountain sermon to put God first and not worry so much about food and clothing. Those things should not be primary in life. They are a part of life, but God must be the greater part in finding joy and happiness. So much of our unhappiness is self-induced. Life may have problems, but the answer to our problems is what God has given us in His Word. He made us, and He knows what we need. If we trust Him for our answers, our problems may not disappear, but we can endure the trials of life with a better spirit. God has promised to give us all we need. We need to believe He is able and willing to fulfill His promise. Live for Jesus. Trust in God.
Remember how short my time is; for what futility have You created all the children of men? What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his life from the power of the grave? (Psalm 89:47-48)
Death Is Reversible?
In a recent news article from Gray News (April 1, 2025), Amanda Alvarado reports death appears to be “reversible” with proper treatment, according to Dr. Sam Parnia, an associate professor at New York University’s Langone Medical Center. Parnia said that the idea that death is final is “simply a social convention that does not conform with scientific realities.” Science has now discovered a way to circumvent the natural order of what God has established in creation. The Tree of Life was in the Garden of Eden and taken away from man when he rebelled against the word of the Lord. Now science has rediscovered the Tree of Life, suggesting death is no longer a viable reality. This discovery goes along with the science showing that men can give birth to children, and there is no biological difference between men and women.
The psalmist pined that the fool had said in his heart that there was no God. There continues to be a plethora of fools who take the beauty of science given by God to show His glory to conclude the most outlandish and foolish doctrines in the history of the world. In a perverse generation, the world struggles to define what a woman is. Transgenderism is viewed as a normal aggregation of natural processes towards determining the true meaning of a person’s identity. Sexual immorality fuels the discussions that it is normal for men to be with men and women to be with women. The conclusions of the homosexual agenda come from individuals who were born from heterosexual couples who are capable of conceiving and giving birth to children. A woman cannot conceive in another woman, and a man cannot conceive in another man because God has designed the bodies of each to function in one way.
Believing that science has found a way to make death irrelevant is the highest form of how man’s wisdom has become the greater folly of human foolishness. Death is certain, and everyone will certainly die. Science cannot change the will of God. Human foolishness continues to compound itself against the habitations established by God. The apostle Paul told the Athenian scholars that human wisdom and reasoning is a fool’s errand. Only the one true God has established the order of the world and the sanctity of life. God made the world and everything in it because He is Lord of heaven and earth. It is appointed for all men to die, no matter what science does. Science proves that death is necessary, not the other way around. The Lord God has created all men of every nation and determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.
Death is the consequence of sin. If death can be reversed, man believes he can reverse sin. Where does the wisdom of men begin to believe it has the power to reverse sin? The conclusion is the foolish attempt of man to become his own god. What a fool man continues to be. The dust has become its own god of dust. God told Adam he would return to the ground from whence he came. He was created from the dust; he is dust, and to dust, he would return. Apparently, the intellectuals of today have not gotten that memo. Can a man deliver his life from the power of the grave? The answer is found in God’s word.
After this He went down to Capernaum, He, His mother, His brothers, and His disciples; and they did not stay there many days. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. (John 2:12-13)
The Physical Stamina Of Jesus
In the days of Jesus, Palestine represented the provinces of Judaea, Samaria, Galilee, Peraea, and Decapolis. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, five miles southwest of Jerusalem. Joseph and Mary traveled from Nazareth, eighty miles north of Jerusalem, to register for the census in Bethlehem as decreed by Caesar Augustus. When Jesus was around two years old, wise men from the East visited the family, and shortly afterward, warned by an angel of God that King Herod sought to kill Jesus, the family fled to Egypt two hundred miles away. After the death of Herod, Joseph took his family back to Nazareth, where Jesus became known as the son of a carpenter.
Jesus began His ministry by going to the Jordan east of Jericho, a trip more than fifty miles, to be baptized by John. He would return home, where He attended a wedding at Cana, ten miles north of Nazareth. Jesus went to Capernaum, fifteen miles to the East, where the Lord would spend much of His time. The gospel writers do not take the time to emphasize the distances in the life of Jesus, but when John remarks that Jesus went down to Capernaum and then traveled up to Jerusalem, the apostle speaks of more than one hundred miles. Palestine was the only place Jesus traveled, going as far north as the regions of Tyre and Sidon and south to Bethany, a couple of miles south of Jerusalem.
The Romans were known for their excellent roads, which had built more than 50,000 miles throughout the empire. Palestine was the ‘backwater’ of the empire with fewer paved roads, leaving travelers to journey on the old ‘roads,’ unsurfaced and worn by travelers over the centuries. In the days of Jesus, most journeys were made on foot. Having a pack animal would be costly; even if a family had a donkey, someone would have to walk. Wagons would be seen traveling on the roads filled with merchandise.
Jesus covered considerable distances during His ministry. As a boy growing up in Nazareth, the yearly journey to Jerusalem was more than 160 miles round-trip. His ministry took Him from cities throughout Palestine, including trips across the Sea of Galilee. The nearly three years of preaching, teaching, healing, instructing His disciples, and carrying out the work of His Father was an exhausting journey of innumerable miles. It must have been a grueling schedule that Jesus kept as the day of His Hour drew closer. On the night of His betrayal, Jesus was already fatigued and exhausted. After he was arrested, the officials drug Him into the city, from place to place, and then out to Golgotha, where they crucified Him. It was no small task for the Lord to walk that distance, explaining why He could not bear the cross to Golgotha. The patibulum was the crosspiece used in crucifixion, weighing as much as eighty pounds. Jesus could not bear the cross, and the soldiers compelled Simon, a Cyrenian, to bear it after Jesus.
The Son of God was in human form, enduring the many miles of His ministry to accomplish the will of His Father. His physical stamina was amazing, considering the people He taught, the thousands He healed, and the journey back and forth to and from Jerusalem. Jesus had a strong physical stamina to work very hard for three years in the mission of an eternal plan. God endured the challenge of walking mile after mile. Following the footsteps of Jesus would not have been an easy task. Jesus walked those many miles to open a pathway to Heaven for those willing to walk in His steps. The Christian walk may not consist of the league of miles, but it is a journey that requires spiritual stamina. Are you up for a walk to eternity?
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29).
Conformed To His Image
What do people see when they look at my life? One of the distinctions of the Christian is the need to reflect the image of Jesus Christ. What the world needs to see in the lives of God’s people is not the same image as what they see in the world. If the Christian looks no different than the world around him, he has become like the world. The challenge of walking a righteous life is paving a path through an unrighteous world. The Christian must conform to the image of Jesus Christ.
Edward Payson said, “Paint Jesus Christ upon your canvas, and then hold Him up to the people; but hold Him up so that not even your little finger can be seen.” As the Christian grows in knowledge of the character of God, he begins to reflect the image of the Son of God. A transformation takes place where the old man of the world becomes the new man of the spirit. The goal is to change the image of our lives to that of Jesus Christ. God wants His children to look like His Son because His Son reflects the image of the Father. A transformation occurs as the spirit grows in the heart of the child of God. The more time spent in fellowship with a godly character, the less the world sees the image of man and sees more the image of God.
Reflecting the image of God is conforming life to the principles of godliness. Truth is the foundation of everything a Christian does in life. Their speech is godly, their mannerisms are reflective of Christ, and the mind dwells on the things above. God desires His children to continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of His Son so that they will become more and more like Him. That perfection shows that when people see our lives in Christ, they see the canvas of God’s love and nothing else.
Living godly in an ungodly world is difficult. Jesus told His disciples in the mountain sermon to be lights in the world. Sometimes, that light is all the world can see. The more lights in the world, the more people can see Christ. I may not be a beacon of light changing the world from darkness, but I can be a glowing light for Christ where I am. When I go to work, I can let my light shine. As a spouse or parent, my light must show the glory of God. What I want the world to see is God. Hopefully, the more I grow in Christ, the less people see of me (including my fingers holding the canvas). Let’s reflect on the image of God.
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. (John 7:37-39)
Rivers Of Living Water
When Peter answered the crowd at Pentecost about what they needed to do to be saved, he also fulfilled a promise made by Jesus during His ministry. During the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus proclaimed a day would come when the believers of Christ would have rivers of living water flowing from their hearts. The Holy Spirit gives a divine commentary on the meaning of what Jesus said by describing the event of the giving of the Holy Spirit to all those who obeyed the word of the Lord. This gift had not happened yet because Jesus had not died and risen to be glorified as Lord and King. Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, the first converts to the new covenant put on Christ in the waters of baptism and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
The crowd that gathered to hear Peter and the apostles preach at Pentecost were struck by the conviction they had killed the Anointed of the Lord. Peter explains how Jesus of Nazareth was shown to be the Son of God through miracles, wonders, and signs, and through the prophecies of Joel and David, God had made Jesus, whom they crucified, both Lord and Christ. Convicted of their sin, the people asked what to do. Peter tells them to repent and be baptized and then tells them God promises to give them the gift of the Holy Spirit. This gift is given to all who call upon the name of the Lord, obeying His commands.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of what Jesus said would be given to all those who accept the new covenant through the blood of Christ. Peter reiterated that promise to the Sanhedrin council that arrested the apostles for preaching in the name of Jesus when he said God gave the Holy Spirit to all those who obey the word of the Lord. Paul explained to the Roman church the blessings of not being condemned before God for all who walk in the Holy Spirit. He further explains how to be led by the Holy Spirit, who dwells in the children of God. This shows the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise.
Jesus said His followers would become “rivers of living water.” This would not take place until after His resurrection and return to the Father. At Pentecost, the words of Jesus came to pass. Those who embrace the covenant of Christ through His blood receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to all those who repent and are baptized for the remission of their sins. As people of God, Christians must let the world see and know the power of the water of Life, Jesus Christ. As flowing streams of living water, the Christian is a person who influences the world around them as a river nourishes the lands it touches. The water of life flows from the throne of God in the hearts of the redeemed to let the world see the love and grace of the Father.
Jesus said His followers must be lights in the world and salt that seasons to the glory of God. A Christian is a river of living water that invites the world to come and taste the joy of living water in Jesus Christ. There is no greater joy than the nourishing water coming from the grace and mercy of God. All who obey the word of the Lord are blessed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Live in such a manner the river of life does not dry up in your heart. Be a fountain of living water.
So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. Now Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria. So it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were, inside Samaria! Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?” But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel. (2 Kings 6:18-23)
Mercy To The Enemy
During the days of the prophet Elisha, the king of Syria fought against the king of Israel. He would set up his camp in a place to trap the Israelite army, but on multiple occasions, the Israelites had been warned to stay away from that area. The Syrian king was greatly troubled that he may have a spy in his army warning the king of Israel. Somehow, one of the king’s servants knew it was Elisha who was warning the Israelite king of where the Syrians were camped as if he were standing in the king’s bedroom. The king sent his army to the city of Dothan, where Elisha lived. A great army surrounded the city with horses and chariots by night, taking the city by surprise.
In the morning, the people looked out and saw the great Syrian army besieging the city. A servant of Elisha was terrified, pleading to his master what to do. Elisha, the prophet of God, assured the servant there was nothing to fear as those who were with them were greater than the army pressing the city. This may have puzzled the servant as he looked at the formidable Syrian army with its great might against the small city of Dothan. Elisha prayed to the Lord to open the eyes of the servant and see the mountain filled with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. The army of the Lord was so much greater than the Syrian army.
When the Syrians approached the city, Elisha asked God to blind them. Elisha went out to the army, telling them they were in the wrong city and to follow him. Blinded and trusting the prophet’s voice, the army followed Elisha to Samaria, twelve miles away. When the Lord opened the eyes of the Syrians, they found themselves trapped inside the city of Samaria. This must have terrified them greatly as they knew death was certain. Even the king of Samaria wanted to kill the army, but was forbidden by the prophet. Elisha told the king to set food and water before the Syrians and let them return home. A great feast was prepared for them, and afterward, they were allowed to return home to their master.
The salvation of the Syrian raiders was unconventional warfare. Elisha showed his servant the power of God with the army of the Lord on the mountains surrounding Dothan. The prophet taught the king and the people of Israel a lesson on divine mercy. Syria was a sworn enemy of Israel as the Syrians constantly raided and pillaged the northern tribes. The army of Syria was a very powerful force to reckon with. Instead of killing all the soldiers trapped inside the city of Samaria, Elisha told the Israelite king to prepare food and water for them. A great feast was prepared. The soldiers feasted and then returned home because God had shown mercy to save the lives of the Syrians.
There are many times when God utterly wipes out the enemies of Israel. The mercy of God was given to the army coming against Elisha to spare them and command the Israelites to bless their enemies with kindness. It had to be an awkward scene of the Syrian army marching through the city gates blinded and the opportunity of the king to wipe out a whole army with ease. God did not permit it. Instead, He commanded mercy to shown in feeding them and letting them return home. As the Syrians walked home, it had to impress on their minds the gracious character of God’s people upon their enemies.
Jesus taught the importance of having mercy on those who oppose us. People will curse, hate, and persecute the righteous, and the disciple of Christ will love their enemies, bless those who curse them, do good to those who hate them, and pray for those who spitefully use them and persecute them. This is the same thing demanded of the Israelites against the hated Syrians. To be a child of the Father, the Christian learns that God brings rain and sunshine to all men who deserve mercy. There is a time for divine justice, but it must begin with mercy. Abraham pleaded for mercy on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, but none was found. There were other times the Syrian army was defeated, but it never discounted the mercy of God.
It is important to apply the story of the Syrians personally. The child of God is a lost sinner washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. No one deserves the mercy of God, and it is impossible to pay the debt owed because of sin. Yet, the mercy of God is given to all those who will accept the grace of God to be cleansed of sin and be found whole before the throne of God. We are the Syrian army blinded by sin. Death is what we deserve. God’s wrath is what we face. Through the mercy of God, we can feast at the table of the Lord when we find salvation in Jesus Christ. God has allowed us an eternal home if we obey His word. Mercy. Thank God for His mercy.
The Heaton File 