2 Kings 6:16

Context

This verse belongs to the narrative in 2 Kings 6:8–23. Whenever the king of Aram made plans to attack Israel, the prophet Elisha revealed them to the king of Israel. The king of Aram therefore sent horses, chariots, and a great army to seize Elisha, and during the night they surrounded Dothan, the city where Elisha was staying. Early in the morning Elisha's servant saw the army and cried out, "Alas, my master! how shall we do?" (2 Kings 6:15). Elisha answered, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (2 Kings 6:16). The text does not name the servant.

In the next verse Elisha prays, and the servant's eyes are opened: "and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17). The Aramean army is then struck with blindness and led into Samaria. Elisha urges that the soldiers be fed and sent home rather than killed, and the text reports that afterward the bands of Aram came no more into the land of Israel (v. 23).

Interpretation

• Unseen protection: Many commentators and preachers understand the horses and chariots of fire as a heavenly host sent by God, that is, the protection of angels. They read the scene as a demonstration of God's providence (his care for and governance of the world) in guarding his people.
• The eyes of faith: Other readings focus on the opening of the servant's eyes. In this reading, faith is described as a way of seeing that perceives reality beyond visible circumstances.
• The flow of the Elisha narrative: This interpretation links the scene with the chariot of fire and horses of fire that appeared when Elijah was taken up into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). It emphasizes the overarching theme of the Elisha narratives: Israel's true strength lies not in military power but in God.
• Spiritual warfare: Some charismatic circles cite this scene as evidence for the reality of an unseen spiritual world.

Questions Concerning Application

There is no significant dispute among denominations over the meaning of the verse itself. Several questions, however, have been raised.

First, some object to citing "they that be with us are more" as a promise of victory in personal or church undertakings or in political confrontations. The story ends not with the destruction of the enemy but with the enemy being fed and sent away. Critics therefore stress that the verse must be read in its context, and some connect this ending with love for one's enemies.

Second, opinions differ on whether believers today can actually see angels or other spiritual beings as the servant did. This question is also bound up with the differing positions of cessationism and continuationism.

As a point of translation, in the Korean Korean Revised Version the pronoun in the phrase corresponding to "they that be with them" appears to be singular, but it refers to the entire Aramean army surrounding the city.

Perspective: Korean Protestant practiceHow this idea is used in Korean churches, kept from the original Korean article.

In Korean churches the verse is frequently quoted in sermons and prayer meetings that address fear, discouragement, and crisis. In particular, the expressions "Fear not" and "they that be with us are more" are widely used as words of comfort and encouragement.

Related Passages

• 2 Kings 2:11
• Psalm 34:7
• Romans 8:31
• 2 Corinthians 4:18
• 1 John 4:4