Issue 30 Welcome the StrangerBlog | Surprise, Aram, and the Gibeonites
Surprise, Aram, and the Gibeonites
Author: Andy PeckPost Date: 20.03.22
In my column a few months ago, I wrote about looking for moments of drama in a narrative. We looked at the little Hebrew word vehinneh, which drops us into the action and shows us a moment of surprise. But in this edition of Preach I’d like to look at narratives that are themselves surprising, stories whose very existence in scripture ought to shock us. I’ll choose just two.
We’ll start with 2 Kings 6:8 23. This is a story set in the time of Elisha. It begins with the king of Syria (it might be translated Aram in your Bible) complaining to his court that his every secret plan appears to be known in advance to the king of Israel. The answer, his courtiers tell him, is that the king of Israel has a prophet, Elisha, who ‘tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom’ (NIVUK v.12). The stage is already set for something humorous to unfold, and we’re not disappointed. What comes next is an extended burlesque.
The king sends an army with horses and chariots to try to capture Elisha. Overkill, much? They surround the city of Dothan where he is staying, and in the morning his servant is dismayed to see the army in position. ‘Open his eyes, LORD’, prays Elisha (v.17). Sure enough, his eyes are opened, and the servant sees what Elisha knew all along, that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. The king of Syria may send whom he likes; the Lord’s army will outflank them.
