Three Armies, One Man of God

Dedicated to our friends in the Ukraine - Russia war zone

There is a stunning event recorded in II Kings 6.

The king of Syria was waging war against Israel. Israel was not particularly righteous at this point in history, yet they were not the aggressors, and God’s righteousness was “relatively” on their side.

Elisha the prophet received miraculous understanding of the enemy’s positions and reported it to the king of Israel. This began to turn the tide of the war.

In response, the king of Syria launched a military operation against one man: Elisha. He and his servant were living in Dothan. They arose in the morning and found themselves, and in fact the entire city, surrounded by enemy soldiers.

The situation seemed hopeless. Elisha’s servant panicked. Then Elisha made an amazing statement.

II Kings 6:16 – Do not fear. For more are those who are with us than those who are with them.

אַל־תִּירָא כִּי רַבִּים אֲשֶׁר אִתָּנוּ מֵאֲשֶׁר אֹותָם

The statement seemed irrational. But the prophet prayed for God to open the eyes of his servant. Then he saw that the hills were filled with angelic armies and chariots of fire.

This resulted in another change, blinding the eyes of the enemy, which in turn led to their being delivered into the hands of the king of Israel. The prophet told the king to treat them with mercy and release them. The war ended in a great spiritual breakthrough.

The Application to Today’s Situations

Many of us are praying for the situation in Ukraine and Russia. The situation seems impossible, unredeemable, and even overwhelming. However, let us remember that throughout history, God has intervened in wars and turned terrible situations into victories.

This cannot be understood through normal human logic. Elisha had to pray for his servant’s eyes to be “opened.” We also need to have our spiritual eyes opened to understand God’s purposes and to lay ahold of God’s power.

In the example cited here there were three armies: the Israelite, the enemy, the heavenly. And there was one man of God: Elisha. Elisha changed history in that moment. There is potential for an historic breakthrough at this time as well.

It does not matter how bleak the situation may look. There are always more with us than against us - if we submit to God, stand in righteousness, and pray for His will to be done. God is in the miracle business. And He certainly understands warfare. He is the Lord of Armies (Adonai Tsevaot).

Elisha is not here. But those angelic armies are still available. Let’s rise up right now in the spirit of Elisha with urgent prayer for:

1. Revival in Ukraine, Russia, and the surrounding nations

2. Spiritual discernment for all believers in the area

3. Righteousness

4. Massive and immediate intervention of angelic armies

5. Peace and reconciliation