We're Surrounded!

II Kings 6:11-17
By Harold Dinsmore, M.Div.
© 2007 Harold Dinsmore

             The Sunday school teacher was carefully explaining the story of Elijah the Prophet and the false prophets of Baal. She explained how Elijah built the altar, put wood upon it, cut the steer in pieces, and laid it upon the altar. And then, Elijah commanded the people of God to fill four barrels of water and pour it over the altar.  He had them do this four times. "Now," said the teacher, "can anyone in the class tell me why the Lord would have Elijah pour water over the steer on the altar?" A little girl in the back of the room started waving her hand, "I know! I know!" she said, "To make the gravy!"

            Well, tonight we are not going to be making any gravy, but we are going to look at Elijah’s understudy, Elisha.  Turn with me to II Kings 6:11-17.  (Read)

            There has been many times in my life when I have felt surrounded.  How about you?  You know the way things happen; stuff is going great.  Not many ripples in your pond and then boom!  A huge rock gets tossed in your pond and the waves surround you quickly.

            Remember wagon train on TV?  This is going to date me….you can see reruns sometimes on some of the cable channels.  Some of you do….anyway, Charlie the cook would tell the wagon master, “I guess they got us surrounded capt’n.”  Many a night as a kid I would watch them circle the wagons as the Indians surrounded them out there on the prairie.  But they always seemed to get out of that mess and make it down the trail a little bit further for their next episode.

            Often life is just like that wagon train.  We have to stop and circle the wagons as a defense.  I suspect that Elisha’s friend might have felt the same way that day when they were surrounded.