Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Kings
Chapter 6: They That Be With Us Are More
Elisha makes a borrowed axe head float, and then, when a Syrian army surrounds him at Dothan, opens his servant's eyes to see the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire. He leads the blinded enemy into Samaria and feeds them home in peace. But the chapter darkens: a siege brings such famine that mothers eat their children, and the king of Israel turns his rage on the prophet of God.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Kings chapter 6. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
The Floating Axe Head (2 Kings 6:1-7)
A borrowed axe head lost in the Jordan is made to float at the prophet's word.
Alas, Master! For It Was Borrowed
"And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us. Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye. And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go. So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood. But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim. Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it."
Word Study
"the iron did swim," Hebrew tzuf (צוּף), to float, to flow up. This small, tender miracle shows the God who cares about the ordinary troubles of ordinary people. The growing community of prophets needs a bigger dwelling, and as they cut timber by the Jordan, a borrowed axe head flies off and sinks. The man's distress, "Alas, master! for it was borrowed", is the honest anxiety of a poor man who has lost something not his own and cannot repay it. No great national crisis here, just a lost tool and an honest conscience. Yet Elisha does not think it beneath him; he asks, "Where fell it?", cuts a stick, casts it in, "and the iron did swim." Iron does not float; God overruled nature for the sake of one poor prophet's borrowed axe. The lesson is precious: nothing that troubles a child of God is too small to bring to Him. "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you" (1 Peter 5:7). The same God who parts seas will recover a lost axe head. And there is honesty here too, a concern to make good what was borrowed, which honors the command, "the wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy" (Psalm 37:21). Bring your small cares to God; He who numbers the hairs of your head cares about your borrowed axe.
Explanation
The company of prophets under Elisha had outgrown their quarters and proposed building a larger place by the Jordan, asking Elisha to come with them. As they felled trees, one man's borrowed iron axe head flew off the handle and sank into the river. He cried out in dismay, for the tool was not his own. Elisha asked where it had fallen, cut a stick, threw it into the water at that spot, and the iron floated to the surface, where the man reached out and retrieved it. It was a modest miracle compared with raising the dead or feeding the hundred, but it revealed the same God, one who cares about the everyday troubles of His servants.
Gospel Focus
The floating axe head teaches that no care is too small for God. A borrowed tool, an anxious conscience, a poor man's distress, God stooped to it. We sometimes think our little troubles unworthy of God's attention and reserve prayer for great crises, but "your Father knoweth what things ye have need of" (Matthew 6:8), and He invites us to cast "all your care upon him." If God recovered a lost axe head, He cares about your lost keys, your small debts, your daily worries. And the honesty of the man, distressed because the axe "was borrowed," models the integrity God loves: the believer is scrupulous even about small obligations. Bring your little cares to the great God; the One who made iron swim for a poor prophet will not turn away from the smallest need you bring in faith. Nothing that concerns His child is beneath the concern of the Father.
The Blinded Army (2 Kings 6:8-23)
Surrounded by Syrians, Elisha shows his servant the mountain full of fire and leads the enemy into Samaria.
Open His Eyes, That He May See
"Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria. And it came to pass, when they were come into 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, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them? And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master. And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel."
Word Study
"they that be with us are more than they that be with them," and "horses and chariots of fire." Elisha's prophetic insight repeatedly foils the Syrian king's ambushes, revealing even "the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber", nothing is hidden from the God who reveals His secrets to His prophets. Enraged, the king sends a "great host" to seize one unarmed prophet at Dothan. When Elisha's servant sees the surrounding army, he panics: "Alas, my master! how shall we do?" Elisha's answer is one of the great faith-verses of Scripture: "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." Then he prays, "LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes," and the young man sees "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." The invisible armies of God, the same fiery host that took Elijah up, surrounded the prophet all along. The servant's problem was not the size of the enemy but the blindness of his eyes; faith sees the unseen. "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him" (Psalm 34:7); "greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). Then Elisha prays the enemy blind, leads them helpless into Samaria, and, instead of slaughter, commands mercy: feed them and send them home. This overcoming of enemies with kindness anticipates the gospel command, "if thine enemy hunger, feed him... overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:20-21), and it succeeded where the sword would have failed: "the bands of Syria came no more."
Explanation
As Syria raided Israel, Elisha kept warning Israel's king of the enemy's planned positions, so the Syrian king, realizing the prophet knew even his private counsels, sent a large force by night to capture Elisha at Dothan. At dawn Elisha's frightened servant saw the city surrounded. Elisha reassured him, "they that be with us are more than they that be with them," and prayed that his eyes be opened; the servant then saw the hills full of fiery horses and chariots guarding the prophet. Elisha prayed that the Syrian army be struck with blindness, then led the disoriented soldiers right into Samaria, where their sight returned and they found themselves trapped. The king of Israel wanted to kill them, but Elisha forbade it, ordering instead a feast for them before sending them home. This unexpected mercy so impressed the Syrians that their raiding bands stopped invading Israel.
Gospel Focus
"Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." This is the great secret of a fearless life: the armies of God, unseen but real, outnumber every foe. The servant's terror came from partial sight; he saw the Syrians but not the chariots of fire. So we, seeing only the visible odds, are often afraid, when all the while "the angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him." The believer's need is not more troops but opened eyes: "open his eyes, that he may see." Pray for the faith to see the unseen, for "we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen" (2 Corinthians 4:18). And the chapter ends with a lesson that shines toward the gospel: Elisha overcame his enemies not by the sword but by kindness, feeding them and sending them home, and won a peace the sword never could. "Love your enemies... do good to them that hate you" (Matthew 5:44); "overcome evil with good." The kindness of God leads sinners, His enemies, to repentance. Fear not; open your eyes to the God who surrounds you; and conquer your enemies as He does, by grace.
The Siege of Samaria (2 Kings 6:24-33)
Famine drives the besieged city to horrors, and the king blames the prophet of God.
Why Should I Wait for the LORD Any Longer?
"And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver. And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow. So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son. And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day. But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him? And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?"
Word Study
"what should I wait for the LORD any longer?" the despair of unbelief. The scene turns dark. Benhadad besieges Samaria until famine reaches unspeakable horror: an ass's head (unclean and worthless) sells for a fortune, and "dove's dung" for fuel or food commands high prices, and two women make a pact to boil and eat their own children, the very curse Moses had warned would come upon covenant-breaking Israel (Deuteronomy 28:53-57; Leviticus 26:29). This is the bitter fruit of a nation's long rebellion against God. The king's response reveals his heart. He wears "sackcloth within upon his flesh", an outward show of religion, but no true repentance, for his rage falls not on his own or the nation's sin but on God's prophet: "God do so... to me, if the head of Elisha... shall stand on him this day." Like Ahab who called Elijah the "troubler of Israel," this king blames the man of God for the disaster his own house's sin has caused. And the final words expose the root: "what should I wait for the LORD any longer?" This is despair, the giving up of faith at the very edge of deliverance. He had waited, but not with patient faith, and now, on the brink of the miracle God was about to send (chapter 7), he abandons hope. It is the tragedy of unbelief: to quit waiting on God just before the dawn. "They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength" (Isaiah 40:31); but this king would wait no longer, and nearly missed the mercy at the door.
Explanation
Later, Benhadad besieged Samaria so long that a terrible famine set in: even a donkey's head and pigeon droppings sold at ruinous prices. As the king walked the wall, a woman cried for help and told a horror: she and another woman had agreed to eat their sons, and having boiled and eaten hers, the other now hid her own child. The king, appalled, tore his robes, revealing sackcloth beneath, but rather than repent, he swore to behead Elisha, blaming the prophet for the catastrophe. Elisha, sitting with the elders, discerned the assassin's approach and had the door held. When the king's messenger arrived, the words spoken (likely the king's own, quoted through him) revealed the depth of unbelief: "this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?" Despair had replaced faith, at the very hour when God was about to act.
Gospel Focus
The siege of Samaria shows the bitter end of a nation that forsakes God: famine so dreadful that mothers devour their children, exactly the curse Moses foretold for covenant-breaking. Sin, followed to its end, is a devouring famine. But the sharpest lesson is the king's despair: "what should I wait for the LORD any longer?" He gave up on God at the darkest moment, blaming the prophet for the ruin his own sin had brought, wearing the sackcloth of religion without the heart of repentance. And, as the next chapter reveals, deliverance was already at the door; he abandoned hope on the very eve of the miracle. How many quit waiting on God just before the answer comes! "Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD" (Psalm 27:14). Unbelief always says, "why wait any longer?", but faith holds on till the morning. Do not blame God's servants or God Himself for the fruit of sin; repent, and keep waiting. The God who seems silent in the famine has help prepared. Do not give up at midnight; the deliverance of the LORD may be nearer than you think.
Chapter in Review
Second Kings 6 sets the tender and the terrible side by side. It opens with the small, gracious miracle of a floating axe head, proof that no care is too small for God, and rises to the glorious scene at Dothan, where Elisha's servant, his eyes opened, sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire, and hears the great word, "they that be with us are more than they that be with them." Elisha overcomes the Syrian army not with the sword but with mercy, feeding his blinded captors and sending them home, and the raids cease. But the chapter closes in darkness: a siege brings famine so dreadful that mothers eat their children, and the king of Israel, wearing sackcloth without repentance, blames the prophet and despairs, "what should I wait for the LORD any longer?", at the very hour deliverance stands at the door. The chapter calls us to trust God in small things and great, to see the unseen armies of God, to overcome evil with good, and never to abandon faith on the eve of the morning.
Key Takeaways
- No care is too small for God. He made iron swim for a poor man's borrowed axe; cast all your care on Him.
- Faith sees the unseen. "They that be with us are more than they that be with them"; pray for opened eyes.
- Overcome enemies with kindness. Elisha fed his captors and won a peace the sword could not; overcome evil with good.
- Sin followed to its end is a devouring famine. The horrors of Samaria were the harvest of a nation's rebellion.
- Do not quit waiting on God. The king despaired at midnight, just before the dawn; wait on the LORD.
Questions for Reflection
- Do you bring your small troubles to God, or think them beneath His concern?
- When the odds look overwhelming, do you pray for opened eyes to see the God who surrounds you?
- Are you overcoming your enemies with kindness, or repaying evil for evil?
- Do you blame God or His servants for troubles your own choices helped bring?
- Are you tempted, like the king, to stop waiting on God just before His deliverance comes?
References
- Scripture: 2 Kings 6:1-33, King James Version.
- Cross-references: Leviticus 26:29; Deuteronomy 28:53-57; Psalm 27:14; 34:7; 37:21; Isaiah 40:31; Matthew 5:44; 6:8; 2 Corinthians 4:18; Romans 12:20-21; 1 Peter 5:7; 1 John 4:4.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for tzuf; historical background of Dothan, Samaria, and the sieges of Benhadad.