Elisha shows The King of Israel how God wants us to solve conflict!

1 Mar 2023 · 1 min

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In this sermon excerpt, the speaker recounts the biblical episode where Elisha advises the king of Israel on how to handle hostile raiders. The king initially asks whether he should kill the raiders, but Elisha reminds him of an unwritten desert law: anyone who is fed becomes a guest and therefore a protected friend. By feeding the raiders, the Israelites create a pact of hospitality that prevents future attacks. The speaker explains the cultural background of Middle‑Eastern desert hospitality, how feeding strangers creates a bond of protection, and draws a broader lesson that God’s preferred method for solving conflict is to turn enemies into guests through generosity, thereby establishing lasting peace.

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The king says again, "Can I kill them? Can I kill them now?" He said, "No, you don't kill people you've just fed. They're your guests. Send them home. They've been well fed. Send them home." And so the king says, "I don't get this, but okay." And he lets them go home. And the verse that's there next is exactly what happens at the end of this story. So the Arminian raiders did not come into Israel's land again. There's actually this unwritten law in the desert cultures of the world, and particularly in the Middle East, that if you are starving and someone feeds you, if you stumble into their camp in the desert and they feed you, you become friends. And the next time you see them, you will protect them. And so anytime someone fed someone else in that culture, it meant we are now friends, we've made a pact. And so Gehazi, I mean, Elisha knew this. He knew if we can get them to eat at our table, their king will become friends with us.