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Elisha and the army of fire - part 1

God tells Elisha the battle plans of the King of Syria.
Contributed by Richard Gunther
Story also available on our translated websites: Spanish, Portuguese, Polish
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The king of Syria was stubborn. He wanted a war with Israel and planned surprise attacks. – Slide 1
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But every time he planned an ambush this is what happened. The king of Syria would spread out a map, study it for a while, then decide the best place to send his troops. – Slide 2
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Then he would call in his military advisors to make the final plans together. – Slide 3
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Soldiers were then sent to the place where they thought the King of Israel and his army would be. But when they got there the Israelite army was not to be found. Someone must have leaked their plans to them. – Slide 4
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The King of Israel knew what the Syrians were up to because the prophet Elisha had told him. ‘Don’t go to such and such a place,’ Elisha would say, ‘as the Syrians are planning an ambush there.’ – Slide 5
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The King of Israel knew that God was letting Elisha hear the enemy plans and avoided all the ambushes being planned. The King of Syria would plan another surprise attack … – Slide 6
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But when he arrived at the spot there was no-one to fight. It was most annoying. ‘Who keeps telling the King of Israel about my plans?’ he fumed. – Slide 7
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‘Not me! Not me!’ the King’s officials protested. ‘We would never betray you.’ It’s that prophet Elisha! He seems to know everything. – Slide 8
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‘Does he know when I whisper in my bedroom?’ asked the startled King. ‘Apparently so,’ said the officials. ‘We have no idea how he does it.’ – Slide 9
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The King decided to do some spying of his own. He sent undercover agents everywhere to find out where Elisha was. They reported back to say that Elisha was living in Dothan. – Slide 10
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‘Send an army and surround that town,’ the King of Syria ordered. ‘I want a ring of fighting men and chariots all around the city to make sure there is no way for the prophet to escape.’ – Slide 11
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So that night, under cover of darkness, a small army surrounded the city of Dothan. – Slide 12
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The next morning, Elisha’s servant got up as usual to start his daily chores. He looked out of the window and was shocked to see the sun gleaming off hundreds of spears, helmets and swords. – Slide 13
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The servant rushed to find Elisha. ‘Help! We are surrounded by enemy soldiers. We are going to die!’ – Slide 14
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Don’t be afraid,’ Elisha replied. ‘There is a much bigger army out there too and it is on our side.’ ‘Where?’ asked the servant. Elisha led his servant up onto the flat roof of his house. – Slide 15
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Elisha bowed his head and prayed, ‘Lord, please open my servant’s eyes.’ – Slide 16
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As soon as Elisha prayed the servant suddenly saw another army – a huge army – burning powerfully with fire. – Slide 17
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The servant gazed in wonder at the glorious sight. He could hardly believe his eyes. – Slide 18
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And then, as Elisha and his servant watched this amazing sight, the King of Syria’s army began to march up to Elisha’s house. – Slide 19
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What happened next? Find out more in part 2 of this story (found at www.freebibleimages.org). – Slide 20
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Slide 21