This story is almost unique in the Bible, and yet it illustrates one of the important truths of Biblical revelation: by repaying evil with good it is possible to change the behavior of the one who did the evil.
We live in a world – certainly our part of the world – where many people would agree that the worst sin is to be taken advantage of by someone else, to be someone's sucker or stupid victim. We not only want to have the last word, but we feel obligated to get in the last shot. Otherwise we will be thought weak, we will lose honor in the eyes of those around us.
And so we must pay back what was done to us. Then, of course, the cycle is simply perpetuated. Our "enemy" has to retaliate, perhaps just a word, perhaps an action, but something that will reassert their position as top dog.
Elisha's action towards the king of Syria and his army is a dramatic demonstration of Jesus' exhortation to love your enemy and do good to those who persecute you. It also shows that being in a position of strength does not obligate us to hurt the one over whom we have control.
The thing that made Elisha successful was precisely that he did not strike his enemy when he had the upper hand. It is the person who is stronger who can afford to show mercy. Retaliation is actually evidence of a kind of weakness.
May God help us not to retaliate but to show grace and mercy to those who have hurt us.
- 13 MARCH -