It probably began earlier, but when Moses reached his fortieth birthday, his heart drove him out of Egypt. He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh and identified with his mother’s people, Israel. In a sense the persecution of them fell on him, but he was able to escape Egypt, heading into the desert. When he returned forty years later, he didn’t fear the wrath of the king, because he had his eye fixed on the King of kings. “He endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”
I have just a few thoughts for you this evening – on some people who were able to see through the impossible onto things which were possible in the Lord. They were surrounded by fog, or darkness, or the smoke of the world. To some degree they had been blinded by the darkness in their own hearts. But through God’s grace, they were given the lens of the Lord, by which they could see both God and the things which He could provide.
This sort of thing was not a need of Moses alone. It is a need of this hour and this people. It is a need I have.
Please turn to II Kings 6:8-17.
Elisha and his servant were staying in Dothan – a city of the ten tribes, half way between Jezreel and Samaria. The prophet had been helping the king of Israel – a man who was probably not worthy of help. He was not hiding in any way and even some of the enemy Syrians knew where he was. When the king of Syria decided to stop Elisha’s interference, he sent a division of soldiers to take him. But as it turned out, they were the taken ones – more easily captured than a lost puppy.
What can we learn about spiritual vision from this event? First – faith, spiritual vision, confidence and peace are not spread from person to person like a wonderful infectious disease. Elisha knew that he was in no danger, but his servant did not. This servant of the servant of God, was a weak-in-the-faith; he was an inexperienced believer. Just because we attend church and hang around other believers, does not guarantee our own faith. And even strong saints may not be able to see what other strong saints might be privileged to see.
Second – real and tangible circumstances may cause our spiritual eyes to retract. We are all myopic – short-sighted – by nature. But there is a sense in which we can train our eye to see the distant hills. And we may enjoy what we are seeing until we hear the sound of a rattlesnake right in front of us.
Third – those who lack a vision of spiritual things, will often live in fear. It may not be perpetual fear, but that fear may be lurking behind any door or hiding under any rock. Judy and I were out the other day when we saw a sign which said, “This is rattlesnake country.” My blood pressure didn’t rise, nor did my heart skip a beat – because the sign was not an actual snake.
Fourth – special vision was given to Elisha’s servant through prayer. Again, it was not an automatic thing. The vision of the protection around them was a gift of grace. “Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.” I think it is safe to assume that none of us are going to see the Lord’s blessings until we properly desire to see those blessings. And a proper desire will result in knocking on the door to Heaven and approaching the throne of grace.
But at the same time, Elisha didn’t need to pray for himself in order to enjoy that special sight. Maybe there was a day when he did, but if that was so, he has gotten beyond it. You and I need to pray for the Lord to open our eyes. In other words, we need for faith to trust God. But hopefully there will be a day, when we have asked so many times, and we have been blessed so often that our spiritual eyes will have become perfectly trained to look through the mist.
Fifth – spiritual vision may reveal protection which we were not expecting. “Behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.”
Sixth – just because we can’t see God’s blessing it doesn’t mean that it isn’t there. Special sight may be wonderful, but it may not be the Lord’s will to use our eyes. More often than not, He simply wants us to trust Him, without any kind of material evidence. “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.”
Illustration number two is found in Numbers 13:26-33.
Israel had been stumbling around in the Negev – the southern desert – for a few months. It was time to move north into Canaan – the land God had promised to Abraham. It is instructive that Moses recorded tne names of the twelve men who were to reconnoiter the land. For centuries the descendants of these men have known who failed Israel on this occasion. Ten of the twelve suffered from myopic short-sightedness, but then there were Caleb and Joshua.
What lessons might we glean from these two? First – God is interested in our spiritual vision, so much so that He will test our spiritual vision. It was Jehovah who told Moses to send the twelve men into Canaan. But the Lord didn’t need whatever information they gathered, and neither did Moses nor Israel. This was a test of the faith of the entire nation. It was a test they failed. “All the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?”
Second – generally speaking we can almost always see both good things and troublesome things. It doesn’t appear to be Caleb who reported that the land flowed with milk and honey. They all agreed. But when faith is lacking, people often emphasize the troublesome over the tremendous. Our lives may be filled with the Lord’s blessings, but all we can see are few the trials. “There are giants in the land; there are giants in the land.” True, but that land is also flowing with milk and honey. We have a choice on which to focus our attention.
Lesson three – people of vision share what they see no matter how much opposition there might be. Joshua and Caleb were not just two out of twelve – 17% of the spies. They were two out of two million plus – a slightly smaller percentage. I hope they had good, supportive wives. I hope their wives weren’t like David’s Michael, or Mrs. Lot, or Mrs. Job. Whether or not they had any support, they boldly told Moses and the nation what their spiritual eyes saw. Because they were men of faith, they not only looked through the giants, they also could look through their friends.
Four – people of 20/20 spiritual vision encourage the blind around them to open their eyes. Caleb and Joshua shared what their faith knew to be true – “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” Their faith insisted that it wasn’t simply that Israel was able to overcome the enemy. They believed that with the power of the Lord, Israel was WELL able to overcome. Sure, the sons of Anak are among the enemy, but the bigger they are the harder they’ll fall.
And lesson five – These two men of vision didn’t merely see Israel’s victory over the border guards. They could see their families settled in the land, living in peace, and enjoying God’s prosperity. Were they ignoring what might have been some contentious military battles? No, they said, “we are well able to overcome.” Perhaps they could even see God’s miraculous intervention with skull-crushing hail stones or strong east winds blowing a path through that sea of wicked humanity. “Lord, we pray thee, open their eyes, that Isreal may see.”
Illustration three is found in Joshua 3:9-17.
This scripture picks up the thread that was dropped in Numbers 13 forty years before. The swollen Jordan River was pouring down from the Sea of Galilee toward the Salt Sea. With some exceptions, like Rahab, Jericho was confident Israel could not cross the river and reach them. And with some exceptions, like Joshua and Caleb, most of Israel was thinking it was impossible to get to the promised land until the Spring runoff had slowed down. But Joshua could see Jericho and the heights beyond – through the fog which was coming up off the river. He could see a dry path through the river bed, just as his memory reminded him of the path through the Red Sea. Remember only he and his friend from the Tribe of Judah had been there when Israel first left Egypt.
Lesson one – spiritual vision is often intimately related to hearing the voice of the Lord. Joshua said to Israel… “Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” Sometimes when we can’t see as well as we should, we just need some Biblical eye drops to give us clarity
Could the people of Israel picture themselves on the western shore? Lesson two – they could, if they’d cover their eyes with the lens of the Ark of the Covenant. The God-given plan was to have four brave priests carry the Ark into the water of the river. Whether or not if they were close enough to see with their eyes, if Israel could see with faith, through the lens of the Ark, they’d see a dry river bed. Remember what the Ark was supposed to represent to the people of faith. The Ark was a picture of the presence of the Lord, with angels worshipping above him, and the mercy seat covered with the blood of the yearly sacrifice. Inside the Ark was Aaron’s rod – that dead almond branch which instantly returned to a productive life. And next to it were the tables of the law, consumed by and contained in the Lord Himself. People with correct spiritual vision could see the river crossing and success because they could see the Lord leading the way.
I can picture the 315,435th family following their neighbor into the river bed. Father is being brave, because he has seen others ahead of him, and he thinks that logically he should be able to take his family across since others have preceded them. I can see mother, slightly worried – not for herself, but for her three children. And I can see their five-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son, walking below that wall of water on their right without a care in the world, because of their child-like faith.
That is lesson three – where there is spiritual vision, not only is there faith, but there is obedience. Even if the faith was not what it ought to have been, when men of vision share what they see, the rest of us should be willing to follow their example or their commands. “When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and priests, the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.” To their credit, not one Israelite was left behind, except for those they buried in the sand over the years.
And that may be our final lesson – When a few people of faith can see through the mist, tribes and even nations might be blessed. When a handful of souls catch fire for the Lord, seeing the potential, whole churches can be ignited. “Lord, Open my eyes that I might see; glimpses of truth thou hast for me.”