#135: Is All Lost?

Published by Ben Stahl on January 1, 2021January 1, 2021

And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

II Kings 6:15 NKJV

Throughout history, there are moments when all seems lost. When the allied armies were stuck in the wilderness of Edom without water the king of Israel assumed all was lost, so he gave up hope while expecting to be destroyed by Moab. When Elijah fled from Ahab and Jezebel to Mt. Horeb he prayed as if all was lost, crying out to God, “I alone am left…” When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were on the plain of Dura and “all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshipped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up,” it would have seemed that all was lost. When the King of the Jews, the Lord of Lords, Christ Jesus, was nailed to a tree, his disciples abandoned or denied him, and those who were just five days earlier saying “Hosanna” were then crying out “Crucify Him!” It would seem that at that hour, all was lost.

In today’s text the servant of Elisha woke up early in the morning and went out of the house where he saw the Syrian army surrounding the city with horses and chariots. We can only imagine this terrifying scene. The fear would have been extreme for the inhabitants of Dothan who went to bed at peace without any fear of harm and woke to be completely surrounded with no hope of escape. It would seem all was lost.

In Dothan’s position, fleeing would not help, they were surrounded. Hiding would not help, Dothan was small and the Syrian army was great. Sending the fastest runner to break through the Syrian lines to the King of Israel would not help, the Syrian army was poised to strike and the Israelite army was at least twelve miles away. In the desperate situation all around him, the servant of God cried out, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”

These words present the sense of great fear and dread. “Alas” has the meaning of grief or hopelessness. Is all lost? The servant wanted to hear the answer from the Lord’s prophet Elisha.

When the enemies of the Lord seem to have victory over the church it can often seem as if all is lost. How often have we seen sister churches and denominations embrace erroneous teaching, false doctrine, and a powerless gospel? If we look around at the evangelical church’s embrace of the LGBTQ agenda we may be tempted to say, “all is lost.” We are coming up on the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade when the United States officially embraced the legal murder of children in their mother’s womb. Is all lost?

Lest we only focus on others, what about when we look at ourselves? How has our love for Christ grown lukewarm? We honor Him with our mouths but our hearts and actions bring dishonor. The worship of God is taking a non-essential place in our lives. Where the gospel is faithfully preached the attendance is low. The law of God seems to be more often forgotten or ignored than kept. As the glory of Christ and His Word stirs up little in the heart, mind, and soul of men and women boys and girls, we are turning to graven images and sensuality. The allures of the world seem more powerful to us than ever before. Is all lost?

Back in Dothan all was not lost because the servant had Elisha. We have much more than Elisha today. We have the Lord Jesus Christ with us. He was crucified 2,000 years ago, abandoned by almost all, and hanged on a tree where He died. Rather than losing everything, all was gained. For by the blood of Christ, we have been justified and shall be saved from wrath through Him (Romans 5:9). He who was crucified, died, and was buried, reconciled us to God through His own death. He did not remain under the power of death for it was impossible that the grave could hold Him, but God raised Him up on the third day so that Christ might be the first fruits of those that sleep.

As the world looked upon dying Jesus during that dark day on Calvary they assumed all was lost for the Christian. For three days Pilate, the priests, and many scorners would have expected the cross of Christ to be the symbol of greatest defeat for future disciples. The truth was quite different. Rather than fear the cross, we boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 6:14). Rather than being conquered by the surrounding world, Christ and His church are conquering the world, will conquer the world, and ultimate victory through Christ is certain.

Since Christ is with us, what shall we do? Completely surrounded by the enemy, Elisha answered his servant’s question and our question in this way, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

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