2 Kings 13:14 – 25 “When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” Elisha told him, “Take a bow and some arrows.”
So Jehoash took a bow and some arrows.
Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.”
So the king put his hand on the bow, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
“Open the east window,” said Elisha.
So he opened it and Elisha said, “Shoot!” So he shot.
And Elisha declared:
“This is the LORD’s arrow of victory,
the arrow of victory over Aram,
for you shall strike the Arameans in Aphek
until you have put an end to them.”
Then Elisha said, “Take the arrows!”
So he took them, and Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground!”
So he struck the ground three times and stopped.
But the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to it. But now you will strike down Aram only three times.”
And Elisha died and was buried.
Now the Moabite raiders used to come into the land every spring. Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders, so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. And as soon as his body touched the bones of Elisha, the man was revived and stood up on his feet.
And Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. But the LORD was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them, and He turned toward them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day, the LORD has been unwilling to destroy them or cast them from His presence. When Hazael king of Aram died, his son Ben-hadad reigned in his place. Then Jehoash son of Jehoahaz took back from Ben-hadad son of Hazael the cities that Hazael had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-hadad three times, and so recovered the cities of Israel.”
Elisha is nearing the end of his prophetic career, and Jehoash, the grandson of Jehu, is ruling Israel. Remember that by the time Jehoash’s father dies, the armies of Israel have been decimated. Things are in a mess. Jehoash is described as being an evil king who rules for sixteen years and copies the sins of Jeroboam. Elisha is old and slowly dying. Meanwhile, Jehoash has learned about Elisha’s sickness. Jehoash is not coming to comfort Elisha or bring him fruit or other food to aid his recovery; no, all Jehoash can think of is what the loss of Elisha will do to his kingdom. It’s amazing that even though Jehoash has steadfastly refused to follow the God of Israel, he still gravitates toward Elisha and his holiness and righteousness.
Jehoash has very little moral fiber himself, spiritually weakened as he is by idol worship. In the final prophetic act of his life, Elisha orders Jehoash to shoot an arrow to the east in the direction of Syria. Elisha puts his hands on those of Jehoash as he is shooting to impart God’s power to Jehoash, indicating that Jehoash will defeat Syria. Then Elisha orders Jehoash to take some arrows and to strike the ground. It is a mark of Jehoash’s lassitude that he only strikes the ground three times. Jehoash! Really? You know Elisha is dying and he has ordered you to do something, but yet you wimp out! Elisha is disgusted with Jehoash; were Jehoash to strike the ground five or six times, he would be able to wipe out the Syrians. But only striking the ground three times means Jehoash will only defeat the Syrians three times. Jehoash does go on to defeat Syria three times, just as Elisha has prophesied; however, he does not make a complete end of them.
Unlike Elijah, who is taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot, Elisha dies and is buried, presumably in a cave. But something amazing happens. Not long after Elisha has been buried, a group of men are burying one of their friends when they see a band of Moabite raiders on the horizon. In a panic to escape the Moabites, these men toss their friend’s corpse into Elisha’s tomb; however, to their astonishment, their friend revives and comes back to life as soon as his body touches Elisha’s bones. Once a prophet, always a prophet! God’s anointing has persisted even after Elisha’s death, proving that Elisha’s power was from God and not from himself.
APPLICATION: When Jehoash has made the effort to visit the dying Elisha, why doesn’t he strike the ground more than three times? Jehoash may strut around portraying himself as a macho military leader; however, this failure is a clear indication of his lack of spiritual resolve. It seems that Jehoash expects that Elisha is going to do all the grunt work needed for a miracle and he will just sit back and watch. Elisha makes the same mistake that Naaman the Syrian leper nearly made. In Naaman’s case, it was his servants who persuaded him to keep dipping in the Jordan; Naaman himself was ready to quit after only a few times.
If Jehoash is so evil, why does God work through him? “But the LORD was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them, and He turned toward them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day, the LORD has been unwilling to destroy them or cast them from His presence.” There are no perfect people, only a perfect, holy, and righteous God. Even when people fail to keep their side of a covenant with God, God continues to keep His side. Even when both Judah and Israel eventually become so sinful that God allows the Babylonians and Assyrians to carry them off, God continues to bless those in exile. The prophet Daniel was in exile in Babylon when God did miracles of deliverance.
What can we learn from Jehoash and his failure? If God asks you to do something, do it whole – heartedly and don’t stop until He tells you to do so! Recently, two different sets of missionary friends have found themselves under attack. Those opposing the Gospel are doing everything they can to discredit these people and destroy the good work that they have been doing. I wrote one friend, quoting the story from Nehemiah, when Tobias and Sanballat were trying to lure him away from Jerusalem and into an ambush. “So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it to go down to you?” (Nehemiah 6:3) When those who opposed Nehemiah were advising him to hide in the temple, Nehemiah answered them, “Should a man like me run away? Should one like me go into the temple to save his own life? I will not go!” (Nehemiah 6:11) Proverbs 28:1 tells us, “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.”
Darkness will always oppose light; evil will always oppose righteousness. But John 1:5 asserts, “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Are you going through persecution for the sake of righteousness? Hold on! Keep working steadily! God is still on the throne and He never slumbers or sleeps. Even when things look dark, don’t quit. Keep beating those arrows into the ground, and you may wipe out your opposition completely.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to hold on, even when things look bleak. Thank You for being a God of infinite resourcefulness. Thank You that You never deliver the same way twice, but that You are always doing new things. Please help us to trust You when we cannot see. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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