2 Kings chapter 13. So last week
we considered Joash in chapter 12, the king of Judah, and that
Joash king of Judah sought to repair the temple. As soon as
he got it repaired, he used the temple furnishings or the temple
utensils to bribe the king of Syria. We're shifting back to
the northern kingdom in Israel and I said to someone today, Mike,
Kirkpatrick, I said it'd be nice if they used different names
in the kingdoms, but they use the same names. If you look specifically
at verse 10, you see Joash, king of Judah, that's one we've already
considered, and then Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz. The scriptures
concerning the King of the South and this King of the North use
both Joash and Jehoash interchangeably for the same guides. We'll leave
Joash as the King of Judah and we'll speak of Jehoash as the
King of the North, or Israel. Now that everybody is sufficiently
confused, I'll begin reading in verse 1. In the 23rd year
of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz, the
son of Jehu, became king over Israel in Samaria and reigned
17 years. And he did evil in the sight
of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam, the son of
Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He did not depart from them.
Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and he
delivered them into the hand of Hazael, king of Syria, and
into the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, all their days. So Jehoahaz pleaded with the
Lord, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw the oppression
of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. Then the
Lord gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under
the hand of the Syrians. And the children of Israel dwelt
in their tents as before. Nevertheless, they did not depart
from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who had made Israel
sin, but walked in them. And the wooden image also remained
in Samaria. For he left of the army of Jehoahaz
only 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers. For
the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust
at threshing. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz,
all that he did and his might, are they not written in the book
of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Jehoahaz rested
with his fathers and they buried him in Samaria. Then Joash, his
son, reigned in his place, or Jehoash. In the 37th year of
Joash, king of Judah, Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, became king
over Israel in Samaria and reigned 16 years. And he did evil in
the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the
sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, but
walked in them. Now the rest of the acts of Joash,
all that he did, and his might, with which he fought against
Amaziah, king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the
Chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Joash rested with his fathers,
and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria
with the kings of Israel. Elisha had become sick with the
illness of which he would die. And Joash the king of Israel
came down to him and wept over his face and said, O my father,
my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen. And Elisha
said to him, Take a bow and some arrows. So he took himself a
bow and some arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel,
Put your hand on the bow. So he put his hand on it. And
Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. And he said, Open the
east window. And he opened it. Then Elisha
said, Shoot! And he shot. And he said, the
arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance
from Syria, for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you
have destroyed them. Then he said, take the arrows.
So he took them and he said to the king of Israel, strike the
ground. So he struck three times and
stopped. And the man of God was angry with him and said, you
should have struck five or six times. Then you would have struck
Syria till you had destroyed it. But now you will strike Syria
only three times. Then Elisha died and they buried
him, and the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the
spring of the year. So it was as they were burying
a man that suddenly they spied a band of raiders, and they put
the man in the tomb of Elisha. And when the man was let down
and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
And Hazael, king of Syria, oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
But the Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them,
and regarded them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them or cast them from
His presence. Now Hazael, king of Syria, died. Then Ben-Hadad, his son, reigned
in his place. And Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz,
recaptured from the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, the cities
which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz, his father,
by war. Three times Jehoash defeated
him and recaptured the cities of Israel. Amen. Well, as we
look at this particular chapter, it's noteworthy in the fact that
Elisha the prophet is dead. Remember that he was the successor
of Elijah. He asked for a double portion
of Elijah's spirit. He obviously received that as
he went about doing many, many miracles, even his dead body
here. when another body comes into
contact with it, revives and stands on his feet. So we see
some interesting things in this particular chapter. It does,
however, record for us the reign of two kings here in Israel in
the Northern tribe. So we'll look first at the reign
of Jehoahaz in verses 1 to 9, and then secondly, the prophecy
of Syria's defeat in verses 10 to 25. But if you look at verses
1 and 2, you'll see that common formula. Again, as you read through
1 and 2 Kings as this sort of running chronicle concerning
the various men that had leadership over Israel, we see the same
formulas used over and over again. But in each of them, we see something
concerning God. And in this one particularly,
we'll see that in just a moment. But in terms of the time frame,
it says, 23rd year of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah. So that's the one we studied
last week. And this was the particular time
in the 23rd year of Joash, the son of Ahaziah, the king of Judah,
that he wanted to rebuild or remake or rather restore the
Temple. So at that particular time, Jehoahaz,
the son of Jehu, became king over Israel in Samaria. Remember
that Jehu was raised up by God to decimate and destroy the house
of Ahab. And he does that successfully,
he does that effectively. And so the time frame of Jehoahaz,
son of Jehu, is indicated here. The dates specifically are 814
to 798 BC, and we see the religious description in verse 2 very consistent
with all the other kings in the north. He did evil in the sight
of the Lord and followed the sins of Jeroboam, the son of
Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He did not depart from them.
Remember that Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, introduced calf worship
into Israel. Now, Ahab comes along in 1 Kings
16, and he not only endorses calf worship, but he also introduces
bale worship. Well, because of Jehu, there
is no longer Baal worship, at least at an institutionalized
level, here in Israel. But nevertheless, Jehu himself
didn't abandon the calves, neither does his son Jehoahaz. So the
religious description here puts him with the rest of the kings
in the north. But the theological significance
of this is to indicate for us that God does answer his promises. or answer his promises. If you go back to the Jehu narrative,
specifically in chapter 10 at verse 29, we read, however, Jehu
did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat,
who had made Israel sin. That is, from the golden calves
that were at Bethel and Dan. And the Lord said to Jehu, Because
you have done well in doing what is right in my sight, and have
done to the house of Ahab all that was in my heart, your sons
shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation. So
we see that fulfilled or actually beginning to be fulfilled in
the reign of Jehoahaz. So God makes this promise to
Jehu. Jehu wasn't rightly connected
to God. If you look at Verse 31, it says,
So he didn't forsake the calves, but nevertheless he did do what
God commanded in terms of exterminating the house of Ahab. So, as a result of his success
in that particular mission, God makes this very gracious promise
to Jehu on this temporal level that there would indeed be four
kings or four generations of his sons to rule over the northern
kingdom. So, we see that coming to pass.
Notice then the judgment of God in verses 3 to 9. We see the
anger of the Lord. It was aroused against Israel.
Now this speaks to or underscores God's justice, God's holiness,
God's righteousness. The idea of anger and the fact
that it was aroused is spoken in the manner of men. God isn't
like us. He doesn't respond. He doesn't
change. He doesn't go through emotional
flux. The doctrine of impassibility
assures us of that. But the Bible speaks to us in
our language, and this underscores for us the very fact that God
is a holy God, a righteous God, a just God. And it says, the
anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He delivered
them into the hand of Hazael, king of Syria, and into the hand
of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael, all their days." Now this is
indeed a just response to a people that were given marching orders
all the way back in Deuteronomy on how they were to conduct themselves
in the land of promise. God tells them to go into the
land, obey my word, and blessings will come to you. But if you
go into the land and you disobey my word, then cursings will come
to you. Well, we see that constant refrain
concerning the kings of Israel that are committed to the calves,
that are committed to the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. And so this is absolutely legitimate. This is the type of response
we should expect in a world governed by a moral God. God does notice
the sins of men. God does see apostasy. God does
see rebellion. And as a result, notice in verse
3, He delivered them into the hand of Hazael, king of Syria.
So while it may have appeared to the nations surrounding Syria
and Israel that Syria was the better militarily equipped and
had more ability on the battlefield. We know that this was a judgment
from God upon the Israelites because of their frequent apostasy
and idolatry against the living and the true God. So this is
the just response to Israel who persists in committing sins or
committing idolatry with the calves. We've had many times
or in many instances, we've had cause to reflect upon this theme
of idolatry. It's never good, it's always
bad. If you have an idol in your life,
it's best to cut it off. If you have a calf that you like
to bow down to, it's best to destroy it. If there is anything
in your life that competes with your allegiance to God, you need
to get rid of it. The Lord Jesus spoke of Mammon
and God. He says, you'll either love the
one and hate the other, or love the other and hate the one. You
cannot serve God and Mammon. John the Apostle finishes his
first epistle by saying, little children, keep yourselves from
idols. So as we read these Old Testament passages, when we see,
for instance, the wooden image in verse 6, this is the Asherah
pole. This isn't the only type of idolatry. It's not just Baal or Moloch
or Dagon or Asherah that is an idol in the hearts of men. It
can be money. It can be lawful things, things
that in and of themselves are good. In fact, those are perhaps
the most dangerous idols of all. Anything that commands our attention
or gains our allegiance over and above the God of heaven and
earth is in fact an idol, and it needs to be smashed, it needs
to be destroyed, because the anger of the Lord was aroused
against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of Hazael,
king of Syria, because they continued in rebellion against Him by worshiping
these golden calves instead of the living and true God. Now
note the intercession of Jehoahaz. Verse 4 contains a surprise and
a not-so-surprising thing. The surprising thing is the first
part of verse 4. So Jehoahaz pleaded with the
Lord. It's intriguing, isn't it? When
the difficulties come and they are facing Syrian armies, he
doesn't bow to the calves and ask for aid. He doesn't bow to
the calves and ask for assistance. He doesn't bow to the calves
and ask that the Syrian army be overturned. Rather, he comes
to Yahweh, he pleads with God. That is, in fact, a surprising
turn of events in this particular section. But what's not so surprising,
it is on the one hand, but it's not on the other, is the fact
that God listened to him. Notice verse 4, and Yahweh listened
to him. Now, the psalmist says that if
I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. And
so we might move through this passage and say, wait a minute,
Jehoahaz is an idolater. Jehoahaz is committed to the
sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, vis-Ã -vis calf worship. Why in the world is God listening
to this wretched man who is pleading with him? Well, the verse goes
on to explain for us. Jehoahaz pleaded with the Lord,
and the Lord listened to him. Now here's the reason why. 4.
He saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed
them. It's almost as if God, and I'm
speaking in the manner of men here, cannot take it when his
people are oppressed. It's almost as if he cannot take
it when they are vexed. He cannot bear to look upon them
in their grief and in their suffering without intervening and that
is precisely the movement here. You can turn back to the book
of Exodus for just a moment where you see this set forth in Exodus
and then again it's recurring in the book of Judges. In fact,
there's some similarity with our passage and the book of Judges,
because not only do we find this constant, God looked upon them
because of their oppression, but then in 2 Kings 13, it also
says he sent them a deliverer, language that is very reminiscent
of the book of Judges. But in Exodus 3, notice in verse
9, Now, therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel
has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which
the Egyptians oppress them. Now, I suspect that when the
Israelites cried out to God, it wasn't in repentance. Well,
I happen to know that. It wasn't in repentance, it wasn't
in brokenness, it wasn't in humility, but rather it was because of
the oppression. In other words, it wasn't God
forgive us because we've sinned and we've ended up in this particular
hardship. Rather, it was God, we're in
a particular hardship and we don't like it because it sorely
vexes us. Nevertheless, God hears them.
Go to the book of Judges and as I said, you see this refrain
over and over again. The specific pattern in the book
of Judges is that the people sin, God raises up a foreign
oppressor, they come, the people repent. And that doesn't always
mean, in a spiritual way, getting their act together before God.
They cry out in distress, and the Lord then delivers them.
And you see that pattern again and again in the book of Judges.
Notice in 3.9. Judges 3.9, when the children of Israel cried
out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, the
children of Israel, who delivered them. Othniel, the son of Canaz,
Caleb's younger brother. Judges 3.15. But when the children
of Israel cried out to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer
for them, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed
man." And then notice in chapter 6, the Gideon narratives, or
prior to, when the Midianites oppressed Israel, notice in Judges
6, 6 and 7. So Israel was greatly impoverished
because of the Midianites, and the children of Israel cried
out to the Lord. And it came to pass when the
children of Israel cried out to the Lord because of the Midianites,
that the Lord sent a prophet to the children of Israel." And
then again in 10.10. Just to see this recurring theme. Chapter 10, verse 10 in the book
of Judges. And the children of Israel cried
out to the Lord, saying, We have sinned against you, because we
have both forsaken our God and served the Baals. And so then
the Lord comes with grace, power, and mercy, as we see here in
2 Kings 13. So the Lord delivers them up
as a result of their idolatry. He sees them then suffering under
the heavy hand of oppression. of Syria, and the Lord can't
bear with it." And again, I'm speaking in the manner of men,
and the Lord listened to Jehoahaz, for he saw the oppression of
Israel. Davis says, the writer of Kings
is saying that Yahweh is still the same Exodus God. who sees
not only Egyptians but Syrians squeezing the life out of his
people, his apostatizing people. Our writer implies that sometimes
Yahweh's pity over the distress of his people trumps the wickedness
of the ones seeking him for relief. I think that's very valuable
and very important to recognize. So Jehoaz is a wretched man. The psalmist says, if I regard
iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear. Well, the Lord
hears here, not as a result necessarily of Jehoaz, but because of his
pity for his people Israel. As Davis says, a writer implies
that sometimes God's pity over the distress of his people trumps
the wickedness of the ones seeking him for relief. Now, by way of
a practical observation-slash-application, if God is this merciful to His
oppressed people, even in the midst of apostasy, shall not
God avenge His own elect who cry to Him day and night? Shall
our God not come to our aid? Do we disbelieve His involvement,
His pity, His mercy, His compassion, His graciousness, His kindness,
His deliverance to us? I think that if we get a good
dose of this Old Testament narrative, we shall have boldness at the
throne of grace to fetch out the help that we need in our
time of need. The Lord God Most High is moved
with anger in terms of His righteousness, His holiness, and His justice,
but when His children are under, or the covenant people are under
the heavy hand of Syrian oppression, the Lord listens because He saw
the oppression of Israel because the king of Syria oppressed them. That's the God we serve. That's
the God we ought to cry out to. That's the God who hears us and
does Isn't that what Peter tells us reflecting the psalmist? Psalm
55 and then 1 Peter chapter 5. What does Peter say? Cast your
cares upon God. Why? Because he hates you? No,
because he cares for you. Roll your burden over onto him. The language used in the psalmist
or in the Psalter is like a beast of burden. You take that burden
and you put it on the beast so that he can bear it. Now, God's
not a beast, but it's metaphorical. We take that burden, we heap
it upon the Father. Why? Because He cares for us. If He looked with favor upon
His oppressed people under this Syrian regime at the time of
Jehoahaz, King of Israel, when He was a servant of the calves,
then certainly God is going to vindicate His elect in the New
Covenant community who cried to Him day and night. Now notice the deliverance of
Israel in verses 5 and 6. God, or it says, then the Lord
gave Israel a deliverer. Now that's not identified for
us in the passage. And there's basically one of
three options. Some suggest it's Elisha. I think
that's probably the best suggestion in the passage. Others suggest
it's Jehoash, because it's under Jehoash that they break the back
of Syrian oppression at the end of the chapter. And some suggest
it's the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria would ultimately
be the one that would defeat Syria once and for all. But probably in the context,
we ought to appreciate that Elisha is that deliverer. He is the
one that prophesies concerning the truth that God would indeed
bring Israel out of that bondage. So the Lord gave Israel a deliverer,
verse 5, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Syrians,
and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before. Now
that's a bit of an ominous statement. They dwelt in their tents as
before. You must realize that we are
heading to exile. If you haven't read ahead, let
me just give you a bit of a foretaste. The Northern Kingdom is going
to fall in 2 Kings chapter 17. We only have a few more weeks
until we see that. And so this is a bit of a glimpse
of exile already. It's a bit of a glimpse of what's
going to happen in chapter 17 when the Northern Kingdom ultimately
falls. Now, in chapter 25, the Southern
Kingdom is going to fall. The Southern Kingdom, of course,
goes into Babylon, and after a 70-year period, they do return. But when the North goes into
exile, or when Assyria conquers the North, They don't come back.
There's no more regathering of the northern tribes. They are
not reconvened in Samaria for, you know, everybody lived happily
ever after. But this reality that they dwelt
in their tents as before indicates that the Syrians dispossessed
them from their homes. This is a very severe form of
oppression. This is a very severe form of
battle and warfare. So at this particular point,
however, they are relieved of this suffering, they are delivered,
and then notice their base in gratitude in verse 6. I mean,
this is so typical, isn't it? And unfortunately, it's not just
typical of unconverted people who get a good thing from God
and then continue to blaspheme and continue to commit idolatry.
But brethren, we're probably not as thankful as we ought to
be. I mean, Paul says in Ephesians 1, blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual
blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. Does our gratitude
respond in light of that? Is our gratitude measurable with
reference to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places
in Christ? If we actually pondered the reality
and the weight of Paul's statement there, we'd probably spend the
entire day on our knees thanking God. Now, I don't think God calls
us to quit our jobs and go get up on Mount Sham and just thank
Him. But this spirit of thankfulness
and gratitude, this disposition of rejoicing in the Lord always
is befitting the people of God. We have received this multitude
of blessings and we are called by God to engage in gratitude
and thanksgiving for having given us these things. Notice what
verse six says. They have been delivered. They
have returned to their tents. Verse six tells us, nevertheless,
they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam
who had made Israel sin, but walked in them and the wooden
image or the Asherah pole also remained in Samaria. The blessing of God ought to
lead to the worship of God. Deliverance by God's grace ought
to lead to doxology by God's people. Doxology simply means
praising, worshiping, glorifying God. That's why we call it the
doxology when we sing it sometimes at the end of worship. It is
the ascription of praise and worship and glory to God. That's
what doxology means. So deliverance ought to promote
doxology. And here deliverance did not
promote that, but rather the people engaged or continued to
walk in the sins of the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
Davis says, in the wake of God's unguessable compassion, we meet
Israel's trenchant ingratitude. The warmth of God's pity did
not soften the hardness of their infidelity. There was no memory
carryover that claimed and won their gratitude. It's a pathetic
situation, brethren, and I think whenever we are struggling to
be a grateful people or a thankful people. I mean, what a great
Thanksgiving Day sermon this would be, or text this would
be for Thanksgiving Day. How do we receive the grace of
God? How do we receive the blessings
of God? That paradigm set forth in the
Heidelberg Catechism is a biblical one. Guilt, grace, gratitude. We are guilty, vile, helpless,
undone before a holy God. God in His grace reaches down
and saves us. God in His grace calls us out
of darkness into marvelous light. We call that the effectual calling.
We call that the work of the Holy Spirit bringing us to the
Lord Jesus, believing and repenting. Once that has transacted, the
response of the people of God is gratitude. The response of
the people of God is thankfulness. It is praise, it is worship,
it is glorifying Him. It's not turning back from Him
and going to the Asherah Pole or going to the Mammon or going
to, you know, whatever the idol is or was that captivated our
minds and our hearts. That is base ingratitude exhibited
here by the covenant community and more often than not exhibited
by the new covenant community. and our lack of thankfulness
to God, our lack of joy in the presence of the Holy Spirit,
our lack of zeal and earnestness to serve, to glorify, to love
and adore Him. Let us not fall prey to this
kind of thing. And then verses 7 to 9 are summary
statements. I think the King James is probably
to be preferred here. It treats five and six as a parenthetical
statement. And then verse seven, it's not
he God, but rather he the King of Syria left the army of Jehoahaz,
only 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers for
the King of Syria had destroyed them and made them like all the
dust at threshing. So it's a summary statement concerning
the condition of Israel subsequent to their freedom or liberty or
liberation rather from Syrian oppression. They're nevertheless
hindered and they are nevertheless crippled. They are nevertheless
not able to deal successfully in terms of other battles at
this particular point. Then it gives us a summary statement
concerning Jehoahaz in verses eight and nine. Again, it's very
formulaic, very consistent with what we find elsewhere in the
King's of Israel and Judah. And then his son Jehoash is introduced
at the end of verse 9 and then that brings us to the prophecy
of Syria's defeat. Now let's just speak a moment
about the structure. If you notice the structure of
the passage, we have everything about Jehoash. Again, this is
the king of the north. We're going to distinguish him
from Joash, but it's the same name. But we're going to distinguish
him from the Joash of Judah. We're dealing with Jehoash of
Israel or the northern kingdom. It summarizes everything about
him in 10 to 13. And then, after it tells us he
dies in verse 13, tells us that he's buried, tells us that he
has a son named Jeroboam, not the son of Nebat. Jeroboam the
son of Joash. Jeroboam the second. Again, we
could have used a little bit more mixing it up in terms of
names, it'd be a little easier for us, you know, Americans and
Canadians to follow the narrative. But it gives us everything in
10 to 13 about Jehoash, and then he dies, but lo and behold, here
he is discussing things with Elisha. And then he's going to
be spoken of again in chapter 14 at verses 15 to 16. So, some suggest that there's
a bit of an editorial glitch. When the editors came along to
sort of compile these records, they messed up a little bit.
They put the whole information about Jehoash there, and 10 to
13, he died, but then they kind of bring him back, and the rest
of chapter 13, and then lo and behold, we see him again in chapter
14. I don't think it's a glitch whatsoever.
I think the author gives us the summary of Jehoash in total in
verses 10 to 13, and then he will summarize his death again
in chapter 14, and there's a reason for that we'll see as we move
along. But what we find in verses 14 to 25 is the most significant
aspect of Jehoash's life. So it gets a bit of amplification,
it gets a bit of development. So you get the overarching, everything
about Jehoash in 10 to 13, but we're going to sort of focus
in on this particular snippet of his life. because it involves
Elisha and the death of Elisha. So the most significant aspect
of Jehoash is sort of amplified here, and you'll see why, because
he's in contact here with Elisha in Elisha's 11th hour. So it's not a glitch in the narrative. It is not some sort of an editorial
oversight, but rather it does have rhyme, reason, and structure. So let's look quickly at the
reign of Jehoash in terms of the formula in verses 10 to 13. The religion of Jehoash was consistent
with his father's. Notice in verse 11. It says,
and he did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart
from all the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel
sin, but walked in them. Sinfulness and wickedness is
tedious business, isn't it? It's just so routine and so common.
You kind of feel like your life is like that sometimes. Man,
Lord, the good that I wish to do, I don't do, and the evil
I don't want to do, I find myself doing. You see yourself in that
sort of Romans 7 sort of situation. Well, we see that tedium, that
repetitiousness, that routineness of sin in this world. And so this Jehoash did not depart
from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. Now notice
his reign was 16 years. It's a pretty long reign. And yet in terms of summary,
he gets three verses. Again, it's amplified a little
bit in terms of his contact with Elisha here. But all in all, a 16-year reign
is put into just a few short verses. It's pretty pathetic,
isn't it? He didn't do anything good. He
didn't do anything that was noteworthy. He didn't do anything that was
deserving of a bit more space. Again, he's referred to at the
end of the chapter But all in all, he's a sinful man, like
his sinful fathers, and he's going to continue to plunge the
nation further into idolatry and wickedness. Now note verse
12. Now the rest of the acts of Joash, or Jehoash, all that
he did, and his might, with which he fought against Amaziah, king
of Judah. Now go to 1415. 1415, it gives us the summary concerning
this Jehoash again. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash,
which he did, his might, and how he fought with Amaziah, king
of Judah, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles
of the kings of Israel? This is appropriate here because
the author just deals with his war against Amaziah. In chapter
14, specifically verses 8 to 14, that records this Jehoash's
war with Judas Amaziah. So it is fitting for the narrator,
the author, to give us that information once again. It's not a glitch,
not editorial oversight. It is consistent with the narrative
and how he is structuring it. So back to chapter 13, verse
12. So this is a significant event. It will be treated in more detail
in connection with Amaziah and chapter 14. But the big deal
in this man's life comes in verses 14 to 25. And that is his meeting
with Elisha. Now it's an unfortunate thing
when good men die. And Elisha's certainly a good
man. Do you ever get that way when you go through Bible narrative
or you go through Bible story or whatever, and you get to the
end of the life of a particular individual that you've grown
fond of, and it's a bit sad? And it really shouldn't be. I
mean, he died many, many, many, many years ago. But nevertheless,
it's bad to see an Elisha leave this earth. I mean, it's a terrible
thing when a guy, a man like him, in the midst of an Israel
like that, is taken from the earth. But the Lord God is most
high. He's sovereign, not only in the
death of the wicked, but in the death of the righteous. So let's
look at this prophecy concerning Syria in verses 14 to 19. Note that Elisha had become sick
with the illness of which he would die. That's got to throw
the Benny Hins of this world into a great big tailspin, doesn't
it? Who worked more miracles than Elisha? I mean, he had a
double portion of Elijah's spirit. We've seen in the narrative how
he just was like Jesus. He went about doing good. I mean,
he healed, he raised the dead. He just did amazing things. And yet Elisha had become sick
with the illness of which he would die. Doesn't it follow
if the health, wealth, prosperity gospel is true, none of those
guys would ever die? None of those preachers' teeth
would ever rot? None of them would lose their
hair. They wouldn't grow pot bellies. They would never develop
a limp. It just doesn't make any sense,
does it? I like the way Davis relates
it. He says, one is tempted to ask
where the name it and claim it theologians were when Elisha
needed them. Perhaps they could have convinced
him that it is never the Lord's will that any of his children
be sick and could have instructed him in the art of making a positive
confession in order to enjoy continuing health unclouded by
death. You see, it's simply a lie to
believe, or to teach rather, that the God of heaven and earth
only ever gives his children good things. You know, David,
the psalmist says, it was good for me that I was afflicted.
The school of Christ is more often than not one filled with
trials, difficulties, and tribulations. If the man of sorrows and the
one who was acquainted with grief learned obedience through suffering,
how are his children going to be conformed unto his image?
Is it going to be through health, wealth, and prosperity? I'm not
suggesting God doesn't bless his people with a degree of health
and with a degree of wealth and with a degree of prosperity.
God is good. 1 Timothy chapter 6, Paul tells
Timothy, command those who are rich in this present age to get
rid of all their money, shave their heads, put on orange robes,
and go bang tambourines at the airport. No, he doesn't tell
them that. He tells them how they're to function with their
money. is not money in and of itself. It's not health. We ought
not to say, well, I'm in good health. I'm betraying the God. No, God's good. He gives us health. He'll give us a bit of wealth.
He gives us some prosperity. But when that becomes the gospel,
when the good news is, is that God wants you to be healthy,
wealthy, and prosperous in every situation and condition of life,
that is heretical. It is absolutely contrary to
biblical revelation. It's contrary to Hebrews chapter
11, the very hall of faith itself. It's contrary to the life and
ministry of the Lord Jesus, His chief apostle, the apostle Paul. Read 2 Corinthians 11 sometime. And ask yourself, was the health,
wealth, and prosperity thing lost on the apostle Paul? He
certainly didn't seem to get it. And if the apostle that was
used more mightily than any other human being on the face of the
earth has ever been used, was treated that way, why in the
world would we think we'd be exempt? Why in the world, if
Jesus says, if the world hated me, they're certainly gonna hate
you. Why would we think that we're
gonna be treated with kid gloves by a God-hating world? Brethren,
the health, wealth and prosperity gospel is no gospel. It is heretical and it ought
to be condemned instead of, oh, well, they're just a little bit
off. No, they're way off in a whole
host of things. Elisha had become sick with the
illness of which he would die. Now notice the grief of Jehoash. Then Jehoash, again we're using
Jehoash for the northern king. Then Jehoash, the king of Israel,
came down to him and wept over his face and said, oh my father,
my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen. It's kind
of an interesting response from a man who was given to the sins
of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. I mean, face it, Elisha wasn't
the most loved prophet in Israel, especially by the kings. So is
Jehoash for real here? Is Jehoash legit? Is he being
sincere? I suspect that his grief is not
motivated by the loss of a great prophet and man of God, but it's
motivated by the loss of a vital component of Israel's national
defense. Elisha was a very handy prophet
to have in one's country. Remember, it was as a result
of Elisha that Israel gains victory over Moab in 2 Kings 3. It's because of Elisha that Israel
gains victory over Syria in 2 Kings 6 and 7. So his grief here isn't
at the loss of a great man of God and prophet of God. It's at the loss of a vital component
in Israel's national defense. That's more than likely what
is provoking these tears. If Elisha's gone, what's going
to happen to us? If Elisha's gone, what's going
to become of Israel? Again, not that he worshipped
Elisha's God, not that he was committed to Elisha's prophetic
word, but he certainly liked the benefits that Elisha brought.
Kind of like that in life, isn't it? People hate Christians, but
they kind of like the fact that Christians do what they're supposed
to do. They hate Christians, but they
kind of like the fact that Christians keep their grass cut and pay
their taxes and don't sleep with their neighbor's wives and all
those sorts of things. I mean, we may not like your
religion, but we kind of like the way you behave yourselves.
You'll hear that sometimes. Your kids are so well-behaved.
Isn't that just wonderful? Well, yeah, it's because we fear
God and we seek to use the means that God has given to us. Well,
we don't like that, but we certainly like the fruit. We don't like
the thought that you're doing it because you want to obey and
glorify God, but we like the fact that we can sit at Pizza
Hut and not watch our kids carry on band sheets. That's a good
thing. Isn't that true? They like the
fruit. They don't like the reason for
that fruit. And that's precisely what's going
on. More than likely, Elisha brought national security. So Jehoash weeps over him. Interestingly, he uses the same
language that Elisha uses of Elijah in 2 Kings 2.12. Oh, my father, my father, the
chariots of Israel and their horsemen. In other words, what's
the vital power in Israel? According to Elisha, it was Elijah. According to Jehoash now, it
is Elisha. So the prophetic word is what
maintains Israel's security. It maintains Israel's stability. Do not miss that. The chariots
of Israel and their horsemen is the word of the living God
coming through the prophet of the living God, either Elijah
or Elisha. That's the power in Israel. And these men recognize that. Now, notice the acted parable,
whatever we want to call it, verses 15 to 19. Acted parable,
something, what I call it, It's when the prophet uses symbolism,
uses props, uses some sort of a particular demonstration to
illustrate or to give a particular spiritual lesson. Notice the
exercise with the bow and arrows in verses 15 to 17a. We may not
understand all the ins and outs, but I think the teaching is pretty
clear. Shoot the bow and arrow to the
east, and this is a sign of God's deliverance from the oppressor
who comes from the east. John Gill says, hereby signifying
that though the king would draw the bow in battle, the Lord whom
the prophet represented would give the success, and that it
would be his help, and through the blessing on his arms, that
he would obtain victory over his enemies. And so we then have
the promise or this acted parable interpreted in 17b. The arrow of the Lord's deliverance
and the arrow of deliverance from Syria. For you must strike
the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them. And then
he gives instruction to Jehoash. He tells Jehoash to strike the
ground. So he struck three times and
stopped. Now it's the and stop that should
catch our attention there. It's not the three times, it's
the and stop. Now it's a bit of an obscure
message, but the way that Elisha responds, he upbraids him. Elisha's
angry at him, Elisha rebukes him. It seems to indicate that
though Elisha promised that Syria would be utterly destroyed, Jehoash
didn't take him at his word. In other words, Jehoash only
struck the ground three times. Elisha says, no, that's not what
you should have done. You should have struck the ground
five or six times. Again, it's probably hard for
us to conceptualize what exactly is happening, but the message
is absolutely clear. Jehoash is told that God is going
to break the back completely of Syrian oppression. And I want
you to now strike the ground. So he does it three times and
stops. He wasn't supposed to stop. He
was to keep striking the ground. That would have evidenced his
faith in the living God in the fact that there would indeed
be the absolute destruction of Syria. So Elisha rebukes him
and Elisha says to him, you should have struck five or six times,
then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it. But
now you will strike Syria only three times. So it does seem
as if he didn't have faith in the promise of God. And there
might have been a reason why he didn't want to utterly decimate
Syria. And it may have had something
to do with the fact that Assyria is a growing power and Syria
provided a bit of a buffer. So we don't want Syria completely
gone. We want them there to keep a
bit of a buffer between us and Assyria. So there might have
been something of that going on. So there is the promise nevertheless
that they would indeed be defeated three times. Now let's look quickly
at the death of Elisha. And I say quickly because this
is a mysterious passage, especially verse 21. Verse 20 tells us Elisha
died and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab
invaded the land in the spring of the year. If as I just commented,
if what I said is true, back in verse 14, oh my father, my
father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen. If the stability
and security of Israel is the word of God, well the passing
of the instrument of the word of God, it ought not to surprise
us that now Moab raiding parties have come into Israel. You see
the connection? The prophet is gone, and the
Moabites come. The prophet is gone, the chariots
of Israel and their horsemen. So the defenses are down, the
Moabites come. So Elisha's dead, and in the
midst of this Moabite invasion, we see in verse 21, as they were
burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders,
and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha. And when the man was
let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood
on his feet." Again, it's a very intriguing passage. Some suggest
that it's absolute balderdash. It couldn't have happened. It
just wasn't true. I mean, they do that with a lot
of the miracles of Elisha, a lot of the miracles in the Old Testament
period. Others suggest that it smacks
of magic, as if somehow the bones or the body of Elisha emitted
some magic aura, and because this body, this dead body, came
into contact with Elisha, that it was then resurrected. I don't
think we need to read all that into it. I think there's a few
things going on that we ought to appreciate. First, this is
an honoring of the prophet Elisha. and honoring of the prophet Elisha. Matthew Henry said Elijah was
honored in his departure. Elisha was honored after his
departure. Paul House says, Elijah has gone
to heaven without dying. Elisha has kept giving Israel
life after he has died. So it's a means by which God
honors the prophet Elisha. As well, it would confirm his
prophecy. He has just said that Syria will
fall three times to Israel. This would certainly give evidence
or confirmation rather of this prophecy coming true. And then
we ought to appreciate the hope of Israel. I mean, certainly
the fact is that if this was in fact the power of God is demonstrated
even through the dead body of Elisha on this other dead body,
Israel's hope is not lost even though the prophet is gone. Even
though Elisha is gone, it's not as if the power of God has departed. And one man suggests that it
shows us the abiding influence of the Word of God. Ellsworth
says, We must not dismiss this account. It shows that the Word
of God, which Elisha had so faithfully borne, was still mighty and powerful,
even though the prophet himself had died. What comfort there
was here for the captives! They must often have thought
their nation was as good as dead. But because of the powerful Word
of God, their nation would live again. So you see, even though
Elisha, the prophet, is dead, and the Moabites have come and
seized their opportunity, it's not as if the Word of God is
extinguished. God Almighty is still God Almighty. And it might also point to the
ever-present hope for the Israel of God, the resurrection from
the dead. And notice, this is a nobody.
Isn't this God's way in these narratives concerning Elisha?
Who does Elisha minister to? Nobodies, no names, people of,
you know, there's miracles wrought on people that we don't even
know their names. They appear for a time, they're gone, no
more record. That doesn't tell us that so-and-so
from the land of so-and-so died and they lowered him and he came
into contact with Elisha's body and then this so-and-so lived.
We don't even know this guy's name. So what is the writer telling
the exiles? Because remember when Kings is
written, the people of Israel, the nation of Judah is in captivity
in Babylon. What's he telling us? The power
of God is not gone. And it would especially speak
to the Judahites, because they go into exile. What comes after
exile for Judah? Restoration. Isn't this pictured
or typified by a body dead, going into the tomb, touching Elisha,
and then coming out once again alive? It promotes hope among
the people of God. And then finally, the victory
over Syria. Oppression reiterated, verse
22. Compassion reiterated, verse
23. But note the reason why in verse
23. The Lord was gracious to them,
had compassion on them, and regarded them because of His covenant
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not yet destroy them
or cast them from His presence. We have seen, especially in the
line of Judah, that over and over and over again, the text
appeals to 2 Samuel chapter 7 and the promise of the Davidic covenant.
What does God say, or what does the narrator say here, is the
reason for Israel, the North, their present continuity in this
particular moment? It's because of God's covenant
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It's because of God's promise
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God does not renege. God does
not forsake. God would not destroy them or
cast them from His presence. The stability of God is reflected
in His covenantal promises, and that is precisely the reason
for His grace and His compassion and His regard for them, according
to verse 23. And then the chapter ends on
the high note of the faithfulness of the veracity or the truthfulness
of God's Word. Verse 24 tells us that Ben-Hadad
reigned in the place of Hazael. And then in verse 25, Jehoash,
the son of Jehoahaz, recaptured from the hand of Ben-Hadad, the
son of Hazael, the cities which he had taken out of the hand
of Jehoahaz, his father, by war. three times Jehoash defeated
him and recaptured the cities of Israel. Precisely what Elisha
had declared to this king. God fulfills his word. That is a good place to end this
particular study. Well, one more thing. We ought
to appreciate The faithfulness of Elisha. Time went a bit quicker
than I had anticipated. I had actually a few more things
to say, but I won't take us past nine. But there is a similarity
with Elijah in Elisha, and then there is the typological significance
with reference to Christ. Just turn for a moment to Matthew
27. I said that 2 Kings 13.21 is an intriguing and somewhat
difficult passage in terms of this body being lowered into
the tomb and coming into contact with Elisha and then reviving
and standing again. To be quite candid, we're not
going to get to this section this week. God willing, we'll
get to it next week. But look at 27.51. Signs and wonders follow the
crucifixion of our Lord. Only Matthew records what we
find in 51 to 53. It's not in Mark, not in Luke,
not in John. But notice in 51, Then behold,
the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and
the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were
opened. and many bodies of the saints
who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming out of the graves
after his resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared
to many." Now, there's only one named reference to Elisha in
the New Testament. It's in Luke 4, and it's in a
context of judgment. It's when Jesus is speaking or
preaching or teaching in Nazareth, and the people essentially reject
him. And Jesus points to the example of Elisha. There was
a lot of lepers in Israel, but God heals Naaman, the Syrian. That's a statement of judgment
upon Israel. And the people that were hearing
Jesus understood that all too well because previously they
had been amazed at the words that flowed out of his mouth.
And then after he highlights the selectivity of God with reference
to Elijah and the widow at Zarephath and the Elisha and the leper
Naaman, they want to push Jesus off a hill and kill him. So they
understood that he was teaching their unsovereign grace. So in
Luke 4, that's the only time Elisha's name appears in the
New Testament. But boy, doesn't Elisha appear
in the New Testament. Elisha and Jesus are a whole
lot alike. Elijah, John the Baptist, forerunner,
and then Elisha comes after Elijah. And we often give more attention
to Elijah Not saying we shouldn't, because he was an incredible
specimen of a human being, but we give short shrift to Elisha
at times. But consider the fact that both
men ministered to Gentiles, both men healed lepers, both men transformed
water and suspended the law of gravity in relation to water,
both men raised the dead, both men multiplied food, and both
men demonstrate power over the grave. It's an intriguing thing. The earth quaked, the rocks were
split, the graves were opened, and many of the bodies of the
saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of
the graves after his resurrection. Now, the way I read that, the
graves were opened, the bodies raised, but they didn't exit
until their master first exited from the grave. They were indeed
the first fruits of the resurrection from the dead. And so we ought
to see Elisha relative to Elijah, but we ought to see Elisha typological
of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Both men victorious over the
grave. Well, let us close in a word
of prayer. Our Father, we thank you for
the Lord Jesus. We thank you for the types and
the shadows in the Old Testament. Thank you, God, that we have
both the Old and the New Testaments, and that we can see and appreciate
that from Genesis to Revelation, you are declaring your will,
your purpose, your plan to redeem a people by your Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ. We thank you for your mercy toward
us. We pray that you'd watch over us now, grant us safety
as we travel home, bring us together again on the Sabbath, that we
may worship you. And we pray through Christ our
Lord. Amen.
