Let's come together now to Second Kings chapter 13.
I wonder if you notice that we have not seen or heard from the
prophet Elisha in quite some time.
The most recent mention of him occurs in Second Kings Chapter
9, verse one, when this prophet sent a son of the prophet, one
of his students, to Ramoth Gilead to anoint the next king
of Israel. And his name was Jehu.
We haven't seen or heard from him since, but tonight it's
going to be different. The man of God will reappear in
this grand narrative of the kings.
But I will tell you from now, this will be Elisha's final
appearance in our study of Second Kings.
You see, we're not going to encounter Elisha ministering in
cities, serving the sons of the prophets, or confronting any
kings or armies in this chapter. What you will find is Elisha in
a room, in a bed, dying of an illness.
That's right. This text in the Old Testament
will define for us Elisha's earthly departure.
We have now come to the end of this man's incredible life, and
instead of swiftly informing us of his exit, the Spirit of God
provides rich detail about the final moments of his life.
And I'm eager to explore these truths with you.
But we have to touch on the verses that set the stage for
this incredible scene. We can't rush to it.
And so we're going to begin in verse one, read down to verse
three. We're going to take our time,
but I will tell you that we're going to spend the most time by
Elijah's bedside and seeing what happens there and who's in that
room and what he has to say, and what even happens a little bit
after he dies. And so I know our sister just
prayed, but if we can pray one more time before we even begin
to read and ask the Lord to help us as we sang over and over.
O Lord, we pray that you take our hearts and that you seal
them in your courts for your courts above.
And Lord, we ask that through this Bible study you would equip
us with everything that is good, that we may do your will that
which is pleasing in your sight through Jesus Christ, for whom
belong glory forever and ever. Amen.
Second Kings 13 verse one In the 23rd year of Joash, the son of
Isaiah, king of Judah, Jeho Ahaz, the son of Jehu began to
reign over Israel and Samaria, and he reigned 17 years.
He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed
the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nabat, which he made Israel to
sin. He did not depart from them, and
the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he
gave them continually into the hand of Hazel, king of Syria,
and into the hand of Ben Haddad, the son of Hazel.
This seems like a very common introduction to a new biography
in the Book of Second Kings, but what you have here actually are
the beginnings of. God's promise being fulfilled,
the promises that he made, particularly to King Jehu.
Remember, we studied Jehu for a few weeks and because Jehu was
faithful to the Lord in exterminating the House of Ahab
and Baal ISM from the land of Israel, his main reward was
this, that his descendants would occupy the throne of Israel
until the 4th generation. And the start of that oath, that
pledge being realized, is found here in the opening verses of
chapter 13, because Jehu's son Joaz succeeds him and he now
secures the throne. But instead of acknowledging the
Lord's faithfulness, instead of walking in humility, we find the
son of Jehu committing himself to idolatry.
He doesn't recognize that it was the favor of God that positioned
them here. He doesn't think about God's
faithfulness to his father. He is completely self absorbed.
And he's completely consumed with idolatry and rebellion.
And this man's devotion to the worship of golden calves was met
with the Syrians harassing him as an expression of God's
discipline. We've seen this pattern before,
haven't we? And what happens next is what is
unusual for one who is a king in the Northern Kingdom.
Look at verse 4. Then Joe has sought the favor of
the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw the
oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them.
He doesn't. Seek the favor of the golden
calves. Maybe He did, but as we would
expect, they failed him. Whatever the background is, he
makes this decision to seriously seek the favor of the Lord.
This is uncommon, this is strange, this is unexpected.
But can I tell you what's more shocking to me?
Not that this wicked king seeks God's favor, but that the rest
of us tells us that God hears and listens to him.
That's what moves me more than anything.
Because you see, Joaz is not a struggling Sinner.
No, he was a bonafide idol worship.
He was somebody who was consumed with this.
It was his identity, it was his drive, it was his purpose.
Look at the language. He did not depart from
worshipping the idols that Jeroboam set up.
He clung to them. He was serious about this.
And yet the moment that he stopped and turned his face to
the true and living God, God responds to him.
And now there are a few things to learn about prayer in these
verses and about how God's response to prayer should
encourage us as well. So pay attention to this.
Number one, what we learned from this is that regardless of one's
vile history with sin, if a person truly, humbly implores
God, he will be heard. He will be received.
And that's something for you and I to consider for ourselves,
because many people are entrenched in sin the same way
Joe has was. But no matter how deep the
entrenchment of the ingrained patterns of sin you may be in,
you can escape it. You can escape it with sincere
repentance and even with a single call to God.
So God does not hang your sin over your head and put you in
some kind of penalty box before he's willing to hear you when
you cry out to Him. Which brings us to a second
thought, that such possibility in prayer only exists because of
this. God is abundantly kind.
He is abundantly kind. Look back at verse 4.
Notice that it says here that the Lord listened to him for he
saw For he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria
oppressed him. We're given another reason later
in this chapter why God was so favorite, favorably treating the
Israelites and I want you to see it because it's going to provide
a full picture. Look at verse 22 of this
chapter. We're fast forwarding a bit, but
we need to in order to consider a dimension to this incident.
Second Kings 1322. Now Hazael, king of Syria,
oppressed Israel all the days of.
Joaz But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on
them, and He turned toward them because of His covenant with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has
He cast them from His presence until now.
From this perspective, you and I are forced to acknowledge that
the reason why God was so compassionate towards this
generation was because of a covenant, because of a promise
that God made to the patriarchs to preserve this nation.
It was an unconditional promise. But when you come back to verse
four, we have another dimension to this, that God not only was
willing to respond to this king and this Kingdom, though they
were rebellious because of a covenant, but also because of
his kindness. Because what does it say in
verse four that he saw the oppression of Israel?
He saw the pain, He saw the frustration, He saw their
destitution. So it's more than just him doing
this out of obligation. It's more than just him being
committed to his name and his faithfulness.
It's because he actually has a heart for those who are in sin.
He actually is broken hearted for those who are caught in the
web of immorality, debauchery, abuse, transgression.
Call it what you want actually. Moves his heart to see somebody
as a slave to unrighteousness. And so when a Sinner cries out,
God is willing to because he actually loves the Sinner.
See, if you just had 22 and 23, you would see and you would
probably say to yourself, Oh yeah, because God wants to show
that he is a promise keeping God.
And that is still wonderful. There's nothing, nothing not
amazing about that. But to see this personal element
only provides a greater picture of his character.
So he's. Moved by this and he's willing
to intervene even though that this pain was caused by their
own rebellion, he wants to rescue them.
Lastly, prayer in crisis. If we're going to learn a few
things from verse 4, here's a final thought.
Prayer in crisis does not promise permanent change.
Does Geo has call out to the Lord?
Yes. Does the Lord respond to His
humility? Absolutely.
Does it change this man for the rest of his life?
Look at verse 5. Therefore, the Lord gave Israel
a Savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians,
and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly.
Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the
House of Jeroboam, which He made Israel to sin, but walked in
them, and the Ashra also remained in Samaria.
We're not granted the identity of the deliverer that God raised
up, but that seems to be less of a concern when we read the fact
that even though God brought salvation, the people returned
to their vomit. This is language.
Of a savior, deliverer, the people being restored.
Really. The whole.
Scene up to this point, does it remind?
You of any book that we have studied in the past that has a
very similar rhythm concerning the people's spirituality.
Any any idea the book of what such with the letter J judges.
I believe that the Holy Spirit is being precise here and
depicting something that we've seen over and over in the days
when Israel was ruled by judges. It's this circuit that we have
studied before. Live in sin, worship false gods
oppressed by a foreign neighbor, cry out to God.
Repeat. And it's a reminder, this verse
that the unsteady spiritual pattern that was common in the
days of judges that we find here in the days of second kings is
nothing new for many profession Christians today.
Listen, you have many churchgoers, many pseudo
spiritual Christians who are content living in that kind of
cycle of anemic spirituality. I've seen it.
What does it look like? Live in sin.
Get in trouble, come to church. Set up a couple counseling
sessions with the pastor. Feel emboldened because you have
tasted some kind of relief, so now this person's posting more
verses on their Instagram. Go back to your sin.
Repeat. Many people live like that, and
I believe that the physical description of what we read in
verse 7 here mirrors the condition of the souls of those
who are content to live in that circuit of compromise.
Look at verse 7. For there was not left to Jo as
an army of more than 50 horsemen and 10 Chariots and 10,000
footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them
like the dust at. Threshing What is sad
description for a nation's army? Can you imagine?
For an entire country, you have what?
10,000 foot men, no more than 50 horsemen.
So this analysis is meant to depict this vulnerable state,
this embarrassing condition. And I make the case here that
the vulnerability of the nation, the weakness, the leanness of
what you find here is a reflection of what happens to
the spirituality in the condition of the inner man for
those who choose to live and relate to God in the same way
this king does. Let me put it this way.
Please hear me. I say this in great love, you
will never ever, ever tap into true power, true purpose, true
pleasure in your soul if you relate to God like a 911 call.
If the only kind of interaction you have with God is in
emergencies void of any personal relationship, don't expect to
know true life, true joy, true strength.
You'll never know it. Only when you know how to abide
will the life source of heaven flow into your being.
But to choose only to call upon Him to save you from something,
and you premeditatively know that you're not going to commit
to the cause of Christ and the gospel of Christ.
Don't expect a robust true life. You'll be limping spiritually.
You'll remain a spiritual skeleton.
And I don't want that for you. God doesn't want that for you.
I was reading this morning, I was sitting before the Lord with
First John before me, and I was reminded of a promise, an
indirect promise that is available to all of us.
Turn to the New Testament. Look at First John chapter 2.
There's this interesting series of statements that John makes to
young children, fathers, and young men.
He's speaking about spiritual children's, spiritual fathers,
spiritual young men. I want you to see what he says
about the spiritual young men in verse 14 of First John 2.
John says in first John 214 I write to you, fathers, because
you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the
word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil. 1
What sandwiching this truth of the word of God abides in you
the strength of these young men and the ability for them to
overcome the evil one. Now this is not limited to young
men. This is available to all of us.
But notice here he describes him as strong, and he praises their
ability to wage good warfare against Satan himself.
On what basis? The word of God abiding in them.
You want to be strong you. Need to know how to abide?
You will never be able to know true victory over sin.
You'll never be able to overcome the lies and the arrows and the
threats of the evil one. Never, unless you know how to
abide. If you just dial God once in a
while and think that's what it means to walk with Him, you're
fooling yourself. You're deceiving yourself.
How many examples can we go to look at this abiding meaning?
It lives in you, the Word of God, because it lives in you.
It surges strength in your being and you're able to face Satan
himself and overcome. That's only available for those
who know how to abide. So we come back to our text and
we learned that Joaz dies unfaithful, verse 8.
Now the rest of the acts of Joaz and all that he did and his
might, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of
the Kings of Israel? So Jehoias slept with his
father's, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash, his son,
reigned in his place. This man dies unfaithful.
But the Lord's faithfulness to Jehu continues.
How do we know that? Because he told Jehu.
Your sons will rule and reign until the 4th generation.
And so now we have Joash, who represents the next one in line.
And when you just. Glance at verse 10 down to verse
13. That's all we're given
concerning Joash's biography. It's a very brief obituary, so
let's read it. And tell me if it sounds
familiar. In the 37th year of Joash, king
of Judah, Joash, the son of Joaz, began to reign over Israel
and Samaria, and he reigned 16 years.
He also did what was evil in the side of the Lord.
He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of the
bat, which made Israel to sin, but he walked in them.
Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and
the 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 slept with his
father's, and Jeroboam sat on his throne, and Joash was buried
in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
Typical. Typical.
Snapshot of a king. Who clung to the sins of
Jeroboam? Maybe accomplish a military feat
or two. And it seems like the historian
is not very interested in elaborating on Joash's reign,
except for one thing. Yes, we're told that he died.
But for the rest of this chapter, he wants to bring us by
the spirit to a particular incident, something monumental
that took place under Joash's reign.
And it is this, the death of Elijah the prophet.
Elisha died under this administration, and more than
that, this very king is actually going to interact with Elisha in
his dying moment. And that's where the Holy Spirit
wants to emphasize. That's where we're going to
spend our time exploring the rich truths for our own walk
with Christ. So let's look at verse 14.
This is where we're going to be spending most of our time.
Now the stage has been set. Let's read verse 14.
Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was
to die, Joash, king of Israel, went down to him and wept before
him, crying, My father, my father, the Chariots of Israel
and its horsemen. There are a handful of
observations we can make from this one verse and I'm actually
curious to know, and you're free to answer this, just don't make
your answer too long, but just bullet point answers.
What about this verse offer something interesting in terms
of just maybe details or something that you've seen
before? What stands out to you from
verse 14? Let's make this a little bit
more interactive. Any idea?
Just raise your hand. Yes, it was.
This was also said for Elijah. Isn't that interesting that what
the king says about Elijah, Elijah said about Elijah, his
mentor. Remember this?
Yes, I was going to say that Elijah was called from the
chariot to heaven, but Elijah died even though Elijah asked
for a double. Portion very, very good
observation my brother. There's a stark contrast between
Elijah's exit and Elijah's exit. So our brother mentioned here
how Elijah was taken up into heaven without dying.
You know, we find. Elijah, who had a double portion
of what Elijah had. And he died a very ordinary,
predictable death. Very good.
Anything else worth mentioning before we unravel this together?
Those are the two major ones, so let's touch on them.
The immediate thing that stands out is how Elijah, the miracle
worker, the vessel that God used to heal polluted water and
disease men, is now himself dying of a sickness.
That's remarkable to me. Because I think that it is a
severe blow to one of the lies of the prosperity gospel, the
prosperity gospel that tells you that you can do what if you have
the faith. Claim perpetual perfect health.
OK, so here's my question. Here's my question.
Is Elijah outside of the will of God at this point?
Is Elijah operating in unbelief? No, no, no, no.
In fact, what you have Elijah doing here?
Serving God in his dying moments, operating as a
messenger of God even here and now.
So the claim that this man is sick because he did not have the
faith is way off, dangerously off now.
If anything, this is a reminder to us that we're all destined to
die. And the way that God will
transition his children from this world into the next varies.
Was Elijah any less loved by God than how God treated Elijah?
Absolutely not. Was he less faithful than
Elijah? If anything, you can say that
Elijah was more consistent with his trust in God than Elijah
was. We didn't study any crisis of
faith with Elijah, did we? Elijah doesn't veer off into the
wilderness and asked to die. No, he was pretty stable from
the beginning. And yet Elijah was taken up in
glorious fashion, and yet this man falls to sickness, and he's
going to give his final breath in this way.
So this is something that we have to consider for ourselves.
God doesn't give us an answer for why this is the case, but in
His infinite wisdom He determines the timing and the
manner by which you and I graduate into glory.
Here's the second thing that stands out to me is the response
of Josh, the king of Israel. Here you have the ruler of a
nation who is willing to leave his palace and visit this man.
And not just pay respect, but to weep over him.
Now here's what's so startling. We just read between verse 10
and 13 that this Josh was evil. He falls in the ways of
Jeroboam. So how do you make sense of
this? How do you have a man who
betrayed the true God show such reverence and admiration for a
man of God? Some accused of insincerity,
some claim that this is just a concern that's rooted in
political fear. What's going to happen with our
Kingdom now that this man of God who has done so much for this
nation is leaving us? But I think that would be
unfair. I believe that these tears are
actually an indication of some commendable comprehension on
Josh's part. You see he.
Was an idolater, but I also believe that he recognized the
impact that Elisha had on the Kingdom and the influence that
he had for the nation, and he admired it.
And it's hard to debate that when you consider what he says
about Elisha. What does he say?
My father, My father meaning what I I truly recognize you as
the spiritual guide of this nation.
Even though he didn't personally abide by the word of the Lord,
he could not deny that Elisha had an incredible role to play
in the stability of this people. Whatever was left of this
ability, of this people. Then he goes on to say, what?
The Chariots of Israel and its horsemen?
We've studied this before. What is he saying?
By declaring this, you're the true source of this nation's
security and strength. Not our javelins, not our
horses, not our not our Chariots, nothing.
Not our arrows, not our swords. Your walk with God is the real
reason why we know the security that we have enjoyed, the true
power, the true reason why we were able to accomplish what we
were able to accomplish. This is something so
fascinating. As our sister said, this is what
Elijah said about Elijah. And here's the most mind blowing
part. The same man who expressed these
things is called evil in verse 11.
He's called evil. When I put those truths
together, this is what it taught me and I hope it teaches you the
same, that it's possible for someone to say the right things.
It's possible for someone to even.
Honor the right people. It's possible for someone to
acknowledge the benefits that God's truth can bring to
society, to a family, to a culture, to the law of the land,
and even praise the efforts of servants of God and still not be
saved. You've probably seen some
funerals of great ministers in our own nation where their
funeral is broadcasted and you have politicians attend who
showed their respect and even maybe paid tribute with
beautiful eulogies. Do you think those politicians
are safe because of that? There's no indication whatsoever
that somebody's right with God, and that's something that you
and I have to consider for our own lives because maybe this is
hard to grasp. So let's confirm it in another
way. Do you remember who Balak, king
of Moab, hired to curse the nation of Israel when they came
out of Egypt into the promised Land?
Balaam. And so Balaam, this false
prophet, attempts to curse Israel without their knowledge.
And as he attempts to do this with one Oracle after the next,
the Lord intervenes and turns those curses into blessings.
And I want you to see what Balaam confesses with his first
Oracle, with whatever revelation that God had given him.
He made this incredible. Expression and confession about
the righteous go to Numbers 23, verse 10.
Balaam says something in verse 10 of Numbers 23.
Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the 4th part of
Israel? Let me die the death of the
upright, and let my end be like his.
Here you have a wicked man who is under some kind of a trance.
He's experiencing some kind of a vision, and in this experience
he learns about the end of the righteous.
He learns how the righteous die and what happens after they die.
So what does he say? Personally?
He goes, oh, let me die that kind of a death.
Let me end this way. Let me transition from this life
to the next. In that manner Balaam desired to
die the death of the righteous. But he did not want to live the
life of the righteous. How did Balaam die under God's
judgement? Because he loved money more than
anything else. Money was his God.
And yet still you see that this wicked man, this false prophet,
this example that the New Testament uses more than once to
say this is an evil, an attitude, this is an evil
outlook in life. This is an evil set of
convictions. There are people like Balaam in
the church today that harass the church and deceive the church.
That kind of a person can still have a smidgen of holy ambition
and affection and still not be regenerate.
Let me die the death of the righteous.
He didn't die the death of the righteous because he didn't want
to live the life of the righteous.
And so just because you have somebody who expresses or in a
moment or maybe in spontaneity says something right, expresses
something right, maybe even for a moment, conforms to something
right, does not necessarily indicate that they are
transformed. And that's what we see here with
this king. So he weeps over him.
And there is obviously a mixture of grief here.
I think part of the concern that he has was he really believed
that Elisha kept the nation together.
Now he's about to slip away into eternity.
And so as king, he goes, what's going to become of my Kingdom?
Elisha knows this. More importantly, God knows
this. So he actually extends comfort
to this troubled ruler. This is fascinating.
Come back to the main text, if you will, and look here at verse
15. And Elisha said to him, take a
bow and arrows. So he took a bow and arrows.
Then he said to the king of Israel, draw the bow, and he
drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the
King's hands. Pause.
Elisha has provided these instructions to the king because
he's preparing him to receive a prophetic word by symbolic
gesture to comfort him and to teach him and to remind him that
even though he's going to die, God is still available.
God can still be sought. God is still willing to come
through. And before we get into the
precise details of the prophecy, you know what I find here?
I see a man who is being eaten up with disease, giving whatever
strength he has left. To fulfill his duty as a
messenger of God. Look at the language here again.
It says here that he laid his hands on the King's hand.
So he just mustered up the strength.
And I wonder if he was laying down.
I don't know how he was positioned, but at some point he
gets up, he speaks with authority and he even places his
shaky hands on the hands of the king.
While he's holding that bow and arrow.
And I am moved because from the beginning, when Elijah
surprisingly threw that mantle on him, to the final days of his
life, you have a man who gave everything to serve the Lord.
Isn't this a moving thing? It should be moving to you
because it's possible for you and I to have that same
trajectory. I told you I was reading First
John today, but earlier this week I was looking over the the
words of First Peter and I want to show you something that
blessed me. It turned into a prayer and I
hope it becomes your prayer. Leaving this place in First
Peter Chapter 4, a very practical passage.
But notice this detail that confirms and adds to what we're
saying here about Elijah. First, Peter 410 Peter says as
each has received the gift, use it to serve one another as good
stewards of God's varied grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks
oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the
strength that God supplies in order that in everything God may
be glorified through Jesus Christ.
To him belong glory and dominion, forever and ever.
Amen. Two thoughts come to me from
this passage. The first one is this, that the
strength that you know. The capacity that you have with
your mobility, with your agility that has been supplied by God
every single day, whether you're aware of it or not, for the
purpose of you serving him. The breath in your lungs, the
ability to move, to type, to walk, to carry, to be here after
a long week of work. Every ounce of that energy is
aimed to serve God. That's glorious.
That's why you live. But beyond that, if this
strength does come from God, then it invites me to seek Him
for more of it so that I can live for His glory.
And so I read this the other day, and these verses became the
prayer of that day. Lord, give me more strength.
I don't want there to be any physical, emotional, mental, any
kind of obstacle that would limit me from doing what you've
gifted me to do. I want to do it forever.
I want to do it for the rest of my life.
This is what are you speaking about here.
There is a strength that God supplies and never take any, any
strength that you know for granted.
I've said this before, allow me to say it again.
The very fact that you were able to tie your shoes this morning
or this evening was permitted by God.
You couldn't do that without God saying you can do.
That oh, I don't know about that.
You have a limited view of God's sovereignty.
You do praise team your ability to sing.
You don't take that for granted because that can be taken from
you overnight. Any preacher in this place, you
can become mute in a moment. So with all the strength that
God has given you for any kind of ministry in between the
examples I gave all don't take it for granted.
And don't you ever, ever, ever feel intimidated to come before
him, Say, Lord, give me more of the strength, secure the
strength, multiply the strength. I find this man who is riddled
with disease, yet with a little strength he had, he says I'm
going to serve him. The final sight that we have of
this man is he's prophesying. That's what he is.
He's a prophet. I want to end that way.
And maybe you're thinking someone inspired by Elijah's
example, but also disappointed because if you're honest with
your track record and the devotion to the Lord of the past
and maybe even today, it's not consistent, far from consistent.
You hear about Elijah from beginning to end, and he was.
He was a straight arrow, no pun intended.
But here you are, and you can barely keep yourself together
for a week. Maybe there's even wasted long
stretches of time where you gave the peak of your existence for
selfish ambition and purpose. If that's you, if you're feeling
this way, if any of us are feeling that way, there is hope
for us. I think of Jacob.
Jacob was a scoundrel. Jacob was a trickster.
Jacob was a deceiver. And much of a story in Genesis.
He's just messing up with people and he receives the fruit of
what he sold. He reaped the consequences of
his deceiving ways, but is that how he ended?
Manipulating and twisting arms and playing these games?
That's not how Jacob ended. If you go to Hebrews, we're told
in one verse what this man looked like on his dying day.
I want you to see it. Go to Hebrews 11.
Meet me in verse 21. Hebrews 11/21.
I'll wait for you. I want to read it together.
By faith, Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of
Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff.
That's how Jacob ended. Jacob ended by doing two things.
Not deceiving people, blessing people, not running from God,
worshipping God. Why do I bring this to your
attention? Because the script of your life
can change if you're willing to believe it.
Make the decision today that with whatever strength you do
have left, whatever time you have left, that this will be
your goal, that you will leave this place being a blessing to
others and being a worshipper of God.
Let's come back to 2nd Kings 13. So he positions the King's
hands, but now he prophecies in verse 17 and he said open the
window eastward and he opened it.
Then Elijah said shoot and he shot and he said the Lord's
arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria.
For you shall fight the Syrians and AFAC until you have made an
end of them. Here's the essence of the
message. You, King Joash, will overcome
your enemies. Why would this be important for
him to hear? Because he's worried that when
Elijah dies, so will there hope. And he says no, your hope
doesn't die with me. I'm going to die.
God doesn't die. God doesn't sleep for that
matter. And so he identifies as arrow
symbolically as the Lord's arrow of victory.
That is where your source of strength comes from, King Joash,
not in me. And so he's essentially
redirecting. He's pointing him to the right
source, look to God. He's going to remain, he's going
to supervise, He's still available, he's still
accessible. So keep your eyes on him.
And so he promises this empowerment to defeat the
enemies of the people of God. But the degree of this victory
will be determined by the level of faith that King Josh will
have. The promise of power has been
made clear. God is here, and the fact that
he puts his hands on his hands is a symbolic way of saying the
Lord's hands are available. That is where you're going to
really find your ability to do this.
However, his faith is going to be tested right away.
Here's the promise for power. Now let's see what kind of faith
you have to access it. So what does he do?
Look at verse 18. And he said, take the arrows and
he took them. And he said to the king of
Israel, strike the ground with them.
And he struck three times and stopped.
Then the man of God was angry with him and said you should
have struck 5 or 6 times. Then you would have struck down
Syria until you have made an end of it.
But now you will strike down Syria only three times.
Some feel uncomfortable with Elisha's response, his rebuke
really, Because it seems that the king is doing the best he
can with the limited understanding he had.
But if you really take into account how the king was
prepared before he actually was asked to do this, then you
realize that this is actually a demonstration of weak faith on
his part. How do we know that?
Because back in verse 17, he was already told that this arrow
signifies the arrow of the Lord's victory.
And then he goes on to say take the arrows.
He didn't give him a number he's applying.
Take all of them and strike the ground with the arrows, but
instead of emptying the quiver. He just stops at 3 and this is
what makes the Prophet upset, and rightfully so.
The king should have gone all the way and understanding the
interpretation, it's been made plain to him.
He should have made the connection and he should have
continued with the picture and fulfilled a greater prophecy for
his life. But he doesn't.
Here's the case that I want to make, that the anger Elijah
feels can be Amen by the righteous in a nation that many
spiritual leaders feel when they make known to the people of God
the very promises of God, but the people do not fully take
advantage of them. There's maybe apathy on the
King's part, maybe a level of unbelief, maybe both.
But this kind of reluctancy and hesitation in seeing the Syrians
defeated, you can say, mirrors how many Christians.
Approach and confront sin in their lives because the Syrians
here are a picture of the powerful consequences of sin,
and now God is providing a way for him to be able to overcome
it. But what does he do?
He's content with partial victory, and I say that many
Christians are the same way with the flesh.
You and I have better promises than Joash.
We have the promise of the gospel.
We have the inheritance of the power of the Holy Spirit.
We have God's hand, so to speak, willing to extend and reach into
the deepest part of you, who you are, and to liberate you from
any shackle or bondage. That's a promise that we can be
free because we are no longer under the law, but under grace.
Romans 6 says And yet how many people strive for complete
victory in their sanctification? I'm not talking about being
sinlessly perfect, but I am talking about being able to say
and be able to experience and testify that I am free and that
when temptations visit to me, I can say with the strength of
God. No, like Josh, people settle for
partial victory and they lack the zeal in the faith to claim
total freedom. Many are like this, many are
living like this. And I can see where Elijah's
coming from. Maybe you've known that and
counseling a friend or looking at a sibling and you know what
the promise of God can do for for your struggle against sin.
And people seem to not take it seriously.
So they shoot 3 arrows. They take bits and pieces of
God's promises and not the whole thing, and it burns your heart
because you don't want to see them continue in that suffering,
but God doesn't. Force himself.
If you want to settle with three, you can take 3.
With the measure of faith that you use, you'll receive.
Do not doubt the promises of God.
Do not cut them in half. Do not dilute them.
Don't even dilute them with what you see around you.
Believe Him and take Him at His word completely.
Don't just shoot 3 arrows. Don't just take some here and
leave others. Don't say this applies to you
and this lead seems realistic and this doesn't.
God's promises are meant to be experienced by his children
completely. Don't settle for anything less.
Unfortunately this king does. Verse 20.
So Elisha died and they buried him.
No open heaven, no horses from the sky, no fire, no whirlwind.
Just the man in the ICU and the machine flat lines.
Elisha died and they buried him. Now you would expect that this
is it. This is the cessation of his
ministry. There's no more message, no more
miracles. Prepared to witness probably one
of the most fascinating supernatural occurrences in all
of the Bible. Aren't you glad you came to
tonight? You're about to see something
that you've never seen before and you won't see after.
Let's finish the verse. So Elisha died and they buried
him. Now bands of Moabites used to
invade the land in the spring of the year, and as a man was
being. Buried.
Behold, marauding band was seen, and the man was thrown into the
grave of Elisha. And as soon as the man touched
the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.
We're familiar with accounts in the Bible of living men.
Raising the dead. I have never read of any miracle
where a dead man raises another dead man, But it's here.
And our immediate question should be why?
Why is the Lord allowing this? Obviously this is the Lord's
doing, but why here? Why now?
Why in this particular moment? And I think there is a
historical answer. And then once we establish that,
we can draw at least 2-3 strong spiritual lessons.
So here's the historical answer. Notice again in verse 20, after
Elijah dies, we're told about bands of Moabites who used to
invade the land at a certain time of the year.
So we open this up by reflecting on the last time we heard from
Elijah. But here's another question.
When is the last time that we heard about the Moabites?
You can answer a few if you feel like you know the answer.
In our study of Second Kings, when was the last time the
Moabites made an appearance in this narrative?
Here's the answer. Second Kings Chapter 3.
You don't have to turn there, but it's when.
Moab, who is under the the subjugation of the Israelites,
freed themselves, became independent, and so Israel,
Judah and Edom partnered together to fight against the
Moabites. And it was Elijah's prophetic
instruction that rescued that team and LED them to the
Moabites to be able to engage in battle.
They disappear from the scene, and now we find them again in
this chapter. And I think there's a reason
why. Remember, Israel is at a very
weak point with our national security.
Moreover, their true source of security is gone.
Who is he, Elijah? I'm sure the Moabites had Intel.
I'm sure they knew that Elisha played a significant role back
in Second Kings 3IN guiding the nations to come up against Moab.
So now you not only have the Moabites who have rebelled
against Israel, but now they are emboldened to actually attack
Israel. And I had on top of that the
Syrians who are oppressing them. This is perfect.
So you have the Moabites now invading the land of Israel,
robbing them and pillaging and doing all these things.
So I believe what you have here. 1 The fact that this man was
able to resurrect just in come in contact with Elisha's bones
was a reminder to Israel that Elisha was a true man of God.
It's it's a really validation of the authenticity of his
ministry. Elisha's message, his miracles
can be traced to the true God. And even after he dies, that
people are being reminded he was right.
He was right all along. And hopefully this would have
served as a way of drawing the people to the true God.
Even after Elijah dies, God wants to communicate.
Did you remember what the prophet said?
You're in this mess because of your sin.
How many times has Elijah called you unto myself?
And so this demonstration of power was meant to get the
attention of the nation, not just to draw them back in,
secondly, but to encourage them. What was the fear of the king
and the people that once Elisha was taken from them, that God's
favor would be removed as well? And so the fact that you have
this deceased man resurrecting after Elisha dies was a
confirmation of the prophecy. Elisha might be gone, but God
isn't. Elisha might not be available.
God is still available. And they would have learned that
there's no doubt that this would have spread and reached the
Kingdom. The fact that this man left to
his feet after he was thrown into.
Elisha's tomb. So this would have been a source
of comfort. Elisha is gone, but God did not
abandon us. God's work goes on.
His purposes go on, even though his servants might go on.
But I believe there are very beautiful spiritual lessons from
this. The obvious 1 is that even
though Elisha's life was over, his ministry wasn't.
Like Abel, though he is dead, he's still what speaks.
That's what you find in Hebrews Chapter 11.
And you might actually be a person who can testify that
you've come into contact with the material.
Maybe books, tapes, online sermons of those?
Who are no longer with us. But their message has been
preserved. Their example has been their
biographies have been kept with us.
And that brought you to life. That brought you to your feet.
I can tell you, and I've said this jokingly before, that some
of my favorite ministers are dead.
He's got us preserve their work. And though they are dead, they
still speak. And it's a wonderful
encouragement to us that our fruitfulness can outlive us.
And that sometimes, in God's wisdom, the greatest expansion,
the greatest breath to your ministry can occur when you go
into heaven, when you go into glory.
There are many authors who they have written great pieces of
literature, Christian literature that at the time did not really
reach anybody, but after they died touch the world they're.
Example after example of that, and we see something here by way
of symbolism that you have Elijah who's in the tomb, but
he's still touching people's lives.
But it's also a humbling reminder to us of the power of
God. It shows that the power of
Elijah in his ministry did not come from Elijah.
It was the. Lord, the same Lord who raised a
person from the dead. By coming into contact with a
dead man was the same Lord who touched many dead people while
that same man was alive. So whether Elijah was alive or
dead, it did not matter. God was the source of his
strength. So next time you feel pride
tempting you, God doesn't need you to be alive for him to use
you. He can use a corpse to perform
resurrection miracles. He doesn't need you and me.
He can use a lifeless, cold body.
In fact, by this description, it could be that his flesh actually
disintegrated. You just have his bones left.
So who are you and I to think the good that he's doing in me
or has done through me in the past?
It's a little bit because of, you know, my personality and my
looks and and my resources and my smarts.
God can. Kill you and still use you.
Remember that he doesn't need you standing behind anything.
He doesn't need anything, and I think this is a wonderful
reminder of that. How you're supposed to respond
to God using you while you still have life is that He's just.
Allowing you to enjoy it and to witness it.
To give you an opportunity to glorify Him through it.
Lastly, do you see a foreshadowing of Christ in this?
I hope you do. Though you and I wholeheartedly
believe that the body of Jesus after he died did not remain in
that tomb, you cannot deny the theme of how someone's death
brought life to others. Christ is here.
Jesus Christ of Nazareth is being foreshadowed here in that
in His death He raised sons of Adam unto life.
And if you need confirmation from the New Testament, let me
remind you of Romans chapter 5, verse 10.
For while we were still enemies of God, we were reconciled to
God by the death of His Son. It was the death of Christ that
made you alive. Yes, His resurrection is an
integral part of that, but you needed His death.
I needed his death. So what do we have here?
Little vignette of a man who died, a man of God, yes, but one
greater than Elisha, who would not just bring one person back
to life, and not just physical life, but eternal life, and
many, not some, but many sons to glory.
So even in this you have the perfume of the gospel.
It's being sprayed right here and only the gospel centered
mind can see it. I see something here, that one
man, a man of God's death, actually was able to provide
life to another. Surely Christ's death would
perform greater resurrections. And it will and it will.
And that's available to those who have faith in Christ.
That though you die according to Jesus words in John 11.
Yet you shall live, You shall live.
Let's close this Bible study in prayer, shall we?
As you prepare your heart, I'll read the final verses of this
chapter. Now Hazael, king of Syria,
oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoaz.
But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion on them,
and he turned toward them because of His covenant with
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has
he cast them from his presence till now.
When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben had died.
His son became king in his place.
Then Joash the son of Jyaz, took again from Benedad the son of
Hazael, the cities that he had taken from Joaz, his father in
war. Three times Joash defeated him
and recovered the cities of Israel.
God kept his promise. Lord, we thank you from the
bottom of our hearts that in the Scriptures, in every part of it,
are woven gospel truths. We thank You that Christ is the
golden thread of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.
We can see him there. Lord, we ask with all the things
that we've heard that we would by your grace be able to retain
them. Help us like Elisha as we now
come to the conclusion of his ministry.
Serve you with every part of who we are until our final day,
Lord, and help us, O God, if we veer off.
If anybody even in this place knows that they are not in the
center of your will to remember Jacob even who changed the
direction because of faith and trusted in your goodness and
willing to rewrite his story. May that be so for some.
Here more we think about the legacy that we would have.
We do not ask for fame. We do not ask for influence.
We simply ask that by your wisdom, you would allow us to
reflect your character and to touch who you've appointed us to
come into contact with, and that they would see you in us.
Well, we pray for Maranatha Bible Church and every ministry
represented here. That You would allow us to be so
fragrant, so luminous, so filled with salt, that our absence
would be felt in the community, Lord, that our absence at our
workplace and our family gatherings would be felt.
That like Joash, who recognized the blessing of a man of God,
though he did not align himself to the same convictions, may our
testimony be similar. That when we are where we are,
people know it. And they can't deny the fruit
and the blessing that we offer because of Christ in us, the
hope of glory. So Lord, only you can make that
possible. Only you can animate us to such
a degree. And we submit ourselves to you
asking for it to be more true than it was when we walked in.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Let's stand worship the Lord.
If you ever want to do a Bible study in the chapter we covered,
I encourage you to revisit it with a different lens.
Trace the grace of God from verse one down to the final
verse of that chapter. Maybe you saw it throughout.
He kept His promise to Jehu and his descendants even though they
were wicked. He could have revoked it.
He could have stopped it. He could have said this is only
plunging you guys in the deeper darkness.
But He kept His word when Josh came to Elijah and was weeping
over him. He was an evil man.
And yet the Lord still you'd use Elijah to comfort him and to
remind him that I'm still available to you.
I mean, it bothers me when people criticize the Old
Testament, namely the character of God in the Old Testament.
It I have a low tolerance for it because when you study it, it
just, it's baffling. And lastly, even after Elisha
died, God went beyond that prophecy and raised a man from
the dead to tell that nation, I'm still here.
You can still cry out to me. Elisha might be gone, but I'm
still here. It's just, it blows my mind.
It really does. Maybe one of these days you can
do a whole, somebody can write a whole book just on the grace of
God in the Old Testament, story after story after story.
And if that's something that you endeavored to do, include Second
Kings chapter 13 in it. Let's pray indeed, Lord, you are
a gracious God. Oh, I pray, we pray together
that we would feel fresh motivation to use our strength
to serve you. Thank you for this wonderful
example. And Elijah, we want to serve
you, Lord, and in our service to you.
If we are ever, ever tempted to feel like we are somebody,
although you can't do this without us, Lord, help us
remember that a corpse performed a miracle that none of us can
imagine ever performing, That you can use dry bones.
Never mind our strength, never mind our life, our breath.
But Lord, with whatever we do have left, we consecrated unto
you, we pray for your empowerment.
And Lord, lastly, for anybody who is only shooting a few
arrows, not claiming all of your promises, may that change today.
May we take your word as it is. Come before you say, Lord, I
want all of it. Whatever is available to me, I
want it. If you're saying that I could be
in victory over sin, I wanted. If you're saying that I can walk
in the Spirit, I want it. If I can bear the fruit of the
Spirit, yes, I want it. If it's possible to pray without
ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances to rejoice always,
Lord, I want it. We want all of it, Lord.
So may our attitude towards your promises change.
Leaving this Bible study. We love you and we thank you
that you remind us of these things every week.
In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen and Amen and Amen.
Ministers come and go. Bible studies come and go.
Churches come and go. Jesus remains forever.
Walk with him. Would you, God bless you, Say hi
to somebody before you leave. We'll see you next week.
By the way, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, we started last week our
series in the Book of Revelation.
So this Sunday we are opening up Revelation chapter one, verse
one. We're not going to stay just in
verse. One, but read chapter 1 before
Sunday. I'm sure I'll change your
experience of our service. God bless you.