II Kings 13:1-3- In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days.
Children tend to follow their parent's example. Jehu obeyed the Lord by wiping out the house of Ahab, and for this the Lord had promised him that four generations of his descendants would sit on the throne. But, Jehu didn't worship the Lord God Almighty, even though he believed in Him. He worshiped the false golden calves that Jeroboam had made. And, his son, also, worshiped them.
This mad God angry, and he sent the kings of Syria after Israel.
Micah 1:5-6- For the transgression of Jacob is all this, and for the sins of the house of Israel. What is the transgression of Jacob? is it not Samaria? and what are the high places of Judah? are they not Jerusalem? Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.
The Lord sent the prophet Micah to tell King Jehoahaz that He was going to keep sending wars down on the capital city of Samaria until it was a big pile of rubble.
This got Jehoahaz' attention.
II Kings 13:4-5- And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. (And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime.
God heard Jehoahaz' prayers and sent someone that would save them from the Syrians. But, this didn't stop them from serving false idols.
II Kings 13:6-7- Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.) Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing.
The Syrians had taken the army of Israel and destroyed them! The army that once had hundreds of thousands of soldiers now had only ten thousand, and only 50 horsemen, and only 10 chariots!
That's a terrible legacy for a king. His kingdom was strong, but now it was very weak!
II Kings 13:8-9- Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.
So, Jehoahaz died, and left this weakened kingdom to his son, Jehoash.
Now, Elisha has been around watching all this the entire time. Maybe he was performing miracles? Or, perhaps, he was traveling throughout Israel telling people what God wanted them to hear. But, now he is a very old man.
II Kings 13:14- Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
Elisha was about to die, and Jehoash, the king of Israel came down to see him in his final days.
II Kings 13:15-17- And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. 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 thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.
Elisha had one last message from the Lord for the king of Israel. He told Jehoash to shoot an arrow out the window, and this was to typify the Lord's delivering them from Syria.
II Kings 13:18-19- And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.
Then, Elisha told the king to hit the arrows on the ground, but he didn't say how many times. The king hit the ground three times with the arrows. Well, this upset Elisha because God had said that however many times Jehoash hit the ground with the arrows was the number of times that he would win a battle against Syria. He would only win three battles.
This was the last message that Elisha gave. He died after this.
Remember, when Elijah went up to heaven? Elisha had asked for a double portion of his spirit. This meant that Elisha would perform twice as many miracles as Elijah had.
When Elisha died, he was one miracle short of the goal. Did this mean that God lied to him? No! God doesn't lie. God was going to give Elisha the number of miracles that He promised.
II Kings 13:20-21- And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.
After Elisha was buried, there were some men out burying their dead friend. While they were headed to the gravesite, they saw some bands of wicked men coming into the land.
They were afraid, and so they threw their dead friend into the first grave they came to- Elisha's grave. And, when their dead friend's body touched Elisha's body, he came back to life!
You see, God always keeps His promises. Even when it seems like there's no way possible. Even if the person who prayed the prayer dies, God will still make sure that His promises are kept!
II Kings 13:22-25- But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead. And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.
Just as Elisha said in his last message, Jehoash beat the Syrian army three times.
II Kings 13:10-13- In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein. And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
Jehoash ruled for only 16 years, and all he was known for was war! When he died, his son Jeroboam was crowned king.
