Keep persisting! 2 Kings 13

The context of this story is that Elisha the prophet is old, sick and dying. The King Jehoash has done evil in the sight of God and not defended his own country. Disaster after disaster has befallen Israel because of their idolatry. He comes to Elisha’s sick bed full of good intentions. He still has some respect for God and therefore some regard and honour for Elisha and he is worried about what will happen to Israel when the prophet has gone. He knew that the strength of Israel really lay in the presence of this man of God. Now Jehoash sees the same strength slipping from this earth and mourns it. ( There is more commentary on this passage at the end of the blog ).

Now Elisha had become sick with the illness by which he would die. And Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, “O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!” 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, “Put your hand on the bow.” And he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, “Open the window to the east,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot!” And he shot. And Elisha said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram (Syria); for you will strike the Arameans in Aphek until you have destroyed them.”

Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground,” and he struck it three times and stopped. So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Aram until you had destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”

I have been fascinated by this story for the past couple of weeks. If you remember the first post I wrote about breaking ST with cold bugs and the demonic attachments via thoughts you will remember that I did this at least 6 times before the mucus stopped streaming down my throat on the plane. There is something about persistence and not giving up easily which this story in 2 Kings also illustrates dramatically. It’s easy to give up after a few times because I feel “It’s not working!” Therefore what’s the point. It’s just a cold! And that is the point of the enemy, he knows we will not persist. Especially when we don’t see any fruit and we feel stupid doing something like a prophetic gesture that has no immediate, obvious result.

Elisha tells the King he should not have stopped shooting the arrows, he should have shot them with energy and conviction and not stopped indifferently. What a lesson!

The shooting was a symbolic action declaring faith in the power of God to deliver the Israelites from their enemies, a prophetic gesture.

Prophetic gestures, done half-heartedly, release some power.

Prophetic gestures done in faith and passion, release more spiritual energy and destroy the enemy.

I asked Jesus for a verse recently, in my journal, and He gave me Lamentations 3:16

He has broken my teeth with gravel stones (grit/sand in the mouth) and covered me with ashes of humiliation.

Wow nice encouraging verse Jesus! You know what’s like having grit in your mouth don’t you? Terrible feeling. But you know since I arrived in Kalay I have been hit with a barrage of smallish irritations, like grit. A panic attack, followed by throwing up and diarrhoea, a sty in my eye, diarrhoea, itchy mosquito bites, a filling which is just hanging in there ( til I get to Thailand), more diarrhoea. There are other gritty things too which are par for the course living here like transport, printing, internet, food. But just imagine being a local and not having regular electricity and therefore no refrigerator, aircon or reliability for daily needs, roads which haven’t been fixed since the monsoon in 2015, an education system that has been failing since the 1960’s. You put up with and live with these things being irregular and irritating.

Here’s the point, evil never sleeps. It is constantly devising irritation, plans and schemes that disrupt, distract, keep us otherwise occupied and therefore often impotent for God’s plans. It breaks your teeth. It can be on a small personal scale or over a city.

But though an enemy ( a host) encamp around me, I will not be dismayed!! Here’s where persistence comes in. We must keep saying no to the irritations. Tell them to come into line, to obedience to the Lord Jesus. He is the Master of the winds and the waves, they must obey Him. Maybe it takes 5, 6-10 times+. Will you give up at 4?

So here’s what I am doing about diarrhea. I am treating it as a demonic irritation. My body was made to adapt and cope with food and water and different bacteria etc. So why should I not believe that it can adjust to this place. I am telling it to conform to the perfection of Christ. I am breaking ST with any bugs and with the thoughts like...oh it’s just diarrhea, it’s bound to happen...Bowel you will not be loose etc, etc.

So in the weekend we went for a walk. Now there are no public toilets to speak of here...I had been to the loo already, pretty loose. In the market I start to feel like I need a toilet. I tell it to get into line. Eventually I felt better, we carried on walking and I did not have another bowel movement until the next day. Same thing happened that next day. I was loose, we went out, needed a loo, told it to conform, felt better, carried on and since then we are all together if you get what I mean!!

These things are smokescreens, toothless, with no substance, just suggestion. But our belief gives power to it. We expect these irritations and we put up with them. I am saying if we change the way we think about it and we persist we don’t need to put up with them. Eventually the enemy will give up because with Jesus on our side, we have won the day!!

In a town like this, who has dominion?? The 'powers 'or Christ? I reckon it is time to stand up to irritations, grit in the mouth and persist.

GET THIS ENDING TO THE STORY

Elisha died, and they buried him.

Now marauding bands of Moabites would invade the land in the spring of the year. And it happened that as a man was being buried [on an open bier], they saw a marauding band [coming]; and they threw the man into Elisha’s grave. But when the [body of the] man [was being let down and] touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood up on his feet.

What do you think?? Agree with my thinking or am I way off the page? What's God saying to you? Put some comments on the blog.

COMMENTARY on 2 KINGS 13

1. Take a bow and some arrows: Joash was concerned that the true strength of Israel was about to depart from this earth. Therefore, Elisha used this illustration of the arrow shot through the window to show him that the arrow of the Lord’s deliverance was still present, and all Joash had to do was to shoot the arrow in faith.

2. For you must strike the Syrians at Aphek: Elisha made it clear that there was a connection between the shooting of the arrows towards the east and a strike against the Syrians that would bring deliverance to Israel.

i. “The window was opened eastward toward Syria and specifically toward Aphek, the most strategic site between Damascus and Samaria. Aphek was the city where Ahab had defeated the Syrians years earlier (1 Kings 20:26).” (Dilday)

ii. “It was an ancient custom to shoot an arrow or cast a spear into the country which an army intended to invade… The dart, spear, or arrow thrown, was an emblem of the commencement of hostilities.” (Clarke)

3. (18-19) 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.”

a. Take the arrows: These arrows represented the Lord’s deliverance of Israel against Syria. HE HAD JUST MADE THAT POINT.

b. Strike the ground: Joash timidly received this invitation of the prophet to shoot the arrows at no particular target so that they hit the ground. He shot three arrows and stopped, not sensing what he should have – that the arrows represented victories in battle over the Syrians, and he should have received the prophet’s invitation more boldly.

The phrase “Strike the ground” can be for shot arrows hitting the ground. Elisha asked Joash to shoot the arrows through the window at no particular target, not to pound them on the floor.

Elisha clearly asked Joash to do something that modeled prayer.

· Shooting the arrows required effort and aim.

· Shooting the arrows required instruction and help from the prophet of God.

· Shooting the arrows had to be done through an open window.

· Shooting the arrows had to be done without knowing the exact outcome ahead of time. The target was only fully known by faith.

· Shooting the arrows was ineffective because it was not repeated enough, reflecting a lack of confidence in the process.

· Shooting the arrows had its strategic moment, and when that moment passed it was gone.

· Failing to shoot the arrows hurt others, not only himself.

The man of God was angry with him: Because King Joash did not seize the strategic moment, Israel would enjoy only three victories over the Syrian army, instead of the many more they could have enjoyed.

i. “The prophet himself did not yet know how many victories Jehoash should obtain against the Syrians, but God had signified to him that he should learn that by the number of the king’s strokes.” (Poole)

ii. There are many situations in which we should keep “shooting the arrows,” but we content ourselves with a small effort. “He should have continued smiting till the prophet had said, Enough.” (Trapp)

· Keep shooting because the world, the flesh, and the devil will not stop their shooting.

iii. When God invites us to take something by faith, we must receive it boldly – and ask Him knowing that He is a great king and giver who is honored by bold, reverent requests.

iv. “Only Joash’s lack of faith, manifested in his half-hearted smiting the ground with arrows but thrice, prevented his destroying the Syrians utterly. And it was unto him according to his faith.” (Knapp)

d. But now you will strike Syria only three times: As it happened, life and death depended on how many arrows Joash shot to the ground. When King Joash had the opportunity to shoot the arrows, it probably seemed to be a small thing to him. He did not know that God’s plan for a nation and his seemingly small actions were vitally connected.

We think of all the excuses that Joash could have made; yet none of them are valid.

· “I stopped shooting because I didn’t want to be presumptuous and ask for too much.”

· “I stopped shooting because I’m not a very good archer.”

· “I stopped shooting because Elisha didn’t help me more.”

· “I stopped shooting because I thought three was plenty.”

· “I stopped shooting because I didn’t think it would do any good.”

· “I stopped shooting because I wasn’t in a shooting mood. I didn’t feel like it.”

· “I stopped shooting because I didn’t want to get over-excited.”