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.” (2 Kings 13:18-19)

The King of Israel was with the dying prophet Elisha, and Elisha told him to shoot some arrows out a window in the direction of Israel’s enemy, Syria. In telling him to do it, Elisha made a connection between the shooting of the arrows and the opportunity for a victory to come over the Syrian army. Each arrow represented a battle won, the LORD’s deliverance of Israel against Syria.

But when King Joash had the opportunity to boldly take this promise of God and gain much, the king shot three arrows and stopped. He did not sense what he should have – that each arrow represented a victory in battle over the Syrians, and he should have received the prophet’s invitation with more boldness. 

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

There are many situations in which we should keep “shooting the arrows,” but we content ourselves with a small effort. God wants us to press forward, and we hold back. So, don’t hold back!

– Keep shooting in the battle against sin.
– Keep shooting in the pursuit of Christian knowledge.
– Keep shooting in the attainment of faith.
– Keep shooting to do more for the kingdom of God.
– Keep shooting because the world, the flesh, and the devil will not stop shooting at you! 

When God invites us to take something by faith, we should receive it boldly, and honor God by not falling short, by receiving all He wants to give. We should ask Him knowing that He is a great King and giver who is honored by bold, reverent requests.  

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

Brothers and sisters, when God opens a door or gives you an opportunity, make the most of it. “Keep shooting” until God tells you to stop!

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 13

Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die. Then 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!” (2 Kings 13:14)

Life is filled with strange things; things that are unusual or difficult to explain. 2 Kings 13:14 presents us with a few strange things.

First, it is strange that Elisha had become sick. Elisha was a man of God, and God used him to bring healing to many people and to perform many miracles. Nevertheless, even Elisha became sick.

This teaches us that even people of faith and miracles are not immune to sickness and disease. This great man of God became sick like others whom he had healed when God had used him as a channel of His power and blessing.

In fact, this was the illness of which he would die. Though God used Elisha on many occasions to heal others, God appointed this illness to be the means of taking Elisha from this world. God has no one single way that He does this; it is a mistake to believe that all the godly men and women die in their sleep without a hint of prior illness.

A second strange thing was the reaction of Joash the king of Israel. This Joash was a wicked man, yet he came down to Elisha and wept over his face. In sorrow over the soon death of God’s prophet, King Joash cried out: “the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!” If those words sound familiar, it is because Elisha said the same to Elijah at the end of the elder prophet’s days on this earth. When he said this to Elijah in 2 Kings 2:12, Elisha recognized the truestrength of Israel. He knew that the strength of Israel was really in the presence of the people of God and the message of God. Now Joash saw that the same strength was slipping from this earth and he mourned it.

It is strange that a miracle-working prophet should die from sickness, and that an ungodly king would mourn the passing of a godly man. Yet from these strange things, we can learn two lessons.

We learn that even though the man of God suffered, God did not forsake him. Elisha’s sickness was painful, but it brought him to heaven. Whatever he suffered, it was a pathway to something better. I heard of a godly man who suffered from a fatal illness, and on his deathbed, someone asked him how he felt. Knowing his death was near, the godly man answered, “Almost better.”

We also learn that we should try to live such lives of godliness and goodness that even ungodly men will miss us when we are gone. Elisha lived such a life, and with Jesus filling our life, by His grace we may do the same.

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 13

When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal heirs. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were being murdered; and they hid him and his nurse in the bedroom, from Athaliah, so that he was not killed. So he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD for six years, while Athaliah reigned over the land. (2 Kings 11:1-3)

We all know that many people of great power are also people of low character. For thousands of years, philosophers have asked: does power corrupt people, or does it reveal what they were all along?

That’s a big question, and maybe it doesn’t have an absolute answer. But we do know one thing: many people show unbelievably low character trying to gain power. They can be vicious, violent, and lose all morality just to get to the top.

That’s the kind of person Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah was. When she saw that her son was dead (killed by Jehu, 2 Kings 9:27-29), Athaliah tried to use her son’s death to take power for herself, and Queen Athaliah reigned over the land for six years.

Look at the evil she did: she destroyed all the royal heirs. She tried to kill every descendant of the house of David. She hoped to murder every person from David’s royal line who might make a claim to the throne. Her plan almost worked.

She might have succeeded, except for a woman name Jehosheba. This little-known woman was like a pawn compared to Queen Athaliah. But through her courage and ingenuity, Jehosheba preserved the royal line of David through which the Messiah would eventually come. Evil people like Athaliah will begin their work, but God can always raise up a Jehosheba.

Ignoring the danger, Jehosheba saved the life of this one little boy. His name was Joash, and he was hidden with her in the house of the LORD for six years. For the sake of David, God remembered His promise and spared this one survivor of Athaliah’s massacre. The line of David was almost dead and continued only in the presence of a small boy, but God preserved that flickering flame.

Like the Samuel, the boy Joash grew up in the temple. Like Samuel, he probably found little ways to help the priests, whatever could be done without attracting too much attention. God had a heroic destiny for that little boy, but it would never have happened apart from the heroic work of Jehosheba.

Thank God that He knows how to raise up people like Jehosheba. This pawn defeated a queen! No one can out-smart God or defeat His purpose. But this passage leaves us a choice: will we do damage to others through the lust for power like Athaliah, or will we be heroic servants like Jehosheba?

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 11

Then he said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD.” So they had him ride in his chariot. (2 Kings 10:16)

One of the strangest kings of ancient Israel was a man named Jehu. After he was anointed as king of the 10 northern tribes, Jehu took a bow and arrows and got busy. As an agent of God’s judgment, Jehu not only killed Joram the King of Israel (2 Kings 9:24), but he also killed Ahaziah the King of Judah (2 Kings 9:27). If that wasn’t enough, he then killed the wicked wife of Ahab, old Queen Jezebel (2 Kings 9:33). He then killed everyone he could from the family of Ahab (2 Kings 10). He did this as a unique instrument of God’s judgement against the House of Ahab, and there was a lot of blood on Jehu’s hands.

This was the man who said to Jehonadab, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD.” It’s true that God gave Jehu a mission of judgement and Jehu carried it out with great zeal. In this work of judgment against the House of Ahab he had a complete and energetic obedience to the LORD, even to the disregard of his own safety and comfort.

Zeal is good. In many ways, we want to see more zeal among Christians today and not less. Paul said that “it is good to be zealous in a good thing always” (Galatians 4:18). Jesus told the Christians of Laodicea to be zealous (Revelation 3:19).

Still, the zeal of Jehu was dangerous in several ways.

First, Jehu had zeal only for confrontation and violence. Some people only feel energized by conflict. They seem to always want confrontation and violence, even if it is only verbal or social media violence. Make sure your zeal isn’t only against others.

Second, Jehu’s zeal did not result in obedience. 2 Kings 10:29-31 describes some of the disobedience of King Jehu. It’s possible today to see some Christians who seem to be full of zeal, but somehow that zeal doesn’t lead to basic obedience in the Christian life. When that is true, something is wrong.

Third, Jehu’s zeal was corrupted by pride. A humble man doesn’t say, “see my zeal for the LORD.” Zeal isn’t something we put on to show off. When I am proud of my zeal, I am in a bad place – because my zeal becomes a show that I display to impress others. It shows that our zeal is not in the service of God’s glory, but in the service of making me look good.

I wish that more Christians had more zeal. The disciples of Jesus noticed the Savior’s great zeal (John 2:17). But zeal has its dangers, and it seems that many people fall into the trap of an ungodly zeal, failing in the same ways Jehu did.

Let’s make this our prayer: “Lord, make me a zealous Christian – in the very best way.”

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 10