The God of Stubborn Grace, 2 Kings 13

The God of Stubborn Grace

Not long after the end of World War II, the young evangelist Billy Graham was called to the office of Conrad Adenauer, who was then serving as the chancellor of West Germany. Upon his arrival, Adenauer stood up and said, “Mr. Graham, I have a question for you: Do you really believe that Jesus rose again from the dead?”

“As a younger evangelist,” remembers Graham, “I was shocked. I was already nervous to be in the presence of a world statesman, and then to have this question thrown at me! I looked at him and said, ‘Sir, if I did not believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I would have no gospel left to preach.’ ”

Adenauer turned and walked across the room to the window, where he stood deep in thought, gazing out at the streets below. When the chancellor finally turned around, he said, “Mr. Graham, outside of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I know of no other hope for mankind.”

Adenauer was right. Apart from the risen Christ, apart from the power of God to bring the dead back to life, there is no hope for a dying humanity

You feel it - when you look at our society … the great need is for hope - not vague optimism that thinks, as long as we can imagine a better tomorrow … then somehow it will magically come. That’s naive. We need a rock solid hope, built on a foundation of truth - that there is reason to hope for sunshine when all you can are the grey clouds that have you submerged in darkness?

Well today’s text from God’s Word, once again, as it does every time we open it .... one again it takes us from what we can see with our eyes of flesh … into the reality that is above it all, the truth that God is Powerful, He is at Work … and He is a God of STUBBORN GRACE.

READ -

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1 A DOWNWARD SLIDE, vv. 1-13

Chapter 13 begins by introducing us to two new kings in Israel. First up is Jehoahaz, in v. 1. Remember - the people of God are divided into 2 separate nations and have been that way since the generation after king Solomon. There is the Southern Kingdom of Judah, where Jerusalem and the Temple of God are at the centre - and there is the northern Kingdom of Israel, with Samaria at the centre. And ever since the division of the one people of God has taken place, the kings of Judah have been a mixed bag … some good, some bad, many are somewhere in between.

In the Northern kingdom - every single one of the kings has had the same notice in their obituary. It’s the notice that comes for Jehoahaz in v. 2: He, ‘… did what was evil in the sight of the LORD ...”. There is not an exception. The entire reason God raises them up to the throne, is so that they will lead their people closer to their God - to worship Him more fully, to delight in Him more deeply.

.... and even after seeing the failure of the king who has just gone before … and the king just before that … and so on and so on … despite seeing the history of consequences for walking in sin and leading the people in false worship - every single king falls down at exactly the same place. Again and again and again we read as v.2 of our text puts it: “He .... followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” He was the first king of the north and his story

1 Kings 12:25-30 “Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” So the king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.”

Convenience religion

More significant than that even - it is taking the people back to the paganism they lived in BEFORE they were rescued from slavery in Egypt. The language of Exodus in chapter 12.

It’s a temptation to abandon the costliness of the pilgrimmage journey through the wilderness in the presence of the Living God of the universe … and to replace His holy, presence, with the metal gods that your own hands can make and fashion. A god you make up yourself, is much more manageable and has so many less requirements, doesn’t he?

See how Jeroboam, as he sets up the 2 false places of worship - uses the exact same words as Aaron did, at the foot of Mount Sinai, just after God had rescued His people from Egypt’s chains. Moses is on the top of the mountain, receiving God’s instructions for how an unholy people can walk with a holy God. Meanwhile - at at very moment, at the bottom of the mountain … there is Aaron his brother, taking the gold that God prompted the Egyptians to give His people on the way out of town as a farewell gift … Aaron is taking that very gift of gold, the most valuable possessions … handed over, melted down and fashioning a calf out of it and then presents it before the people and says, ‘Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

And king after king after king - in the face of the clearest commands and warnings from God himself - - dumbed down their relationship with the God of glory … and perverted the worship He instructed .... into a religion of convenience. It is so much more convenient to do a ritual or two in front of a golden statue you can put in your suitcase and carry around with you.

Well, it may be convenient - but there’s no power there. And there’s no delight in God there. Oh there are consequences to worship by convenience rather than truth:

Verse 3, “The anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel and He gae them, continually, into the hand of Hazael, king of Syria” … and his son after him.

When things get unbearable enough and his people seem to be on the edge of losing everything … Jehoahaz does something that no other Northern King has done yet. Verse 14, “He sought the favor of the Lord.”

And I want you to notice the LORD’s response. King after king has ignored His clear commands about worship - and chosen convenience over obedience - INCLUDING THIS KING … But when the rebellious human ruler becomes desperate enough to bend the knee:

Verse 4, “The LORD listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the King of Syria oppressed them. (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.” It’s the same language used of God’s response to Israel, when the people were still slaves in Egypt, worshiping the idols of their slave-masters.

The people don’t step away from their sins. Verse 6 tells us that. God would have known that when Jehoahaz was pleading for help .... and yet still he rescues the people. O, see His stubborn grace in action.

The people’s homes are still standing; the people are still living in them. There’s a reprieve .... but there are consequences.

The army is decimated. The once proud army of Israel - has been reduced all the protective power of a shopping-mall security force. According to v. 7, all that’s left are 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10 thousand foot soldiers. According to v. 7 - the army is about as strong a defense as the dry chaff on a threshing floor, on a windy day at harvest time. These are miserable times.

Jehoahaz dies. In verse 10, his son Jehoash (or Joash) takes his throne. This Jehoash is NOT to be confused with the Jehoash, who is, at this very time, sitting on the throne of the Southern Kingdom, in Jerusalem. Two different kings, two different kingdoms. And THIS Jehoash has a reign just like his dad’s - the same verdict given to him in v. 11, which means this king is useless and the nation is sliding ever further down the slippery slope into destruction.

But it does just happen to be during Jehoash’s reign, that v. 14 comes up - and that IS something significant.

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2 THE DEATH OF HOPE? vv. 14-21

Verse 14 brings Elisha back onto the stage. We haven’t heard from him for a long time - not since the anointing of Jehu a generation ago in chapter 9, but God’s prophet is still alive. Elisha is alive, but he’s not well. In fact - v. 14 tells us that he has, ‘fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die ...’.. King Joash hears he isn’t well, so he goes down to pay him a visit.

The royal entourage parades its way through the streets of town to the humble house of the prophet. The king leaves his bodyguards behind, enters the house and walks into Elisha’s bedroom - and what he sees must have been hard to take. It’s hard for some of us to take, who have made this journey through the books of Kings. This man of God has found a place in our hearts. When we first met him, he was working his father’s fields with the oxen and the plow. This was a strong young man - a farm boy, single-handedly managing 12 pair of oxen … who had left the family business and his entire family behind to follow God’s call on his life.

He has carried himself with a presence that demands respect and everyone respected him (well, except some young street thugs who called him ‘baldy’ a few too many times - and they found out the hard way, that you don’t mess with a man of God like Elisha). Now, here he lies in his bed, and the body, once defined by the muscles of a youthful outdoorsman … well the muscles have shrivelled. The once crystal-clear, penetrating eyes, have lost their sharpness. His face has lost its color … and it is very clear by looking at this man who seemed invincible … that his days on this earth are rapidly coming to a close.

The king is overwhelmed and overcome by emotion. He breaks down. Verse 14, “… Joash king of Israel went down to him and wpt before him, crying, ‘My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’

Can you feel the pathos? You’ve been at the bedside of the person you knew you couldn’t live without. They were your foundation. They were your rock in the treacherous seas - your Jehoiada, whose life we looked at last week … your connection to the Lord. You could always count on their advice, they made you strong in times of trial … and now you are about to lose them. You’ve been there.

And he uses the very words Elisha himself used in 2 Kings 2:12, when HIS mentor, Elijah was taken up to heaven, in the whirlwind, surrounded by the those chariots of fire. Elijah himself had been the chariots of Israel and its horsemen - that is, the STRENGTH of Israel in dark and dangerous times. Now, he was leaving the earthly scene and going up into heaven. Elisha was beside himself: What would God’s people do now? “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”

Well, maybe you have been in that place of brokenness over losing your spiritual mentor .... but actually, king Jehoash isn’t where he might seem.

Some of your translations read, in v. 14, that he ‘wept over him’. That’s misleading. It is better to translate the verse as the ESV does here, ‘he wept BEFORE him’. This is no concern over Elisha dying. There couldn’t be - Jehoash didn’t show any concern over Elisha when he was living. This is the king who did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He didn’t depart from all the sins of Jeroboam.

No, this king is a pathetic little man who is worried about himself - what Elisha’s death is going to mean for his future. that’s why he weeps. When he cries out about the chariots and horsemen of Israel - he’s NOT thinking about Israel’s God and faithful trust in His powerful provision as the strength of the nation .... he’s crying because his pitiful army is broken and Elisha’s presence is the only thing standing between Israel and destruction … worried about the physical chariots and horses.

He’s not concerned about Elisha’s god

The king is saying the same thing - and it’s not that he’s wrong - Elisha has been the one giving Israel most of their all-too-few victories over the enemy Syria. So many times we’ve seen it:

When the city of Jericho had no water for the people to drink - Elisha healed the water (2 Kings 2:19–22). He cursed his enemies and they were mauled by bears at Bethel (vv. 23–25). A widow on the brink of starvation and on the very day her creditor was going to take both of her sons into slavery to recover the debt she owed … Elisha tells her to collect empty jars from her neighbours and pour out the remaining drops of oil in her house. She does. Every single jar is filled - she sells it all and not only pays off her debt, but has money to live on for the rest of her life. He brings the Shunammite’s son back to life. He cures death in the pot, from a toxic stew that one of his students makes for the school of the prophets. He feeds a hundred men with 20 little buns. He heals a foreign military general named Namaan of his leprosy. He makes a borrowed axe-head to float.

Then there’s the time when his servant is terrified at the Syrian army surrounding their town at Dothan … Elijah prays - and the servant’s eyes are opened to see the hillside surrounding the city literally covered with with horses and chariots of fire - heaven’s army. He prays that God will strike the enemy forces with blindness and then Elisha leads the enemy right into the heart of Israel’s capital city where they are trapped.

Story after story of how this man of God - moving in faith and in the power of God, takes care of the needs of anonymous widows with nothing and takes care of menacing armies. And that’s on top of all the prophecies he made which all came precisely true.

So, when Jehoash, the weak, snivelling king, comes crawling to Elisha, crying like a baby and calling him, “The Chariot and horses of Israel”, do you see what he’s doing? He’s acknowledging that, “I may be the one sitting on the throne, making laws, giving orders to the officials and commanding what’s left of the army … I may be the KING .... but you, Elisha, the prophet of God … YOU are the real strength of the nation.”

And of course he’s right!

Psalm 20:7, “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” So where was this king when Elisha was calling God’s people to single-minded devotion to God - he was stubbornly following in the sin of Jeroboam, that’s where he was. He wasn’t interested in Elisha’s spiritual direction then … he just wanted the perks of protection that the man of God would bring. Now that he’s about to lose it .... he’s in a state of panic.

So what does Elisha say? “There’s a price to pay for spiritual compromise. A god of your own creation and shaping seemed to work fine for you when you were feeling secure, but now that you are afraid of losing me - there’s nothing solid to stand on, is there? Well, that’s on you … You’re on your own … It’s time to pay the Piper.”

Elisha could have said that. He could have said that and most of us would say: “Yes! You tell him Elisha. We all hate being used.”

But that’s not what he says.

Elisha props himself up in bed and tells the king to grab some weaponry. Verse 15, “Elisha said to him, ‘Take a bow and arrows.’” “So he took a bow and arrows.”

Verse 16, “Then he said to the king of Israel, ‘Draw the bow,’ and he drew it.”

Don’t miss what’s going on here - the dying man of God is in control - giving orders to the very much alive king … and the king, like an obedient (CHILD?), step by step, command after command, is doing everything exactly as he’s told.

Elisha takes the king’s hands in his and v. 17, “Open the window eastward,’ and he opened it.” Then Elisha said, ‘Shoot,’ and he shot’”. See how the story is being built - Elisha gives a specific command and the king obeys the command to the letter.

‘The LORD’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria!’ For you shall fight the

The arrow is the symbol of victory, Elisha says - and now he wants to know how much he wants it. Will he grab the promise tenaciously?

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.’” Likely he means to take the arrows from the quiver and shoot through the window into the ground outside. So what does Jehoash do?

Verse 18 tells us - “And he struck three times and stopped.” One shot … two shots … three shots … and the king puts down the bow.

Elisha is furious. Why is he so angry? He’s angry because the king’s response proved half-hearted faith. Verse 19, “You should have struck five or six times (in other words - ‘you should have kept shooting until I told you to stop’), then you woul have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”

O Jehoash! You had God’s promise of victory - you should have grabbed it with both hands and clung with all of your might .... but you were content to be a three-victory man.

Basketball days - big game coming up, in the practices leading up to it - the times when the coach would get the most angry … not when we made mistakes, missed a pick or messed up a set-play (okay, he did get mad then, too. He got mad lots — it’s who he was. BUT …). He was most upset when it seemed like we didn’t care. When there was no desperation in our play - no determination to play to the whistle an

Look down to 2 Kings 13:24-25 “When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.”

Three victories - Josh received from the LORD exactly what he wanted.

And there’s a principle for our spiritual lives here - God always seems to give us as much of Himself as we want of Him. He doesn’t reward us according to what we deserve .... but what we desire.

Jesus, “Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened to you.” James, “You do not have because you do not ask ...”.

John 7:37-38, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ””

Fits with what God promises in the words of the psalmist: “Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.”

Joash opened his mouth … just enough to get a grain of rice between his teeth, but nowhere near wide enough to enjoy the FEAST God prepared.

It is the problem with so many people, so often. It’s my problem. You feel as though your job here, on this side of eternity is to do your Christian duty - go to church, avoid evil, read your Bible every once in awhile .... and hold on until heaven. GOD HAS SO MUCH MORE FOR YOU THAN THAT!

ILLUSTRATION - “If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” —C.S. Lewis

Oh friend, what are passionate about? This year has begun with many people feeling immersed in a fog of chaos. Talking to a couple of people this week - feeling low. Feeling that the world has taken a turn for the miserable ...

God is saying, “Take the arrows and strike the ground with them.” And I want to ask: “Are you?”

Elisha’s scolding of the king is the last thing that this mighty man of God says in Scripture. Verse 20: “So Elisha died, and they buried him.” Doesn’t it seem like he dies with a whimper - after all the things he’s said and done - that’s how he goes out?!

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3 DRY BONES THAT BRING LIFE, vv. 20-23

Oh but Elisha isn’t finished yet. He may be dead and buried, but he has more ministry still to do.

2 Kings 13:20-23, “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, a 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. Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 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.”

So the friends and family of a man are in the cemetery, preparing to bury their loved one. Suddenly, the funeral is surpirsed by a squad of enemy soldiers. Who knows what kind of indignities these roving Moabites will commit against the people or the body … they have to get rid of the body as quickly as possible, so they toss it into the nearest cave, dug into the hillside - bordering the property - that’s the typical tomb. Well, the tomb they use as an emergency drop off, just happens to be the tomb of none other than Elisha the prophet. In goes the body and the very moment that the corpse touches Elisha’s bones, the man spings back to life. He is instantly and miraculously transferred from death to life by the dead prophet’s bones!

What a story. This is one of the

So, Elisha is gone. But verses 20-21 tell us that his ministry isn’t over yet. READ