2 Kings 13:1-25
1 In the threea 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.
2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followedb the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
3 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.
4 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.
5 (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.c
6 Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walkedd therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.)
7 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.
8 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?
9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joashe his son reigned in his stead.
10 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.
11 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.
12 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?
13 And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
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.
15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
16 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.
17 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.
18 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.
19 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.
20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
21 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.
22 But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz.
23 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 presencef as yet.
24 So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead.
25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz tookg 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.
The Last Kings of *Israel and *Judah
Book of 2 Kings
Philip Smith
Chapter 13
Jehoahaz’s rule as king of *Israel
v1 Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, became the king of *Israel. That happened in the 23rd year of Joash’s rule. Joash, the son of Ahaziah, was the king of *Judah. Jehoahaz ruled over *Israel for 17 years. He ruled in Samaria. v2 He *sinned against the *Lord, as Nebat’s son Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam had caused the *Israelites to begin those *sins. And Jehoahaz did not stop those *sins. v3 So the *Lord was very angry with the *Israelites. He allowed Syria’s king Hazael and his son Benhadad continuously to defeat them.
v4 Then Jehoahaz prayed for the *Lord’s help. And the *Lord answered his prayer. The *Lord saw how fiercely the king of Syria was attacking *Israel. v5 The *Lord sent someone to free the *Israelites. They escaped from the power of Syria. So they lived in *peace as they had done before. v6 But the *Israelites still continued their *sins that the family of Jeroboam had made them do. Also, the image of the female god Asherah remained in Samaria.
v7 Jehoahaz had no army except 50 men with horses, 10 *chariots and 10 000 men on foot. The king of Syria had killed the rest. They became like mere dust when he attacked.
v8 You can read about all the other events during Jehoahaz’s rule. And you can read about his deeds and the things that he achieved. They are in the history of *Israel’s kings. v9 Jehoahaz died and people buried him in Samaria. His son Jehoash became the king after him.
Jehoahaz ruled from 814 to 796 *B.C.. He behaved in the same ways as Jeroboam had done. The result was that God allowed the kings of Syria to attack *Israel. Then Jehoahaz prayed for God’s help. Like many people, Jehoahaz only thought about God when he (Jehoahaz) was desperate. But God was kind to him. God still cared about the *Israelites. Their *covenant with God still existed. And so God acted on their behalf.
God listened to Jehoahaz’s prayers. God sent someone to free the *Israelites. It seems that God used a foreign king to do this. In 803 *B.C., the king of Assyria attacked Syria. The *Syrian army had to leave *Israel in order to defend their own country. And then the *Israelites had peace.
This shows how kind God is. Even if we do not obey him, he wants to forgive us. He even sent his son, Jesus, to suffer the punishment for our *sins. But we must be humble. We must confess our wrong deeds to him. And we must invite him into our lives. If we do these things, he will forgive us.
Jehoash’s rule as king of *Israel
v10 Jehoash, Jehoahaz’s son, became the king of *Israel in Samaria. That was in the 37th year of Joash’s rule. Joash was the king of *Judah. Jehoash ruled over *Israel for 16 years. v11 He *sinned against the *Lord, as Nebat’s son Jeroboam had done. Jeroboam caused the *Israelites to *sin. And Jehoash continued those *sins.
v12 You can read about the other events during Jehoash’s rule. And you can read about his deeds and the things that he achieved. They are in the history of *Israel’s kings. They include his war against King Amaziah of *Judah. v13 Jehoash died and Jeroboam became the king after him. People buried Jehoash in Samaria among the graves of *Israel’s kings.
Jehoash ruled from 798 to 782 *B.C.. He and his father probably ruled together from 798 to 796. Jehoash was not the worst king. But he still *worshipped *idols, as Jeroboam had done. We can read about his war with Amaziah. It is in 2 Kings 14:8-15.
v14 Now Elisha was suffering from the illness that would cause his death. King Jehoash of *Israel went to visit him. Jehoash wept. ‘My father, my father,’ he cried. ‘*Israel’s *chariots and horses!’
v15 Elisha told Jehoash to get a bow and some arrows. Jehoash did so. v16 ‘Take the bow in your hands,’ Elisha said to *Israel’s king. The king did so. Then Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.
v17 ‘Open the east window,’ Elisha said. Jehoash did so. ‘Now shoot,’ said Elisha. So Jehoash shot. Elisha said, ‘This is the *Lord’s arrow that will give you success against Syria. You will fight the *Syrians at Aphek until you have completely defeated them.’
v18 Then Elisha told the king to take the arrows. And he told the king to strike the ground with them. The king did so three times and then he stopped. v19 Elisha was angry with the king. Elisha said, ‘You should have struck the ground 5 or 6 times. Then you would have won against the *Syrians completely. But now, you will only defeat them 3 times.’
v20 Elisha died and people buried him.
Every Spring, groups of soldiers from Moab used to attack the country. v21 Once some *Israelites were burying a man. Suddenly, they saw a group of soldiers from Moab. So they threw the body into Elisha’s grave. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the dead man became alive. He stood up on his feet.
Elisha had been a *prophet for more than 60 years. There had been a period of about 45 years since he selected Jehu as king. We do not know what Elisha did from that time until this event. King Jehoash came to visit Elisha. He came to receive Elisha’s advice and *blessing before he (Elisha) died.
The king wept. He used the same words that Elisha had used earlier. Elisha had spoken them before God took Elijah away. Elisha used those words to express his *faith in God. Elisha had seen some of God’s powerful army of *angels. And Elisha realised that the *chariots and horsemen of that army were *Israel’s real defence.
But Jehoash seemed to use the same words with a different meaning. Jehoash was weeping because Elisha would soon die. Jehoash did not have *faith in God; and Jehoash did not see the army of *angels. So his words were a cry of despair. He did not know who would defend *Israel against the *Syrians. He respected Elisha as a great man, but Jehoash did not trust Elisha’s God.
Elisha said that King Jehoash would succeed against the *Syrians. He ordered Jehoash to shoot an arrow towards the *Syrians. Elisha put his own hands on the king’s hands. In that way, he was showing that the king would not succeed by his own efforts. Instead, the king must trust God for success. Elisha ordered the king to shoot towards the east. That was because the *Syrians had *conquered that area. To shoot an arrow in that way meant to declare war. Jehoash would defeat the *Syrians at Aphek, where Ahab had defeated them 60 years earlier.
Then Elisha told King Jehoash to strike the arrows on the ground. In that way, he tested whether Jehoash would attack the *Syrians more strongly than Ahab. Jehoash only struck the ground 3 times. That showed that he would not win completely against his enemies. Even as Ahab had not won completely, Jehoash too would not have complete success.
We do not know why Jehoash did not continue to strike the arrows against the ground. Some people have thought that he did not want to defeat Syria completely. Another country called Assyria was becoming very powerful. And in the future, Syria might support *Israel in their battles against Assyria. Probably however, Jehoash’s reason was simpler. Jehoash did not trust God. And he did not really believe that the *prophet’s words had much value. Jehoash had already struck the ground three times because Elisha asked him to do that. But Jehoash did not think that the action had any purpose. He thought that it was nonsense. He did not have any *faith that God would fight on his behalf. So he did not continue to obey the *prophet.
Elisha was angry. The king’s actions showed that he did not trust God. God wanted to fight on behalf of *Israel. God loved the *Israelites and he had made special promises to them. But, like all the kings of *Israel, Jehoash would not trust God completely. All these kings *worshipped the *idols at Bethel and Dan which Jeroboam established. They loved their *sin more than they loved God. The *Israelites would never be completely loyal to God.
Elisha died and the people buried him. A short time afterwards, a group of soldiers from Moab attacked. This happened often in the Spring. They would steal whatever they could take. And they would lead people away to be their slaves. So the *Israelites had to watch carefully as they carried out their daily tasks. They did not know when they might need to run away.
Some people were burying a dead man. But before the grave was ready, someone saw a group of soldiers from Moab. The people who were burying the body would have to run away. So they threw the body quickly into Elisha’s grave. The dead man became alive again and he stood up. That shows that God’s power makes people alive. That was an astonishing *miracle. It showed that, even after Elisha’s death, his God was still alive. It proved that God was still active in *Israel. He would still work on behalf of his people.
This is also a very special *miracle because God used something dead (Elisha’s bones) to give life. For Christians, that is an exciting idea. It reminds them how God gave new life to them by means of Jesus’ death. And God even gives life to people’s bodies by that same event. In Matthew 27:52-53, we read that after Jesus’ death, this happened. ‘Many among God’s people that had died became alive again. They left the graves.’ And that will happen again in the future (1 Corinthians 15:50-57).
v22 King Hazael of Syria dealt cruelly with the *Israelites while Jehoahaz was their king. v23 But the *Lord was kind to the *Israelites. He showed his love and care. He did that because of his *covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The *Lord did not want to kill all the *Israelites. And he did not want to end his relationship with the *Israelites.
v24 Hazael, the king of Syria, died. His son Benhadad became the king. v25 Then Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz, fought Syria. He took back all the cities that Benhadad had taken in war from Jehoash’s father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Benhadad three times. So he got back the *Israelites’ towns.
Jehoash was successful because God was kind to *Israel. But although God did all these wonderful things for Jehoash, Jehoash still did not trust God. Jehoash *worshipped false gods as all the kings of *Israel had done. God was kind to *Israel because of his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God always performs his promises. So although the *Israelites were not loyal to him, his special relationship with them continued.
Jehoash took back the cities that Benhadad had taken from Jehoash’s father. But Jehoash only defeated the *Syrians three times, as Elisha had *prophesied.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
Judah ~ one of the tribes in the nation called Israel; the southern part of that kingdom after it divided.
tribe ~ a group of people that share the same ancestors, language, and customs.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
sin ~ an action that is wrong or wicked, which is against God’s moral law; something that is against a law in a religion.
Lord ~ the name of God. We use this word to translate two different words in the original language. One word means ‘He is always God.’ The other word means ‘master’.
Israelites ~ people that belonged to the nation called Israel.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
peace ~ the absence of war; a situation when people and groups are friendly towards each other; when it is quiet; a calm and content attitude.
chariot ~ a kind of vehicle that soldiers used when they fought. Horses pulled it.
covenant ~ a special serious agreement between 2 people or groups; but especially the promises that God made to his people in Judah and Israel. In God’s main covenant, he promised to protect his people if they obeyed certain laws.
Judah ~ one of the tribes in the nation called Israel; the southern part of that kingdom after it divided.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
tribe ~ a group of people that share the same ancestors, language, and customs.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
Syrian ~ a person from the country called Syria; or anything that has a relationship with Syria.
worship ~ to praise God (or a false god); to give honour to God (or a false god) by sacrifice, prayer, song or action.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
idol ~ the image of a god to whom people give honour.
prophet ~ a person that gives a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God (or from a false god) that someone speaks; what someone says will happen in the future.
blessing ~ when God does good things to people and he protects them; a good thing that God does to people.
faith ~ strong belief that something will happen; trust that God (or someone else) will do what he says.
angel ~ God’s servant who takes messages from God to people on the earth. Angels live with God in heaven.
conquer ~ to take control over a country or a group of people by force.
miracle ~ a wonderful thing that God does by his power. People cannot explain it by means of human knowledge.
prophesy ~ to declare a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God (or from a false god) that someone speaks; what someone says will happen in the future.