ENOUGH FAITH TO FINISH

2 Kings 13:18 “Then he said, "Take the arrows," and the king took them. Elisha told him, "Strike the ground." He struck it three times and stopped.”

King Jehoash wept over Elisha who was on his deathbed. He used the same statement Elisha had used of Elijah in 2 Kings 2:12. Saying “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” was recognition of the important role Elisha played in the defense of Israel. Israel’s strength was not in chariots and horses, but in the power of God displayed through His prophet. King Jehoash, though a wicked king, was not ignorant of the great loss Elisha’s death would bring to the kingdom. Jehoash had inherited a weakened kingdom from his father and was undoubtedly aware that he needed a miracle to defeat Syrian forces.

Though he recognized the mighty ways in which Elisha had been used, Jehoash was not known for serving God. 2 Kings 13:11 says that he did evil and continued in Jeroboam’s sins, the worship of the golden calves. But who do desperate people come to in desperate times? The man or woman of God; the church, or people in the church; a godly neighbor they know prays; a friend who’s been witnessing to them for years. They know you have a hotline to God. Jehoash recognized that God had used Elisha mightily in Israel, therefore he wept over the coming loss.

But in the midst of his despair, God handed King Jehoash the opportunity of his lifetime. The opportunity to terminate the Syrians once and for all was at hand. Elisha responded to Jehoash’s words by giving him specific instructions of what he was to do. Jehoash was to take a bow and some arrows. Elisha then put his hands momentarily on the king’s hands signifying the power of God moving through the prophet of God into Jehoash to perform this great feat. Then the king was to shoot an arrow out the window in the direction of the Israelite territories held captive by Syrian armies. When he did this Elisha explained the action by saying that the arrow represented the victory God would give to the armies of Israel over Syria at Aphek.

Unfortunately, Jehoash lacked the faith to fully obey the prophet. He become half-hearted in completing the tasks that Elisha laid out for him. He stopped short. Jehoash took a golden opportunity and turned it into a lost opportunity because of a lack of faith.

Have you ever suffered from a lack of faith? God wants you to believe for bigger and better things. Have you ever found yourself stuck in a cycle of unbelief? Perhaps you have felt or even responded like Jehoash from time to time. Not necessarily by living in wickedness, but in lacking in faith in the way he expressed in front of Elisha. Perhaps our zeal is all but quenched and we are struggling and just going through the motions.

While looking at this story it cannot be stressed enough that throughout God’s Word we learn that the victory in any battle that God’s people are in will not be won through physical, intellectual or political might, but by the power of God. It requires great faith to achieve these victories.

Jehoash lost his opportunity because of unbelief, will you? Be challenged to stretch your faith. Our God is able to do immeasurably more than you can ask or imagine.