The carousels of kings continue in 2 Kings 13. Recently, I have been notified of the loss of a great teacher and mentor of mine in high school. He died fighting cancer. I have known of the influence he had in my life and it was clearly not his own. He taught from a strong knowledge of God, with grace like Christ, and with empowerment by the Holy Spirit. As I mourn the loss of him, this passage speaks of the loss of Elisha. Jehoahaz now is the current king of Israel. He ruled for 17 years and did evil in the sight of the Lord. (vv.1-2) Because of this great evil, Israel continued to be given over to Hazael, king of Aram. However, Jehoahaz did briefly cry out to the Lord and He granted them a deliverer and they were able to have some peace during this period. (vv.3-5) But war continued and Jehoahaz died. Joash takes his place. (v.9) But he too, did evil in the sight of the Lord and died; Jereboam takes his place. (v.13) While Joash was king of Israel a time of mourning is witnessed as Elisha became sick and was dying. Joash visited him and Elisha commanded him to do a series of things: 1) Take a bow and arrows (v.15), 2) Shoot towards the east (v.17), and 3) Strike the ground with the arrows (v.18). Unfortunately, he only struck the ground three times when Elisha expected him to do it five or six times. The interpretation for this is that Joash would only defeat Hazael, king of Aram, three times. (vv.19; 24) After Elisha was buried, the text recorded one last miracle. There was a marauding band of Moabites who were burying a man. They saw a grave and tossed the body on top of Elisha’s bones. Immediately, after the body touched the bones, he revived and stood on his feet. (vv.20-21) This miraculous power of God still evident in Elisha’s bones must’ve been an incredible sight. As I sit here and type, I am reminded that this is the same Spirit I recall of my teacher Mr. Safreed. Even today, remembrance of him empowers me, because of the strong presence of the Holy Spirit within him. He granted me not only the belief that I could reach my potential, but in invested in me, so that I too may be godly. That can only come from the power of Christ. May the Holy Spirit empower your dead bones today! #godlylegacy “In his life, Christ is an example, showing us how to live; in his death, he is a sacrifice, satisfying for our sins; in his resurrection, a conqueror; in his ascension, a king; in his intercession, a high priest.” –Martin Luther
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 15:28:45 +0000
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