2 KINGS LESSON 13


     We will begin this lesson in II Kings 13:1 "In the three 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."

     In all of these lessons, we are jumping back and forth from
Israel to Judah, and then back to Israel. The ten tribes of Israel and
the two tribes that make up Judah are very closely related. In both of
them, we see that the LORD blesses them, when they are faithful to
Him.  He severely punishes them, when they are unfaithful to Him.
Judah had a few kings that tried to please God. In the tribes of
Israel, there were no kings that truly lived for God. Again, we see
the king of Judah spoken of in relationship with Israel. The 23rd year
of the reign of Joash would have made the king of Judah 30 at the
time.  Jehoahaz would be king of Israel 17 years following the reign
of his father, Jehu.

     II Kings 13:2 "And he did [that which was] evil in the sight of
the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which
made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom."

     The sins, mentioned, here, are, probably, speaking of the two
golden calves. One of them was in Dan and the other in Bethel. They
were used in the worship of Jehovah, in some unusual way, but it was
displeasing to the LORD. It appears, their worship was mingled in with
Pagan worship. I believe this to be the sin, because that was the sin
of Jeroboam.

     II Kings 13:3  "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 Ben-hadad the son of Hazael, all [their] days."

     The LORD wanted them to worship Him in all purity. The first time
the calf worship is mentioned connected to the Israelites, was on
their journey to the promised land. He was so angry with that type of
worship then, that He killed thousands of the worshippers. This is
still golden calves they are worshipping. He is still angry, and gives
them over into the hands of the Syrians. The Ben-hadad, mentioned
here, is actually the first one's grandson. It appears, from this,
that during the reign of Hazael and the reign of Ben-hadad the second,
the Israelites warred with them, and the LORD helped Syria, instead of
Israel. Many times, the Lord allows wars to punish His people for
their sins.

     II Kings 13:4 "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."

     King Jehoahaz has done exactly what he should have done. He
sought the LORD. This is saying, that he prayed to the LORD in
earnest. It appears, that Jehoahaz had no idea that the golden calves
were offensive to the LORD. He prayed and repented, but not
specifically about the calves. He did realize this oppression from
Syria was a punishment, however. It appears, also, that the LORD heard
his prayer. God always listens to our earnest prayers. God did not
entirely remove the oppression, but lightened it somewhat. He did not
want them destroyed, just punished.

     II Kings 13:5 "(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."

     It is not clear, at this point, who this saviour is. The danger
of them all being killed was removed, and they were relatively calm
for a while. They were not in open warfare in danger of their very
lives, and they went back to their homes.

     II Kings 13:6 "Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of
the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, [but] walked therein: and
there remained the grove also in Samaria.)"

     This is just saying, that Israel went right on with their calf
worship, and their worship in the groves. Perhaps, they had done this
so long, they had ceased to realize it was sin.

     II Kings 13:7 "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."

     We can see, from this verse, that they had been reduced to very
small numbers, before Jehoahaz cried out to God. This army, that had
been into the hundreds of thousands, had been reduced to ten thousand.
The reduction of the horsemen had been to fifty, and they had only ten
chariots. This is not a very large army at all. We can see that Syria
could have annihilated them, if the LORD had not intervened.

     II Kings 13:8  "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?"

     It appears, the entire reign of Jehoahaz was filled with the
trouble with Syria. Again, the record book that was kept had the rest
of his activity written in it.

     II Kings 13:9 "And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they
buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead."

     This is not the same Joash that reigned in Judah. Both of them
were called Joash part of the time, and Jehoash the rest of the time.
Samaria was the capital of Israel, and would have been the logical
place to bury this king.

     II Kings 13:10  "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."

     Joash in Israel becomes king just three years before the Joash in
Judah dies. The similar names are, possibly, because of their close
association. These were, also probably, popular names of their day.

     II Kings 13:11 "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."

     This is the same situation as with his father. They still have
the golden calves, that Jeroboam had been guilty of setting up in
Bethel and Dan. He, perhaps, was a good king in the same sense his
father was, but in the sight of God, he was evil.

     II Kings 13:12 "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?" II Kings 13:13 "And Joash slept with his fathers;
and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with
the kings of Israel."

     This is an unusual place for this statement to be, since there is
more in this chapter about Joash. Again, the rest of the story of the
exploits of Joash is contained in the records they kept of the kings
of Israel. It is difficult to believe that Joash would have named his
son Jeroboam. You can tell from that, they had no idea he had done
something wrong by setting up the calf worship.

     II Kings 13:14  "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."

     Elisha had been a prophet in Israel for a great many years at
this time. He was, probably, about 80 years of age, when he fell sick.
We would assume that this illness is of old age. It would be terribly
unusual for the king of the land to come, and weep over a prophet. We
see that Joash had great respect for Elisha, even to the extent of
calling him father. Joash had some very good qualities, that are shown
by his concern here. Joash felt like the death of Elisha was the
signal that the strength of Israel was gone. He felt that God's
blessings on Israel would leave the earth with the death of Elisha. He
undoubtedly had great respect for Elisha as a prophet of God.

     II Kings 13:15 "And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows.
And he took unto him bow and arrows." II Kings 13:16 "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."

     This was a sign, that the blessings in battle would be in the
hands of Joash to deliver his people. Elisha's strength flowed into
Joash's hands. Of course, Elisha's power and strength came from God.
As a prophet, he represented the LORD on the earth.
     II Kings 13:17 "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]."

     This prophesy, spoken on Joash, said he would overcome Syria at
Aphek. He would deliver his people from these Syrians. The Lord would
be with him in this battle.

     II Kings 13:18 "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."

     It appears, that the striking of the arrows on the ground spoke
of the battles against Syria. Joash did not realize that Elisha wanted
him to strike the ground over and over, as in the fury of battle. He
just hit the ground three times and quit.

     II Kings 13:19 "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."

     Joash did not understand, that the striking of the ground
symbolized striking the earthly people of Syria. He had no idea what
this symbolized. He will, indeed, come against Syria three times. Had
he struck the ground over and over, he would have eventually destroyed
Syria. Now, he will beat them in three battles, but they will come
back again and again.

     II Kings 13:20  "And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the
bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year."

     The place of burial for Elisha would be a place of honor. The
nicest place to be buried in those days, was a tomb carved out of a
rock in a side of the mountain. This would be the type of place where
they would bury him. Elijah, you remember, was not buried, but carried
to heaven in a whirlwind. Moab attacks Israel regularly, and the time
would be at the beginning of the year.

     II Kings 13:21 "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."

     It appears, that some Israelites were attempting to bury a man,
when something startled them, and they accidentally put the man into
the tomb, where Elisha had been lain. Elisha seemed to still be
carrying out miracles for the LORD, even after his own death. When the
supposedly dead man touched the bones of Elisha, the man was revived
and lived. The request of Elisha had been to have a double portion of
what Elijah had. We know that Elisha saw him, when he was taken and
the Lord did give the double portion to Elisha. One of my dearest
preacher friends believes the miracle in verse 21 happened to
completely fulfill twice as many miracles done by Elisha as Elijah.
Elisha would have been one short of double had this not happened.

     II Kings 13:22  "But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all
the days of Jehoahaz."

     Syria was a heathen nation, and the LORD used them to chastise
the Israelites.

     II Kings 13:23 "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 presence as yet."

     This is the only reason, that the LORD did not let Israel be
totally destroyed. The covenant God had with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
had been a covenant of mercy. God wanted to bless them if they would
love Him and keep His commandments. It was their unfaithfulness that
caused their chastisements.

     II Kings 13:24 "So Hazael king of Syria died; and Ben-hadad his
son reigned in his stead."

     Earlier in this lesson, we discovered that this is speaking of
Ben-hadad the second.

     II Kings 13:25 "And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of
the hand of Ben-hadad 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."

     Jehoash is the same as Joash. This is an exact fulfillment of
what Elisha had told him, when he had him to strike the arrows on the
ground. These three victories by Joash brought the cities back to
Israel. We know the rest of the prophecy said, if he had continued he
would have totally defeated Syria, but he did not continue. In the
reign of Jeroboam the second, we will see this change back.
















                        2 Kings 13 Questions


1.  How long would Jehoahaz reign?
2.  Who was king in Judah, when he began to reign?
3.  What kind of a king was he in the sight of the LORD?
4.  What were the sins of Jeroboam?
5.  Their worship of God was mixed with _______ worship.
6.  Whose hands did the LORD deliver them into?
7.  Which Ben-hadad is mentioned in verse 3?
8.  Who sought the LORD for help?
9.  The king of Israel repented somewhat, but what sin did they remain
    with?
10. What was the size of the army of Jehoahaz?
11. Who reigned in the place of Jehoahaz?
12. What was the capital of Israel?
13. What was another name for Joash?
14. When did the Joash in Israel begin to reign?
15. What kind of king was he?
16. About how old was Elisha, when he became sick?
17. Who came to see him?
18. What strange statement did Joash make to Elisha?
19. Why was he so bereaved about Elisha?
20. What did Elisha do, that showed his strength in battle would be in
    the hands of Joash?
21. What did Elisha tell him to do, that would show the Lord's
    deliverance.
22. How many times did Joash smite the ground with the arrows?
23. Why was Elisha wroth with Joash?
24. Where would they bury Elisha?
25. What happened to the dead man, who touched Elisha's bones?
26. Why was the LORD gracious unto Israel?
27. How was Elisha's prophecy to Joash fulfilled?