Jehoash: The Skeptical King (2 Kings 13:10-25)
Jehoash: The Skeptical King
2 Kings 13:10-25
Once again we have the fun problem of another king by the same name.
We just got finished with a king named Jehoash the son of Ahaziah.
He was the baby that the priest Jehoiada saved from the death attempt of queen Athaliah.
And we talked all about him as an apostate who did well so long as Jehoiada was a priest to instruct him.
But once Jehoiada died, Jehoah turned apostate and even had Jehoiada’s son murdered for prophesying the truth.
And so you remember Jehoash.
But, in order to make sure we stay as confused as possible,
Now we are going to deal with a different Jehoash.
So now we have Jehoash as king of Judah
And Jehoash as king of Israel
And to further complicate things.
Since the writer couldn’t call both kings Jehoash at the same time,
He just started calling the first Jehoash by a different name. (Joash)
(10) “In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoas the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years.”
And so now you know who we are dealing with.
Last week we saw Jehoahaz, the king who loved sin.
The king who cried out to God when things got hard,
But turned back to sin when the consequences let up.
Now we see his son take the throne.
And so we are dealing with Jehoash, the skeptical king.
Before we get into the specific incident that seems to epitomize his life
We first see the basic appraisal of his life.
(11) “He did evil in the sight of the LORD; he did not turn away from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, with which he made Israel sin, but he walked in them.”
Like his grandfather Jehu…
Like his father Jehoahaz…
Jehoash falls right in line.
He won’t let go of this sin of Jeroboam that is continually bringing
The wrath and punishment of God upon Israel.
And hopefully you remember from last week
Just how severe the punishment of God has become because of this sin.
• Aram was attacking Israel and so Jehoahaz cried out for relief.
• And you may remember that God raised up a deliverer.
• Of course when things got easy Jehoahaz and Israel returned to their idolatrous sin and so God judged them again.
(It was that cycle we talked about)
And so in verse 7 we were able to see
How severe God’s punishment presently was.
2 Kings 13:7 “For he left to Jehoahaz of the army not more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and 10,000 footmen, for the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing.”
God had crushed Israel into a fine powder.
There were only 50 cavalry, and only 10 chariots, and only 10,000 infantry.
They were at the bottom.
All because these kings would not let go of the sin of Jeroboam.
And yet, here we find Jehoash falling right in line.
God calls him evil because like his ancestors,
He won’t let go of this sin either.
And then we get another statement about Jehoash in which the writer alludes to another incident in his life that seemingly backs up this wicked appraisal.
(12-13) “Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne; and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.”
I’m not sure why, but the writer will repeat these verses verbatim in (14:15-16)
(Probably indicating that they don’t belong in one of the places; a scribal error)
But what they provide for us is another incident
To support this appraisal of wickedness.
The writer said that Jehoash fought with Amaziah king of Judah.
TURN TO: 2 KINGS 14:8-16
Amaziah defeated Edom and felt on top of the world.
He then thought he would go ahead and flex his muscle over Israel
An idea which Jehoash tried to discourage.
(8-10)
But Amaziah was stubborn and so the fight was on, and Jehoash won the fight.
(11-12)
Next is the disappointing part as far as Jehoash is concerned.
(13-16)
It is disappointing that Jehoash
Went ahead and plundered the temple.
And that kind of brings his attitude full circle.
God had commanded that all worship be done at the temple in Jerusalem.
But Israel revolted under Jeroboam and worshiped at the golden calves.
THE POINT THEN IS THIS.
Instead of returning to God’s temple as he should of done,
He is plundering it.
Not only did he participate in the sin of Jeroboam, he persisted in it
And even hindered the worship in Jerusalem.
And because of this, God judges him a wicked king.
But aside from that appraisal,
Scripture gives us some more insight about this king.
I have told you from the start that the book of the kings
Is a very pointed book. It has a very clear purpose.
The writer wants you to understand the extreme importance
Of seeking and trusting God.
This morning it is no different.
We get an incident that is again meant to teach us
The importance of seeking and trusting God.
There are 5 divisions in our text this morning, as we study Jehoash, the skeptical king.
#1 THE CRY FOR DELIVERANCE
2 Kings 13:14
Here we see Elisha reenter the picture.
Some suppose that his ministry has been quiet now for several years.
I don’t think that is the case at all.
Rather, I think the writer took the events that scattered throughout Elisha’s life and lumped them together in order to make a point.
For all we know some of those miracles have been fairly recent.
This was never intended to be a chronological book,
But rather a theological one.
What is clear is that Elisha is about to die.
He has an illness and he is near the end.
And upon receiving word of this illness,
Jehoash goes to him, “and wept over him”
We could debate why he was weeping.
Did he love Elisha so much that he hated to lose him?
(possibly)
I tend to think, however, that he recognized Elisha as a deliverer
And feared that once Elisha was gone, deliverance would be gone as well.
And I think this is supported with what Jehoash says next:
He “came down to see him and wept over him and said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”
As he is weeping over Elisha he immediately reminds him
Of the horrific state of Israel’s military.
Remember?
50 horsemen, and only 10 chariots.
It is almost like Jehoash is saying, “You can’t die right now,
Our military is in shambles and we need help!”
Whether or not his mourning is sincere in regard to Elisha,
That is for you to determine, what is clear is that
He is crying out to Elisha for help.
This is Jehoash crying out to God’s prophet for deliverance.
And as we said last week, it is a fundamental law of God.
When you seek Him, you find Him.
Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
It is a guarantee that if you seek God, you find Him.
And the reason is just as clear.
BECAUSE GOD IS GOOD.
TURN TO: PSALMS 107
The Cry for Deliverance
#2 THE PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE
2 Kings 13:15-17
And just as we noted.
If you seek, God delivers, and that is the promise that is given here.
Elisha is about to give a “hands on” lesson.
• He tells Jehoash to take a bow and arrows
• Elisha then puts his hands on Jehoash’s hands (to signify the help of God)
• And then Jehoash is told to shoot.
And then came the promise.
(17) “The LORD’S arrow of victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you will defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them.”
Just as easy as shooting an arrow out a window.
God is going to put His hand on you and give you victory.
You will be in the battle…
You will shoot the arrows…
But the battle is God’s and the victory is His, in fact even the arrow is His.
And we would expect nothing less from God.
The Cry for Deliverance The Promise of Deliverance
#3 THE SKEPTICISM TOWARDS DELIVERANCE
2 Kings 13:18-19
Now we know God will deliver,
It is time to DETERMINE THE EXTENT OF HIS DELIVERANCE.
The extent of God’s deliverance is proportional to the faith of Jehoash.
And so Elisha tells Jehoash to “Strike the ground”
Most likely the command is to take arrows
And shoot them (out the window) and into the ground.
We determined that the arrow was a picture of God’s victory, Elisha wants Jehoash to determine the extent of that victory.
However, after three shots, Jehoash quits.
(19) “So the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times.”
The obvious question then is this.
If Jehoash recognized that he was symbolically destroying Aram, why would he have stopped short?
The answer seems to be that he wasn’t all that in to Elisha’s prophecy.
He was skeptical of what Elisha was saying.
And so to him it didn’t matter how many times
Because this all seemed like a bunch of nonsense anyway.
He was doubting what God was promising through Elisha.
Now let me ask you:
DO YOU EVER CRY OUT FOR GOD TO DELIVER, BUT FAIL TO BELIEVE THAT HE WILL?
In times of trial we doubt God’s love…
In times of poverty we doubt God’s provision…
In times of uncertainty we doubt God’s leadership…
AND THIS IS WHAT SATAN DESIRES.
(Did you catch that in your Sunday School lesson? –
Satan seeking to cast doubt between Jesus and the Father?)
WE ARE OFTEN TEMPTED TO DOUBT AND WE OFTEN SUCCOMB TO IT.
If you have, I can assure that you are not alone.
Ever heard of a man named Peter?
Matthew 14:28-33 “Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” And He said, “Come!” And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “You are certainly God’s Son!”
How about the greatest man born of woman?
Matthew 11:1-4 “When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities. Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”
Of course Thomas is often referred to as the doubter.
John 20:25 “So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”
2 Timothy was written because Timothy was filled with doubt.
SO IF YOU HAVE EVER DOUBTED GOD,
I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
YET, SIN IS STILL SIN REGARDLESS OF HOW ROUTINE IT IS.
Just because great men did it does not mean it is ok.
DOUBTING GOD IS A SIN
Jesus said:
Luke 24:38 “And He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”
Later James came preaching and said:
James 1:5-8 “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
It is a sin to doubt God,
And that is partly why Elisha was angry at Jehoash.
Doubt paralyzes a person from obedience and effectiveness.
• It was Peter’s doubt that caused him to freeze on the water…
• It was the disciples doubt that would hinder their prayer life…
• James said it is our doubt that makes us unstable…
And that is why Scripture calls for confidence.
Paul told Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:12 “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”
2 Timothy 3:14 “You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them,”
Paul told the Romans:
Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If you want a great example of confidence, look to the Father of Faith.
Romans 4:18-22 “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
And this is what God is looking for.
We are NOT talking about faith in faith.
We are NOT talking about finding something you want and faithing it to be true.
What we are talking about
Is believing what God says without any doubts.
This is the faith God is looking for.
In fact, Scripture says without it, you cannot please God.
God desires for us to believe He will do what He says He will do.
Jehoash obviously was skeptical and it angered Elisha.
Furthermore it limited the deliverance that Jehoash might have experienced.
The Cry for Deliverance The Promise of Deliverance
The Skepticism towards Deliverance
#4 THE CONFIRMATION OF DELIVERANCE
2 Kings 13:18-19
NOW YOU UNDERSTAND THE STORY
The Moabite raid messes up the funeral, and to speed things up the dead man is buried with Elisha, but when he touches Elisha’s bones, the man comes back to life.
While reading through the text this story can
Catch you a little off guard and seem to not fit.
We have to be conscientious Bible students.
• What does it say?
• Why did he say it?
• Why did he say it here?
It is apparent that the writer was linking the importance of this event
To what is occurring in the life of Jehoash.
Elisha promised deliverance, but then Elisha died.
No doubt Jehoash was left wondering about
How good his promise was now.
And so to confirm that God’s word still stands,
God revealed that the power of Elisha did not stop at his death.
This event was meant to confirm to Jehoash
The promises that God had made.
AND GOD IS JUST THAT MERCIFUL.
Even when we doubt He confirms the promise again and again
So that we will know to continue to trust Him.
Earlier I read to you about the doubting of John the Baptist.
Look at what Jesus did.
Matthew 11:2-6 “Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: the BLIND RECEIVE SIGHT and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. “And blessed is he who does not take offense at Me.”
Remember Naaman?
2 Kings 5:10-13 “Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I thought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ “Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
That is also why God worked this miracle through the corpse of Elisha.
He was confirming to Jehoash that His promise of deliverance
Through Elisha still stands.
The Cry for Deliverance The Promise of Deliverance
The Skepticism toward Deliverance The Confirmation of Deliverance
#5 THE FULFILLMENT OF DELIVERANCE
2 Kings 13:22-25
And here we see that God graciously and compassionately
Delivered Israel just as He said.
BUT DID YOU SEE WHY?
“because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”
God keeps His promises
Because God is a God that keeps His promises.
His faithfulness does not hinge upon how much you deserve it.
His faithfulness hinges upon the fact that He is a faithful God.
1 Thessalonians 5:24 “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
You see sometimes our doubts are in God.
But sometimes we doubt because of ourselves.
God won’t do this because I don’t deserve it…
God won’t deliver because I am unworthy…
That may be true, but it has nothing to do with
Why God keeps His promises.
God keeps His promises to you because He promised He would,
Not because you deserve it.
And that means we take His promises to the bank,
Because the one who offered them is true.
IN FACT, GOD HAS ALREADY KEPT MANY PROMISES TO US.
2 Corinthians 1:20 “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.”
What Paul said there is that Jesus is the securer of all of God’s promises.
God made the promise, and Jesus fulfilled them.
“as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes”
Read the Old Testament and look at the promises of a Messiah…
Listen to God promise His perfection…
Listen to God promise His birth place…
Listen to God promise His sacrifice…
Listen to God promise His resurrection…
And Jesus fulfilled them all.
“in Him they are yes”
“THEREFORE”
“also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.”
Since Jesus came and fulfilled all the promises of God, we agree that Jesus will continue to fulfill them all the way to glory.
Friends, Jesus never fails
& God never lies
AND SO GOD’S PROMISES ARE SECURE
I COULDN’T LIST ALL OF GOD’S PROMISES,
BUT YOU CAN BE CONFIDENT THAT HE WILL KEEP THEM ALL.
