2 Kings · chapter 13 of 25
Updated on
2 Kings 13 tells the reigns of Jehoahaz and Jehoash of Israel, Jehu's son and grandson, under the oppression of Hazael of Aram. Jehoahaz cries out to the Lord and God sends a deliverer. Elisha, sick, promises Jehoash a victory over Aram by means of an arrow, but the king strikes the ground only three times. Elisha dies, and a man thrown into his tomb revives when he touches Elisha's bones.
This chapter continues the story of the dynasty of Jehu, which the Lord had promised would last to the fourth generation. Israel is weakened by the attacks of Aram, and the prophet Elisha, who has accompanied several kings, reaches the end of his life. The chapter shows God's compassion toward an unfaithful people and his faithfulness to the covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, reigns seventeen years in Samaria. He does evil and follows the sins of Jeroboam. The anger of the Lord is kindled against Israel, and he gives them into the hand of Hazael and his son Ben-hadad. Jehoahaz entreats the Lord, who listens because he sees the oppression of Israel, and gives Israel a savior, so that they escape from the power of Aram. Yet the people do not turn from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, and the Asherah remains in Samaria. Of Jehoahaz's army only fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers are left. Jehoahaz dies and his son Jehoash reigns, who also does evil.
Elisha falls sick with the illness of which he would die. Jehoash goes down to visit him, weeps over him and cries out that he sees the chariots of Israel and its horsemen. Elisha asks for a bow and arrows, puts his hands on the king's hands, opens the window to the east and tells him to shoot. It is the Lord's arrow of victory over Aram: Jehoash will defeat the Syrians at Aphek. Then he tells him to strike the ground with the arrows. The king strikes three times and stops. The prophet is angry, because he should have struck five or six times to defeat Aram completely; now he will defeat it only three times.
Elisha dies and is buried. Later, some men burying another man see a band of Moabite raiders, throw the body into Elisha's tomb, and when it touches the prophet's bones the dead man revives and stands on his feet.
Hazael oppresses Israel all the days of Jehoahaz, but the Lord has compassion on them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and will not destroy them. Hazael dies, and Jehoash defeats Ben-hadad three times and recovers the cities of Israel.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Jehoahaz entreats the Lord, and the Lord listens because he sees the oppression with which Aram afflicted Israel. God answers even an unfaithful king when his people suffer.
Elisha tells him to open the window and shoot, and declares that it is the Lord's arrow of victory over Aram. The arrow is God's promise that Israel would defeat Syria at Aphek.
A corpse thrown into Elisha's tomb revives when it touches his bones. The miracle confirms that the power of God that worked through the prophet remains, and it is a foretaste of the resurrection.
The Lord has compassion on Israel because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and is unwilling to destroy them. His compassion does not depend on the people's merits but on his own faithfulness.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Seventeen years. — 2 Kings 13:1
Answer: He listened and gave Israel a savior. — 2 Kings 13:4-5
Answer: Fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers. — 2 Kings 13:7
Answer: The Lord's arrow of victory over Aram. — 2 Kings 13:17
Answer: Three times, and that is why Elisha was angry. — 2 Kings 13:18-19
Answer: He revived and stood on his feet. — 2 Kings 13:21
Jehoash had a promise from God in front of him and received it with half enthusiasm. Our problem is often not that God does not speak but that we respond with little faith or little commitment. In a small group you can ask in what area of life we are striking the ground only three times when God invites us to believe more.
God's compassion toward a people who did not deserve it gives us hope: his covenant is not broken by our failures. And the miracle of Elisha's bones reminds us that not even death limits the power of the Lord.
2 Kings 13 ends with Jehoash recovering cities from Aram and with the death of Elisha, the last great prophet of this period. In chapter 14 the story returns to Judah with King Amaziah, who will clash with Jehoash of Israel.
Because the king struck the ground only three times, while the promise could have been total victory. The text does not say Jehoash knew how many times to strike, but his attitude showed little zeal. The symbolic act revealed the extent of his faith.
It shows that the power of God that worked through Elisha did not end with his death. It is a sign of the Lord's authority over life and death, and a foretaste of the resurrection that the New Testament announces in Christ.
The text does not give his name. Some identify him with King Jehoash or with Jeroboam II; others see a reference to the defeat of Aram by Assyria. What matters is that God answered the plea of his people.