Unused Opportunities

2 Kings 13:14-21

Elisha Met King Jehoash Before His Death

Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness of which he was to die. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

The king sought Elisha, the prophet’s help before his death. He addressed Elisha as the chariots and horsemen of Israel because the prophet did many miracles in Israel and he was well respected by all. The king felt that the nation would lose its vital combative power and it would be conquered by its enemies once the prophet passed on.

Elisha was a powerful and anointed charismatic prophet, how then could he become seriously ill to the point of dying? Elijah, the mentor of Elisha, was also known as the chariots and horsemen of Israel (2:12), and he was indeed taken up by the chariots and horsemen and ascended to heaven in a whirlwind. Why didn’t Elisha also leave in a miraculous way? Would he leave behind a powerful legacy after his death? Elisha was about to die; he could not even help himself, how likely then could the king receive help from him? The narrative starts with much tension and queries!

Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so.

“Take the bow in your hands.” The king then held the bow in his hands.

“Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it.

“Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot.

“The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”

The prophet used “acts” to symbolize the Lord’s victory over Aram. Here appeared a principle: “the king observed the instructions given by the prophet.” A series of well-knitted verbs were used to highlight the instructions given by the prophet and the king followed them exactly!

But the story did not end here. The prophet went on to instruct the king, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped.

Elisha was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

The readers might ask, “Why didn’t the prophet tell him clearly in advance how many times he had to strike the ground? Will the prophecies given by the prophet be fulfilled?”

Complete victory is achieved by human initiatives with the empowerment from God

The king obeyed Elisha completely and he acted according to the instructions given to him: He took the arrows, opened the window, and shot towards the east. It was the arrow of victory of the LORD, so it was God’s victory. God promised that the Israelite army was able to destroy the Aramean army completely! When God is at work, is there any room or any need for man’s participation? Of course. There is!

The king obeyed the instruction of the prophet Elisha the second time: striking the ground with the arrows. But he was reprimanded because he only struck the ground three times. Elisha should have told the king in advance how many times he needed to strike the ground. But he did not. His instruction was uncertain and unclear, but this ambiguity provided room and opportunity for the king to be more proactive, assertive and participative .

God has promised a complete victory to the king, so an opportunity was given to him. But he did not harness the opportunity fully. Don’t we also encounter situations in life which are unclear and uncertain when we take heed of God’s instructions? God also does not provide us complete and stringent instructions in all things when we act upon them.

We observe that the interaction between the prophet and the king carried out in a pattern: the prophet instructed while the king obeyed. And it was a “two steps progression” pattern: the king shot the arrow eastward, and he stroke the arrow on the ground.

The first step shows us that it is God who helps us to be successful (the arrow of God’s victory). However, in the second step, God does not exempt us from displaying self-initiatives, perseverance, determination and spiritual alertness. These are the vital human factors which ensure complete victory.

If the king of Israel had initiatives, determination, perseverance and spiritual alertness, he would have stricken the ground more than three times. Like what was said by the prophet, he should strike five or six times, and then he could have complete victory over the Arameans! The king paid the price for the rise and fall of his nation with his indiscreet (tak apa) attitude! He had wasted a golden opportunity given by God.

Nowadays, as parents, we teach and nurture our children, we also expect our children to be independent, so we train them in this way too. We provide for our children sufficient resources, education and guidance, but we also want them to come to self-realization, to take their own initiation and to strive strenuously.

In fact, the king’s failure to grab the opportunity of complete victory did reflect his wavering attitude towards the LORD. He gave the credit of all security and prosperity of the nation to Elisha, but he never attributed the success of the nation to God. His fear at that moment also revealed that he lacked spiritual alertness or insight. No wonder the king failed to overcome the Aramean completely even when the prophet had spent many years with him. He had to seek the prophet’s help at the prophet’s dying moment.

The real problem of the king lied with his lack of knowing the Lord personally, following Him, submitting to Him, and being vigilant at all times. This highlights to us that:

If we do not have a right attitude, or are not faithful to God, or if we are slack, or lack determination and are not serious in serving Him, or if we are wavering all the whiles; we will not have complete victory over the many challenges of life, even if God were to intervene to help us. A complete victorious life is built upon a life that is pro-active, firm and spiritually vigilant through having a personally relationship with God.

Today, is your involvement in the ministry, your attitude in giving, and your seeking to know God well-aligned with God? Are you lukewarm, inconsistent in your faith? And do you maintain a watchful attitude toward God’s presence and his Words? Do you only come to seek Jesus when you encounter danger? Do you desire to live a victorious life? Do you come to a point where your spiritual life is stagnant, and you do not have breakthroughs and you even fall into temptation easily?

Let us be faithful to God and walk with Him at all times. These will help us to be pro-active and courageous in serving the Lord. We must take full responsibility whether we are working in our workplace or serving in the church. We should not shirk from our responsibility, rather we need to walk the extra mile in accomplishing the task given to us, although there are elements of risk and we must pay the price!

God will surely provide us with all kinds of helps and resources, and together with our positive attitudes, we will rise to complete victories in all areas which will in turn glorify God.

Man is weak but the power of God’s words remains forever

Elisha died eventually. He was just an ordinary man. He could not escape from the normal cycles of life and death, health, and sickness.

When the new year came, a group of Moabites made their inroad to the land of Israel. Some people were burying their dead. They were frightened by the Moabites and they threw the dead body and ran away. The dead body fell on the tomb of Elisha accidentally, and it touched the bones of Elisha, and the dead came to life again.

This narrative story corresponds to the tension presented in the beginning: The sickness and the death of Elisha was a journey that common men would travel even though he was a charismatic prophet. But his bones brought forth the saving power of life, and this miracle was compatible to the miraculous ascension of Elijah. It also foreshadows that the prophecy given by Elisha to the king would surely be fulfilled after his death.

Elisha became weak physically and he was on his sick bed, facing a definite death. This man of God left us like any ordinary man. Though he no longer lived on earth, the power of God was still effective. Thus, we can be sure that the prophet’s words will surely be fulfilled.

On whom do you build your faith today?

We ought to build our faith in God, to know and to follow His Word, and to build an intimate relationship with Him. Problems arise when our faith is built on charismatic leaders, relationship with people, software and hardware of the Church and ministries!

If someone whom you trust becomes weak, or stumbles and falls, or even fall away from God, you will not be able to stand strong. If you lost your ministry, you might stop following the Lord or stop serving Him. The software and hardware facilities of the church could only provide you a short-term attraction, but they are not able to help you grow in faith, or to help you keep watch and grow closer with God in the long run.

Let us build a closer relationship with our Lord today and deepen our faith in Him. We need to discipline ourselves to read the bible and pray each day. The Holy Spirit will enlighten us and empower us to be more sensitive spiritually and more effective in the ministries. We also need to practice our faith, and to involve actively in all kinds of ministry and giving of money to support the ministries in church.

Through our works of piety which take root in prayers and the Word of God, and our works of mercy by practical serving and giving, we will surely be connected to God, grow in faith and holiness, and be fruitful! We shall live a victorious life of faith.

Like the life of Elisha, who manifested extraordinary anointings with an ordinary life, we too will be able to bring blessings to our community, transform society, and awaken dead souls. Grow deeper in Christ through the works of piety and works of mercy is the emphasis of the historical Methodist faith.