2 Kings 13:15-19
15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. 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. 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. 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.
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.
This is the last prophecy of the Elisha. Remember that the word of the prophet in those days was the word of the Lord, so while it was Elisha telling Joash "Take bow and arrows," it was as authoritative as the scriptures giving us a command. As soon as Joash obeyed the command and took up the bow and arrows the prophet put his hands on the hands of the king, being the spokesman for God, this indicated that if King Joash would obey the commands of God he would have for his guide and strength the hand of God on his life.
The lesson here is as applicable today as it ever has been. If we will obey the commands of God in our life, as laid out in the Word of God and made personal by the Holy Ghost then we can expect the hand of God to be on our hands. He opened the window and shot but it was the prophet's hands guided the aim, it was the strength of God drawing the bow to just the right tension so that the arrow didn't fall short, nor overshoot its target. This arrow was the "The arrow of the LORD's deliverance," that is Jehovah's deliverance. Any time we see the name Jehovah it is to remind us of the almighty power of the Lord, the I AM that I AM God. He has all power under heaven and earth, He is a mighty marksman, that never misses his target [Psalms 64:7]. So do as he commands, pick up the bow, open the window, and by faith obey what he has told you, and you have for a promise his might, his guidance, and his help in the guidance of your obedience to him. My hand is his, what comfort, power, and guidance!
Then a second command comes "And he said, take the arrows" [vs.18] He obey's: "And he took the arrows." Now Elisha commands "Smite upon the ground." Yet this time his obedience is lacking something, he smites three times and stops. He has obedience but it is shaded by lack of diligence. This makes the prophet furious, "The man of God was wroth." If this sort of faith makes the man of God angry it is safe to say that it makes God angry as well. He had already told the Prophet that these arrows were the arrows of the LORD's deliverance, why did he do such short work when such a powerful promise had been laid upon them? Knowing the promise of God should have emboldened this king to smite until his hand was weary of smiting, yet three times seem to suffice. How often do we fall short in our diligence? God has told us to sow and ye shall reap in due season, why are we sufficed to sow in small fields? He has promised victory to all who will fight, so why are we satisfied to be overcome by sin when by his hand we can overcome sin? Why are we satisfied to have little deliverances, little victories, little works when if we give diligence to our work for him we could do great works for the LORD, by the LORD? His hand is upon his promises, lay your hand on his promises and smite, work, go, give, labor according to his promise, this is the life of faith.
The king's victories hinged upon his diligence to smite by faith the arrow of the Lord according to the Command. He won three victories because that was all he was willing to smite, The Prophet said "Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then thou hadst smitten Stria till thou hadst consumed it." Whatsoever thy hands find to do, do it will all thou might." Our faith is our victory over this world, we can have great measures of victory by our "great faith" or we can have little victories by our "little faith." What will it be in your life? Will you be satisfied to smite thrice and stay? Would to God you would not fall short of victory over self, satan, and the world because of a lack of faith and diligence to smite the arrow of the LORD's deliverance with all your heart.
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