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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1708)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D K I N G S</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XIII.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This chapter brings us again to the history of the kings of Israel, and
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particularly of the family of Jehu. We have here an account of the
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reign,
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I. Of his son Jehoahaz, which continued seventeen years.
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1. His bad character in general
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:1,2">ver. 1, 2</A>),
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the trouble he was brought into
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:3">ver. 3</A>),
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and the low ebb of his affairs,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:7">ver. 7</A>.
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2. His humiliation before God, and God's compassion towards him,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:4,5,23">ver. 4, 5, and 23</A>.
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3. His continuance in his idolatry notwithstanding,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:6">ver. 6</A>.
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4. His death,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:8,9">ver. 8, 9</A>.
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II. Of his grandson Joash, which continued sixteen years. Here is a
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general account of his reign in the usual form
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:10-13">ver. 10-13</A>),
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but a particular account of the death of Elisha in his time.
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1. The kind visit the king made him
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:14">ver. 14</A>),
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the encouragement he gave the king in his wars with Syria,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:15-19">ver. 15-19</A>.
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2. His death and burial
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:20">ver. 20</A>),
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and a miracle wrought by his bones,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:21">ver. 21</A>.
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And, lastly, the advantages Joash gained against the Syrians, according
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to his predictions,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:24,25">ver. 24, 25</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Reign of Jehoahaz.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 839.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah
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king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel
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in Samaria, <I>and reigned</I> seventeen years.
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2 And he did <I>that which was</I> evil in the sight of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>,
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and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made
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Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
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3 And the anger of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> was kindled against Israel, and he
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delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into
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the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all <I>their</I> days.
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4 And Jehoahaz besought the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hearkened unto
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him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of
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Syria oppressed them.
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5 (And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out
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from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel
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dwelt in their tents, as beforetime.
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6 Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of
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Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, <I>but</I> walked therein: and there
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remained the grove also in Samaria.)
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7 Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty
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horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the
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king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust
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by threshing.
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8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did,
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and his might, <I>are</I> they not written in the book of the
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chronicles of the kings of Israel?
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9 And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in
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Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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This general account of the reign of Jehoahaz, and of the state of
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Israel during his seventeen years, though short, is long enough to let
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us see two things which are very affecting and instructive:--</P>
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<P>
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I. The glory of Israel raked up in the ashes, buried and lost, and
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turned into shame. How unlike does Israel appear here to what it had
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been and might have been! How is its crown profaned and its honour laid
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in the dust!
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1. It was the honour of Israel that they worshipped the only living and
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true God, who is a Spirit, an eternal mind, and had rules by which to
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worship him of his own appointment; but by <I>changing the glory of
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their incorruptible God into the similitude of an ox, the truth of God
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into a lie,</I> they lost this honour, and levelled themselves with the
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nations that worshipped the work of their own hands. We find here that
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the king <I>followed the sins of Jeroboam</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>),
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and the people departed <I>not from them, but walked therein,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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There could not be a greater reproach than these two idolized calves
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were to a people that were instructed in the service of God and
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entrusted with the lively oracles. In all the history of the ten tribes
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we never find the least shock given to that idolatry, but, in every
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reign, still the calf was their god, and they separated themselves to
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that shame.
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2. It was the honour of Israel that they were taken under the special
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protection of heaven; God himself was their defence, the shield of
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their help and the sword of their excellency. Happy wast thou, O
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Israel! upon this account. But here, as often before, we find them
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stripped of this glory, and exposed to the insults of all their
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neighbours. They by their sins provoked God to anger, and then he
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<I>delivered them into the hands of Hazael and Benhadad,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>.
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<I>Hazael oppressed Israel</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>.
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Surely never was any nation so often plucked and pillaged by their
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neighbours as Israel was. This the people brought upon themselves by
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sin; when they had provoked God to pluck up their hedge, the goodness
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of their land did but tempt their neighbours to prey upon them. So low
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was Israel brought in this reign, by the many depredations which the
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Syrians made upon them, that the militia of the kingdom and all the
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force they could bring into the field were but <I>fifty horsemen, ten
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chariots, and 10,000 footmen,</I> a despicable muster,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
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Have the thousands of Israel come to this? <I>How has the gold become
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dim!</I> The debauching of a nation will certainly be the debasing of
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it.</P>
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<P>
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II. Some sparks of Israel's ancient honour appearing in these ashes. It
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is not quite forgotten, notwithstanding all these quarrels, that this
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people is the Israel of God and he is the God of Israel. For,
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1. It was the ancient honour of Israel that they were a praying people:
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and here we find somewhat of that honour revived; for Jehoahaz their
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king, in his distress, <I>besought the Lord</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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applied for help, not to the calves (what help could they give him?)
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but to the Lord. It becomes kings to be beggars at God's door, and the
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greatest of men to be humble petitioners at the footstool of his
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throne. Need will drive them to it.
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2. It was the ancient honour of Israel that they had <I>God nigh unto
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them in all that which they called upon him for</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+4:7">Deut. iv. 7</A>),
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and so he was here. Though he might justly have rejected the prayer as
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an abomination to him, yet <I>the Lord hearkened unto Jehoahaz,</I> and
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to his prayer for himself and for his people
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>),
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and <I>he gave Israel a saviour</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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not Jehoahaz himself, for all his days Hazael oppressed Israel
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
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but his son, to whom, in answer to his father's prayers, God gave
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success against the Syrians, so that he recovered the cities which they
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had taken from his father,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
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This gracious answer God gave to the prayer of Jehoahaz, not for his
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sake, or the sake of that unworthy people, but in remembrance of his
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covenant with Abraham
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>),
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which, in such exigencies as these, he had long since promised to have
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respect to,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Le+26:42">Lev. xxvi. 42</A>.
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See swift God is to show mercy, how ready to hear prayers, how willing
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to find out a reason to be gracious, else he would not look so far back
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as that ancient covenant which Israel had so often broken and forfeited
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all the benefit of. Let this invite and engage us for ever to him, and
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encourage even those that have forsaken him to return and repent; for
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<I>there is forgiveness with him, that he may be feared.</I></P>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Ki13_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Reign of Joash, King of Israel.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 839.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>10 In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began
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Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, <I>and
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reigned</I> sixteen years.
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11 And he did <I>that which was</I> evil in the sight of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>;
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he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat,
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who made Israel sin: <I>but</I> he walked therein.
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12 And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and
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his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah,
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<I>are</I> they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
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of Israel?
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13 And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his
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throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
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14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died.
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And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over
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his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of
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Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
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15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took
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unto him bow and arrows.
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16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the
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bow. And he put his hand <I>upon it:</I> and Elisha put his hands upon
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the king's hands.
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17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened <I>it.</I>
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Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria:
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for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have
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consumed <I>them.</I>
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18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took <I>them.</I> And he
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said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote
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thrice, and stayed.
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19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou
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shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten
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Syria till thou hadst consumed <I>it:</I> whereas now thou shalt smite
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Syria <I>but</I> thrice.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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We have here Jehoash, or Joash, the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of
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Jehu, upon the throne of Israel. Probably the house of Jehu intended
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some respect to the house of David when they gave this heir-apparent to
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the crown the same name with him that was then king of Judah.</P>
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<P>
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I. The general account here given of him and his reign is much the same
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with what we have already met with, and has little in it remarkable,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:10-13"><I>v.</I> 10-13</A>.
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He was none of the worst, and yet, because he kept up that ancient and
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politic idolatry of the house of Jeroboam, it is said, <I>He did that
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which was evil in the sight of the Lord.</I> That one evil was enough
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to leave an indelible mark of infamy upon his name; for, how little
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evil soever men saw in it, it was, <I>in the sight of the Lord,</I> a
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very wicked thing; and we are sure that his judgment is according to
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truth. It is observable how lightly the inspired penman passes over his
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acts, and his might wherewith he warred, leaving it to the common
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historians to record them, while he takes notice only of the respect he
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showed to Elisha. One good action shall make a better figure in God's
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book than twenty great ones; and, in his account, it gains a man a much
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better reputation to honour a prophet than to conquer a king and his
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army.</P>
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<P>
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II. The particular account of what passed between him and Elisha has
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several things in it remarkable.</P>
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<P>
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1. Elisha fell sick,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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Observe,
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(1.) He lived long; for it was now about sixty years since he was first
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called to be a prophet. It was a great mercy to Israel, and especially
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to the sons of the prophets, that he was continued so long a burning
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and shining light. Elijah finished his testimony in a fourth part of
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that time. God's prophets have their day set them, some longer, others
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shorter, as Infinite Wisdom sees fit.
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(2.) All the latter part of his time, from the anointing of Jehu, which
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was forty-five years before Joash began his reign, we find no mention
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made of him, or of any thing he did, till we find him here upon his
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death-bed. He might be useful to the last, and yet not so famous as he
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had sometimes been. The time of his flourishing was less than the time
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of his living. Let not old people complain of obscurity, but rather be
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well pleased with retirement.
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(3.) The spirit of Elijah rested on Elisha, and yet he was not sent for
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to heaven in a fiery chariot, as Elijah was, but went the common road
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out of the world, and was <I>visited with the visitation of all
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men.</I> If God honour some above others, who yet are not inferior to
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them in gifts or graces, who shall find fault? <I>May he not do what he
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will with his own?</I></P>
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<P>
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2. King Joash visited him in his sickness, and <I>wept over him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
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This was an evidence of some good in him, that he had a value and
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affection for a faithful prophet; so far was he from hating and
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persecuting him as a troubler of Israel that he loved and honoured him
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as one of the greatest blessings of his kingdom, and lamented the loss
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of him. There have been those who would not be obedient to the word of
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God, and yet have the faithful ministers of it so manifested in their
|
|
consciences that they could not but have an honour for them. Observe
|
|
here,
|
|
|
|
(1.) When the king heard of Elisha's sickness he came to visit him, and
|
|
to receive his dying counsel and blessing; and it was no disparagement
|
|
to him, though a king, thus to honour one whom God honoured. Note, It
|
|
may turn much to our spiritual advantage to attend the sick-beds and
|
|
death-beds of good ministers and other good men, that we may learn to
|
|
die, and may be encouraged in religion by the living comforts they have
|
|
from it in a dying hour.
|
|
|
|
(2.) Though Elisha was very old, had been a great while useful, and, in
|
|
the course of nature, could not continue long, yet the king, when he
|
|
saw him sick and likely to die, wept over him. The aged are most
|
|
experienced and therefore can worst be spared. In many causes, one old
|
|
witness is worth ten young ones.
|
|
|
|
(3.) He lamented him in the same words with which Elisha had himself
|
|
lamented the removal of Elijah: <I>My father, my father.</I> It is
|
|
probable he had heard or read them in that famous story. Note, Those
|
|
that give just honours to the generation that goes before them are
|
|
often recompensed with the like from the generation that comes after
|
|
them. He that watereth, that watereth with tears, shall be watered,
|
|
shall be so watered, also himself, when it comes to his own turn,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+11:25">Prov. xi. 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
(4.) This king was herein selfish; he lamented the loss of Elisha
|
|
because he was as the chariot and horsemen of Israel, and therefore
|
|
could be ill spared when Israel was so poor in chariots and horsemen,
|
|
as we find they were
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
when they had in all but fifty horsemen and ten chariots. Those who
|
|
consider how much good men contribute to the defence of a nation, and
|
|
the keeping off of God's judgments, will see cause to lament the
|
|
removal of them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
3. Elisha gave the king great assurances of his success against the
|
|
Syrians, Israel's present oppressors, and encouraged him to prosecute
|
|
the war against them with vigour. Elisha was aware that therefore he
|
|
was loth to part with him because he looked upon him as the great
|
|
bulwark of the kingdom against that common enemy, and depended much
|
|
upon his blessings and prayers in his designs against them. "Well,"
|
|
says Elisha, "if that be the cause of your grief, let not that trouble
|
|
thee, for thou shalt be victorious over the Syrians when I am in my
|
|
grave. <I>I die, but God will surely visit you.</I> He has the residue
|
|
of the Spirit, and can raise up other prophets to pray for you." God's
|
|
grace is not tied to one hand. He can bury his workmen and yet carry on
|
|
his work. To animate the king against the Syrians he gives him a sign,
|
|
orders him to <I>take bow and arrows</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>),
|
|
|
|
to intimate to him that, in order to the deliverance of his kingdom
|
|
from the Syrians, he must put himself into a military posture and
|
|
resolve to undergo the perils and fatigues of war. God would be the
|
|
agent, but he must be the instrument. And that he should be successful
|
|
he gives him a token, by directing him,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(1.) To shoot an arrow towards Syria,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:16,17"><I>v.</I> 16, 17</A>.
|
|
|
|
The king, no doubt, knew how to manage a bow better than the prophet
|
|
did, and yet, because the arrow now to be shot was to have its
|
|
significancy from the divine institution, as if he were now to be
|
|
disciplined, he received the words of command from the prophet: <I>Put
|
|
thy hand upon the bow</I>--<I>Open the window</I>--<I>Shoot.</I> Nay,
|
|
as if he had been a child that never drew a bow before, <I>Elisha put
|
|
his hands upon the king's hands,</I> to signify that in all his
|
|
expeditions against the Syrians he must look up to God for direction
|
|
and strength, must reckon his own hands not sufficient for him, but go
|
|
on in a dependence upon divine aid. <I>He teacheth my hands to war,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:34,144:1">Ps. xviii. 34; cxliv. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
The trembling hands of a dying prophet, as they signified the
|
|
concurrence and communication of the power of God, gave this arrow more
|
|
force than the hands of the king in his full strength. The Syrians had
|
|
made themselves masters of the country that lay eastward,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+10:33"><I>ch.</I> x. 33</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thitherward therefore the arrow was directed, and such an
|
|
interpretation given by the prophet of the shooting of this arrow,
|
|
though shot in one respect at random, as made it,
|
|
|
|
[1.] A commission to the king to attack the Syrians, notwithstanding
|
|
their power and possession.
|
|
|
|
[2.] A promise of success therein. It is the <I>arrow of the Lord's
|
|
deliverance, even the arrow of deliverance from Syria.</I> It is God
|
|
that commands deliverance; and, when he will effect it, who can hinder?
|
|
The arrow of deliverance is his. He shoots out his arrows, and the work
|
|
is done,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:14">Ps. xviii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
"<I>Thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek,</I> where they are now
|
|
encamped, or where they are to have a general rendezvous of their
|
|
forces, <I>till thou have consumed</I> those of them that are vexatious
|
|
and oppressive to thee and thy kingdom."</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
(2.) To <I>strike with the arrows,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:18,19"><I>v.</I> 18, 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
The prophet having in God's name assured him of victory over the
|
|
Syrians, he will now try him and see what improvement he will make of
|
|
his victories, whether he will push them on with more zeal than Ahab
|
|
did when Benhadad lay at his mercy. For the trial of this he bids him
|
|
<I>smite with the arrows on the ground:</I> "Believe them brought to
|
|
the ground by the <I>arrow of the Lord's deliverance,</I> and laid at
|
|
thy feet; and now show me what thou wilt do to them when thou hast them
|
|
down, whether thou wilt do as David did when God <I>gave him the necks
|
|
of his enemies, beat them small as the dust before the wind,</I>"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+18:40,42">Ps. xviii. 40, 42</A>.
|
|
|
|
The king showed not that eagerness and flame which one might have
|
|
expected upon this occasion, but smote thrice, and no more. Either out
|
|
of foolish tenderness to the Syrians, he smote as if he were afraid of
|
|
hurting them, at least of ruining them, willing to show mercy to those
|
|
that never did, nor ever would, show mercy to him or his people. Or,
|
|
perhaps, he smote thrice, and very coldly, because he thought it but a
|
|
silly thing, that it looked idle and childish for a king to beat the
|
|
floor with his arrows; and thrice was often enough for him to play the
|
|
fool merely to please the prophet. But, by contemning the sign, he lost
|
|
the thing signified, sorely to the grief of the dying prophet, who was
|
|
angry with him, and told him he should have smitten five or six times.
|
|
Not being straitened in the power and promise of God, why should he be
|
|
straitened in his own expectations and endeavours? Note, It cannot but
|
|
be a trouble to good men to see those they wish well to stand in their
|
|
own light and forsake their own mercies, to see them lose their
|
|
advantages against their spiritual enemies, and to give them
|
|
advantage.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki13_20"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki13_21"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki13_22"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki13_23"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki13_24"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="2Ki13_25"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Death of Elisha.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 837.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>20 And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the
|
|
Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
|
|
21 And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that,
|
|
behold, they spied a band <I>of men;</I> 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.
|
|
22 But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of
|
|
Jehoahaz.
|
|
23 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> 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.
|
|
24 So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned
|
|
in his stead.
|
|
25 And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand
|
|
of Benhadad 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.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
We must here attend,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. The sepulchre of Elisha: he died in a good old age, and they buried
|
|
him; and what follows shows,
|
|
|
|
1. What power there was in his life to keep off judgments; for, as soon
|
|
as he was dead, the bands of the Moabites invaded the land--not great
|
|
armies to face them in the field, but roving skulking bands, that
|
|
murdered and plundered by surprise. God has many ways to chastise a
|
|
provoking people. The king was apprehensive of danger only from the
|
|
Syrians, but, behold, the Moabites invade him. Trouble comes sometimes
|
|
from that point whence we least feared it. The mentioning of this
|
|
immediately upon the death of Elisha intimates that the removal of
|
|
God's faithful prophets is a presage of judgments coming. When
|
|
ambassadors are recalled heralds may be expected.
|
|
|
|
2. What power there was in his dead body: it communicated life to
|
|
another dead body,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
|
|
|
|
This great miracle, though very briefly related, was a decided proof of
|
|
his mission and a confirmation of all his prophecies. It was also a
|
|
plain indication of another life after this. When Elisha died, there
|
|
was not an end of him, for then he could not have done this. From
|
|
operation we may infer existence. By this it appeared that the Lord was
|
|
still the God of Elisha; therefore Elisha still lived, for <I>God is
|
|
not the God of the dead, but of the living.</I> And it may, perhaps,
|
|
have a reference to Christ, by whose death and burial the grave is made
|
|
to all believers a safe and happy passage to life. It likewise
|
|
intimated that though Elisha was dead, yet, in virtue of the promises
|
|
made by him, Israel's interests, though they seemed quite sunk and
|
|
lost, should revive and flourish again. The neighbours were carrying
|
|
the dead body of a man to the grave, and, fearing to fall into the
|
|
hands of the Moabites, a party of whom they saw at a distance near the
|
|
place where the body was to be interred, they laid the corpse in the
|
|
next convenient place, which proved to be Elisha's sepulchre. The dead
|
|
man, upon touching Elisha's bones, revived, and, it is likely, went
|
|
home again with his friends. Josephus relates the story otherwise, That
|
|
some thieves, having robbed and murdered an honest traveller, threw his
|
|
dead body into Elisha's grave, and it immediately revived. Elijah was
|
|
honoured <I>in</I> his departure. Elisha was honoured <I>after</I> his
|
|
departure. God thus dispenses honours as he pleases, but, one way or
|
|
other, the rest of all the saints will be glorious,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+11:10">Isa. xi. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is good being near the saints and having our lot with them both in
|
|
life and death.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. The sword of Joash king of Israel; and we find it successful
|
|
against the Syrians.
|
|
|
|
1. The cause of his success was God's favour
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them</I> in their
|
|
miseries and <I>respect unto them.</I> The several expressions here of
|
|
the same import call upon us to observe and admire the triumphs of
|
|
divine goodness in the deliverance of such a provoking people. It was
|
|
of the Lord's mercies that they were not consumed, because he would not
|
|
destroy them as yet. He foresaw they would destroy themselves at last,
|
|
but as yet he would reprieve them, and give them space to repent. The
|
|
slowness of God's processes against sinners must be construed to the
|
|
honour of his mercy, not the impeachment of his justice.
|
|
|
|
2. The effect of his success was Israel's benefit. He recovered out of
|
|
the hands of Benhadad the cities of Israel which the Syrians were
|
|
possessed of,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ki+13:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was a great kindness to the cities themselves, which were hereby
|
|
brought from under the yoke of oppression, and to the whole kingdom,
|
|
which was much strengthened by the reduction of those cities. Thrice
|
|
Joash beat the Syrians, just as often as he had struck the ground with
|
|
the arrows, and then a full stop was put to the course of his
|
|
victories. Many have repented, when it was too late, of their distrusts
|
|
and the straitness of their desires.</P>
|
|
|
|
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