Do you remember Jehoash? Maybe not, because his name isn't particularly well known. But you probably do remember an episode from his life that is told briefly for us in 2 Kings 13: 14 - 19.
Jehoash was King of Israel during the days when the prophet Elisha was suffering from the illness that eventually led to his death. The nation of Israel was often being invaded by Aramean raiders and the desperate king went to consult with the dying prophet. Elisha tells him to stand at the window with a bow and arrow, and commands him to shoot an arrow out of the window. Then he tells the king to take the remaining arrows and strike the floor with them.
I've often heard this story used to illustrate that the blessing or victory we receive from God is in accordance with the level of faith we have; in accordance with what we ask for. If you remember the story, Jehoash (who presumably understood what all the arrow banging was about) strikes the ground only three times, and the dying prophet expresses anger at this. Elisha tells Jehoash that if he'd only kept going and struck the ground five or six times, Israel would have continued to beat the Arameans until that enemy was completely destroyed. But because the king stopped after three strikes, they would defeat the enemy only three times.
Re-reading the passage this morning, I got to wondering: was Jehoash's problem really due to lack of faith? Did he strike the ground only three times because he was only able to trust God for three victories. Or was his problem more about pride and presumption? Was he perhaps over-confident in believing that Israel would be able to defeat the Arameans after only three battles?
I realise that, with the coronavirus, there's also a danger of human arrogance when we begin to see breakthroughs - a danger that people and governments will feel that we conquered the enemy in our own strength.
But the same is true of our own prayer life, no matter what we happen to be praying for (or not praying for), including all the things that have nothing to do with the current pandemic.
There's always a danger that we stop praying too soon - either because we don't have faith for God to do more, or because we presumptuously feel that we now have the victory and can handle things ourselves from here on out.
In what areas do you need to be "striking the ground" a few more times this week?
This chapter tells of the very last prophecy in Elisha's lifetime. Read on below for something rather mind-blowing that happened after he was already dead.
Surely there can be no better legacy than for your life to continue having a powerful impact on others, even after you've gone. That was illustrated for me in a strange little story I read this morning in 2 Kings chapter 13, verses 20 - 21.
The little incident takes place during a funeral, of all things. Some men were in the process of burying a dead body, when suddenly some enemy raiders swept in. So they fled, throwing their dead friend into a nearby grave, which happened to be the grave of the prophet Elisha. As soon as the corpse touched the bones of the dead prophet, it immediately came back to life again: the dead guy jumped to his feet (and presumably joined his friends in running away from the enemy.) Wow! Elisha certainly had a powerful legacy - when even his long dead body could give life to someone else.
Any of us who're past retirement age, or even those of us who're younger, would do well to consider the sort of legacy that we want to leave behind us when we leave this world. What do I need to be doing now in order to be able to keep influencing the next generation in the future?
Perhaps we need to turn some of our coronavirus lockdown days into "write down" days: writing down thoughts or testimonies from our own lives that we would want to share in the future with our grandchildren or with people we don't even know .
A friend of mine has recorded a 10 minute video every day since his lockdown began around three weeks ago. He calls them his "Ebenezer stories" (from 1 Samuel 7: 12 - where Samuel sets up a memorial stone to remind the people of how God has helped them.) My friend's Ebenezer stories are short accounts from his own life that he wants to pass on to his two daughters: stories of God's provision or God's protection; stories about when God gave guidance, fulfilled a vision or rescued him from danger. Some of the stories go back to his own childhood and teenage years, some are from when he was a young man, others are things that happened more recently. His goal is to record these stories, new and old, that illustrate for his children who God is and who He can be in their lives in the future.
So, it's a good question to ask ourselves in these coronavirus days: What do I need to be doing now in order to be able to keep influencing the next generation in the future? Perhaps there's something that we need to be recording, either in writing, audio or video. Perhaps we need to use these quarantine days to spend more time worshipping, praying, storytelling or reading God's Word with our children or our grandchildren.
None of us were expecting to be confined to our homes for several weeks.... but what a wonderful opportunity it presents to work on leaving a life-giving legacy for those who will come after us.
We sometimes read or hear stories about the amazing things that result when we activate our faith, but the other day, reading in 2 Kings 7: 1 -2, I was struck by the incredible power there is in unbelief.
The backdrop to this story, in chapter six, is that the city of Samaria was under siege and a terrible famine had resulted. When the king of Israel hears a horrendous account of cannibalism by the desperate people, his response is to blame the prophet Elisha for the situation. In hard times, it's easy to fall into the trap of looking for someone to blame, instead of pushing in and listening to God's perspective.
As chapter seven begins, Elisha is speaking to an officer, a messenger sent by the king and, to the man's surprise, Elisha prophesies an end to the famine and an economic turnaround. Maybe the king's employee could have believed the prophecy if Elisha hadn't used the words, "By this time tomorrow..." That timeframe just confirmed its impossibility for the messenger: even if the siege were to end right that minute, there couldn't possibly be that much food again by the next day - and certainly not at the prices that Elisha quoted.
So convinced is the man that this can't happen, that he even adds, "That couldn't happen, even if the Lord opens the windows of heaven." That's the power of unbelief; it causes us to place limits on what God can do.
What usually happens is that the things we refuse to believe do happen but we don't see them. They happen in other places, where people have more faith and don't allow unbelief to cloud their picture of God. In this case, however, the prophet tells the officer, "You will see it happen with your own eyes, but you won't be able to eat any of the food."
If you remember the end of the story (vs 16 - 20) God miraculously routs the enemy army and the people go rushing out of the city to plunder the camp and bring back all the food that suddenly becomes available. This officer happened to be on duty at the city gate and he was trampled to death in the rush. He knew that the miracle of provision was happening, but he was never able to enjoy the blessing of it.
In a less dramatic way, that's what also happens in our own situations of unbelief: the miracles happen, but they happen for other people. That prayer is answered, but we don't get the blessing of it; that vehicle is provided, but it was for someone else; that person is healed and we wonder why it didn't happen for us.
Unbelief doesn't only stop amazing things from happening (like when Jesus was unable to perform any miracles in his own region - see Matt 13: 58) it can also prevent us from enjoying the blessing of them when they do happen.
It's important to mention that doubt and unbelief are not the same thing. Doubt is when we would like to believe something, but we're finding it hard, perhaps because our mind or our past experience tells us that it isn't possible. Unbelief, on the other hand, is when we stubbornly refuse to believe something, even if it's something that God has told us in the Bible. Doubt is a natural response for finite human beings, and we can talk to God honestly about our doubts. Unbelief, however, is a sin, and the Bible tells us that we need to repent of it. It was unbelief that prevented the people of God from entering the Promised Land, and left them wandering in the wilderness for forty years.
If you're struggling with doubts, take them to the Lord and ask Him to strengthen your faith. This was the response of that father of a demonised boy in Mark 9: 24. He was battling doubt (the Greek word is apistia which means weakness of faith) and so he said to Jesus, " I believe. Help me not fall into unbelief."
What is God asking you to believe for this week?
With many missionaries all around the world being on lockdown, confined to their own homes, we've realised the value of connecting digitally - over Skype or Zoom - with our KKI leaders around the world, especially those who find themselves quite isolated in their nations. This week, we decided to invite people a group call that brought together KKI staff from all around the globe. There was such a big response, that we soon realised the limitations of our Zoom account - which allows only 100 locations to connect at the same time. Even though there were three or four people together in some of the locations, it still meant that fewer than 200 people were able to be there for the call. We've had to buy an upgrade for our Zoom, so that next week we'll be able to connect with up to 500 different locations at the same time. It's makes me realise what a huge ministry family we have, when we connect like that from five continents and three generations.
I've been aware that my reading vision has been deteriorating a bit over the past year, and I find myself having to put on glasses if I'm reading in bed or working on the computer. Inconvenient as it may be at times, I recognise that it's just one of those signs of growing older.
When it comes to our spiritual sight, on the other hand, we should hopefully be noticing that it grows sharper and more sensitive as we grow older. How tragic it would be to grow older in years without having developed a clearer vision of what's happening in the spiritual realm around us.
Yesterday morning, I was reading a Bible passage about a situation where an older man recognises that the young person with him has not yet developed that kind of spiritual discernment. It was in a time of war and the enemy troops were rallying for the attack. The young man began to panic, not knowing what to do, and so the older man, the prophet Elisha, prayed a simple prayer: Lord, open his eyes and let him see. (2 Kings 6: 17)
If you know the rest of the story, you'll remember that the young man's eyes were opened to see the very real but invisible spiritual reality around him: he saw that the hillside was covered with the heavenly armies of the Lord, ready to fight on their behalf.
In recent newspaper and television reports, I've been hearing people saying that, not since the first and second world wars has our world been in a situation like we're facing at present. If we're not careful, we'll find ourselves responding like Elisha's young servant: seeing only what is visible around us and allowing that to push us into discouragement and despair. How important it is that our spiritual eyes are attuned to the invisible realities around us, so that we keep things in the right perspective.
And so yesterday morning I was turning that prayer into a very personal one: Open my eyes, Lord, and let me see...
1) Let me see what the enemy's agenda is in these times, and understand what he is trying to do.
2) And let me see what God is doing in these times, and how we, His people, can collaborate with Him in that.
What's your usual reaction when you're faced with something impossible? This morning I was reading about two people who had completely opposite reactions to the same impossible situation. One of them was a king, a person of importance... and the other was an unnamed and unknown little girl.
No doubt every Sunday school child has heard the main story of 2 Kings chapter 5 - the story of how Aramean army commander, Naaman, was healed of a terrible skin disease after following the instructions given to him by a prophet of the Lord. Our re-telling of the story usually focuses on those two protagonists: the army commander and the prophet Elisha. We seldom pause to focus on those other two people in the first seven verses: King Joram of Israel and the unnamed little servant girl.
Whenever I lead a workshop about the spiritual capacity of children and youth, I usually invite the participants to search through their Bibles and discover what the Word really teaches about what children are capable of spiritually. Most times they will name this little girl as an example of what they have found out.
We don't know how old she was and we don't know who her parents were, but in just one verse (vs 3) we discover a child who has been raised from a young age to know and trust the God of Israel. Here she is, far from home and with her parents no longer around, yet this little girl believes and courageously speaks out that there is a God in Israel who can heal. There was probably a risk involved in doing that - to suggest to a person of status that only an enemy people's God might be able to heal him.
And I also see here a little girl who has learned the principle of forgiveness. Rather than rejoicing in the misfortune of an enemy (Naaman was, after all, an army commander of the nation that had invaded Israel and "kidnapped" this little girl, taking her away to be a slave) she volunteers information that could lead to his healing and restoring.
The child's testimony must have been convincing, because it's sufficient to make Naaman speak with his king and for this man, the King of Aram, to release him to go to Israel. With his limited understanding of how such things work, the King of Aram sends extravagant gifts of of silver, gold and cloth to Joram, King of Israel, saying, "Here is my employee, Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy."
Faced with exactly the same impossible situation, but in complete contrast to the simple faith of that little girl, King Joram of Israel is plunged into panic and despair by this development. (vs 7) "I'm done for," he says, as he considers this demand from an enemy who had previously invaded his nation. "There's no way I'm able to do this. I'm not God!"
Joram has no instinctive response of saying to himself, "But there is a God in Israel who can do this." No faith-filled thoughts of, "What an amazing opportunity this is for our enemies to see that our God is the one true God." (Of course, Joram had long ago allowed other gods to creep into his life and into the nation.)
The difference between King Joram and that unnamed little girl was that the child was firmly convinced of what God could do. The king, on the other hand, had his focus on what he himself couldn't do, instead of on what the Almighty God could do.
Where is our focus when we run into challenges or difficulties and are faced with things that we ourselves can't change? Is our response to fall into fear or worry, or perhaps to scramble to find a solution in our own strength? Or do we have the same faith as that little child, firmly convinced that this is a wonderful opportunity for God to prove Himself?
Whether we're facing a personal situation, a family situation, a ministry challenge or a worldwide pandemic, will our response be to focus on what we or other people can't do, or to focus on what our all-powerful God can do?
I love 2 Kings chapter 4. At various times in the past, God has spoken personally to me from the lives of these two women. Reading it again this week, it struck me how very different these women were. One is poor and the other is wealthy. One is a widow and the other still has a husband. One is blessed with two sons and the other has no children at all. But no matter how different their life circumstances were, God met each of these women at the point of her greatest need or dream.
For the poor widow, the needs were as basic as it gets: it was about survival in a time of famine. She and her two sons needed food and finance. We've all heard the story of how God provided for that need. The prophet Elisha told the woman to go and collect all kinds of empty containers from her friends and neighbours. Then she began pouring from her small pitcher of left over oil, and the oil didn't run out until every container was filled.
The amount of provision didn't depend on how much God was willing to give; it depended on how many containers the woman had taken the time to collect. If she had collected ten containers, God would have filled them; if she spent a bit more time calling on neighbours and collected fifty containers, God was just as willing to fill every single one of them. This woman was in great need, and God was completely able to meet that need, but He still asked her to do her part; she needed to be willing to have faith for lots of containers to be filled. The oil she poured that day not only fed herself and her sons; she was also able to sell it and to pay off all her debts.
It's exactly the same with our spiritual lives; the extent to which we experience God doesn't depend on how much He wants to reveal Himself; it depends on how much time and dedication we're willing to put in to be a receptive "container." Why do some people see more answered prayers than others? Probably because they pray more. Why do some people find that their times in the Bible are more meaningful than other people do? Probably because they read more.
You may feel "poor" in spiritual things, but be like this widow and begin with what you have. Use this coronavirus lockdown time to spend time in God's presence, to meditate on His Word, to pray for people you know and for those around the world that you don't know. God will be faithful to fill any "containers" that we bring to Him.
The second woman's situation was completely different; the Bible tells us that she was wealthy, and was able to use her wealth to offer regular and generous hospitality to the prophet Elisha. So when he asks her, "What can I do for you?" she replies that she is well taken care of and has everything she needs. But this woman had welcomed the prophetic presence of God into her life and her home, and God goes the extra mile to grant a secret unspoken desire of her heart: she is childless and her husband is old, but God nonetheless promises her that she will have a son.
That is so like the God that we know and serve. He has promised to meet all of our needs, and He is constantly, faithfully doing that throughout our lives. But His love for us is so extravagant that He also longs to go a step further and grant us the most secret dreams of our hearts.
There's a well known scripture in Psalm 37 that says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." The more we allow God to shape and transform our lives, the more likely it is that our deepest desires will be things that bring joy to His heart. I remember when I was working with youth ministry training courses in South Africa, I asked the students to do a piece of homework that involved choosing a Bible word or theme and looking up the Hebrew and Greek words that are used whenever it is mentioned in the Bible. One student chose the word, "delight," and so her study included this verse from Psalm 37. What a surprise she got to discover that the Hebrew word used in this verse is ânag, which means to be soft and pliable. That wasn't at all what she had expected. She had imagined that "delighting in the Lord" would be something to do with enjoying or taking pleasure in Him. That's important too, but what a revelation it was to her to realise that truly delighting in God means that we will be tender and pliable in His hands, open to hear His voice and do His will. With that kind of spirit, it's so easy for the desires of our heart to be fulfilled.
So which of these two woman is most like you today? Do you have a need that He can meet for you today? Or do you feel that you have everything you need, but perhaps you have a secret dream or desire that you've never even dared to speak out? There's no "one size fits all" with God. He is so personal and He meets each one of us where we are at. Bring Him your need or your heart's desire and lay that before Him today. He longs to spend time with you.
