“Now Elisha was suffering from the illness from which he died. 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!”
~ 2 Kings 13:14
Hi James and Ellen,
What does ‘turmoil in the Middle East’ mean to you? Turmoil means unsettledness or chaos. Would you like to have your lives filled with turmoil? What do you think causes turmoil, unsettledness or chaos? Sin is the root of discontent. Sin is the active ingredient that foments turmoil, unsettledness and chaos. Sins are the rocks that are on personal life and world paths that make finding personal and world peace impossible to obtain unless the rocks/sins are removed from personal life and world paths. The blood of God – as God the Son, has given the guys, gals and kids who God – as God the Father, specially elected before He created planet Earth to be His adopted kids, hope. The blood of God – as God the Son, was the ransom payment that paid for the sin acts and attitudes that every guy, gal and kid who God – as God the Father, specially elected before He created planet Earth will ever commit. Sin comes in all colors and shapes. Sin comes in overt and covert acts and attitudes. Sin is insidious and dangerous. Sin’s color is black. Sin differentiates evil from good. Sin drives the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness which God – as God the Spirit, utilizes to lead guys, gals and kids who God – as God the Father, specially elected before He created planet Earth through the faith/grace door into His extended and growing family of forgiven and adopted sinners. Your grandpaa believes that God – as God the Father, has allowed sin to take root, exist and cause havoc and turmoil on planet Earth for another greater purpose which involves forces and beings that exist in the heavens.
The centuries of ‘turmoil in the Middle East’ exemplifies both literally and figuratively the continual struggle to obtain personal and world peace. Personal peace is obtainable – but only because of what took place on a cross when God – as God the Son, allowed His body to be hung and nailed to that cross for the sins of the guys, gals and kids who His Father God specially elected before He created planet Earth to be His adopted kids. World peace is not obtainable. The ways that God’s specially chosen guys and gals tried to survive in the land area that God told them that would always have to live in as their very own land if . . . exemplifies the futility of trying to live a life that is not Christ-centered and to survive as a country that is not God-centered. The Israelite people group of guys and gals had a good thing going about 3000 years ago when David ruled over them as their king. The Israelite people group of guys and gals had become in the land area that God gave to them to always to have to live in as their very own land if . . . a unified and prosperous people group. The Israelite people group of guys and gals would be found less than one hundred years later in the pits when a guy by the name of Jeroboam split off nine of the Israelite people group’s tribal clans of guys and gals so that he could rule over these Israelite people group’s tribal clans of guys and gals as their king. The nine Israelite people group’s tribal clans continued to call their land area Israel. The Simeon, Benjamin and Judah tribal clans – the remaining three Israelite people group’s tribals clans of guys and gals, would call their land area Judah. 116 years after the split between the Israelite people group’s tribal clans of guys and gals which resulted in the land areas of Israel and Judah, Jehoahaz became the sixth guy who would rule as king over the nine Israelite people group’s tribal clans of guys and gals that made up the land area of Israel. The historian who scribed the Kings Books recorded information on the kings who ruled over the land areas that comprised both Israel and Judah. The Kings Books historian scribed chronologically what became a two book exposition intertwining the reigns of the two land areas’ kings. 2 Kings 13 has the Kings Books historian recording the reigns of Jehoahaz and Jehoash – who are two kings who ruled over the guys and gals who lived in the land area of Israel along with a few anecdotal remarks regarding both of these guys and what took place during the seventeen years that Jehoahaz had the power position of being a king and the sixteen years that Jehoash has the power position of being a king.
The Kings Books historian surfaced a forgotten prophet hero in verse 14 when he wrote, “Now Elisha was suffering from the illness from which he died. 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!”’ During the reign of Jehoahaz – who was Jehoash’s dad, the land area of Israel’s military force dwindled to about ten thousand foot soldiers, fifty horsemen and ten chariots. Until the Assyrian army took Israel’s military force on and beat them up, the Arameans – led first by their king – Hazael, and then by his kid – Ben-Hadad, spent their time taking on and beating up the military force that was in the land area of Israel. When Jehoash became king over the guys and gals who were living in the land area of Israel, the guy was in desperate need of help. Jehoash knew about Elisha. Elisha had been around for a long time. When Jehoash showed up at Elisha’s place to beg Elisha for his help against an ever present danger of a neighboring country that was always beating up on the guys and gals who were living in his land area, Elisha was at least eighty years old. Elisha put Jehoash through a couple of tests. Elisha told Jehoash to shoot an arrow through a window that faced to the east and to stomp the ground. Jehoash passed the first test when he shot the arrow through the window that faced to the east which meant that his army would defeat the Aramean army in Aphek. Jehoash failed the second test when he stomped the ground three times instead of five or six times – which meant that he would have only limited success against future raids by guys from neighboring countries. Just as egomaniacs slid down slippery slopes 3000 years ago into self-destruction, egomaniacs are still sliding down slippery slopes today.
2 Kings 13 (483)