![]() ![]() He was only willing to go so far, to extend himself so much, to invest in what it would take to move forward in only a limited way. In striking the ground three times, he revealed he was only moderately enthusiastic about it all. So where did it all break down? The number he picked. He was clearly aligned with God’s will in terms of establishing the kingdom of Israel against its enemies. The king believed in what God could do (which is why he went to Elisha in the first place). There was a God of wonders ready to work wonders. The king was given an opportunity for blessing, a chance to join with what God was willing to do. That little story has stuck with me for a very long time. But now you will defeat only three times.” (2 Kings 13:18-19) The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times then you would have defeated and completely destroyed. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. It was meant to be symbolic of the king’s willingness to take up the task at hand, to join with what God was willing and wanting to do through him. In order to make sure that the king knew that what God would do would be linked to what he was willing to do, he then said, “Now, take the arrows, and strike the ground.” This second act was to reflect the role that the king would play in God’s plan for victory. “The Lord’s arrow of victory…,” Elisha declared. “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. ![]() “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. ![]() When he does that, he is making it clear that what he is about to do will be full of spiritual symbolism, significance and blessing.Įlisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. Then Elisha puts his hands on the king’s hands. He tells the king to get a bow and some arrows and has him take them in his hand. In response, Elisha gives the king a final opportunity for his blessing in relation to building the kingdom. Seeing Elisha on his deathbed, the king suddenly realizes that Elisha, as a prophet of God, has been the key to Israel’s military success-over and over again-even more so than the military itself! He suddenly sees that without God involved, there could be no hope of gaining ground, of going further. So, the events surrounding his death were apparently deemed important enough to God to ensure that they were recorded.Įlisha was suffering from an illness, and the king of Israel went to see him. Between the last reference to the life of Elisha and this story of his death, there is a 43-year period of silence. There is an obscure little passage in the Old Testament, tucked away in the book of 2 Kings, that tells of the death of the great prophet Elisha. ![]()
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