SHOOTERS AND STRIKERS

In the Bible, we are told of stories of many kings – some good, some evil. We are told of their strengths and also their weaknesses. And though we may not recall all their names and where they came from, what we will probably remember are the lessons we learn from their battles – particularly, why some kings won and why some lost.

One story worthy to note is the story of the king who was meant to win a battle and came so close to winning it, but in the end, because of a seemingly small mistake, still lost it. This king is King Joash of Israel.

During his reign, a time came when he was about to be attacked by the Syrian army. He was so desperate that he came weeping before a prophet of God, Elisha.

“…Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, ‘O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!’” (2 Kings 13:14)

King Joash seemed to know the Prophet Elisha well, even calling him “father.” However, despite having close relationship with a godly, anointed person such as Elisha, King Joash was an evil king.

“And he (King Joash) did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, but walked in them.” (2 Kings 13:11)

From this, we realize that even our close relationships with other Christians would not be sufficient to turn us to the path of righteousness. It is possible to surround ourselves with godly people, yet our hearts remain unchanged. 

We can only be changed by having a personal relationship with God Himself. It is in knowing God personally that we receive His abundant grace that has the power to save us.

Going back to the story of King Joash, the Prophet Elisha responded to him by giving him two interesting instructions - to shoot and to strike.

“And Elisha said to him, ‘Take a bow and some arrows.’ So he took himself a bow and some arrows… And he said, ‘Open the east window’; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot” (2 Kings 13:15, 17a).

Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground.” (2 Kings 13:18a)

THE FIRST INSTRUCTION: TO SHOOT

In Elisha’s first instruction, the prophet did something interesting. Before the arrow was shot, Elisha first put his hand on the king’s hand.

Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. (2 Kings 13:16)

What this could speak of is that even if we are the ones who will execute the promises of God in our lives, it is the hand of God that empowers us and strengthens us to do it. Such an encouragement to know that God’s hand is always upon us!

“… ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6)

THE SECOND INSTRUCTION: TO STRIKE

And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.” (2 Kings 13:17b)

After King Joash obeyed the first instruction, God promised that he would be delivered from the Syrians. However, there was another instruction that he had to follow in order for this promise to finally come to pass.

Now, there may come a time in our lives that we will be put in King Joash’s position. We will receive a promise of victory but along with that promise comes an instruction. While God will do His part, He will also ask us to do our part.

For King Joash, the second instruction was to strike the ground with the arrows.

Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped.

Again, King Joash obeyed but only up to a certain extent. He only struck the ground three times when what he was actually supposed to do was more than that.

And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times” (2 Kings 13:17-19)

King Joash did not understand that striking the ground with the arrows was a prophetic act of striking the Syrians in battle. He should have struck the ground repeatedly until he felt complete victory and breakthrough was to come.

While King Joash passed the tests of obedience in shooting the arrows and striking the ground a few times, he failed the test of persistence. So, while he started well, he was not able to finish well.

WHY DO WE STOP MOVING FORWARD?

Just like King Joash, we can start well by obeying God but then reach a point where we just stop moving forward with Him. But why is this so? What stops us from obeying God until the very end?

What keeps us from persevering until we see His promises fulfilled?

First is the lack of the fear of the Lord and zeal. Having no fear of God and no desire in our hearts to do His will can cause us to come short of the promises of God. However, we cannot just manufacture the fear of the Lord and zeal for God on our own. It can only come from God. Thus, we have to cry out and ask God for it.

Second, we do not take God seriously. Does it take tangible things in order for us to believe God? We do not take something seriously when we doubt that it will really happen. However, doubt is the scheme of the enemy. If we doubt, we become discouraged. And when we are discouraged, we stop doing what we were initially called to do.

Third, we are too easily satisfied. When we are too easily satisfied, we do not hunger for more of God in our lives. Also, when we are too easily satisfied, we settle for mediocrity and simply stop striving for excellence.

Fourth, we feel for our enemy. While we should pray for our enemies and even love them, we are not supposed to tolerate the evil in them. Never underestimate the enemy.

Fifth, we feel undignified in doing the act. This is an issue of pride and shame. We need to overcome being consumed with thoughts of what other people may think of us. May we be able to say what King David said, that we would even be more undignified and be humble before the Lord.

CONCLUSION

If we look back at the story of King Joash, we must remember that he was actually destined to win. Victory should have been his! However, he was defeated because he was not able to completely do what was required of him.

May the lessons from the story of King Joash be written in our hearts. So that when we are put in a similar position, we would not be found stopping at striking the ground three times. Instead, we would be found striking on and on and on until God’s victory is completely won.