…Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel… Like King Jeroboam before him, he sinned against the Lord and led Israel into sin…
All the kings of Israel were judged harshly due to the false religion that Jeroboam had put in place. They may well have thought that God would judge them favorably – which makes me wonder how I will be judged?
…Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord, and the Lord, seeing how harshly the king of Syria was oppressing the Israelites, answered his prayer. The Lord sent Israel a leader, who freed them from the Syrians, and so the Israelites lived in peace, as before.
This harkens back to the time of the Judges 3:7-11.
…Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel… He too sinned against the Lord and followed the evil example of King Jeroboam, who had led Israel into sin. Everything else that Jehoash did, including his bravery…
To what end? May I not waste my punches, Lord (1 Corinthiens 9:26)!
The prophet Elisha was sick with a fatal disease…
Even the great prophet could not overcome that.
…as he lay dying, King Jehoash of Israel went to visit him. “My father, my father!” he exclaimed as he wept. “You have been the mighty defender of Israel!”
The very words of Elisha to Elijah when the latter was being taken up to heaven (2 Kings 2:11-12). Interesting: Elijah left in a chariot of glory while Elisha left in a whimper.
…Elisha …said to the king, “You should have struck five or six times, and then you would have won complete victory over the Syrians…”
Shoulda, woulda, coulda…
Elisha died and was buried.
Every year bands of Moabites used to invade the land of Israel. One time during a funeral, one of those bands was seen, and the people threw the corpse into Elisha’s tomb and ran off. As soon as the body came into contact with Elisha’s bones, the man came back to life and stood up.
The end of an era. I do pray, Father, that my life would be a blessing to others – even after I’ve passed from the scene (Hebrews 11:4).