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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangi, and today we're in Second King's Chapter thirteen,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible.
Speaker 1: In the twenty third year of Judah's king joe Ash
Speaker 1: son of Ahaziah, jehoah Has son of Jehu, became king
Speaker 1: over Israel in Samaria and reigned seventeen years. He did
Speaker 1: what was evil in the Lord's sight and followed the
Speaker 1: sins that Jeroboam's son of Nebat, had caused Israel to commit.
Speaker 1: He did not turn away from them. So the Lord's
Speaker 1: anger burned against Israel, and he surrendered them to the
Speaker 1: power of Hazael, king of Aram and his son Ben
Speaker 1: Hadad during their reigns. Then jehoahaz sought the Lord's favor,
Speaker 1: and the Lord heard him, for he saw the oppression
Speaker 1: the King of Arim inflicted on Israel. Therefore, the Lord
Speaker 1: gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped from the power
Speaker 1: of the Aramians. Then the people of Israel dwelt in
Speaker 1: their tents as before, but they didn't turn away from
Speaker 1: the sins that the House of Jerobom had caused Israel
Speaker 1: to commit. Jehoah Has walked in them, and the ashirapole
Speaker 1: also remained standing in Samaria. Jehoah Has did not have
Speaker 1: an army left except for fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and
Speaker 1: ten thousand foot soldiers, because the King of Aram had
Speaker 1: destroyed them, making them like dust at thrashing. The rest
Speaker 1: of the events of Jehoahaz's reign, along with all his
Speaker 1: accomplishments and his might, are written in the historical record
Speaker 1: of Israel's kings. Jehoahas rested with his fathers, and he
Speaker 1: was buried in Samaria. His son Jehoash became king in
Speaker 1: his place. In the thirty seventh year of Judah's king Joash, Jehoash,
Speaker 1: son of Jehoahaz, became king over Israel in Samaria and
Speaker 1: reigned sixteen years. He did what was evil in the
Speaker 1: Lord's sight. He did not turn away from all the
Speaker 1: sins that Jeroboam son of Nibat had caused Israel to commit,
Speaker 1: but he walked in them. The rest of the events
Speaker 1: of jehoah Hash's reign, along with all his accomplishments and
Speaker 1: the power he had to wage war against Judah's king
Speaker 1: Amaziah are written in the historical record of Israel's kings.
Speaker 1: Jehoash rested with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne.
Speaker 1: Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.
Speaker 1: When Elisha became with the illness that he died from, Jehoash,
Speaker 1: King of Israel, went down and wept over him and said,
Speaker 1: my father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel.
Speaker 1: Elisha responded, take a bow and arrows. So he got
Speaker 1: a bow and arrows. Then Elisha said to the King
Speaker 1: of Israel, put your hand on the bow. So the
Speaker 1: king put his hand on it, and Elisha put his
Speaker 1: hands on the king's hands. Elisha said, open the east window,
Speaker 1: so he opened it. Elisha said shoot, so he shot.
Speaker 1: Then Elisha said, the Lord's arrow of victory, Yes, the
Speaker 1: arrow of victory over Aram. You are to strike down
Speaker 1: the Aramians in Afok until you have put an end
Speaker 1: to them. Then Elisha said, take the arrows, so he
Speaker 1: took them. Then Elishah said to the King of Israel,
Speaker 1: strike the ground. So he struck the ground. Three times
Speaker 1: and stopped. The Man of God was angry with him
Speaker 1: and said, you should have struck the ground five or
Speaker 1: six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until
Speaker 1: you had put an end to them. But now you
Speaker 1: will only strike down Aram three times. Then Elisha died
Speaker 1: and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to come into
Speaker 1: the land in the spring of the year. Once, as
Speaker 1: the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a
Speaker 1: raiding party. So they threw the man into Elishah's tomb.
Speaker 1: When he touched Elisha's bones, the man revived and stood up. Hazel,
Speaker 1: king of Aram, oppressed Israel throughout the reign of jehoahaz
Speaker 1: But the Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them,
Speaker 1: and turned toward them. Because of his covenant with Abraham,
Speaker 1: Isaac and ja Bacob. He was not willing to destroy them.
Speaker 1: Even now he has not banished them from his presence.
Speaker 1: King Hazel of Arim died and his son ben Hadad
Speaker 1: became king in his place. Then Jehoash, son of Jehoah,
Speaker 1: has took back from ben Hadad, son of Hazael, the
Speaker 1: cities that has A l had taken in war from Jehoash,
Speaker 1: his father Jehoah has Jehoash defeated Ben Hadad three times
Speaker 1: and recovered the cities of Israel. Let's pray, Lord, we
Speaker 1: thank you for your word, and as always, Lord, we
Speaker 1: thank you for the privilege that it is to be
Speaker 1: able to spend a portion of our day looking at
Speaker 1: what your word contains and meditating on its content. And Lord,
Speaker 1: as we look at this portion of Scripture, we see
Speaker 1: a variety of things. We see those who loved you,
Speaker 1: and we see those who live their lives in accordance
Speaker 1: with the disbelief ways of those who had come before them.
Speaker 1: But Lord, in the midst of all of this, we
Speaker 1: find that you were gracious to your people. You had
Speaker 1: compassion on them, and you remembered the covenant that you
Speaker 1: had made with Abraham, with Isaac and Jacob, and so
Speaker 1: you did not destroy your people, even though your people
Speaker 1: deserved judgment and destruction. And Lord, the same is true
Speaker 1: of us. We know, Lord, that we deserve judgment and
Speaker 1: destruction from you. It's the only thing we deserve from you.
Speaker 1: And so often we think that we deserve more than that.
Speaker 1: But that's not the case. Anything that you give to
Speaker 1: us that's better than judgment or better than destruction, is
Speaker 1: a gift of your grace. So Lord, we thank you
Speaker 1: for being gracious toward us. We thank you for being
Speaker 1: merciful toward us. And we know, Lord, that you do
Speaker 1: this all in view of what your son Jesus Christ
Speaker 1: has accomplished on our behalf. So Lord, we pray that
Speaker 1: our faith in your son Jesus would be strong. And
Speaker 1: we thank you, Lord for your presence with us in
Speaker 1: each and every day. And we pray this all in
Speaker 1: accordance with your will in Jesus' name. Amen.