Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20040328.htm

1 AND 2 KINGS: ENJOYING GOD'S BLESSINGS IN AN APOSTATE ERA
Part XLVIII: Blessing To The Degree We WHOLEHEARTEDLY Follow God
(2 Kings 13:1-9, 10-25)
  1. Introduction
    1. When God delivered Israel from Egyptian bondage, He wanted Israel to forsake all other gods and cleave to Him in wholehearted allegiance, Exodus 20:1-3, Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
    2. However, two of Israel's kings failed to follow God wholeheartedly, but cleaved both to God and to their respective idols! The results of such divided loyalties was a mixture of God's blessing and judgment.
    3. Reviewing their lives offers us a clear lesson on the need to heed God wholeheartedly (as follows):
  2. Blessing To The Degree We WHOLEHEARTEDLY Follow God, 2 Kings 13:1-9, 10-25.
    1. God wanted His people to follow Him wholeheartedly, cf. Exodus 20:1-3; Deuteronomy 6:4-5:
      1. The people of Israel were to have no other gods besides the One true Creator God, Exodus 20:1-3, 11.
      2. Then, they were to love that true Lord with all their heart, soul and might, Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
    2. However, two of the kings of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, king Jehoahaz and Johoash (Joash in the KJV) who descended from Jehu failed to follow God wholeheartedly, and so suffered a mixture of God's blessing and judgment. We view their lives that illustrate this fact (in 2 Kings 13:1-9, 10-25 NIV):
      1. King Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, followed God with a divided allegiance between God and the golden calf idol set up by Jeroboam, and this resulted in a mixture of God's blessing and judgment, 13:1-9:
        1. When Jehoahaz, son of Jehu began to rule in Samaria of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, he did what was evil in God's view by following the idol set up by Israel's first king, Jeroboam, 13:1-2.
        2. God thus applied His Mosaic Covenant to Jehoahaz's life by allowing Israel to be dominated by Hazael, king of Syria for some time, 2 Kings 13:3 with Deuteronomy 28:15, 25.
        3. Under this oppression, Jehoahaz finally called out unto God for deliverance, and in His mercy God sent a deliverer to rescue Israel from Syria, 2 Kings 13:4-5 with Deut. 30:1-3. [Some think this deliverer was in the form of Assyria's king Adad-nirari III (811-783 B.C.) who fought against Syria and other nations north of Israel to cause the Syrians to redirect their forces from oppressing Israel to defend against the Assyrians; this would have given Israel rest, Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 563.]
        4. However, Jehoahaz still worshipped Jeroboam's idol and failed to destroy the idol grove in Samaria, so Jehoahaz suffered debilitating military weakness and a lack of blessing the rest of his life, 13:6-9.
      2. King Johoash (Joash in the KJV), son of Jehoahaz, followed God with a divided allegiance between God and Jeroboam's idol and likewise knew a mix of God's blessing and judgment, 2 Kings 13:10-25:
        1. Johoash's biography is briefly summarized in 2 Kings 13:10-13 where we learn he generally followed the false idolatry of Israel's first king, Jeroboam, and so is categorized as an evil king.
        2. However, from Johoash's interaction with Elisha in Elisha's waning years and death, we learn that Johoash had a divided allegiance between God and Jeroboam's idols, a fact that led to a mixture of God's blessing and judgment in his life: (a) As Elisha lay near death, Johoash visited Elisha to grieve over him as Elisha had grieved at the loss of his master, Elijah: Johoash claimed Elishah was Israel's "chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof," 2 Kings 13:14 with 2:12. (b) Elisha took this expression of faith in God by Johoash and tried to encourage it by having him shoot an arrow with Elisha's help to teach that God who enabled Elisha would give Johoash victory over the Syrians, 13:15-17. (c) Then, when Elisha tried to get Johoash to make a wholehearted commitment to trust God so God would bless him by aiding him to destroy his Syrian foes, a commitment signified by shooting all his remaining arrows into the ground (Ibid., p. 564), Johoash fired only three of his arrows, 2 Kings 13:18; hence, Elisha predicted Johoash would defeat the Syrians in only three battles, but that he would thus not destroy them, 13:19. (d) God AGAIN tried to prod Johoash to heed Him fully in using Elisha's dead body to raise another man to life, 13:20-21; yet, Johoash still failed to heed God as he kept loyal to his idol, so he still failed to destroy Syria, 13:11, 22-25; Ibid.
Lesson: Jehoahaz and Johoash were PARTLY loyal to God, so they were PARTIALLY blessed of God.

Application: May we WHOLEHEARTEDLY follow God (firing ALL of the ARROWS into the ground in full faith and obedience to God) to enjoy God's FULL blessing in our lives and ministries!