Asking And Believing

Asking And Believing

2 Kings 13:14-17
14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. {Put thine...: Heb. Make thine hand to ride}
17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.

I have entitled this today: “Asking and Believing”
In our opening text, it is believed Elisha was at least 80 years old at this time.
His illness was probably the result of a natural decay.
Today we are talking about how an arrow of faith changed history.
This portion of Scripture tells of one such battle.
Elisha who had received a double portion of Elijah’s mantle and performed miracles and signs in Israel for over 60 years was dying.
He summoned Joash, the King of Israel, for one final audience to bless Israel.
During this encounter, Elisha tells the king to take some vital prophetic actions.

Joash, the king of Israel, came down unto him, and wept over his face.
It is amazing to me how Joash as privious Kings of Israel knew the worth of Elisha, but still would not serve Elisha’s God.
Men, in general, love their sin.

2 Kings 13:15
15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.

Allthough it is not mentioned here, evidently Joash had sought direction from the Lord through Elisha.
As it regards to the threat of Syrian domination the Holy Spirit, evidently tells Elisha what to do.

The Word says in:
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

2 Kings 13:15-17
15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands.
17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the LORD’S deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.

Notice that the arrows became the Lord’s arrows of victory in a very real way.
Joash’s actions, blessed by Elisha, released the power of God on behalf of Israel.
This was an act of obedience, which affected the destiny of an entire nation.
Victory or defeat, survival or slaughter, was determined by this apparent silly action.

1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

Unfortunately, Joash was somewhat apathetic about performing this prophetic act.
Certainly, he must have known the stories of Elisha’s command to dig ditches in a deserted valley where soldiers were dying of thirst, and how those ditches were miraculously filled with water.
Elisha gave him