And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
The setting of this event is essential for the interpretation. By now old, and on his deathbed, Elisha had just instructed the king to shoot an arrow out the window. When the king had done it, Elisha explained that this represented “the arrow of the Lord’s deliverance from Syria.” The next instruction was to take the arrows and “smite them upon the ground.” The arrows represented God’s deliverance from Syria. It should not have been a massive leap from that to view smiting them upon the ground to represent the battle with Syria.
Who wants to just barely win a battle?
The passionless response of the king signified his heart.
He did not fully believe the prophet
Though he had come to visit him when he was sick, it was out of kindness and not out of respect. Many people are friendly with the pastor, but wrestle with the idea that he speaks to them for God. Of course, they love him, and they appreciate him. But it’s because he serves them and not because of his service to God.
Or else he did not fully trust God
This was the Lord’s deliverance. But the king of Israel was, at best, a half-hearted believer in God. We know his reign was an evil one. He had no faith in God’s deliverance.
Christians often struggle in these same areas. We want to be on friendly terms with the man of God and with the concept of God. We want to hope in God’s deliverance.[1] But in truth, we put little faith in God as our victor. Our faith is in our resources. Therefore, we obey what the Bible teaches, but only to a degree. We always save enough of ourselves to manage without God.
In truth, the king should have smitten those arrows until they broke to pieces. They would not give him victory.
His only true hope was in God.
[1] As a means to “hedge our bet,” just in case He can help.
To my readers:
Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.
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