2 Kings Chapter 13

The Death of Elisha

A. The reigns of Jehoahaz and Jehoash, kings of Israel

1. A summary of the reign of Jehoahaz and an answer to prayer

(2 Kings 13:1-4)
“In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin. He did not depart from them. Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael, all their days. So Jehoahaz pleaded with the LORD, and the LORD listened to him, for He saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.”

Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, began his reign in the twenty-third year of Joash of Judah and ruled Israel seventeen years from Samaria. His reign opened with the partial fulfillment of God’s promise to Jehu, recorded earlier in 2 Kings 10:30, that four generations of Jehu’s descendants would sit on Israel’s throne. Although the dynasty had begun in violence and bloodshed, it continued because Jehu’s initial overthrow of Ahab’s house aligned with God’s declared judgment. Yet Jehoahaz did not follow the LORD. Instead, he embraced the idolatrous system established by Jeroboam the son of Nebat—the golden calf worship that corrupted Israel from its earliest days. Like his father Jehu and the kings before him, he refused to depart from this convenient yet corrupt system of false worship.

Because of this persistent idolatry, the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel. God delivered the nation into the hands of Hazael king of Syria and later his son Ben-Hadad. Israel retained its own king and identity, but functionally it became a vassal state, suffering continuous military pressure and humiliation. Historically, the rising Assyrian Empire normally kept Syria weak, preventing expansion. But during this period Assyria faced internal troubles and withdrew from its frontiers, creating a power vacuum that Hazael eagerly exploited. Syria expanded aggressively, and Israel endured constant oppression.

Under this severe distress, Jehoahaz pleaded with the LORD. The Hebrew term suggests desperation, weakness, and the sense of being brought low—Jehoahaz was utterly broken. His prayer did not reflect repentance or genuine spiritual renewal, yet God heard him. The LORD answered because He is merciful, because He saw Israel’s suffering, and because He remembered His covenant. God’s compassion toward Israel did not depend upon the worthiness of its king but upon His own steadfast love. The relief God eventually granted began in Jehoahaz’s time but blossomed more fully under his son Joash and reached its peak under his grandson Jeroboam II. Knapp observes that prayer is often answered after the one praying has passed away, illustrating God’s long-term providential mercy.

Notes on Key Phrases

“Jehoahaz… became king… and reigned seventeen years.”
His rule was marked by political weakness and spiritual failure, yet God kept Jehu’s dynasty alive for the sake of His word.

“He did evil… and followed the sins of Jeroboam… He did not depart from them.”
Every king of Israel continued Jeroboam’s false worship system. The political convenience of local shrines and golden calves mattered more than loyalty to the true God.

“Delivered them into the hand of Hazael… all their days.”
Israel suffered long-term humiliation because their idolatry made them spiritually vulnerable. Foreign oppression became God’s instrument of discipline.

“So Jehoahaz pleaded with the LORD… and the LORD listened to him.”
This shows God’s mercy even toward ungodly leaders. He heard Jehoahaz not because of the king’s righteousness but because of His compassion for the oppressed nation.

2. The rest of Jehoahaz’s reign

(2 Kings 13:5-9)
“Then the LORD gave Israel a deliverer, so that they escaped from under the hand of the Syrians, and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before. Nevertheless they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin, but walked in them, and the wooden image also remained in Samaria. For He left of the army of Jehoahaz only fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Jehoahaz rested with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. Then Joash his son reigned in his place.”

In response to Jehoahaz’s desperate prayer, the LORD raised up a deliverer for Israel. Though the text does not name this deliverer, God used him to provide relief from Syrian domination. Under this deliverance, the people were able to return to life “in their tents as before,” meaning they enjoyed renewed stability, freedom, and normalcy after years of fear and oppression. This pattern mirrors the recurring cycle found in the Book of Judges: Israel sins, suffers, cries out, and God mercifully intervenes despite their unfaithfulness.

Yet despite this divine intervention, Israel remained spiritually unchanged. They did not depart from “the sins of the house of Jeroboam.” They continued to practice the false, calf-based worship system that Jeroboam introduced centuries earlier. Their repentance was external and temporary, motivated by suffering rather than conviction. Spurgeon notes that they turned from their sorrow but not from their sin. Even the wooden image—likely a representation of Asherah—remained standing in Samaria, a public symbol of their spiritual corruption.

Because of Israel’s persistent apostasy, God left the army of Jehoahaz terribly diminished. The once-powerful military of Israel had been reduced to fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers. This was a humiliating collapse for a nation that had been strong in earlier generations. Syria had “made them like dust at threshing,” meaning they were crushed, scattered, and rendered powerless. Their national weakness reflected the deeper spiritual weakness produced by their separation from the true God.

The rest of Jehoahaz’s deeds are recorded in the chronicles of Israel’s kings. After his death, he was buried in Samaria, and his son Joash (also called Jehoash) succeeded him. Jehoahaz’s legacy was mixed—marked by desperation, temporary deliverance, but no lasting revival.

Notes on Key Phrases

“The LORD gave Israel a deliverer.”
Unnamed on earth but known in heaven. God often uses servants who gain no worldly recognition yet accomplish His purposes with power.

“Nevertheless they did not depart…”
Deliverance does not equal repentance. Israel enjoyed relief but refused to abandon its idolatry.

“He left… only fifty horsemen…”
Their military collapse demonstrates the consequence of spiritual decay. When God removes His protection, even powerful nations crumble.

3. Summary of Jehoash’s reign over Israel

(2 Kings 13:10-13)
“In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz became king over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. And he did evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, but walked in them. Now the rest of the acts of Joash, all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Joash rested with his fathers. Then Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.”

Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz and grandson of Jehu, ascended the throne in the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah. He ruled sixteen years and continued the spiritual pattern established by his father and grandfather. Like all the kings of Israel before him, he “did evil in the sight of the LORD” and refused to depart from the idolatry of Jeroboam. This counterfeit worship—combined with political pragmatism—continued to define the Northern Kingdom’s religion and identity throughout its entire history.

Jehoash’s reign was also marked by conflict with Judah. He engaged in war against Amaziah king of Judah, and according to 2 Chronicles 25, he defeated Amaziah decisively, captured him, and tore down sections of Jerusalem’s wall. His military ability is acknowledged in the text, even though he was spiritually corrupt. This is consistent with Scripture’s repeated witness: a king may possess strength, skill, and military success, yet still be evil in the sight of the LORD.

After Jehoash’s death, his son Jeroboam (Jeroboam II) reigned in his place. Jehoash was buried in Samaria among the kings of Israel. His reign, like those of many northern kings, demonstrated political strength intertwined with spiritual emptiness.

Notes on Key Phrases

“He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam.”
Spiritual stagnation defined Israel. Every king upheld Jeroboam’s false worship because it was politically convenient.

“His might with which he fought against Amaziah…”
His military accomplishments did not redeem his spiritual failures. Success in battle does not equate to faithfulness before God.

“Jeroboam sat on his throne.”
This is the Jeroboam known as Jeroboam II, under whom Israel would temporarily prosper again—though still without repentance.

B. The death of Elisha

1. Elisha’s sickness unto death

(2 Kings 13:14a)
“Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die.”

The great prophet Elisha, who for decades had been the chief instrument of God’s power in Israel, finally entered the final episode of his earthly life. Scripture is clear and simple: “Elisha had become sick.” This statement shatters any mistaken idea that men of faith, miracle-workers, or prophets are exempt from suffering. Though Elisha had healed multitudes—Naaman the leper, the Shunammite’s son, poisoned stew, death in the pot, barren water—he himself now experienced the frailty common to all humanity. God allowed His servant to endure sickness, not as punishment but as part of His sovereign plan for Elisha’s departure from this world.

The text adds that this was “the illness of which he would die.” God did not take Elisha in a whirlwind of glory as He did Elijah. Instead, the prophet who worked the greatest number of miracles in Old Testament history died through sickness. This reminds us that God has no single pattern for the death of His saints. Some die quietly, some violently, some in sleep, some in suffering. The method of death is not a measure of godliness. Elisha’s sickness was not a sign of defeat but simply the means by which God brought His faithful servant home.

2. King Joash and his final audience with Elisha

(2 Kings 13:14b-17)
“Then Joash the king of Israel came down to him, and wept over his face, and said, ‘O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!’ And Elisha said to him, ‘Take a bow and some arrows.’ So he took himself a bow and some arrows. Then he said to the king of Israel, ‘Put your hand on the bow.’ So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, ‘Open the east window’; 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 you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.’”

When Joash, king of Israel, learned that Elisha was near death, he immediately came to visit him and wept over his face. Though Joash was an idolatrous king who “did evil in the sight of the LORD,” he was not a worshipper of Baal. Joash was a false worshipper of the true God, not a worshipper of false gods. Therefore he still held respect for the office of the prophet and for the LORD’s authority that Elisha represented. His grief was genuine, for Elisha’s death signaled the loss of Israel’s greatest spiritual defender. Spurgeon notes that believers should live with such integrity that even the ungodly mourn their absence.

Joash cried out, “O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!” This was the same phrase Elisha had used when Elijah ascended into heaven (2 Kings 2:12). The expression signified the true military strength of Israel. Neither armies nor weapons protected the nation as effectively as the presence of God through His prophet. Joash recognized that the real defense of Israel was about to vanish from the earth.

Elisha, though dying, remained the authoritative prophet of God. He commanded Joash to take a bow and arrows. Joash obeyed. Then Elisha told him to place his hand upon the bow. As the king did so, Elisha placed his own hands on the king’s hands—a symbolic act showing prophetic empowerment, divine commissioning, and the transfer of God’s authority for battle. Elisha then ordered him to open the window facing east toward Syria, specifically toward Aphek, a strategic battleground where Ahab had previously defeated the Syrians (1 Kings 20:26). When Joash shot the arrow, Elisha declared it to be “the arrow of the LORD’s deliverance,” meaning that God Himself would grant victory over Syria.

The symbolic shooting of the arrow followed a well-known ancient custom. Clarke explains that armies often shot an arrow or tossed a spear toward enemy territory to declare the initiation of hostilities. Here the gesture had prophetic significance. God was commanding Joash to strike Syria at Aphek until total victory was achieved. The arrow represented the promise of divine help. Joash only needed to respond with faith and obedience.

Notes on Key Phrases

“O my father, my father, the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!”
A recognition that the power of Israel was not in its army but in the presence of God’s prophet.

“Put your hand on the bow… Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.”
This symbolized prophetic empowerment. Elisha was granting God’s authority and blessing to Joash’s future military actions.

“The arrow of the LORD’s deliverance.”
God was offering victory. The arrow was not Joash’s strength but God’s promise.

“Strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.”
A direct prophetic command. The coming victory depended on Joash’s willingness to act in faith.

3. King Joash fails to fully take the opportunity

(2 Kings 13:18-19)
“Then he said, Take the arrows, so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, Strike the ground, so he struck three times, and stopped. And the man of God was angry with him, and said, You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it. But now you will strike Syria only three times.”

a. Take the arrows

Joash had already seen the first symbolic act and heard Elisha declare that the arrow shot eastward represented the Lord’s deliverance over Syria. Therefore Joash understood that these arrows were symbols of divine victory. The request to take the remaining arrows was not a meaningless activity. It was a continuation of the prophetic sign. Joash knew the arrows represented the Lord’s promise to defeat Syria. He simply did not discern the spiritual significance or the intensity required.

b. Strike the ground

When Elisha told Joash to strike the ground, the king responded weakly and without spiritual perception. He struck the ground three times and then stopped. This revealed a lack of discernment and a lack of zeal. Joash did not understand that the arrows symbolized victories. He approached the act with timidity instead of bold faith. He did not sense the importance of the moment presented by the prophet. Joash missed the fact that this was an invitation to receive abundant deliverance from the Lord.

The command to “strike the ground” refers to arrows shot out the window so that they hit the earth. Elisha was not asking Joash to pound arrows on the floor. He asked him to shoot them as before, but without specifying a target. This prophetic action modeled the nature of prayer and faith. Every aspect of shooting the arrows carried spiritual symbolism.

Shooting the arrows required effort and aim.
Faith is never passive. It demands intention and a willingness to obey God with purpose.

Shooting the arrows required instruction and help from the prophet of God.
Just as Joash needed prophetic guidance, believers need biblical instruction to pray and act faithfully.

Shooting the arrows had to be done through an open window.
Faith requires an open opportunity created by God. God opens the window. Man must act.

Shooting the arrows had to be done without knowing the exact outcome in advance.
Faith acts without seeing the target. The obedience comes first, and the results unfold as God wills.

Shooting the arrows was ineffective because it was not repeated enough.
A failure to persist in obedience limited the blessing. Joash stopped short, revealing hesitation instead of confidence.

Shooting the arrows had its strategic moment.
When that moment passed, the opportunity was gone forever. Delayed obedience forfeits blessing.

Failing to shoot the arrows hurt others, not only Joash.
This failure limited the deliverance of the entire nation. A leader’s half-hearted obedience wounds the people under his authority.

c. The man of God was angry with him

Elisha responded with righteous indignation. Joash’s lack of boldness displeased God because Joash failed to seize the strategic moment. He limited the blessing God intended to give. Israel would win only three victories over Syria because Joash struck the ground only three times. Had he struck five or six times, Israel would have utterly destroyed Syria. His half-hearted response created a half-measure deliverance.

Poole notes that Elisha himself did not know beforehand how many victories God intended to grant. God revealed the number through the number of strokes. Joash’s lack of faith determined the size of Israel’s deliverance. Trapp observes that Joash should have continued striking until the prophet told him to stop. In the same way believers must persist in prayer and obedience.

There are many areas in which Christians must keep “shooting arrows.”

Keep shooting in the battle against sin.
Victory requires perseverance, not a few isolated efforts.

Keep shooting in the pursuit of Christian knowledge.
Spiritual understanding grows through continual study and disciplined learning.

Keep shooting in the advancement of faith.
Faith is strengthened by repeated acts of trust rather than occasional spiritual moments.

Keep shooting in service to the kingdom of God.
The work of God advances through those who refuse to quit.

Keep shooting because the world, the flesh, and the devil never stop shooting.
The enemy persists. Believers must answer with greater persistence in spiritual warfare.

Knapp explains that Joash’s lack of faith and half-hearted actions prevented him from destroying Syria completely. It was unto him according to his faith. When God offers blessing, His people must ask boldly, knowing He is a great King who is honored by reverent and confident requests.

d. But now you will strike Syria only three times

This final statement completed the prophetic sign. Israel’s victories would now be limited to the number of arrows Joash shot. What seemed small and insignificant to Joash determined the national outcome. Life and death, victory and defeat, depended on the king’s seemingly minor act of obedience.

Spurgeon notes that while God sovereignly purposes all things, He has also decreed that human choices carry real consequence. God’s eternal plan often unfolds through the choices and responsiveness of people. Joash’s lukewarm response was woven into the outworking of God’s judgment and mercy on the nation.

Joash could have created many excuses, yet none held weight.

“I stopped because I did not want to appear greedy.”
“I stopped because I am not skilled in archery.”
“I stopped because Elisha did not guide me further.”
“I stopped because three seemed sufficient.”
“I stopped because I doubted the act would matter.”
“I stopped because I was not in the mood.”
“I stopped because I feared emotional excess.”

None of these excuses justified his failure. Divine opportunity requires decisive faith. Joash’s hesitation brought limitation. Spurgeon observed that men also treat preaching as a small thing, not realizing that eternal realities often hang upon a single sermon. In the same way Israel’s history hinged on the king’s willingness to follow through in faith.

4. The continuing power of God at work in Elisha, even after his death

(2 Kings 13:20-21)
“Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders. And they put the man in the tomb of Elisha. And when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.”

a. Then Elisha died

Elisha, one of the greatest prophets in Israel’s history, eventually came to the same end as ordinary men. Unlike his mentor Elijah, he was not taken to heaven in a fiery chariot. God simply allowed him to age, become sick, and die. His departure from this world was common, yet his ministry had been extraordinary. It reminds believers that the measure of a man is not in how he dies, but in how faithfully he serves while he lives. God appoints different ends for His servants according to His sovereign plan. Elijah departed in glory. Elisha departed in frailty. Both fulfilled the will of God.

b. When the man touched the bones of Elisha he revived and stood on his feet

This brief narrative records one of Scripture’s most unusual miracles. During a hurried burial, probably due to fear of Moabite raiders, the body of a dead man was thrown into the tomb of Elisha. As soon as the corpse touched the prophet’s bones, God performed a miracle and restored the man to life.

The miracle does not imply inherent power in the bones of Elisha. Scripture gives no suggestion that relics themselves carry spiritual force. The silence of the narrative itself emphasizes this. This was a single event ordained by God to honor His prophet even after his death and to remind Israel that the power of God had not departed from the nation.

Clarke observes that this is the only true instance of a miracle performed when a corpse touched the physical remains of a prophet. The Roman system of relic worship attempts to build doctrine on passages like this, yet the text itself refuses to support such superstition. God alone performed the miracle, and He did so without encouraging any practice of venerating human remains.

This miracle also carries symbolic application. As the commentary notes, believers can be revived spiritually through contact with the words and ministries of the Lord’s departed servants. Though the prophets are dead, their writings remain living instruments in the hands of God to bring life to the soul.

C. God’s mercy unto Israel

1. God’s kindness to Israel

(2 Kings 13:22-23)
“And Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. But the Lord was gracious to them, had compassion on them, and regarded them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And would not yet destroy them or cast them from His presence.”

a. Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel

The oppression that Israel experienced under Hazael was not accidental. It was a tool in the hand of God to discipline His unfaithful people. Earlier in 2 Kings 8:12, Elisha foretold that Hazael would do great harm to Israel. God uses nations as instruments to accomplish His righteous purposes. Israel’s idolatry made them vulnerable, and God permitted Syria to strike them repeatedly. The people of God often suffer at the hands of the world when they wander from obedience.

b. But the Lord was gracious to them

Though Israel had earned judgment, God refused to forsake His covenant people. The Lord had compassion on them. His mercy was grounded not in their worthiness, for they were unworthy, but in His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God remembered His promises. He would not yet destroy them or cast them away from His presence. The word “yet” reveals the patience of God. Israel pushed the boundaries of grace but had not yet crossed the final line. God preserved them because of His sovereign love and covenant faithfulness.

2. The victories of King Joash against the Syrians

(2 Kings 13:24-25)
“Now Hazael king of Syria died. Then Ben Hadad his son reigned in his place. And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz recaptured from the hand of Ben Hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three times Joash defeated him and recaptured the cities of Israel.”

a. Three times Joash defeated him

With the death of Hazael, the power of Syria weakened. Ben Hadad inherited his father’s throne, but not his father’s strength. Joash seized the opportunity to reclaim territory that Israel had lost during the oppression of Jehoahaz. The victories came exactly as Elisha had prophesied. Joash defeated the Syrians three times, recapturing the lost cities of Israel.

Yet these victories also expose the tragedy of Joash’s earlier failure. He received only the number of victories that his faith had reached for when striking the arrows. Had he struck more boldly, Israel would have completely destroyed Syria. After the third victory, Joash surely realized that the prophetic limit had been reached. His half-hearted obedience produced a half-measure deliverance.

God kept His word exactly. Joash received the blessing the measure of his faith had allowed, but no more. This final note reinforces the theological principle repeated throughout Scripture. God is able to give exceedingly and abundantly, but His people often receive small blessings because they ask small prayers.