Halfway Doesn’t Cut It With God … by Mason Atwood

Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 16 – 17 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers Read – Luke 17 – 18; Psalms 1 – 5; Proverbs 1)

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song – 1 John 4:7 & 8

Read the 0501 Evening and Morning devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Note – this post is from yesterday’s reading passage.

“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. 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. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.” (2 Kings 13:17-19)

As we recall the account of Elijah’s translation, we remember Elisha as a man of God who who would stop at nothing to get the power of God. This hard work and determination to stick to his cause, is what brought a double portion of Elijah’s power upon him. 

In this passage of 2 Kings 13, while the prophet Elisha was lying on his death bed, Joash, the king of Israel, had come to see him. As Joash is weeping over him, Elisha tells him what would come to pass. Joash takes a bow and arrow and shoots out of a window. This was a symbol of God’s deliverance from Syria. Elisha was showing Joash that by shooting the arrow of God’s deliverance, Joash could consume the armies of Syria.

Next came the test. As Elisha is lying there, he tells Joash to smite the ground. Joash had already shot a random arrow out of a window. To smite, or hit, the ground probably seemed like a trifle or trivial task but Joash did it anyways. The verse says he smote the ground three times and stayed. To stay means to fix oneself where you are and to settle. 

This passage teaches us that if Joash had smitten the ground five or six times then would Israel be delivered. Since Joash had only halfway done what the man of God had told him to do, Syria would lose a few battles but the deliverance of God only went as far as the effort Joash put towards smiting the ground.

 God doesn’t appreciate it when congregations only half-way follow their pastor. Whoever that person is in your life, should have the utmost respect to the point that you will give all of your effort to whatever task you are given. What charges have come from your pastor? How many have you half-way done?