Transcript

The Kansas Department of Transportation recently found over 450 dead crows on I-70, and there was concern that they may have died from the Coronavirus.

A vet examined the remains of all the crows, and to everyone’s relief confirmed that the problem was not Covid. The cause of death was from vehicular impacts.

However, during analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird’s beaks and claws.

By analyzing these paint residues it was found that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, while only 2% were killed by cars.

The Kansas Department of Transportation then investigated this to determine the cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills.

They came to a quick conclusion that when crows eat road kill, they have a look-out crow to warn of danger. They discovered that not a single crow could shout, “Truck,” but all of the lookout crows could shout, “Cah!” “Cah!”

You may find that story hard to believe, as you should. The story of how Elisha raised a second person from the dead also sounds almost unbelievable, but it is absolutely true, it is the truth of the Word of God.

Kings 13:14: “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.”

There are several funerals in this chapter. Leading up to these verses we learn about the life and death of two kings of the northern kingdom of Israel: Jehoa-haz and Jehoash. In verse 14, we are leading up to a third funeral, the death of the prophet Elisha.

Before King Jehoash died, however, and during his reign of sixteen years, we learn in verse 14 that he visited Elisha.

At that time, “Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died,” or the prophet was suffering from a terminal illness at the time.

Elisha had a long and fruitful ministry in Israel, between 50-60 years. He had seen kings come and go. He had witnessed the translation and departure of Elijah. Now it was time for his departure from this world.

In his last days, Elisha was paid a visit by King Joash. Jehoash mentioned in verses 10-13 and Joash here in verse 14, are the same person.

The author had given his assessment of King Joash in verses 10-13, and it was not good. Joash was not a righteous man who followed the true and living God of Israel.

He did not lead Israel in the ways of God. Instead, he “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,” as he departed not and willingly practiced idolatry and followed false gods just like the first king of Israel, Jeroboam.

This wicked king came to see Elisha as he was lying ill of a mortal sickness. Seeing the dying prophet, the king “wept over his face.”

And then he said, “O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” The king humbly showed respect for the prophet by addressing him with the same words that Elisha used when Elijah was translated in the whirlwind.

Elisha had followed in the footsteps of his mentor and had ministered to Israel in the same spirit of Elijah, and thus these words were very appropriate for him as well. And thus at the beginning of his ministry as well as at its conclusion, Elisha was linked with Elijah.

The king expressed his deep sorrow, by his tears and words, as he anticipated the loss that the prophet’s death would be to Israel. By his statement, he wondered where wisdom, deliverance, and blessing would come from for Israel after he was gone.

Elisha had been like a good father to the nation, by his ministry of care, protection, and godly counsel, always looking out for the nation’s good.

And Elisha had been a great spiritual warrior, a one-man army that God used powerfully for His honor and glory.

Chariots and horsemen at that time were symbols of military might and strength. And Joash recognized that Elisha’s ministry in the power of the Lord had been Israel’s true defense, her real strength, against all her adversaries.

2 Kings 13:15-19: “And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.

“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.

“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.”

Near the end of his life, our Apostle Paul wrote, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” As the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof, in the spiritual battle, Elisha fought a good fight. Here we find that he finished his course well.

Even on his deathbed, the prophet was still serving the Lord and His people. And Elisha gives one final prophecy to King Joash.

Elisha knew that Joash was in trouble because of the Syrians, and thus he used his failing strength to help the king, who did not at all deserve this kind and gracious act by Elisha.

Verse 11 says that Joash did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, but by this act of the man of God, it reminds us that “The LORD God, [is] merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Ex. 34:6).

That’s how it is with the Cross and salvation. We’ve all done evil in the sight of the Lord; we are all sinners, and though we do not deserve it, God in His great mercy, grace, and longsuffering provides salvation and deliverance from our sins through His Son.

Today, Elisha would probably have been in an intensive care unit, with all kinds of wires and monitors attached to his body. And yet even in his failing state, he tells the king to “Take bow and arrows.”

One of the king’s attendants or guards then provided him with a bow and arrows, “And he took unto him bow and arrows,” verse 15 says.

Elisha then told the king to put his hand upon the bow,” literally meaning to take it into active use or place your hands on the bow as you would if were about to shoot it. The king did as the prophet instructed him.

Then the prophet either mustered the strength to rise from his sickbed or he summoned the king to come closer to him, “and Elisha put his trembling hands upon the king’s hands.”

Covering the king’s two hands with his own hands made it as if he too was pulling the bow and shooting it so that it appeared to be the joint act of both the prophet and the king.

It was to show that the power given to the shooting of the bow, was not just in the king’s own power, but that it came from the Lord, through the mediation of the prophet.

Elisha then instructed Joash to open the shutters of the window in the room that opened toward the east. Joash dutifully kept obeying the directions, “And he opened it.”

Then Elisha told him to aim his bow and arrow out the open window and to “Shoot” it. And Joash did as he was told, and he shot the arrow through the window toward the east.

It’s been said that “It was an ancient custom to shoot an arrow or cast a spear into the country which an army intended to invade…The dart, spear, or arrow, was an emblem of the commencement of hostilities.”

When that arrow flew out the open window, Elisha then explained the meaning of the action. A bow and arrow were a weapon of war, and there was to be war.

The arrow he shot toward the east was “the arrow of the Lord’s deliverance.” The shot signified victory and the Lord’s deliverance of Israel over the Syrians to the east.

Elisha prophesied and told Joash and that he would “smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.” Aphek was a strategic site on the route between Samaria in the northern kingdom of Israel and Damascus in Syria.

In symbolic form, this one arrow was the prophecy of Israel’s complete victory over Syria at Aphek.

Then Elisha told the king to “Take the arrows,” or to take out all the remaining arrows in the quiver. So Joash took them all out of the quiver.

Then Elisha instructed him to “Smite the ground.” He was to strike the ground by shooting his arrows at it.

The king was to keep shooting arrows out that east window at the ground, as a symbol of complete subjugation of Syria in the power of the Lord at the hands of Israel.

At this instruction, Joash “smote thrice, and stayed,” or he just shot three arrows and then he paused, thinking he had done enough, and he stopped.

Joash did not believe or fully enter into the spirit and meaning of the symbolic act, which represented the smiting and victory over Israel’s enemies, the Syrians. If he fully believed, he should have shot all his arrows at the ground to the east!

But by his lack of faith and limiting the number of times he shot and struck the ground with his arrows, he limited the number of times Israel would prevail over Syria.

The king was manifesting a failure to trust God to give him as many victories as there were arrows. Joash understood what shooting the first arrow symbolized because Elisha had fully explained it to him. By letting the king shoot more arrows, God was inviting him through Elisha to claim as many victories as he had arrows.

So it angered Elisha that he stopped at only three shots. “And the man of God was wroth with him,” verse 19 tells us. It was Joash’s unbelief that angered the prophet.

This reminds us how faith honors God, and that we can and should trust Him fully with all our heart and not in a partial, lukewarm, or incomplete way as King Joash here.

And there are many situations when in the Christian life and the spiritual battle, that we need to keep shooting arrows in faith. We need to keep shooting our arrows of faith and yielding to God’s power in the battle against sin in our lives. We need to keep shooting in growing in our knowledge and understanding of God’s Word and His grace.

We need to keep shooting and learning to trust the Lord more and more. We need to keep shooting arrows in laboring for Christ, knowing our labor is never in vain for Him.

We need to keep shooting our arrows of faith in the Lord, knowing that the devil will never stop shooting his arrows and fiery darts at us, the Church.

We are to keep shooting and to empty our quiver in strong faith, knowing that God is able and He can and will give us victory in the spiritual battle.

Elisha told Joash that if he had shot and struck the ground even five or six times, the threat of Syria would have been eliminated. But now their victory would be incomplete.

And the king had now just predicted his partial and incomplete conquest, as God would allow Israel to defeat the Syrian army only three times.

And in verse 25 of this chapter, you see that this is exactly what happened: “And Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out of the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael the cities, which he had taken out of the hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. THREE TIMES did Joash beat him, and recovered the cities of Israel.”

2 Kings 13:20-21: “And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.

“And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.”

There had been no death and burial for Elisha’s predecessor, Elijah, who “went up by a whirlwind into heaven.” Instead, like so many others, Elisha became old, sick, and he died.

Elisha later died from the illness he was suffering from when King Joash visited him. And he would have been around 80 years of age when he died.

But while the prophet died in the time and manner that so many do, Elisha’s death was also unlike all other deaths and was every bit as dramatic as Elijah’s translation to heaven. Because associated with his death was a miracle unlike any other in the Bible.

When the prophet died, he was buried. And as was the custom then, Elisha was buried in a cave or rock tomb. Graves weren’t usually holes or pits dug into the ground, but caves in the side of a rocky hill, closed up by a large stone rolled in front of the entryway.

After Elisha’s death and burial, “bands of the Moabites invaded the land.” Marauding bands of raiders from Moab were invading the land of Israel to kill and steal.

This took place “at the coming in of the year,” meaning that it was springtime in the land. It was a common occurrence for these kinds of campaigns to take place during this season, after the rains of winter.

Another death and funeral then take place in Israel, the funeral of an anonymous Israelite. As the man’s body was being carried by the pallbearers in a somber procession to be buried in his own rock tomb outside the city, the burial party “spied a band” of Moabites, a raiding party, on the horizon. This sight greatly alarmed them.

Safety and protection were only to be found within the city walls, and so it was imperative for these men to get back to the city as soon as possible.

This left them with a serious dilemma: What were they to do with the body of this man that they were going to place in his tomb? They did not have time to get him to his own tomb and give him a proper burial, and they needed to do something with his body quickly so they could flee back to the city.

In their panic, they looked around and saw a tomb nearby. Hastily, they rolled the stone back from this sepulchre, not knowing or caring that this was the tomb of Elisha.

They carried and “cast the man” or thrust this man’s body through the entry of this rock tomb, and then they “let down” the man’s body in the tomb.

But when the man’s lifeless corpse was set down in that tomb, it “touched the bones of Elisha,” whose body was not in a coffin, but wound in graveclothes, lying in that sepulchre. And as soon as this man’s body touched Elisha’s bones, something amazing happened. The man suddenly and immediately came to life “and stood up on his feet.”

Now the pallbearers didn’t know what to be more afraid of: the raiding party of Moabites or this dead man who was now standing up, alive, and raised back to life.

But the formerly dead man now was also in danger of dying again quickly with this raiding party descending on them all. So none of them wanted to stay in that tomb.

Thus, I imagine them all running back to the city, with the pallbearers running half in fear of the Moabites, half in fear of their once-dead friend who is now alive, and that friend trying to catch up in his graveclothes because he didn’t want to die again so soon!

This is an amazing and incredible story.

So, while Elijah never died and was caught up to heaven, the prophet Elisha did die and was buried, but he performed a miracle AFTER he was dead. Elisha, you could say, carried out a bare-bones ministry!

Unlike the record of the deaths of two unbelieving, weak, powerless kings of Israel mentioned previously in this chapter, this death, the death of a man of God, showed power and life even after he died.

There was no magic in Elisha’s bones. Since Elisha was dead there was no question that the power was God’s, not the prophet’s.

This miracle was a sign to Israel that God’s power continued to work in relationship to Elisha and his ministry even after his death.

And this can still take place today, with those who have faithfully lived and ministered for the Lord, that God can continue to use the legacy of one’s life and the things they taught, the example they gave, after they’ve passed. It’s like what Hebrews says of the faith and testimony of Abel, that “he being dead yet speaketh.”

This miracle also confirmed that what God had promised to Joash through Elisha when he was alive would surely come to pass after the prophet’s death in the defeat of the Syrians.

The miracle reminded the king and all of Israel that though the prophet of God was dead, the God of the prophet, as always, was very much alive. Though Elisha’s presence was departed, God’s presence was not departed, and His promises never fail.

At the beginning of Elisha’s ministry, he asked the Lord for a double portion of his mentor Elijah’s spirit. God granted Elisha’s request.

Scriptures record Elijah performing seven distinct miracles. Elisha performed 13 during his life, and this miracle after his death, makes 14, and twice as many miracles as Elijah did, as Elisha ministered with a DOUBLE portion of Elijah’s spirit.

Also, regarding the deaths of all 8 of the people that we’ve looked at in this series, Eutychus, Dorcas, the widow’s son at Nain, Jairus’s daughter, Lazarus, the widow’s son at Zarephath, the Shunnamite woman’s son, and this anonymous man who was raised when his body touched Elisha’s bones, they all died again.

These were all resuscitations, meaning that the person was raised in their old, mortal body in which they died. The physical body was raised, healed, restored, given life, and the process of decay was reversed. And the person’s soul was reunited with their body.

These examples of God reviving the dead show us that He has the ability, as well as the desire, to restore life. And they foreshadow the future resurrections to come in the last days, when the bodies of believers will be raised from the dead and will be glorified.

However, again, all these who were revived eventually died a second time.

This is unlike Christ’s resurrection. Christ completely defeated sin and death, Romans 6:9 states, “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.”

And our future resurrection will be different from these resuscitations, as our future, glorified, resurrected bodies will be like Christ’s glorious body and they will never perish. They will be incorruptible and immortal and will never die.

As 1 Corinthians 15:54 states, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.”

John 19:41-42: “Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at hand.”

As a result of this miracle in Israel’s history, you find the Holy Spirit, being careful to record, as here in John 19, that Christ was buried in “a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.” In Matthew 27:60, we read that Christ was buried in a “new tomb.”

The Lord was not buried in an old tomb, but a new one, where no remains had ever been previously laid, and with no other corpse currently in it.

The Spirit, thus, makes it very clear that Christ did not rise from the dead by coming into contact with the bones of some prophet or holy man from Israel’s history.

Christ rose from the dead by His own power and life. It was because He completely paid our sin debt, that death could not hold Him and He rose again.

Elisha is a type of Christ. Both were prophets of God. And like the forerunner of Elisha was Elijah, the forerunner of Christ was a prophet in the spirit of Elijah, John the Baptist.

The ministries of Elisha and Christ both started at the Jordan River. Elisha saw the heavens open, and Elijah being taken up in a whirlwind. At Christ’s baptism, Christ saw the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descending like a dove.

Both raised dead sons and restored them to their mothers. Both cleansed lepers. Both gave sight to the blind. Elisha miraculously multiplied food and fed 100 men with 20 small barley loaves and there was food left over. Christ, on two occasions, multiplied food and fed 5000 and then 4000 with a few loaves and fishes, with food left over.

Both died and were buried, and their places of burial became life-giving tombs.

On touching Elisha’s bones, the dead man came back to life. And by Christ’s resurrection and empty tomb, He has brought the hope of new life to all.

We have a dramatic picture of the gospel here: dead people made alive through death!

That dead man was brought INTO the tomb, into the place of death. And when the dead man came in contact with death, the death of the prophet of God who foreshadowed the Lord Jesus Christ, life resulted.

Before we were saved, outside of Christ, we are each like the nameless dead man in this account, we are dead, spiritually dead, dead in trespasses and sins.

Each person must enter into Christ’s death to find life. When we believe in Christ and what He did for us by His death, burial, and resurrection, we enter into the death He died.

And as the dead, the spiritually dead, come in contact with the death of Christ, His death at the Cross, burial, and resurrection, and as they place their faith in Him, they find life and are raised to life, suddenly and immediately.

Life eternal is found in Christ and by contact with Him and His finished work. That contact with Christ takes place through Word of God and faith in it, trusting the gospel of salvation that Christ died for our sins and rose again.

Please make that decision to trust Him right now.