Underestimating God's Intent

Introduction

A. How many of you have a regular doctor? You know when you have to fill out those forms which asks for your “Primary Care Physician,” do you have a name put into the blank? Do you trust your doctor? Why do you trust him/her? Maybe your doctor has treated you for years and your confidence has soared in him because he has always helped you. Maybe your doctor was recommended by someone you trusted and that recommendation swelled your confidence in that doctor’s ability to treat you. You think your doctor has ever made a mistake? Has your doctor made a mistake with you? When I was a teenager, my family doctor was a man from India. He treated me when I got the end of my finger cut off. Brought in a plastic surgeon for free. Treated me when my shoulder first started bothering me. He no longer practices — his license was revoked. But we trusted him.

B. If you have an accountant who does your taxes, do you trust him/her? Why? Ever flown on a plane? Did you trust the pilot? Why? Hired a repairman lately? Why did you trust him/her? Had your car worked on? Did you trust the mechanic? We trust our bank to provide certain services and to keep our money safe. We trust a lot of people. We usually trust them because their level of expertise exceeds ours. People make mistakes however. They are not perfect. Mechanics and doctors miss a diagnosis every once in a while and do unnecessary repairs. But their mistakes do not keep us from driving a car or living life. While we are on this point, can I give you a real quick lesson. In a religious setting the criticism of hypocrisy is fairly rampant. There is the right belief that claim and life ought to go hand in hand and when they don’t we see that person as a hypocrite. Then we might even go so far as to allow that one person’s poor example to affect us for a long time. Bill Clinton’s immorality did not make me want to give up my American citizenship. My first tax accountant was sentenced to 8–10 years in prison for tax fraud. His unethical behavior did not keep me from searching for a new tax accountant. I didn’t generalize that all accountants are bad, all mechanics are unknowledgeable, and neither are all so-called Christians hypocrites.

C. What does it mean to trust someone — pilot, mechanic, accountant, doctor, repairman? Have you ever thought about what it means to trust God? We are going to look at a short story from 2 Kings. It will remind us of what it means to trust God. It will also remind us that trusting ourselves rather than God is far easier. But when we trust ourselves, we lose out on God’s blessings. From this final episode in Elisha’s life, we will be encouraged to increase our faith and to make sure that our faith is firmly in God rather than ourselves.

The Story

A. Jehoash is king of Israel. This is about 798 B.C. or so. Elisha is ill. He is going to die. Jehoash has some type of respect for Elisha. He goes to see him and uses the title “father” and “the chariots and horsemen of Israel.” The first is quite a bit easier to understand. For the sake of argument let’s just say these are intended to be respectful terms. This latter phrase may refer to Elisha’s help for the armies of Israel in 2 Kings 3 and 6 when God allows Israel to win in battle without chariots and horses. Thus, it means that Elisha is stronger than chariots and horsemen. Jehoash is seeking some kind of guidance.

B. Elisha tells him to get his bow and arrows. Jehoash shoots an arrow out to the east. Elisha says God will provide a victory over Aram. Then Elisha tells Jehoash to take the remaining arrows and to strike them on the ground. He does so three times. Elisha in his anger announces that Jehoash will only defeat the king of Aram three times. If he had hit the ground more, he would have completely defeated the Arameans. With Elisha’s death, Israel begins to decline and eventually is led into Assyrian captivity. They never return.

Lessons

A. First, trusting self is easier than trusting God. Jehoash goes to Elisha to seek some sort of guidance. After foretelling that he would defeat Aram in battle, Elisha instructs Jehoash to strike the ground with the remaining arrows. Imagine the scene. You are the king. You are asked to do something which seems completely unreasonable. Something which is uncharacteristic of kingly decorum. Maybe there is an awkwardness as Jehoash takes the arrows out of the quiver. “You want me to hit these arrows on the ground?” “Yes, take the arrows and hit them against the ground.” “How hard do you want to hit them? I mean I don’t want to break my arrows.” “Just hit the ground with them.” Ever been asked to do something strange? None of us like to be embarrassed. None of us like to be on display while others watch.

B. Maybe Jehoash got embarrassed. Maybe it was just too strange and awkward. Maybe it just came down to the fact that he thought this was such a strange thing to do that he would do just a little. Maybe it was that he got mad because Elisha asked the king to do something out of the ordinary. Whatever the reason, when it came down to it, Jehoash trusted himself more than the man of God. When it was time for Jehoash to demonstrate that he was willing to listen to the man of God, he just couldn’t bring himself to hear. He stopped short because of his own desires rather than listening to God. What does it mean to trust God? Sometimes it means doing strange things. Sometimes it means treating others with respect when all others are ridiculing. Sometimes it means saying “no” when others are saying “yes.” Sometimes it means speaking God’s words rather than your own. It means placing God first and listening to him rather than anyone or anything else. It means having confidence in him. Enough confidence to keep on even though the results may not be what you think they ought to be. It means risking embarrassment to make sure that he is seen.

C. Why did Elisha get angry over Jehoash’s lack of faith? You go to the doctor and he prescribes medication. You decide to either not take it or alter it. What kind of faith have you demonstrated? You go to your mechanic and he diagnosis what will fix the problem. You tell him to just wash and wax it. What kind of faith have you demonstrated? Your tax accountant says that you are allowed a certain deduction. You refuse to take it. What kind of faith have you demonstrated? What kind of faith is it when God says that he will never leave you or forsake you and then you act as if it his presence doesn’t matter? What kind of faith is it when God tells you to hit the arrows against the ground and you stop before he tells you to? Is there any faith at all?

D. We yell and rail against God because he didn’t keep his end of the deal. My question is what kind of faith do you have? Elisha gets angry because Jehoash comes in with the right words but the wrong heart. If God tells you to hit the ground with your arrows, if I were you I would do it until they broke, your arm fell off, or until he told you to stop. Because when it is all said and done there really doesn’t need to be any doubt about who you trust and what kind of trust you have. What kind of faith do you have? Invitation.

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