Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of 2 Kings
Chapter 13: The Arrow of the LORD's Deliverance
Israel sinks deeper under Jehoahaz and Joash, oppressed by Syria until only a remnant of the army remains, yet God, hearing a king's prayer and remembering His covenant, keeps giving them a saviour. The prophet Elisha dies, but not before promising deliverance through arrows shot in faith, and even his dead bones raise a man to life, a final testimony to the God of life and the grace that endures.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of 2 Kings chapter 13. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
The Reign of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 13:1-9)
Oppressed by Syria for his sin, Jehoahaz prays, and God gives Israel a saviour.
Jehoahaz Besought the LORD
"In the three and twentieth year of Joash the son of Ahaziah king of Judah Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned seventeen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad the son of Hazael, all their days. And Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them. (And the LORD gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians: and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents, as beforetime. Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin, but walked therein: and there remained the grove also in Samaria.) Neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jehoahaz slept with his fathers; and they buried him in Samaria: and Joash his son reigned in his stead."
Word Study
"Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him," Hebrew chalah (חָלָה), to entreat, to soften God's face. Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, continued in the sins of Jeroboam, and God's anger delivered Israel into the crushing hand of Syria, reduced to a token army, "like the dust by threshing." Yet in his affliction "Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel." Here is the mercy of God to an undeserving, only half-repentant people. Jehoahaz was no reformer, he left the calves and the grove standing, yet when he cried out, God heard, "for he saw the oppression." God's compassion is moved by His people's misery even before their full repentance; "in all their affliction he was afflicted" (Isaiah 63:9), and "he regarded their affliction, when he heard their cry" (Psalm 106:44). So "the LORD gave Israel a saviour" (a deliverer, probably referring to the later victories of Joash and Jeroboam II, or an unnamed helper), and lifted the oppression. This is the pattern of the whole book of Judges and of grace itself: sin brings bondage, affliction brings a cry, and the cry is met by a God-given saviour. It is astonishing that God kept delivering a people who kept sinning; His patience is not because they deserved it but because "he saw the oppression" and remembered His covenant (verse 23). The God who hears the groaning of the oppressed even in their sin is the God of the gospel, who "commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
Explanation
Jehoahaz reigned seventeen years over Israel and, like his predecessors, clung to Jeroboam's sins. God's anger gave Israel over to relentless oppression by Hazael of Syria and his son Benhadad, until Israel's army was reduced to a pitiful remnant. But when Jehoahaz prayed, God, seeing the nation's suffering, heard him and provided a deliverer, so that Israel escaped Syria's grip and lived in peace again. Yet even this mercy did not turn the people from Jeroboam's sins, which they continued in, the Asherah pole still standing in Samaria. Jehoahaz died and his son Joash succeeded him. The account shows both God's judgment on sin and His tender mercy toward a suffering people who cry to Him.
Gospel Focus
"Jehoahaz besought the LORD, and the LORD hearkened unto him: for he saw the oppression of Israel." What grace is here! A sinful king of a sinful people cried out, and God, moved by their affliction, sent deliverance, even though they did not fully repent. This reveals the heart of God toward the miserable: He is "of tender mercy" (James 5:11), He "hath not dealt with us after our sins" (Psalm 103:10), and He hears the cry of the oppressed. If God so answered a half-hearted king, how much more will He receive the sincere cry of any who turn to Him. No sinner is too far gone to call on the LORD and find mercy; "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13). And notice: God "gave Israel a saviour." Again and again in Israel's history God raised up deliverers, each pointing to the great Saviour to come. When we were oppressed by a bondage far worse than Syria's, the tyranny of sin and death, God saw our affliction and gave us a Saviour, Jesus Christ, "for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Cry to the God who hears the oppressed, and find the Saviour He has given.
The Reign of Joash of Israel (2 Kings 13:10-13)
Joash son of Jehoahaz also does evil, yet God's mercy is not yet exhausted.
He Departed Not From the Sins of Jeroboam
"In the thirty and seventh year of Joash king of Judah began Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz to reign over Israel in Samaria, and reigned sixteen years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin: but he walked therein. And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Joash slept with his fathers; and Jeroboam sat upon his throne: and Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel."
Word Study
"he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam," the wearying refrain of the northern kingdom. Joash of Israel (Jehoash, not to be confused with Joash of Judah in chapter 12) reigned sixteen years, and over him falls the same verdict pronounced on nearly every northern king: "he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; he departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam." This refrain, repeated some twenty times through Kings, is the dirge of the northern monarchy; not one of its kings ever tore down the golden calves that Jeroboam set up. The steady drumbeat of "he departed not" shows the grip of entrenched, institutionalized sin: what one generation establishes as false worship, later generations simply accept and continue, "walking therein." Sin becomes a rut, a tradition, a path of least resistance that kings and people alike follow without questioning. It is a warning against the tyranny of "the way things are done", the inherited sins we never examine because everyone around us practices them. Yet even under this evil king, as the next section shows, God's mercy and Elisha's prophetic word still worked for Israel's good. Joash's "might wherewith he fought against Amaziah king of Judah" points ahead to chapter 14, and the note that "Jeroboam sat upon his throne" introduces Jeroboam II, under whom Israel would enjoy a last, deceptive prosperity before the end. The mention of a burial "with the kings of Israel" is the ordinary close of an ordinary evil reign; the extraordinary thing in this chapter is not the king but the dying prophet and the mercy of God.
Explanation
Joash (Jehoash) son of Jehoahaz reigned sixteen years over Israel and, like all the northern kings, continued in the idolatrous sins of Jeroboam. The narrator notes his military conflict with Amaziah of Judah (detailed in chapter 14) and records his death and the succession of his son Jeroboam (the second of that name). The brief notice follows the standard formula for Israel's kings, underscoring the unbroken pattern of evil, yet setting the stage for the remarkable account of Elisha's death and God's continuing mercy that follows.
Gospel Focus
"He departed not from all the sins of Jeroboam... but he walked therein." The saddest thing about the northern kings is how predictable they were: each simply continued in the well-worn path of the sin before him. This is the power of entrenched, inherited sin, the false worship, the settled habits, the "way things have always been done" that we accept without ever examining. It takes no courage to walk in a rut; it takes grace and conviction to tear down the calves your fathers set up. Many drift through life in patterns of sin they never chose and never question, simply because everyone around them walks the same way. But God calls us out of the inherited bondage: "be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2); we are "redeemed... from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers... with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19). Do not merely walk where others have walked. Examine the paths you are following, tear down the "calves" no one else will touch, and follow the LORD with a whole heart, not the crowd. The gospel breaks the rut of generational sin for all who will come out and follow Christ.
The Death of Elisha (2 Kings 13:14-25)
Elisha's dying prophecy, the arrows of deliverance, his reviving bones, and God's covenant mercy.
The Arrow of the LORD's Deliverance
"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. 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. 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. But Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. And the LORD was gracious unto them, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presence as yet. So Hazael king of Syria died; and Benhadad his son reigned in his stead. 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."
Word Study
"The arrow of the LORD'S deliverance," Hebrew teshuah (תְּשׁוּעָה), deliverance, victory, salvation. The dying Elisha is honored by the very king who walked in Jeroboam's sins: Joash weeps and cries the same words Elisha had cried over Elijah, "O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof", recognizing that the praying prophet was the true strength of the nation. Then Elisha gives a final acted prophecy. He has the king shoot an arrow eastward, toward Syria, declaring it "The arrow of the LORD'S deliverance (teshuah)... thou shalt smite the Syrians." Then he tells the king to strike the ground with the arrows; Joash strikes only three times and stops. Elisha is angry: had he struck five or six times, he would have destroyed Syria; now he will defeat them only three times. The lesson is searching: the king's half-hearted, unpersistent response limited the extent of his God-given victory. God offered full deliverance, but Joash received only partial, because he did not press in with faith and zeal. So it often is: "ye have not, because ye ask not" (James 4:2); we receive according to our faith (Matthew 9:29), and half-hearted prayer and effort reap half-hearted results. God's power was not the limit; the king's zeal was. Then Elisha dies, yet God adds one final miracle: a dead man cast into Elisha's tomb "touched the bones of Elisha" and "revived", life flowing even from the prophet's dead bones, a last seal on his life-giving ministry and a foregleam of resurrection. And the section closes with the theme of the whole chapter: "the LORD was gracious unto them... because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Israel's survival rested not on its kings' merit but on God's covenant faithfulness. His mercy, grounded in His promises, "would not destroy them... as yet." Grace, not desert, kept Israel alive.
Explanation
As Elisha lay dying, King Joash visited him and wept, honoring him as the true defense of Israel. Elisha directed the king to shoot an arrow eastward, declaring it the arrow of the LORD's deliverance and promising victory over Syria at Aphek. He then told the king to strike the ground with the remaining arrows; Joash struck only three times and stopped. Elisha rebuked him: his lack of persistence limited his victories to three instead of a complete conquest of Syria. Elisha then died and was buried. Later, a corpse hastily thrown into Elisha's tomb touched his bones and the man came back to life, a final miracle. The chapter closes noting that God, in covenant mercy to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, did not yet destroy Israel, and that Joash recovered from Benhadad the cities Syria had taken, defeating him three times, exactly as Elisha had foretold.
Gospel Focus
Two great lessons close Elisha's ministry. First, the arrows: God offered Joash complete victory, but the king's half-hearted response, striking only three times, cut short what he might have received. It is a sobering picture of how our lack of faith and zeal can limit the blessings God is ready to give. "According to your faith be it unto you" (Matthew 9:29). Do not stop at three when God offers six; press in, pray on, ask large, for the limit is never God's power but our persistence. Second, the reviving of a dead man by touching Elisha's bones is a startling testimony that the God of life works even through death, and it points to the resurrection: as life flowed from the dead prophet's bones, so death itself is swallowed up in victory through Christ, who by dying destroyed death (Hebrews 2:14). And above all shines the covenant mercy of God: "the LORD was gracious unto them... because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." Israel survived not by merit but by promise. So we are kept not by our worthiness but by God's covenant faithfulness in Christ, of whom it is written, "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful" (2 Timothy 2:13). Press in for the full deliverance God offers, rest your hope on the God who gives life from dead bones, and trust the covenant mercy that will not let His people go.
Chapter in Review
Second Kings 13 threads God's mercy through Israel's decline. Under Jehoahaz, sin brings crushing oppression by Syria, yet when the king cries out, God, seeing the affliction of His people, gives them a saviour, mercy to the undeserving who call on Him. Joash of Israel too walks in the well-worn rut of Jeroboam's sins. Then the great prophet Elisha dies, but not before a final acted prophecy: the arrow of the LORD's deliverance promises victory over Syria, yet the king's half-hearted striking of the ground limits his triumph to three victories instead of complete conquest. Even Elisha's dead bones raise a man to life, a last seal on his life-giving ministry. And through it all God is "gracious... because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob," refusing to destroy His people yet. The chapter proclaims God's mercy to the oppressed who cry to Him, warns against the rut of inherited sin and the half-hearted faith that forfeits full blessing, and grounds Israel's survival, and ours, in covenant grace.
Key Takeaways
- God hears the cry of the oppressed. He gave a saviour to a sinful people who besought Him; no one is too far gone to call on the LORD.
- Beware the rut of inherited sin. The northern kings "departed not" from Jeroboam's sins; examine the paths you follow unquestioned.
- Half-hearted faith forfeits full blessing. Joash struck three times, not six; press in, for the limit is our zeal, not God's power.
- God gives life even from death. Elisha's bones raised a man; the God of life points us to the resurrection in Christ.
- Covenant grace, not merit, keeps God's people. "The LORD was gracious... because of his covenant"; we are kept by His faithfulness.
Questions for Reflection
- Have you cried to God in your affliction, trusting that He sees and hears the oppressed?
- What "ruts" of inherited or habitual sin are you walking in without examining them?
- Where might your half-hearted faith be limiting the blessing God is ready to give? Will you press in?
- Does the God who gives life from dead bones anchor your hope in the resurrection?
- Are you resting your security on your own merit, or on God's covenant faithfulness in Christ?
References
- Scripture: 2 Kings 13:1-25, King James Version.
- Cross-references: Psalm 103:10; 106:44; Isaiah 63:9; Matthew 9:29; Romans 5:8; 10:13; 12:2; Acts 4:12; James 4:2; 5:11; Hebrews 2:14; 2 Timothy 2:13; 1 Peter 1:18-19.
- Hebrew word meanings: standard lexical sources (Strong's, BDB) for chalah and teshuah; historical background of the Jehu dynasty, Hazael, and Elisha's ministry.