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. (2 Kings 13:15-16)

Elisha, one of the great prophets of Israel, was about to die. Though he was a man of God who healed many others, he was about to die from an illness (2 Kings 13:14).

As his death drew closer, Joash the king of Israel was worried. Israel was a small nation that faced many enemies (just like today!). At the time, their biggest threat came from the Syrians. But King Joash somehow understood that the real strength of Israel wasn’t in their armies, horsemen, or chariots; the real strength of Israel was in their close and faithful relationship with God. Prophets like Elisha kept that connection strong, so he was part of the real strength of Israel – but he was about to die.

At that moment, Elisha told him to take a bow and some arrows. Through an illustration of arrows shot through a window, the prophet would show the king that the arrow of the LORD’s deliverance (2 Kings 13:17) was still present, and all Joash had to do was to shoot the arrow in faith.

King Joash began to do what the prophet told him to do. We can imagine the scene. Joash positioned himself in front of the window that faced the general direction of Syria. A servant brought him a bow and arrows. Elisha told him, “Put your hand on the bow.” As Joash put the arrow in place on the bow and stood in front of the window, something unexpected happened.

Elisha came up behind the king, and as Joash began to stretch the bow and prepare to shoot, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. Like a father helping his child to shoot a bow, the prophet would guide the hands of Joash.

I think this whole scene is amazing and we can look at it in greater depth. But just consider this part: The prophet’s hands on the king’s hands, drawing the arrow back on the bow and pointing it in the right direction.

If you aren’t strong enough to “bend the bow” for whatever God has in front of you to do or experience, then ask Jesus to fulfill the sense of this picture for you. As illustrated in this scene from 2 Kings 13, ask Jesus to put His hands on yours, to give you the strength to do what He tells you to do, and to give you the skill to aim it all in the right direction.

Many times, I have felt too weak to do what I should; but with His hands on mine, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 13

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

Life is filled with strange things; things that are unusual or difficult to explain. 2 Kings 13:14 presents us with a few strange things.

First, it is strange that Elisha had become sick. Elisha was a man of God, and God used him to bring healing to many people and to perform many miracles. Nevertheless, even Elisha became sick.

This teaches us that even people of faith and miracles are not immune to sickness and disease. This great man of God became sick like others whom he had healed when God had used him as a channel of His power and blessing.

In fact, this was the illness of which he would die. Though God used Elisha on many occasions to heal others, God appointed this illness to be the means of taking Elisha from this world. God has no one single way that He does this; it is a mistake to believe that all the godly men and women die in their sleep without a hint of prior illness.

A second strange thing was the reaction of Joash the king of Israel. This Joash was a wicked man, yet he came down to Elisha and wept over his face. In sorrow over the soon death of God’s prophet, King Joash cried out: “the chariots of Israel and their horsemen!” If those words sound familiar, it is because Elisha said the same to Elijah at the end of the elder prophet’s days on this earth. When he said this to Elijah in 2 Kings 2:12, Elisha recognized the truestrength of Israel. He knew that the strength of Israel was really in the presence of the people of God and the message of God. Now Joash saw that the same strength was slipping from this earth and he mourned it.

It is strange that a miracle-working prophet should die from sickness, and that an ungodly king would mourn the passing of a godly man. Yet from these strange things, we can learn two lessons.

We learn that even though the man of God suffered, God did not forsake him. Elisha’s sickness was painful, but it brought him to heaven. Whatever he suffered, it was a pathway to something better. I heard of a godly man who suffered from a fatal illness, and on his deathbed, someone asked him how he felt. Knowing his death was near, the godly man answered, “Almost better.”

We also learn that we should try to live such lives of godliness and goodness that even ungodly men will miss us when we are gone. Elisha lived such a life, and with Jesus filling our life, by His grace we may do the same.

Click here for David’s commentary on 2 Kings 13