| “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” (2 Kings 13:14). |
| As I mentioned yesterday, here is another occasion when a man used the same words as Elisha did, when Elijah was taken up into heaven. This time it was Joash, the king of Israel, who felt bad when Elisha was sick and going to die. The king even shed tears at the time, he was so concerned about losing Elisha. It had been more than forty years since Elijah had been taken up into heaven, yet king Joash had heard about what Elisha had said at that time, and he repeated it. It sounded very good, but was the heart of Joash like the heart of Elisha? I am afraid not. |
| In this same chapter (1 Kings 13), it says that Jehoash (or Joash) the son of Jehoahaz “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 to sin: but he walked therein” (vss. 10-11). He admired a man like Elisha, and was very sad when he died, but poor Joash was not a godly man himself. The Lord was gracious to him and allowed him to win several battles against the Syrians, but there is no record that Joash repented of his course of evil. |
| All this is good for us to remember. We can respect and admire older people whom we know, and who have walked with the Lord. They have been a good example to us, and the Lord wants us to walk in the same faith. But sad to say, we can be sorry to see them go, yet not be willing to pay the price to walk in the same path they did. In Hebrews 13:7 we are told to “remember them … who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.” |
| In order to follow their faith, we must be willing to know the Lord, and be willing also to pay the price for faithfulness. Poor Joash was surrounded by idol worship, and he did not have the courage to get rid of it. We too can have things in our lives that we are unwilling to give up, and which prevent our following the Lord with a full heart. |
