- Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in the twenty-third year of Joash's rule in Judah. Jehoahaz ruled seventeen years from Samaria
- and disobeyed the LORD by doing wrong. He never stopped following the example of Jeroboam, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
- The LORD was angry at the Israelites, so he let King Hazael of Syria and his son Benhadad rule over them for a long time.
- Jehoahaz prayed to the LORD for help, and the LORD saw how terribly Hazael was treating the Israelites. He answered Jehoahaz
- by sending Israel a leader who rescued them from the Syrians, and the Israelites lived in peace as they had before.
- But Hazael had defeated Israel's army so badly that Jehoahaz had only ten chariots, fifty cavalry troops, and ten thousand regular soldiers left in his army. The Israelites kept sinning and following the example of Jeroboam's family. They did not tear down the sacred poles that had been set up in Samaria for the worship of the goddess Asherah.
- (SEE 13:6)
- Everything else Jehoahaz did while he was king, including his brave deeds, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
- Jehoahaz died and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoash became king.
- Jehoash became king of Israel in the thirty-seventh year of Joash's rule in Judah, and he ruled sixteen years from Samaria.
- He disobeyed the LORD by doing just like Jeroboam, who had caused the Israelites to sin.
- Everything else Jehoash did while he was king, including his war against King Amaziah of Judah, is written in The History of the Kings of Israel.
- Jehoash died and was buried in Samaria beside the other Israelite kings. His son Jeroboam then became king.
- Some time before the death of King Jehoash, Elisha the prophet was very sick and about to die. Jehoash went in and stood beside him, crying. He said, "Master, what will Israel's chariots and cavalry be able to do without you?"
- "Grab a bow and some arrows," Elisha told him, "and hold them in your hand." Jehoash grabbed the bow and arrows and held them. Elisha placed his hand on the king's hand
- (SEE 13:15)
- and said, "Open the window facing east." When it was open, Elisha shouted, "Now shoot!" Jehoash shot an arrow and Elisha said, "That arrow is a sign that the LORD will help you completely defeat the Syrian army at Aphek."
- Elisha said, "Pick up the arrows and hit the ground with them." Jehoash grabbed the arrows and hit the ground three times, then stopped.
- Elisha became angry at the king and exclaimed, "If you had struck it five or six times, you would completely wipe out the Syrians. Now you will defeat them only three times."
- Elisha died and was buried. Every year in the spring, Moab's leaders sent raiding parties into Israel.
- Once, while some Israelites were burying a man's body, they saw a group of Moabites. The Israelites quickly threw the body into Elisha's tomb and ran away. As soon as the man's body touched the bones of Elisha, the man came back to life and stood up.
- Israel was under the power of King Hazael of Syria during the entire rule of Jehoahaz.
- But the LORD was kind to the Israelites and showed them mercy because of his solemn agreement with their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fact, he has never turned his back on them or let them be completely destroyed.
- Hazael died, and his son Benhadad then became king of Syria.
- King Jehoash of Israel attacked and defeated the Syrian army three times. He took back from Benhadad all the towns Hazael had captured in battle from his father Jehoahaz.
Reason would tell us that since Jehoahaz recognized their oppression by the Arameans was God's punishment and then because God delivered them in answer to his prayer that the king would turn to God and away from his idolatry. But idolatry is not reasonable. It defies reason. Verse 6 tells us that Jehoahaz "didn't turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit. Jehoahaz walked in them, and the Asherah pole also remained standing in Samaria." The rest of Jehoahaz's reign was uneventful. He ruled in weakness for he had no army left except for a few horsemen and foot soldiers. When he died his son, Jehoash, succeeded him. He, too, "did what was evil in the Lord's sight." (13:11)
It was during the reign of Jehoash that the prophet Elisha became ill and died. Jehoash went to see him during his illness and mourned his coming death, saying to him, "My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!" (13:14) This statement was acknowledgement that the Lord, through Elisha, was the strength of Israel. But it was not the Lord who Jehoash worshipped. Again, there is no reason behind the king's idolatry.
During this visit from the king, Elisha tested his faith, telling him to take a bow and arrow and shoot the arrow out the window. Jehoash did this and Elisha said to him, "The LORD's arrow of victory, yes, the arrow of victory over Aram. You are to strike down the Arameans in Aphek until you have put an end to them." (13:17) The Lord offered to completely put an end to the Aramean oppression of Israel if the king demonstrated enough faith. The next test would show the extent of his faith. Elisha told him to take the remaining arrows and strike the ground with them. Rather than holding the arrows all together and hitting the ground with them as one might imagine, it is thought this meant to shoot all of the remaining arrows into the ground. But Jehoash shot only three of the arrows into the ground. This angered Elisha for it meant that instead of striking down Aram 5 or 6 times and completely doing away with them Israel would only defeat the Arameans three times.
After Jehoash died and his son Jehoahaz succeeded him, Jehoahaz defeated Aram three times, taking back three cities Aram had taken from Israel. But this did not eradicate the Aramean oppression of Israel.
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