April 12, 2020: Day 71 – II Kings 13

This chapter is somewhat confusing because you have both Joash and Jehoash in both the north and the south and at times in this chapter their names flip-flop.  Commentators agree that there is not a consistent chronology that is deployed in this chapter.  The people and the dates and the battles and the foreign leaders bounce around quite a bit.  But then we get the death of Elisha.

Remember, he was a prophet to the north so it is the Joash of the north who was bitterly grieving the potential passing of his prophet.  He calls him “My father”.  He gives the king of Israel a sign of what was to come with a sign of arrows.  They served as a sign that they would destroy Aram a number of times at his hand.  Then Elisha dies and we do not see anyone who takes over for him, at least as of yet.  We find another miracle of Elisha, even when he is dead.  After he was buried another person was thrown into his grave, a person who had died, and as soon as his body touched the bones of Elisha he sprang to life.  Not Elisha, mind you, but the person who was dead came back to life.  A bit random, but here is another time that Elisha has the power, even when he died, to do the miraculous.  

I find it fascinating that in vs.5 the term used is “savior” to describe someone who liberates Israel from an oppressive power.  As a result of the presence of this savior they were able to live back in their homes like the old times.