Lives of Scripture

Joash (Jehoash), son of Jehoahaz, became king of Israel and, near the end of Elisha's life, went to weep over the dying prophet, crying, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" -- the very words Elisha himself had cried at Elijah's departure (2 Kings 13:14; compare 2:12). Elisha had Joash shoot an arrow eastward as a sign of the LORD's arrow of victory over Aram, then told him to strike the ground with the remaining arrows. Joash struck three times and stopped -- and Elisha, angry, told him that half-hearted response meant only three victories over Aram rather than a complete rout (13:15-19). After Elisha died, Joash did recover the cities Aram had taken from his father, defeating Aram three times just as foretold (13:24-25). Later, Amaziah of Judah, flush with a victory over Edom, challenged Joash to battle. Joash first answered with a parable warning Amaziah not to overreach -- a thistle sending word to a cedar of Lebanon, trampled by a passing animal -- but Amaziah would not listen (14:8-11; 2 Chronicles 25:17-19). Joash routed Judah's army, captured Amaziah, broke down a stretch of Jerusalem's wall, and plundered the temple and palace treasuries (14:12-14). Scripture is blunt that both kings, like most of the Divided Monarchy's rulers, "did evil in the sight of the LORD" (13:11) -- Joash's real military successes came without any turning of Israel from the idolatry Jeroboam had begun generations before.