[Man of God] 2 Kings 13:19-25
The phrase 'man of God' appears many times in the Bible. But who is the person most often called a 'man of God' in the Bible? The answer is Elisha. Its used seven times for the prophet Elijah and twenty-nine times for the prophet Elisha - making Elisha, who sought inspiration from the Lord, a man of God three times as much as Elijah. Today, lets reflect together on 'man of God' through Elishas final ministry.
First, holy anger nurtures to the end.
When Joash is commanded by Elisha to strike the ground with his bow, he lacks conviction and enthusiasm, striking only three times. This is an important matter that affects the fate of a family and a nation, and Elisha is angry that Joash is so full of himself. Elishas anger is holy anger, which is anger on Gods side, raging against sin with the heart of God. We get angry about so many things. I get angry instinctively because of the harm and damage Im going to do,
Gods wrath is not this kind of emotional outburst. Holy anger is always directed at sin. A person who is frustrated and angry because of sin is a man of God. Anger at sin is, in other words, mourning for salvation. It is nurturing to lead others to the Lord with this heart. A man of God, like Elisha, nurtures until the end. May we, too, fulfill our mission by crying out for Cutie until the end.
Second, even in death, life happens.
Unlike Elijah, who ascends in a chariot of fire, Elisha travels across the country ministering and gets 'the disease of death,' and dying isnt necessarily pretty. We love Elijah, but Jesus foreshadowing is more Elisha than Elijah. Jesus death on the cross was a miserable death. In verse 20, when Elisha died, the bandits of Moab came to northern Israel, and there was a great vacancy for a man. And when the day was changed, and the men who were burying him saw the band of thieves, they were alarmed, and they threw the body into the tomb of Elijah and as soon as it touched his bones, it revived and stood up. Elisha performed many miracles during his life and went on to fulfill his mission, so even his ashes raised the dead. A man of God is a dead man raised, a revived man, a resurrected man. And even in the face of death, we dont get discouraged or give up, because the Holy Spirit within us is constantly filling us with life. So I thought, how can I bring people back to life, even after Im dead? I wrote a book called 'Not Divorced. I didnt die. I didnt get divorced. I didnt die. I didnt give up stocks.' and so on, so I believe that my sermons and books will live on after I die.
Third, the covenant makes people to enjoy eternal restoration.
The judgment of the successive kings of Aram, Hazael and Ben-hadad, who mistreated northern Israel, was because both Jehoahaz and Joash refused to leave the sin that God hates most. They deserved to be exterminated and annihilated, but because of the covenant, God has grace and compassion on them and allows them to continue. He brings them back to life and continues the history of life that comes to life at the mere touch of Elishas bones because life is so precious. In life, whether spiritual or physical, need to be protected. We must live, even if it means getting bloody and dry as a bone. The city is taken back from Joash by successive kings of Aram, but Joash strikes Ben-hadad three times, just as Elisha prophesied the 'arrow of salvation' to Joash, and the city is restored. They are still in the sin of worshiping the golden calf, but God fulfills his promise to them through Elisha. The Hebrew word for 'restore' is shuv, which means to return to God in repentance. The restoration that God is most pleased with is our return to God, not anything else. Nothing is permanent on this earth, but the repentance of our souls is never lost. Joash only recovered as much as he struck the ground three times. I believe we must have an eternal restoration, not a temporary one, to be a man of God. Since the Bible is a covenant and tells us about our sins, we must do cutie for eternal restoration through that repentance. During the cutie, you should always realize your idols and apply to get rid of them, and then you will come back to the Word the next day because of the joy of applying.
The community confession is a young mans sharing of his parenting homework. He says that his father cheated on his wife and they didnt divorce, so there was a chance for the family to be restored, and that divorce must be prevented at all costs. I was overwhelmed by the reality of my fathers infidelity - my mom screaming in her sleep with nightmares, my siblings filled with rage, and me responsible for my own tuition - but I didnt want to be the one to fall apart, so I didnt leave the house and wallowed in self-pity, suppressing my anger and sadness. Then I heard a sermon that made me realize that my reason for staying home was a calculated choice, not a true commitment, and because I was a 'homebody,' I always sinned with condemnation, judgment, and self-pity. Folks, if you condemn and judge, you are not yet a man of God. But my siblings, who had wandered away, and my parents, who had also wandered away, stayed in their places, attached to the ranch and the church. They didnt understand the change in their mother, who hated their father so much, to make him a priority in the home, but as they listened to the Word and clung to it, they realized that their mothers efforts and application were great and they were grateful. I believe that it only takes one man of God like this to bring the whole family back.
Everyone, a man of God nurtures with holy anger until the end, and even in death, the work of life takes place, and we enjoy eternal restoration because of the covenant that I repented of in my QT. I believe that even if we are sick with the disease of death, God Himself will be the superior, nurturing us with holy anger, so that even in death we will be the bones of Elisha, raising the dead.
