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The Arrow of the Lord's Deliverance

II Kings 13:15-19 – “15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and some arrows.” So he took himself a bow and some arrows.  Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.  And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.”  Then he said, “Take the arrows”; so he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground”; so he struck three times, and stopped.  And the man of God was angry with him, and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you had destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.”

            In this passage of scripture, the Prophet Elisha is close to death.  2 Kings 13:14 reads, “Elisha had become sick with the illness of which he would die.” In I Kings 19:19 the Prophet Elijah found him plowing with twelve yoke of oxen.  He cast his mantle upon him which symbolized his being anointed to succeed the prophet.  When Elijah was translated into heaven, Elisha received a double portion of the spirit of Elijah.  

            In this story the dying prophet is prophesying hope to the people he had loved and served.  He instructs the king to take a bow and shoot an arrow out of the east window.  Verses 16-17 reads, “Then he said to the king of Israel, “Put your hand on the bow.” So he put his hand on it, and Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands. And he said, “Open the east window”; and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot”; and he shot. And he said, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.”

            Why did the prophet instruct the king to open the window and shoot an arrow eastward?  This was an act of declaring war on his enemies.  There was an ancient custom to shoot an arrow or cast a spear into the country that an army intended to invade.  The prophet was telling this king to declare war on his enemies.

            The Lord has given you the same command.  You are called to conquer. You must be equipped for battle and go on the offensive.  Romans 8:37, “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”  King Joash had no plans to declare war on Syria.  Syria had left his armies and armaments depleted.

            This king didn’t have the will or ability to even defend himself, and now the prophet instructs him to declare war on the enemy.  How many times have you felt outnumbered and outgunned?  The enemy will intimidate you to keep you from moving forward in the will of God.


             It is time to rise up and stand your ground in faith.  You must open the eastern window and shoot the arrow of the Lord’s deliverance into the enemy’s territory.  “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” Exercise your authority over the schemes and plans of the enemy.  Remember the words of Jesus in Luke 10:19, “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

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