Halfhearted Obedience

I've never been a bare minimum guy. Growing up, my parents taught me to go the extra mile. We'd get to church early and stay late, setting up chairs and making sure things were put away. It's easy just to do the bare minimum. We're all busy, and it can be tempting to coast through our work or our relationships. But what if we all decided to go the extra mile? What if we all committed to doing more than what was expected of us?

2 Kings 13:10-19 brings this question to mind. In this little story, Jehoash, king of Israel, goes to the prophet Elisha for help. Hazael, king of Aram, was on the march, and Jehoash sought help. Elisha told him to open the east window and shoot an arrow, declaring it to be “The Lord’s arrow of victory.” Verses 18-19 have an interesting turn in the story:

Then [Elisah] said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

The first few times I read this, the passage left me confused. Elisha never told Jehoash to strike the ground more than once. I’ve always pictured the king picking up the quiver of arrows and hitting the ground with them all a few times. Maybe wondering why he needed to do this since Elisha had just declared “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.” (v.17b)

There are two problems with my old insight. First, the king wasn’t hitting the ground with the quiver. He was firing them through the window, following the “Lord’s arrow of victory.” Secondly, the Arameans weren’t only at Aphek. They had many military establishments in the region. With each arrow shot Elisha was ready to declare more and more of the enemy troops to be destroyed.

This was a time for zeal and wholeheartedness. For King Jehoash to step into the Lord’s power and see his enemy crushed. Instead, the moment found him half-hearted. His faith and resolve were limited, so his response was passionless. One commentator said that “God gave him a blank check, but he only cashed half of it.”

Tony Merida, meditating on this story, asks:

Surely we wouldn’t be tempted to conduct such halfhearted religion, would we? Managing sin instead of putting it to death? Having a halfhearted prayer life? Giving sporadically, if at all, to the mission? Witnessing inconsistently? Not taking our studies seriously? Are you a three-strikes Christian? Let me encourage you to fire every arrow you have! May God forgive us for halfheartedness and give us a fresh passion today to trust His Word and act on it.

 This week, as people begin to drift off for vacations and settle into summer routines, don’t let your faith go on vacation. Keep your zeal high and your hope firmly in the Lord.

With You;

Pastor Tim