“ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH.”
“Now ELISHA was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows. And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it; and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands. And he said, Open the window eastward. 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 thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them. And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed. And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it; whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice.” 2 Kings 13:14–19. This little story illustrates how the Lord’s people and His cause may be robbed of victories which He designed they should enjoy, because their leaders did not exercise more faith in the Spirit of prophecy. Elisha first showed Joash that the Lord’s porpose was that Israel, under the king’s leadership, should smite the Syrians until they were “consumed.” But the king, as leader of the people, manifested so little faith in the promise that it could not at that time be fulfilled. So it was fulfilled only to the extent that faith was shown in the prophet’s word. “According to your faith be it unto you,” is a principle to be borne in mind.