2 Kings 13:14 (NIV) Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. “My father! My father!” he cried. “The chariots and horsemen of Israel!”

King Jehoash was one of the many evil kings that followed the detestable practices of idol worship and serving other gods. He was following in the footsteps of his father, King Jehoahaz, who even though God intervened to help him and Israel escape the power of the king of Aram, continued worshipping other gods. During the time that the Prophet Elisha was sick and on his deathbed, King Jehoash went to visit him. He was very concerned about the impending death of the prophet because it had been Elisha who many times had cried out to the Lord to rescue Israel when they were in trouble. But notice his concern. It wasn't for Elisha and it wasn't for the sinful ways that he and the people of Israel (the ten northern tribes) were living in. His concern was for "the chariots and horsemen of Israel." In other words, he was just concerned for his own skin.

This evil king that never sought the Lord for himself or considered his ways that were in direct disobedience to the God that had been so faithful to Israel, was now seemingly sorrowful about God's prophet, Elisha. But his words betrayed his real concern, which was for the military strength of his army. Instead of weeping for the sad state of affairs in the land because of his sinful behavior and the sinful behavior of all the people, he just wanted to make sure that he would continue to have military success once Elisha died.

Many people try to feign concern for God in the same way that King Jehoash did. In other words, they serve him outwardly, but it is just to try to extract benefits from our loving and compassionate God. They want blessings and protection from the Lord without having to truly serve Him. So they go to church once or twice a month, and they may put a little money (very little) in the offering here and there, but they are not following Christ at all. The sad thing is that in many places, they are not confronted. We allow people to think that they are okay with God when they are not okay with Him. They need to be told the truth in love so that they won't be shocked on judgement day when Jesus separates the sheep from the goats. As for us, let's make sure that we are serving the Lord because we love Him and are grateful for all that He has already done for us. He has redeemed us by the Blood of the Lamb and has received us into His family. We are saved and have eternal life promised to us! Let's not be concerned with "chariots" but instead, with doing God's will and following after Jesus with all of our hearts. Let's be concerned with reaching the lost, which includes those that are just concerned with worldly things. Let's put first things first, which starts with loving and serving the Lord Jesus with all of our heart and soul and He will look after everything else that we need.

Pastor Joey Vazquez