THE KING WHO STOPPED TOO SOON! By Alan Livingstone Wilson Y OUNG King Joash was very thoughtful as his chariot rolled along the narrow streets o f Sa maria. “ Elisha dying!” he mused sadly. “ It’s unthinkable that his voice will no longer be heard urging Israel on to victory. No more to plague the Syrians, bringing blindness upon their armies, leading them into our hands. . . .”
The chariot jerked to a stop, the footman opened the door, and the king, stepping out, ascended a nar row, stone staircase. It was almost dark in the prophet’s little room but, as soon as his eyes grew accustomed to the gloom, Joash discerned the figure on the couch. Shocked at the emaciated features of his old friend, his heart smote him that in the rush and turmoil of life, he had neglected him. Falling on his knees beside the old warrior, he gave vent to the feelings o f his heart, weep ing as he wailed: “ My father, my father, the chariot o f Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” These strange words were wonder fully expressive. The king was admit ting that the man o f God was equiva lent to battalions of infantry and ar tillery. The very sight of his sturdy figure and the sound o f his thunder ing voice put fresh heart into Israel, from the king on down. Even when the battle seemed lost, a glimpse o f the rugged prophet cheered on the fighting men. During our Civil War, General Sheridan, watching the course of bat tle through his binoculars from a hill near the firing line, was alarmed to see his troops wavering. As they be gan to retreat under enemy fire, he leapt on his horse, dug in his spurs and galloped towards the fleeing men. Drawing his flashing sword from its scabbard, he waved it above his head, crying, “ Men, we’re going the other way!” His words had the effect o f a thou sand volts of electricity. The troops wheeled about and, with a shout o f courage, flourished their weapons and routed the enemy.
Early in World War II, England realized that her back was against the wall. Her army was well-nigh defeated back home from Dunkirk by a miracle, the foe, a mighty mecha nized force, only a scant score o f miles away across the Straits of Dover, whom did she summon? She required a leader who could hurl de fiance at the Nazis, face the hazards fearlessly, and devise a way out o f the impasse. So that old warrior, Win ston Churchill, was called. A man o f like unconquerable spirit was Elisha. Through him the Lord had many a time delivered his land out o f the hand o f the enemy; his confidence in God had infused fresh hope time and again into the hearts o f his less believing countrymen. The Apostle Paul asks some perti nent questions. “Where is the wise?” he says: “ where is the scribe ? where is the disputer o f this world?” One might well echo his questions today. Where are the scientists, the men o f letters, the brains o f the day? They only appear to be leading mankind farther into the morass of fear and uncertainty. Their boasted knowledge has only produced an atomic and hy drogen bomb! Men o f character are the only ones who have ever strengthened the na tions o f earth. Wesley, whom the his torian Leckie credited with saving England from a revolution; Lincoln, who staked his reputation on a prin ciple ; General Lee, who refused to enrich himself by selling his name for commercial purposes— these have in fluenced the world for good and for God. (Continued on Page 23) _________________________________________Page Thirteen
“ Make way for the king!” The peo ple made obeisance as the charioteer shouted the words. The chariot turned into a meaner quarter. Elisha was no lover of money; had he not repudiated Naa- man’s lavish gifts? Joash had been advised that he lived in a humble room on the east wall. The colorful events o f the prophet’s life flashed through the mind o f the young king. He smiled as he recalled the reception Elisha had given the three kings who sought his opinion of the outcome o f the battle with the Moabites. No sycophant he! “What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets o f thy father,” he had said to Jehoram, king of Israel. “ As the Lord o f hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I re gard the presence o f Jehoshaphat the king o f Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.” The king’s thoughts were very un happy. “ No more,” he said to himself, “ will Elisha show kindness to the poor — never again multiply the widow’s oil to pay her debts. No more will he prophesy famine, and its end. What a man! The nation will not be the same without him !” His sigh came from the depths o f his heart; he was one o f the few good kings left. O C T O B E R , I 9 5 0
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