Welcome to this Daily PBJ devotional. Read 2 Kings 13, Micah 6, and John 7. This devotional is about 2 Kings 13. In the twenty-third year of the reign of Joash son of Azariah over Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria seventeen years. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and followed the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit. He did not turn away from them. So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he delivered them continually into the hands of Hazael king of Aram and his son Ben-Hadad. Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the Lord, and the Lord listened to him, because he saw the oppression that the king of Aram had inflicted on Israel. So the Lord gave Israel a deliverer, and they escaped the power of the Arameans. Then the people of Israel lived in their own homes as they had before. Nevertheless, they did not turn away from the sins that the house of Jeroboam had caused Israel to commit, but they continued to walk in them. The Asherah Pole even remained standing in Samaria. Jehoahaz had no army left except 50 horsemen, 10 chariots, and 10,000 foot soldiers, because the king of Aram had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing. As for the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz, along with all his accomplishments and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jehoahaz rested with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria, and his son Jehoash reigned in his place. In the thirty-seventh year of the reign of Joash over Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not turn away from all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit, but he walked in them. As for the rest of the acts of Jehoash, along with all his accomplishments and his might, including his war against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the Chronicles of the kings of Israel? And Jehoash rested with his fathers, and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. When Elisha had fallen sick with the illness from which he would die, Jehoash king of Israel came down to him and wept over him, saying, My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel! Elisha told him, Take a bow and some arrows. So Jehoash took a bow and some arrows. Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, Put your hand on the bow. So the king put his hand on the bow, and Elisha put his hands on the king's hands. Open the east window, said Elisha. So he opened it, and Elisha said, Shoot! So he shot. And Elisha declared, This is the Lord's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram, for you shall strike the Arameans in Ephek, until you have put an end to them. Then Elisha said, Take the arrows. So he took them. And Elisha said to the king of Israel, Strike the ground. So he struck the ground three times and stopped. But the man of God was angry with him and said, You should have struck the ground five or six times. Then you would have struck down Aram until you had put an end to it. But now you will strike down Aram only three times. And Elisha died and was buried. Now the Moabite raiders used to come into the land every spring. Once, as the Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders. So they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. And as soon as his body touched the bones of Elisha, the man was revived and stood up on his feet. And Hazael king of Aram oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. But the Lord was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them. And he turned toward them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And to this day the Lord has been unwilling to destroy them or cast them from his presence. When Hazael, king of Aram, died, his son Ben-Hadad reigned in his place. Then Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, took back from Ben-Hadad, son of Hazael, the cities that Hazael had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Jehoash defeated Ben-Hadad three times, and so recovered the cities of Israel. This is God's Word. The years following David and Solomon were spiritually bleak for God's people. Remember that after Solomon's death, the kingdom was divided into two kingdoms. There was the northern kingdom that continued to be called Israel and the southern kingdom that was called Judah. As the word kingdom implies, each of them had its own king, its own ruler. The northern kingdom, Israel, had rulers from different family lines, while the southern kingdom, Judah, was continuously ruled by descendants of David because the Lord was faithful to the Davidic covenant promises he had made to David. Remember, too, that the northern kingdom had 19 kings, and none of them, not one, was a righteous king or a righteous man in God's sight. All of them were wicked. which was primarily because they worshipped idols themselves and tolerated idol worship in their kingdoms. Here in 2 Kings 13, we met one of Israel's king, Jehoahaz, in verse 1. Predictably, this man, according to verse 2, did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Verse 3 says, So the Lord's anger burned against Israel, and therefore they lived as a vassal state under the oppressive rule of the Arameans. King Jehoahaz did cry out for God's help, according to verse 4, when the Arameans became too oppressive, and God answered his prayer and delivered the northern kingdom of Israel, as we read in verse 5. However, verse 6 says, But they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit. They continued in them. So, God was gracious to deliver Israel, but neither Israel nor their king became his worshipers. Why did God put up with such idolatry and unbelief from Israel? Why didn't He let them all die in judgment or captivity with other nations? Verse 23 tells us why when it says, But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To this day, He has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from His presence. In other words, God had made a promise to Abraham way back in Genesis 12 and he reaffirmed that promise to Abraham's son Isaac and Abraham's grandson Jacob. A promise is a promise and God is faithful to his promises always. Some of God's covenants with people were conditional. Those covenants, like the Mosaic Covenant, for instance, promised blessings for the people if they obeyed the Lord and stayed faithful to his covenants. And he also promised curses on them if they disobeyed the Lord and were unfaithful to him. The oppression of the Arameans that we read about here in 2 Kings 13 was a fulfillment of the covenant curses God put in the covenant that Israel made with God through Moses. More covenant curses were coming for both Israel and Judah because they refused to obey God's command to have no other gods before me. That's Exodus chapter 20 verse 3. Yet, God's covenant with Abraham was not conditional. It was unconditional. God promised that he would bless Abraham's descendants no matter what. And that's what verse 23 is telling us. The reason why God did not wipe out Israel and Judah, despite their wickedness and idolatry, was that he had made unconditional promises to Abraham. This is why Israelites, we call them Jews today, but this is why they still exist with a distinct identity even to this day. God is always faithful to his promises, and therefore he still has a future for Israel because of this promise to Abraham, as our reading today in 2 Kings 13, 23 reminded us. If God kept his promise to Abraham long after Abraham was dead, you can believe him. when he says in John 5, 24, Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and will not be judged, but has crossed over from death to life. You may sin and be unfaithful to the Lord at times in your life, if you're a Christian. But a promise is a promise, and God always keeps his promises. So if you're struggling with assurance of your salvation today, or just don't feel God's love in your life right now, be encouraged and be reminded. The same God who did not destroy Israel because of His promise has also promised eternal life to you. Trust Him and serve Him. He always keeps His promises. If you found this devotional helpful, go to my website dailypbj.com slash subscribe, enter your email address there, and starting tomorrow, you'll receive an email from me every day. That email will contain a link to the daily scripture readings, so you can be reading God's Word on your own every day. But also it will contain a link to my devotionals, and it'll come in many forms. It'll come with the link to the audio, the video, and a transcript of these devotionals. So you can pick one, and I can help you apply God's Word in your life through these devotionals. Again, this is completely free, and you can always unsubscribe at any time. So there's no risk. Give it a try. 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