Ironworks

    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 13:18-19             Joash the king of Israel did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. The sins of Jeroboam were ever-present in his life (cf. 2 Kings 13:11). He did have a particular care for the prophet Elisha and the king visited Elisha on his deathbed. Joash came to him and made his worries known about the threat of the Syrians. Elisha instructed him to first shoot an arrow out the window eastward. This was the message. 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 con...