When Christians Don’t Really Believe. (2 Kings 13: 1-25)

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Episode Notes:  When Christians Don’t Really Believe. (2 Kings 13: 1-25)

There’s a strange and unsettling reality in the Christian life that we don’t talk about very often. It’s this: Christians don’t always believe.

 Oh, we believe in God, that’s not the issue. We believe the gospel, we believe the Bible, and we even believe the creeds sometimes. But when life presses in, when circumstances tighten, when fear rises, or disappointment lingers… sometimes Christians stop believing in God Himself.

 We stop believing His promises, we stop believing we have His presence.

We stop believing in His power, and we stop believing in His goodness and the result is not atheism; it’s something far more subtle. It is a life lived as if God were small, distant, or disinterested.

 That’s the story of 2 Kings 13.

 It’s a chapter about spiritual inconsistency, about half‑hearted obedience, and about people who know better… but don’t live better. And if we’re honest, it’s a chapter about us.

 2 Kings 13 offers us a reflection on the Christian life that sometimes is not very flattering. But it’s also a chapter filled with astonishing grace because even when God’s people don’t believe, God remains faithful.

Transcript

When Christians Don’t Really Believe. (2 Kings 13: 1-25)

Introduction.

There’s a strange and unsettling reality in the Christian life that we don’t talk about very often.

It’s this:

Christians don’t always believe.

Oh, we believe in God, that’s not the issue.

We believe the gospel, we believe the Bible, and we even believe the creeds sometimes.

But when life presses in, when circumstances tighten, when fear rises, or disappointment lingers… sometimes Christians stop believing in God Himself.

We stop believing His promises, we stop believing we have His presence.

We stop believing in His power, and we stop believing in His goodness.

And the result is not atheism; it’s something far more subtle. It is a life lived as if God were small, distant, or disinterested.

That’s the story of 2 Kings 13.

It’s a chapter filled with people who knew the truth, who heard the truth, who were taught the truth… but who still struggled to believe the truth.

It’s a chapter where kings pray, but don’t repent. Where God answers,  but His people don’t change. Where mercy is poured out, but faith never rises. And where a dying prophet performs one last miracle, and the nation still refuses to trust the Lord.

It’s a chapter about spiritual inconsistency, about half‑hearted obedience, and about people who know better… but don’t live better.

And if we’re honest, it’s a chapter about us.

Because most Christian knows what it’s like to believe in God on Sunday… and doubt Him on Monday.

To trust Him in theory, but panic in practice.

To say “Amen” with our lips… while our hearts cry out, “But what if He doesn’t come through?”

2 Kings 13 offers us a reflection on the Christian life that sometimes is not very flattering.

But it’s also a chapter filled with astonishing grace because even when God’s people don’t believe, God remains faithful.

He delivers.

He rescues.

He restores.

He keeps His covenant, He honours His word, and He refuses to abandon His people, even when they abandon Him.

So today, we’re going to walk through this chapter and explore:

What unbelief looks like in the life of a believer

Why do we drift into it so easily, and how God responds when His people don’t believe. And we can also find ways in which faith can be rekindled, even in the ashes of failure.

This is not a story about pagans, it’s not a story about atheists, it’s not a story about rebels. It’s a story about believers who don’t believe for a season and yet God still refuses to let go of them.

So, come with me as we turn to 2 Kings 13, and let’s talk about what happens… when Christians don’t believe.

Jehoahaz: The King Who Prayed… but Never Believed

“1In the twenty-third year of Joash, son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them. 3 So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael, king of Aram, and Ben-Hadad, his son.

4 Then Jehoahaz sought the Lord’s favour, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. 5 The Lord provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So, the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before. 6 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. Also, the Asherah pole remained standing in Samaria.

7 Nothing had been left of the army of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots, and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust at threshing time.

8 As for the other events of the reign of Jehoahaz, all he did and his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 9 Jehoahaz rested with his ancestors and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoash, his son, succeeded him as king.

(2 Kings 13:1–9)

The chapter opens with Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, becoming king over Israel. The text says he: “did evil in the eyes of the Lord…” (v.2)

And then comes the tragic refrain we’ve heard so many times in Kings: “…he followed the sins of Jeroboam… and did not turn away from them.”

This has been the default spiritual posture of the northern kingdom, a steady pulse of unbelief.

Jehoahaz knew the truth. He knew the covenant, he knew the warnings, and he knew their history, but he didn’t believe God enough to obey Him.

Because of this unbelief, the text says: “The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram…”

Notice the phrase: “for a long time.”

Unbelief always leads to bondage.

Not instantly, not necessarily dramatically, but inevitably.

Israel didn’t wake up one morning and say, “Let’s be oppressed by a foreign army.” They simply stopped believing in God, and the consequences followed.

Then something surprising happens. We are told that Jehoahaz sought the Lord’s favour”.

He prayed.

He cried out.

And he asked for help.

But here’s the key: He prayed for relief from his situation, not repentance.

He wanted God’s blessing, but without God’s rule in his life. He wanted deliverance without obedience. He wanted rescue whilst maintaining a distance in his relationship with God

And that is one of the most common forms of unbelief among Christians today.

We pray when we’re in trouble, but we don’t change when God answers.

And here is the astonishing grace of God: “The Lord still provided a deliverer…” (v.5)

Even though Jehoahaz didn’t repent. Even though Israel didn’t change, and even though the nation continued in idolatry. Verse 6 confirms that, “They did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam…”

They prayed, and God answered, and then they kept sinning.

This is the point of the chapter. God is faithful even when His people are faithless. But His faithfulness doesn’t erase the consequences of unbelief.

The text then tells us Israel’s army was reduced to almost nothing but

a handful of chariots, horsemen, and foot soldiers.

Jehoahaz dies, and his son succeeds him, and the spiritual decline continues.

Jehoahaz's life is a warning to us all. Because we can pray without trusting, we can cry out without repenting. And we can ask God for help without giving Him our hearts.

And that is what it looks like when Christians — or anyone — doesn’t believe.

The narrative continues…

10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash, king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he continued in them.

12 As for the other events of the reign of Jehoash, all he did and his achievements, including his war against Amaziah, king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? 13 Jehoash rested with his ancestors, and Jeroboam succeeded him on the throne. Jehoash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel.

14 Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. And 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!”

15 Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. 16 “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put his hands on the king’s hands.

17 “Open the east window,” he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. “You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”

18 Then he said, “Take the arrows,” and the king took them. Elisha told him, “Strike the ground.” He struck it three times and stopped. 19 The man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck the ground five or six times; then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroyed it. But now you will defeat it only three times.”

(2 Kings 13:10–19)

Now we move from Jehoahaz to his son Jehoash…. also sometimes called Joash.

If Jehoahaz showed us what it looks like to pray without believing,

Jehoash shows us what it looks like to obey without trusting.

We’re told that  Jehoash reigned sixteen years, and: “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord…” 

Just like his father. Just like Jeroboam and just like the long line of kings before him.

He knew the truth. He had the history. He had the warnings, and he had and knew the Scriptures, but he didn’t believe God enough to obey Him.

This is the recurring theme of the northern kingdom: No spiritual conviction.

Then the scene shifts dramatically. Elisha, that great prophet of Israel, is dying. And Jehoash, this inconsistent, half‑hearted king, goes down to see him, but then suddenly, something surprising happens.

The king weeps and he cries out. “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!” (v.14)

Those are the same words Elisha spoke when Elijah was taken up in the whirlwind.

It’s a moment of huge emotion, but not necessarily deep faith.

Jehoash respects Elisha, sure, he admires Elisha, and he knows Elisha is the spiritual backbone of the nation.

But admiration is not the same thing as obedience. And emotion is not faith, and crying tears of regret are not necessarily the same thing as repentance.

And that’s where the story turns.

Elisha tells the king to get a bow and arrows, open the window, and shoot.

The text refers to the arrow as: “The Lord’s arrow of victory…”

So, this is a prophetic act, a physical picture of a spiritual promise.

God is offering Jehoash victory over Aram. God is also offering deliverance and help. 

But the promise requires faith, and faith requires action.

So, Elisha gives him one more instruction. “Take the arrows… strike the ground.”

So, Jehoash strikes the ground three times…. And stops.

And Elisha, this dying prophet, becomes furious…. Why?

Because Jehoash obeyed, but only halfway.

He did the action… but without any real belief.

He followed the instruction… but without faith.

He struck the ground… but without conviction.

Elisha says, “You should have struck the ground five or six times, and then you would have defeated Aram completely.”

In other words:

Your unbelief has limited your victory. Your half‑hearted obedience produced a half‑victory, and your small faith will result in small results.

This is one of the most sobering lessons in the Old Testament:

God often gives us as much victory as our faith is willing to receive.

Jehoash believed, but only a little, and therefore, he received only a little.

Jehoash shows us what it looks like when Christians obey God outwardly… but don’t trust Him inwardly.

We do the action… but without heart. We follow the instruction… but without passion, and we go through the motions… but without faith.

We strike the ground… but only three times, and then we wonder why our spiritual victories are small, our breakthroughs partial, and our progress slow.

This passage is not about arrows. It’s about attitude.

It’s about the difference between partial obedience and wholehearted obedience. Half faith and full faith

The difference between doing what God says and believing what God promises

Jehoash teaches us that partial obedience is often a symptom of partial belief.

And that’s where the story leads next, to one of the most surprising miracles in the Old Testament, a miracle that happens after the prophet is dead.

20 Elisha died and was buried. Now Moabite raiders used to enter the country every spring. 21 Once, while some Israelites were burying a man, they suddenly saw a band of raiders; so, they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.

22 Hazael, king of Aram, oppressed Israel throughout the reign of Jehoahaz. 23 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.

24 Hazael, king of Aram, died, and Ben-Hadad, his son, succeeded him as king. 25 Then Jehoash, son of Jehoahaz, recaptured from Ben-Hadad son of Hazael the towns he had taken in battle from his father Jehoahaz. Three times Jehoash defeated him, and so he recovered the Israelite towns.

(2 Kings 13:20–25)

So next, the text simply states: “Elisha died and was buried.”

The greatest prophet in Israel since Elijah… Elisha is dead. The man who confronted kings, the man who multiplied oil, raised the dead, healed Naaman, blinded armies, and spoke God’s word with fire… is gone.

And Israel is left with a king who only half‑believes and a nation that barely believes at all.

It feels like the spiritual lights are going out.

But God isn’t finished.

The text describes a scene almost cinematic.

While some Israelites are burying a man, suddenly they see a band of raiders, and they quickly throw the man’s body into a tomb, but it’s Elisha’s tomb.

And then it says: “When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.”

A resurrection. Triggered by the bones of a dead prophet.

Why this strange miracle?

Why here?

Why now?

Because God is making a statement:

“My power is not limited by your unbelief he says. My faithfulness is not dependent on your faithfulness. And my promises do not die when My prophet dies.”

Even in a spiritually barren nation, a generation of half‑believers, even when the prophet is gone… God is still alive.

God is still working, and God is still faithful.

This miracle is a divine exclamation point in a chapter full of spiritual question marks.

But then verse 23 says:

“But the Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them…” Why? Because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

Not because they believed.

Not because they repented.

Not because they obeyed.

Because God keeps His promises, even when His people don’t.

So, the chapter ends with Jehoash winning battles against Ben‑Hadad, son of Hazael.

The text tells us that, “Three times Jehoash defeated him…” (v.25)

Three times.

Not five, not six, and not complete victory…. Why?

Because he only struck the ground three times.

His unbelief limited his victory, and his half‑hearted obedience produced a half‑victory.

And that is the final lesson of the chapter:

When Christians don’t believe, God remains faithful — but we miss the fullness of what He wanted to give us.

King's chapter 13 is meant to be a portrait of spiritual inconsistency:

It’s a chapter about believers who don’t believe.

But it’s also a chapter about a God who refuses to give up on them.

A God who:

Hears prayers that aren’t sincere, but sometimes still answers cries that aren’t accompanied by repentance

He gives victories to kings who barely trust Him, and raises the dead to remind His people He is still alive.

He is also the God who keeps His covenant even when His people break theirs.

This chapter is not flattering, but it is comforting.

Because it tells us: God’s faithfulness is greater than our unbelief.

And that is the hope every Christian needs…

Close:

Life is full of trouble. You’ve noticed that haven’t you?

Job said, “Just as the sparks fly upward, so man is born to trouble.”  And he was right. 

The Bible has a word for that trouble: trials.

And the New Testament tells us exactly how to face them.

James 1 says: “Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds…”

Now that sounds strange.

Someone mistreats you. You experience an injustice. You’re wounded, overlooked, misunderstood, and James says, “Count it joy.”???

Why?

Because trials are the testing ground of faith. Trials reveal whether we believe God… or whether we only say we do.

James goes on: “…because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.”

Endurance. Spiritual stamina. The ability to keep trusting God when everything in you wants to quit.

And then he says: “Let endurance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.”

In other words, if you trust God in the trial, you grow. If you don’t trust God in the trial, you don’t grow…. It’s that simple.

And that’s exactly what we’ve seen in 2 Kings 13.

When God’s people didn’t believe, the result was defeat.

When they prayed without repenting, they remained immature.

When they obeyed without trusting, they experienced partial victory.

When they struck the ground only three times, they received only three victories.

The New Testament says the same thing.

James 1:19 gives us the pattern: 

Be swift to hear — that means swift to obey.

Be slow to speak — slow to complain, slow to murmur.

Be slow to anger — because anger never produces the righteousness of God.

And isn’t that exactly what happens in trials?

First, we get angry. Then we start talking, complaining, venting, murmuring.

And when we stop doing what the Scripture says, the result is Immaturity, anxiety, and defeat.

Some of you listening spend far too much time worrying.

Any time spent worrying is too much time worrying.

And some of us spend far too much time angry, and anger never produces the righteousness of God.

But here’s the good news: God has given you a quiver full of arrows.

Arrows of promise.

And the question is: Are you going to strike the ground three times… or are you going to strike it six?

Are you going to trust God halfway, or trust Him fully?

Are you going to believe Him in theory, or believe in Him, in practice?

In every situation, every trial, every disappointment, every fea, you can ask:

“What is the will of God in this situation?”  

And then shoot that arrow of faith.

And when you do, the result will be peace…

and power…

and victory.

Not because you are strong…. But because God is faithful — even when Christians don’t believe.

Outro:

In our next episode, we’re going to step into 2 Kings 14, where we will consider how you can be the best version of yourself, at work, and rest, and with your family….

I hope you’ll join me for that.

Until then….

Try to trust Him fully, and follow Him wholeheartedly, and remember that God believes in His promises even when His people don’t.