Jehoash visited the dying prophet Elisha and paid his respect to him as a father and the strength of Israel. Elisha was about to die but the battle against Aram would still go on. Israel’s future seemed to be bleak. So, Elisha spurred the king, asking him to shoot an arrow toward the east and strike the ground with arrows. The arrow was a sign of the LORD’s victory for Israel over Aram. But the reluctant king struck the ground only three times. He should have done many times until Elisha had said, “Enough.” Because of Jehoash’s lack of faith and half-heartedness toward God’s deliverance, Israel would not have complete victory over Aram, but just three times. According to Elisha’s prophecy, Jehoash defeated Aram three times, taking back some of the cities the Arameans had taken from Israel.

Aram had oppressed Israel severely but could not destroy it. It was not because Israel was strong or Aram was weak, but because God was still gracious to Israel. He had compassion on them and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham. According to the Sinai covenant, Israel could have been destroyed long ago. But based on the Abrahamic covenant—the covenant of faith, God was unwilling to destroy or banish Israel from his presence.