II Kings 6-9  War... famine.. murder.. betrayal.. There was a great darkness that covered Israel and Judah. The family of Ahab had spread from Israel to Judah as Jehoram, Jehoshaphat's son married Athaliah, Ahab's daughter.   Their son Ahaziah became king of Judah after his father died.  His uncle, his mother's brother, Joram was king of Israel.  When Joram was wounded by Hazael, the king of Aram, Athaliah went down to Jezreel to see him. 

It is at this time that the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah years before is completed.( I Kings 19:15-16)  Hazael was now king of Aram, Elisha had already succeeded Elijah and now the final piece in completed.. Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat was anointed to be king of Israel.  It is Jehu who fulfills the prophecy about Ahab's family as he kills Joram, Jezebel, and Ahaziah...Joram was Jehu's brother's brother-in-law; Jezebel was Joram's mother-in-law; and Ahaziah was Jehu's own nephew.  And still the blood shed was not finished.  There are 70 sons of Ahab who were slaughtered by their own keepers.. 

 God's judgements are just and they are completed in His time frame.. through the men and women He chooses to use.  I'm reminded of the Word of God that tells us that His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are far higher than our own.  God deals with those who do evil.  He always has and He always will.  We see those who are currently promoting the ways of evil on our world and we shake our heads and  wonder when the day of judgement will fall on our country.. Some believe it has already, yet it is nothing like what they faced in the days of Elisha.  Only God's mercy  and patience keeps us from the fulness of God's wrath. But.. we know that the day of the Lord is coming. 

Father in heaven, You have been merciful to us, so patient that some wonder if You are coming at all. But we know that the time is drawing ever closer when Jesus will return for us.  We want to be ready and we desire that all will repent and receive the salvation through Jesus Christ, who alone can save.  Thank You for the grace that You have lavished on us.  We praise You for allowing us to have Your Word, to see what judgement looks like.. so that we might truly seek to bring others out of the darkness and into the Light of Your Son.  Work in us and through us to accomplish Your purposes and plans.  We are Your servants.  May Your will be done. amen. 

 II Kings 6:1-7  Elisha was living with a school of prophets and there was not enough room for all of them. So they decided to go, cut down some trees and build a bigger building. As they are working, one of the men cutting down a tree lost the axe head in some water.  He calls out to Elisha for help. Elisha cuts off a stick throws it in the water and the axe head floats to the top.  He tells the young man to pick it up and he "put out his hand and took it." 

Why do you suppose this story is recorded here for us?  It doesn't tie to anything else in the chapter. It doesn't seem to have any deeper meaning.  It is just another miraculous event in  a series of miracles that marked Elisha's ministry. But, it is written here and it is holy scripture, so it is meant for us to learn and grow from.. 

If the prophets did not need a larger school... 

If they had not gone to the Jordan to cut trees... 

If Elisha had not agreed to accompany them.. 

If the axe had not broken.. 

If the man had not called out to Elisha.. 

If Elisha had not thrown in the stick.. 

The axe head would not have floated up and the man would not have been able to put out his hand and take it.. 

God was in all of the details.  Just as He is in all of the events of our lives that lead up to the defining act of reaching out our hands and taking what the Lord has restored to us.  What have we lost?  Relationships? Jobs? Homes? Hope? Health? 

God is working out the details..  Perhaps we need to have a dream for something greater than ourselves. Perhaps we need to go out from where we are... Perhaps we need to call out to others for help..  Perhaps God has done a miracle already and we just need to put out our hand and take it.  I don't know where you are in the process.. but know that God has a plan and He will do it. 

Let us be ready to reach out.. 

Father in heaven, You are good and You are kind.  Nothing is impossible with You.  We want to live according to Your plan and to do what You desire.. to walk by faith, to walk in love, and to walk by the power of Your Spirit.  I'm not sure why this passage of Your Word speaks to me.. but, I know that You have given it to us today for a reason. Bless it to our lives and draw us nearer as we think on these things.  We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 

 II Kings 5  -

A captain of the army of Aram.

A kidnapped little girl from Israel. 

A helpless king of Israel. 

Elisha...

Servants of the army captain. 

Gehazi, Elisha's servant. 

This cast of characters reveal one mighty truth - "... there is no God in all the earth except.. Adonai". 

Naaman was highly respected, powerful in rank, " a valiant warrior",  and esteemed by the King of Aram. But, he suffered from "tazra'at" - leprosy.  The Arameans had raided Israel and Naaman had brought back a little girl as a servant for his wife.  This little girl must have been someone really special!  A slave to a foreign couple, she wished for Naaman's miraculous healing and testified of the prophet of God who would cure him.   What a beautiful example of true faith!

Naaman takes the word of this child and approaches the king, who allows him to go to Samaria.  When Naaman goes to the king of Israel with silver, gold, and clothing... the king believes that this is a dirty trick to provoke war.  But, Elisha steps in to help. 

Even that goes a bit strange - for Elisha doesn't even come out to greet Naaman but tells him to go dip 7 times in the Jordan river.  Naaman goes away angry, feeling humiliated at this.. expecting a big show of some kind.  However, his servants convince him that he should at least give it a try.  He does, and he is healed, just as Elisha said. 

Naaman offers his gifts to Elisha, but Elisha refuses.  But, when Naaman leaves, Gehazi, Elisha's servant goes after him and takes some silver and some clothes, lying that Elisha was asking for them for some visitors.  Gehazi thinks he will get away with this, but Elisha knew what happened.  Gehazi was cursed with the leprosy - to him and to his descendants. 

The little slave girl chose to serve the Lord and tell of His greatness. 

Naaman chose to believe... the girl, the servants, and finally God Himself.

Elisha chose to serve. 

Gehazi chose to be greedy. 

Whoever we are - great in power or low in rank.. we have to choose how we will live. No matter our circumstances, we can choose to serve and to testify of the greatness of our God.  May we have the faith of this little slave girl.. desiring that others would know the One and only God.. that they also may be saved. 

Father in heaven, strengthen us in our walk with You today.  May we be faithful and faith-filled.  May we have compassion and patience, gentleness and kindness and humility - and most of all love for those around us, no matter who they are - for all need to know You, to call upon Your, to seek You and find You.  You loved this world and sent Your Son so that whosoever believes in Him will be saved. Let us speak up and speak out this Truth, this Good News, wherever we go today.  In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 

II Kings 3-4  Elisha became known as the man of God.  Jehoshaphat testified, "The word of Adonai is with him."   These two chapters recount some miracles that God performed through Elisha. 

Jehoram, king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom joined forces to go up against Moab who had rebelled against Israel.  They made a journey of seven days and found no water for their armies or animals. They went to Elisha and he helped them,  but only because of Jehoshaphat. Elisha told them to dig trenches throughout the valley and overnight the Lord filled those trenches with water. He also told them that they would have victory over Moab. 

Take note of verse 18 - "and this is but a slight thing in the sight of the Lord; He shall also give the Moabites into your hand."  A dry and arid valley - filled with water for 3 armies and all their animals... is but a slight thing in the sight of the Lord!  May we remember that Nothing Is Impossible with our God!

Chapter 4 begins with the account of a widow who was about to lose her children to slavery because of debt.  She only has one thing - a flask of oil.   Elisha tells her to borrow as many empty vessels as she can, go into the house, shut the door, and fill all the vessels from her flask.  She fills every one and sells it all to pay off her debt and have enough to survive afterward.  "Bring your vessels, not a few!" we sing, based on this miracle.  We must remember that with God.. Nothing Is Impossible!

Verses 8-37 tell the story of the Shunammite woman, who welcomed Elisha to her home and even prepared a room where he could stay whenever he traveled that way.  The woman had no children and Elisha blessed her for all she had done for him by telling her she would conceive and she did.  But, then the child died. The woman came to Elisha and instead of telling him what happened, simply clung to his feet.  Elisha did not know what happened but he sent his servant to put his staff on the child.  He went with the woman to her home and prayed.. laying not just his hand but his whole body on the child so that the child was brought back to life.  Impossible?  Not with our God!

Verses 38-41 tell of Elisha neutralizing a poisoned stew so that the prophets could eat it. 

Verses 43-44 tell of a miracle of 20 loaves of bread being mutliplied so that 100 men could eat and have some leftover. ( Reminds us of Jesus who took 5 loaves and fed thousands!) 

When we read of these miracles we are reminded of the greatness of our God.  We forget somehow that God has not changed.. He is still in the business of doing the impossible!  We can trust Him - for bread and for water, for our children, and for our lives.  To God be the glory for great things He has done and will do!

Father in heaven, You have not forsaken us and You never will.  May we learn from Your Word to trust You in all things - in a pandemic.. in a sin-sick world.. in our worries and our fears.  We place our trust in You for You are our refuge and our strength.  Prepare us for the days ahead and help us to put on the full armor of God so that we can stand firm in Christ Jesus our Lord. We seek You Lord for every day and for every moment that we might dwell in Your Presence forever.  Thank You for the gift of life and salvation in Jesus Christ the Lord. In His name we pray. Amen. 

 II Kings 2 ( and I Timothy 1) 

 The day came when Elijah was going to be taken up to heaven in a whirlwind.  Elijah knew it. Elisha knew it. The prophets that met them on the way also knew it.  Why then, did Elijah tell Elisha do wait behind.. three times? Was it a test? 

Nevertheless, Elisha persevered and  stayed with Elijah until the very end and watched his mentor and friend be lifted up in a "fiery chariot with horses of fire".... What a sight that must have been! 

Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit.  He received Elijah's mantle and went back the way he had come.  He used the mantle to strike the Jordan, just as Elijah had done, and he walked across the river on dry ground. 

Here begins Elisha's ministry. As he enters Jericho, the prophets there "see" the spirit of Elijah on Elisha. They can't quite believe that Elijah is gone and send out scouts to look for him.  Then they tell Elisha about the bad water in their town and he brings healing to it according to the Lord's word. 

As Elisha turns back towards home he encounters a gang of boys.. who mock him.  Elisha "cursed them in the name of the Lord" and a bear came and mauled 42 of these boys.

What an amazing exit for Elijah!  What an interesting beginning for Elisha.  Men of God in a time when wickedness filled the land.  

The word that comes to my mind as I think about these prophets is perseverance.  They kept on serving the Lord no matter what. They were faithful to the Word of God and available for the work of God.  

I believe that this is what the Lord is calling His church to do... to persevere.. to keep serving the Lord no matter what.. to stay faithful to the Word of God and to stay available to the work that God wants to do through us.  As Paul wrote to Timothy.. "..fight the good fight, armed with trust and a good conscience .." (I Tim. 1:18-19)  Paul exhorts Timothy to stop people from paying attention to "myths and never-ending genealogies";  to things that distract from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Instead, he was to "promote love from a clean heart, from a good conscience and from a sincere trust.." (1:4-5)

Father, may we be faithful to serve You with love from pure hearts. May we have a good conscience, cleansed by Jesus and renewed by the Spirit.  May our faith be sincere and steadfast that we stand firm in the day of evil, putting on the full armor of Christ our Lord. Strengthen us in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ we pray. Fill us with Your Spirit that we might persevere and be among the saints on high who have overcome and have received the white garments and may we have our names also written in the book of life. ( Rev. 3:5)  We ask these things in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 

 II Kings 1 Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, fell and was severely injured.  He sent a servant to ask Baal-zebub, the foreign idol, whether he would survive or not.  Elijah stopped the messengers and sent them back to Ahab with these words, "Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?" 

The king sent out a squadron of 50 soldiers to take Elijah.  Fire from heaven consumed them. Another 50 came, and again were all consumed. A third group came, but this time the commander knelt down and begged for mercy for himself and his men.  This time Elijah went with them.  Elijah confronted Ahaziah about the fact that he was asking Baal-zebub for help instead of God.  There was no repentance.. and Ahaziah died.  He had no children, so his brother Jehoram became king in his place. 

How could a king.. any king expect a wretched idol, who's very name meant "lord of the flies" to help him?  How is it that men and women today still look to false gods, philosophies, or other sources for help? There is only One God and He is the only source of help, hope, and life.  

There is a God in America.  He is ruler of all the earth and of every nation. Let us make Him known!

David wrote, "But as for me, I will sing of Your strength; in the morning I will sing aloud of Your Grace. For you are my fortress, a refuge in times of trouble. My Strength, I will sing praises to You, for God is my fortress, God, who gives me grace." ( Psalm 59:16-17)

Paul also testified, "Our Lord's grace overflowed to me with trust and love that come through the Messiah Yeshua. So here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted: the Messiah came into the world to save sinners, and I'm the number one sinner!" 

Had Ahaziah turned to God, he may have lived. He may have changed the destiny of Israel. But, he hardened his heart.  He loved his sin more than God... 

Father in heaven, You are our Strength and our Refuge. We bring every need to Your feet and we give You thanks for every blessing that You pour out to us by Your grace.  Thank You that the Messiah came to save sinners.. every one who will turn to Him and receive the grace He offers.  Open eyes and ears of those who are like Ahaziah.. change those hearts of stone to hearts of flesh, that they might be saved, in the name of Jesus we pray this.. Amen. 

 I Kings 21 tells the story of Ahab and Naboth's vineyard.  Jezebel plotted the death of Naboth, but it was Ahab's sin of coveting that instigated this tragedy.  Elijah confronts Ahab with these words, " I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord." (v20) The CJB translates it this way, " .. you have given yourself over to do what is evil from Adonai's perspective." 

When Elijah told Ahab what judgements he and his family would suffer, Ahab humbled himself by tearing his clothes and putting on sackcloth and by fasting.  God granted Ahab 3 more years before he was killed in battle.  

I Kings 22 tells of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, coming to Ahab and joining forces against the king of Aram.  Although Ahab went in disguise, he suffered a fatal wound and died.  His ivory palaces and many cities.. did nothing to stop the Word of the Lord - ".. and the dogs licked up his blood." 

Ahaziah, Ahab's son followed his father's reign with one as evil.. he "provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger according to all that his father had done." 

This passage reminds us that we each choose to give ourselves - either we give ourselves to do what is right in God's perspective or we chose to do what is evil. There is no middle ground.  Men want to define good and evil from their own perspectives these days.. but that is not what God will judge us by.  Our liberal world wants to justify immorality and murder of unborn children, claiming the "rights" of human individuality.  But, that is a wicked deception that people are "selling" themselves over to... These sins will always provoke our Holy God to anger. May God wake up this nation to the Truth!

God, our Father, You are holy and completely true.  You judge with perfect righteousness . As your word declares.. none of us are righteous, no not one. Forgive us, we pray.   We are so thankful for the Savior, Jesus Christ, who came to set us free from all unrighteousness by becoming the propitiation for our sins. Only in Jesus can we be bought from the slave market of evil and brought into the Kingdom of God.  We are thankful for the cross. Thank You for Life eternal through Jesus the Messiah.  We celebrate the holy birth of Jesus, amazed that while we were all sinners, He came to earth, setting aside His Majesty, for us. Help us to grasp this truth in a deeper way this Christmas season.  Bring us nearer to Your heart we pray... in Jesus' name. Amen.