Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
In the seventh year of Jehu, Joash became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem forty years. His mother's name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba. Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him. The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
About this time Hazael king of Aram went up and attacked Gath and captured it. Then he turned to attack Jerusalem. But Joash king of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers — Jehoshaphat, Jehoram and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—and the gifts he himself had dedicated and all the gold found in the treasuries of the temple of the Lord and of the royal palace, and he sent them to Hazael king of Aram, who then withdrew from Jerusalem.
As for the other events of the reign of Joash, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? His officials conspired against him and assassinated him at Beth Millo, on the road down to Silla. The officials who murdered him were Jozabad son of Shimeath and Jehozabad son of Shomer. He died and was buried with his fathers in the City of David. And Amaziah his son succeeded him as king.
2 Kings 12:1-3, 17-21
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Do you have a spiritual mentor?
You know…someone you respect that you can go to for spiritual advice?
I have several and use them often. It’s always good to have a person you can talk to and discuss matters of faith and life…someone who can lend an ear and solid wisdom to help you in a time of need.
Well, we have seen in scripture where spiritual mentors abound. In our studies, the last one we studied in earnest was Elijah and Elisha. You’ll recall that Elisha was selected to succeed Elijah but that change didn’t happen immediately. No, Elisha followed Elijah and learned from him until that day when he was taken up into heaven by a whirlwind…and then carried on in his footsteps.
Well, in today’s scripture we see how very important spiritual mentorship is.
For as Joash, assumed the throne of Judah in Jerusalem, we read where he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him”. Jehoiada you’ll recall was the priest who ensured Joash was protected from the murderous Athaliah as he assumed the throne at the age of seven. And as Joash grew, Jehoiada remained his counsel and spiritual advisor, helping the king stay faithful to the covenant he had made with God.
Then something inevitable happened.
Jehoiada died...and when he did, so too did Joash’s adherence to the Lord’s ways.
For as we look at the companion passage to this, 2 Chronicles, Chapter 24, we find that Joash began to listen to people who weren’t attached to God but rather false gods. And when these new advisors spoke, Joash listened to them.
The end result?
The temple of the Lord was abandoned in favor of the worshipping of Asherah poles and idols.
And so the Lord sent prophets to try and convince Joash he was erring but he refused to listen to them.
So the Lord sent the son of the deceased Jehoiada to ask why Joash had forsaken Him. And when Zechariah delivered the Lord’s message, Joash issued the order for him to be stoned to death in the temple courtyard.
Yes…Joash had his spiritual mentor’s son executed. Such was the depth of his falling.
Obviously, the Lord wasn’t going to stand for this.
Enter Hazael and the Aramean army.
It attacked Jerusalem and in the assault, Joash was severely wounded. But it wasn’t the battle injury that killed him. No…it was his own officials who did him in while he was in bed, angered by the judgment placed on Zechariah.
Of course, the sad part about all this was that it was completely avoidable.
All Joash had to do was have another spiritual mentor identified that he could trust and turn to if something would ever happen to Jehoiada. As it was, he didn’t and so he was vulnerable to anyone who might be able to step in and influence him…and those that did led him down the path of destruction.
This is what can happen when we don’t stay connected to leaders who are strong in the Lord. We can be led astray…sometimes to the point of destruction.
If you have a spiritual mentor, then thank the Lord for it. He…and He alone…arranged for that to be as He chose who He would speak through to impart wisdom and guidance.
If you don’t have a spiritual mentor, I would highly encourage you to find one and not delay in doing so.
For so much is at stake here…to include your very spiritual life…a life that Satan would like nothing better than to have for himself.
Just look at Joash and you’ll see how true that is. Don’t repeat his mistake.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
RESTORING ORDER
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the commanders of units of a hundred, the Carites and the guards and had them brought to him at the temple of the Lord. He made a covenant with them and put them under oath at the temple of the Lord. Then he showed them the king's son. He commanded them, saying, "This is what you are to do: You who are in the three companies that are going on duty on the Sabbath — a third of you guarding the royal palace, a third at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take turns guarding the temple - and you who are in the other two companies that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the king. Station yourselves around the king, each man with his weapon in his hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks must be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes."
The commanders of units of a hundred did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each one took his men — those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty — and came to Jehoiada the priest. Then he gave the commanders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of the Lord. The guards, each with his weapon in his hand, stationed themselves around the king — near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.
Jehoiada brought out the king's son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, "Long live the king!"
When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the Lord. She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, "Treason! Treason!"
Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops: "Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her." For the priest had said, "She must not be put to death in the temple of the Lord." So they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter the palace grounds, and there she was put to death.
Jehoiada then made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord's people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.
Then Jehoiada the priest posted guards at the temple of the Lord. He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards and all the people of the land, and together they brought the king down from the temple of the Lord and went into the palace, entering by way of the gate of the guards. The king then took his place on the royal throne, and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the palace.
Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.
2 Kings 11:1-21
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Most of the scripture over the last several chapter in 2 Kings has centered on Jehu, a former commander in Israel’s army, who was chosen by the Lord to be king and carry out judgment on the house of Ahab…a task that included killing the current king of Israel, Ahab’s son Joram, and the king of Judah, Ahaziah, who had married Ahab’s daughter.
From that point on, Jehu assumed command in Israel and continued to carry out the Lord’s penalty against any one connected with Ahab, to include those who led the worship of the false god Baal.
So what was going on in the southern kingdom of Judah during this time?
Chapter 11 lets us know.
For as the chapter opens, we find “Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah” seeking to seize the throne after her son’s death by destroying the “whole royal family”. All Athaliah had to do was kill all of her son's successors and she could sit on the throne and this is what she set out to do…so power hungry that she would kill all her grandchildren in order to rule.
Well, “Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah” wasn’t about to let this happen to her newborn son. And so she “took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered”, hiding him and his nurse in a bedroom within the “temple of the Lord”. They would remain there “for six years while Athaliah ruled the land”.
So would evil win out? Would Athaliah get away with her heinous scheme?
Back to the scriptures…where in the seventh year of Athaliah’s reign, “the priest Jehoiada sent for the commanders of units of a hundred, the Carites and the guards and had them brought to him at the temple of the Lord”. There he “made a covenant with them and put them under oath” before showing them the king's son and giving the following command:
"This is what you are to do: You who are in the three companies that are going on duty on the Sabbath — a third of you guarding the royal palace, a third at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take turns guarding the temple - and you who are in the other two companies that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the king. Station yourselves around the king, each man with his weapon in his hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks must be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes."
And so the “commanders of units of a hundred did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered” with each one taking their men — “those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty” — to Jehoiada who armed them with “the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of the Lord”. The armed guards then “stationed themselves around the king near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side”.
Then Jehoiada brought out Ahaziah’s only surviving son, Joash, who was now seven years of age, and “put the crown on him” before presenting him “with a copy of the covenant” and proclaiming him king. Joash was then anointed and the people “clapped their hands” and shouted, "Long live the king!"
Well, the “noise made by the guards and the people” was heard by Athaliah and so she went to the temple. Once there, she saw what everyone was cheering. For “standing by the pillar” was the crowned Joash with “the officers and the trumpeters” beside him and “all the people of the land…rejoicing and blowing trumpets”.
In anger at what she witnessed, Athaliah “tore her robes” and called out, "Treason! Treason!" as if her actions to assume power had been noble.
Athaliah would have been better suited to be quiet. Because after she brought such attention on herself, we read where Jehoiada “ordered the commanders of units of a hundred”…those “in charge of the troops”…to "Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her." It was clear that the priest did not want Athaliah to be “put to death in the temple of the Lord." And so she was seized as “she reached the place where the horses enter the palace grounds” and there “she was put to death”.
Athaliah’s evil reign was over.
So everything was good now…right?
Wrong.
Because there was unfinished business in Judah.
You see, not only was Athaliah evil in the way she assumed power but she also promoted Baal worship in her kingdom. And before things could be right again with God, the false idols and altars had to be removed and destroyed.
And so Jehoiada the priest “made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord's people”. Then “all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down”, smashing “the altars and idols to pieces” and killing “Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars”.
Jehoiada followed this by posting “guards at the temple of the Lord” and escorting Joash from the temple and into the palace where he took his place on the royal throne…an action that caused the people of the land to rejoice.
And then “the city went quiet”…at peace…because Athaliah was no longer in power.
Order had been restored.
Do you have a crisis in your life that you are trying to work through? Maybe you’re mired in financial problems. Possibly your having issues in a relationship…whether marital or family or work related. Maybe someone is being evil toward you. Or maybe you’re trapped in a downward spiral of sin and unsure how to escape.
If you’re going through any of these or any other difficulty, today’s scripture shows us the way to deal with it and it all starts with the Lord.
For when things reach a crisis stage in life, we can always count on the Lord to restore order when he is put in His rightful place…in charge.
In Judah, this meant removing the evil Athaliah from power and installing a rightful successor in Joash. But even this wasn’t done without first presenting the young boy king with a copy of the covenant so he would have the word of the Lord with him. If true order were going to be restored then God’s word would have to be restored as well.
Note as well that Jehoiada the priest “made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord's people”. For it wasn’t enough to just have God’s word in the hands of the king. Everyone had to be committed to being God’s people…to allow Him to rule supreme…to allow His will and way to be theirs.
So this was enough right?
God’s word was restored as was the people’s commitment to be God’s people.
Not quite enough.
Because there was still a matter of the Baal worship that had permeated Judah. If the people were now recommitted to God, then Baal had to go. And so the people did just that, entering the temple of Baal and tearing it down…smashing the altars and idols to pieces before killing the Baal priest in front of the altars.
At that point, God was restored as the God of Israel…the only One worthy of worship.
So again, what crisis are you going through? Are you, like the people of Judah, longing for a restoration of order?
Then why not follow the three steps found in our passage today?
1. Engage yourself with God’s word. Pray over it and ask the Lord to reveal His truth to you through His words.
2. As you reconnect with God’s word and allow His truth to be revealed to you, renew your covenant with Him…to allow Him to rule supreme in your life.
3. And then as you renew your commitment to be one of His people, fully embracing Him in every part of your life, rid yourself of anything else that might draw you away from Him. For Satan is good at getting us to worship all kinds of things in life, all the while pulling us away from the only One worthy of our worship.
Friends, we often cry out in the midst of our troubles for help…for resolution…for peace and quiet.
Judah finally found their quiet in the order restored through the Lord.
You can too.
Trust and believe it.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the commanders of units of a hundred, the Carites and the guards and had them brought to him at the temple of the Lord. He made a covenant with them and put them under oath at the temple of the Lord. Then he showed them the king's son. He commanded them, saying, "This is what you are to do: You who are in the three companies that are going on duty on the Sabbath — a third of you guarding the royal palace, a third at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take turns guarding the temple - and you who are in the other two companies that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the king. Station yourselves around the king, each man with his weapon in his hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks must be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes."
The commanders of units of a hundred did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered. Each one took his men — those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty — and came to Jehoiada the priest. Then he gave the commanders the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of the Lord. The guards, each with his weapon in his hand, stationed themselves around the king — near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side of the temple.
Jehoiada brought out the king's son and put the crown on him; he presented him with a copy of the covenant and proclaimed him king. They anointed him, and the people clapped their hands and shouted, "Long live the king!"
When Athaliah heard the noise made by the guards and the people, she went to the people at the temple of the Lord. She looked and there was the king, standing by the pillar, as the custom was. The officers and the trumpeters were beside the king, and all the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing trumpets. Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, "Treason! Treason!"
Jehoiada the priest ordered the commanders of units of a hundred, who were in charge of the troops: "Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her." For the priest had said, "She must not be put to death in the temple of the Lord." So they seized her as she reached the place where the horses enter the palace grounds, and there she was put to death.
Jehoiada then made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord's people. He also made a covenant between the king and the people. All the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down. They smashed the altars and idols to pieces and killed Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars.
Then Jehoiada the priest posted guards at the temple of the Lord. He took with him the commanders of hundreds, the Carites, the guards and all the people of the land, and together they brought the king down from the temple of the Lord and went into the palace, entering by way of the gate of the guards. The king then took his place on the royal throne, and all the people of the land rejoiced. And the city was quiet, because Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the palace.
Joash was seven years old when he began to reign.
2 Kings 11:1-21
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Most of the scripture over the last several chapter in 2 Kings has centered on Jehu, a former commander in Israel’s army, who was chosen by the Lord to be king and carry out judgment on the house of Ahab…a task that included killing the current king of Israel, Ahab’s son Joram, and the king of Judah, Ahaziah, who had married Ahab’s daughter.
From that point on, Jehu assumed command in Israel and continued to carry out the Lord’s penalty against any one connected with Ahab, to include those who led the worship of the false god Baal.
So what was going on in the southern kingdom of Judah during this time?
Chapter 11 lets us know.
For as the chapter opens, we find “Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah” seeking to seize the throne after her son’s death by destroying the “whole royal family”. All Athaliah had to do was kill all of her son's successors and she could sit on the throne and this is what she set out to do…so power hungry that she would kill all her grandchildren in order to rule.
Well, “Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah” wasn’t about to let this happen to her newborn son. And so she “took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes who were about to be murdered”, hiding him and his nurse in a bedroom within the “temple of the Lord”. They would remain there “for six years while Athaliah ruled the land”.
So would evil win out? Would Athaliah get away with her heinous scheme?
Back to the scriptures…where in the seventh year of Athaliah’s reign, “the priest Jehoiada sent for the commanders of units of a hundred, the Carites and the guards and had them brought to him at the temple of the Lord”. There he “made a covenant with them and put them under oath” before showing them the king's son and giving the following command:
"This is what you are to do: You who are in the three companies that are going on duty on the Sabbath — a third of you guarding the royal palace, a third at the Sur Gate, and a third at the gate behind the guard, who take turns guarding the temple - and you who are in the other two companies that normally go off Sabbath duty are all to guard the temple for the king. Station yourselves around the king, each man with his weapon in his hand. Anyone who approaches your ranks must be put to death. Stay close to the king wherever he goes."
And so the “commanders of units of a hundred did just as Jehoiada the priest ordered” with each one taking their men — “those who were going on duty on the Sabbath and those who were going off duty” — to Jehoiada who armed them with “the spears and shields that had belonged to King David and that were in the temple of the Lord”. The armed guards then “stationed themselves around the king near the altar and the temple, from the south side to the north side”.
Then Jehoiada brought out Ahaziah’s only surviving son, Joash, who was now seven years of age, and “put the crown on him” before presenting him “with a copy of the covenant” and proclaiming him king. Joash was then anointed and the people “clapped their hands” and shouted, "Long live the king!"
Well, the “noise made by the guards and the people” was heard by Athaliah and so she went to the temple. Once there, she saw what everyone was cheering. For “standing by the pillar” was the crowned Joash with “the officers and the trumpeters” beside him and “all the people of the land…rejoicing and blowing trumpets”.
In anger at what she witnessed, Athaliah “tore her robes” and called out, "Treason! Treason!" as if her actions to assume power had been noble.
Athaliah would have been better suited to be quiet. Because after she brought such attention on herself, we read where Jehoiada “ordered the commanders of units of a hundred”…those “in charge of the troops”…to "Bring her out between the ranks and put to the sword anyone who follows her." It was clear that the priest did not want Athaliah to be “put to death in the temple of the Lord." And so she was seized as “she reached the place where the horses enter the palace grounds” and there “she was put to death”.
Athaliah’s evil reign was over.
So everything was good now…right?
Wrong.
Because there was unfinished business in Judah.
You see, not only was Athaliah evil in the way she assumed power but she also promoted Baal worship in her kingdom. And before things could be right again with God, the false idols and altars had to be removed and destroyed.
And so Jehoiada the priest “made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord's people”. Then “all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down”, smashing “the altars and idols to pieces” and killing “Mattan the priest of Baal in front of the altars”.
Jehoiada followed this by posting “guards at the temple of the Lord” and escorting Joash from the temple and into the palace where he took his place on the royal throne…an action that caused the people of the land to rejoice.
And then “the city went quiet”…at peace…because Athaliah was no longer in power.
Order had been restored.
Do you have a crisis in your life that you are trying to work through? Maybe you’re mired in financial problems. Possibly your having issues in a relationship…whether marital or family or work related. Maybe someone is being evil toward you. Or maybe you’re trapped in a downward spiral of sin and unsure how to escape.
If you’re going through any of these or any other difficulty, today’s scripture shows us the way to deal with it and it all starts with the Lord.
For when things reach a crisis stage in life, we can always count on the Lord to restore order when he is put in His rightful place…in charge.
In Judah, this meant removing the evil Athaliah from power and installing a rightful successor in Joash. But even this wasn’t done without first presenting the young boy king with a copy of the covenant so he would have the word of the Lord with him. If true order were going to be restored then God’s word would have to be restored as well.
Note as well that Jehoiada the priest “made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people that they would be the Lord's people”. For it wasn’t enough to just have God’s word in the hands of the king. Everyone had to be committed to being God’s people…to allow Him to rule supreme…to allow His will and way to be theirs.
So this was enough right?
God’s word was restored as was the people’s commitment to be God’s people.
Not quite enough.
Because there was still a matter of the Baal worship that had permeated Judah. If the people were now recommitted to God, then Baal had to go. And so the people did just that, entering the temple of Baal and tearing it down…smashing the altars and idols to pieces before killing the Baal priest in front of the altars.
At that point, God was restored as the God of Israel…the only One worthy of worship.
So again, what crisis are you going through? Are you, like the people of Judah, longing for a restoration of order?
Then why not follow the three steps found in our passage today?
1. Engage yourself with God’s word. Pray over it and ask the Lord to reveal His truth to you through His words.
2. As you reconnect with God’s word and allow His truth to be revealed to you, renew your covenant with Him…to allow Him to rule supreme in your life.
3. And then as you renew your commitment to be one of His people, fully embracing Him in every part of your life, rid yourself of anything else that might draw you away from Him. For Satan is good at getting us to worship all kinds of things in life, all the while pulling us away from the only One worthy of our worship.
Friends, we often cry out in the midst of our troubles for help…for resolution…for peace and quiet.
Judah finally found their quiet in the order restored through the Lord.
You can too.
Trust and believe it.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Saturday, October 24, 2009
NO OTHER GODS BEFORE GOD HIMSELF
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his ministers and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live." But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the ministers of Baal.
Jehu said, "Call an assembly in honor of Baal." So they proclaimed it. Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the ministers of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, "Bring robes for all the ministers of Baal." So he brought out robes for them.
Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Recab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the ministers of Baal, "Look around and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you—only ministers of Baal." So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: "If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life."
As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: "Go in and kill them; let no one escape." So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it. They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
The Lord said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation." Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.
In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer by the Arnon Gorge through Gilead to Bashan.
As for the other events of Jehu's reign, all he did, and all his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Jehu rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son succeeded him as king. The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
2 Kings 10:18-36
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 10 of 2 Kings concludes, we find Jehu with one piece of unfinished business before concluding the Lord’s order against Ahab’s house.
For there was still the matter of the Baal worship that Ahab had introduced to Israel…an introduction that so blatantly defied God’s commandment to have no other gods before Him. You’ll recall that God warned that He was a jealous God and would not stand for anyone that decided to worship anything else. It’s little wonder why God burned with anger against Ahab and brought such terrible judgment on his house.
So as we look at our scripture we find Jehu again using a little deception to set up his actions. And just as the people of Israel were so easily manipulated because they didn’t place God first in their lives, so too were all the prophets, ministers and priests of Baal.
You’ll see that Jehu makes it appear as if he is willing to serve Baal as well but his words were meant to trick the Baal leadership into believing he was with them, not against them. Jehu even invoked the name of Ahab in his plot claiming that he was willing to serve Baal even more that the former king.
So Jehu summoned all the “prophets of Baal, all his ministers and all his priests” and ordered that no one should miss his invitation lest lose his life. The occasion for the gathering was the offering of a “great sacrifice for Baal”.
And so an assembly was formed “in honor of Baal” consisting of “all the ministers of Baal” who “crowded into the temple…until it was full from one end to the other”. Once inside, Jehu ordered the “keeper of the wardrobe” to "Bring robes for all the ministers of Baal" and he carried out the order.
With the ministers of Baal now gathered, Jehu needed to ensure that they hadn’t mistakenly included anyone of the Lord. So “Jehu and Jehonadab…went into the temple”…and Jehu said to the ministers of Baal, "Look around and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you — only ministers of Baal." And after ensuring all were there to worship Baal, “they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings.” Little did the ministers know that they soon would perish.
For we read where Jehu had posted eighty men outside and warned them that they would lose their life if they let any of the Baal ministers escape. And “as soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering”, he “ordered the guards and officers” to kill all the ministers of Baal and to let no one escape.
So the guards and officers carried out Jehu’s order, cutting down the ministers by sword and throwing their bodies outside. They then “entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal” and brought out the sacred stone, burning and demolishing it before tearing down the temple.
Never would it be used for worship again. Instead, “people have used it for a latrine to this day”.
So Jehu “destroyed Baal worship in Israel” and accomplished what was right in the eyes of the Lord thus gaining God’s favor and His reward as Jehu’s descendants would “sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation”. Jehu wasn’t perfect mind you. He, like all of us, was a sinner and at times failed to keep the law of the Lord. But overall, Jehu was obedient and won over God’s favor.
So what is God trying to say to us in this scripture passage?
I think it’s pretty clear.
His commands are the same as they were to the Israelites as He spoke through Moses at Mount Sinai:
“You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them: For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” (Exodus 20:2-5a)
And yet…we continue to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Doubt this?
Then consider how many things are worshipped in our world today besides God.
Money and wealth. Fame and stardom. Work and job titles. People who have achieved success.
Indeed, we seem to deify so many things at the expense of God Himself.
Friends, it’s time we woke up. For don’t believe for a minute that the Lord couldn’t and won’t destroy anyone who decides to worship anything or anyone other than Him just as He did the Baal worship leaders in our scripture today.
Our God remains a jealous God…and we are expected to honor Him with our loyal service and honor.
My prayer right now is that every man and woman renew their commitment to Him and rid themselves of anything that they might worship above God.
Will it involve sacrifice?
Absolutely.
But no sacrifice we will make can ever compare to the sacrifice that God made when He gave His only Son on Calvary’s cross to pay the price for our sins.
He gave it all up for us.
We need to give it all up for Him…and have no other gods in our life. Period.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Then Jehu brought all the people together and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much. Now summon all the prophets of Baal, all his ministers and all his priests. See that no one is missing, because I am going to hold a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come will no longer live." But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the ministers of Baal.
Jehu said, "Call an assembly in honor of Baal." So they proclaimed it. Then he sent word throughout Israel, and all the ministers of Baal came; not one stayed away. They crowded into the temple of Baal until it was full from one end to the other. And Jehu said to the keeper of the wardrobe, "Bring robes for all the ministers of Baal." So he brought out robes for them.
Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Recab went into the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the ministers of Baal, "Look around and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you—only ministers of Baal." So they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had posted eighty men outside with this warning: "If one of you lets any of the men I am placing in your hands escape, it will be your life for his life."
As soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering, he ordered the guards and officers: "Go in and kill them; let no one escape." So they cut them down with the sword. The guards and officers threw the bodies out and then entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal. They brought the sacred stone out of the temple of Baal and burned it. They demolished the sacred stone of Baal and tore down the temple of Baal, and people have used it for a latrine to this day.
So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
The Lord said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation." Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit.
In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer by the Arnon Gorge through Gilead to Bashan.
As for the other events of Jehu's reign, all he did, and all his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Jehu rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son succeeded him as king. The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years.
2 Kings 10:18-36
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 10 of 2 Kings concludes, we find Jehu with one piece of unfinished business before concluding the Lord’s order against Ahab’s house.
For there was still the matter of the Baal worship that Ahab had introduced to Israel…an introduction that so blatantly defied God’s commandment to have no other gods before Him. You’ll recall that God warned that He was a jealous God and would not stand for anyone that decided to worship anything else. It’s little wonder why God burned with anger against Ahab and brought such terrible judgment on his house.
So as we look at our scripture we find Jehu again using a little deception to set up his actions. And just as the people of Israel were so easily manipulated because they didn’t place God first in their lives, so too were all the prophets, ministers and priests of Baal.
You’ll see that Jehu makes it appear as if he is willing to serve Baal as well but his words were meant to trick the Baal leadership into believing he was with them, not against them. Jehu even invoked the name of Ahab in his plot claiming that he was willing to serve Baal even more that the former king.
So Jehu summoned all the “prophets of Baal, all his ministers and all his priests” and ordered that no one should miss his invitation lest lose his life. The occasion for the gathering was the offering of a “great sacrifice for Baal”.
And so an assembly was formed “in honor of Baal” consisting of “all the ministers of Baal” who “crowded into the temple…until it was full from one end to the other”. Once inside, Jehu ordered the “keeper of the wardrobe” to "Bring robes for all the ministers of Baal" and he carried out the order.
With the ministers of Baal now gathered, Jehu needed to ensure that they hadn’t mistakenly included anyone of the Lord. So “Jehu and Jehonadab…went into the temple”…and Jehu said to the ministers of Baal, "Look around and see that no servants of the Lord are here with you — only ministers of Baal." And after ensuring all were there to worship Baal, “they went in to make sacrifices and burnt offerings.” Little did the ministers know that they soon would perish.
For we read where Jehu had posted eighty men outside and warned them that they would lose their life if they let any of the Baal ministers escape. And “as soon as Jehu had finished making the burnt offering”, he “ordered the guards and officers” to kill all the ministers of Baal and to let no one escape.
So the guards and officers carried out Jehu’s order, cutting down the ministers by sword and throwing their bodies outside. They then “entered the inner shrine of the temple of Baal” and brought out the sacred stone, burning and demolishing it before tearing down the temple.
Never would it be used for worship again. Instead, “people have used it for a latrine to this day”.
So Jehu “destroyed Baal worship in Israel” and accomplished what was right in the eyes of the Lord thus gaining God’s favor and His reward as Jehu’s descendants would “sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation”. Jehu wasn’t perfect mind you. He, like all of us, was a sinner and at times failed to keep the law of the Lord. But overall, Jehu was obedient and won over God’s favor.
So what is God trying to say to us in this scripture passage?
I think it’s pretty clear.
His commands are the same as they were to the Israelites as He spoke through Moses at Mount Sinai:
“You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them: For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” (Exodus 20:2-5a)
And yet…we continue to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Doubt this?
Then consider how many things are worshipped in our world today besides God.
Money and wealth. Fame and stardom. Work and job titles. People who have achieved success.
Indeed, we seem to deify so many things at the expense of God Himself.
Friends, it’s time we woke up. For don’t believe for a minute that the Lord couldn’t and won’t destroy anyone who decides to worship anything or anyone other than Him just as He did the Baal worship leaders in our scripture today.
Our God remains a jealous God…and we are expected to honor Him with our loyal service and honor.
My prayer right now is that every man and woman renew their commitment to Him and rid themselves of anything that they might worship above God.
Will it involve sacrifice?
Absolutely.
But no sacrifice we will make can ever compare to the sacrifice that God made when He gave His only Son on Calvary’s cross to pay the price for our sins.
He gave it all up for us.
We need to give it all up for Him…and have no other gods in our life. Period.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Friday, October 23, 2009
A ZEAL FOR THE LORD
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab, son of Recab, who was on his way to meet him.
Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”
“I am,” Jehonadab answered.
“If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.”
So he did and Jehu helped him up into the chariot.
Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.”
Then he had him ride along in his chariot.
2 Kings 10:15-16
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In the midst of carrying out the Lord’s orders to eliminate the house of Ahab, we find Jehu meeting a man while on his way to Samaria.
The man, “Jehonadab, son of Recab” was actually “on his way to meet” Jehu and as they came together, we find Jehu greet him and ask, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”
In other words, Jehu was inquiring as to whether Jehonadab was in tune with the Lord as he was but we sense that he already knew the answer before he asked.
For Jehonadab had been leading a group of Israelites who stood by conservative God-based principles which, included among other things, a very strong opposition to Baal worship.
And so it was little surprise when Jehonadab acknowledged that he was in one accord with Jehu…standing with him as a devout man of God.
We read where Jehu takes his new ally by the hand and helps him up in his chariot. Being seen with Jehonadab would only help Jehu’s cause as he continued to carry out the Lord’s will.
Now, these two verses in scripture would probably not spawn a message if it weren’t for the final words spoken by Jehu as he welcomes Jehonadab into his chariot.
For Jehu says to him, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.”
“Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.”
Have you ever spoken these words to someone?
Anyone who truly has a zeal for the Lord would not hesitate to.
And what does it mean to have zeal anyways?
Well, Webster’s defines zeal as an “eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something… energetic and unflagging pursuit of an aim or devotion to a cause”.
There are also three synonyms for zeal:
Fervor is one of them and is defined as an “intensity of feeling or expression… a warm and steady emotion”.
Passion is another…“an emotion that is deeply stirring or ungovernable”.
And finally, there is enthusiasm…“a lively or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity”.
Put them all together when talking about a person who has zeal for the Lord and we have one who energetically, eagerly and intensely pursues the Lord with a consistent, expressive emotion of admiration that is deeply stirring or ungovernable.
Does that define you? Shouldn’t it define all of us who claim and proclaim to be of the Lord?
Friends, we would be well served to constantly evaluate and grade ourselves on how well we are showing our zeal for the Lord.
For our actions and our words should reach out to everyone with an invitation…modeling the words of Jehu in saying:
“Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.”
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
After he left there, he came upon Jehonadab, son of Recab, who was on his way to meet him.
Jehu greeted him and said, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”
“I am,” Jehonadab answered.
“If so,” said Jehu, “give me your hand.”
So he did and Jehu helped him up into the chariot.
Jehu said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.”
Then he had him ride along in his chariot.
2 Kings 10:15-16
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
In the midst of carrying out the Lord’s orders to eliminate the house of Ahab, we find Jehu meeting a man while on his way to Samaria.
The man, “Jehonadab, son of Recab” was actually “on his way to meet” Jehu and as they came together, we find Jehu greet him and ask, “Are you in accord with me, as I am with you?”
In other words, Jehu was inquiring as to whether Jehonadab was in tune with the Lord as he was but we sense that he already knew the answer before he asked.
For Jehonadab had been leading a group of Israelites who stood by conservative God-based principles which, included among other things, a very strong opposition to Baal worship.
And so it was little surprise when Jehonadab acknowledged that he was in one accord with Jehu…standing with him as a devout man of God.
We read where Jehu takes his new ally by the hand and helps him up in his chariot. Being seen with Jehonadab would only help Jehu’s cause as he continued to carry out the Lord’s will.
Now, these two verses in scripture would probably not spawn a message if it weren’t for the final words spoken by Jehu as he welcomes Jehonadab into his chariot.
For Jehu says to him, “Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.”
“Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.”
Have you ever spoken these words to someone?
Anyone who truly has a zeal for the Lord would not hesitate to.
And what does it mean to have zeal anyways?
Well, Webster’s defines zeal as an “eagerness and ardent interest in pursuit of something… energetic and unflagging pursuit of an aim or devotion to a cause”.
There are also three synonyms for zeal:
Fervor is one of them and is defined as an “intensity of feeling or expression… a warm and steady emotion”.
Passion is another…“an emotion that is deeply stirring or ungovernable”.
And finally, there is enthusiasm…“a lively or eager interest in or admiration for a proposal, cause, or activity”.
Put them all together when talking about a person who has zeal for the Lord and we have one who energetically, eagerly and intensely pursues the Lord with a consistent, expressive emotion of admiration that is deeply stirring or ungovernable.
Does that define you? Shouldn’t it define all of us who claim and proclaim to be of the Lord?
Friends, we would be well served to constantly evaluate and grade ourselves on how well we are showing our zeal for the Lord.
For our actions and our words should reach out to everyone with an invitation…modeling the words of Jehu in saying:
“Come with me and see my zeal for the Lord.”
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Thursday, October 22, 2009
HOW EASILY ARE YOU MANIPULATED?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now there were in Samaria seventy sons of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria: to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab's children. He said, "As soon as this letter reaches you, since your master's sons are with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons, choose the best and most worthy of your master's sons and set him on his father's throne. Then fight for your master's house."
But they were terrified and said, "If two kings could not resist him, how can we?"
So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: "We are your servants and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best."
Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, "If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow."
Now the royal princes, seventy of them, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them. When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, "They have brought the heads of the princes."
Then Jehu ordered, "Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning."
The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, "You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? Know then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he promised through his servant Elijah." So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.
Jehu then set out and went toward Samaria.
At Beth Eked of the Shepherds, he met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, "Who are you?"
They said, "We are relatives of Ahaziah, and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother."
"Take them alive!" he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well of Beth Eked—forty-two men. He left no survivor.
When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab's family; he destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah.
2 Kings 10:1-14, 17
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Each and every day, thousands upon thousands of people fall victim to manipulation…taken advantage of by someone who is able to influence them to think, talk or act as the manipulator wishes. Maybe you have been a victim of this act at some time or another. Worse yet, maybe you have been a perpetrator.
So how does manipulation happen? How does one fall into the adverse influence of another?
The answer is pretty simple.
Because if a person doesn’t allow God to be the Lord of their life, then they allow themselves to be vulnerable for someone else to be.
Many of the people of Israel had fallen into this trap, especially during the reign of King Ahab. You’ll recall that Ahab had done great evil in the eyes of the Lord and established Baal worship as the primary worship option under his reign. And unfortunately, the people followed the lead of their king, allowing him to be the lord of their lives and lead them into worship that was forbidden by God who commanded that there would be no other gods before Him.
Well, as we already know, this angered God who rendered a terrible judgment against Ahab…and not just him…but all those who were in his house. And as we saw in Chapter 9, Jehu was selected and anointed by the Lord to not only be Israel’s future king but to serve as an instrument of judgment on those in Ahab’s house that were still alive. He started with the son Joram, who had been the current king of Israel; Ahaziah, the king of Judah who had married one of Ahab’s daughters; and Jezebel, another daughter of Ahab who had taken great pleasure in murdering the Lord’s prophets. And so she ended up thrown from an upper window of a home and devoured by dogs to where there wasn’t anything left except a few of her bones.
As Chapter 10 opens, Jehu has some unfinished business. For there were still some survivors in Ahab’s house remaining with the first mentioned being “seventy sons” located in Jezreel.
Did Jehu ride into Jezreel and carry out the execution on his own?
No…he didn’t have to because he used the gullibility of the Israelites to have them do the job for him. Just as the people of Israel had allowed themselves to be manipulated against the Lord, now the Lord was going to use Jehu to manipulate them to carry out His wishes.
Friends, this could easily happen to anyone today…and rest assured that it does on a large scale. For so many decide to not follow the Lord and allow others to manipulate them to the point where it’s so easy for Satan to step in and end up being the master manipulator in their lives…driving them consistently into sin.
As God’s word tells us…we can’t serve two masters. For there’s only One Master and Hs is the Lord.
Back to the scriptures where we read that “Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria…to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab's children”. His letter was threatening in nature as he led the recipients to believe that a conflict was soon to happen. Given this, they were to “choose the best and most worthy of your master's sons and set him on his father's throne” before heading out to “fight for your master's house." The thought of battle left them terrified as they thought about how two kings, Joram and Ahaziah, had already died attempting to fight Jehu…and if they couldn’t resist Jehu then how could they possibly do so.
The manipulation worked perfectly. For the people never turned to the Lord and asked what they should do. No…instead, “the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians” sent the following reply back to Jehu:
“We are your servants and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best."
Hmmm…did you pick up on the tone of submission in that reply?
The palace administrator, city governor, elders and guardians all proclaimed their servitude to Jehu. He was their master at that point and they were ready to serve him in whatever way he wanted and ready to do anything he said…whatever he thought was best.
Indeed, Jehu had them right where he, and the Lord, wanted them.
So “Jehu wrote them a second letter” and said:
“If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow."
This was the ultimate test to see if the people had actually hit the bottom of the manipulation barrel. For if they would follow an order to kill the seventy royal princes that they had been entrusted to lead, then they could be used to do anything.
So what happened?
After receiving the second letter, the leading men of the city “took the princes and slaughtered all seventy of them”, putting “their heads in baskets” before sending them to “Jehu in Jezreel” who had the heads placed into “two piles at the entrance of the city gate."
Friends, this is the kind of destruction Satan brings as well each and every day. He takes those who have hit the bottom of the manipulation barrel and uses them as instruments of his evil doing. And know he won’t stop until he destroys every good and perfect thing that God has made.
Back to the passage where we find Jehu addressing the people the morning after the slaughter. There, he admits to conspiring against Joram and killing him but refused to take credit for the slaughter of the seventy princes in Ahab’s house. No…the judgment on the princes was carried out by those who were supposed to protect them. The leading men were so afraid of losing their own lives in battle that they were willing to do anything…even kill others to save themselves. And so they did.
What would be their penalty?
Jehu passed it on when he said to them:
“Know then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he promised through his servant Elijah."
And with that, Jehu “killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor”. Then he set out for Samaria.
Along the way, Jehu encountered “some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah” at “Beth Eked of the Shepherds”. And they, like those in Jezreel who were related to Ahab, suffered the same fate as Jehu slaughtered the forty-two men “by the well of Beth Eked”, leaving no survivors before heading into Samaria and destroying “all who were left there of Ahab’s family…according to the “word of the Lord spoken to Elijah”.
Who was Jehu’s master?
It was the Lord.
Who did he follow?
The Lord.
Who’s will was his will?
The Lord’s.
Indeed, the Lord was Jehu’s guide and key advisor. Jehu had done what the Lord asked him to do. He wasn’t swayed or deterred from carrying out the Lord’s plan.
In sum, he wasn’t easily manipulated.
So why is he in the scriptures?
Because the Lord expects that we follow his example.
If we don’t, expect that Satan will have his way with us…and the Lord will make an example out of us…just as he did with the leading men of Jezreel.
Believe it.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now there were in Samaria seventy sons of the house of Ahab. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria: to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab's children. He said, "As soon as this letter reaches you, since your master's sons are with you and you have chariots and horses, a fortified city and weapons, choose the best and most worthy of your master's sons and set him on his father's throne. Then fight for your master's house."
But they were terrified and said, "If two kings could not resist him, how can we?"
So the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians sent this message to Jehu: "We are your servants and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best."
Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying, "If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow."
Now the royal princes, seventy of them, were with the leading men of the city, who were rearing them. When the letter arrived, these men took the princes and slaughtered all seventy of them. They put their heads in baskets and sent them to Jehu in Jezreel. When the messenger arrived, he told Jehu, "They have brought the heads of the princes."
Then Jehu ordered, "Put them in two piles at the entrance of the city gate until morning."
The next morning Jehu went out. He stood before all the people and said, "You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who killed all these? Know then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he promised through his servant Elijah." So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor.
Jehu then set out and went toward Samaria.
At Beth Eked of the Shepherds, he met some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah and asked, "Who are you?"
They said, "We are relatives of Ahaziah, and we have come down to greet the families of the king and of the queen mother."
"Take them alive!" he ordered. So they took them alive and slaughtered them by the well of Beth Eked—forty-two men. He left no survivor.
When Jehu came to Samaria, he killed all who were left there of Ahab's family; he destroyed them, according to the word of the Lord spoken to Elijah.
2 Kings 10:1-14, 17
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Each and every day, thousands upon thousands of people fall victim to manipulation…taken advantage of by someone who is able to influence them to think, talk or act as the manipulator wishes. Maybe you have been a victim of this act at some time or another. Worse yet, maybe you have been a perpetrator.
So how does manipulation happen? How does one fall into the adverse influence of another?
The answer is pretty simple.
Because if a person doesn’t allow God to be the Lord of their life, then they allow themselves to be vulnerable for someone else to be.
Many of the people of Israel had fallen into this trap, especially during the reign of King Ahab. You’ll recall that Ahab had done great evil in the eyes of the Lord and established Baal worship as the primary worship option under his reign. And unfortunately, the people followed the lead of their king, allowing him to be the lord of their lives and lead them into worship that was forbidden by God who commanded that there would be no other gods before Him.
Well, as we already know, this angered God who rendered a terrible judgment against Ahab…and not just him…but all those who were in his house. And as we saw in Chapter 9, Jehu was selected and anointed by the Lord to not only be Israel’s future king but to serve as an instrument of judgment on those in Ahab’s house that were still alive. He started with the son Joram, who had been the current king of Israel; Ahaziah, the king of Judah who had married one of Ahab’s daughters; and Jezebel, another daughter of Ahab who had taken great pleasure in murdering the Lord’s prophets. And so she ended up thrown from an upper window of a home and devoured by dogs to where there wasn’t anything left except a few of her bones.
As Chapter 10 opens, Jehu has some unfinished business. For there were still some survivors in Ahab’s house remaining with the first mentioned being “seventy sons” located in Jezreel.
Did Jehu ride into Jezreel and carry out the execution on his own?
No…he didn’t have to because he used the gullibility of the Israelites to have them do the job for him. Just as the people of Israel had allowed themselves to be manipulated against the Lord, now the Lord was going to use Jehu to manipulate them to carry out His wishes.
Friends, this could easily happen to anyone today…and rest assured that it does on a large scale. For so many decide to not follow the Lord and allow others to manipulate them to the point where it’s so easy for Satan to step in and end up being the master manipulator in their lives…driving them consistently into sin.
As God’s word tells us…we can’t serve two masters. For there’s only One Master and Hs is the Lord.
Back to the scriptures where we read that “Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria…to the officials of Jezreel, to the elders and to the guardians of Ahab's children”. His letter was threatening in nature as he led the recipients to believe that a conflict was soon to happen. Given this, they were to “choose the best and most worthy of your master's sons and set him on his father's throne” before heading out to “fight for your master's house." The thought of battle left them terrified as they thought about how two kings, Joram and Ahaziah, had already died attempting to fight Jehu…and if they couldn’t resist Jehu then how could they possibly do so.
The manipulation worked perfectly. For the people never turned to the Lord and asked what they should do. No…instead, “the palace administrator, the city governor, the elders and the guardians” sent the following reply back to Jehu:
“We are your servants and we will do anything you say. We will not appoint anyone as king; you do whatever you think best."
Hmmm…did you pick up on the tone of submission in that reply?
The palace administrator, city governor, elders and guardians all proclaimed their servitude to Jehu. He was their master at that point and they were ready to serve him in whatever way he wanted and ready to do anything he said…whatever he thought was best.
Indeed, Jehu had them right where he, and the Lord, wanted them.
So “Jehu wrote them a second letter” and said:
“If you are on my side and will obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me in Jezreel by this time tomorrow."
This was the ultimate test to see if the people had actually hit the bottom of the manipulation barrel. For if they would follow an order to kill the seventy royal princes that they had been entrusted to lead, then they could be used to do anything.
So what happened?
After receiving the second letter, the leading men of the city “took the princes and slaughtered all seventy of them”, putting “their heads in baskets” before sending them to “Jehu in Jezreel” who had the heads placed into “two piles at the entrance of the city gate."
Friends, this is the kind of destruction Satan brings as well each and every day. He takes those who have hit the bottom of the manipulation barrel and uses them as instruments of his evil doing. And know he won’t stop until he destroys every good and perfect thing that God has made.
Back to the passage where we find Jehu addressing the people the morning after the slaughter. There, he admits to conspiring against Joram and killing him but refused to take credit for the slaughter of the seventy princes in Ahab’s house. No…the judgment on the princes was carried out by those who were supposed to protect them. The leading men were so afraid of losing their own lives in battle that they were willing to do anything…even kill others to save themselves. And so they did.
What would be their penalty?
Jehu passed it on when he said to them:
“Know then, that not a word the Lord has spoken against the house of Ahab will fail. The Lord has done what he promised through his servant Elijah."
And with that, Jehu “killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his chief men, his close friends and his priests, leaving him no survivor”. Then he set out for Samaria.
Along the way, Jehu encountered “some relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah” at “Beth Eked of the Shepherds”. And they, like those in Jezreel who were related to Ahab, suffered the same fate as Jehu slaughtered the forty-two men “by the well of Beth Eked”, leaving no survivors before heading into Samaria and destroying “all who were left there of Ahab’s family…according to the “word of the Lord spoken to Elijah”.
Who was Jehu’s master?
It was the Lord.
Who did he follow?
The Lord.
Who’s will was his will?
The Lord’s.
Indeed, the Lord was Jehu’s guide and key advisor. Jehu had done what the Lord asked him to do. He wasn’t swayed or deterred from carrying out the Lord’s plan.
In sum, he wasn’t easily manipulated.
So why is he in the scriptures?
Because the Lord expects that we follow his example.
If we don’t, expect that Satan will have his way with us…and the Lord will make an example out of us…just as he did with the leading men of Jezreel.
Believe it.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
THE WORD OF THE LORD WILL REIGN SUPREME
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth Gilead against Hazael king of Aram, but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle with Hazael king of Aram.) Jehu said, "If this is the way you feel, don't let anyone slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel." Then he got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see him.
When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu's troops approaching, he called out, "I see some troops coming."
"Get a horseman," Joram ordered. "Send him to meet them and ask, 'Do you come in peace?' "
The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, "This is what the king says: 'Do you come in peace?' "
"What do you have to do with peace?" Jehu replied. "Fall in behind me."
The lookout reported, "The messenger has reached them, but he isn't coming back."
So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, "This is what the king says: 'Do you come in peace?' "
Jehu replied, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me."
The lookout reported, "He has reached them, but he isn't coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi — he drives like a madman."
"Hitch up my chariot," Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite.
When Joram saw Jehu he asked, "Have you come in peace, Jehu?"
"How can there be peace," Jehu replied, "as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?"
Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, "Treachery, Ahaziah!"
Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, "Pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were riding together in chariots behind Ahab his father when the Lord made this prophecy about him: 'Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the Lord.' Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot, in accordance with the word of the Lord."
When Ahaziah king of Judah saw what had happened, he fled up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him, shouting, "Kill him too!" They wounded him in his chariot on the way up to Gur near Ibleam, but he escaped to Megiddo and died there. His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in his tomb in the City of David. (In the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.)`
Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window. As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, "Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?"
He looked up at the window and called out, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. "Throw her down!" Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.
Jehu went in and ate and drank. "Take care of that cursed woman," he said, "and bury her, for she was a king's daughter."
But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands.
They went back and told Jehu, who said, "This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh. Jezebel's body will be like refuse on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, 'This is Jezebel.' "
2 Kings 9:14-37
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Before we delve into this passage from 2 Kings, Chapter 9, we need to do a review.
Rewind to 1 Kings, Chapter 21, verses 17 through 23. God’s word told us this:
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood – yes, yours!’”
Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!”
“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel – slave or free. I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.”
“And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the walls of Jezreel.’
Back to today’s passage.
At the end of 2 Kings, Chapter 8, you’ll recall that Joram, king of the northern kingdom of Israel and son of Ahab, was wounded by the Arameans during a battle at Ramoth Gilead. Joram had returned to Jezreel along with Ahaziah, king of the southern kingdom of Judah.
So after Jehu is anointed as Israel’s future king at the beginning of Chapter 9, we find him set out to carry out the Lord’s order as issued through Elisha…to “destroy the house of Ahab” and “avenge the blood” of the Lord’s prophets and servants that had been shed by Ahab’s daughter, Jezebel. Jehu was to ensure that “the whole house of Ahab” would perish to include cutting off “every last male in Israel – slave or free”. And as for Jezebel, the Lord predicted that dogs would “devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel” so that “no one would bury her”.
Or in other words, through Jehu, we will see the word of the Lord reign supreme.
After gaining the respect of his fellow officers (you’ll recall that they all bowed down before him as he proclaimed himself as the anointed king of Israel), we read where Jehu asks for them to keep his going to Jezreel confidential. For if they truly acknowledged him as king, then they would not “slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel."
And so Jehu “got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel” where he would first go after Ahab’s son Joram…the king he would relieve.
Scripture tells us that as Jehu and his troops approached Jezreel, a “lookout standing on the tower” called out, "I see some troops coming."
Joram then sent a horseman to meet Jehu and ask, “Do you come in peace?" And so the horseman did as he was ordered, riding out to meet Jehu and asking whether he had come in peace. We read where Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace?" before telling the horseman to "Fall in behind me." And the horseman did as Jehu asked, an act observed by the watchman who made the report.
So Joram sent a second horseman to Jehu only to see the same results. By now, the watchman, who had been reporting on everything taking place, had a better look at who was advancing and recognized from the driving style that it must be Jehu advancing.
With this, Joram gave the order to “Hitch up my chariot" and rode out with Ahaziah to meet the advancing Jehu and his forces. Scripture tells us that they met “at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite”. Going back to the verses from 1 Kings, Chapter 21, the location should come as no surprise.
Again, the word of the Lord was reigning supreme.
Well…as Joram and Ahaziah reached Jehu, we see Joram ask, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?" to which Jehu replied, “How can there be peace…as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?"
And with these words, we sense Joram knew he was in grave danger for he turned around and fled while “calling out to Ahaziah”, ‘Treachery, Ahaziah!’ “
Joram was correct in his assessment for we read where “Jehu drew his bow and shot (him) between the shoulders” with the arrow piercing his heart and killing him. Joram’s body “slumped down in his chariot” and Jehu called for his body to be thrown upon “the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite”. And so Ahab’s son laid dead in the place where he had killed Naboth…all “in accordance with the word of the Lord”…which again reigned supreme.
Well, Ahaziah had watched what had happened to Joram and so he “fled up the road to Beth Haggan” with Jehu chasing him and urging him to be killed as well. And so, Jehu’s forces also wounded Ahaziah in his chariot but he was able to escape to Megiddo where he then died before being taken “by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in his tomb in the City of David”.
So Joram and Ahaziah, who had married into Ahab’s family, were now dead. Now Jehu turned his attention toward Jezebel.
We read where Jehu finds her in Jezreel. And Jezebel, hearing about what had transpired, “painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window”, watching for Jehu’s arrival.
As “Jehu entered the gate”, Jezebel called down to him mockingly from the window saying, “Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?" You’ll recall Zimri was a former king of Israel who assumed the throne after murdering King Elah. He also killed the entire family of Baasha. (1 Kings 16:8-20) And so Jezebel’s words were meant to insult and incite Jehu.
Well, scripture tells us that Jehu “looked up at the window” before calling out, "Who is on my side? Who?" And when “two or three eunuchs looked down at him”, Jehu ordered them to "Throw her down!"…an order that they obeyed. The eunuchs cast Jezebel out of the window to her death as the horses “trampled her underfoot” and “some of her blood spattered the wall”.
And that’s where Jehu left her as he “went in and ate and drank”. After his meal, Jehu told his servants to "Take care of that cursed woman…and bury her, for she was a king's daughter." But when the servants went outside to bury Jezebel, “they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands.” In other words, there was no Jezebel to bury…just as had been predicted. So the servants went back and told Jehu what had happened to which he said:
"This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh. Jezebel's body will be like refuse on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, 'This is Jezebel.' "
Indeed…the word of the Lord had reigned supreme.
Friends, the Lord is speaking to us loudly in this scripture.
For as we delve into His scriptures daily, we must always remember that His words are truth. The 119th Psalm tells us as much:
“All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.” (Psalm 119:160)
We also must remember that His words are perfect. Solomon, in all his wisest splendor, told us as much:
“Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” (Proverbs 30:5)
Finally, the Lord’s word is our very subsistence…our sustenance…our daily bread and spiritual nutrition. Jesus, His one and only Son, told us as much when He said:
“Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
Friends, God’s word…true, flawless and sustaining…will never fail to feed us…to instruct us…and to lead us. We need only trust in it and obey it unconditionally.
For it has…it is…and it will reign supreme…forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth Gilead against Hazael king of Aram, but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle with Hazael king of Aram.) Jehu said, "If this is the way you feel, don't let anyone slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel." Then he got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see him.
When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu's troops approaching, he called out, "I see some troops coming."
"Get a horseman," Joram ordered. "Send him to meet them and ask, 'Do you come in peace?' "
The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, "This is what the king says: 'Do you come in peace?' "
"What do you have to do with peace?" Jehu replied. "Fall in behind me."
The lookout reported, "The messenger has reached them, but he isn't coming back."
So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, "This is what the king says: 'Do you come in peace?' "
Jehu replied, "What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me."
The lookout reported, "He has reached them, but he isn't coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi — he drives like a madman."
"Hitch up my chariot," Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite.
When Joram saw Jehu he asked, "Have you come in peace, Jehu?"
"How can there be peace," Jehu replied, "as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?"
Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, "Treachery, Ahaziah!"
Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, "Pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were riding together in chariots behind Ahab his father when the Lord made this prophecy about him: 'Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, declares the Lord, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the Lord.' Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot, in accordance with the word of the Lord."
When Ahaziah king of Judah saw what had happened, he fled up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him, shouting, "Kill him too!" They wounded him in his chariot on the way up to Gur near Ibleam, but he escaped to Megiddo and died there. His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in his tomb in the City of David. (In the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.)`
Then Jehu went to Jezreel. When Jezebel heard about it, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window. As Jehu entered the gate, she asked, "Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?"
He looked up at the window and called out, "Who is on my side? Who?" Two or three eunuchs looked down at him. "Throw her down!" Jehu said. So they threw her down, and some of her blood spattered the wall and the horses as they trampled her underfoot.
Jehu went in and ate and drank. "Take care of that cursed woman," he said, "and bury her, for she was a king's daughter."
But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands.
They went back and told Jehu, who said, "This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh. Jezebel's body will be like refuse on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, 'This is Jezebel.' "
2 Kings 9:14-37
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Before we delve into this passage from 2 Kings, Chapter 9, we need to do a review.
Rewind to 1 Kings, Chapter 21, verses 17 through 23. God’s word told us this:
Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood – yes, yours!’”
Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!”
“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. I am going to bring disaster on you. I will consume your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel – slave or free. I will make your house like that of Jeroboam son of Nebat and that of Baasha son of Ahijah, because you have provoked me to anger and have caused Israel to sin.”
“And also concerning Jezebel the Lord says: ‘Dogs will devour Jezebel by the walls of Jezreel.’
Back to today’s passage.
At the end of 2 Kings, Chapter 8, you’ll recall that Joram, king of the northern kingdom of Israel and son of Ahab, was wounded by the Arameans during a battle at Ramoth Gilead. Joram had returned to Jezreel along with Ahaziah, king of the southern kingdom of Judah.
So after Jehu is anointed as Israel’s future king at the beginning of Chapter 9, we find him set out to carry out the Lord’s order as issued through Elisha…to “destroy the house of Ahab” and “avenge the blood” of the Lord’s prophets and servants that had been shed by Ahab’s daughter, Jezebel. Jehu was to ensure that “the whole house of Ahab” would perish to include cutting off “every last male in Israel – slave or free”. And as for Jezebel, the Lord predicted that dogs would “devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel” so that “no one would bury her”.
Or in other words, through Jehu, we will see the word of the Lord reign supreme.
After gaining the respect of his fellow officers (you’ll recall that they all bowed down before him as he proclaimed himself as the anointed king of Israel), we read where Jehu asks for them to keep his going to Jezreel confidential. For if they truly acknowledged him as king, then they would not “slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel."
And so Jehu “got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel” where he would first go after Ahab’s son Joram…the king he would relieve.
Scripture tells us that as Jehu and his troops approached Jezreel, a “lookout standing on the tower” called out, "I see some troops coming."
Joram then sent a horseman to meet Jehu and ask, “Do you come in peace?" And so the horseman did as he was ordered, riding out to meet Jehu and asking whether he had come in peace. We read where Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace?" before telling the horseman to "Fall in behind me." And the horseman did as Jehu asked, an act observed by the watchman who made the report.
So Joram sent a second horseman to Jehu only to see the same results. By now, the watchman, who had been reporting on everything taking place, had a better look at who was advancing and recognized from the driving style that it must be Jehu advancing.
With this, Joram gave the order to “Hitch up my chariot" and rode out with Ahaziah to meet the advancing Jehu and his forces. Scripture tells us that they met “at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite”. Going back to the verses from 1 Kings, Chapter 21, the location should come as no surprise.
Again, the word of the Lord was reigning supreme.
Well…as Joram and Ahaziah reached Jehu, we see Joram ask, “Have you come in peace, Jehu?" to which Jehu replied, “How can there be peace…as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?"
And with these words, we sense Joram knew he was in grave danger for he turned around and fled while “calling out to Ahaziah”, ‘Treachery, Ahaziah!’ “
Joram was correct in his assessment for we read where “Jehu drew his bow and shot (him) between the shoulders” with the arrow piercing his heart and killing him. Joram’s body “slumped down in his chariot” and Jehu called for his body to be thrown upon “the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite”. And so Ahab’s son laid dead in the place where he had killed Naboth…all “in accordance with the word of the Lord”…which again reigned supreme.
Well, Ahaziah had watched what had happened to Joram and so he “fled up the road to Beth Haggan” with Jehu chasing him and urging him to be killed as well. And so, Jehu’s forces also wounded Ahaziah in his chariot but he was able to escape to Megiddo where he then died before being taken “by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his fathers in his tomb in the City of David”.
So Joram and Ahaziah, who had married into Ahab’s family, were now dead. Now Jehu turned his attention toward Jezebel.
We read where Jehu finds her in Jezreel. And Jezebel, hearing about what had transpired, “painted her eyes, arranged her hair and looked out of a window”, watching for Jehu’s arrival.
As “Jehu entered the gate”, Jezebel called down to him mockingly from the window saying, “Have you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?" You’ll recall Zimri was a former king of Israel who assumed the throne after murdering King Elah. He also killed the entire family of Baasha. (1 Kings 16:8-20) And so Jezebel’s words were meant to insult and incite Jehu.
Well, scripture tells us that Jehu “looked up at the window” before calling out, "Who is on my side? Who?" And when “two or three eunuchs looked down at him”, Jehu ordered them to "Throw her down!"…an order that they obeyed. The eunuchs cast Jezebel out of the window to her death as the horses “trampled her underfoot” and “some of her blood spattered the wall”.
And that’s where Jehu left her as he “went in and ate and drank”. After his meal, Jehu told his servants to "Take care of that cursed woman…and bury her, for she was a king's daughter." But when the servants went outside to bury Jezebel, “they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands.” In other words, there was no Jezebel to bury…just as had been predicted. So the servants went back and told Jehu what had happened to which he said:
"This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh. Jezebel's body will be like refuse on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, 'This is Jezebel.' "
Indeed…the word of the Lord had reigned supreme.
Friends, the Lord is speaking to us loudly in this scripture.
For as we delve into His scriptures daily, we must always remember that His words are truth. The 119th Psalm tells us as much:
“All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.” (Psalm 119:160)
We also must remember that His words are perfect. Solomon, in all his wisest splendor, told us as much:
“Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” (Proverbs 30:5)
Finally, the Lord’s word is our very subsistence…our sustenance…our daily bread and spiritual nutrition. Jesus, His one and only Son, told us as much when He said:
“Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
Friends, God’s word…true, flawless and sustaining…will never fail to feed us…to instruct us…and to lead us. We need only trust in it and obey it unconditionally.
For it has…it is…and it will reign supreme…forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
ENTERTAINING A MADMAN?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.' Then open the door and run; don't delay!"
So the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. "I have a message for you, commander," he said.
"For which of us?" asked Jehu.
"For you, commander," he replied.
Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu's head and declared, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anoint you king over the Lord's people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the Lord's servants shed by Jezebel. The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel — slave or free. I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.' "
Then he opened the door and ran.
When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, "Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?"
"You know the man and the sort of things he says," Jehu replied.
"That's not true!" they said. "Tell us."
Jehu said, "Here is what he told me: 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.' "
They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, "Jehu is king!"
2 Kings 9:1-13
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 9 opens, we find the Lord working once again through Elisha to carry out his will. This time, we find Elisha summoning “a man from the company of the prophets”. He tells the selected prophet to:
"Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.' Then open the door and run; don't delay!"
And so the prophet obediently does what Elisha commands, going to Ramoth Gilead where “he found the army officers sitting together”.
The prophet announces, "I have a message for you, commander," and after Jehu the message was for, he learns it was for him.
And so Jehu “got up and went into the house” where “the prophet poured…oil on (his) head” and declared, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anoint you king over the Lord's people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the Lord's servants shed by Jezebel. The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel — slave or free. I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.' "
Then he opened the door and ran.
Wow! Can you imagine how you would have felt at that moment if you were Jehu?
For in a moment and by the Lord’s bidding, he went from army commander to an anointed king of Israel with some very specific tasking which essentially ordained Jehu to be an instrument of the Lord’s judgment against the house of Ahab.
Some might consider that crazy. That is…those who don’t know the awesome works of the Lord and His ability to do anything and everything through His chosen ones.
We sort of get an idea that Jehu’s fellow officers fell into that category. Their disdain for the Lord’s followers was evident as they asked Jehu, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?"
In the eyes of Jehu’s fellow officers, a prophet…a messenger of the Lord…was a lunatic…a religious fanatic. And despite their assumption of the visiting prophet’s mental state, it’s interesting how curious the officers were about what he had to say.
Jehu tried to play off their curiosity saying, “You know the man and the sort of things he says" but the officers wouldn’t let him off so easy. They pressed him to tell them what the prophet had said.
Finally, Jehu relented and said, “Here is what he told me: 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.' "
The words had an instant impact on the officers. Suddenly they weren’t in the presence of someone who had entertained a madman. No…they were in the presence of a king…not just anointed by just anyone…but anointed to rule by the Lord. And so in the presence of royalty, the officers “took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps” before blowing a trumpet and shouting, “Jehu is king!"
I couldn’t help but think about two others who were thought to be crazy by those who were convinced they were entertaining a madman.
First, the apostle Paul as he was in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). Scripture tells us that Paul was “greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols” and so he reasoned daily in the marketplace with those who were there and “in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks”.
In the midst of his reasoning, a “group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him” with some asking, “What is this babbler trying to say?" while still others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods."
Indeed, what Paul was saying was babble because those who were hearing him refused to believe what he was preaching…the message of the good news about Jesus and the resurrection he brings.
Then, of course, there was Jesus. We know that as He preached the good news and the resurrection, He was accused of blasphemy. Only a madman would say the things that He was saying, especially calling out the Jewish authorities for their blatant hypocrisy.
Yes, the Jews believed they were entertaining a madman and so they thought they could get rid of Him by killing Him…nailing Him to a cross and putting Him on display, just in case some other lunatic emerged that might try to pick up where He left off. And they thought they had been successful as He drew His last breath and was placed in a tomb…but as we know Jesus rose from the grave in victory over death.
And in the final translation, the only madmen were the ones who thought they could ever stop Him from carrying out the will of His Father.
Well…as we go on to do as Jesus did and carry out the will of the Father in our own lives…we still face the same scrutiny as He did…as Paul did. For as we preach the good news of the gospel…as we tell of the resurrection and the eternal hope that it brings…people will think of us as being mad as well. It happens each and every day.
And I’m certain that there are people who read what I write every day and think I’m a madman.
You know…that’s OK with me.
For if being a madman means I am a man who is madly in love with my Lord…than please Lord let it be so forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, "Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.' Then open the door and run; don't delay!"
So the young man, the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. "I have a message for you, commander," he said.
"For which of us?" asked Jehu.
"For you, commander," he replied.
Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu's head and declared, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anoint you king over the Lord's people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the Lord's servants shed by Jezebel. The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel — slave or free. I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.' "
Then he opened the door and ran.
When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, "Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?"
"You know the man and the sort of things he says," Jehu replied.
"That's not true!" they said. "Tell us."
Jehu said, "Here is what he told me: 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.' "
They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, "Jehu is king!"
2 Kings 9:1-13
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 9 opens, we find the Lord working once again through Elisha to carry out his will. This time, we find Elisha summoning “a man from the company of the prophets”. He tells the selected prophet to:
"Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.' Then open the door and run; don't delay!"
And so the prophet obediently does what Elisha commands, going to Ramoth Gilead where “he found the army officers sitting together”.
The prophet announces, "I have a message for you, commander," and after Jehu the message was for, he learns it was for him.
And so Jehu “got up and went into the house” where “the prophet poured…oil on (his) head” and declared, "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'I anoint you king over the Lord's people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the Lord's servants shed by Jezebel. The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel — slave or free. I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her.' "
Then he opened the door and ran.
Wow! Can you imagine how you would have felt at that moment if you were Jehu?
For in a moment and by the Lord’s bidding, he went from army commander to an anointed king of Israel with some very specific tasking which essentially ordained Jehu to be an instrument of the Lord’s judgment against the house of Ahab.
Some might consider that crazy. That is…those who don’t know the awesome works of the Lord and His ability to do anything and everything through His chosen ones.
We sort of get an idea that Jehu’s fellow officers fell into that category. Their disdain for the Lord’s followers was evident as they asked Jehu, “Is everything all right? Why did this madman come to you?"
In the eyes of Jehu’s fellow officers, a prophet…a messenger of the Lord…was a lunatic…a religious fanatic. And despite their assumption of the visiting prophet’s mental state, it’s interesting how curious the officers were about what he had to say.
Jehu tried to play off their curiosity saying, “You know the man and the sort of things he says" but the officers wouldn’t let him off so easy. They pressed him to tell them what the prophet had said.
Finally, Jehu relented and said, “Here is what he told me: 'This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.' "
The words had an instant impact on the officers. Suddenly they weren’t in the presence of someone who had entertained a madman. No…they were in the presence of a king…not just anointed by just anyone…but anointed to rule by the Lord. And so in the presence of royalty, the officers “took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps” before blowing a trumpet and shouting, “Jehu is king!"
I couldn’t help but think about two others who were thought to be crazy by those who were convinced they were entertaining a madman.
First, the apostle Paul as he was in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). Scripture tells us that Paul was “greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols” and so he reasoned daily in the marketplace with those who were there and “in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks”.
In the midst of his reasoning, a “group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him” with some asking, “What is this babbler trying to say?" while still others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods."
Indeed, what Paul was saying was babble because those who were hearing him refused to believe what he was preaching…the message of the good news about Jesus and the resurrection he brings.
Then, of course, there was Jesus. We know that as He preached the good news and the resurrection, He was accused of blasphemy. Only a madman would say the things that He was saying, especially calling out the Jewish authorities for their blatant hypocrisy.
Yes, the Jews believed they were entertaining a madman and so they thought they could get rid of Him by killing Him…nailing Him to a cross and putting Him on display, just in case some other lunatic emerged that might try to pick up where He left off. And they thought they had been successful as He drew His last breath and was placed in a tomb…but as we know Jesus rose from the grave in victory over death.
And in the final translation, the only madmen were the ones who thought they could ever stop Him from carrying out the will of His Father.
Well…as we go on to do as Jesus did and carry out the will of the Father in our own lives…we still face the same scrutiny as He did…as Paul did. For as we preach the good news of the gospel…as we tell of the resurrection and the eternal hope that it brings…people will think of us as being mad as well. It happens each and every day.
And I’m certain that there are people who read what I write every day and think I’m a madman.
You know…that’s OK with me.
For if being a madman means I am a man who is madly in love with my Lord…than please Lord let it be so forever.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Monday, October 19, 2009
CHOOSING THE WRONG WAY
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
In the fifth year of Joram, son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.
He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.
In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. So Jehoram went to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night; his army, however, fled back home. To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time.
As for the other events of Jehoram's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? Jehoram rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.
In the twelfth year of Joram, son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother's name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab's family.
Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram; so King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth in his battle with Hazael king of Aram.
Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because he had been wounded.
2 Kings 8:16-29
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Why do children who have good parents decide to go the wrong way?
It’s a question that so many ask, not only today, but I’m sure in biblical days as well.
It seems that no matter how hard parents try to model proper living and teach their children the right way to live, there are children who are bound and determined to do just the opposite…rebelling against authority…and snubbing their noses at reason.
Well, in our scripture today we see such a case as we look at two kings who succeeded Jehoshaphat as king of Judah.
You’ll recall these words that were written about Jehoshaphat at the end of 1 Kings, Chapter 22:
“In everything, he walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”
So what was said about Asa, Jehoshaphat’s father?
1 Kings, Chapter 15 tells us, he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done”. In fact, when you go back and look at what Asa did as king, you’ll see that he didn’t follow in the evil ways of his father Abijah or Abijah’s father Rehoboam. Instead, Asa decided to not continue going down the wrong road but instead walk a new path…one that was righteous and pleasing to God.
Now, as we see in 2 Kings, Chapter 8, the streak of good and obedient rule came to an end as “Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah”. For we read where Jehoram decided to walk “in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab”. You’ll recall that Ahab had introduced Baal worship to Israel, influencing his people to sin and come into disfavor with God. Now, Jehoram was doing the same.
Scripture tells us that “he did evil in the eyes of the Lord” and raised God to anger against Judah. But despite His anger, God honored the covenant He had made with David and thus “was not willing to destroy Judah”. You’ll recall that in the covenant God had “promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever”.
Still trouble came for Jehoram and Judah. We read where “Edom rebelled…and set up its own king”, leading Jehoram to go to “Zair with all his chariots”. When he did, we read where the Edomites “surrounded him and his chariot commanders” but Jehoram and his army were able to break “through by night” and flee back home.
Edom would remain in “rebellion against Judah” but we’ll see that things will change as we get deeper into 2 Kings.
Well, Jehoram’s reign soon ended and he “rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David”.
We read where his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
So would things change again?
Would Ahaziah realize the wrongs of his father and choose to change course?
Unfortunately, he didn’t.
For scripture tells us that Ahaziah, who only reigned for one year, decided to walk “in the ways of the house of Ahab” and do “evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done”. He joined forces with Joram, king of Israel, “to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead”. And in the ensuing battle, the “Arameans wounded Joram” causing the king of Israel to return to “Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth”. And Joram was joined by Ahaziah in Jezreel as he recovered.
So will this legacy of evil continue when future kings take the throne?
Stay tuned.
But I think the question for each of us today is...How well are we traveling down the path set forth by our Father of fathers…our King of kings…our Lord of lords?
For Jesus said:
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14
Are you on the narrow road of righteousness, traveling toward the small gate of life eternal that only a few will find? Or in other words, are you walking the road that Christ walked…the road that he wants to walk along with you each and every day?
Or are you choosing to walk the broad road toward that wide gate of destruction…the road that Satan is more than willing to walk with you on?
Only you know the answer.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
In the fifth year of Joram, son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.
He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever.
In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. So Jehoram went to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night; his army, however, fled back home. To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time.
As for the other events of Jehoram's reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? Jehoram rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.
In the twelfth year of Joram, son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother's name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. He walked in the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab's family.
Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram; so King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth in his battle with Hazael king of Aram.
Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because he had been wounded.
2 Kings 8:16-29
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Why do children who have good parents decide to go the wrong way?
It’s a question that so many ask, not only today, but I’m sure in biblical days as well.
It seems that no matter how hard parents try to model proper living and teach their children the right way to live, there are children who are bound and determined to do just the opposite…rebelling against authority…and snubbing their noses at reason.
Well, in our scripture today we see such a case as we look at two kings who succeeded Jehoshaphat as king of Judah.
You’ll recall these words that were written about Jehoshaphat at the end of 1 Kings, Chapter 22:
“In everything, he walked in the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.”
So what was said about Asa, Jehoshaphat’s father?
1 Kings, Chapter 15 tells us, he “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done”. In fact, when you go back and look at what Asa did as king, you’ll see that he didn’t follow in the evil ways of his father Abijah or Abijah’s father Rehoboam. Instead, Asa decided to not continue going down the wrong road but instead walk a new path…one that was righteous and pleasing to God.
Now, as we see in 2 Kings, Chapter 8, the streak of good and obedient rule came to an end as “Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah”. For we read where Jehoram decided to walk “in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab”. You’ll recall that Ahab had introduced Baal worship to Israel, influencing his people to sin and come into disfavor with God. Now, Jehoram was doing the same.
Scripture tells us that “he did evil in the eyes of the Lord” and raised God to anger against Judah. But despite His anger, God honored the covenant He had made with David and thus “was not willing to destroy Judah”. You’ll recall that in the covenant God had “promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever”.
Still trouble came for Jehoram and Judah. We read where “Edom rebelled…and set up its own king”, leading Jehoram to go to “Zair with all his chariots”. When he did, we read where the Edomites “surrounded him and his chariot commanders” but Jehoram and his army were able to break “through by night” and flee back home.
Edom would remain in “rebellion against Judah” but we’ll see that things will change as we get deeper into 2 Kings.
Well, Jehoram’s reign soon ended and he “rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the City of David”.
We read where his son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
So would things change again?
Would Ahaziah realize the wrongs of his father and choose to change course?
Unfortunately, he didn’t.
For scripture tells us that Ahaziah, who only reigned for one year, decided to walk “in the ways of the house of Ahab” and do “evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done”. He joined forces with Joram, king of Israel, “to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead”. And in the ensuing battle, the “Arameans wounded Joram” causing the king of Israel to return to “Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth”. And Joram was joined by Ahaziah in Jezreel as he recovered.
So will this legacy of evil continue when future kings take the throne?
Stay tuned.
But I think the question for each of us today is...How well are we traveling down the path set forth by our Father of fathers…our King of kings…our Lord of lords?
For Jesus said:
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. Matthew 7:13-14
Are you on the narrow road of righteousness, traveling toward the small gate of life eternal that only a few will find? Or in other words, are you walking the road that Christ walked…the road that he wants to walk along with you each and every day?
Or are you choosing to walk the broad road toward that wide gate of destruction…the road that Satan is more than willing to walk with you on?
Only you know the answer.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Sunday, October 18, 2009
THE SADNESS OF SIN
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, "The man of God has come all the way up here," he said to Hazael, "Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult the LORD through him; ask him, 'Will I recover from this illness?' "
Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, "Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, 'Will I recover from this illness?' "
Elisha answered, "Go and say to him, 'You will certainly recover'; but the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die." He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael felt ashamed. Then the man of God began to weep.
"Why is my lord weeping?" asked Hazael.
"Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites," he answered. "You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women."
Hazael said, "How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?"
"The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram," answered Elisha.
Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. When Ben-Hadad asked, "What did Elisha say to you?" Hazael replied, "He told me that you would certainly recover."
But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king's face, so that he died. Then Hazael succeeded him as king.
2 Kings 8:7-15
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
How does sin effect you?
Does it bring you to guilt?
Does it bring you to anger?
Does it bring you to sadness?
Or have you become to numb to sin with it all around you that it doesn’t effect you at all?
The matter of sin and its effect on a person is center stage in today’s scripture passage.
For as the passage opens, we find Elisha going to Damascus and the king of Aram ill. The king is told that Elisha was in his vicinity and, knowing of Elisha’s prophetic power and connection to God, he asks his second in command Hazael to “Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult the Lord through him; ask him, 'Will I recover from this illness?' "
And so Hazael did as the king requested. He “went to meet Elisha” and took “forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus” to present as a gift. As Hazael finds Elisha, he goes to him and says, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, 'Will I recover from this illness?' "
Note the words of Hazael. By Ben-Hadad saying through Hazael that he was Elisha’s son, he was acknowledging that the man of God was more powerful that he. Or in other words, the king of Aram was submissive to the King of Kings.
As Elisha received the question, we read his reply. For he tells Hazael, "Go and say to him, 'You will certainly recover'; but the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die." This on the surface doesn’t seem unusual. We have read where Elisha had made prophecies before. But something was different this time around.
For after Elisha tells Hazael what to tell the king of Aram, he stares “at him with a fixed gaze” and he did so “until Hazael felt ashamed”. Then something else even more bizarre happened.
Because Elisha…”the man of God”…began to weep.
Why was he weeping? This is what Hazael asked as well, although one has to think that he has had thoughts and motivation to do terrible things…thoughts and motivation that Elisha could now see as he peered into Hazael’s soul.
And so Elisha explains his sadness.
For as he looked inside Hazael, he saw that he would soon do “harm…to the Israelites, setting “fire to their fortified places”, killing “their young men with the sword”, dashing “their little children to the ground”, and ripping “open their pregnant women”." Indeed, terrible things were to come at the hand of Hazael…terrible things done out of his willingness to surrender to sin.
Hazael wonders how he could ever do the things that Elisha predicted, especially given his current position. But Elisha tells him that the Lord revealed he would become the king of Aram.
And so Hazael returns to Ben-Hadad and when asked, "What did Elisha say to you?" he replied, "He told me that you would certainly recover." Note that Hazael didn’t tell the king about the second part of Elisha’s prophecy…that he would in fact die. This is because Hazael knew inside that he had a plan to assume the throne. All he had to do was kill Ben-Hadad himself and it would appear that the king died from his illness.
So the next day, Hazael “took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king's face”, suffocating him. The king’s death opened the way for Hazael to assume the throne just as the lord had predicted.
Would the rest of Elisha’s prophecy come true? Soon we will see where it tragically does.
Elisha’s weeping would be validated as sin would soon consume Hazael and lead him to do even more horrific acts than killing Ben-Hadad.
Indeed, sin is saddening.
Saddening when we see others fall into it.
Saddening when we’re victims of it.
Saddening when we’re the perpetrators of it.
It’s a matter we need to be in constant prayer over. For the only way to avoid the sadness, is for each and every person to embrace God will, way and word…submitting to His righteousness and putting our sinful nature in remission.
Lord, please help us all, I pray.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, "The man of God has come all the way up here," he said to Hazael, "Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult the LORD through him; ask him, 'Will I recover from this illness?' "
Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, "Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, 'Will I recover from this illness?' "
Elisha answered, "Go and say to him, 'You will certainly recover'; but the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die." He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael felt ashamed. Then the man of God began to weep.
"Why is my lord weeping?" asked Hazael.
"Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites," he answered. "You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women."
Hazael said, "How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat?"
"The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram," answered Elisha.
Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. When Ben-Hadad asked, "What did Elisha say to you?" Hazael replied, "He told me that you would certainly recover."
But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king's face, so that he died. Then Hazael succeeded him as king.
2 Kings 8:7-15
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
How does sin effect you?
Does it bring you to guilt?
Does it bring you to anger?
Does it bring you to sadness?
Or have you become to numb to sin with it all around you that it doesn’t effect you at all?
The matter of sin and its effect on a person is center stage in today’s scripture passage.
For as the passage opens, we find Elisha going to Damascus and the king of Aram ill. The king is told that Elisha was in his vicinity and, knowing of Elisha’s prophetic power and connection to God, he asks his second in command Hazael to “Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult the Lord through him; ask him, 'Will I recover from this illness?' "
And so Hazael did as the king requested. He “went to meet Elisha” and took “forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus” to present as a gift. As Hazael finds Elisha, he goes to him and says, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, 'Will I recover from this illness?' "
Note the words of Hazael. By Ben-Hadad saying through Hazael that he was Elisha’s son, he was acknowledging that the man of God was more powerful that he. Or in other words, the king of Aram was submissive to the King of Kings.
As Elisha received the question, we read his reply. For he tells Hazael, "Go and say to him, 'You will certainly recover'; but the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die." This on the surface doesn’t seem unusual. We have read where Elisha had made prophecies before. But something was different this time around.
For after Elisha tells Hazael what to tell the king of Aram, he stares “at him with a fixed gaze” and he did so “until Hazael felt ashamed”. Then something else even more bizarre happened.
Because Elisha…”the man of God”…began to weep.
Why was he weeping? This is what Hazael asked as well, although one has to think that he has had thoughts and motivation to do terrible things…thoughts and motivation that Elisha could now see as he peered into Hazael’s soul.
And so Elisha explains his sadness.
For as he looked inside Hazael, he saw that he would soon do “harm…to the Israelites, setting “fire to their fortified places”, killing “their young men with the sword”, dashing “their little children to the ground”, and ripping “open their pregnant women”." Indeed, terrible things were to come at the hand of Hazael…terrible things done out of his willingness to surrender to sin.
Hazael wonders how he could ever do the things that Elisha predicted, especially given his current position. But Elisha tells him that the Lord revealed he would become the king of Aram.
And so Hazael returns to Ben-Hadad and when asked, "What did Elisha say to you?" he replied, "He told me that you would certainly recover." Note that Hazael didn’t tell the king about the second part of Elisha’s prophecy…that he would in fact die. This is because Hazael knew inside that he had a plan to assume the throne. All he had to do was kill Ben-Hadad himself and it would appear that the king died from his illness.
So the next day, Hazael “took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king's face”, suffocating him. The king’s death opened the way for Hazael to assume the throne just as the lord had predicted.
Would the rest of Elisha’s prophecy come true? Soon we will see where it tragically does.
Elisha’s weeping would be validated as sin would soon consume Hazael and lead him to do even more horrific acts than killing Ben-Hadad.
Indeed, sin is saddening.
Saddening when we see others fall into it.
Saddening when we’re victims of it.
Saddening when we’re the perpetrators of it.
It’s a matter we need to be in constant prayer over. For the only way to avoid the sadness, is for each and every person to embrace God will, way and word…submitting to His righteousness and putting our sinful nature in remission.
Lord, please help us all, I pray.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Saturday, October 17, 2009
THE REWARDS OF OBEDIENCE
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, "Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years." The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.
At the end of the seven years, she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to the king to beg for her house and land. The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, "Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done." Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to beg the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, "This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life." The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.
Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, "Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now."
2 Kings 8:1-6
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
How much does the Lord favor and reward obedience?
Well, we need only go back to the first 19 chapters of Genesis to answer the question by looking at what happened when God’s people decided to be disobedient.
When Adam and Eve decided to not follow the Lord’s orders and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God placed specific consequences on each of them. (Genesis 3)
When God’s people decided that living in sin was more acceptable than seeking righteousness, God decided to wipe out everything with the execption of Noah, his family members and the animals God prescribed to be spared. (Genesis 7)
When God’s people decided to build a city and tall tower because of their own will and not God’s, He confused their language so they couldn’t understand each other and scattered the people. The place was called Babel and spawned a similar word in our language today…babble. (Genesis 11)
And when the people of Sodom and Gomorrah decided that it was acceptable to openly sin in the eyes of the Lord, burning sulfer was sent and both cities were destroyed. (Genesis 19)
Go on through the Old Testament and you’ll see over and over how God holds His people accountable when they decide to disobey him.
Truly, the Lord expects that we follow His word, will and way unconditionally.
Fast forward to our passage in 2 Kings.
You may recall that the Lord had resurrected the son of a Shunammite woman through His prophet Elisha. (2 Kings 4)
As Chapter 8 opens, we see where Elisha warned the woman of the coming famine saying, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years." And the woman obeyed the word from Elisha, taking her family and staying in “land of the Philistines” for seven years.
Once the seven years had ended and the famine was over, we read where the woman “came back from the land of the Philistines and went to the king to beg for her house and land”. It’s apparent that while the woman was away, someone decided to take her home and land for themselves.
Well, the king consults Elisha’s servant Gehazi and asks him, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done." And so Gehazi told the king about how Elisha had brought the Shunammite woman’s son back to life…the same woman who was now asking the king to return her house and property to her. The woman then told the king about what had happened after he asked her.
So what would the king’s decision be? Would the woman get her home and property back?
Well, we know that God favors the obedient. The woman in faith went to Elisha when her son dies, knowing that only He, with the power of God working through him, could help her and possibly save her son. He faith was exceptional and resulted in her son’s lfe being restored. She then listened to Elisha when he told her to go to the land of the Philistines to escape the coming famine. She obviously had faith in what Elisha had to say and that things would be fine when she returned.
Well, as we can see in our scriptures, the woman did receive blessings for her obedience. For the king “assigned an official to her case” and ordered him to "Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now." Not only was the woman getting back her property but income as well. Indeed, she had been rewarded.
Question: Are you being obedient in your life? When the Lord tells you to do something, do you do so without question…obeying His commands?
It’s obvious that the Lord favors those who do what He expects. It’s also obvious that He disciplines those who don’t.
Which way will you choose?
The Lord is watching to find out.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, "Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years." The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.
At the end of the seven years, she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to the king to beg for her house and land. The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, "Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done." Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to beg the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, "This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life." The king asked the woman about it, and she told him.
Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, "Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now."
2 Kings 8:1-6
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
How much does the Lord favor and reward obedience?
Well, we need only go back to the first 19 chapters of Genesis to answer the question by looking at what happened when God’s people decided to be disobedient.
When Adam and Eve decided to not follow the Lord’s orders and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, God placed specific consequences on each of them. (Genesis 3)
When God’s people decided that living in sin was more acceptable than seeking righteousness, God decided to wipe out everything with the execption of Noah, his family members and the animals God prescribed to be spared. (Genesis 7)
When God’s people decided to build a city and tall tower because of their own will and not God’s, He confused their language so they couldn’t understand each other and scattered the people. The place was called Babel and spawned a similar word in our language today…babble. (Genesis 11)
And when the people of Sodom and Gomorrah decided that it was acceptable to openly sin in the eyes of the Lord, burning sulfer was sent and both cities were destroyed. (Genesis 19)
Go on through the Old Testament and you’ll see over and over how God holds His people accountable when they decide to disobey him.
Truly, the Lord expects that we follow His word, will and way unconditionally.
Fast forward to our passage in 2 Kings.
You may recall that the Lord had resurrected the son of a Shunammite woman through His prophet Elisha. (2 Kings 4)
As Chapter 8 opens, we see where Elisha warned the woman of the coming famine saying, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years." And the woman obeyed the word from Elisha, taking her family and staying in “land of the Philistines” for seven years.
Once the seven years had ended and the famine was over, we read where the woman “came back from the land of the Philistines and went to the king to beg for her house and land”. It’s apparent that while the woman was away, someone decided to take her home and land for themselves.
Well, the king consults Elisha’s servant Gehazi and asks him, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done." And so Gehazi told the king about how Elisha had brought the Shunammite woman’s son back to life…the same woman who was now asking the king to return her house and property to her. The woman then told the king about what had happened after he asked her.
So what would the king’s decision be? Would the woman get her home and property back?
Well, we know that God favors the obedient. The woman in faith went to Elisha when her son dies, knowing that only He, with the power of God working through him, could help her and possibly save her son. He faith was exceptional and resulted in her son’s lfe being restored. She then listened to Elisha when he told her to go to the land of the Philistines to escape the coming famine. She obviously had faith in what Elisha had to say and that things would be fine when she returned.
Well, as we can see in our scriptures, the woman did receive blessings for her obedience. For the king “assigned an official to her case” and ordered him to "Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now." Not only was the woman getting back her property but income as well. Indeed, she had been rewarded.
Question: Are you being obedient in your life? When the Lord tells you to do something, do you do so without question…obeying His commands?
It’s obvious that the Lord favors those who do what He expects. It’s also obvious that He disciplines those who don’t.
Which way will you choose?
The Lord is watching to find out.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Thursday, October 15, 2009
ARE YOU A SKEPTIC?
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, "We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there — not a sound of anyone — only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were." The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
The king got up in the night and said to his officers, "I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, 'They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.' "
One of his officers answered, "Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here — yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened."
So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, "Go and find out what has happened." They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king. Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, as the Lord had said.
Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. It happened as the man of God had said to the king: "About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
The officer had said to the man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" The man of God had replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!" And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.
2 Kings 7:10-20
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 7 of 2 Kings ends, we find yet again another of Elisha’s prophecies comes true. And since Elisha is referred to as a man of God, we know and understand that when he speaks, he speaks under the authority of the Lord.
Now you would think with Elisha’s track record and all that the Lord has done in and through him, that when he spoke, people would listen. But even as we see today, no matter how much the Lord has done to show us He is capable of doing any and all things…there are always those who tend to doubt whether He will deliver…whether He will carry out what He said He would do…whether He will fulfill His word.
These people are the skeptics.
In today’s scripture, we’ll see two people exercising their skepticism. For one, nothing bad happens…at least not for all. For the other, we will see how Elisha’s prophecy comes true and how it costs the skeptic his life.
Let’s set the scene first.
The lepers who had left the city gate to see if the Arameans might take them in and spare them, went to the Aramean camp and surprisingly found it vacated. They begin to loot the camp and hide away valuables for themselves when their conscience got the best of them and they were convicted to return to the city with the news about what they had seen.
So scripture tells us the “went and called out to the city gatekeepers” saying, “We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there — not a sound of anyone — only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were." And the gatekeepers, in turn, “shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace”.
Well, when the news got to King Joram, he didn’t even start to consider that what had happened might have been ordained by God. No, instead he came up with an assumption that the vacated camp was just a trap…meant to lure the hungry Israelites out of the city so they could be taken prisoner and allow the Arameans to take over the city.
So one of Joram’s officers proposed a plan. They would send out an advance party to see what might happen when they went to the Aramean camp. The thought was that losing an advance party was better than seeing the city population and the city taken captive. And so they “selected two chariots with their horses and the king sent them after the Aramean army”, commanding them to "Go and find out what has happened."
Well, the advance party did as King Joram ordered and followed the Aramean trail “as far as the Jordan”. Along the way, they found the “whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight”. It was obvious that the Arameans had indeed fled and left everything behind and the “messengers returned” and made the report to the king.
And with it known to be safe, “the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans”, leading to financial improvement such as “a seah of flour sold for a shekel” and “two seahs of barley sold for a shekel”…all “as the Lord had said” would happen.
Now, we know that the Lord spoke through Elisha to predict that these matters would happen. And we know he did so in the presence of the king and one of his officers.
And yet, the king decided to rely on his own judgment and confirmation. God’s word spoken through His prophet wasn’t good enough.
Friends, are you ever like the king?
Do you, despite knowing of God’s promises and perfect power to fulfill those promises, still refuse to trust Him and want to find out first hand for yourself before you believe?
If so, then you are a skeptic and as we’re about to find out with the second part of this scripture, being a skeptic can have some very dire consequences.
For scripture next reintroduces us to the officer who was with Joram when Elisha prophesized that the famine was soon coming to an end. You’ll recall that when Elisha said, "About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria" that the king’s officer replied, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?"
In other words, the officer couldn’t fathom that the Lord, even if He performed one of the most miraculous acts imaginable and opened the floodgates of heaven, would be able to pull Israel out of their famine.
Joram’s officer, you see, was a skeptic and how often are we like him? We find ourselves in the midst of difficult circumstances and we start to think that God can’t help us, even though we’re quick to attest that God is powerful enough to do anything
Well, as we look back at the passage, we remember that Elisha had told the skeptical officer that he would see the prophecy with his own eyes but then would not be able to eat any of the benefits gained. Only the faithful could do that…and Joram’s officer was far from faithful…a truth that would cost him his life.
For we read where Joram’s officer was placed “in charge of the gate” and while he was there, he was “trampled…in the gateway by the people and died. Elisha’s prophecy had come true. The officer wouldn’t have a chance to eat any of the flour or barley as it was now available.
Friends, this passage is meant to reach down into the deepest recesses of our souls to demonstrate what can happen when we decide to lose out faith and trust in the Lord. True believers have no reason to doubt that God can’t deliver on anything He said He would deliver on.
That’s why I have a hard time believing that any true believer could also be a skeptic when it comes to the Lord…to His word and to His way.
What’s your position today?
Believer or skeptic?
If I were you, I would choose to believe.
And if Joram’s officer were given a second chance and could speak to you, he would tell you to do the same.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, "We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there — not a sound of anyone — only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were." The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.
The king got up in the night and said to his officers, "I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, 'They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.' "
One of his officers answered, "Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here — yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened."
So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, "Go and find out what has happened." They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king. Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, as the Lord had said.
Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. It happened as the man of God had said to the king: "About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
The officer had said to the man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" The man of God had replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!" And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.
2 Kings 7:10-20
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As Chapter 7 of 2 Kings ends, we find yet again another of Elisha’s prophecies comes true. And since Elisha is referred to as a man of God, we know and understand that when he speaks, he speaks under the authority of the Lord.
Now you would think with Elisha’s track record and all that the Lord has done in and through him, that when he spoke, people would listen. But even as we see today, no matter how much the Lord has done to show us He is capable of doing any and all things…there are always those who tend to doubt whether He will deliver…whether He will carry out what He said He would do…whether He will fulfill His word.
These people are the skeptics.
In today’s scripture, we’ll see two people exercising their skepticism. For one, nothing bad happens…at least not for all. For the other, we will see how Elisha’s prophecy comes true and how it costs the skeptic his life.
Let’s set the scene first.
The lepers who had left the city gate to see if the Arameans might take them in and spare them, went to the Aramean camp and surprisingly found it vacated. They begin to loot the camp and hide away valuables for themselves when their conscience got the best of them and they were convicted to return to the city with the news about what they had seen.
So scripture tells us the “went and called out to the city gatekeepers” saying, “We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there — not a sound of anyone — only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were." And the gatekeepers, in turn, “shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace”.
Well, when the news got to King Joram, he didn’t even start to consider that what had happened might have been ordained by God. No, instead he came up with an assumption that the vacated camp was just a trap…meant to lure the hungry Israelites out of the city so they could be taken prisoner and allow the Arameans to take over the city.
So one of Joram’s officers proposed a plan. They would send out an advance party to see what might happen when they went to the Aramean camp. The thought was that losing an advance party was better than seeing the city population and the city taken captive. And so they “selected two chariots with their horses and the king sent them after the Aramean army”, commanding them to "Go and find out what has happened."
Well, the advance party did as King Joram ordered and followed the Aramean trail “as far as the Jordan”. Along the way, they found the “whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight”. It was obvious that the Arameans had indeed fled and left everything behind and the “messengers returned” and made the report to the king.
And with it known to be safe, “the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans”, leading to financial improvement such as “a seah of flour sold for a shekel” and “two seahs of barley sold for a shekel”…all “as the Lord had said” would happen.
Now, we know that the Lord spoke through Elisha to predict that these matters would happen. And we know he did so in the presence of the king and one of his officers.
And yet, the king decided to rely on his own judgment and confirmation. God’s word spoken through His prophet wasn’t good enough.
Friends, are you ever like the king?
Do you, despite knowing of God’s promises and perfect power to fulfill those promises, still refuse to trust Him and want to find out first hand for yourself before you believe?
If so, then you are a skeptic and as we’re about to find out with the second part of this scripture, being a skeptic can have some very dire consequences.
For scripture next reintroduces us to the officer who was with Joram when Elisha prophesized that the famine was soon coming to an end. You’ll recall that when Elisha said, "About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria" that the king’s officer replied, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?"
In other words, the officer couldn’t fathom that the Lord, even if He performed one of the most miraculous acts imaginable and opened the floodgates of heaven, would be able to pull Israel out of their famine.
Joram’s officer, you see, was a skeptic and how often are we like him? We find ourselves in the midst of difficult circumstances and we start to think that God can’t help us, even though we’re quick to attest that God is powerful enough to do anything
Well, as we look back at the passage, we remember that Elisha had told the skeptical officer that he would see the prophecy with his own eyes but then would not be able to eat any of the benefits gained. Only the faithful could do that…and Joram’s officer was far from faithful…a truth that would cost him his life.
For we read where Joram’s officer was placed “in charge of the gate” and while he was there, he was “trampled…in the gateway by the people and died. Elisha’s prophecy had come true. The officer wouldn’t have a chance to eat any of the flour or barley as it was now available.
Friends, this passage is meant to reach down into the deepest recesses of our souls to demonstrate what can happen when we decide to lose out faith and trust in the Lord. True believers have no reason to doubt that God can’t deliver on anything He said He would deliver on.
That’s why I have a hard time believing that any true believer could also be a skeptic when it comes to the Lord…to His word and to His way.
What’s your position today?
Believer or skeptic?
If I were you, I would choose to believe.
And if Joram’s officer were given a second chance and could speak to you, he would tell you to do the same.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE YOUR GUIDE
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate.
They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? If we say, 'We'll go into the city' - the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."
At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!"
So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.
Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace."
2 Kings 7:3-9
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
One of the greatest marvels installed in every man and woman that God creates is a conscience. You know what I’m talking about. That inherent, innate sense we all have when we’re doing something right or wrong.
When I was younger, this matter of conscience was portrayed in cartoons by the appearance of a little white angel and a little red devil on opposite shoulders of a person who had to make a decision whether to do good or bad.
Of course, the little white angel would try and convince the person to do good…to make the right choice. But then the little red devil would work equally hard if not harder to tempt the person into doing what was bad. We look at this as cartoonish but, in reality, it’s closer to the truth than we maybe want to admit.
Because rest assured that when we are faced with doing good or bad in life, there are two competing factors at work…the Holy Spirit and Satan. The Holy Spirit…the Mighty Counselor…will always try and steer us the right way…to what is good. Conversely, Satan is also active, ever seeking to convince us to not follow the way of the Spirit and to do wrong…to act badly even when we know it isn’t what the Lord expects.
Indeed, we are on the battlefield every day and under siege from sin and temptation. Consider these words from Paul as he wrote to the Romans:
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. Romans 7:15-23
Can you relate to Paul?
I know I can.
So how should we respond when faced with our conscience?
Let’s look at today’s scripture.
For as Samaria has been under siege, we are introduced to “four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate”. Lepers were considered unclean and not allowed to live in the community so they were forced to be on the fringe…the entrance to the city gate in this case.
The lepers were in a bit of a dilemma for they were hungry and in need of something to eat. And so they weighed their options and didn’t see any real good solution…for every possibility led to them dying. But since there was a slight chance that the Arameans might spare them, the lepers decided to go to the camp of the Arameans vice remain at the gate or enter the city where famine had struck.
So “at dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans” and “when they reached the edge of the camp”, surprisingly “not a man was there”. Scripture tells us that it was because “the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army” which they mistook as Hittite and Egyptian forces hired by the king of Israel to attack them. And so they “fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys”, running for their lives.
This is why the lepers found the camp vacated. And so the men “entered one of the tents”, eating and drinking before they “carried away silver, gold and clothes” which they hid. Then they returned to the camp, “entered another tent”, and took more things from it which they also hid.
You could say that life was getting pretty good for the lepers. They had been cast out because of society because of their affliction…treated without dignity and made to feel unwanted. But now they had come upon riches in the vacant Aramean tents…riches that may have made them feel for once, “Who’s on top now?”
But then something happened.
For the lepers said to one another, “We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace."
And this is exactly what they did.
So what happened?
The lepers allowed their conscience to be their guide. They listened to the guidance of the Holy Spirit which obviously included a warning of punishment if they chose to disobey…and the lepers couldn’t deal with any more trouble. Life was difficult enough already.
And although the lepers were still afflicted with their leprosy, they were as clean that day as any non-afflicted person. All because they chose to follow their conscience and do the right thing.
So how about you?
How well do you deal with decisions that place you in a situation to choose right or wrong?
Do you delight in doing the Lord’s will, thus choosing a good and righteous way?
Or do you surrender to your own selfish desires, allowing sin to make you a prisoner to wrong?
Our scriptures are speaking loudly to us if we would just take the time to listen.
They are saying…do what the lepers did…and let your conscience be your guide.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate.
They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? If we say, 'We'll go into the city' - the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."
At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!"
So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.
The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.
Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace."
2 Kings 7:3-9
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
One of the greatest marvels installed in every man and woman that God creates is a conscience. You know what I’m talking about. That inherent, innate sense we all have when we’re doing something right or wrong.
When I was younger, this matter of conscience was portrayed in cartoons by the appearance of a little white angel and a little red devil on opposite shoulders of a person who had to make a decision whether to do good or bad.
Of course, the little white angel would try and convince the person to do good…to make the right choice. But then the little red devil would work equally hard if not harder to tempt the person into doing what was bad. We look at this as cartoonish but, in reality, it’s closer to the truth than we maybe want to admit.
Because rest assured that when we are faced with doing good or bad in life, there are two competing factors at work…the Holy Spirit and Satan. The Holy Spirit…the Mighty Counselor…will always try and steer us the right way…to what is good. Conversely, Satan is also active, ever seeking to convince us to not follow the way of the Spirit and to do wrong…to act badly even when we know it isn’t what the Lord expects.
Indeed, we are on the battlefield every day and under siege from sin and temptation. Consider these words from Paul as he wrote to the Romans:
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do — this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. Romans 7:15-23
Can you relate to Paul?
I know I can.
So how should we respond when faced with our conscience?
Let’s look at today’s scripture.
For as Samaria has been under siege, we are introduced to “four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate”. Lepers were considered unclean and not allowed to live in the community so they were forced to be on the fringe…the entrance to the city gate in this case.
The lepers were in a bit of a dilemma for they were hungry and in need of something to eat. And so they weighed their options and didn’t see any real good solution…for every possibility led to them dying. But since there was a slight chance that the Arameans might spare them, the lepers decided to go to the camp of the Arameans vice remain at the gate or enter the city where famine had struck.
So “at dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans” and “when they reached the edge of the camp”, surprisingly “not a man was there”. Scripture tells us that it was because “the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army” which they mistook as Hittite and Egyptian forces hired by the king of Israel to attack them. And so they “fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys”, running for their lives.
This is why the lepers found the camp vacated. And so the men “entered one of the tents”, eating and drinking before they “carried away silver, gold and clothes” which they hid. Then they returned to the camp, “entered another tent”, and took more things from it which they also hid.
You could say that life was getting pretty good for the lepers. They had been cast out because of society because of their affliction…treated without dignity and made to feel unwanted. But now they had come upon riches in the vacant Aramean tents…riches that may have made them feel for once, “Who’s on top now?”
But then something happened.
For the lepers said to one another, “We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace."
And this is exactly what they did.
So what happened?
The lepers allowed their conscience to be their guide. They listened to the guidance of the Holy Spirit which obviously included a warning of punishment if they chose to disobey…and the lepers couldn’t deal with any more trouble. Life was difficult enough already.
And although the lepers were still afflicted with their leprosy, they were as clean that day as any non-afflicted person. All because they chose to follow their conscience and do the right thing.
So how about you?
How well do you deal with decisions that place you in a situation to choose right or wrong?
Do you delight in doing the Lord’s will, thus choosing a good and righteous way?
Or do you surrender to your own selfish desires, allowing sin to make you a prisoner to wrong?
Our scriptures are speaking loudly to us if we would just take the time to listen.
They are saying…do what the lepers did…and let your conscience be your guide.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
THE BLAME GAME
Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria.
There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey's head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels.
As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, "Help me, my lord the king!"
The king replied, "If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?" Then he asked her, "What's the matter?"
She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son.' So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we may eat him,' but she had hidden him."
When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and there, underneath, he had sackcloth on his body. He said, "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!"
Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, "Don't you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master's footsteps behind him?"
While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, "This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?"
Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says:
‘About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.‘ "
The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?"
"You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"
2 Kings 6:24-33, 7:1-2
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we finished the last message, we saw Samaria dining in peace with the soldiers of Aram. Their hospitality resulted in the Arameans ceasing to raid Israeli territory.
Unfortunately, this peace did not last. For as Chapter 6 of 2 Kings closes, we find Israel under siege at the hands of “Ben-Hadad king of Aram” and “his entire army”.
The siege was so severe and prolonged that a “great famine” occurred in the city and desperation set in for the people as quickly as inflation did. Scripture tells us that “a donkey's head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels”. A lot bought very little.
In the midst of this impoverished scene, we find the king, Jehoram, “passing by on the wall” when he heard a woman cry out to him saying, “Help me, my lord the king!" In response, Jehoram acknowledged the Lord as the One through which the woman’s help should come…not him. We read the king say to her, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?"
Still…despite feeling helpless to aid the woman, Jehoram asked her to tell him what was troubling her. And the woman’s testimony horrified the king, leaving him angry.
For so deep was the famine that the woman had made a deal with another woman to cook and eat their children. The woman talking with the king had given her son up and he was cooked and eaten. But when the next day came, the other woman refused to give her son up and hid him.
Well…Jehoram was so troubled by what he heard that he “tore his robes” and when he did, the people saw that he was wearing “sackcloth on his body” underneath the robe. But as soon as we think Jehoram did this as a sign of repentance for his sins and the sins of Israel…seeing that the siege and famine were all part of God’s judgment on His disobedient people…we see him do quite the opposite.
In fact, he blames the Lord by way of accusing Elisha as being responsible for what was happening to Samaria. And his anger burned so strong that he wanted the prophet executed.
Meanwhile, scripture shifts the scene to Elisha who was “sitting in his house” with the elders. And as Jehoram sent a “messenger ahead”, we read where Elisha already knows what is coming. For he says to his elders, “Don't you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master's footsteps behind him?" The plan was to bar the door and bide time until the king himself showed up.
Well…Jehoram and his messenger showed up and we read where the king asks Elisha, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?"
In other words, Jehoram was blaming the famine on the Lord. He didn’t even stop to consider that the famine was part of God’s judgment on His people for their disobedience. Perhaps the king had forgotten how the Lord had warned about the things that would happen if His people failed to follow His commandments. For there were warnings of consequences like famine…and even how this would result in cannibalism…things that we know had happened in Samaria.
So Chapter 6 ends with the king of Israel blaming the Lord. But notice that he is also leaving room open for Elisha to bring him back to faith and trust.
For as Chapter 7 opens, we see Elisha tell Jehoram, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says:
‘About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.‘ "
In other words, better days were just ahead. All Jehoram had to do was have faith.
But in the midst of this was a naysayer…an “officer on whose arm the king was leaning”. For he said to Elisha, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" His words smacked of mockery and skepticism although Elisha had never been wrong before when he gave the king information.
Well, Elisha countered the officer’s words by reassuring him saying, "You will see it with your own eyes…but you will not eat any of it!"
Such is what will happen to the skeptic. In the end, they will realize how very wrong they were but they will not be able to enjoy the spoils.
Friends, how much are we like Jehoram? Surrounded by challenge and trial, we quickly turn our blame on the Lord because surely we aren’t receiving any discipline that we deserve because of our sinful nature. Surely, the Lord wouldn’t penalize me…would He?
And as we play the blame game, we begin to lose faith and trust in the only One we can truly count on…in good times and bad.
We also can fall into the sin of skepticism when things don’t seem to be going the way we would like it in life. For we will have people who will try and encourage us…and we will also have the word of God to lift our spirits…but neither of these two heaven sent blessings will be able to help us unless we fully believe that the Lord will deliver us. Even the slightest hint of sarcasm or doubt can doom us to despair and apostasy…just the place where Satan wants us to be.
So how do you deal with difficulties when they arise?
Will you play the blame game and put everything on the Lord?
Or will you like the Psalmist David proclaim, “O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.” (Psalm 143:1)
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Some time later, Ben-Hadad king of Aram mobilized his entire army and marched up and laid siege to Samaria.
There was a great famine in the city; the siege lasted so long that a donkey's head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels.
As the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried to him, "Help me, my lord the king!"
The king replied, "If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?" Then he asked her, "What's the matter?"
She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give up your son so we may eat him today, and tomorrow we'll eat my son.' So we cooked my son and ate him. The next day I said to her, 'Give up your son so we may eat him,' but she had hidden him."
When the king heard the woman's words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and there, underneath, he had sackcloth on his body. He said, "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today!"
Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders, "Don't you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master's footsteps behind him?"
While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him. And the king said, "This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?"
Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says:
‘About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.‘ "
The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?"
"You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"
2 Kings 6:24-33, 7:1-2
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we finished the last message, we saw Samaria dining in peace with the soldiers of Aram. Their hospitality resulted in the Arameans ceasing to raid Israeli territory.
Unfortunately, this peace did not last. For as Chapter 6 of 2 Kings closes, we find Israel under siege at the hands of “Ben-Hadad king of Aram” and “his entire army”.
The siege was so severe and prolonged that a “great famine” occurred in the city and desperation set in for the people as quickly as inflation did. Scripture tells us that “a donkey's head sold for eighty shekels of silver, and a quarter of a cab of seed pods for five shekels”. A lot bought very little.
In the midst of this impoverished scene, we find the king, Jehoram, “passing by on the wall” when he heard a woman cry out to him saying, “Help me, my lord the king!" In response, Jehoram acknowledged the Lord as the One through which the woman’s help should come…not him. We read the king say to her, “If the Lord does not help you, where can I get help for you? From the threshing floor? From the winepress?"
Still…despite feeling helpless to aid the woman, Jehoram asked her to tell him what was troubling her. And the woman’s testimony horrified the king, leaving him angry.
For so deep was the famine that the woman had made a deal with another woman to cook and eat their children. The woman talking with the king had given her son up and he was cooked and eaten. But when the next day came, the other woman refused to give her son up and hid him.
Well…Jehoram was so troubled by what he heard that he “tore his robes” and when he did, the people saw that he was wearing “sackcloth on his body” underneath the robe. But as soon as we think Jehoram did this as a sign of repentance for his sins and the sins of Israel…seeing that the siege and famine were all part of God’s judgment on His disobedient people…we see him do quite the opposite.
In fact, he blames the Lord by way of accusing Elisha as being responsible for what was happening to Samaria. And his anger burned so strong that he wanted the prophet executed.
Meanwhile, scripture shifts the scene to Elisha who was “sitting in his house” with the elders. And as Jehoram sent a “messenger ahead”, we read where Elisha already knows what is coming. For he says to his elders, “Don't you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master's footsteps behind him?" The plan was to bar the door and bide time until the king himself showed up.
Well…Jehoram and his messenger showed up and we read where the king asks Elisha, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?"
In other words, Jehoram was blaming the famine on the Lord. He didn’t even stop to consider that the famine was part of God’s judgment on His people for their disobedience. Perhaps the king had forgotten how the Lord had warned about the things that would happen if His people failed to follow His commandments. For there were warnings of consequences like famine…and even how this would result in cannibalism…things that we know had happened in Samaria.
So Chapter 6 ends with the king of Israel blaming the Lord. But notice that he is also leaving room open for Elisha to bring him back to faith and trust.
For as Chapter 7 opens, we see Elisha tell Jehoram, “Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says:
‘About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.‘ "
In other words, better days were just ahead. All Jehoram had to do was have faith.
But in the midst of this was a naysayer…an “officer on whose arm the king was leaning”. For he said to Elisha, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" His words smacked of mockery and skepticism although Elisha had never been wrong before when he gave the king information.
Well, Elisha countered the officer’s words by reassuring him saying, "You will see it with your own eyes…but you will not eat any of it!"
Such is what will happen to the skeptic. In the end, they will realize how very wrong they were but they will not be able to enjoy the spoils.
Friends, how much are we like Jehoram? Surrounded by challenge and trial, we quickly turn our blame on the Lord because surely we aren’t receiving any discipline that we deserve because of our sinful nature. Surely, the Lord wouldn’t penalize me…would He?
And as we play the blame game, we begin to lose faith and trust in the only One we can truly count on…in good times and bad.
We also can fall into the sin of skepticism when things don’t seem to be going the way we would like it in life. For we will have people who will try and encourage us…and we will also have the word of God to lift our spirits…but neither of these two heaven sent blessings will be able to help us unless we fully believe that the Lord will deliver us. Even the slightest hint of sarcasm or doubt can doom us to despair and apostasy…just the place where Satan wants us to be.
So how do you deal with difficulties when they arise?
Will you play the blame game and put everything on the Lord?
Or will you like the Psalmist David proclaim, “O Lord, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief.” (Psalm 143:1)
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com
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