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.

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