Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Kings 8-9.

I don’t think that I ever noticed before that King Jehoshaphat’s grandson was named after King Ahab’s eldest son.  I doubt there is much significance to that fact, but it does tell you a bit about the influence of Ahab’s daughter over Judah.  When Ben-Hadad sent a messenger to ask Elisha if he would get better, Elisha tells the messenger to lie to Ben-Hadad.  The messenger’s name was Hazael, and it seems that Elisha’s purpose in travelling to Damascus was to encourage Hazael to launch a coup.  In a similar way, Elisha sends a messenger to Jehu to encourage him to launch a coup against Ahab’s son.  I will note that Hazael becoming king in Damascus set the stage for Jehu to overthrow King Joram.  It took me many readings of this passage to realize that Elisha encouraged Jehu to overthrow Joram because of Jehu’s opposition to the idolatry of the House of Omri (Ahab’s father).  And it was only today that I realized that the support for Jehu among the army was for the same reason.  Which leads me to realize that despite the support of the crown, Baal worship was unpopular among the people of Israel, the Northern Kingdom.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Kings 5-7.

There is a lot to be learned from the story of Naaman, but today I am only going to touch on what we can learn from Elisha’s refusal to accept payment and from his servant, Gehazi.  Elisha does not give Naaman a reason for his refusal to accept Naaman’s donations, but we get a hint later when Elisha tells Gehazi, “Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes…”  To me, this suggests that Elisha did not want Naaman, or others, to think that Naaman had bought healing, that Naaman was cured because he was rich and powerful.  God cured Naaman in order to show that He, YHWH, the God of Israel, was God, Creator of the Universe, and ruler over all.  However, Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, thought that Naaman, this foreigner, should be made to pay something for receiving God’s healing.  Or, to be more precise, Gehazi thought it was unfair that Naaman, who had so much, should be healed without Gehazi, who was so “poor” (poor being a relative term and we have no idea how well off Gehazi was, but certainly less well off than Naaman), getting some reward.  Let’s be clear, what Gehazi did here was embezzlement or fraud.  He had every intention of keeping what he got from Naaman for his own ends.  He had no intention of turning any of it over to Elisha.  Things would have come out differently if Gehazi had openly asked Naaman for the things for himself.

I am going to touch on the story of Elisha and the Aramite army only long enough to quote what Elisha told his servant:

“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

Well, perhaps a bit more than that, but only because it fits so well into my thoughts about the siege of Samaria.  During the siege things got really bad, food became outrageously expensive.  The king blamed Elisha, and through him, God, for these troubles, taking no responsibility for them himself.  This despite the fact that Samaria was besieged by the army of Aram, whose king the current king’s father had allowed to escape the consequences of attacking Israel previously.  So, the king was determined to kill Elisha and thus redirect the people’s anger.  However, Elisha was prepared and had barricaded himself with the elders of the city.  Elisha responded to the king’s accusations by telling him that by the following day, food would be unbelievably inexpensive.  There was no humanly conceivable way for things to turn around that fast.  Yet, they did.

So, when we look at where things are today. they are not nearly as bad as they were in Samaria under siege.  Nevertheless, they are bad.  In some ways they do appear as bad as things did for Elisha when the army of Aram surrounded the town in which he lived, looking to capture or kill him.  Those of us who serve God appear to be surrounded and outnumbered by those hostile to our faith.  Yet, I believe even today, what Elisha said to his servant is true…Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.  Just as Elisha was not counting a human army when he said that, I am not counting the living human followers of Christ, or, at least, not just the living human followers of Christ.  Also, just as in the Samaria under siege, it may appear that things can only get worse, but I have faith that God can bring about change such that if you predicted it, everyone would think you crazy.  In fact, despite the fact that I have felt like perhaps Christ’s Return, and God’s Judgement, were almost upon us, reading this today I feel as if God’s Spirit is telling me that God is preparing to show His power in a way which no one would believe if they did not witness it.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Kings 3-4.

Each of the accounts in today’s passage illustrate ways in which God provides for needs.  In the first account, King Joram got himself and others into a bad situation, and even then he only sought God’s aid at the nstigation of Jehoshaphat.  Nevertheless, God delivered him, and those with him, from the mess of his own making.  In the second account, a widow seeks God’s aid to escape debt and provide for her sons and herself.  Through Elisha, God provides her the means to  earn the funds needs to do so.  In the third account, the woman provided Elisha with food and a place to stay and asked nothing in return.  Elisha asked God, and He gave her a son.  The woman had not asked for a son, had even asked Elisha to not raise her hopes.  When the child died, the woman was distraught and blamed Elisha for giving her the son in the first place, but did not ask for anything.  Elisha raised the boy back to life for her.  The final two accounts describe different ways in which God can provide food for the hungry..

In the first account, Joram did not have faith in God, but God rescued him because of his friend, Jehoshaphat.  Let us seek to be Jehoshaphat to our non-believing friends (although, perhaps we could work a little harder to convince them to turn to God than Jehoshaphat appears to have done).  In the second account, God provides the woman with a way to work her way out of her precarious position.  When we seek God’s aid, we need to recognize that He may provide us with a means to work towards solving our problems.  In the third account we learn that serving God may bring us joy we did not seek, and that God can overcome the inevitable sorrow.  The last two accounts show us that we need to be open to God using different solutions at different times for the same problem.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Kings 1-2.

When King Ahaziah was injured, he sent messengers to Ekron to inquire of their god, their Baal as to whether he would recover.  Over the last few years I have mulled over a thought every time I read this passage, but not written down any aspect of it.  So, Ahaziah’s father, King Ahab, had instituted Baal worship as the official religion of Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and everything written suggests that his sons continued this practice.  Yet, not only did Ahaziah not think to consult YHWH* when he was injured, he also did not consult with the prophets of Baal which were in his service.  It reveals that despite Ahab, and his sons, pretending to believe that Baal worship was just another way to worship YHWH* by a different name, none of them actually believed that to be true.  And we know from this passage that if Ahaziah had wished to consult YHWH*, he could have done so by sending his messengers to Elijah.  After all, he knew where to send his army captains to summon Elijah to him.  Ahaziah knew the prophets of Baal that he sponsored were fakes and frauds.  So, when he was desperate, he turned to foreign prophets, but refused to turn to God.  Let us pray for those we know who we suspect may behave likewise.

• I used the transliteration of the Hebrew name for God, YHWH, in today’s blog because I believe that King Ahab, and other advocates for Baal worship in Israel, claimed that Baal was just another term for God, and that Baal worship was an alternative to worshiping YHWH.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Kings 20-22.

Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, made war against King Ahab.  He besieged Samaria and demanded tribute from King Ahab.  When King Ahab acceded to his demands, Ben-Hadad increased them to demand that Ahab allow his soldiers to loot the city.  King Ahab resisted this latter demand and defeated Ben-Hadad’s forces.  The following year, Ben-Hadad attacked Israel again.  This time, King Ahab not only defeated Ben-Hadad’s forces, he captured Ben-Hadad.  Despite Ben-Hadad’s repeated unprovoked attacks on Israel, Ahab treated him as a friend and made a treaty with him.  We see here that Ahab had more fellow-feeling with the ruler of his nation’s enemy than he did for his own people.  In a similar manner, King Saul had spared the life of the king of the Amalekites after he defeated them.  Again and again, we see that those who rise to leadership positions in one nation make common cause with the leaders of other nations, against the interests of their own people.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Kings 18-19.

It is easy to overlook the significance of Obadiah in this passage, but we shouldn’t.  Obadiah was a devout follower of God, yet he worked as palace administrator for King Ahab, a dedicated worshiper of Baal.  From his position serving King Ahab, Obadiah was able to save 100 prophets of God from Jezebel’s effort to exterminate them.  We don’t know how Obadiah found himself as King Ahab’s palace administrator, but he used that position to serve God.  Let us strive to do likewise.  Then when Obadiah brings Ahab to Elijah, Ahab calls Elijah the troubler of Israel for announcing God’s judgement for the sins which Ahab was responsible.  All too often those who have rebelled against God will blame their troubles on those who pass God’s word on to them.  Let us pay no more attention to such accusations than Elijah did here.

After his great success on Mount Carmel, Elijah was greatly depressed by Jezebel’s threats against him.  He fled into the wilderness to Horeb, the mountain of God.  When God asked him why he was there, Elijah replied that the Israelites had rejected God and killed His prophets so that Elijah was the only one left.  Elijah felt like he was a failure.  He was sure that, despite his best efforts, the people of Israel had turned from God and chosen to worship Baal.  Elijah was ready to give up, he felt there was nothing left that he could do.  But God was not done with Elijah.  He sent Elijah to anoint Hazael king in Damascus and Jehu king over Israel.  In addition, Elijah was to anoint Elisha as his successor.  Elijah thought that the Israelites were done with God, but God told him that He was not done with the Israelites.  Elijah thought that he was the last remaining servant of God in Israel, but God told him that not only was there Elisha, who would succeed Elijah as God’s prophet, but there were seven thousand others who had not bent the knee to Baal.  Elijah thought the “culture war” was over and that the side of righteousness had lost.  God’s answer to him was, “Not so fast.  I have reserved seven thousand who are faithful to Me.”  It may seem today that the culture war is over and those rejecting God have won, but God’s answer to us is, “Not so fast. I have reserved those who are faithful to Me.”  And those whom He has reserved are a lot more than 7,000.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Kings 15-17.

In Israel, the Northern Kingdom, king after king fails to establish a truly stable government.  Jeroboam turned over the throne to his son, who was overthrown by Baasha after reigning for two years.  Baasha ruled in a similar manner to Jeroboam, including encouraging his people to worship the golden calves which Jeroboam had installed.  After Baasha’s death, his son ruled for a little over two years before being overthrown by Zimri, who killed all of Baasha’s family.  However, Zimri was unable to hold the throne and killed himself rather than be killed by Omri.  Omri, we are told, followed the ways of Jeroboam but sinned more than those who preceded him.  Nevertheless, his son, Ahab, was able to rule after him and turn the throne over to his son, the grandson of Omri.  Ahab married a princess of Sidon, Jezebel, and, at her instigation, made Baal worship the official religion of Israel, the Northern Kingdom.

In response to Ahab’s reign, God raised up the prophet Elijah.  God sent Elijah to Ahab to tell him that it would not rain until Elijah said otherwise.  As James writes, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.” James wrote that to remind us of the power of prayer.  While we are often called upon to pray for healing, or other good things, for those who are suffering, sometimes, like Elijah, we are called upon to pray that people receive the consequences of their sin.  We need to remember that while the Holy Spirit healed many through Peter, He also struck down Ananias and Saphira through Peter.  So, let us remember that God calls us to pray for redemption of sinners, and sometimes that means praying for them to reach the end of their rope.

I, also, want to point out that during the drought which Elijah prayed upon Israel and the surrounding region, God sent Elijah to a widow of Sidon.  Because that woman provided a meal to Elijah in faith, God provided for that woman for the duration of the drought.  Today, I noticed for the first time, that this widow was from Sidon, just as Jezebel, who led Ahab into Baal worship, was from Sidon.  Jezebel, a woman from Sidon, led many in Israel to abandon worship of God, and God sent Elijah to a woman from Sidon to care for her through the drought which resulted.  I am not sure of the significance of the connection between Jezebel being from Sidon and the widow being from Sidon, but I hope to look into that more in future years.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Kings 13-14.

In yesterday’s passage the writer reported that Jeroboam set up a golden calf in Bethel and in Dan to discourage those in the Northern Kingdom from going to Jerusalem to worship God.  In addition, Jeroboam had shrines built at many high places and appointed people with no background in Scripture as priests (perhaps I am misinterpreting what the writer meant by what he wrote, but that is what I understand him to mean when he says that Jeroboam appointed priests who were not Levites).  Then, when Jeroboam was conducting sacrifices to the calf at Bethel, God sent a man to prophecy against him.  Jeroboam extended his hand to order the man’s arrest, but when he did so he suffered some kind of episode which prevented him from putting his hand down.  In response Jeroboam asked the man to intercede with God to restore the functionality of his hand.  However, Jeroboam did not recognize his sin and turn from it.  Rather, he asked the man, “Intercede with the Lord your God and pray for me that my hand may be restored.”  Jeroboam recognized God’s power, but refused to turn from the politically expedient idols he had chosen to worship and return once again to worshiping God.  God healed him, but the kingdom which Jeroboam had established and hoped to pass on to his descendants was given to another.  I want to make this point clear.  Jeroboam had set up the two golden calves to keep the people of his kingdom from going to Jerusalem to worship God, and deciding that they really owed fealty to the king in Jerusalem.  And he did this in order that his descendants might rule over those people.  While David’s descendants did not regain control of the territory Jeroboam ruled over, Jeroboam’s descendants were killed and another took the throne there.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Kings 9-10.

After Solomon finished dedicating the temple, God appeared to him.  God told Solomon that He would put His Name upon the temple forever and that His eyes and His heart would always be there.  This helps explain why Jerusalem plays such a major role in world affairs.  God also warned Solomon, and through him, the people of Israel, that if turned away from Him and stopped obeying His commands, Israel would become a byword and object of ridicule to all peoples.  In between those two things God gave Solomon a prophecy directed solely at him.  God promised that if Solomon walked faithfully before God with integrity and uprightness, He would establish his throne over Israel forever.  I am going to make a little bit of a leap here, but one which I believe is justified.  If we today, give ourselves to Christ and thus make our bodies into temples unto God, He will put His Name upon us forever, and His eyes and His heart will be within us.  Of course, if we then turn away from Him to worship other gods, we will become an object lesson for all who meet us.   On the other hand, if we walk faithfully before Him with integrity and uprightness, He will establish us in His presence for eternity.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.