I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

     Jehoahaz succeeded his father Jehu as king of Israel. Jehoahaz allowed an Asherah pole to be constructed in Samaria and otherwise committed evil acts such that Israel was repeatedly defeated by the kings of Aram and lost much territory to them. We are told that in desperation Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord for help and the Lord granted Israel some peace from the kings of Aram. Jehoahaz’s son, Jehoash succeeded him on the throne. When Jehoash was on the throne, Elisha died. While Elisha was on his death bed King Jehoash went to see him. Elisha prophesies that Jehoash will defeat the king of Aram three times and this does indeed come to pass. We are told that on one occasion after Elisha’s death some Israelites were taking a body out to be buried when they spotted some Moabite raiders. They threw the body into Elisha’s tomb and fled, but when the body struck Elisha’s bones, the dead man revived and jumped to his feet.
     In Judah, Amaziah succeeded his father Joash on the throne. We are told that he did what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord, like his father. However, he did not get rid of the high places of worship as David had done. Amaziah had military success against the Edomites and flush with victory went to war against Israel. He was badly defeated by King Jehoash. After twenty-nine years on the throne, Amaziah was assassinated and his son Uzziah was placed on the throne.
     Today’s passage ends with an account of the reign of Jeroboam II. He succeeded his father King Jehoash and continued in the idolatrous ways of his predecessors. The passage tells us that despite this God used him to protect the people of Israel. Jeroboam II expands the power of Israel from the low point it had reached under his grandfather.

     Luke tells us here about Apollos who, like Paul, is a well-educated Jew who has come to believe in Jesus. The account tells us that he taught with enthusiasm and accuracy, but that he only knew John’s baptism. Priscilla and Aquila took him aside and gave him a more thorough understanding. After this Apollos went to Corinth where he took on various Jews in public debates and showed that Jesus was the Messiah using Jewish scripture. I think that many today overstate the influence of Paul on the early Church because Luke chose to follow his missionary journeys and so many of his writings ended up in the New Testament. I think that the reason that Luke mentions Apollos here is because Apollos was another influential leader of the Early Church, who like Paul, and unlike the other apostles, was well-educated in both Jewish law and tradition and Greek philosophy. It seems likely to me that Apollos had similar influence on the early Church to that of Paul. I am not saying that Apollos was as influential as Paul. What I am saying is that Apollos probably taught the Gospel from a similar perspective to that of Paul, whereas most of the other early Church leaders had a much more earthy and less nuanced understanding of what it meant to be a follower of Jesus.
     While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul returned to Ephesus as he had promised to do. In Ephesus he found some who had already become believers, but who had not yet received, or even heard of, the Holy Spirit. They only knew the baptism of John. Paul pointed out that John had told his followers to follow the one who would come after him, who was Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of Jesus and received the Holy Spirit. This follows a pattern we often see in the book of Acts, people come to believe the full Gospel, are baptized and start to demonstrate the “charismatic” gifts of the Spirit. Paul preached regularly in the synagogue for the next three months until some of the Jews started to actively oppose his message. When that happened, Paul left the synagogue, taking those who were believers with him, and started preaching in a lecture hall nearby. Paul had daily discussions in the lecture hall and it sounds like he drew a pretty good crowd. This must have really gotten under the skin of those Jews who had driven him out of the synagogue.

     The psalmist tells us that we should praise the Lord. We should not rely on powerful people because even if they choose to look out for our interests they will only live a short time and then no longer be able to help us. God on the other hand made all that is and will keep His promises for all eternity. The psalmist tells us that God will give justice to the oppressed. That He will protect and care for those with no political power, the foreigner, the widow and the fatherless. This is both a warning to us and a reason for us to praise God. A warning, because the psalmist is telling us that even if we think these people can do nothing to prevent our abuse of them, God will act to protect them and care for them. And a reason for us to praise God, because even when we are powerless God will protect and care for us. Let us praise the Lord.

     When you are debating with someone, make sure to genuinely listen to what they have to say, because it is evidence that you are a fool when you only want to be in a debate in order to air your opinions. You should only debate with others when you are interested in learning from them. If your only interest is in convincing them of your position, you are proving yourself a fool.