Day #79
Scripture Reading: II Kings 1 - 5 ...
Elijah and Elisha were two of the first of a line
of prophets who spoke for God during the times of the kings of Israel and
Judah. During this time there were "schools" of prophets.
These apparently began during the time of Samuel, at the end of the
period of the Judges. The schools of the prophets were similar in some
ways to the theological schools of today. While there were some
"inspired" prophets to whom God gave specific messages, most of the
prophets were the “preachers” of the day, teaching God's law to His people,
perhaps like Ezra some time later. While we often remember the familiar
stories of miracles that some of the prophets performed, it is important to
understand that the God who sometimes foretold events is the same God who is
intimately involved in the details of everyday life ... the big things and the
little things.
Throughout these five chapters God uses Elijah and
Elisha to speak His word to kings and common people alike. Whether it was
Ahaziah, King Ahab's son, or a widow or a commander of an army, God does what
only God can do ... He brings judgment on those who despise Him and He brings
blessings to those who seek Him. The
Apostle Paul would write centuries later to the church in Corinth: “We are
the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who
are perishing; to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance
from life to life. Who is sufficient for
these things?” (II Corinthians 2:15-16).
God’s message offers life to those who receive it and confirms His
sentence of death upon those who reject it.
The Word of God is like no other message in the world, for it carries
with it the very authority and power of God Himself. Those who deliver it are but messengers, sent
by God to declare HIS Word.
In Chapter 1, King Ahaziah consults Baal-Zebub
rather than God. In other words, he prays to a false god rather than the
God of Israel. After Elijah intercepted
the messenger the king had sent to Baal-Zebub, the king sent a captain of his
army with a company of fifty men to pursue Elijah. God intervened and
sent fire down, killing them all. A second captain and his fifty men were
sent to pursue Elijah and to bring him to the king. The same thing
happened. A third captain and his fifty men are sent to get Elijah ...
but this time the captain, apparently realizing that there was divine
intervention taking place, humbled himself before Elijah and pled for mercy.
God responded by sparing the captain and his men. Why? Because God is merciful.
What about the 102 “innocent” men who died? They were not innocent,
and neither were the ones who were spared. Yet God makes it clear
throughout His Word that those who humble themselves before the Lord receive
mercy.
When Elijah ran away from Queen Jezebel in I Kings
19 and he asked God to take his life because he was the only one left to stand
for God, God had told him that there were still 7,000 who believed in Him and
that Elijah had more work to do, including anointing Elisha to be the next
"spokesman" for God. Here in II Kings 2, after fulfilling all
that God had given him to do, Elijah is taken away in a chariot of fire, but
before he is taken, Elisha asks, "Let me inherit a double portion of
your spirit" (2:9). Elisha had been called of God, as Elijah
was, and he knew that he could not fulfill his calling without the Spirit of
God. How true that was then and how true that is today. No one who is called to proclaim God’s Word
can do so without the leading and empowering of God’s Spirit.
The company of prophets were watching all of this
take place and they recognized that the Spirit of God that had been with Elijah
now rested on Elisha. The same should be true of us! People should
be able to see that the Spirit of God rests on us as we believe in Jesus and as
WE declare God's Word to those around us. Paul said to the Corinthians
that even more than being able to speak in another language, he wished all of
them would prophesy (I Corinthians 14:5). Speaking God's Word to those
around us is part of our calling. Every
true believer, having been born again by the same Spirit of God, is called and
sent to testify to the world around us.
God's principle of blessing those who seek Him is repeated
again in Chapter 3, when Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, joins with the kings
of Israel and Edom to fight against Moab. It was only Jehoshaphat who
sought the Lord and God said it was only because of him that He would bring
victory to them (3:14). God sees people's hearts and He sees your heart
and mine. He knows when we are sincere and humble and He promises to hear
and answer the prayers of those who truly seek Him ... like the widow, like the
Shunammite woman. God HEARS US when we cry out to Him!!
This God that we are reading about is OUR God!
We know God does not always work in miracles and you can't coerce God to
do a miracle by sending a donation to a TV ministry, but God always hears our
prayers. When Naaman, a commander in the army of the king of Aram, was
struck with leprosy, a girl from Israel who had been captured in war told him
that Elisha could heal him. He went to Elisha, anticipating that Elisha
would do a miracle. Instead, Elisha told him to go wash himself seven
times in the Jordan River. Naaman was outraged and embarrassed and
refused to go, until his servant convinced him to do as the prophet said ...
and he was healed.
There was a God in Israel who heard and answered
prayers ... and the same God hears and answers the prayers of those who humble
themselves before Him and who seek Him today. He is the God who can do
miracles, and He is the God who works in the everyday circumstances of life.
Do you know Him? Have you been to the "school of the
prophets?" Are you speaking God's Word to those around you?
Jesus said to His disciples, "As the Father has sent me, so I
send you!" Go and tell others about our God!
"Lord God of heaven and earth, You are the God
who rules over kings and nations, and yet who cares for those who humble
themselves and call out to You for help. I thank You for Your Word and
for Your Spirit. May we who believe today live to testify to the world
that there is a God who rules today, not only in Israel, but over all the
world! In Jesus' name, Amen"
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