Proverbs Pt. 2

We will look at a few more proverbs. Remember what we said about the Book of Proverbs? The main purpose is to teach wisdom to God’s people. Proverbs are short clever explanations, which are easy to remember. They contain truisms. These are things which are typically true however, not always. They deal with life, principles, good judgment, and perception. They often draw distinctions between a wise man and a foolish man with parable type examples.


                                                        Proverbs 1:17
                                The bird see a trap and goes the other way,
                                A greedy man sets a trap, then gets caught
                                in it himself.
In other words, the deeds that go along with being greedy are actually self-destructive.

                                                       Proverbs 17:12
                                Trying to rob a mama bear of her cubs is safer
                                than confronting a fool caught in his own folly.
In other words, pointing out a stupid mistake to someone is not a very good idea.

                                                        Proverbs 24:16
                                A Godly man may trip 7 times, but he always gets up.
                                Just one trip-up and the ungodly man is down and out.
In other words, When God is on our side, we see obstacles as opportunities and brush ourselves off and try again, but the person that doesn't know God, gets totally discouraged after one failure and gives up.

                                                        Proverbs 26:17
                                Yanking a dog's ears is as foolish as interfering 
                                in someone else's argument.  
In other words, When we get in the middle of two people arguing, we could be the one that ends up getting "bit." The Bible does say "Blessed are the peace makers", but it does not say blessed are the peace keepers. 

Next time we will be reading another book written by King Solomon called "Ecclesiastes".

The book of Psalms

We can't illustrate every Psalm, so we are going to pick a few to draw and give an overview of the whole book by asking questions, and answering them.

 (1)Who wrote the Book of Psalms?
 The Book of Psalms was written by Moses, King David, Heman, Ethan, King Solomon, Asaph and the son's of Korah. So a lot of people were involved. Although King David wrote almost half of the Psalms.... and there are a few that we don't know who wrote them. What is nice is that, a lot of the Psalms give the author and a brief story of what was happening, and the significance of each one.

(2) How many years did it take to write the Book of Psalms?
 Believe it or not, Psalms was written over a span of nearly1000 years! From 1440 B.C. (during the time of Moses) to 586 B.C. The Psalms cover most of Israels history. (While they were in Egypt, when they escaped into the wilderness, and during the reign of their judges and kings, until the time of their captivity by the Babylonians.

(3) What is the purpose of the Book of Psalms?
 In the New testament, Psalms is referred to many times. It was and is considered a book of wisdom, teaching about God and getting to know God personally. It was actually written in song form. So, many of the Psalms read like poems, with stanzas, alliteration and rhyming. However, since they were translated from Jewish, they lost some of their rhythm.

(4) How are the Psalms applicable to me?
 The Book of Psalms are so full of prayers for many situations. We can read the Psalms from our own perspective and pray them back to God. (By the way, He loves when we pray His words back to Him) The Psalms express a wide range of emotions, from Joy, hope, trust, gratitude and praise, to despair, fear, and sorrow. We can use the Psalms to pray, worship, confess and praise God.

So as we mentioned in question/answer #3, Psalms teach us. What are some of the things that we
can learn from the Book of Psalms.
(A) It's OK to express how we feel to God, whether positive or negative.
(B) God cares for each of us. The Psalms reinforce our understanding of His love.
(C) The Psalms teach us that serving God and doing right is worth it.
(D) Some Psalms like Psalm 22 point to the coming of Jesus. So we can trust them.
(E) We learn what God desires from us in prayer and worship.

                                               PSALM 23
                                          a Psalm of David

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

Even tho I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. .

Job's Friends Just Keep on Talking and Talking (Job 4-37)

 Words are powerful. They can build people up or they can tear people down. "Life and death are in the power of the tongue." (Proverbs 18:21). In this next section of the Book of Job. Our poor friend Job, who has already suffered great loss and is in the middle of an excruciatingly painful health issue, is now subjected to speech after speech from his so-called friends. You have to give them credit though. They did keep their mouths shut for the first seven days, which is exactly what Job needed at the time, someone to share in his grief.

When a friend or family member is hurting, sometimes the best thing we can do is put our arm around them and not say a word. There are situations that no words could ever make better. But knowing that someone cares enough to be there in a hard time is comforting.

Job's friends took turns sharing their thoughts on life, God, and Job's situation. But they only made Job feel worse. Paraphrasing Bildad, he told Job that his children probably deserved what happened to them. And things will get even worse, so Job better talk to God and tell Him that he promises to do things differently if He will heal him.

  God is not a deal maker. We can't tell God, "I will listen to my parents if you help me pass this test." Or any other difficult things that pop up in our lives. God ALWAYS does the right thing, and as followers of Jesus, we should do the right thing, not because we want some favor from God, but because we love Jesus and it's the right thing to do.

Job answers Bildad. "What you say is not true, and even if it was, who am I to bargain with God. Everything was created by God and for God (Col 1:16).... including me." Then Job cried out to God again.
 When Job stopped to catch his breath, Zophar chimed in. "Just because you say you are righteous, doesn't make it so, Job. You talk a good game, but you are not so innocent or this would have never happened. I think it is time for you to repent and quit talking about how you didn't do anything to deserve this."
  Job responded to Zophar. "You act all high and mighty, but you are no better than I am. If your logic is true, this could have easily happened to you. My fate could be your fate!" Then Job cried out to God again pleading God to free him from his agony.

The three men continue to attack Job's character for the next 17 chapters, and Job continues to defend his character for the next 17 chapters. Finally in chapter 32 another man shows up. He had been there listening all the while. His name is Elihu. He scolds Job's friends for putting God in a box and trying to explain the ways of our Heavenly Father. Then he tells Job that the more he defends himself, the more arrogant he sounds. Elihu tells  Job.... and his friends, "Cry out to God. Not with explanations or justifications, but praise God for who He is. Don't try to make deals with God, but trust Him. God cares. God is understanding. God is just. And God is all powerful." Job and his friends grew very quiet and pondered what Elihu said. Then in chapter 38, the Lord challenges Job.

Elihu's advice for Job and his friends is great advice for us. Simply put:  Praise God, pray, and trust God because He loves us, He is good and all- powerful. We will wrap up the Book of Job next time with God's challenge, Job's response and how it all works out.

Haman's Plot Against the Jews (Esther3)

  So, several years went by and Esther remained queen of Persia. She continued to keep her silence about her Jewish heritage. Her cousin, Mordecai, kept his position patrolling the palace grounds. Meanwhile, the king promoted a man named Haman to Prime Minister. The Prime Minister was the second most powerful position next to the king. Haman was an evil man. He was a descendant of Agag, who was the king of the Amalekites, the people who were Israel’s sworn enemy for generations (Exodus 17:14-16).

 Everyone was expected to bow down before Haman as he passed by, but Mordecai refused to bow. This made Haman very angry, and when he found out that Mordecai was a Jew, it made him even madder! Right then and there, Haman decided that it was time to get rid of not only Mordecai, but eliminate all the Jews.









  Haman approached King Xerxes, "It seems that there is a race of people scattered throughout your kingdom. They are disrespectful to the king and even their laws are different from ours. Sooner or later, they will cause big problems for you and the entire kingdom."

  "What do you suppose we do, Haman?" The king asked.
  "We must eliminate them completely!" Haman quickly replied with a slight evil smile across his face. "I have 375 tons of silver I'd like to donate to the royal treasury if this can be done."
  "Let it be done as you wish." The king replied. "But keep your money. Also here is my royal signet ring. You will need it to issue any decrees pertaining to the elimination of these people." 
  The king did not ask Haman for any details about the people that he was referring to. If he had, the king would have realized that he had many Jews as royal subjects and that the Jewish laws in no way interfered with the people obeying the laws of the kingdom. King Xerxes probably had no idea what he agreed to. He probably thought that he merely agreed to the execution of a handful of dangerous revolutionaries in his kingdom.

  Lots were cast to determine the best day of the year to execute all the Jews. It was determined that it would happen on March 7, almost a year later. Haman wasted no time in using the king's signet ring. So on April 17 the king’s secretaries were summoned, and a decree was written exactly as Haman dictated. It was sent to the king’s highest officers, the governors of all the provinces, and the leaders of each province in their own language. The decree was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s signet ring. Dispatches were sent by swift messengers into all the provinces of the empire, giving the order that all Jews—young and old, including women and children—must be annihilated on a single day. This was scheduled to happen on March 7 of the next year. The property of the Jews would be given to those who killed them. 

 The people of the kingdom were very confused. The Jews were their neighbors. Their children played together. Now they were supposed to kill them? It didn't seem right.

  God is always in control and every aspect of this time in history is no exception. He had a glorious plan. Right now it doesn't seem like it, but this is an amazing story. God allowed Haman to become prime minister. God already had Esther in place as queen and Mordecai in the king's circle. God allowed almost a whole year for the plan to be carried out through the casting of lots. (sort of rolling of the dice). 
  God had a plan then, and He has a plan today. He has a plan for your life and mine. He is in control of circumstances and He will give us opportunities to follow His will. Getting in on God's plan is not only being obedient, but it is also an exciting adventure! Pray for God to reveal complete knowledge of His will to you and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. (Col 1:9)

The Book of Esther (1-2) Vashti Banished

  Wasn't Nehemiah a great story? And it is all true....it really happened all those years ago. Now we are going to go back in time a little bit to  about 40 years before Nehemiah rebuilt the wall around Jerusalem. The Bible is not in chronological order. Which means it isn't in order of how things happened. The book of Ester is set in Persia after Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon were overthrown by the Persian Empire. The story of Esther is set about 30 years after the temple in Jerusalem was built and Ezra was the prophet of the time. At this time most of the Jews are still scattered throughout Persia.

   Now there was a king of Persia named Xerxes. Here ruled over all 127 provinces, from India down to Ethiopia. He had been king for 3 years when he decided to throw a huge party for all the princes and military officials. The party lasted 6 months! Then just when you think the party was over, the king throws a 7 day party for his palace servants and immediate officials. In the meantime, Queen Vashti was throwing her own party for the women of the kingdom.
  On the seventh day of the party, after the king had a little too much to drink, he started bragging about what a beautiful wife he had. Then he sent some of his servants to go bring the queen to him so he could show off her beauty in front of all the other men. When the message was conveyed to Queen Vashti that the king wanted her to parade around in front of a bunch of men who had been drinking for seven days, she refused. Disobeying the king was unheard of at the time. A queen would never refuse the request of the king!
  As soon as King Xerxes heard about Queen Vashti's response, he became infuriated and called his consultants together and asked their advice, because they were experts in Persian laws and customs.
 "What must be done with Queen Vashti?" The king asked. "What does the law say about a penalty for a queen who disobeys her king?"

  One of the king's consultants whose name was Memucan answered. "Queen Vashti has not only wronged the king, but she has also wronged all the princes and the male subjects in the kingdom." He continued. "The queen's behavior will become known to all the women in the kingdom, and before you know it, they will begin disrespecting their husbands which will lead to disorder and chaos in your kingdom."
  One of the other consultants spoke up. "If it please the king, let Queen Vashti be banished from the kingdom and never come before the king again! ... And let her position be given to another who is more worthy! Also send out a decree that all wives must honor their husbands because he is the master of the household."
  King Xerxes agreed and the queen was banished from the kingdom, never to be heard from again. Soon the king began to regret what he had done. If he had not acted so prideful, he would have not requested that the queen come before him and all the men then she would not have had to refuse. He was sad because he missed her.

 The Bible says that pride leads to destruction. (Prov 16:18) and patience is better than pride. (Eccles 7:8) God does not like pride. Pride hurts us and God doesn't want that. If we humble ourselves, God will lift us up. (James 4:10) The next time you feel like showing off or bragging about yourself... remember that it may make you feel like a big shot at the time, but eventually regret will set in, just like it did for King Xerxes.


  Some of his advisors saw that the king was down in the dumps over the whole situation and one spoke up. "May your servants travel to each of the 127 provinces of Persia and bring back to most beautiful virgins. We will hold a Miss Persia contest and whom ever you choose, will be the next queen of Persia!" The king liked the idea and the servants were dispatched to find the most beautiful virgins in all the land.

  Next time we will get an inside look at the Miss Persia contest.

Nehemiah Goes Back to Rebuild the Wall (Nehemiah 2-3)

  Last time Nehemiah was before the king of Persia, asking for permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall around the city. It was a request that could have landed him in the dungeon or put to death. Let's return to the story and let Nehemiah continue to tell you in his own words.

  As I stood nervously before Antaxerxes, the king of Persia, he turned to his wife the queen, then back to me and said, "Yes, Nehemiah, you can go back to the land where your ancestors are buried and rebuild the wall."
  I had found favor in the eyes of God, and thus in the king's eyes as well. So I continued my request. "If it pleases the king, I will be traveling through many territories on my way to Jerusalem, can you write letters to the governors of those territories giving me safe travel through their lands? And also can I have permission to bring along the lumber I will need from the royal forest?" The king granted me these things, for God had touched his heart. The king also sent along some of his army and horsemen to protect me along the way! Isn't that just like God to urge the king to give me far more than I had asked or even hoped for? (Ephesians 3:20)
  So I set out on the 800 mile journey from Persia to Jerusalem. No one knew my purpose, for I had not mentioned it to anyone except the king. However, three men, Sanballat from Horon, Tobiah from Ammon, and Geshem the Arab heard that I was on my way to help the Jews with something and they were not very happy.
 Three days after arriving in Jerusalem, (I still had not mentioned to anyone, not even the city council why I was there) I  took a couple men with me and slipped out one night after dark to survey the area around the city where the wall once stood.  The rubble was so treacherous in some places that even the donkey that I was riding was unable to navigate it and I had to go around those areas.
  As I lay in bed that night, praying for wisdom (James 1:5) and contemplating the task before me, I worked out a wall reconstruction plan in my head. So by the time morning had arrived, I called all the city councilmen to a meeting. I told them about how God had put it in my heart to build the wall, how God had touched the heart of the king, and the plan God had given me to build the wall.

  When God has something for you to do, He won't leave you hanging. He will be with you every step of the way. Continue to pray, ask for guidance and wisdom. God promises to  be your guiding light (Psalm 119:105) and to give you the wisdom to carry out His will.

  The councilmen replied all at once. "Good! Let's rebuild this wall!"  They were excited to begin and so was I, so we started to rebuild immediately. It wasn't long before Sanballat, Tobiah and Geshem heard what we were doing. The scoffed and hurled insults and tried to discourage us, but I told them that God was with us and the wall would be rebuilt. Of course they didn't like my response, but it was the truth.
  Being in charge of the rebuild, I designated the men to work on different sections of the wall, and I had each family rebuild the part of the wall that was behind their own home. I knew this would save time and the men would make sure that the wall was built well near their homes. Everyone pitched in to help. Even the priest help build a part of the wall. The work was running smoothly.... but then...

The Fall of Judah (2Kings 24 &25) and Ezra

 After Josiah, The next 4 kings were bad. (They didn't do right in the eyes of the Lord)  The kings led the people of Judah away from the Lord. They broke the covenant that God had made with them, which meant that their land would become desolate and the people would be scattered, just as it had happened to Israel 136 years earlier when they were taken over by the Assyrians. The four "bad" kings were Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin and Zedekiah. During the third king's reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, surrounded Jerusalem. He went into the temple and carried out most of the gold and silver that was in there. He also took many of the officials and the king as captives. The people of Judah had one last chance to turn back to God, but the next king, Zedekiah, continued to turn his back on God. 

 God is the God of 2nd 3rd 4th and so on chances. Don't ever feel like you've crossed the line of forgiveness and that you can't come back to God. Just confess it to God (which means that you agree with Him that is was wrong) and repent. (Which means turning away from the wrong doing and turning back to God)

King Nebuchadnezzar and his troops continued to surround Jerusalem for the next eleven years. The food ran out and all the people fled. As they were fleeing, King Zedekiah was captured. Then Some of the Babylonians went into Jerusalem and destroyed walls of the city and burnt the temple of God to the ground. They took what few Jews that remained back to Babylon and made them servants and slaves. With all the people gone, the wall torn down and the temple destroyed, the message that the Lord had given through the prophet Jeremiah came to pass. 'The land laid desolate for 70 years.' During the seventy years, the Babylonian empire was taken over by Persia.  .... That concludes the book of 2Kings.
 The next two books of the Bible are 1Chronicles and 2 Chronicles. These two books are recounts of the two Kings books. They begin with the first King of Israel, King Saul, then David's life is recalled with a few more details and finally King Solomon.  After King Solomon died,  2Chronicles  tells of how Israel split into the north kingdom, (Israel) and the south kingdom, (Judah). Finally the fall of Israel and the fall of Judah were covered. So we will pick up our story seventy years after the fall of Judah in the book of Ezra.

 The book of Ezra picks up where 2 Kings left off. Babylon had fallen to the Persians and in the first year of Persian King Cyrus' rule, God touched his heart. The king made a proclamation that all the Jews that were in the land could return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. The king also personally brought out valuable items that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple. Then he ordered that every single item that was taken from the temple be given to the Jews so that they could return them once the temple was rebuilt. Ezra chapter 2 covers a list of all the Jewish exiles that were returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. Chapter 3 describes the first phase of the rebuilding, which was the altar, and then the beginning of the temple rebuild. In Chapter 4, the Jews face opposition when a new king is in charge. The Jews had to put the rebuilding of the temple on hold until the next king, Darius, became ruler of the Persian empire. He reviewed the decree of King Cyrus, and allowed the Jews to resume the rebuilding of the temple. With all the opposition to the rebuilding, it took over 40 years to complete, then Ezra the prophet returned to Jerusalem with many of the Jewish exiles. Chapter 8 of the book of Ezra gives family names of the returning exiles. Ezra made sacrifices in the temple and the people confessed their sins.


Sometimes God touches peoples hearts to fulfill His purposes. Sometimes He touches our hearts too. When God puts something on your heart it is called a burden. He wants you to act. But He won't force you to do anything. If we follow Jesus, we will have burdens placed on our hearts. God may want to bless someone through your actions. And guess what? Then we get blessed too! 

The Four Lepers and The Enemy Camp (2 Kings 6- 7)

  Last time we saw that the Aramean army was led into Syria by Elisha after God had confused them. The king of Israel wanted to destroy them, But Elisha told him to feed them and send them back home.
  Well some time later, the king of Aram decided to surround Syria in an attempt to take it over. As a result, there was a terrible famine in the land. The king of Syria walked down the streets, becoming more and more distraught seeing the suffering of the hungry people. As he continued to witness the effects of the famine, the king became more and more angry at Elisha.... and God. "I should have destroyed the Aramean army when I had the chance!" He said. "I want Elisha arrested and put to death this very day!"
  Elisha was at  his home with some of leaders of Israel. God revealed the king's plan to Elisha and he told the men, "One of the king's men is on his way to arrest me, but don't open the door. I want the king to show up here personally so I can speak to him."
  Sure enough, a short time later, the king showed up at Elisha's house and angrily shouted, "It is the Lord who has brought this terrible situation on our land and people! Why should we wait on Him any longer? The people are without hope and starving!"
  Elisha calmly said. "The Lord has said that by this time tomorrow, the people will have more than enough food. They will have horses and livestock, and plenty of silver and gold!" One of the kings men replied. "Even God himself could not make that happen, even if He opened the floodgates of heaven." Elisha looked at him and said. "You will not be able to share in any of it."
  That evening, four men with leprosy were outside the city gates talking among themselves. Lepers were not allowed to live inside the city because of their contagious condition. "Why should we sit here waiting to die? We will starve if we stay here, and will starve if we go into the city." One of them continued. "We may as well surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway."
  Little did they know, but God had caused the whole Aramean army to hear the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses, so that it sounded like a huge army was approaching! The Army fled for their lives, leaving behind everything, including their gold, silver, horses and livestock. So when the four lepers entered the Aramean camp that evening, no one was there! They entered one tent after another, eating, drinking  and carrying out all the silver and gold. Then one of the lepers said. "Wait a minute.....this is not right. This is good news! We should go back and tell all the people about this. We should not keep this to ourselves when there are people on the other side of that wall who are starving to death."
  So they went back and told the gatekeeper the good news. He relayed the message to the king who thought it may be a trap. He sent a couple men to check it out. When they returned, they informed the king that it was true. Then all the people made a mad dash to the Aramean camp and ate and drank till they were satisfied. They carried out all the silver and gold. They also took the horses and all the livestock. So it was just as Elisha the prophet had foretold. The Syrian economy was booming and the people were overjoyed. But remember the guy that said that this was impossible, even if God opened the gates of heaven, and Elisha told him that he would not eat any of it?...... well he was trampled to death as he stood near the city gate!
  The four lepers had good news. They knew it was not right to not tell anyone about it. Did you know that the word "Gospel" means good news? The four Gospels are the story of Jesus' life, death and resurrection. So the story of Jesus is good news! If we know the good news of Jesus, it is not right for us to keep it to ourselves. Just as there were people starving in Syria because they didn't know the good news of the food that was just outside the walls of the city, there are people all around us "starving to death" and without hope because they don't know The Bread of Life, Jesus. The life-giving promise of Jesus is a free gift for all who believe and take the step of trusting Him. Jesus wants us to tell the whole world about Him. (The good news)  Matthew 28:16-20

Elisha, the Woman From Shunem and two other miracles (2 Kings 4)

  As Elisha was passing through the town of Shunem, a wealthy woman offered him a meal at her home. From then on, the woman would prepare a place at the table for him everythime he passed through Shunem.

  Finally one day the woman said to her husband. "Elisha is truly a man of God, we should give him a place to stay whenever he passes through Shunem. We can turn that spare room upstairs into a bedroom for him." Her husband agreed.
  One day Elisha was passing through Shunem and went up to his room to rest. He told his servant, Gehazi, to tell the woman how grateful he was to have a room. Then he told his servant to ask her what he could do for her to show his appreciation.
 "I'm good." The woman replied. "I have everything I need..... but thank you."
  Elisha and Gehazi put there heads together and thought. "There must be something we can do for this woman." Then Gehazi spoke up. "She has this large house and no children and her husband is old."
 "Yes! That's it!" exclaimed Elisha.
 Elisha went to speak to the woman. "By this time next year, you will be holding a son."
"Please don't tease me like that, oh man of God." the woman responded.
 Sure enough, the woman became pregnant and was holding a beautiful baby boy in her arms at that time the next year.

  One day, when the boy was a little older, he went out to meet his father who was working in the fields. He started to feel sick and told his father that his head hurt really bad. His dad told one of the workers to take him back to his mother. The woman held her son on her lap, but he died. Sadly, she carried him upstairs and laid him on Elisha's bed. Then she saddled up a donkey and took one of her servants to travel to meet Elisha. While she was a long way off Elisha noticed her. "Go see what is wrong Gehazi, for the Lord has not told me." Elisha told his servant. The woman didn't want to tell Gehazi what was wrong. Finally when she reached Elisha she fell at his feet and said. " You told me that you would not tease me with a son. You got my hopes up and now......" Before she could finish, Elisha told Gehazi to grab his staff, hurry to the woman's home and place the staff on the boy's face.
  The woman looked at Elisha, "Please come. I won't go home without you." So he went with her.

Gehazi arrived first and placed Elisha's staff on the boy's face, but nothing happened. Soon afterward Elisha and the boy's mother arrived. Elisha went up to his room and closed the door. He lay across the boy's lifeless body, matching his hands, mouth and eyes with his own. Soon the boy's body began to warm up. Elisha got up, walked around his room and did it again. Then the boy coughed seven times and sat up!
  Elisha called the woman up to his room.When the woman saw her son sitting on the bed, she fell at Elisha's feet crying tears of joy! Then she picked up her son and carried him downstairs. Elisha and Gehazi said goodbye and left for Gilgal where there was a famine in the land.
  In Gilgal, Elisha was sitting with a bunch of prophets. He told one of the young men to pick some vegetables and make a stew. After eating some of the stew, on of the prophets said. "There are poisonous gourds in this stew!" Elisha calmly said. "Bring me some flour." He put a dash of flour into the stew and it was ok. All the men ate and it did not harm them.

 One day Elisha was speaking to a group of 100 prophets. A man brought him a sack of grain and some loaves of bread. Elisha told him to begin distributing the grain and bread so that all the prophets could eat. "But there is not nearly enough for all the men!" the man said. "Don't worry," replied Elisha. "There will even be leftovers!" ....and there was. Hundreds of years later, Jesus would feed 5000 men with a few fish and bread.

 There is a definite theme throughout these stories. and it
is to listen to the needs of others, even when they don't say them out loud. That is called being sensitive to their needs. The woman from Shunem knew Elijah needed food  and shelter as he passed though the town. Elisha knew the woman wanted a son... and when she came to him after her son had died.... he heard her heart. Elisha also knew that the prophets would be hungry and he fed them. God calls us to be sensitive to the needs of others. As you go through your day and encounter people along the way, pray that God would help you hear what they are not saying with their mouth.

Elisha the Bears, a Poor Widow and a Little Flask of Oil (2Kings3 &4)

 Elisha left Jericho and was on the road to Bethel. A bunch of young men began taunting him. Elisha knew he was in a bit of trouble because there were 42 of them and they kept getting more aggressive with their verbal attacks. Elisha also knew that even though it was 42 against 1, that he had God on his side. As the young men kept taunting and mocking him saying, "Go back you baldy! Go away you baldhead!" Elisha said to them. "In the name of the living God of Israel, curse you!" Just then two large bears came out of the woods and attacked the young men.

 We should always remember that if we are on God's side, He is on our's.

 Meanwhile, since King Ahab had died, his son Joram had become king of Israel. The country of Moab had always given a yearly tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 1000,000 rams, but since Ahab died, they stopped giving. This made Joram very upset, so he got together King Jehosaphat of Judah and the king of Edom to join him in battle with Moab. However, they ran out of water on the way there, and the land was very dry and barren. "What have you gotten us into Joram?" the king of Edom asked. "Now we are all sitting ducks for the Moabites to come and wipe us out!"
 The kings decided to call on Elisha. Elisha told them that by this time tomorrow, this dry valley will be filled with pools of water, even though there will be no rain. He also told them that they will defeat the Moabites. And sure enough, the next day there were pools of water everywhere.
 The Moabite army that was positioned on a hillside, looked down into the valley. The sun was shining just right on the pools of water and it made them look like pools of blood! "The three armies must have attacked and killed each other!" They said to themselves. Then they ran down into the valley to gather up the items of value that were left. But upon reaching the valley, they were surprised by the three armies and quickly defeated. Just as Elisha had prophesied.

 One day a widow of one of Elisha's fellow prophets approached Elisha. "My husband has died. He was a man of God as you are, but now I am broke and a creditor has now come and threatened to take my two sons as slaves."
 "Tell me, What do you have in the house?" Elisha asked.

 "Nothing except a small flask of oil." She replied.
 Elisha then said, "Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then you and your sons go into the house, shut the door behind you and begin filling the jars from your small flask, putting the jars aside as you fill them."
 So her sons gathered as many empty jars as they could from all over the neighborhood. The widow filled them until every last jar that was brought to her was filled to the brim. "Bring me another jar." The widow said. But the sons told her that there were not any more jars. And then the oil stopped flowing.
 The widow excitedly told Elisha what had happened. Elisha responded. "Okay, now go and sell all the oil, pay off your debts and there will still be enough left over to support you and your sons.

  Isn't God amazing! God can do more with the little bit that we have than we could have ever thought! If the sons would have only collected two jars, then the oil would have stopped flowing after the two jars were filled. Come before God with open hands and open hearts. Not open hands with hopes of getting something from God, but in a posture of surrendering what we have to a God that can do amazing things!

(2 Kings 1 and 2) Chariot of Fire

Well we just finished another book of the Bible. So now 2 Kings begins with the the death of King Ahaziah who succeeded king Ahab.. Then the next chapter continues with the two prophets Elijah and Elisha walking and talking on the road from Gilgal.

"The Lord has told me to go to Bethel. It's a long and arduous Journey. So if you don't want to come, you can stay here."  Elisha knew that the Lord was going to take Elijah home to heaven any day, and he didn't want to miss learning something or witnessing great things that he had heard that Elijah had been doing or he didn't want to miss an opportunity to be a part of something amazing that God was doing through Elijah. So he answered, "No, Wherever you go, I will go."
 After a while in Bethel, Elijah said. "The Lord has told me to go to Jericho. You should stay here while I go ahead." Elisha again replied. "No, wherever you go, I will go." So they went on to Jericho.    One more time Elijah speaks up."Now the Lord has directed me to the Jordan River. Elisha quickly responded. "I am sticking with you no matter what, Elijah." When they came to the Jordan River, Elijah rolled up his cloak and struck the water. The river divided and the two men walked across on dry ground! When they got to the other side Elijah asked. " What can I do for you before the Lord takes me away?"

 "I not only want to be your successor, but I want God to do twice as many things through me!"
 "You have asked a very difficult thing Elisha," Elijah answered."But if you are with me when the Lord  takes me home, then you shall have what you asked for."

 They began walking again and suddenly a chariot of fire swooped down. It was being drawn by two horses of fire. It passed between Elijah and Elisha and Elijah was carried away and taken to heaven, Elisha was awestruck at such a sight! He stood there for a bit, then he noticed Elijah's cloak lying on the ground. He picked it up and headed back toward the Jordan River. When he reached the Jordan, he rolled up the cloak, cried out to God and struck the water. The river divided just as it had done for Elijah. It was Elisha's first miracle. It wouldn't be long before he performed his second. Fifty prophets of the Lord saw Elisha crossing between the parted waters and exclaimed. "Surely Elisha is Elijah's successor!"
 When Elisha got to Jericho, the leaders of the town approached him with a serious problem. "Our water supply is tainted!" They told him. "people are getting sick and we don't know what to do because the spring that feeds our water supply is contaminated!"

 Elisha said. "Bring me some salt in a new bowl" So they brought it to him. Elisha took the salt and went to the contaminated spring and threw the salt into it."This is what the Lord says." Elisha shouted so all could hear. "I have made this water clean again. So there won't be anymore sickness, disease or death." And sure enough, the spring was pure.  This was his second miracle. Then Elisha left Jericho.

Did you notice how close Elisha followed Elijah? He wanted to be a witness to God's work, He wanted to learn about God's work and he wanted to be a part of God's work. We should follow Jesus that close! God has an amazing plan. What a blessing to be a part of it! And to be a witness to it! Following Jesus can be hard sometimes, but it is always exciting. How do we follow Him? By reading His word. (The Bible says that Jesus IS THE WORD) The better we know the word, the better we know Him and what He wants from us. Read your Bible, pray and hang out with others who do the same.

Elijah and the Contest on Mount Carmel (1Kings 18)

  The drought in Israel was in it's third year. People were starving and dying of thirst. God told Elijah, "The time for the drought is nearing it's end. Go and present yourself to King Ahab." God was the one who told Elijah to go into hiding, now He was telling him to stand before the king. God's timing is always perfect. There are times that He wants us to be silent and other times that He wants us to speak up. Pray and listen for God's leading.

  Meanwhile, in the midst of the drought, King Ahab was more concerned about his horses and donkeys than he was about the starving people in his kingdom. He called Obadiah, his right hand man, to help him scour the countryside to find food for his horses and mules. Remember Obadiah from last time? He is a loyal follower of the true God of Israel placed in King Ahab's service. Obadiah hid 100 prophets in caves when the queen, Jezebel, was trying to have them all killed. Sometimes God places us in ungodly places so that we can be a light in the darkness.

  So, as Obadiah was out looking for horse food, Elijah was headed to the palace. They ran into each other along the way. Obadiah was shocked to see Elijah because King Ahab had been searching for him since the drought began. "Is, is that really you Elijah?" Obadiah asked.
  "Yes, it is." Elijah answered. "Now go tell your master that I am here."
 Obadiah was a little afraid to relay the message to King Ahab, for fear that the Holy Spirit would move Elijah into hiding again. But with some reassurance from Elijah, Obadiah went and told the king that Elijah had come and King Ahab went out to meet him. "
  So Israel's great troublemaker has returned I see!" Ahab snarled. The king was referring to the drought. Ahab either couldn't see or didn't want to see that his worship of false idols is what brought on the drought.
 As believers in Jesus, sometimes we bear the brunt of accusations. We get blamed for things that are clearly beyond our control. How do we respond? Don't argue or fight. Go to God and point others to Him.

 Elijah replied to the king. "I have made no trouble for Israel. God is responding with His mighty power to you, and your family because you have chosen to worship Baal instead of Him. Now go and bring the 450 prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel, and you may as well bring the other 400 prophets of Asherah as well. Then summon all the people of Israel. It is time for a contest of the gods!" Elijah didn't come up with this contest on his own. We see later in verse 36 when Elijah says that he has done this at God's command.

 So Ahab gathered all the people of Israel. He brought the 850 prophets to Mount Carmel. Then Elijah began to speak to the people of Israel. "How long will you waver between two gods. You cannot be loyal to both! (Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 6:24) Today is the day that you will choose one or the other. If Baal is god.... choose him, but if the one true God of Israel is God.... then worship only Him!"
 Then, at God's command. Elijah began to direct the set-up for the contest. "Bring me two bulls and some wood. The prophets of Baal get first choice. Let them choose a bull, prepare it and lay it on the wood on their altar." Elijah continued. "I will prepare the other bull on the other altar. Then call on the name of your god. I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the one true God." And all the people agreed.

 So the prophets of Baal prepared the bull and began to call on the name of Baal all morning, shouting, "Oh Baal answer us!" But there was no answer. They began to dance wildly and chant around the altar they had made..... but still not a hint of a reply.
   By afternoon Elijah started to have fun with the situation and began to taunt the prophets. "Maybe your god is away on a business trip, or perhaps he is sleeping. Maybe he is in the bathroom or deep in thought. I think you have to call a little louder!" So they shouted louder and even began to cut themselves, thinking that would get Baal's attention.... but still nothing.

  Sometimes we think that things of this world will satisfy our hearts. We try harder and harder to get them, and sometimes when we do get them, they don't satisfy. Giving all our attention and efforts to something and putting God second is a modern idol. It could be money, popularity, power, attention or material things. They eventually leave us feeling empty. But there is a desire in our hearts that can only be filled by a relationship with the one true God.

Next time we will see if Baal ever answers and the extravagant measures Elijah takes on the other altar.

Elijah fed by the Ravens and the Widow's son (1Kings 17)

 It was near the end of King Asa's 41 year rule in Judah that a man named Ahab became king of Israel. He was a very bad king.... and his wife, Jezebel , was even worse! She was worshiper of Baal, a pagan god of fire and fertility. So to keep her happy, king Ahab worshipped Baal as well and had a huge temple built for the pagan god. Jezebel despised the one true God, and tried to have 100 of God's prophets killed. But another prophet named Obadiah, who worked for the king,  hid the prophets from her in a couple of caves. He brought them food and water daily.

  God was very angry with king Ahab and Jezebel. He sent a prophet named Elijah to speak to the king. "As surely as the Lord God of Israel lives, the God whom I worship and serve, there will be no rain during the next few years until I give the word." Elijah said.


  King Ahab and Jezebel were furious. God told Elijah to get out of there quick and hide near a brook. "Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you. For I have commanded them to bring you food." God told Elijah. So Elijah did as the Lord said. He camped near the brook and drank from it, and he ate the food that the ravens brought to him. They brought him bread and meat every morning and every evening. But because there was no rainfall in the land, the brook that Elijah was drinking from began to dry up. Then the Lord said to Elijah, "Go and live in the city of Zarepath. There is a widow there who will feed you." So Elijah went to Zarepath.

We can really see the obedience of Elijah. God told him to confront the king, which was very risky, and he did it right away. God sent him into the wilderness to depend on Him for food and water and Elijah followed God's instructions. Finally God sent him to a widow. Elijah obeyed again. so what does God want from you and me? To obey Him, even if it is difficult and to trust Him, even if it seems impossible.

 When Elijah arrived at the city gate, he saw a widow gathering sticks. "Will you bring me some water?" He asked. As the widow was going to get him some water he called out to her. "Could you also bring me some bread."
 But she said, "I swear that I don't have a single piece of bread in the house. My son and I are starving! I was just gathering some twigs for a fire to make a last meal for me and my son with the handful of flour I have and a tiny bit of oil that is left in the bottom of a jar, then we will die."
 Elijah answered her, "Don't be afraid, go ahead and make your 'last meal'. But make me some bread first. Afterward there will be enough food for you and your son. The Lord our God says that there will always be flour in your bin and oil in your jar until He allows it to rain again!"

 The widow did as Elijah asked. She and her son ate many meals from the replenishing supply of flour and oil. For no matter how much they used, there was always flour in the bin and oil in the jar.... just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.

  God blessed the widow for believing and acting on God's promise. God promised her the flour and oil to her through the prophet Elijah. God has many promises for us in His word, the Bible. He wants us to believe His promises and act accordingly. This is true faith. (James 1:22)

  Some time later, the widow's son got very sick, and then he died. The widow cried out to Elijah. "Why did this happen? Did you come here to punish me for my sins by killing my son?"
"Give me your son." Elijah said. Then he laid the boy out on the bed in the upper room. Elijah began to pray and he stretched himself out over the boy. Three times he did this and on the third time, the boy's life returned to him! Elijah brought the boy downstairs, gave him to his mother and said. " Look, your son is alive!"
 The woman fell on her knees and said. "Now I know that you are a man of God and He speaks through you!"