(Isaiah 7-12) Isaiah's Children as a Warning

As chapter 7 begins, the LORD tells Isaiah to go and meet  king Ahaz. Isaiah was told to take his son, named Shear-Jashub, which means, A Remnant Shall Return. We will see how God uses both of Isaiah's sons as object lessons in his prophesies. 

 When Isaiah arrived before king Ahaz, he told the king that God said He would give Ahaz some kind of a sign to help convince Ahaz of His word. But Ahaz said that he would not test the Lord. It sounds like Ahaz was being humble, but in fact it was the opposite. Yes it's true, the Bible says not to test God, but if He says to test Him, as in the book of Malachai when God says to test Him with offerings so that He could pour out blessings on us, then it's OK.

God told Ahaz, through Isaiah, "Very well, then I will send you a sign anyway. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel." This is one of the most famous prophecies regarding the birth of Jesus the Messiah in the Bible.  We know this passage speaks of Jesus because the Holy Spirit says so through Matthew: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

In chapter 8, God tells Isaiah to take a large board and write the words Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz which means, Plunder and Carry Away. The word plunder means to steal by force, usually during an invasion. So Isaiah did as God commanded. Isaiah had 2 witnesses. He wasn't sure what this was all about at the time, but he wanted 2 honest men, Uriah and Zechariah, to see him write it so no one could say that he wrote it after the fact.

Soon afterward Isaiah's wife became pregnant with their second son and 9 months later, after he was born, God came to Isaiah and said, "Remember those words I asked you to write on a board last year? That is what I want you to name your son, Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz." (Mr. BibleHead paraphrase) God told Isaiah that before the baby is able to say "mommy" Assyria would attack Damascus and Samaria. 

Isaiah went before the people. "See my two sons? God has asked me to give them specific names as a warning to you. Before my youngest son will be able to speak, the Assyrian army will attack and plunder. But my older son is a symbol of hope. There will be an Israelite remnant." A remnant is a small part left over after the large piece of cloth has been cut, but it can be used later. Isaiah said that Judah will be tempted to ask fortune tellers and mediums what would be their fate, but Isaiah said that he is standing right in front of them with his two sons and a message from God. We too can seek guidance through wrong means. God reveals all we need to know. Read your Bible. That's how God speaks to us. In the Old Testament, the people needed a prophet. But now we have God's Word.

Chapter 9 is a beautiful chapter of God's grace and mercy. He gives hope to Judah and to all people through His words. " Nevertheless, the darkness will not last forever. There will be a time when Galilee will be filled with glory. A light will come into the darkness.(Jesus) And the people will rejoice." Have you ever watched a Charlie Brown Christmas?  Then verse 6 will sound familiar to you. It is one of the most recognized prophesies about the coming of Jesus. 

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

God is not only telling them about what will happen 700 years later, He is giving them a chance to turn from their wicked ways and turn toward Him. He is truly a faithful and merciful God! It doesn't matter how much we have screwed up. God wants us to come to Him. We don't have to get "right" before we come to Him. He is the one who makes us "right". If we accept what Jesus has done for us. (taking our sins and giving His life as a sacrifice, and if we choose to make him Lord (everything we do is for Him) of our life, God promises that the Holy Spirit will come and live inside us and that we will live with Him forever.

Chapter 10 tell about how God used Assyria as a judgement tool (vs.7) against Israel and Judah, but now it is time to judge prideful, godless Assyria. God says that Assyria will waste away like sick people during a plague. (vs.18) Then God reminds His people again at the end of Chapter 10 and into Chapter 11 about the coming Messiah. It is a beautiful description of a savior coming through the line of David.

Chapter 12 is a beautiful song of praise for salvation that comes through Jesus, and only because of the unimaginable grace and mercy of the living God. Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Remember to thank Him always. Because it was nothing that you or I did. It is was Jesus did!

 

Intro to Isaiah and chapters 1-6

The book of Isaiah was written by the prophet Isaiah. He ministered in Israel and Judah. After Israel was taken over by the Assyrians, he continued to minister only in Judah. He was the prophet during the reign of 4 different kings. 

The name Isaiah means Salvation of the Lord. It is a perfect name for him, because as you will see, He speaks a lot about Jesus, even though Jesus wouldn't even be born for another 700 years. 

The book of Isaiah and the book of Jeremiah are the two longest books in the bible. He has a lot to say about the poor and the people who are being controlled by evil judges and the government. He also talks a lot about the holiness of God. Do you know what the word holy means? It means set apart. So God is set apart from any other idol that the people worshipped. He is the only true God. When He asks us to be holy, just as He is holy, (1 Peter 1:16) He wants us to be set apart for Him. To obey Him and trust Him and not act like everyone else.

Isaiah was a faithful and bold prophet of God. He spoke very specifically about Jesus, the coming Messiah and about His justice, His promises to Israel, His life and death, and His majesty. Isaiah also told of God’s judgment on The Israelites as they continued to turn from Him. However, Isaiah understood not only God’s judgment but also His salvation, mercy, grace, and compassion. He told of these things and confirmed God’s promise that His people would not be completely destroyed.

In Chapter 2, Isaiah tells the Israelites how He chose them and had a perfect plan for them, but that they turned from Him and worshipped idols. God mentions how prideful the Israelites were 10 times in this chapter, so pride is one of their main sins. God says that he "Opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." (1 Peter 5:5) He warned the people through Isaiah that judgement for their acts of prideful disobedience was coming. 

Chapter 3 is more about judgement, specifically Jerusalem. And how God himself will make sure that they have no food and water. This may seem a bit harsh, but when we turn from God, He will "take away" anything that will keep us from Him. The Israelites were so self reliant, that they thought they didn't need God anymore. We can get that way sometimes. When we get comfortable because we live in a house, we have clothes to wear and food everyday, we can think to ourselves. "I'm doing pretty good on my own." 

In Chapter 4 God, speaking through Isaiah, Gives hope to the Israelite survivors. He mentions the "Branch of the Lord", which means Jesus. Jesus is the Great Hope. He ends chapter four saying that He will be a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain. "He is our refuge and our shelter" (Psalm 92:1)

Chapter 5 begins with a story about a vineyard. The vineyard is Israel, and Isaiah tells how God cleared a way for the Israelites. Then they turned from Him. God is reminding the people that He chose them and He worked everything together for their sake. But now He tells of more judgement because they turned from Him. 

Chapter 6 takes a turn and Isaiah tells about a day when he saw the Lord sitting on a throne. H was surrounded by angels who kept praising God saying "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord of hosts. The earth is full of your glory!" The earth shook and Isaiah trembled. "I am not worthy to even be here here! I am a sinner! How can I, a man of unclean lips be here before the King of Kings?" Then one of the angels took a hot coal and touched it to Isaiah's lips and declared him cleansed of his sins. Then God asked Isaiah, "who shall I send to the kings with my message?" Isaiah responded. "Send me Lord!". God wants to use us.  Timothy 2:21 says if we are cleansed from our sins and keep ourselves pure, then we can be useful tools in His hands. Wouldn't that be amazing to be used by God! 

Next Time, Isaiah goes before the kings.

Song Of Songs (or Song of Solomon)

The Song of Songs is a love dialogue between a man (King Solomon) and a woman. We will take a brief overview of the book.... and when you are old enough.... you can read it more in depth.

 The author of this book is King Solomon..... probably written early in his reign.

 The purpose of this book is to show that God is not only interested in who we fall in love with, He initiates it and blesses it. God is love (1John 4:8)

Song of Songs is the story of a young couple. It begins with dating(courtship), then the wedding, the wedding night and finally the marriage. Many believe it is a picture of God and his love for the church.

 The plot and storyline of this book is this: It is a drama about the relationship between two people in love. The story is very romantic. The man uses many comparisons in nature to describe and compliment his bride-to-be and then his bride. He describes her sixteen times using, fruit, trees and flowers. Then he describes her eleven times using animals. (Some of the beautiful compliments he paid her would not really be compliments today. Like for instance: Chapter 4 verse 1: "your hair falls in waves like a flock of goats") 

The story continues when Solomon, a wealthy shepherd meets a country girl. They fall in love and he asks her to marry him. She has to decide if being a queen is something she really would desire for her life. Finally she agrees, and the wealthy shepherd sends a wedding procession to escort her.

 The second half of the book is about their married life and the many problems and temptations they encounter.

 The Song of Songs is a beautiful book that teaches us many things. For instance: God's plan for us is to wait to be married before we sleep with someone of the opposite sex. "Do not awaken love till the time is right." 2:7 Also, if we face hard times or temptation, we don't have to do it alone. The end of Song of Songs describes how the woman's brothers came along side of her and helped her through a difficult time. Are you struggling? look for support. Are you not struggling? look for someone who is and support them. Finally, Loving others sometimes means looking past their faults and mistakes. Jesus loves us in all our failures, sins and mistakes. It's called unconditional love. Or "agape" love in Greek. Imagine if Jesus only loved us when we were doing right? I know for myself... he would be loving me for only a few minutes a day. Love others like Jesus loves. It's not easy.... but it is right.

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 Pride and Prejudice of Haman ( Esther 5 and 6)

   King Xerxes turned to Haman after queen Esther had invited them to another banquet and told Haman to be back again tomorrow. Haman left the palace on cloud nine. The king and queen have included him in their inner circle! He couldn't wait to get home and brag to his family and friends about how important he was. The only thing that interrupted his joy and excitement momentarily was Mordecai who was sitting along the wall of the palace in his sackcloth. He didn't stand or bow for Haman. This infuriated Haman.

  But by the time Haman made it home, he was bubbling over with pride and joy. He gathered his friends and family and told them all about how he was not only rich and that he had been promoted to be prime minister, but now the king and queen have invited him to, not one, but two dinner parties! He told them that the only thing that would make this day complete would be to get rid of Mordecai the Jew.
 One of Haman's friends spoke up. "Why don't you hire some carpenters to build and set up a gallows that stands seventy-five feet tall tonight, and in the morning, ask the king to hang Mordecai. Then you can enjoy your banquet without any aggravation."
  "I love that idea!" Haman exclaimed." With gallows that tall, everyone will be able to witness the hanging of Mordecai the Jew!" So Haman went right away and got his evil plan started.  The carpenters worked well into the night as Haman supervised the operation.
  Meanwhile, King Xerxes was tossing and turning all night. For some reason,(God), he just couldn't sleep. Finally, in the early morning hours, he asked a couple of servants to come and read the historical records of the kingdom. "If that doesn't bore me to sleep, nothing will." He thought to himself. So the servants began to read. The king was beginning to get a bit sleepy, when something from the records caught his attention. It was the account of how Mordecai exposed the plot of two palace guards to kill the king.
  "Yes, I remember that! Mordecai saved my life that day!' The king shouted as he sat up in bed. "Has anything ever been done to honor Mordecai?" He asked.
  "Nothing at all has been done for him. No reward or recognition has been given him" Answered one of the king's servants. Now the king was more awake than ever.

  Just then the king heard footsteps in the outer court and asked his servant to go see who was there. Now as it just so happened, Haman had arrived at the palace to ask the king to hang Mordecai that morning. "It is Haman." One of the servants replied.
"Oh good, send him in." The king ordered his servant. "I need some advice."
 So the servant escorted Haman into the presence of the king.
 "You are just the man I wanted to see." Said the king as Haman cracked a smile. "What should be done for a man that pleases me?" Now Haman's slight smile became a full-face grin. "Whom should the king want to honor more than me?" He thought to himself as ideas of how he would want to be honored by the king danced around in his head.
  "First of all," Haman stated, " He should bring out one of the kings royal robes as well as the king's  own horse with the royal emblem on it's head. Instruct one of the king's most noble men to place the robe on the honored person and then lead him through the city square." Haman was really dialing it up now. "Then have that noble man shout out as he leads the horse, 'This is what happens to the man the king wishes to honor!'"

 Sometimes our emotions (whether positive or negative) skew our perception of things. Haman's anger and pride blinded him to what was really going on. Ask God yo help you put you emotions aside and focus on the truth. He is the truth the way and the life. (John 14:6)
 Next time we will see how the tables were turned on Haman, and how God had everything in control all along.

Good and Bad Kings in Israel and Judah...... and King Josiah (2 Kings 8-23)

  Since Israel split in two after King Solomon died (1 Kings 11 and 12), the two kingdoms, Israel in the north and Judah in the south, there were many kings. Every single king in Israel was bad, and most of the kings in Judah were bad, with a couple of good ones sprinkled in. What do I mean by good and bad. The Bible answers this question. Bad king: He did what was evil in the Lord's sight. example..... 2 Kings15:9  Good King: He did what what pleasing in the Lord's sight. example .....2 Kings 15:3  The king had a lot of responsibility, including leading the people according to God's law. When the king went away from the Lord..... the whole country did the same. When the king followed the Lord.... the whole country did the same.
  Many years before this, God told Moses. "If you sin, I will scatter you among the nations." Well since Israel was led by one bad king after another, God finally did what He said He would do. In 2 Kings chapter 17, God swept the Israelites from the land. Assyria attacked Israel, set up their own kings, and sent many of the Israelites out of the land. God had warned them over and over, but the Israelites refused to turn back to Him. Since Judah was led by a good king every few years, God held off scattering them.... for now.
  At the end of 2 Kings 21, we meet the new king of Judah, Amon. He was a bad king, however, he only reigned for 2 years because a few of his servants killed him. So the people made Amon's son king. His name was Josiah and he was a good king. But the amazing thing was his age. How old do you think Josiah was when he became king? He was 8 years old! Some of you reading this are probably older than that right now! The Bible says that Josiah did not turn to the left or the right when it came to following God's law (2 Kings 22:2). Then when he was 26 years old, Josiah had a plan to restore the Temple of the Lord. The temple had been neglected for many years because the people just didn't care about the things of the Lord.

  A high priest named Hilkaih supervised the work. One day he noticed a scroll that was rolled up and stuck in the wall. Hilkaih knew what it was right away. It was The Word Of The Lord! He sent one of the men to go read the scroll to the king.
   When the king heard what was written on the scroll, he became very, distressed. The scroll said, "If you sin, I will destroy the city and I will scatter you among the nations." Right away King Josiah called the High priest. "Go to the temple and pray to God for me and for all the people of Judah."
  In those days, the high priest had direct access to God, Now through Jesus, we can go directly to God in Jesus' name. Josiah not only prayed for himself and guidance, he also prayed for all the people of Judah. What a great example for us! 
 When Hilkaih the high priest returned after praying in the temple, he had this message from God for Josiah. "When you heard what I said in the scroll about destroying the city and scattering the people , you were very distressed and filled with repentance. I have heard your prayers and I will not bring judgement on Judah while you are still alive.
  Josiah called all the leaders, all the priests and all the people of Judah together. He read the whole scroll to everyone. Josiah pledged to follow the entire scroll with his whole heart soul and mind. When the people heard what was written and Josiah's pledge, they pledged as well.
  Right away Josiah ordered that anything to do with idols and false gods be destroyed. He traveled to entire land looking for anything that went against God and destroyed it. Then the land of Judah celebrated the Passover, just as the scrolls had stated.
                                                                               
        We are so blessed to have the Bible. All of God's Word in one book!  The more we read His Word, the more our hearts and minds are transformed. Then we will have a desire to remove all ungodly things from our lives, just as Josiah cleared Judah of the ungodly things. Being good, as we saw earlier, is doing things that are pleasing in God's sight. The Bible speaks to our hearts in such a way, that we know what is pleasing to the Lord.  (Heb 11:6) (Rom 12:1) (1 Thes 2:4) (Phil 4:18)

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 Floating Ax Head and God's invisible Army (2 Kings 6 & 7)

 The place that Elisha and the prophets would meet, was getting too small. So they decided to go down to the Jordan River, chop some logs and build an addition onto their meeting place. One of the men was chopping down a tree, when the ax head flew off his ax and landed in the water. The man was very upset. "That was a borrowed ax!" He cried. Elisha could see how upset the man was. He walked over to him, put his hand on his shoulder and told him not to worry. Elisha picked up a stick and asked the man to point to where the ax head went into the water. Then he tossed the stick into the river. The heavy ax head floated to the top! "Now reach in and grab it." Elisha told the man. So he did. God cares about us and He cares about the little things. Don't ever decide not to pray about something because you think it is too small for God.
   Meanwhile the king of Aram was up to his old tricks. He planned to attack Israel. He sent his troops in, but Israel was waiting for them and the Aramean army retreated. The king of Aram waited a couple weeks and tried again, but the Israelites were waiting again! This happened again and again. Finally the king of called all his officials together and demanded that the traitor step forward. But one of his men said to him. "It is not one of us, my lord. It is that prophet in Israel, Elisha! Apparently he is hearing from his God and relaying the message to the king!"
 "Alright! We know what we have to do. Get rid of the problem! I want one of our spies to find out where that niusace is staying, and tomorrow all our troops will decend upon him and destroy him!"
The next day, all the Aramean troops headed to where Elisha and his servant were staying. Early in the morning Elisha's servant heard a thundering off in the distance and went to the rooftop to see what is was. He screamed in fear for Elisha to come to the roof! "Look master! There are more horses, chariots and men than we can count and they are advancing toward us!"

 "Don't worry." Elisha said with a slight smile. "There are far more on our side than on theirs."
 The servant looked confused. He looked again, but all he saw were the Aramean troops.... and they were closing in! Then Elisha prayed. "Oh Lord! Please open my sevant''s eyes so he can see." When the servant looked up, the hillside was filled with heavenly horses and chariots of fire!
  We are in the middle of spiritual warfare.  We cannot even imaginine the angels and demons that are around us each day. But just as Elisha told his servant. " There are more on our side than against us.  Greater is He who lives in us than he who is in the world (1John 4:4)  Remember, when you are feeling fearful, God is on your side!
 Then Elisha prayed that God would blind the Aramean army. The Aramean army became confused and Elisha led them to Samaria. The king of Israel saw the army being led into Samaria by Elisha ansd he was so surprised. "What should we do with them?" The king asked Elisha. "Should we kill them?"
"Of course not!" Elisha answered back. "Feed them and give them something to eat and send them home." So the king fed them well and sent them back to Aram.
 In the first part of today's post, we see that God cares about the little things. In the second part we see that He cares about the big picture as well. In any situation we are in throughout the day....God cares. (1 Peter 5:7)

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.

(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.

Jezebel and King Ahab.... Their Final Chapters (1 Kings:21 and 22)

  For the next three years their were several wars between Aram and Israel. King Ahab and the Israelite army were victorious, however The Armameans continued to occupy some of the Israelite territory. Meanwhile, King Ahab took notice of a vineyard that was right next to his palace. The king thought how nice it would be to turn in into a vegetable garden. The king approached Naboth, the owner of the vineyard, one day and asked him if he could buy the vineyard. Naboth replied, "The Lord forbid that I should ever sell this property to anyone. My ancestors have passed it down
thorough generations." So Ahab left in a huff. He was angry and sullen. When He got home, he didn't eat dinner and laid on his bed with face to the wall. Jezebel asked Ahab why he was acting like a spoiled kid. "I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard next door, and he refused." Ahab pouted.
 "Aren't you the king?" asked Jezebel. "Get up and eat! Don't worry about a thing. I will get that vineyard for you!"

 So Jezebel wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to all the big shots in the city. In the letters, she commanded them to call all the people together to honor Naboth. Give Naboth a special seat up front, then hire some sleazy characters to tell a bunch of lies about him. She knew that the people would be so upset, that they would take him out of town and stone him to death....... and that is just what happened. Then the big shots sent a message to Jezabel telling her that Naboth was dead.
 When Jezabel heard the news, she said to Ahab. "You know that vineyard that you were whining about? You can go take it now. Naboth is dead!"

 God told the prophet Elijah what Ahab and Jezebel had been up to, and by the time Ahab went out to the vineyard to take possession of it, Elijah was already there with a message for Ahab from God. "Isn't killing Naboth bad enough? Must you rob him too?" Elijah continued. "The Lord says this is the last straw! Now your entire family will be destroyed."

 No one sold himself so completely to evil in the Lord's sight as Ahab, for his wife, Jezebel, influenced him. Ahab was guilty of evil even though his wife was behind all the wickedness. God wants to be the influencer in our lives. If we let others lead us astray.... that is on us. We are guilty. Don't point fingers at anyone else. We are responsible for our own actions.

 For three years there was peace in Israel. Ahab was still looking over his shoulder wondering if God was going to destroy him. But none the less, he approached king Jehosaphat of Judah and pitched him the idea of attacking Aram. "Sure my brother!" Jehosaphat replied, "But let us ask the Lord first."

 Well Ahab, instead of inquiring of the Lord, summoned 400 of his prophets and asked them if attacking Aram was a good idea. "Go right ahead! You will celebrate a glorious victory!" they said. But Jehosaphat wanted a prophet of the Lord to chime in, so he brought Micaiah into the conversation.  The prophet Micaiah told the two kings that the 400 prophets were just telling the kings what they wanted to hear, and that they were completely wrong about a glorious victory. Ahab was so mad. He told the guards, "Lock this man up until I return from battle in victory."

 Ahab thought he could outsmart God. He knew that the Arameans only wanted to kill him (the king of Israel) so he told Jehosaphat to wear his royal robe into battle. Ahab thought that the Arameans would kill Jehosaphat, thinking that they had killed him. When the battle began, the Arameans spotted the king wearing the royal robe and moved in on him to get a clear shot. But the closer they got, the clearer it became that it was not Ahab.... so the captain prevented his men from shooting arrows at Jehosaphat. But one soldier shot an arrow randomly into the air. It carried into the center of a group of Israelite soldiers, found a gap in Ahab's armor and killed him. God sees all, knows all and is control of all things. We can't run from Him. We can't hide from Him. And we can't fool Him.

God shows up.... big time (1Kings 18)

  After the prophets of Baal spent all morning trying to get their god to answer them, Elijah called the people of Israel over to the altar of God. (Which he was repairing as he spoke) Elijah took 12 stones, one to represent each of the tribes of Israel to repair the altar. Then he dug a trench around the altar. He had the bull laid on the wood on the altar and requested that 4 buckets of water be poured over the bull, the wood and the altar. So they did as Elijah requested. Then he told them to do it a second time and they did. Finally he asked for a third drenching and they did it again. By this time, the trenches that were dug around the altar were overflowing.
  It was evening by now and Elijah went to the altar and prayed. "Oh Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, prove today that you are God in Israel. I am your servant and I have done all that you commanded. Oh Lord answer me so that these people will know that you are the one true God."
 Immediately the fire of the Lord flashed down from heaven and burned up the bull, the wood, the stones and the dust. It even licked up all the water in the trench! The people were in awe. They began to cry out "The Lord is God! The Lord is God!" Then the prophets of Baal were all put to death.

 In Elijah's prayer we can see that this whole thing was God's plan. He had commanded Elijah to soak everything so that there would be no question that it was Him behind the fire and not some trick.  We
should never put God in a box. In other words, God can do more than we can even imagine. Ephesians 3:20 says it so well..... Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish so much more than we might ask or think.

  Elijah turned to Ahab. "t hasn't rained for 3 years, but I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!. Go home and enjoy a nice meal before it hits." Ahab headed home and Elijah took his servant and climbed to the highest point on Mt. Carmel. Elijah fell face down to ground and began to pray. Then he said to his servant. "Go and look out toward the sea."
  The servant returned to Elijah and said. "I looked out to sea, butI didn't see anything."
 "Go look again." Elijah replied, but again the servant saw nothing. The servant looked toward the sea six times, and then on the seventh time he saw something.
 "Master, I see a cloud rising from the sea. But it is no larger than a man's hand." he reported. 
 "Hurry to Ahab!" Elijah shouted. "Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don't hurry, the rain will stop you!" 

 Elijah's servant caught up with Ahab and told him about the impending storm. Ahab quickly left for his home in Jezreel. The winds were kicking up and the skies were getting darker and darker. Ahab had his horses pulling his chariot as fast as they could go! "Faster, faster!" He shouted.
 Now the Lord gave special strength to Elijah. He tucked his cloak into his belt and ran faster than the horses pulling Ahab's chariot! Elijah beat Ahab to the entrance gate in Jezreel!


 Wow! Imagine being able to run that fast! God does some amazing things. Ahab just witnessed three of them in a matter of a couple hours. 1. God's fire from heaven 2. The end of a three year drought. 3. Elijah's turbo-speed sprint. 

  Next time we will see if witnessing these three miracles has an affect on Ahab's life and his attitude toward or God, or if his wife Jezebel has more influence on him. 



  

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!"

Consequences of the Census (2 Samuel 24)

  So the anger of the Lord burned against Israel because they had rebelled against His decision.... again. God used David's sin to enact punishment against the entire nation of Israel. When we left last time, the prophet Gad had relayed God's message to David. David had a choice to make about the punishment that would be executed against the nation of Israel. Here were the three choices. Either three years of famine, three months of fleeing from their enemies or 3 days of a deadly plague.

  If you had a tough decision like this, what would you choose? I know what I would NOT choose. Since I would be the king, I wouldn't have to worry about a famine, because the king had plenty of food stored up. Or I wouldn't have to worry about fighting off the enemy, because as king, I would be protected at all cost. I wouldn't pick the plague, because death could strike anyone at any time. As king, I would be as vulnerable as anyone else in the kingdom. So that would definitely NOT be one of my choices..... but that is exactly what David chose. He knew that he had sinned. (he takes full blame at the end of the chapter) and he says in verse 13., "Let me fall into the merciful hands of our Lord. If he sees fit to inflict me, then so be it."

  So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel and it last three days. Seventy thousand people died throughout the nation. But as the death angel was in Jerusalem, he stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah. (A threshing floor was a hard floor where a wheat farmer would crush his crop to remove the grain from it's husk by having oxen drag a large heavy board over it) When David saw the angel of the Lord. He prayed that the plague would end and that if anyone else should die, it would be David himself. Just then Gad the prophet came to David and said, "Build an altar to God on this very site. So David went to Araunah, the man who owned the site where the altar was to be built. Araunah was a little nervous because the king wanted to talk to him. "Why have you come my lord?" he asked.
  David replied. "I have come to buy your threshing floor so that I could build and altar to the Lord there, so that He will stop the plague."
 "Please take it my lord. And here are some oxen for the offering and wood to make the fire. I will give it all to you, and may the Lord your God accept your sacrifice." Araunah answered.
   David insisted. "No. I must pay you for the place, the oxen and the wood. For what kind of sacrifice would it be if it cost me nothing?"

  The word sacrifice itself means to give up something. If David took the threshing floor, the oxen and the wood and offered it up to God, it would have been Araunah's sacrifice. We must remember that when we live our lives for Jesus, we are giving up our own desires and plans and replacing them with God's. But the amazing thing is that God loves us so much! His desires and plans for us are for our own good. He wants the best for us! The Bible says that the more we give up for Him, the more we have! That is called a paradox, and the Bible is full of them. (The last shall be first..... the humble will be exalted... to name a couple of examples.)

 So David bought the threshing floor, the oxen and the wood. Then he built and altar and sacrificed to the Lord. The plague stopped right there at the threshing room floor!

  The amazing thing about where that threshing room floor was located was that it was on Mount Moriah. The same place where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac to God a thousand years earlier. And it is also the same place where Jesus sacrificed his life for us on the cross a thousand years later! God is so amazing!
 Well that finishes the books of First and Second Samuel. Next time we will be starting First Kings.

David Takes a Census (2 Samuel 24)

 So now Israel was enjoying a time of peace and unity. However, God's anger burned against Israel. David was God's own anointed king. The people had sided with Absalom because he seemed more kingly to them. He was tall, good-looking and charming. But David was God's chosen king. God was going to discipline the people and He used David's pride and yielding to the devil's temptation to do it.

 David knew God's Word. In Exodus 30:12 it says not to count the people because counting equals ownership..... and Israel is God's people. But David gave in to the temptation and called in his general, Joab. After David finished explaining how he wanted Joab to go throughout the kingdom, from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south, and count the people, Joab replied. "May the Lord allow you to live long enough to see a hundred times the amount of people in the kingdom as there are today. Please do not sin against God by doing this." Never the less,  the kings word prevailed over Joab and the captains of the army. (The captains warned David as well. When there are several objections to your plan, it is time to rethink what you are about to do.)

 Why did Joab object so vehemently to David's plan. Perhaps he knew how it would affect the people, or he was looking out for the king. Or maybe he was thinking about himself. he was a general after all. Why should he stoop so low as to be a people counter. His pride was at stake! Speaking of pride, by ordering the census, David was feeding his own ego. Israel had grown enormously, he wanted to take the glory and the credit for himself.
 Pride is the sin of all sins. It was pride that toppled Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden. Pride is a preoccupation with ones self. What letter is in the middle of pride? I. And what letter is in the middle if sin? That's right....I. Putting ourselves above everyone is sinful pride. Pride also puts God in second place. God should always be first, and at the center of everything we do or say.

 So the census was taken. It took about 10 months to count the people. David had 10 months to change his mind and stop the census, but he didn't. God will always give us a way out of yielding to temptation. (1 Corinthians 10:13) When faced with temptation. STOP and pray. God has an exut strategy for you and He will show it to you. Sometimes it is simply saying "no".

  It turns out that there were 130,000 fighting men in the kingdom, which translates to 6 million people. Do you think David confidently sat back after the census was complete and said, "That's what I'm talking about!"? No. He did just the opposite. He felt guilty. He knew that he had sinned.
  Why do we feel guilty when we sin. It is because The Holy Spirit convicts us. We have Jesus living inside of us (If we have made Him the Lord of our life. Here is a link from a past blog telling how we can have this.  http://mrbiblehead.blogspot.com/2010/03/choosing-god.html). And Jesus would not be content with sin. So it is time to repent. I know, the word repent sounds harsh, but it is simply being sorry and turning from our sin and toward God. And that is just what David did. However, there was still a consequence. When I repent, I do not get off scott free. There is a price to pay. God was going to discipline Israel because of their recent actions, so he sent a prophet named Gad to give David this message.  "Choose one of these 3 punishment and I will do it says the Lord. Will you choose three years of famine, three months of fleeing from your enemies, or three days of severe plague throughout the kingdom."

"This is a desperate situation!" David replied. But he knew how he had to answer.

Next time we will see which punishment king David chose, and why.