25 So as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers, “Go in and strike them down; let not a man escape.” So when they put them to the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the inner room of the house of Baal, 26 and they brought out the pillar that was in the house of Baal and burned it. 27 And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day.
28 Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. 29 But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin—that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan. 30 And the Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” 31 But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.
REFLECTION:
If time permits, please read the whole chapter on how Jehu destroyed Baal worship.
In the passage, the Bible carefully recorded that Jehu did for God including destroying Baal and its worshippers and Ahab’s decedents in Israel. For that God has commanded Jehu.
But the bloody purge leaves questions. Indeed God’s prophecy was fulfilled politically by Jehu. However, Jehu also used it for self-interest, savagery, and then he repeated the same sin that he has destroyed.
Jehu was busy removing Ahab’s family from power, destroying anyone who has association with Ahab and Baal. And yet, he was “not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart”. Is it possible that Jehu, who was so busy doing all kinds of “ministry”, was not keeping the law of the Lord? What about me? Could I also be busy doing many ministries but living a life contrary to God’s will?
PRAYER:
Spend a few minutes to reflect on my life. Perhaps I am very busy in God’s ministry and doing a lot of good things for God. But, do I spend time with God and listen to God’s word? Wait for God’s response. During the day, come back and continue this conversation with God.
11 When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they said to him, “Is all well? Why did this mad fellow come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the fellow and his talk.”…
17 Now the watchman was standing on the tower in Jezreel, and he saw the company of Jehu as he came and said, “I see a company.” And Joram said, “Take a horseman and send to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’” 18 So a man on horseback went to meet him and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu said, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.” And the watchman reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.” 19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus the king has said, ‘Is it peace?’” And Jehu answered, “What do you have to do with peace? Turn around and ride behind me.”…
22 And when Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the whorings and the sorceries of your mother Jezebel are so many?” …
31 And as Jehu entered the gate, she said, “Is it peace, you Zimri, murderer of your master?”
REFLECTION:
If time permits, please read the whole chapter on Jehu.
“How can there be peace as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound?”(v22)? This verse lays out God’s issues with the Northern Kingdom: injustice and worship of false gods. Jehu’s actions serve as warning that there can be no true peace where there is injustice and idol worship.
This chapter and next summarized God’s judgment and punishment against the family of Ahab and Jezebel. At the time of judgment, Jezebel and Joram were looking for peace, but peace could not be found. Jesus came to bring peace to this world so men and God can be reconciled. However, the second coming of Christ also represents God’s judgment and righteousness.
Matt 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” As a child of God, am I a peacemaker striving to bring people to reconcile with God?
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, help me to be a true peacemaker and bring people around me to be reconciled with You, to know and love You.
16 In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. 17 He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. 19 Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.
REFLECTION:
If time permits, please read the whole chapter on more of Elisha’s ministries and his cry.
How does the Scripture describe Jehoram King of Judah? How might his marriage to Ahab’s daughter influence him (v18)? Am I aware of those I call friends and close associates and their influences on me?
How Jehoram “turned out” is quite surprising, considering Jehoram’s father Jehoshaphat and Jehoram’s grandfather both did “what was right in the eyes of the Lord”. It appears things started to change when Jehoshaphat formed an alliance with Ahab, which may have contributed to Jehoram marrying Ahab’s daughter. Was Jehoshaphat partly responsible for Jehoram’s evil? Or was it all Jehoram’s fault? For those who are parents, are we aware of how our actions and attitudes affect our children as they embark on the journey of faith?
What does verse 19 tell me about God? How does that give me encouragement and hope in the midst of despair and disappointment?
PRAYER:
Oh Lord, help me to choose to honour You and obey You. Forgive me for the many terrible mistakes I made and deliver me from temptations.
3 Now there were four men who were lepers at the entrance to the gate. And they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die? 4 If we say, ‘Let us enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Syrians. If they spare our lives we shall live, and if they kill us we shall but die.” 5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Syrians, behold, there was no one there. 6 For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.” 7 So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. 8 And when these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank, and they carried off silver and gold and clothing and went and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried off things from it and went and hid them.
9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until the morning light, punishment will overtake us. Now therefore come; let us go and tell the king’s household.” 10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, “We came to the camp of the Syrians, and behold, there was no one to be seen or heard there, nothing but the horses tied and the donkeys tied and the tents as they were.” 11 Then the gatekeepers called out, and it was told within the king’s household.
REFLECTION:
If time permits, please read the whole chapter to learn how God saved the whole city through Elisha.
The four lepers, outcasts of their own society and deserters to their enemy (v4), discovered that the Arameans have fled their camp, leaving all their supplies: food, livestock, and even treasures. After having satisfied their own needs, they decided that the good news, that impending death has given way to the prospect of life, is too good to be kept from dying men and women. They made the right choice to spread the good news so entire city were saved and relieved of the dire situation.
As a follower of Christ, I am like the leper who was unclean and unworthy. Yet, God has given me the gift of salvation and His blessings in my life. Now, as I take my first hesitant steps toward sharing my faith, God will already be at work in the hearts of those I approach. The God who did the impossible and fed a starving city still does the impossible, turning hard hearts to Himself today.
PRAYER:
Ask God to place in my heart someone “in the city” who desperately needs the good news of Jesus. Pray for him/her. Ask for wisdom, courage and opportunity to partner with God and to share with them my story of life with Jesus.
24 Afterward Ben-hadad king of Syria mustered his entire army and went up and besieged Samaria. 25 And there was a great famine in Samaria, as they besieged it, until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove’s dung for five shekels of silver. 26 Now as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!” 27 And he said, “If the Lord will not help you, how shall I help you? From the threshing floor, or from the winepress?” 28 And the king asked her, “What is your trouble?” She answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’ 29 So we boiled my son and ate him. And on the next day I said to her, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him.’ But she has hidden her son.” 30 When the king heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes—now he was passing by on the wall—and the people looked, and behold, he had sackcloth beneath on his body— 31 and he said, “May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today.”
32 Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door fast against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?” 33 And while he was still speaking with them, the messenger came down to him and said, “This trouble is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?”
REFLECTION:
If time permits, please read the whole chapter about some of Elisha’s ministries.
The evil deeds and policies of the king have led to intense suffering for the people. After a lengthy siege, Samaria was brought to the verge of starvation. Jehoram acknowledged God’s superiority over him (v. 27). The sackcloth Jehoram wore represented repentance, but that repentance was very superficial (30).
Even the horror of cannibalism did not humble Jehoram, but made him angry! Jehoram blamed God for not accepting his grudging confession. In complaining, “Why should I wait on the Lord any longer?” Jehoram was saying “I’ve pushed the right buttons, God. Now, why haven’t you started working?”
Jehoram had the outward display of repentance (wearing sackcloth) without true repentance which is the inner commitment to humble himself before the Lord.
Could misfortune and suffering, in fact be God’s loving call for me to return to Him in repentance or for healing and redemption? Could my anger toward God be a signal that I need to check my personal relationship with Him?
PRAYER:
Use the following passage to converse with God. Ask God these tough questions and leave some time and space to listen to God’s response. Then use the passage, especially the last sentence, as my response prayer to God to re-commit myself to Him and His will.
“I say to God my Rock, ‘Why have You forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?’ Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”(Ps 42:9, 11)
1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman’s wife. 3 She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.” 4 So Naaman went in and told his lord, “Thus and so spoke the girl from the land of Israel.” 5 And the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.”
So he went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, “When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you Naaman my servant, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” 7 And when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Only consider, and see how he is seeking a quarrel with me.”
8 But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come now to me, that he may know that there is a prophet in Israel.” 9 So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his servants came near and said to him, “My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” 14 So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
REFLECTION:
If time permits, please read the whole chapter through Naaman’s story and the aftermath.
Naaman’s journey for healing took him first to the king of Israel. Then he was brought to Elisha whose blunt and simple instructions offended Naaman. As a result, he quickly dismissed Elisha’s instructions. But his servants persuaded him which led to his humble submission and reliance to God.
Often the first step to healing and redemption is practicing humility.
Have I ever been healed by God physically, emotionally, financially……? In what way am I similar to Naaman, self-sufficient, disbelieving, and prideful? What is it specifically?
PRAYER:
Thank God for His wonderful healing power and His healing in my life in the past. Ask God to show me areas that I still lack humility to trust and obey Him. And help me to submit wholeheartedly.
20 And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died….
24 Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.
When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite. 26 Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.” 27 And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.” 28 Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’” 29 He said to Gehazi, “Tie up your garment and take my staff in your hand and go. If you meet anyone, do not greet him, and if anyone greets you, do not reply. And lay my staff on the face of the child.”
REFLECTION:
If time permits, please read the whole chapter through to learn the story of the Shunammite woman, her son’s illness, death and how Elisha brought him back to life.
Have I ever felt the bitterness of shattered hopes and desires? This barren woman from Shunem knows it intimately. When the prophet Elisha first prophesied that she would have a son, she wouldn’t even let on that she desired a son. Then when her son died, she seems to wish she’d never hoped at all.
Notice Elisha’s responded to the woman in her fear, grief, and regret and their interaction. Take a moment to think about the interaction God would have with me when I am in fear, grief or regret? How would God respond in such situations? What might be God’s feeling? His response?
What might my life look like if I were to take God at His word, believing that He knows all about me and cares for me as tenderly as Elisha cared for the Shunammite? How might I pray differently? Live differently?
PRAYER:
Explore my own heart to see if there are any deep desires that I am afraid to trust God with. Have a conversation with Jesus. Tell Him my hesitation and reservation to trust Him for my secret desires and wishes. Listen for God’s response.
4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5 But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Jehoram marched out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to battle against Moab?” And he said, “I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Then he said, “By which way shall we march?” Jehoram answered, “By the way of the wilderness of Edom.”
9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them….
14 And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you. 15 But now bring me a musician.” And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him. 16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’ 17 For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’ 18 This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand,
REFLECTION:
If time permits, please read the whole chapter through to learn how Elisha began his ministry in the period of the Divided Kingdoms.
It seemed King Jehoram made all arrangements for the battle against Moab, or did he? What was the most important thing that Jehoram neglected but reminded by King Jehoshaphat?
Do I involve God in everyday decision making? Or only when I encounter great difficulties like Jehoram? Notice how this omission cost him dearly.
Have I developed the habit of asking God to examine my heart and my plans prior to any commitment or plan? Am I willing to wait for and follow through God’s response? Am I in the process of making an important decision now? What is it?
PRAYER:
Relax and stay quiet before God for a few minutes. Sing or read the following hymn as God speaks to me:
Hide me now, under Your wings
Cover me, within Your mighty hand
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You, above the storm
Father, You are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God
Layout my plans before God, ask the Holy Spirit to help me discern my intention and action in this particular decision. Give me a cheerful and obedient heart to follow His will for this matter before me.
1 Now when the Lord was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. 2 And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. 3 And the sons of the prophets who were in Bethel came out to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he said, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”
4 Elijah said to him, “Elisha, please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. 5 The sons of the prophets who were at Jericho drew near to Elisha and said to him, “Do you know that today the Lord will take away your master from over you?” And he answered, “Yes, I know it; keep quiet.”
6 Then Elijah said to him, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So the two of them went on. 7 Fifty men of the sons of the prophets also went and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. 8 Then Elijah took his cloak and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry ground.
9 When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” 10 And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” 11 And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.
Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.
REFLECTION:
If time permits, please read the whole chapter through to learn how Elisha began his ministry after the departure of Elijah.
This passage painted a beautiful picture between a current leader and his student as they walked their final journey together both knowing that Elijah will leave and pass on his work and God’s people to Elisha.
Now imagine I am the future leader (Elisha). How would I feel as people around me keep repeating that Elijah is moving on? Do I have an “Elijah” whom I can walk with and experience God’s faithfulness?
As a Christ-follower at PGC, do I serve brothers and sisters and God faithfully? Am I walking with my Elisha when I serve? Do I have an Elijah walking with me?
PRAYER:
Ask God to bring to mind one person that may be the Elijah or Elisha that God has prepared for me. Pray for that person and for the possibility of establishing such relationship in mentoring, teaching, learning and sharing.
The books commonly known as 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings are really one long book. (They were separated due to the length of ancient scrolls.) Beginning with Samuel, the last of the judges, this book describes what happened in the days of the kings who ruled first the whole nation, and then the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The reigns of Saul and David are described in detail. The repeating structure within the book tells how old a king was when he came to the throne, where and for how long he ruled, and something about his character and the notable events of his reign. (Some traditions call this book the “Book of Reigns.”)
Beneath this pattern of historical succession, however, another rhythm can be discerned. Saul, the first king, does not follow God faithfully, and God announces he will seek a man after his own heart to rule Israel. God finds this person in David. He puts him on the throne, promising that his descendants will always rule Israel if they continue to serve him. Unfortunately, the kings after David are not committed to following God’s way. Many of them abandon God and lead the people to do the same, although a few of them call the people back to obedience. Using David’s wholehearted dedication to the Lord as its standard, the book of Samuel-Kings traces the tragic wavering of the people’s devotion to God. Their covenant failure leads to the nation first being divided and then later conquered by the powerful empires to the east.
The “Book of Reigns” is therefore a tragic closing of the whole covenant history that began in Genesis. Just as the first humans were exiled from God’s garden, now Israel is sent out of the “new Eden” God intended in the Promised Land. Land and temple have been lost in the darkness of judgment, and only a flickering light remains. The deeper purpose of God for Israel—to bring blessing and restoration to the nations—seems to have been frustrated. But hope remains alive in God’s promise to bring a descendant of David back to the throne.
8 They answered him, “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
11 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king’s order, ‘Come down quickly!’” 12 But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
13 Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king
REFLECTION:
If time permits, please read the whole chapter through to learn the ailment of Ahaziah and Elijah’s prophecy from God.
Ahaziah showed complete contempt for God and His prophet by sending soldiers to arrest Elijah. He apparently wanted to get a reversal of the prophecy against Him (v4, 6) and resorted to massive force to secure it. “Man of God” means prophet. Elijah replied that he was indeed a servant of God. For this reason the king should have submitted to him. The issue in this thrice repeated confrontation was, who is in charge and has more power, Yahweh or Ahaziah? Fire from heaven settled the controversy. This was the last miracle of Elijah – calling down the fire to consume the soldiers. It was intended to demonstrate to Israel once again that they must hold God in awe.
Yet the God who is terrible in judgment is also merciful. The third captain took the proper humble approach to God’s prophet (vv. 13-14). He begged for his life and lives of his soldiers and they were spared.
What is truly my heart toward God? Humility, arrogance, contempt, respect ….? How do I live out my heart at family and workplace? Do I rely on God’s mercy and wisdom or use my position and authority to control others and further my own gain?
PRAYER:
Stay with God for a few moments. Invite the Holy Spirit to shine into even the darkest part of my heart. Talk with Jesus about what was revealed about my heart: toward God, family, and colleagues at work…..
End this time with a prayer of confession and re-dedication to honour and respect God in all areas of my life.
