Thoughts from my personal time with God.
The widow of a member of a group of prophets went to Elisha and said, “Sir, my husband has died! As you know, he was a God-fearing man, but now a man he owed money to has come to take away my two sons as slaves in payment for my husband’s debt.”
How barbaric.
…“What shall I do for you?”
“Why should I help you?” Elisha said to the king of Israel. “Go and consult those prophets that your father and mother consulted. …By the living Lord, whom I serve, I swear that I would have nothing to do with you if I didn’t respect your ally, King Jehoshaphat of Judah. Now get me a musician.”
Very similar to Daniel’s response to Belshazzar (Daniel 5:17).…
…Elisha left Jericho to go to Bethel, and on the way some boys came out of a town and made fun of him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they shouted.
Elisha turned around, glared at them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. Then two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two of the boys to pieces.
2 Kings 2:23 – 3:12 Read More »
There, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what you want me to do for you before I am taken away.”
“Let me receive the share of your power that will make me your successor,” Elisha answered.
Yes, Father! May that be my inheritance!
…“That is a difficult request to grant,” Elijah replied. “But you will receive it if you see me as I am being taken away from you; if you don’t see me, you won’t receive it.”
…King Ahaziah of Israel fell off the balcony on the roof of his palace in Samaria and was seriously injured. So he sent some messengers to consult Baalzebub, the god of the Philistine city of Ekron, in order to find out whether or not he would recover. But an angel of the Lord commanded Elijah, the prophet from Tishbe, to go and meet the messengers of King Ahaziah and ask them, “Why are you going to consult Baalzebub, the god of Ekron?
…Micaiah went on: “Now listen to what the Lord says! I saw the Lord sitting on his throne in heaven, with all his angels standing beside him. The Lord asked, ‘Who will deceive Ahab so that he will go and be killed at Ramoth?’ Some of the angels said one thing, and others said something else, until a spirit stepped forward, approached the Lord, and said, ‘I will deceive him.’
…“…first let’s consult the Lord.”
So Ahab called in the prophets, about four hundred of them, and asked them, “Should I go and attack Ramoth, or not?”
“Attack it,” they answered. “The Lord will give you victory.”
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there another prophet through whom we can consult the Lord?”
Ahab answered, “There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah.
(There was no one else who had devoted himself so completely to doing wrong in the Lord’s sight as Ahab—all at the urging of his wife Jezebel. …)
I’m convinced that Ahab would have seen himself in a totally different light. As for me? Do I see who I am clearly? (Thank you, Lord, that I have remained single!)
…The Lord said to the prophet Elijah, “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me?
1 Kings 21:25 – 22:4 Read More »
Ahab went home, depressed and angry over what Naboth had said to him. He lay down on his bed, facing the wall, and would not eat.
The king of Israel is pouting!
“Well, are you the king or aren’t you?” Jezebel replied. “Get out of bed, cheer up, and eat. I will get you Naboth’s vineyard!”
What Achab forgot is that he had a wife that was absolutely ruthless, untethered by law and rules.…
“Your servant Benhadad pleads with you for his life.”
Ahab answered, “Is he still alive? Good! He’s like a brother to me!”
Really?! After what he just went through (1 Kings 20:7)? Ahab wants to be liked more than anything. Fatal (Galatians 1:10). May I never seek to be a friend of this world, Father (John 15:18-19; 17:14).…
1 Kings 20:31 – 43 Read More »