2 Kings 6-7

The ax head floating is an interesting miracle, don’t you think? It reminds me that our God is interested in the details of our lives. Do you look for Him in the little things? There have been a number of times when I have lost something, and I have prayed for God to help me find it. I think it is a fun faith-building exercise. The most prominent memory I have of God revealing something I lost was when I could not find my kids’ school pictures. I sat down to put the photos in Christmas cards, but the pictures were not on my piano where I had left them. I prayed all day long, “God, You know exactly where these photos are, will you please tell me.” Early the next morning before I got out of bed, I prayed again, and God whispered, “They are in the dumpster. You threw them away when you sorted your mail.” I couldn’t get dressed fast enough! I quickly retrieved the bag of trash, and about a quarter of the way down, the pictures were sandwiched between a newspaper and a catalog. Jesus and I had a praise party all day long!

I love 2 Kings 6:16-17—“Don’t be afraid,” Elisha answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. Open my eyes, LORD!!! Remind me continually that “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!” (I John 4:4) Does the enemy have you feeling defeated today? Beg the LORD to open your eyes so you can see the protection He provides for your life.

I think it is very intriguing that Elisha prays three times in this passage about eyesight. First he prayed for his servant to see the army of God. Next he prayed that the enemy would be struck with blindness. Finally, after he has brought the enemy into captivity within the city walls, he prayed the LORD would open their eyes again. Do you realize Elisha is praying about spiritual sight? Do you have trouble seeing God at work around you? Pray that He will heal your spiritual eyes. We know that God is always at work (John 5:17). Ask God to show you where He is working so you can get on board.

In verses 22-23, Elisha chooses to treat the enemy with kindness. He prepared a feast for them, and they returned the favor by stopping the raids on Israel. When Aram did start raiding again, however, the king blamed it on Elisha (v 31). I don’t quite get why the man of God should be blamed, but I guess kings need someone to be the scapegoat when things go wrong.

Verses 26-29 describe a desperate woman in desperate times. Girls, we should be grateful each morning when we rise out of our soft, warm beds to select an outfit from a crowded closet before eating a breakfast from a full cupboard. We have never truly known desperate times. I selfishly pray that Jesus will return before we have to face such devastation. LORD, come quickly!

Did you notice that as soon as the king sent a messenger to find Elisha, then the LORD lifted the siege? That makes me ponder. Would God have lifted the oppression sooner if the king had consulted Elisha sooner? What nastiness could I avoid if I would seek guidance from the Holy Spirit sooner rather than later?

Wouldn’t you love to watch the movie of the four men with leprosy who discovered the deserted Aramean camp? I can smell their fear as they approached the camp ready to surrender their lives because of their desperation for food. Then I can feel their jubilation when it dawns on them that the enemy is scattered and the bounty is theirs. Woohoo! I am so proud of the men for deciding not to keep the secret to themselves. You know they had every right to be greedy. Their society had abandoned them as leprous outcasts. These men had every reason to hoard all the blessings. But they chose instead to be men of integrity, men who did the right thing even when it cost them everything. Let’s be people like that! Let’s be people who share the goodness of God with everyone we meet rather than keeping the best for ourselves.

I sure hope the king rewarded those guys.

2 Kings 2

I want to say a special “Thank You” to my fabulous husband for helping me with his insight for this passage. I was making it too hard looking for hidden meaning behind the three groups of prophets. I wanted to know how the prophets knew that Elijah was leaving and why Elisha didn’t want to talk about it. Why did Elijah keep trying to convince Elisha to stay behind? Trent pointed out that the central theme of this story is the mentoring relationship between Elijah and Elisha. Aha moment for me!

Mentoring has been a recurring theme in my thoughts lately. Trent’s marriage project will focus on mentoring. The members at our new church have brought up the idea of discipleship several times. One of the most rewarding times for me at our previous church was when I read through the Bible with women who were hungry to know God’s Word. I have always been grateful for the discipleship group my pastor had for my friends and I when we were young.

Reading about Elijah and Elisha’s relationship caused me to think of other biblical examples of mentoring. Naomi and Ruth, Eli and Samuel, Jesus and Peter, Paul and Timothy. In each case, the mentor poured himself into the life of another. In each case, the student was a faithful follower of the leader. The mentor saw potential in the student, and the student loved and admired the mentor. Were any of these relationships identical? Did any of them require the completion of an extensive curriculum? No. They were open and honest relationships where both parties were transparent with one another. Were these always easy relationships? No. Sometimes one party had to confront the other to keep the relationship on track. Did both mentor and student benefit from the relationship? Most definitely.

2 Kings 2:9-10—Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” “Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit,” Elisha replied. “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not.” I think we can gain important wisdom from this conversation between mentor and mentee.

1. The mentor needs to understand what the mentee needs from her.
2. The mentee must set specific goals for her learning.
3. The mentor must hold the mentee accountable to meet certain expectations.
4. The mentee must be faithful to do what the mentor requires.

Once a few ground rules are in place, the rest is all about relationship. Author and speaker Chris Adams says it is about “doing life together.” Author and pastor Max Lucado speaks about “being a faucet of love” in someone else’s life.

Can I challenge you to pray and ask for God’s guidance about entering into a mentoring relationship? Do you need someone to pour her knowledge into your life? Ask her to be your mentor. Has God brought someone into your life you know needs encouragement to start her journey with God? Ask her to simply read the Bible with you. Then let God build your relationship and grow it deep in His goodness and truth.

I am praying. Will you?

2 Kings 1

As we continue our study of the prophet Elijah, I like this story much better than yesterday's. Fire from heaven is much more in line with how we typically picture God's judgment of evil, don't you think? After all, we want to worship an all-powerful God, don't we--just as long as He doesn't use any of His lightning bolts on us personally?

Poor King Ahaziah. You can read about his appointment to be king in the last few verses of 1 Kings 22. He really had no hope to succeed, what with being the child of Ahab and Jezebel and all. With mentors like that, who needs antagonists? King Ahaziah's reign is doomed from the start, and you get the feeling he was aware of this fact. He sent messengers to inquire of a foreign god to find out whether or not he would recover from a fall through lattice. Okay, who walks on lattice and doesn't expect to fall through it?? Anyway, did you notice that Ahaziah is not asking this foreign god for healing? He is just looking for a confirmation or denial of what he already dreads will be the answer.

Did Ahaziah not realize that God would know what he was up to? Come on, Ahaziah had heard the story of Elijah. He recognized Elijah from a simple description of his wardrobe in 2 Kings 1:8. ("He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist." The king said, "That was Elijah the Tishbite.") If I knew my parents were defeated by the God of Elijah, I'm thinking I would figure out how to please this God and avoid His wrath. Can you tell that I don't have much patience for people who choose the wrong road in life? I just want to put a leash on them and drag them down the straight and narrow road. Okay, you're right, that doesn't really yield the results I'm looking for most of the time.

So, on with our story. After the messengers came back with confirmation from Elijah that Ahaziah would not recover, Ahaziah tried to intimidate the prophet. Should you threaten the God of the Universe with a captain and fifty men? Hmmm. Evidently not. It didn't work the first two times, but Ahaziah must have thought the third time would be the charm. "So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. "Man of God," he begged, "please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!" (2 Kings 1:13-14) I hope the third captain got a pay raise!

So, God told Elijah to travel with captain #3 to deliver the message to Ahaziah face-to-face. "You will certainly die!" (2 Kings 1:16) "So he died. . . ." (2 Kings 1:17)

End of story.

I think you will enjoy tomorrow's story. Will you read 2 Kings 2, and we will witness the ascension of Elijah and the empowering of Elisha together!