A Floating Ax Head (and More) Recovered

2 Kings 6:1-7
    1 And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, "See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us. 2 Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell."  So he answered, "Go."
    3 Then one said, "Please consent to go with your servants."  And he answered, "I will go." 4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees. 5 But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, "Alas, master! For it was borrowed."
    6 So the man of God said, "Where did it fall?" And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float. 7 Therefore he said, "Pick it up for yourself." So he reached out his hand and took it.

Here is a short story of God’s work through His messenger to restore what was lost that the man who lost a borrowed ax did not have to pay the owner for its loss (Exodus 22:14).  The man was one of the LORD’s prophets who was building a house for the group of them who were in need of a bigger place to stay apart from Elisha.  Elisha accompanied them to the place where they were constructing the house when the ax head broke loose and flew into the Jordan River.  The prophet who lost it was distressed most likely because he could not pay back the price of what he had lost that belonged to another while cutting down trees.  Elisha cut a small part of a tree, a mere branch, and tossed it in where the ax head went, and it miraculously stuck inside it where flew off the handle, and it floated to be recovered.  A small miracle perhaps, but what was lost was found, and have the one who owed a debt he could not pay such great relief and joy!  This loss of our relationship with God resulting in an infinitely greater debt which we could not pay is resolved in the greatest miracle of Christ sacrificing Himself on the cross in our place to pay our debt.  We each owed Him our life and were due to pay the sin debt with our own life, yet He was pierced (Zechariah 12:10, Isaiah 53:5-6) and rose from the earthly grave (1 Thessalonians 1:10, Romans 4:24-25) just as the ax head came out of a watery grave, giving hope and relief from our more dire circumstance of the greatest debt owed to the greatest One who loaned our lives to us as His creations.  We who were lost have been found by His grace and wondrous working of His life, death, burial, and resurrection.  Thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ for such atoning and reconciling grace (Colossians 1:19-22) to restore what was lost!  Amen and amen. 

Deceitful Greed

 2 Kings 5:20-27 

    20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, "Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him." 21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, "Is all well?"
     22 And he said, "All is well. My master has sent me, saying, 'Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.'"
    23 So Naaman said, "Please, take two talents." And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. 24 When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. 25 Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, "Where did you go, Gehazi?"  And he said, "Your servant did not go anywhere."
    26 Then he said to him, "Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? 27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever." And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.

Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the prophet, was not satisfied with his master turning down an opportunity for gain after Naaman the Syrian was healed by the LORD at His word.  He swore to God to get something for himself, and ran to catch his chariot.  Unlike in Acts 8:28-29, 35-37 where the Lord directed Philip to the servant of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians to bring the gospel, this Gehazi was in pursuit of wealth and personal gain.  The thankful Naaman who had been completely healed of his leprosy was more than eager to give what was asked.  However, when Gehazi came back with the filthy lucre to his master, Elisha knew (he was a seer), and confronted him.  Like Adam in the garden, Gehazi hid from his sin behind a lie.  Elisha expressed grief with his heart following Gehazi when he had gone after the personal gain which was God’s gift of grace to Naaman, and so the LORD passed the curse of the leprosy to Gehazi in place of ill-gotten gain.  Furthermore, the curse of this debilitating disease would then pass to his servant’s descendants forever as well.  The wages of sin are not pleasant, especially when God’s grace is sold for personal gain instead of to bless others.  Acts 8:20 records such an incident when the sorcerer tried to buy the power of God’s Spirit with money, and we all know what the greed of Judas Iscariot bought him when he could have had the blessings of the Lord as the other disciples.  The lesson here is to give overflowing grace without seeking our own gain (Luke 6:38), materially or spiritually.  All is God’s and is given as a stewardship to us to grace others with, not to fill our barns or banks. Matthew 13:22 warns of those thorns (the deceitful greed of riches) which choke out the gospel’s kingdom of God growing in us. 

Wholly Trust God’s Word for Wholeness

2 Kings 5:1-19
    1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman's wife. 3 Then she said to her mistress, "If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy." 4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, "Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel."
    5 Then the king of Syria said, "Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel."  So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing. 6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.
    7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me."  8 So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, "Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."
    9 Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he 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 to you, and you shall be clean." 11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, "Indeed, I said to myself, 'He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.' 12 Are not the Abanah and the 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 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, "My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?" 14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
    15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, "Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant."  16 But he said, "As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing." And he urged him to take it, but he refused.
    17 So Naaman said, "Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD. 18 Yet in this thing may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please pardon your servant in this thing."  19 Then he said to him, "Go in peace." So he departed from him a short distance.

Naaman, the commander of the army of Syria was used by the LORD in cleansing His people Israel by defeating them in battle that they might trust His word and follow Him again.  When this important man had developed leprosy, it took but a word from a captured Israeli girl to ask the king of Israel for healing by the LORD’s hand.  He may have been desperate to be healed, but he also had enough trust in God to do this thing.  He had faith.  This is an example of believing God which Jesus told in Luke 4:27, reminding the people that only Naaman the gentile was healed from being a leper because he heard the word of the LORD and trusted Him to make him cleansed and whole again.  Naaman was invited by the prophet Elisha to come and know the word of the LORD through His spokesman.  He wanted to glorify God, not demonstrate his own miraculous power as a healer.  This is a word of warning for some today as well.  The solution for healing was not as expected, however.  Naaman was simply to wash in the Jordan River to be perfectly (seven times) clean by trusting God to do so at His word “be healed” command belted out for an audience to magnify the messenger, but a test of trusting faith which acts on the word of God for His working.  We see this when Jesus told the man to wash in the pool at Siloam (John 9:7, 11) with trust in God’s word with obedient receiving action as proof of that true faith we see laid out for us in John 1:12 for true healing of the soul promised in Isaiah 53:6-11.  This was a trust issue tested by the willingness to accept God’s word to do something seemingly quite ordinary, bathing in a river, instead of demanding theatrics to bring down lightning and thunder to prove God’s word and ability to heal accordingly.  When Naaman listened to Elisha after his initial indignant questioning, he followed the word with the result that he was cleansed and made whole.  Then he realized this was the one and only God and offered to give a gift in return out of gratitude.  In the end, he ended up worshiping the LORD and went in peace.  We see that God requires this of us to do God’s work - to believe His word that He is God, and that He sent His Son for our healing of the soul, our salvation or deliverance from the wrath on our sin of disbelief and its resulting disobedience.  The true sin of Israel and all of the sons and daughters of Adam is this refusal to take God at His word and follow it as given to us for His glory and our good.  This is saving and pleasing faith in Christ.  We go in peace when we receive His word in the scriptures, trust Him, and joyfully obey in response.  We must wholly trust God’s word for wholeness.  Let us therefore learn the lesson of the Syrian commander as Jesus told those refusing to take Him at His word, walking out life by faith. 

Miraculous Purification and Feeding

2 Kings 4:38-44
    38 And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, "Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets." 39 So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. 40 Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, "Man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it.  41 So he said, "Then bring some flour." And he put it into the pot, and said, "Serve it to the people, that they may eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot.
    42 Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, "Give it to the people, that they may eat."  43 But his servant said, "What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?"  He said again, "Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the LORD: They shall eat and have some left over.'" 44 So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD.

Elisha continued to demonstrate the power and authority of the LORD in these two incidents.  First he made a stew in the midst of a famine for the prophets gathered around him.  One of them foraged for ingredients and wound up poisoning the batch of stew, but Elisha added ordinary flour and it was purified from the poisonous gourds.  The flour had no particular healing or chemical properties to neutralize the poison, but it was a way to demonstrate God’s watchcare over His people, especially these messengers of His word.  Then we have the feeding of the hundred with only twenty loaves of bread.  The LORD commanded that they should distribute it, even though it was not enough, just as in Matthew 14:13–21; 15:32–39, where Jesus the LORD fed five thousand and three thousand on two different occasions, with a perfect amount left over, enough for the disciples as well as those God fed.  Here Elisha lays the pattern for those future direct miracles as an intermediary, not in the Lord’s own bodily presence.  We find that the lesson to take away is that the LORD has power and ability to meet the needs of His saints in want, and can do anything with the created world and it’s governing laws to do so, even if He remakes them in the form of a miraculous work to do so.  He purified the stew and can purify what might ordinarily harm His messengers, such as with Paul and the viper on his hand from the sticks (Acts 28:3-6).  He also meets our needs as Matthew 6:32-33 reminds us.  We can rely on God’s provision and purifying protection in our sanctification as we follow Him.  This does not mean that we will be spared from harm or death as a blanket promise, for many prophets and disciples have suffered greatly and died as scripture shows us repeatedly.  But for the most part, we can rely on God’s provision of grace to feed and clothe us.

A Promise, Sudden Death, and Raised to Life

2 Kings 4:8-37

    8 Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. 9 And she said to her husband, "Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. 10 Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there."
    11 And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. 12 Then he said to Gehazi his servant, "Call this Shunammite woman." When he had called her, she stood before him. 13 And he said to him, "Say now to her, 'Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?'"  She answered, "I dwell among my own people."
    14 So he said, "What then is to be done for her?"  And Gehazi answered, "Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old."  15 So he said, "Call her." When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. 16 Then he said, "About this time next year you shall embrace a son."  And she said, "No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!"  17 But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.
    18 And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, "My head, my head!"  So he said to a servant, "Carry him to his mother." 20 When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. 21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband, and said, "Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back."
    23 So he said, "Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath."  And she said, "It is well." 24 Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, "Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you." 25 And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel.  So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, "Look, the Shunammite woman! 26 Please run now to meet her, and say to her, 'Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?'"  And she answered, "It is well." 27 Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, "Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me."  28 So she said, "Did I ask a son of my lord? Did I not say, 'Do not deceive me'?"
   29 Then he said to Gehazi, "Get yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but lay my staff on the face of the child."  30 And the mother of the child said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you." So he arose and followed her. 31 Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, "The child has not awakened."
    32 When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. 33 He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD. 34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. 35 He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 And he called Gehazi and said, "Call this Shunammite woman." So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, "Pick up your son." 37 So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out.

Here is the story of Elisha and the Shunammite's son.  It is a recollection of a promise of God, a sudden end unexpected death, and the rising from death to life.  Elisha had been often traveling past her home until the woman of Shunem talked with her husband to give him a room to rest in on his journeys because she knew him to be a man of God.  He finally asked what he could do for her, if she needed protection from the army or the king’s favor for government assistance or anything, but she was well off and needed nothing.  Elisha was moved by He LORD to tell her He would give her a son, but she told him not to give false promises and hope.  She had the son anyway and was happy until suddenly his head hurt badly  and he died that day at noon in her arms.  She road to Mount Carmel to speak with Elisha and ask why God allowed her to have a son who was only to be taken away so soon from her.  She reminded him that she never asked for a son in the first place.  This took Elisha by surprise because the LORD had chosen to hide what happened from him; as a prophet, he assumed he should have known, but also knew that this was God’s doing, so he sent his servant to the child ahead of him in a hurry.  The servant Gehazi put Elisha’s staff on the boy until he arrived and laid himself on him to warm the cold corpse until the LORD brought his life back to him.  The Shunammite mother was exceedingly grateful and honored him as a prophet of the LORD, knowing that the son was a gift and so was the death and resurrection of that precious grace of God.  We see the parallel of God’s Son given for us and His resurrection, we see our complaints when we lose someone or something valuable which He gives us, and we learn also to be exceedingly thankful for all He provides in His food will and grace, no matter what trials or loss we face.  Our certain hope which anchors the soul is in our own resurrection because of His at the last day (1 Peter 1:3, Philippians 3:10, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22).  We then should be content and hopeful with an eternal vision in the midst of trials and loss, for our gain is so much greater (Philippians 3:7-8)!  There is truly great comfort in this certain hope.

A Supply to Meet the Need

2 Kings 4:1-7
    1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves."
    2 So Elisha said to her, "What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?" And she said, "Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil."
    3 Then he said, "Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones."
    5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel."
    And he said to her, "There is not another vessel." So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest."

Similar to Elijah in 1 Kin. 17:14–16, Elisha met the need of a woman in great need.  This miraculous work of the LORD was similar in that a needed supply of oil was required.  With Elijah, the long term need went unending for years to sustain a widow and her child from starvation, but here the immediate need was to fill enough available containers to sell to pay the widow’s debts and keep her children.  Both also had children in need, which we will look at next time.  Here we find that God can meet needs in ways that defy logic and the known natural laws of physics; a small source of oil in a single jar simply cannot fill more containers than it contains itself, but that is precisely what happened here.  She took that one jar of oil and, at God’s command through the messenger, filled many vessels until they had no more to pour into.  Then she sold the oil, paid her debts, and saved the family from slavery and ruin.  The lesson of this event is that God can do whatever He wills and tells, just as Jesus did while incarnate on the earth.  Such miracles cannot be demanded nor expected as due to us by God, but when He moves to do them, nothing is impossible for His working outside of the known and observable laws of the universe as we see them.  He is above and outside of His creation, able to make and change or override the rules of how things work.  He is absolutely sovereign over all the work of His mighty hand.  He was even able to take the dust of our being (Genesis 2:7) and fix what is broken by inherited sin of this fallen world as with the blind man using dust of the earth and water from His own mouth to fix the sightless eyes (John 9:6), using the same created materials He made the ground from.  He has power over life and death which we do not.  When He does things like this through the hands of others such as Elijah and Elisha, it is still His work and not man’s, a miraculous event which is possible only by Him (Mark 10:27).  We also find that God is involved in our lives to preserve in His grace and deliver those He chooses from bondage and debt, just as with our debt of death earned by our sin (Romans 6:23) and by His work of grace we are freed from bondage to sin (John 8:32-36).  He supplies what we need, including freedom from enslavement to sin and from starvation of body and spirit.  These accounts of His work through Elijah and Elisha are shadows of the work to come in Christ Jesus our Lord and by His working through us.  He is the unending supply of all our true and desperate needs. We find this demonstrated to the apostles for our learning as well in the accounts of the baskets of fish and loaves of bread feeding the needs of so many (Mark 8:19-21) from our own inadequate supply apart from His provision. 

God’s Word and Trench Warfare

2 Kings 3:1-27
    1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.  4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. 5 But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
    6 So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, "The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?"  And he said, "I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." 8 Then he said, "Which way shall we go up?"  And he answered, "By way of the Wilderness of Edom."  9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. 10 And the king of Israel said, "Alas! For the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab."
    11 But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD by him?"  So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, "Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah."  12 And Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the LORD is with him." So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.  13 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother."  But the king of Israel said to him, "No, for the LORD has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab."
    14 And Elisha said, "As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. 15 But now bring me a musician."  Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. 16 And he said, "Thus says the LORD: 'Make this valley full of ditches.' 17 For thus says the LORD: 'You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.' 18 And this is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19 Also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones."
    20 Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.  21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were gathered; and they stood at the border. 22 Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. 23 And they said, "This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!"
    24 So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites. 25 Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked it.
    26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great indignation against Israel. So they departed from him and returned to their own land.

We saw in 2 Kings 1:1 how Moab rose against Israel after Ahab the king died, now we find Moab again seeking to attack God’s people with Jehoram the son of Ahab as ruler.  He aligns with Jehoshaphat king of Judah, but looked like he might have made the same serious error of his father (2 Kings 1:16) if Jehoshaphat did not step in to ask for the LORD to give them guidance through a mouthpiece of His.  This was Elisha the prophet.  Jehoram had given up all hope of victory, but Jehoshaphat of Judah knew better and they summoned the prophet.  Even when Elisha came, Jehoram repeated the same hopeless mantra of imminent destruction, possibly relating this to the defeat of his father Ahab.  Elisha asked for music to have God’s Spirit come over him for revelation and words to move his tongue, such as we see King David do for Saul and in his own life in the scriptures.  The word told them to dig trenches and wait for the LORD to bring rain out of nowhere to fill them, enough to water their animals and to bring defeat to their enemy.  The morning revealed just what that meant; the water came, the golden moment of dawn reflected as blood on the water in the trenches, and the war began with false assurance for Moab as if Israel and Judah had slaughtered one another.  They came in with their guard down confidently to Israel’s camp, and were sorely defeated by God’s design.  They followed the retreating Moabites into their land and ruined it as they killed more of them, just as the prophet had said.  The king of Moab was unable to get to Edom for help, so he sacrificed his own son and left.  The reliance on the true God, the LORD, is what saved God’s people when they listened to His word and obeyed no matter how little sense it seemed to make to them.  Their reliance on His work instead of their own effort won the battle.  Grace triumphed over works, that is, God’s work for them did what their own efforts never could acc.  Such it is still for God’s people; we are saved from His wrath and judgment by His work in Christ and grace to impute that righteousness to us, not in our works but by His good and unmerited grace (2 Timothy 1:9, Ephesians 2:5, 8).

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Healing Waters and Curses

2 Kings 2:19-25 

    19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren."
    20 And he said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.'" 22 So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.
    23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!"
    24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.  25 Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

Elisha was still in Jericho after his master Elijah had been caught up to be with the LORD.  The people there informed him that water was not palatable and not much could grow there in the barren soil.  What Elisha did then was to mix salt in a bowl of water and pour it in the source of the spring, promising safe water and fruitful crops once more.  This was more than a chemical science experiment, for no explanation of salt in water can make sense of this - it was a miraculous event in which the LORD used the prophet to demonstrate the pat he was acting in His power as Elijah before him.  These were healing waters from the Lord.  The second part of this passage shows that the LORD honors His promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3 for His people of faith of believing Abraham.  He blesses outsiders who are not of faith who bless His children, but He also curses those who curse His own.  That is what happened here; those ungodly young people who mocked the prophet received a curse of the LORD by the mouth of Elisha and were subsequently attacked and killed by creations from the Garden of Eden, the bears.  They were all His creations, but those rejecting Him and His messenger, a descendant physically and spiritually of Abraham, paid the price for their mocking rejection as surely as Cain was cursed.  Even so, we who are descendants by faith culminated in Christ are also protected in eternity when the LORD will enact vengeance and retribution of judgment in His righteousness (Revelation 6:10).  In our patient endurance we possess our souls in Christ now and forever. The healing waters of the river flowing through New Jerusalem with trees of healing (Revelation 22:2) will likewise reflect His purifying and spiritual of His people from this present evil and suffering.  There will be no more tears of sadness in His presence!  Amen.  Even so, come, Lord Jesus!

The Loss and Gain of Ascension

2 Kings 2:1-18
    1 And it came to pass, when the LORD was about to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Then Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Bethel."  But Elisha said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they went down to Bethel.
    3 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, "Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?"  And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent!"  4 Then Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to Jericho."  But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So they came to Jericho.  5 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said to him, "Do you know that the LORD will take away your master from over you today?"  So he answered, "Yes, I know; keep silent!"
    6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, please, for the LORD has sent me on to the Jordan."  But he said, "As the LORD lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!" So the two of them went on. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them stood by the Jordan. 8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them crossed over on dry ground.
    9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?"  Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."  10 So he said, "You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so." 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
    12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, "Where is the LORD God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.
    15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him. 16 Then they said to him, "Look now, there are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the LORD has taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley."  And he said, "You shall not send anyone."
    17 But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send them!" Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not find him. 18 And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho, he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?"

The time came when Elijah was done with the mission the LORD called him for, and He was ready to call him to Himself in a whirlwind as in Psalm 107:25 where His storm lifted the water of the Red Sea to allow His people to cross over.  He brought Elisha with him as his successor, then told him to go to Bethel (literally the house of God), but Elisha refused to leave Elijah.  Everywhere they went, there were other prophets who kept asking Elisha if he knew that the LORD would be taking Elijah that day.  He did not want to face the possibility of the loss of his mentor, so he kept telling them all to stop talking about what he already knew but did not want to face.  Finally, they came to cross over the Jordan River as fifty prophets watched at a distance.  Elijah then took off his mantle and struck the water for it to part and make a way across.  On the other side, Elijah asked Elisha what he wanted from him before he ascended to be with the LORD.  Elisha asked for a difficult and seemingly lofty thing, that he might have a double part of God’s Spirit on him, most likely that he could continue the difficult work Elijah began and therefore needed more to make up what he lacked as Elijah’s equal.  The condition to grant this was that Elisha had to see the LORD take him up into heaven in the tempest; just then the LORD’s chariot of fire swept down ant took Elijah up!  He realized that it was the LORD who sent the chariot with flaming horses to ascend with His faithful servant into the heavens.  Elisha then took up his mentor’s mantle and crossed back over the Jordan as the prophets witnessed all things occurring there.  He asked where the God of Elijah was as he struck the waters as of to validate that the LORD had indeed put His Spirit on Elisha as promised, then crossed over the dry land between the waters and on to the work he was promised and called to, much like Israel called out of bondage to worship and serve the LORD.  The onlooking prophets did not miss the sight of the chariot of fire, but refused to believe that Elijah was really gone, and kept seeking where he might be until giving up after three days.  They wanted to believe that the LORD had just picked him up and put him down elsewhere.  At the same time, they acknowledged that the spirit of Elijah was now on Elisha as he took up his master’s mantle.  This was the transition of ministry with both the loss of Elijah through his ascension, and the gain of a calling to continue the work of God’s messenger.  In a similar manner, the disciples suffered loss as Jesus ascended into heaven (Luke 24:51, Acts 1:2, 8-9), yet gained a call to be the gospel mouthpieces of the Lord.  We are those who have taken up the Lord Jesus Christ’s mantle of good news of reconciliation with God the Father through Him.  We are His messengers who continue His work in the measure of His Spirit (Acts 1:4-5, 8) given us as our Helper for the work, much like the picture of Elisha to continue the work of Elijah in delivering God’s word.  

Israel’s Judgment on Rejection of His Word

2 Kings 1:1-18
    1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.  2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury." 3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Now therefore, thus says the LORD: 'You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" So Elijah departed.
    5 And when the messengers returned to him, he said to them, "Why have you come back?"  6 So they said to him, "A man came up to meet us, and said to us, 'Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'"'"
    7 Then he said to them, "What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?"  8 So they answered him, "A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist."  And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."
    9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: "Man of God, the king has said, 'Come down!'"  10 So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men.  And he answered and said to him: "Man of God, thus has the king said, 'Come down quickly!'"
    12 So Elijah answered and said to them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.  13 Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: "Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14 Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight."
    15 And 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. 16 Then he said to him, "Thus says the LORD: 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'"
    17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.  18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

God judged Ahaziah for seeking healing from a false God, Baal-Zebub, after falling from a good height.  The LORD sent Elijah to meet the messengers of Ahaziah on their way to get false hope, and the message he gave was that the blasphemous choice to reject God and seek help from a dead diety would result in certain death instead of healing.  The king found out who gave this bad news and sent soldiers to get him, but Elijah called down fire from God to consume them.  This happened again, but the third time the captain of the force humbled himself and begged to be spared from the consuming fire of the LORD.  then the Angel of the LORD allowed Elijah to accompany them back to face the king in safety.  Elijah made it clear that the choice to seek counsel and healing help from a false god instead of the word of God brought judgment and certain death as the consequence.  The king died.  His son Jehoram inherited the throne of Israel.  All he had done was recorded in the chronicles of God’s word for future generations to learn from, including us.  We are certainly not to call down fire on those opposed to God (Luke 9:54-56), but to tell the good news of salvation to replace the bad news of certain judgment for our serving other gods and self apart from the forgiveness of grace in Christ.  We bring hope, not judgment, for all are already under judgment (John 12:48).  His word holds us all under judgment for rejection of it and He who is that word (John 1:1, 14).  Hope is found in Jesus Christ alone (John 6:29)! 

Examples of Good and Evil Rulers

1 Kings 22:41-53
    41 Jehoshaphat the son of Asa had become king over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 43 And he walked in all the ways of his father Asa. He did not turn aside from them, doing what was right in the eyes of the LORD. Nevertheless the high places were not taken away, for the people offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places. 44 Also Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel.
    45 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, the might that he showed, and how he made war, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 46 And the rest of the perverted persons, who remained in the days of his father Asa, he banished from the land. 47 There was then no king in Edom, only a deputy of the king.
    48 Jehoshaphat made merchant ships to go to Ophir for gold; but they never sailed, for the ships were wrecked at Ezion Geber. 49 Then Ahaziah the son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, "Let my servants go with your servants in the ships." But Jehoshaphat would not.  50 And Jehoshaphat rested with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the City of David his father. Then Jehoram his son reigned in his place.
    51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. 52 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; 53 for he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.

Jehoshaphat and Ahaziah, kings of Judah and Israel.  One was good and one was evil in heart and actions.  Jehoshaphat reigned twenty-five years, while Ahaziah only made it two.  The king of Israel did what was right as defined by the LORD, while Ahaziah did was was right as he wanted, which was only evil in God’s sight.  This summary at the end of the book shows the current state of the divided kingdom at that time, with Judah keeping the course and Israel wandering further from the LORD their God.  His people were divided in loyalty to Him, not just in national borders.  Jehoshaphat fought the good fight and banished the perverse from the land (קָדֵשׁ, sodomites, those practicing sodomy and prostitution in religious rituals) to keep the people holy.  1 Corinthians 6:9-10 reminds us who are in Christ that some of us were these perverse and godless ones as well, but those desires and actions fundamentally change when He changes us (1 Corinthians 6:11), though we may still battle against them (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).  We should be like Jehoshaphat the good king to rule over our souls, and not like Ahaziah the evil and sensuous-minded ruler leading us astray back into the idolatry of sin which worships self and pleasures over the Lord.  The transitory pleasures of sin are not worth the consequences as Moses gave us the example in Hebrews 11:24-26 while suffering with God’s people in doing right.  This warning of exhortation was given in the beginning to us that we must rule over sin and its temptations (Genesis 4:7), looking to nip them in the bud before losing the battles as Ahaziah.  Our guidance is helped in James 1:14-15, where we are warned of how tempting circumstances and pleasures will overcome us when dwelt on instead of walked away from.  Our own sinful hearts desire what is wrong and must have a good and strong ruler over them; we have that King of kings whose Spirit helps us to rule over the sin and its evil ruler within us.  Let us then put to death the things opposed to God and His word to be like Jehoshaphat instead of Ahaziah, learning from their examples in the scriptures to guide our walk with the Lord, with holiness and self-control ruling our sanctification by His work in us guided by His Spirit and word.  

Disguise and Defeat

1 Kings 22:29-40
    29 So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. 30 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "I will disguise myself and go into battle; but you put on your robes." So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
    31 Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, "Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel." 32 So it was, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, "Surely it is the king of Israel!" Therefore they turned aside to fight against him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. 33 And it happened, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. 34 Now a certain man drew a bow at random, and struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So he said to the driver of his chariot, "Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am wounded."
    35 The battle increased that day; and the king was propped up in his chariot, facing the Syrians, and died at evening. The blood ran out from the wound onto the floor of the chariot. 36 Then, as the sun was going down, a shout went throughout the army, saying, "Every man to his city, and every man to his own country!"
    37 So the king died, and was brought to Samaria. And they buried the king in Samaria. 38 Then someone washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria, and the dogs licked up his blood while the harlots bathed, according to the word of the LORD which He had spoken.
    39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, the ivory house which he built and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 40 So Ahab rested with his fathers. Then Ahaziah his son reigned in his place.

You cannot hide from God’s decreed Sovereign will.  Disguise only brought Ahab the defeat ordained and told by prophecy to him.  The other prophets were given a lie to deceive Ahab into believing that he could recapture Ramoth Gilead from the Syrians, playing off the pride in his own strength and abilities to end the ungodly leadership and rescue the lost sheep of shepherdless Israel.  The ruse did not work for Ahab as he put on common clothing with armor and let Jehoshaphat of Judah keep his Royal robes on in battle as a decoy; the random arrow of a nondescript archer found its mark, and he died of blood loss by evening in his chariot as he faced the battle.  The soldiers all scattered to their lands and homes, and they buried the king in his town of Samaria.  There the prophecy was fulfilled (1 Kings 21:19) as the dogs locked up Ahab’s blood from the chariot while the harlots bathed nearby.  His son Ahaziah inherited the throne.  We find from this account that rejection and continued disobedience to God demands the consequences according to His word.  Here it was freshly spoken by a mouthpiece of the LORD, but now the word is in written scripture for our admonition (1 Corinthians 10:11) to warn and exhort us that we do not let sin harden us (Hebrews 3:13) and we face similar consequences.  God is not mocked as Galatians 6:7 warns us that we might take heed to these examples of God’s unchanging working and character.  If it were not for grace and repentance to faith and forgiveness, we would all face a similar end.  Our hearts and lives should therefore be devoted in the holiness of a willingly obedient and living worship (Hebrews 12:1-2, James 1:21). The admonition of such examples of the scriptures gives us both warning and hope.  We do not prosper with disguise, but with sincerity and truth with humility as we live in the outline of God’s word of grace in Christ.  Amen!

Warning to the Sheep and Shepherds

1 Kings 22:1-28
    1 Now three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. 2 Then it came to pass, in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went down to visit the king of Israel.  3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, "Do you know that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, but we hesitate to take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?" 4 So he said to Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to fight at Ramoth Gilead?"  Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." 5 Also Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, "Please inquire for the word of the LORD today."
    6 Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, "Shall I go against Ramoth Gilead to fight, or shall I refrain?"  So they said, "Go up, for the Lord will deliver it into the hand of the king."  7 And Jehoshaphat said, "Is there not still a prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of Him?"  8 So the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "There is still one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the LORD; but I hate him, because he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil."  And Jehoshaphat said, "Let not the king say such things!"
    9 Then the king of Israel called an officer and said, "Bring Micaiah the son of Imlah quickly!"  10 The king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, having put on their robes, sat each on his throne, at a threshing floor at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. 11 Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made horns of iron for himself; and he said, "Thus says the LORD: 'With these you shall gore the Syrians until they are destroyed.'" 12 And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, "Go up to Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the king's hand."
    13 Then the messenger who had gone to call Micaiah spoke to him, saying, "Now listen, the words of the prophets with one accord encourage the king. Please, let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak encouragement."  14 And Micaiah said, "As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak."  15 Then he came to the king; and the king said to him, "Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall we refrain?"  And he answered him, "Go and prosper, for the LORD will deliver it into the hand of the king!"  16 So the king said to him, "How many times shall I make you swear that you tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the LORD?"
    17 Then he said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each return to his house in peace.'"  18 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, "Did I not tell you he would not prophesy good concerning me, but evil?"
    19 Then Micaiah said, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. 20 And the LORD said, 'Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead?' So one spoke in this manner, and another spoke in that manner. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD, and said, 'I will persuade him.' 22 The LORD said to him, 'In what way?' So he said, 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And the LORD said, You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so.' 23 Therefore look! The LORD has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the LORD has declared disaster against you."
    24 Now Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, "Which way did the spirit from the LORD go from me to speak to you?"  25 And Micaiah said, "Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide!"  26 So the king of Israel said, "Take Micaiah, and return him to Amon the governor of the city and to Joash the king's son; 27 and say, 'Thus says the king: "Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace."'"  28 But Micaiah said, "If you ever return in peace, the LORD has not spoken by me." And he said, "Take heed, all you people!"

There was peace with Syria for three years, but then Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went to Ahab the king of Israel, who wanted to start a fight with Syria to reclaim Ramoth Gilead and involve Judah for help.  Therefore the king of Israel called four hundred prophets together to get the LORD’s backing for his plan at the request of the king of Judah; Jehoshaphat heard and then asked if there was one good and true prophet left, knowing this unanimous message to be untrue.  Micaiah the prophet was called against the king of Israel’s wish, for he told the unpleasant truth which was not wanted.  At first Micaiah said the same message as the other prophets, but was mocking in reality.  When pressed for the truth, the message which really was from the LORD was that a lying spirit was given to the other prophets in order to seal the doom of Ahab’s disastrous defeat and death when attempting to reclaim Ramoth Gilead.  It was a trap to stop the evil king for his rebellion and rejection of God’s word, and it was effective because Micaiah was thrown in prison to avoid Ahab hearing the truth anymore.  Micaiah warned them all to watch out, and that he would not be released by Ahab if he was telling the truth of God’s message.  We learn that sometimes everyone will assent to say what sounds good and profitable as men-pleasers (Galatians 1:10) when we should listen to what rings true in alignment with the scriptures in context and in whole.  It is easy to hear what we want to hear, but it is absolutely essential to instead hear and follow what the Lord says.  This is a warning to both sheep and shepherd, for we were once all lost sheep before knowing and following our Master’s voice, that of Christ our Lord (1 John 2:20).  We were lost sheep, but now are found in Him whose voice we follow in accordance with His word made understandable by His Spirit living in us giving us the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Covetousness Which is Idolatry

1 Kings 21:1-29
    1 And it came to pass after these things that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard which was in Jezreel, next to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, "Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near, next to my house; and for it I will give you a vineyard better than it. Or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its worth in money."  3 But Naboth said to Ahab, "The LORD forbid that I should give the inheritance of my fathers to you!"
    4 So Ahab went into his house sullen and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him; for he had said, "I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers." And he lay down on his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no food. 5 But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said to him, "Why is your spirit so sullen that you eat no food?"  6 He said to her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite, and said to him, 'Give me your vineyard for money; or else, if it pleases you, I will give you another vineyard for it.' And he answered, 'I will not give you my vineyard.'"
    7 Then Jezebel his wife said to him, "You now exercise authority over Israel! Arise, eat food, and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite."  8 And she wrote letters in Ahab's name, sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters to the elders and the nobles who were dwelling in the city with Naboth. 9 She wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and seat Naboth with high honor among the people; 10 and seat two men, scoundrels, before him to bear witness against him, saying, "You have blasphemed God and the king." Then take him out, and stone him, that he may die.
    11 So the men of his city, the elders and nobles who were inhabitants of his city, did as Jezebel had sent to them, as it was written in the letters which she had sent to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast, and seated Naboth with high honor among the people. 13 And two men, scoundrels, came in and sat before him; and the scoundrels witnessed against him, against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, "Naboth has blasphemed God and the king!" Then they took him outside the city and stoned him with stones, so that he died. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, "Naboth has been stoned and is dead."
    15 And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, "Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money; for Naboth is not alive, but dead." 16 So it was, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab got up and went down to take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
    17 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 18 "Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who lives in Samaria. There he is, in the vineyard of Naboth, where he has gone down to take possession of it. 19 You shall speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "Have you murdered and also taken possession?"' And you shall speak to him, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, dogs shall lick your blood, even yours."'"
    20 So Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, O my enemy?"  And he answered, "I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD: 21 'Behold, I will bring calamity on you. I will take away your posterity, and will cut off from Ahab every male in Israel, both bond and free. 22 I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, because of the provocation with which you have provoked Me to anger, and made Israel sin.' 23 And concerning Jezebel the LORD also spoke, saying, 'The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.' 24 The dogs shall eat whoever belongs to Ahab and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall eat whoever dies in the field."
    25 But there was no one like Ahab who sold himself to do wickedness in the sight of the LORD, because Jezebel his wife stirred him up. 26 And he behaved very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites had done, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel.
    27 So it was, when Ahab heard those words, that he tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his body, and fasted and lay in sackcloth, and went about mourning.  28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 29 "See how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the calamity in his days. In the days of his son I will bring the calamity on his house."

In Jezreel next to Ahab’s palace was a plot of land with a vineyard which the king wanted for himself as a vegetable garden.  He offered to buy it at a good price from Naboth the owner, but he did not want to part with his family inheritance (the land was the wealth and inheritance in the land from the LORD as Numbers 36:7 and Ezekiel 46:18 say).  After sulking a while, Ahab’s evil wife Jezebel came up with a scheme to give a fake feast for Naboth with false accusations brought against him there to show him a blasphemer against God and the king, and be put to death by stoning to get the land for her husband.  Elijah was sent by the LORD to tell Ahab that he was a murderer and that the dogs would eventually lap up his blood where they had already done so for the blood of the innocent man.  Even Jezebel would be eaten by the dogs. The LORD prophesied calamities on Ahab and his descendants for this heinous premeditated murder out of covetousness, which is idolatry (Colossians 3:5).  Ahab had broken the commandments by these acts of greed and murder (Exodus 20:13, 17, 23:7), and faced the divine justice due him.  He had given the example to cause Israel to sin as a king, and would answer for it along with his wife who made it happen.  The scriptures here say just how bad Ahab was to sell himself to such wickedness by her goading.  He broke the first commandment by his idolatry, imitating the ungodly around him whom they should have killed off in the beginning, but let live to corrupt all Israel.  But Ahab did repent, and God held off on the punishment until he died.  But his descendants and Jezebel would pay the price.  We see then that disobedience and rejection of worship and honor to the LORD bring certain consequences; we have all sinned in our hearts as well as in action (Romans 3:23, 6:23), and will face divine justice absolutely and irrevocably unless pardoned by God’s work in Christ (Hebrews 9:27-28).  There is a price for our sin, but there is redemption and reconciliation in His Son (Psalm 2:12). 

Deceit by Sackcloth

1 Kings 20:31-43
    31 Then his servants said to him, "Look now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please, let us put sackcloth around our waists and ropes around our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life." 32 So they wore sackcloth around their waists and put ropes around their heads, and came to the king of Israel and said, "Your servant Ben-Hadad says, 'Please let me live.'"  And he said, "Is he still alive? He is my brother."
    33 Now the men were watching closely to see whether any sign of mercy would come from him; and they quickly grasped at this word and said, "Your brother Ben-Hadad."  So he said, "Go, bring him." Then Ben-Hadad came out to him; and he had him come up into the chariot.  34 So Ben-Hadad said to him, "The cities which my father took from your father I will restore; and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria."  Then Ahab said, "I will send you away with this treaty." So he made a treaty with him and sent him away.
    35 Now a certain man of the sons of the prophets said to his neighbor by the word of the LORD, "Strike me, please." And the man refused to strike him. 36 Then he said to him, "Because you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, surely, as soon as you depart from me, a lion shall kill you." And as soon as he left him, a lion found him and killed him.  37 And he found another man, and said, "Strike me, please." So the man struck him, inflicting a wound. 38 Then the prophet departed and waited for the king by the road, and disguised himself with a bandage over his eyes. 39 Now as the king passed by, he cried out to the king and said, "Your servant went out into the midst of the battle; and there, a man came over and brought a man to me, and said, 'Guard this man; if by any means he is missing, your life shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a talent of silver.' 40 While your servant was busy here and there, he was gone."  Then the king of Israel said to him, "So shall your judgment be; you yourself have decided it."
    41 And he hastened to take the bandage away from his eyes; and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 Then he said to him, "Thus says the LORD: Because you have let slip out of your hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore your life shall go for his life, and your people for his people.'"  43 So the king of Israel went to his house sullen and displeased, and came to Samaria.

Ahab made a treaty with Ben-Hadad when he cried for mercy that he might not be killed as the Syrian army he had pitted against God’s people.  The servants of Ben-Hadad talked him into deceit by sackcloth and seeking to latch onto the words of Ahab as his brother to gain sympathy.  Ahab agreed in disobedience to God’s command to eliminate him for defying the LORD and minimizing His power and authority to a god of the mountains alone.  Ahab was conned into sparing Ben-Hadad and doing business in Damascus with the added concession of getting his cities back to Israel.  The prophet brought a message in a visual parable to show the error to Ahab for giving freedom to one whom God had set aside for complete destruction.  Ahab would pay the price with his own life and with the people of Israel for this blatant disregard of God’s command.  This made Ahab depressed, but godly repentance is nowhere to be seen.  Do we listen and follow God’s word, or do we listen to deceitful sad stories moving our feelings above obedience and end up following the world opposed to Him?  When we do fail in disobedience, do we then feel sad, resentful, and angry, or do we seek true repentance (2 Corinthians 7:9-10) and seek to turn from repeating such sin?  There is mercy and grace at His throne when we need help, and heartfelt repentance with resulting changes leads to certain forgiveness. 

God’s Enemies Defeated Once More

1 Kings 20:23-30
    23 Then the servants of the king of Syria said to him, "Their gods are gods of the hills. Therefore they were stronger than we; but if we fight against them in the plain, surely we will be stronger than they. 24 So do this thing: Dismiss the kings, each from his position, and put captains in their places; 25 and you shall muster an army like the army that you have lost, horse for horse and chariot for chariot. Then we will fight against them in the plain; surely we will be stronger than they."  And he listened to their voice and did so.
    26 So it was, in the spring of the year, that Ben-Hadad mustered the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. 27 And the children of Israel were mustered and given provisions, and they went against them. Now the children of Israel encamped before them like two little flocks of goats, while the Syrians filled the countryside.
    28 Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, "Thus says the LORD: 'Because the Syrians have said, "The LORD is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys," therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'" 29 And they encamped opposite each other for seven days. So it was that on the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel killed one hundred thousand foot soldiers of the Syrians in one day. 30 But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; then a wall fell on twenty-seven thousand of the men who were left.  And Ben-Hadad fled and went into the city, into an inner chamber.

The Syrians made the mistake of being enemies of Him by considering the LORD of all creation to be less in the open plain than on the tops of the hills.  They made Him into just another idol in their estimation, and foolishly thought that they could defeat His people this way, not acknowledging or even realizing who He is.  The king’s advisers therefore told Ben-Hadad to put army captains in place of the kings allied with him who were handsomely routed in the previous battle with this shortsighted strategy.  The people of God were so outnumbered that they resembled two small flocks of goats against an overwhelming army camped all around, filling the area.  Ah, but God sent a messenger to Ahab to demonstrate His power and will for His honor and glory, and for the good of His people.  He was told the word of the LORD which was the enemy delivered assuredly into their hands in victorious battle because the Syrians mocked His majesty by limiting His power in the open field by their blasphemous taunting.  After seven days of sitting opposite each other, the battle was begun and ended quickly with one hundred thousand of them killed in just one day.  Twenty-seven thousand who ran away were crushed by a falling wall in the town they ran to hide in.  Ben-Hadad himself hid inside the city in a hidden room to escape destruction.  This recounting of God’s power and fighting for His glory while also for the good of His people demonstrates that nothing is too difficult for Him, that He will silence the blasphemous mockers who oppose Him with judgment and justice, and that He looks over His chosen ones in the battles against them.  We know that the Lord is to be honored and glorified by we who know Him truly in Christ, and we therefore trust His goodness to us (Romans 8:28, 31, 37-39).  We know the ultimate victory in in Christ alone and that He will bring justice in the final judgment to avenge His people as well as His glory and honor (Revelation 6:10).  Therefore, let us fight the good fight of faith as we look to God’s word for His guiding promises and the eternal outcome as promised.  His multitude of enemies who reject Him and His person will be defeated once more and forever against the few sheep of His flock who entered by the narrow gate (Acts 4:12, Matthew 7:13-14) which He has called as His own amidst the countryside filled with those running to the denial of destruction. 

Threats and Defeat

1 Kings 20:1-22
    1 Now Ben-Hadad the king of Syria gathered all his forces together; thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots. And he went up and besieged Samaria, and made war against it. 2 Then he sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel, and said to him, "Thus says Ben-Hadad: 3 'Your silver and your gold are mine; your loveliest wives and children are mine.'"  4 And the king of Israel answered and said, "My lord, O king, just as you say, I and all that I have are yours."
    5 Then the messengers came back and said, "Thus speaks Ben-Hadad, saying, 'Indeed I have sent to you, saying, "You shall deliver to me your silver and your gold, your wives and your children"; 6 but I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time, and they shall search your house and the houses of your servants. And it shall be, that whatever is pleasant in your eyes, they will put it in their hands and take it.'"
    7 So the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, "Notice, please, and see how this man seeks trouble, for he sent to me for my wives, my children, my silver, and my gold; and I did not deny him."  8 And all the elders and all the people said to him, "Do not listen or consent."  9 Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, "Tell my lord the king, 'All that you sent for to your servant the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.'"  And the messengers departed and brought back word to him.
    10 Then Ben-Hadad sent to him and said, "The gods do so to me, and more also, if enough dust is left of Samaria for a handful for each of the people who follow me."  11 So the king of Israel answered and said, "Tell him, 'Let not the one who puts on his armor boast like the one who takes it off.'"
    12 And it happened when Ben-Hadad heard this message, as he and the kings were drinking at the command post, that he said to his servants, "Get ready." And they got ready to attack the city.  13 Suddenly a prophet approached Ahab king of Israel, saying, "Thus says the LORD: 'Have you seen all this great multitude? Behold, I will deliver it into your hand today, and you shall know that I am the LORD.'"  14 So Ahab said, "By whom?"  And he said, "Thus says the LORD: 'By the young leaders of the provinces.'"  Then he said, "Who will set the battle in order?"  And he answered, "You."  15 Then he mustered the young leaders of the provinces, and there were two hundred and thirty-two; and after them he mustered all the people, all the children of Israel—seven thousand.
    16 So they went out at noon. Meanwhile Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings helping him were getting drunk at the command post. 17 The young leaders of the provinces went out first. And Ben-Hadad sent out a patrol, and they told him, saying, "Men are coming out of Samaria!" 18 So he said, "If they have come out for peace, take them alive; and if they have come out for war, take them alive."
    19 Then these young leaders of the provinces went out of the city with the army which followed them. 20 And each one killed his man; so the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them; and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria escaped on a horse with the cavalry. 21 Then the king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots, and killed the Syrians with a great slaughter.
    22 And the prophet came to the king of Israel and said to him, "Go, strengthen yourself; take note, and see what you should do, for in the spring of the year the king of Syria will come up against you."

Ben-Hadad the king of Syria threatened God’s people through king Ahab by first attacking Samaria, the city his father built (1 Kings 16:24, 28).  Then the threats to invade Israel and take whatever the Syrians desired from Ahab as if they reigned over them came.  The elders encouraged Ahab to resist the invaders and Ahab listened.  He answered the threats with a bold defiance in an analogy of boasting to win a war not yet begun by not suited up and equipped even to start it.  This is when a prophet came to Ahab to bring the LORD’s deliverance of victory over the enemy in the battle not yet begun; God would equip Israel with the ability of the armor of His protection as they fought.  This was no boast of man, but a promise of God.  God put Ahab in charge of rallying the province leaders and people to attack the overconfident drunken Syrians with the thirty-two kings alongside Ben-Hadad.  The arrogance of Ben-Hadad sent men out to the approaching rabble to capture them or accept their surrender, but they attacked and scattered Ben-Hadad and the others with him.  It was a slaughter.  Finally, the prophet came again to warn that the war was not settled quite yet, but that it would resume on the spring.  This was the beginning of their resistance to the invading Syrian enemy.  We find a parallel in our spiritual battles against unseen and visible evil set against the kingdom of God in Christ.  The adversary is defeated, but continues to rattle sabers and threatens to take all we have and hold dear.  Our victory is in Christ and His gospel, knowing that the final battle will bring judgment and heavenly justice to all in the end.  We are on the winning side against all those against us (Romans 8:31-32, 1 Corinthians 15:57, Romans 8:37, 1 John 5:4, Hebrews 2:14-15), but none are truly so in light of our King of kings reigning sovereignly in heaven and on earth.  He wins the final battle as He won the war upon the cross and out of the grave of His resurrection (Revelation 17:14, 19:16)!  We are therefore victorious in Him in the midst of threats and defeat. 

Escape, Still Small Voice, Revelation, Successor

1 Kings 19:1-21 

    1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.
    4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"  5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, "Arise and eat." 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, "Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you." 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
    9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"  10 So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."
    11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
    13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"
    14 And he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."
    15 Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."      
    19 So he departed from there, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he was with the twelfth. Then Elijah passed by him and threw his mantle on him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah, and said, "Please let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you."  And he said to him, "Go back again, for what have I done to you?"  21 So Elisha turned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen and slaughtered them and boiled their flesh, using the oxen's equipment, and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah, and became his servant.

Here Jezebel sought revenge for the prophets of her false gods by seeking to kill Elijah.  He ran to escape.  Elijah came to a point where he asked to be killed by God, saying he was no special man, but as sinful and unworthy as all the rest before him.  The Lord sustained him and answered the request to vindicate him in all that he had done to uphold His name and honor when all others rejected God’s covenant of mercy and worship of Him alone.  The LORD answered not in the fantastic and miraculous power expected, but in a calming small whisper.  His word to Elijah challenged him to reveal why he was there before the LORD, and he repeated his woes of standing alone for Him while others rejected their God and pursued Elijah’s life for doing what was right and righteous as a child of God.  In this revelation, God charged him to continue the work by setting up kings chosen by Him and a successor as prophet to speak God’s word and work His will in the midst of opposition.  There was also the charge to execute justice against those opposing His remnant who remained true in worship and allegiance to the LORD.  Elisha therefore was chosen and followed his teacher after sacrifices and gifts to his family and others.  We learn much in this passage on not giving up in following the Lord when all seem against us or not wanting to worship and serve Him above all other things.  God has a purpose and mission for the remnant who stay the course to be living sacrifices (Romans 12:1) and true worshipers (John 4:23-24) who will not relent in doing righteousness (2 Corinthians 4:1-3, 9, 16, Galatians 6:9).  Let us find encouragement and strength (Isaiah 35:3, Hebrews 12:12-13) in our calling for the gospel’s sake that more of the remnant might hear and be reconciled to the Lord and serve in true worship, even as many choose other gods.  Isaiah 30:21 reminds us to listen for His voice as the Holy Spirit brings His word to us for guidance (John 14:26) as we follow to worship in spirit and in truth.