Graves' This and That

    Our narrative today is from 2 Kings 6.  This is one of my favorite miracles of Elisha.  There is a truth to be taught and it is very practical.  As you can ascertain, I love practical truths that I can literally wear out in my daily living.   The king of Aram is at war with Israel.  He finds out that every time he plans strategies with his officers against Israel, that the king of Israel finds out and is prepared for battle.  The king of  Aram is enraged over the leaks of information (sounds familiar?) but an officer speaks up, " But Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom."  The king finds out where Elisha is and sends a mighty troop of men out to capture him.  Early the next morning, Elisha's servant sees an army with horses and chariots surrounding the city.  He fearfully asks Elisha what they should do.  Elisha replies, "Don't be afraid,...Th...

      While trying to complete my daily 3 mile walk on the track of the middle school across the road, I heard voices screaming frantically, "Bailey!"  I looked over in the direction of the voices and saw a guy and a girl chasing after a older, but long-legged puppy running pell-mell from his owners.  He had no care in the world and as they screamed, he ran further and further.  To tease them, he would turn back and when they tried to grab him, he was off again. He seemed to be totally enjoying the game of chase.  Being a dog, (I know for you dog lovers, you might consider your dog a human being or your baby), but back to my observation, he had no fear of what may be awaiting him. He had no understanding of the garbage truck, trucks hurriedly leaving for work, or frantic mothers and dads in cars dropping off kids for school. To make it more scary, he lacked the information of the highway in the direction that he was running could mean his death and tw...

        I dearly love the narratives of the Old Testament.  The Holy Spirit is able to give this fallible, finite, and sometimes floundering Christ follower, a Truth that seems to be so very practical for what might be going on in my life right now.  I so needed the Shunammite woman's statement of faith, "It is well/It will be well" whether she knew she had faith or not! The rest of the story: She gets to Elisha and Gehazi tries to push her away, but not to be deterred from her mission, she takes hold of Elisha's feet.  She reminds him that she asked for a son, a son was given, and her interesting question,  didn't I tell you, "Don't raise my hopes?"  Gehazi is instructed to take Elisha's staff and lay the staff on the boy's face.  She demands that Elisha go with her also.  Gehazi gets to the home first...again, 25 miles!  He does what he has been instructed and runs back to meet Elisha to tell him , "The boy has not...

    Elisha meets a man and wife from Shunem.  He often passed by their home and they would invite Elisha to come into their home and have a meal.  The husband and wife were talking one day, and obviously, she saw something in Elisha that caused her to think that Elisha was a "holy man of God passing by us continually."  They decided to build an upper room and they asked Elisha if he would come and stay there with them.  They provided the usual amenities that one would have to have to rest and sleep.  Elisha came with his servant, Gehazi to stay there. 2 Kings 4 Elisha is so grateful for the provision of the room that he desires to give the Shunamite women a blessing.  He announces to her that since she has no child, that she will bear a son in the coming year.  She has the child as Elisha has spoken.   Time passes and the child is now a young man and is working with his father in the fields.  The son cries out to his father,...

I have finished my readings in 1 Kings and have come to 2 Kings and the ministry of Elisha.  Elisha was also a prophet and seemed to have been "mentored" by Elijah. There were three schools of prophets (Jericho, possibly Gilgal, and Bethel) mentioned in the Old Testament. They were men who were devoted to God and had been under the tutelage of Samuel, then Elijah, and now Elisha. Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha along with the prophets who wrote books of the Old Testament in the Bible were men  who were messengers who spoke the will of God to man.  They were to make the laws of God known to the people, to exhort the people in sincere worship of God, and to warn them about God's divine judgment.  If the prophet spoke a message that was untruthful or did not come to pass, Deuteronomy 18:20-22, he could face death, and the people were warned not to "be afraid of him".  Elisha's first ministry and miracle was purifying water in Jericho.  The men of the city cam...

   As adults,  our tantrums may not look like this little guy, but oh, me, have I seen in my attitude and  actions, the same negative bratty energy being shown here and it may not have been as a child!  Of course, the enormity and AFTER EFFECTS of the tantrum always depend on the audience; the subject of why I might choose to have a tantrum; and at whom I am directing my scorn!  As adults, more than likely, our tantrums will be evidenced in our attitudes, quietly angry, but nevertheless, the effects are a grieved Holy Spirit until confession and repentance occur in our hearts.   I Kings 21, King Ahab wants a piece of property that belongs to Naboth.  He requests to be given Naboth's property or states that he will purchase it from Naboth.  Because the land is an inheritance from Naboth's family, he refuses the sale or the gift.  I can see in verse 4 the little caricature above, for Ahab is "sullen and vexed".  Jezebel, being the ...

James 5:17 reminds me that Elijah was a man with the same human qualities that I possess...you possess.  Today in the reading of 1 Kings 19, I see the same weakness which we both share...FEAR.  We were created to experience love, security, purpose, and worship of God, but because of Adam and Eve's choice, wanting to be like God, we now are born with fear and insecurity as our primal emotions.  Elijah has moved each time with a word from Jehovah, but when he gets the message of Jezebel's threat against his life, without a word , he runs "for his life" . He runs south from Jezreel, Ahab's winter home...anywhere beyond the reach of Jezebel!  In exhaustion from his trip, he lays down under a scrubby Juniper tree with the request to the Lord that He let Elijah die. Elijah is weary and when weariness sets in, the spirit of fear is ready to move in as the next resident of hopelessness, next close buddy, to move into Elijah...you or me!  God graciously provides an ang...

   I love all the narratives of the Old Testament.  I am still digging into the events of 1 Kings 18 as Elijah has come to Ahab to confront him and to offer a challenge between the gods of Baal and their priests and Jehovah, the God of Israel. Present are 450 priests of Baal, 400 prophets to Jezebel, and all of Israel who had been rallied for attendance.  The priests of Baal build an altar and put the meat of one ox on it and now must pray down fire from the god of Baal.  Ahab is close by watching.   The priests called on the name of Baal from morning until noon and there is no voice to reply to their requests, "O Baal, answer us."  By afternoon, their cries have become louder and they begin to cut themselves with swords and lances "until the blood gushed out on them".  By the time of the evening sacrifice, there is no voice, no one answered, no one pays attention, and there sits raw meat!   Elijah finds an altar which has l...

I come to my reading in 1 Kings 18.  I marvel at the obedience of Elijah.  He has been instructed to hide himself at Brook Cherith from Ahab and be fed by ravens; He is instructed to go to Zarepphath to live and be under the care of a poverty-stricken widow; He now is directed to go back to Ahab. He complies and no argument or response is given...He goes. It has now been three and 1/2 years since rain fell in Israel.  Ahab has looked for Elijah to kill him hoping the curse would be broken with his death.  Murder and persecution of the prophets are the m/o of Ahab and Jezebel, worshipers of the sky-god, Baal.  Elijah confronts Ahab who pushes the blame of the troubles he is facing on Elijah.  Elijah is quick to reply that the trouble he is facing has been brought on by Ahab's choices to ignore the word of God and for his worship of the Baals.  Elijah throws out a dare:  Send and gather all Israel along with 450 prophets of Baal and we will come ...

     The rest of the story is found in Chapter 17:17 of 1 Kings.  Elijah is sent to live in the upper room of a poor widow and her son.  She is poorer than dirt, but she does have a shelter.  More than likely, the roof top of the house has an outside stair and a small room.  Please note she is probably not a Jehovah worshiper, but God has impressed her to let Elijah stay in her home.  The son of the woman becomes very ill and he dies.  She carries her son to Elijah and she speaks, " What do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance, and to put my son to death!"   We still practice that unhealthy mentality today when something goes awry in our household or among our children....God must be punishing me! (Not that we don't deserve correction, but certainly not the removal of a child to "punish"!)  I can just imagine who whispered this lie to her heart!  The ancient ole lia...

     The Brook Cherith has dried up, and Elijah awaits a new directive.  God again speaks and Elijah is commissioned to go to Zarephath.  In the Hebrew, Zarephath means smelting furnace.  A smelting furnace smelts metals.  I do not know if Elijah knew his geography or not, but where he is directed to go is the same area that Queen Jezebel is from.  Zarephath is also a Gentile town and the main worship in the area is to Baal.  To make matters more complex, he is going to a widow who is "commanded to provide for Elijah".  Elijah's response, "So he arose and went to Zarephath..."  As he enters the city gate, he sees a widow gathering meager scrapes of wood.  Not sure how he knows she is a widow, but he does take notice of her activity.  He asks her for a drink and asks also for a piece of her bread.  Her response, " As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in th...

    Elijah is sent to Brook Cherith where he awaits the next instruction from God.  We are not told how long he is at the brook hiding, but he certainly must know and is observing that the water flow has diminished severely.  The drought for which he prayed down from heaven to old reprobate King Ahab and the land of Israel has come about. He is in hiding and being taught by the Master Teacher.  He has dared to confront Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, who is known for being the one in control of the monarchy and Ahab.  I love Elijah's provision of food....meals being delivered by the unclean carrion eating ravens and they were to come twice a day to bring bread and meat.  Where did they find "fresh" food and bread?  Elijah may not have been a persnickety eater either!  This certainly is not a Sandals All-Inclusive Resort accommodation! Do you wonder how the ravens know to come to Brook Cherith?  A quote from F. B. Myer's book, Elijah and t...

  After walking in disobedience for years and totally ignoring the Lord God, like a lightening flash, Elijah comes to Ahab.  I assume there may have been prior knowledge of Ahab, the "Sacred Record" doesn't say.  Elijah's first words to Ahab, " As the Lord, the God of Israel lives.."  It seems that Ahab may have practiced, "if I ignore God and His laws, then, He doesn't exist!"  This same mentality seems to be alive in our culture and very prevalent UNTIL something painful happens to the individual, then guess who is blamed? At this point in the narrative, we are not given Ahab's response 1 Kings 17.  The second verse, " And the word of the Lord came to him..."  God's direction to Elijah is to go to the east of the Jordan River and hide yourself by the brook Cherith.  Cherith is in the hilly region with 700 feet hills of limestone and caves surrounded by brush.  Obviously, Elijah will go into hiding to protect him...

    My readings so far have been from 1 and 2 Chronicles which are focused on the kings of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.  I decided to go back and pick up one of my most favorite heroes in the faith, the prophet Elijah.   Without any introduction or fanfare, Elijah appears like a blast of lightening on the scene and confronts Ahab, a king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.  1 Kings 16 gives an intro of Ahab, "And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before him."  Sounds ominous to me what is going to transpire in the following narratives.  Ahab's forebears have introduced the worship of the golden calves, and Ahab marries Jezebel who brought into the kingdom the worship of Baal and his goddess, Asherah.  Ahab has even dared to set up the idols in the house of the Lord.  (I wonder what idols we have set up in our hearts as we worship and claim to be Christ followers?)   The culture of...

  Finally, a godly son of a king takes leadership of Judah.  His name is Hezekiah.  Saul becomes king around 930 BC and here we are at 715-686 BC.  Godly and ungodly kings have walked the red carpet of power and prestige for almost 200 years.  The ancient annals are full of the acts of the kings plus we have the testament of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles to give a witness of the good, bad, and the ugly of us humans and what we do with the stewardship entrusted us of wealth, power, positions, and possessions.   Unlike his father, King Ahaz who slammed shut the doors of the "house of God", Hezekiah, his son, among his first actions as king, "opens the doors of the house of the Lord and repairs them."  He has a heart for the Lord, for restoring the role of the priests in the house of the Lord, and for restoring worship of the Most High for Judah and for Israel even though Israel has its own king.  2 Chronicles 29-32 are chap...

   Another verse comes to my attention in my reading for today: "Now in the time of his distress this same King Ahaz became yet more unfaithful to the Lord."  2 Chronicles 28:22.  He went to a number of sources for help because Assyria was preparing to come against Judah.  He resorted to sacrifice to the "gods of  Damascus" to appeal for relief.  Fully entrenched in self-deception, he cuts up the utensils used for worship in the house of God and "he closed the doors of the house of the Lord, and made altar for himself in every corner of Jerusalem."  Please also note that Scripture records that all of his ways are recorded in the "Book of Kings of Judah and Israel." Two observations come to mind from Scripture and both from Paul to the readers of that age and still pertinent today: "Now these things happened to them as an example and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come."  I Corinthians 10:...

As I continue to read in 2 Chronicles about the kings of Judah, I wonder if observation was important to the crown prince who was to follow a king at his death.  Surely the pitfalls were obvious, and the confusion and the chaos of the reign should have been a loud  banging clanging siren signaling corruption, murder, and warfare as alerts.   I pick up several phrases very casually spoken or dictated and they are HEAVY DUTY in their intent: (1) 2 Chronicles 24:20b "Because you have forsaken the Lord, He has also forsaken you." (2) 2 Chronicles 25:2, "And He did right in the sight of the Lord yet not with a whole heart." (3)2 Chronicles 25:8 "But if you do go, do it, be strong for the battle; yet God will bring you down before the enemy, for God has power to help and to bring down." (4) 2 Chronicles 26:5b "and as long as he sought the Lord, God prospered him." (5) 2 Chronicles 26:15b "Hence his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped...

     Lest one think that mystery, intrigue, and confusion reigns in politics  today, have a go at reading 2 Chronicles 22-25, the years 841-835 BC.  I have often read that power can corrupt and it seems if power doesn't corrupt, then riches and position will.  After Jehoram, king of Judah died, his son, Ahaziah came to the throne.  His evil reign was short lived, for he was put to death after a year of reigning.  One chapter was given to his infamous reign.   Miraculously his young son, Joash,  had been hidden for 6 years while his evil grandmother, Athaliah, the mother of the deceased son Jehoram, was ruling in Judah. The offspring that she could find, she had murdered. Jehoiada, the priest conspired with Joash's nurse to hide and to protect him.  At the age of 7,  Joash was brought before the house of the Lord, and the grandmother, Athaliah, was taken outside the house of the Lord and put to death.  Joash was und...

  I continue reading through 2 Chronicles for my daily read for now.  I move from Jehoshaphat who was a godly king of Judah to his first born son, Joram or Jehoram.  His physical DNA, his 23 pair of chromosomes from his forebears, determined his looks, his health, his height, intellect, etc.  Oh my goodness, his "spiritual DNA" was lacking for sure.  Surely he had an environment of spiritual healthiness from his father? I wonder why he chose to walk in opposition to his father's commitment to the Lord. As I read of Jehoram, I was pained to see how short his life was and it was covered in one chapter of the book.  There is no "DNA spiritually" that can be passed genetically from parents to a child.  Our "spiritual DNA" must be chosen by the individual when the Holy Spirit presents the opportunity to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord.  I make the choice to receive or to reject that invitation....regardless of godly or ungodly parents.  Of cour...

     In my readings, I love it when I get to read good news.  I am reading about King Jehoshaphat who is the son of "good King Asa" of Judea.  His kingdom has experienced peace  and there is a multitude of positive activities going on within the kingdom's infrastructure to strengthen and fortify towns.  2Chronicles 17 is a glowing report of how God is blessing Jehoshaphat.  Chapters 18-19 are replete with his workings throughout the kingdom.  In chapter 20, several  countries decide to come against Jehoshaphat to make war.  I love his courage.  Scripture states that he was afraid and "turned his attention to seek the Lord." His prayer is a delight to read and such an encouraging model when the press of circumstance is coming against you!  I LOVE  the words from Benaiah who speaks to the king: " Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's."   Jehoshaphat...

  Asa is the grandson to Rehoboam, and is king of Judah.  Unlike his father, Abijam, and his grandfather, Rehoboam, 2 Chronicles 14 reports that Asa "did good and right in the sight of the Lord his God."  He removes altars to idols; he builds fortified cities with walls, towers, and gates; and he has a large army of 300,000 men.  Asa calls upon the Lord his God concerning warfare.  It seems that Asa is doing right.  About the 35th year, Asa begins to relax his commitments to the Lord.  It has been peaceful in the kingdom for years.  One would think that Asa would remember what works and what is totallydefeating for him and his kingdom, but we see a major lapse of being alert to the wiles of the evil one. In this 35th year, the king of Israel, Baasha decides to come against Judah and King Asa.  Instead of going to the Lord for His plan of action, he brings out all the silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord a...

    Just in case you might be wondering about the phrase, "you can learn or you can be taught".  I think of the word, learning , to be an action that I am willing to do .  I am willing to put forth the effort to learn.  Taught implies to my mind, that the action is done by someone else upon me and sometimes, it may involve some pain in the process.  I am the receiver of the action.  My thought is taken from 1 Corinthians 11:31-32, the context is examining ourselves before taking of the Lord's "supper" the bread and drink, "But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world."  I am a firm believer in the correction of self and learning by hearing the Word of God and the reading of the Word of God.  Of course, always under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit.  Sometimes by simple observation, I can learn, THIS is not...

     Everybody got comfortable, "fat, and sassy" (in their attitude) in the kingdom of Rehoboam.  In fact, they got so comfortable that they began to ignore "the law of the Lord" by practicing Canaanite idolatry.  In the fifth year of King Rehoboam's reign, God simply allowed Shishak, king of Egypt to come against Judah.    King Shishak only came with 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen!  How is that for a presentation of power?  He became so aggressive that he captured fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.  God provided a prophet, Shemaiah, who came to Rehoboam and gave him God's take on Rehoboam's rebellious ways... ."You have forsaken Me, so I also have forsaken you to Shishak".   2 Chronicles 12:4b.  Rehoboam and the princes's response to the bad news...they humbled themselves!  The Lord saw their humility, but knew their propensity to be rebellious.  He did not destroy them, but he allow...

I have always bristled under counsel/advice that adheres to the ole slogan, "Do what I say and not what I do." I always felt that this kind of advice was so hypocritical. Today as I mulled on Proverbs 3, I thought of Solomon, the author of this and some 3,000 proverbs, who did not fully allow his own counsel to guide his life. Since he had so many wives and Heaven only knows, how many children, I wonder to whom he is addressing Proverbs 3 with the words,"My son"?  In spite of Solomon's flaws one would be very wise to accept the teachings of 3:3, "Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." Sounds like wise advice regardless of Solomon's flawedness!  What the old sage is really saying, Graves' non-inspired version: "When you get too big for your britches, you will allow mercy and integrity slip from you hands.It would be wise to wear them as a necklace around your neck an...

  I wished that I could say, "If I am afraid", but I have to admit that the more appropriate word is WHEN.  I do not come away rejoicing that with the choices of Adam and Eve, we were all born with the spirits of fear or pride. Before the fall, Adam and Eve were created  to express purpose, the ability to worship, have security, and know love/affirmation.  Because Eve was more taken with the thought that "If I eat of the tree of good and evil, I can be like God", you and I get to struggle with the innate inclination toward fear or toward pride .  Then, there are times that I can morph into both inclinations...and will agree with Paul, "O wretched man that I am!"   I am so grateful for King David because after spending time with his Psalms, I know that he was fearful and probably had a wresting match with shame.  Hear him from Psalm 56 :3-4, "When I am afraid; I will put my trust in Thee, in God, whose word I praise, in God I have put my trust. What ...