June 23,2018
Elijah has been used mightily by God to bring the Jews back to Him and to defeat the worship of Baal. After the great display on the mountain, the Jews return to God, and the murder of 450 priests of Baal Ahab goes back and tells Jezebel all that happened. She then sends a threat to Elijah to kill him and he flees ! In his flight he is confronted by an angel and fed by it. He is also confronted by God twice ! Both times God starts by saying,"What are you doing here Elijah ?" (verse 9) This question was not asked because God did not know, it was asked so that Elijah would be forced to see his lack of faith. From mountain top (literally) to valley. This is a very common experience for us Christians. Notice also that God allows him to stay in the valley for over 42 days and takes another 40 to lead him back to complete his work for God !
Of the three things God asked him to do next, one of them was to anoint his replacement ! Elisha will become his replacement. Before Elisha leaves his family he sacrifices the oxen as a farewell meal. This was to show that this was going to be a permanent cut from his family and a total commitment to his calling to follow Elijah. Even today, when we are called to any ministry, it is to be a total commitment ! Not an easy lesson to learn ... but a critical one if we are to follow our calling.
One of the main lessons to see here is that no matter how much you are used of God, there will be valley times. Also, not matter how deep or long the valley, God can still use us in a mighty way. As we answer our calling and keep our eyes on Jesus, the only thing that can slow us down is our lack of faith or commitment.
Saturday, June 23, 2018
Saturday, June 9, 2018
Chapter 18 God Shows Up ... With Attitude !
June 9, 2018
After a period of time, the drought had taken a big toll. So God sent Elijah with a message for Ahab. The whole purpose of the drought was to punish the Jews for their idolatry and for God to bring His people back to Him. That was all going to happen in a grand fashion !
Ahab and Elijah made a deal : Ahab would bring all 450 prophets of Baal ( a false god that the Jews had been worshiping ) and all the people of Israel to Mt. Carmel and Elijah would bring himself. Each side would get a bull to sacrifice, build their own fire, BUT do not light it ! Then, which ever God showed up .. that is the true God and that would be who Israel would worship !
So the deal was made and the day came for the show down. Elijah told the 450 prophets of Baal to go first. They prepared their bull and the fire without lighting it. Then they started calling on Baal to come and light the fire at around 6:00 am. "And so at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said "Cry aloud for he is a god: either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened."" So the prophets cried aloud and began cutting themselves ( which was their custom ) with knives and lances until the blood was gushing out of them ! "But there was no voice: no one answered, no one paid attention"
Then it was Elijah's turn. He had them dig a trench around his prepared fire that was not lite. The he had them take 4 large jugs with water and dump them on his dry wood. Then he had them do it again and again until the wood was soaked and the trenches around it was all filled with water !!! When the time of the evening prayer came, Elijah prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. " Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench."
The people all fell down and worshiped God ! Then Elijah told the people of Israel to capture all 450 prophets of Baal, which they did. He had the people of Israel kill all of them with the sword ! After all of these events God ended the drought !
After a period of time, the drought had taken a big toll. So God sent Elijah with a message for Ahab. The whole purpose of the drought was to punish the Jews for their idolatry and for God to bring His people back to Him. That was all going to happen in a grand fashion !
Ahab and Elijah made a deal : Ahab would bring all 450 prophets of Baal ( a false god that the Jews had been worshiping ) and all the people of Israel to Mt. Carmel and Elijah would bring himself. Each side would get a bull to sacrifice, build their own fire, BUT do not light it ! Then, which ever God showed up .. that is the true God and that would be who Israel would worship !
So the deal was made and the day came for the show down. Elijah told the 450 prophets of Baal to go first. They prepared their bull and the fire without lighting it. Then they started calling on Baal to come and light the fire at around 6:00 am. "And so at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said "Cry aloud for he is a god: either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened."" So the prophets cried aloud and began cutting themselves ( which was their custom ) with knives and lances until the blood was gushing out of them ! "But there was no voice: no one answered, no one paid attention"
Then it was Elijah's turn. He had them dig a trench around his prepared fire that was not lite. The he had them take 4 large jugs with water and dump them on his dry wood. Then he had them do it again and again until the wood was soaked and the trenches around it was all filled with water !!! When the time of the evening prayer came, Elijah prayed to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. " Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench."
The people all fell down and worshiped God ! Then Elijah told the people of Israel to capture all 450 prophets of Baal, which they did. He had the people of Israel kill all of them with the sword ! After all of these events God ended the drought !
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Chapter 17 Drought Is Declared
June 3, 2018
Elijah said to king Ahab,"As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word." God then commanded Elijah to go to a brook to live for a while. There he could drink from the brook and God commanded the ravens to bring him meat and bread twice daily. After a while the brook dried up and Elijah was commanded by God to go to Zarephath where he met a widow woman. When Elijah met this widow woman he asked her for food. She said she had only one biscuit left and she said she was going to cook it for her son and herself and then they would die ! Then he said," Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; ...." he further said," For thus says the Lord God of Israel; The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day of the Lord sends rain on the earth." She did as he said and God's word was exactly as Elijah had said.
After these things had happened, the widow woman's son had become so sick that he died ! She became mad at Elijah and blamed him for the boys death. Elijah then went to the boy and prayed to God for his life and God brought him back to life ! It was only then when the widow woman says," Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth."
When we are in the will of God and are doing as we have been directed, He will always provide and protect us ....ALWAYS !!! This is a very valuable lesson for us to know and learn. Does this mean all will be roses and rain bows ? God forbid !!! But it does mean that God's will will never be undone or delayed by Satan or by man or by circumstance .
Elijah said to king Ahab,"As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word." God then commanded Elijah to go to a brook to live for a while. There he could drink from the brook and God commanded the ravens to bring him meat and bread twice daily. After a while the brook dried up and Elijah was commanded by God to go to Zarephath where he met a widow woman. When Elijah met this widow woman he asked her for food. She said she had only one biscuit left and she said she was going to cook it for her son and herself and then they would die ! Then he said," Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; ...." he further said," For thus says the Lord God of Israel; The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day of the Lord sends rain on the earth." She did as he said and God's word was exactly as Elijah had said.
After these things had happened, the widow woman's son had become so sick that he died ! She became mad at Elijah and blamed him for the boys death. Elijah then went to the boy and prayed to God for his life and God brought him back to life ! It was only then when the widow woman says," Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth."
When we are in the will of God and are doing as we have been directed, He will always provide and protect us ....ALWAYS !!! This is a very valuable lesson for us to know and learn. Does this mean all will be roses and rain bows ? God forbid !!! But it does mean that God's will will never be undone or delayed by Satan or by man or by circumstance .
Friday, May 25, 2018
Chapter 16 All Did Evil
Chapter 16 opens with Baasha as king over Israel and God rebuking him and telling what his future is because of all the evil he has done. The dogs will eat whoever, in his house, dies in the city and the birds will eat whoever dies in the country ! Baasha had eliminated all of Jeroboam's family and God was going to do the same to him. Then Elah, the son of Baasha became king and reigned for two years. He was killed by Zimri and he reigned as king for 7 days. As soon as he sat on the throne, he killed all of Baasha's family and his extended family. This was to fulfill God's promise. Zimri reigned for 7 days. This is the shortest reign in Israel history. Omri became king after being commander of military. When the people heard what Zimri had done they made Omri king and Zimri committed suicide by burning himself alive in the kings house. Omri reigned over Israel for 12 years then his son Ahab took over as king and he was king for 22 years.
All of these kings reigned over Israel and they all did evil in the eyes of the Lord. It is said in verse 30 " Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all that were before him". We will see in the next chapter how God uses Ahab and Elijah to bring God' people back to Himself.
All of these kings reigned over Israel and they all did evil in the eyes of the Lord. It is said in verse 30 " Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all that were before him". We will see in the next chapter how God uses Ahab and Elijah to bring God' people back to Himself.
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Chapter 15 Four Kings ... One Good !
When I read this chapter, I am reminded of Jesus' parable in the New Testament about the four soils. Of the four conditions of the heart when hearing the word of God, only one takes root and produces fruit. Here, in chapter 15, we see that there are four different kings talked about covering about 50 years and only one of them did what was right in the eyes of God ! Another thing I notice is that when any king is introduced to the reader, the name of the mother or grandmother is mentioned. This is unusual in that women were not equal or highly valued in that society and yet the writer goes out of their way to tell us who the important female in their life was and how this king was seen in God's eyes !
The first two kings mentioned are Abijam and Asa. Both were kings over Judah. Asa is the one king who did right in the eyes of God. Not by coincidence, God allowed him to serve the longest of these 4. He was king for 41 years and Abijam served first and for only 3 years. Its says that Asa banished the perverted people from the land, he removed all the idols made by his fathers, and removed his grandmother from being queen mother because she had made an obscene idol of Asherah. The high places were not cut down but his heart was with God just as his father David's was.
The second two kings reigned over Israel. Nadab for 2 years and Baasha for 24 years. Both did what was evil in the eyes of God. Nadab was the son of Jeroboam and was killed in his third year of reigning by Baasha. It says of Baasha " And it was so, when he became king, that he killed all the house of Jeraboam. He did not leave to Jeraboam anyone that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servant Ahijah the Shilonits, because of the sins of Jeraboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger." Verse 29-30)
It is important to remember ,when looking at 1 Kings, that the 12 tribes had split and made two countries out of Israel. 10 1/2 tribes started the country of Judah and the remaining 1 1/2 tribes stayed in Israel. So, when we are talking about the different kings, we need to pay attention to which country we are talking about lest we become confused.
The first two kings mentioned are Abijam and Asa. Both were kings over Judah. Asa is the one king who did right in the eyes of God. Not by coincidence, God allowed him to serve the longest of these 4. He was king for 41 years and Abijam served first and for only 3 years. Its says that Asa banished the perverted people from the land, he removed all the idols made by his fathers, and removed his grandmother from being queen mother because she had made an obscene idol of Asherah. The high places were not cut down but his heart was with God just as his father David's was.
The second two kings reigned over Israel. Nadab for 2 years and Baasha for 24 years. Both did what was evil in the eyes of God. Nadab was the son of Jeroboam and was killed in his third year of reigning by Baasha. It says of Baasha " And it was so, when he became king, that he killed all the house of Jeraboam. He did not leave to Jeraboam anyone that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken by His servant Ahijah the Shilonits, because of the sins of Jeraboam, which he had sinned and by which he had made Israel sin, because of his provocation with which he had provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger." Verse 29-30)
It is important to remember ,when looking at 1 Kings, that the 12 tribes had split and made two countries out of Israel. 10 1/2 tribes started the country of Judah and the remaining 1 1/2 tribes stayed in Israel. So, when we are talking about the different kings, we need to pay attention to which country we are talking about lest we become confused.
Saturday, April 28, 2018
Chapter 14 North And South Pay
In the south, Israel, Jeroboam's son became sick. King Jeroboam sent his wife to the prophet Ahijah is Shiloh to inquire of the Lord what shall happen to their son. When she arrived and inquired, the Lord had indeed given an answer to her inquiry. God told her that He had torn the kingdom apart and given Israel to Jeroboam and he had done more evil in the eyes of the Lord than all kings before him. He had made wood gods and provoked God to anger ! Therefore God said he would bring disaster on the house of Jeroboam. The dogs will eat all that is Jeroboam's and lives in the city and the birds shall eat all that is Jeroboam's and lives in the country. Also when your feet enter the city your son shall die ! She returned home and the child died. Then Jeroboam died and was buried with his fathers. Jeroboam reigned 22 years as king.
In the north, Judah, Rehoboam reigned as king. He reigned for 17 years. Judah had provoked God to anger because of all the evil they had done. They had built high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every hill and under every green tree. In the 5th year of his reign a foreign king came in and took all of Solomon's treasures including the gold shields. Rheoboam made silver ones to replace them. Rheoboam died and rested with his fathers. Abijam, his son, reigned in his place.
In the north, Judah, Rehoboam reigned as king. He reigned for 17 years. Judah had provoked God to anger because of all the evil they had done. They had built high places, sacred pillars, and wooden images on every hill and under every green tree. In the 5th year of his reign a foreign king came in and took all of Solomon's treasures including the gold shields. Rheoboam made silver ones to replace them. Rheoboam died and rested with his fathers. Abijam, his son, reigned in his place.
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Chapter 13 The Donkey And The Lion
"And behold, a man of God went from Judah to Bethel by the word of the Lord..." starts this chapter. Here the man of God, who is never named, makes a prophecy that Josiah would kill all the illegitimate priests of the high places. This was kept 300 years later in 2 Kings 23: 15-20. When king Jeroboam heard this he reached out his hand to have him killed but his hand shriveled up and fell off. When this happened to the king, he asked the man of God to pray for his hand to be put back ... and it was. The king offered a reward to him yet he refused saying that God said he was not to eat, drink or stay there and he was to take a different path back home. And so he did.
An old prophet in Bethel had heard of these things from his sons and told them to saddle his donkey so he could go get this man. When he found him he asked him to come back and eat with him. When the man of God told him God's instructions, the old prophet told him That God had told him it was O.K. and that he should go back to eat and drink with this old prophet ! The man of God did so. During dinner the word of God came and said that because he had disobeyed the word of God ( The old prophet had lied to him) his body would not be buried with his family. This was seen as a major curse to him.
So it happened as he was headed home that he was killed by a lion as he was riding his donkey. As he lay dead on the ground, the lion and the donkey guarded the body and did not do what was natural for them to do. When the old prophet heard, he went and retrieved the body and buried it. The lion and the donkey bothered the man not. They represent what God expects from us. To obey the word of God ... even if it seems odd and unnatural !
An old prophet in Bethel had heard of these things from his sons and told them to saddle his donkey so he could go get this man. When he found him he asked him to come back and eat with him. When the man of God told him God's instructions, the old prophet told him That God had told him it was O.K. and that he should go back to eat and drink with this old prophet ! The man of God did so. During dinner the word of God came and said that because he had disobeyed the word of God ( The old prophet had lied to him) his body would not be buried with his family. This was seen as a major curse to him.
So it happened as he was headed home that he was killed by a lion as he was riding his donkey. As he lay dead on the ground, the lion and the donkey guarded the body and did not do what was natural for them to do. When the old prophet heard, he went and retrieved the body and buried it. The lion and the donkey bothered the man not. They represent what God expects from us. To obey the word of God ... even if it seems odd and unnatural !
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