When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh, my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked.
“Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. - 2 Kings 6:15-17 NIV
We live in a world of unopened eyes. There are forces we cannot see that are surrounding us at all times.
Years ago, I heard a young man from India tell about his conversion and his experiences before that as the child of a yogi who practiced astral projection. The young man said that he learned from his father how to encounter out of body experiences. However, he stated, they were not as one would think. Out of body experiences took him to a frightening world where there were all kinds of demons and, ugly creatures as well as angelic beings floating in a universe we cannot see.
Perhaps his story is true. Certainly, from some of the Old Testament accounts, there is another realm to existence that we have yet to experience. For now, we see through a glass darkly. The whole of existence is not clear to us yet, but one day, we will see, we will be known, we will fully know.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Monday, July 22, 2013
2 Kings 3: Is There No Prophet Here?
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here, that we may inquire of the LORD through him?” An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah. ” - 2 Kings 3:11, NIV
I have asked the same question myself many times as I view all that is going on in our world today. Where are the prophets? Where are the miracles? Why do we not see God's hand moving against the corruption, decadence and despair of this world?? Why?
I don 't have an answer, but I know this. God is not dead and he is not asleep, unlike the other gods.
I have asked the same question myself many times as I view all that is going on in our world today. Where are the prophets? Where are the miracles? Why do we not see God's hand moving against the corruption, decadence and despair of this world?? Why?
I don 't have an answer, but I know this. God is not dead and he is not asleep, unlike the other gods.
And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. - 1 Kings 18:27 KJV
The gods of this world are impotent, but not our God, not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Sometimes I think that God has gone silent like in the intertestamental period of the Bible. If so, the silence is deafening, but it gives us great hope. It was after that period of silence that the Messiah appeared. Can it be that this silence is leading up to his coming again?
Saturday, July 20, 2013
1 Kings 17-22: Ahab
Many of us are like Elijah. We serve the Lord. We can attest to his miracle working power and provision. We can even hear his voice sometimes, but trusting is another matter. Elijah's life was interwoven with the life of his arch enemies, Ahab and Jezebel. As a result, Elijah often failed to trust the God who provided food via a bunch of ravens and led him to the widow of Zarephath and her son, where God fed the three of them from her limited, but never dwindling, supply of oil and flour.
Elijah trusted God. He never doubted that God could burn up a water saturated offering and put the heathen god, Baal, to shame. Elijah trusted God for everything except when it came to the ones in power, Ahab and Jezebel. When they threatened him, he ran for his life, sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die.
He need not have worried. God had it under control all along. Ahab and Jezebel would never have been in their position of power if it had not been God's will. God knew that it was not just the hearts of the kings that had turned against him. It was the hearts of the people as well. The hearts of the people chose to worship the Baals and all the other heathen gods. The hearts of the people got the ruler they deserved.
Ahab and Jezebel became just another name on the long list of the enemies of God who have done so much evil down through the centuries. They may have made a name for themselves, but their power could never usurp that of the God of all creation.
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. - Luke 1:50-52 NIV
Friday, July 19, 2013
1 Kings 16: Overthrown
As for the other events of Zimri’s reign, and the rebellion he carried out, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri.
But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king. - 1 Kings 16:20-22 NIV
What Solomon said about there being nothing new under the sun continues to play itself out in daily life. The Arab Spring and the more recent upheaval in Egypt are merely copies of events three thousand years ago in the kingdom of Israel. We consider ourselves so advanced, so civilized, but mankind has always been and always will be the same. We're all jockeying for power. We're all heading for a fall. All government is prone to political intrigue and upheaval. No one is immune.
As John Dahlberg-Acton, the 1st Baron of Acton, wrote in 1887, "I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it."
Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri.
But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king. - 1 Kings 16:20-22 NIV
What Solomon said about there being nothing new under the sun continues to play itself out in daily life. The Arab Spring and the more recent upheaval in Egypt are merely copies of events three thousand years ago in the kingdom of Israel. We consider ourselves so advanced, so civilized, but mankind has always been and always will be the same. We're all jockeying for power. We're all heading for a fall. All government is prone to political intrigue and upheaval. No one is immune.
As John Dahlberg-Acton, the 1st Baron of Acton, wrote in 1887, "I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it."
- Letter to Mandell Creighton (5 April 1887), published in Historical Essays and Studies, by John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton (1907), edited by John Neville Figgis and Reginald Vere Laurence, Appendix, p. 504;
Thursday, July 18, 2013
1 Kings 13: Another Neglect
While they were sitting at the table, the word of the LORD came to the old prophet who had brought him back.
He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you.
You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.’” - 1 Kings 13:20-22 NIV
This story has always fascinated me. How could two men hear a different word from the Lord? That God spoke to the first prophet cannot be disputed. Everything he prophesied about Israel eventually came true. The old prophet, however, was not afraid to lie to get what he wanted, so he told the first prophet that God had told him to bring him to his house so he could eat and drink, contrary to the message he had heard from God. The old prophet fabricated everything for his own means until he heard the true voice of God and realized the consequences of his actions.
I think the lesson to be learned from this is that when we hear God speak, and know that it is truly his voice, we cannot listen to what anyone else would tell us on God's behalf. We cannot neglect what God commands us for another voice. God does not get confused and He does not confuse us. If we are confused, it is not His voice we are hearing.
He cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah, “This is what the LORD says: ‘You have defied the word of the LORD and have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you.
You came back and ate bread and drank water in the place where he told you not to eat or drink. Therefore your body will not be buried in the tomb of your fathers.’” - 1 Kings 13:20-22 NIV
This story has always fascinated me. How could two men hear a different word from the Lord? That God spoke to the first prophet cannot be disputed. Everything he prophesied about Israel eventually came true. The old prophet, however, was not afraid to lie to get what he wanted, so he told the first prophet that God had told him to bring him to his house so he could eat and drink, contrary to the message he had heard from God. The old prophet fabricated everything for his own means until he heard the true voice of God and realized the consequences of his actions.
I think the lesson to be learned from this is that when we hear God speak, and know that it is truly his voice, we cannot listen to what anyone else would tell us on God's behalf. We cannot neglect what God commands us for another voice. God does not get confused and He does not confuse us. If we are confused, it is not His voice we are hearing.
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
1 Kings 8: Neglect
“Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.
May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us.
May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers.
And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need,
so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.
But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.” - 1 Kings 8:56-61 NIV
I love Solomon's prayer of dedication for the temple that he built, how he beseeches God over and over again to "Hear us from heaven." when we commit any of the sins against him that we are prone to commit. When a man wrongs his neighbor, when the people have been defeated by their enemies, when there is no rain because of the people's sins, when famine, plague or any form of disaster or disease falls upon the people, Solomon prays. "Hear us from heaven."
So, I find myself guilty, guilty of neglect, of not following the Lord with my whole heart, just like the Children of Israel were prone to do. There are a lot of outside forces I could blame it on: I have responsibilities, life places so many demands on us, I'm weary from watching the world go to hell in a handbag, but none of these are sufficient. I may not be prone to wander, but I am prone to neglect.
May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us.
May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers.
And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need,
so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.
But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.” - 1 Kings 8:56-61 NIV
I love Solomon's prayer of dedication for the temple that he built, how he beseeches God over and over again to "Hear us from heaven." when we commit any of the sins against him that we are prone to commit. When a man wrongs his neighbor, when the people have been defeated by their enemies, when there is no rain because of the people's sins, when famine, plague or any form of disaster or disease falls upon the people, Solomon prays. "Hear us from heaven."
So, I find myself guilty, guilty of neglect, of not following the Lord with my whole heart, just like the Children of Israel were prone to do. There are a lot of outside forces I could blame it on: I have responsibilities, life places so many demands on us, I'm weary from watching the world go to hell in a handbag, but none of these are sufficient. I may not be prone to wander, but I am prone to neglect.
Hebrews 2:3 states "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him." There it is. Just like the Children of Israel, we have been saved from the clutches of the one who seeks to destroy and with that salvation comes the responsibility of not neglecting it. Thanks be to God that he is all loving and forgiving. All we have to do is confess our sin and he will hear us from heaven and forgive. All of our sins will be forgiven, even the sin of neglect.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Ruth
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab. - Ruth 1:1 NIV
Don't call me Naomi, she tells the friends in Bethlehem as she returns from Moab. Call me bitter because I went out full and have come back empty. This took place during the time of the judges, when there was still not a king in Israel. The judges had little control over the people and in many seasons they abandoned the Lord God who then abandoned them to their own fate. Such was the case with Ruth and her family, who fled to Moab during a great famine, where they found no better life, but instead met the fate that ended the lives of the father and sons.
This story repeats itself over and over again, most often not with the happy ending that Ruth and Naomi experienced. Most of us, when left to our own devices, when we think that God is not acting fast enough and take matters into our own hands, do not end up begetting the dynasty of King David. Most of us just end up bitter.
We're all prone to wander, to seek greener pastures. We're all prone to take matters into our own hands. Fortunately, we have a God that works in mysterious ways, a God who can take the tattered remnants of our bad decisions and make something wonderful out of them. Out of the folly of Naomi's husband and sons, came the kinsman-redeemer, and eventually, our Savior-redeemer.
The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman–redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!
He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter–in–law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.
The women living there said, “Naomi has a son.” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. - Ruth 4:24-27 NIV
While there is redemption, there are also repercussions to our actions. Naomi would see God's hand at work in the life of Ruth and Boaz, but the child that would carry on the family name would not be of her own flesh and blood. Perhaps that didn't matter to her at all when she could see the obvious hand of God in the child on her lap.
Don't call me Naomi, she tells the friends in Bethlehem as she returns from Moab. Call me bitter because I went out full and have come back empty. This took place during the time of the judges, when there was still not a king in Israel. The judges had little control over the people and in many seasons they abandoned the Lord God who then abandoned them to their own fate. Such was the case with Ruth and her family, who fled to Moab during a great famine, where they found no better life, but instead met the fate that ended the lives of the father and sons.
This story repeats itself over and over again, most often not with the happy ending that Ruth and Naomi experienced. Most of us, when left to our own devices, when we think that God is not acting fast enough and take matters into our own hands, do not end up begetting the dynasty of King David. Most of us just end up bitter.
We're all prone to wander, to seek greener pastures. We're all prone to take matters into our own hands. Fortunately, we have a God that works in mysterious ways, a God who can take the tattered remnants of our bad decisions and make something wonderful out of them. Out of the folly of Naomi's husband and sons, came the kinsman-redeemer, and eventually, our Savior-redeemer.
The women said to Naomi: “Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman–redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!
He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter–in–law, who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
Then Naomi took the child, laid him in her lap and cared for him.
The women living there said, “Naomi has a son.” And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David. - Ruth 4:24-27 NIV
While there is redemption, there are also repercussions to our actions. Naomi would see God's hand at work in the life of Ruth and Boaz, but the child that would carry on the family name would not be of her own flesh and blood. Perhaps that didn't matter to her at all when she could see the obvious hand of God in the child on her lap.
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