Month: April 2019

2 Kings 18 tells us about King Hezekiah of Judah. We are told he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, including tearing down the high places. We are told there was no king like him after him, or before him, which means in God’s eyes he was the greatest king in the history of Israel or Judah. During his reign Israel fell to the Assyrians. The Assyrians then attacked Judah. At first Hezekiah paid tribute to the Assyrians, but then he decided not to, and the Assyrian army came against Judah. As Jerusalem was under siege, the Assyrian leader told the people of Judah if they would surrender, they would be given their own vineyards and homes. He told them not to rely on Hezekiah, or on his reliance on the LORD, because no gods of any nation had ever been able to deliver their people from Assyria.

As chapter 19 begins, the prophet Isaiah assures Hezekiah the LORD will deliver Judah from Assyria, and He does. At first it was through another army attacking the Assyrians, and as King Sennacherib left for another battle, he warned Hezekiah not to trust in the LORD, or to think he will not return and defeat Judah. But again, Hezekiah turns to the LORD, and once again Isaiah assures Hezekiah Sennacherib will be defeated. As it turns out, Sennacherib returned home and was executed by his own son, so the LORD’s words came true, and Judah was delivered again.

In chapter 20, Hezekiah becomes ill to the point of death. He calls out to the LORD, and this time the LORD delivers him from illness and promises to give him an additional fifteen years to live. As a sign of the LORD’s commitment to do this, He has the sun go back fifteen minutes in the sky. As Hezekiah’s reign continues, an envoy comes from Babylon. Hezekiah shows the envoy the Temple and everything in it. When Isaiah comes and asks Hezekiah what he showed the Babylonians, he answers he showed them everything in the Temple.  Isaiah tells Hezekiah that as a result a time will come in the future when the Babylonians will come and carry everything in the Temple off to Babylon, and his own sons will be eunuchs in the court of the Babylonian king. Hezekiah comforts himself with the knowledge this promise won’t come true in his lifetime. It seems a selfish attitude, but Hezekiah is still seen as one of the greatest kings in the history of Judah. At the end of the chapter Hezekiah dies and “rests” with his fathers. Manasseh, his son takes his place as king.

2 Kings 21 tells us Manasseh was as evil as his father, Hezekiah, had been good. While he ruled in Judah for fifty-five years, he undid all his father’s good. He restored the high places; he sacrificed his son on the altar; he rebuilt the Asherah poles. Because of this wickedness, which we’re told was worse than that of the native Amorites, the LORD promised Judah and Jerusalem would be destroyed. It didn’t happen immediately, but Manasseh had set Judah on a collision course with collapse. This is always the case when we choose sin over salvation in our lives. When Manasseh died, his son Amon became king, but after only two years the people conspired against him and killed him. His son, Josiah, replaced him.

As we turn to Matthew 11, we read of John the Baptist sending his followers to Jesus to ask whether He was the Messiah, or if they ought to look for someone else. John was in prison, and he didn’t see Jesus fulfilling what he perceived the calling of the Messiah to be. Jesus’ response was a direct quote from the book of Isaiah. He told John he was healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, proclaiming good news to the poor, and then He said, “Blessed is the one who doesn’t fall away on account of me.” In other words, “John, I’m not what you expected, but I am most certainly the Messiah.” Jesus praised John and said he was one of the greatest men ever to be born and was the Elijah who was to come. Then He said, but the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he. To be counted as a member of the Kingdom of God is a high privilege. Jesus noted many of the towns of Israel had rejected Him, and they would be rejected. Then He told us if we are weary and burdened down, we can come to Him, because His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Jesus is a Messiah no one expected. Far from the conquering King who would re-establish Israel as the power on the planet, He was a humble servant-king, who was on His way to die for the salvation of humanity.  We can see what Jesus was doing, and that it won’t be until His second coming when we see the conquering King, but in His own time on earth, the people couldn’t see that reality. We are blessed we have the opportunity to do so!

2 Kings 15 begins with a brief record of King Azariah’s reign. He was a good king, as his father, but as his father, he did not remove the high places from Judah. This is a recurring theme in the record of the good kings of Judah, which is an important reminder for us that being a true follower of the living God requires a complete transformation from the old ways, the pagan ways, the worldly ways of our past. That does not mean we remove ourselves from the world, but that we remove the world from ourselves. Jesus told us we are to be in the world, but not of it. King Azariah and other “good” kings followed the LORD for the most part, but they didn’t remove the stumbling block of the high places from Judah. In those high places, people worshiped pagan gods, or celestial bodies, or nature. Until those high places were removed, the temptation to sin in those ways would always be present. Later in King Azariah’s reign he developed leprosy. That meant he had to isolate himself from others, so his son, Jotham, moved into the royal palace and ran the government in his father’s place.

Zechariah, the fourth son of Jeroboam II, became king in Israel, while King Azariah ruled in Judah. He ruled for only six months and Shallum overthrew him. Zechariah did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD as all the kings of Israel before him. Shallum’s reign was even shorter, lasting only one month. He was overthrown by Manahem. Menahem’s rule lasted ten years, but the only deed of significance recorded about him is he paid tribute to the King of Assyria to keep them from attacking Israel. Pekahiah followed Menahem’s inauspicious reign  but reigned only two years. He was another wicked king in the LORD’s eyes (which are the only eyes that matter!) and he was overthrown by Pekah. Pekah reigned in Israel for twenty years, and during that time many of the people of Israel were carried off by the Assyrians. After his wicked reign, he was assassinated, which had become the way of transitioning kings in Israel, after the reigns of Jeroboam II and his descendants. Hoshea became king in his place.

Chapter 15 closes out with a record of King Jotham of Judah. He served Judah for sixteen years and did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, except he didn’t remove the high places. He was followed on the throne, by his son, Ahaz.

2 Kings 16 starts with the reign of King Ahaz. He reigned in Judah for sixteen years, and he followed the ways of the kings of Israel. In fact, during his reign he turned to Assyria for aid against Israel and Syria. When the Assyrians helped him, Ahaz went to Damascus and saw an altar there built to worship the Assyrian gods. He had a model of it made in Judah and had the king’s sacrifices offered on it instead of on the altar of the LORD. This perversion of worship was a great affront to the LORD.  Following Ahaz’s reign, his son Hezekiah became king.

2 Kings 17 starts with the record of Hoshea’s nine-year reign in Israel. Of course, he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, but he was not as evil as the kings of Israel before him. Hoshea became a vassal of Assyria, but in the sixth year of his reign he stopped paying tribute and attempted to get Egypt to come to Israel’s aid. This proved to be a fatal error, as the King of Assyrian laid siege against Israel, and after three years Israel fell. The Assyrians carried the Israelites off into exile and resettled the cities of Israel with people from other captured lands. the remainder of the chapter is devoted to pointing out why Israel fell: because they turned away from the LORD from the beginning, and didn’t obey His commands. The record includes commentary about how the people who resettled the land were attacked by lions, because they didn’t worship the LORD the God of Israel. Priests were brought in to show them how to worship the LORD, so the people worshiped the LORD and the gods of their native lands. This became the practice of the people. They worshiped the LORD, but also the gods of whatever land was their home. So often this is still the case today. People are willing to serve the LORD, but also to worship the “gods” of their own land, whether they are actual idols, or ideas, or materialistic pursuits. That path never works, because as we have learned in our months of study of the Old Testament, the LORD is a jealous God, and He will not share His worship with other gods.

As we turn to Matthew 10, we find it devoted to the fulfillment of what Jesus called the disciples to pray about at the end of chapter nine. He had called them to pray for the Lord of the harvest to send workers into the harvest. In chapter 10, Jesus calls the twelve disciples, and sets them apart to go into Israel to preach, teach, heal and cast out demons. They are the workers Jesus called them to ask the Lord of the harvest to send! Jesus gives them many instructions, and much guidance. The key is to trust in the LORD regardless of the challenge or hardship. He will provide whatever is needed whether it be a place to stay, or food, or words to say to governing authorities. The worker is to be reliant on the sender. That is still our calling today. Jesus had already told the disciples to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things would be added to them. Now, they were to put that command to the test in extremely practical terms. Jesus reminded them that following Him would mean a daily denial of themselves, and a willingness to take up their crosses and follow Him. Jesus never sugar coated the reality that following Him costs us a great deal in this life, and can even cost us our lives, but the reward is well worth the cost.

In 2 Kings 11-12, we read about the transition from King Ahaziah of Judah to his son, Joash or Jehoash (both spellings are used). After, Ahaziah died, his mother, Athaliah, declared herself queen and attempted to have all Ahaziah’s sons murdered. She nearly succeeded, but Jehoash was saved, and was brought up for six years by Jehoida the priest.  After six years, Jehoida had Jehoash declared king, and Athaliah was put to death. At that time, Baal worship was also brought to an end by King Jehoash under the guidance of Jehoida. Jehoash was a good king and did what was right in the sight of the LORD, except he let the high places remain. During Jehoash’s reign, he repaired the Temple in Jerusalem. Toward the end of his reign, Jehoash also took the wealth of the Temple and gave it to Hazael, king of Syria as tribute. In the end, Jehoash was assassinated by his officials, and his son, Amaziah became king.

We read in 2 Kings 13 that Jehoahaz became king in Israel during the twenty-third year of Jehoash’s reign in Judah. As all the kings of Israel, he did evil in the eyes of the LORD, so the LORD kept them under the power of Hazael King of Syria and his son, Ben-hadad. Eventually, Jehoahaz had a change of heart, and called out to the LORD. Remember, no king of Israel had ever served the LORD faithfully, and yet, the LORD heard Jehoahaz’s cry and delivered them from the Syrians. After Jehoahaz’s reign ended his son, Jehoash became king in Samaria, and ruled sixteen years. He did evil in the LORD’s sight, but he did eventually defeat King Amaziah of Judah, even though King Amaziah was a good king.  At this time Elisha became sick and was near death. He called King Jehoash to come to him. He instructed the king to shoot an arrow out the window, and Jehoash did. Elisha said this indicated Jehoash would have victory over Syria. Then he told Jehoash to strike his arrows on the ground. Jehoash struck them three times. This angered Elisha, because it meant Israel would only defeat Syria three times. Had he struck five or six times the defeat would have been total. What we learn from this brief encounter is even when we aren’t given specific instructions from the LORD, enthusiasm and passion are to be part of our response.  As the chapter closes, Hazael the king of Syria dies, and is replaced by Ben-Hadad, his son. At this point Jehoash defeated the Syrians in battle three times, just as Elijah had predicted.

In 2 Kings 14, Amaziah becomes the King in Judah. He was a good king as his father had been, but as his father, he didn’t remove the high places, so people still sacrificed there. He retaliated against the officials who had assassinated his father, after he was firmly established in his rule. For some reason, Amaziah decided to battle against Israel. He sent messengers to Jehoash asking him to come out to face him. Jehoash warned Amaziah to stay at home, but he wouldn’t listen. The end result was a major defeat for Judah. Amaziah lived for fifteen years after the defeat, but in the end, he was assassinated and his son, Azariah, who was only sixteen, was put in place as King of Judah. In the fifteenth year of Amaziah’s reign another Jeroboam became king in Israel. He was king for forty-one years but did evil in the LORD’s eyes as had the first Jeroboam.  Even though Jeroboam was wicked, the LORD showed compassion on Israel, because of His earlier promise not to blot Israel from the face of the earth.  We see time and again how the LORD showed mercy to the people of Israel and Judah. They would have been destroyed far sooner if not for that great mercy. We see the same mercy in even greater measure in the coming of Jesus. We owe everything to God’s great mercy and grace!

As we turn to Matthew 9, we read the account of Jesus healing the paralytic, which we also read in Mark 2. Jesus demonstrated His authority to forgive sin, by healing the paralytic, which amazed everyone.  Matthew next records his being called to follow Jesus. As in Mark’s account, we read that one of Matthew’s first actions as a disciple was to invite all his friends to a meal with Jesus. When the Pharisees complained Jesus was eating with sinners (a sign of welcome and fellowship), Jesus reminded them the healthy don’t need a physician, but the sick. What an important reminder for all of us! Next, John’s disciples ask Jesus a question about fasting, specifically why Jesus’ disciples didn’t fast. Jesus made it clear that fasting was for a time when He, the “bridegroom” wasn’t present. After this Jesus was called to the home of a “ruler,” (which in Mark we’re told was a synagogue ruler), to heal his daughter. The account is similar to that of Mark 5, including a woman touching Jesus’ garment as they were on the way to the ruler’s house to heal his daughter. The woman was healed, and the daughter raised from the dead, just as in Mark 5.  Next, Jesus healed two blind men, and a man who was deaf and mute. The people praised God, but the Pharisees said Jesus cast out demons by the power of the prince of demons. Finally, Jesus looked at the crowds of people, and was filled with compassion for them. He told the disciples to pray for the LORD of the harvest to send workers into the harvest.  Hold that thought, because tomorrow, we’re going to see who Jesus selected as the first workers in response to that prayer.  Spoiler Alert: When we pray, God often uses us to answer the prayer!

2 Kings 8 starts with a wonderful account of how the Shunamite woman, who had left Israel during the time of famine, returned home after seven years. Her land had been taken by others, so she went to the king to ask for the land to be returned. As it “happened,” Gehazi, Elisha’s servant was with the king, telling him of Elisha’s miracles. He saw the woman and said it was this woman’s son, whom Elisha had raised from the dead. When the king heard what the woman wanted, he restored her land to her.

Following this account, the story turns darker. Elisha traveled to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad the Syrian king was sick. He sent Hazael to inquire of Elisha as to whether he would recover. When Hazael asked the question, Elisha stared at him for a long time and then started to weep. Hazael asked what was wrong? Elisha said he was to tell Beh-Hadad he would recover, but in fact, he would not, because Hazael would kill him, and become king of Syria. As king, he would decimate Israel.

The chapter ends with a brief record of the reigns of Kings Jehoram and Ahaziah of Judah. Both were wicked kings, who followed in the ways of the kings of Israel. Jehoram reigned for eight years, and Ahaziah for only one. During their reigns several of Judah’s vassal states rebelled and gained their freedom. The direction of both Israel and Judah was heading away from the LORD rapidly.

2 Kings 9 records the bloody beginning of the reign of King Jehu of Israel. Elisha had one of his servants anoint Jehu king, and to tell him he was to carry out judgment against the house of Ahab. He not only carried out that command, but also killed King Joram his predecessor, and King Ahaziah of Judah. The chapter closes with Jehu killing Queen Jezebel. In this gruesome account after a time of drinking in celebration of his new power, Jehu tells some of his men to bury Jezebel, but when they went out to bury her, they found the dogs had eaten her flesh and only her skull and a few bones remained. This was just as Elijah had prophesied.

In 2 Kings 10, Jehu has the remaining descendants of Ahab slaughtered. He establishes himself in power, and then has all the prophets of Baal, and the Baal worshipers slaughtered. It looks as if Jehu is going to bring reform to the nation, but he does not. We’re told he continued to have the golden calves worshiped, that he followed in the sin of Jeroboam. Because of his faithfulness to destroying Ahab and the prophets of Baal, the LORD promised Jehu his descendants would rule in Israel for four generations. Jehu reigned in Israel for twenty-eight years, and when he died, his son Jehoahaz reigned in his place.

As we turn to Matthew 8, Jesus demonstrates His power to heal. First, a leper comes to Him and asks for healing. Jesus reaches out and touches the man, (which as we know from our reading of the Pentateuch, made Jesus ceremonially unclean), and heals him. Next, a Roman centurion comes to Jesus and asks Him to heal his servant. Jesus agrees to go to the man’s house, but the centurion tells Jesus He doesn’t need to come. He recognizes Jesus’ authority and power to heal with just a word. Jesus is amazed and agrees to heal the servant. He tells the crowd this man’s faith exceeds anyone in Israel. Then He reminds them, when He comes in His glory, people will come from all over the world and be included, while some who expect to be included will not.

After this experience, Jesus and the disciples enter the house of Simon Peter. Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever. Jesus healed her, and she got up and served a meal to the entourage. That evening, the people of the town brought the sick and demon-possessed to Him, and Jesus healed them. The next day as they were traveling, a scribe came to Jesus and said he would follow Jesus anywhere. Jesus responded that foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. When another said He would follow Jesus, but first He wanted to go bury His father, Jesus told him to let the dead bury their own dead. The account seems harsh, but as we have read in Mark and John’s gospels, Jesus expected His followers to be willing to give up everything to follow Him. After this, Jesus and the disciples got into a boat. A storm came up, but Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat. The disciples woke Him and asked if He didn’t care if they drowned. Jesus asked them why they had such little faith, and then calmed the storm. This amazed them all.

When they came to the other side of the lake, Jesus confronted two demon-possessed men. (This is the same account we find in Mark 5, but there we’re told it was one man.  For some reason, Matthew has a tendency to add a person or an animal [in the Triumphal Entry] to his accounts. This doesn’t invalidate the accounts. It shows us the disciples were human, and the point of the accounts remains the same. In this case, Jesus cast out the demons, although they numbered a couple thousand. We surmise this, because He cast them into a herd of 2,000 pigs and each one ran down the hill to a body of water and drowned themselves. The end result of the demon-possessed men’s lives is they were healed. We would expect the people of the region to be enthusiastic about this event. Instead, they asked Jesus to leave their region. The truth is sometimes hard to digest, and even when the truth is “good news,” sometimes people can’t handle it. We can’t expect people will always respond to the gospel affirmatively. God doesn’t force anyone to trust or accept Him, our task is to trust and obey Him, and when others do not, to continue to be faithful witnesses of Jesus to them.

As we turn to 2 Kings 4, Elisha performs five miracles. First, a widow came to Elisha telling him her husband had died, and her creditors were going to take her two sons as slaves. Elisha told the woman to borrow as many vessels as she could from her neighbors, and to fill them from a single bottle of oil she had in her house. The oil lasted until every jar was full. The woman was able to pay her creditors and to pay to support her family from the proceeds of selling the oil. Next, Elisha and his servant, Gehazi, developed a relationship with a Shunamite woman, who provided them a place to stay when they passed through the area. As a reward, Elisha prayed for the LORD to give the woman a son. When the child was older, he died. The woman went to Elisha extremely upset. She had told Elisha she didn’t want a son, perhaps because she was fearful he wouldn’t be able to provide such an amazing gift. Now, her son was dead. Elisha raised the child from the dead! Next, Elisha was having a meal with some prophets, who had picked some herbs and put them in the stew. They turned out to be poison. Elisha had them put flour in the soup, and it was safe to eat. Finally, Elisha multiplied loaves of bread, so there would be enough for a large group of prophets to eat. These miracles remind us of Jesus. He would perform similar miracles during His earthly ministry, which tells us how powerful Elisha’s ministry was!

2 Kings 5 records Elisha’s encounter with Naaman, a commander in the Syrian army. Naaman lived with leprosy, but he had a servant girl who had been captured during a raid in Israel. She told Naaman the prophet, Elisha, could heal him.  He received permission from the King of Syria to go on a journey to Israel to look for Elisha. He gave Naaman a letter of introduction to present to the King of Israel. The king of Israel was disturbed, because he thought this was simply an excuse to start a war. Elisha intervened and told Naaman to come to his home. When Naaman arrived, Elisha sent Gehazi out to him, and told him to go wash in the Jordan River seven times to be healed. Naaman was incensed. Not only had Elisha not come out personally, but Naaman said Syria had far better rivers than the dirty Jordan. He started to leave, but his servants convinced him if Elisha had asked him to do something difficult, he would have done it, why not do the easy thing Elisha asked him to do?  Naaman was healed by his obedience to Elisha’s instructions. He returned to Elisha and offered to pay him for the great miracle, but Elisha would take no payment. Afterwards, Gehazi in a moment of greed, followed Naaman and said Elisha had changed his mind, and would take payment. He took the payment for himself, but when he returned to Elisha, Elisha knew what he had done. Elisha pronounced a judgment on Gehazi. From that moment forward, there would always be someone in each generation of Gehazi’s family with leprosy. The lesson here is obvious: The LORD’s blessings aren’t for sale. He helps us because He loves us. If He uses us to heal or help others, we aren’t to seek payment.

2 Kings 6 starts with Elisha performing another miracle. This time one of the prophets was cutting down a tree when the axe head flew off into the water of a nearby river. The servant told Elisha the axe was borrowed. Elisha promptly threw a stick into the water and the axe head floated to the surface. How? The only explanations are: it didn’t happen, or the LORD gave Elisha a supernatural solution once again. We believe it was the LORD. Following this, we read of the King of Syria attempting to kill Elisha, because Elisha was constantly giving his plans to the King of Israel. Finally, the Syrian army found Elisha and surrounded the house where he was staying. When Elisha’s servant looked out and saw all the soldiers, he was terrified. Elisha asked the LORD to show the servant His army. The servant’s eyes were opened, and he saw the Lord’s vast army, including chariots of fire. Elisha went out and asked the LORD to blind the Syrian army, which He did. Then Elisha had them march into the middle of Samaria, whereupon he gave them back their vision. The King of Israel asked whether he ought to slaughter them, because the LORD had delivered them into his hands. Elisha’s response was to feed them and release them. Upon their return to the King of Syria, the response led the king to stop pursuing Elisha and Israel for a time. As the chapter ends, though, Ben-hadad, the King of Syria has besieged Samaria, and the people are starving. The King of Israel was outraged at the plight of the people, and promised to kill Elisha, because he saw Elisha as the reason for their problems. The chapter ends with men sent from the king interacting with Elisha, and Elisha pointing out that he was not the problem. It is always easy for us to point our finger at someone else when we experience pain or problems. As the saying goes, “Hurting people hurt people.” But when we go through difficult times, we must first ask ourselves whether we are the source of those difficulties, or what part we are playing in them. If we are not to blame, then we must call on the LORD to intervene. If we are to blame, we must change our behavior and then call on the LORD to intervene, because as we have seen many times in our daily readings, God loves us despite our sinfulness. He will intervene in our lives regardless of the cause of our difficulty.

In 2 Kings 7, Elisha promises the King of Israel the LORD will provide food, and it will be more than needed. The captain of the guard tells Elisha it isn’t possible. Elisha tells him, he will see it with his own eyes, but won’t participate in it, because of his disbelief. The next day, four lepers decide to go to the Syrian camp to beg for food. They said they were going to die of leprosy anyway, so if the Syrians killed them it would only speed up the inevitable. But when they arrived at the camp, not a single Syrian could be found. All their goods were there, but no Syrians. They started collecting the plunder, and then realized what they were doing was wrong. All the people in the city of Samaria were starving, and they needed to tell them. When they did, and the King verified their account was true, the people stormed out to gather the plunder. As Elisha had said the captain of the guard saw this, but in their rush to leave the city, the people knocked down the gate. It fell on the captain and he died as he watched others receive the blessing Elisha predicted. What a strong reminder of how important it is for us to trust the word of the LORD!

As we turn to Matthew 7, we come to the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus starts by calling us not to judge others, because we will be judged with the same standard we use in judging them. He gives the illustration of how we often see the “speck” in another person’s eye, while ignoring the “log” in our own. How true! Before we call someone else into judgment, we need to be sure our own lives are free of the sin we are judging. Some have used this passage to avoid calling others to accountability, because none of us are perfect. The better response is to judge ourselves first, and then to help others who are heading down the path to destruction by pointing out their sin as fellow sinners, rather than as self-righteous Pharisees.

Jesus follows up this instruction with a brief comment regarding not throwing our “pearls” before “swine.” He was telling us not to offer the good news to those who are unwilling to hear it. In my experience, it’s easy to tell whether others are open to the gospel or not. When they aren’t, we don’t give up, but we do disengage from the situation, until they are.

Next, Jesus tells us to “ask, seek, and knock” when we need something from the LORD. The verbs are in the present imperative, which means we are to keep asking, seeking, and knocking, and not just to do so once. Jesus reminded us our earthly fathers give us good gifts and they are sinners, so how much more does our Heavenly Father want to respond to our prayers.

Jesus’ next command is to do to others as we would have them do to us. We call this the “Golden Rule.” Jesus tells us this command sums up the whole Law and the Prophets, or it sums up the Old Testament. Wow! How important that makes this instruction. As we seek to do to others as we would have them do to us, it’s helpful to remember every person is different, and sometimes if we do to others what we would want them to do to us, it may not come across as we intend. The better approach is to get to know what the other person wants to have done in a situation, and then provide that, so long as it will draw them closer to God in the process.

Jesus goes on to tell us the way to heaven is “narrow.” In other words, it’s difficult. Salvation is free. Jesus gives it to us as a gift but living as Jesus’ followers is often hard. As I often say, “Following Jesus is simple, but not easy.” Jesus goes on to remind us the way to tell whether someone is following Him is to look at the “fruit.” As He points out good trees produce good fruit, while bad trees produce bad fruit. He then goes on to tells us not everyone who uses His name, or calls out, “Lord! Lord!” is going to heaven, but only those who do the will of His Father in heaven. Jesus was not teaching we gain heaven through our works. He was teaching us when we have been saved by His grace, and been born again, our lives will demonstrate that salvation through good works. We don’t do good works to get saved, but because we are saved.

Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount by telling us anyone who hears this teaching and lives it is like a man who built his house on a rock, or on a solid foundation. When the storms and floods come, such a house stands. But if we hear the teaching and don’t live it, we are like a foolish man who built his house on sand. Such a foundation doesn’t stand against the storms and floods of life and it falls. Let’s trust Jesus enough to obey His commands in the power of the Holy Spirit. As we do, not only will our “house” stand firm, but we will be the salt and light others need to be drawn to Jesus!

Today, we turn to 2 Kings. In this book we find the same format as 1 Kings. The book opens with Ahaziah, Ahab’s son in power in Israel. Ahaziah’s reign was short. He fell through the lattice-work in his palace and was injured. Instead of turning to the LORD, he had men go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he would recover. The LORD told Elijah to go and ask the men if there was no God in Israel, that they needed to inquire of Baal-zebub? He then said, Ahaziah would die. Ahaziah sent men to get Elijah. He sent fifty men with a captain in charge. Elijah called fire down from the sky, and the fifty were consumed. This happened a second time. When the third captain came to Elijah, he bowed down in front of him, and begged for mercy. The LORD told Elijah to go ahead and go with the group. He announced to Ahaziah that he would die, and Ahaziah did die. Jehoram became king in his place. Jehoram was not related to Ahaziah, because Ahaziah didn’t have any sons, so the line of Ahab was broken.

As we turn to 2 Kings 2, we read of Elijah being taken up into heaven. Elisha was with him that morning, and Elijah tells Elisha not to go with him, but Elisha is unwilling to remain behind. The account holds a great deal of intrigue. Everyone knows it is the day the LORD will take Elijah into heaven. All the prophets tell Elisha this is the day Elijah will be taken up, and he keeps telling them not to speak of it. When the two come to the Jordan river, Elijah takes off his cloak and hits the water with it. The river parts and the two walk across on dry ground. As they walk along a chariot of fire comes down and takes Elijah up. Elijah had asked Elisha what he could do for him, before he was taken up. Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Elijah said it was a hard thing, but if Elisha saw him being taken up, it would be done. Elisha did see Elijah being taken up, and as he went back to the Jordan, he tapped the water with Elijah’s cloak, which had fallen to him as Elijah was taken up.  The water parted again, and Elisha recognized he had received the “mantle” of Elijah.  When he went back to the other prophets, they told of the water being bad, so Elisha gave them a bowl of salt to put in the water, and it made it good again. As Elisha traveled on, a group of children mocked him, calling him “baldhead.” After Elisha passed, two she bears came out and mauled forty-two of the boys. This seems quite drastic, but we’re being shown the power and position of Elisha as he starts his ministry in place of Elijah.

In chapter 3, the King of Moab rebels against Israel. When Ahab was the king, the Moabites paid tribute to Israel, but after Ahab died, they rebelled. Jehoram called on King Jehoshaphat to help him. He also called on the King of Edom, who joined the alliance. King Jehoshaphat asked King Jehoram if there was any prophet they could ask about the battle. Elisha came. He told them the LORD was only helping because of Jehoshaphat’s presence in the situation. He also predicted the LORD would provide water supernaturally for the three armies, which He did. When the Moabites saw the pools of water, it looked like blood, so they assumed the three armies had fought against each other and attacked to claim the spoils. Instead, they were defeated and driven back to their own land. In desperation, the King of Moab sacrificed his oldest son, which incensed the Moabites and gave them extra power. In that power they forced the coalition back. As we reflect on this passage, what we see is even when a faithless king, such as Jehoram joined with a faithful king, Jehoshaphat, the LORD provided deliverance. The LORD doesn’t respond to our prayers based on our faithfulness, but He does bless obedience and faithfulness. If He only responded when we are totally obedient and faithful, He would never respond. Thankfully, His grace and mercy bend His heart toward us.

As we turn to Matthew 6, the Sermon on the Mount continues. Jesus talks about the spiritual disciplines of giving, prayer and fasting. In each case, Jesus makes it clear we are not to give, pray, or fast as a religious show to others, but as acts of commitment to God alone. Many other details of these disciplines are included, but the key is to offer ourselves, our lives, and our disciplines to the LORD. As we do, He will reward us. In the second half of Matthew 6, Jesus talks about the importance of serving God and God alone. He tells us the chief rival “god” in our lives, will be money. Remember, these words were spoken 2,000 years ago, and yet they are so apropos for today. Jesus recognized we tend to worry about our daily needs, and to think money will be the solution. He reminds us not to worry about anything, and to remember God provides everything we need. The final point Jesus makes in the chapter is so vital. He tells us “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything you need will be added to you.” I have made this such a focus in my life and ministry, because it really is a principle that makes life so simple. As long as we put God first, we don’t have to worry about anything else. God promises to meet our needs. On the other hand, if we don’t put God first, then we need to worry, because we’re in the position of needing to provide for ourselves. Throughout my life, I have found God to be completely faithful in meeting my needs, and my family’s needs. I’m sure you will, too, as you seek Him first!

In 1 Kings 18, we see Elijah confront Ahab and the prophets of Baal. In the first portion of the chapter, we read of Obadiah, Ahab’s chief officer, and how he had protected 100 prophets of the LORD, when Jezebel had the prophets killed. We’re given this information, because the LORD sent Elijah to confront King Ahab, and as he travelled, he met Obadiah. Elijah told Obadiah to go to King Ahab and tell him Elijah was coming. Obadiah begged Elijah not to have him do it, because Obadiah believed the Lord would take Elijah somewhere else in the Spirit, and then Ahab would kill Obadiah. But Elijah did go to Ahab. When Elijah showed up, Ahab asked, “It it you, you troubler of Israel?” Interesting how from Ahab’s perspective it was Elijah who was troubling Israel and not the other way around.  Elijah told Ahab he was Israel’s troubler, and he had come to set up a contest between himself and the prophets of Baal and Asherah.

The “odds” were against Elijah. The prophets of Baal and Asherah numbered 850. Elijah proposed the contest be for each “side” to build an altar, then to put a bull on the altar, and then for the true God to send fire to burn up the bull. The people agreed this would be a great contest. Elijah had asked the people how long they would go limping back and forth between two opinions, that if the LORD was God, they ought to follow Him, and if Baal was god to follow him. The image of a person jumping back and forth from one foot to the other is the image Elijah intended. The people seemed to have turned from God, but Elijah gave them the benefit of the doubt. As the contest began, Elijah gave his opponents first try. He let them call out to their god from morning until evening. He made fun of them after a while, asking them if their god was on vacation, or going to the bathroom or taking a nap. Finally, when evening came, Elijah had the altar prepared, the bull prepared, and then he had them pour gallons and gallons of water on the sacrifice. Then Elijah prayed to the LORD and asked Him to show the people He was the true God and Elijah was His prophet. The LORD answered, and the people were convinced. Their God had answered with fire and was the true God. In the frenzy that followed, Elijah had the people gather up all the prophets of Baal and Asherah, and he slaughtered them.

Next, Elijah told Ahab the rains were coming. He prayed seven times, and each time had his servant go to look to see whether the rains were coming. On the seventh time, the servant said there was a cloud the size of a man’s hand, but that was enough for Elijah. He warned Ahab to return to his palace before it rained so hard he wouldn’t be able to ride his chariot. Elijah’s great faith in the LORD is evident throughout 1 Kings, but as we will see, even Elijah faltered in his faith at times.

In 1 Kings 19, we read of Elijah’s faltering. After all he had just seen God do, we would think nothing could cause Elijah to fear King Ahab or Queen Jezebel, but when Ahab told Jezebel what Elijah had done, she sent him a message saying she was going to kill him before the same time the next day. Rather than stand up to Jezebel, Elijah ran for a day. He was tired so he sat down and asked God to take him, because his life wasn’t worth living. After that he fell asleep. When he woke up, an angel had food and water for him. After he ate, he fell asleep again. Once again, the angel came and gave him food and water. After this Elijah rose and ran for forty days and forty nights. After that he hid in a cave. The LORD spoke to Elijah and asked him what he was doing in the cave. Elijah said he was the only one left who hadn’t deserted the LORD, and now everyone was trying to kill Him. The LORD corrected Elijah’s perspective. He pointed out there were 7,000 in Israel who had not bowed their knee to Baal. He sent Elijah outside and sent a howling wind, an earthquake and a fire, but the LORD wasn’t in any of these natural events. Then the LORD whispered to Elijah. Why did God whisper? In one of his books, Steven Furtick, answers, “Because He is so close.” I love that answer. In the whisper, the LORD sent Elijah back to anoint a couple kings, and to anoint Elisha as prophet. Elijah responds and as the chapter ends, both Elijah and Elisha are ready to serve the LORD. We do well to read these two chapters together, as they show us both the power of God in times of great corporate challenge, and the power of God in times of great personal challenge. In both types of time, He is more than ready to help us!

In 1 Kings 20, we read of King Ahab’s two battles with the King of Syria, Ben-hadad. King Ahab was willing to give up his wives and his servants to Ben-hadad, but after he did so, Ben-hadad sent his men again to get more from Ahab. Ahab told the elders of Israel about it. They recommended Ahab not give any more. This time Ben-hadad sent a message that his army would pulverize Israel. King Ahab sent a return message, “Let not the one who puts on his armor, speak as the one who takes it off. In other words, don’t brag until after the battle ends. God gave the Syrians into Ahab’s hands. The next spring, the Syrians attacked again, and Ahab’s troops won again, but Ahab let Ben-hadad go. A prophet of God came and told Ahab, because he had done this, the LORD was going to exchange his life for Ben-hadad’s, that Israel would lose the next battle and Ahab would die. We might think it was good for Ahab to show leniency, but the LORD’s purpose was to demonstrate His people’s authority over a pagan nation.

In Matthew 4, we read of Jesus temptation by the devil in the wilderness, which took place after His baptism. Before, Jesus’ ministry started in earnest, He endured a tremendous set of three temptations. Before the temptations Jesus fasted for 40 days. That made the first temptation significant: The devil tempted Jesus to turn a stone into bread. This temptation shows us the devil recognized Jesus as God’s son. After all, it wouldn’t be much of a temptation for you or me to turn a stone into bread, would it, because we couldn’t do it? Jesus responded to the temptation by quoting Scripture, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Next, the devil tempted Jesus to go up to the top of the Temple and jump down. The idea was God would send his angels to save Jesus, and seeing this, people would worship Him. Jesus responded by quoting Scripture, “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test.” Finally, the devil showed Jesus all the nations of the world and promised to give them to Jesus if He would only bow down and worship him. Again, Jesus responded with Scripture, “You shall worship the LORD your God and Him only will you serve.” We learn something vital from this passage: The best way to deal with the devil is to know and quote Scripture to Him. Don’t argue–quote!

After this experience, Jesus started preaching that people needed to repent, because the Kingdom of God was near. (This was John the Baptist’s message, too.) Then Jesus called His first four followers: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. They were all fishermen. Jesus promised if they left their nets, He would teach them to fish for people. We’re told Jesus then went to the synagogues and taught. He also healed the sick and cast out demons. Jesus’ public ministry was underway. The details are a bit different than Mark and John, but the focus is the same: Jesus came to call people to repentance, to preach, teach, heal, and cast out demons.  As Jesus followers in the 21st century that is also our focus and task. As we carry out that focus and live into those tasks, people will come to know Jesus as their Savior and Lord. That has been His plan for the past 2,000 years!

In 1 Kings 15, we find a format that will follow through the Book of 2 Kings:  1) We read about a king of Israel or Judah;  2) We’re told whether he was good or evil;  and 3) we read of the alternating king of the opposite kingdom or about the son of that king. If we read about Israel’s king first, then we read about Judah’s king second and vice versa. As noted, we might read about a king of Judah and his son, before we switch to reading about the corresponding king of Israel.  As we will see all the kings of Israel were evil. They followed in the ways of Jeroboam, the first king of Israel. Eight of the kings of Judah were good, including David. The good kings were said to follow in the ways of their “father,” David. As we start 1 Kings 15, we read of King Abijam of Judah. We’re told he did what was evil as his father had. (His father was Rehoboam.) He reigned for only three years. Even though he did what was evil, God didn’t end the line of David as king in Judah, for the sake of David. God valued His covenant with David and for David’s sake, whether the kings of Judah were good or evil, He let them rule.  We’re told Abijam was at war with Jeroboam, and when he “slept with his fathers,” or died, he was buried in the city of David. As we will see, some of the kings of Judah were not buried in the city of David. That’s always a clue for us we have just read about one of the bad kings!

After Abijam died, Asa, his son, ruled in his place. Asa was a good king. He undid the idol worship his father and grandfather had established. He also formed an alliance with Syria against Israel that allowed him to retake some land in the northern part of his kingdom. He reigned for forty-two years and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. His son Jehoshaphat ruled in his place.

Next, we read about Nadab, Jeroboam’s son ruling in Israel. He ruled only two years, and because he was a king in Israel, we know he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. Baasha, one of Jeroboam’s military officers, conspired against Nadab and overthrew him. He then had all of Jeroboam’s family killed, which fulfilled the prophecy pronounced against Jeroboam during his reign. Baasha reigned over Israel for twenty-four years and did what was evil in the eyes of the LORD. Even though Baasha had overthrown the household of Jeroboam, he continued to walk in the way of Jeroboam. We learn a key principle in this chapter: No one has to “walk in the way” of his or her ancestors but people often do. All the kings of Israel followed the path of least resistance, which was to follow the sinful example set by Jeroboam. A handful of kings in Judah either followed the example of their good father, or they looked back to the positive example set by David and ruled according to God’s plan for their lives. Whatever example your parents set for you, you have the opportunity to follow it if they walked in the way of the LORD, or to follow Jesus, if they didn’t!

In 1 Kings 16, the usual pattern changes, as we read about several kings of Israel and their reigns without hearing about any kings of Judah.  First, we read about King Baasha’s unfaithfulness. Because he didn’t change direction, the word of the LORD came to Baasha, and he was told what had happened to Jeroboam and his “house,” would happen to him. When Baasha died, his son Elah took his place and continued on the path of sin established before him. Zimri, a military commander, conspired against Elah and killed him after Elah had reigned only two years. Zimri killed the entire household of Elah, fulfilling the prophecy against Baasha. Zimri’s rule lasted only seven days, as another military commander, Omri, overthrew him.  Omri reigned for twelve years, and continued Israel’s evil direction away from the Lord. Following Omri, Ahab, his son, became king. We’re told Ahab did “more evil” than all the kings of Israel. He added to his sin by marrying Jezebel, who brought Baal worship to Israel in addition to their worship of the golden calves, which had been set up during Jeroboam’s reign. This spiral of evil in Israel would lead them to the point of God’s judgment and their being carried off to exile by the Assyrians.

At an initial glance, it might be difficult for us to understand how a nation, which had been established by God could move so quickly toward destruction. If we do wonder about that, we need to look in the mirror as Americans. In a matter of decades, we have moved away from so many patterns of good established in scripture. We have become a nation where everyone does what is right in our own eyes, as was the case in Israel during the period of the judges. While the establishment of the monarchy changed that direction for a time, we see the human heart, if it is not dedicated to the LORD, will dedicate itself to itself or to false gods. That is because God created us to worship Him, and when we don’t pursue that God-given purpose, any other purpose we pursue will lead us down the path of evil and destruction, whether in a short time or long.

1 Kings 17 introduces us to the prophet Elijah. Elijah starts his ministry in Israel by telling King Ahab it would not rain there for three years, unless he said it would. It did not. This drought produced a famine across the region. Elijah was initially fed by God in a supernatural manner as birds brought him food. Later, the LORD told him to go to Zarephath, where he would meet a widow who would provide him food. When Elijah met the widow, she told him she had no food and she was preparing for her son and her to die, after she baked a last loaf of bread for them. Elijah told her to prepare food for him first. She did, and as a result, her flour didn’t run out for the entire period of the famine. The widow’s son got sick and died. She told Elijah it was his fault, but Elijah brought the son back to life. After that the widow believed he was a true prophet. That would do it!

As we turn to Matthew 3, we are introduced to John the Baptist and his ministry of preparing the way for Jesus. He baptized people as a sign of their repentance as part of that preparation for Jesus’ coming. John’s message was strong. He called the religious leaders a brood of vipers. He told them God was able to raise up a generation of children to Abraham from the stones. In other words, God didn’t need the current generation of Israelites to continue the line of Abraham. Eventually, Jesus came to John for baptism. John told Jesus it was he who needed to be baptized by Jesus instead of the other way around, but Jesus convinced John it was necessary to fulfill all righteousness. We learn an important truth about Jesus here: He did many things He didn’t need to do to set an example for us. As a sinless man, He didn’t need to subject Himself to baptism, or to being here on earth at all, for that matter, but He did it so we would have the opportunity to receive salvation through Him.

At the conclusion of Matthew 3, after Jesus’ baptism, God the Father affirmed Jesus’ obedience, by sending the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, and by the verbal affirmation: “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” As Jesus prepared to start His earthly ministry, He received the affirmation of His Heavenly Father. What a powerful message for us who are dads. If Jesus, the Son of the living God, needed affirmation at the outset of His ministry, we must certainly affirm our children when they make efforts to follow God’s calling in their lives, or when they pursue what is good over what is evil.

In 1 Kings 11 we read that Solomon turned away from the LORD in his later years as king. Solomon married 700 women who were princesses and had 300 concubines. Most of Solomon’s wives were women of pagan nations, whom he married for political reasons. The problem was they brought with them the pagan worship of their nations. Solomon’s departure from worshiping the LORD went so far that he even worshiped Chemosh, a pagan god that required child sacrifice. Because of Solomon’s unfaithfulness, the LORD told him He would tear the nation out of his hands. But the Lord said for the sake of David, He wouldn’t do it until the time of Solomon’s son being king. He also planned to leave two of the tribes under the leadership of Solomon’s son. This split would create the nations of Israel and Judah. In the second portion of the chapter we’re told of adversaries the LORD raised up against Solomon, the chief of whom was Jeroboam. Jeroboam would become the first king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.

In 1 Kings 12, the LORD’s plan to divide the Kingdom in two parts became a reality. When Solomon died and his son, Rehoboam, became king, the people of Israel asked him to lighten the tax burden and their service to him. If he did, they would remain faithful to him. But Rehoboam went to his advisers to see what his response ought to be. The older advisers suggested Rehoboam ease the burden as the people requested, but Rehoboam asked his younger advisers, who told him to tell the people he was going to increase it. This brought wrath from the people on Rehoboam, and Jeroboam became the king of ten of Israel’s tribes. King Rehoboam assembled his army against Jeroboam, but the LORD told him not to go to battle, because it was His will to give the Northern Kingdom to Jeroboam. Once Jeroboam established himself as king, he committed a grave sin before the LORD. He decided if the people went to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship the LORD, they would eventually turn their allegiance to Judah. Therefore, he set up two golden calves in the Northern Kingdom. He told the people these were the gods that brought the people out of Egypt. They worshiped the idols and the beginning of the end of the Northern Kingdom had started.

In 1 Kings 13, a prophet of the LORD told Jeroboam a descendant of David, Josiah by name, would one day sacrifice the priests of his gods on the altar where they sacrificed to those gods. Jeroboam stretched out his hand toward the prophet and it withered. Jeroboam asked the prophet to restore his hand, and he did. The prophet was told by the LORD not to eat or drink anything before he went home. Another prophet invited him to eat with him, but the prophet wouldn’t. Then the prophet who invited lied to him and said the LORD had told him it was okay. The prophet ate and as a result was killed on his way home. This seems extreme, and yet the prophet disobeyed the Lord’s command. The LORD required obedience of all His children, but especially the prophets in the Old Testament era. After this, Jeroboam did not turn from his evil ways, and he continued to lead Israel away from true worship of the LORD.

In the first portion of 1 Kings 14, we read about Jeroboam’s continued sinfulness. His young son, Abijah, became sick, so Jeroboam sent his wife to the prophet Ahijah to see what would happen. The prophecy was extremely unpleasant. Abijah would die the moment the wife returned to the city. He would be the only member of Jeroboam’s family to be buried. Those who died in the city would be eaten by dogs, and those who died in the country would be eaten by the birds. Nevertheless, Jeroboam continued his wicked ways until he died. In the second portion of the chapter, we read about King Rehoboam’s reign in Judah. Rehoboam also did what was evil in the LORD’s eyes. As we shall see, all the kings of the Northern Kingdom were evil, and only eight kings of Judah were good kings. When Rehoboam died, his son Abijam became king.

Matthew 2 records the coming of the wise men to pay homage to Jesus. When they entered Jerusalem and asked King Herod where the one who was born as King of the Jews would be found, Herod didn’t know. He had to ask his advisors. They told the wise men to go to Bethlehem. Herod pretended to want to worship the new king as well, but his motive was to eliminate Jesus, and thus eliminate any competition for his throne. The LORD warned the wise men to go home a different way once they had found Jesus, worshiped Him, and presented gifts to Him.  Joseph received another dream, and this one instructed him to take his family to Egypt, to avoid Herod’s search for Jesus. When Herod realized the wise men had tricked him, he sent soldiers to kill all the male children in Bethlehem who were two years old or younger, in an attempt to kill Jesus. 

Once Herod died, Joseph was informed in a dream to come back to Israel. Because Herod’s brother was ruling in his place, Joseph was guided to go to northern Israel and live in Nazareth. Matthew tells us this was to fulfill an Old Testament prophecy that said God’s son would be called a Nazarene. In Matthew’s gospel, we see time and again how God intervened in Jesus’ life, and how the actions of Jesus and his family fulfilled an Old Testament prophecy. This makes perfect sense given Matthew’s Jewish background.