| |
|
April 26 - Morning
"When the king heard the woman’s words, he tore his robes. As he went along the wall, the people looked, and they saw that, under his robes, he had sackcloth on his body. He said,
'May God deal with me, be it ever so severely,
if the head of Elisha son of Shaphat
remains on his shoulders today!'
Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. The king sent a messenger ahead, but before he arrived, Elisha said to the elders,
'Don’t you see how this murderer is sending someone to cut off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it shut against him. Is not the sound of his master’s footsteps behind him?'
While he was still talking to them, the messenger came down to him. The king said,
'This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?' "
- . Second Kings 6:30-33 |
 |
|
| When Women Eat Their Children... |
|
|
The city of Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdom, Israel, is under siege by the Arameans. The city is being starved out and the people have been held up in the city for so long that all the food is gone. Two women have agreed to eat their children (which is one of the curses the Lord promised he would send on a disobedient nation during the fifth cycle of discipline according to Leviticus 26:29.)
The king of Israel is Joram. He was Ahab and Jezebel’s second son to rule Israel. Ahab himself had faced drought as announced by Elijah (1 Kings 17:1-6) which had been the second cycle of discipline on the land as promised in Leviticus 26:18-20.
Joram has had enough of God’s judgment when he saw two woman arguing about whose son they were going to eat next. At that point Joram decided it was time to kill Elisha since the Lord was not responding. (Joram’s parents, Ahab and Jezebel came to the same conclusion about Elijah when they decided to kill Elijah because his God had sent a drought. It is interesting that Joram knows the Lord has control, but Joram is tired of waiting on God.
So while the elders of the city of Samaria where sitting with Elisha, apparently in repentance and waiting for the word of the Lord, the king sent a message saying that this siege and the famine are caused by the Lord. Joram feels they have repented and waited long enough. Joram is going to demonstrate his anger with the Lord by decapitating Elisha.
The text does say that the king had been wearing sackcloth under his robe which was a sign of mourning and repentance. Joram is angry with the Lord because he thinks he has repented long enough and it is time for the siege to lift. |
|
 |
“The Christian belief system, which the Christian
knows to be grounded
in divine revelation,
is relevant to all of life.”
– Carl F. H. Henry |
 |
Principles of Availability
Willingness (Isaiah 6:8 – “Here I am. Send me!”) The work is there, but God is looking for willing workers. The work that needs to be done is of a great variety.
Recognize the Need (David saw Goliath needed to be confronted in 1 Sam.17:37) David did not wait for a calling, but simply met the need. David was a shepherd, a delivery boy and a harpist, but he was not yet a warrior when he engaged Goliath.
Let the Word come to Pass (Mary in Luke 1:38, “May it be to me as you have said.”) (1 Timothy 4:14)
Obey (Elijah in 1 Kings 17:2, 3, 8, 9; Paul in Acts 20:22; 21:4,9,10,11) don’t make your own decisions or let worldly opinions influence what you have been told
Self-Sacrifice (Moses in Hebrews 11:25,26, “He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God…He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt.”)
Commit to Point of Death (Esther in Esther 4:16, “I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”) Nothing else is worthy of your life.
Not measured by Human standards (Paul in 2 Timothy 4:16, “No one came to my support, but everyone deserted me.”)
Do not let people
measure your success.
Reward will be there
(2 Timothy 4:6-8) In the end your reward will be there
and waiting. |
|
| |
 |
|
 |
Tip’eret (Hb) – Glorious (Eng) – tip’eret is the Hebrew word that is translated “glory,” “beautiful,” “adornment,” “pride,” “honor.” Tip’eret can refer to a person’s rank (Proverbs 4:9; Isaiah 62:3), the glory and beauty of the priestly garments (Exodus 28:40), the honor of the tribes of Israel for their performance in battle (Zechariah 12:7), and the glory and beauty of the Lord (Psalm 71:8; 96:6). |
|
The ruins of Abraham’s city of Ur of the Chaldeans (today called Tell Mugheir and Tell Khaiber) covers 150 acres was excavated in 1854, 1919, from 1922-1934 and has resumed again in 2013 (Here and here). Excavation has revealed a great temple ziggurat with inscribed cylinders in each of the cornerstones listing the name of the city, its founder. A large amount of cuneiform tablets of King Nabonidus, father of Belshazzsr of Daniel chapter 5, where found in a room of abandoned rubbish near the temple. One of the cuneiform tablets recorded a prayer of Nabonidus to the Moon god for himself and his son Belshazzar, who was listed by name. In the 1920’s Woolley completed the excavation of a four square mile area of the city from the time of Abraham. |
| |
|
|
 |
|
 |
Do I become angry with God because I think I have done my part, but I am still waiting for the Lord?
I will be patient and obedient. I will do what is right and just while I wait on the Lord. |
|
"Like the useless legs of
one who is lame
is a proverb in the mouth
of a fool."
- Proverbs 26:7 |
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Health |
Revelation of the mysteries of God |
City governments |
Comoro Islands |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
| |
| |
| Reps & Sets is a daily Bible devotional for Christians from Generation Word Bible Teaching used each morning and evening. |
| |
|
