King James Bible Study – [Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]
Date: Saturday, July 02, 2022
Chapters: II KINGS 4-7
Study: Your Ministry
Hello My Friend,
Sometimes, as I am reading the chapters for the day, I get ahead of myself as I am pretty familiar with the story line. It does not matter how many times we read the Bible, there is always something to learn and discern from it, which is what proves that the Bible is the living Word of God, and that God speaks to us every day through it. I love the ministry of Elisha, and if my ministry is even fraction of what God had done through him, I know that Jesus has surely has produced some fruit in me, [John 15:16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.]
From creation, God never limited anyone from coming to Him, He gladly accepted anyone who came to Him, by faith, many examples outside of Israelites having gotten saved include Rehab and Ruth. As we continue in the reading of 2 Kings, Elisha is truly getting that double portion of the Spirit that he asked Elijah for, word had gotten out that God was with him, people were coming to him for everything. First, there was a widow.
[2 Kings 4:1-3,6-7 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. 2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. 3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. 6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.]
[what hast thou in the house?] As I read this, it gives me hope of my own debts being paid in full one day. There is one debt that we could never pay on our own and that is the debt we owe for our sin. This is exactly why God sent His Son, in fact, He literally sent Himself in the person of Christ, to be the sacrifice that would pay the sin debt of every person who believes in Him. And if you question the fact that God and Jesus are one in the same, just think about how the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders reacted to Him, even they knew that by Him saying that He is the Son of God, that that made Him equal to God. That is exactly why they wanted to kill Him, He was exposing all their lies, [John 5:18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.]
Now, we come to what I believe is one of the most tearful and touching testimonies in the Old Testament, Elisha, was a traveling minister, he went from town to town, often had people who would take him in, one being known only as the Shunammite Woman.
[2 Kings 4:8-12,16-17 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread. 9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. 10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither. 11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the chamber, and lay there. 12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him. 16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid. 17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.]
[do not lie unto thine handmaid.] How incredible is it when God tells us that He will grant us with the thing we waited so long for that we question Him? Nevertheless, He still is faithful and grants it to us, in His time of course. And do not think for one second that God is not going to grant us the thing we long for and not test us on it. The Shunammite woman had her faith tested when her son that was granted to her suddenly died.
[2 Kings 4:18-22 And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19 And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. 20 And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. 21 And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. 22 And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again.]
[that I may run to the man of God, and come again.] She did not pray to God, she ran to the man of God. There is something about going to the faithful and knowledgeable in God’s Word that helps ease our pain and it also gives us some light through the darkness as we try to grasp what happened, [Romans 15:1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.]
Yes, we who are strong in our faith are to assist those who are weak. Now, when the woman approached Elisha, she literally got down on her knees and clutches his feet, [2 Kings 4:25-28 So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: 26 Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. 27 And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. 28 Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?]
[And she answered, It is well.] Why did she say, “It is well” when she knew her son just died? Well, deep down, she knew that even if she had to bury her son, he is still well because his soul would live. There are so many religions that teach people that those who were here before Christ’s passion were not saved by the same grace that we are saved with. This is a complete lie. Now, it was their works that did show their faith, and that is what counted for their salvation, but go through the Scriptures of every man, woman, and child of faith and you will see that they were all sinners. No one is saved without the grace of God, [Galatians 3:5-6 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.]
As the woman told Elisha what happened, he immediately went to his little room that they had made for him and saw the young man laying on the bed, [2 Kings 4:32-35 And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. 33 He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. 34 And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. 35 Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.]
[and he stretched himself upon the child;] I know this is a grown man, but if you ever played with a little child, then you had to have done that thing where you lock your eyes together, their smiles, and laughter, and those sweet kisses when you are holding them, there is nothing more touching. I tear up every time I read this, I am always reminded of how God breathes the spirit of life into us, and how Jesus, when we call upon Him, breathes His Spirit into our souls. I can see Jesus putting His mouth to mine, breathing His Spirit into me, and waking up my dead soul when I called upon Him to save me. We are to never lose hope of the eternal life that Jesus gives us, simply by calling upon His name, [Philippians 1:20-21 According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.]
To live is Christ, now that is an understatement. The more we walk with Christ the more we mimic Him and the less we see of ourselves in us. That is something that will actually bring more joy to us than anything in the world. Do not believe me? Just think about how miserable you were before Christ was in your life and that habit or that person who gave you so much pain is no longer there. Now, the word that Elisha was this man of God, spread far, even Syria, the ones who were trying to seize Samaria for themselves. Naaman, the captain of the Syrian army, became leprous, desperately seeking a cure for his illness he seeks Elisha’s help.
[2 Kings 5:1-5 Now Naaman, captain of the host of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master, and honourable, because by him the LORD had given deliverance unto Syria: he was also a mighty man in valour, but he was a leper. 2 And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and had brought away captive out of the land of Israel a little maid; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. 3 And she said unto her mistress, Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria! for he would recover him of his leprosy. 4 And one went in, and told his lord, saying, Thus and thus said the maid that is of the land of Israel. 5 And the king of Syria said, Go to, go, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.]
[for he would recover him of his leprosy.] Do you see how the world that knows of God, and I need to also include those who are saved that have know knowledge of God’s Word, assumes that it is the faithful that are doing the work of God? We are not the healers, the providers, or the ones saving them, God is, we are merely the messengers. And I will tell you this, while God will in fact use doctors, employers, and soul winners to assist Him, God is the sole healer, provider, and saver of our souls, [1 Corinthians 12:8-9,28 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.]
The king of Syria had to get permission from the king of Israel in order for Naaman to be able to go into Samaria. Of course, when the king of Israel got the letter he was quite shocked and had no idea how to respond, but when Elisha heard this, he asked the king to allow Naaman to come through, which he did.
[2 Kings 5:9-12 So Naaman came with his horses and with his chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha. 10 And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. 11 But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the LORD his God, and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage.]
[So he turned and went away in a rage.] Think about what Elisha was asking Naaman to do, wash himself in the Jordan River, a river that looked like mud flowing through it. However, Naaman did have a change of heart, well, it was his servants that urged him to go back and do what Elisha had instructed him to do.
[2 Kings 5:13-16 And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? 14 Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant. 16 But he said, As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive none. And he urged him to take it; but he refused.]
[Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan,] Seven, the number of completion. I can only imagine how Naaman must have felt when he jumped in the water the first time, yet each time he came up out of the water his faith increased a little more so much more that he converted and never looked upon his false gods again. That is what our walk with Christ is all about, each time we get dipped into the muddy water of affliction, we come out of it a little bit cleaner every time as look more like Jesus and less like ourselves, [1 Peter 2:20-21 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. 21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:]
Faith works both ways, we must have faith that God can do then, we must be willing to do what He asks so that He can. Unbelievable things actually do happen when we have faith, even though Naaman got saved, the king of Syria was still at war with Israel, he devised a plan to siege Israel, but it got derailed when Elisha heard about it and warned Jehoram, and the king of Syria was not too happy about it.
[2 Kings 6:8-13 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp. 9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down. 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice. 11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel? 12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber. 13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.]
[Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled] Can you see how the wicked world and most religions live? They have nothing better to do than come up with ways to attack us because God is always one step ahead of them. And I tell you what, while we may seem to be few in number, we have a great army behind us. When Elisha’s new servant came to him in fear as Syria’s army was ready to attack, he told him not to fear.
[2 Kings 6:15-18 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.]
[I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.] Can you see that army of angels ready to defend God’s people? We really have no comprehension of just how much power God has and the hedge of protection that He has around us. If you ever just missed a car smashing into you or wondered how you avoided something catastrophic, it is those angels watching over you. We do not even need to pray for God to protect us, for He does that without asking, we just need to pray for Him to open our eyes. Well, God did open their eyes, and the King of Israel’s too, and it was not something that they wanted to see. Centuries ago, God warned Israel of the horrible state that their country would be in if they turned from Him and began to worship and serve other gods.
[Deuteronomy 28:50,52-53 A nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor shew favour to the young: 52 And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates throughout all thy land, which the LORD thy God hath given thee. 53 And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons and of thy daughters, which the LORD thy God hath given thee, in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee:]
Now, this time Samaria, did get invaded by Syria, and that gruesome prophecy is becoming a reality as a severe famine his Samaria. People were paying money to eat donkey heads and dung, they even resorted to eating their own children. When a woman came to the king and found out what was going on, it grieved him, but instead of seeking God, he seeks Elisha to kill him, blaming him for it.
[2 Kings 6:24-26,28-31 And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. 25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass’s head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove’s dung for five pieces of silver. 26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. 28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow. 29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son. 30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh. 31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.]
[And there was a great famine in Samaria:] This was not a famine caused by lack of rain or some disease destroying crops, this was due to Syria keeping them from getting food. Does this sound familiar? We have a bunch of fools in our own government keeping us from producing goods that we are very capable of producing ourselves, forcing us to rely on foreign product, all to help save the planet. Well, they do not care about the planet or our wellbeing. And there will come a day when the gold, silver, cash, and everything else they hoarded thinking that it will save themselves, will be worthless, [Luke 12:16-20 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?]
[if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.] Is this not also like all of our foolish leaders today? Here is the king, mourning and fasting, and it sounds like he was praying to God. Instead of taking responsibility for their idiot policies, they blame the faithful few who are the only ones trying to help. And how sad is it really that these people are so desperate and foolish to pay money to eat dung, let alone how heartless they are to eat their own children? Well, Elisha told them not panic and what to expect.
[2 Kings 7:1-3,6-7 Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. 2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. 3 And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die? 6 For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. 7 Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.]
[Why sit we here until we die?] This sad story is a reminder that things are going to get worse in our nations, and we Christians better step up and do something before we are in the same position. If it was not for four men who decided that if they died, at least, they would die trying. Remember, faith without works is dead, [James 2:14-20 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for taking my place on the cross, for dying to pay a debt that I owed, and not only that, giving me eternal life through Your resurrection. While I may never fully understand why You gave Your life to give me life, I do understand that whoever calls on You, shall be saved. And while Your ways seem strange sometimes, I know they do have a purpose and will not only benefit me, they will bring others to You as well. I do not want riches or fame, all I want is to live my life in honor of what You have done for me. Lord, Lead me and guide me, keep my heart open and my faith in You strong. When I pray, open my eyes and let me always see the reason of the hope that is inside of me. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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