Category Archives: 2 Kings

2 Kings, 2022, Philippians, Questions, Weekly Planner Reading

Lessons From Kings

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2 Kings 25

What a chapter.
Most of it is way over my head in learning but I do get a couple of things pretty well, I think. 

Two years.
Two years Jerusalem was under siege by the king of Babylon.  
It was a successful tactic. Nebuchadnezzar starved them out. 
Henious. 
But before you get too violent toward Neb, know this — had Israel/Judah repented of her idolatry, captivity would not have happened. 

Lesson: repent of all idolatry immediately.  Idolatry will surely put the worshipper in chains and eventually bring eternal death.

If you want a glimpse of how brutal this got check out what happened to king Zedekiah, particularly in verses 6 and 7.  But prior to that, you will read he fled the City and oh when they caught him. 

Then there is verse 12. See what you think. 

12 But the commander of the guard left behind some of the poor people of the land to be vineyard-workers and farmers.    source 

Do you wonder why? I do. 
Did he leave them as a tiny bit of compassion or were they so insignificant (he thought) that they could be of no help or harm to Babylon?

And then as we read on there is Gedaliah. 
A voice of reason.  
Hear what he said.

24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men and said to them, “Do not be afraid of the servants of the Chaldeans; live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.”  source 

Was he saying, perhaps not but if not he should have?
Repent. Trust GOD, take the punishment we have earned, live in the land, obey the king (as long as we are not commanded to worship him) and things will go well with us.

Guess what? 
There’s a BUT in the next verse.
A big one!

25 But in midautumn of that year, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a member of the royal family, went to Mizpah with ten men and killed Gedaliah. He also killed all the Judeans and Babylonians who were with him at Mizpah.     source

Lesson: Truth is not popular. 
Speak it anyway. 
Yes. It might get you to Heaven swiftly but isn’t it true of a real Christian – to live is Christ and to die is gain? 

Love, Kathie 

2 Kings, 2022, Hebrews, Questions, Weekly Planner Reading

Translates

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It’s Monday and the first of the month.
August — already!

We have a brand new month —  what will we do with it?

2 Kings 5

Verse  11 But Na‘aman became angry and left, saying, “Here now! I thought for certain that he would come out personally, that he would stand, call on the name of Adonai his God and wave his hand over the diseased place and thus heal the person with tzara‘at.      source 

I thought for certain

Translates:   he had made up his mind. He had it all worked out. He had played the scenario over and over in his mind about how this would go.

It didn’t. 

Verse 12 Aren’t Amanah and Parpar, the rivers of Dammesek, better than all the water in Isra’el? Why can’t I bathe in them and be clean?” So he turned and went off in a rage.       source

Why can’t I bathe in them

Translates: Why, GOD? Why won’t You do it my way?  I had this all figured out. Why are You messing with my plan? 

So he turned and went off in a rage.

Unclean and unhealed.  Rage gets us NOWHERE with GOD. 

Verse 13 But his servants approached him and said, “My father! If the prophet had asked you to do something really difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So, doesn’t it make even more sense to do what he says, when it’s only, ‘Bathe, and be clean’?”    source 

But his servants approached him

Translates – and there we have it.
It takes a Servant to hear; not the soul in a rage, seeking their own way but a person with a Servant Heart willing to hear AND obey GOD. 
So, want to get rid of your leprosy? Translated — the sin that so easily beset us?
Hear and Obey GOD — no matter how foolish-looking, humbling, and distasteful it is to our flesh. 

Go dip in the Jordan 7 times. 
Do you have a Jordan, GOD has asked you to dip in — 7 times.
I’m questioning that for myself too. 

There’s a lot more in 2 Kings 5.
I hope you will read it.

Love, Kathie 

2 Kings, 2022

Chariots and Horsemen

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2 Kings 2

Elijah. 
Obviously, a Prophet of The LORD.
Obviously, also a man with feet of clay. 
Not perfect.
And yet he did not die. 
He left this earth but he did NOT die. 

Elijah mentored Elisha.
Elisha refused to leave Elijah.
Elisha stayed to see; stayed with Elijah to learn and receive all that would come to him.
A double portion; that was his request. 
His request was granted. 
And Elijah died. (See 2 Kings 13:20)

GOD loves all His children.
He loves each and every one of us BUT our relationship with Him is individual.
No two of us are the same; in other words, each one of us who are His Children is each perfectly loved and individually cared for by Him in individual ways. 

Not that I understand it but I noticed in 2 Kings 2 Elisha said to Elijah as Elijah was leaving: 

12 Elisha saw it and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Isra’el!” .  .  .   source 

And in 2 Kings 13 Joash, King of Israel said to Elisha as Elisha was dying: 

14 .  .  . Joash the king of Israel .  .  .   said, “My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!”  source

Perhaps, Prophets of GOD are more important to our defense than chariots and horsemen.
Perhaps, this is something for us to ponder.