The Chapter-A-Day thread. (3)

brinny

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1 Kings 17:

Elijah Enters The Scene.
AKA: Hey world, meet Elijah the Tishbite.


Elijah the Tishbite was the only one who would stand up to, and confront King Ahab, and Queen Jezebel. He was bold in the Lord, and he was "bold" because he "feared God", and because he "feared God", he did not "fear man".

Elijah is told to go to Zarephath to see a widow. So he does. He sees the widow, and he asks her for not only water, but a bit of bread. The widow tells him that she is on her last bit of meal and she and her son will eat that last bit of bread she makes, and will just die, because there is no other food after that. Elijah tells her to fear not, for they won't die. She believes him, makes the bread, gives Elijah the first portion of it, and then she and her son eat.

God sustained not only Elijah, but this widow and her son through the drought, as her flour, and oil never ran empty.

In addition, the widow's son got sick and died. Elijah prayed, and God restored the boy.

(What a riveting introduction to Elijah this is.)

iu
 
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brinny

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1 Kings 18:

Fire From Heaven.

Elijah confronts Ahab and the 800+ priests of Baal.

"And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God." ~I Kings 18:36-39

iu
 
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brinny

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1 Kings 19:

Elijah is exhausted and depressed.

Elijah was worn and weary and depressed. He was so depressed, that he just wanted to die.

Jezebel was after him. His life was in danger, and he ran, and collapsed under a Juniper tree, and fell asleep. Now God didn't get mad at him or chastise him. No, He MINISTERED to His exhausted servant.

Do you know what God did? God sent an angel to wake him and to feed him. Elijah is sooo exhausted that he eats and drinks the water, and falls asleep again. Then God sends an angel again, and wakes him and tells him to eat.

God is ministering to His exhausted, depleted and depressed servant.

And He will do the SAME for us.

Amen?

"But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat." ~I Kings 19:4-5

iu
 
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brinny

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God feeds Elijah.

Some thoughts.

Ok, God fed Elijah the bread and gave him water in 1 Kings 19, but He had done so earlier, which i did not mention. Back in 1 kings 17.

Now i don't know why i didn't mention it, because it's one of my most beloved parts of God interacting with Elijah. I'm contemplating on it now. After i posted the above meditation on 1 kings 19, i felt sick. Then i fell asleep and i felt better when i woke up, and i was contemplating on how God took care of and ministered to Elijah so tenderly, and even to sending ravens to him to feed him, back in 1 kings 17.

The bottom line, is that He will take care of us, and minister to us, the same, won't He?

Isn't that reassuring and precious that we are loved by this God Who does that?

"And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook." ~I kings 17:2-6

iu
 
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brinny

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God never forgets.

Some thoughts.

When we become weary, just tuckered, physically, mentally, spiritually, we may, just like Elijah, want to "die", depressed and convinced that we are "defeated".

However, GOD has NOT forgotten all that we have ever done for Him, from a heart that loved Him, and that poured out all we had FOR Him.

He remembers.

And HE WILL restore us...

minister to us...

nourish us....

give us rest.....

and revive our heart, mind, soul, and strength.

He does NOT forget.

And just like Elijah, i'm soooooooooo thankful that He doesn't.

"A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench," ~Matt 12:20

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brinny

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1 Kings 20:

Wicked Compromise.

Ahab is given a door of grace and a promise from God Himself, through a prophet, that God would give him victory. Ahab and Israel is surrounded by an ENORMOUS army. The king of this army was Benhadad, the king of Syria. God tells Ahab that He will give him victory.

However, Ahab disregarded God, and spared king Benhadad.

God, however had told Ahab to "eliminate" the enemy. This included their king, Benhadad.

This chapter is difficult to understand for me. This is a WICKED king (Ahab). And worships Baal. God extended inexplicable grace to him and a promise of victory, yet he STILL dismisses what God tells him and does not follow through with God told him to do.

He "compromised" with the enemy, rather than pay heed to what God said. And this would be to his own demise.

Is that "stiff-necked", or WHAT???!!!

Regarding Israel's king Ahab, who needs "enemies"?

iu
 
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brinny

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1 Kings 21:

Oh No He DIDN'T!!!

"There are six things which Jehovah hateth; Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood; A heart that deviseth wicked purposes, Feet that are swift in running to mischief, A false witness that uttereth lies, And he that soweth discord among brethren." ~Pr 6:16-19

Of all the blatant and evil and stiff-necked and downright wicked things to do, especially after God grants this sniveling, back-stabbing moron, grace. He does the very thing that God abhors. He "bullies" a man, because he wants his garden (Waaaaaaaa!). And he should get whatever he wants, right? (Waaaaaaaaa!) Or as the Wicked Witch of the West would say "I'll get you my pretty, and your little garden too!" Yeah, that's about right here. This spoiled king tells his mommy (Jezebel the queen who is more like his mommy who is gonna fight his battles for him) why he is "pouting" and won't eat. He says, in essence, "That bad man won't give me his garden, and I WANT it. Waaaaaaaa!"

So what does Jezebel do? Well she tells the big baby king that SHE will get it for him. Then she goes about to set this man up, get him accused of something atrocious, and he is put to death, and apparently his sons as well, so they wouldn't "inherit" it.

So Ahab stops Waaaaaa-ing and he has this man's garden.

By golly, this Ahab and Jezebel are on a real "winning" streak, aren't they?

"Endearing", aren't they?

*excuse me while i gag* :sick:

Ahab's%2Bletter.jpg
 
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brinny

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1 Kings 22:

Jehoshaphat's Compromise.
AKA: Slithery Bizniz.
AKA: Jehoshaphat Dies.

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Now Jehoshaphat is a good and righteous king. HOWEVER, he must'a done LOST HIS MIND. Here's why: the question is raised about Jehoshaphat (the king of Judah) and his "alliance" with the wicked King Ahab (the king of Israel). It isn't till later that the details surface. And those details surface that Jehoshaphat's son (Jehoram) married Ahab's and Jezebel's daughter (Athaliah). Talk about a liaison with the epitome of evil. Apparently Jehoshaphat was not too very wise, and that would be because he was bereft of the proper "fear of the Lord" that would've kept him clear of any such slithery, snake-like liaison with what should've been his "enemy". He blatantly disregarded and dismissed the living God's clear warning about "intermingling" with evil. He also was apparently a sawwy excuse of a father to even "allow" this abomination.

This was a horrendous slight to the living God and one in which Jehoshaphat should've never done in the first place. It compromised his whole-hearted-ness to the living God, and it was disobedient, and sin.

Then in verse 50 it says that Jehoshaphat died, and was buried with his fathers.

(I need to study this some more. This is one CONFUSING chapter.)

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brinny

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2 Kings 1:

King Ahaziah Sends Armies After Elijah.
AKA: Big Mistake.
AKA: Elijah calls down fire from heaven.

iu
So Jehoram and Athaliah's son Ahaziah is now reigning as king in Judah. He is wicked. And he falls from a lattice (a window guard or decoration that could be opened or closed). Then he is very ill, and he told his messengers to go and inquire of Baalzebub, the god of Ekron if he will recover from his "disease" (more study is needed here on what "disease" he is referring to).

Note: Baalzebub (lord of dung), was the Philistine pagan god of Ekron

Now this was downright foolish. He was a wicked king and led the people astray to worship false gods. And if that wasn't bad enough, he thumbs his nose at the living God, even as he's very sick.

So God says to Elijah, to go and tell Ahaziah's messengers that Ahaziah will surely die.

So what does Ahaziah do? He sends an a captain with an army of 50 after Elijah. And Elijah calls down fire from heaven and it consumes them. Then what does Ahaziah do? He sends ANOTHER captain with an army of 50. And Elijah calls down fire from heaven and it consumes them as well.

So what does Ahaziah do AGAIN? He sends ANOTHER captain and an army of 50. But this captain fell on his knees before Elijah and pleaded for his life and the lives of his 50 men.

So Elijah was told by the Angel of the Lord to go with this captain and his men to Ahaziah, and Elijah told Ahaziah that he was going to die.

And Ahaziah died.

This captain and his 50 men didn't.

th
 
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brinny

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2 Kings 2:

Elijah Says Farewell.
AKA: Flamin' Horses! (and a chariot)


Note: This is an update to my first post. Now i posted the verse about the "chariot" of fire, and it included "horses of fire", but yet i was "blind" to the "horses of fire" part, LOL! (i think i read it too fast, or i was just "blind" to that part), but there it was. And someone had to point out to me that it was there LOL! THEN i saw it. :doh:

Now it was time for Elijah to move on, and for his protegee' (Elisha) to succeed Elijah to be the "man of God" here on earth, at Elijah's departure.

So Elijah says farewell to Elisha. Yet he didn't "die". He was taken up by a whirlwind to a fiery chariot, that "translated" him.

No, he didn't die. He was "taken" just like Enoch was, but in a more "dramatic" way. I don't know about you, but i find this utterly intriguing.

God, our Creator, is NOT confined to a "box", is He? And neither was Enoch nor Elijah.

God can be just as "outta da box" as He deems fit, can't He?

And as you think about it and meditate on it, aren't you glad He can be?

(I love this study).

"And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." ~II Kings 2:11

iu
 
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brinny

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2 Kings 3:

Passing the Mantle.

So Elijah has done been "taken" by God in a chariot of fire with horses of fire. He has passed his mantle on to Elisha, who had asked to be blessed with a "double portion" of Elijah's faith.

And it was given to him.

He was now the "prophet of God", here on earth.

Now Jehoram (king Ahaziah's brother) is reigning as king of Israel because Ahaziah had no son to reign in his stead. In the meantime, Mesha, the king of Moab rebels against the king of Israel.

Jehoram and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, and the king of Edom inquire of the only man of God known, and that was Elisha.

Elisha, for the sake of Jehoshaphat, tells him that God will grant them victory over the king of Moab, and give them water in those dry places.

And He did.

And they had victory over the Moabites.

Then in his defeat, the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would've reigned in his stead, and offered him as a "burnt offering".

"Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. " ~II kings 3:27

This gives a clue as to why God held Moab in judgement.

Abominable.

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brinny

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2 Kings 4:

Elisha's Miracles.

"and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes." ~II Kings 4:35

In reading about Elisha, the miracles he performed by the power of the living God, were similar to Elijah's, especially when he prophesied that a woman, who had given him a room in her house to stay in when he traveled there, would bear a son (she had been childless and her husband had grown old).

And the time came when she bore a son, and he had grown up, and was helping in the fields, and developed a fierce headache, and was taken to their house, where his mother held him, but tragically he died.

She went to Elisha and told him what happened. Elisha came, and did something very similar to what Elijah did with a boy who had died.

And this woman's son sneezed 7 times and opened his eyes.

And this son was restored to his mother.

Amen.

iu
 
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brinny

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2 Kings 5:

Wash and Be Clean.

"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." ~II Kings 5:1

He was told, through a messenger, by the prophet Elisha, to wash 7 times in the muddy ol' Jordan, and at first, he was repulsed because the river was so muddy and yucky, but he eventually went and "washed" in it, and before he could blink an eye, he was "healed".

And Naaman BELIEVED in the God of Israel and testified that he did.

iu
 
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brinny

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2 Kings 6:

Elisha in Dire Straits.
AKA: We are NOT alone.


Elisha was warned by his servant that the city was surrounded by the king of Syria's army. Elisha's servant was understandably panic-stricken, however, Elisha asked the living God to open his servant's eyes, and to SHOW him in a visible and concrete way, that they were NOT alone.

And God did. He showed him His OWN "heavenly army" that was there, ready to battle and throttle the Syrian army.

iu
 
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brinny

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2 Kings 7:

Famine.
AKA: Death.
AKA: Elisha's Prophecy.


There was a severe famine in Samaria caused by the Syrians. However, God caused the Syrians to flee because He sent the thunderous sounds of multiple armies to them. Therefore they fled, leaving all of their food, etc.

In the meantime, there were four leprous men, who were so famished and desperate, that they were going to enter the encampment where the Syrians were and take their chances, since they were going to die anyway, if they just sat there.

Lo and behold, there was no one there, but there was FOOD, and LOTS of it. Well they had a feast, and then some, until they were able to eat no more.

They decided to tell the king of Samaria what they had found.

The king of Samaria found that it was true.

What Elisha had prophesied had occurred.

"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." ~II Kings 7:1

iu
 
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brinny

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2 Kings 8:

The King of Syria Gets Sick.

King Benhadad II recovers from his illness. However, later, he is assassinated by Hazael. Hazael then becomes king.

As prophesied by Elisha, he (Hazael) is one of the most wickedest of kings.

bible-archeology-Shalmaneser-III-Assyria-inscriptions-annals-Basalt-statue-Hazael-son-of-nobody-murders-Ben-Hadad-II-2kings8-headless-833BC.jpg
 
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brinny

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Lot's Daughters.

Ok, here we have written that both of Lot's daughters have not "known" a man. That means for all intents and purposes, that they are virgins, and therefore not "married". However, it also mentions that both had "husbands"? Does this mean that they were not yet married and "betrothed" (promised) to both of these mentioned?

Interestingly, both men were warned by Job about fleeing the city because of the catastrophe about to happen, and it is written that they "laughed" at Job. Kinda' brings to mind the people who mocked and laughed at Noah as he preached those many years, all the while building the ark, doesn't it?

Even Lot's wife, although she might have "left" with Lot and his two daughters, she "lagged" behind. She "dragged" her feet as she walked behind Lot and their two daughters. her "heart" was not in it. She even turned around, disobeying the warning not to do so. No sooner did she turn around, was she turned into a pillar of salt.

Getting back to Lot's daughters...ok, so LOt and his two daughters escape, and lodge somewhere a safe distance away, and his two daughters come up with this confusing scheme. They bemoan not carrying on their father's line, and decide to take it upon themselves to essentially "take advantage" of their father (in essence, to get him drunk, and then to "rape" him) to become pregnant with his seed and therefore to carry on his lineage.

What comes to mind for me, however, is that both daughters state they have not "known" a man?

Confusing. I will need to meditate on, and study this more in depth.

iu
 
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brinny

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Lot.

Let's move on to Lot, Abraham's nephew. Now there is some controversy regarding if he was a "righteous" man or not.

From what i have read about Lot, from the time he preferred a country where the wicked lived, when given a choice by Abraham, to the fact that he was going to sacrifice his virgin daughters and throw them to the wicked men surrounding his house and attempting to break in to get to the two angels that came to destroy the city. In addition, the question is WHY did he CHOOSE to remain there all those many years and MARRY an obviously un-Godly woman who LOVED Sodom and Gomorrah and who had no regard for the God of Abraham, not His warnings or commands? There is NO indication that he was righteous at all.

It appears that the reason he has or was ever mentioned as "righteous" is for the sake of Abraham, who WAS a Godly man, who "feared" God, and thus "obeyed" Him.

* When given a choice as to where to live he chose to live among the wicked men of Sodom in Genesis 13:12-13.

* He offered his virgin daughters to be molested (and most likely raped and murdered) by a mob of wicked men in Genesis 19:5-8.

* He got drunk and impregnated his two daughters in Genesis 19:30-36 (although he did so unknowingly, yet allowed his daughters, not once, but twice, to get him drunk).

The bottom line, is that he had no regard for, nor fear of the Lord. Neither did his wife nor his daughters nor the two men who were to marry his daughters, nor his household. He was "content" to "stay" there, and only left when he was forced to.

iu
 
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brinny

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2 Kings 9:

Jezebel.

"Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed--without remedy." ~Pr 29:1

Jehu is anointed king. Elisha sends a messenger to anoint Jehu as king, and then he was told to run after he had anointed Jehu.

So Jehu is now king. And amongst the first things he did as king was to carry out what was prophesied, and that was that the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. Jehu goes to Jezreel, and Jezebel hears he is coming. She goes to a window and Jehu tells her own servants to toss her out the window. And they did.

Jezebel dies just as it was prophesied. She was not buried because the dogs had gotten to her and there was nothing left except her skull and her hands and feet.

Tragic.

Note: What perhaps is MOST tragic here, is that Jezebel REMAINED in her rebellion, stubbornly refusing to repent, even after she knew that her death was surely upon her.

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. " ~I Sam 15:23

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2 Kings 10:

Jehu.

Jehu was called by and anointed by God (via Elisha's servant) to not only be king but to end Ahab's bloodline, including all the Pagan priests and prophets of Baal.

He was on a no-nonsense mission. Judgment had come on Ahab's household including all of Ahab's bloodline; Ahab's 70 sons.

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