2 Kings 1-3
Swing low, sweet chariot, comin’ for to carry me home.
Alongside Enoch (from Genesis 5:24), the only other human being to be “translated” into the next life without passing through death was Elijah. The “troubler of Israel,” as Ahab called him, was precious in the sight of God. Elijah’s brand of “troubling” was God’s prophetic call. And when his work was done and his successor chosen, chariots of fire came for Elijah and whisked him away in a whirlwind. Because Elisha witnessed this with his own eyes, he was granted a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit; the mantel (from 2 Kings 2:13) had been passed! And the first thing Elisha did was use the mantel to part the water, as Elijah had just before his departure.
As amazing as this event was for both Elijah and Elisha, the first three chapters of 2 Kings are weighty and worrisome in other ways. Some of the prophets’ acts are reminders to us all: do not mess with the Lord’s prophets. Who learned this lesson the hard way?
Ahaziah, king of Israel, had an accident and sent messengers to inquire of the God of Ekron, Baal-Zebub*, to see if he would recover. Elijah intercepted these messengers with a word from the Lord: Ahaziah would not recover!
Two captains with cohorts of fifty men each were consumed by fire at Elijah’s command, when they approached (or attacked) Elijah to bring him in. The third captain escaped the others’ fate by throwing himself and his men on Elijah’s mercy.
Forty-two smart-aleck boys, who jeered at Elisha and called him, “Baldy,” were cursed by the prophet and mauled by two huge she-bears.
Mesha, king of Moab, rebelled against Israel’s king Jehoram. Because Jehoshaphat, a pretty good king of Judah, allied with Jehoram, Elisha listened to their request, and gave them the go-ahead to fight and defeat Moab.
Neither Elijah nor Elisha were prophets to be messed with!
Until Tomorrow,
Pastor Gary
*Baal-Zebub means “Lord of the Flies.” It was the author’s derogatory nick-name for Ekron’s god, Baal-Zebuv, which means “Lord of Princes.” It later became a nickname for the devil. Ever read Golding’s Lord of the Flies?
No comments:
Post a Comment