My hope and prayer is for this little book to give kids of all ages just a taste of what’s waiting for them in the Bible. Personally, I love reading through the Old Testament more than I do the New Testament. I know the Old Testament was written to the Jews, but the Bible says it was written for our learning as well. In the Old Testament we learn about God almighty, and what he’s like. We learn what he hates, and we learn what he loves. I love to take stories in the Old Testament, and apply them spiritually to my own life. In this book I have not gone into great depths in covering the lives of the prophets, kings, and people from the Old Testament. Time has only allowed me to take just a few little golden nuggets the Lord has given me while studying their lives, and write them down. However, I do plan on adding to this book. There is so much more that I would love to write. I would also like to write a book with New Testament stories in the future.
Outside of Old Testament stories, I have thrown in a few simple devotional stories of my own. These little stories teach valuable lessons. There is so much in God’s word for us. I want kids to know that our God is a personal one, and that they can get just as much out of God’s word as an adult can. God’s word is a gold mine. And how do you get gold? Does it fall out of the sky and hit you on the head? No, I think not! You have to dig for it, right? Once you’ve found it, you take it and polish it up. Then you put it in a safe place, so you can take it out and look at it every once in a while. Or you might even make something out of it.
The nuggets that I find in God’s word, I like to take and polish them. I roll them over, and over, and over in my mind. I hide them in a safe place like my heart. That’s where I won’t lose them, and no one can steal them. You know, someone can take my Bible away, but they can’t take my nuggets out of my heart. And who knows, one day God might even make something real nice out of those nuggets.
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this book first of all to the girls
who I had the privilege of teaching at Bible Baptist Church.
Sarah Butts
Holly Byrer
Elizabeth Deems
Emily Donovan
Erin Gilligan
Emily Laraby
Molly Martin
Jessica Pia
Margaritte Pizzo
Shelly Sudore
Sarah Tober
Hannah Vaughn
Victoria Virginio
Shelby Walker
Delilah Whilps
Hannah Heishman
I would also like to dedicate this book to my three sons,
David, Adam, and Jesse Faunce
And to all my nieces and nephews,
Cory Flag,
Angel and Hayden Faunce.
Anna, Nathan, Timothy, Philip, Leah, and Elisabeth Taylor,
Christopher, and Esther Trosclair
I love you all very much.
In everything that you do and say, and throughout your whole life’s journey,
I would like for you to always remember these two words:
“Do Right!”
Elisha Anointed Prophet
Out of all the stories in this book, you will find that the prophet Elisha is in more of them than any other person. Why Elisha? You might ask. Elijah the Tishbite was some prophet. As we read along in the Old Testament we learn that the prophet Elijah was able to stop the rain and the dew for many days. The great prophet Elijah brought a widow’s son back to life, and through this she found out that the word of the Lord was really true. The prophet Elijah was able to call down fire from heaven to prove that his God was the one true God. Oh yes, the prophet Elijah was a mighty prophet, but Elisha will always be my favorite. Keep reading, and you will find out why.
Here in this story, we find Elijah sitting under a juniper tree way out in the middle of the wilderness. Why was he out there? Well, he had just killed all of Jezebel’s prophets of Baal. When she found out about it, she wasn’t too pleased. In fact, she was so down right furious about it, she threatened to kill Elijah. So he took off running for his life. He left his servant in Beersheba, and then went a day’s journey out into the wilderness. That’s where we find him now.
Let’s take a look at the situation he was in. He was so tired and weary. He had just killed all the prophets of Baal, and no doubt he was up in years now. Then running for his life sure didn’t make matters any better. He was pooped, and slap worn out, as we’d say down south. He finally said to the Lord, “It is enough! I’m weak, I’m tired of fighting, and my flesh is weary. Just go ahead and take my life, for I am no better than my Fathers.” After saying those words to the Lord, he laid himself down under that juniper tree and fell fast asleep.
After a little while, an angel came down from heaven and touched him. He woke up and looked around. He noticed that the angel had baked him a cake on some coals. Also, there sat a cruse of water close to where his head had been laying. The angel said to him, “Arise Elijah, and eat.”
Elijah ate the cake and drank all of the water, and then he laid back down. After a little while, the angel came back a second time. He touched Elijah and said, “Arise and eat Elijah, because the journey is too great for thee.”
The Bible says in 1 Kings 19:8, “And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the Mount of God.”
This reminds me of a time in my life. One of the lowest times I can remember. I was so tired spiritually. I said to God, “ Ya know God, I’m so weary, and I’m so tired. I just can’t go on another step. I want to give up on life spiritually. I quit. “
Then I went to sleep. But do you know what happened in the middle of the night? The Lord came down and woke me up. He touched my heart, and said, “Hey, get up and eat. This journey is too great for you, you need some strength.”
I got up and looked around, and there was my Bible. Do you know that the Lord had a sweet, moist cake already baked for me in that precious book? Not only that, but he had a cruse of water in there waiting for me too. I read, and I ate up that book.. Then I took a nice, long, cool drink. The Bible says in Matthew 4:4, that man can not live by bread alone, but by every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God. God’s got a cake baked especially for you in his word. The water is right there. All you need to do is get up, and eat and drink. All the nourishment is there waiting for you. The word of God is sweet as honey. It’s called the bread of Life. It can also be strong meat, and it can quench a thirsty soul anytime. Maybe you’re young now, but down the road as you go through life’s journey, you will find out that the only thing that will nourish and strengthen you is the Word of God.
Elijah did get strength for his journey. For you see, God wasn’t finished with him yet. God still had three people that he wanted Elijah to anoint. God told Elijah to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and anoint Jehu to be king over Israel. Last of all, Elijah was to anoint Elisha to be prophet so that he would have someone to take his place.
After anointing Hazael and Jehu, Elijah went off to find Elisha. The Bible says that Elijah found Elisha plowing in a field with twelve yoke of oxen. Elijah cast his mantel on Elisha as he walked passed, and Elisha left his oxen and ran after him. He asked Elijah if he could go back and kiss his Father, and his Mother, and then he would follow him. Elijah told him, “Go back again, for what have I done to thee?”
You know, Elijah didn’t say anything to Elisha, he just cast his mantel on him and there was a spiritual connection between the both of them. Elijah didn’t need to explain anything to Elisha. Elisha was already spiritually aware of what was going on around him. Elisha ran back to the field and killed a yoke of oxen. He boiled the flesh of the oxen, and gave it to the people to eat. Then he ran after Elijah and ministered unto him. The word minister means to serve, to help, or to supply things when needed.
I would like for you to notice something about Elisha. He was working when Elijah found him. I think when God looks around for someone to use, he likes to pick the ones who he finds working. God doesn’t like to use lazy people. I’m not saying that he won’t use a lazy person, but I do believe with all my heart that he loves to use hard working people much more. If you were a boss, which would you rather hire, a lazy person, or a hard working person? When God looks down from heaven, does he see you working hard for daddy and mommy? Or does he see you slouching around and complaining about your chores? How you do your work now will determine your future for the Lord. When God looks down, he notices when you are obedient toward daddy, and mommy. I betcha he says to himself, “I think I’ll use that girl or boy when they get older, I have a mighty special job for them.” Wouldn’t it be great if God picked you out, and used you in a mighty way like he did Elisha?
I haven’t told you yet why Elisha is my favorite prophet. Keep on reading, and you will find out in the next story.
Here in this story, we find Elijah sitting under a juniper tree way out in the middle of the wilderness. Why was he out there? Well, he had just killed all of Jezebel’s prophets of Baal. When she found out about it, she wasn’t too pleased. In fact, she was so down right furious about it, she threatened to kill Elijah. So he took off running for his life. He left his servant in Beersheba, and then went a day’s journey out into the wilderness. That’s where we find him now.
Let’s take a look at the situation he was in. He was so tired and weary. He had just killed all the prophets of Baal, and no doubt he was up in years now. Then running for his life sure didn’t make matters any better. He was pooped, and slap worn out, as we’d say down south. He finally said to the Lord, “It is enough! I’m weak, I’m tired of fighting, and my flesh is weary. Just go ahead and take my life, for I am no better than my Fathers.” After saying those words to the Lord, he laid himself down under that juniper tree and fell fast asleep.
After a little while, an angel came down from heaven and touched him. He woke up and looked around. He noticed that the angel had baked him a cake on some coals. Also, there sat a cruse of water close to where his head had been laying. The angel said to him, “Arise Elijah, and eat.”
Elijah ate the cake and drank all of the water, and then he laid back down. After a little while, the angel came back a second time. He touched Elijah and said, “Arise and eat Elijah, because the journey is too great for thee.”
The Bible says in 1 Kings 19:8, “And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the Mount of God.”
This reminds me of a time in my life. One of the lowest times I can remember. I was so tired spiritually. I said to God, “ Ya know God, I’m so weary, and I’m so tired. I just can’t go on another step. I want to give up on life spiritually. I quit. “
Then I went to sleep. But do you know what happened in the middle of the night? The Lord came down and woke me up. He touched my heart, and said, “Hey, get up and eat. This journey is too great for you, you need some strength.”
I got up and looked around, and there was my Bible. Do you know that the Lord had a sweet, moist cake already baked for me in that precious book? Not only that, but he had a cruse of water in there waiting for me too. I read, and I ate up that book.. Then I took a nice, long, cool drink. The Bible says in Matthew 4:4, that man can not live by bread alone, but by every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God. God’s got a cake baked especially for you in his word. The water is right there. All you need to do is get up, and eat and drink. All the nourishment is there waiting for you. The word of God is sweet as honey. It’s called the bread of Life. It can also be strong meat, and it can quench a thirsty soul anytime. Maybe you’re young now, but down the road as you go through life’s journey, you will find out that the only thing that will nourish and strengthen you is the Word of God.
Elijah did get strength for his journey. For you see, God wasn’t finished with him yet. God still had three people that he wanted Elijah to anoint. God told Elijah to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and anoint Jehu to be king over Israel. Last of all, Elijah was to anoint Elisha to be prophet so that he would have someone to take his place.
After anointing Hazael and Jehu, Elijah went off to find Elisha. The Bible says that Elijah found Elisha plowing in a field with twelve yoke of oxen. Elijah cast his mantel on Elisha as he walked passed, and Elisha left his oxen and ran after him. He asked Elijah if he could go back and kiss his Father, and his Mother, and then he would follow him. Elijah told him, “Go back again, for what have I done to thee?”
You know, Elijah didn’t say anything to Elisha, he just cast his mantel on him and there was a spiritual connection between the both of them. Elijah didn’t need to explain anything to Elisha. Elisha was already spiritually aware of what was going on around him. Elisha ran back to the field and killed a yoke of oxen. He boiled the flesh of the oxen, and gave it to the people to eat. Then he ran after Elijah and ministered unto him. The word minister means to serve, to help, or to supply things when needed.
I would like for you to notice something about Elisha. He was working when Elijah found him. I think when God looks around for someone to use, he likes to pick the ones who he finds working. God doesn’t like to use lazy people. I’m not saying that he won’t use a lazy person, but I do believe with all my heart that he loves to use hard working people much more. If you were a boss, which would you rather hire, a lazy person, or a hard working person? When God looks down from heaven, does he see you working hard for daddy and mommy? Or does he see you slouching around and complaining about your chores? How you do your work now will determine your future for the Lord. When God looks down, he notices when you are obedient toward daddy, and mommy. I betcha he says to himself, “I think I’ll use that girl or boy when they get older, I have a mighty special job for them.” Wouldn’t it be great if God picked you out, and used you in a mighty way like he did Elisha?
I haven’t told you yet why Elisha is my favorite prophet. Keep on reading, and you will find out in the next story.
Elisha at Jericho
2 Kings Chapter 2
The Bible says in 2 Kings 2:1 “And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.”
Elisha and Elijah were traveling together from Gilgal that day, and deep down Elisha knew that Elijah was going to be taken from him. He just had that gut feeling. It’s the kind of gut feeling that you don’t want to have. No one wants a great person whom they love, and respect taken away from them. That’s exactly how it was with Elisha. He knew he was about to loose someone very special to him.
Along the way, Elijah turned to Elisha and said. “I want you to wait here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha told him, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth I will not leave thee.” So together they went down to Bethel.
As they came into Bethel, the sons of the prophets ran to meet them. They said to Elisha, “Don’t you know that today the Lord is going to take your master away?”
And he answered, “Yes, I know it, but hold your peace.” In other words, hold your tongue. It made him upset to be reminded of loosing someone he loved so dearly. He didn’t want to be reminded of it at all.
Then a second time, Elijah told Elisha, “Wait here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
But again Elisha said, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.”
So they traveled on to Jericho together. As soon as they got into Jericho, the sons of the prophets that were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Hey, don’t you know that the Lord is going to take away your master today?”
Elisha answered once more, “Yes I know, but hold your peace.”
Then again Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because the Lord has called me to Jordan now.”
And, you guessed it, Elisha said, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” As they went on down the road together, fifty of the sons of the prophets stood, and watched from afar off. When they reached the Jordan River, Elijah took his mantel, wrapped it together, and smote the waters with it. All of a sudden the waters began to part, just like they did for Moses when he stretch forth his rod over the Red sea. So as the children of Israel went over to the other side on dry ground, so did Elijah and Elisha.
When they reached the other side, Elijah asked Elisha, ”What shall I do for thee, before I am taken away from thee?”
Gee willikers! Look at the answer Elisha gave! He couldn’t have asked for a better thing. His mind was not on him self. His mind wasn’t on material things. His reply was not a selfish one at all. His reply was one that would make him be a better prophet for the Lord and for others. Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.
You know, we as Christians should have our minds set on spiritual things as Elisha did. Oh, let me tell you kids, when you ask God for spiritual things, he dumps it on you a hundred fold. He’s already provided for you physically, hasn’t he? The Bible says with food and clothes to be content. Right? Well, those are physical needs. Now it’s time to ask him for spiritual needs such as: “Lord help me to honor and obey my Father and Mother. Lord help me to be a good testimony for you at school. Lord show me someone that needs a friend today. Lord, send me a lost soul today. Lord, give me some spiritual wisdom. Lord send me the right kind of friends.”
There are all kinds of spiritual needs. When you hand out tracts, pray that if the person is not saved, God will deal with their hearts. As I have told you kids before, God will hear the prayer of a child quicker than you can blink an eye. Take advantage of that while you’re still young and pray for spiritual things. God thinks so much of a child’s prayer, and will hear them above most adults.
Well, getting back to our story, in verse 10, Elijah said to Elisha, “Thou hast asked a hard thing, but nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.”
So, the both of them went on down the road walking and talking together. All of a sudden, there came down a chariot of fire, and it had horses of fire. Now I can try to imagine a chariot of fire. But horses of fire, Wow! That is something else. What a sight to behold! Horses of fire! Try to imagine them! That chariot and those horses came right in between Elijah and Elisha, and the Bible says it parted them both asunder. I reckon when that hot chariot got close, and started to come in between them, Elisha just stepped back out of the way and watched.
Then the wind started to pick up. That means it started getting a bit windy. Then all of a sudden a whirlwind came down out of heaven, and just sucked that chariot, and those horses right up in to the clouds. Elisha stood there and watched as his friend waved to him out of the chariot. Elisha fell down to his knees and cried, ”My Father, My Father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.”
The heavens opened up and the chariot, the horses, and Elijah, were swallowed up into the clouds. The sky, the wind, and the clouds all became calm again. Elisha took a hold of his clothes and tore them into two pieces. He was upset because his master and his friend was gone. Elisha ran over and picked up the mantle that fell from Elijah. He held the mantle close to him as he started on his way. Elisha began shaking his head, and saying under his breath, “Bless God! A double portion!, I’ve got a double portion, praise God!” Elisha’s face began to glow as he started walking back to the Jordan River.
When he reached the bank of the Jordan River, he took Elijah’s mantel and smote the waters just as he’d seen Elijah do. As that mantel came down over the waters of Jordan, Elisha cried out,” Where is the Lord God of Elijah?!”
And ya know what? It didn’t take Elisha long to get the answer to his question. God answered his question by parting the waters of Jordan, so that he could walk safely over on dry ground. It was like God saying, “Hey Elisha, you want to know where I am? Well, I’m right here next to you. I’m as close to you as this river is.”
God showed him that he was right there with him, just like he was for Elijah. Elisha wasn’t the one who parted those waters. It was all God. You know, there might come a time in your life when you will ask. “ Where is the God of my Father? Where is the God of my Mother?”
I’m here to tell you that the Lord will show you quickly that he’s right there with you. He’ll say, “I’ve been here all along, I’ve been this close to you.” Praise God he promised that he would never leave me nor forsake me. He has been true to his promises over the years for me, and he’ll do the same for you. The God of your Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Pastor, or best friend is right there just as close to you as he was for them. And to the saved person who never had any of the family and friends just mentioned, the God of the Bible is just as close to that person as he is anyone else. The Lord showed this to Elisha that day. What a blessed day.
When Elisha neared Jericho, the sons of the prophet saw him coming up the road. They said to themselves, “Wow! The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha!” They could see a spiritual glow about Elisha they had never seen before. They ran up to Elisha and bowed their selves to the ground before him.
They told Elisha that there were fifty men waiting to go and search for Elijah. They said, “Maybe the spirit of the Lord lifted him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or dropped him in a valley somewhere. Let us go and search for your master.”
Elisha told them, “No , don’t worry about it, you don’t need to send any men out searching.” But they kept on bothering Elisha until he finally said, “All right, go ahead and send out the men.”
The men searched and searched for three days, and couldn’t find a trace of Elijah anywhere. Now , I don’t know about you, but I think these men were rather nuts. First they told Elisha that the Lord was going to take Elijah from him that day. Then when the Lord takes Elijah, and they want to go out and search for him. They must not have thought that God was capable of taking Elijah safely home. Maybe they thought the Lord dropped Elijah’s dead corps on a mountaintop or in a valley somewhere. They must not have had much confidence in God. Or maybe they were just out in the sun too long, and it scorched their brains a bit.
After three days they returned to Elisha shaking their heads, and shrugging their shoulders. Elisha said, “Did I not say unto you, go not?” Elisha knew they wouldn’t find Elijah. But for some people, you just can’t tell them anything. They have to find out for themselves.
While Elisha was in Jericho, the men of the city came up to him and said. “Elisha, we have a pretty nice city here, everything is pleasant as you can see, but our waters are polluted. We can not drink the water without getting sick, and some have even died from it. And not only that, our ground is so barren.”
Elisha told the men to bring him a new cruise, and put some salt in it. A cruise is a vessel. Elisha took the new cruise and went to the spring of the waters. As he cast the salt into the water, he said, “Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.”
And the Bible says in chapter 2, verse 22, “So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.”
Do you know that salt is good for healing? My Mother always told me when I had a sore throat to gargle with warm, salt water three to four times a day. And do you know that it really works! After my Mother had surgery, she began swimming in the ocean, and the salt water helped her wound to heal up.
Do you know what the Bible says about salt? Let’s look in three places. First, look in Luke 14:34. The Bible says that, “Salt is good. But if the salt has lost his savour, where with shall it be seasoned?” You know, this verse reminds me of a worldly Christian. The Bible says in the next verse that salt that has lost it’s savor, is not good for anything. It’s not good for land, nor even a dung hill. A dung hill, is a big pile of poo poo. My, what a thing to say about a person. But ya know what? God even says that a luke warm Christian makes him sick enough to puke. What good are you to God if you have lost your savor? What good are you to others if you have lost your savor? Do you know that lost people need Christians with salt to help mend their broken hearts and to help heal their wounds? They need that salt in you, because that flavor and that savor will lead them to the great physician. If I were a lost soul on my way to hell, I sure wouldn’t want to go to a worldly Christian for help. Worldly Christians aren’t even good for dung hills. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Here’s another place that talks about salt is in Colossians 4:6. It says, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
What would food taste like with out the flavor of salt? Yuk! That’s what I’d say. Can you imagine food without salt? Food would be dull, and bland. Well, that’s exactly what you’re like if your speech is not seasoned with salt. Yuk, dull, and bland.
Look at another place is in Matthew 5:13, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost it’s savour, where with shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world, A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
I guess that says it all. Now you can see how important salt is.
Back to our story, Elisha decided to travel on to Bethel. While on his way to Bethel, there came little children from out of the city, and they began to tease Elisha. They had obviously heard about Elijah taken up into heaven by a whirlwind. They knew the story had to come from Elisha, since he was the only one with Elijah at that time. They decided to make fun of the new Prophet, so they mocked him, and yelled, “Go up, thou bald head, go up, thou bald head!”
Boy, was that ever a big mistake. Elisha turned and looked at those children, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. As soon as he did that, there came two she bears out of the woods and ripped forty-two of those children to shreds and killed them deader than a doornail. What a big mistake to laugh and make fun of God’s man.
You know, the winds and the seas obey God. The animals and all of nature obey the voice of God. When God says “Sick em,” they don’t question the master, they do as their told. I’d sure be careful of what I say about God’s men. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Those children weren’t too wise, were they?
Now I’ll tell you why Elisha is my favorite prophet. It’s because he asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Because he asked for something spiritual, God gave it to him. Elisha asked for something spiritual so that he could help others. What do we want from God? Is it spiritual things, or is it things that we want so that we can consume them upon our own selves and our own lust? If you want to be used by God in a mighty way, you’ll have to set your mind on spiritual things and not on things of the world.
Elijah was a mighty prophet. That’s for sure, but Elisha was double the prophet.
The Bible says in 2 Kings 2:1 “And it came to pass when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.”
Elisha and Elijah were traveling together from Gilgal that day, and deep down Elisha knew that Elijah was going to be taken from him. He just had that gut feeling. It’s the kind of gut feeling that you don’t want to have. No one wants a great person whom they love, and respect taken away from them. That’s exactly how it was with Elisha. He knew he was about to loose someone very special to him.
Along the way, Elijah turned to Elisha and said. “I want you to wait here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel.” But Elisha told him, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth I will not leave thee.” So together they went down to Bethel.
As they came into Bethel, the sons of the prophets ran to meet them. They said to Elisha, “Don’t you know that today the Lord is going to take your master away?”
And he answered, “Yes, I know it, but hold your peace.” In other words, hold your tongue. It made him upset to be reminded of loosing someone he loved so dearly. He didn’t want to be reminded of it at all.
Then a second time, Elijah told Elisha, “Wait here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho.”
But again Elisha said, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.”
So they traveled on to Jericho together. As soon as they got into Jericho, the sons of the prophets that were in Jericho came up to Elisha and said, “Hey, don’t you know that the Lord is going to take away your master today?”
Elisha answered once more, “Yes I know, but hold your peace.”
Then again Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, because the Lord has called me to Jordan now.”
And, you guessed it, Elisha said, “As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee.” As they went on down the road together, fifty of the sons of the prophets stood, and watched from afar off. When they reached the Jordan River, Elijah took his mantel, wrapped it together, and smote the waters with it. All of a sudden the waters began to part, just like they did for Moses when he stretch forth his rod over the Red sea. So as the children of Israel went over to the other side on dry ground, so did Elijah and Elisha.
When they reached the other side, Elijah asked Elisha, ”What shall I do for thee, before I am taken away from thee?”
Gee willikers! Look at the answer Elisha gave! He couldn’t have asked for a better thing. His mind was not on him self. His mind wasn’t on material things. His reply was not a selfish one at all. His reply was one that would make him be a better prophet for the Lord and for others. Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.
You know, we as Christians should have our minds set on spiritual things as Elisha did. Oh, let me tell you kids, when you ask God for spiritual things, he dumps it on you a hundred fold. He’s already provided for you physically, hasn’t he? The Bible says with food and clothes to be content. Right? Well, those are physical needs. Now it’s time to ask him for spiritual needs such as: “Lord help me to honor and obey my Father and Mother. Lord help me to be a good testimony for you at school. Lord show me someone that needs a friend today. Lord, send me a lost soul today. Lord, give me some spiritual wisdom. Lord send me the right kind of friends.”
There are all kinds of spiritual needs. When you hand out tracts, pray that if the person is not saved, God will deal with their hearts. As I have told you kids before, God will hear the prayer of a child quicker than you can blink an eye. Take advantage of that while you’re still young and pray for spiritual things. God thinks so much of a child’s prayer, and will hear them above most adults.
Well, getting back to our story, in verse 10, Elijah said to Elisha, “Thou hast asked a hard thing, but nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.”
So, the both of them went on down the road walking and talking together. All of a sudden, there came down a chariot of fire, and it had horses of fire. Now I can try to imagine a chariot of fire. But horses of fire, Wow! That is something else. What a sight to behold! Horses of fire! Try to imagine them! That chariot and those horses came right in between Elijah and Elisha, and the Bible says it parted them both asunder. I reckon when that hot chariot got close, and started to come in between them, Elisha just stepped back out of the way and watched.
Then the wind started to pick up. That means it started getting a bit windy. Then all of a sudden a whirlwind came down out of heaven, and just sucked that chariot, and those horses right up in to the clouds. Elisha stood there and watched as his friend waved to him out of the chariot. Elisha fell down to his knees and cried, ”My Father, My Father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.”
The heavens opened up and the chariot, the horses, and Elijah, were swallowed up into the clouds. The sky, the wind, and the clouds all became calm again. Elisha took a hold of his clothes and tore them into two pieces. He was upset because his master and his friend was gone. Elisha ran over and picked up the mantle that fell from Elijah. He held the mantle close to him as he started on his way. Elisha began shaking his head, and saying under his breath, “Bless God! A double portion!, I’ve got a double portion, praise God!” Elisha’s face began to glow as he started walking back to the Jordan River.
When he reached the bank of the Jordan River, he took Elijah’s mantel and smote the waters just as he’d seen Elijah do. As that mantel came down over the waters of Jordan, Elisha cried out,” Where is the Lord God of Elijah?!”
And ya know what? It didn’t take Elisha long to get the answer to his question. God answered his question by parting the waters of Jordan, so that he could walk safely over on dry ground. It was like God saying, “Hey Elisha, you want to know where I am? Well, I’m right here next to you. I’m as close to you as this river is.”
God showed him that he was right there with him, just like he was for Elijah. Elisha wasn’t the one who parted those waters. It was all God. You know, there might come a time in your life when you will ask. “ Where is the God of my Father? Where is the God of my Mother?”
I’m here to tell you that the Lord will show you quickly that he’s right there with you. He’ll say, “I’ve been here all along, I’ve been this close to you.” Praise God he promised that he would never leave me nor forsake me. He has been true to his promises over the years for me, and he’ll do the same for you. The God of your Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Pastor, or best friend is right there just as close to you as he was for them. And to the saved person who never had any of the family and friends just mentioned, the God of the Bible is just as close to that person as he is anyone else. The Lord showed this to Elisha that day. What a blessed day.
When Elisha neared Jericho, the sons of the prophet saw him coming up the road. They said to themselves, “Wow! The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha!” They could see a spiritual glow about Elisha they had never seen before. They ran up to Elisha and bowed their selves to the ground before him.
They told Elisha that there were fifty men waiting to go and search for Elijah. They said, “Maybe the spirit of the Lord lifted him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or dropped him in a valley somewhere. Let us go and search for your master.”
Elisha told them, “No , don’t worry about it, you don’t need to send any men out searching.” But they kept on bothering Elisha until he finally said, “All right, go ahead and send out the men.”
The men searched and searched for three days, and couldn’t find a trace of Elijah anywhere. Now , I don’t know about you, but I think these men were rather nuts. First they told Elisha that the Lord was going to take Elijah from him that day. Then when the Lord takes Elijah, and they want to go out and search for him. They must not have thought that God was capable of taking Elijah safely home. Maybe they thought the Lord dropped Elijah’s dead corps on a mountaintop or in a valley somewhere. They must not have had much confidence in God. Or maybe they were just out in the sun too long, and it scorched their brains a bit.
After three days they returned to Elisha shaking their heads, and shrugging their shoulders. Elisha said, “Did I not say unto you, go not?” Elisha knew they wouldn’t find Elijah. But for some people, you just can’t tell them anything. They have to find out for themselves.
While Elisha was in Jericho, the men of the city came up to him and said. “Elisha, we have a pretty nice city here, everything is pleasant as you can see, but our waters are polluted. We can not drink the water without getting sick, and some have even died from it. And not only that, our ground is so barren.”
Elisha told the men to bring him a new cruise, and put some salt in it. A cruise is a vessel. Elisha took the new cruise and went to the spring of the waters. As he cast the salt into the water, he said, “Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land.”
And the Bible says in chapter 2, verse 22, “So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake.”
Do you know that salt is good for healing? My Mother always told me when I had a sore throat to gargle with warm, salt water three to four times a day. And do you know that it really works! After my Mother had surgery, she began swimming in the ocean, and the salt water helped her wound to heal up.
Do you know what the Bible says about salt? Let’s look in three places. First, look in Luke 14:34. The Bible says that, “Salt is good. But if the salt has lost his savour, where with shall it be seasoned?” You know, this verse reminds me of a worldly Christian. The Bible says in the next verse that salt that has lost it’s savor, is not good for anything. It’s not good for land, nor even a dung hill. A dung hill, is a big pile of poo poo. My, what a thing to say about a person. But ya know what? God even says that a luke warm Christian makes him sick enough to puke. What good are you to God if you have lost your savor? What good are you to others if you have lost your savor? Do you know that lost people need Christians with salt to help mend their broken hearts and to help heal their wounds? They need that salt in you, because that flavor and that savor will lead them to the great physician. If I were a lost soul on my way to hell, I sure wouldn’t want to go to a worldly Christian for help. Worldly Christians aren’t even good for dung hills. They ought to be ashamed of themselves.
Here’s another place that talks about salt is in Colossians 4:6. It says, “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”
What would food taste like with out the flavor of salt? Yuk! That’s what I’d say. Can you imagine food without salt? Food would be dull, and bland. Well, that’s exactly what you’re like if your speech is not seasoned with salt. Yuk, dull, and bland.
Look at another place is in Matthew 5:13, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost it’s savour, where with shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. Ye are the light of the world, A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
I guess that says it all. Now you can see how important salt is.
Back to our story, Elisha decided to travel on to Bethel. While on his way to Bethel, there came little children from out of the city, and they began to tease Elisha. They had obviously heard about Elijah taken up into heaven by a whirlwind. They knew the story had to come from Elisha, since he was the only one with Elijah at that time. They decided to make fun of the new Prophet, so they mocked him, and yelled, “Go up, thou bald head, go up, thou bald head!”
Boy, was that ever a big mistake. Elisha turned and looked at those children, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. As soon as he did that, there came two she bears out of the woods and ripped forty-two of those children to shreds and killed them deader than a doornail. What a big mistake to laugh and make fun of God’s man.
You know, the winds and the seas obey God. The animals and all of nature obey the voice of God. When God says “Sick em,” they don’t question the master, they do as their told. I’d sure be careful of what I say about God’s men. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Those children weren’t too wise, were they?
Now I’ll tell you why Elisha is my favorite prophet. It’s because he asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Because he asked for something spiritual, God gave it to him. Elisha asked for something spiritual so that he could help others. What do we want from God? Is it spiritual things, or is it things that we want so that we can consume them upon our own selves and our own lust? If you want to be used by God in a mighty way, you’ll have to set your mind on spiritual things and not on things of the world.
Elijah was a mighty prophet. That’s for sure, but Elisha was double the prophet.
The Defeat of Moab
2 Kings Chapter 3
The Bible says in 2 Kings, 3:1, “Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.”
The Bible goes on to tell us that King Jehoram did evil in the sight of the Lord. He put away the image of baal that his father and mother had set up, but the Bible tells us that he hung onto the sins of Jeroboam.
What were the sins of Jeroboam? First of all, to learn about the sin of Jeroboam we must go back in time a little bit. The First king of Israel was King Saul. The second king was King David, who was called a man after God’s own heart. Next on the throne was King Solomon, the son of David. King Solomon was the wisest king to ever rule. After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam began to reign as king. The children of Israel came to Rehoboam and asked if he could lighten the load which his father had put on them, and make their yoke a little easier. But Rehoboam refused. Not only did he refuse, but he made their yoke even heavier. This caused a division within the children of Israel, and they left Rehoboam, and made Jeroboam their king instead. All that remained with Rehoboam was the tribe of Judah, and Benjamin.
King Jeroboam thought if the people started going back to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the temple, that their hearts would turn once again to Rehoboam. So Jeroboam made two golden calves and set them up for all Israel to worship. He said to them in chapter 12, and verse 28, “ I know it’s too much for you to travel all the way to Jerusalem. So I thought I’d help you out and create for you some god’s right here in your own home town. Behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
Don’t you think that made God jealous? God was the one who brought them out of Egypt, not some golden cows that were made from the hands of a man. God was the one who loved them and cared for them. God was the one who gave them victories over their battles. Yet they wanted to worship a god who couldn’t feed them, who couldn’t care for them, and who couldn’t win battles for them. They would much rather worship a god who couldn’t see them or watch over them. They wanted to worship a god who couldn’t hear them when they cried for help. This hunk of gold had no eyes, ears, nor even a heart. But their God had a big heart that could be touched for them, if they would only have done right. So we learn that the sin of Jeroboam was a very hurtful sin to God.
Now, back to our story. After the death of wicked king Ahab, Mesha, the king of Moab, began to rebel against the king of Israel. So Jehoram, king of Israel, sent word to Jehoshephat, king of Judah, saying: “The king of Moab, has rebelled against me. Will you go to battle with me against Moab?”
And Jehoshaphat answered, “I will go with thee to battle against Moab.”
So the two kings got together to discuss which way they should go up to battle. They ended up getting together with the King of Edom, and he went with them to battle also. So the three kings took off on their seven-day journey to Moab. Along the way they ran out of water. The three kings, and the men that were with them were parched with thirst. They had no water for their horses nor for the cattle that followed them.
At last the King of Israel said,” I betcha this is God’s plan to get the three of us together, so that he can deliver us into the hands of the Moabites.”
But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord around here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” King Jehoshaphat may have had a lot of faults, but he sure knew where to go when there was trouble.
One of the kings servants said, “Hey, Elisha is here, the one who poured water on the hands of Elijah.
Jehoshaphat said, “ Surely,the word of the Lord is with him.” So all three kings went to see Elisha.
When Elisha saw the king of Israel, he said, “What have I to do with thee. Why don’t you go to the prophets of your father and mother, and let them help you out.” For you see, their prophets were the prophets of Baal.
And the king of Israel said, “No way, I can’t go to them. But tell me this much. The Lord has brought us three kings together to deliver us into the hand of Moab, hasn’t he?”
Elisha said, “ As the Lord liveth, were it not that I regard the presence of King Jehoshsaphat, I wouldn’t even look at you, or give you the time of day.” Elisha respected Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, because Jehoshaphat had a continuous habit of wanting to inquire from the prophet of the Lord. He wanted to find out what the Lord had to say about things. That was a real good habit if you ask me. I’m also glad that out of respect for his Son, God looks upon me and hears my cry.
Elisha told the king of Israel to bring him a minstrel. A minstrel was a person who entertained in music. The Bible says in verse 15, that when the minstrel played his music, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha, and Elisha said, “Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. Now, your not going to see any wind or rain, but guess what? This valley is going to be filled with water. There’s going to be plenty enough water for you, and your cattle, and your beast. But this is only a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hands.”
Boy howdy! What a mighty God we serve. Can you imagine a dry valley being filled with water and the Lord doesn’t even use rain? There wasn’t even any wind, or clouds around either. It was just a dry, and dusty valley. The Lord didn’t tell them to dig wells. He just told them to dig some ditches. The Lord performed a miracle that day right in front of their eyes, and he called it just a small thing. Wow! What a God! I’m glad he’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. I’m so glad he doesn’t grow weak, or burn out through the ages. What a privilege to know him personally.
You know, God also used that water in the valley as a trap for the Moabites. The next morning the sun shone down upon the water in the valley, and to the Moabites it looked like puddles of blood. So they thought that there had already been a battle in the valley, and that the kings had slain each other. They were all excited, and said, “Lets go down there and gather all the spoil for ourselves.” But when they went into the valley, the kings were ready and waiting for them. They won the battle that day, just as Elisha told them they would.
The Bible says in 2 Kings, 3:1, “Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.”
The Bible goes on to tell us that King Jehoram did evil in the sight of the Lord. He put away the image of baal that his father and mother had set up, but the Bible tells us that he hung onto the sins of Jeroboam.
What were the sins of Jeroboam? First of all, to learn about the sin of Jeroboam we must go back in time a little bit. The First king of Israel was King Saul. The second king was King David, who was called a man after God’s own heart. Next on the throne was King Solomon, the son of David. King Solomon was the wisest king to ever rule. After Solomon’s death, his son Rehoboam began to reign as king. The children of Israel came to Rehoboam and asked if he could lighten the load which his father had put on them, and make their yoke a little easier. But Rehoboam refused. Not only did he refuse, but he made their yoke even heavier. This caused a division within the children of Israel, and they left Rehoboam, and made Jeroboam their king instead. All that remained with Rehoboam was the tribe of Judah, and Benjamin.
King Jeroboam thought if the people started going back to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices in the temple, that their hearts would turn once again to Rehoboam. So Jeroboam made two golden calves and set them up for all Israel to worship. He said to them in chapter 12, and verse 28, “ I know it’s too much for you to travel all the way to Jerusalem. So I thought I’d help you out and create for you some god’s right here in your own home town. Behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt.”
Don’t you think that made God jealous? God was the one who brought them out of Egypt, not some golden cows that were made from the hands of a man. God was the one who loved them and cared for them. God was the one who gave them victories over their battles. Yet they wanted to worship a god who couldn’t feed them, who couldn’t care for them, and who couldn’t win battles for them. They would much rather worship a god who couldn’t see them or watch over them. They wanted to worship a god who couldn’t hear them when they cried for help. This hunk of gold had no eyes, ears, nor even a heart. But their God had a big heart that could be touched for them, if they would only have done right. So we learn that the sin of Jeroboam was a very hurtful sin to God.
Now, back to our story. After the death of wicked king Ahab, Mesha, the king of Moab, began to rebel against the king of Israel. So Jehoram, king of Israel, sent word to Jehoshephat, king of Judah, saying: “The king of Moab, has rebelled against me. Will you go to battle with me against Moab?”
And Jehoshaphat answered, “I will go with thee to battle against Moab.”
So the two kings got together to discuss which way they should go up to battle. They ended up getting together with the King of Edom, and he went with them to battle also. So the three kings took off on their seven-day journey to Moab. Along the way they ran out of water. The three kings, and the men that were with them were parched with thirst. They had no water for their horses nor for the cattle that followed them.
At last the King of Israel said,” I betcha this is God’s plan to get the three of us together, so that he can deliver us into the hands of the Moabites.”
But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord around here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” King Jehoshaphat may have had a lot of faults, but he sure knew where to go when there was trouble.
One of the kings servants said, “Hey, Elisha is here, the one who poured water on the hands of Elijah.
Jehoshaphat said, “ Surely,the word of the Lord is with him.” So all three kings went to see Elisha.
When Elisha saw the king of Israel, he said, “What have I to do with thee. Why don’t you go to the prophets of your father and mother, and let them help you out.” For you see, their prophets were the prophets of Baal.
And the king of Israel said, “No way, I can’t go to them. But tell me this much. The Lord has brought us three kings together to deliver us into the hand of Moab, hasn’t he?”
Elisha said, “ As the Lord liveth, were it not that I regard the presence of King Jehoshsaphat, I wouldn’t even look at you, or give you the time of day.” Elisha respected Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, because Jehoshaphat had a continuous habit of wanting to inquire from the prophet of the Lord. He wanted to find out what the Lord had to say about things. That was a real good habit if you ask me. I’m also glad that out of respect for his Son, God looks upon me and hears my cry.
Elisha told the king of Israel to bring him a minstrel. A minstrel was a person who entertained in music. The Bible says in verse 15, that when the minstrel played his music, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha, and Elisha said, “Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. Now, your not going to see any wind or rain, but guess what? This valley is going to be filled with water. There’s going to be plenty enough water for you, and your cattle, and your beast. But this is only a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hands.”
Boy howdy! What a mighty God we serve. Can you imagine a dry valley being filled with water and the Lord doesn’t even use rain? There wasn’t even any wind, or clouds around either. It was just a dry, and dusty valley. The Lord didn’t tell them to dig wells. He just told them to dig some ditches. The Lord performed a miracle that day right in front of their eyes, and he called it just a small thing. Wow! What a God! I’m glad he’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. I’m so glad he doesn’t grow weak, or burn out through the ages. What a privilege to know him personally.
You know, God also used that water in the valley as a trap for the Moabites. The next morning the sun shone down upon the water in the valley, and to the Moabites it looked like puddles of blood. So they thought that there had already been a battle in the valley, and that the kings had slain each other. They were all excited, and said, “Lets go down there and gather all the spoil for ourselves.” But when they went into the valley, the kings were ready and waiting for them. They won the battle that day, just as Elisha told them they would.
Miracle of the Oil
2 KINGS 4: 1-7
In this story, we will look at Elisha as a type of Christ. We will also picture the woman in this story as a type of a Christian today. This woman was a widow. Her husband used to be one of Elisha’s servants who greatly feared the Lord. Her husband died however, and it became very hard for her to pay her bills.
One day the creditors came to her house. In the Bible, creditors were the people who come to your house to collect money that you owed for debts. Well, these creditors who gave the widow woman a visit that day were very wicked. Since the woman could not pay them anything, they told her that they would come and take her two young sons to be bondmen instead. Now, a bondman is a slave, someone who works without pay. Can you imagine the grief of the widow? First, she lost her husband, then she couldn’t pay her bills, and now the creditors wanted to take her young sons away to be slaves. Well, she knew who to go to when she was in trouble. She didn’t waste any time at all, she ran to find Elisha.
Elisha asked the woman what she had in her house. She ran in and came out with a little pot of oil. It was the only thing she had left in her house which had any value. Elisha told her and her sons to gather up all the vessels they could find. He even told them to borrow vessels from all the neighbors. Elisha told them not to borrow just a few, but get as many as they could.
Then Elisha said to her, “I want you and your sons to gather up all these vessels, go into your house and shut the door behind you. Then take the little pot of oil and start pouring the oil out into all the other vessels.”
She did exactly what the prophet told her, and do you know what happened? The oil never ran out! After she was finished filling the last vessel, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”
And He said “Mom, there are no more vessels to bring, they’re all filled up.”
I’m sure they had vessels stacked up to the roof. If they would have had more vessels, they could have filled them as well. You know what the Bible says? It says that the oil stayed. I, personally, think that means she had enough to last her the rest of her life.
Now it’s time to look at the woman as a type of a Christian today and Elisha as a type of Christ. She came to Elisha with a real need, something that bothered her, a prayer that needed an answer. Elisha could have worked a miracle right then and there and gave her enough money to pay her debt. But instead, he asked her a question. He asked, "What do you want me to do about it?" 4:1-2.
He wanted to communicate with her. He wanted to hear from her. Of course, he knew what to do about it. You know, the Lord wants to hear from us as well. He wants to communicate with us. And do you know what? He even knows what we need before we ask him. He just wants to hear from us.
Also, Elisha asked the woman what she had in her house. You know, the Lord asks us the same question. He asks, “What is in your house, that you can give me to work with?”
Elisha could have worked a miracle out of nothing, but he wanted something to work with. The woman brought out something small, just a little bottle of oil. That’s all she had, but that was enough for Elisha to work with. Maybe we don't think we have much to offer God. Maybe it’s just a little talent that's hidden away somewhere in this little house of clay. We need to bring it out and let the Lord work with it, and he'll multiply it. The oil didn’t multiply until she poured it out.
Also, Elisha encouraged her to pay her debt. He didn't give her a hand out. He told her something to do that would help her pay her debt. God supplied her need, but she had to do her part.
Now, why did the Lord choose oil? What is so significant about oil?
The dictionary defines oil as one of several kinds of light, viscous liquids obtained from various plants, animal substances, and minerals. It's used as lubricants, illuminants, fuel, and medicines.
Illuminate, means to enlighten, to light up, to throw light upon, to embellish. Illumination means the act of giving light.
Wow!! You know what? The Bible says that the WORD of God is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Lamps need oil or they couldn't give light. Oil is the main source for getting the light out.
Look at Matthew 25:3, The foolish took no oil for their lamps, but the wise took oil. If you’re a wise Christian, you will make sure that you have oil in your lamp. Without oil in your lamp, you couldn’t give out any light. Oil is vital to a Christian. We need to make sure our lamps are filled up every morning with that precious oil from Gods word. We can't be of much help to people if our lamps are dim, and not giving out much light. If we don't daily refuel our lamps they'll go out all together. What good is a lamp with no light??
Ps.147:3, Oil is good for healing. You can't bind up a wound without putting some kind of ointment on it, or else the wound would stick to the dressing. Ouch!! Luke 10:34 tells us that the good Samaritan poured oil, and wine on the travelers wounds. Mothers use Vaseline on diaper rashes. Creams and ointments are made from oil. Oil is good for wounds, and good for healing.
Here are some other good uses for oil. It’s good for cooking. I like my eggs fried. I wouldn’t be able to eat fried eggs without oil. I don’t like to eat dry eggs. Yuk! Oil is good for baking breads. Breads wouldn’t be light and fluffy if you didn’t use a little oil. Oil can keep things from sticking together. It’s good for rusty things. It’s also good for keeping things running such as cars, airplanes, tractors, lawn mowers, weed eaters, ships, trains, motorcycles, etc. They all need oil to run.
Can you think of any foods that give us oil? I can name a few, like peanuts, corn, olives, safflower, sunflower, and soybean. There are many more besides these. All of them provide oil.
God even gave some animals built in oil ducts. Ducks and geese can float on top of the water because they have oil on their feathers. Baby ducks, and geese do not need any swimming lessons to stay afloat. They can bob and float in the water because of the oil all over their downy feathers. Without this oil, they would drown. They use their bills to stimulate the oil ducts that God placed on the underside of their bodies. The oil ducts release the oil, and the duck can rub it on his feathers. Next time you see a duck itch himself underneath with his bill, and then start rubbing his head around all over his body, you’ll know that he’s spreading oil all over his feathers. Oil floats on top of the water. Oil is essential for these birds. Try this little experiment at home. Take a see through glass of water, and a tablespoon of any kind of oil. Put the oil into the glass of water. The oil will float on top of the water every time.
Gen. 28:18, Jacob rose early in the morning, and poured oil on the stones that he used as his pillows, and called the place ,Bethel. Bethel means, “The house of God,” or the dwelling place of the Lord. That oil must have been pretty important.
Ps. 23:5 says, Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Isaiah 61:3 talks about the oil of joy. In 1 Kings 1:39, Solomon is anointed with oil. Exod. 30:25 talks about Holy anointing oil.
Matt. 26:7 tells us about the woman with the alabaster box of precious ointment. She gave it to Jesus. We need to give our best to God. Even if it’s our most precious substance, something that is very costly and dear to us. We need to give him our oil, just as this woman did. In Mark 14: 3, the Bible says, that she had to break the box of ointment. Sometimes we won't give him our best until we are broken.
This woman is also mentioned in the Bible in Luke 7:37. In this passage the Bible clearly states that she was a sinner, just like you and me. In verse 46, the Lord gets all over the Pharisees for condemning the woman, when they themselves did nothing to anoint the Lord’s head with oil. The Lord is very concerned about that little bottle of oil that we as sinners need to break and pour at his feet. That means more to him than all the good works and self-righteousness of all the religious people in the world. You can also read about this in John 12:3, and 11:2. This must have been very important for the Lord to record it so many times. God is so very concerned about that little bottle of oil.
I bet you didn’t know that there was so much we could learn from this little three-letter word, OIL. Huh?
In this story, we will look at Elisha as a type of Christ. We will also picture the woman in this story as a type of a Christian today. This woman was a widow. Her husband used to be one of Elisha’s servants who greatly feared the Lord. Her husband died however, and it became very hard for her to pay her bills.
One day the creditors came to her house. In the Bible, creditors were the people who come to your house to collect money that you owed for debts. Well, these creditors who gave the widow woman a visit that day were very wicked. Since the woman could not pay them anything, they told her that they would come and take her two young sons to be bondmen instead. Now, a bondman is a slave, someone who works without pay. Can you imagine the grief of the widow? First, she lost her husband, then she couldn’t pay her bills, and now the creditors wanted to take her young sons away to be slaves. Well, she knew who to go to when she was in trouble. She didn’t waste any time at all, she ran to find Elisha.
Elisha asked the woman what she had in her house. She ran in and came out with a little pot of oil. It was the only thing she had left in her house which had any value. Elisha told her and her sons to gather up all the vessels they could find. He even told them to borrow vessels from all the neighbors. Elisha told them not to borrow just a few, but get as many as they could.
Then Elisha said to her, “I want you and your sons to gather up all these vessels, go into your house and shut the door behind you. Then take the little pot of oil and start pouring the oil out into all the other vessels.”
She did exactly what the prophet told her, and do you know what happened? The oil never ran out! After she was finished filling the last vessel, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”
And He said “Mom, there are no more vessels to bring, they’re all filled up.”
I’m sure they had vessels stacked up to the roof. If they would have had more vessels, they could have filled them as well. You know what the Bible says? It says that the oil stayed. I, personally, think that means she had enough to last her the rest of her life.
Now it’s time to look at the woman as a type of a Christian today and Elisha as a type of Christ. She came to Elisha with a real need, something that bothered her, a prayer that needed an answer. Elisha could have worked a miracle right then and there and gave her enough money to pay her debt. But instead, he asked her a question. He asked, "What do you want me to do about it?" 4:1-2.
He wanted to communicate with her. He wanted to hear from her. Of course, he knew what to do about it. You know, the Lord wants to hear from us as well. He wants to communicate with us. And do you know what? He even knows what we need before we ask him. He just wants to hear from us.
Also, Elisha asked the woman what she had in her house. You know, the Lord asks us the same question. He asks, “What is in your house, that you can give me to work with?”
Elisha could have worked a miracle out of nothing, but he wanted something to work with. The woman brought out something small, just a little bottle of oil. That’s all she had, but that was enough for Elisha to work with. Maybe we don't think we have much to offer God. Maybe it’s just a little talent that's hidden away somewhere in this little house of clay. We need to bring it out and let the Lord work with it, and he'll multiply it. The oil didn’t multiply until she poured it out.
Also, Elisha encouraged her to pay her debt. He didn't give her a hand out. He told her something to do that would help her pay her debt. God supplied her need, but she had to do her part.
Now, why did the Lord choose oil? What is so significant about oil?
The dictionary defines oil as one of several kinds of light, viscous liquids obtained from various plants, animal substances, and minerals. It's used as lubricants, illuminants, fuel, and medicines.
Illuminate, means to enlighten, to light up, to throw light upon, to embellish. Illumination means the act of giving light.
Wow!! You know what? The Bible says that the WORD of God is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Lamps need oil or they couldn't give light. Oil is the main source for getting the light out.
Look at Matthew 25:3, The foolish took no oil for their lamps, but the wise took oil. If you’re a wise Christian, you will make sure that you have oil in your lamp. Without oil in your lamp, you couldn’t give out any light. Oil is vital to a Christian. We need to make sure our lamps are filled up every morning with that precious oil from Gods word. We can't be of much help to people if our lamps are dim, and not giving out much light. If we don't daily refuel our lamps they'll go out all together. What good is a lamp with no light??
Ps.147:3, Oil is good for healing. You can't bind up a wound without putting some kind of ointment on it, or else the wound would stick to the dressing. Ouch!! Luke 10:34 tells us that the good Samaritan poured oil, and wine on the travelers wounds. Mothers use Vaseline on diaper rashes. Creams and ointments are made from oil. Oil is good for wounds, and good for healing.
Here are some other good uses for oil. It’s good for cooking. I like my eggs fried. I wouldn’t be able to eat fried eggs without oil. I don’t like to eat dry eggs. Yuk! Oil is good for baking breads. Breads wouldn’t be light and fluffy if you didn’t use a little oil. Oil can keep things from sticking together. It’s good for rusty things. It’s also good for keeping things running such as cars, airplanes, tractors, lawn mowers, weed eaters, ships, trains, motorcycles, etc. They all need oil to run.
Can you think of any foods that give us oil? I can name a few, like peanuts, corn, olives, safflower, sunflower, and soybean. There are many more besides these. All of them provide oil.
God even gave some animals built in oil ducts. Ducks and geese can float on top of the water because they have oil on their feathers. Baby ducks, and geese do not need any swimming lessons to stay afloat. They can bob and float in the water because of the oil all over their downy feathers. Without this oil, they would drown. They use their bills to stimulate the oil ducts that God placed on the underside of their bodies. The oil ducts release the oil, and the duck can rub it on his feathers. Next time you see a duck itch himself underneath with his bill, and then start rubbing his head around all over his body, you’ll know that he’s spreading oil all over his feathers. Oil floats on top of the water. Oil is essential for these birds. Try this little experiment at home. Take a see through glass of water, and a tablespoon of any kind of oil. Put the oil into the glass of water. The oil will float on top of the water every time.
Gen. 28:18, Jacob rose early in the morning, and poured oil on the stones that he used as his pillows, and called the place ,Bethel. Bethel means, “The house of God,” or the dwelling place of the Lord. That oil must have been pretty important.
Ps. 23:5 says, Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Isaiah 61:3 talks about the oil of joy. In 1 Kings 1:39, Solomon is anointed with oil. Exod. 30:25 talks about Holy anointing oil.
Matt. 26:7 tells us about the woman with the alabaster box of precious ointment. She gave it to Jesus. We need to give our best to God. Even if it’s our most precious substance, something that is very costly and dear to us. We need to give him our oil, just as this woman did. In Mark 14: 3, the Bible says, that she had to break the box of ointment. Sometimes we won't give him our best until we are broken.
This woman is also mentioned in the Bible in Luke 7:37. In this passage the Bible clearly states that she was a sinner, just like you and me. In verse 46, the Lord gets all over the Pharisees for condemning the woman, when they themselves did nothing to anoint the Lord’s head with oil. The Lord is very concerned about that little bottle of oil that we as sinners need to break and pour at his feet. That means more to him than all the good works and self-righteousness of all the religious people in the world. You can also read about this in John 12:3, and 11:2. This must have been very important for the Lord to record it so many times. God is so very concerned about that little bottle of oil.
I bet you didn’t know that there was so much we could learn from this little three-letter word, OIL. Huh?
The Shunamite Woman
2 Kings 4:8-37
The first thing we learn about this woman is that the Lord called her GREAT. He doesn't even give her name, just calls her great. She must have really caught the Lords attention in order for him to call her great.
Why did the Lord call her great? Well, first of all she appreciated of the man of God, Elisha. Every time Elisha would pass by her house, the Bible says that she constrained him to eat bread. Now I sort of had a good idea of what the word constrained meant, but I looked it up in the dictionary anyway. Here’s the dictionary definition of the word constrain. It means: to strain, to press, to argue, to exert force, to compel or force, to argue with irresistible power, or with the power sufficient to produce an effect. What a woman!! She wanted to take great care of the Man of God. Every time Elisha passed by, he knew he’d better turn from his journey into the woman’s house and let her feed him, or he’d have a fight on his hands. Ha.
The woman even wanted her husband to add on a small room to their house for Elisha to sleep in. That's where the word prophet chamber came from. She wanted the prophet completely taken care of. Not only that, this woman had some spiritual wisdom. In 2 Kings 4:9-10 she said to her husband, “I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber I pray thee for him, 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.”
She was in tune spiritually, and she had some spiritual wisdom. Let’s take each of the items that she wanted her husband to put into the prophet’s chamber, and apply them spiritually to our own lives.
In his room, she wanted:
A bed- (for resting)
A child of God needs rest. The Devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. A lion will always run after the weakest. Do you know what a lion does when he sees a herd of animals in the wild? He crouches in tall grass where he cannot be seen, and then he studies the herd. He watches ever so closely to see if there are any sick, weak, hurt, or young ones in the herd. He waits for just the right time, then he pounces on them. He chomps down with his mighty teeth, and he rips, and devours, and destroys the helpless creature. He doesn’t waste his time on the strong and mighty in the herd, he always goes for the weakest. If a child of God doesn’t get proper rest, he becomes tired and weak, and sometimes may even get sick because of lack of rest. Jesus said if you come to him, he’ll give you rest. When I don't get proper physical rest, my Bible reading and my prayer time grows weaker, and weaker. That’s just what the devil wants, it’s what he’s been waiting for, and he has a hay day devouring anyone to shreds. A child of God needs proper rest.
A table- (for eating)
Eating is for strength. A child of God needs proper nourishment. We will become weak if we don't eat right. Spiritually speaking, we will grow weak if we do not feast on God's word daily. What would happen if we just stopped eating all together? We would eventually die. Well, if we stop taking in God's word, we will die spiritually as well.
A stool- (for praying)
A child needs to communicate with his Father. Right? So a child of God needs to communicate with God the Father. Where do you think Elisha got his wisdom and the ability to do all those miracles? He received wisdom and the ability to do miracles by communicating with God. We may not be able to perform miracles physically on the outside like Elisha, but if we stay close to God, we will be able to perform miracles in people’s lives on the inside.
A candlestick- (for reading God's word.)
Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God. We just can't live without God's word. We need God to give us light so we can understand what we are reading. We need that candlelight. We need God to light up those precious pages so we can see more clearly and understand what we are reading.
Here are some more good things we can learn from the Great woman of Shunam. She thought of others before herself, and she was very humble. Elisha asked if she wanted him to say good things about her to the king, or if she wanted him to speak highly of her to the captain of the host so that she could be recognized. Boy, what an honor. How many of us would have taken him up on that?? But she was humble. Her answer was, "I dwell among my own people.”
We as Christians should dwell with our own people. We don't need to be great or spoken highly of in the sight of the world. We don't need to be recognized by the president of the United States of America. We just simply need to be recognized by God, and dwell humbly with our own brothers and sisters.
Even though she didn’t ask for anything, the prophet Elisha wanted to do something for her because she had been so good to him. If you are reading the passage in the Bible that goes along with this story, Notice that Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, is the one who gave Elisha a good idea of what the woman would want. He told Elisha that the woman had no son, and that her husband was old.
How many of us would have asked for something great, if given the chance? Yet this woman asked for nothing. So Elisha called the woman to him, and told the woman that she would have a son. At first she didn’t believe him. But God always sticks to his promises though, doesn’t he? She did have a son just as Elisha said. The baby grew strong and healthy. The woman and her husband were so grateful to finally have a son.
When her son became old enough, he went out to work with his Father in the fields. The Bible doesn’t tell us how old the boy was, but it does say that he was just a lad, and yet still small enough to sit on mommy’s knee. So my guess is that the boy was maybe around the ages of 5 to 7. After working in the field a while with his father, the boy began to complain about his head hurting. His Father told one of the men working with him to carry the boy back home to his mother.
The Bible says in chapter four, verse twenty, the woman of Shunam sat and held her sick child on her knees till he died. The woman of Shunam was a good mother. There are some mothers that do not care properly for their babies when they are sick. The woman of Shunam is a great example of how a mother should be. My mother was like the woman of Shunam when it came to her sick children. But now that I think of it, my mother was like that when it came to any sick child. If she had her way, she’d rather sit and hold a sick child all day long than do anything else.
My mother was just like the Shunamite woman in other ways as well. Most of the single Bible school students knew where to go when they needed a good southern, home cooked meal. Mother loved cooking for them all. They would come up to Mom at church and ask if they could come over and eat. Some of them didn’t even ask, they just popped in right about supper time. Mom didn’t care, she fed them all.
My Mother also went straight to God with her troubles. I never heard her go to another person with a problem that she had. Oh, snd let me tell you, she had a lot of them. But you see, they were the troubles that were visible to me. I’m sure she had so many more, but she carried them to God. She never complained to her children. What a blessed, blessed mother she was. The Bible says in Proverbs 31:28, “Her children arise up and call her blessed.” So I just can’t help but write about her when I get the urge. It’s a natural thing. I just have to arise up and call her blessed, and I do every day.
And guess what I just did? I ran ahead of myself. That was the next lesson that we were going to learn about this great woman. She knew where to go when trouble hit her life. She didn't waste any time getting to Elisha. We don't need to waste time getting to God when trouble hits our lives as well. It’s obvious in the Bible that she didn't even tell her husband about her son being dead. She was calm, and she carried her complaint straight to the one who could help her. A lot of times we just waste time talking about our troubles to others when we should just run with it to God. She also didn't want to trouble her husband about it, or upset him until after she had gone to Elisha. Her husband didn’t even understand why she was taking off so quick to find Elisha. He said, in chapter four, verse twenty-three, “ Honey, Why are you going to see Elisha today, it’s not new moon, nor the Sabbath?”
And she answered him in the same verse and said, “Don’t you worry dear, It shall be well.” She told the servant who was leading the donkey for her, to go forward, and not to even slow down unless she told him too.
We need to run to God, and not take our time getting there either. It's so wonderful that we can go directly to God about our troubles. We don't have to go through another man or a priest. We have access to the throne of grace anytime. Praise God.
When Elisha saw her coming from afar off, he sent his servant to ask her if all was well. When Gehazi met up with her, she told him that all was well. She kept it all inside her heart until she got to the man of God. Why didn’t she say something to Gehazi, you might ask.. Well, it would have slowed her down. She didn’t want to waste time telling her troubles to a man that couldn’t help her anyway. She needed to talk to the man of God herself. When she got to Elisha, she fell down, and grabbed him at his feet.
Sometimes we just need to grab God at his feet and just hold on, and let out all of our troubles, cares and worries to him. We need to be honest, and straightforward with God, like the woman of Shunam was with Elisha. She said to Elisha, " didn't I desire a son, and didn't I tell you not to deceive me about it?!!.".
Elisha told Gehazi to run ahead of him and place the staff upon the childs face. Do you know that The Great Woman of Shunam wouldn’t even leave Elisha. She could have left with Elisha's servant, and ran to see if the servant could heal her son, but she didn't want to leave the man of God. She knew where the real source of God's power was. We need to trust God alone to handle our problems and not man. The Great woman of Shunam said in verse thirty, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."
When Elisha got to her house, he went into the room where the child lay dead, and he closed the door behind him. Before Elisha did anything else, he prayed to God first of all. Then the Bible says in verse 34 and 35, that Elisha lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon the child’s mouth, and his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his hands upon the child’s hands. Then the child’s flesh became warm. Elisha walked around for a bit, then laid upon the child a second time. The child then sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes.
You know, that sure is a funny way to bring someone back to life, huh? But you know, sometimes the Lord uses stuff like this to confound the wise. What people don’t understand in the Bible, they want to skip over. I think there is a reason behind everything the Lord does. I believe that every word in the King James Bible has a meaning, and when I don’t understand it, that means I’m the one who is ignorant of what God is saying. I believe that the reason Elisha touched the boys mouth, eyes, and hands is because, if you think about it, those are the most important parts of our body the Lord can use for himself. With our mouth, our eyes, and our hands we can do the most for Jesus Christ. We can use our eyes to read God’s word, and study the scriptures so that we can help others. We can use our mouth to speak for God and lead souls to him. We can use our hands to help others, and be a blessing to others. For instance, we can help with extra chores around the house when Mom doesn’t feel good, or we can help out an old person by cleaning their house or mowing their lawn. Just because you are young does not mean you are limited when it comes to doing things for God. The Lord will use your hands, your mouth and your eyes the most for his glory.
Not only will God use your mouth, your eyes, and your hands, but the devil will use them too if you turn them over to him. Just like these tools are the most important tools for God to use, they are the most important tools that the devil will use as well. Those three tools, your mouth, your eyes, and your hands, are the tools the devil will use to get you to sin against God the most. And let me tell you, the devil can do some mighty powerful damage with those tools. He will do damage that can last for eternity, and maybe even send souls to hell. While we are young, we need to hand over those three tools to God before the devil gets a hold of them. That’s why I believe Elisha touched the boy’s mouth, eyes, and hands.
Also before the boy opened his eyes, he sneezed 7 times. Why seven times, I wonder? The Lord could have shortened the passage up, and said, “ The body of the child became warm, and he opened his eyes.” You know, there is a reason why the Lord put in his word,” seven times.” The Lord doesn’t waste words. I believe there is an explanation for every word in the Bible. Do you think it was because the boy was seven years old? Maybe that’s true, and maybe it’s not, but whether it is or isn’t, I know one thing for sure, every word that God put into the King James Bible was put there for a purpose. The number seven has always been a very important number to God. The number of days for quarantine in the old testament was seven. Elisha told Naaman to go and wash his self seven times in the Jordan River, 2 Kings 5:14. In Joshua 6:6 there were seven priest, and seven trumpets. The youngest King was Joash, and he was crowned at seven years old, 2 Chron. 24:1. There were seven maidens given to Esther at the time of her purification, Esther 2:9. The Word of God was purified seven times, Psalms 12:6. David said in the Psalms, “Seven times do I praise thee,” Psalms 119:164. There are seven things the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:16. There were seven loaves in Matthew 15:36. And after the Lord Jesus fed the multitude, they took up seven baskets full of leftovers. There are seven churches in Revelation 1. There are seven spirits of God, Revelation 4:5. There are seven seals in Revelation 5:5, and there are seven angles with seven trumpets in Revelation 8:6.
In closing, one last thing we can learn from the Great Woman of Shunam is, the Bible says in verse thirty seven that she came into the room, and fell down at Elisha’s feet, and bowed herself to the ground. She gave God glory, and thanks, before she even picked up her child. We should always give credit where credit is due. I believe it went exactly in the order God recorded it. How many women would have run past Elisha and picked up their child and hugged it first. How many women would have wanted to run over to their child just to touch him, to see if he was really alive? Not the Great Woman of Shunam, she gave God the glory first, and then the Bible says she took up her child. That’s what we should do when God almighty answers our prayers. We should never forget to thank him first of all. What a great woman this Shunamite was.
The first thing we learn about this woman is that the Lord called her GREAT. He doesn't even give her name, just calls her great. She must have really caught the Lords attention in order for him to call her great.
Why did the Lord call her great? Well, first of all she appreciated of the man of God, Elisha. Every time Elisha would pass by her house, the Bible says that she constrained him to eat bread. Now I sort of had a good idea of what the word constrained meant, but I looked it up in the dictionary anyway. Here’s the dictionary definition of the word constrain. It means: to strain, to press, to argue, to exert force, to compel or force, to argue with irresistible power, or with the power sufficient to produce an effect. What a woman!! She wanted to take great care of the Man of God. Every time Elisha passed by, he knew he’d better turn from his journey into the woman’s house and let her feed him, or he’d have a fight on his hands. Ha.
The woman even wanted her husband to add on a small room to their house for Elisha to sleep in. That's where the word prophet chamber came from. She wanted the prophet completely taken care of. Not only that, this woman had some spiritual wisdom. In 2 Kings 4:9-10 she said to her husband, “I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber I pray thee for him, 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.”
She was in tune spiritually, and she had some spiritual wisdom. Let’s take each of the items that she wanted her husband to put into the prophet’s chamber, and apply them spiritually to our own lives.
In his room, she wanted:
A bed- (for resting)
A child of God needs rest. The Devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. A lion will always run after the weakest. Do you know what a lion does when he sees a herd of animals in the wild? He crouches in tall grass where he cannot be seen, and then he studies the herd. He watches ever so closely to see if there are any sick, weak, hurt, or young ones in the herd. He waits for just the right time, then he pounces on them. He chomps down with his mighty teeth, and he rips, and devours, and destroys the helpless creature. He doesn’t waste his time on the strong and mighty in the herd, he always goes for the weakest. If a child of God doesn’t get proper rest, he becomes tired and weak, and sometimes may even get sick because of lack of rest. Jesus said if you come to him, he’ll give you rest. When I don't get proper physical rest, my Bible reading and my prayer time grows weaker, and weaker. That’s just what the devil wants, it’s what he’s been waiting for, and he has a hay day devouring anyone to shreds. A child of God needs proper rest.
A table- (for eating)
Eating is for strength. A child of God needs proper nourishment. We will become weak if we don't eat right. Spiritually speaking, we will grow weak if we do not feast on God's word daily. What would happen if we just stopped eating all together? We would eventually die. Well, if we stop taking in God's word, we will die spiritually as well.
A stool- (for praying)
A child needs to communicate with his Father. Right? So a child of God needs to communicate with God the Father. Where do you think Elisha got his wisdom and the ability to do all those miracles? He received wisdom and the ability to do miracles by communicating with God. We may not be able to perform miracles physically on the outside like Elisha, but if we stay close to God, we will be able to perform miracles in people’s lives on the inside.
A candlestick- (for reading God's word.)
Man cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that procedeth out of the mouth of God. We just can't live without God's word. We need God to give us light so we can understand what we are reading. We need that candlelight. We need God to light up those precious pages so we can see more clearly and understand what we are reading.
Here are some more good things we can learn from the Great woman of Shunam. She thought of others before herself, and she was very humble. Elisha asked if she wanted him to say good things about her to the king, or if she wanted him to speak highly of her to the captain of the host so that she could be recognized. Boy, what an honor. How many of us would have taken him up on that?? But she was humble. Her answer was, "I dwell among my own people.”
We as Christians should dwell with our own people. We don't need to be great or spoken highly of in the sight of the world. We don't need to be recognized by the president of the United States of America. We just simply need to be recognized by God, and dwell humbly with our own brothers and sisters.
Even though she didn’t ask for anything, the prophet Elisha wanted to do something for her because she had been so good to him. If you are reading the passage in the Bible that goes along with this story, Notice that Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, is the one who gave Elisha a good idea of what the woman would want. He told Elisha that the woman had no son, and that her husband was old.
How many of us would have asked for something great, if given the chance? Yet this woman asked for nothing. So Elisha called the woman to him, and told the woman that she would have a son. At first she didn’t believe him. But God always sticks to his promises though, doesn’t he? She did have a son just as Elisha said. The baby grew strong and healthy. The woman and her husband were so grateful to finally have a son.
When her son became old enough, he went out to work with his Father in the fields. The Bible doesn’t tell us how old the boy was, but it does say that he was just a lad, and yet still small enough to sit on mommy’s knee. So my guess is that the boy was maybe around the ages of 5 to 7. After working in the field a while with his father, the boy began to complain about his head hurting. His Father told one of the men working with him to carry the boy back home to his mother.
The Bible says in chapter four, verse twenty, the woman of Shunam sat and held her sick child on her knees till he died. The woman of Shunam was a good mother. There are some mothers that do not care properly for their babies when they are sick. The woman of Shunam is a great example of how a mother should be. My mother was like the woman of Shunam when it came to her sick children. But now that I think of it, my mother was like that when it came to any sick child. If she had her way, she’d rather sit and hold a sick child all day long than do anything else.
My mother was just like the Shunamite woman in other ways as well. Most of the single Bible school students knew where to go when they needed a good southern, home cooked meal. Mother loved cooking for them all. They would come up to Mom at church and ask if they could come over and eat. Some of them didn’t even ask, they just popped in right about supper time. Mom didn’t care, she fed them all.
My Mother also went straight to God with her troubles. I never heard her go to another person with a problem that she had. Oh, snd let me tell you, she had a lot of them. But you see, they were the troubles that were visible to me. I’m sure she had so many more, but she carried them to God. She never complained to her children. What a blessed, blessed mother she was. The Bible says in Proverbs 31:28, “Her children arise up and call her blessed.” So I just can’t help but write about her when I get the urge. It’s a natural thing. I just have to arise up and call her blessed, and I do every day.
And guess what I just did? I ran ahead of myself. That was the next lesson that we were going to learn about this great woman. She knew where to go when trouble hit her life. She didn't waste any time getting to Elisha. We don't need to waste time getting to God when trouble hits our lives as well. It’s obvious in the Bible that she didn't even tell her husband about her son being dead. She was calm, and she carried her complaint straight to the one who could help her. A lot of times we just waste time talking about our troubles to others when we should just run with it to God. She also didn't want to trouble her husband about it, or upset him until after she had gone to Elisha. Her husband didn’t even understand why she was taking off so quick to find Elisha. He said, in chapter four, verse twenty-three, “ Honey, Why are you going to see Elisha today, it’s not new moon, nor the Sabbath?”
And she answered him in the same verse and said, “Don’t you worry dear, It shall be well.” She told the servant who was leading the donkey for her, to go forward, and not to even slow down unless she told him too.
We need to run to God, and not take our time getting there either. It's so wonderful that we can go directly to God about our troubles. We don't have to go through another man or a priest. We have access to the throne of grace anytime. Praise God.
When Elisha saw her coming from afar off, he sent his servant to ask her if all was well. When Gehazi met up with her, she told him that all was well. She kept it all inside her heart until she got to the man of God. Why didn’t she say something to Gehazi, you might ask.. Well, it would have slowed her down. She didn’t want to waste time telling her troubles to a man that couldn’t help her anyway. She needed to talk to the man of God herself. When she got to Elisha, she fell down, and grabbed him at his feet.
Sometimes we just need to grab God at his feet and just hold on, and let out all of our troubles, cares and worries to him. We need to be honest, and straightforward with God, like the woman of Shunam was with Elisha. She said to Elisha, " didn't I desire a son, and didn't I tell you not to deceive me about it?!!.".
Elisha told Gehazi to run ahead of him and place the staff upon the childs face. Do you know that The Great Woman of Shunam wouldn’t even leave Elisha. She could have left with Elisha's servant, and ran to see if the servant could heal her son, but she didn't want to leave the man of God. She knew where the real source of God's power was. We need to trust God alone to handle our problems and not man. The Great woman of Shunam said in verse thirty, "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."
When Elisha got to her house, he went into the room where the child lay dead, and he closed the door behind him. Before Elisha did anything else, he prayed to God first of all. Then the Bible says in verse 34 and 35, that Elisha lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon the child’s mouth, and his eyes upon the child’s eyes, and his hands upon the child’s hands. Then the child’s flesh became warm. Elisha walked around for a bit, then laid upon the child a second time. The child then sneezed seven times, and opened his eyes.
You know, that sure is a funny way to bring someone back to life, huh? But you know, sometimes the Lord uses stuff like this to confound the wise. What people don’t understand in the Bible, they want to skip over. I think there is a reason behind everything the Lord does. I believe that every word in the King James Bible has a meaning, and when I don’t understand it, that means I’m the one who is ignorant of what God is saying. I believe that the reason Elisha touched the boys mouth, eyes, and hands is because, if you think about it, those are the most important parts of our body the Lord can use for himself. With our mouth, our eyes, and our hands we can do the most for Jesus Christ. We can use our eyes to read God’s word, and study the scriptures so that we can help others. We can use our mouth to speak for God and lead souls to him. We can use our hands to help others, and be a blessing to others. For instance, we can help with extra chores around the house when Mom doesn’t feel good, or we can help out an old person by cleaning their house or mowing their lawn. Just because you are young does not mean you are limited when it comes to doing things for God. The Lord will use your hands, your mouth and your eyes the most for his glory.
Not only will God use your mouth, your eyes, and your hands, but the devil will use them too if you turn them over to him. Just like these tools are the most important tools for God to use, they are the most important tools that the devil will use as well. Those three tools, your mouth, your eyes, and your hands, are the tools the devil will use to get you to sin against God the most. And let me tell you, the devil can do some mighty powerful damage with those tools. He will do damage that can last for eternity, and maybe even send souls to hell. While we are young, we need to hand over those three tools to God before the devil gets a hold of them. That’s why I believe Elisha touched the boy’s mouth, eyes, and hands.
Also before the boy opened his eyes, he sneezed 7 times. Why seven times, I wonder? The Lord could have shortened the passage up, and said, “ The body of the child became warm, and he opened his eyes.” You know, there is a reason why the Lord put in his word,” seven times.” The Lord doesn’t waste words. I believe there is an explanation for every word in the Bible. Do you think it was because the boy was seven years old? Maybe that’s true, and maybe it’s not, but whether it is or isn’t, I know one thing for sure, every word that God put into the King James Bible was put there for a purpose. The number seven has always been a very important number to God. The number of days for quarantine in the old testament was seven. Elisha told Naaman to go and wash his self seven times in the Jordan River, 2 Kings 5:14. In Joshua 6:6 there were seven priest, and seven trumpets. The youngest King was Joash, and he was crowned at seven years old, 2 Chron. 24:1. There were seven maidens given to Esther at the time of her purification, Esther 2:9. The Word of God was purified seven times, Psalms 12:6. David said in the Psalms, “Seven times do I praise thee,” Psalms 119:164. There are seven things the Lord hates in Proverbs 6:16. There were seven loaves in Matthew 15:36. And after the Lord Jesus fed the multitude, they took up seven baskets full of leftovers. There are seven churches in Revelation 1. There are seven spirits of God, Revelation 4:5. There are seven seals in Revelation 5:5, and there are seven angles with seven trumpets in Revelation 8:6.
In closing, one last thing we can learn from the Great Woman of Shunam is, the Bible says in verse thirty seven that she came into the room, and fell down at Elisha’s feet, and bowed herself to the ground. She gave God glory, and thanks, before she even picked up her child. We should always give credit where credit is due. I believe it went exactly in the order God recorded it. How many women would have run past Elisha and picked up their child and hugged it first. How many women would have wanted to run over to their child just to touch him, to see if he was really alive? Not the Great Woman of Shunam, she gave God the glory first, and then the Bible says she took up her child. That’s what we should do when God almighty answers our prayers. We should never forget to thank him first of all. What a great woman this Shunamite was.
The Deadly Potage, The Iron That Swam, And the Syrians Struck Blind
2 Kings 4:38
The Deadly Pottage
In this story we are going to learn just how mighty, how caring, and also how powerful our God really is. A lot of times we go through life, and we forget just who were hooked up with. We need to stop and consider what kind of heavenly Father we have. The Bible says to just be still for a while and know that he is God. Do you even know what your Father is like? Do you know what he loves? Do you know what he expects from you? Do you know anything about him at all?
That’s why he says “Stop! Be still, and get to know me.” He says, “Take my yoke upon you , and learn of me.” He says, “consider, what great things I have done for you.” And “Study, to show yourself approved unto me.”
One of my favorite verses that tells me what kind of father I’ve got is Luke 11:13. It says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy spirit to them that ask him.”
Wow! If we would just stop and consider what that verse says. I love my children very much, but even all the love that I could muster up, couldn’t be compared to God’s love for his children. What a Father! To God, I’m considered evil, and rightfully so. But even being the wicked sinner that I am, I sure do love to give good gifts to my children.
Here’s the catch though. Let’s say, for instance, your mom and dad put a lot of work into raising you. Right? They fed you, clothed you, spent time with you, took you to church, prayed for you, and much more. They love you because you are their own. But your interest at heart were not their interest. You wanted to do things your own way, and you were more interested in the things of the world and the ways of the world. Perhaps you wanted the same clothes or toys that other kids had. Maybe you were more interested in the shoes that were in style and you got mad cause dad wouldn’t buy them for you. I’m sure there have been times you didn’t care what interested dad or mom. You didn’t care about pleasing them at all. You wanted to please yourself.
Well, let’s take a closer look at the rest of that verse. It says, “How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.”
You see, our Heavenly Father is interested in spiritual things. It breaks his heart when we are more concerned with worldly, carnal things. Our heavenly Father is just waiting for us to ask for spiritual things, he’s ready to just dump it on us. Not to even mention the silver, gold, and precious stones he’s piling up for us in glory. That’s what God is interested in. He compared the Holy Spirit to a good gift. We have a perfect Father. He’s promised to supply our needs. If we “have not”, maybe it’s because we “asked not”. Or maybe we don’t really need it. We just think we do. If I gave my children everything they asked for, they would be fat, lazy, ungrateful little pigs.
God is such a good Father, he knows exactly what we need. If God knows how many hairs are on your head, don’t you think he has your best interest at heart? God knows what will carry you through the storms of life, and it isn’t fleshy, carnal things. I found out at the hardest times in my life, that it was the spiritual things which brought me through. You see, God knows what we need. He’s the greatest Father anyone could ever have. So Let’s work on finding out what he’s interested in. O.K.?
Back to our story. We will start in 2 Kings 4:38. Elisha had just healed the Shunamite woman’s son, and the Bible says, he traveled again to Gilgal. At that time, there was a dearth in the land . A dearth is the same thing as a famine.
Well, the son’s of the prophets were sitting before Elisha, and their stomachs began to growl. When Elisha heard this, he told his servant to get a fire started, and set on a great big pot of pottage for the son’s of the prophets. As the servant was doing so, one of the men went out into the field to gather herbs. The man found a wild vine, (meaning a poisonous vine) and he filled his lap up with the wild gourds from off the vine. He couldn’t tell which one was which. All the herbs and the vines looked alike to him.
Well, the Bible says that he came and shredded those wild gourds into the pot. The other men didn’t even know that they were poisonous. It looked alright to them, and besides they were all hungry and ready to eat. So they poured out the pottage into bowls, and began to eat it. Then they realized just by the taste of it, that it was poisonous. They stopped eating it and cried out to Elisha, “O thou man of God, there is death in this pot!”
Elisha said, “Don’t fret, and go get me some meal.”
Minutes later, one of the men came running back with some meal, and gave it to Elisha. Elisha threw the meal into the pot, and then said, “O.K now, pour it out for the people so they can eat.”
The men didn’t question him at all. They just did exactly what Elisha told them to do, and they ate up all that pottage. They didn’t even get a tummy ache. Now if there would have been any Americans in that crowd, they would have wrinkled up their noses, and said, “Eeeewww, yuk! I’m not eating any of that pottage.”
But you know what? I bet as Elisha threw that meal into the pot, he prayed, “Lord bless this pottage, and please take out all the poison, in your Name.”
I can’t close this story without applying it to our lives spiritually. You know boys and girls, in the Bible, we as Christians are likened to a vessel. We need to be fit for the master’s use. We can’t be used for God if we’ve got poison inside us can we? We might make someone sick spiritually. I’ll tell you how to keep from getting poisoned. Watch how you pick your friends. You’ve heard the saying, “One bad apple, spoils the bunch.” What a true saying.
Let me give you a personal experience I had with a friend. She grew up with me. We went to the same church, she had Christian parents. We had a lot of fun together, but my mom didn’t feel good about her. She tried to warn me, but hey, my friend looked like a Christian to me. She talked like one, walked like one, she wasn’t even allowed to wear pants, only dresses. She looked like a Christian if ever anybody saw one. You couldn’t tell the difference between her and any other Christian girl. But my mom saw a wild streak. We hung around at age 8, 9, 10, 11. Then I went to Haiti for six years with my parents. When I came back, I got hooked up with her again, but it didn’t take me long to see that she was a wild gourd. She tried to grab me by the hand and take me along with her down a dark, and wild road. If I’d have hung around her another week, I probably would have reached the point of no return. My pot would have been poisoned.
Do you know what that pot in 2 Kings, chapter 4 was used for? It was used to feed the sons of the prophets. The Lord wants to use us to feed others spiritually. Do you kids know that you can be ministers? The dictionary word for minister means, to attend to, or to serve. It also means to give things needful, or to supply the means of relief. And I like this one, it can mean, a chief servant.
That pot of pottage was used to minister unto the sons of the prophets. The Lord can use you to minister to the saved as well as the lost. So keep that pot nice and healthy, cause God wants to use you to nourish others. Watch out for the wild gourds.
The Iron That Swam
So now that we’ve seen how mighty God is, let’s go on to how caring he is. Our next little story opens in 2 Kings chapter 6. The sons of the prophets were in Jordan, and they were trying to build a dwelling place. As one of the men were cutting down a big beam, the ax head flew off of the handle and landed in the river. The man yelled for Elisha, and said, “Master, the ax that I was using was not mine, it was borrowed.”
Elisha asked the man where it fell. The man pointed toward the place where he saw it plunge into the water. Now I’m sure that water was muddy, which meant you definitely couldn’t see the bottom.
Then you know what? Elisha did a strange thing. He cut down a stick and cast it onto the water right where the man pointed. You won’t believe this unless you are spiritually minded, but guess what happened after that. The ax head began to float on top of the water! Can you just imagine that? A big hunk of iron floating on top of the water! Not only that, the Bible says, “The iron did swim.”
When that hunk of iron swam over toward the man, Elisha said, “Now, take it up to thee.”
The Bible says, the man just put out his hand, and took it up. He didn’t have to swim out to it, it swam to him. What a caring God. He cared about something small, something that was borrowed. You know what God says about small things? He said, despise them not. He cares just as much about small things as he does mighty things. I’m so glad he takes the time to care about simple small things, as well as huge and mighty things. God is so good.
The Syrians Struck Blind
Now we will go on and see how powerful our God can be. The Bible says in 2 Kings 6:8 that the king of Syria warred against Israel and took counsel with his servants saying, “In such and such a place, shall be my camp.”
Well, Elisha sent a message to the king of Israel. He told the King where the Syrians had set up camp, and told him not to pass by that way. The king of Israel sent a servant to spy out the place where the man of God had warned him about. Sure enough, the Syrians were waiting for them. But they waited in vain because the King did not pass that way.
This happened again and again. Finally, the king of Syria began to worry a little bit about this situation. He thought that maybe one of his own men was telling the King of Israel where their hiding place was. He called his servants together and said in verse 11, “Will ye not show me which of us is for the King of Israel?”
Then one of his servants said, “None of us, my lord, oh King. But Elisha the prophet that is in Israel, he can tell the King of Israel the words you speak in your bedchamber.”
Then the king of Syria sent a spy to find out where Elisha was. The spy came back and told the king that Elisha was in Dothan. So the King sent out horses, and chariots, and a great host by night to surround the city.
When Elisha’s servant woke up the next morning and went outside, he noticed all the horses, and chariots surrounding the city. He ran back into the house, and slammed the door behind him. He was nervous, and scared. “Elisha, what are we going to do?” he asked.
Elisha answered, “Fear not, for they that be with us, are more than they that be with them.”
At that point, the servant probably thought Elisha was loosing it. I’m sure the servant must have thought something like this, “ Elisha, look around us, your eye sight must be getting bad, cause there’s no way there could be more of us than there are of them.”
Elisha must have known what the servant was thinking, because he prayed, “Lord open his eyes that he may see.”
Just then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw a mountain full of horses, and chariots of fire. Can you even imagine what a horse and chariot of fire looks like? Not to mention a whole mountain full of them. That was probably a pretty wild sight if you ask me. Our God is so powerful, isn’t he?
Well, all that host of the King of Syria, started coming toward Elisha. Elisha, prayed, “Lord, smite these people with blindness.”
Here’s the good part. The Bible says in verse 18, that the Lord smote those people with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. The last part of that verse sticks out to me. “According to the word of Elisha.” That right there is proof that we can move God. Praise God that he is compassionate enough to be moved by man. He did what Elisha asked him to do. That is really something to me. What a God! He’s no tyrant. He’s not some “old man upstairs” doesn’t care about what goes on down here. He’s a loving, caring, powerful, almighty, God.
You see, God did smite them with blindness, but not the kind of blindness you might think. Take for instance the song that says, “Was blind, but now I see.”
That doesn’t mean total darkness physically, but spiritually. God smote those men with a weird kind of blindness. They could actually see Elisha, but they didn’t know who he was.
Elisha walked over to them and said, “Hey, your headed in the wrong direction. This is not the way, nor is this the city that you look for. Follow me, and I’ll take you to the man who you are looking for.”
But he led them to Samaria instead. Now here’s something else about our God, he’s got a good since of humor, doesn’t he?
When they got into Samaria, Elisha asked God to open their eyes. They then realized they were smack dab in the middle of Samaria. When the King of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Shall I smite them, shall I smite them? Boy, he was chomping at the bits.
But Elisha said, “No, don’t smite them. Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink. Then send them back to their master.”
After they ate and drank, they were sent back to Syria. And the Bible says in verse 23, “So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.”
It’s so wonderful to learn more and more about our God, isn’t it? But guess what? We haven’t even scratched the surface yet.
The Deadly Pottage
In this story we are going to learn just how mighty, how caring, and also how powerful our God really is. A lot of times we go through life, and we forget just who were hooked up with. We need to stop and consider what kind of heavenly Father we have. The Bible says to just be still for a while and know that he is God. Do you even know what your Father is like? Do you know what he loves? Do you know what he expects from you? Do you know anything about him at all?
That’s why he says “Stop! Be still, and get to know me.” He says, “Take my yoke upon you , and learn of me.” He says, “consider, what great things I have done for you.” And “Study, to show yourself approved unto me.”
One of my favorite verses that tells me what kind of father I’ve got is Luke 11:13. It says, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the holy spirit to them that ask him.”
Wow! If we would just stop and consider what that verse says. I love my children very much, but even all the love that I could muster up, couldn’t be compared to God’s love for his children. What a Father! To God, I’m considered evil, and rightfully so. But even being the wicked sinner that I am, I sure do love to give good gifts to my children.
Here’s the catch though. Let’s say, for instance, your mom and dad put a lot of work into raising you. Right? They fed you, clothed you, spent time with you, took you to church, prayed for you, and much more. They love you because you are their own. But your interest at heart were not their interest. You wanted to do things your own way, and you were more interested in the things of the world and the ways of the world. Perhaps you wanted the same clothes or toys that other kids had. Maybe you were more interested in the shoes that were in style and you got mad cause dad wouldn’t buy them for you. I’m sure there have been times you didn’t care what interested dad or mom. You didn’t care about pleasing them at all. You wanted to please yourself.
Well, let’s take a closer look at the rest of that verse. It says, “How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.”
You see, our Heavenly Father is interested in spiritual things. It breaks his heart when we are more concerned with worldly, carnal things. Our heavenly Father is just waiting for us to ask for spiritual things, he’s ready to just dump it on us. Not to even mention the silver, gold, and precious stones he’s piling up for us in glory. That’s what God is interested in. He compared the Holy Spirit to a good gift. We have a perfect Father. He’s promised to supply our needs. If we “have not”, maybe it’s because we “asked not”. Or maybe we don’t really need it. We just think we do. If I gave my children everything they asked for, they would be fat, lazy, ungrateful little pigs.
God is such a good Father, he knows exactly what we need. If God knows how many hairs are on your head, don’t you think he has your best interest at heart? God knows what will carry you through the storms of life, and it isn’t fleshy, carnal things. I found out at the hardest times in my life, that it was the spiritual things which brought me through. You see, God knows what we need. He’s the greatest Father anyone could ever have. So Let’s work on finding out what he’s interested in. O.K.?
Back to our story. We will start in 2 Kings 4:38. Elisha had just healed the Shunamite woman’s son, and the Bible says, he traveled again to Gilgal. At that time, there was a dearth in the land . A dearth is the same thing as a famine.
Well, the son’s of the prophets were sitting before Elisha, and their stomachs began to growl. When Elisha heard this, he told his servant to get a fire started, and set on a great big pot of pottage for the son’s of the prophets. As the servant was doing so, one of the men went out into the field to gather herbs. The man found a wild vine, (meaning a poisonous vine) and he filled his lap up with the wild gourds from off the vine. He couldn’t tell which one was which. All the herbs and the vines looked alike to him.
Well, the Bible says that he came and shredded those wild gourds into the pot. The other men didn’t even know that they were poisonous. It looked alright to them, and besides they were all hungry and ready to eat. So they poured out the pottage into bowls, and began to eat it. Then they realized just by the taste of it, that it was poisonous. They stopped eating it and cried out to Elisha, “O thou man of God, there is death in this pot!”
Elisha said, “Don’t fret, and go get me some meal.”
Minutes later, one of the men came running back with some meal, and gave it to Elisha. Elisha threw the meal into the pot, and then said, “O.K now, pour it out for the people so they can eat.”
The men didn’t question him at all. They just did exactly what Elisha told them to do, and they ate up all that pottage. They didn’t even get a tummy ache. Now if there would have been any Americans in that crowd, they would have wrinkled up their noses, and said, “Eeeewww, yuk! I’m not eating any of that pottage.”
But you know what? I bet as Elisha threw that meal into the pot, he prayed, “Lord bless this pottage, and please take out all the poison, in your Name.”
I can’t close this story without applying it to our lives spiritually. You know boys and girls, in the Bible, we as Christians are likened to a vessel. We need to be fit for the master’s use. We can’t be used for God if we’ve got poison inside us can we? We might make someone sick spiritually. I’ll tell you how to keep from getting poisoned. Watch how you pick your friends. You’ve heard the saying, “One bad apple, spoils the bunch.” What a true saying.
Let me give you a personal experience I had with a friend. She grew up with me. We went to the same church, she had Christian parents. We had a lot of fun together, but my mom didn’t feel good about her. She tried to warn me, but hey, my friend looked like a Christian to me. She talked like one, walked like one, she wasn’t even allowed to wear pants, only dresses. She looked like a Christian if ever anybody saw one. You couldn’t tell the difference between her and any other Christian girl. But my mom saw a wild streak. We hung around at age 8, 9, 10, 11. Then I went to Haiti for six years with my parents. When I came back, I got hooked up with her again, but it didn’t take me long to see that she was a wild gourd. She tried to grab me by the hand and take me along with her down a dark, and wild road. If I’d have hung around her another week, I probably would have reached the point of no return. My pot would have been poisoned.
Do you know what that pot in 2 Kings, chapter 4 was used for? It was used to feed the sons of the prophets. The Lord wants to use us to feed others spiritually. Do you kids know that you can be ministers? The dictionary word for minister means, to attend to, or to serve. It also means to give things needful, or to supply the means of relief. And I like this one, it can mean, a chief servant.
That pot of pottage was used to minister unto the sons of the prophets. The Lord can use you to minister to the saved as well as the lost. So keep that pot nice and healthy, cause God wants to use you to nourish others. Watch out for the wild gourds.
The Iron That Swam
So now that we’ve seen how mighty God is, let’s go on to how caring he is. Our next little story opens in 2 Kings chapter 6. The sons of the prophets were in Jordan, and they were trying to build a dwelling place. As one of the men were cutting down a big beam, the ax head flew off of the handle and landed in the river. The man yelled for Elisha, and said, “Master, the ax that I was using was not mine, it was borrowed.”
Elisha asked the man where it fell. The man pointed toward the place where he saw it plunge into the water. Now I’m sure that water was muddy, which meant you definitely couldn’t see the bottom.
Then you know what? Elisha did a strange thing. He cut down a stick and cast it onto the water right where the man pointed. You won’t believe this unless you are spiritually minded, but guess what happened after that. The ax head began to float on top of the water! Can you just imagine that? A big hunk of iron floating on top of the water! Not only that, the Bible says, “The iron did swim.”
When that hunk of iron swam over toward the man, Elisha said, “Now, take it up to thee.”
The Bible says, the man just put out his hand, and took it up. He didn’t have to swim out to it, it swam to him. What a caring God. He cared about something small, something that was borrowed. You know what God says about small things? He said, despise them not. He cares just as much about small things as he does mighty things. I’m so glad he takes the time to care about simple small things, as well as huge and mighty things. God is so good.
The Syrians Struck Blind
Now we will go on and see how powerful our God can be. The Bible says in 2 Kings 6:8 that the king of Syria warred against Israel and took counsel with his servants saying, “In such and such a place, shall be my camp.”
Well, Elisha sent a message to the king of Israel. He told the King where the Syrians had set up camp, and told him not to pass by that way. The king of Israel sent a servant to spy out the place where the man of God had warned him about. Sure enough, the Syrians were waiting for them. But they waited in vain because the King did not pass that way.
This happened again and again. Finally, the king of Syria began to worry a little bit about this situation. He thought that maybe one of his own men was telling the King of Israel where their hiding place was. He called his servants together and said in verse 11, “Will ye not show me which of us is for the King of Israel?”
Then one of his servants said, “None of us, my lord, oh King. But Elisha the prophet that is in Israel, he can tell the King of Israel the words you speak in your bedchamber.”
Then the king of Syria sent a spy to find out where Elisha was. The spy came back and told the king that Elisha was in Dothan. So the King sent out horses, and chariots, and a great host by night to surround the city.
When Elisha’s servant woke up the next morning and went outside, he noticed all the horses, and chariots surrounding the city. He ran back into the house, and slammed the door behind him. He was nervous, and scared. “Elisha, what are we going to do?” he asked.
Elisha answered, “Fear not, for they that be with us, are more than they that be with them.”
At that point, the servant probably thought Elisha was loosing it. I’m sure the servant must have thought something like this, “ Elisha, look around us, your eye sight must be getting bad, cause there’s no way there could be more of us than there are of them.”
Elisha must have known what the servant was thinking, because he prayed, “Lord open his eyes that he may see.”
Just then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw a mountain full of horses, and chariots of fire. Can you even imagine what a horse and chariot of fire looks like? Not to mention a whole mountain full of them. That was probably a pretty wild sight if you ask me. Our God is so powerful, isn’t he?
Well, all that host of the King of Syria, started coming toward Elisha. Elisha, prayed, “Lord, smite these people with blindness.”
Here’s the good part. The Bible says in verse 18, that the Lord smote those people with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. The last part of that verse sticks out to me. “According to the word of Elisha.” That right there is proof that we can move God. Praise God that he is compassionate enough to be moved by man. He did what Elisha asked him to do. That is really something to me. What a God! He’s no tyrant. He’s not some “old man upstairs” doesn’t care about what goes on down here. He’s a loving, caring, powerful, almighty, God.
You see, God did smite them with blindness, but not the kind of blindness you might think. Take for instance the song that says, “Was blind, but now I see.”
That doesn’t mean total darkness physically, but spiritually. God smote those men with a weird kind of blindness. They could actually see Elisha, but they didn’t know who he was.
Elisha walked over to them and said, “Hey, your headed in the wrong direction. This is not the way, nor is this the city that you look for. Follow me, and I’ll take you to the man who you are looking for.”
But he led them to Samaria instead. Now here’s something else about our God, he’s got a good since of humor, doesn’t he?
When they got into Samaria, Elisha asked God to open their eyes. They then realized they were smack dab in the middle of Samaria. When the King of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “Shall I smite them, shall I smite them? Boy, he was chomping at the bits.
But Elisha said, “No, don’t smite them. Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink. Then send them back to their master.”
After they ate and drank, they were sent back to Syria. And the Bible says in verse 23, “So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.”
It’s so wonderful to learn more and more about our God, isn’t it? But guess what? We haven’t even scratched the surface yet.
The Cleansing of Naaman
2 Kings 5:1-27
In the story of Naaman, the Lord showed me many ways this passage can relate to salvation in the world today. In Chapter five, verse one, we learn that Naaman was a great man, a captain of the host of Syria. He was honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a mighty man of valour. He was highly respected, and great in the eyes of many people. But the Bible says that he was a leper. You know, a person may live a good life, and be highly respected, and even great in the eyes of so many, but he's still a sinner.
In verse two and three, we learn that a little maid was brought out of the land of Israel and held captive in the house of Naaman. The little maid worked for Naaman’s wife. She was just a little maid, but she had a big heart. She was just a little servant, but she knew the answer to Naaman’s problem. She told Naaman’s wife in verse three, “Would God, my Lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy.”
Notice that she didn’t say she thought maybe the prophet could heal him. She was sure. There was no doubt in her mind at all that Elisha could heal Naaman. What faith that little girl had!
You know what? You may be nothing but just a little maid, a little servant, but you know where to send people so they can get cleansed. We should care about people’s souls just like that little maid cared for Naaman. She could have been bitter about being a servant. She could have said, "Serves him right for taking me captive."
She did not have to tell Naaman about the prophet. She could have just let him die. You know, the Lord doesn’t make us tell others about the one who can cleanse them. We can keep our mouth shut and let them die in their sins. But see, God used this little maid as an example to show us how we should be. What a heart that little maid must have had, and don't you know that it pleased the Lord tremendously. We need to point people to Jesus Christ, just like this maid pointed Naaman to the prophet.
In verses four through eight, the Bible tells us that the King of Syria sent a letter to the King of Israel asking him to cleanse Naaman of his leprosy. After the King of Israel read the letter, he rent his clothes, and said, “Who does he think I am, a god, that I can kill, and make alive? Does he really think I can recover this man of his leprosy?! I think he just sent me this letter to pick a quarrel with me.”
The king of Israel thought that the king of Syria just wanted to pick a fight, but the King of Syria was only confused. Some how, he got the information all mixed up.
Sometimes people go about trying to get saved the wrong way. They get all confused. They think it's by some works they can do or by someone they know. Folks need someone to point them in the right direction. We as Bible believers know the way. We know that the only way to get cleansed from our sins is through the blood of Jesus Christ . (1 John 1:7, Colossians 1:20, 1Peter 1: 18 & 19.)
Well, when Elisha heard that the King of Israel rent his clothes, and was all worried about the letter he had received, Elisha told the king not to worry about it and to just send Naaman to him. Elisha knew the one who could heal Naaman. He knew him personally. Isn’t it great to know the one who can cleanse and save? I’m glad I know my Savior personally. He didn’t just wash me from my sins, but he talks with me, and walks with me. He knows all my cares, and he understands my heartache. He’s a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Elisha told the king, “When Naaman get’s into town, just send him my way, and he’ll know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
So Naaman came with his extravagant chariot and all his horses and stood at the door of Elisha. Boy howdy! he was standing there expecting to see this honorable prophet of God come to the door. He was expecting to see some great miracle take place right in front of his eyes. But to his surprise, a servant came to the door with a message from Elisha. Naaman wasn’t too pleased with the message at all. It said, “Go and wash in the river Jordan seven times, and thou shalt be clean. “
Naaman was mad. He said in verse 11, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me, and stand, and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over this place, and recover me.”
Some people want a big show when they get saved. Naaman was a bit prideful here in verse 11, wasn’t he? Naaman thought since the prophet didn’t come out to him, the least he could do was send him to cleaner waters, after all, he was a captain. He deserved better waters than that old muddy Jordan River.
Some people just get all outraged and indignant when they learn that salvation is as simple as trusting in the blood of Jesus. Some think that their good works aught to be worth as much as what Jesus did. They don't like the fact that salvation is just as simple as plunging into that crimson flow. Some people want something they can do to get some recognition and glory. That way of thinking is called self righteousness. Another word for it is pride.
In verse 12, Naaman went away outraged. He was not going to wash in the muddy Jordon. Then in verse 13, One of Naaman's servants stopped him and said, "If the prophet would have asked you to do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? "
You know why some people don't want to get washed from the sin in their life? They want to get saved by doing some great thing. By doing something that they might get some recognition for. Naaman had to humble himself in front of his men. He had to have faith and humility before God. We have to humble ourselves in order to get saved. The Bible says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by his mercy he saved us. For by grace are we saved through faith, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”
God likes using small things so that he alone can recieve the glory. In verses 14 and 15 we can see that he wanted to use the unlovely waters of Jordan, so that he could show Naaman that he was the true God, and that he alone could cleanse him.
So Naaman humbled himself and went down to Jordan. He dipped himself seven times, and his skin became clean, and soft. There was not a spot of leprosy left on him anywhere. In verse 15, Naaman says, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.”
Naaman tried to offer Elisha some gifts, but the prophet knew who did the cleansing, and was not about to recieve any credit for it. He would not accept Naamans gifts. Salvation is a free gift from God, just as Naamans cleansing was a free gift from God.
But I fear some Christians are like Gehazi. Do you know what Gehazi did? He ran after Naaman, and told him that Elisha sent him to ask for a talent of silver, and two changes of garments because two young men of the sons of the prophets were coming in from Mount. Ephraim for a visit. When he got back with the goods, he hid them in the house, and stood in front of Elisha as if nothing was wrong. Elisha asked , “Where did you go Gehazi?”
Gehazi lied again, and said, “I went nowhere.”
Then Elisha said, “I know where you went, because my heart went with you. Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cleave to you and to your seed forever.”
Get your Bible out and read verses 20 to 27, and find out what happens to Elisha’s servant for lying and receiving gifts from Naaman. That sin not only cost Gehazi, but it cost his children, and their children, and their children’s children, and his whole generation forever. We can't take the glory away from God without expecting to pay a price. We also learned in this lesson that our sin does not only affect us, but others as well.
In the story of Naaman, the Lord showed me many ways this passage can relate to salvation in the world today. In Chapter five, verse one, we learn that Naaman was a great man, a captain of the host of Syria. He was honorable, because by him the Lord had given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a mighty man of valour. He was highly respected, and great in the eyes of many people. But the Bible says that he was a leper. You know, a person may live a good life, and be highly respected, and even great in the eyes of so many, but he's still a sinner.
In verse two and three, we learn that a little maid was brought out of the land of Israel and held captive in the house of Naaman. The little maid worked for Naaman’s wife. She was just a little maid, but she had a big heart. She was just a little servant, but she knew the answer to Naaman’s problem. She told Naaman’s wife in verse three, “Would God, my Lord were with the prophet that is in Samaria, for he would recover him of his leprosy.”
Notice that she didn’t say she thought maybe the prophet could heal him. She was sure. There was no doubt in her mind at all that Elisha could heal Naaman. What faith that little girl had!
You know what? You may be nothing but just a little maid, a little servant, but you know where to send people so they can get cleansed. We should care about people’s souls just like that little maid cared for Naaman. She could have been bitter about being a servant. She could have said, "Serves him right for taking me captive."
She did not have to tell Naaman about the prophet. She could have just let him die. You know, the Lord doesn’t make us tell others about the one who can cleanse them. We can keep our mouth shut and let them die in their sins. But see, God used this little maid as an example to show us how we should be. What a heart that little maid must have had, and don't you know that it pleased the Lord tremendously. We need to point people to Jesus Christ, just like this maid pointed Naaman to the prophet.
In verses four through eight, the Bible tells us that the King of Syria sent a letter to the King of Israel asking him to cleanse Naaman of his leprosy. After the King of Israel read the letter, he rent his clothes, and said, “Who does he think I am, a god, that I can kill, and make alive? Does he really think I can recover this man of his leprosy?! I think he just sent me this letter to pick a quarrel with me.”
The king of Israel thought that the king of Syria just wanted to pick a fight, but the King of Syria was only confused. Some how, he got the information all mixed up.
Sometimes people go about trying to get saved the wrong way. They get all confused. They think it's by some works they can do or by someone they know. Folks need someone to point them in the right direction. We as Bible believers know the way. We know that the only way to get cleansed from our sins is through the blood of Jesus Christ . (1 John 1:7, Colossians 1:20, 1Peter 1: 18 & 19.)
Well, when Elisha heard that the King of Israel rent his clothes, and was all worried about the letter he had received, Elisha told the king not to worry about it and to just send Naaman to him. Elisha knew the one who could heal Naaman. He knew him personally. Isn’t it great to know the one who can cleanse and save? I’m glad I know my Savior personally. He didn’t just wash me from my sins, but he talks with me, and walks with me. He knows all my cares, and he understands my heartache. He’s a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.
Elisha told the king, “When Naaman get’s into town, just send him my way, and he’ll know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
So Naaman came with his extravagant chariot and all his horses and stood at the door of Elisha. Boy howdy! he was standing there expecting to see this honorable prophet of God come to the door. He was expecting to see some great miracle take place right in front of his eyes. But to his surprise, a servant came to the door with a message from Elisha. Naaman wasn’t too pleased with the message at all. It said, “Go and wash in the river Jordan seven times, and thou shalt be clean. “
Naaman was mad. He said in verse 11, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me, and stand, and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over this place, and recover me.”
Some people want a big show when they get saved. Naaman was a bit prideful here in verse 11, wasn’t he? Naaman thought since the prophet didn’t come out to him, the least he could do was send him to cleaner waters, after all, he was a captain. He deserved better waters than that old muddy Jordan River.
Some people just get all outraged and indignant when they learn that salvation is as simple as trusting in the blood of Jesus. Some think that their good works aught to be worth as much as what Jesus did. They don't like the fact that salvation is just as simple as plunging into that crimson flow. Some people want something they can do to get some recognition and glory. That way of thinking is called self righteousness. Another word for it is pride.
In verse 12, Naaman went away outraged. He was not going to wash in the muddy Jordon. Then in verse 13, One of Naaman's servants stopped him and said, "If the prophet would have asked you to do some great thing, wouldn't you have done it? "
You know why some people don't want to get washed from the sin in their life? They want to get saved by doing some great thing. By doing something that they might get some recognition for. Naaman had to humble himself in front of his men. He had to have faith and humility before God. We have to humble ourselves in order to get saved. The Bible says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but by his mercy he saved us. For by grace are we saved through faith, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.”
God likes using small things so that he alone can recieve the glory. In verses 14 and 15 we can see that he wanted to use the unlovely waters of Jordan, so that he could show Naaman that he was the true God, and that he alone could cleanse him.
So Naaman humbled himself and went down to Jordan. He dipped himself seven times, and his skin became clean, and soft. There was not a spot of leprosy left on him anywhere. In verse 15, Naaman says, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel.”
Naaman tried to offer Elisha some gifts, but the prophet knew who did the cleansing, and was not about to recieve any credit for it. He would not accept Naamans gifts. Salvation is a free gift from God, just as Naamans cleansing was a free gift from God.
But I fear some Christians are like Gehazi. Do you know what Gehazi did? He ran after Naaman, and told him that Elisha sent him to ask for a talent of silver, and two changes of garments because two young men of the sons of the prophets were coming in from Mount. Ephraim for a visit. When he got back with the goods, he hid them in the house, and stood in front of Elisha as if nothing was wrong. Elisha asked , “Where did you go Gehazi?”
Gehazi lied again, and said, “I went nowhere.”
Then Elisha said, “I know where you went, because my heart went with you. Therefore the leprosy of Naaman will cleave to you and to your seed forever.”
Get your Bible out and read verses 20 to 27, and find out what happens to Elisha’s servant for lying and receiving gifts from Naaman. That sin not only cost Gehazi, but it cost his children, and their children, and their children’s children, and his whole generation forever. We can't take the glory away from God without expecting to pay a price. We also learned in this lesson that our sin does not only affect us, but others as well.
The Great Famine of Samaria
2 Kings 6: 24-33
2 Kings, Chapter 7
The Bible says in verse 24, “And it came to pass.” I’m so glad it came to pass, aren’t you? You know, I am so grateful that everything comes to pass. When you’re going through a rough time, have you ever had someone tell you, “This too shall pass.”
Well, I’ve had it said to me before. It’s a great feeling knowing that it’s not going to be like this forever. Praise God all the heartache, the fears, the sickness, and tears will all pass away some day. The Bible says in Revelation 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.” I guess problems have to come before they can pass, huh? Anyway, we haven’t gotten through the first sentence yet.
After the Syrians had been tricked by God, and fooled by Elisha, they were sent back to Syria. Shortly after that, the Bible says in verse 24, “ And it came to pass that Benhadad, King of Syria, gathered all his host and went up, and besieged Samaria.” Besieged means: to surround with armed forces. The Syrians set up camp all along the outskirts of Samaria. In doing this, the food supply was cut off to the people in Samaria. After a while, the food was so scarce that the people were willing to pay four score pieces of silver just for a donkey’s head to eat. Four score, means 80 pieces of silver. Wow! What a lot of money, and just for a donkey’s head. But you know what? Money doesn’t mean a hoot when you’re hungry. People will pay any price for food.
But listen to this, it gets worse. Bird droppings were sold for five pieces of silver, and the people used it for food. At least you can boil a donkey’s head. I don’t know how you’d eat bird droppings. I guess just hold your nose and swallow. You know what else? You’ll eat anything when you’re hungry. I know what I’m talking about. I used to live in a third world, poverty stricken country. If you get hungry enough, anything seems good.
Oh, but wait, it gets worse than that. We’re not even to the bad part yet. A woman saw the King of Israel passing by one day, and ran up to him and cried, “Help, oh Lord my King.”
The King of Israel looked at her and said, “ If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee.” The King knew that there was nothing he could do. If God didn’t help them, they had no help at all.
But the woman kept on following the King around, and she said to him, “Oh King, this woman said to me , Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. 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.”
When the King heard this, his heart was grieved. He rent his clothes, and put sack cloth on his flesh. I think we need to stop right here and consider something. You might think, “How could this woman eat her child? How awful!” Before we judge, consider this. The Bible is so down to earth. The reality of people in bible time is still the reality of people today. God knows human flesh, and he put a good description of it in his holy book. We have no idea what our human nature is capable of doing. But God does. The Bible says that our hearts are desperately wicked above all things, who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9.
In Haiti, where I used to live, they ate anything that had meat on it. You know what? If they were hungry enough, they would even boil and eat their babies that died of sickness or starvation. Why waste the meat when you’re hungry? I know that’s a harsh thing to say, but it’s reality over there, and sometimes we need to get hit with reality every once in a while.
In Haiti we lived near a voodoo village, and they stole our two cats and ate them. My momma always bought hamburger meat because she could stretch it out and make a little bit into a big meal. One day, my mother went down town to the place where we always bought our hamburger meat. The man that sold the meat was not there. My mother found out later that the man had been arrested for selling human flesh. The first five months we lived in Haiti we ate rice and beans, and beans and rice. It was always a treat when Momma cooked hamburger meat in our rice. But after hearing about that, we lost our appetite for hamburger meat for a little while. I was so glad when the time came for us to leave that third world country.
Getting back to our story, the king was very grieved. I can’t even imagine what he felt after hearing about these two women. All of Samaria was in total starvation. The king got mad at Elisha and wanted to kill him. If you ask me, he got mad at the wrong person. Isn’t that just like us sometimes? We get mad at the one who can help us. The King had to get mad at someone, and he took his anger out on Elisha.
Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders, when the king sent a messenger out before him. But before the messenger even got to Elisha’s house, Elisha said to the elders. “See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? Look, when the messenger commeth, shut the door, because the sound of his master’s feet is right behind him.”
When the King got to Elisha’s house, Elisha met him at the door. And Elisha said to him, “Hear ye the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord, Tomorrow 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.”
Well, there was a lord on whose hand the king leaned, and he made fun of Elisha, and mocked him. He said, “If the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be.” In other words, he said that he’d have to see God make windows in heaven, before he’d believe what Elisha said.
Elisha said, “O.K. buddy, your going to see this with your own eyes, but your not going to get a chance to eat any of it.”
And the Bible tells us in Chapter 7, verse 3, that there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate. These men said to one another, “Why sit we here till we die? We can die just as good in Samaria as we can here. And if we fall into the hands of the Syrian’s we’ll die there. Either way were going to die, so let’s just get up and make a move.”
The leprous men would have to go through the host of the Syrians in order to get into Samaria. So they rose up at twilight to go into the camps of the Syrians. But when they got there, there was no one in sight. They walked through the middle of the camp and you could here a pin drop. Not a soul to be found.
Do you know what happened? The Lord caused the Syrians to hear a great host of chariots, and horses. The Syrians thought that the King of Israel hired the Kings of the Hittites, and the Kings of the Egyptians to come and fight for him. The Syrians were so afraid that they took off running for their lives. And all the while, they were just hearing noises in their ears. You’ve heard the statement, “Oh, your just hearing things.” Well, the Syrians were just hearing things. God certainly does have a sence of humor, doesn’t he? The Syrians were so scared, that they took off on foot, and left everthing behind, even their horses.
The only army that came into the camp that day was four scrawny leper men. Those men went into one tent and ate and drank all they could stand. Then they carried out the silver, the gold, and the raiment. Then they went and buried it. They went from one tent to the next, eating and drinking, and carrying out valuables to hide them. They suddenly realized that they were not doing the right thing by not telling the King of Israel. So they went and told the King’s household.
At first, the King thought it was a trap. He thought that the Syrians were hiding and waiting for them to come out of the city so that they could take them alive and get into the city. But he soon found out that it wasn’t a trap, and that what the lepers told him was true.
When the people of Samaria found out that the Syrians were gone, the Bible says that they went and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. They went into those tents and just started eating, and drinking everything that they could get their hands on. They started grabbing things and stuffing them into their pockets. It was like Christmas to them.
Now remember that lord of the king who mocked Elisha? Well, the king appointed him to be keeper of the gate. But all of the people were so excited, and they were so hungry that they trampled him to death trying to get out of the gate. And just as Elisha said, that man never got to taste of the food left behind by the Syrians. We should never mock God’s word. And we should always remember that what ever God says, will surely come to pass.
2 Kings, Chapter 7
The Bible says in verse 24, “And it came to pass.” I’m so glad it came to pass, aren’t you? You know, I am so grateful that everything comes to pass. When you’re going through a rough time, have you ever had someone tell you, “This too shall pass.”
Well, I’ve had it said to me before. It’s a great feeling knowing that it’s not going to be like this forever. Praise God all the heartache, the fears, the sickness, and tears will all pass away some day. The Bible says in Revelation 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.” I guess problems have to come before they can pass, huh? Anyway, we haven’t gotten through the first sentence yet.
After the Syrians had been tricked by God, and fooled by Elisha, they were sent back to Syria. Shortly after that, the Bible says in verse 24, “ And it came to pass that Benhadad, King of Syria, gathered all his host and went up, and besieged Samaria.” Besieged means: to surround with armed forces. The Syrians set up camp all along the outskirts of Samaria. In doing this, the food supply was cut off to the people in Samaria. After a while, the food was so scarce that the people were willing to pay four score pieces of silver just for a donkey’s head to eat. Four score, means 80 pieces of silver. Wow! What a lot of money, and just for a donkey’s head. But you know what? Money doesn’t mean a hoot when you’re hungry. People will pay any price for food.
But listen to this, it gets worse. Bird droppings were sold for five pieces of silver, and the people used it for food. At least you can boil a donkey’s head. I don’t know how you’d eat bird droppings. I guess just hold your nose and swallow. You know what else? You’ll eat anything when you’re hungry. I know what I’m talking about. I used to live in a third world, poverty stricken country. If you get hungry enough, anything seems good.
Oh, but wait, it gets worse than that. We’re not even to the bad part yet. A woman saw the King of Israel passing by one day, and ran up to him and cried, “Help, oh Lord my King.”
The King of Israel looked at her and said, “ If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee.” The King knew that there was nothing he could do. If God didn’t help them, they had no help at all.
But the woman kept on following the King around, and she said to him, “Oh King, this woman said to me , Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. 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.”
When the King heard this, his heart was grieved. He rent his clothes, and put sack cloth on his flesh. I think we need to stop right here and consider something. You might think, “How could this woman eat her child? How awful!” Before we judge, consider this. The Bible is so down to earth. The reality of people in bible time is still the reality of people today. God knows human flesh, and he put a good description of it in his holy book. We have no idea what our human nature is capable of doing. But God does. The Bible says that our hearts are desperately wicked above all things, who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9.
In Haiti, where I used to live, they ate anything that had meat on it. You know what? If they were hungry enough, they would even boil and eat their babies that died of sickness or starvation. Why waste the meat when you’re hungry? I know that’s a harsh thing to say, but it’s reality over there, and sometimes we need to get hit with reality every once in a while.
In Haiti we lived near a voodoo village, and they stole our two cats and ate them. My momma always bought hamburger meat because she could stretch it out and make a little bit into a big meal. One day, my mother went down town to the place where we always bought our hamburger meat. The man that sold the meat was not there. My mother found out later that the man had been arrested for selling human flesh. The first five months we lived in Haiti we ate rice and beans, and beans and rice. It was always a treat when Momma cooked hamburger meat in our rice. But after hearing about that, we lost our appetite for hamburger meat for a little while. I was so glad when the time came for us to leave that third world country.
Getting back to our story, the king was very grieved. I can’t even imagine what he felt after hearing about these two women. All of Samaria was in total starvation. The king got mad at Elisha and wanted to kill him. If you ask me, he got mad at the wrong person. Isn’t that just like us sometimes? We get mad at the one who can help us. The King had to get mad at someone, and he took his anger out on Elisha.
Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders, when the king sent a messenger out before him. But before the messenger even got to Elisha’s house, Elisha said to the elders. “See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? Look, when the messenger commeth, shut the door, because the sound of his master’s feet is right behind him.”
When the King got to Elisha’s house, Elisha met him at the door. And Elisha said to him, “Hear ye the word of the Lord; thus saith the Lord, Tomorrow 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.”
Well, there was a lord on whose hand the king leaned, and he made fun of Elisha, and mocked him. He said, “If the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be.” In other words, he said that he’d have to see God make windows in heaven, before he’d believe what Elisha said.
Elisha said, “O.K. buddy, your going to see this with your own eyes, but your not going to get a chance to eat any of it.”
And the Bible tells us in Chapter 7, verse 3, that there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate. These men said to one another, “Why sit we here till we die? We can die just as good in Samaria as we can here. And if we fall into the hands of the Syrian’s we’ll die there. Either way were going to die, so let’s just get up and make a move.”
The leprous men would have to go through the host of the Syrians in order to get into Samaria. So they rose up at twilight to go into the camps of the Syrians. But when they got there, there was no one in sight. They walked through the middle of the camp and you could here a pin drop. Not a soul to be found.
Do you know what happened? The Lord caused the Syrians to hear a great host of chariots, and horses. The Syrians thought that the King of Israel hired the Kings of the Hittites, and the Kings of the Egyptians to come and fight for him. The Syrians were so afraid that they took off running for their lives. And all the while, they were just hearing noises in their ears. You’ve heard the statement, “Oh, your just hearing things.” Well, the Syrians were just hearing things. God certainly does have a sence of humor, doesn’t he? The Syrians were so scared, that they took off on foot, and left everthing behind, even their horses.
The only army that came into the camp that day was four scrawny leper men. Those men went into one tent and ate and drank all they could stand. Then they carried out the silver, the gold, and the raiment. Then they went and buried it. They went from one tent to the next, eating and drinking, and carrying out valuables to hide them. They suddenly realized that they were not doing the right thing by not telling the King of Israel. So they went and told the King’s household.
At first, the King thought it was a trap. He thought that the Syrians were hiding and waiting for them to come out of the city so that they could take them alive and get into the city. But he soon found out that it wasn’t a trap, and that what the lepers told him was true.
When the people of Samaria found out that the Syrians were gone, the Bible says that they went and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. They went into those tents and just started eating, and drinking everything that they could get their hands on. They started grabbing things and stuffing them into their pockets. It was like Christmas to them.
Now remember that lord of the king who mocked Elisha? Well, the king appointed him to be keeper of the gate. But all of the people were so excited, and they were so hungry that they trampled him to death trying to get out of the gate. And just as Elisha said, that man never got to taste of the food left behind by the Syrians. We should never mock God’s word. And we should always remember that what ever God says, will surely come to pass.
Jehu Destroys Baal
2 Kings 10
In this chapter we learn that King Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Elisha had just instructed one of the sons of the prophets to go down to Ramoth-gilead and anoint Jehu to be King over Israel. Shortly after this, Jehu wrote letters to the rulers and elders in Samaria and told them to get one of the best of Ahab’s sons to sit on his throne and fight for them. Old Jehu was going to be paying them a visit pretty soon. The reason why they had to get one of Ahab’s son’s to sit on the throne is because Jehu had just killed the king of Israel, and the King of Judah in battle.
The rulers were afraid, because they knew that God was on Jehu’s side. . They said to themselves, “Two other Kings couldn’t stand against Jehu, how can we?”
So they sent word back to Jehu, saying that they would be his servants, and do what ever he told them to do. They told him that he could do what ever he pleased. So Jehu told them that he wanted the heads of all of Ahab’s sons.
They killed all of Ahab’s sons, and took their heads right off. They did exactly what Jehu wanted, but that wasn’t good enough for Jehu. Jehu wanted all of Ahab’s great men, and all of his kinfolk. That meant aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, brothers , and sisters. Everyone that was related to Ahab had to be killed. Even Ahab’s priest had to be killed as well. Jehu had to finish the job. He didn’t want to leave one alive.
That’s what we should do with the sin in our lives. We should kill all of it. As soon as we see one little sin pop up, we need to take the sword of the Lord and chop it’s head right off. Jehu did not even leave one person in Ahab’s life alive. I’m sure he could have found someone in Ahab’s family that wasn’t too bad. I’m sure there were some that looked innocent, a niece or nephew maybe.
We might think to ourselves , “Hey, this little sin isn’t too bad. Looks pretty innocent to me. This little sin never killed anybody, or harmed anyone. This little sin can’t do much damage at all. I’ll just keep it for a while. It seems cruel to squash and stomp it out now.”
Jehu didn’t let his emotions or feelings get in his way. We should never let our feelings or emotions get in our way either when it comes to the sin in our lives.
Well, on Jehu’s way to Samaria he met his friend , Jehonadab. And he asked Jonadab, “Is your heart Right, as mine is Right?”
You see, it’s is always very important to see if your friend’s heart is right before you take them in and spend a lot of time in fellowship with them. As soon as Jehu found out that Jonadabs heart was right, he asked for his hand and helped him up into his chariot and said, “Come on then, and see how I want to serve my God, and please him.” And they both went off together with a zeal to do God’s will.
That’s how we should be with a friend. Check and see if their heart is right with God before you let them in the chariot with you, and then you can ride down the path together and do something for the Lord.
J
ehu went on to finish the job of destroying Ahab’s house, with his friend Jehonadab at his side. It’s great to have a friend that wants to do right and help you out and stand beside you in the spiritual battle. Even if they don’t do anything but just be there for you and help support you. Someone that’s in the saddle with you , just to ride with you. That’s what the Bible says Jehonadab did. The Bible didn’t mention that he did anything but just ride in the chariot with Jehu. Maybe while riding he did something simple like look out for Jehu’s back and let him know when someone was coming up on him. Or maybe he told him when to duck from a flying arrow.
The Bible goes on to tell us in verse 17 that Jehu wasn’t satisfied until he destroyed Ahab according to the word of the Lord. You know, we should never be satisfied with just destroying the big, important sin in our lives that everyone can see. We also need to destroy the simple, little tiny sins that no one else can see. Maybe you don’t even think they matter to God because they are so minor. But we should learn from Jehu, and not rest until all is destroyed.
Destroy sins such as:
“Me first!”
Being proud of how we look.
Disobeying mom and dad
Gossiping about another friend
Lying
Bad thoughts
The Bible states that God hates a proud look, a lying tongue, gossip, and wicked imaginations. Proverbs 6: 16-19.
Well, Jehu did not stop short. He went on to kill all the worshipers of Baal. And his good buddy Jehonadab was still with him. Jehu told the men that were helping him kill all the Baal worshipers, that if they let any of them slip out of their hands, even if it were an accident, they would have to die for it.
Boy, Jehu didn’t treat those Baal worshipers lightly, and we shouldn’t treat our sins lightly either. A sin might seem like it’s gone for a little while, but it can always come back.
Also the Bible says that Jehu slew them all with the edge of a sword. That’s how we should kill the sin in our lives, with God’s word, our two edged sword.
This story doesn’t have a good ending, because Jehu did not continue to walk in the ways of the Lord. He let the sin of someone else, Jeraboam, keep him from doing right. That is mostly how it goes too. The Bible says “No man lives unto himself, and no man dies unto himself.” Don’t let the sins of someone else drag you down. Watch your walk as well, because your sin will not only hurt you, but others too.
In this chapter we learn that King Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. Elisha had just instructed one of the sons of the prophets to go down to Ramoth-gilead and anoint Jehu to be King over Israel. Shortly after this, Jehu wrote letters to the rulers and elders in Samaria and told them to get one of the best of Ahab’s sons to sit on his throne and fight for them. Old Jehu was going to be paying them a visit pretty soon. The reason why they had to get one of Ahab’s son’s to sit on the throne is because Jehu had just killed the king of Israel, and the King of Judah in battle.
The rulers were afraid, because they knew that God was on Jehu’s side. . They said to themselves, “Two other Kings couldn’t stand against Jehu, how can we?”
So they sent word back to Jehu, saying that they would be his servants, and do what ever he told them to do. They told him that he could do what ever he pleased. So Jehu told them that he wanted the heads of all of Ahab’s sons.
They killed all of Ahab’s sons, and took their heads right off. They did exactly what Jehu wanted, but that wasn’t good enough for Jehu. Jehu wanted all of Ahab’s great men, and all of his kinfolk. That meant aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, brothers , and sisters. Everyone that was related to Ahab had to be killed. Even Ahab’s priest had to be killed as well. Jehu had to finish the job. He didn’t want to leave one alive.
That’s what we should do with the sin in our lives. We should kill all of it. As soon as we see one little sin pop up, we need to take the sword of the Lord and chop it’s head right off. Jehu did not even leave one person in Ahab’s life alive. I’m sure he could have found someone in Ahab’s family that wasn’t too bad. I’m sure there were some that looked innocent, a niece or nephew maybe.
We might think to ourselves , “Hey, this little sin isn’t too bad. Looks pretty innocent to me. This little sin never killed anybody, or harmed anyone. This little sin can’t do much damage at all. I’ll just keep it for a while. It seems cruel to squash and stomp it out now.”
Jehu didn’t let his emotions or feelings get in his way. We should never let our feelings or emotions get in our way either when it comes to the sin in our lives.
Well, on Jehu’s way to Samaria he met his friend , Jehonadab. And he asked Jonadab, “Is your heart Right, as mine is Right?”
You see, it’s is always very important to see if your friend’s heart is right before you take them in and spend a lot of time in fellowship with them. As soon as Jehu found out that Jonadabs heart was right, he asked for his hand and helped him up into his chariot and said, “Come on then, and see how I want to serve my God, and please him.” And they both went off together with a zeal to do God’s will.
That’s how we should be with a friend. Check and see if their heart is right with God before you let them in the chariot with you, and then you can ride down the path together and do something for the Lord.
J
ehu went on to finish the job of destroying Ahab’s house, with his friend Jehonadab at his side. It’s great to have a friend that wants to do right and help you out and stand beside you in the spiritual battle. Even if they don’t do anything but just be there for you and help support you. Someone that’s in the saddle with you , just to ride with you. That’s what the Bible says Jehonadab did. The Bible didn’t mention that he did anything but just ride in the chariot with Jehu. Maybe while riding he did something simple like look out for Jehu’s back and let him know when someone was coming up on him. Or maybe he told him when to duck from a flying arrow.
The Bible goes on to tell us in verse 17 that Jehu wasn’t satisfied until he destroyed Ahab according to the word of the Lord. You know, we should never be satisfied with just destroying the big, important sin in our lives that everyone can see. We also need to destroy the simple, little tiny sins that no one else can see. Maybe you don’t even think they matter to God because they are so minor. But we should learn from Jehu, and not rest until all is destroyed.
Destroy sins such as:
“Me first!”
Being proud of how we look.
Disobeying mom and dad
Gossiping about another friend
Lying
Bad thoughts
The Bible states that God hates a proud look, a lying tongue, gossip, and wicked imaginations. Proverbs 6: 16-19.
Well, Jehu did not stop short. He went on to kill all the worshipers of Baal. And his good buddy Jehonadab was still with him. Jehu told the men that were helping him kill all the Baal worshipers, that if they let any of them slip out of their hands, even if it were an accident, they would have to die for it.
Boy, Jehu didn’t treat those Baal worshipers lightly, and we shouldn’t treat our sins lightly either. A sin might seem like it’s gone for a little while, but it can always come back.
Also the Bible says that Jehu slew them all with the edge of a sword. That’s how we should kill the sin in our lives, with God’s word, our two edged sword.
This story doesn’t have a good ending, because Jehu did not continue to walk in the ways of the Lord. He let the sin of someone else, Jeraboam, keep him from doing right. That is mostly how it goes too. The Bible says “No man lives unto himself, and no man dies unto himself.” Don’t let the sins of someone else drag you down. Watch your walk as well, because your sin will not only hurt you, but others too.
The Death of Elisha
2 Kings 13: 10-25
We have been learning about Elisha, and some of the miracles God allowed him to do. I’ve learned a lot from Elisha. I’m glad God recorded all so much for us. Aren’t you? Do you know that many men had to give their own lives to get this book into our hands? What a book! We should always cherish our Bibles. It’s the most valuable thing we have in our possession.
Well, we know that Elisha had a lot of power in his life, but did you know that he had power after he was dead too? We will learn about that right now. In this portion of scripture Elisha was sick, and up in years. King Joash came to Elisha one last time for counsel. He was afraid that with such a small army he would not win over the Syrians. He came and wept over Elisha’s face, and cried, “O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” Those were the exact words Elisha spoke when he saw Elijah being taken from him up into heaven.
Elisha told king Joash to take his bow in his hands, and shoot an arrow out of the window toward the east. After he shot the arrow, Elisha said to him in verse 17, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek till thou have consumed them.”
Then Elisha told him to take the arrows that were in his hand and smite the ground with them. Joash smote the ground three times, and then he stopped. The prophet Elisha was upset at Joash for only hitting the ground three times. Elisha said to him, “You should have smote the ground five or six times, then you would have won all the battles until you had consumed them, but now, since you only hit the ground three times, you will only win three battles over Syria.”
You know, sometimes the Lord might just test us to see how much we mean business for him. That’s just what Elisha did with Joash. WE can take the battles that they fought in the Old Testament and apply them to the spiritual battle of today. The spiritual battles of today are fighting the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Don’t give up after just three tries. We have to keep fighting, and fighting, and fighting. If we keep fighting, the Lord will help us get the victory over the sin in our lives. He’ll help us win those battles.
The great prophet Elisha died, but he still had healing power in his bones. In verse 20, the Bible says that the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. At the time of the invasion, some men were trying to bury a dead man when they heard a band of men coming toward them, possibly Moabites. With fright, they threw the dead man into the sepulcher of Elisha. When the dead man touched Elisha’s bones, he came back to life.
Do you know what the Lord showed me in comparison to this? He showed me that when a dead sinner plunges into that red, crimson blood of Jesus Christ they come to life, praise God !! There’s still plenty of healing power in the death of Christ.
In verse 23, the Bible says that the Lord was gracious unto the Children of Israel, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presents as yet.
Boy, oh boy, oh boy. What a God !! He gave Israel chance, after chance, after chance. So many kings did evil in the sight of the Lord, but God had mercy because of his covenant.
Praise God, it’s because of Jesus Christ, that we obtain any mercy at all from God. Whenever the children of Israel made God mad enough to wipe them out, God thought of Abraham. And praise God that if my sins ever made him mad enough to throw me away; he won’t because he’s reminded of his own Son who died for me. Thank God for his written word, the word that says “No one can pluck me out of his hands,,” and “He is with me , wherever I go,” and “ These things have I written unto you, that you may know that you have eternal life.” Praise God, he will never cast me out of his presence, because I have his written word. It’s his covenant to me.
Joash only won against Syria three times just as the Lord told him he would. I’m glad the word of the Lord is true. And what God says, he means. I thank God for the life and death of Elisha, and I especially thank God for the life and death of my Lord Jesus Christ.
We have been learning about Elisha, and some of the miracles God allowed him to do. I’ve learned a lot from Elisha. I’m glad God recorded all so much for us. Aren’t you? Do you know that many men had to give their own lives to get this book into our hands? What a book! We should always cherish our Bibles. It’s the most valuable thing we have in our possession.
Well, we know that Elisha had a lot of power in his life, but did you know that he had power after he was dead too? We will learn about that right now. In this portion of scripture Elisha was sick, and up in years. King Joash came to Elisha one last time for counsel. He was afraid that with such a small army he would not win over the Syrians. He came and wept over Elisha’s face, and cried, “O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.” Those were the exact words Elisha spoke when he saw Elijah being taken from him up into heaven.
Elisha told king Joash to take his bow in his hands, and shoot an arrow out of the window toward the east. After he shot the arrow, Elisha said to him in verse 17, “The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek till thou have consumed them.”
Then Elisha told him to take the arrows that were in his hand and smite the ground with them. Joash smote the ground three times, and then he stopped. The prophet Elisha was upset at Joash for only hitting the ground three times. Elisha said to him, “You should have smote the ground five or six times, then you would have won all the battles until you had consumed them, but now, since you only hit the ground three times, you will only win three battles over Syria.”
You know, sometimes the Lord might just test us to see how much we mean business for him. That’s just what Elisha did with Joash. WE can take the battles that they fought in the Old Testament and apply them to the spiritual battle of today. The spiritual battles of today are fighting the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Don’t give up after just three tries. We have to keep fighting, and fighting, and fighting. If we keep fighting, the Lord will help us get the victory over the sin in our lives. He’ll help us win those battles.
The great prophet Elisha died, but he still had healing power in his bones. In verse 20, the Bible says that the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year. At the time of the invasion, some men were trying to bury a dead man when they heard a band of men coming toward them, possibly Moabites. With fright, they threw the dead man into the sepulcher of Elisha. When the dead man touched Elisha’s bones, he came back to life.
Do you know what the Lord showed me in comparison to this? He showed me that when a dead sinner plunges into that red, crimson blood of Jesus Christ they come to life, praise God !! There’s still plenty of healing power in the death of Christ.
In verse 23, the Bible says that the Lord was gracious unto the Children of Israel, and had compassion on them, and had respect unto them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, neither cast he them from his presents as yet.
Boy, oh boy, oh boy. What a God !! He gave Israel chance, after chance, after chance. So many kings did evil in the sight of the Lord, but God had mercy because of his covenant.
Praise God, it’s because of Jesus Christ, that we obtain any mercy at all from God. Whenever the children of Israel made God mad enough to wipe them out, God thought of Abraham. And praise God that if my sins ever made him mad enough to throw me away; he won’t because he’s reminded of his own Son who died for me. Thank God for his written word, the word that says “No one can pluck me out of his hands,,” and “He is with me , wherever I go,” and “ These things have I written unto you, that you may know that you have eternal life.” Praise God, he will never cast me out of his presence, because I have his written word. It’s his covenant to me.
Joash only won against Syria three times just as the Lord told him he would. I’m glad the word of the Lord is true. And what God says, he means. I thank God for the life and death of Elisha, and I especially thank God for the life and death of my Lord Jesus Christ.
The Prophet Jonah
This is one of my favorite Bible stories. It is the Bible story that is so commonly told among Sunday school teachers, parents, and children. Everybody knows about that selfish, rebellious, disobedient, prophet called Jonah. But today, I’d like to put a magnifying glass on the whole story, and apply it spiritually to our own lives.
Our story unfolds in the book of Jonah, chapter one. The Bible tells us in verses one, and two, that the word of the Lord came to Jonah saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. For their wickedness is come up before me.”
Do you remember what Jonah did? He ran from the presence of the Lord. He decided to go down to Joppa and get on a ship that was headed for Tarshish. In verse three, the Bible tells us that Jonah had to pay a fare in order to get on the ship. Now isn’t that something? He had to pay a price to run from God. Do you know it’s the same with us. There’s always a price to pay when we disobey. Disobeying dad and mom will cost you a spanking, huh? Some parents don’t always spank their kids when they need it. Kids may think they’ve gotten away with it at the time, but mark my words, later on down the road they’ll pay for it. That’s why there are so many young girls and boys in the juvenile detention center today. Some of them come from broken homes, I know that. But I’ve run into lots of them who just didn’t get a spanking when they needed it. You’ll always reap what you sow. That’s a promise from God, and he never breaks a promise.
Once I heard a little song that went like this:
Sin will take you farther, than you want to go.
Slowly, but wholly taking control.
Sin will keep you longer than you want to stay.
Sin will cost you far more than you want to pay.
The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is a good verse to hide in your heart.
So old Jonah got aboard this ship headed for Tarshish, and all the while he had this deep, gut feeling. You know, like the kind you get when you know you’re doing the wrong thing. Jonah decided that the best thing to do was to just sleep off the conviction that he felt. Maybe when he woke up he’d feel much better about himself. So he went down into the side of the ship, and fell fast asleep. After all, it is a tiring thing to run from God. It can just ware out a prophet of God physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Well, Jonah could rest, but not God Almighty. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance. The word repent means, to feel pain, sorrow, or regret for something said or done. It can also mean a change of mind about wrong done in past conduct. The Lord wanted to forgive the Ninevites of their wrong conduct and sin. Their wickedness had come up before the Lord, and he had enough of it. He was ready to destroy the whole city. The Bible says that our God is longsuffering. That great city must have really worn out God’s patience, and longsuffering. God needed Jonah to go and preach to them. He wanted to give them a chance to repent from their wicked ways. Jonah chose to run from God instead. I bet your thinking that Jonah ran because he was scared of the wicked people of Nineveh, huh? No, that’s not the correct answer. But we will defiantly learn why Jonah ran later in the story. I bet it’ll surprise you.
Jonah’s ship was just gliding along on that glassy sea, and Jonah was asleep down in the side of the ship without a care in the world. In verse 4, the Bible says that God sent out a great wind into the sea, so that there was a mighty tempest. It began to get scary out there in the sea. Just imagine for a moment being way out there with those sailors. There was no land in sight, and their ship was being tossed this way and that. Those men were afraid that their ship would bust into pieces at any minute. That must have been very scary, just thinking about it nearly stresses me out. I can’t imagine the fright everyone on that ship was feeling.
The men began throwing things out of the ship into the water to lighten the load. Some men on the ship began praying. They prayed, and they cried out. But the Bible says that they prayed to their own gods. They didn’t pray to the God who made the sea, and the winds. They didn’t pray out to the God who made them. They cried out to every god they could imagine, but not to the God who caused the storm.
The whole time those men were going through that awful storm, Jonah was down in the side of the ship sound asleep. How could he sleep through all that, you might ask. I honestly don’t know how it can be done physically, but I do know how it’s done spiritually. Some Christians today are in the same boat spiritually as Jonah was physically. Most of them are running from God. They just want to sleep off the conviction, so they go to sleep spiritually. They sleep through the storms of many lost souls. Oh, shame on them. Numerous souls going to hell and the Christians are sound asleep.
In verse six, the captain of the ship found Jonah sleeping. He woke him up, and said, “Hey, wake up oh sleeper. Call upon your God. Maybe your God will think upon us, and we won’t perish.” The captain knew that every man had already called upon their gods except for Jonah. He was the only one left who had not prayed yet.
So the men of the ship got together and they said, “ Let us cast lots so that we will know who caused this evil to come upon us.”
They cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Now, casting lots was like playing the game, Innie, Minnie, Miney, Mo, to see who’s “it”. They took some kind of dice, and everyone picked a number. If the dice fell on someone’s number, that person would be picked.
Well, Jonah could not beat the odds this time. He had God on his trail, and he knew it. After seeing that the lot fell on Jonah, the men had lots of questions for him.
“Why is this evil come upon us? What is your occupation? Where did you come from?” and, “Who are your people?” Boy, they were filled to the brim with questions for him to answer.
Well, with his head hanging low, Jonah’s reply was this in verse 9. “I am an Hebrew, and I fear the Lord of heaven who made the sea, and the dry land.”
Then Jonah continued to tell the men about how he had disobeyed his God and that now he was running away from him. The men were horrified by this, and greatly afraid. “Why have you done this thing? What are we going to do with you now, so that the sea may be calm for us? They asked.
Jonah told the men to throw him overboard, and then the sea would be calm once again. He knew that it was because of his sin, that God sent that big storm.
The men did not want to throw Jonah over board, so they tried to row harder, and harder. They tried hard to get the ship back to land, but all was in vain. You know, you just can’t win against God. So finally, the men cried out to God, (verse 14), and said, “We beseech thee, oh Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood. For thou, oh Lord, has done as it pleased thee.”
The men regretfully picked Jonah up, and threw him overboard. Right away, the sea was calm. You know, it wouldn’t have been right for all the men on that ship to die just because of one man’s sin, would it? Some of those men probably had families back home. And if they didn’t have families of their own, I’m sure there were probably young men aboard that ship who had mothers that missed them back home. Boy, if Jonah had not been thrown over board that day all those men could have died. Not only would they have suffered, but their families would have suffered as well. A whole lot of people would have been affected by just one man’s disobedience.
After the sea became calm again, the Bible says that the men on board that ship feared the Lord exceedingly. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I think those men wised up that day, don’t you? The Bible tells us that they even offered up sacrifices to the Lord that day, and made vows to him.
Now the Bible says (verse 17) that the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of that fish three days and three nights. And Jonah prayed to God out of the fish’s belly. The Bible says in chapter 2 verse 2, that God heard his cries, and his prayers. Jonah said, “Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.”
Do you know that Jesus was in the heart of the earth three days and three nights? And do you know that hell is in the heart of the earth? It is a bottomless pit, just as fruit has a pit, and it is round and bottomless. Hell is in the pit of the earth.
In verse three Jonah said, “For thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about. All thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.”
Jonah goes on to say that the waters compassed him about, and the weeds were wrapped around his head. He went down to the bottom of the mountains and the bars of the earth were around him. But when his soul fainted within him, he remembered the Lord.
Isn’t that just like human nature? A lot of times we don’t think about God until we are in trouble. Like Jonah, we get too busy with our own lives and what we want to do that we forget that souls are dying and gong to hell every day. God’s interested in saving souls. He said that he’s not willing that any should perish. He was ready and willing to forgive Nineveh, but there was one problem. His messenger wasn’t willing to go. God wanted to warn those Ninevites against their sin. He didn’t want to destroy them. God just needed to get old Jonah alone, even if it was in the belly of a fish, to show him that souls are what’s more important to him. Jonah repents in the deep, and in verse nine he says, “Salvation is of the Lord.”
Just as soon as Jonah made that realization, in verse ten, the Lord speaks to the fish, and it vomits out Jonah up on dry land. Salvation is not of us. It is of the Lord.
All God had to do was speak to the fish, and it obeyed. The fish wasn’t like Jonah was it? It didn’t complain to God and say, “God, you want me to vomit up this wonderful, tasey meal I ate three days ago?” He didn’t complain to God at all, he just obeyed right away. I’m telling you, we need to learn a lesson from that fish about obedience. Because that fish listened and obeyed, all of Nineveh was saved. Just think of what would have happened if it wanted to keep that yummy morsel in his tummy. What if that fish wanted to live after the flesh instead of obey God. All the people of Nineveh would have been destroyed. Obedience= Salvation, disobedience=destruction. It’s as simple as that.
You know what? Jonah had to die to his flesh in order for God to work through him. And because Jonah finally died to the flesh, the men aboard that ship saw that Jonah’s God was the true God. The only way lost people can see the Lord is through our obedience to him. When we die to our flesh, the Lord can use us in mighty ways. Now, you might be saying, “How can I die to the flesh? I’m just a child.”
Well, it’s like this. The most important word that a child can learn, is OBEY. It’s just a little four letter word, but it holds the true meaning of salvation, God’s will, happiness, and what the future holds for your life. You, as a child, can die daily to your flesh simply by obeying mom and dad, even when you don’t want to. When mom tells you to do something, and you say, “Yes Ma’am,” and do it with the right attitude, that’s dieing to your flesh. Dieing to the flesh is just simply doing something right even if your flesh doesn’t want to. Do you realize what that would do in front of a lost person? Just your obedience to your parents alone could help play a big part in winning souls to Christ. Just like the men aboard that ship saw that Jonah’s God was the true God, people can see how real our God is, when we die to the flesh.
So now Jonah died to his flesh, he repented of his sins, the fish obeyed God, and spit Jonah up on the shore. Now Jonah is ready to listen to reason. The Lord comes a second time to him, and says, “Arise and go to Nineveh that great city, and preach to it the preaching that I bid thee.”
Jonah got right up this time, and he didn’t waste any time getting to Nineveh. The Bible tells us that Nineveh was a three day journey from where Jonah was at the time. And do you know that Jonah made that three day journey in just one day. Just imagine, the only way he could have done that was to run the whole way, and not stop to sleep, rest, or eat. I believe that’s exactly what he did, with God’s help of course. Remember, God wants to save souls.
As soon as Jonah got into Nineveh, right away he started preaching. He didn’t take a break. He didn’t get anything to eat. He didn’t even take a shower or comb his hair. He just went right in preaching. There was no time to waste.
Can you imagine what he must have looked like or smelled like. I mean, he had just spent three days in the slimy, smelly belly of a fish. Can you imagine those people even wanting to listen to such an awful smelling, ugly looking sight?! But they did. They listened, and even the King listened. God probably started dealing with their hearts before Jonah even got there.
Jonah preached, and told them that in just forty days God would destroy Nineveh if they did not repent. The people believed God. And the Bible tells us in chapter 3, verse 5 that the people proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth and ashes from the greatest of them to the least of them. Even the King himself arose from his throne, took off his royal robe, and put on sackcloth. Not only did he put on sackcloth, but he sat in ashes too. The King made a decree that no one, not even beast, herd, or flock could eat anything. He even went as far as to say don’t even taste anything, or drink any water. The decree also said that every man and beast should be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God.
In verse ten, God saw that they meant business, and that they were truly sorry for their sins. God forgave them, and did not destroy them. He repented of the evil that he was going to do to them. I’m so glad, God can have a change of mind, aren’t you? He’s such a merciful God. I’m so glad he can be moved by sinners.
Jonah looked around at all the people praying and repenting of their sins, and anger began to rise up in his heart. Do you know why Jonah gets so mad? Well, he was mad at God for sparing such a wicked city. He thought that the city should be punished for it’s wickedness. So now the truth comes out. You know, sometimes when we get mad, we start telling our true feelings. Jonah tells the Lord in chapter 4 verse 2 why he’s mad, and why he ran from him. Jonah said to God, “ I knew you were a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. And I knew you would not destroy the city if the people repented of their sins and got things right with you.” But it didn’t stop there. Jonah got so mad and upset with God, he told God that he’d rather die than live any longer.
This story of Jonah shows me just how low God Almighty will reach down to save a sinner. He’ll stoop mighty low, as low as it takes, as long as that sinner repents of his sins. I’m so glad God is slow to anger, aren’t you? I know some Christians who are like Jonah. They’d rather die than watch God reach down and save an old dirty bum. We should never think too highly of ourselves. The Bible says we need to watch out for ourselves because we are capable of committing the same sin as anybody else. Don’t you dare think, just because we are raised in a Christian home, that we aren’t capable of committing some of the lowest sins on this earth. The Bible gives us plenty of warning against our flesh. The flesh is so very wicked. Yes, even the flesh of little Sunday School kids. The way we can help keep our flesh in check, is to hide God’s word in our hearts. Why? That we might not sin against God.
We better get back to our story and find out what’s going on. So God looks down upon Jonah, and he sees those arms crossed, and that mad look on Jonah’s face. Jonah looked just like a child who didn’t get his way. The Lord asked Jonah in a still, small voice. “ Doest thou well to be angry?” God asked Jonah if he had a reason for his anger. Notice that God asked him a question. God wanted to communicate with Jonah. He wanted Jonah to talk to him. He knew what Jonah’s problem was, but he wanted to hear it from Jonah.
But Jonah didn’t answer God. He just went out of the city, and made himself a booth and sat down underneath it. Jonah thought to himself, “I’m just going to sit here and watch for a while, to see whether God’s going to destroy this city or not.” While Jonah was sitting there pouting, the Lord made a gourd to come up over Jonah and shadow his head from the sun. Boy, the Lord was trying to be a blessing to Jonah, even though he was sitting there mad and pouting like a child. I’m glad God is not like we are. Aren’t you? I’m glad he doesn’t pout when things don’t go his way. And believe me, things don’t always go the way the Lord wants them to go. He wants everybody to be saved, but not everyone is going to accept God’s Son. He wants all children to obey their parents, but not all will obey. And when that happens, that’s not his fault. It’s ours. He always has a perfect plan for our lives, but there are plenty of times we go our own way and not the way the Lord planned.
I’m glad God still talks to us, even when we’re wrong, aren’t you? God has been like that with me a lot of times. There’s been several times when I’ve gotten mad at God about certain things. And he comes to me gently, and calm, and says, “ Doest thou well to be angry Ruthie? Why don’t you just obey and trust me. I have promised that all things work together for good to them that love me, and who are called according to my purpose.”
The Bible tells us chapter 4 verse 6, that Jonah was exceedingly glad for the gourd. He sat there enjoying that nice, cool shade. And I bet God was just waiting for Jonah to say he was sorry, but Jonah never said a thing to God.
So in verse 7, God prepared a worm the next morning, and it started gnawing and eating away at the gourd. That little worm got crunching and munching away on that gourd, and boy let me tell you, he was in worm heaven. That was the best tasting gourd he’d ever eaten, and he couldn’t take just one bite. Have you ever eaten something and it tasted so good, you just had to have more, and more, and more? Well, I sure have. Anyway, this little worm just gorged himself out on this gourd. Now, that little worm didn’t question God at all, did he? He didn’t say, “God, you want me to eat this whole thing!? That’s a mighty big gourd God. I don’t think I can do it.” No he didn’t question, or back talk God, he just went right to work doing what God designed him to do.
God said to him, “hey little worm, I’ve got a big job for you to do.” And that worm listened the first time God spoke. What a mighty big lesson we can learn from a little worm.
Later that day when the sun rose, God prepared a strong east wind, and the sun beat down upon Jonah’s head so hot that he fainted. He was so miserable, and wished in his heart that he would just go ahead and die.
God spoke again to Jonah and said, “Doest thou well to be angry because of the gourd?”
It was like God was trying to help him out a little and give him something to be angry about. Have you ever been whining or crying about something and your dad or mom said to you, “Would you like me give you something to cry about?” What that meant when I was growing up was a big spanking.
Well, Jonah’s reply was that of a bitter backslider. His answer to God was, “I do well to be angry, even unto death.”
And God said to him, “Jonah, you were so happy about the gourd coming up and covering your head from the sun. You didn’t work for that gourd, you didn’t cause it to grow. I’m the one who made it, and you reaped the benefits of it. Yet when the gourd dried up and perished, you were upset. In that great city of Nineveh there are more than six score thousand people that would have been destroyed had they not repented. These people couldn’t even discern between their left han, and their right. They weren’t taught right from wrong. Not only that, but the people have much cattle, and all the cattle would have died with the people. Jonah, oh Jonah, you cared more about a gourd perishing, than you did six score thousand people and their cattle?”
Boy, God really dumped it on Jonah when it was God’s turn to do some talking. You know, Jonah didn’t make those people. Jonah didn’t put a lot of work into those people. But God did. God cared about those people he created, and he was concerned about them. He didn’t want to destroy them at all. God never makes mistakes. He didn’t make those people to destroy them. Our God isn’t like that at all. He’s merciful, slow to anger, and full of grace. Jonah knew that. That’s why he ran. He didn’t have much of a heart for lost and dying souls, did he? You know, the Bible never tells us if Jonah ever got right with God, or not. But I’m sure glad the Lord recorded this story in the Old Testament for our learning.
Some years ago, archeologists discovered the buried site of a great city called Ninevah. It is believed to be the same one we know from the Bible. In the remains of that city they found a tomb called “the tomb of Jonah”. It could be that Jonah spent the rest of his life there. Perhaps in peace with people who respected him. We really won’t know till glory.
Our story unfolds in the book of Jonah, chapter one. The Bible tells us in verses one, and two, that the word of the Lord came to Jonah saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it. For their wickedness is come up before me.”
Do you remember what Jonah did? He ran from the presence of the Lord. He decided to go down to Joppa and get on a ship that was headed for Tarshish. In verse three, the Bible tells us that Jonah had to pay a fare in order to get on the ship. Now isn’t that something? He had to pay a price to run from God. Do you know it’s the same with us. There’s always a price to pay when we disobey. Disobeying dad and mom will cost you a spanking, huh? Some parents don’t always spank their kids when they need it. Kids may think they’ve gotten away with it at the time, but mark my words, later on down the road they’ll pay for it. That’s why there are so many young girls and boys in the juvenile detention center today. Some of them come from broken homes, I know that. But I’ve run into lots of them who just didn’t get a spanking when they needed it. You’ll always reap what you sow. That’s a promise from God, and he never breaks a promise.
Once I heard a little song that went like this:
Sin will take you farther, than you want to go.
Slowly, but wholly taking control.
Sin will keep you longer than you want to stay.
Sin will cost you far more than you want to pay.
The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This is a good verse to hide in your heart.
So old Jonah got aboard this ship headed for Tarshish, and all the while he had this deep, gut feeling. You know, like the kind you get when you know you’re doing the wrong thing. Jonah decided that the best thing to do was to just sleep off the conviction that he felt. Maybe when he woke up he’d feel much better about himself. So he went down into the side of the ship, and fell fast asleep. After all, it is a tiring thing to run from God. It can just ware out a prophet of God physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Well, Jonah could rest, but not God Almighty. God is not willing that any should perish, but that all come to repentance. The word repent means, to feel pain, sorrow, or regret for something said or done. It can also mean a change of mind about wrong done in past conduct. The Lord wanted to forgive the Ninevites of their wrong conduct and sin. Their wickedness had come up before the Lord, and he had enough of it. He was ready to destroy the whole city. The Bible says that our God is longsuffering. That great city must have really worn out God’s patience, and longsuffering. God needed Jonah to go and preach to them. He wanted to give them a chance to repent from their wicked ways. Jonah chose to run from God instead. I bet your thinking that Jonah ran because he was scared of the wicked people of Nineveh, huh? No, that’s not the correct answer. But we will defiantly learn why Jonah ran later in the story. I bet it’ll surprise you.
Jonah’s ship was just gliding along on that glassy sea, and Jonah was asleep down in the side of the ship without a care in the world. In verse 4, the Bible says that God sent out a great wind into the sea, so that there was a mighty tempest. It began to get scary out there in the sea. Just imagine for a moment being way out there with those sailors. There was no land in sight, and their ship was being tossed this way and that. Those men were afraid that their ship would bust into pieces at any minute. That must have been very scary, just thinking about it nearly stresses me out. I can’t imagine the fright everyone on that ship was feeling.
The men began throwing things out of the ship into the water to lighten the load. Some men on the ship began praying. They prayed, and they cried out. But the Bible says that they prayed to their own gods. They didn’t pray to the God who made the sea, and the winds. They didn’t pray out to the God who made them. They cried out to every god they could imagine, but not to the God who caused the storm.
The whole time those men were going through that awful storm, Jonah was down in the side of the ship sound asleep. How could he sleep through all that, you might ask. I honestly don’t know how it can be done physically, but I do know how it’s done spiritually. Some Christians today are in the same boat spiritually as Jonah was physically. Most of them are running from God. They just want to sleep off the conviction, so they go to sleep spiritually. They sleep through the storms of many lost souls. Oh, shame on them. Numerous souls going to hell and the Christians are sound asleep.
In verse six, the captain of the ship found Jonah sleeping. He woke him up, and said, “Hey, wake up oh sleeper. Call upon your God. Maybe your God will think upon us, and we won’t perish.” The captain knew that every man had already called upon their gods except for Jonah. He was the only one left who had not prayed yet.
So the men of the ship got together and they said, “ Let us cast lots so that we will know who caused this evil to come upon us.”
They cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. Now, casting lots was like playing the game, Innie, Minnie, Miney, Mo, to see who’s “it”. They took some kind of dice, and everyone picked a number. If the dice fell on someone’s number, that person would be picked.
Well, Jonah could not beat the odds this time. He had God on his trail, and he knew it. After seeing that the lot fell on Jonah, the men had lots of questions for him.
“Why is this evil come upon us? What is your occupation? Where did you come from?” and, “Who are your people?” Boy, they were filled to the brim with questions for him to answer.
Well, with his head hanging low, Jonah’s reply was this in verse 9. “I am an Hebrew, and I fear the Lord of heaven who made the sea, and the dry land.”
Then Jonah continued to tell the men about how he had disobeyed his God and that now he was running away from him. The men were horrified by this, and greatly afraid. “Why have you done this thing? What are we going to do with you now, so that the sea may be calm for us? They asked.
Jonah told the men to throw him overboard, and then the sea would be calm once again. He knew that it was because of his sin, that God sent that big storm.
The men did not want to throw Jonah over board, so they tried to row harder, and harder. They tried hard to get the ship back to land, but all was in vain. You know, you just can’t win against God. So finally, the men cried out to God, (verse 14), and said, “We beseech thee, oh Lord, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood. For thou, oh Lord, has done as it pleased thee.”
The men regretfully picked Jonah up, and threw him overboard. Right away, the sea was calm. You know, it wouldn’t have been right for all the men on that ship to die just because of one man’s sin, would it? Some of those men probably had families back home. And if they didn’t have families of their own, I’m sure there were probably young men aboard that ship who had mothers that missed them back home. Boy, if Jonah had not been thrown over board that day all those men could have died. Not only would they have suffered, but their families would have suffered as well. A whole lot of people would have been affected by just one man’s disobedience.
After the sea became calm again, the Bible says that the men on board that ship feared the Lord exceedingly. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. I think those men wised up that day, don’t you? The Bible tells us that they even offered up sacrifices to the Lord that day, and made vows to him.
Now the Bible says (verse 17) that the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. Jonah was in the belly of that fish three days and three nights. And Jonah prayed to God out of the fish’s belly. The Bible says in chapter 2 verse 2, that God heard his cries, and his prayers. Jonah said, “Out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice.”
Do you know that Jesus was in the heart of the earth three days and three nights? And do you know that hell is in the heart of the earth? It is a bottomless pit, just as fruit has a pit, and it is round and bottomless. Hell is in the pit of the earth.
In verse three Jonah said, “For thou hast cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about. All thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple.”
Jonah goes on to say that the waters compassed him about, and the weeds were wrapped around his head. He went down to the bottom of the mountains and the bars of the earth were around him. But when his soul fainted within him, he remembered the Lord.
Isn’t that just like human nature? A lot of times we don’t think about God until we are in trouble. Like Jonah, we get too busy with our own lives and what we want to do that we forget that souls are dying and gong to hell every day. God’s interested in saving souls. He said that he’s not willing that any should perish. He was ready and willing to forgive Nineveh, but there was one problem. His messenger wasn’t willing to go. God wanted to warn those Ninevites against their sin. He didn’t want to destroy them. God just needed to get old Jonah alone, even if it was in the belly of a fish, to show him that souls are what’s more important to him. Jonah repents in the deep, and in verse nine he says, “Salvation is of the Lord.”
Just as soon as Jonah made that realization, in verse ten, the Lord speaks to the fish, and it vomits out Jonah up on dry land. Salvation is not of us. It is of the Lord.
All God had to do was speak to the fish, and it obeyed. The fish wasn’t like Jonah was it? It didn’t complain to God and say, “God, you want me to vomit up this wonderful, tasey meal I ate three days ago?” He didn’t complain to God at all, he just obeyed right away. I’m telling you, we need to learn a lesson from that fish about obedience. Because that fish listened and obeyed, all of Nineveh was saved. Just think of what would have happened if it wanted to keep that yummy morsel in his tummy. What if that fish wanted to live after the flesh instead of obey God. All the people of Nineveh would have been destroyed. Obedience= Salvation, disobedience=destruction. It’s as simple as that.
You know what? Jonah had to die to his flesh in order for God to work through him. And because Jonah finally died to the flesh, the men aboard that ship saw that Jonah’s God was the true God. The only way lost people can see the Lord is through our obedience to him. When we die to our flesh, the Lord can use us in mighty ways. Now, you might be saying, “How can I die to the flesh? I’m just a child.”
Well, it’s like this. The most important word that a child can learn, is OBEY. It’s just a little four letter word, but it holds the true meaning of salvation, God’s will, happiness, and what the future holds for your life. You, as a child, can die daily to your flesh simply by obeying mom and dad, even when you don’t want to. When mom tells you to do something, and you say, “Yes Ma’am,” and do it with the right attitude, that’s dieing to your flesh. Dieing to the flesh is just simply doing something right even if your flesh doesn’t want to. Do you realize what that would do in front of a lost person? Just your obedience to your parents alone could help play a big part in winning souls to Christ. Just like the men aboard that ship saw that Jonah’s God was the true God, people can see how real our God is, when we die to the flesh.
So now Jonah died to his flesh, he repented of his sins, the fish obeyed God, and spit Jonah up on the shore. Now Jonah is ready to listen to reason. The Lord comes a second time to him, and says, “Arise and go to Nineveh that great city, and preach to it the preaching that I bid thee.”
Jonah got right up this time, and he didn’t waste any time getting to Nineveh. The Bible tells us that Nineveh was a three day journey from where Jonah was at the time. And do you know that Jonah made that three day journey in just one day. Just imagine, the only way he could have done that was to run the whole way, and not stop to sleep, rest, or eat. I believe that’s exactly what he did, with God’s help of course. Remember, God wants to save souls.
As soon as Jonah got into Nineveh, right away he started preaching. He didn’t take a break. He didn’t get anything to eat. He didn’t even take a shower or comb his hair. He just went right in preaching. There was no time to waste.
Can you imagine what he must have looked like or smelled like. I mean, he had just spent three days in the slimy, smelly belly of a fish. Can you imagine those people even wanting to listen to such an awful smelling, ugly looking sight?! But they did. They listened, and even the King listened. God probably started dealing with their hearts before Jonah even got there.
Jonah preached, and told them that in just forty days God would destroy Nineveh if they did not repent. The people believed God. And the Bible tells us in chapter 3, verse 5 that the people proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth and ashes from the greatest of them to the least of them. Even the King himself arose from his throne, took off his royal robe, and put on sackcloth. Not only did he put on sackcloth, but he sat in ashes too. The King made a decree that no one, not even beast, herd, or flock could eat anything. He even went as far as to say don’t even taste anything, or drink any water. The decree also said that every man and beast should be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God.
In verse ten, God saw that they meant business, and that they were truly sorry for their sins. God forgave them, and did not destroy them. He repented of the evil that he was going to do to them. I’m so glad, God can have a change of mind, aren’t you? He’s such a merciful God. I’m so glad he can be moved by sinners.
Jonah looked around at all the people praying and repenting of their sins, and anger began to rise up in his heart. Do you know why Jonah gets so mad? Well, he was mad at God for sparing such a wicked city. He thought that the city should be punished for it’s wickedness. So now the truth comes out. You know, sometimes when we get mad, we start telling our true feelings. Jonah tells the Lord in chapter 4 verse 2 why he’s mad, and why he ran from him. Jonah said to God, “ I knew you were a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness. And I knew you would not destroy the city if the people repented of their sins and got things right with you.” But it didn’t stop there. Jonah got so mad and upset with God, he told God that he’d rather die than live any longer.
This story of Jonah shows me just how low God Almighty will reach down to save a sinner. He’ll stoop mighty low, as low as it takes, as long as that sinner repents of his sins. I’m so glad God is slow to anger, aren’t you? I know some Christians who are like Jonah. They’d rather die than watch God reach down and save an old dirty bum. We should never think too highly of ourselves. The Bible says we need to watch out for ourselves because we are capable of committing the same sin as anybody else. Don’t you dare think, just because we are raised in a Christian home, that we aren’t capable of committing some of the lowest sins on this earth. The Bible gives us plenty of warning against our flesh. The flesh is so very wicked. Yes, even the flesh of little Sunday School kids. The way we can help keep our flesh in check, is to hide God’s word in our hearts. Why? That we might not sin against God.
We better get back to our story and find out what’s going on. So God looks down upon Jonah, and he sees those arms crossed, and that mad look on Jonah’s face. Jonah looked just like a child who didn’t get his way. The Lord asked Jonah in a still, small voice. “ Doest thou well to be angry?” God asked Jonah if he had a reason for his anger. Notice that God asked him a question. God wanted to communicate with Jonah. He wanted Jonah to talk to him. He knew what Jonah’s problem was, but he wanted to hear it from Jonah.
But Jonah didn’t answer God. He just went out of the city, and made himself a booth and sat down underneath it. Jonah thought to himself, “I’m just going to sit here and watch for a while, to see whether God’s going to destroy this city or not.” While Jonah was sitting there pouting, the Lord made a gourd to come up over Jonah and shadow his head from the sun. Boy, the Lord was trying to be a blessing to Jonah, even though he was sitting there mad and pouting like a child. I’m glad God is not like we are. Aren’t you? I’m glad he doesn’t pout when things don’t go his way. And believe me, things don’t always go the way the Lord wants them to go. He wants everybody to be saved, but not everyone is going to accept God’s Son. He wants all children to obey their parents, but not all will obey. And when that happens, that’s not his fault. It’s ours. He always has a perfect plan for our lives, but there are plenty of times we go our own way and not the way the Lord planned.
I’m glad God still talks to us, even when we’re wrong, aren’t you? God has been like that with me a lot of times. There’s been several times when I’ve gotten mad at God about certain things. And he comes to me gently, and calm, and says, “ Doest thou well to be angry Ruthie? Why don’t you just obey and trust me. I have promised that all things work together for good to them that love me, and who are called according to my purpose.”
The Bible tells us chapter 4 verse 6, that Jonah was exceedingly glad for the gourd. He sat there enjoying that nice, cool shade. And I bet God was just waiting for Jonah to say he was sorry, but Jonah never said a thing to God.
So in verse 7, God prepared a worm the next morning, and it started gnawing and eating away at the gourd. That little worm got crunching and munching away on that gourd, and boy let me tell you, he was in worm heaven. That was the best tasting gourd he’d ever eaten, and he couldn’t take just one bite. Have you ever eaten something and it tasted so good, you just had to have more, and more, and more? Well, I sure have. Anyway, this little worm just gorged himself out on this gourd. Now, that little worm didn’t question God at all, did he? He didn’t say, “God, you want me to eat this whole thing!? That’s a mighty big gourd God. I don’t think I can do it.” No he didn’t question, or back talk God, he just went right to work doing what God designed him to do.
God said to him, “hey little worm, I’ve got a big job for you to do.” And that worm listened the first time God spoke. What a mighty big lesson we can learn from a little worm.
Later that day when the sun rose, God prepared a strong east wind, and the sun beat down upon Jonah’s head so hot that he fainted. He was so miserable, and wished in his heart that he would just go ahead and die.
God spoke again to Jonah and said, “Doest thou well to be angry because of the gourd?”
It was like God was trying to help him out a little and give him something to be angry about. Have you ever been whining or crying about something and your dad or mom said to you, “Would you like me give you something to cry about?” What that meant when I was growing up was a big spanking.
Well, Jonah’s reply was that of a bitter backslider. His answer to God was, “I do well to be angry, even unto death.”
And God said to him, “Jonah, you were so happy about the gourd coming up and covering your head from the sun. You didn’t work for that gourd, you didn’t cause it to grow. I’m the one who made it, and you reaped the benefits of it. Yet when the gourd dried up and perished, you were upset. In that great city of Nineveh there are more than six score thousand people that would have been destroyed had they not repented. These people couldn’t even discern between their left han, and their right. They weren’t taught right from wrong. Not only that, but the people have much cattle, and all the cattle would have died with the people. Jonah, oh Jonah, you cared more about a gourd perishing, than you did six score thousand people and their cattle?”
Boy, God really dumped it on Jonah when it was God’s turn to do some talking. You know, Jonah didn’t make those people. Jonah didn’t put a lot of work into those people. But God did. God cared about those people he created, and he was concerned about them. He didn’t want to destroy them at all. God never makes mistakes. He didn’t make those people to destroy them. Our God isn’t like that at all. He’s merciful, slow to anger, and full of grace. Jonah knew that. That’s why he ran. He didn’t have much of a heart for lost and dying souls, did he? You know, the Bible never tells us if Jonah ever got right with God, or not. But I’m sure glad the Lord recorded this story in the Old Testament for our learning.
Some years ago, archeologists discovered the buried site of a great city called Ninevah. It is believed to be the same one we know from the Bible. In the remains of that city they found a tomb called “the tomb of Jonah”. It could be that Jonah spent the rest of his life there. Perhaps in peace with people who respected him. We really won’t know till glory.
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