2 Kings 6:1-7:20 + Acts 15:36-16:15 + Psalm 142:1-7 + Proverbs 17:24-25
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Old Testament – 2 Kings 6 today opens up with a very interesting little story about the floating ax head! :) Apparently in those days the iron in an ax head was very costly – far too costly for prophets to have been able to afford. Hence, they had to borrow it. If the prophet who lost the ax head had not been able to recover it, he would have then had to have become an indentured servant for a period of time to the person he borrowed it from to pay back the cost. So, Elisha's recovery of the ax head I think demonstrates a simple moral of this opening story in today's readings: God cares for the welfare of those who love God. Whaddya think on this moral of the floating ax head story? Have you had experiences in your life where God has done some small things – or maybe even big things – that don't seem super spiritual at first glance, but simply saved you a lot of heartache/costs/time? I know I have… Praise God that He floats ax heads and even "floats" you and me too! God is indeed our great Life Preserver…
Today in 2 Kings 6 verse 27 we will read this verse that King Joram says to an Israelite during a time of a severe famine – “"If the LORD does not help you, where can I get help for you?” I think the thing to note in this verse is that the King realized he could not end the famine on his own, but that only God could end the famine. (I think the King may have actually been trying to blame God for the famine – and certainly Elisha he blames later in the chapter). I wonder about this in our lives today – do we try to help others and even try to help ourselves using our own power and without relying on God at all? And maybe sometimes even blame God for problems we see, like this King? Do we think we can end a “famine” or whatever problems we see at work, in our community, in our family, or in our world all on our own? Or should we be asking for God’s help in these areas of our lives? I’ve been thinking about this more and more lately – about how little I truly pray for others. I see areas of my life, my family, my community, my work, my church, my favorite charities, our world, that need some help. Need some changing. Need some love. And sometimes I think that I can institute these changes all on my own! Which is foolish. Instead, I should be praying for God’s providence and work in these areas of my life where I see a “famine.” Yes, I do think that God will oftentimes answer our prayers by encouraging us to “do something” to work on a change. But, we’d be wise to prayerfully approach all areas of our life and to pay attention to where God is asking us to “do something” – and to pay attention to where God is flat-out doing the work! Are there any “famine” areas in your life? In your personal relationship with God or others? In your work, church, community? Are there “famine” areas you see in our world? Will you today begin praying to God about these “famines” in the knowledge that famines can truly only end if God is involved in the work? Will you allow God to get involved in the famine areas of your life? Will you pray more consistently than ever before for the famine areas you see in your life?
In 2 Kings 7 today we read about God scaring off the Aramean army! Below is an image from a 15th century Dutch Bible for 2 Kings 7 verse 8 – "When the lepers arrived at the edge of the camp, they went into one tent after another, eating, drinking wine, and carrying out silver and gold and clothing and hiding it."
And below is an image from the same 15 century Dutch Bible for verse 17: "The king appointed his officer to control the traffic at the gate, but he was knocked down and trampled to death as the people rushed out. So everything happened exactly as the man of God had predicted when the king came to his house."
Bible.org's commentary on today's Second Kings readings titled "Saved from the Syrians: The War that Never Happened" is at this link and "Feast or Famine" is at this link.
New Testament – In Acts 15 today we read about Paul not wanting to bring along John Mark on the next missionary journey. Good news is that Paul and Mark were eventually reunited in missionary efforts. Some speculate that it was because Barnabas went with Mark at this juncture, Barnabas' patient encouragement helped Mark's eventual effective ministry. In fact, John Mark is the very same Mark who wrote the Gospel of Mark! How's that for encouragement changing the world?? Is there anyone in your life today who you think could be a great worker for God's kingdom with some encouragement? Will you be like Barnabas was for John Mark and work with and encourage that person? Below is an image of Barnabas the encourager:
Today in Acts 16 we read about Paul's 2nd missionary journey, which took place around AD 49-52. – (map courtesy of ccel.org/bible/phillips/JBPhillips.htm)
Great readings about the conversion of Lydia of Philippi today! She was a business woman and a Gentile (like Cornelius) who loved God. And the Lord opened her heart and she believed! Praise God for his continual ministry of opening people's hearts to the Gospel. Has your heart been opened like Lydia's was opened?
Bible.org's commentary on today's Acts readings titled "When Division Becomes Multiplication" is at this link.
Psalms – Psalm 142 is a prayer of David's when he was fleeing Saul and was hiding in a cave. David is praying for deliverance to God from his enemies. I thought verse 3 was powerful – "For I am overwhelmed, and you alone know the way I should turn. Wherever I go, my enemies have set traps for me." Have you ever felt this way? Overwhelmed? And traps every which way you look? And you have no idea which way to go? At a time like this, will you cry out to God as David did in this Psalm? Will you "pour out your complaints before him and tell him all your troubles"? (v. 2) Do you believe that God knows which way you should turn? Will you allow God to ""be your place of refuge"? In times like these, will you allow God to be "all you really want in life"? (v. 5) Some say that David wrote Psalm 142 while in a cave in Adullam.
Proverbs – Today in Proverbs chapter 17 verse 24 we will read – “A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth.” This is a powerful little Proverb. I have been thinking about this quite a bit in recent weeks. I have found that sometimes the world can be so tempting – or maybe distracting is another way to say it. I have found that I have lately had a lot of opportunities to go out and do “fun stuff.” Perhaps you could say I’ve been offered opportunities to “wander to the ends of the earth.” And it’s been tempting. But, I have realized that if I schedule myself 24 x 7, I don’t spend much time thinking about God at all. Reading the Bible? Maybe I can skip it for today. . . And praying for others?? Forget about it. I’m just afraid that we can spend our lives being so distracted that we will lose sight of wisdom. We absolutely need to keep wisdom in view each and every day. That is why I love the One Year Bible format in so many ways – it provides each of us with at least 15 minutes of wisdom in our lives each day! How about you? How are your days being spent currently? Are you feeling distracted? Are you keeping wisdom in view each and every day? Do you see the wisdom in spending quality time with God each and every day? Do you see the wisdom in not taking any “spiritual vacations”? (Spiritual vacations are a very bad idea. . . even when you go on a regular vacation, please bring God with you!) Like this Proverb teaches us today, let us keep wisdom in view and not let our eyes foolishly wander to the ends of the earth!
Worship Video: Today's Psalm reminds me of the Nicole C. Mullen song "Call on Jesus:"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3Mbj5UUWwI
Have you called on Jesus? Click here and make the Call!
Please join us in memorizing and meditating on a verse of Scripture today: "A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth." Proverbs 17:24 TNIV
Prayer Point: Pray that you are discerning and learning wisdom daily from the Word of God. Pray that your eyes and your heart is not foolishly wandering to the ends of the earth.
Comments from You: What verses or insights stand out to you in today's readings? Please post up by clicking on the "Comments" link below!
God bless,
Mike
p.s. Download our monthly Small Group study notes for our Bible readings at this link.
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BLOG READERS HISTORICAL COMMUNITY COMMENTS:
II Kings 6-7:20
Ah, the story of the Arameans being trapped by “blindness” is awesome and shows how lacking in common sense men of military training and political leaders can be. If the king’s officers really believed that Elisha knew everything the king did, why would you set out to capture him, would not one think he would know what you are doing? Whether their assumption was true or not common sense, if one had any, would dictate the prophet would know you were coming to get him.
I am amazed how blinded to Truth we humans can be. There were plenty of times in my life that God showed himself to me either with incidents like the Arameans experienced or receiving clear words of direction and warnings from what I now know was God, yet a chose not to believe. According to Proverb’s definition, I was just a plan ordinary garden variety “fool.” Praise God for His Redemptive work on Calvary. Amazing Grace how sweet …
Interesting this official of the king who was trampled to death. He in essence said, “Seeing is believing!” when told about the sudden drop in the price of commodities, that seeing he just had to do to believe, killed him. Somewhere in that is a warning for us. I heard a preacher/teacher once say, “No, seeing is not believing, seeing is knowing. We see because we believe so believing is seeing.”
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:3 NIV)
Acts 15:36-16:15
This disagreement between Paul and Barnabas, IMHO, appears to have been orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. With the break-up of the team, one evangelistic ministry became two! I believe, no, I know that each and every person upon this earth has a purpose that has been designated before the foundation of the earth. When we allow the Holy Spirit to direct us we may wind up like Paul and Barnabas, at odds with each other each thinking the other is wrong and out of line. Because each person is hearing differently, and of course each believes that what they heard in their hearing must also be what the other heard so the other is being disobedient, we clash or worse, someone submits wrongly to the vision of the other and follows along. Then major frustration and resentment develops in the others life.
Today’s reading also goes on to show how when we have an agenda set to do something in ministry, the Holy Spirit is not shy about inserting True plans. It is our job to listen intently to what the Spirit is saying and change course. We mess up when we ignore the Spirit and do our own thing and fail. Then we wonder where God is. “Hey God don’t you know I’m trying to do your work!” In reality, we need to be doing God’s work His way if it is any other way we are doing “Our work our way.”
Psalm 142:1-7
This Psalm is one I believe I need to incorporate into my prayer life, often. I just realized how universal, crossing time and space, these Psalms really are. The condition of man’s heat really has not changed since the Fall of man in the Garden. The tools we have to sin with may have become new and improved, but the sinning, the despair, the desperation and emptiness remains the same, without God.
Proverbs 17:24-25
In reading this verse, 24 Sensible people keep their eyes glued on wisdom, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth,” it just crossed my mind that if our eyes wonder, we will wonder and thus we are unstable. Loyalty, a characteristic we humans desire in our relationships are usually not based on “Truth” which is the only stable thing upon this earth, but based on personalities, family relationships and such like. But unless the person we have given our loyalties too is grounded on the Word of God, our unconditional loyalty to folks will also carry us to the “ends of the earth.” Yikes! This is something I must really think about for a while. Loyalty and unconditional love I don’t believe should be the same thing, have I confused the two.
Grace and peace,
Ramona
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Father I thank you for placing within the heart of Mike a desire to lead and encourage others to read Your Word daily, which brings an immeasurable richness to each and every life that comes to this site. I thank you God for his daily comments and insights that cause us to think, contemplate and dig deeper into Your Word.
Protect him and guide him with Your Wisdom and Truth may no harm befall him, may want not crouch at his door. Impart to him daily Your strength to live each day following after You.
Watch over each and every person who enters this portal and make everyone studying Your Word a light to a dead and dying nation. In this I pray in Jesus’ mighty and glorious name, Amen
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2Kings 6:1-7
An ax head is made of heavy metal that should naturally sink in water wheras a stick is light enough to float. However in this reading we see the miraculous power of God reversing the order. As the man of God threw the stick in the river, it sank while the heavy metal floated. Our God is capable of doing what is imposible with man. He can suspend the natural laws to bring for the sake of bringing glory to his name. If the ax head was not recovered,it would have brought shame to the prophet and to the Lord.
Another lesson is that when the ax head floated the man of God told them to reach out and grab it. Many a times God would do His own part when we pray concerning an issue and then He expect us to play our own part. If no one has streched their hand to grab the ax head it would have continued to float on the river. We must therefore play our own part. Faith without work is dead. Our works must accompany our faith.
Florence
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This comment is on the floating ax head: 2 Kings 6:1-7
About 4 years ago I worked for a Pre-fab, pre stressed, concrete manufacturing plant. I had three different jobs throughout the time I worked there. One job imparticular was a concrete truck driver, but not the normal truck you might imagine. The truck I drove was called a tucker built, and was originally used for hauling large amts of feed around a farm and would shoot the feed out by way of an auger which was located inside a long shoot that was attached to the front of the truck . Anyway the truck was used to drop large loads of concrete off at different zones at the plant. Everyday after the dumps were over I had to smack the dried concrete off the truck with a hammer so it wouldn't completely dry.
Well, I dropped the hammer into the wash bay which was filled with water, concrete, and other waste from the plant. I should have been able to reach the hammer because I saw where it dropped and the water was shallow where we washed the trucks, in fact it was a 10 ft x 30ft bay and was like a kiddie pool at the start and got deeper as you went further into the bay. So, I began to search for the hammer and could't find it, on top if this it was borrowed and I didn't have the $22 bucks to pay for it. I had just read the ax story I think or I at least remembered it at that moment. With that, I prayed to God and asked him to help me find the hammer like he helped Elisha in this story, but he didn't at that moment. So I went home, and the next morning prayed again to find the hammer. Well when I got to work the next morning they were cleaning out the bay with a front in loader, and as I walked by to clock in the loader was backing out of the wash bay and the hammer was hanging out over the side almost smiling at me. Only God could have made this timing perfect, because if he didn't there there would have been no possible way that timing could have worked as it did, and there would have been no way that hammer would have been found in all that waste. No floating ax head, but I'll take it just the same ;-).
Michael
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See through the eyes of the prophet!
Elisha's servant saw them surrounded by horses and chariots of steel. "What shall we do?" he cried out. But Elisha the prophet said, "Do not be afraid, for those that are with us are more than those that are with them." And Elisha prayed, and God opened the eyes of the young man, and he could see that they would be protected by horses and chariots of fire.
How many times have we cried out in a crisis, "What shall we do?" Perhaps we are concentrating on earthly foes; the chariots built of steel. But surrounding those who know our God are chariots of fire, a superior force to protect us and bring us to safety, if that be Gods will.
Let us remember not to be afraid, for those that are with us are more than those that are with them, the enemy.
What a beautiful lesson contained in today's readings, Chapter 4:15-23.
Art
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I was reading your comments for 2 Kings 6. I want to say that Today i lost my credit card with my rent money on it. God stepped in and told me to cancel the card immediately. I was on the phone with the bank cancelling it and the person who found my card was making purchases . The bank personnel said I see activity on your card do not worry not one cent is being disturbed. You have all your money. I am widowed and on a limited income God stepped in. The bank personnel began praising God on the phone she said if you did not call when you did all your money would have been gone. Yes God does floats ax heads and even "floats" you and me too! God is indeed our great Life Preserver…
Antonietta
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If I can be honest here, I wish I had the power Elisha had tell God to strike the people with blindness.
Anyway I must be a fool because I look to the ends of the earth. It doesn't take much for me to get my eyes off Hod. I really have to work at constant praying. Because I have a problem with worrying! God wants to love life and live in the moment. I try to remember that he has my life in his hands! Why shoukd i worry ? But the humanness in us we fear the future. Who wil take care of us when we get old? I see my parents aging and needling so much care. Not everyone has family. So God forgive me! Forgive us.
I love the song "overwhelmed" by Big Daddy weave" good one to listen too. My insecurities are actually what keep me coming back to God! Why else do I have my coffee table set up with Bibles, devotionals, IPad for Mikes Blogs, Jesus calling, books etc. Because I'm living in Gods world and His word is my strength!
Blessings to all today! Live in the moment. Count all your blessings for each day God gave you.
Jane
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Mike and everyone,
Definitely have struggled with fears,
Today's Scripture gives such comfort and reassurance:
2 Kings 6:16,17 NLT
16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!”
17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.
Want to share this story quoted in the article in Bible.org, 16.Surrounded by the Enemy (2 Kings 6:8-23) by J. Hampton Keathley III:
'We understand the following story was reported by a medical missionary at his home church in Michigan. We aren’t sure from whom this story originated so we are unable to give credit, but it beautifully illustrates our point:
While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, I traveled every two weeks by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This required camping overnight half way. On one of these trips, I saw two men fighting in the city. One was seriously injured, so I treated him and witnessed to him of the Lord Jesus Christ. I then returned home without incident.
Upon arriving in the city several weeks later, I was approached by the man I had treated earlier. He told me he had known that I carried money and medicine. He said, “Some friends and I followed you into the jungle knowing you would camp overnight. We waited for you to go to sleep and planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. Just as we were about to move into your campsite, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.”
I laughed at this and said I was certainly all alone out in that jungle campsite. The young man pressed the point, “No, sir, I was not the only one to see the guards. My Jave friends also saw them and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.”
At this point in the church presentation in Michigan, one of the men in the church jumped up and interrupted the missionary, and asked, “Can you tell me the exact date when this happened?” The missionary thought for a while and recalled the date. The man in the congregation told this side of the story:
“On that night in Africa it was morning here. I was preparing to play golf. As I put my bag in the car, I felt the Lord leading me to pray for you. In fact, the urging was so strong that I called the men of this church together to pray for you. Will all of those men who met with me that day please stand?”
The men who had met that day to pray together stood–there were 26 of them!'
pray that this story will give you faith, courage, and strength as well!
Blessings!
Joyce
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How wrong and misguided the guards were when facing the power of God and his instrument Elisha. To be blinded and placed in your enemies path.wow and to remain unharmed..super Wow!
I like the analogy of Ramona in the story of Paul, Mark, Barnabas. All have different gifting and sometimes a bad thing has to happen so that something good could come about. Two ministries going on and different paths to reach the greatest amount of people. John Mark was so influenced he wrote a whole section of the Bible. Wow!
Psalm 143 when David was hiding during Sauls reign. Some of the greatest depth profounding Psalms of all time if the vulnerability of King David.
Be loyal, be truthful to people and honorable. Have a cause and stick to it. Amen
Dee
2 Kings 6:1-7:20
Random thoughts on Today’s Old Testament Readings:
Sometimes I forget, we forget that the mercy of God is not limited to the righteous. Jesus speaking, “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5:45 KJV)”
Every single one of Israel’s kings were wicked, yet God provided a prophet to speak to them, He never gave up on them even though He knew in his foreknowledge those that would seek and turn to Him and those that would reject Him. . Yet although the kings were wicked not everyone in an ungodly nation, community, family and or business is wicked. Who knows why the righteous find themselves in an ungodly environment; maybe like Joseph in Potiphar’s house and in the prison, God allows blessings to flow through the righteous person.
Clearly Elisha served as a buffer, a mediator for God within Israel. “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: (Acts 17:26-27 KJV)”
I must remember that even when people are absolutely wicked and like King Ahab, completely sold out to evil, God’s mercy is still applied to their lives even in the midst of His judgment. Random acts of Kindness began with God not us.
Grace and peace,
Ramona