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II KINGS The following comments are from Navigator's and Quiet Time Diary journals. One verse will be entered, then the comment, then the date. 1:2c Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury. Ahaziah was the king of Samaria in this
chapter. He wanted to consult his god about his fate, but Elijah intervened and
told his messengers that the king would die. God sent fire from heaven to
consume the companies of men who asked Elijah to see the king. 1:12 And Elijah answered and said to them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty." Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. I find it humorous that Elijah questioned if
he was a man of God, and how the king sent 100 people to be killed this way. The
third group leader pleaded with Elijah to accept the message without being
killed in the process. 2:9 Now it came about when they had crossed over [the dry Jordan River], that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you." And Elisha said, "Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me." Elisha was like a son-apprentice to Elijah. It seemed that everyone they talked to knew Elijah was going to heaven that final day of his life, and Elisha wouldn't leave him alone. Sometimes I would like a friend like that, but also like some privacy, too. Better yet, the Holy Spirit stays with me wherever I go, and I'm glad to have Him correct me when I do wrong. (DRM 1/22/07) 2:11, 12 As they were going along and talking, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire which separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind to heaven. 12Elisha saw it and cried out, "My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!" And he saw Elijah no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces. [re: 2:11] Elijah never died, he was taken to heaven. This sounds similar to the rapture that believers will know just before Christ's return. When we are just walking or talking together. . . (DRM 8/8/88) [re: 2:11, 12] I absolutely believe that the
rapture of the church will occur very soon. Some probably wonder how God can do
it? Of course God can do anything He wants whenever He wants to. 2:14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and struck the waters and said, "Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?" And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there, and Elisha crossed over. Like I wrote yesterday, in verse 9, Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah's spirit to come upon him after Elijah left. In verse 11, Elijah was taken away - and here was the first evidence that Elisha now had God-given powers. I would like the same, but God hasn't given these things to me that I'm aware of. (DRM 1/23/07) 3:11 But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord through him? An officer of the king of Israel answered, "Elisha son of Shaphat is here. . . " Three kings unified to defeat a common foe in this chapter. When things did not go as expected, they called upon Elisha, a prophet. We don't have to wait for "hard times" to call upon the Lord. . . (DRM 8/9/88) 4:6 And it came about when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not one vessel more." And the oil stopped. This section (4:1-17) contains two miracles (v. 1-7, 8-17) that are attributed to Elisha. In some ways, they made me think of the miracles that Jesus did later. Truly, a man of God shows the loving kindness of the Father to those in need. How great it would be to be able to help others in this way! (DRM 1/24/07) 4:7 Then she came and told the man of God {Elisha]. And he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest." The Bible tells us about many miracles in
both the old and new testaments. This verse is from "The Widow's Oil" where she
ran out of food and money and went to Elisha for help. They got many containers
and the miracle was that the oil kept coming from her original supply. She
filled all the neighbors (v. 3) containers/vessels until no more containers
could be found. This verse is where Elisha told her to sell the oil. God provided financially for the widow in much the same way He provides salvation for me. I am bankrupted by sin, but Jesus paid my debt — and offers me eternal life as well! (from Our Daily Bread KIRSTEN HOLMBERG 9/26/17) 4:9, 10 She said to her husband, "Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually. 10Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there." While this story is titled, "The Shunammite
Woman" and refers to Elisha (v. 8) the prophet, I know of Christian workers
today that have had the same experience. 4:34 And he [Elisha] went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm. Perhaps this was Elisha's spiritual mouth-to-mouth resuscitation of the day. What Elisha did was more than what medicine does today - because the boy was dead for a while - just because of traveling time to get there. God worked another miracle in the man Elisha. (DRM 1/25/07) 4:43 And his attendant said, "What, shall I set this before a hundred men?" But he said, "Give them to the people that they may eat, for thus says the LORD, 'They shall eat and have some left over. ' " [Re: 4:43b] This chapter contained 4 miracles, but this last one reminded me of Jesus the most. The LORD said in this verse in 895 B.C. what Jesus said later. Jesus IS Lord! (DRM 8/10/88) A man brought bread and fruit for Elisha and the prophets and it didn't seem to be enough. It seemed that I was reading about Jesus and feeding the multitudes in the New Testament. God can do anything. He can provide for all of our needs. My faith must continue to depend on His provision. (DRM 1/26/07) 5:6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, "And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy." Naaman was the captain of the army of the
king of Aram (v. 1) {Syria} and had leprosy. His king wanted to help him get
healed, so sent him to Israel as he heard they could heal him there. 5:10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you and you shall be clean." Naaman wanted to be healed of his leprosy and first went to the king of Israel (v. 5). Elisha said to send Naaman to him, but then had a messenger meet him as written in this verse. This was a test of faith for Naaman who refused at first, then his servants (v. 13) convinced him, and he was healed and thanked Elisha (v.15-16). Faith is necessary in most things! (DRM 1/27/07) 5:11 But Naaman was furious and went away and said, "Behold, I thought, 'He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.' Naaman wanted to be cured of his leprosy on
his own terms. After going to the king of Israel for help, the prophet Elisha
offered his services to the King. 5:14 So he [Naaman] went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God [Elisha]; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean. Naaman was the captain of the army of the
King of Aram (Syria area) and had leprosy (v. 1). The king of Aram heard that he
could be cured in Israel, so the King of Israel could do nothing, but the
prophet Elisha said he would instruct Naaman. Naaman objected to the impersonal
instructions but eventually did what he was told. . . and was healed. 5:16 The prophet (Elisha) answered, "As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing." And even though Naaman urged him, he refused. To work for the Lord is not a money-making business. The riches to be found are His love and enjoyment from our labors in Heaven. (DRM 8/11/88) 5:20 But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, thought, "Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Aramean, by not receiving from his hands what he brought. As the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him." While Elisha didn't charge money or goods for his spiritual services, Naaman offered anyway. Of course Elisha refused, but his greedy servant, Gehazi decided on his own that he wanted some money and clothing that was being offered, and asked Naaman for the items in Elisha's name. When Elisha found out, the servant got leprosy (v. 27). Lying, cheating, stealing never win. (DRM 1/28/07) 6:6 The man of God asked: "where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. There are plenty of amazing stories in the
Bible, and this one about the floating ax head was new to me. Iron doesn't float! God gave Elisha amazing abilities, not only to perform miracles, but also to think of what to do in the situation. The river probably wasn't shallow where they were working, so this iron head had to rise at least ten feet! With faith, God can do anything! (DRM 1/29/07) 6:15 Now when the attendant of the man of God [Elisha] had risen early and gone out, behold an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" The king of Aram was at war with Israel (v.
8) and God was telling Elisha where they were going (v. 9), and Elisha told the
king of Israel. Things are always better than they seem to be when we remember that God is by our side. (from Our Daily Bread 1/3/17) 6:16 So he [Elisha] answered, "Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Elisha, the prophet, was an enemy of the King
who wanted to attack Israel (vv. 13-15) and surrounded the city that Elisha was
in. Elisha's servant wanted to know what to do? 6:17 Then Elisha prayed and said, "O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. For a change, this wasn't a miracle in my mind. The enemy army had surrounded Elisha to capture him, but God sent His army to protect him. I believe that God does this often for His true servants - but we can't "see" them. How great it is when we (I) has this assurance that God=Jesus is watching and protecting me. (DRM 1/30/07) 6:18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD and said, "Strike this people with blindness, I pray." So He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. The king of Aram was trying to capture
Elisha, the prophet of Israel as Elisha knew all that he did - as the Lord told
him (vv. 12-13). 6:28 And the king said to her, "What is the matter with you?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.' " Generally I take the Bible literally - but there are some passages that obviously aren't literally true. I hope this is one of them. The quote is second hand - as it was someone the woman was talking to. Hopefully it shows the desperate hunger they were going through and their plea for help - which God can provide. (DRM 1/31/07) 7:1 Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." These were low prices, during a drought! Again Elisha the prophet was told by the Lord what would happen, but no one knew how. God often directs us in a direction when we wonder how we will do it. (DRM 8/12/88) The famine was severe in Samaria (6:25) and Elisha prophesized to the king (v.2) that (I think) low priced food would be available tomorrow! Elisha had a reputation by now, but how could this happen? God allows some to proclaim and asks the rest of us to have the faith to believe them - so long as we know they were sent by God. (DRM 2/1/07) 7:16 So the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. Then a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. And the prophecy came to pass. The Bible is full of prophecy and how it is fulfilled. Since Jesus said He would return and it is recorded in the Bible as prophecy - shouldn't we also expect that to be fulfilled in His timing? I believe the time is VERY SOON! (DRM 2/2/07) 8:10 Elisha answered, "Go and say to him (King Ben-Hadad) 'You will certainly recover'; but the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die." This is a little confusing! The servant, Hazael, who came to inquire for the King, was to become his (the King's) successor. Perhaps the Lord did not want the King to know this? (DRM 8/13/88) 9:10 'And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and none shall bury her.' " Then he opened the door and fled. In verses 1-3, Elisha called a servant to an errand to anoint Jehu king over Israel, with specific words to say. The servant said much more (v. 6-10), but this time the prophecy of the death of Jezebel was accurate (v. 33). I wonder if God sent the message to the servant in transit? There is no doubt that God can use anyone who is willing to serve Him. (DRM 2/3/07) 9:35, 36c But when they went out to bury her (Jezebel), they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands. 36c On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh. The Lord had told Jehu (in verse 10) that Jezebel had to be destroyed and devoured by dogs. The enemies of the Lord, in that time, were eliminated in various ways, depending on their deeds. (DRM 8/14/88) 10:28, 29 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. 29However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit - the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan. In this chapter Jehu killed all of Ahab's family and the prophets of Baal - to the Lord's desires. The interesting part was that he (Jehu) did not turn from his own sins as mentioned in v. 29. We must have total commitment to Him. (DRM 8/15/88) 11:2 Highlights But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram . . . took Joash . . . and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered . . . so he was not killed. Jehosheba had foresight not to have Joash killed as the other princes were in the royal family. It continues to amaze me how God can lead us mortals to serve Him, and how small incidents lead to major successes in His Kingdom. (DRM 8/16/88) 12:7b (King Joash asked) "Why aren't you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple. This chapter does not say what happened during the 23 years that money was collected and not spent on repairs. Honestly is mentioned in verse 15 and is absolutely essential when serving God. (DRM 8/17/88) 12:15 Moreover, they did not require an accounting from the men into whose hand they gave the money to pay to those who did the work, for they dealt faithfully. King Jehoash wanted the 'house of the Lord'
repaired of the damages that had occurred (v. 5). Even after 23 years nothing
had been done (v. 6)! A new plan was implemented and money was given to the
workers to do the repair work. 13:17 And he (Elisha) said, "Open the window towards the east," and he opened it. Then Elisha said, "Shoot!" And he shot. And he said, "The LORD'S arrow victory, even the arrow of victory over Aram; for you shall defeat the Arameans at Aphek until you have destroyed them." If I said all of the things that Elisha said in this verse, it would be considered 'wishful thinking.' As mentioned before, a test of a prophet is if the past statements came true, and Elisha qualified for this. How we need a prophet today! If there are any, they aren't well known. (DRM 2/4/07) 13:21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet. God can produce miracles at any time He wants to! Even though Elisha was dead, just touching his bones was enough to cause this other man to revive. God's powers are endless! (DRM 8/18/88) 14:3 He (Amaziah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father David had done. This chapter shows at least 3 more kings and specifically tells us if they did right or evil in the eyes of the Lord. My life must show the right ways in order to be of service to the Lord. (DRM 8/19/88) 15:12 So the word of the Lord spoken to Jehu was fulfilled: "Your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation." (2 Kings 10:30) In 2 Kings 15:10 Shallum assassinated King Zechariah and became king of Israel, thus ending King Jehu's line in the throne. This shows to me that when the Lord speaks to someone, that they should take Him at His word! (DRM 8/20/88) 16:2 (King) Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. The three previous kings of Judah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but King Ahaz became friends with the king of Assyria and made a copy of his altar. The Lord could not have been pleased with this king. . . [also 2 Chron. 28] (DRM 8/21/88) 17:16 And they forsook all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah and worshipped all the host of heaven and served Baal. Certainly this verse and this section of
Chapter 17 makes it clear why Israel was driven out of the land that God gave
them from the Exodus. 17:20 Therefore the Lord rejected all the people of Israel; he afflicted them and gave them into the hands of plunderers, until he thrust them from his presence. Israel was defeated by the king of Assyria and the Israelites were deported to Assyria (v.6). All of Israel's sins are listed in this chapter. Lord, let me stay honorable to You and be more like you every day. (DRM 8/22/88) 17:33 They (foreigners brought to inhabit Israel) feared the LORD and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile. I guess it's logical if the Israelites were exiled to Assyria, that others would inhabit the land in their place. The new inhabitants discerned that God was not happy. (v. 26), so wanted to know more about Him. It's too bad that they only wanted to appease Him and not learn to worship and serve Him. (DRM 2/6/07) 18:7 And the Lord was with him (Hezekiah); he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him. Stand fast to the Lord - seems to be a good title for this chapter - and for my life - and we shall be successful in everything. (DRM 8/23/88) 19:15 Hezekiah prayed before the LORD and said, "O LORD, the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, You are the God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Unlike today, King Hezekiah followed the
Lord's direction and prayed to Him. While I'm sure that the Jewish people pray
to God today, they generally don't acknowledge that Jesus and God are two parts
of the same God. 19:16 Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see; and listen to the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Prayer changes things. King Hezekiah of Judah
trusted in the Lord. He was threatened by King Sennacherib of Assyria. The
Assyrian king was confident of success because of his prior victories (vv.
11-13). 19:17, 18 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have devastated the nations and their lands 18and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. King Hezekiah of Judah was facing a battle
with the king of Assyria. This is part of Hezekiah's prayer to God about the
situation. The enemy had defeated other cities/nations nearby and
destroyed their gods. 19:19 "And now, O LORD our God, I pray, deliver us from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that Thou alone, O LORD, art God. " King Hezekiah was a believer in the true God.
Another king's army was on its way to destroy him and Jerusalem and had defeated
other kingdoms on the way. 19:35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp when the people got up the next morning - there were all the dead bodies. King Hezekiah had been told two times that Jerusalem would be destroyed and was rightfully concerned. Isaiah the prophet told Hezekiah that the Lord would save the city in v. 34. (DRM 8/24/88) What if this verse were to happen today? The number is so huge - what would the worldly explanation be? God's ways of dealing with the enemy of Israel were clear and dramatic in Hezekiah's and Isaiah's time. (v. 20) I know God will do bigger things during the tribulation, but souls need to be saved NOW, before they are lost forever. (DRM 2/8/07) 20:5b "This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: 'I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you. . . '" No matter how you feel, God will listen to
your prayer. He is always with us, even when it seems that everything is falling
apart. 20:13 And Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and the house of his armor and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah did not show them. Even though I've never been rich like King Hezekiah, if people I didn't know came to give me a get well present (v.12), I think I would be suspicious. Yes, I would consider showing my wealth to friends, but not strangers! After this occurred, Isaiah told him all his possessions would be taken away (v. 17), probably due to this error of judgment. We (I) should learn from this. (DRM 2/9/07) 21:6 He (King Manasseh) sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, provoking him to anger. Hezekiah died in Chapter 20 and his son, Manasseh, became king. I can not understand how a son can see how successful his father was, and not follow in his and God's footsteps. (DRM 8/25/88) 22:2 He did right in the sight of the LORD and walked in all the way of his father David, nor did he turn aside to the right or to the left. Statements like this are in the Bible for
several kings of this period, in this case it refers to King Josiah. 22:13b Great is the Lord's anger that burns against us because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us. The book of the law had just been found, and
the king immediately knew that his country had not obeyed the laws of God. 23:2 The King [Josiah] went up to the house of the LORD and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests and the prophets and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the LORD. The King was absolutely dedicated to the Lord
God. When this book was found in the "house of the Lord," Josiah knew that he
and his people-subjects had sinned against the Lord and wanted to confess his
sins and turn back to God. 23:3 The King (Josiah) stood by the pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord - to follow the Lord and keep his commands, regulations and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, thus confirming the words of the covenant written in this book . . . Complete dedication to the Lord is an important part of Christianity and well stated in this verse. I pray that many people I hope to meet will decide to follow the Lord as Josiah did. (DRM 8/26/88) King Josiah of Judah started young (at age eight), but did right in the sight of the Lord (22:2) which was different than his predecessor (21:22). Josiah gave the money from the house of the Lord to the workmen to repair it and stated this verse/covenant to the Lord later. This is a covenant that I would agree to also, with God's help! (DRM 2/10/07) 23:24 Moreover Josiah removed the mediums and the spiritists and the teraphim and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might confirm the words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. Josiah was a young king of Judah and, when
the book of the Lord was found in the temple, he was determined to worship the
Lord; not all the other gods that his predecessors allowed. - "He did
right in the sight of the LORD" (2 Kings 22:2) 24:12 Jehoiachin King of Judah, his mother, his attendants, his nobles and his officials all surrendered to him (Nebuchadnezzar). This would seem to be the end of Jerusalem, but Zedekiah became king of Judah in v. 17. Even though there seemed to be no hope, there was one more chance for people to serve the Lord. (DRM 8/27/88) 25:9 He set fire to the temple of the Lord, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he (Nebuzaradan) burned down. The fall or end of Jerusalem or the Judean nation. God had anger for the way He had been treated and destroyed the nation as he had promised in chapter 24:2,3 (DRM 8/28/88)
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