Day 124: 2 Kings 1-2

Were these "little children" a threat to Elijah? Most likely they were, and our translation makes it ambiguous. In Genesis 34:19, the same word is used for Shechem, the young man who slept with Dinah, Jacob's daughter. In 1 Kings 3:7, Solomon, who has just been made king, calls himself a "little child" yet we learn he reigns a total of 40 years, (1 Kings 11:42), and Rehoboam was 41 when he began to reign. (1 Kings 14:21) So if there were 42 young men pursuing and mocking Elisha, they were certainly a threat, just as the captains of fifties had been to Elijah in 1 Kings 1:9-15.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

120313 - Exodus 35 - Overshadowed in the tent of the Father

Image
Tuesday SOAP: The generous hearts of the Israelites is revealed to be a move of God's Spirit. How else could this nation of people who were ready to stone Moses a few chapters ago, who longed for their former slavery (even while God was guiding them daily with fire and cloud, feeding them, providing water for them, and directing them in every way) be moved to give when not required to? We need a fresh move of this kind today. May God liberate His people from the slavery and distraction we've settled for! S: The freewill offering: Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD's contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; (Exodus 35:5) "Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the LORD has commanded: (Exodus 35:10) O: The freewill offering was an opportunity for everyone who felt generous, whom the Spirit moved, (Exodus 35:21), but the work of craftsmanship was for "every skillful craftsm...
Read more

120418 - Numbers 03 - Substitute Teacher

Image
Wednesday SOAP: In the book of Numbers, God re-states His claim on Israel's firstborn. This is because of His deliverance of them from the final plague on Israel - the death of the firstborn. The Levites were substituted for the firstborn in sort of a substitutionary redemption. This makes me wrestle once again with the question of who were really saved in the Old Testament, and what exactly did they understand about it? I think this makes a significant analogy for our day - we ought to resist the over-simplification of "say this prayer and you're in," because the Jewish culture had their own over-simplifications - and we're taught they fell short. (Why "SOAP?" See http://www.enewhope.org/firststeps/journaling ) S: And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On ...
Read more

2 Samuel 20; Psalm 118; John 2

June 19 : Like Adam’s rebellion against God, Absalom’s rebellion couldn’t be put down by just the death of the rebel. Sin cost everyone; yet God’s enduring mercy kept manifesting itself to David, as He had promised, until ultimately his greater Son completely satisfied the debt we all owed because we could not do so. 2 Samuel 20 : Absalom’s death seems to have defused a a chaotic situation before it could really cause too much destruction. How can you continue a rebellion when the rebellious heir has been extinguished? Sheba shows us how: find a way to express the core thought of every dissatisfied person in Israel. It ends with Amasa slain by Joab’s treachery and a city in Israel barely escaping destruction through the giving up of Sheba as he takes sanctuary there. Psalm 118:1-16 : What does it really mean to say the LORD’s mercy endures forever? This Psalm begins by urging the reader/worshiper to give the LORD thanks for His goodness and everlasting mercy. Then it begins with the ...
Read more