Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 13

After Jehoash had reigned for 23 years, Jehu's son, Jehoahaz took the throne of Israel. He was evil and this made God angry. So God let Hazael, king of Syria, take Israel. Then, Jehoahaz prayed to God to help them; so God, being a God of mercy and forgiveness, sent them a leader to help break the bonds of Syria, then they went back to their former lives. They continued in their old ways.

Jehoahaz died, and his son Jeroboam reigned.

When Israel was taken by Syria, it was Elisha that Jehoahaz went to for help to talk to God. Elisha told Jehoahaz to beat the floor with his staff. Jehoahaz hit the floor three times, and Elisha reprimanded him for his lack of determination. "If you had hit the floor at least five times, you would have drove the Syrians away for good! But, you will only be able to defeat them three times now."

Elisha was old and sick. He soon died. They placed him in a tomb. Later, the Moabites invaded the land. Once, when they were in a funeral procession for another man, they saw a band of men coming that they supposed were enemies, so they quickly put the dead men in the tomb with Elisha's bones. When the dead man touched the bones, he immediately came back to life.

Hazael, king of Syria, oppressed Israel until he died. Then, his son Benhadad became king. Jehoahash took back all the lands Hazael had taken when Benhadad became king.

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My Comments:
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"I'm sorry" only works if you turn from your actions that you are sorry for and determine not to do it again. If you say you are sorry, and ask for help, you may be helped. But if you turn back to your old ways, the one who helps you may be more likely to let you wallow in your misery. God has patience, to a point. After a while, though, He determines to practice "tough love" by letting you wallow in your misery until you learn why you should turn from your sin and determine to sin no more.

God doesn't want to hear His children cry. But, if they fail to learn from their mistakes, the only option He has is to let them suffer the consequences.

When God asks you to do something that will help you, then you should do it whole-heartedly. If you just half-heartedly do it, you will only get a half-hearted result, and the problem could come back at full force later. It's best to whole-heartedly take care of the problem once and for all.

Elisha had so much faith and spirit in him that the power God gave him even permeated his decaying body.

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