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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Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 7

Then Elisha told the king, "This time tomorrow, food will be sold cheap here in Samaria."

Then, a close friend and servant of the king said, mocking, "Yeah, right, just like there are windows in heaven."

Elisha turned to him and said, "Oh, it will happen, but you won't be around to enjoy it when it does."

There were four leprous men at the gate of the city. They were irritable and hungry and said to each other, "What is the point in us just sitting here? Even if we went into the city we'd starve. If we go out to the Syrians who have us surrounded, they may kill us. Either way, we'll die. It's worth taking a chance." So the next morning, they went into the Syrian camp, but there was no one there.

The night before, God had made a great noise that sounded like armies approaching, and the Syrians thought that Israel had contacted their allies somehow and that the allies were coming to save them, so the Syrians took off running, leaving everything behind.

The lepers went in one tent and ate, then took all the valuables they could find and hid them, then went into another tent and did the same. Then, they stopped and thought about what they were doing.

"Anything could happen to us out here. We need to go tell the king." So, they went to the gate of Samaria and called to the porter, and told him what they had found. The porter sent a messenger to the king.

The King found it hard to believe. He said, "They are probably hiding out in the fields, waiting for us to come out so they can get in and take over the city."

One of the king's servants then said, "But, isn't it worth checking out?"

So the king sent two chariots out to check things out. He also sent his friend that had mocked Elisha to guard the city gates. When they came back with a good report, the people were so ecstatic about getting out and spoiling the tents of the Syrians for food and valuables that they trampled the guard to death.

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When you are surrounded by enemies, you may have to endure hard times and go through some nasty things; but, with patience, you will see that God will take care of the problem. It is times like these when you need to have the most faith; for if you doubt, you may see the light at the end of the tunnel but never reach it.

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Daily Bible Reading: 2 Kings 6

The prophets Elisha worked with did not like where they were living, so they told Elisha that they'd like to go and live in Jordan, where there was easier access to the place. Elisha told them to go ahead. They asked Elisha to come with them and he agreed.

When they got there, they had to construct their new homes. One man had borrowed an iron ax and was chopping when it flew off the handle and landed in the Jordan river. He was very dismayed because it wasn't his ax. Elisha cut a stick and threw it into the water, and the iron ax-head floated so the man could retrieve it.

The king of Syria warred with Israel. He told his men where he'd be staying. Elisha, in Israel, told his king where not to go in order to stay safe. The Syrian king accused his men of playing the spy, until one of his servants told him about Elisha. He wanted to know where Elisha was, and the servant told him, "Dothan". So, the king of Syria surrounded Dothan.

Elisha's servant began to panic, "What are we gonna do?"

Elisha told him, "Don't worry about it. There are more of us than there are of him." Then he prayed that the servant would see, and he opened his eyes and saw that the whole mountain around Elisha was packed with men on horses and chariots of fire everywhere.

Elisha prayed that God would strike the Syrians with blindness, and He did. Elisha then led them to Samaria, to the King of Israel, where they were given their sight back. The king of Israel wanted to kill the men, but Elisha talked him out of it by saying, "You don't kill prisoners of war!" So, the king fed them and sent them to their masters, and the Syrians left Israel alone after that until Benhadad besieged Samaria.

During the siege, there was famine. It was so bad that the price of food skyrocketed. One day the king of Israel passed by a wall and a lady cried out in despair, telling the king, "I had a son, and my neighbor had a son. We agreed that I would kill and eat my son one day, and that they would do so the next. It is her turn, but she has hidden her son!" The king was very distraught at the state of Israel because of this, and he wore sackcloth and mourned.

He was also angry. He sent someone to fetch Elisha, who locked himself in his quarters. The king cried out, "Why should I serve a God who allows this!"

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The king did not understand that Israel was paying for their sins. God told Israel that if they refuse to follow His laws, this would happen over time. God does not give punishment without warning first!

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