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Have you read the latest Left Behind Book? Armageddon was a great read that couldn't be put down until it was finished! When the next (last?) book comes out, I'll have to take a day or two off of work so I have to put it down less frequently! I won't give any spoilers here, but when the book ends, we are just hours away from the Glorious Appearing and that's all well, as the complexion of the main cast of characters has changed about as dramatically as it could.
If you're wanting a good book to curl up with and don't mind a little chaos, these books of the seven-year Tribulation after the second coming of Christ are definitely recommended! Many of the earlier ones are available at your local Wal-Mart as paperbacks, and great deals on books can be found at e-Bay as well! If you go the e-Bay route, just make sure the shipping charges are reasonable and check the quality rating of the seller before you do any bidding!
A link to an online Bible for this passage is here.
Who is the most famous figure of the Old Testament? You have David, Noah, Moses, Abraham and many others. One notable figure is Elijah also. He was, perhaps, the greatest prophet of all time. We'll see why for the next few days. To start with, he trusted God. He was told to seek a widow and she would nourish him. To thank her, God caused her oil and flour to remain during the drought. This woman was ready to die, but God gave her a task to do and He looks out for His own! Later, her son died and Elijah's prayers caused God to return his life. Of course, nobody can do anything that causes God to do anything, but every miracle begins with a showing of true faith.
Elijah then proceeded to humiliate the priests of false gods with the burnt offering challenge. He even stacked the deck against the Lord by soaking his alter before asking God to burn the sacrifice. The fact that he killed so many prophets of Baal afterwards is secondary. His faith in God to light the sacrifice won the challenge. Of course, this did anger Jezebel and Elijah ran away to lay low for a bit. Of course, he wouldn't stay there as long as God had a plan for him.
A link to an online Bible for this passage is here.
God certainly had a plan for Ahab in that plains battle. That plan was to destroy the opposing army without mercy. Mercy was shown, though, and he was to take the punishment that God had in mind for Ben-Hadad. Ahab was also a man who allowed his wife to murder a man for his vineyard. I honestly don't understand the logic behind letting a man's son take the punishment for his deeds, but that was done.
Links to an online Bible for these passages are here and here.
Micaiah was not liked by the king of Israel, for he gave only bad news and prophesied disaster for him. However, he did remind the king that he could only repeat what God had told him. He even told the king that the other prophets had been mislead and the king would be killed after hiding in an inner room during the coming battle. Dude, don't kill the messenger! This was a warning as well as a prophecy. I imagine that once the pieces were in motion, they couldn't be stopped without the king losing face, but it would be crazy to continue, knowing the result beforehand. Of course, Ahab shows us that God doesn't need our help to make things come to pass and there's nothing we could do to avoid his wishes, so I guess I'll lay off this idiot of a king.
2 Chronicles 20:31-21:7, 1 Kings 22:50 and 2 Kings 8:16-22.
Links to an online Bible for these passages are here, here and here.
This day is all about transition, except for the miracles of Elijah and Elisha. Elijah was a prophet of God and as such, kings needed to tread lightly around them, for they were the spokesmen of God. What I'm getting at is that people wouldn't speak directly to God; the prophets were the voices of God to the people. So when the groups of fifty soldiers went to demand that Elijah come with them, they were bringing the fiery wrath upon themselves. Only by requesting humbly did Elijah follow them. Of course, the message remained the same, but at least he went.
The matter of Elisha telling the army how to provide water in the middle of the desert is another matter. The army was on the verge of being decimated before they could do battle, but beating impossible odds is God's specialty. If He can provide water for an army in the desert, he can sustain your needs as well.
Links to an online Bible for these passages are here and here.
Elijah left our world without dying. I believe he was the second man to do so. Let me see here... Yes! Enoch was the first. The story of his non-death is listed in day two of week one in our reading. At first, I thought Elisha was being a bit greedy by asking a double portion of Elijah's spirit. Looking back at it, though, it's not so bad. Miracles require faith. Elisha was then asking that his faith be stronger than Elija's, which was pretty strong to begin with. Asking for a strong bond with God is not a bad thing at all.
And Elisha used this bond quite a bit! Saving a widow from losing her sons to pay a debt, giving an old woman a son, and then saving him from death, feeding a hundred men, he kept busy. Of course, Elisha didn't have the authority to do any of this, but his faith and God's mercy went very well together.
A link to an online Bible for this passage is here.
Naaman was an army commander for Aram, one of Israel's enemies. He went to Elisha and was cured of leprosy for no charge. The fact that one of Elisha's servants chased after him for payment shows that you don't always match the company you keep. It also shows that using God's works for purposes of greed are a great way to end up with problems of your own. Naaman did talk to Elisha about his duties for his master, including some that involved idolatry. I suppose that since he was honoring his master and not the idol, that was reason enough for Elisha to tell him to continue in good conscience.
Later in this reading, Elisha captures a company of Aram soldiers, always with God's intervention. The mercy of God is apparent here when the men are fed and returned. Many people think that the God of the Old Testament with the fire and brimstone can't be the same as the loving, forgiving God of the New Testament, but here's just one example that argues their theory.
Links to an online Bible for these passages are here and here.
This was certainly a bloody period of time for Israel and her enemies. We see here several deaths that were foretold before by Elijah and more unrest in Israel. The people had demanded a king, which gave them roughly 2 generations of calm, followed by chaos. God was to be the king of Israel from the start. If this had been done, they would have prospered by now and been a major world power, probably the preeminent power of all. The result of their request, though, gives us chaos. That's why I'm a firm believer in the "Thy will be done" line of the Lord's Prayer. "Thy will be done" is, in my humble opinion, the only prayer we truly need.
Weekly LinkAfghanistan YesterdayFeeling an urgent need to preserve his vivid memories of Afghanistan as it used to be, Thewalt decided to share photos of the art collected in the Kabul Museum and other Afghanistan locations that he had been privileged to acquire. As a student years ago, he was granted permission to take photos in the Darulaman, and has laboriously scanned and posted his vast collection of photographs of the art and landscapes of his native country, and plans to add detailed descriptions. |
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