Bible Devotion

Meditative Reflection
What Time is It?

“Is this the time the take money or accept clothes or olive grove and vineyards, or flocks or herds, or male and female slaves?” (2 Ki. 5:26)

I believe that even Elisha must have struggled a little with whether to receive the gifts from Naaman, not because he coveted the wealth and the fine clothing, but for the sake of the entire company of prophets who lived, as we understand from previous passages, in poverty. His struggle could be implied by the words he said to Gehazi, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet with you?” (5:26). In other words, his spirit might have the same struggle as Gehazi’s, except that he had resolved not to take a dime from Naaman and he explained the reason:

“Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes, olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves?” (5:26)

Elisha understood his time: He knew that Israel had been plunged into idol worship ever since the reign of Jeroboam with the worship of the golden calves in Dan and Bethel; and Ahab, together with Jezebel, had made it worse with the introduction of the idols of Baal and Asherah into Israel. Though Joram attempted to get rid of the latter, with Jezebel being alive, it was not likely to be eradicated, not to mention Joram’s continued worship of the golden calves. In other words, his time was evil and he knew that the punishment of God as prophesied was nigh (1 Ki. 14:15-16).

Elisha also understood their charge: It was for a time like this that he was called (and so were all the other prophets), to warn the people and to bring them back to the worship of Yahweh.

Elisha, as a result, understood that in order to discharge their God-given charge, they needed to serve the Lord singularly without distraction — money, fine clothing, olive groves, vineyards, flocks, herds, male and female slaves. The pursuit of all these fine things in life could only be a distraction. They had given up everything to follow the Lord and His calling, and it was not the time to “put one’s hand to the plow and look back” (Lk. 9:62).

I wonder how different our time is from Elisha’s and how fitting also his words also are to us!

Meditative Reflection
Don’tbe Afraid!

“ 'Don’t be afraid', the prophet answered. 'Those who are with us are more than those who are with them'.” (2 Ki. 6:16)

Indeed, the miracles performed by Elisha were not only numerous but were also rather spectacular. To be able to hear the conversations taking place within the bedroom of the king of Aram (likely King Ben-Hadad) in Syria all the way from Samaria was really unheard of, not to mention the ability to see with his spiritual eyes the presence of “horses and chariots of fire” all around him (6:12, 17).

Today, God may not have given us such miraculous power and ability that He had given to Elisha, but His presence is still with us wherever we may be, and in whatever situation we may face. While He may not necessarily use “horses and chariots of fire” to come to our rescue, there are no limits as to what or how He will choose to use to deliver us.

In my seminary days, I heard one of classmates from England excitedly share what he had just heard from home. Allow me to share with you this story he told us at our chapel service to the best of my recollection.

A young Christian woman was walking home one evening across the common and she noticed a man following her all the way, and in fear she silently prayed to the Lord for help. She arrived home safely and when she turned on the television to watch the 6 o’clock news, a picture of the man who had followed her appeared on the television and he was wanted by the police for rape. She quickly called the police and they apprehended him in her neighborhood. When the police asked why he did not attack the young woman he followed, he said to the effect that, “How could I? A big chap was walking alongside her all the way”.

Of course, she was walking alone all the way, except that the Lord answered her prayer and protected her, though not with “horses and chariots of fire”, but presumably with just one angelic being.

Meditative Reflection
No One Like Our God!

“ 'Do not kill them', he answered. 'Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master'.” (2 Ki. 6:22)

Aram (i.e. Syria) had always been at war with Israel, and the subsequent siege of Samaria recorded in the same chapter proved how much harm they had done to Israel. And yet, when Israel had the opportunity to kill some of their men, Elisha protected them and even caused the king to treat them with kindness.

As the king of Aram was enraged by Elisha’s ability to eavesdrop on every conversation he had in his own bedroom far away from Samaria, he sent an army of horses and chariots to capture him. Elisha could have asked the Lord to strike them dead since they were his enemies and desired to do him harm, and yet he only asked God to strike them with blindness (6:18). Not only that, when in their blindness, they entered into the city of Samaria, obviously surrounded by many more Israeli soldiers, and the king of Israel was thinking of slaughtering them, Elisha asked to have them treated with a feast and then sent home in peace (6:23). That was an act of mercy, not only of Elisha, but of God.

The result of such a kind treatment was that “the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory” (6:23).

But I believe that the result was more than that, because these Arameans, not unlike Naaman their commander, now experienced both the miraculous powers of the Lord in blinding them, and also in sparing their lives. In other words, they would have come to acknowledge that “Among the gods there is none like you Lord; no deeds can compare with yours” (Ps. 86:8).

Meditative Reflection
The Bearers of Good News

“What we’re doing is not right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace.” (2 Ki. 7:9)

I find amazing parallels between the lepers and us in terms of being bearers of the good news, and there is much for us to learn from them.

First, leprosy is such a vivid depiction of our lives as sinners not only in terms of the horror of the disease, but also because of its lack of cure in those days. As leprosy gradually eats away the flesh of the infected, causing them to lose the functions of their limbs overtime and eventually causing death, it also resulted in the infected living in isolation, loneliness and despair. This is certainly a vivid picture of the effects of sin in our lives.

However, as the people of the city of Samaria were dying of famine, the lepers were fortunate enough to venture into the camp of the Arameans and find more than food to stay alive. They also found silver, gold and clothes. This is also a picture of us who have found forgiveness in Christ. We have more than eternal life, but an abundant life in Christ Jesus.

And yet, the lepers were not content with their good fortune but were concerned with the well-being of the people in the city whom they must have envied or perhaps even hated. Their consciences were such that they had a sense of urgency to share the good news with the people and would not want to wait a moment further, lest more people would have died of famine. How much do we need to have their sense of urgency, knowing that people are perishing on a daily basis without the gospel!

However, I am most impressed with the fact that they were aware that the king and his people would likely choose not to believe in their good news either because of who they were as lepers, or how incredible the news appeared to be. Still, they knew they had to bear the news to them, lest they would die of famine. That was exactly the attitude of the king and that is the attitude of most of the people with whom we share the gospel today. Just the same, just as it did not prevent the lepers from being bearers of the good news, we too should follow their example, because it is not only a matter of life and death, but eternal life and eternal death!

Meditative Reflection
Nothing too Hard for the Lord

“Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?” (2 Ki. 7:19)

As Samaria was under siege for such a long time, there was a severe famine in the land to the point that even dove’s dung fetched some five shekels (presumably about 2 oz. of silver)! And yet, the prophet Elisha declared that within 24 hours the famine would be over and that 7.3 liters of the finest flour would only sell for one shekel. It was so incredible that the officer of the king mocked at the prophet and said, “Look, even if the Lord should open the floodgates of the heaven, could this happen?”.

This reminds me of an incredible incident when I was serving at a mission organization. While we consistently experienced God’s faithfulness in meeting our budget every year, the inflow of donations did follow a seasonal pattern of fluctuation. In one of these low ebbs of the annual cycle, there were only about two days to the time of payroll and our fund was so low that it was unlikely that we could meet our payroll. As a result, we told our staff and our directors to pray for a miracle. One of the directors who oversaw our finances responded by saying, “If God were to write a check now, we would not be able to meet the payroll in time.” Little did we know that checks were in the mail within the next 24 hours that “happened” to be enough to pay all the salaries of our staff.

Indeed, our Lord does not change. There is simply nothing too hard for Him!

Meditative Reflection
The Heart of a Prophet

“He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed. Then the man of God began to weep.” (2 Ki. 8:11)

One wonders if Elisha’s visit to Damascus was to incite Hazael to assassinate Ben-Hadad! I don’t think so!

It was likely that Hazael had aspired to take over the reign of Aram for some time, and the words of Elisha only served to confirm the divine will in this respect. In a way, Elisha fulfilled his role as the successor of Elijah and anointed Hazael as Elijah was originally commissioned by the Lord to do (1 Ki. 19:15).

However, it must have been the most reluctant charge that Elisha had ever obeyed, because he knew that he was anointing a king, a foreign king who would eventually do exceeding harm to his people: “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women” (2 Ki. 8:12). As a result, as he was discharging his divine duty he wept and in the process he demonstrated what it meant to be a servant of God — identifying with the heart of God.

He knew Israel would be receiving the just punishment by God for their apostasy in the hands of foreign kings like Hazael, but he could only be faithful to his charge — to warn and rebuke his people, and to submit to the divine will of God. I am sure he interceded for his people as well. Unfortunately, he also knew that the people would not repent and their fate was sealed and thus as he prophesied, he wept. This was exactly what Jesus, the Son of God did as He wept for the same people some 800 years later (Matt. 23:37-39).

Meditative Reflection
Impacting Future Generations

“He [Ahaziah] followed the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab’s family.” (2 Ki. 8:27)

As godly as Jehoshaphat was, there was one mistake he made that had marred not only his legacy but had plunged successive generations into apostasy, and that was his allying with Ahab, king of Israel, for political expediency by marrying his son, Jehoram to the daughter of Ahab (2 Chr. 18:1; 21:6; 2 Ki. 8:18).

The Bible is very explicit in attributing the wicked ways of both his son and his grandson to this marriage.

In commenting on the life of his son, Jehoram, the Bible says, “He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” (2 Ki. 8:18; italics mine)

In commenting on the life of his grandson, Ahaziah, the Bible says, “He followed the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab’s family.” (2 Kings 8:27; italics mine)

The choices and decisions of a former generation often carry implications beyond his own and impact the lives of succeeding generations, and in the case of this “relatively godly” king Jehoshaphat, his politically motivated decision to ally with the wicked Ahab had become a snare for at least the next two generations.

This serves also as a warning for us today. We may be “relatively godly” parents, we still have to be very careful with the choices we make for our children or the influence we have over them, especially in their selection of school, career or in marriage. If we put anything over their best spiritual interest, we do so at their expense and likely the expense of our grandchildren as well.