This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
Bruce McGee,Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418
HERE
Bro. Bruce's commentaries for the
books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus are
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just mail your request for
COMMENTARY ON GENESIS to the address above.
2KINGS
1 And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.
2 Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam, and let us make us a place there, where we may dwell. And he answered, Go ye.
3 And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. And he answered, I will go.
4 So he went with them. And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.
5 But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed.
6 And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.
7 Therefore said he, Take it up to thee. And he put out his hand, and took it.
This is an interesting event in Elisha's ministry. It is no less than a miracle from God.
8 Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such and such a place shall be my camp.
9 And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.
10 And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once nor twice.
God's people should be aware of political things. And God's people should WARN of things which are destructive to our society.
11 Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this thing; and he called his servants, and said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel?
12 And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of Israel the words that thou speakest in thy bedchamber.
13 And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.
14 Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.
15 And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?
16 And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
The king of Syria thought he had a spy in his army. And he wanted to find out who it was. But someone finally told him that it was Elisha who was warning Israel.
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
When Elisha realized that the young prophet who was serving him did not understand, he prayed for God to open his eyes. Now that seems a little weird at first. But Elisha was certainly not speaking of the young man's PHYSICAL eyes, because he had already SEEN the Syrian army.
The army came down to the valley where Elisha was. Elisha prayed and asked God to strike them blind. Blind warriors can do no warfare!
21 And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?
22 And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them: wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink, and go to their master.
23 And he prepared great provision for them: and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. So the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.
The king of Israel wanted to know if he should kill these men. Elisha reminded him that these were delivered by the Lord, and the Lord is Lord of LOVE and KINDNESS!
24 And it came to pass after this, that Ben-ha'dad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.
25 And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver.
26 And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.
27 And he said, If the LORD do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?
28 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him to day, and we will eat my son to morrow.
29 So we boiled my son, and did eat him: and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son, that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son.
30 And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes; and he passed by upon the wall, and the people looked, and, behold, he had sackcloth within upon his flesh.
31 Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day.
32 But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?
33 And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the LORD; what should I wait for the LORD any longer?
Then, one day (many years later) Benhadad became king of Syria. He began a siege of the capitol of Israel - Samaria. The siege was so bad that a donkey's head (with which to make soup) was worth 80 pieces of silver, and a small portion of dove's dung (which was used as cooking fuel in lieu of wood) was worth 5 pieces of silver.
Please continue with us in daily Bible study.
CHAPTER 6
The prophets, whom Elisha had been teaching, realized that the place where they were staying was too SMALL ("strait" - verse 1). They suggested moving to a larger place with more space. Elisha agreed.
When they moved, they began to build. As they were building, a man who had borrowed an axe, lost it in the water. Probably the axe head came off and fell into the water. He told Elisha.
Elisha cut a stick and dropped it in the water. Then the axe head came to the top! WOW! Now THAT'S something to think about!
Was the "stick" a certain kind that would cause iron to rise in water? No. The story is of a miracle God performed through his chosen prophet. And the story is a prophecy of what God can do with a human being!
God can cause the human spirit which is drowning in the pool of sin to rise and come to new heights of morality ABOVE the evil in the world!
Elisha warned King Jehoram of Syrian armies more than twice (verse 10).
Elisha KNEW of the Syrian forces infringing on Israel's territories. He could have taken a pacifist's role and did NOTHING. But instead, he warned Jehoram each time.
We Christians should be AWARE of the destructive invasion of the sins of abortion, gambling, homosexuality, pornography, etc. And we should not sit by idly and do NOTHING! We should WARN society!
When he realized that, the king sent part of his armed forces to seize Elisha. Elisha's servant rose up early (a sign of a devoted man), and saw the army which circled the small compound of prophets.
He cried out to Elisha and asked what would happen. Notice Elisha's answer. It is an answer of FAITH (verse 16).
God is ALWAYS watching over His people. No affliction shall ever come of which He is not aware. And no force will overcome His people if He desires their safety.
Elisha was praying that the young man's SPIRITUAL eyes would be open and realize that there is ALWAYS more of GOD than of His enemies!
18 And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the LORD, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19 And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek. But he led them to Samaria.
20 And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and, behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.
Then Elisha told them they were in the wrong place, and led them all the way to Samaria (some 20 miles). That little trip took ALL DAY!
When the troops arrived in Samaria, Elisha prayed for their eyes to be opened. Then they could see that they were TRAPPED!
He told the king to feed them and let them go. The Syrians, having received such kindness, resolved never to attack Israel again!
Elisha caused the king to actually act out the saying of Jesus.
"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.(Matthew 5:44-45)
Another story (very grotesque) that exemplifies how bad this siege was, is the story of the two mothers who agreed to cook and eat their sons!
The siege was so bad, the people had resorted to cannibalism!
WAIT A MINUTE! How would God allow this to happen to His "chosen nation?"
First, the nation was split apart by two men fighting over the kingdom. Then the king of Israel (northern ten tribes) taught his people idolatry. Then they began worshipping all kinds of false gods and resorting to the immoral practices of that worship.
God had called continually for repentance through His prophets, but they would not. And God had allowed them to have many wars and other difficulties such as famines and sickness. But they STILL would NOT repent! Therefore, God's hand of discipline was upon His children. He allowed them to be under siege by Syria.
Friends, these people REALLY sunk to EVIL! And they were really SUNK in this evil because of their pride and refusal to repent!
Things are bad in the world today. Things were bad in the world then. But things aren't nearly as bad as they WILL BE one day when God allows the human race to be even MORE SUNK into the pits of evil. Men will cry out to die, but God will not allow it!
All this Elisha had told them. And you notice that the king was in "sackcloth," but his heart was still angry with God, and with God's prophet. He wanted to KILL Elisha. And he sent someone to bring Elisha to him for that very purpose.
But Elisha was warned by the Lord, and he went to the king and warned him that TOMORROW God would allow DELIVERANCE! (see the next chapter)