Sunday 12th January
Read Psalm 91
If you don’t have a bible at home you can find the readings on a website such as www.biblegateway.com or an app such as YouVersion
“Whover dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”; so begins Psalm 91 which is a Psalm about you, Christian brother or sister. When I say “I am going to fly to America this year” you might draw my attention to the fact it is utterly impossible. I don’t have wings, I couldn’t stay above the earth for 5 minutes let alone 5 hours, and let’s not talk about the cold at 35,000 feet. However you know what I mean when I say that; it is a modern idiom, it is a plane that will fly me safely over the Atlantic to my destination. This Psalm speaks like that. It is the Word of God to the Psalmist and is comforting because it isn’t just about him but about who he is with and who he is in. It is because Christian people are in Christ that they are eternally safe and know – “no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent” (v10). Are you “abiding in Him” as the hymn says? Read the Psalm and rejoice!
READINGS FOR THE WEEK AHEAD
As you read the Bible Stop; Read; Ponder; and Pray.
Monday 2 Kings 5:1-7
This is a great story isn’t it? Aram was the area to the Northeast of Israel, roughly present day Syria and North West Iraq. Naaman was commander of the army of the King of Aram and much respected however the last four words of verse one tell it all, “but he had leprosy”. This was the tragedy of his life outweighing all his triumphs and honour.
We are introduced next to a young Jewish girl – no name – who had been a captive from Israel in some of the Aramean raids and who ended up as a servant of Naaman’s wife. She told her mistress “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”. She obviously knew about this prophet who was Elisha and of his power to accomplish things and wanted to share this with her mistress. Many preachers down the years have taken her as a great illustration of what God’s people in every age and place should be like; a caring attitude for those they work with and a readiness to tell of the Jesus they worship whose power is able to do amazing things.
The Commander told the King of what he had heard and the King was willing, right away, to give him leave to go and was also prepared to send a letter to the King in Samaria with a generous gift of money. Of course when the King of Israel received this message he was aghast and thought it was just a trick to raise a grievance and start trouble. Is it the case that we need to stop at times and not imagine the worst in human relations? We will continue the tale tomorrow.
Tuesday 2 King 5:8-14
Elisha steps in when he hears of the King’s fear and tells him to send Naaman to him. When Naaman arrives he isn’t greeted by Elisha but a servant who is sent out of the door, so to speak.
The servant comes with a message for Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan and he would be clean. Naaman is offended because he was looking for some red carpet treatment and, if he was to bathe in a river, why not the great rivers of Damascus instead of this little, perhaps dirty, river Jordan, and goes off in a rage. If someone wants to go their own way and rebel against God’s way then they need to walk out of the Church because that’s not the way of humility and obedience. Happily, his servants persuaded him to calm down and do what the prophet said. It says a lot for the character of the man that his servants were able to counter his wishes and persuade him. Even hot-tempered people can sometimes be amenable to correction if done carefully. His change of mind meant a change in his health.
Naaman was so grateful to Elisha that he wanted to give a gift to him but Elisha refused, despite the entreaties of Naaman. What Naaman did next was a sign of his faith in the God of the Israelites. He wanted to take some of the soil of the country on his mules as an indication of the country he felt himself part of. It is often the case that in a believer’s life when that person has given their heart to the Lord they want to do something as a reminder of their commitment and devotion to the Lord. The other thing he asks of Elisha is what would amount to a request for prayer to God on his behalf because when his duties required an act that would seem contrary to his devotion to the God of Israel that he would be forgiven (v18). He wanted to make it plain that whatever his future life held he would be accepted and obedient to God.
The closing of this event however brings a shadow on Gehazi the servant of Elisha. Elisha refused any monetary reward for the healing but Gehazi eyed the wealth the commander had and was ready to donate and gave a false story to the departing Naaman thus ending the story in a tawdry, cheap way. However Elisha knows of his deed in what is written as s spiritual sight of what he has done and he sends the leprosy Naaman had onto Gehazi and his family. *There is a similar story told of Paul in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5.
The more we read into 2 Kings we see Elisha more like Jesus in the gospel stories as a performer of miracles. Elijah was much more the great prophet of the Lord challenging the nation to repent and seek the Lord; Elisha does that too but more stories of his powerful acts are seen in connection with individual people. In these senses Elijah and Elisha are precursors of John the Baptist and Jesus.
In these verses we hear of the school of prophets that Elisha was with splitting because where they were living was getting to small to sustain them. The plea is made for some to go towards the Jordan to build a new settlement. It is when the work of building is started that we hear of a man losing an axe head in the water, a thing that would be very precious and expensive and which was also borrowed. Elisha miraculously causes the axe head to float after throwing a wooden stick into the water.
There is a great deal of mysterious symbolism in the Elisha stories which is probably best brought out in group study; though do ponder what could be going on here.
Friday 2 Kings 6:8-23
Elisha is not exactly a friend with the King of Israel but because the people of Israel were at risk due to Aramean hostility he warned the King to avoid certain places where the Arameans had gathered. He knew this information by the Spirit. When the Aramean King found out that he was being constantly thwarted he asked his men to find out how his moves were leaked to the King of israel. In finding out it was Elisha who gave the information he sent a powerful team to catch him. The most remembered verse in this story is v16, for when Elisha’s servant sees the force allied against them and panics, Elisha says, “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them”. Something for us to remember whenever we are apt to panic in the circumstance in our lives.
When the force is struck with blindness, Elisha leads them into the city of Samaria, the Capital city of Israel, only then to have their sight restored and realise where they are. The King of Israel wants to have them killed, but Elisha disagrees and orders them well fed and sent home. Always a good way to deal with enemies.
Saturday 2 Kings 6:24-7:2
Ben-Hadad was still determined to conquer Israel (or Samaria as it is sometimes called because of it’s capital) and laid siege to the capital. The tale of the King, Joram, and the woman who cried out for help, shows how desperate the situation in Samaria was. Why did he blame Elisha (v31)? The influence of his mother Jezebel was still with him. Cast your mind back to the stories of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel and their relationship with Elijah (1 Kings 18 & 19) and you will find a similar bitter relationship between the Kings and the prophets. Elijah had called a drought on the land until he prayed for its end, here Joram, Ahab and Jezebel’s son, saw the famine under Ben-Hadad’s siege as being at the Lord’s hand. He worked out that it was Elisha’s fault for not praying for an end to this and so, like his mother, he wanted Elisha’s head (1 Kings 19:2 & 2 Kings 6:31).
Elisha wasn’t ready to surrender to the murderer’s attempts but told the King’s messenger, “About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel (cheap prices) at the gate of Samaria”. The King’s man didn’t believe it possible and Elisha tells him he will see it but not eat of it. God does amazing things which we should believe.