1Kings Ch.19-22; 2Kings Ch. 1-6

After Elijah’s two great victories, defeat of the prophets of Baal and the answered prayer for rain, he experienced great fatigue, discouragement and depression. Often after a great victory, especially spiritual victory involving physical and emotional effort is when we are most vulnerable and inclined to feeling discouraged. God led Elijah out of his depression first by encouraging him to rest and eat, and then to return to his mission. This is important for us to consider when we experience feelings of disappointment after either a great spiritual experience, or an incredible breakthrough in some facet of our lives. Remember that God’s purpose for your life is not over yet.

Israel was filled with false and true prophets. I believe we are surrounded as well with people whose messages are from God and those which are not. False prophets of Israel were characterized by the following: worked for political purposes to benefit themselves, held positions with great wealth, gave false messages and spoke only what the people wanted to hear. True prophets were characterized by: worked for spiritual purposes to serve God and the people, owned little or nothing, spoke only true messages, and spoke only what God told them to say, no matter how unpopular. Elijah thought that he was the only one left still true to God and was lonely and discouraged, forgetting that others had remained faithful during the nation’s wickedness. When we are tempted to think that we are the only ones faithful to completing a task, don’t stop to feel sorry for yourself. Self-pity diminishes the good you’ve done. Take time to listen to the gentle whisper of God’s voice. Humbly and quietly meditate to listen for God’s guidance, His voice may come when you least expect it. False prophets can have a seductive influence, and God used the system of false prophets to snare Ahab in his sin. God allowed a lying spirit to tell the King only what he wanted to hear, that ultimately led to his death. Does God allow angels to entice people to do evil? 1) God himself is good (Psalm 11:7), 2) God created a good world that fell because of man’s sin (Romans 5:12), 3) Someday God will recreate the world and it will be good again (Revelation 21:1), 4) God is stronger than evil (Matthew 13:41-43), 5) God allows evil, and thus he has control over it. God did not create evil, and he offers help to those who wish to overcome it (Matthew 11:28-30), 6) God uses everything-both good and evil-for his good purposes (Genesis 50:20)

Ahab was the most evil King of Israel. He married Jezebel, who was considered the most evil woman in the Bible. She worshiped Baal and therefore her husband King Ahab permitted idol worship. Ahab was trapped by his own choices and unwilling to choose the right way. He was a childish man who brooded for days if unable to get his own way which allowed his wife Jezebel to act on his behalf encouraging followers of false gods. There is a valuable lesson in their story about choosing mates. Your choice of mate will have a significant effect on life in all areas, physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. Taking the time to be sure your choice is blessed by God will help prevent the evil that can result from a poor choice in a mate. Keep in mind that only God knows our future and what’s good for us according to His plan. We don’t want to turn our backs on His guidance and choose for ourselves. I believe this is a big cause of the divorce rates in our country; self-gratification, fear and just plain ignorance. Too many people jump into long –term commitments and waste their time with the wrong choice to “check the marriage and kids box” without careful consideration of what God wants. I believe whole-heartedly that you don’t want what God does not want for you; disaster inevitably follows as I’m sure we’ve all experienced. Jezebel held great power, she managed her husband and 850 assorted pagan priests. She was committed to getting what she wanted. It’s not enough to be committed or sincere; where our commitment lies makes a great difference and rejecting God always leads to disaster.

2Kings1-6

This book demonstrates the fate that waits all who refuse to make God their true leader. “The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers; ‘Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commandments and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your fathers to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.’ But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their fathers, who did not trust in the Lord their God.” (2Kings 17:13, 14) The current of society’s stream is rapidly moving downhill and taking all that gets in its way down with it. Floating along with the current is not what God calls us to do. God calls us to swim against the flow; no matter how hard. God desires courageous men and women to proclaim His truth.

Elisha was a prophet mentored by Elijah. Elisha’s purpose was to restore respect for God and his message and he stood firmly against the evil Kings. Elisha’s mighty miracles showed that God controls not only great armies, but also events in everyday life. When we listen, He gives us the power to transform any situation. The idolatry of the nation was a huge problem and still is. The false gods represented cruelty, war, power, and sex. We should remember that an idol is any idea, ability, possession or person that we regard more highly than God. As a society, we worship other gods- Power, money, physical attractiveness, food; and the list goes on. Resistance to the lure of these attractive idols is easier when you allow the Holy Spirit to fill your heart. Elisha knew that Elijah would be taken to heaven without dying and Elisha would be left without his mentor. He asked the Lord to give him double portions of Elijah’s spirit. Elisha’s motives were pure because he wanted to do great things for God, so the Lord answered his prayer. When we ask God for great power or ability, we need to examine our desires and get rid of any selfishness we find; to have the help of the Holy Spirit, we need to be willing to ask.

Elisha’s kind deeds demonstrate that God wants us to go beyond simply keeping the law, but to also show compassion. We may often turn away from God feeling like His laws are too overwhelming and that because He is a just God, we are incapable of having favor with the Lord because of our ways. We should also consider that God is a tender God filled with compassion. God shows 4 miracles through Elisha to show his tenderness to those who are faithful to Him: providing money for a poverty-stricken widow (4:1-7), raising a dead boy to life (4:32-37), purifying poisonous food (4:38-41) and providing food for 100 men (4:42-44). Beware of limiting God’s blessings by a lack of faith. God is able to do immeasurably more than we can imagine. Showing compassion for others is a way to feel God working through you; how sensitive are you to those who flow through your life? What special needs do they have that you could meet? Look for ways to serve and help others.

Elisha remained with his teacher until the end. Elisha was a man of integrity who did not try to enrich himself at others’ expense and did many miracles to help those in need. In God’s eyes, one measure of greatness is the willingness to serve the poor as well as the powerful. Elisha learned from his master, but also built upon his master’s achievements. Elisha saw more in life than most people because he recognized that with God, there is much more to life. We must resist the tendency to think about the limitations of our environments or perhaps family backgrounds and instead, ask God to use our circumstances for His purposes. Elijah did this by standing against great wrongs and exposed idolatry, and Elisha, showed compassion for the daily needs of those around him. Ask God to use you as only He can.