10/1 Rehoboam & Jeroboam

There was a penalty from God placed on Solomon because he followed the gods of his many wives and set up worship places for those Gods.

I Kings 11:1-10   But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites:

Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.

And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.

For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.

Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.

And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

(In the New Testament churches today many sacrifice to idols set up by their church, idols which are not commanded by God in the New Testament Bible.) 

And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,

And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.

Because of David, God said the kingdom would not be divided during Solomon's lifetime but it would be divided after his life.

I Kings 11:11-13   Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept MY covenant and MY statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.

Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.

***

II Chronicles 9:31   And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.

***

God divides the kingdom:

Rehoboam, the son of Solomon is now king of all the tribes of Israel.

Jeroboam, who had fled from Solomon during his reign, returns to Israel after Solomon has died.

II Chronicles 10:3-4    So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying, Thy father (Solomon) made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.

But God is going to divide the kingdom, so the following happens.

Rehoboam seeks the counsel of the old men who had advised his father Solomon, and they thought it would be good for Rehoboam to loosen the yoke that Solomon had placed upon Israel.

Then king Rehoboam sought the counsel of the young men and they advised Rehoboam to make the yoke even more difficult upon Israel.

Rehoboam chose to go with the advice of the young men.

II Chronicles 10:13-15   And the king (Rehoboam) answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men,  And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.

15 So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the Lord might perform HIS word, which HE spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

I Kings 11:29-33   And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:

And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:

And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)  Because that they have forsaken ME, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in Mine eyes, and to keep MY statutes and MY judgments, as David his father.

***

With this "rough" answer, which Rehoboam gave to Israel, the 10 tribes of Israel separated from Judah and Rehoboam, and they made Jeroboam their king.  So, God divides the kingdom into two nations:  Judah & Israel 

And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents.

But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.

Now there would be Judah and Israel.  The divided kingdom as God had told king Solomon that HE would do after his death and during his son's reign.

***

The will of God:

One can think, "If only Rehoboam had followed the counsel of the old men then all the tribes of the children of Israel would have been one tribe."

But the word of God was going to be fulfilled, the penalty from God over Solomon because Solomon followed his strange wives and set up other gods according to the gods of his wives.

So the tribes are divided into the following:

Judah with Rehoboam as king.

Israel with Jeroboam as king.

Both kings would do evil in the sight of God and penalties of God followed their evil.

***

II Chronicles 11:1-5  And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men (180,000), which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam.

But the word of the Lord came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying,

Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying,

Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of ME.

And they obeyed the words of the Lord, and returned from going against Jeroboam.

Notice that God used a prophet to turn Rehoboam from attacking Jeroboam.

Therefore the kingdom is now divided into Judah and Israel.

***

II Chronicles 11:10-12    And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah. 

And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine.
 And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side.

***

2 Great sins of Jeroboam:

In the meantime Jeroboam, greatly fears that his people might return to Rehoboam and to Judah, for Jerusalem was the place to worship, and Jerusalem was in the kingdom of Rehoboam.

* So Jeroboam had 2 golden calves molded for the people of Israel to worship and set those calves in Bethel and in Dan and he told the people of Israel to go there to worship in front of the calves instead of having to go to Jerusalem to worship.

*  And Jeroboam would not allow the Levites to minister to things of God as God had appointed them to do.  Instead Jeroboam appointed the lowest of men to be "priests" and the Levites had to leave and move to the nation of Judah to be able to work in their appointed ministries.  

These were great sins done by Jeroboam.  God cited "the sins of Jeroboam" many times in other scriptures as an example of that which was evil in the sight of God.

II Chronicles 11:13-15   And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him (to Rehoboam) out of all their coasts.

For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the Lord:

And he (Jeroboam) ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made.

***

Rehoboam turns from God:

II Chronicles 12:1   And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the Lord, and all Israel with him.

The divided nations both sinned against God.

***

II Chronicles 12:9  So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made.

God raised up adversaries against both Judah and Israel.

***

II Chronicles 12:14-16   And he (Rehoboam) did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the Lord. ... And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually.

And Rehoboam slept with his fathers (died), and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.

***

So today we say, "I'd never do that.  I'd never worship golden calves."

No ... today people in churches set up:

* Ministers who call themselves "Reverend."  And they make their preachers into idols.  And the preachers do not refrain the people, and the preachers love to be called, "Reverend."

* In some church groups, they call their ministers, "Father".  Jesus said:  Call no man your father.  Matthew 23

* They set up religious images in church groups.  They set up man made crosses.  Some groups teach their followers to cross themselves, which is not in New Testament Bible.

* The Catholics set up "Holy Water" for the people to use in religious context.  This is not commanded by God in Bible.  Therefore it is only by man and has no power of God.

* They confess sins to man and not to God.

* By all these idols, they trust in man instead of trusting in God, just as the nation of Israel trusted in the Golden Calves set up by Jeroboam.

It we are not told to do something in New Testament Bible, and it is set up in the New Testament church for us to do, it is a idol, and if we do that we practice idolatry in our religion.

***

And as Jeroboam would not allow the Levites to work in things of God although they were appointed by God to minister things of God:

Today they remove apostles and prophets from the ministers that Jesus gave to the church as ministers after HE arose, and they set up the New Testament church as they will.

After Jesus arose, HE set up the ministries for the New Testament church as follows:



Ephesians 4:11-12  And HE gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

The ministers in the church today are:  apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers


And the congregations love it as their churches are set up  by the ways of men and they no longer speak of sins of the New Testament Bible, so no one can be offended today when they come to church, and the number of people attending their churches grows as sin is removed along with scriptures which pertain to sin.

We are no different today in church than they were in the days of Rehoboam and Jeroboam, except for the fact that we do have the Bible to go by today, even if we do not go by the Bible.  Having the Bible might even make us more guilty in the eyes of God than the people were in the time of Rehoboam and Jeroboam.  For we can know the truth by the Bible.

But the stage is set for the return of Jesus, for the churches had to fall away from scripture which allowed antichrist to come into the churches, and this had to happen before Jesus could return.


II Thessalonians 2:3-4  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

(Churches would fall away from scripture, thus allowing the man of sin to be inside the church itself.)

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

*****

* Vol. 10 The Divided Kingdom

(Subtitle in Italics, smaller size print)

Learning from viewing the successes and the failures of various kings.

*****

Description of Book:

There are common themes in successes and in failures of the kings of the Old Testament.

When we look at these examples, we can see how we should live today and also we see how God views our actions!

Often a king will do well until the end of his life ...  and then throw everything away.

Jesus warns us about this time in which we now live:

Matthew 24:12-13  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many (toward the Word of God) shall wax cold.   But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

We start the race, but only that person who holds on and finishes the race wins.

There is the honeymoon ... but then life!

Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Joan Boney

*****

Vol. 9/20 King Jehu has a present for the worshippers of Baal

II Kings 10:18-28  And Jehu (king of Israel) gathered all the people together, and said unto them, Ahab served Baal a little; but Jehu shall serve him much.

Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of Baal.

(The worshippers of Baal were the sacrifice Jehu planned for Baal.)

And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they proclaimed it.

And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another.

 And he (king Jehu) said unto him that was over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments.

And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the Lord, but the worshippers of Baal only.

And when they went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings, Jehu appointed fourscore men without, and said, If any of the men whom I have brought into your hands escape, he that letteth him go, his life shall be for the life of him.

And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.

And they brought forth the images out of the house of Baal, and burned them.

And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.

Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel.

***

Fate today for all in churches who cast aside scripture to worship other doctrines:

II Thessalonians 2:10-12   And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

***

At the judgment seat of Christ all who fell away from following scripture and followed other doctrines will suffer great loss for all eternity.

We will be judged by the New Testament Bible and measured by that which we do according to The Word given us in the New Testament Bible, not by doctrines of the church you attend.

So each of us better be sure our doctrines that we follow are in the New Testament Bible, and if any church teach another doctrine, we must depart from that church.

II Corinthians 5:10-11    For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.

***

II Kings 10:29    Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.

The sins of Jeroboam:  He had made 2 golden calves, and set one calf up in Bethel and the other in Dan and told the children of Israel to go to those two cities to worship God before the golden calf and they did not have to go to Jerusalem to worship God.  Jeroboam also set up priests from vile men and would not let the Levites, who were appointed by God as priests, do their appointed work.  The Levites had to move to Judah to work as priests. (I Kings 12)

***

II Kings 10:30   And the Lord said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in Mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in Mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.

But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin.

If we fail to live by all the Word of God in the New Testament Bible, as shown us by the Holy Spirit, we will suffer loss.

New Testament church today:  Take heed that you receive "a full reward".

II John vv.8-11  Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

***

II Kings 10:32-36   In those days the Lord began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;  From Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan.

Now the rest of the acts of Jehu, and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

And Jehu slept with his fathers: and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his stead.

And the time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty and eight years.

*****

Vol. 9/19 Jehoshaphat, king of Judah

II Chronicles 17:1-9  And Jehoshaphat his (Asa's) son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel.  And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken.

And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim;  But sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in His commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.

Therefore the Lord stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.

And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.

Also in the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Benhail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah.

And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tobadonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests.

And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the Lord with them, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people.

***

The good ways of Jehoshaphat:

* He sought the will of God.

* He walked in the commandments of God.

* He removed the idols.

* He sent Levites to do the work of God as they were called to do by God.

* He had those appointed by God to teach the people the ways of God.

* They taught the people the law of God from the book of the law of God.

***

That which our churches are doing today:

* Like Jeroboam,  they pick out their own men to be their teachers, men who were not appointed by God for the work of the ministry.

* They set aside verses of scripture and set up their own doctrines in their church group, allowing evil into the church group.

* They teach their people to do "religious seeming things" not in the Bible.  (crossing themselves; lighting candles with prayer; praying to dead "saints" instead of praying directly to God; confessing their sins to men rather than confessing their sins directly to God; setting up graven images of humans and teaching their people to kneel before these images and recite words; calling crackers/grape juice the Lord's supper instead of teaching their people that the Word of God is the Lord's supper for the church.)

* They call themselves "Reverend", not in Bible to do this, exalting their ministers to idols in the sight of the people.

*  Their ministers love to wear long robes to identify themselves in the eyes of people, or collars, or hats, or "prayer" shalls, or other garments not in Bible to do such things.

* They turn from the ministries Jesus set up for the New Testament church after Jesus arose:  apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher.  (Ephesians 4:8;11-12)

* The people blindly follow their churches and do not care what is in the Bible concerning the ministers and the church.

There is no way they nor their followers can stand before God at the judgment seat of Christ.

Romans 15:4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

They ignore the examples given us in both the Old and New Testament Bibles.

*****

Vol. 9/18 The 70 sons of Ahab are destroyed according to the prophecy concerning Ahab's house.

II Kings 10:1-11   And Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. And Jehu (king of Israel) wrote letters, and sent to Samaria, unto the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to them that brought up Ahab's children, saying,

Now as soon as this letter cometh to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, a fenced city also, and armour;

Look even out the best and meetest of your master's sons, and set him on his father's throne, and fight for your master's house.

But they were exceedingly afraid, and said, Behold, two kings stood not before him: how then shall we stand?

And he that was over the house, and he that was over the city, the elders also, and the bringers up of the children, sent to Jehu, saying, We are thy servants, and will do all that thou shalt bid us; we will not make any king: do thou that which is good in thine eyes.

Then he (Jehu) wrote a letter the second time to them, saying, If ye be mine, and if ye will hearken unto my voice, take ye the heads of the men your master's sons, and come to me to Jezreel by to morrow this time. Now the king's sons, being seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, which brought them up.

And it came to pass, when the letter came to them, that they took the king's sons, and slew seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets, and sent him them to Jezreel.

And there came a messenger, and told him (told Jehu), saying, They have brought the heads of the king's sons. And he (Jehu, the king) said, Lay ye them in two heaps at the entering in of the gate until the morning.

And it came to pass in the morning, that he (king Jehu) went out, and stood, and said to all the people, Ye be righteous: behold, I conspired against my master, and slew him: but who slew all these?

Know now that there shall fall unto the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spake concerning the house of Ahab: for the Lord hath done that which he spake by his servant Elijah.

So Jehu slew all that remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, and all his great men, and his kinsfolks, and his priests, until he left him none remaining.

***

About Ahab:

I Kings 21:25    But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.

***

God told Elijah to anoint Jehu and that he would destroy Ahab's house.

I Kings 19:15-17   And the Lord said unto him (to Elijah), Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:

And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abelmeholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room.

And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

God takes vengeance upon the house of Ahab, the evil king, and Jezebel, Ahab's evil wife.

***

In the churches today, we see great wickedness as they depart from the scriptures, The Word, Jesus, and follow other gods of their own minds, and do what pleases them, disregarding scripture.

It can discourage us when we see this.

Jesus said:  Matthew 24:12-13 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

But when we see God dealing with the unjust in the Old Testament don't we understand that the wicked in the churches today will  not escape?

Work very diligently to stay on the path of God which HE lays out by HIS Spirit and do not be swept away by the wicked in the churches of today.

For the wrath of God does come upon the wicked.  As we have seen in the OT, it will happen today to the wicked in the churches.

I Thessalonians 5:1-3  But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

It is hard to see how few in churches follow scripture.

It is what Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14: 

Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

***

A woman came across our path saying she is a "Messianic Jew".  She revealed she is twice divorced and she was excited because another man had come into her life.  

Pam Padgett told her the scripture showing if the divorced woman remarried she commits adultery and the man who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.  (Matthew 5:32   Jesus said:  But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.)

This woman said:  "But I am a Messianic Jew and we have our own doctrine."

Jesus says to those Jews who believe on HIM:  

If ye continue in MY word, then are ye MY disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.  (John 8:31-32)

This woman says they believe Jesus is the Messiah but they have their own doctrine and therefore do not go by the Holy Bible.  (Jesus, the Word)

She is one of the many today who is turned over by God to a strong delusion that they would believe a lie and be damned before God at the judgment seat of Christ where we will all be judged by The Word.

II Thessalonians 2:10-12  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

***

This is very difficult to see, but it is everywhere in today's churches, Protestant & Catholic.

II Corinthians 5:10-11  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;

At the judgment seat of Christ we will be judged by the Holy Bible, The Word of God.

*****

Vol. 9/17 Elisha, the prophet of God, delivers the word of God to the widow woman and to the king of Syria

One of the primary function of prophets of God in both the Old Testament and in the New Testament is to deliver messages from God to individuals.

Here are two examples of Elisha delivering messages from God.

***

II Kings 8:1-6   Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the Lord hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.

And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.

And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.

And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.

And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.

***

II Kings 8:7-15    And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God (Elisha) is come hither.

And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die.

And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.

And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? 

And he (Elisha) answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.

And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? 

And Elisha answered, The Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.

So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? 

And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that he (Hazael) took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his (Benhadad's) face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.

***

II Kings 8:16-24   And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.

Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake, as HE (God) promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children.

In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.

So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.

Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?  And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

***

II Kings 8:25-   In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.

 Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab.

And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick

II Kings 9:1-  And Elisha the prophet called one of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramothgilead:  And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner chamber; Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and flee, and tarry not.

So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went to Ramothgilead.

And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. 

And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? 

And he said, To thee, O captain.

And he arose, and went into the house; and he (the young prophet) poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel. And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel.  For the whole house of Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel: And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah:

Jeroboam was the evil king of Israel who set up 2 golden calves for the children to Israel to worship and also he would not allow the Levites to fulfill their role of priests to the children of Israel but he set up vile men as priest for Israel.

God says by the prophet:

II Kings 9:10-13    And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her.   

And he (the young prophet) opened the door, and fled.

Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee?

 And he (Jehu) said unto them, Ye know the man, and his communication.

And they said, It is false; tell us now. 

And he (Jehu) said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I have anointed thee king over Israel.

Then they hasted, and took every man his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.

***

II Kings 9:14-37    So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramothgilead, he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria. But king Joram was returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds, then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.

So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram.

And there stood a watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came, and said, I see a company. 

And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet them, and let him say, Is it peace?

So there went one on horseback to meet him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? 

And Jehu said, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. 

And the watchman told, saying, The messenger came to them, but he cometh not again.

Then he sent out a second on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? 

And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me.

And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.

And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot, and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the Jezreelite.

Remember Naboth?  He was arranged to be killed by Jezebel because Ahab wanted Naboth's vineyard and he would not give up his vineyard.

And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? 

And he (Jehu) answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?

And Joram turned his hands, and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah.
And Jehu drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot.

Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the Lord laid this burden upon him;

Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the Lord; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the Lord. Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the Lord.

But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.

And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David.

And in the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.

And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and looked out at a window.

And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?

And he (Jehu) lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.

And he (Jehu) said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under foot.

And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter.

And they went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands.

Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he said, This is the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel:

And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.

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Vol. 9/16 Elisha: Miracles of God # 11-14

* Miracle # 11: Recovery of the axe head: 

II Kings 6:1-7  And the sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us.  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 (Elisha) answered, Go ye.

And one said, Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants. 

And he answered, I will go.  So he (Elisha) went with them. 

And when they came to Jordan, they cut down wood.   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.

And the man of God (Elisha) said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. 

And he (Elisha) cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim.

Therefore said he (Elisha), Take it up to thee. 

And he put out his hand, and took it.

***

* Elisha Prays:  Miracle # 12:  God opens the eyes of Elijah's servant so he can see the many chariots of God on Elisha's side:

II Kings 6:8-17    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.

And the man of God (Elisha) sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither the Syrians are come down.

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.

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?

(The king of Syria thought he had a traitor reporting to the king of Israel.)

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.

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.

Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night, and compassed the city about.

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 (to Elisha), Alas, my master! how shall we do?

And he (Elisha) answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

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.

***

* Elisha prays:  Miracle # 13:  Blindness comes upon the enemy:  

I Kings 6:18-23   And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness.

 And HE (God) smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

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.

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.

And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite them? shall I smite them?

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.

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.

***

* Elisha:  Miracle # 14:  Food for besieged people

II Kings 6:24-   And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria.

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.

And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king.

And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress?

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.  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.

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.

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.

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?

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?

***

The land is under siege and there is very little food.

Elisha hears a word from God.

II Kings 7:1-2   Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus saith the Lord, To morrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.

A man declares that WORD spoken by Elisha to be impossible:

2 Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, might this thing be? 

And he (Elisha) said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof. 

***

That word spoken by Elisha the prophet of God comes to pass:

II Kings 7:3-5    And there were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here until we die?

If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die.

And they rose up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there.

***

God caused the Syrians to hear something that didn't even exist, and they ran away, leaving behind all their food and supplies and treasures.

II Kings 7:6-7   For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.

Wherefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life.

***

II Kings 7:8-20    And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also, and went and hid it.

Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and tell the king's household.

So they came and called unto the porter of the city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and, behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and asses tied, and the tents as they were.

And he called the porters; and they told it to the king's house within.

And the king arose in the night, and said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.

And one of his servants answered and said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites that are consumed:) and let us send and see.

They took therefore two chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and see.

And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers returned, and told the king.

And the people went out, and spoiled the tents of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.

And the king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate: and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had said, who spake when the king came down to him.

And it came to pass as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel, and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in the gate of Samaria:

And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now, behold, if the Lord should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? 

And he (Elisha) said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.

And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died.

***

There are many types of miracles:

* Miracles of physical healings

* Miracles of the WORD which brings faith

* Miracles of the multipling of supplies

* Miracles of God causing the enemy to turn another way

Each time we know we have heard a word from the Holy Spirit of God we know we have experienced a miracle from God!

And we know every word God has said to us comes to pass.

We base our faith on that Word given to us by God concerning the subject at hand in our lives.

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