Sometimes we need to take a step back, and think about how we read as well as what we read. This is one of those times. Today’s chapter is full of allusions and symbolic actions.
Elijah, knowing that he is about to be taken to heaven, first visits the other prophets in Israel, and Elisha doggedly insists on going with him.
Read More resurrection, story
After yesterday’s reading, today’s is a simple, uncomplicated, amazing story.
The cultural details may be unfamiliar. In a world with no social security, widows were often destitute. The only resource they had might have been their children, who could be taken as slaves to pay their debts (though God had forbidden the Israelites to do that.)
Read More offering, valuesToday’s story is meant to be read with yesterday’s. A destitute woman and a wealthy woman. A widow with two sons and a married woman with no son. Elisha, anticipating Jesus, provides for their deepest needs.
Shunem is near Mount Carmel, and obviously a place that Elisha visited frequently.
Read More hospitality, prayerThis wonderful story has an interesting complexity. Can you see how the same events are seen by the kings on the one hand and the servant girl and Elisha on the other?
Story One: Kings and military. Aram, or Syria, shared a border with Israel, and the two countries had been at war.
Read More ordinary people, powerA few years ago a list contrasted CEO compensation for non-profits versus for-profit companies. When asked about the difference, the CEO of one non-profit ministry replied, “You couldn’t pay me enough to do this job!” Some aspects of ministry spring from calling and compulsion, and can’t be quantified into dollars.
In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul outlines his ministry philosophy.
Read More compensation, rights, money, graceIn the Second World War, cracking the German Enigma code created an ethical dilemma. The British could finally understand all German communications, but what should they do with their newfound knowledge? In the short term, battle victories would save lives but prompt the Germans to change their code or provide disinformation.
Read More prayer, faith, trialsHow do leaders respond when God sometimes seems silent and achingly far away at a time when our backs are against the wall?
The scene in this passage opens late in the siege of Samaria. Unimaginably desperate, people are willing to pay a huge price for things they never dreamed were edible: a donkey’s head or pigeon droppings. They are even willing to eat their own children!
Read More desperation, faith, humility, dependenceIn December 2013, a young public relations executive tweeted an offensive joke before turning off her phone for a flight to Africa. If someone would have told her that in 11 hours, her name would be known in every part of the world as millions followed her flight on Twitter, she wouldn’t have believed it.
In this passage, when Elisha tells the chief officer that in 24 hours, food will be so abundant in besieged Samaria that it will cost almost nothing, it sounds inconceivable.
Read More faith, barriers to faithHow do you react when God doesn’t answer your prayers the way you think he should?
In 1 Kings 19, after Elijah’s public showdown with the false prophets on Mt. Carmel, the prophet has an emotional crash at news the queen has called for his head.
Read More generations, blessings, prayerIn the last chapter, we saw how God uses ungodly men to fulfill his purposes. Jehu is a different sort of man who knows the Lord and has a clear mission from God.
What comes to mind when you read that the guard in the watchtower characterizes Jehu’s driving style as “reckless”? Applying a dictionary definition of this word would suggest Jehu is unconcerned about the consequences of his actions, and so he throws caution to the wind.
Read More zeal, obedience