2 Kings 18, 19 [The Message]

King Hezekiah was being taunted and ridiculed by the King of Assyria. They feared for their lives at the sight of the Assyrian army held up outside Jerusalem. Hezekiah laid out the written ultimatum before the Lord and fasted and prayed. God heard his plea and turned his captivity. God sent His Angel one night who slaughtered 185,000 troops of the opposing army. The enemy king fled and was soon executed by his own sons.

Taunting God’s people will not work.

2 Kings 18 [The Messaga]

Eugene Peterson uses a unique phrase in this chapter to describe King Hezekiah’s devotion … “Hold fast.” Cling, cleave, remain faithful, depend, put his whole trust in, remain loyal … these are expressions used for the same phrase in other translations.

What do we hold fast to? Our education, our bank account, our investments, our wit, our intelligence, our family name, our job, our title? None of these entities are as sure as The Rock, Christ Jesus.

With the current shake-up in our banking system, one begins to think through his financial stability. Years ago I conceived a little praise chorus that said this …

My feet are on The Rock, my hands are in the air,

My heart s in His Hands, I do not have a care,

I’ll trust the name of Jesus, on Him I will depend,

And where He leads I’ll follow, He’ll keep me to the end, to the end.

2 Kings 17 [The Message]

What is the root word for protestant?

This chapter states, The children of Israel went along with all the sins that Jeroboam did, never murmured so much as a word of protest. It’s as if God frowned upon His People passively going along with sinful regimes.

Here’s another example of protest: The three Hebrew boys who refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image and were cast into a fiery furnace. They are commended in God’s Word as heroes for protesting the worship of an idol.

The key for us – a gentle but Godly attitude. “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,” [2 Tim. 2:24]

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright. [Pr. 15]

2 Kings 16 [The Message]

Evil King Ahaz of Judah committed abominations before the Lord. He had his sons pass through the fire … ie. offering them as a sacrifice … and proceeded to strip valuable elements in the Temple furniture for bribes to other nations. He had little respect for what God wanted and came up with his own brand of worship.

It occurs to me that it can also be said that our own bodies, the temple of the Holy Spirit, can also be desecrated and misappropriated by how we neglect them or use them to please our flesh rather than taking good care of them. Of this, I am guilty. Given, I don’t have the energy others do to devote to conditioning, BUT, please pray for me. I need to DO SOMETHING. I need the willpower.

2 Kings 13-15 [The Message]

While absorbing the record of the kings of Judah and Israel documented in the books of Chronicles and Kings, one tastes the quality and effectiveness of leaders as judged by their history. It will be no different now. You can look back over the life of a leader and sum up the job they did.

ADVICE TO LEADERS: If you are in a leadership capacity, don’t depend upon your own skills and strengths to perform your duties. Instead, cling desperately to God’s Word and the direction of His Holy Spirit daily … better yet, a moment by moment reliance upon Him for direction. It will bode well when you stand before The Almighty in judgement.

2 Kings 11,12 [The Message]

It’s amazing how one man’s sin and bad habits can affect a nation. That’s how it was with the evil kings over Israel. Their choice to continue in the sinful ways of Ahab meant trouble for the entire nation.

God’s blessings or curses support the phrase, “You reap what you sow.”

2 Kings 11, 12 [The Message]

There were honest men in the priesthood during Joash’s reign. They would count the offerings brought to the temple by worshippers as they entered. Who would ever think about robbing God?

Yet, Malachi laments, “Can a man rob God? Yet you are robbing (God). You ask, ‘How do we rob (God)?’ In your tithes and offerings.” [Mal. 3:8]

Honesty and integrity are modeled and taught in the home. Parents who teach their children from an early age to bring their offering to the Lord are wise and cultivating a Godly habit that can last a lifetime.

2 Kings 7-10 [The Message]

Elisha’s servant was instructed to anoint Jehu as king over Israel. He single-handedly performed the revenge God had predicted upon Ahab’s wife and descendants. What God said He’d do, came to pass.

Revenge is not ours to take. It all belongs to God. We don’t see the complete picture like God does. This is why trust is such an important component of our Christian walk. God is our provider and protector. This makes for better sleeping.

2 Kings 6 [The Message]

When circled by a swat team from the King of Syria who was incensed that Elisha knew all his secret battle plans, the prophet’s servant was severely frightened. Fearing for their lives, he ran to the prophet and declared, “This is hopeless, my master! What are we to do?”

Unfazed, Elisha replied, “Don’t worry about it. There are more FOR US than those against us.” The servant’s eyes were opened to perceive the multitude of God’s warring angels that surrounded the enemy.

In your personal challenge today, you may be shaken at what you see. Take heart! Don’t worry about it, because God has unseen agents working on your behalf. Whether you see them or not, they are THERE. Your faith and trust will cause you to walk in victory. It’s gonna turn out OK.

2 Kings 5 [The Message]

Naaman was like our Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, a very important and powerful man in Syria. Sadly, he had leprosy, a dreaded skin disease. One of his house maids was a Jewess who declared to Naaman;s wife, “I wish that my master would meet the prophet who lives in Samaria. He could heal him of his leprosy.”

Long story short, he eventually ended up at Ellisha’s front door where he was instructed to wash 7 times in the Jordan River. Initially taken back by this unusual prerequisite, he finally complied. He was totally healed.

Some Greeks had come to Jerusalem to worship at the feast. They had heard about Christ raising Lazarus from the dead. They came up to Phillip,one of Christ’s disciples and said, “Sir, we would like to meet Jesus.”

This WE can do. We can refer the curious and needy to Jesus.