Month: September 2020

2 Kings 17:13 The LORD warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.”
The last verse I included today, 2 Kings 17:15b, is the verse that really got me. Commentary says NIV, shown here, uses worthless, while NASB says, “They followed vanity and became vain,” and the original is even more to the point, “They worshiped emptiness and became empty.”
2 Kings 17:14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the LORD their God.
Worthless, vain, empty. Without my Savior, I am all these things. When I follow my Savior, I become more like Him—loving, compassionate, merciful. But when I follow the world, I become more like the world—shallow, selfish, corrupt. Jesus, Help me.
2 Kings 17:15a They rejected His decrees and the covenant He had made with their ancestors and the statutes He had warned them to keep….
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder of what happens when I take my eyes off you. Help me to remember that I am Your deeply loved child. Help me to emulate You in all my ways, becoming more like You every day. Draw me closer. Amen.
2 Kings 17:15b …They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless….
Have a blessed day.

2 Kings 16:1 In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
Ahaz is the first king of Judah who “did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.” Many, many kings didn’t knock down the high places but generally tried to do right by God. Not Ahaz. He was definitely the most evil king of Judah in this history thus far, and he rivals many of the Israelite kings in his departure from God.
2 Kings 16:2 Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD his God.
As I ponder the lessons I can learn from this chapter, the danger of compromise strikes me. Even the many godly kings did not knock down the high places, a huge moral compromise. I would imagine that the people gradually viewed sacrificing in the high places acceptable. Maybe they thought, “The king is allowing it, so what’s the harm?” But in this world such compromise is a slippery slope.
2 Kings 16:3 He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for opening my eyes to the slippery slope of moral compromise. Help me to keep my eyes on You always, to submit every fear, every worry to You. Draw me closer. Amen.
2 Kings 16:4 He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.
Have a blessed day.

2 Kings 14:3a He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not as his father David had done before….
Lord, I feel like I am still struggling with my high places, the fear that so often lingers in my life. I know that that fear has to do with my need for control and my inability to lay my worries at Your feet and leave them there. I can’t explain the logic behind bringing my worries to You and them dragging them away with me. I don’t want to continue this cycle.
2 Kings 14:3b …In everything he followed the example of his father Joash.
Lord, What I want more than anything is Your peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding, the peace that comes from turning all my worries and burdens over to You and leaving them in Your mighty hands. Help me to remove these high places, Lord, to submit them to You.
2 Kings 14:4a The high places, however, were not removed…. 
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for helping me recognize what my high places are. Help me destroy every stronghold and submit every part of my life to You. You are sovereign. You are worthy. Help me, Jesus. Amen.
2 Kings 14:4b …the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.
Have a blessed day.

2 Kings 13:2 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat….
My mantra from the first of this crazy semester has been “grace upon grace”—for myself, for students, parents, colleagues—everyone. With things as crazy as they are right now, grace is the only way we will make it through. Yet two days ago I typed these words in an email: “…it feels like some have started taking my grace for granted.” With today’s scripture, I feel my precious Savior is gently calling me to task. 
2 Kings 13:4 Then Jehoahaz sought the LORD’s favor, and the LORD listened to him….
God’s grace is unfathomable. And His love for His children is fierce. As I think about what He’s trying to show me this morning, here are the biggest lessons I see: I am just as guilty of taking His grace for granted as the next person. No matter how much grace is extended, I always hope for just a little more. I need to show others the same level of mercy and grace I want for myself. Help me, Jesus.
2 Kings 13:23a But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for whispering gently to my heart about areas I need to work on. Thank You for loving me enough to correct me when I get off-track. Help me to love others the way that You love. Help me to extend mercy and grace the way You do. Draw me closer. Amen.
2 Kings 13:23b To this day he has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from his presence.
Have a blessed day.

2 Kings 12:2 Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him.
Joash had such potential. And while Jehoiada was instructing him, he “did what was right in the eyes of the LORD.” Was he not strong enough to do what was right in God’s eyes after Jehoiada died? Did he listen to advisors whose hearts weren’t centered on God? Why was his potential not fulfilled? How did he fall away from God?
2 Kings 12:3 The high places, however, were not removed; the people continued to offer sacrifice and burn incense there.
Exhaustion is a common theme of this semester, and with that constant exhaustion is a definite tendency to focus first on the negative instead of the positive. My morning time with God is often spent trying to get my attitude right these days. But today’s scripture helps me see what I’m trying to guard against, a legacy like Joash’s. I don’t want it be said, “She had so much potential, but….” I want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
2 Kings 12:19 As for the other events of the reign of Joash, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder that every day counts, every day is important. Help me to shine for You always, even when I’m exhausted. Draw me close. Grant me your peace. Amen.
2 Kings 12:20 His officials conspired against him and assassinated him at Beth Millo, on the road down to Silla.
Have a blessed day.

2 Kings 10:28 So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel.
Jehu is mighty for God. He goes a long way in being God’s instrument and doing God’s will in destroying Baal worship in Israel. And yet…. Jehu’s heart doesn’t fully belong to God. We see Jehu’s pride creeping in when he says to Jehonadab, “Come see my zeal for the LORD” (v16) and he never turned away from “worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan” (v29).
2 Kings 10:29 However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
As always, I am wondering how this applies to my life. Where is my pride overcoming my love of my Savior? What are my strongholds that I am not giving up, even with all my work for my Savior? The answers come easily. God’s been working on me with these issues for a while. I’m so thankful for a Savior who loves me enough to help me daily grow closer to Him.
2 Kings 10:32a Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the pointed look at the work I still have to do. Thank You for loving me enough to bring my attention to strongholds in my life that are keeping me from You. Help me to do the work to remove every stronghold. Draw me closer. Amen.
2 Kings 10:32b He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he caused Israel to commit.
Have a blessed day.

2 Kings 9:2 “When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room.”
It is hard for me to witness injustice and unfairness, and there is so very much of it in this world. 2 Kings 9 draws to a close prophecies and stories that were shared as earlier as 1 Kings 19. In 1 Kings 21, we hear of Naboth, who was murdered by the king and queen for his vineyard. 
2 Kings 9:3 “Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, ‘This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel.’ Then open the door and run; don’t delay.”
But even before Naboth was murdered, God had a plan. In 1 Kings 19, He charges Elijah with anointing both Jehu and Elisha in His service. He was paying attention, and He had a plan, but He wanted to give those involved time to turn back to Him if they would.
1 Kings 19:16 “Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi [as] king over Israel. And Elisha…you shall anoint [as] prophet in your place.”
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. In a time that seems fraught with injustice and unfairness, thank You for being present, for being aware, for having a plan. Help me shine Your light. Draw me closer. Amen.
1 Kings 19:17 “It shall be [that] whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.”
Have a blessed day

2 Kings 8:1 Now Elisha has said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.”
We first see the Shunamite woman in 2 Kings 4. She sees Elisha, a man of God, often traveling through her town and offers him hospitality—food and drink—ultimately building a room for him to use when he is in town. He repays her with a prophesy of a son to be born the next year. The son grows but becomes sick with heatstroke one day and dies. Elisha brings the child back to life, at some point prophesies the impending famine, and implores them to leave for seven years to avoid the famine.
2 Kings 8:2 The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines for seven years.
What strikes me about this woman is something we don’t hear much about, her faith. She reaches out to Elisha in hospitality because she has faith that he truly in a prophet of God. When her son dies, she has faith that Elisha, God’s prophet, can restore him. When Elisha tells her about the famine, she has faith that God sent her family this message. When she returns, she goes to see the king about restoring her lands because she has faith that he will, and he does.
2 Kings 8:3 At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land.
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for this clear picture of living and acting in faith. Help me to choose faith over fear, Lord. Draw me closer. Amen.
2 Kings 8:4 Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land.
Have a blessed day.