Passing the Torch
Today’s Passage – 2 Kings 1 – 3; Proverbs 26
(Second Milers also read – Luke 7 & 8; Memorize John 11:25 & 26)
“And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” – (2 Kings 2:9)
In chapter 2 of 2 Kings we see the account of Elijah, the mighty prophet of God being translated by God up into Heaven. Can you imagine what it must have been like for Elijah, and even for the people who witnessed it, to see the chariot of fire come down to pick him up. Wow! Before Elijah left, however, he passed his mantle (garment, robe) to Elisha and with the mantle came a “double portion of [Elijah’s] spirit”.
I have a couple thoughts regarding this transition. First I think that it is a marvelous thing that Elijah took the time to diligently mentor young Elisha. He did not just teach him, he demonstrated through his life a man that knew God, walked with God, and was greatly used of God. He made serving God look good.
Secondly, I think about Elisha who did not squander the training and the mentoring he received from Elijah. He took the foundation that was given him and he used it and built upon it. I haven’t checked it myself, but I’ve heard other preachers say that Elisha performed twice the number of recorded miracles than did Elijah.
I remember as a young Christian there were men who took time to mentor me. There were actually many men that had a part in my training, but one man stands out above all of the rest. Pastor Rick Wedemeyer spent time with me. He was very patient with me. He let me get close to him; he let me see first hand the love he had for his family and for the people of his church. He still is a great friend and counselor to me today. I wonder if some young Christian will say some day about me that I was a great mentor to them. I hope so. Why don’t you find someone, maybe a new convert, maybe a kid on the bus; and pour your life into him. Now this is going to cost you some time and you might want to straighten yourself out first as you wouldn’t want to be the wrong kind of influence; but if you’re willing to do this, your life will continue to live on through the person you mentor after your gone.
And you young Christians: why don’t you find some older, spiritual saint of God, and latch on to him for a while, and take what he gives you and give it to the next generation.
“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2)
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Tell Me What I Need To Hear
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 22; Proverbs 25
(Second Milers also read – Luke 5 – 6; Memorize John 11:25 – 26)
“Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.” – (1 Kings 22:6-8)
“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;” – (2 Timothy 4:3)
If you had a disease within your body that could be life threatening if left untreated, would you want a doctor who told you the truth, or would you want one who tells you what you want to hear? You would most certainly want to know the truth so that you could get the proper treatment in order to fix the problem. Why is it, however, that many people want a preacher that avoids the truth in order to “tickle the ears” of his people. In our text, this is exactly what Ahab does. He calls the 400 “prophets” who he knows will agree with him. He wants to go to war with Syria. His friend, King Jehosaphat of Judah, recommends that they get counsel from God, but instead of calling upon the one preacher that speaks the truth, he calls these other 400 who he knows will tell him what he wants to hear. The real man of God, Micaiah, when finally called upon at the insistence of Jehoshaphat, tells him the painful truth. Ahab rewards this preacher of truth buy having him thrown in jail.
Christians, we need men of God that will tell us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear. The truth will set us free. If you are church member, encourage your pastor by insisting that he gives you the Truth straight from the Word of God. Cheer him as he preaches difficult sermons. If you are a preacher, let me encourage you to be fearless, yet compassionate in your preaching. Tell them what God said, whether they appreciate it or not. Even if they don’t appreciate what you are telling them now, they probably will later. The truth is not pleasant sometimes, but it always gives the people what they need to make good decisions. You are not in a popularity contest, You are a messenger for God. The people cannot possibly make wise choices unless they have the Truth to help them.
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He Is Risen!!!
HE IS RISEN!!! Praise the Lord. I am verv excited about preaching the Word of God four times today. Three of the messages will be on the Resurrection. This morning’s devotion, however, will be taken from this morning’s Scripture passage.
A Little Humility
Today’s Reading – 1 Kings 20, 21; Proverbs 24
(Second Milers also read – Luke 3 – 4; Memorize John 11:25 – 26)
Ahab was probably the worst king in Israel’s history. He tolerated all kinds of immorality and idolatry in his kingdom, and even promoted it. He married a woman (Jezebel) whose name has become synonomous with wickedness. Together, Ahab and Jezebel were responsible for the slaughter of many of the prophets of the Lord in Israel. These were bad people. Ahab was a bad man and an even worse king.
Notice, however, in the last part of chapter 21. Ahab humbled himself before the Lord. Now don’t misunderstand, this was not a complete turnaround. He didn’t surrender to go to the mission field or anything like that; but he did humble himself before the Lord; and as a result, God spared him some of the judgment that he had planned for him. Apparently, a little humility went a long way for Ahab.
I don’t think there are too many people reading this that are as wicked as old King Ahab; but it would do us well to follow his example in just this one instance. Let’s kill some of the pride in our lives and humble ourselves before the Lord. Let’s surrender to Him and submit ourselves to His will for our lives. Let’s allow him to correct us when necessary. It may just be that a little humility before the Lord will go a long way in our lives as well.
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The Saturday Morning Post by Pastor Ted Stahl – How To Start A Fire
Today’s Reading: 1Kings 18-19, Luke 1-2, and Proverbs 23.
Today’s Passage: 1Kings 18:37: “Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.”
Good morning. Today we’re going to learn how to get fire with two sticks and some dried grass, or leaves. Take a long, straight stick and carve a point at one end. Take the other piece of wood and carve a small round gully for the pointy stick to fit in. On one of the sides of the gully, carve a small triangle or knoch out. Now place the point into the gully and using a downward motion, with the straight sick in your palms, rub your hands together rolling the stick to create friction. Soon you will see smoke appear. Keep going until you can see a spark glowing. Add some of the dried grass and blow on the ember and the grass should ignite. Add more leaves, dried grass, and wood to keep the fire going. Anybody can use this method, it just takes a little work.
Here is another way to start a fire. If you are saved and backslide then you know how miserable your life can be. Yet there is that small spark within you that keeps trying to call you back. It takes work, but you can do it if you want to. You have friction going between your spirit and your flesh. God sent Elijah to meet with Ahab, and there was friction. “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. (1Kings 18:17-18).
Now you need some kindling. Wood, hay, and stubble are good to burn. In Elijah’s case: the prophets of Baal. All they did was cause all but 7000 Israelites to bow their knee to Baal. Isn’t that what sin does to you: causes you to turn away from God? Good sent the spark (or fire from heaven) that was an answer to Elijah’s prayer.
1Ki 18:36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. “Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God.” (1Kings 18:37-39).
Empowered by God, Elijah was able to rid Israel of the 400 prophets of Baal. Now God could bless. Just like you looked for that small spark, Elijah was looking for a blessing from God. “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man’s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. (1Kings 18:41-46).
Remember when you backslide, it only takes a little effort on your part to allow the Lord to start the fire in you again.
Peace (Colossians 3:15)
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God Takes Care Of His Own
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 15 – 17; Proverbs 22
(Second Milers also read – Mark 15 – 16; Memorize Philippians 3:8 – 11)
“And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.” – (1 Kings 17:6)
“And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.” – (1 Kings 17:16)
The setting for our text this morning is the northern kingdom of Israel, which at this point is under the reign of wicked King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. You will remember that at this time the nation of Israel was divided into the northern kingdom (which retained the name Israel), and the southern kingdom of Judah. Now King Ahab of Israel was a very bad king, doing “…more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him”. (1 Kings 16:33) As judgment for the idolatry in the land, God brought forth a drought that lasted for three years. Though the people of Israel were suffering terribly from the shortage of water and also the shortage of food that resulted from the lack of water, God still took care of his own. Elijah was fed by the ravens at the brook Cherith; and then he was miraculously provided for through an unending supply of meal and oil, along with the widow woman from Zarephath and her son.
As I reflect on this passage, I am reminded of what David said through the inspiration of God:
“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” – (Psalm 37:25)
In my lifetime, I have never experienced a famine such as the one that Israel faced here in our text; but I have lived through some tough economic times. However, during the worst of times, God has always taken care of me and my family. It is interesting that in this chapter of Scripture, God reminds us of two ways that He miraculously provides for our needs during these tough times. First, He supplies us from unlikely sources. The ravens were Elijah’s first source of provision, not unlike the manna that fell from heaven during the wilderness wanderings. I remember when I was in Bible college. Those were certainly some tough days financially. I believe that God was testing our resolve to finish school by allowing us to struggle. Yet, during those years, God provided miraculously more times than I can count. One time, He used a group of co-workers to graciously supply food and Christmas presents for my children. Another time, God used my brother Bill and his wife to graciously help us. Another time, God laid it upon some one’s heart to pay part of my school bill; my mortgage payment was anonymously paid on more than one occasion. We were awed and humbled by the miraculous provision of God during this period of our life.
The second way that God provided for Elijah, and in this case the woman and her son, was that He allowed what they already had (the oil and the meal) to last longer. You will remember also that as Israel wandered in the wilderness their shoes and clothes did not wear out for the entire forty years. This is just as much of a miracle as the provision through the ravens. God said through Malachi, that He would “rebuke the devourer” (Malachi 3:11) if the people would put God first. Haggai told the people that their bag of money was full of holes (Haggai 1:6), because they had not put God first. I know what it is like to have a wallet “full of holes”; but I also know what it is like to have things last long beyond their lifespan. When I first started tithing as a young Christian I thought that God would miraculously take care of all of my financial problems through some big gift of money; but instead, He provided by causing us to plug up some of the “holes” in our check book. The car didn’t break down, and the kids didn’t get sick as much. We were spending a lot less.
God has been good to my family through the years. I have no regret whatever about the decision Cindy and I made twenty years ago to tithe, and to give offerings above the tithe. God has always been faithful to us. If you are struggling in your finances, let me encourage you to trust God by putting Him first in your life.
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” – (Matthew 6:33)
“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” – (Luke 6:38)
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” – (Malachi 3:10)
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Be Careful Who You Trust
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 12 – 14; Proverbs 21
(Second Milers also read – Mark 13 – 14; Memorize Philippians 3:8 – 11)
My attention this morning is drawn to chapter thirteen and the account of the prophet that was sent from the southern kingdom of Judah with a message for Jeroboam, the king of the northern kingdom, Israel. He was sent with a message of judgment to Jeroboam:
“And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.” (1 Kings 13:2 & 3)
At the end of this unpleasant meeting with Jeroboam, this un-named prophet is asked to go back with Jeroboam to get something to eat and to receive a reward. The prophet flatly refuses to go with Jeroboam because he was given strict instructions by God not to eat in Israel. On the way home, however, another man claiming to be a prophet asks him to go with him and get something to eat. This man lies to him and tells him that God told him that it was OK. As a result, the prophet from Judah goes with him; but soon discovers that he was tricked into disobeying the clear commandment of God; and it cost him his life.
Christian, you and I need to be careful who we listen to. Sometimes people pretending to represent God will come to us and try to get us to do things that are clearly against the plain teaching of the Word of God. We are to trust the Bible, and we can trust the men and women that preach and teach the Bible correctly; but the Bible itself is always the final authority. Be careful who you trust.
By the way, we also saw in chapter twelve that Reheboam listened to the counsel of the young men, rather than the counsel of the old men. The result was that the kingdom of Israel was split into two kingdoms. Again, we see here that you have to be very careful about who you listen to. I am not saying that it is always unwise to listen to young men, but we should always include in our cabinet of counselors some older men (and ladies) who have demonstrated that they have godly wisdom.
Posted in Thoughts from 1 Kings by Phil Erickson with 1 comment.
Not Very Wise After All
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 10 – 11; Proverbs 20
(Second Milers also read – Mark 11 – 12; Memorize – Philippians 3:8 – 11)
“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.” – (1 Kings 11:4 )
A good friend of mine, Pastor Charlie Horton, once told me that there are three things that will take a preacher down: ladies, lucre, and liberalism; or maids, money, and modernism. That statement has proven to be true. In the twenty years plus that I have been a Christian, I have seen many men of God wander out of the will of God; and in all of these cases it was one of those three things that caused them to veer off of the path. In our text, we see that Solomon’s problem primarily was the ladies. He had 1000 wives and concubines. Wow! How can it be that this man is know for his wisdom? Can you imagine having 1000 mother-in-laws? It would not have been so bad if all of these women shared the same love for the Lord that Solomon had; but, unfortunately, many of these women were heathen women that worshipped other “gods”. In order to please these women, Solomon accommodated for their false worship within the borders of Israel, and Solomon, himself, began to participate in the idolatry. Not very wise.
I do not thing that women were the only attraction that lured Solomon out of the will of God. He was also very wealthy: wealthier than any man that ever lived. Jesus spoke about the difficulties that wealth imposes upon a right relationship with God. Wealth can certainly be a stumbling block also. The text also makes it clear that the ladies lured him into heresy. So, ultimately, Solomon fell prey to all three of the traps mentioned above. The tragedy is that Solomon was a very wise man, and should have seen the dangers ahead of time. I think he deliberately wandered off of the path. He chose to go astray with his eyes fully opened.
Passages of Scripture such as this scare me. Solomon was a much wiser man than I could ever be, yet he blew it. I have seen many others fall in my time that had a lot more on the ball than me. It scares me, because I know that it could happen to me also. I hope it scares me enough to stay as far away from these traps (and others) so that I will finish my course inside the perfect will of God.
Posted in Thoughts from 1 Kings by Phil Erickson with 2 comments.
When God Moves In
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 8, 9; Proverbs 19
(Second Milers also read Mark 9 – 10; Memorize Philippians 3:8 – 11)
“And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD, So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.” – (1 Kings 8:10-11)
As we study Israel’s history, we know that there were many times that they were not where God wanted them to be, spiritually speaking. Often in their history Israel would forsake their God, and err into immorality, and idolatry. These were times when God would be forced to bring judgment upon His people in order to get them to turn back to Him. However, in today’s passage, we see Israel as right with the Lord as they had ever been. They had just completed building the Temple of God, and today was the day that the entire nation was gathered together in order to dedicate the temple (and themselves) to the Lord. God was well pleased with Israel at this time, and He demonstrated His approval with a physical appearance of his presence. Verse 11 tells us that “the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord”.
I have been saved for over twenty years now, and I have been involved in the local church since I was born=again into the family of God; and I have experienced the wonderful blessing of seeing God’s presence in the midst of His church. I did not see a physical manifestation of His presence, as these Israelites did, but I did experience the glory of God, nonetheless. Unfortunately, I have also seen the times when God’s presence was apparently absent from our church. Hindsight often provides a better perspective for analyzing the ingredients that went into the times when God seemed to be all over His church. When I look back at the times in our ministry when God was really working in a marvelous way among us, with many being saved and baptized, and wonderful Spirit-filled services, I can see that there were specific ingredients that were present. These same ingredients were present in our text today.
1 There was unity – God wants His children to be “in one accord”. A quick study of the early church from the Book of Acts will reveal that they were all together; they were all moving in the same direction.
2 There was humility – Notice in Solomon’s prayer that He recognizes that the people were prone to get away from God. He admits completely that these people were in God’s hands, and that it was God that blessed them.
3 There was complete tenacity and loyalty toward God. These people were all consecrated to the Lord. They were not doing that which was right in their own eyes, they were pursuing God. They were not chasing after the world with all of its idols, and all of its immorality. They were not only separated from the world, but they were also separated unto the Lord. These people wanted to please the Lord. They were focused on God. They gave up two weeks of their lives to serve and sacrifice to the Lord.
We can see God’s glory in our churches again today if we have these three ingredients in place. I want to see God move in our church. I want to see Him do great thing in the midst of this world that denies Him. He’s waiting for us to get on board.
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Greatly Used of the Lord
Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 6 – 7; Proverbs 18
(Second Milers also read – Mark 7 – 8; Memorize – Philippians 3:8 – 11)
Not every Christian is gifted by God to be a teacher or a preacher. In this passage, we see Hiram, a man from Tyre, who was uniquely gifted by God to make all of the works of brass that were to be used in the Temple. Back in the Book of Exodus, we saw two other fellows. Bezaleel and Aholiab, who were also uniquely filled with wisdom (gifted) to build the Tabernacle in the Wilderness. As far as we know, these men never taught the Scriptures; they were not priests, or prophets; but they were greatly used of the Lord.
We have many people in our churches today who have also been uniquely crafted by the Lord to fulfill His purpose. They may be builders, like the men referenced above. They may be men or women that have a knack for cleaning, or landscaping. These are all very necessary and important jobs in the service of our churches today. As I read this passage today, I thought of a man in our church who was used of the Lord to build our platform in the auditorium along with the sound booth. He did a wonderful job, and our church building is much more beautiful and functional as a result of his using his gifts for the Lord. We also have some folks in our church that like to cook, and when we have a dinner of some kind, these people go to work, preparing delicious food for the rest of us to enjoy. They work mostly behind the scenes, but their work is very important to the Lord.
God tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:
“But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” – (1 Corinthians 12:18)
Not every member is an eye or an ear: some are hands, some are feet. Not everybody is a preacher or teacher; and those that are gifted in areas other that teaching are just as important to the work of the ministry as those who teach or preach.
What is your gift? What is your sweet spot? The thing that you were born to do. Hiram was born to make brass, and he did it very well. God will be well pleased with your life if you find the thing that He has equipped you to do, and then do it for His glory.
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Almost Heaven
Today’s Passage -1 Kings 3-5; Proverbs 17
(Second Milers also read – Mark 5 – 6; Memorize Philippians 3:8 – 11)
“Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.” (1 Kings 4:20)
“And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.” (1 Kings 4:25)
This is about as close to heaven as you could possibly get while still living here on the earth. Notice that Israel had the complete protection of God; and the abundant provision of God. And in these early days of Solomon’s reign the people were busy serving God by building His temple, which took about seven years to complete. So it seems that God is on His throne and the people are dwelling safely. It sort of reminds me of the history of America. We had to fight some battles in the early days; but God eventually gave us abundant provision and protection from our enemies. We are still the most blessed nation in the world.
Unfortunately, we will see in the upcoming chronicles of Israel’s history that all of this prosperity, which was given by God, will eventually cause the people to forget about God. I think we can safely say that America is in the same boat. The people in this “land of the free” have forgotten that it was God who gave them their freedom and all of the prosperity that comes with it.
Christian, let us never forget that it is God that has protected us; and it is God that has provided for us. Have you thanked God today for His blessings?
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