Short Reflection from 2 Kings 13-25

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (BRW) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙𝟛:𝟙𝟜

"When Elisha became sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash the king of Israel came down to him and wept over him and said, ‘My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and its horsemen!’"

Elisha died of sickness. Yet his dead bone 'resurrected' another dead guy (v21).

Jesus saved others but couldn't save Himself according to the words of the chief priests.

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙𝟜:𝟙𝟘

"You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Enjoy your glory and stay at home; for why should you provoke trouble so that you, even you, would fall, and Judah with you?"

Pride goes before destruction. Moreover, perhaps, he was disappointed with the king of Israel for refusing a marriage proposal. Maybe a duel to settle a marriage like in a movie!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙𝟝:𝟝

"The LORD struck the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death. And he lived in a separate house, while Jotham the king's son was over the household, judging the people of the land."

Uzziah, a great king, was condemned by the priests and the Lord for thinking highly of himself!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙𝟞:𝟛

"But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD had driven out from before the sons of Israel."

Sacrificing children to get what they want from the ungodly source.

Abortion is a child sacrifice to get what they want—maybe an independent life.

Hmmm, even abandoning kids at home and going to workplace for earning more money could be related to this.

Even putting kids in a hostel or boarding school to abdicate parenting could be related to it.

Children are God's gifts. Parents are responsible to bring them up in the Lord!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙𝟟:𝟛𝟛

"They feared the LORD and served their own gods according to the custom of the nations from among whom they had been carried away into exile."

This is always the problem. People respect God, love God, fear God, and worship God, but not that different from others.

God demands not only to fear Him, not even to fear Him the most. He demands to fear only Him!

You may go to church, read your Bible, pray regularly, and help others, live a moral life, and still be denied entry to the kingdom of God, hearing, "I never knew you."

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙𝟠:𝟛𝟝

"Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their land from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?"

True, the Assyrians were the world power and God had chosen them to punish the nation, Israel. But they weren't chosen to punish the nation, Judah. The Assyrians were proud, presumptuous, and a time to pull them down was near.

Power tends to corrupt. Leader tends to be abusive. May God help His Chosen people!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙𝟡:𝟛-𝟜

"They said to him, ‘Thus says Hezekiah, 'This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and rejection; for children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver. Perhaps the LORD your God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore, offer a prayer for the remnant that is left.'’"

There was a man leaders can go to in a troubled time. In my experience in Delhi, only UPSC guys ask for prayers.

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟚𝟘:𝟙𝟡

"Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good. For he thought, ‘Is it not so, if there will be peace and truth in my days?’"

Hmmm! Hezekiah reacted surprisingly. Why did it seem good to hear a prophecy of captivity after his death? I don't know. But this story is recorded as a precedent. Let's remember this next time!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟚𝟙:𝟚𝟚

"He did evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done."

The books of Kings remind us that every life lived is before the presence of God, and He shall judge everyone according to our deeds, especially on the last day!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟚𝟚:𝟙𝟡

"’because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,’ declares the LORD."

Humbling before God. That matters most in day-to-day life.

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟚𝟛:𝟚𝟞

"However, the LORD did not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath with which His anger burned against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked Him."

In this fallen world, no matter how righteous one might be we will still live by the consequences of others.

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟚𝟜:𝟙𝟜

"Then he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land."

No one likes the poor.

 

[11:47 am, 21/05/2022] S.R: 𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟚𝟝:𝟙𝟚

"But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen."

Only the poorest were left behind. Was that good? They weren't killed, weren't taken to captivity. But nobody likes or respects or admires the poor. People often mistreated them. Perhaps, many were killed and mistreated. And the remaining who were alive were to be workers of the lands for themselves or to pay taxes or for their own survival.

Poverty is not a virtue.

The 500th Help Think Blog Post

This is my 500^th blogpost for Help Think.

I started 9 years ago, here’s the link.

I’ve been here for 3,296 days

Though nothing worthy of praise.

I ain’t in the league of geeks

Although I‘ve been here 470 weeks.

Posting an average of once a week

Barely three to four at its peak.

 

Two years, I took a break

They were not a mistake;

2015, overwhelmed in seminary,

2017, busy in pastoral ministry.

How long will I go on blogging?

Maybe as long as I keep writing.

I do have 100 more to post

Yet, that’s nothing to boast.

 

Thrice a week, my target, to post

That’s enough for this year to last.

Gratitude to my WhatsApp friends

With their partnership Help Think sustains.

Who are my readers? I cannot tell

I write for Christians, and for anyone as well.

To help them think to know God’s words

And help them live a life that accords.

 

My goal on social media, or online

Is for Romans 1:11, in me, to shine:

“That I may impart to you

Some spiritual gift to strengthen you”

To be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

And to hold on to Romans 8, twenty-eight.

For the redeemed, all things work together for good;

That cannot be forgotten nor be misunderstood.

 

Aye, we shall not be utterly cast down,

Though we may fall; for we are God’s own.

Um, that’s Psalm 37, twenty-four

Three Scriptures a lot, I shall mention no more.

I ain’t a great writer, not even good

Though I wish and strive that I would,

Nor a techie as you see on my web page;

I hope to be better in both as I age

 

A few weeks ago, I pondered

Not to let the 500^th post be squandered.

Thank you, my readers and encouragers!

Would you read all the more and be firm believers?

Certainly, I shall not write a 500-line rhyme

That will take me a lot of time.

Noteworthy are some special occasions

Though they need not require celebrations.

 

This blogpost (poem) is a dedication

To Mermie, my greatest fan, without hesitation,

A delightful friend more than I could wish for,

Yet shall be better evermore.

Who’s a friend to me?

Lord, one whose desire is to honour Thee,

Whose mind is set to know and live

Out Thy word as long as we live.

 

Lovely are the struggles of God’s people

Though weak and slow they battle

Against sin, vain philosophy, and worldliness

Even if it leads them to loneliness.

They choose to live for God, a self-denial

Even in times of suffering and trial;

Yet they will remain imperfect

Someday, God shall make them perfect.

 

Such ones are my delightful friends

They shall last even when the world ends.

I set out to compose a 500-word poem

I only wish you appreciate this as a poem

Now, I must bring this to a close

It’s time I suppose

Before you get an overdose

To bid y’all adios!

Short Reflection from 2 Kings 1-12

[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (BRW) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]

[2:34 pm, 07/05/2022] S.R: 𝟚 𝕂𝕀ℕ𝔾𝕊 𝟙:𝟙𝟞

"Then he said to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron--is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?--therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.'’"

God wants His people to trust Him and no one else, or else, it's consequential. Let the sinners do whatever they want, but let the people of God fear and tremble before Him!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟚:𝟙𝟜

"He took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him and struck the waters and said, ‘Where is the LORD, the God of Elijah?’ And when he also had struck the waters, they were divided here and there; and Elisha crossed over."

Elisha didn't trust in his religiosity, but he didn't doubt Elijah's religiosity. And it happened that he could perform miracles.

There are many Elishas who are afraid, doubtful, or confused, we need an Elijah figure to assure them by our doctrine and conduct!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟛:𝟙𝟜

"Elisha said, ‘As the LORD of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you.’"

Not all leaders are worthy of our attention. May we be like Jehoshaphat among Jehorams!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟜:𝟛𝟘

"The mother of the lad said, ‘As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ And he arose and followed her."

An importunate woman! May my prayer be like that!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟝:𝟙𝟛

"Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, ‘My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, 'Wash, and be clean'?’"

A clear voice of reason in the midst of emotional rage! But from a lowly servant, but a loving servant. Notice how he addressed "My father."

We need people like this in our lives!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟞:𝟙𝟡

"Then Elisha said to them, 'This is not the way, nor is this the city; follow me and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.' And he brought them to Samaria."

Would you accuse Elisha of telling a lie? When I play a game of chess, I pretend to plan an attack on one particular pawn, when actually my goal is to checkmate the king surprisingly! And that's me being smart not deceitful!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟟:𝟞

"For the Lord had caused the army of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, ‘Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.’"

Interesting, how God used the sin pattern of the Israelites to deliver them. Israel is not supposed to take help from Egypt. They often did, and this time God used the rumor of sin.

Sin is not that bad at all in the wisdom of God.

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟠:𝟙-𝟚

"Now Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, ‘Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for the LORD has called for a famine, and it will even come on the land for seven years.’ So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years."

Hmmm! It's not right to leave the promised land and dwell in the lands of the heathens. Yet, there are exceptions. Even Jesus had to go to Egypt and came back to die in Jerusalem. God is amazing!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟡:𝟙𝟝-𝟙𝟞

"but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, ‘If this is your mind, then let no one escape or leave the city to go tell it in Jezreel.’ Then Jehu rode in a chariot and went to Jezreel, for Joram was lying there. Ahaziah king of Judah had come down to see Joram."

Jehu was unlike Gideon, Joshua, or Saul. He was brave, energetic, and wise. He killed 2 Kings of two countries in a day and the queen Jezebel too.

Wrong or right, if you have got to do it, do it quickly. Jesus said the same to Judas Iscariot.

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙𝟘:𝟙𝟘

"Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the LORD has done what He spoke through His servant Elijah."

Jehu killed two kings of two countries and the queen in a day. He also killed all 70 princes in a day. He also killed 42 Royal relatives in a day.

This guy was so effective because he believed he was chosen by God. Even Genghis Khan believed he was chosen by God to punish other nations.

Don't believe in yourself but if you believe God has chosen you to do something, there's nothing much you cannot accomplish.

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙𝟙:𝟙

"When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she rose and destroyed all the royal offspring."

I fear a cruel woman more than a cruel man!

 

𝟚 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝟙𝟚:𝟟-𝟠

"Then King Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and for the other priests and said to them, ‘Why do you not repair the damages of the house? Now therefore take no more money from your acquaintances, but pay it for the damages of the house.’ So the priests agreed that they would take no more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the house."

Interesting account between the king and the priests regarding money.

The king did try to help repair the temple but not from his pocket or his government, but to be raised by the temple.

There's no evidence that the priests were corrupt, unwise, or lazy. Maybe the money wasn't sufficient. Maybe the repair of the temple wasn't urgent.

But the king being ambitious or zealous found another way to solve the issue.