Year 5, Day 20: 2 Kings 22

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

I love the stories about Josiah.  He is such an incredible breath of fresh air over the normal king of Israel and Judah.  He is humble.  He is obedient.  He hears the word and repents without having t be told to do so!  He hears the Word of the Lord and is so open to the conviction of the Holy Spirit that explanation isn’t even necessary!  What a breath of fresh air indeed.

So I have to ask why.  I mean, we’re all essentially in the same boat.  We are all fallen and fall short of the glory of God.  Every single one of us has the obstacle of sin between us and God.  So why do some kings respond like Josiah while other kings respond like the majority who just ignore God?  Perhaps more importantly, why do some average folks like you and me respond one way while other average folks respond another way to God?  If none of us are righteous on our own, then what is the difference between those who respond and those who don’t?

I think the difference is that those who respond have come to a place of understanding that they aren’t the center of their own life.  Those who respond to God are in a place of understanding that God and God’s ways are better than our own agendas.  Sure, we might fall and stumble once and a while.  But fundamentally those who do respond to God understand this truth.

God is King.  He is the ruler of the universe.  His agenda is best for my life.  His ways are higher than my ways.  Josiah responds to God because he already understands and accepts this reality.  Want to respond to God like Josiah does?  Let yourself go.  Follow God as though He actually is the center of your life.  Then you’ll respond to God like Josiah.

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Year 5, Day 19: 2 Kings 21

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Imitation

• Imitation: This is the second over-arching step of the discipleship process.  First we gain information, then we imitate our spiritual mentor.  Imitation leads to innovation of spirituality in our own life.

I find the list of kings from Hezekiah (yesterday’s reading) to Josiah (tomorrow’s reading) to be one of the most significant group of kings in this whole book.  In fact, other than David and Solomon, I think we can learn more from the study of this set of kings than from any other set in the book.

Let’s pick up where we left off yesterday.  Hezekiah was living his life largely for himself.  Then he got sick and Isaiah told him that he wasn’t going to recover.  Hezekiah repented and began the process of changing his life around.  It was during that time that he made sure that copies of the Law were to be found in Jerusalem.  It was at that time that an heir was produced to him.  While Hezekiah has a rough start, he ends well.

Then we get to Manasseh.  2 Kings has nothing good to say about Manasseh, but read 2 Chronicles 33 before putting any major conclusion upon Manasseh.  Here again we see a king who in his younger years follows his own heart and his own desires.  I can’t help but wonder if Manasseh learned to follow his own heart while he was young and Hezekiah was still undergoing the process of reform.  Could Manasseh have learned his evil ways from Hezekiah before he really got into the life changing of God?  Certainly!  But even here, it would appear that Manasseh eventually did imitate his father as repentance seems to find Manasseh – at least according to 2 Chronicles 33.

Then we hit Amon.  Amon abandons God and does not repent.  Here it appears that Amon imitates his father Manasseh during his rebellious years.  But Amon never imitates the repentance of Manasseh his father or Hezekiah his grandfather.  Amon pursues the world, imitating the mistakes of his father that he probably learned while he was growing up.

Tomorrow we’ll get to read about Josiah, who is an incredibly godly king.  Clearly Josiah does not imitate his father.  But I can’t help but wonder if Josiah doesn’t learn from Manasseh his grandfather, as Josiah would have been born after Amon his father was an adult.  I can’t help but wonder if Josiah learned from Manasseh’s repentance, heard the stories of Hezekiah’s repentance, and then saw all of the mistakes of Amon his father’s rule.

In the end, I think so much of this chapter is all about imitation.  What traits and habits are we passing on to our children?  What are we encouraging them to imitate in the places of our life where we do not follow God’s calling?  What are we teaching to our children when we think nobody is looking?

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Year 5, Day 18: 2 Kings 20

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Obedience, Prophet

• Obedience: Genuine and satisfying obedience comes out of our identity.  Our true identity comes only from our Father.
• Prophet: A prophet is one of the fivefold ministry categories that is used throughout the Bible and especially lifted up in Ephesians 4:11.  The prophet is primarily concerned with whether or not the people are hearing the voice of God.  The prophet is also concerned about whether or not the people are responding to God’s voice.

I think this is one of my favorite chapters into the relationship of a prophet to the Lord.  Put yourself in Isaiah’s shoes.  God tells Isaiah to go to the king and tell him that he will not recover.  So Isaiah is obedient and does so.  Then, when Hezekiah repents and before Isaiah can even get home, God tells Isaiah to turn around and tell Hezekiah that his repentance was heard and God is going to extend his life.  This is what it often feels like to be a prophet.

Prophets bring God’s Word to their contemporaries.  As God’s Word goes out and affects people, prophets must be able to be malleable to the changes in the people.  A prophet may be declaring judgment one day and then have to go back to the same people and declare grace and peace because the message of judgment was heard!  Imagine how difficult it must have been to go to Hezekiah and deliver one message and then as soon as the circumstances change to then go back and deliver nearly the exact opposite message.  And remember, Isaiah wasn’t necessarily privy to Hezekiah’s repentance.

Isaiah could have balked in his humanity.  Isaiah could have gotten upset at having to go say the opposite of what he had just said.  Isaiah could have challenged God for making him feel like a hypocrite.  But Isaiah does none of those things.  Isaiah is obedient.  Isaiah does the will of God.  Isaiah follows God’s leading.  This is an incredibly story to lift up what it looks like to be a true prophet of God.  This is what it looks like to set aside one’s own desire for approval and instead submit obediently to the call of God.

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Year 5, Day 17: 2 Kings 19

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

God is a forgiving God.  It is one of the most important characteristics of His nature as without His forgiveness, there could be no positive relationship with Him.  Our ability to relate to Him depends solely upon His desire and ability to forgive us in the first place.

I don’t believe this dynamic is any more clear than Hezekiah’s action here in this chapter.  Everything that he has tried to do to appease Sennacherib, King of Assyria, has failed.  Now he turns and goes before God.

But here’s the thing.  Hezekiah has already stripped God’s temple bare.  So when he goes before God in the temple, he is given a visible reminder of just how much he messed up.  He is responsible for the temple being vacant and deprived of glory.  He is responsible for the threadbare – literally! – appearance.  Hezekiah has to go into a place that should represent the splendor and majesty of God and confess that he is to blame.

And God hears him.  God hears him and God forgives him.  God hears him and forgives him and slays the Assyrians with a single blow.  The next day the Hebrew people in Jerusalem wake up and find the Assyrian army dead at their doorstep.  There can be no doubt that this was an act of God.  There can be no doubt that God is a loving and forgiving God, willing to be in relationship with the truly repentant.

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Year 5, Day 16: 2 Kings 18

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Forgiveness

• Forgiveness: Forgiveness is when our sins are absolved by God.  We do not deserve this forgiveness, but God grants it to us anyway.  We cannot earn forgiveness, but God gives it to us anyway.  As we are forgiven by God, He also asks us to forgive others.  In fact, Jesus Himself teaches us to pray for our forgiveness in the Lord’s Prayer when He says, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

God is really and truly an amazing God.  I can’t begin to say how many times I have done things that God could have used as justification to write me off.  He hasn’t.

That’s the part of 2 Kings that I love about God and Hezekiah.  Yes, Hezekiah is a very faithful king.  Hezekiah follows in the ways of David, loving God with his whole being.  Hezekiah goes so far as to destroy the Asherah poles and return the whole country to a focus upon God.  Hezekiah seems to do much right for God.  But Hezekiah is not perfect.

Hezekiah has a large moment of stumbling.  The King of Assyria comes and threatens Hezekiah.  Hezekiah believes that he can buy off the king of Assyria and tries to give the king wealth.  In fact, Hezekiah even robs the temple of its beauty in order to pay off the king of Assyria.  Not only does Hezekiah not rely upon God for salvation, Hezekiah takes what is the Lord’s and gives it to another person.  He wavers in the face of challenge.

But God does not abandon Hezekiah.  God certainly could have, given what Hezekiah did here in this story!  Thankfully God is a forgiving God.  God is a God of second chances.  God knows that we do occasionally waver and He forgives while allowing us the time and space to repent and change.  After all, God does not ask us for perfection.  Rather, God asks us for repentance knowing that we will not be able to deliver perfection.  He is indeed a loving and forgiving God, even when we act like Hezekiah and take what is ultimately His and give it away to someone else.

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Year 5, Day 15: 2 Kings 17

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Up

• Up: Up is the word we use for what we worship.  If we are following God’s will, God will occupy the Up position.  Our life, our identity, our mission, our family on mission is all derived from Up.  This is why God needs to be in our Up position.

Today we read about the northern kingdom’s captivity.  Assyria has enough of these Hebrew people.  They take them into bondage and lead them away from their homeland.  What’s somewhat disturbing is that this is God’s will.  God desires that the Assyrians be the means through which the Hebrew people fall into bondage.

But why do they fall into bondage?  If they are God’s chosen people, why do they end up in bondage only a few hundred years after the glorious reign of the likes of David?

The Bible is clear on this point.  They went into bondage because they lusted after the gods of other nations.  They worshipped foreign gods.  They even offered their children as sacrifices to those foreign gods.  They set up foreign gods in their own houses.  They erected places to worship foreign gods in the land that was supposed to be devoted to the one God.

In a nutshell, their Up wasn’t God.

Israel goes into captivity because their Up is somewhere it shouldn’t be.  Israel goes into captivity because their hearts are focused elsewhere than upon God.  They go into captivity because the essence of their life is derived from the world rather than God.

That’s a scary conclusion to draw, isn’t it?

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Year 5, Day 14: 2 Kings 16

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

Today we meet Ahaz, king of the Jews.  Today Ahaz seems to embrace Assyria.  He seems to welcome their presence.  Of course, he also is on record as sacrificing his own son in Canaanite worship of the Ba’als.  So not really a great chapter with respect to spiritual leadership.

I find this to be an interesting chapter in lieu of yesterday’s chapter.  Yesterday I nailed Pekah for fighting against Assyria.  Today I nail Ahaz for seemingly embracing Assyria.  But there is a very important difference.  God brought Assyria against Israel and Pekah fought against God’s will.  God didn’t bring Assyria against Judah yet Ahaz embraces them.  In both cases we have the kings acting contrary to God’s will even though their actions are polar opposites of one another.

So what can we take from these back to back stories?  Is this a case of damned if I do and damned if I don’t?  Is this a case of being unable to please God because embracing Assyria is wrong while fighting against Assyria is likewise wrong?

No.  Actually it is the opposite.  What both kings do is cease to be humble before God.  They act out of their own impulse and desire.  Neither pauses to humble themselves before their true King: God.  That is the lesson for today.  We need to remember that God is king.  He knows what is best for each of our lives.  We each need to stop, humble ourselves before God, and seek His will.

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Year 5, Day 13: 2 Kings 15

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Ambition, Appetite, Approval

• Approval: We all need to feel as though we are accepted.  When we seek the approval of God, our Up is in the right place.  But when we seek the approval of other people besides God, we open the door to pursuing false gods and risk putting someone or something other than God in our Up position.
• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.
• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.

I don’t feel like I have a bead on a single thread through this passage.  But what I do pick up on is this string of Israelite kings.  We get one king after another.  And as we’ve entered the death throes of the kingdom of Israel, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they go from one king to another king to another king in rapid succession.  It shouldn’t surprise us to see political coup after political coup.

But the more important question is why does this happen?  I believe it is happening because the kings of Israel chase after the world and the world’s ways instead of God’s ways.

• When they are seeking human approval instead of God’s approval, it makes sense that God’s protection won’t cover them when those who do not approve of them come to usurp their power. 
• When they are seeking to feed their own appetite for wealth, power, and other things it should make sense that God isn’t there to protect them against others who are looking to satisfy their own human appetite for those same things.
• When they are seeking their own ambition rather than leading people into the ways of God, it shouldn’t surprise us when God doesn’t protect them from other people who are likewise seeking their own ambitious ways.

It shouldn’t surprise us to see kings rise and fall once God is abandoned in Israel.  Likewise, it shouldn’t surprise us to see it in our own culture, either.  When a culture no longer pursues the consistent things of God, we should expect cultural fads to come and go.  In this circumstance we should expect to see a culture whose trends change as often as the wind.  That’s what we see in the death throes of Israel as their kingdom is coming to an end.

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Year 5, Day 12: 2 Kings 14

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Ambition

• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.

In this chapter we see a great contrast between godly ambition and personal –or ungodly – ambition.  We should want what God desires for our life.  We should cast away our personal ambitions that are not in line with God.

Amaziah takes the throne in Judah.  Once he has secured the power, he brings judgment upon those who killed his father.  But he spares their children because of his obedience to the Lord.  This appears to be godly ambition.

Amaziah also conquers the Edomites.  We don’t know that this was done by God’s request, but we also don’t see anywhere that Amaziah is condemned for the act, either.  So it is possible that this act falls into the camp of godly ambition as well.  But it is equally possible that it is personal – or ungodly – ambition.  What I think we have here is actually a turning point where we see Amaziah upon the fulcrum of choice.  Which way does he fall?

Amaziah goes too far.  Amaziah gets caught up in his personal ambition rather than being content with what God desires for his life.  Amaziah tries to invade Israel and pays a heavy price.  He is defeated.  The Israelites conquer Judah the whole way back to Jerusalem.  They tear down a portion of the wall around Jerusalem.  The temple of God is raided because of Amaziah’s ambition.

When we step out in God’s will, we live a godly ambition under a godly protection.  But when we step out in our own ambition we only go with our own power.  We usually have to suffer the consequences of our own personal ambition.  Ambition is good, but only when it matches up with God’s ambition for our life.

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Year 5, Day 11: 2 Kings 13

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Father

• Father: This is the pinnacle of the Covenant Triangle.  God is the Father.  He is the creator.  He is love.  Our relationship with the Father is rooted in His love for us.  We get our identity through Him.  When the Father is in our life, obedience becomes clear.

When we talk about as Father, one of the original feelings that is evoked is one of love.  After all, that is what a father should be.  A father should be a person who loves you and demonstrates love to you by helping you grow, leading you through your mistakes, and celebrating your victories with you.  So when we look to God as Father, we see love.

However, we also see many characteristics that support love.  Today, we hear about two kings of Israel that walk in the evil ways of their kingly heritage.  We hear about how they lift up the worship of Ba’al and keep the Asherah poles of worship and sacrifice.  Yet we also hear about a fairly lengthy reign for each of them.

What does this tell us?  This tells us that the Father had incredible patience as He tried to display His love to Israel.  He gave each of those kings over a decade and a half to recognize His love and guidance and provision.  I imagine if I were God I would have given up long before this, which is a good reason as to why I am not God!  But God is patient.  He doesn’t give up on us quickly.  He does extend Himself to us generation after generation regardless of whether one generation accepts Him or rebels against Him. 

He is Father.  He is loving and patient.

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Year 5, Day 10: 2 Kings 12

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Calling, Competency

• Calling asks whether or not God has called the person to the particular work at this point in their life.
• Competency: Being able to accomplish what one is called to do.

One of my favorite parts of this story is the turn of events in the middle of the chapter.  We are told that there is a plan to repair the temple and the priests are put in charge of the repairs.  And then we are told that nothing happens.  We don’t know why the repairs don’t get done; see my blog post from three years back to hear a couple of theories.

But then we are told that the king comes in and appoints construction workers – think general contractors – to oversee the project.  Almost immediately the repairs are begun and they are finished in good order.

This teaches us a really good lesson in human affairs: put people in charge over tasks about which they are both called and competent.

The priests were not trained in making repairs.  They didn’t know how to do most of the repairs and they wouldn’t know how much it would cost.  The priests were trained in things like sacrifice and maintaining the religious order in the temple.  When they were put in charge of the physical building, the repairs don’t get done.  The wrong people are in charge!  That doesn’t make the priests bad, it just means they were put in charge of something about which they were neither called nor competent!

How many times do we do this in life?  Or even, how many times do we do this in church?  We assume that just because someone is good in teaching theology that they could also be on a property team or a finance committee.  Or we assume that just because someone is a great greeter that they would make a good spiritual leader for a church council or board of elders.  No, we should all stop thinking that way.  Let people do what God has called them to do.  And let’s give people permission to have places of both lack of calling and lack of competency and therefore set other people up in those areas to allow them to not participate in those areas.

When the priests were allowed to just be priests and called and competent contractors were called upon to do the work, the work got done!  What an incredible lesson about allowing people to just do the task that God has called them to do.

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Year 5, Day 9: 2 Kings 11

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: In

• In: This is the word we use to express our relationships with our spiritual family.  These are often the people who hold us spiritually accountable.  They are the ones to whom we typically go for discussion and discernment.  These are the ones with whom we learn to share leadership.  They are the ones with whom we become family on mission.

I am struck by the example of three people in 2 Kings 11.  Let’s look first at the Queen Mother: Athaliah.  Her is a woman who takes it upon herself to kill all of her nieces and nephews.  Why would she do this?  Well, her son was dead.  She was the Queen Mother and found herself in power in lieu of another male heir.  From the perspective of wanting to keep one’s power she was eliminating the competition to her staying in power.  This is much like King Herod’s killing the babies when Jesus was born.  It’s a horribly gruesome act done under the misguided belief that a ruling person has the right to do whatever they want to stay in power.  It’s the natural outcome when a person has no checks and balances.  This is the kind of thinking that happens when a person has no In.

On the other hand, we have Jehoiada and Jehosheba as examples.  Here are people who do the right thing in the face of evil.  Jehosheba hides Joash away and keeps him safe.  We also have Jehoiada the priest who works with the captains of the guard.  Together they make a pact and anoint Joash king.  They protect the true king from the vengeful rule of Athaliah.  Together they discern.  Together they act.  They have the ability to come to a good decision because none of them act completely alone.  They share leadership and share the burden.  That’s what life is like when we have an In.

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Year 5, Day 8: 2 Kings 10

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus:

• Ambition: We all need a goal to which we can strive.  When our ambition comes from God, we find fulfillment in our obedience into that for which we have been equipped because our Out is in proper focus.  But when our ambition comes from ourselves, we find ourselves chasing after our own dreams and trying to find fulfillment in accomplishments of our own making.

I find this chapter challenging – as I found yesterday’s chapter challenging.  As with yesterday, we find that God’s will is done.  God blots out Ahab’s house completely and totally.  It is a gruesome process, but God’s prophetic message for Ahab is fulfilled through Ahab.

But here’s the question with which I find myself wrestling.  Was Jehu called to do this or was he doing it out of his own ambition?  Certainly God’s will was accomplished.  But was it accomplished by a submitted servant acting out of his calling or was it accomplished by a human being seeking his own ambition to rule and it just so happened that his goals aligned with God’s will?  Those are two vastly different concepts.  It is one thing to submit to God and do His will.  It is another thing for God’s will to be done by chance just because it happens to coincide with a person’s ambition.

So let’s look at Jehu in the end.  If Jehu was submitted to God, I have got to believe God would get the praise and the glory.  You will notice that God doesn’t get the praise and the glory.  Jehu fights against Ahab’s house and comes out victorious.  But in the end Jehu seeks his own glory, not God’s glory.  In the end Jehu turns to the golden idols in Dan and Bethel instead of God.

I don’t know Jehu’s heart.  I am not in a position to judge him – only God can do that.  But I can see the fruit of his labor.  God is not glorified through Jehu’s action.  God is not the focus of Jehu’s purging of Ahab’s family.  It is a good lesson to learn.  Am I ambitious in what God wants for me or am I ambitious in what I want and try to get it to coincide with God’s plan for my life?

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Year 5, Day 7: 2 Kings 9

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

I spend a significant amount of time in my blog post from three years ago talking about how it is that a just God can work through the bloody and deceitful actions of Jehu.  Because on the surface it seems like if God uses Jehu than either Jehu must be declared just or God must be declared unjust.  After all, how can a just God work through an unjust servant, right?

Having said that, I need to remember that I am an unjust servant of God.  I am a sinner and deserving of condemnation.  I may receive righteousness, but that is because of God’s grace, not because I deserve it.  So Immediately I can see that the earlier assertion is a fallacy.  The truth is that God is in the habit of using sinners – unjust people – all the time.  The fact that God can work good through the hands of sinners is amazing!  And it is no reason to call God unjust.  It is every reason to call God miraculous.

Which leads me to a greater understanding of the Kingship of God today.  God is so much the King of the universe that not only can He use evil people to bring about His good, but He can do so and still remain good while doing it!  That is how much God is King over the universe.  When we interact with the world around us, we take on the characteristics of the world with which we interact.  Sometimes that is a conscious decision and sometimes it is an unconscious one.  But God does not.  God does not take on the characteristics of an unjust and evil world when He interacts with it.  Rather, because He is king the world takes on His characteristics whenever He is present.

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Year 5, Day 6: 2 Kings 8

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Character

• Character: Having the interior life that is necessary to support the work that God sets before a person.  It is hearing from God and obeying.  It is doing the right thing when nobody is looking.

There is a part of me today that wants to focus on the end of this chapter, which is largely anecdotal evidence.  In the last two sections of text we hear the brief stories of two insignificant kings of Judah.  All we really know about them is that Judah fell away from God during their reign, largely because they more interested in the ways of the kings of Israel than the ways of the kings of Judah.

To any Bible scholar, this is no surprise.  Judah will slide further and further away from God.  It’s just a historical fact.  That’s why these stories are largely anecdotal.  They are just telling us how it happened.

But I believe there is a lesson to be learned here about the character of leadership.  Leaders always influence the people.  Sure, no leader can be held completely responsible for the actions of their constituents.  But when leaders don’t stand up for the right ways of God it is true that the constituents will be even faster to flee obedience to God.

So today I find myself pondering the nature and character of leadership.  Do the leaders of this world have a godly character?  What about the leaders of my country?  What about the leaders of my state?  What about the leaders of my community?  What about the leaders of my church?  And here it gets pretty personal.  What about the leaders of my family?  Am I displaying the character of God as I lead my family?  Or am I making it easier for those underneath me to fall away from God?

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Year 5, Day 5: 2 Kings 7

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: King

• King: This is the pinnacle of the Kingdom Triangle.  When we look towards God’s position in the universe, we acknowledge that He is an omnipotent king.  Authority comes from Him.  Power comes through His authority.  He is looking for representatives for His kingdom.

In 2 Kings 7 we see several great stories to demonstrate the kingship of God.  He truly is omnipotent.  He is omnipotent in foresight.  He is omnipotent in sheer power and ability.  He is omnipotent in the scope of His love.

First, God is omnipotent in foresight.  We get the story of the captain of the guard who doubts God’s ability to change the situation of Samaria in a single day.  God demonstrates His ability to know the future and even have power over the future through the prediction of Elisha.  Elisha says the captain will see the deliverance of Israel but he will not participate in it.  That very thing happens.

God is king in sheer ability and power, too.  We see in this story that when the Syrians come face to face with the power of God they flee.  They flee hard and fast.  They flee so hard and fast that they don’t even take their horses with them!  They leave all of their possessions behind, ready to be plundered by the Israelites.  That’s what it means to be king in terms of power right there.

Finally, we see God as king in terms of scope.  Worldly kings like to surround themselves with the important, rich, and beautiful.  But God is king over everyone.  At the end of this story God demonstrates that He even loves the lepers.  It is the lepers who first discover God’s salvation.  It is the outcasts of society – those for whom there is no hope of being a part of society – that God reveals His deliverance.  It is the outcasts of society who are given the opportunity to reveal this to the rest of Samaria.

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Year 5, Day 4: 2 Kings 6

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Authority

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

Since we spoke about power yesterday, I think it only makes sense to speak about authority today.  Let’s take a deeper look at the middle story of this chapter.  The king of Syria sends raid after raid into Israel, but they are thwarted.  So the king sends an army after Elisha believing that Elisha is the one telling the king of Israel how to avoid the Syrian raids.

Elisha’s servant wakes up to see them surrounded and is alarmed.  Yet Elisha sees through the eyes of God and knows that God is with them.  Elisha sees through the eyes of the true king.  He understands that he has authority in this situation.  He understands that he has God-given power in this situation.  So he acts.  He asks God to blind the soldiers so that he can lead them into Samaria – the capital of Israel.

But look at what Elisha does with his authority.  Elisha could have led these men to their death.  But instead Elisha leads them to a place where they are fed, cared for, and sent back on their way!  Elisha’s authority doesn’t just extend over the soldiers but also over the King of Israel.

Elisha doesn’t use his authority to kill Syrians or even to extend the influence of Israel.  Elisha uses his God-given authority to help the Syrians understand love for one’s enemy.  What is the net result?  This particular king of Syria no longer sent raids into Israel.  They may not have all converted to believe in the true God.  But they did learn the lesson that Elisha had the authority to teach them.

It’s a valid lesson to learn.  How do we use our authority?  Are we about making our name great and exerting our dominance?  Or are we about making God’s name great and demonstrating His love?  What’s more important to us as we embrace the authority that God gives to us to go out into this world?

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Year 5, Day 3: 2 Kings 5

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Power

• Power: This is the natural outcome when we truly get our authority from the king.  When our authority is from God, we are equipped with His power to accomplish His will.  We act on His behalf in a world that He desperately loves.

While this chapter is about Naaman and most people who study this chapter talk about Naaman and Elisha, today I am going to focus on my favorite character of this story.  We have a humble slave girl.  Naaman is an officer of the army, so it is highly likely that this slave girl was captured during a battle.  She was likely torn from her home when a military struggle came to her area and she was on the losing side.

What this means for this girl is that she is in the lowest position of society.  She has no rights.  She has nobody who really cares about her needs because they are family.  Granted, she seems to have a good relationship with Naaman and his wife, but that’s from grace in Naaman’s family not because it is culturally due to her as a slave.

However, look what this slave girl does.  She understands her place with God.  She understands her relationship with God.  And she understands that just because she is a slave does not mean that God cannot give her the power to speak truth into Naaman’s life.

That’s exactly what this unnamed young girl does.  She tells Naaman about the prophet Elisha.  She speaks up when culturally she should have stayed quiet.  This lowly slave girl that was captured on some military excursion begins the process of bringing healing in Naaman’s life simply by sharing truth with him.  That’s what it is like to get one’s power from God and not ourselves or the world around us.

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Year 5, Day 2: 2 Kings 4

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: People of Peace

• People of Peace: A person of peace is someone whom God has prepared to hear God’s message through you.  God does all the work of preparing that person for your presence in their life. Because of this preparation, these people will like you.  They will listen to you.  They will serve with you as you live out God’s calling for your life.

I was touched by the Shunammite woman as I read through this passage today.  Take a look at what she does.  She asks her husband to build a room for Elisha.  The room is up on their rooftop.  And it is just to be used for Elisha.

Notice that Elisha doesn’t even ask for this.  In fact, let’s look back even further as to how that relationship happened.  When Elisha would pass by, the woman fed Elisha.  She had been in the habit of giving him food and supporting his ministry well before she built the room for Elisha.  Elisha didn’t ask for any of it; but he sure appreciated the effort.

Here is a person of peace for Elisha.  Here is a woman who desires to serve him.  She desires to help him in whatever way to fulfill God’s calling for his life.  God had prepared her heart to help Elisha.  God had also prepared her heart to receive a symbol of His grace as well.  Elisha recognizes this fact and ministers in her life and she has a son.  The woman was a person of peace for Elisha and Elisha was present in her life in a very meaningful way.

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Year 5, Day 1: 2 Kings 3

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Guidance

• Guidance: God grants us His guidance.  Sometimes this guidance is God leading us away from temptation.  Sometimes this guidance is helping us to follow in a direction for which He has chosen.  Our default position should be to wait for God’s guidance and then follow when it comes.

Jehoshaphat is such a human character in this story.  We already know from the last few chapters of study that he followed in the righteous footsteps of his father, Asa.  But what I love about Jehoshaphat is that his humanity still comes through.  The King of Israel comes to Jehoshaphat with a request for help in battle.  Jehoshaphat listens to the plan, thinks it sounds like a good idea, and marches out to battle.  He forgets to check in with God.  How many times have I made that very mistake in my own life?

But here is the really neat part of this story.  God – a Father who cares for Jehoshaphat and a King who is ultimately in control of the universe – causes there to be no water as they head out to Moab.  The armies stop, knowing that if they go further they will not have the supplies they need to be prepared for battle and they won’t be able to get them easily, either.  So they stop the figure out what to do.  It is then that Jehoshaphat remembers to ask for counsel from God!

What’s neat is that God provides guidance.  In spite of being left out of the original decision, God doesn’t hold a grudge and provides guidance.  He tells Jehoshaphat to continue with the plan.  In fact, God adds a divine element of the water that really makes the difference in the whole way that the battle plays out!

How great is God – our Father and King!  Even when we ignore Him – whether intentional or not – He is willing to guide our lives once we remember to consult Him and ask.  His guidance is always true and always leads us closer to Him and His will for our life.

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Year 4, Day 365: 2 Kings 2

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Calling

• Calling asks whether or not God has called the person to the particular work at this point in their life.

There can be little doubt that Elisha is called to not only be a prophet, but to be Elijah’s immediate successor.  Immediately after Elijah leaves, Elisha picks up Elijah’s cloak and performs the same miraculous parting of the Jordan that Elijah had just done.  Furthermore, Elisha is mocked by the pagan people in Bethel, indicating that they likewise sense Elisha’s spiritual calling.  Yes, Elisha is called to be a prophet.

But let’s look at what Elisha does before his calling.  First of all, Elisha follows Elijah.  Even when Elijah gives him space enough to go away, Elisha stays close.  Elisha knows where he can learn best, and he doesn’t give it up even where the option to leave is extended.  Elisha experiences calling because he is faithful.

Second, Elisha asks Elijah for a “double portion.”  This is not greed; it is a sign that Elisha considers himself to be Elijah’s first-born spiritual child.  Elisha has voluntarily placed himself in a place of submission underneath Elijah.  Elisha experiences calling because he is humble.

Third, we return to the first miracle of Elisha and the last miracle of Elijah.  Elisha is called because he is willing to imitate.  Elisha is willing to learn from others before going out and innovating his own way.

Elisha is certainly called.  But Elisha was called because his character was also in a good place.  He was willing to lead by following first and submitting to God.

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Year 4, Day 364: 2 Kings 1

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Authority

• Authority: Our calling.  This comes from God as king.  Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.

The story of the captains always amuses me.  It takes three captains before one of them comes humbly before Elijah.  Remember, this is the man who called down fire from God and consumed an altar.  This is the man who brought about the slaughter of 450 priests of Ba’al.  This is the man who through the power of God caused a famine to happen in Israel for at least three years.  This is no back-woods flunky.  This is God’s prophet, whom the Hebrew people consider the greatest prophet to have ever lived.  How do you not go out in humbleness before him?

This is why the third captain gets my respect.  He goes out with fifty armed guards to catch a single man of God.  What does he do when he gets there?  He begs for mercy.  He understands the authority that God has given to Elijah.  He has all the authority of the king behind him and he still begs for mercy because he knows God’s authority is far superior to the authority of the king.

We have much to learn from this third captain.  Because of his humbleness before God, his life – and the lives of those entrusted to him – are spared.  Because of his humbleness he is allowed to see the gracious side of God’s authority rather than the wrathful side of God’s authority.  When we are faced with God’s authority we have a simple choice to make.  Humbleness is always the right answer.

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Year 4, Day 363: 1 Kings 22

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: In

• In: This is the word we use to express our relationships with our spiritual family.  These are often the people who hold us spiritually accountable.  They are the ones to whom we typically go for discussion and discernment.  These are the ones with whom we learn to share leadership.  They are the ones with whom we become family on mission.

Yesterday we talked about Ahab and his appetite.  The spiritual opposite of appetite is In.  Appetite is all about doing what I want, when I want it, and as much as I want it.  The purpose of In is to help me discern what is really good for me and what I need to let go.  So while we saw a huge dose of appetite yesterday, let’s look for In today.

At the beginning of this passage we see Ahab go to meet with Jehoshaphat.  Here we see Jehoshaphat do something really cool.  In the face of all the prophets that are telling Ahab what he wants to hear, Jehoshaphat asks if there is a prophet of the Lord.  Jehoshaphat seeks out In in the midst of Ahab’s appetite.

Unfortunately, Jehoshaphat doesn’t seem to listen to Micaiah and he still goes out to war with Ahab.  Human beings don’t always get it right, and that’s important to note.  But Jehoshaphat does still seek out an In.  We can learn from his example at least part-way.  We can learn by the ideal of his action rather than the full outcome of his choices.

In general, the epitaph of Jehoshaphat mimics this principle.  In general, Jehoshaphat was a righteous king in the practice of Asa.  He wasn’t able to purge the whole of the land.  But He was still obedient to God and seeking His ways.  We get a very human perspective of Christian leadership in Jehoshaphat here.  He’s not perfect, but he has the ideal within him to be his guide even when he’s not perfect.

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Year 4, Day 362: 1 Kings 21

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Appetite

• Appetite: We all have needs that need to be filled.  When we allow ourselves to be filled with the people and things that God brings into our life, we will be satisfied because our In will be in proper focus.  But when we try to fill ourselves with our own desires we end up frustrated by an insatiable hunger.

As we’ve grown accustomed to seeing in political leaders, in Ahab we see appetite at work.  He wants the vineyard of another man.  This is no different than David wanting Bathsheba or Solomon wanting wealth.  Ahab wants something that isn’t his and belongs to another.

Quite simply, this is violating at least three of the Ten Commandments.  Ahab is desiring something more than God, so he’s guilty of idol worship (II) and having something before God (I).  He’s also coveting (X).  So there are three of the ten broken because Ahab chooses his own personal appetite over God.

But it gets worse from there.  Enter Jezebel.  Jezebel schemes against Naboth and entices others to lie (IX).  And then Jezebel gets the community to put Naboth to death through her lies (VI).  There’s another two commandments broken.  That brings the tally up to five.

Finally, Ahab takes Naboth’s vineyard.  Since Naboth is dead, he doesn’t even need to pay for it.  Quite literally, Ahab steals (VIII).  There’s another commandment.  Six of the Ten Commandments broken simply because Ahab’s appetite is out of check.

It makes me wonder how many commandments I break on a daily basis when I let my appetite get out of control.  For that matter, how many commandments can I break when my need for approval or my need for ambition really get going?

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Year 4, Day 361: 1 Kings 20

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Invitation

• Invitation: God is always inviting us into relationship with Him. He desires that we know Him and that we know His desire for us.

As we read through this chapter, we see that God is incredibly gracious to the people of Israel.  He allows them to be victorious against a superior force of the Syrians.  He is gracious and allows Ahab to truly see that He is God – far more God than Ba’al could ever be.  Even though Ahab doesn’t deserve it, God is still inviting him into His grace.

What does Ahab do with this invitation?  He certainly doesn’t recognize God.  He certainly doesn’t judge the Syrians as God gave them into his hands to be judged.  Neither does he take the opportunity to talk to the Syrians about how God is stronger than the god of the Syrians.  No, Ahab turns it into an opportunity to make money.  Ahab gets a treaty out of it.  Ahab turns God’s invitation into his own personal gain.

What do we do with God’s invitation to know Him more deeply?  Do we turn His blessings upon us into avenues for proclamation of God’s name?  I know I could certainly do much better responding to God’s invitation to relationship.  Far too often I take God’s invitation and merrily go on my way.  I need to do a better job responding to God.

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