Isaiah 11:9a
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Can our imaginations be that big? Can we even begin to wrap our minds around the earth being full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea?

How can we have that knowledge? He’s pretty clear in His Word.

Prov 2:1-6
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

But acquiring His knowledge is proactive! We must do something! Accept Him, store up His commands, turn our ear, apply our heart, call out, cry aloud, look for it and search for it! That’s how we get His knowledge. Do you think if everyone on earth followed this passage of Scripture, the earth would be full of the knowledge of the Lord? How could it not???

Isa 7:9b
If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.'"
How very true! If we have no foundation (Jesus), how can we possibly stand at all?

Interesting in Isaiah 7 how they calculate the passage of time…according to when children are weaned or are able to speak names.

Isaiah 9 is a prophecy for the coming of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem and also a prophecy of the final coming of Jesus. What a great way to announce Jesus - “a light has dawned”.

The leaders of families in the half-tribe of Manasseh were brave warriors and famous men. They had the opportunity and the power to influence and to lead people in the right way but instead were unfaithful to God. It reminds us of the many famous people today, politicians, sports figures, actors, etc. who have great opportunity and power to influence and lead people in the right way. But how many of them do?

The word "prostituted" is used in today's reading. One of the definitions for the word prostitute is "one who sells one's abilities, talent, or name for an unworthy purpose".
This is exactly what these leaders of the families from the tribe of Manasseh did. The unworthy purpose was to the gods of the people of the land. In addition, spiritual prostitution means being unfaithful to God for the purpose of enriching oneself for the praise, position, prestige, possessions, power, etc. (the "Poisonous Ps of Pride")

King Ahaz of Judah "…sacrificed his sons in the fire following the detestable ways of the nations…"and "…offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places…"
He sacrificed his sons in the Valley of Hinnon, south of Jerusalem. The Valley of Hinnon was a place of idolatrous sacrifices, including the sacrifice of humans. In order to put an end to these pagan abominations, King Josiah in later years polluted it with human bones and other corruptions. This valley came to be used then as the city garbage dump and also know as gehenna (often translated hell).

Notice we are continually warned about the "high places". If it sounds repetitious…it is. When God repeats something…that usually means PAY ATTENTION!

Micah reminds us that Miriam, sister of Moses, was a leader of the people. He also reminds us of Balak, king of Moab who wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites. Balaam said he could only do what the Lord said to do.

Micah warns about traditions. All the references to tradition or traditions in Scripture have negative implications. (Matthew 15, Mark 7, Galatians 1)

Col 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

WHAT GOD REALLY WANTS (Micah 6) deserves another read! As does the ending of Micah. Even though God speaks through His prophets words of warning, rebuke and admonition, He always offers us the way of repentance.

Micah 3
This passage lists something unthinkable – cannibalism, which normal people do not do. We can equate another thing that is unthinkable – spiritual leaders who are doing abominable things. God’s Word is very clear about what He considers abominable.

The prophets of Micah’s day were leading the people astray. God says He will take away their prophetic abilities.

Micah 3 describe the “falling away” of the apostate church. Rulers and leaders, prostituting themselves as they accept money and bribes, are telling the people things the people want to hear.

Some great words are written concerning the COMING OF MESSIAH in Micah 4 in the last days, a reference to the millennium with the temple in Jerusalem and the restoration of Israel. And another passage refers to the birth of Messiah in Bethlehem. His “origins are from of old from ancient times.” gives us the message that God the Son was with God the Father from the beginning. Pretty clear!

Isaiah writes in similar vein as Joel did concerning the wrath of God. Compare Isaiah Chapters 5, 1, and 2 with Joel (especially Joel 2).

Read Isaiah 4 and Isaiah 2. This is what things will look like in the Millennial Kingdom.

Oh, what an unbelievably compelling ending to today’s reading. The imagery is incredible! Isaiah was allowed to see the throne of the Lord in the heavenly temple. Isaiah knew he was in the presence of the Lord and he knew he was unworthy. He lamented, “Woe to me!” and “…my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

He no doubt was very familiar with this Scripture:
Exodus 33:20
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Isaiah knew he would not be able to look upon the face of God and live. But he wasn’t looking upon the face of God, the Father. John identified the glory that Isaiah saw. He saw God, the Son!

John 12:41
Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

I (Patti) have always been drawn to the verse, “Here am I. Send me!” As a teen-age Christian I thought God was speaking to me about being a missionary. Some 40 years later I have come to understand just what being a missionary really means.

Did you attach yourselves to the oxygen tank as we have been deep-sea diving in Isaiah?

One final note on today’s reading.
2 Chr 27:6
Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.
Jotham lined up his will with God’s will. Pretty good advice for us today!

Isaiah writes in similar vein as Joel did concerning the wrath of God. Compare Isaiah Chapters 5, 1, and 2 with Joel (especially Joel 2).

Read Isaiah 4 and Isaiah 2. This is what things will look like in the Millennial Kingdom.

Oh, what an unbelievably compelling ending to today’s reading. The imagery is incredible! Isaiah was allowed to see the throne of the Lord in the heavenly temple. Isaiah knew he was in the presence of the Lord and he knew he was unworthy. He lamented, “Woe to me!” and “…my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

He no doubt was very familiar with this Scripture:
Exodus 33:20
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Isaiah knew he would not be able to look upon the face of God and live. But he wasn’t looking upon the face of God, the Father. John identified the glory that Isaiah saw. He saw God, the Son!

John 12:41
Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him.

I (Patti) have always been drawn to the verse, “Here am I. Send me!” As a teen-age Christian I thought God was speaking to me about being a missionary. Some 40 years later I have come to understand just what being a missionary really means.

Did you attach yourselves to the oxygen tank as we have been deep-sea diving in Isaiah?

One final note on today’s reading.
2 Chr 27:6
Jotham grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the LORD his God.
Jotham lined up his will with God’s will. Pretty good advice for us today!

Did we say that we were going deep-sea diving? Oh, so much to say!

While Isaiah condemned Judaism in his day, he also condemns the apostate church today. Yet, in keeping with the message of the prophets, Isaiah too tells us to repent, be renewed and rejoice that we’ve been redeemed.

Isaiah gives a great image in the PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD. As the church we are responsible for bearing a crop of good fruit. God has given us everything we need to produce this good crop, and yet too often bad fruit is the result. Meaningless rituals, empty offerings are wearisome to the Lord. Look what God says that He will do

Isa 5:5-6
Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge, and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it."

Sounds like Hosea who spoke of “…like poisonous weeds in a plowed field,” and “Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars.”

And who does He call to account for the ruin of His vineyard? It tells us in Isaiah 3. It is the guides, elders and leaders of the people.

The people do not escape His accounting either. God calls the people to account for their sins of idolatry, pride, greed, revelry, arrogance, rationalization, drunkenness and injustice.

Isaiah gives a descriptive depiction of the false church in Isaiah 3:16-26.

The promise of restoration for Judah, for the church today, for us as individuals is found in the following:
Isa 1:26b
Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City."

We have the responsibility as the Christian church and as believers in Jesus Christ to be a fruitful vineyard, producing good and abundant fruit. He has given us everything we need. What good fruit are we as Christians producing?

Too bad the leaders and the people in Israel did not respond to Amos the way Nineveh did to the preaching of Jonah. Amaziah, the priest displays his true character when he orders Amos to leave the area as Amaziah claims the sanctuary for the king. The Hebrew word for sanctuary is the same word used to describe the sanctuary of the Lord. So it seems that Amaziah, the priest was claiming for the king (or himself) what belonged to the Lord.

As the book of Amos comes to a close, he ends with one last prophecy concerning the exile of Israel.

Amazing how God used the prophet Amos, a shepherd on the lowest rung of the social ladder, to speak to kings. Do you think Amos left the area feeling defeated that the leaders and the people didn’t listen to him? Or did he leave the area confident in the knowledge that he had done what the Lord called him to do?

King Uzziah’s pride…oh, what an ugly thing! Leprosy…what an ugly thing… an outward manifestation of an inward sin.

God is very strict in His commandments concerning worship. It’s all right there in THE BOOK for us to read.

Better take a deep breath, tomorrow we go deep-sea diving in the words of Isaiah!

“Seek me and live…” Almost as simple as John 3:16, isn’t it? But how often do we instead “seek Bethel” or “go to Gilgal” or “journey to Beersheba”? Only God offers us eternal life. The ways of the world only offer the temporary.

EMPTINESS OF RITUAL asks the question, “What is the attitude of our heart in worship?”

“Look, I am setting up a plumb line among my people…”
What a great visual He has given us. His Word is our plumb line that helps us to be aware of our sin. It shows us how far off we are.

Very sad words, “…a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.”
Sad words, but so true for today. We are experiencing a “falling away” as we head toward these last days. But there is hope. If we witness to our circle of influence, if we encourage our acquaintances, friends and family to read and study God’s Word, if we share with them what we understand, then we will be doing our part to give them “food for thought”.

Today’s reading ends with a very positive note. No matter how far away we stray we have the hope of restoration. Praise God!

What must Amos have thought? Here he was just an ordinary shepherd minding his flocks in the rugged sheep country in Judah. And God calls him to prophesy against the nations. What do they think of him when he rebukes Israel and Judah for the meaninglessness of their worship? He is, after all, just a lowly shepherd. What does he know about worship?

Isn’t that just like God, He calls ordinary people to do extraordinary things!

“Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.”
God doesn’t pull a “sneak attack” if people are watching and listening.

In today's reading, God warns the people about bringing offerings to the altar and then bragging about it.

Since God calls us ordinary people to do extraordinary things, what things has He asked each of us to do?

The following verse in Hosea seemed to be highlighted for us.
“…like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.”

Hosea was speaking about kings and their false oaths and promises, but it seems to refer to spiritual leaders as well.

“…break up the ground.”
Plowed fields are ready to receive seed. For the spiritual leader, plowed ground is ready to receive the word of God, ready to receive seeds of righteousness. Are spiritual leaders planting those seeds of righteousness and preaching and teaching the truth of God’s Word? Or are many of them like the poisonous weeds in a plowed field? If the truth of God’s Word is not taught and compromises are made, “Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars.”

Sounds a bit like the apostate church in THESE LAST DAYS.

“They will twist and distort God’s word. Many innocents will believe this distortion and be led astray by the errors of false teaching. Some people within the church will be lulled into a feeling of contentment as they listen to false teaching because that is what they want to hear. It will seem right to them because they have not been taught about the monument of truth, God’s word. They will not recognize any talk about sin and the consequences of sin. They will not understand the need for repentance. The leaders will not have taught the people the difference between good and evil. The leaders of the apostate church will place value only on feeling good about themselves as they occupy their time with worldly involvement and not about a relationship with God.”
Quote from the book THESE LAST DAYS
(Reference these verses: Matthew 24:5, Matthew 24:11, Matthew 24:24, Matthew 7:15, Jeremiah 23:25-26, I John 2:18, Hebrews 3:12, II Peter 2:1-3, II Timothy 4:3-4, I Timothy 4:1, Galatians 1:6-8, II Peter 3:17).

There are many thorns, thistles and poisonous weeds in the apostate church today.

So what can we as believers do? According to Hosea we can, “…blossom like a lily, send down roots, flourish like the grain, blossom like a vine…”

We can do all this in the midst of thorns and thistles. Why? Because… “The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.”

Hosea certainly delivered a stinging message from God to the priests of the day. Spiritual leadership is a serious responsibility. No wonder the priests relished the sins of the people. The more the people sinned, the more sin offerings were brought to the priests. The priests were getting “fat” off the sins of the people.

“…my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”
“…a people without understanding will come to ruin!”
If spiritual leaders don’t speak against a sin, the people think its okay. And then what happens?

“A spirit of prostitution…” – selling out to the ways of the world.

And we have yet another example of His mercy, grace and love.
“I long to redeem them…”

How He longs to redeem us! He longs so much that He sent His Son. In these last days, are there people to whom we should witness? Do we feel an evangelistic urgency to “snatch others from the fire” (Jude 1:23a).

God has asked His prophets to do some really strange things in order to get the people’s attention. Hosea is no exception. The people of Hosea’s day had sinned against God as an adulterous woman sins against her husband. Hosea’s experience is a great object lesson illustrating God’s covenant relationship with His people. Once we become a Christian we enter into the betrothal commitment with Him. When we compromise our faith by being lured into the seductive temptations of the world, we are unfaithful to God.

Quite frequently in our Chronological Bible are penciled in questions in the margin. Sometimes there is a date and sometimes not. While reading the book of Hosea, we asked the question in 2004, “Why does Hosea have to buy Gomer back?”
Could it be to illustrate what Jesus did on the cross?

1 Cor 6:19-20
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Throughout the first three chapters of Hosea is kind of a bleak commentary, but yet there is this hope in the last verse.
“They will come trembling to the Lord and to his blessing in the last days.”

Why wait? Why not come trembling to the Lord now? Why not claim His blessings today???

According to our four-year old granddaughter, Jonah told God “No” and you shouldn’t ever tell God, “No”. What wisdom!

Jonah didn’t seem too concerned about his disobedience. He went below deck on the ship and fell into a deep sleep.

Extremely significant piece of Scripture found in Jonah. So significant that Jesus uses the sign of Jonah to prove that He was the Messiah.

Matt 12:39-40
He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jonah 1:17
But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.

A couple of other significant things to consider. Since Jesus made the connection between Himself and Jonah, what other connections can we make? Look specifically at the prayer Jonah prayed while in the belly of the fish. Any connections with Jesus?

Amaziah hired fighting men from Israel to help him in battle. But…”Even if you go out and fight courageously in battle, God will overthrow you before the enemy, for God has the power to help or to overthrow.”

Amaziah tried to fight his battles on his own or by enlisting the help of others when it was promised…“The Lord can give you much more than that.”
How often do God’s people turn to something or someone other than God for help to fight their battles?

Many people, including the people of God, are near collapse carrying an oppressive burden of emotional problems and addictions. We often seek psychological and medicinal “band aid” treatments for these problems and addictions when a Biblical cure is what is needed. Instead of seeking temporary worldly solutions we should allow Scripture to surgically and permanently remove them.

Heb 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Ezek 11:19-20
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

It means facing our emotional problems and addictions and allowing the removal of our heart of stone that frees us to follow in obedience to Him.

Amaziah discovered he would not be successful on his own or even if he enlisted the help of others. We need to learn that lesson as well …“The Lord can give you much more than that.” The Lord offers us so much more than the world can. In fact He offers us "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine".

Eph 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Jehoiada the priest chose two wives for King Joash. Why two? Isn’t God’s plan to have one wife?

Joash decided to restore the temple and told the priests to go into the land and collect money. The Levites didn’t act at once. Why? Was it that the priests were supposed to use a portion of the money for repairs on the temple but instead kept the money for themselves? Is that why the temple was in such bad shape and had to be restored?

When the proclamation was issued, the people brought their contributions gladly and there was no need for an accounting of the money because the workers restoring the temple acted with complete honesty. Seems as if there is a sharp contrast here between the honest workers and the priests.

As long as Joash was under the influence of the priest Jehoiada he did okay. After Jehoiada died, Joash accepted paganism. Then when Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son spoke up, Joash had him stoned. Guess he was saying things Joash didn’t want to hear.

Concerning the temple, those in charge didn't repair little things. Then when those little things became big things, there was a need to restore and not just repair.

What lesson can we learn from the temple repair? Maybe that we should constantly check our lives for little sins (in order to repair them) before they become disastrous sins (and we have to restore them).

The prophet Joel uses locusts as a foretaste of God’s judgment to come. Joel looks back on what the locusts have done and looks forward to what the consuming fire will do during the wrath of God on the Day of the Lord. The book of Joel is a perfect example of foreshadowing and also a perfect example of the use of both figurative and literal…literal – the actual locust infestation and figurative – the fire and the wrath of God that will come and consume as the locusts had done. The analogy of the locusts and the wrath of God is spelled out in Joel 2:25.

Note the similarities in the following passage in Joel and the passage in Revelation. They both speak of the wrath of God on the Day of the Lord.
Joel 3:13
Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow-- so great is their wickedness!'

Rev 14:15
Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."

Joel also tells us that the day of the Lord is near, as do so many of the prophecies concerning the last days, which is why we named the book THESE Last Days.

Joel also tells of Armageddon, the gathering of the nations, their restoration and the beginning of the millennium.

Read the section labeled Day of the Lord (Ch. 2) as if it were the army of the Lord.

Joel 2:32a
And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved;

Our ever loving God offers chance after chance after chance for salvation, even on the Day of the Lord He still holds out His hand, waiting for people to acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord. What patience! What grace! What love!

“But Jehu was acting deceptively in order to destroy the ministers of Baal.”
He destroyed Baal worship, which was a good thing. “Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel with all his heart.”
He obeyed a “little bit”. Incomplete disobedience is still disobedience.

How often do we do that? We only keep the commandments we like or read the Scriptures that say what we want to hear, or simply ignore parts of the Bible. Ouch!

Jehoiada, the priest, put the Levites in the proper places in the temple to protect the boy king Joash. “Joash was seven years old when he began to reign”. Can’t imagine our seven year old grandson leaving his Lego blocks long enough to rule a nation.

Once Joash was in place, Jehoiada placed the priests, the Levites in the temple to do what God had ordained them to do. Notice “Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada, the priest instructed him”.
We need Godly spiritual advisers to counsel our leaders in the governments of both church and nation.

The people then got rid of Baal worship. However, like Jehu in Israel, their obedience was only partial. They still continued to offer sacrifices in the high places. There was a remnant of pagan worship.

Not too different from many churches today that still cling to celebrations that are not God-ordained, in effect “burning incense” to pagan rituals.

So what’s the application from today’s reading for us as individuals? It’s pretty simple. Is the church doing what God’s Word says or is the church doing what the world says?

Jer 5:31
The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?

Ultimately it comes down to the individual. What will we do in the end? Will we worship God in their way or in God’s way? (Deut 12:4 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.)

What a sad epitaph for Jehoram, "He passed away, to no one's regret…"

Ahaziah had much to overcome. His father Jehoram had been a poor excuse for a king to say the least. His grandfather was King Ahab. And to top it off…
"…his mother encouraged him in doing wrong."

Ben-Hadad, king of Aram sent a gift to Elisha. What a gift! Forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. What did he think Elisha would do with such a "gift"?

Jezebel's demise was exactly what was prophesied. However...the spirit of Jezebel lives on.
Rev 2:20
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.
And this was in a church! Any connections for today's church?
The good news is…someday the spirit of Jezebel will be destroyed just as was Jezebel herself.

Have you ever heard us say that today’s reading is rich??? Well, today is no exception!

Elisha prayed that his servant be allowed to see into the spirit realm and God opened the servant’s eyes. The heavenly defenders were already there surrounding them. God allowed the servant to see them. Obviously Elisha already knew they were there.

Heavenly defenders surround us always. It’s just that most people don’t see them except by special permission from God. It’s like listening to the radio. We may be listening to our AM radio but it doesn’t mean that FM signals aren’t there as well. We’re just not tuned in to hearing them. In our heart of hearts we KNOW that there is a spiritual battle raging all around. We just don’t always see it. (“We live by faith, not by sight.”)

Sometimes, however we are allowed to see the heavenly defenders. Just as a four year old child was allowed to see his guardian angel outside the dining room window at his grandparent’s house.

What great faith displayed by the servant girl! God placed her there for a purpose. She was an humble servant of her master. Has God placed you in a position to spread His word? A person doesn’t have to be a certified seminary graduate to speak the word of God. A person just needs to be an humble servant of THE MASTER.

When Naaman went to the king of Israel with the letter in hand from the king of Aram, the king reacted in a negative way. Elisha then responded with these words. “Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
Naaman was to be healed so that everyone would know. Then when Elisha told Naaman to wash in the Jordan to be cured of leprosy, Naaman questioned why he needed to go there instead of going to closer waters. Isn’t that just like us today, we don’t want to go to God and do what He says? We want to do something more convenient. We “dig our own cisterns” so to speak instead of going to the “well of living water”.

Gehazi was doing so well until he took that first step on the slippery slope of self-indulgence and deceit. Sin has consequences. The leprosy with which he was afflicted as a consequence of his sin didn’t start out as just a spot as it did with Naaman. His leprosy was full blown, not only for him but for his descendants.

The Aramean army heard the sound of chariots and horses and a great army and they fled. Were they allowed to hear the same thing that Elisha’s servant was allowed to see?

Maybe if we were alert, listening and watching, we might be able to see and hear our heavenly defenders all around us! Why not listen a little closer today???

Oh my, Obadiah! How rich and prophetic are your words! It’s a little book but the message is larger than our imagination can possibly comprehend.

Obad 1:15a
"The day of the LORD is near for all nations.

Obadiah wrote that the Day of the Lord is near. Echoing throughout Scripture in both Old and New Testaments is an urgency concerning the impending Day of the Lord.

Rev 1:1
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.

"This was written about 96 AD, yet God said that this plan “must soon take place”. There is an element of urgency in this Scripture as there are elements of urgency in much of Scripture concerning the coming Kingdom and these last days."
(quote from the book THESE LAST DAYS by Phil and Patti Moore)

While there is much doom and gloom attached to these last days, there is also this great promise from the little book of Obadiah.

Obad 1:21b
And the kingdom will be the LORD's.

HALLELUJAH!

There is an amazing story in the third chapter of 2 Kings - a miracle of a story in fact. Three kings were at their wit's end. They had been traveling together for days on their way to fight the king of Moab. They ran out of water for themselves and their horses.

They inquired of the Lord through the prophet Elisha as to what to do. The Lord responded by telling them to make a valley full of ditches, that He would fill with water so that they and their horses could drink. God also promised that He would also hand over the Moabite army to them. God did exactly as He promised.

II Ki 3:18
This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; he will also hand Moab over to you.

What a great verse for us to ponder. If only we could see through the eyes of the Lord!

Elisha was really determined to be with Elijah on the day Elijah was to be taken up in a whirlwind. The word for whirlwind means a storm, a tempest, or hurricane. So whatever it was it was BIG.

What is a chariot of fire and horses of fire? There are a couple of references containing those words. They are found in 2 Kings 6. Kind of a strange conveyance wasn’t it? But not as strange as the wheel intersecting a wheel in Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10.

The woman who, with her sons, gathered the jars…what was the significance of the number of jars gathered? Can we make a connection today? How about if we go to the Lord completely open and empty, will He fill us completely every time we go to Him in that way?

Not sure if we completely understand the significance of Elisha purifying the stew and making the axhead float, except that it was just to show that Elisha had the power to perform such a miracle. Or maybe that God cares about even seemingly insignificant things if they are important to us. Hmmm…

Follow the Leader – a game probably all of us have played as children. There are so many instances in Scripture concerning leaders and the people they lead. God calls into judgment the leaders for the sins of the people.

How about today? Are the spiritual leaders of today following the clear teachings set forth in Scripture? Do they even bother to study Scripture deeply enough to find out what those teachings are? Most people just follow the leaders and accept their teachings without really studying Scripture for themselves.

When the army of the Moabites came to make war, Jehoshaphat didn’t rely on himself or even his advisers. He inquired of the Lord. And look what the Lord did for him.

2 Chr 20:17
You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.'"

Wow! They didn’t even have to fight the battle. They had faith in what the Lord promised them. And notice they began to worship, sing and praise God even before He began to work. They trusted Him. Do we trust Him to keep His promises to us?

1 Cor 16:13
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.

Eph 6:11-13
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

As believers in Jesus Christ we need to stand firm in our faith. We need to be on our guard against Satan’s schemes. When we play the game Follow the Leader we need to be cautious about the leaders or teachers we follow. We need to study Scripture for ourselves led by the greatest teacher of them all...the Holy Spirit.

John 14:26
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Ahab and Jezebel – especially Jezebel is a well-known name. The name is often synonymous with ungodly activities. The church in Thyatira was admonished because they tolerated the spirit of Jezebel.
Rev 2:20
Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.

It's very clear what happens to those who continue in the spirit of Jezebel.
Rev 2:21-22
I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.

A perfect example of how God works is found in today’s reading. God uses His people to discipline other people. God also uses other people to discipline His people. God uses the host of heaven to bring about His plan.

IKing 22:19-22
Micaiah continued, "Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. And the LORD said, 'Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?' "One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the LORD and said, 'I will entice him.' " 'By what means?' the LORD asked. " 'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he said. " 'You will succeed in enticing him,' said the LORD. 'Go and do it.'

While we may not understand His ways, we must remember is that God has the perfect plan. He is in control. He has the final word!

When reading the story of Elijah bringing the widow’s son back to life, our little grandson, Nicholas (4 years old at the time) said “Elijah prayed him well.”

Indeed he did!

What astounding events happened on Mount Carmel! And how sad are these words of the people in response to Elijah’s question, “How long will you waver between two opinions?”

“But the people said nothing.”

They didn’t take a stand. How is it with us? Do we take a stand for the Lord in the midst of idol worship, in the midst of the ways of the world?

Elijah took a stand when the prophets of Baal were defeated. A lesson for us today would be that

Whatever God commands us to do,

He’ll provide what we need to carry it through.

After Elijah saw God’s vast power in the fire on Mount Carmel, he was afraid of Jezebel and ran away. Did he feel alone because he thought he was the only prophet of God left? Ever feel that way? Ever feel as if you are all alone taking a stand for the Lord? If so, learn this next lesson from Elijah.

Elijah waited in the cave for God to speak to him. He must have expected some grand and glorious manifestation (like what God had done on the mountain) but instead, God came to him in a gentle whisper. Among the things God told Elijah was that there were 7,000 people in reserve who had not succumbed to idol worship.

So if you think you’re all alone, take a lesson from Elijah – there are others out there who are also willing to take a stand.

Today’s reading speaks volumes about trusting in the Lord. Asa trusted the Lord (at least for a while). It was the Lord who struck down the Cushites. Asa and his army just chased them. As spoken through the prophet Azariah, “The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

Why would anyone want to be forsaken by the Lord? Why not seek Him? Things are so much easier that way!

When Asa heard these words from the Lord, he took courage and began to remove all the detestable idols from the land and he repaired the altar at the temple. However, he didn’t remove the high places in Israel.

Asa did well in the beginning but he sure took a tumble at the end. Instead of trusting in the Lord as had done earlier, he relied on his own human power and strength. As a result his nation was at war again. Even concerning his own physical health, Asa relied on his physicians alone instead of seeking help from the Lord. Can we learn any lessons from this?

2 Chr 16:9a
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

1 Pet 3:12a
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

Are our hearts fully committed to Him? If so He strengths us and listens to our prayers. What a great comfort!

2 Chr 12:14
He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD.

What a potent and applicable verse for us today! If we as Christians do not set our heart on seeking the Lord, we are inclined to do evil. How do we seek the Lord?

Shemaiah explained to the leaders of Judah the reason for the invasion from Egypt was that it was discipline from God. They had to learn the difference between serving God and serving the world.
How about us as Christians, can’t we just learn the difference and not have to go through the discipline?

2 Chr 13:18
The men of Israel were subdued on that occasion, and the men of Judah were victorious because they relied on the LORD, the God of their fathers.
Very important to rely on the Lord and not our own strength! We fall miserably short!

I King 15:3
He committed all the sins his father had done before him; his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his forefather had been.

Abijah followed in the footsteps of Solomon who allowed his wives to entice him to turn his heart after other gods. (IKing 11:4)

What does it mean to have our hearts fully devoted to the Lord? What kind of witness would we be to unbelievers if our hearts were fully devoted to the Lord?

IKing 12:8
But Rehoboam rejected the advice the elders gave him and consulted the young men who had grown up with him and were serving him.
This Scripture certainly expresses the importance of carefully selecting others for advice. Rehoboam and many others will suffer because of his decision.
While fellow believers can help us in daily living, it is the Word of God that never fails and should be relied on as our primary source.

Rehoboam made some bad choices in seeking advice, but it was nothing compared to what his counterpart Jeroboam did in Israel.

Oh there is so much to write about concerning the altars at Dan and Bethel. On our trip to Israel in 2005 we were able to see the place in Dan where the golden calves were placed. Interestingly right behind the high place of the altar two golden colored cows were grazing in the grass. Quite ironic wouldn’t you say? We even videotaped the occasion.

Jeroboam appointed priests from all sorts of people. He instituted festivals according to God’s command but unfortunately he sacrificed to the calves he had made instead of to God. He in effect blasphemed the feast days that God established by having the people worship a golden calf. Then to add insult to injury he instituted his own festival, one not ordained by God.
What connections can we make to today’s church? How many "festivals" do we honor in our churches that have not been ordained by God? For more on this subject, go to the website at http://www.philandpatti.com/chronologicalchroniclesii then go to the writing titled Convenience.

Fascinating story about the man of God and the old prophet. The man of God had direct word from God. The old prophet claimed he had heard from God so the man of God discounted what God had said to him and listened to the old prophet. Lesson to be learned – don’t take someone else’s opinion of God’s Word over God’s Word.