7:9-20
The lepers looted the camp taking silver and gold. They then decided that they should tell the palace the news. There was freedom to be had. So they told the city gatekeepers what they had discovered. The guards were very wary, fearing a trap. So they sent a small group to investigate, and of course, they found that the lepers were telling the truth. And food stuffs did sell for the low prices Elisha had foretold. The man who had doubted Elisha’s words was trampled to death.
7:1,2
Elisha now prophecies that the famine will come to an end. Prophets do not just foretell bad things. But it is not just important that we believe the bad things, but also the good things. The prices foretold would imply plentiful supply, but the office did not believe it and thought it impossible. Elish tells him that though he will see it come true, he would not enjoy any of it.
7:3-8
We now read of it coming true. There were four lepers at the city gate. They were in a desperate state. They realised that if they did nothing they would die, they had nothing to lose so decided to go to the camp of the Arameans, the worst that could happen is that they would be killed, but they were going to die anyway. So they went to the camp, but when they got there no one was around. The Lord had deceived them so that they had fled.
6:24
However, hostilities against Israel did not stop. The king of Aram laid siege against Samaria, causing a great famine in the city. Conditions became very severe, even to the point of people eating their children. There was a dispute between two women. The king was distraught, but thought that killing Elisha would help matters. Elisha knew what was in the king’s mind
6:15-17
Elisha’s servant saw the surrounding army the next morning and was terrified. Elisha was not afraid and reassured his servant, saying “those who are with us and more than those who are with them”, (cf 1 John 4:4). He also prayed to the Lord asking Him to open the servant’s eyes to the truth of the situation. We also need our eyes opened. The Lord did this and the servant saw “the hills full of horses and chariots of fire”.
6:18-23
Elisha asked the Lord to strike the enemy with blindness, and He did. Elisha then led them to Samaria. Once in the city Elisha asked the Lord to open their eyes, and He did so. The king of ISrael was keen to kill them, but Elisha dissuaded him from doing so. Instead he fed and watered them, then sent them away. They then stopped raiding Israel.
6:15-17
Elisha’s servant saw the surrounding army the next morning and was terrified. Elisha was not afraid and reassured his servant, saying “those who are with us and more than those who are with them”, (cf 1 John 4:4). He also prayed to the Lord asking Him to open the servant’s eyes to the truth of the situation. We also need our eyes opened. The Lord did this and the servant saw “the hills full of horses and chariots of fire”.
6:18-23
Elisha asked the Lord to strike the enemy with blindness, and He did. Elisha then led them to Samaria. Once in the city Elisha asked the Lord to open their eyes, and He did so. The king of ISrael was keen to kill them, but Elisha dissuaded him from doing so. Instead he fed and watered them, then sent them away. They then stopped raiding Israel.
6:1-7
The chapter begins with a rather strange incident, a floating axe head. At one level the incident seems rather trivial. The company of prophets wants to build a meeting place. One of them was cutting down a tree with an axe, and the axe-head fell into the water. To make matters worse the axe was borrowed. We can imagine how the man felt. However, Elisha manages to make the axe (made of iron, so it should not float!), float, and the man’s problem is solved. God can get involved in things we consider to be beneath him, and when we consider it to be our fault. O the man got his axe head back.
6:8-14
Next we get an incident which seems more fitting of the Lord.The king of Aram was at war with Israel, but was greatly frustrated, for the king of Israel always seemed to be aware of his plans. It was as if he had a spy in the camp, and this is what the king of Aram thought was happening. However, what was actually happening was that God revealed the king's plans to Elisha. Some of the officers knew of Elisha and told the king that Elisha was the problem. So the king sent men to find and capture Elisha. Chariots and horses and a strong force were sent to get Elisha. They surrounded the city where Elisha was staying.
5:11-18
Naaman was rather put out, expecting more personal attention and perhaps something more dramatic. So he went off in a huff. However, his servants spoke sense to him, overcoming his pride. So Naaman did as Elisha had said and he was healed. So Naaman was now grateful and recognised the greatness of God. He wanted to give Elisha a gift, but Elisha refused. So Naaman wanted to take earth back so he could worship the Lord in Jordan. He also sought forgiveness, for his duties in Jordan would require him to partake in idol worship. Elisha tells him to go in peace.
5:19-27
While Elisha had refused a gift, Gehazi thought this was a wasted opportunity, so went chasing after Naaman and got two talents of silver. However, despite Gehazi’s lying, Elisha knew what he had been up to, and so Gehazi was afflicted with leprosy. Servants are significant in this tale, but the Jewish servant comes out of it the worst.
Chapter 5
5:1-6
We now come to quite a well known incident, the healing of Naaman from leprosy. Naaman was a commander in the army of the king of Aram. He was very well thought of, but had leprosy.
A young girl had been taken captive. She probably wondered why this had happened to her, but it was to play an important part in events. She knew of the prophet Elisha and told her mistress, saying that he could heal Naaman. This fact reached the king and he told Naaman to go and see Elisha, and sent a letter to the king of Israel.
5:7-10
The king of Israel was dismayed on receiving the letter, for how could he heal Naaman, and failing to do so would land him in trouble. However, Elisha, the man of God, heard about it and contacted the king, wanting to know why he was so distressed, he asked the king to send Naman to him.. The king sent Naaman to Elisha. Elisha told Naaman to wash himself in the Jordan seven times.
4:42-44
The final miracle is the feeding of a hundred with twenty loaves of bread. There are some similarities to the feeding miracles of Jesus. When a man of God is around, miracles can happen
4:25-37
Elisha sees her and sends Gehazi to find out if everything was alright. Strangely she replied that it was.She resents Elisha for giving her a son. It is easier to live with a difficult situation, than to have hope raised and then dashed. But Elisha saw to the healing of the boy. Elisha seems to have been a man of some compassion.
4:38-41
We now get another miracle. There was famine in the region of Gilgal. Elisha told Gehazi to make some stew for the prophets. This he did, however, for some reason or other the stew was toxic. Elisha, once again, resolved the situation. Putting some flour in the stew and that cleared the toxicity.
4:1-7
We now get a series of miracles performed by Elisha. A woman’s husband had died, and this now presented her with debt problems. Her two boys were in danger of being taken as slaves. Elisha was keen to help. \he asks her what she has in her house, all she can think of is a little olive oil. Elisha tells her to ask her neighbours for jars, lots of them. She was then to pour oil into all the jars. She did this and the oil did not run out. Edlisha told her to then sell the oil and pay off her debts.
4:8-24
A Shunamite woman offered hospitality to Elisha, she then set her house up, so that it would always provide a suitable place for him. She recognised that he was a man of God. Elisha wanted to do something to reward the woman. Gehazi, Elisha’s servant, said that she had no son, so Elisha promised her a son.The woman considered this impossible and thought he was mocking her. However, she did indeed become pregnant and a son was born. However, the son became seriously ill and died. The woman set out to find the man of God.
3:16-23
Elisha tells them that the Lord will “fill this valley with pools of water”. This would be a supernatural eve, God would also deliver Moab into their hands. The next morning the water came. The Moabites looked down and saw the water glistening, they thought it was blood and that Israel was in big trouble. So they set out to attack them.
3:24-27
The Moabites came to the camp, but the Israelites rose up and attacked them. They invaded the land and slaughtered the Israelites. The king of Moab tried to turn the course of the battle, but failed. He even sacrificed his son in a vain attempt to get the aid of his god. Unsurprisingly this did not work either. Godless people will do stupid things.
3:8-11
Jehoshaphat was pleased to help Israel. However he did not seek the Lord. They went through edom because it was something of a vassal state. However, they ran out of water. Joram thought they were all doomed because the Lord was against them. As in the time of Ahab, Jehoshaphat says they should consult a prophet, The king of Israel was informed that Elisha was around, and that he had served with Elijah.
3:12-15
Jehoshaphat said that Elisha was a true man of God. So he, the king of Israel and the king of Edom went down to Elisha. Elisha was not impressed, telling the king of Israel to go to “the prophets of his mother”. The king of Israel replied that they were acting according to the will of the Lord. Elisha responds that it is only because of Jehoshaphat that he will give them the time of day. So he asked for a harpist. Music helped him to prophesy.
3:1-3
Joram becomes king, he was the son of Ahab, Ahazia does not seem to have had any sons. He reigned for twelve years. He was bad, but not as bad as Ahab, having got rid of the sacred stone of Baal. Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam. Sin is a very destructive thing that can have a terrible hold on us.
3:4-7
Mesha was a king of Moab in the ninth century BC, and Moab had to pay a heavy tribute to Israel. After the death of Ahab, Mesha saw this as an opportunity to escape this tribute, so he rebelled against Israel. In response, Joram mobilised all Israel, he also sought the support of Jehoshaphat, much as his father had done.
2:16-22
The prophets also wanted to go and look for Elijah. Elisha told them this would be a waste of time, but they insisted. As Elisha had said, they returned without having found Elijah. Elijah went into the city (Jericho). The water was bad, but Elisha healed it, so they too knew he was indeed a man of God.
2:23
However, Elisha was not respected by everyone. He was jeered at by a group of boys, who called him “baldy” and told him “to get out of here”. In response Elisha called down a curse (God’s judgement on man’s sin”, and two bears came out of the woods and mauled the boys (forty two of them). Elisha went to Mount Carmel, the scene of Elijah’s triumph, and then returned to Samaria.
2:10
Elijah replies that this is a difficult thing to give. It is not clear why he says this since God has told him to anoint Elisha (1 Kings 19:16)., maybe it is because it is out of Elijah’s hands, but is up to God. Elijah then gives a test.
2:11-15
Elijah is then suddenly taken away by a chariot of fire. Elisha saw this, thus fulfilling Elijah’s test, then he saw Elijah no more. Elijah’s cloak had fallen from him and Elisha picked it up. With it he strikes the water, and the water divided again, signifying that God was with him. The company of prophets also saw this, so they too knew that Elisha was anointed by God.
2:6-8
Elijah is now sent to the Jordan. Again he fails to shake off Elisha. Previously the fire had demonstrated that Elijah was a man of God, now Elijah takes his cloak and divides the water with it, reminiscent of Moses and the Red Sea. So Elijah and Elisha crossed on dry land.
2:9
Elijah then asks Elisha “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?” This is maybe a test for Elisha, Elisha answers well asking for a “double portion of your spirit”, i.e. he asks for more of the anointing from God that Elijah has, Elisha knows what was truly important.
2:1-3
We now come to Elijah’s departure, he was taken up to heaven rather than actually dying. It is also the handover to Elisha, his successor. Elijah wants to be alone, trying to persuade Elisha to “star here”. We are not told why Elijah did not want Elisha to be with him, but Elisha is insistent that he will not leave Elijah. At Bethel he is met by the “company of prophets”, they tell Elisha that Elijah is going to be taken away that day. Elisha replies that he knows this but does not want to hear anymore about it.
2:4,5
Elijah is now sent to Jericho and once again tries to get away from Elisha, with an equal lack of success. The prophets at Jericho meet Elisha and get the came response as the ones at Bethel.
1:17
Ahab died according to the word of the Lord. Ahaziah was Ahab’s son, but he, himself, had no son, so Joram became king. As usual the other events of Ahaziah’s reign were recorded in the annals of the kings of Israel.
1:9-12
Ahab had sent a captain with fifty men to find Elijah. It is interesting that although Ahab despised Eliajh he still wanted to find him. The captain addresses Elijah as “Man of God”,but Ahab did not listen to Elijah, despite the events of Mount Carmel,so Elijah gives him another demonstration, fire comes down from heaven and consumes the captain and his men.This happened to two captains.
1:13-16
Ahab sent a third captain. This captain knew what had happened to the previous two and decided a different approach was required. He fell on his knees before Elijah and pleaded for mercy. The angel of the Lord told Elijah to go with the man to the king, and Elijah did as he was told. Elijah spoke directly to the king, asking why he sought the Baals instead of the Lord.
1:1-4
With Ahab’s death one might have thought that this would bring some relief for Israel, but this was not to be the case. What needed to change was the heart of the nation. Moab rebelled against Israel. Ahaziah was king and for some reason or other had fallen through the roof of his house. He then demonstrated his stupidity, he recognised he needed help, but sent messengers to Baal-Zebub, the false god who Elijah had defeated and demonstrated how useless Baal was. \god saw what was happening and sent word to Elijah. Elijah was to challenge \Ahaziah on why he did not consult the Lord.
1:5-8
Ahab had sent messengers to consult prophets of Baal, but they had encountered Elijah, a man of God, they then returned to the king and relayed the message that Elijah gave them. Including the judgement that Ahab would die. They also described the man they had met, and Ahab knew that it was Elijah.
22:29-40
Ahab fears that there might be something in Micaiah’s words, so tries to avoid the word of God, he gets Jehoshaphat to disguise himself as king, and he, himself, as not king. However, it is futile to try and outdo the word of God, and so it proves. The enemy soldiers recognise that Jehoshophat is not Ahab, and a “random” arrow gets Ahab and he died. Ahab was buried in Samaria, and, true to the earlier prophecy, dogs licked up his blood. Ahab was succeeded by his son, Ahaziah.
22:41-50
Meanwhile Jhoshophat became king of Judah and reigned for twenty five years. Jehoshophat followed the ways of his father, Asa, ridding the land of the male shrine prostitutes. He was succeeded by Jehoram.
22:21-23
A spirit comes forward and offers to do the deed. God asks him how he will do it, and he says he will get the prophets to prophesy lies. Note that the false prophets were happy to do this, and Ahab was happy to be deceived. God tells the spirit to get on with it.
22:24-28
One of the false prophets, Zedekiah, slapped Micaiah, and mocked him. This is much the same way that Jesus was treated, and this faux indignation is a common tactic of the enemy. Micaiah’s response is that all will become clear when the events turn out as he has said.Ahab orders for Micaiah to be imprisoned, only to be released on Ahab’s return, Micaiah replies that if Ahab does return he, Micaiah, has not spoken the word of the Lord. Micaiah believes that the word of the Lord will prove true.
22:10-18
Ahab and Jehoshaphat are dressed in royal robes and sat on thrones, but do not have any real power. Zedekiah, one of the false prophets makes a dramatic declaration, but none of this changes the fact that he is not a true prophet. All the false prophets backed him up in his lies.Micaiah is then summoned. First he treats Ahab with contempt saying “Attack and be victorious”. Ahab knows that this is not the word of the Lord and rebukes Micaiah, who then gives him the truth, Ahab continues to complain about it.
22:19,20
We then get a glimpse of heaven, God is looking for someone to entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and so to meet his death.
22:6
It seems that Ahab had reformed his school of prophets, for he brings in four hundred of them. They were prophets of baal. So Ahab’s repentance of the previous chapters does not seem to have been very deep.
22:7-9
Jehoshaphat knew that Ahab’s prophets were not men of God so asks Ahab if there is not a real prophet about. Ahab betrays his true character by saying there is one, Micaiah, but he doesn’t like him because “he never prophesies anything good about me”. Ahab does not want to hear the truth. Jehoshaphat scolds the king for saying that. Ahab then sends for Micaiah.
22:1-3
This is one of my favourite passages in Kings. There are three main characters in it: Ahab, Jehishaphat, and the coolest prophet in the Bible, Micaiah. There was peace between Aram and Israel, but Ahab wanted to get some of the land back. T\he current tensions in the Middle East are nothing new.
22:4,5
Ahab seeks Judah’s help in this enterprise. Ahab was a thoroughly bad king, both morally bad, and weak as well. Jehoshaphat was a generally good king, but far from perfect. \he readily agrees to help Ahab, but tells him to seek the counsel of the Lord first.
21:25-29
A note is added that Ahab was the worst king Israel ever had, doing evil in the eyes of the Lord. However, there is a surprising turn in that Ahab repents, and 17:28,29 shows that this was genuine, so God delays the sentence. If only other kings had responded like Ahab.
21:15,16
Ahab was not the most go-ahead of men, so Jezebel urged him to seize the opportunity and take the vineyard, which he did.
21:17-24
God told Elijah what had happened and gave him a word to give to Ahab. Ahab would meet a terrible fate. Ahab was not pleased to see Elijah. Elijah takes no nonsense, and speaks to Ahab plainly, pronouncing judgement upon him. Ahab’s house would be decimated. Jezebel would be devoured by dogs, as would Ahab’s family, and birds "will feed on those who die in the country”.
21:4-6
Ahab went into a sulk. His wife, Jezebel, asked him what was wrong. Ahab told her about Naboth’s refusal to sell his vineyard.
21:7-14
Jezebel was appalled that Ahab was allowing Naboth to get away with this; she thought that Ahab should use his power to get what he wanted.. So she determined to take matters into her own hands . She proclaimed a day of fasting and gave Naboth a prominent seat. So she gave her plan a veneer of religious respectability. She seated two scoundrels next to Naboth, they would falsely accuseNabothof blasphemy, this would lead to Naboth being stoned to death. Many of our church leaders today are utterly stupid when they court favour from the world. The plan was executed, and so was Naboth and Ahab was informed.
21:1,2
We now come to the infamous incident of Naboth’s vineyard. In understanding the incident it is important to realise how important property, and keeping it in the family was in Israel and in the Law. Ahab saw the vineyard and wanted it for himself. He thought that with his one wealth he could easily get it from Ahab, either by buying it, or by giving Naboth another vineyard in exchange. So he makes his offer to Naboth.
21:3
However, Naboth refused because it belonged to his family, it was “the inheritance of [his] ancestors”, and so not his to give away, but his to look after.
20:32-34
So they put sackcloth and ashes on, humbling themselves and seeking mercy from Israel. The king reacts favorably, speaking well of Ben-Hadad, wanting to see him. Ben-Hadad offers to return previously taken cities. Ahab makes a treaty with him, but this proves to be a big mistake.
20:35
The Lord sent a prophet again. Ahab should not have let Ben-Hadad go, \god’s people are not meant to have any relationship with evil. So Ahab would suffer for what he had done. He probably felt pleased with himself, but was then rebuked so he sulked.
20:32-34
So they put sackcloth and ashes on, humbling themselves and seeking mercy from Israel. The king reacts favorably, speaking well of Ben-Hadad, wanting to see him. Ben-Hadad offers to return previously taken cities. Ahab makes a treaty with him, but this proves to be a big mistake.
20:35-39
The Lord sent a prophet again. Ahab should not have let Ben-Hadad go, \god’s people are not meant to have any relationship with evil. So Ahab would suffer for what he had done. He probably felt pleased with himself, but was then rebuked so he sulked.
20:23-27
Ben-Hadad's advisers were not very wise, thinking that Israel;’s gods were gods of the hills; this followed the prevailing idea of the time that “gods” were limited to certain domains. The world does not know God nor understand him, so will make certain mistakes. So their advice is to fight them on the plain. There was a need to replenish the army. Ben-Hadad did this the next spring.
20:28-31
The prophet came to Israel and reassured them, God could fight anywhere. He would show both the Arameans and Israel that He was Lord of all. The battle was eventually joined and Israel inflicted massive casualties on the Aramean foot soldiers. The rest flew to Aphek, but there a wall collapsed on them . Ben-Hadad fled and hid in an inner room. Now his officials advise him to seek mercy from Israel.
20:13,14
Despite Ahab being a terrible king, God has not forgotten about Israel. We may have all sorts of legitimate criticisms of Israel, but we should never forget that God loves Israel. So he sends a prophet to Israel, telling Ahab that he will give Ben-Hadad’s army into his hands, he also tells him what to do. Ahab needs to take action.
20:15-21
They attacked at noon, while Ben Hadad’s leaders were getting drunk. Ahab had assembled his troops according to the prophet's word, i.e. the junior offices were a big part of the force. Ben Hadad had dispatched scouts “who reported that “men are advancing from Samaria”.. Ahab tells his men to “take them alive”, regardless of whether they came for peace or war. As it is, the junior officers killed BenHadad’s men. Ben-Hadad, however, escaped on horseback. Ahab inflicted heavy losses on the Arameaness.
20:22
The prophet warns Ahab against complacency, saying he should strengthen his position and be ready for a further attack in the spring.
20:1-4
Syria was the dominant power at this time, hence Ben Hadad’s ability to muster thirty two “kings” to serve with him. \he makes demands of Ahab, which Ahab initially agrees to.
20:5-9
Ben-Hadad now ups his demands, saying he will send his officials, and they should be allowed to search the palaces and houses and take whatever they want. Ahab sent for the elders saying Ben-Hadad has now gone too far.The elders agree and urge Ahab to reject the demands, which he then does.
20:10-12
Ben-Hadad is not best pleased and makes further threats. Ahab treats the threats with scorn, Ahab reacts by telling his men to prepare to attack.
16:13-21
Elijah heard the voice of the Lord and went out to the mouth of the cave. There can be times when the Lord seems to be nowhere, but when we get a hint of his presence we should make the most of it. \god asks Elijah the same question, “What are you doing here Elijah?” Elijah repeats his sob story. God now gives Elijah instructions, he is to return the way he came and anoint Hazael as king over Aram, then to anoint Jehu as king over Israel, and Elisha as his own successor. Contrary to Elijah’s thoughts, God had not stopped working. He also tells \\elisha that he is far from being the only one,God has “seven thousand" in Israel. So Elijah goes off and finds Elisha. Elijah throws his cost over him. Elish wants to say farewell to his parents before following Elijah, Elijah is not impressed (Matt 8:22), Elisha followed Elijah at once, slaughtering his oxen and burning his plough, signifying his total commitment.
19:6-9
God knew what was going on and sent an angel. The angel spoke to Elijah and said “Get up and eat for the journey is too much for you”. If an angel spoke to me I might expect it to say something more profound than “get up and eat”. However God knew that his physical condition would affect his spirit, and that he still had work to do, and a journey to take. So the angel repeated his words, and Elijah obeyed them. He then got up and travelled to Horeb. Horeb was the mountain where Moses encountered the burning bush, and received the Law, ii is Mount Sinai. The journey took forty days and nights. When he got there he spent the night in a cave.
19:10-12
God spoke to Elijah saying, “What are you doing here Elijah?”. Elijah gives a rather self-pitying reply, reminding God that he has been zealous for the Lord, while Israel has rejected the Lord. Now he thinks he is the only one left, and his own life is now threatened. The Lord tells him to “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then there are three dramatic events, a great powerful wind that shattered the rocks.; an earthquake and finally fire, but the Lord was not in any of these. Then there was a “gentle whisper” and God was in this. There may be dramatic events in our lives, as there certainly was in Elijah’s, but it is a quiet trust in the Lord that we need, there is a gentle assurance from Him. (Is 30:15). Elijah heard the gentle whisper and went out to stand at the mouth of the cave. Again God asked him “What are you doing here Elijah?”.
19:1,2
We now get an interesting turn which demonstrates the humanity of Elijah. Ahab tells Jezebel what has happened, in particular the killing of the prophets of Baal. \jezebel reacts by declaring her intention to kill Elijah.
19:3-5
Elijah has won a great victory, but now he goes into utter despondency. Maybe he hoped that Israel would now see sense and turn back to God, but no. So Elijah flees and runs into the wilderness. He comes to a broom tree, sits under it and wants to die, asking God to take his life. “I have had enough, Lord, take my life; I am no better than my ancestors”. There is self-pity and maybe guilt as well. Our only grounds for hope and acceptance is the blood of Jesus. No matter how skilled or successful we may be at preaching, evangelism or whatever else it is that we do. Our hope must be in Christ alone. Elijah lay down and fell asleep.
18:41-44
Having made it clear that the Lord is God, and Baal was nothing, Elijah tells Ahab to prepare for rain. Ahab went off to eat and drink, while Elijah went to look for rain. James reminds us that Elijah was a man like us (James 5:17), and here we see that Elijah wanted reassurance that it would actually rain, it is not actually clear why he puts his head between his knees. Seven times his servant had to go and look for rain. On the seventh occasion he sees a small cloud. This was sufficient for Isaiah, and he tells his servant to go and tell Ahab, Sometime we just need a little reassurance.
18:45,46
Meanwhile the sky grew black, and a heavy rainstorm came. In the power of the Lord Elijah sped to Ahab at Jezreel.
