May
4th 2 Kings 7
1: Then Elisha said, Hear ye the
word of the LORD; Thus saith the LORD, To morrow about this time shall a
measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a
shekel, in the gate of Samaria. 2: Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned
answered the man of God, and said, Behold, if the LORD would make windows in
heaven, might this thing be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine
eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
The Lord tricks them into retreat
3: And there were four leprous men
at the entering in of the gate: and they said one to another, Why sit we here
until we die? 4: If we say, We will enter into the city, then the famine is in
the city, and we shall die there: and if we sit still here, we die also. Now
therefore come, and let us fall unto the host of the Syrians: if they save us
alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die. 5: And they rose
up in the twilight, to go unto the camp of the Syrians: and when they were come
to the uttermost part of the camp of Syria, behold, there was no man there. 6:
For the Lord had made the host of the Syrians to hear a noise of chariots, and
a noise of horses, even the noise of a great host: and they said one to
another, Lo, the king of Israel hath hired against us the kings of the
Hittites, and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us. 7: Wherefore they
arose and fled in the twilight, and left their tents, and their horses, and their
asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their life. 8: And when these
lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did
eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment, and went and
hid it; and came again, and entered into another tent, and carried thence also,
and went and hid it. 9: Then they said one to another, We do not well: this day
is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning
light, some mischief will come upon us: now therefore come, that we may go and
tell the king's household. 10: So they came and called unto the porter of the
city: and they told them, saying, We came to the camp of the Syrians, and,
behold, there was no man there, neither voice of man, but horses tied, and
asses tied, and the tents as they were. 11: And he called the porters; and they
told it to the king's house within. 12: And the king arose in the night, and
said unto his servants, I will now shew you what the Syrians have done to us.
They know that we be hungry; therefore are they gone out of the camp to hide
themselves in the field, saying, When they come out of the city, we shall catch
them alive, and get into the city. 13: And one of his servants answered and
said, Let some take, I pray thee, five of the horses that remain, which are
left in the city, (behold, they are as all the multitude of Israel that are
left in it: behold, I say, they are even as all the multitude of the Israelites
that are consumed:) and let us send and see. 14: They took therefore two
chariot horses; and the king sent after the host of the Syrians, saying, Go and
see. 15: And they went after them unto Jordan: and, lo, all the way was full of
garments and vessels, which the Syrians had cast away in their haste. And the messengers
returned, and told the king. 16: And the people went out, and spoiled the tents
of the Syrians. So a measure of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two
measures of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD. 17: And the
king appointed the lord on whose hand he leaned to have the charge of the gate:
and the people trode upon him in the gate, and he died, as the man of God had
said, who spake when the king came down to him. 18: And it came to pass as the
man of God had spoken to the king, saying, Two measures of barley for a shekel,
and a measure of fine flour for a shekel, shall be to morrow about this time in
the gate of Samaria: 19: And that lord answered the man of God, and said, Now,
behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, might such a thing be? And
he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof.
20: And so it fell out unto him: for the people trode upon him in the gate, and
he died.
2
Kings 8 The woman’s land restored
1: Then spake Elisha unto the woman,
whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine
household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called
for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years. 2: And the
woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her
household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3: And it
came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land
of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and
for her land. 4: And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God,
saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. 5:
And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body
to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to
the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this
is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. 6: And when
the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a
certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the
field since the day that she left the land, even until now.
Elisha predicts Hazael’s rise
7: And Elisha came to Damascus; and
Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of
God is come hither. 8: And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine
hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by him, saying,
Shall I recover of this disease? 9: So Hazael went to meet him, and took a
present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden,
and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath
sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? 10: And Elisha said
unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD
hath shewed me that he shall surely die. 11: And he settled his countenance
stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. 12: And Hazael said,
Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do
unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and
their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children,
and rip up their women with child. 13: And Hazael said, But what, is thy
servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The
LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. 14: So he departed from
Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And
he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover. 15: And it came to
pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and
spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
Jehoram
King of Judah
16: And in the fifth year of Joram
the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram
the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. 17: Thirty and two years
old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 18:
And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for
the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the LORD.
19: Yet the LORD would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake, as he
promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children. 20: In his days
Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.
21: So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by
night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of
the chariots: and the people fled into their tents. 22: Yet Edom revolted from
under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.
23: And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not
written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 24: And Joram
slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David:
and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
Ahaziah
King of Judah
25: In the twelfth year of Joram the
son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin
to reign. 26: Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and
he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the
daughter of Omri king of Israel. 27: And he walked in the way of the house of
Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the LORD, as did the house of Ahab: for he
was the son in law of the house of Ahab. 28: And he went with Joram the son of
Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians
wounded Joram. 29: And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the
wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael
king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see
Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
2
Kings 9 Jehu anointed King
1: And Elisha the prophet called one
of the children of the prophets, and said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take
this box of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth-gilead: 2: And when thou comest
thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go
in, and make him arise up from among his brethren, and carry him to an inner
chamber; 3: Then take the box of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus
saith the LORD, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door, and
flee, and tarry not. 4: So the young man, even the young man the prophet, went
to Ramoth-gilead. 5: And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were
sitting; and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto
which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain. 6: And he arose, and went
into the house; and he poured the oil on his head, and said unto him, Thus
saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the
LORD, even over Israel. 7: And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master,
that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all
the servants of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. 8: For the whole house of
Ahab shall perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the
wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel: 9: And I will make the house
of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of
Baasha the son of Ahijah: 10: And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of
Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. And he opened the door, and fled.
11: Then Jehu came forth to the servants of his lord: and one said unto him, Is
all well? wherefore came this mad fellow to thee? And he said unto them, Ye
know the man, and his communication. 12: And they said, It is false; tell us
now. And he said, Thus and thus spake he to me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I
have anointed thee king over Israel. 13: Then they hasted, and took every man
his garment, and put it under him on the top of the stairs, and blew with
trumpets, saying, Jehu is king.
Jehu
kills Joram
14: So Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat
the son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. (Now Joram had kept Ramoth-gilead,
he and all Israel, because of Hazael king of Syria. 15: But king Joram was
returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him,
when he fought with Hazael king of Syria.) And Jehu said, If it be your minds,
then let none go forth nor escape out of the city to go to tell it in Jezreel.
16: So Jehu rode in a chariot, and went to Jezreel; for Joram lay there. And
Ahaziah king of Judah was come down to see Joram. 17: And there stood a
watchman on the tower in Jezreel, and he spied the company of Jehu as he came,
and said, I see a company. And Joram said, Take an horseman, and send to meet
them, and let him say, Is it peace? 18: So there went one on horseback to meet
him, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What hast thou
to do with peace? turn thee behind me. And the watchman told, saying, The
messenger came to them, but he cometh not again. 19: Then he sent out a second
on horseback, which came to them, and said, Thus saith the king, Is it peace?
And Jehu answered, What hast thou to do with peace? turn thee behind me. 20:
And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again:
and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth
furiously. 21: And Joram said, Make ready. And his chariot was made ready. And
Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah went out, each in his chariot,
and they went out against Jehu, and met him in the portion of Naboth the
Jezreelite. 22: And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it
peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy
mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many? 23: And Joram turned his hands,
and fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. 24: And Jehu drew
a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his arms, and the arrow
went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his chariot. 25: Then said Jehu to
Bidkar his captain, Take up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth
the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab
his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him; 26: Surely I have seen
yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons, saith the LORD; and I
will requite thee in this plat, saith the LORD. Now therefore take and cast him
into the plat of ground, according to the word of the LORD.
Jehu
kills Ahaziah
27: But when Ahaziah the king of
Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after
him, and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up
to Gur, which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there. 28: And his
servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulchre
with his fathers in the city of David. 29: And in the eleventh year of Joram
the son of Ahab began Ahaziah to reign over Judah.
Jehu
kills Jezebel
30: And when Jehu was come to
Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, and tired her head, and
looked out at a window. 31: And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had
Zimri peace, who slew his master? 32: And he lifted up his face to the window,
and said, Who is on my side? who? And there looked out to him two or three
eunuchs. 33: And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down: and some of
her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and he trode her under
foot. 34: And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go, see now
this cursed woman, and bury her: for she is a king's daughter. 35: And they
went to bury her: but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet,
and the palms of her hands. 36: Wherefore they came again, and told him. And he
said, This is the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Elijah the
Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of
Jezebel: 37: And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the
field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.
In today’s Bible readings we
continue in the life of Elisha. The incidents in the life of Elisha are both
interesting and obscure. First the Lord tricks the Syrian invaders into
retreat. Then Elisha predicts the rise to power of Hazael. Then we have affairs
of state - the reigns of Jehoram and Ahaziah. Jehu is anointed the new king and
Jehu goes on the war path killing Joram, Ahaziah and Jezebel. First we read the
Elisha said to the king that the next day the famine would be so great that a
measure (a large bowl full) of fine flour will be sold for a shekel about 50p
this is about the normal price. Then four men who were lepers decided that they
would go out of the city to the Syrian army thinking that if they stayed in the
city they would die and if they were killed by the Syrians the they would also
die so they decided that they had nothing to loose and left the city to go to
the Syrian camp but when they arrived there they found nobody – the camp was
deserted. What had happened was that the Lord had caused them to hear the
sounds of an army bearing down on them, with the sound of chariots horses and
of a great battle and they fled in panic. The four lepers went into one tent
and ate their full and took gold and silver and then they went into another
tent and did the same and then they said – We are not doing the right thing,
This is the day of glad tidings and we hold our peace. If we stay here till the
morning something might happen to us so let’s go to the city to tell the people
that the Syrian army had gone. The message got right through to the king but he
was cautious and thought it might be a trap. So they sent out two mounted
scouts to see what was happening. And they came all the way to the Jordan and
saw the trail of all the goods that had been thrown away in their haste. So the
people went out and spoiled the goods of the Syrians and so a measure of flour
was sold for 50p just as the Prophet of the Lord had said. The king’s servant
was trampled in the stampede for food and treasure. Then Elisha went and told
the widow who he had raised her son from the dead that there was going to be a
famine in the land for 7 years. She went and lived with the Philistines for the
whole time. Then when it was ended she returned o the land and she asked for
her land to be returned to her. Elisha’s servant told the king of all that
Elisha had done for he so he restored everything to her. The next event was
that Elisha came to Damascus and Hazael sent a message asking if his father
would recover because Ben-hadad who was very sick. Elisha said yes he will
recover of his illness but he will still die. Elisha wept and Hazael asked why
he wept and he said because l know of all the evil you will do. He said do you
think l am a dog to do these evil things yet he left and went and suffocated
his father and reigned in his place. Next we read of the reign of Jehoram who
came to the throne of Judah when he was 32 and reigned for 8 yrs. He did great
evil things in Gods sight. But God would not destroy him for David’s sake. He
fought with the Edomites. Ahaziah reigned for 1 year. He did evil in the sight
of the Lord like Ahab his father-in-law. Elisha called on one of his prophets
and told him to take a box of oil and to Ramoth-gilead and find Jehu and take
him to a secret chamber and anoint him in the name of the Lord over all Israel.
Jehu was raised up by the Lord to bring judgment in Israel. Then he told him
his main mission and then ran away as quickly as he could. When Jehu came out
of the room they asked his about the mad man who had spoken to him. They made
him king over Israel. The first thing was to sort out Joram. Joram had been
wounded by the Syrians. Jehu went out to meet Jehoram and killed him with an
arrow and he killed Ahaziah in his chariot and he threw commanded that Jezebel
be thrown from the high window. A gruesome end to an evil woman. Her body was
eaten of the dogs.
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