Effie Darlene Barba

So, it was in our last post, the king of Syria realized he was unable to beat God’s people and left them alone.  However, it wasn’t long until he decided to try again.  This time he surrounded Samaria, preventing any commerce and forcing the people into financial distress.  A famine ensued and the people cried out to the king of Israel for help.  One woman cried that she and another had killed and eaten her son to survive.  Then, the second woman refused to kill her son as promised so they could eat.  The king was rightfully horrified by this. Immorality, paganistic ritual filled the land and his people.  Morally outraged, he rent his clothes, put on sackcloth and called for Elisha’s death.  Typical of most Moralizers, the king was perhaps rightfully outraged; however, he was blinded to God’s truth and his own guilt.

The king of Israel failed to accept his guilt.  He had continued in encouraging pagan worship throughout the land.  In 2 Kings 3:2-3, we read of him. (Jehoram) wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.  Nevertheless, he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. He felt himself somewhat righteous because he had destroyed the temples of Baal; yet, he failed to turn to or yield to God.  On occasion, he made the right choice; but his heart was not open to God nor His commands.  Indeed, he blamed God and Elisha for the famine in Israel.  Not once did he consider God’s truth or that he, as well as the people were guilty, deserving punishment.

Moralizers so Blinded to God’s Truth and Their Guilt

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The king of Syria plotted to take over Israel.  Each time his secret war plans were thwarted. The king of Israel knew ahead of time what the king of Syria planned.  “Certainly, there must be a spy within our own ranks”, thought the king of Syria.  So, he called together all his men; but they told him that it was God’s prophet Elisha who revealed each war plan to the king of Israel.  Indeed, when the king of Syria questioned his captains, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” (2Kings 6:11).  They replied, “None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet which is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom” (2 Kings 6:12).  How could that be?    Because God is Omnipotent, Omniscient Lord over all!  Do You Really Know God as such?

There is no detail of your life or mine that God is not aware of.  David said, O lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.  For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether (Psalm 139:1-4).  He knows my heart.  Every hidden crevice He sees. Furthermore, He knows every blundering word that might proceed from my lips before they are spoken; yet, He loved me, chose me to be His child and determined that He would use every circumstance of my life to transform me into the image of His Son.  Continuously He is about the work of perfecting me in love.  Did you ever think about that?

Omnipotent, Omniscient Lord

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All too often, we go about our day carrying with us the day to day worries.  We think the trivialities are too minor to bother God with them.  Or sometimes we think that God might be critical of our foolishness at times were we to go to Him with everything.  After all, it is probably my fault, I lost my glasses, or I messed up my finances in some way.  What about work or the interpersonal relations that must go on there?  Does God really care about the little stuff that makes up my day?  God had a nation to deal with, a world falling farther into idolatry and false ideologies, why would the little stuff matter to Him?

We saw Elisha as His spokesman step in with an act of kindness repay the Shunammite woman for her generosity and kindness by giving her a child.  Then, he raised that child from the dead when tragedy had struck.  Furthermore, he had provided a miracle for the widow left financially destitute.  He had feed the student prophets when a famine filled the land.  And now we come to the floating axe head story.  Of all the miracles I am certain Elisha performed in God’s strength or the wise words God gave him to speak, why would God have included this incident in those recorded?

God is about revealing Himself and He is perfect in His timing. Let us look at the incident as recorded in 2 Kings 6:1-7.

Does God Really Care About the Little Stuff?

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Gehazi had served Elisha.  He was there when the Shunammite woman was given a child, though previously barren.  Furthermore, he was present when the child’s life was restored by God through Elisha.  During a famine, he watched how Elisha fed the student prophets and his generosity in giving them all that he had.  When Elisha healed Naaman of leprosy, it was most likely Gehazi he sent to tell Naaman to wash in the Jordan seven times.  Gehazi had been so close to God’s prophet and had served him for all these years faithfully.  Then how was it that someone so close to God’s spokesman for the time, not know God?  Yet, Gehazi seeing the money and garments that Naaman had brought went after them, lied, and even believed that God had not seen his heart. And so, it is, he was cast out with leprosy.

Is that the case we find all too often today?  We live in a society that teaches cheap grace.  One in which all we must do is say I believe in Jesus Christ; but, never accept Him as redeemer, Sovereign Lord of our lives.  Instead we have the prosperity gospel putting God as an overindulgent Father enslaved to meeting the selfish demands of an ungrateful, rebellious child.  Too often in our society and our churches we teach a cheap grace that fails to reveal the truth of God’s love, righteousness, justice; much less His true Glory.  It is no wonder so many say that they are Christians and yet being so close do not know God at all!  How is it we fail to remember the cost of salvation?  Or that a truly loving God would never leave us to wallow in the filthy rags in which He found us?

So Close; yet, so far.

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Naaman was healed of leprosy.  He swore to never worship any other god; but the true God of Israel.  Yet, as the commander of the army for the king of Syria part of his duties included accompanying the king to the temple of Rimmon, a pagan god whom the Syrians worshipped.  Although a man of great power in his own country, held in high esteem by the king; he was not willing to proclaim the truth of God before his people.  A missed opportunity by which he could have saved his nation, were he willing to proclaim the name of god.  Rather in time the nation of Syria would fall in battle.  After all that God did for Naaman by healing him, Naaman was unwilling to share the good news or proclaim that there is only one True God and mankind must worship Him or perish.

In Luke 4, Jesus came to Nazareth to teach and preach.  At first the people were very excited.  They had heard of the miracles He had performed in the surrounding countryside.  He entered the synagogue to read the scripture and to preach.

 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. he closed the book, gave it again to the minister, and sat down.  the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Luke 4:18-21).

A Missed Opportunity

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