eMessage
Reading Through the Bible – Week 19- I Kings20-22 and II Kings 1-11 and II Corinthians 7-13
(Following this short devotional, you will find study questions to help you consider the passages we are reading in this week of our through the Bible in a Year reading program. If you have not been following the reading program, please know that it is never too late to start reading the Bible. Begin with this week’s reading and find the blessing of reading God’s Word.)
We have the tradition in our culture of making Resolutions at the first of each New Year. Did you make any new resolutions for the New Year or did you simply resolve to keep or renew the ones you did not keep last year? I confess that I fall into the latter category.
How are you doing in keeping your New Year resolution? We have had a few weeks go by since the New Year and maybe you have kept your resolution or maybe you see a trend developing which indicates that you are not doing well in keeping the resolution.
What New Year’s resolutions do you think some of the heroes of the Bible would make? It was not a tradition of that time period but I believe we might be able to surmise the New Year’s Resolution of the great Old Testament prophet, Elisha.
Consider the possibilities of his New Year’s resolution in light of the request which he made to Elijah as recorded in II Kings 2:9. When asked by Elijah what he wanted from Elijah as Elijah was departing to heaven, Elisha responded by asking for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit.
This request seems strange to us but it flows from the inheritance laws of that day. When a father died, his estate would be divided in such a way that the oldest son would receive a double portion as compared to each of the other children. For instance, if a man died having three children, the estate would be divided into 4 equal portions and the oldest son would receive 2 of the 4 portions and the other children would receive one share each. In this example the oldest son would receive 50% of the estate and the other two children receive 25% of the estate.
As a further example a man who passes and has 5 children would have his estate distributed so that the oldest son would receive 1/3 of the estate and each of the other four children would receive 1/6 of the estate.
The oldest son receiving the double portion received such for a reason. That son was responsible for more than any of the other children. That son was responsible for all unfinished work of the father as well as being responsible for any needy members of the family (ex. the sick, infirmed or widowed).
Elisha’s request to Elijah for a double portion was made in light of this paradigm of inheritance. It was not made so that he would have a ministry twice the size of Elijah or so that he could be twice as well known as Elijah but rather it was made because he saw the need of his culture and the unfinished work which Elijah had so aptly began. He knew that as a man he was no man for the job which needed to be done. Yet he also knew that with God’s Spirit (the same Spirit he had seen at work in the life and ministry of Elijah0 in him then he would have be able to meet the challenges and opportunities of his time as God allowed.
I am so impressed by this request for it speaks so clearly about Elisha’s heart for God, his heart for the people of God and his heart for ministry.
Don’t be fooled or mislead by the use on the “ministry” in the last paragraph. I am not talking about a job in ministry but rather I am talking about the call to serve which God places on the life of every believer.
I am also challenged by Elisha’s request because it causes me to pause and consider my heart. I am ultimately led to reflect on the New Year’s Resolutions I have made in recent times and to consider whether they speak of a heart that longs for God and the things of God. The opposite could also be true in that my resolutions could speak to a heart that is selfishly focused and longs more for the things of this world rather than the things of God.
May we be more like Elisha, seeing the need and saying to God, “Give me the ability (a double portion) to meet those needs in the name of Christ”.
eMullins
Through the Bible Small Group Study and ABF Study Review
Week Nineteen- I Kings 20-22 and II Kings 1-11
And
II Corinthians 7-13
OLD TESTAMENT QUESTIONS
1. What does it mean when Elijah says that King Ahab has “sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord” as stated in I Kings 21:20?
2. Elijah is taken to heaven in a chariot of fire and Elisha is chosen to replace Elijah in the ministry which Elijah had. Discuss the request of Elisha found in II Kings 2:9.
3. What is the importance of the healing of Naaman as recorded in II Kings 5:1-15?
4. Is the sin of Gehazi repeated in the church today and, if so, how? (see II Kings 5:16-27)
5. If our eyes could be opened as the eyes of Elisha’s servant were opened as recorded I II Kings 6:8-23, what would we see of God’s work in this world?
6. Why was there so much violence recorded in II Kings 1-11?
NEW TESTAMENT QUESTIONS
7. In what areas today of body and spirit does the church and individual Christians need to “purify itself and perfect holiness”? (see II Corinthians 7:1)
8. How does one give beyond their ability as those recorded in II Corinthians 8:2-4 did?
9. What does it mean when Paul reports that the Macedonian churches pleaded for the privilege of sharing in the service of giving? Do our churches do that today? (see II Corinthians 8:4)
10. Discuss the teachings on giving found in II Corinthians 8:6-11 and particularly discuss the differences which exist in this teaching from Old Testament teachings.
11. Describe the differences in the warfare which Christians are to wage to that which the world wages. (See II Corinthians 10:4-5)?
12. Using the definitions of II Corinthians 11:13 identify false prophets of today. Why are false prophets still popular in our day and age?
13. What is the lesson for us of Paul’s discussion of his thorn in the flesh as recorded in II Corinthians 12:1-13?
14. In practical terms, how do we examine ourselves to test whether we are in the faith as taught in II Corinthians 13:5?
