Thursday
Evening Bible Study
December
6, 2012
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved?
Make announcement about giving/funds.
After the death
of King Solomon, the
kingdom of Israel split into two nations.
The northern
kingdom would be known as “Israel”, and would be made up of ten of the twelve
tribes of Israel.
The first king,
Jeroboam, led the people away from the pure worship of Yahweh by setting up
alternate worship sites in Bethel and Dan, each with their own golden calf to
be a substitute for God.
The southern
kingdom was known as “Judah” and would be made up of the tribes of Judah and
Benjamin.
The southern
kingdom would always be ruled by a descendant of King David.
The book of Kings follows the
various kings of both the northern and southern kingdoms.
Last week we saw that the northern kingdom had a change in leadership as a
man named Baasha
overthrew Jeroboam’s son and wiped out all the descendants of Jeroboam.
16:1-7 Baasha in
Israel
:1 Then the word of the Lord
came to Jehu the son of Hanani, against Baasha, saying:
:1 Jehu the son of Hanani
When it comes to names in the
Bible, you need to pay attention to more than the name, but the lineage as
well.
There is another famous person
named “Jehu” who will one day be king of the northern kingdom (2Kings 9:2), but
he is the son of a fellow named “Nimshi”, not “Hanani”.
Our “Jehu” may be the son of
another prophet who lived in the days of Asa and would have fit into the time
period of 1Kings 15, when Asa made an alliance with the Syrians (2Chr. 16:7).
(2 Ch 16:7 NKJV) —7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah,
and said to him: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not
relied on the Lord your God,
therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand.
We use last names to tell people
apart who have the same first name, the ancients used “son of …” to tell people
apart.
:2 “Inasmuch as I lifted you out of the dust and made you ruler over My
people Israel, and you have walked in the way of Jeroboam, and have made My
people Israel sin, to provoke Me to anger with their sins,
:3 surely I will take away the posterity of Baasha and the posterity of his
house, and I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
:3 like the house
of Jeroboam
I would think that since Baasha has just had a hand in seeing the prophecy
of Jeroboam fulfilled, this would strike a little fear into his heart.
But it doesn’t change any of Baasha’s actions. He never repents.
Lesson
Stop repeating mistakes
Sometimes we see other people having gone before us, who are involved in
certain sins and we get to thinking that it’s just inevitable that we will do
it too.
We don’t have to follow the crowd.
“Wisdom is learning from other people’s mistakes”
:4 The dogs shall eat
whoever belongs to Baasha and dies in the city, and the birds of the air shall
eat whoever dies in the fields.”
:4 The dogs shall eat
We mentioned last week that it was
very important to the ancients to be buried with all their bones together so
they would be able to be resurrected in one piece at the resurrection.
The concept of a dead body being eaten by dogs and birds means that
Baasha’s family will all die without a proper burial, without respect, in a
horrible way.
:5 Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, what he did, and his might, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
:6 So Baasha rested with his fathers and was buried in Tirzah. Then Elah
his son reigned in his place.
:7 And also the word of the Lord
came by the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha and his house,
because of all the evil that he did in the sight of the Lord in provoking Him to anger with the work of his hands, in
being like the house of Jeroboam, and because he killed them.
:6 buried in Tirzah
For the time being, this is the capital of the northern kingdom.
:7 because of all
the evil
This is a clarification on the judgment of God. God had very clear, very
justified reasons for this horrible judgment on Baasha.
:7 and because he killed him.
Even though God had determined that Jeroboam’s dynasty would end,
Baasha is held responsible for being the one who made the choice to wipe out
Jeroboam’s line.
16:8-14 Elah in
Israel
:8 In the twenty-sixth year of Asa king of Judah, Elah the son of Baasha
became king over Israel, and reigned two years in Tirzah.
:8 Elah – ‘Elah
– “An oak”
:8 two years in Tirzah
It’s interesting that Jeroboam had
a prophecy of doom over him, and his son Nadab only ruled for two years before
getting killed. Now Baasha’s son is killed only two years after his father’s
death.
:9 Now his servant Zimri, commander of half his chariots, conspired
against him as he was in Tirzah drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza,
steward of his house in Tirzah.
:10 And Zimri went in and struck him and killed him in the twenty-seventh
year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his place.
:9 drinking himself drunk
Probably not the wisest thing for a
king to do.
(Pr 31:4–5 NKJV) —4 It is not for kings, O
Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating
drink; 5 Lest they drink and
forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted.
He had been given the throne of the kingdom of Israel, and all he was known
for was getting drunk and being murdered. What a lousy way to be remembered.
:11 Then it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he was seated
on his throne, that he killed all the household of Baasha; he did not
leave him one male, neither of his relatives nor of his friends.
:11 he killed all
the household of Baasha
He did this quickly.
Zimri is only going to last as a king seven days before he is overthrown.
:11 male
Literally, “urinates against the wall”
:12 Thus Zimri
destroyed all the household of Baasha, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke against Baasha by
Jehu the prophet,
:13 for all the sins of Baasha and the sins of Elah his son, by which they
had sinned and by which they had made Israel sin, in provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their
idols.
:14 Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and all that he did, are they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
16:15-20 Zimri in
Israel
:15 In the twenty-seventh year of Asa king of Judah, Zimri had reigned in
Tirzah seven days. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which
belonged to the Philistines.
:15 reigned in
Tirzah seven days
Here’s a Bible Trivia answer – the shortest reign of a King in Israel.
:15 encamped against Gibbethon
Play Tirzah
Gibbethon map clip.
Gibbethon is about 30 miles southwest of Tirzah, the capital of the
northern kingdom.
This was where Baasha had killed Nadab 25 years earlier.
Last week we saw that Jeroboam’s son Nadab was engaged in a battle at
Gibbethon, and it was here that Baasha snuck up behind him, killed him, and
took his place as king. That was 25
years ago.
Apparently Gibbethon had not yet been conquered, and the northern
kingdom wants to control it.
Zimri kills Elah while half of the army is off attacking Gibbethon.
:16 Now the people
who were encamped heard it said, “Zimri has conspired and also has
killed the king.” So all Israel made Omri, the commander of the army, king over
Israel that day in the camp.
:16 Omri
– “pupil of Yahweh” (he doesn’t match his name)
The people apparently didn’t like Zimri. So they decided to take things
into their own hands and make Omri king.
Remember that Zimri was over “half” of the army. Apparently Omri is over
the other “half”.
:17 Then Omri
and all Israel with him went up from Gibbethon, and they besieged Tirzah.
:18 And it happened, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went
into the citadel of the king’s house and burned the king’s house down upon
himself with fire, and died,
:19 because of the sins which he had committed in doing evil in the sight
of the Lord, in walking in the
way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he had committed to make Israel sin.
:20 Now the rest of the acts of Zimri, and the treason he committed, are
they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
:18 burned the
king’s house down
Rather than face whatever humiliation he might receive from Omri, Zimri
chooses to commit suicide by burning the house down on top of himself.
:18 because of the sins
Again, the pronouncement of God’s judgment in allowing Zimri to kill
himself, coming as a result of his own sins.
Notice again the connection to Jeroboam’s sins. Even though he only reigned for a week, he
continued in the sins of Jeroboam – the golden calves.
16:21-28 Omri in
Israel
:21 Then the people of Israel were divided into two parts: half of the
people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king, and half followed
Omri.
:21
Tibni – “intelligent”
A time of civil war will exist in the northern kingdom for four years. It was in the 27th year of king
Asa that Zimri was killed, and it won’t be until the 31st year of
Asa that Omri will be king over the entire northern kingdom.
:22 But the people who followed Omri prevailed over the people who followed
Tibni the son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri reigned.
:23 In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over
Israel, and reigned twelve years. Six years he reigned in Tirzah.
:24 And he bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of
silver; then he built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he
built, Samaria, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill.
:24 Samaria
Shemer =
“guarded” (Samaria is a “guarded” place)
Samaria = “watch mountain”
Play Samaria
map clip
Samaria is 9.5 miles west of Tirzah
With the king’s palace burnt down in Tirzah, Omri decides it is time for a
change, and he establishes Samaria as his new capital.
This will
become the capital of the northern kingdom for the rest of its existence. Just as the United States
is sometimes referred to as “Washington”, the northern kingdom will from time
to time be called “Samaria”.
Archeologists have unearthed evidence that Samaria was built by
skillful craftsmen. The site dominated the north-south trade routes. Samaria
proved to be almost impregnable as a stronghold against alien attacks because
of its elevated position.
:25 Omri did evil
in the eyes of the Lord, and did
worse than all who were before him.
:26 For he walked in all the ways of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his
sin by which he had made Israel sin, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their idols.
:27 Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and the might that he
showed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings
of Israel?
:28 So Omri rested with his fathers and was buried in Samaria. Then Ahab
his son reigned in his place.
:25 did worse
As bad as the
previous kings were (in God’s eyes), Omri was worse. There is one more even worse coming …
Omri is a name found in archaeology, mentioned on the famous “Moabite
Stone”.
Omri was going to be the strongest leader of the Northern kingdom up to
this time. Assyrian records dating from
over a century later refer to Israel as “the land of Omri”. During his reign,
he was able to keep off the threat of attack from the Syrians in Damascus as
well as the slowly building Assyrian empire.
During his reign, he was able to also defeat the Moabites, and the
victory is recorded in the famous archaeological find, the Moabite Stone. Having an alliance with the powerful
Phoenicians through the marriage of his son to the daughter of the Phoenician
king was another impressive political victory.
Yet despite all these things, the Scriptures only record that he was
evil, and he was more evil than all before him.
Lesson
Build things that last
Paul writes,
(1 Co 3:10–15 NKJV) —10 According to the grace of God which was
given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another
builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 11 For no other foundation can anyone lay
than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation
with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for
the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will
test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If
anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a
reward. 15 If anyone’s work is
burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through
fire.
Only the things done in a way to withstand God’s judgment
will ultimately last.
What are you building in your life?
In the end, what matters most to you?
16:29-34 Ahab in
Israel
:29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri
became king over Israel; and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in
Samaria twenty-two years.
:30 Now Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were
before him.
:30 Ahab
– ‘Ach’ab – “father’s brother”
Ahab will be
the worst of the kings of Israel.
:31 And it came
to pass, as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of
Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took as wife Jezebel the daughter of
Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians; and he went and served Baal and worshiped him.
:31 king of the Sidonians
Play Sidon map
clip
Sidon is one of the major cities of the Phoenician empire. Having Ahab
marry the daughter of the Phoenician king ensures peace with the neighbors to
the north.
Sidon is 90 miles north of Samaria.
:32 Then he set up
an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
:33 And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all
the kings of Israel who were before him.
:32 Baal
– Ba’al – “lord”, the supreme deity
of the Phoenicians and Canaanites
The Hebrew noun ba‘al means ‘master’, ‘possessor’ or ‘husband’. Baal
is a weather god
associated with thunderstorms. Baal was
said to appoint the season of rains. Clouds were thought to be part of his
entourage. Lightning was his weapon, and it may have been his invention. The
windows of Baal’s palace were thought to correspond to openings in the clouds
through which rain flowed.
He was also highly immoral, having many lovers like one named Asherah. The
worship of Baal was also just as immoral.
It might be argued that Jeroboam wasn’t really trying to make the people
worship another god, but just put a “face” Yahweh, making him look like a golden
calf. He had twisted or perverted true Judaism.
But Ahab goes way beyond Jeroboam. He now adds the worship of Baal to the
worship of Yahweh.
Even though Jezebel will be very antagonistic against the things of
Yahweh, Ahab doesn’t totally turn his back on the Lord. His sin is not in replacing the worship of
Yahweh, but in adding to it the worship of other gods.
:33 a wooden image
– ‘asherah – the Babylonian/Canaanite
goddess who was one of Baal’s lovers
:31 Jezebel
– ‘Iyzebel – “Baal exalts” or “Baal
is husband to” or “unchaste”
Jeroboam was bad in that he made an
image (a calf) and called it Yahweh.
She is bad news. She will lead the northern kingdom into the worship of
Phoenician/Canaanite gods.
Some people still use the term “Jezebel” to refer to someone who is a false
prophetess, a temptress, or a prostitute.
:34 In his days
Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation with Abiram his firstborn,
and with his youngest son Segub he set up its gates, according to the
word of the Lord, which He had
spoken through Joshua the son of Nun.
:34 Hiel …built
Jericho
When Joshua conquered Jericho, he pronounced a curse on the place (Josh. 6:26)
saying that this is exactly what would take place, the death of sons.
(Jos 6:26 NKJV) Then Joshua charged them
at that time, saying, “Cursed be the man before the Lord who rises up and builds this city
Jericho; he shall lay its foundation with his firstborn, and with his youngest
he shall set up its gates.”
This is exactly what happened to
Hiel as he rebuilt the city.
This ought to have served as a warning for Ahab that God’s Word is true and
he had better pay attention to it.
17:1-7 Elijah at
Cherith
We are now going to have a couple of weeks looking at the life of Elijah
the prophet. God did some amazing things in Elijah’s life, but pay attention to
the road he took in order to get to that place where God would do amazing
things.
Also keep in mind the times that Elijah lived in. He lived in Ahab’s day,
the most wicked of the kings.
:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As
the Lord God of Israel lives,
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my
word.”
:1 Elijah
– “my God is Yahweh”
:1 there shall not
be dew nor rain
Elijah declares that there will be a drought. There will be no rain unless
Elijah says there is going to be rain. There is some divine irony here because Ahab has
been worshipping the god Baal, the god of thunderstorms. God is trying to get
Ahab’s attention.
(Jas 5:17–18 NLT) —17
Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly
that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! 18 Then, when
he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
Lesson
Just like me
God did some amazing things through Elijah.
But before you
dismiss everything we look at and think, “God could never use me like that”,
keep in mind that James is trying to tell you that Elijah was just an ordinary
person, just like you and me.
How did Elijah get to the place where God would do these amazing things?
:2 Then the word
of the Lord came to him, saying,
:2 the word of the Lord
Keep in mind that all that we’re going to read about are things that God is
behind.
The lessons here are not about how WE make things happen, but how GOD makes
things happen.
:3 “Get away from
here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the
Jordan.
:3 Cherith
– “cutting”
Play Cherith
map.
Elijah’s home of Tishbe is on the eastern side of the Jordan. The brook
Cherith flows near there into the Jordan River. It’s a pretty desolate place.
Lesson
Ministry requires cutting
Before Elijah will call down fire from heaven on Mount Carmel, he has to
spend time at Cherith.
He will have to experience a time of “cutting”, of learning to live with
less.
Jesus called it
“pruning”
(Jn 15:1–2 NKJV) —1 “I am the
true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He
takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
If you want to produce “fruit” in your life, you are going
to need to be pruned. There are going to be things that God is going to want to
cut away from your life.
You might wince and say, “No, don’t touch that branch!” But
He knows it needs to go.
The older a vine gets, the more it needs to be pruned.
:4 And it will
be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens
to feed you there.”
:4 I have commanded
the ravens
Ravens were considered an “unclean” animal (Lev. 11:15). They are also an
animal that is so naturally selfish that they will neglect feeding their own
young (Job 38:41), so this will be quite an interesting, supernatural thing.
Lesson
God’s provision
Even though Elijah will spend some time being “pruned”, God will provide
for him.
Even though Elijah will be touched by the drought himself, God will still
take care of him.
Part of the process of becoming “useful” to God is learning to trust in
God’s provision, and to be content with what He provides for you.
(Php 4:11 NKJV) Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever
state I am, to be content:
Sometimes we wonder if we will ever survive the hard times.
If you are in the place God wants you to be, He will provide. He will
command the ravens to feed you if necessary.
(Php 4:19 NKJV) And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in
glory by Christ Jesus.
:5 So he went
and did according to the word of the Lord,
for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
:5 he went and did
Lesson
Obedience
There are great blessings that come in our lives when we learn to simply
obey what the Lord wants us to do.
When God begins
to use you in the lives of others, you will find that before you can expect
others to see the blessings of doing the right things, you need to be obedient.
Elijah is going to live with a widow woman and she’s going to need to trust
that God is going to provide. But before Elijah can go there, Elijah must learn
to obey the word of the Lord himself and learn how God provides.
If you are trying to help people who are struggling with disobedience, you
need to be sure that you are setting the example.
:6 The ravens
brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening;
and he drank from the brook.
Where did the ravens get the bread and the meat? We used to have a
children’s book of Bible stories that suggested that the ravens were part of
God’s air force, and every day they would make a run through the kitchens of
Ahab’s palace (22 miles to the west), snatching up the king’s goodies, and
heading off for Elijah’s hiding place.
:7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had
been no rain in the land.
:7 the brook dried
up
Lesson
Compassion
Elijah doesn’t get a free pass on this drought thing.
He too must experience the drought.
It’s when we have gone through trouble, and are able to find God’s help,
that we have the most to offer to those around us.
(2 Co 1:4 NKJV) who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to
comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves
are comforted by God.
Elijah has a ministry to the nation, but in his ministry, he needs to know
what the people are going through first.
The difficulties that you are going through are not for nothing. As you learn to receive God’s help, you
become more useful to God.
Jesus is a
Great High Priest because He knows what we’re going through.
(Heb 4:15–16 NKJV) —15
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet
without sin. 16 Let us therefore come
boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help
in time of need.
17:8-16 Elijah at
Zarephath
:8 Then the word of the Lord
came to him, saying,
Elijah doesn’t move from Cherith until the Lord tells him to move. He
didn’t say, “Hey, it’s dry out here, it’s time to move on …”
:9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there.
See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
:9 Zarephath
– “refinery”
Play Zarephath
map clip
A city up north near the coast, belonging to the Phoenicians at Sidon.
This isn’t a short journey. Zarephath is 75 miles from Cherith (as the
raven flies).
I find it interesting that Elijah is going to spend time in Jezebel’s
territory.
Lesson
Usefulness requires refining
Sometimes it seems that the tough times never end. Elijah moved from
“cutting” (Cherith) to “refining” (Zarephath).
(1 Pe 1:6–7 NKJV) —6 In this
you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been
grieved by various trials, 7 that the
genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that
perishes, though it is tested
by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of
Jesus Christ,
God refines our faith, our trust in Him, like a goldsmith refines gold. He
does it by allowing us to go through the fire, the tough times.
It’s
my understanding that a goldsmith will heat the gold ore until it’s in a
molten state. As he keeps the heat on, the impurities all come to the surface. The
goldsmith will keep skimming off the impurities until the gold is pure. He
knows it’s pure when He can see His own reflection in the gold.
Illustration
Going through God’s “refining” is a lot
like signing up to be a “lab rat” or a “lab lawyer”.
Am I open to God “testing” and purifying
me?
Elijah was definitely a man of faith,
yet God would need to continue to refine Elijah’s ability to trust in God. Even after Elijah’s great victory on Mount
Carmel (1Ki. 18), we can see that Elijah’s faith still needed quite a bit of
refining.
Charles Spurgeon said:
“I bear willing witness that I owe more to the fire, and the hammer, and the
file, than to anything else in my Lord's workshop. I sometimes question whether
I have ever learned anything except through the rod. When my schoolroom is
darkened, I see most.”
:10 So he arose
and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow
was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring
me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.”
:11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said,
“Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
:12 So she said, “As the Lord
your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a
little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I
may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
This woman is at the end of her resources. All she has left is a little
flour and a little oil and after she and her son eat that, they plan to die.
The woman was willing to go get Elijah a drink of water, but she was a bit
reluctant to give him her last bit of food.
:13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have
said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and
afterward make some for yourself and your son.
At first, Elijah sounds kind of selfish to me. But this is really just a
test for the widow woman. Will she put God’s priorities first?
Note: If you think you are an “Elijah”, be careful that you don’t think you
have the authority to order people around. Elijah is clearly being led by God,
and that’s what makes this “selfish” request okay.
:14 For thus says the Lord
God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil
run dry, until the day the Lord
sends rain on the earth.’ ”
:15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and
he and her household ate for many days.
:16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry,
according to the word of the Lord
which He spoke by Elijah.
:16 nor did the jar
of oil run dry
Lesson
Putting God first
When we put Him first, our needs are met.
Jesus said,
(Mt 6:33 NKJV) But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all
these things shall be added to you.
Sometimes, if we want to see the works of God being done, we have to
learn to give up the things we might be clinging to. We need to be willing to
let go of the things we think are absolutely necessary for our
existence.
When Jesus fed
the five thousand (John 6), He started by asking the disciples to feed the
multitude. All they could find was a little boy with a few loaves of bread and
a couple of fish.
That boy was the only one who had brought his lunch, yet he gave up his
lunch so Jesus could use it.
In the end, even that little boy was fed.
Jesus feeding the five thousand –
(Jn 6:5–14 NKJV) —5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes,
and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip, “Where shall
we buy bread, that these may eat?” 6 But this He said to
test him, for He Himself knew what He would do. 7 Philip
answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them,
that every one of them may have a little.” 8 One
of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to Him, 9 “There is a lad here who has five
barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”
The little boy had to give up his lunch for Jesus to feed
the five thousand.
10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit
down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number
about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the
loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the
disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish,
as much as they wanted. 12 So when they were
filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the fragments that remain, so that
nothing is lost.” 13 Therefore they
gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the
five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the
sign that Jesus did, said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the
world.”
Yet after having given up his own lunch, the little boy
was one of the five thousand that were fed that day.
I’ve heard people
make all kinds of bargains with God. I’ve heard others say that if God gets
them a job, that they’ll serve Him. I’ve heard people say that if God heals
them, they’ll serve Him. I’ve heard people say that as long as God puts their
marriage back together, they’ll serve Him.
Put away your preconditions. Just serve Him. Then see what God will do.
17:17-24 Elijah and
resurrection
:17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who
owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no
breath left in him.
:18 So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have
you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”
The woman is thinking: After all she has done for Elijah, this is her
reward, her son dying? When you serve the Lord, you are not exempt from going
through difficult, horrible times.
:19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms
and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own
bed.
:20 Then he cried out to the Lord
and said, “O Lord my God, have
You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?”
It seems that Elijah has trouble with the boy’s death as well. It doesn’t
seem fair to him either.
:21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to
the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s
soul come back to him.”
At this time in the Bible, no one has ever been raised from the dead. It
seems that Elijah has the intention of raising this child from the dead, but it
doesn’t happen the first time or the second time. He has to repeat this three
times.
:22 Then the Lord heard the
voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.
:23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into
the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”
:23 your son lives
Lesson
Raising the dead
We serve a God who has conquered death.
The things that we see as impossible are not impossible to God.
Joel Kramer is
a film maker living in Israel. He makes excellent videos (many we have seen)
giving people a window into the Bible.
The other day he was at the place known in tradition
as the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus’ friend that was raised from the dead (John 11). As
he was getting his camera ready, trying to think about the shot he was going to
take, something interesting happened.
We
live in a world filled with death. Unless Jesus comes back first, every single
one of us will die.
But we serve a God who has conquered death. In Him we have
hope.
Some of the people God wants to use us with are people we’ve given up on. They
are people we consider hopeless. But God hasn’t given up on them.
I think God wants to use people who are willing to live in Cherith and
Zarephath.
:24 Then the woman
said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and
that the word of the Lord in your
mouth is the truth.”
:24 by this I know
Lesson
Actions and words
Are we people who just talk a lot, or are we people who have actions that
match our mouth?
Living a life that sets an example requires learning the lessons at Cherith
and Zarephath – cutting and refining.
Being men and women who have done the hard work, who have not run from
difficulty, qualifies us to speak life into people’s lives.