Thursday, July 5, 2012 - Read One Year Bible - June 26

7:45 am Prayer

11:00 am Devotion.. all day (off and on)

1:00 pm - P90x Legs and Back

6:45 pm - Finish reading

June 26 - OT only - 2 Kings 9:14-10:31

*** MY SUMMARY ***

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Summary 2 Kings 8

·         The Woman from Shunem Returns Home

·         Hazael Murders Ben-Hadad

·         Jehoram Rules in Judah

·         Ahaziah Rules in Judah

Summary 2 Kings 9

Jehu (son of Jehosphat /Grandson of Nimshi) kills both King of Israel – Joram and King of Judah – King Ahaziah

Jehu has King Joram’s mother (the queen) thrown out the window

Her blood splattered on the wall and horses and Jehu trampled her body under the horses’ hooves

This fulfils the message from the Lord which he spoke through Elijah from Tishbe: ‘At the plot of land in Jezreel, dogs will eat Jezebel’s flesh’.

 2 Kings 9:37 NLT “Her body will be scattered like dung on the field of Jezreel, so that no one will be able to recognize her”.

 

RECAP OF THE KINGS:

Israel split into two Kingdoms : Israel vs Judah

Edom	Moab	ISRAEL	JUDAH	Aram
		JEROBOAM	REHOBOAM
		JEROBOAM (18TH YEAR AS KING)	ABIJAM
		JEROBOAM (20th year as king)	ASA – did was was right beforeGod (1 King 15:8)
		NADAB	ASA (2nd Year as King)
		BAASHA	ASA (3RD YEAR AS KING)
		ELAH	ASA (26TH YEAR)
		ZIMRI	ASA (27th year)
		OMRI	ASA (31ST YEAR)
		AHAB (ruled over Israel 22 yrs)	ASA (38th YEAR)	**King Ben-hadad of Aram
		Ahab (1 King 15) – 4th yr	King Jehoshaphat (1 King 15:24; when Asa died)	King Benhadad of Aram
		God told Elijah to anoint Jehu (grandson of Nimshi) to be king of Israel (1 King 19)	King Jehoshaphat  (of Judah)	God told Elijah to anoint Hazel to be king of Aram (1 King 19)
		Ahaziah (Ahab’s son) Kings 22:40 – Ahab died	Jehoshaphat –(17th year)	King Benhadad of Aram
	King of Mesha of Moab rebelled against King of Israel	Joram (Ahaziah’sbrother) –Ahaziah died 2 King 1:17 -  Kings 1 [2 Kings 3 (Joram* reign in Samaria 12 yrs, he was evil in God’s sight)]	Jehoshaphat – (18th year)	King Benhadad of Aram (2  King 6) Besieges Samaria
			Jehoram (1 King 22) (2nd year)
		King Joram (12th year) in Israel Note: Jehu son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi formed a conspiracy against King Joram	2 Kings 8 (Ahaziah son of Jehoram) rule over Judah	King Hazel (of Aram)
		Jehu kills King Joram(2 Kings 9)	Jehu kills King Jehoram(2 Kings 9)

2 Kings 9:14-10:31

New Living Translation (NLT)

Jehu Kills Joram and Ahaziah

¹⁴ So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi, led a conspiracy against King Joram. (Now Joram had been with the army at Ramoth-gilead, defending Israel against the forces of King Hazael of Aram. ¹⁵ But King Joram^[a] was wounded in the fighting and returned to Jezreel to recover from his wounds.) So Jehu told the men with him, “If you want me to be king, don’t let anyone leave town and go to Jezreel to report what we have done.”

¹⁶ Then Jehu got into a chariot and rode to Jezreel to find King Joram, who was lying there wounded. King Ahaziah of Judah was there, too, for he had gone to visit him. ¹⁷ The watchman on the tower of Jezreel saw Jehu and his company approaching, so he shouted to Joram, “I see a company of troops coming!”
“Send out a rider to ask if they are coming in peace,” King Joram ordered.
¹⁸ So a horseman went out to meet Jehu and said, “The king wants to know if you are coming in peace.”
Jehu replied, “What do you know about peace? Fall in behind me!”
The watchman called out to the king, “The messenger has met them, but he’s not returning.”
¹⁹ So the king sent out a second horseman. He rode up to them and said, “The king wants to know if you come in peace.”
Again Jehu answered, “What do you know about peace? Fall in behind me!”
²⁰ The watchman exclaimed, “The messenger has met them, but he isn’t returning either! It must be Jehu son of Nimshi, for he’s driving like a madman.”
²¹ “Quick! Get my chariot ready!” King Joram commanded.
Then King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah rode out in their chariots to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of land that had belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. ²² King Joram demanded, “Do you come in peace, Jehu?”
Jehu replied, “How can there be peace as long as the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother, Jezebel, are all around us?”
²³ Then King Joram turned the horses around^[b] and fled, shouting to King Ahaziah, “Treason, Ahaziah!” ²⁴ But Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart, and he sank down dead in his chariot.
²⁵ Jehu said to Bidkar, his officer, “Throw him into the plot of land that belonged to Naboth of Jezreel. Do you remember when you and I were riding along behind his father, Ahab? The Lord pronounced this message against him: ²⁶ ‘I solemnly swear that I will repay him here on this plot of land, says the Lord, for the murder of Naboth and his sons that I saw yesterday.’ So throw him out on Naboth’s property, just as the Lord said.”
²⁷ When King Ahaziah of Judah saw what was happening, he fled along the road to Beth-haggan. Jehu rode after him, shouting, “Shoot him, too!” So they shot Ahaziah in his chariot at the Ascent of Gur, near Ibleam. He was able to go on as far as Megiddo, but he died there. ²⁸ His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem, where they buried him with his ancestors in the City of David. ²⁹ Ahaziah had become king over Judah in the eleventh year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab.

The Death of Jezebel

³⁰ When Jezebel, the queen mother, heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window. ³¹ When Jehu entered the gate of the palace, she shouted at him, “Have you come in peace, you murderer? You’re just like Zimri, who murdered his master!”^[c]

³² Jehu looked up and saw her at the window and shouted, “Who is on my side?” And two or three eunuchs looked out at him. ³³ “Throw her down!” Jehu yelled. So they threw her out the window, and her blood spattered against the wall and on the horses. And Jehu trampled her body under his horses’ hooves.
³⁴ Then Jehu went into the palace and ate and drank. Afterward he said, “Someone go and bury this cursed woman, for she is the daughter of a king.” ³⁵ But when they went out to bury her, they found only her skull, her feet, and her hands.
³⁶ When they returned and told Jehu, he stated, “This fulfills the message from the Lord, which he spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe: ‘At the plot of land in Jezreel, dogs will eat Jezebel’s body. ³⁷ Her remains will be scattered like dung on the plot of land in Jezreel, so that no one will be able to recognize her.’”

Jehu Kills Ahab’s Family

10 Ahab had seventy sons living in the city of Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the elders and officials of the city,^[d] and to the guardians of King Ahab’s sons. He said, ² “The king’s sons are with you, and you have at your disposal chariots, horses, a fortified city, and weapons. As soon as you receive this letter, ³ select the best qualified of your master’s sons to be your king, and prepare to fight for Ahab’s dynasty.”

⁴ But they were paralyzed with fear and said, “We’ve seen that two kings couldn’t stand against this man! What can we do?”
⁵ So the palace and city administrators, together with the elders and the guardians of the king’s sons, sent this message to Jehu: “We are your servants and will do anything you tell us. We will not make anyone king; do whatever you think is best.”
⁶ Jehu responded with a second letter: “If you are on my side and are going to obey me, bring the heads of your master’s sons to me at Jezreel by this time tomorrow.” Now the seventy sons of the king were being cared for by the leaders of Samaria, where they had been raised since childhood. ⁷ When the letter arrived, the leaders killed all seventy of the king’s sons. They placed their heads in baskets and presented them to Jehu at Jezreel.
⁸ A messenger went to Jehu and said, “They have brought the heads of the king’s sons.”
So Jehu ordered, “Pile them in two heaps at the entrance of the city gate, and leave them there until morning.”
⁹ In the morning he went out and spoke to the crowd that had gathered around them. “You are not to blame,” he told them. “I am the one who conspired against my master and killed him. But who killed all these? ¹⁰ You can be sure that the message of the Lord that was spoken concerning Ahab’s family will not fail. The Lord declared through his servant Elijah that this would happen.” ¹¹ Then Jehu killed all who were left of Ahab’s relatives living in Jezreel and all his important officials, his personal friends, and his priests. So Ahab was left without a single survivor.
¹² Then Jehu set out for Samaria. Along the way, while he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, ¹³ he met some relatives of King Ahaziah of Judah. “Who are you?” he asked them.
And they replied, “We are relatives of King Ahaziah. We are going to visit the sons of King Ahab and the sons of the queen mother.”
¹⁴ “Take them alive!” Jehu shouted to his men. And they captured all forty-two of them and killed them at the well of Beth-eked. None of them escaped.
¹⁵ When Jehu left there, he met Jehonadab son of Recab, who was coming to meet him. After they had greeted each other, Jehu said to him, “Are you as loyal to me as I am to you?”
“Yes, I am,” Jehonadab replied.
“If you are,” Jehu said, “then give me your hand.” So Jehonadab put out his hand, and Jehu helped him into the chariot. ¹⁶ Then Jehu said, “Now come with me, and see how devoted I am to the Lord.” So Jehonadab rode along with him.
¹⁷ When Jehu arrived in Samaria, he killed everyone who was left there from Ahab’s family, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.

Jehu Kills the Priests of Baal

¹⁸ Then Jehu called a meeting of all the people of the city and said to them, “Ahab’s worship of Baal was nothing compared to the way I will worship him! ¹⁹ Therefore, summon all the prophets and worshipers of Baal, and call together all his priests. See to it that every one of them comes, for I am going to offer a great sacrifice to Baal. Anyone who fails to come will be put to death.” But Jehu’s cunning plan was to destroy all the worshipers of Baal.

²⁰ Then Jehu ordered, “Prepare a solemn assembly to worship Baal!” So they did. ²¹ He sent messengers throughout all Israel summoning those who worshiped Baal. They all came—not a single one remained behind—and they filled the temple of Baal from one end to the other. ²² And Jehu instructed the keeper of the wardrobe, “Be sure that every worshiper of Baal wears one of these robes.” So robes were given to them.
²³ Then Jehu went into the temple of Baal with Jehonadab son of Recab. Jehu said to the worshipers of Baal, “Make sure no one who worships the Lord is here—only those who worship Baal.” ²⁴ So they were all inside the temple to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty of his men outside the building and had warned them, “If you let anyone escape, you will pay for it with your own life.”
²⁵ As soon as Jehu had finished sacrificing the burnt offering, he commanded his guards and officers, “Go in and kill all of them. Don’t let a single one escape!” So they killed them all with their swords, and the guards and officers dragged their bodies outside.^[e] Then Jehu’s men went into the innermost fortress^[f] of the temple of Baal. ²⁶ They dragged out the sacred pillar^[g] used in the worship of Baal and burned it. ²⁷ They smashed the sacred pillar and wrecked the temple of Baal, converting it into a public toilet, as it remains to this day.
²⁸ In this way, Jehu destroyed every trace of Baal worship from Israel. ²⁹ He did not, however, destroy the gold calves at Bethel and Dan, with which Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to sin.
³⁰ Nonetheless the Lord said to Jehu, “You have done well in following my instructions to destroy the family of Ahab. Therefore, your descendants will be kings of Israel down to the fourth generation.” ³¹ But Jehu did not obey the Law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He refused to turn from the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Kings 9:15 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant spelling of Joram; also in 9:17, 21, 22, 23, 24.
2. 2 Kings 9:23 Hebrew turned his hands.
3. 2 Kings 9:31 See 1 Kgs 16:9-10, where Zimri killed his master, King Elah.
4. 2 Kings 10:1 As in some Greek manuscripts and Latin Vulgate (see also 10:6); Hebrew reads of Jezreel.
5. 2 Kings 10:25 Or they left their bodies lying there; or they threw them out into the outermost court.
6. 2 Kings 10:25 Hebrew city.
7. 2 Kings 10:26 As in Greek and Syriac versions and Latin Vulgate; Hebrew reads sacred pillars.

Recap of the Kings in I & II Kings - Chart - July 4, 2012

1 KINGS 20

RECAP OF THE KINGS:

Israel split into two Kingdoms : Israel vs Judah

Edom	Moab	ISRAEL	JUDAH	Aram
		JEROBOAM	REHOBOAM
		JEROBOAM (18TH YEAR AS KING)	ABIJAM
		JEROBOAM (20th year as king)	ASA – did was was right beforeGod (1 King 15:8)
		NADAB	ASA (2nd Year as King)
		BAASHA	ASA (3RD YEAR AS KING)
		ELAH	ASA (26TH YEAR)
		ZIMRI	ASA (27th year)
		OMRI	ASA (31ST YEAR)
		AHAB (ruled over Israel 22 yrs)	ASA (38th YEAR)	**King Ben-hadad of Aram
		Ahab (1 King 15) – 4th yr	King Jehoshaphat (1 King 15:24; when Asa died)	King Benhadad of Aram
		God told Elijah to anoint Jehu (grandson of Nimshi) to be king of Israel (1 King 19)	King Jehoshaphat  (of Judah)	God told Elijah to anoint Hazel to be king of Aram (1 King 19)
		Ahaziah (Ahab’s son) Kings 22:40 – Ahab died	Jehoshaphat –(17th year)	King Benhadad of Aram
	King of Mesha of Moab rebelled against King of Israel	Joram (Ahaziah’sbrother) –Ahaziah died 2 King 1:17 -  Kings 1 [2 Kings 3 (Joram* reign in Samaria 12 yrs, he was evil in God’s sight)]	Jehoshaphat – (18th year)	King Benhadad of Aram (2  King 6) Besieges Samaria
			Jehoram (1 King 22) (2nd year)
		King Joram (12th year) in Israel Note: Jehu son of Jehoshaphat and grandson of Nimshi formed a conspiracy against King Joram	2 Kings 8 (Ahaziah son of Jehoram) rule over Judah	King Hazel (of Aram)

Wednesday, July 4 2012 - One Year Bible Review

6:45 am Prayer
7:00 a.m. Jog/Run w/ BGR
8:00 am Devotion

Review of 1 Kings 22

1 Kings 22

Kings of Israel, Judah, Edom – consulted with Elisha about going up against King of Moab
Elisha would rather not be bother with this 3 kings but he did of our his respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah.

·         Jehosphat(Judah) and Ahab (Israel) – team up against Ramoth-Gilead

·         Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab

·         The Death of Ahab

·         Jehosphaphat rules in Judah

·         Ahaziah Rules in Isarel

1 Kings 22

New International Version (NIV)

Micaiah Prophesies Against Ahab

22 For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. ² But in the third year Jehoshaphat king of Judah went down to see the king of Israel. ³ The king of Israel had said to his officials, “Don’t you know that Ramoth Gilead belongs to us and yet we are doing nothing to retake it from the king of Aram?”

⁴ So he asked Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?”
Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” ⁵ But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”
⁶ So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, “Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?”
“Go,” they answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
⁷ But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?”
⁸ The king of Israel answered Jehoshaphat, “There is still one prophet through whom we can inquire of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, but always bad. He is Micaiah son of Imlah.”
“The king should not say such a thing,” Jehoshaphat replied.
⁹ So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Bring Micaiah son of Imlah at once.”
¹⁰ Dressed in their royal robes, the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah were sitting on their thrones at the threshing floor by the entrance of the gate of Samaria, with all the prophets prophesying before them. ¹¹ Now Zedekiah son of Kenaanah had made iron horns and he declared, “This is what the Lord says: ‘With these you will gore the Arameans until they are destroyed.’”
¹² All the other prophets were prophesying the same thing. “Attack Ramoth Gilead and be victorious,” they said, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
¹³ The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”
¹⁴ But Micaiah said, “As surely as the Lord lives, I can tell him only what the Lord tells me.”
¹⁵ When he arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or not?”
“Attack and be victorious,” he answered, “for the Lord will give it into the king’s hand.”
¹⁶ The king said to him, “How many times must I make you swear to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?”
¹⁷ Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’”
¹⁸ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?”
¹⁹ Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. ²⁰ And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’
“One suggested this, and another that. ²¹ Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will entice him.’
²² “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked.
“‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said.
“‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’
²³ “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
²⁴ Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah went up and slapped Micaiah in the face. “Which way did the spirit from^[a] the Lord go when he went from me to speak to you?” he asked.
²⁵ Micaiah replied, “You will find out on the day you go to hide in an inner room.”
²⁶ The king of Israel then ordered, “Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon the ruler of the city and to Joash the king’s son ²⁷ and say, ‘This is what the king says: Put this fellow in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.’”
²⁸ Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!”

Ahab Killed at Ramoth Gilead

²⁹ So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah went up to Ramoth Gilead. ³⁰ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “I will enter the battle in disguise, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself and went into battle.
³¹ Now the king of Aram had ordered his thirty-two chariot commanders, “Do not fight with anyone, small or great, except the king of Israel.” ³² When the chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat, they thought, “Surely this is the king of Israel.” So they turned to attack him, but when Jehoshaphat cried out, ³³ the chariot commanders saw that he was not the king of Israel and stopped pursuing him.
³⁴ But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” ³⁵ All day long the battle raged, and the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran onto the floor of the chariot, and that evening he died. ³⁶ As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army: “Every man to his town. Every man to his land!”
³⁷ So the king died and was brought to Samaria, and they buried him there. ³⁸ They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria (where the prostitutes bathed),^[b] and the dogs licked up his blood, as the word of the Lord had declared.
³⁹ As for the other events of Ahab’s reign, including all he did, the palace he built and adorned with ivory, and the cities he fortified, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ⁴⁰ Ahab rested with his ancestors. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.

Jehoshaphat King of Judah

⁴¹ Jehoshaphat son of Asa became king of Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. ⁴² Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother’s name was Azubah daughter of Shilhi. ⁴³ In everything he followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. The high places, however, were not removed, and the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense there.^{[c] 44} Jehoshaphat was also at peace with the king of Israel.
⁴⁵ As for the other events of Jehoshaphat’s reign, the things he achieved and his military exploits, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? ⁴⁶ He rid the land of the rest of the male shrine prostitutes who remained there even after the reign of his father Asa. ⁴⁷ There was then no king in Edom; a provincial governor ruled.
⁴⁸ Now Jehoshaphat built a fleet of trading ships^[d] to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail—they were wrecked at Ezion Geber. ⁴⁹ At that time Ahaziah son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my men sail with yours,” but Jehoshaphat refused.
⁵⁰ Then Jehoshaphat rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the city of David his father. And Jehoram his son succeeded him as king.

Ahaziah King of Israel

⁵¹ Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. ⁵² He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he followed the ways of his father and mother and of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. ⁵³ He served and worshiped Baal and aroused the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had done.

Monday, July 2, 2012 - Review 2 Kings 5 and notes from One Year Bible

4:45 am Prayer
5:15 am Devotion

5:45 am P90x - New Phase III

2 Kings 5

New Living Translation (NLT)

The Healing of Naaman

5 The king of Aram had great admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the Lord had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.^[a]

² At this time Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid. ³ One day the girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy.”
⁴ So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said. ⁵ “Go and visit the prophet,” the king of Aram told him. “I will send a letter of introduction for you to take to the king of Israel.” So Naaman started out, carrying as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold,^[b] and ten sets of clothing. ⁶ The letter to the king of Israel said: “With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy.”
⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, “This man sends me a leper to heal! Am I God, that I can give life and take it away? I can see that he’s just trying to pick a fight with me.”
⁸ But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him: “Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel.”
⁹ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”
¹¹ But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the Lord his God and heal me! ¹² Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage.
¹³ But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir,^[c] if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” ¹⁴ So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child’s, and he was healed!
¹⁵ Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.”
¹⁶ But Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept any gifts.” And though Naaman urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused.
¹⁷ Then Naaman said, “All right, but please allow me to load two of my mules with earth from this place, and I will take it back home with me. From now on I will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to any other god except the Lord. ¹⁸ However, may the Lord pardon me in this one thing: When my master the king goes into the temple of the god Rimmon to worship there and leans on my arm, may the Lord pardon me when I bow, too.”
¹⁹ “Go in peace,” Elisha said. So Naaman started home again.

The Greed of Gehazi

²⁰ But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, the man of God, said to himself, “My master should not have let this Aramean get away without accepting any of his gifts. As surely as the Lord lives, I will chase after him and get something from him.” ²¹ So Gehazi set off after Naaman.

When Naaman saw Gehazi running after him, he climbed down from his chariot and went to meet him. “Is everything all right?” Naaman asked.
²² “Yes,” Gehazi said, “but my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hill country of Ephraim have just arrived. He would like 75 pounds^[d] of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them.”
²³ “By all means, take twice as much^[e] silver,” Naaman insisted. He gave him two sets of clothing, tied up the money in two bags, and sent two of his servants to carry the gifts for Gehazi. ²⁴ But when they arrived at the citadel,^[f] Gehazi took the gifts from the servants and sent the men back. Then he went and hid the gifts inside the house.
²⁵ When he went in to his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”
“I haven’t been anywhere,” he replied.
²⁶ But Elisha asked him, “Don’t you realize that I was there in spirit when Naaman stepped down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to receive money and clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, and male and female servants? ²⁷ Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer from Naaman’s leprosy forever.” When Gehazi left the room, he was covered with leprosy; his skin was white as snow

***** REVIEW OF PREVIOUS NOTES *****

2 Kings 6:1-7:20;Acts 15:36-16:15; Psalm 142:1-7; Proverbs 17:24-25J

JUNE 24 READING


2 Kings 3-4:17 - June 22
Moab Revolts

·         Joram (son of Ahab)  became King of Israel in Samaria (18th year of Jehoshaphat King of Judah) and was king 12 years
·         Joram was evil in the eyes of God
·         Joram did get rid of sacred stone of Baal that his father and mother made
·         After Ahad died, King of Moab rebelled again the king of Israel.
·         King Joram (Israel) with Jehosphat (King of Judah) and mobilized an army and defeated Moab
·         Elisha gave good advice to a Widow regarding selling oil to pay her debt
·         The Shuanmmite’s Son restored to life
v  A well to do woman and her husband took care of Elisha whenever he stopped by, even built him a room on the roof top..
v  Elisha wanted to do something nice but she had everything, except a son
v  Elisha prophesied that she would have a son, and she did!