We continue this week with more of the history of the divided kingdoms of Judah and Israel. Some of these stories may be familiar, and there aren’t too many kings to keep track of this week. Putting all their stories in order, well, that was a bit trickier. Here goes:
First we find the stories about Elijah that I grew up hearing in Sunday School. They include the tale of the widow with the never-ending flour and oil bowls; the same widow’s son dying and Elisha bringing him back to life; the grand showdown between Elisha and the prophet of Ba’al (a fabulous story which deserves much more time than I have to give it in this blog); the time when Elisha was hiding from Ahab and Jezebel and the Lord was not in the wind or the earthquake or the fire but in the still small voice; finally there is the calling of Elisha. If you have trouble remembering which prophet comes first, remember that Elijah and Elisha appear in alphabetical order in the Bible.
Next we have the first of many wars between Ahab and the Arameans. Ahab wins the first rout because the Arameans are all drunk. In the second year of battle, Ahab is supposed to destroy Ben-hadad, but he doesn’t, so he is warned that he is going to lose the kingdom.
The next year Ahab joins forces with Jehoshaphat when he goes to war against Aram. God is displeased with Ahab, so He puts false messages in the mouths of his prophets to deceive Ahab, who is destined to die in battle. Though Ahab goes to battle in disguise, he is still killed. There is no escaping the will of God, especially when He declares, “You are going to die.” Joram, son of Ahab, became king of Israel, and follows the ways of his father.
Jehoshaphat cleans up Judah further, removing more Asherah poles and setting up judges in each city. Then we read another of my favorite stories. I know, I say that a lot. But whenever music is directly involved in the outcome of a battle, it’s a great story. The enemy is marching toward Judah, and Jehoshaphat and the whole nation pray for God’s diretion. God answers: “The battle is not yours but God’s...You need not fight this battle...stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf.” The Israelites march out and sing, and all the invaders begin to kill each other instead of invading Judah. All Judah had to do was sing. LOVE it! When Jehoshaphat dies, his son Jehoram becomes king. Unfortunately, he is not a good king--he kicks off his reign by killing all his brothers.
For a few chapters we can take a breather and see what the prophets have been up to: Elijah is taken up in a chariot of fire in one of the coolest exits in the whole Bible. He is one of the few (the others are Enoch and possibly Melchizedek) who simply did not die, but are gathered up to God. Before this, though, he strikes the Jordan with his cloak, it parts for him, and he and Elisha cross over. His cloak falls down to Elisha, who strikes the Jordan with it, the river parts for him, and he crosses back over to begin his own ministry.
Elisha visits a widow and performs the miracle of the never-ending oil, which helps the widow get out of debt. Notice that God provides a practical solution to her problem--money does not fall from the sky, but God provides a job and resources. Then Elisha stays for a time with a Shunamite woman and her husband. They show him a great kindness in housing him, and they are rewarded with a child--twice. The child is born when they were beyond hope, and when the child dies several years later, Elisha brings him back to life through the power of God. Elisha is empowered to work many more miracles--poisoned stew is made safe, water and land around Jericho is made clean and pure, Naaman is healed of leprosy, an axe head floats, and Elisha and his friends are surrounded by heavenly chariots of fire.
There is still more war, however. Despite Elisha’s mercy, and the face that he prevents the king of Israel from killing Aramean prisoners just three verses ago, the Arameans lay siege to the city of Samaria. There is no food and no hope; eventually the king of Israel calls for Elisha’s head on a platter. When the Arameans attack the next time, they hear the invisible chariots of fire that are surrounding the city and turn and flee. The famine is ended and Israel plunders the deserted Aramean camp.
War and rebellion breaks out against Judah and Jehoram dies; his son Ahaziah becomes king. Ahaziah, unfortunately, does evil in the sight of the Lord, influenced by his in-laws--he had intermarried with the house of Ahab (which had probably not been a very good idea).
Meanwhile, Jehu is secretly anointed king of Israel. Jehu kills Joram king of Israel, and Ahaziah king of Judah. Jezebel is also killed, along with all of Ahab’s sons and 42 sons of Ahaziah. Jehu called all the worshipers of Ba’al together, kills them all and makes the temple of Ba’al into a toilet. Sadly, he leaves the golden calves in place.
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