2 Kings 5:1 Leprosy

 “Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.”

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭5‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man: Naaman was the chief military commander of a persistent enemy to both Israel and Judah. As recently as the days of Ahab and Jehoshaphat, Syria had fought and won against Israel (1 Kings 22:35-36). His position and success made him a great and honorable man, and personally he was a mighty man of valor.

i. This same title was applied to Gideon (Judges 6:12), Jephthah (Judges 11:1), David (1 Samuel 16:18), Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:28), and Eliada (2 Chronicles 17:17). It seems that this is the only specific Gentile mentioned as a mighty man of valor.

ii. According to Jewish legends, “The Rabbins tell us that it was he [Naaman] who shot the arrow wherewith Ahab was slain.” (Trapp)

b. But a leper: Naaman had a lot going for him, but what he had against him was devastating. He was a leper, which meant that he had a horrible, incurable disease that would slowly result in his death. No matter how good and successful everything else was in Naaman’s life, he was a leper.

i. “Here was a heavy tax upon his grandeur; he was afflicted with a disorder the most loathsome and the most humiliating that could possibly disgrace a human being.” (Clarke)

ii. Ancient leprosy began as small, red spots on the skin. Before too long the spots got bigger, and started to turn white, with sort of a shiny, or scaly appearance. Pretty soon the spots spread over the whole body and hair began to fall out – first from the head, then even from the eyebrows. As things got worse, fingernails and toenails become loose; they start to rot and eventually fell off. Then the joints of fingers and toes began to rot and fall off piece by piece. Gums began to shrink and they couldn’t hold the teeth anymore, so each of them was lost. Leprosy kept eating away at the face until literally the nose, the palate, and even the eyes rotted – and the victim wasted away until death. (Guzik)

Leprosy 

Leprosy can be compared to sin as leprosy starts out with small red spots before too long rots the whole body until death. Likewise sin starts out small and eventually ravages the whole body rotting the soul bringing the second death! But there is hope in Jesus Christ!

“that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” ‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭15‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Life is short and tomorrow is uncertain! Have you put your faith in Jesus Christ?

Blessings 

2 Kings 4:42-44 Our Weakness!

“Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in his knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.” But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?” He said again, “Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus says the Lord: ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’ ” So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.” II Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭42‬-‭44‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread: “These had been brought to Elisha as firstfruits (verse 42). Normally these portions were reserved for God (Leviticus 23:20) and the Levitical priests (Numbers 18:13; Deuteronomy 18:4-5). Because the religion in the Northern Kingdom was apostate, the loaves had been brought by their owner to the one whom he considered to be the true repository of godly religion in Israel.” (Patterson and Austel)

b. Give it to the people, that they may eat: In a miracle that anticipated Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5,000, Elisha commanded that a small amount of bread be served to 100 men.

i. “This is something like our Lord’s feeding the multitude miraculously. Indeed, there are many things in this chapter similar to facts in our Lord’s history; and this prophet might be more aptly considered a type of our Lord, than most of the other persons in the Scripture who have been thus honored.” (Clarke)

c. For thus says the LORD: “They shall eat and have some left over”: God promised not only to provide, but to provide beyond the immediate need. Elisha trusted the promise of God, acted upon it, and saw the promise miraculously fulfilled. (Guzik)

i. “What can these few cakes do towards feeding a hundred men? They forget that God can multiply them. Ye limit the Holy One of Israel. Do you think he needs our numbers? Do you think he is dependent upon human strength? I tell you, our weakness is a better weapon for God than our strength.” (Spurgeon)

Our Weakness!

“I tell you, our weakness is a better weapon for God than our strength.” (Spurgeon)

“For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty;” I Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Why does God choose to weak? For the same reason he chose David to take down a Giant, so people will see God was with him!

So if God chooses you in your weakness and your excuse is I can’t do that, remember He will strengthen you so you can bring glory to His kingdom!

Blessings 

2 Kings 4:38-41 Child of God!

“And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.” So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.” ‭‭

II Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭38‬-‭41‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. There was a famine in the land: “The famine mentioned in verse 38 may be the seven-year famine alluded to in 2 Kings 8:1-3.” (Dilday)

b. Man of God, there is death in the pot: Elisha felt a special responsibility to help in this situation because he told the men to gather ingredients for the stew, and they gathered the wild vine that poisoned the pot.

i. “The gourds were probably colocynth. Popularly called ‘wild cucumber,’ the vine still grows near the Dead Sea. When the gourds are cut open the pulp dries rapidly and forms a powder, which in that part of the world is still used as a cathartic medicine. It has a very bitter taste. If eaten in enough quantity, it induces colic and can be fatal.” (Dilday)

ii. “You have been trying to find pleasure in the world, and you have found wild vines… you have gathered wild gourds, a lap full, almost a heart full. You have been shredding death into the pot, and now you cannot feel as you used to feel, the poison is stupefying your soul. While we were singing just now, you said, ‘I want to sing as saints do, but there is no praise in me’… If you are a worldling, and not God’s child, you can live on that which would poison a Christian, but if you are a child of God, you will cry out, ‘O thou man of God, there is death in the pot!’” (Spurgeon)

c. And there was nothing harmful in the pot: There was nothing inherently purifying in the flour Elisha put in the pot. The real purification was a miraculous work of God.

i. “There is death in the pot; how is the Church to meet it? I believe it is to imitate Elisha. We need not attempt to get the wild gourds out of the pot; they are cut too small, and are too cunningly mixed up; they have entered too closely into the whole mass of teaching to be removed. Who shall extract the leaven from the leavened loaf? What then? We must look to God for help, and use the means indicated here. ‘Bring meal.’ Good wholesome food was cast into the poisonous stuff, and by God’s gracious working it killed the poison; and the Church must cast the blessed gospel of the grace of God into the poisoned pottage, and false doctrine will not be able to destroy men’s souls as it now does.” (Spurgeon)

(Guzik)

Child of God!

Spurgeon has a way with words and scripture that are even relevant today! 

ii. “You have been trying to find pleasure in the world, and you have found wild vines… you have gathered wild gourds, a lap full, almost a heart full. You have been shredding death into the pot, and now you cannot feel as you used to feel, the poison is stupefying your soul. While we were singing just now, you said, ‘I want to sing as saints do, but there is no praise in me’… If you are a worldling, and not God’s child, you can live on that which would poison a Christian, but if you are a child of God, you will cry out, ‘O thou man of God, there is death in the pot!’” (Spurgeon)

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:” ‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭3‬:‭26‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”

‭‭I John‬ ‭3‬:‭1‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Are you a worldling or a child of God? 

Blessings 

child-of-God

2 Kings 4:18-37 Believed!

 “And the child grew. Now it happened one day that he went out to his father, to the reapers. And he said to his father, “My head, my head!” So he said to a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out. Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.” So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.” And she said, “It is well.” Then she saddled a donkey, and said to her servant, “Drive, and go forward; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” And so she departed, and went to the man of God at Mount Carmel. So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’ ” And she answered, “It is well.” Now when she came to the man of God at the hill, she caught him by the feet, but Gehazi came near to push her away. But the man of God said, “Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me, and has not told me.” So she said, “Did I ask a son of my Lord? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me’?” Then he said to Gehazi, “Get yourself ready, and take my staff in your hand, and be on your way. If you meet anyone, do not greet him; and if anyone greets you, do not answer him; but lay my staff on the face of the child.” And the mother of the child said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you.” So he arose and followed her. Now Gehazi went on ahead of them, and laid the staff on the face of the child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Therefore he went back to meet him, and told him, saying, “The child has not awakened.” When Elisha came into the house, there was the child, lying dead on his bed. He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands; and he stretched himself out on the child, and the flesh of the child became warm. He returned and walked back and forth in the house, and again went up and stretched himself out on him; then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” So she went in, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; then she picked up her son and went out.” II Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬-‭37‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. He sat on her knees till noon, and then died: This was the son granted by miraculous promise, in reward to the faithful service of the Shunammite woman. The boy tragically died on the lap of his mother after a brief but severe affliction.

i. “His head was grievously pained; which possibly came from the heat of the harvest season, to which he was exposed in the field.” (Poole)

ii. “Probably affected by the coup de soleil, or sun stroke, which might, in so young a subject, soon occasion death, especially in that hot country.” (Clarke)

b. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut the door upon him, and went out: This shows the faith of the woman. She prepared for the resurrection of the boy, not his burial.

i. “She had no doubt heard that Elijah had raised the widow’s son of Zarephath to life; and she believed that he who had obtained this gift of God for her, could obtain his restoration to life.” (Clarke)

c. And she answered, “It is well”: The Shunammite woman didn’t want Elisha to learn of her grief through his assistant Gehazi. She wanted the man of God to hear it from her own lips and sense her own grief.

i. “Nothing makes grief dumb so surely as prying and yet indifferent intrusion. A tenderer hand than Gehazi’s is needed to unlock the sad secret of that burdened breast.” (Maclaren)

d. Let her alone; for her soul is in deep distress, and the LORD has hidden it from me, and has not told me: Elisha seemed mystified that this woman (whom he presumably often prayed for) was in a crisis that was hidden from Elisha. In this circumstance Elisha was more surprised that God didn’t speak to him than if God hadspoken to him.

i. “How much better would it have been for the Church if its teachers had been more willing to copy his modesty, and said about a great many things, ‘The Lord hath hid it from me’!” (Maclaren)

e. Lay my staff on the face of the child: Instead of going directly himself, Elisha sent his servant Gehazi with his staff. This seems to follow the previous pattern in Elisha’s ministry: He did not do things for people directly but gave them the opportunity to work with God and to trust Him for themselves. God told the alliance of kings to have ditches dug (2 Kings 3:16). God told the widow to gather vessels and pour the oil herself (2 Kings 4:1-7).

i. It may be that the Shunammite woman failed under this test, because she thought that the power to heal was more connected with Elisha himself and she refused to leave his presence (I will not leave you). The child was not healed by the laying on of the staff, though (hypothetically) the child may have been healed with only the staff if the Shunammite would have embraced this promise with full faith.

f. He went in therefore, shut the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD: God did heal the Shunammite woman’s son in response to Elisha’s prayer. He prayed after the pattern shown by his mentor Elijah (1 Kings 17:20-23).

i. Elisha prayed with great faith because he knew God worked this way in the life of his mentor Elijah. He also prayed with great faith because he sensed that God wanted to raise this boy from the dead.

ii. “Although some ceremonial uncleanness might seem to be contracted by the touch of this dead body, yet that was justly to give place to a moral duty, and to an action of so great piety and charity as this was, especially when done by a prophet, and by the instinct of God’s Spirit, who can dispense with his own laws.” (Poole)

iii. There is a significant contrast between the stretched-out supplication of Elijah and Elisha and the authoritative command of Jesus in raising the dead (as in John 11:43). Elijah and Elisha rightly begged God to raise the dead. Jesus commanded the dead to be raised.

iv. “This staff of his – whatever became of the other - was long enough, he knew, to reach up to heaven, to know at those gates, yea, to wrench them open.” (Trapp)

g. The flesh of the child became warm… then the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes: “Although miracles were for the most part done in an instant, yet sometimes they were done by degrees, as here, and 1 Kings 18:44-45; Mark 8:24-25.” (Poole)

i. “Of course, there is a profound and beautiful use to be made of the prophet’s action in laying himself upon the dead child, mouth to mouth, and hand to hand, if we regard it as symbolic of that closeness of approach to our nature, dead in sins, which the Lord of life makes in His incarnation and in His continual drawing near.” (Maclaren)

(Guzik)

Believed!

Sometimes the devotionals are long because of the story conveyed and context can only be studied with the full story. I felt the emotion and tears of the Shunammite mother in these verses!

There are different commentators with these verses and the one that strikes my soul is this one: 

“This staff of his – whatever became of the other - was long enough, he knew, to reach up to heaven, to know at those gates, yea, to wrench them open.” (Trapp)

Elisha’s staff didn’t work because the faith of Shunammite woman only believed that Elisha himself could raise her son from the dead!

“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?””

‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭15‬:‭51‬-‭55‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Do you believe?

Blessings 

2 Kings 4:8-17 Blessed by God!

 “Now it happened one day that Elisha went to Shunem, where there was a notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food. So it was, as often as he passed by, he would turn in there to eat some food. And she said to her husband, “Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; so it will be, whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there.” And it happened one day that he came there, and he turned in to the upper room and lay down there. Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite woman.” When he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘Look, you have been concerned for us with all this care. What can I do for you? Do you want me to speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’ ” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” So he said, “What then is to be done for her?” And Gehazi answered, “Actually, she has no son, and her husband is old.” So he said, “Call her.” When he had called her, she stood in the doorway. Then he said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my Lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!” But the woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her.” II Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬-‭17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. A notable woman, and she persuaded him to eat some food: This remarkable relationship between Elisha and the Shunammite woman began when the woman sought to do something for the prophet. Elisha didn’t seek anything from this woman; she eventually persuaded him to eat some food as the guest of her hospitality.

b. Let us make a small upper room on the wall: The Shunammite woman then sought to do more for the prophet. With the approval of her husband, they made a room for Elisha to stay in on his frequent travels through the area.

c. About this time next year you shall embrace a son: To this barren woman this promise seemed too good to be true. The stigma associated with barrenness was harsh in the ancient world, and this promised son would answer the longing of her heart and remove the stigma of barrenness.

d. The woman conceived, and bore a son when the appointed time had come, of which Elisha had told her: The woman who so generously provided material things for the prophet of God was now blessed by the God of the prophet, blessed beyondmaterial things. (Guzik)

Blessed by God!

“in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

‭‭I Thessalonians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Material blessings, a roof over your head, clothing, food, health etc.

Spiritual blessings, accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Adopted as a child of God!

I try to thank God daily for His protection, our home, food and that others in our family are drawn to Him and accept His free gift of salvation.

Do you consider yourself blessed?

Blessings