Lessons on financial blessings from the Old Testament through the life of Elisha.
(Warning on some graphic images.)
God is sovereign. Seek Him!
“Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Behold now, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad and the land is unfruitful." He said, "Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it." So they brought it to him. He went out to the spring of water and threw salt in it and said, "Thus says the LORD, 'I have purified these waters; there shall not be from there death or unfruitfulness any longer.'" So the waters have been purified to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.”
2 Kings 2:19-22 NASB
The men from the city of Jericho recognised that they were now in a good place, but they didn't have a good source of water and their land was unfruitful. That meant they couldn't really thrive well and economically, they were really in a bad situation. One good thing they did was to take the opportunity to ask Elisha since he was there. This meant they were quick to acknowledge that Elisha had been anointed as head prophet after Elijah had just been up. They were in tune with God's direction. Elisha responded and ceremonially pronounced God's blessing on the spring of water, and the quality of the water was changed intrinsically. It didn't turn bad anymore. That meant new financial vigor for the people! That meant they could now plant and harvest. They still had to do their part and work - by planting and watering and harvesting, but the curse or the setback of bad resources was lifted. This shows God's sovereign control over material resources and situations.
Artists rendition of 2 Kings 2:19-25
The good thing is now, people can have direct access to God through Jesus Christ and what he has done on the cross. We don't need to pass through intermediaries of whatever form. We need to b in tune with Him and seek Him. If you want to learn more about having an audience with God, read this link
Align with God's will and be blessed! Or, beware of danger ahead...
“Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!" When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.”
2 Kings 2:23-24 NASB
Here is a short note I posted on YouVersion Bible:
These verses sound harsh as to why Elisha would turn on the jesting of little boys resulting in the death of 42 of them. But they have valuable lessons when you dig deeper.
Here is a gross and graphic, disturbing image posted by "Reason vs Religion". The name itself puts reason ahead of religion, and implies a false dichotomy that religion and reason are opposites that don't stand on the same footing or can't be on the same side. This is false, and the image shows poor research that is demonstrated when you read further. I'm not one to defend religion though. But if you talk about God and His Word, it is actually more reasonable, more logical, more scientific to believe and accept the Bible then the empty preaching of opposers. Naysayers to the Bible need only to dig deeper to really understand. Then they will be left with no choice but to acknowledge God and His Word as true, but each person is still left with the hard choice of seeking and obeying a sovereign and good God, or following ones's own passions and desires outside of God's Word. See ReasonableFaith.org and AnswersInGenesis.org to understand how believing there is a God is incomparably superior to thinking there is no God or that the Bible is inconsistent.
The NIV terms the taunters as boys and HCSB terms them as little boys. But NASB translates it as young lads. Looking at the original words in Strong's dictionaries, this can be translated as lesser servants, and even 40-year old apprentices can still be termed as young men.
The majority of versions translate their taunt as "come up", they being in a higher position up a hill and with great number as compared with the lone Elisha. It was as if to fight. And the derogatory term "baldy" even had the connotation that he could never be like his master Elijah who was hairy. Here they stepped over the line and questioned God's authority and His selection of Elisha and that Elisha spoke as directed by God.
Note that Elisha's curse wasn't specified. So it wasn't necessarily to the deaths of the young men. But God Himself judged those young men and deemed their actions as worthy of resulting to death. So Elisha has no blood guilt on him.
If you think there is no God, then you mustn't be upset with this story as you would be of the mind that the bear attack was random, totally unrelated to whatever actions of Elisha. If on the other hand you think God is unfair in causing the death of those 42, then you are first acknowledging that God has control over wild animals, that He has sovereign control over timing, and that He doesn't suffer His servants to be mocked. You may find Him unreasonable or extreme, but it just means you don't understand Him and you are admitting it.
A bear attack is no simple matter. This can be really scary. But the death of this 42 is the judgement of a righteous and decisive God! And there are so many more terrible perils that can come our way without God's sovereign protection. Who know what other evils these perished young men have done. What we do know is that they were openly mocking the servant of God. The learning for us is that we need to honour and respect God's chosen people and His declared directions. By doing these we will also be aligned with God Himself.
Post Script:
1. We need to bless Israel, the people called by God to be the nation from which Jesus was born and has become a blessing to the world. God said "And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." in Genesis 12:3 NASB The mere existence of the nation of Israel is testament to the power and authority of God's Word, as Israel was non-existent as a nation for almost 2000 years. The nation being birthed in a day is a fulfilment of prophecy, and means the world is much further advanced on the prophetic timescale. Israel as a nation will turn to God through Jesus Christ when the time and number of the "Gentiles" is complete. You want to be blessed? Be a blessing to Israel!
2. Reflecting on the 42 who perished for mocking Elisha, we can weep for them. But we need to weep much more for the 55 million plus babies who were torn up in their own mothers wombs by men and women in gowns and mothers and would-be fathers through the wilful murder by abortion of these babies!
A search for aborted babies on the internet yields these photos, almost too gruesome to bear! And this is the result of women and men who have desired their own way and their own decisions and followed their own passions to the death of these children who have done no wrong in their mothers wombs!
Babies murdered and killed in abortion. More than 55 million American babies have been killed since baby murder was legalised in the U.S., and the country has influenced the world to have millions more baby murders in their own countries!
God forgive us for the terrible sins of our society. May we do our part to shun wrong doing and live in the simplicity of seeking and obeying God, and living a life of blessing and being a blessing to others.
All photos taken from public searches on the Internet.
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