Today’s passage: 2 Kings 5:1-27

Helpful thoughts:

• The king of Syria would not have attributed Naaman’s victories to the Lord.  But, in truth, it was the Lord who sovereignly gave Naaman these victories.
  • God does not only pay attention to the Jews or to Christians.  He is the God of all creation and His Kingdom will consist of saints from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
• After his healing, Naaman the Syrian was one of the only people in Israel who only believed in the one true God.
  • Elisha, desiring to set himself apart from other “prophets” would not accept anything in return from Naaman.  He wasn’t in a “business” for profits.
• It was believed that a person could only truly worship a god of any nation on that nation’s soil.  Naaman wanted to take some Israel back to Damascus so that he could worship the Lord.
  • Naaman’s position required he assist with the king’s pagan idolatry.  He would not be worshiping in his own right and did not want his duties to be misconstrued as divided loyalty.

Questions to consider:

1. How would the false doctrine of only being able to worship the gods of a particular nation when on their soil have impacted worship in that day and region?  Why do you think that false doctrine ever emerged?  What would it prevent the nations from doing?  What happens when patriotism gets mixed with false worship?
2. Gehazi decided he would try to take something from Naaman behind Elisha’s back.  What did he actually receive?  Why were Gehazi’s actions wrong?  How could he have impacted Elisha’s testimony and the ministry of the Lord if they were acting like the other false prophets who were in it for the money?
3. What is the irony of this narrative?  Compare and contrast the beginnings and endings of Naaman and Gehazi.

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 4:18-44

Helpful thoughts:

• The husband’s question in verse 23 may be an indication that his wife had not told him their boy had died.
  • He could not think of a reason for her to go to Elisha when it wasn’t their typical practice.  Like going to Church on a Tuesday…
• The scene from verse 34 is just like that of Elijah in 1 Kings 17:17-24.
• The miracle of feeding these hundred men and having food left over set a precedent for similar miracles performed by the Messiah!

Questions to consider:

1. What was the point of all three of these miracles?  Was there a flaunting of power or more a care for people?
2. Why do you think Gehazi was not able to see the boy healed before Elisha arrived?  What was the purpose of the Lord using Elisha specifically to heal the boy?  Whom did the Lord choose to speak to His people through specifically at this time?
3. What was the purpose of Jesus’ miracles?  Were the miracles the greatest part, or did they point to something more important?  What do they prove?

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 4:1-17

Helpful thoughts:

• Today’s reading shows us two of the miracles God did during the ministry of Elisha.
• The Old Testament Law allowed for debtors to sell themselves into slavery for six years maximum (Deuteronomy 15:12-18).  This was much different than the sinful slavery that we know from our nation’s history.
• Many people have started “Prophet’s Chambers” ministries based off of this notable woman’s and her husband’s kindness to Elisha.

Questions to consider:

1. Some might be tempted to say the application from the miracle of the oil would be to prepare as many vessels as you can. Meaning, if the woman had more vessels (More faith) she would have received more blessing.  Why wouldn’t this be a right application?  Does the historical record of God doing a miracle for a woman and her children at that time automatically mean He intends to do the very same miracle and more for anyone and everyone who’s willing to obtain enough “vessels” today?
2. What was Elisha doing for Gehazi throughout this time?  What would Gehazi’s involvement and interaction with people prepare him to do when Elisha was no longer serving?  How was Gehazi’s service also his training?
3. How did the woman respond to the promise of a child?  (Psalm 127:3-5)

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 3:1-27

Helpful thoughts:

• King Jehoram continued in the sins of Jeroboam, but when his own plans weren’t going the way he hoped he was certainly able to blame the Lord for it (Verse 10, 13).
• God’s solution for their need of water also turned into a winning battle strategy as the mistaken appearance of blood caused the Moabites to run right into their defeat.
• The hardness of the hearts of man is on display in verse 27.
  • A king killed his own son, the crown prince, in desperation to call on a fake god.
  • The sight of this deed roused anger in the Moabites, not against their king, but against the Israelites.

Questions to consider:

1. When it seems obvious to us throughout Scripture that people should believe in and obey the Lord of hosts, why don’t they?  Jehoram should have been angry with the golden calves and Baal, the Moabites should have been angry at Chemosh or even their king…Israel should have seen the Lord as giving them victory, yet they left this battle thinking Chemosh had ended the conflict (Verse 27), why?
2. How much of this battle (The build-up, the conflict, the results) was under God’s sovereign control?  Even if nations in our day view victory as a simply consequence of superior tactics, training, resources, etc. how much control does God still exert today?
3. When “good” things happen in your life, who gets the credit?  When “bad” things are happening, who gets the blame?  How can “good” things and “bad” things turn us away from the Lord…or TO Him? (2 Timothy 4:10, Romans 8:28-29)

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 2:1-25

Helpful thoughts:

• Elijah and Enoch (Genesis 5:24) were the only two people to be “taken away” without dying.
• Elisha was not necessarily asking to be twice the prophet that Elijah was.  Though, he is recorded as having been used by God to perform twice as many miracles.
  • In a family in that time, the eldest son would normally receive a double portion of the inheritance and become the new head of the family when the father died.  Elisha had journeyed along with these other prophets, but was the one who would succeed Elijah as the main prophet in Israel.
  • Elisha was asking for this responsibility of leadership and ministry, and it would be hard.
• The sign that Elijah called for was to show whether God had chosen to do what Elisha had asked for.  Elijah did not have the ability to choose Elisha’s role in Israel, that was too hard for him to do.  But God had sovereignly chosen him for the task.
  • Taking up Elijah’s mantle symbolized what had become a reality.  Elisha was now serving in Elijah’s place.

Questions to consider:

1. If God was going to send a vehicle to take someone like Elijah home to Heaven today, what do you think it would be?  The sign of strength, protection and speed in that day was the chariot.  What was God communicating by allowing us to know this was how Elijah was taken up?
2. Since Elijah had just been taken up, what do you think these young boys (Or likely, young men) were saying when they mocked Elisha with the words, “Go up?”  What was their disrespect communicating concerning their view of Elijah, Elisha, and the God they spoke for?  What did their cursing and God-ordained judgment communicate to those who would hear about this event?
3. What can we learn about God from this passage today?  How would these events stir up in us a healthy fear of the Lord?  How could it encourage us to take God’s Word seriously in our reading, teaching, preaching, and our pursuit of obedience?  How can it make us more thankful for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ?

Today’s passage: 2 Kings 1:1-18

Helpful thoughts:

• To give an update on the spiritual condition of the kings of Israel, when Ahaziah (King Ahab’s son) falls and gets injured, his first thought is to inquire of the Lord of the Flies (Baal-Zebub).
  • Baal-Zebub would not be answering Ahaziah, because he doesn’t exist.  Yahweh, however, knew exactly what was going on.
• Ahaziah sent over a hundred men who died and was willing to see more die in order to hear directly from Elijah.  When he did hear directly from Elijah, he just got the same message.
  • The word of the Lord is the word of the Lord, whether you hear it directly from Jesus face to face or read it in an English translation in the 21st century.
  • You read God’s word today!  Way to go!
• Jehoram was Ahaziah’s brother, the next in line to the throne.

Questions to consider:

1. In what way was God’s response to Ahaziah appropriate, or even merciful? (Exodus 22:20)  How did this king use his leadership to bring even more sin to God’s chosen people?
2. Even though Elijah had been used by God to bring judgment on these servants who had rejected Him, what did God still say to Elijah to reassure him (Verse 15)?  Why might Elijah have been afraid to go with them?  What things can we fear when interacting with other who we know do not follow Christ?  What truths about our Lord and who He has called us to be can take away our fears?
3. Considering the fact that Ahaziah was more interested in hearing from Baal-Zebub first, what did he really want to hear from Elijah?  Would he have truly wanted to hear from the Lord or would he have wanted to keep trying until he changed the Lord’s word?  How could this desire be a possible motivator for people today who want to hear from God, when He has given us His sufficient word (2 Timothy 3:16-17)?   How could this desire for a new word become a troublesome temptation?