David inquired of God

Portion For Reading 1 Chr 14-16

Msg 14:8-17

David inquired of God: "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, I will hand them over to you."

All the Philistines went up to search for David: David’s success brought new challenges from the outside. As God worked mightily in David’s life, the devil also got to work and brought opposition against David.

“The Valley of Rephaim lay southwest of Jerusalem and formed part of the boundary between Judah and Benjamin (Joshua 15:8). It may correspond to the ‘Valley of Baca’ (Psalm 84:6), due to the balsam trees that were there (1 Chronicles 14:14-15). These are named, literally, ‘weepers’ because of their drops of milky sap.” (Payne)

David inquired of God: As David sought God and looked to Him for guidance he was blessed. God honored David’s dependence on Him and gave him the promise of victory.
a. David inquired again of God: After the first victory over the Philistines, David was wise enough to wait on the Lord before the second battle. It is easy for many in the same situation to say, “I’ve fought this battle before. I know how to win. This will be easy.” David always triumphed when he sought and obeyed God.

b. You shall not go up after them; circle around them: God directed David differently in this battle. Even against the same enemy, not every battle is the same.

In his commentary on this account in 2 Samuel 5, Adam Clarke noted the remarkable guidance of God in David’s life and asked a good question. “How is it that such supernatural directions and assistances are not communicated now? Because they are not asked for; and they are not asked for because they are not expected; and they are not expected because men have not faith; and they have not faith because they are under a refined spirit of atheism, and have no spiritual intercourse with their Maker.” (Clarke)

God has gone out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines: At the battle of this David waited for the Lord to strike the camp of the enemy first. The sign of God’s work was a sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees.

“It was not merely a fitful breeze stealing through the leaves; it was not the going of the wind; but of angel squadrons who were proceeding against the enemies of Israel.” (Meyer)

ii. At the signal that the Lord was at work, David and his troops rushed forward to victory. This principle is true in our every-day walk with God. When we sense that the Lord is at work, we must go out to battle (advance quickly, 2 Samuel 5:24) and we will see a great victory won. “We must also, in the spiritual warfare, observe and obey the motions of the Spirit, when he setteth up his standard; for those are the sounds of God’s goings, the footsteps of his anointed.” (Trapp)

iii. There is something wonderful about the King James Version translation of this account in 2 Samuel 5:24: when thou hearest the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt bestir thyself. When you hear the work of God happening, bestir thyself – go out to battle. Spurgeon liked to point out that it said bestir thyself - often we think we must stir others up. That often just becomes hype and emotionalism. Instead, stir yourself.

iv. When we see the work of God happening around us, it is like the sound in the mulberry trees - the rustling sound should awaken us to prayer and devotion. A time of crisis or tragedy is also like the sound in the mulberry trees - the rustling sound should awaken us to confession and repentance. “Now, what should I do? The first thing I will do is, I will bestir myself. But how shall I do it? Why, I will go home this day, and I will wrestle in prayer more earnestly than I have been wont to do that God will bless the minister, and multiply the church.” (Spurgeon)

v. “Oh, believe in the co-operation of the Holy Spirit. Lonely missionary in some distant station of the foreign field, listen for the moving of the tops of the mulberry trees! God is stirring for thy succor.” (Meyer)

Benaiah

Portion for Reading 1 Chr 10-13

Message 1 Chr 11:22-25

Meaning: built up by Jehovah

Profile:Benaiah son of Jehoiada was a valiant fighter from Kabzeel, who performed great exploits. He struck down two of Moab's best men. He also went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion. And he struck down an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet [d] tall. Although the Egyptian had a spear like a weaver's rod in his hand, Benaiah went against him with a club. He snatched the spear from the Egyptian's hand and killed him with his own spear. Such were the exploits of Benaiah son of Jehoiada; he too was as famous as the three mighty men. He was held in greater honor than any of the Thirty, but he was not included among the Three. And David put him in charge of his bodyguard.

2 Sam 8:18

Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Kerethites and Pelethites; and David's sons were royal advisers.

Faithful to David Until Death : 1 Kings 1: 32-37

King David said, "Call in Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet and Benaiah son of Jehoiada." When they came before the king, he said to them: "Take your lord's servants with you and set Solomon my son on my own mule and take him down to Gihon. There have Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him king over Israel. Blow the trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' Then you are to go up with him, and he is to come and sit on my throne and reign in my place. I have appointed him ruler over Israel and Judah."

Benaiah son of Jehoiada answered the king, "Amen! May the LORD, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. As the LORD was with my lord the king, so may he be with Solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!"

Faithful to Solomon the King (1 Kings 2:25-35)

So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died. To Abiathar the priest the king said, "Go back to your fields in Anathoth. You deserve to die, but I will not put you to death now, because you carried the ark of the Sovereign LORD before my father David and shared all my father's hardships." So Solomon removed Abiathar from the priesthood of the LORD, fulfilling the word the LORD had spoken at Shiloh about the house of Eli.

When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah though not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar. King Solomon was told that Joab had fled to the tent of the LORD and was beside the altar. Then Solomon ordered Benaiah son of Jehoiada, "Go, strike him down!"

So Benaiah entered the tent of the LORD and said to Joab, "The king says, 'Come out!' " But he answered, "No, I will die here." Benaiah reported to the king, "This is how Joab answered me."

Then the king commanded Benaiah, "Do as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so clear me and my father's house of the guilt of the innocent blood that Joab shed. The LORD will repay him for the blood he shed, because without the knowledge of my father David he attacked two men and killed them with the sword. Both of them—Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel's army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah's army—were better men and more upright than he. May the guilt of their blood rest on the head of Joab and his descendants forever. But on David and his descendants, his house and his throne, may there be the LORD's peace forever."

So Benaiah son of Jehoiada went up and struck down Joab and killed him, and he was buried on his own land [a] in the desert. The king put Benaiah son of Jehoiada over the army in Joab's position and replaced Abiathar with Zadok the priest.

Do we have a testimony like Benaiah who was equally talented and powerful like David or any other person, but still he was faithful for what he was called, he stood in the circumstances were David own son rebelled to become a king, but as his name means built up by Jehovah, he destroyed those whom David wanted and served as David's bodygaurd all his days, after which he recieved a promotion from King Solomon.

He developed great physical skill
He was very brave
He was extremely loyal
He was a great leader
He worshipped God
He obeyed his authorities
He was a good father

Beniah had two sons. Ammizabad served in his father's army, and Jehoiada (named after his grandpa) served as prime counselor to King David! (I Chron 27:6, 34)

Prayer Of Jabez

Portion For Reading 1 Chr 4-6

Prayer of Jabez: What is it?
The Prayer of Jabez comes from the Bible. In 1 Chronicles 4:10, we read: "And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested." The prayer is composed of four parts. First, Jabez asks God to bless him. Second, he asks God to enlarge his territory or increase his responsibility. Third, he prays that God will be with him and stay close. Lastly, Jabez asks that God keep him from harm so that he will be free from pain.

Prayer of Jabez: Why is it important?
The Prayer of Jabez reveals that Jabez understands what many people do not -- there is only one God and He should be the center of our work God wants to bless every life. But, we must first make the choice to invite God into our life and ask for His blessings. Jabez wants to succeed and increase his sphere of influence for God. The specific sphere of influence is not important. What is important is that when we want to reach for goals and accomplishments that we have God on our side. Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established." It is critical to understand and practice this in a close relationship with God. Further, it is equally important to stay close to God and rely on His continued support and guidance throughout life. Jabez clearly knows and prays specifically to the One who can protect him from evil and pain -- God. At the end of the verse it is clear that God approved of this faithful prayer by granting it. It is also important to see that Jabez was passionate in his plea to God: "He cried out to the God of Israel." God wants to hear that we need Him through passionate prayer.

Prayer of Jabez: What does it mean to you?
The Prayer of Jabez reminds us that everybody struggles with choosing to rely on himself or God. Whether you are a focused Christian
or just searching to find out more about God, life is a growing process. However, it is very clear in reviewing the Prayer of Jabez, as well as the rest of the Bible, that God is faithful in caring for those who seek Him. Jabez sets a great example of how God wants everyone to come to Him through constant and passionate prayer. If you are looking to start a relationship with God or improve your existing relationship with Him, start with prayer. God answers prayers when you trust Him (1 Chronicles 5:20). Prayers to God also please Him (Proverbs 15:8). We can all learn from Jabez and faithfully pray to God always in everything that we do.

Source:Allaboutprayer.org

Josiah

Portion 2 Kings 22-25

Meaning: healed by Jehovah, or Jehovah will support

the son of Amon, and his successor on the throne of Judah (2 Kings 22:1; 2 Chr. 34:1)

His history is contained in 2 Kings 22, 23. He stands foremost among all the kings of the line of David for unswerving loyalty to Jehovah (23:25). He "did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father." He ascended the throne at the early age of eight years, and it appears that not till eight years afterwards did he begin "to seek after the God of David his father." At that age he devoted himself to God. He distinguished himself by beginning a war of extermination against the prevailing idolatry, which had practically been the state religion for some seventy years (2 Chr. 34:3; compare Jer. 25:3, 11, 29).

In the eighteenth year of his reign he proceeded to repair and beautify the temple, which by time and violence had become sorely dilapidated (2 Kings 22:3, 5, 6; 23:23; 2 Chr. 34:11). While this work was being carried on, Hilkiah, the high priest, discovered a roll, which was probably the original copy of the law, the entire Pentateuch, written by Moses.

When this book was read to him, the king was alarmed by the things it contained, and sent for Huldah, the "prophetess," for her counsel. She spoke to him words of encouragement, telling him that he would be gathered to his fathers in peace before the threatened days of judgment came. Josiah immediately gathered the people together, and engaged them in a renewal of their ancient national covenant with God. The Passover was then celebrated, as in the days of his great predecessor, Hezekiah, with unusual magnificence. Nevertheless, "the Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath wherewith his anger was kindled against Judah" (2 Kings 22:3-20; 23:21-27; 2 Chr. 35:1-19). During the progress of this great religious revolution Jeremiah helped it on by his earnest exhortations.

Soon after this, Pharaoh-Necho II. (q.v.), king of Egypt, in an expedition against the king of Assyria, with the view of gaining possession of Carchemish, sought a passage through the territory of Judah for his army. This Josiah refused to permit. He had probably entered into some new Alliance with the king of Assyria, and faithful to his word he sought to oppose the progress of Necho.

The army of Judah went out and encountered that of Egypt at Megiddo, on the verge of the plain of Esdraelon. Josiah went into the field in disguise, and was fatally wounded by a random arrow. His attendants conveyed him toward Jerusalem, but had only reached Hadadrimmon, a few miles south of Megiddo, when he died (2 Kings 23:28, 30; compare 2 Chr. 35:20-27), after a reign of thirty-one years. He was buried with the greatest honors in fulfilment of Huldah's prophecy (2 Kings 22:20; compare Jer. 34:5). Jeremiah composed a funeral elegy on this the best of the kings of Israel (Lam. 4:20; 2 Chr. 35:25). The outburst of national grief on account of his death became proverbial (Zech. 12:11; compare Rev. 16:16).

Source : http://www.christiananswers.net

The Lost Day

Portion for Reading 2 Kings 20-21

Message 2 kings 20:9-11

Claim: NASA scientists discovered a "missing" day in time that corresponds to Biblical accounts of the sun's standing still in the sky.

For all the scientists out there and for all the students who have a hard time convincing these people regarding the truth of the Bible . . . here's something that shows God's awesome creation and shows that He is still in control.

Did you know that the space program is busy proving that what has been called "myth" in the Bible is true? Mr. Harold Hill, President of the Curtis Engine Company in Baltimore Maryland and a consultant in the space program, relates the following development.

"I think one of the most amazing things that God has for us today happened recently to our astronauts and space scientists at GreenBelt, Maryland. They were checking the position of the sun, moon, and planets out in space where they would be 100 years and 1000 years from now. We have to know this so we won't send a satellite, up and have it bump into something later on in its orbits. We have to lay out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite, and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down.

They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong either with the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards. They called in the service department to check it out and they said, "What's wrong?"
Well, they found there is a day missing in space in elapsed time. They scratched their heads and tore their hair. There was no answer.

Finally, a Christian man on the team said, "You know, one time I was in Sunday School and they talked about the sun standing still." While they didn't believe him, they didn't have an answer either, so they said, "Show us."

He got a Bible and went back to the book of Joshua where they found a pretty ridiculous statement for any one with "common sense." There they found the Lord saying to Joshua, "Fear them not, I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee."

Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy and if darkness fell they would overpower them. So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still! That's right — "The sun stood still and the moon stayed — and hasted not to go down about a whole day!" (Joshua 10:12-13)

The astronauts and scientists said, "There is the missing day!" They checked the computers going back into the time it was written and found it was close but not close enough. The elapsed time that was missing back in Joshua's day was 23 hours and 20 minutes — not a whole day.

They read the Bible and there it was "about (approximately) a day" These little words in the Bible are important, but they were still in trouble because if you cannot account for 40 minutes you'll still be in trouble 1,000 years from now. Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in orbits.

As the Christian employee thought about it, he remembered somewhere in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS. The scientists told him he was out of his mind, but they got out the Book and read these words in 2 Kings that told of the following story:

Hezekiah, on his deathbed, was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was not going to die. Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof. Isaiah said "Do you want the sun to go ahead 10 degrees?" Hezekiah said "It is nothing for the sun to go ahead 10 degrees, but let the shadow return backward 10 degrees."

Isaiah spoke to the Lord and the Lord brought the shadow ten degrees BACKWARD!
Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes! Twenty-three hours and 20 minutes in Joshua, plus 40 minutes in Second Kings make the missing day in the universe!" Isn't it amazing?

The next difficulty is the interpretation presented in this legend of the statement in 2 Kings 20 about God's moving "the shadow" backwards "ten degrees" as meaning that the sun's shadow was moved backwards through ten angular degrees of measurement on a dial (presumably a sundial). Since a dial is a circle, and a circle contains 360 degrees, moving the sun's shadow backwards ten degrees would correspond to resetting time by one thirty-sixth of day. One thirty-sixth of a twenty-four hour day is two-thirds of an hour, or forty minutes. Voilà! The problem is, 2 Kings 20 doesn't quite say this — the word "degree" is an artifact of certain English translations. How this passage is presented in other translations is more general: that the sun's shadow moved backwards ten steps (or ten units or ten intervals or ten markings) on the "dial of Ahaz." Since we have no idea exactly what the "dial of Ahaz" was, nor how much time was represented by one of its units, we cannot make any real estimate as to how far the sun actually moved. (If the dial of Ahaz had forty evenly-spaced markings on it, for example, ten of those units would represent one-fourth of a day, or six hours.)

Source: http://www.snopes.com/religion/lostday.htm

Sennacherib's Fall

2 Kings 18-19

Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

2 Kings 18: 17-37

The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the Upper Pool, on the road to the Washerman's Field. They called for the king; and Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went out to them.

The field commander said to them, "Tell Hezekiah: " 'This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours? You say you have strategy and military strength—but you speak only empty words. On whom are you depending, that you rebel against me? Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if he leans on it! Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who depend on him. And if you say to me, "We are depending on the LORD our God"-isn't he the one whose high places and altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, "You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem"?

" 'Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them! How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master's officials, even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen [f] ? Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the LORD ? The LORD himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.' "

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna and Joah said to the field commander, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don't speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall."

But the commander replied, "Was it only to your master and you that my master sent me to say these things, and not to the men sitting on the wall—who, like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink their own urine?"

Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria! This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, 'The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.'

"Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death!

"Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, 'The LORD will deliver us.' Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?"

But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, "Do not answer him." Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and Joah son of Asaph the recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn, and told him what the field commander had said.

Jerusalem's Deliverance Foretold

When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD. He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They told him, "This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives."

Isaiah said to them, "Tell your master, 'This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.' " When the field commander heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.

Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite [g] king of Egypt , was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: "Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.' Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivvah?"

Hezekiah's Prayer

Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD : "O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.

"It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men's hands. Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God."

"Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria: "He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it.

By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the LORD.I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant."That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer cut him down with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

That's the End of He who stands against Children of God!

Ahaz King of Judah

2 Kings 15-17

Unlike his father, King Jotham, who the Bible says "Became mighty, and ordered his ways before the Lord,” Ahaz became a wicked ruler. The Bible records that he even sacrificed his own sons in the fire, not much unlike the practice of modern day abortionists who sacrifice the sons and daughters of many for mere profit.

A mention of Ahaz, found outside of the Bible,was taken from a clay building inscription of Tiglath-Pileser III. In accounts from his battles against Israel, between 744 and 727 B.C., he records the following: "From these I received tribute . . . Ahaz, the king of Judah . . . including gold, silver, iron, fine cloth and many garments made from wool that was dyed in purple . . . as well as all kinds of lavish gifts from many nations and from the kings that rule
over them.”

This confirms 2Kings 16:8 which states: “And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasuries of the king's house, and sent it as a present to the king of Assyria.” The reason God sent Tiglath-Pileser III and his horde of Assyrians against Ahaz can be found in 2Chronicles 28:19 21:“For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had encouraged moral decline in Judah and had been continually unfaithful to the LORD. Also Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came to him and distressed him, and did not assist him. For Ahaz took part of the treasures from the house of the LORD, from the house of the king, and from the leaders, and he gave it to the king of Assyria; but he did not help him.”

GOD’S GREATEST STATEMENT TO AHAZ:
Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, "Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above."But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!" Then he said, "Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son,and shall call His name Immanuel.
Isaiah 7:10-14

King Joash Repairs The Temple

2 Kings 11-14

Now it was so, by the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, that the priests had not repaired the damages of the temple. So King Jehoash called Jehoiada the priest and the other priests, and said to them, “Why have you not repaired the damages of the temple? Now therefore, do not take more money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the damages of the temple.” And the priests agreed that they would neither receive more money from the people, nor repair the damages of the temple.

Then Jehoiada the priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of the Lord; and the priests who kept the door put there all the money brought into the house of the Lord. So it was, whenever they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up and put it in bags, and counted the money that was found in the house of the Lord.

Then they gave the money, which had been apportioned, into the hands of those who did the work, who had the oversight of the house of the Lord; and they paid it out to the carpenters and builders who worked on the house of the Lord, and to masons and stonecutters, and for buying timber and hewn stone, to repair the damage of the house of the Lord, and for all that was paid out to repair the temple. However there were not made for the house of the Lord basins of silver, trimmers, sprinkling-bowls, trumpets, any articles of gold or articles of silver, from the money brought into the house of the Lord.

a. By the twenty-third year of King Jehoash, that the priests had not repaired the damages of the temple: Building projects take a long time, and renovating an old building is almost always more difficult and expensive than building a new one. Nevertheless, it appears that King Jehoash had to wait a very long time until the damages of the temple were repaired. The work was going far too slow.

i. “In what year Jehoash gave the orders for these repairs, we cannot tell; but the account here plainly intimates that they had been long given, and that nothing was done, merely through the inactivity and negligence of the priests.” (Clarke)

b. The priest took a chest, bored a hole in its lid, and set it beside the altar: Under the direction of King Jehoash, the priests gave the people the opportunity to give. Even willing givers should be given an opportunity.

i. “Then he placed a collection chest in a strategic location on the right side of the altar, giving the repair project a high priority and a corresponding high visibility.” (Dilday)

c. Now therefore, do not take more money from your constituency, but deliver it for repairing the damages of the temple: King Joash got to the heart of the problem – the building project was plagued by poor administration and financial mismanagement. Through Jehoiada the priest, he implemented a system where the money would be set aside, saved, and then wisely spent for the repair and refurbishing of the temple.

i. “When the people were assured that the money would really be used for the purpose for which it was given, they responded generously and so similar arrangements were continued by Josiah (2 Kings 22:3-7).” (Wiseman)

ii. “So successful had been the king’s program and so well did all concerned carry out their duties that there was even money left over for the provision of sacred vessels for the sanctuary service (2 Chronicles 24:14).” (Patterson and Austel)

4. (14-16) The temple is repaired.
But they gave that to the workmen, and they repaired the house of the Lord with it. Moreover they did not require an account from the men into whose hand they delivered the money to be paid to workmen, for they dealt faithfully. The money from the trespass offerings and the money from the sin offerings was not brought into the house of the Lord. It belonged to the priests.

a. Moreover they did not require an account from the men into whose hand they delivered the money: Through good administration of the project, they were able to find men who could be trusted to use the money wisely and honestly. The project was previously stalled, not because of a lack of money, but because of poor money management.

b. It belonged to the priests: The point is made that the project succeeded without taking anything away from the priests. The temple was not repaired and refurbished at their expense; they still received money from the trespass offerings and from the sin offerings.

The bible says that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit dwells within you, but if you come across a situation when you find that after 23 years the Temple is not builded, that means there is a serious problem and which has to be rectify as soon as possible. Allow the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords Jesus Christ to look into the matter and he will arange for the rebuilding all that is needed. God Bless you!

Two Seahs Of Barley And Flour For A Shekel

Portion For Reading 2 Kings 7-10

Message 2 Kings 7:1-20

Elisha said, "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."
The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" "You will see it with your own eyes," answered Elisha, "but you will not eat any of it!"

The Siege Lifted

Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, "Why stay here until we die? If we say, 'We'll go into the city'-the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let's go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die."

At dusk they got up and went to the camp of the Arameans. When they reached the edge of the camp, not a man was there, for the Lord had caused the Arameans to hear the sound of chariots and horses and a great army, so that they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired the Hittite and Egyptian kings to attack us!" So they got up and fled in the dusk and abandoned their tents and their horses and donkeys. They left the camp as it was and ran for their lives.

The men who had leprosy reached the edge of the camp and entered one of the tents. They ate and drank, and carried away silver, gold and clothes, and went off and hid them. They returned and entered another tent and took some things from it and hid them also.

Then they said to each other, "We're not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let's go at once and report this to the royal palace."

So they went and called out to the city gatekeepers and told them, "We went into the Aramean camp and not a man was there—not a sound of anyone—only tethered horses and donkeys, and the tents left just as they were." The gatekeepers shouted the news, and it was reported within the palace.

The king got up in the night and said to his officers, "I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving; so they have left the camp to hide in the countryside, thinking, 'They will surely come out, and then we will take them alive and get into the city.' "
One of his officers answered, "Have some men take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their plight will be like that of all the Israelites left here—yes, they will only be like all these Israelites who are doomed. So let us send them to find out what happened."

So they selected two chariots with their horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army. He commanded the drivers, "Go and find out what has happened." They followed them as far as the Jordan, and they found the whole road strewn with the clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown away in their headlong flight. So the messengers returned and reported to the king. Then the people went out and plundered the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, as the LORD had said.

Now the king had put the officer on whose arm he leaned in charge of the gate, and the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died, just as the man of God had foretold when the king came down to his house. It happened as the man of God had said to the king: "About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria."

The officer had said to the man of God, "Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen?" The man of God had replied, "You will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of it!" And that is exactly what happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gateway, and he died.

Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be? The king’s officer doubted the prophecy, and his doubt was based on several faulty premises.

i. First, he doubted the power of God. If God willed it, He certainly could make windows in heaven and drop down food from the sky for the hungry, besieged city of Samaria.

ii. Second, he doubted the creativity of God. In the mind of the king’s officer, the way food could come to the city was from above, because the city was surrounded by a hostile, besieging army.

He had no idea that God could bring provision in a completely unexpected way. “How often faith breaks down in this way! It knows that God is, and that He can act. But it only sees one way, and refuses to believe that such a way will be taken. The supply came without the opening of heaven’s windows.” (Morgan)

iii. Third, he doubted the messenger of God. Though the promise was admittedly hard to believe, the king’s officer could have and should have believed it because it came from a man with an established track record of reliability.

iv. All in all, the officer well illustrates the conduct of unbelief:

· Unbelief dares to question the truthfulness of God’s promise itself.
· Unbelief says, “This is a new thing and cannot be true.”
· Unbelief says, “This is a sudden thing and cannot be true.”
· Unbelief says, “There is no way to accomplish this thing.”
· Unbelief says, “There is only one way God can work.”
· Unbelief says, “Even if God does something, it won’t be enough.”

d. In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it: Through Elisha, God pronounced a harsh judgment upon the king’s doubting officer. He would see the word fulfilled, but not benefit from its fulfillment.

i. “Unbelievers do not really enjoy the things of this life. The mass of them find that wealth does not yield them satisfaction, their outward riches cannot conceal their inner poverty. To many men it is given to have all that heart can wish, and yet not to have what their heart does wish. They have everything except contentment.” (Spurgeon)

Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.

a. Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians: When the good news that started with the report of the lepers was found to be true, there was no stopping the people. Because they knew their need, they were happy to receive God’s provision to meet that need.

i. The king’s officer “derided the possibility of the prophet’s prediction; and no doubt had plenty of adherents. But the leper’s report swept away all his words to the winds. They had known, tasted, and handled.” (Meyer)

b. According to the word of the Lord: Through Elisha, God announced the exact prices in the Samarian markets, and the prophecy was proven to be precisely true.

M I G H T Y I N S P I R I T

Portion For Reading 2Kings 4-6
IN 2 KINGS 5:1, WE ARE INTRODUCED TO NAAMAN, a man at the top of his game. His very name means "pleasantness." He was an Aramean among Arameans, much as Paul was a "Hebrew of Hebrews." (Philippians 3:5) King Ben-hadad II of Damascus, ruler of Aram, regarded Naaman so highly that he trusted the man to command his army. He was a valiant soldier, seen by his countrymen as a deliverer and conqueror of nations, a great leader to be hailed along with their gods Rimmon, Baal, and Ishtar.

Naaman's reputation, fortune, and religion, however, had failed to give him the one thing he desired most—a cure for the leprosy that threatened his future with mutilation, blindness, isolation, and death.

In 800 B.C. lepers were viewed with fear and loathing. Dignitaries and officials who had once courted Naaman would now avoid him. Though mighty in battle, Naaman was losing field to the decay in his own body. His warrior code would prefer death by sword to wasting away at the mercy of this corrosive disease.

During one of Aram's many raids on its enemy Israel, a young Jewish girl had been abducted, separated from home and family, and pressed into slavery in Naaman's household. From her comment to her owner's wife, we can see God's mercy reflected in the girl: "I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy" (2 Kings 5:3).

That Naaman even considered the advice of an Israelite servant girl indicates he was essentially out of options. Aramean prophets and physicians worked for the king. (Edersheim, The Bible History, Old Testament) Naaman routinely accompanied King Ben-hadad to the temple of Rimmon to worship. (2 Kings 5:18) The priests of Rimmon and royal physicians had surely exhausted their prayers, spells, and most odorous potions to summon a miracle cure for their national hero.

Desperate for deliverance, Naaman asked Ben-hadad if he could go to the prophet in Samaria. The Aramean ruler, anxious to save this most valued commander, sent him into Israelite territory with instructions for King Jehoram to cure him.

The Jewish king, who equated curing leprosy with raising someone from the dead, wailed and tore his robes in despair. No one could cure this disease. Jehoram suspected treachery. After all, Aram was his enemy. He assumed Ben-hadad was setting him up by asking the impossible, and provoking war so he could plunder Israel.

King Jehoram's distraught cries reached Elisha the prophet, who sent for Naaman in order that "he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel" (2 Kings 5:8). Jehoram was an evil king who worshiped false gods, but he had seen Elisha's God work miracles before (2 Kings 3:20). He readily dispatched the Aramean.

Naaman, armor glistening, thundered to a stop outside Elisha's house. He looked down his aristocratic nose at the humble dwelling and waited as the army around him settled into silence. Much to Naaman's chagrin, Elisha did not grant him due respect by coming out to greet him, but sent his servant instead. The servant pronounced that the God of Israel would cure the commander if he dipped in the Jordan River seven times.

Angry heat crept up Naaman's neck. The star officer of Aram's army had contracted leprosy, been constrained to obey the advice of a slave girl, and traveled the long, dusty road to Elisha. Taking commands from a servant shredded the remnants of his ragged pride. The ridiculous instruction to dip seven times in the Jordan sent him into a rage. He had just traveled through that churning, muddy river to get to Samaria. "Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?" he ranted. "Could I not wash in them and be clean?" (2 Kings 5:12). Where was the miraculous lightning, the waving of hands, the earthquake? Where was the pomp due his station? Infuriated, he wheeled his army and stormed back toward Damascus, which, in God's providence, lay on the other side of the Jordan.

We can imagine Naaman stopping to rest his troops next to the Jordan, watching the horses drink from the dark water, his attendants' question circling through his mind. Their argument made sense: "If the prophet had asked you to do some great thing, wouldn't you do it?" (2 Kings 5:13) Of course! He had commanded legions, conquered nations, and brought kings to their knees. He had sewn the very fabric of his life with "great things." He was a self-made man, goal-oriented and disciplined, with a razor-sharp mind. Why should he, the great Naaman, debase himself by dipping in the Jordan at the request of a washed-out old prophet whose God had left Israel defeated time and again?

Naaman had always done things his way—the right way, the best way. But still, his mottled skin . . . He was up against a monster that would devour him inch by fleshy inch.
What if it worked?

He laid his pride on the riverbank, slogged through the slippery mud, and waded into the Jordan.

He knelt in the stream and let the cold water rush over him. Nothing. He stood. How unsavory for a man of such rank. He dipped again. And again. He rose the seventh time, brushed the water from his eyes and saw that "his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean" (2 Kings 5:14). Naaman immediately knew that only the God of Israel could perform such a miracle. It was beyond anything he had ever witnessed. We can see him shouting at the top of his lungs and charging toward shore, leaping through the turbulence. "Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel" (2 Kings 5:15). Naaman had passed the greatest milestone of his success-strewn life. He knew then he would honor only the God who had cured him.

The commander returned to Elisha's dwelling, a little sheepishly, no doubt, after his tirade. He wanted to thank the prophet. Elisha conceded to talk to the humbled, healed Aramean.
Naaman tried to pay for the miracle with the gold and silver he had brought with him—over $400,000 in today's currency—but Elisha refused compensation. He wanted Naaman to understand that he was completely dependent on God's sufficiency. There was nothing he could do to earn, or pay for, his deliverance from the dread leprosy.

Naaman was a man of power and self-reliance who found himself helpless in the face of leprosy. He learned that true success meant relying on God's power.

Too often, we, like Naaman, go to God in our own strength with great plans to evangelize, to teach, to heal our own "leprosy"; however, God is not glorified in our strength, but, as He told Paul, His "power is perfected in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). "Seek the LORD in His strength" (1 Chronicles 16:11). Then you, too, will "tell of His Glory among the nations" (v. 24) and "ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name" (v. 29).

By Patrick Davis

Walk Along And Talk Together

2 Kings 1-3

Elijah Taken Up to Heaven
When the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elisha were on their way from Gilgal. Elijah said to Elisha, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to Bethel."
But Elisha said, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went down to Bethel.

The company of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," Elisha replied, "but do not speak of it."

Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, Elisha; the LORD has sent me to Jericho."
And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So they went to Jericho.

The company of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, "Do you know that the LORD is going to take your master from you today?"
"Yes, I know," he replied, "but do not speak of it."

Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here; the LORD has sent me to the Jordan."
And he replied, "As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you." So the two of them walked on.

Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up and struck the water with it. The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"
"Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.

"You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise not."

As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart.

Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me: When invited to make a request, Elisha asked for a big thing - a double portion of the mighty spirit of Elijah. Elisha saw how greatly the Spirit of God worked through Elijah, and he wanted the same for himself.

i. He could have asked for anything, but he asked for this. “He sought neither wealth, nor position, nor worldly power; nor a share in those advantages on which he had turned his back for ever.” (Meyer)

ii. The idea of a double portion was not to ask for twice as much as Elijah had, but to ask for the portion that went to the firstborn son, as in Deuteronomy 21:17. Elisha asked for the right to be regarded as the successor of Elijah, as his firstborn son in regard to ministry. Yet Elisha had already been designated as Elijah’s successor (1 Kings 19:19). This was a request for the spiritual power to fulfill the calling he already received.

iii. It is worthwhile to consider if this was generally a good or a bad thing. Normally we don’t think of one person inheriting the ministry of another. The relation between Elijah and Elisha - and God’s apparent blessing on their ministries - shows that at least sometimes God intends one person to inherit the ministry of another.

d. If you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be for you: Elijah tested the devotion of his mentor by seeing if he would persistently stay with him through these last remarkable hours. If the devotion of Elisha remained strong through the testing, his request to be the successor of the first prophet would be fulfilled.

Walking ---> Personal Relation With God

Talking ---->Prayer Life is Like Talking to God

To recieve the double portion of anointing we need to keep on Walking along and Talking together with God always, as we all desire to have a double portion come let us Walk and Talk with him and never cease your walk and talk like Elisha did, and he recieved the double portion of Elijah.

Naboth's Vineyard

Portion for Reading 1 King 20-22
The story of Naboth's vineyard is the culmination of human greed overcoming gratitude for the gifts given by God that should, in turn, be handed on to others. (1 Kings 21: 1-16) The only reason given for King Ahab's desire to possess Naboth's vineyard is that it is next to his own property. That is, it is across his boundary line. He is among those denounced in the oracle of Isaiah who wishes to "join house to house, [an] add field to field.

" That Naboth really cares about this vineyard because it is an ancestral inheritance seems only to fuel Ahab's desire for it. It is otherwise hard to imagine a king taking to his bed in a huge pout over the intrinsic value of one vineyard. Jezebel berates his husband for his behavior. She is not taking him to task for desiring somebody else's vineyard, of course.

She is berating him for not asserting his kingship by taking it. Jezebel takes matters into her own hands. She demonstrates that she understands the dynamics of mimetic violence all too well. The acquisitive mimesis on Ahab's part has the potential to lead to violence. The same goes for the acquisitive mimesis on the part of the people who live in Naboth's town. She assumes, rightly, that there are people sufficiently subject to envy that if Naboth is conspicuously placed in a prominent position, these people will make false accusations in order to get rid of him.

Jezebel also realizes that the occasion for the false charges and the subsequent killing need to be done in a sacred context, so she advises her plotters to proclaim a fast and then appoint Naboth a leader. When the accusations are made, all the tension from mimetic rivalry focuses on Naboth and all the people in the town stone him. With the result that Ahab acquires the vineyard. Ahab, of course, is denounced by the prophet Elijah for what he has done. Ahab then repents and God accepts the repentance. But then Ahab turns around and starts a war with Amon because he believes that Ramoth-gilead belongs to him and he hasn't done anything about it. He ignores the warning of another prophet, Micaiah, and is killed in the battle. (1 Kings 22)

When Jesus uses the vineyard as the central image of some of his parables, he is using an image which has accumulated much weight in the tradition of his people. He can hardly begin a parable by saying: "There was a vineyard" without people thinking of the Torah legislation and of the way the prophets used it to bring home the word of God. Not only that, but some of Jesus' listeners would have been the owners of vineyards or workers in them. For them, the vineyard was not just an illustrative symbol but a reality around which their social tensions actually revolved.

Jesus said: "I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples." (Jn. 15:5-8) To us who are inclined to kill for the sake of gaining God's substance for ourselves, Jesus responds by offering us God's substance as a gift. He also warns us that there is no other way in which we can have God's substance. We are called to work in God's vineyard. But it is not enough to be a laborer in the vineyard. We are also called to be the vines nourished by the True Vine. Everybody receives the same nourishment from the vine of which we are branches. That means we must wish for all other branches to be nourished as much as the True Vine wishes it. The vineyard of the Lord will not be complete until Ham and all his descendants are welcomed back into our shared inheritance.

Source: Andrew Marr, OSB

Last Meal

Passage : 1 Kings 17-19

1 Kings 17:8-12

Then the word of the LORD came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."

"As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."

All that she meant was that she was going to have her last meal with her son and die, but for God the Last Meal was a way for her provision. Some times we get tired waiting for a prosperty in life, but you need to wait until you offer the Last Meal (Prayer) to the Lord. Then you will start to see the work of God.

When you are going through a trial in life and you are praying for deliverence, it seems each day you are praying but you see no sign of deliverence. Then you find yourselves finally standing at a stage where you cannot carry on further, and the prayer you offer at that time is similar to the words of the widow in this passage, "I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die." I mean you will pray to the Lord that this is enough and that i cannot go further or take beyond what i am........ please deliver me according to your righteouseness.

Now listen this is what the Lord wants to say to all of us who are going to great trails in Life.

1 Kings 17:13-16

Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' " She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.

By SS

Prophet Ahijah

Portion For Reading 1 Kings 14-16
This is an example of Jeroboam's cruel ingratitude and of the Lord's compassion and earnest endeavor to save him. But the effort failed, for the record says: “After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way.” He continued to lead the people into heathen worship. “And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.” 1 Kings 13:33, 34.

After a time, Abijah, Jeroboam's son, became seriously ill, nigh unto death. Jeroboam knew that he was under the displeasure of God, and undoubtedly feared that he was being visited with divine judgment. In his distress he remembered the good old prophet Ahijah, God's inspired messenger. The prophet would know if this sickness was a judgment from the Lord, and whether his son would die.

“Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people…. He shall tell thee what shall become of the child. And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age.” 1 Kings 14:2-4.

Jeroboam wanted help. He knew that God could restore his son, even as he had restored his own withered arm. He knew that Ahijah was in communication with God. He vainly hoped that his wife might secure the prophet's mighty intercession for his son's recovery. But he feared to let Ahijah know that it was Jeroboam who was seeking this help. Hence the instruction to his wife to “disguise” herself.

But the ruse did not succeed. While the queen was on her way to the prophet, “the Lord said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman. And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.” Verses 5, 6.

Then it became the painful duty of the disappointed old prophet to deliver to the queen a terrible message to take to her husband, King Jeroboam.

“Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over My people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as My servant David, who kept My commandments, and who followed Me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in Mine eyes; but hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke Me to anger, and hast cast Me behind thy back: therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, … and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone…. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die.” “And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died.” 1 Kings 14:7-12, 17.

This, apparently, was the last communication between Ahijah and Jeroboam. Swift judgment and disaster fell upon the house of Jeroboam in fulfillment of the word of the Lord through the prophet Ahijah. Shortly after receiving the message, Jeroboam led the forces of his kingdom against the army of Judah, and suffered a crushing defeat. His army was destroyed “with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time…. Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah; and the Lord struck him, and he died.” 2 Chron. 13:17-20.

Jeroboam was succeeded by his son Nadab, who “did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.” 1 Kings 15:25, 26. In the second year of Nadab's reign, Baasha, a conspirator, slew him, and “smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him.” Verses 28, 29.

In less than two years after the death of Jeroboam his dynasty was exterminated; and this was only twenty-four years from the day he had been crowned king by the Lord's choosing, and by the marvelous working of many divine providences.

Source:whiteestate.org

Solomons Temple

Portion for Reading :1 Kings 5-7

King Solomons Reign

The crowning achievement of King Solomon's reign was the erection of a magnificent Temple (Beit ha-Midkash) in Jerusalem. His father, King David, had wanted to build a great Temple for God a generation earlier, as a permanent resting place for the Ark containing the Ten Commandments. A divine edict, however, had forbidden him from doing so. "You will not build a house for My name," God said to him, "for you are a man of battles and have shed blood" (I Chronicles 28:3).

The Bible's description of Solomon's Temple suggests that the inside ceiling was was 180 feet long, 90 feet wide, and 50 feet high. The highest point on the Temple that King Solomon built was actually 120 cubits tall (about 20 stories or about 207 feet). According to the Tanach (II Chronicles):

3:3 The length by cubits after the ancient measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.

3:4 And the porch that was before the house, the length of it, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the height a hundred and twenty; and he overlaid it within with pure gold.

He spares no expense in the building's creation. He orders vast quantities of cedar from King Hiram of Tyre (I Kings 5:20­25), has huge blocks of the choicest stone quarried, and commands that the building's foundation be laid with hewn stone. To complete the massive project, he imposes forced labor on all his subjects, drafting people for work shifts lasting a month at a time. Some 3,300 officials are appointed to oversee the Temple's erection (5:27­30). Solomon assumes such heavy debts in building the Temple that he is forced to pay off King Hiram with twenty towns in the Galilee (I Kings 9:11).

When the Temple is completed, Solomon inaugurates it with prayer and sacrifice, and even invites non­Jews to come and pray there. He urges God to pay particular heed to their prayers: "Thus all the peoples of the earth will know Your name and revere You, as does Your people Israel; and they will recognize that Your name is attached to this House that I have built" (I Kings 8:43).

Until the Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians some four hundred years later, in 586 B.C.E., sacrifice was the predominant mode of divine service there. Seventy years later, a second Temple was built on the same site, and sacrifices again resumed. During the first century B.C.E., Herod greatly enlarged and expanded this Temple. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E., after the failure of the Great Revolt.

As glorious and elaborate as the Temple was, its most important room contained almost no furniture at all. Known as the Holy of Holies (Kodesh Kodashim), it housed the two tablets of the Ten Commandments. Unfortunately, the tablets disappeared when the Babylonians destroyed the Temple, and during the Second Temple era, the Holy of Holies was a small, entirely bare room. Only once a year, on Yom Kippur, the High Priest would enter this room and pray to God on Israel's behalf. A remarkable monologue by a Hasidic rabbi in the Yiddish play The Dybbuk conveys a sense of what the Jewish throngs worshiping at the Temple must have experienced during this ceremony:

God's world is great and holy. The holiest land in the world is the land of Israel. In the land of Israel the holiest city is Jerusalem. In Jerusalem the holiest place was the Temple, and in the Temple the holiest spot was the Holy of Holies.... There are seventy peoples in the world. The holiest among these is the people of Israel. The holiest of the people of Israel is the tribe of Levi. In the tribe of Levi the holiest are the priests. Among the priests, the holiest was the High Priest.... There are 354 days in the [lunar] year. Among these, the holidays are holy. Higher than these is the holiness of the Sabbath. Among Sabbaths, the holiest is the Day of Atonement, the Sabbath of Sabbaths.... There are seventy languages in the world. The holiest is Hebrew. Holier than all else in this language is the holy Torah, and in the Torah the holiest part is the Ten Commandments. In the Ten Commandments the holiest of all words is the name of God.... And once during the year, at a certain hour, these four supreme sanctities of the world were joined with one another. That was on the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies and there utter the name of God. And because this hour was beyond measure holy and awesome, it was the time of utmost peril not only for the High Priest but for the whole of Israel. For if in this hour there had, God forbid, entered the mind of the High Priest a false or sinful thought, the entire world would have been destroyed.

To this day, traditional Jews pray three times a day for the Temple's restoration. During the centuries the Muslims controlled Palestine, two mosques were built on the site of the Jewish Temple. (This was no coincidence; it is a common Islamic custom to build mosques on the sites of other people's holy places.) Since any attempt to level these mosques would lead to an international Muslim holy war (jihad) against Israel, the Temple cannot be rebuilt in the foreseeable future.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: Joseph Telushkin. Jewish Literacy. NY: William Morrow and Co., 1991

Jeroboams

Portion For Reading 1 Kings 11-13

Jeroboam's Background
Jeroboam had significantly gained prominence during King Solomon's reign. "The man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor; and Solomon, seeing that the young man was industrious, made him the officer over all the labor force of the house of Joseph" (1Kings 11:28).

Meaning: increase of the people.
First-century Jewish historian Josephus adds further details: ". . . When Solomon saw that he was of an active and bold disposition, he made him the curator of the walls which he built round about Jerusalem; and he took such care of those works, and the king approved of his behaviour, and gave him, as a reward for the same, the charge of the tribe of Joseph" (Antiquities of the Jews, book VIII, chapter vii, section 7).

However, relations between Solomon and Jeroboam would not remain so respectful and peaceable.
As Solomon grew older he fell increasingly into idolatrous worship. He so disgraced himself through his worship of idols that God rebuked him: "I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant (Jeroboam)" (1Kings 11:11).
Jeroboam's ascendancy wasn't the product of his own righteousness but came about, rather ironically, by Solomon's idolatry.

A Message from God

Privately the prophet Ahijah revealed to Jeroboam God's intention to make him the ruler of a new kingdom: ". . . When Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem . . . the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the way; and he had clothed himself with a new garment, and the two were alone in the field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces."And he said to Jeroboam, 'Take for yourself ten pieces, for thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and will give ten tribes to you . . . because they have forsaken Me, and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the people of Ammon, and have not walked in My ways to do what is right in My eyes and keep My statutes and My judgments, as did his father David." ' î (1Kings 11:29-33).Here we see the reason for the kingdom of Israel splitting into two nations: idolatrous worship, or the rejection of the manner of worship God had prescribed in His Word.Ahijah continued God's message: "However I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand, because I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of My servant David, whom I chose because he kept My commandments and My statutes. But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand and give it to you--ten tribes . . . So I will take you, and you shall reign over all your heart desires, and you shall be king over Israel" ' î (1Kings 11:34-37).Josephus complements the biblical account: "Being a young man of warm temper, and ambitious of greatness, he could not be quiet." Jeroboam decided to seek control of the northern tribes immediately, and "he endeavored to persuade the people to forsake Solomon, to make a disturbance, and to bring the government over to himself" (Antiquities of the Jews, book VIII, chapter vii, section 8). Solomon, who learned of Jeroboam's subversive design, responded by trying to kill him. But Jeroboam fled to Egypt, where he remained until the king died (1Kings 11:40).

Confrontation with Rehoboam

After Solomon's death and Rehoboam's ascension of the throne, Jeroboam's countrymen summoned him from Egypt. Shortly thereafter he and Rehoboam had the confrontation.After the northern 10 tribes announced their intention to reject the House of David, Rehoboam became desperate: ". . . He assembled all the house of Judah with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, that he might restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon."But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying, 'Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, "Thus says the Lord: 'You shall not go up nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel. Let every man return to his house, for this thing is from Me.' " ' Therefore they obeyed the word of the Lord, and turned back, according to the word of the Lord" (1Kings 12:22-24).

Source:Jerold Aust

Queen of Sheba

Portion For Reading 1King 8-10

Who was Queen of Sheba?

The Queen of Sheba: Sheba (also known as Sabea) was where modern day Yemen is today (Southern Arabia). We know from geography this was a wealthy kingdom, with much gold, spices, and precious woods. History also tells us that they were known to have queens as well as kings.

i. This was a long trip - up to about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers). She probably came as part of a trade delegation (1 Kings 10:2-5), but there is no doubt that she was highly motivated to see Solomon and his kingdom.

ii.There is certainly rich evidence for the development and flourishing of a major kingdom called Saba in Yemen. However, there is still no definite answer as to who The Queen of Sheba was, as research has only begun to reveal her actual existence.

What did she come for?

"When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, and his relation to the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. Arriving at Jerusalem with a very great caravan - with camels carrying spices, large quantities of gold, and precious stones - she came to Solomon and talked with him about all that she had on her mind. Solomon answered all her questions;... And she gave the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold, large quantities of spices, and precious stones.

Regardless of the result of her search, we can admire her seeking.

· She came from a great distance
· She came with gifts to offer
· She came to question and to learn
· She came and saw the riches of the king
· She came for an extended period
· She came telling all that was on her heart

What happened after that?

The Bible records that King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba all she desired and asked for, besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty. Then she left and returned with her retinue to her own country. (1 King 10:13)

According to world of Antiques : A far more earthy version of the story is provided by the Ethiopian tradition, in which the Queen of Sheba visits Solomon in Jerusalem and later gives birth to their son. This child, Menelik, goes on to found the dynasty from which the Ethiopian royal family today claims descent.

Jesus used the Queen of Sheba as an example of a seeker: The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. (Matthew 12:42) If the Queen of Sheba sought Solomon and the splendor of his kingdom so diligently, how much more should people today seek Jesus and the glory of His Kingdom. She will certainly also rise up in judgment with this generation.

Source:David Guzik

Solomon

Portion For Reading 1 Kings 1-4

The biblical King Solomon was known for his wisdom, his wealth and his writings. He became ruler in approximately 967 B.C.E. and his kingdom extended from the Euphrates River in the north to Egypt in the south. His crowning achievement was the building of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Almost all knowledge of him is derived from the biblical books of Kings I and Chronicles II.

Solomon was the son of King David and Bathsheba. Solomon was not the oldest son of David, but David promised Bathsheba that Solomon would be the next king. When David’s elder son Adonijah declared himself king, David ordered his servants to bring Solomon to the Gihon spring where the priest anointed him while David was still alive. Solomon inherited a considerable empire from his father.

At first Solomon was faced with opposition. Two of David’s closest advisors, Joab son of Zeruiah and the priest Abiathar, sided with Adonijah. When Adonijah came to Solomon and requested the king’s servant as a wife, Solomon saw that this was a veiled threat to take over his kingdom and sent a messenger to kill Adonijah. He banished Abiathar to the city of Anathoth. Solomon then followed his father’s last instructions in which David had ordered him to kill both Joab and one of his father’s enemies, Shimei son of Gera. Solomon thus overcame the last potential threats to his kingdom. He then appointed his friends to key military, governmental and religious posts.

Solomon accumulated enormous wealth. He controlled the entire region west of the Euphrates and had peace on his borders. Kings I states that he owned 12,000 horses with horsemen and 1,400 chariots. Remains of stalls for 450 horses have in fact been found in Megiddo. Solomon strengthened his kingdom through marital alliances. Kings I records that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines, although some regard this number as an exaggeration.2 He had a large share in the trade between northern and southern countries. He established Israelite colonies around his province to look after military, administrative and commercial matters. The empire was divided into twelve districts, with Judah constituting its own political unit and enjoying certain privileges.

Although Solomon was young, he soon became known for his wisdom. The first and most famous incident of his cleverness as a judge was when two women came to his court with a baby whom both women claimed as their own. Solomon threatened to split the baby in half. One woman was prepared to accept the decision, but the other begged the King to give the live baby to the other woman. Solomen then knew the second woman was the mother.

People from surrounding nations also came to hear Solomon’s wisdom. He composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. He wrote the Song of Songs, the Book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
One of the most celebrated visits to Solomon was that of the Queen of Sheba, who came from southern Arabia. Historically, Arabia was a country rich in gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Solomon needed Sheba’s products and trade routes; the queen of Sheba needed Solomon’s cooperation in marketing her country’s goods. The queen came to Solomon with camels carrying spices, gold and precious stones. She asked him questions and riddles and was amazed at his wisdom.

Once Solomon’s empire was tranquil, he began to build the Holy Temple. He received wood from King Hiram of Tyre and imposed a compulsory labor service on both the Israelites and the foreign nations that were under his control. His workers built the structure of the Temple, its decorations and its vessels. The Temple took seven years to complete. It was built of stone and cedar, carved within and overlaid with pure gold. When it was done, Solomon dedicated the Temple in a public ceremony of prayers and sacrifices.

Solomon was also renowned for his other building projects in which he used slave labor from the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. He spent 13 years building his own palace, and also built a city wall, a citadel called the Millo, a palace for the daughter of Pharaoh (who was one of his wives) and facilities for foreign traders. He erected cities for chariots and horsemen and created storage cities. He extended Jerusalem to the north and fortified cities near the mountains of Judah and Jerusalem.

Solomon’s downfall came in his old age. He had taken many foreign wives, whom he allowed to worship other gods. He even built shrines for the sacrifices of his foreign wives. Within Solomon’s kingdom, he placed heavy taxation on the people, who became bitter. He also had the people work as soldiers, chief officers and commanders of his chariots and cavalry. He granted special privileges to the tribes of Judah and this alienated the northern tribes. The prophet Ahijah of Shiloh prophesied that Jeroboam son of Nebat would become king over ten of the 12 tribes, instead of one of Solomon’s sons.

Outside Solomon’s kingdom, Hadad, of the royal family of Edom, rose up as an adversary of Israel. Rezon son of Eliada, ruler of Aram also fought Solomon, and created tension between the two kingdoms that was to last even after Solomon’s reign ended.
Solomon died in Jerusalem after 40 years as ruler of Israel. He was buried in the City of David. His son, Rehoboam succeeded him as king. Under Rehobaum’s rule, Solomon’s empire was lost and his kingdom was divided into two parts.

By Shira Schoenberg