Day 103: 2 Kings 1-3

(The Book of 2 Kings was the seventh of the the twelve books that made up the historical section of the Old Testament. It was believed that Isaiah and Jeremiah compiled the Book of 1 Kings and the Book of 2 Kings from what was recorded by scribes and/or prophets between 1046-616 BC.)

(The Book of 2 Kings documented Israel's and Judah's time prior to their being taken into captivity by a heathen king: Nebuchadnezzar. This was a time of tremendous upheaval. Several prophetic books were written during the time period covered by this book: Jonah, Joel, Amos, Micah, Hosea, Isaiah, Nahum, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk, Ezekiel and Daniel...all of the "major prophets" and eight of the twelve "minor prophets." During this time, God went from loving to not loving because it would have been enabling. Take note of this transition and the reasons why.)

(At the end of 1 Kings, Judah and Benjamin were ruled by two kings whose hearts were towards God like David's: Asa (fourth from David) and Jehoshaphat (fifth from David). Israel (ten tribes) was ruled by a succession of progressively worse kings. As that book concluded, Israel was ruled by Ahaziah, a king who continued the pattern of being an evil ruler. Judah was ruled by the son of Jehoshaphat, and grandson of Asa. Was he good or evil?)

2 Kings 1
¹ And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

(The continuation of the Book of Kings began when Moab (from Lot) afflicted Israel, again.)

² And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover of this sickness.

(Ahaziah, king of Israel, sought out Baal-zebub when he was sick. Baal-zebub meant "lord of the fly." It was a Philistine deity worshipped at Ekron.)

³ But the angel of Jehovah said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?
⁴ Now therefore thus saith Jehovah, Thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.

(God directed Elijah to confront Ahaziah with a question.)

⁵ And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them, Why is it that ye are returned?
⁶ And they said unto him, There came up a man to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
⁷ And he said unto them, What manner of man was he that came up to meet you, and told you these words?
⁸ And they answered him, He was a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

(Check out this description of John the Baptist from Matthew 3:4 - "Now John himself had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.")

⁹ Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he spake unto him, O man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
¹⁰ And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

(Elijah brought fire down from heaven against Ahaziah's fifty messengers.)

¹¹ And again he sent unto him another captain of fifty and his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly.
¹² And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

(Elijah brought fire down again on Ahaziah's second group of fifty messengers.)

¹³ And again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight.
¹⁴ Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and consumed the two former captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in thy sight.

(The captain of the third group humbled himself and asked Elijah to spare them.)

¹⁵ And the angel of Jehovah said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.
¹⁶ And he said unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die.
¹⁷ So he died according to the word of Jehovah which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram began to reign in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.

(Ahaziah died according to the Word of God which Elijah had spoken. Jehoram (also spelt Joram), reigned in his place. The two usages of Jehoram in this verse referred to two different men.)

¹⁸ Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?




2 Kings 2
¹ And it came to pass, when Jehovah would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.

(Elijah was to be taken to heaven by a whirlwind. Whirlwind meant "tempest; storm." This would be a rapture, similar to when Enoch was raptured in Genesis 5:24.)

² And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me as far as Beth-el. And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el.

(Elisha wanted to be with Elijah when Elijah was taken away.)

³ And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
⁴ And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho.

(The prophets at Beth-el were aware Elijah would be taken away by God. Again, Elisha told Elijah he would not leave him.)

⁵ And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that Jehovah will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace.
⁶ And Elijah said unto him, Tarry here, I pray thee; for Jehovah hath sent me to the Jordan. And he said, As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on.

(The prophets at Jericho were aware Elijah would be taken away by God. Again, Elisha told Elijah he would not leave him.)

⁷ And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by the Jordan.
⁸ And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground.

(Elijah took off his cloak, hit the water, and divided the water so he and Elisha could pass on dry ground. This represented the power of God with Elijah.)

⁹ And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I am taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

(Elisha asked Elijah for a double portion of Elijah's spirit.)

¹⁰ And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
¹¹ And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

(Elijah was taken up by a whirlwind. This was a type of rapture because Elijah did not die. Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah did not die. This has led to many experts believing Enoch and Elijah will be the Two Witnesses in Revelation 11.)

¹² And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
¹³ He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
¹⁴ And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is Jehovah, the God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither; and Elisha went over.
¹⁵ And when the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho over against him saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

(Elisha took Elijah's cloak and hit the water and passed on dry ground. This proved Elisha had the same type of power of God that Elijah had.)

¹⁶ And they said unto him, Behold now, there are with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest the Spirit of Jehovah hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send.
¹⁷ And when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not.
¹⁸ And they came back to him, while he tarried at Jericho; and he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

(The men confirmed Elijah was taken alive because they could not find his body.)

¹⁹ And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, we pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is bad, and the land miscarrieth.
²⁰ And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him.
²¹ And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast salt therein, and said, Thus saith Jehovah, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or miscarrying.
²² So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spake.

(Elisha knew how to use his words. According to the words Elisha spoke, the waters were healed. Elisha stated his will over something that had no will: water.)

²³ And he went up from thence unto Beth-el; and as he was going up by the way, there came forth young lads out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou baldhead; go up, thou baldhead.
²⁴ And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads of them.

(Elijah was hairy. Elisha was bald. Elisha cursed those who mocked him. Two female bears came and tore forty-two boys.)

²⁵ And he went from thence to mount Carmel, and from thence he returned to Samaria.




2 Kings 3
¹ Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

(Jehoram (Joram) reigned over Israel during Jehoshaphat’s reign over Judah.)

² And he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, but not like his father, and like his mother; for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made.

(Jehoram (Joram) did evil but not as bad as Ahab and Jezebel.)

³ Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherewith he made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom.
⁴ Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master; and he rendered unto the king of Israel the wool of a hundred thousand lambs, and of a hundred thousand rams.
⁵ But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
⁶ And king Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time, and mustered all Israel.
⁷ And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses.

(Jehoram (Joram) asked Jehoshaphat if he would go to war with him. Jehoshaphat answered the way he did to Ahaziah. Would Jehoshaphat ask Jehoram (Joram) to enquire of God? Moab (from Lot) was causing trouble again.)

⁸ And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way of the wilderness of Edom.
⁹ So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom; and they made a circuit of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, nor for the beasts that followed them.

(The armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom were stranded in the desert without water.)

¹⁰ And the king of Israel said, Alas! for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
¹¹ But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah, that we may inquire of Jehovah by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.

(They went through Edom (from Esau). Like with Ahaziah, Jehoshaphat asked if there was a prophet of God they could enquire of. Elisha was mentioned.)

¹² And Jehoshaphat said, The word of Jehovah is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
¹³ And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay; for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.
¹⁴ And Elisha said, As Jehovah of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.

(Elisha said that if Jehoshaphat was not there, he would see none of them.)

¹⁵ But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him.
¹⁶ And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, Make this valley full of trenches.
¹⁷ For thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, and ye shall drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts.

(Elisha told them to dig ditches and God would fill them with water without wind or rain causing it. This was Prediction #1.)

¹⁸ And this is but a light thing in the sight of Jehovah: he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.

(Prediction #2: Moabites delivered into their hands.)

¹⁹ And ye shall smite every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

(Prediction #3: They shall smite every city and good tree, stop all fountains and mar every good piece of land with stones.)

²⁰ And it came to pass in the morning, about the time of offering the oblation, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.
²¹ Now when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered themselves together, all that were able to put on armor, and upward, and stood on the border.
²² And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water over against them as red as blood:
²³ and they said, This is blood; the kings are surely destroyed, and they have smitten each man his fellow: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.

(The sun reflected off the water and the Moabites thought it was blood from the three kings destroying each other. They went to gather spoil but ended up losing the battle.)

²⁴ And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went forward into the land smiting the Moabites.
²⁵ And they beat down the cities; and on every good piece of land they cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the fountains of water, and felled all the good trees, until in Kir-hareseth only they left the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.
²⁶ And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew sword, to break through unto the king of Edom; but they could not.
²⁷ Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there was great wrath against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

(Moab was defeated by Israel, Judah, and Edom working together. The king of Moab got so desperate, he offered his son (the heir) as a burnt offering.)

(This post covered Elijah being taken to heaven alive, Elisha's continuation in Elijah's place, and Moab being defeated by Israel, Judah, and Edom working together.)

Day 104