Second Kings 1-3

God’s message to me: We Christians really don’t know the power we can wield. God has promised us the ability to do all we read about in the bible and more. Despite that fact we continue to assume the days of miracles are over. With faith the size of a mustard seed we can move a mountain. We can heal and cast out demons. We can survive attack and withstand poison as long as God wills us to. We have no reason to fear embarrassment. If we can agree together before God and ask things in the name of His Son they will be granted that our joy may be full and that His power will be known.

Promises: God is not mocked. When the king demanded Elijah to come God revealed His power by burning the soldiers where they stood when Elijah asked Him too. He did it to prove He was God and Elijah was His man. He parted the waters for Elijah and again for Elisha to show Elisha he was indeed empowered as his predecessor. He also fulfilled the curse of Elisha on the boys who mocked him.

Commands: Do what God commands, no matter how useless it may seem, and He will provide far more than you could imagine to fulfill your needs and desires.

Timeless principles: God will often use the same thing that brings success to His people to bring disaster on their enemies. The king of Judah, who served God, went with the kings of Samaria(Israel) and Edom(the children of Esau) to battle the Moabites. Lacking water they sought the council of Elisha.

Because of Jehoshaphat, who served the Lord, Elisha inquired of the Lord and instructed them to dig ditches in the valley where they were camped. God filled the ditches with water so that the army and it’s animals could drink, he caused the water to look like blood to the Moabites so that they thought the three kings fought amongst each other and dashed in for an easy victory, only to find 3 armies, rested, fed and watered, ready to overcome them.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: Trust God and don’t worry about the means. When God told the kings to dig ditches He also told them those ditches would be filled with water miraculously. The water wouldn’t come from rain or runoff or a stream or any other visible source. God would fill them. God did fill them and He can fulfill your needs just as miraculously.

more to learn for in-depth study: Baal Zebub, which is where we get the name Beelzebub, means Lord of the flies and was one of several false gods known as Baal.

tomorrow: Second Kings 4-6