Good morning, I hope this day finds you in good spirits. Today we will read 2 Kings 8-10.
Sometimes it is hard to decide if someone is a hero or a villain. People will show you a smile while hiding a dagger behind their back. Therefore, we must always be cautious.
The woman’s wisdom
Chapter 8’s opening verses reintroduce the Shunammite woman whose son Elisha raised from the dead.
I like the Matthew Henry’s comment on this verse. He states, “It is well to foresee an evil, and wisdom, when we foresee it, to hide ourselves if we lawfully may do so.” (1).
My sphere of influence is relatively small. To reach more people with the Gospel, I have been using social media.
God has put me in a unique mission field. He didn’t send me to a foreign land, physically. Instead, He has provided a way for me to reach many lands digitally. This blessing of the modern age requires careful handling.
A friend at our church is a member of our police forces Cyber Crimes Unit. She has discussed how to protect yourself and exposed the dangers of the technology we all use.
Therefore, I have a policy. I will follow and befriend most people on all the platforms I use. Some, I’m developing what seems like genuine connections with.
I will not, however, leave those platforms to have “private conversations” on the apps which have higher levels of encryption. People use those apps to share inappropriate content, or request personal information.
As a teenager, I threw large parties. I had figured out how to make a profit by charging a cover charge.
We had several sizeable parties in the desert, but then had one at a friend’s house in town. Taking in several hundred dollars at the door, we made a nice profit. The beer we bought only cost us around One hundred and fifty dollars.
I was always looking for business opportunities in life.
Someone put something into the drink of my best friend’s girlfriend. We had taken her to the hospital.
We could blame the person who did that. They are culpable. This does not change the fact that we are also responsible. If we had not been at that party, they could not have drugged her.
While we were with her at the hospital, the police responded to a call about the party and arrested or sent everyone else home. They got in trouble because of where they were.
If they hadn’t been present, the police would not have arrested them.
Because we were not there when the police arrived, we escaped punishment. I am not telling you this as a justification for having the party. Only as an example of how we assume risk when we place ourselves in certain situations.
Staying out of those private areas will keep me from seeing inappropriate material.
Elisha told this woman, who had shown him kindness, to leave Israel because a famine was coming. She left and avoided the suffering.
Joram’s downfall and Jehu’s rise
When she returned, there was no loss. The king, Joram, had all her land restored, including the profit it had earned.
Because of his mother, Jezebel’s witchcraft, Joram would die at the hand of Jehu (v9:24).
If he had not met him in battle, this would not have happened.
Responsibility and avoiding danger
Jehu then invites all the worshippers of Baal to an event. They all come thinking they can revel in their idolatry.
Because they are all in the same place, it is possible to have them all executed at once. They would not have died if they were not there?
We always want to blame circumstance, but we need to take responsibility.
I have heard people claim they were at a friend’s house and then one thing led to another and they started fooling around with each other. They will claim they didn’t mean for it to happen.
Adultery is never an accident. It would not have happened if they were not alone with each other in that situation.
We always taught our son, nothing good ever happens after midnight. If he was out with friends, he needed to avoid the temptation to go to the next destination.
When his friends would tell him how they had gotten into trouble, he could know he wasn’t among them.
Removing yourself from a situation, or better yet, not putting yourself into it at all, is your best defense.
The worshippers of Baal should not have been part of that culture. Even though they were, they could have escaped death had they not went to the event.
We all sin (Rom 3:23). Therefore, we have all put ourselves into a situation where we deserve the punishment for those sins.
The only way to avoid that punishment is to remove ourselves from that place.
Jesus has paid the price for us to excuse ourselves before the retribution comes. We need to look at our situation and realize the time to remove ourselves is before the punishment comes.
Hebrews 9:27 teaches that people are destined to die once and then face judgment (NIV).
What is happening in your life that you know, in your heart, you should not be a part of? Ask the Lord and He will deliver you from that sin.
Tomorrow we will read 2 Kings 11-14
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Henry, Matthew. 1706. Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete).
