June 30

Isaiah Prophesies about a Savior (Continued) - Isaiah 10:1-34, 11:1-16, 12:1-6; 2 Kings 16:5-6; 2 Chronicles 28:5-21

It's all about us...right?

"'By the strength of my hand I have done this, 

     and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.

I removed the boundaries of nations, 

     I plundered their treasures;

     like a mighty one I subdued their kings.'"

Isaiah 10:12 [The King of Assyria after defeating Judah according to the Lord's will.]

Does the ax raise itself above him who swings it,

     or the saw boast against him who uses it?

As if a rod were to wield him who lifts it up,

     or a club brandish him who is not wood!

Isaiah 10:15 [Isaiah's response to Assyria's posturing.]

Assyria is just a tool in the hands of the Living God.  It's funny to see them strutting.  "Oh, yeah, we're bad."  And trash talking.  And flexing.  When it's God, not man, that determines the events of history and of life.  It's comic because we know the whole story.  We see the Lord looming behind them, shaking His head.  While they strut their stuff, like midgets before Him.  A hilarious picture.

But let's not laugh to hard.  Because it's us, too.  Proud of what we've been able to accomplish.  How we've pulled ourselves by our own bootstraps.  How we work hard and deserve whatever we've earned, right?  How we don't want foreigners sneaking in and taking what is ours in America.  We believe our hard work justifies all that we have, don't we?  How is it different than Assyria?  We strut our stuff (literally) with our clothes and homes and cars.

I'm speaking of myself here.  Lord knows. 

June 29

Isaiah Prophesies about a Savior - Isaiah 7:1-25, 8:1-22, 9:1-21

The first seal impression of a Hebrew king ever found.  It is the seal of King Ahaz of Judah.  But an even better find than the seal is the story we've been left of this king.

Isaiah comes to King Ahaz and tells him the Lord will grant him a sign but Ahaz refuses it.  And so now, he's really going to get a sign.  So why does Ahaz refuse it?  Is it pride?  Does he think Judah powerful enough that he's not going to need God's help and he doesn't want to be beholden to the prophets and this God?

If God would grant you a sign, what would you ask for?  Hmmmmm.  I'm thinking you need to be careful what you ask for because it's as much a test of you as it is of God.  You might want to resist any greedy impulses.  So what's the wish...I mean sign?  Not the fleece thing.  What about feeding the 5,000 again?  How about feeding a country?  How would you pick which one would receive the blessing?  How about the whole world?  How about the whole world forever?  Then would man sink to laziness because he didn't need worry about where our next meal was coming from?  Would we begin to take it for granted after a generation?  Would we believe we'd earned the right to have the food, that we deserved it?  Would we worship the blessing of the food instead of the God who gave it?

Hmmmm, this sign thing left to man's discretion isn't as easy as it seems.  Lord knows.

Ahaz refuses to be granted a sign.  But, along with punishing Judah and Israel, God in His infinite love provides another sign for all mankind:

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel [which means God with us]" Isaiah 7:14

June 28

Early Beginnings of Captivity - 2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chronicles 5:23-26; War Between Syria, Israel, and Judah - 2 Kings 15:37, 15:31, 30, 17:1-2, 15:36, 38, 16:1-4; 2 Chronicles 27:7, 9, 28:1-4

Were the words of the prophets ringing in their ears as the Assyrian captivity begins with the taking of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh?  Or did they rationalize it away?  It has begun but do they know?  Do we ever know?  Or do we, like they, ignore the warnings or do we, like they, just try and take care of things ourselves?  So Syria and Israel try to join forces with Judah.  But this effort is frustrated by Judah's unwillingness and so they begin waring among themselves when the bigger enemy, Assyria, is just outside their gates.  

Sound familiar?  Arguing among ourselves when the real enemy is just outside our gate?

Lord forgive us.

June 27

The Prophecies of Micah (Continued) - Micah 6:1-16, 7:1-20

A statue titled, Justice and Mercy, outside the Beeson Law Library on the Samford campus.  The Angel of Mercy is staying the sword of the Lady of Justice. 

He has showed you, O man, what is good.

     And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

     and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

"To act justly and to love mercy" what a curious combination.  To act justly would seem to mean punish those who disobey God?  Ooooo and I can be good at that.  Oh, yeah, people's sins are soooo easy to see.  (Other people's sins, that is.)  But what happens when you combine that with "love mercy"?  That's the hard part.  Forgiving people and not just the poor and downtrodden.  But those who have attacked you personally.  Because isn't that exactly what Jesus did on the cross?  He served out what justice demanded in order to have mercy on us.  Justice and mercy - the two hands of God.  You can't have one without the other.

Lord knows.

June 26

The Prophecies of Micah (Continued) - Micah 3:1-12, 4:1-13, 5:1-15

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,

     though you are small among the clans of Judah,

out of you will come for me

     one who will be ruler over Israel,

whose origins are from of old,

     from ancient times."

Micah 5:2

You wonder what the people of Micah's day made of this prophecy of Christ?  What Micah himself made of it?  

It's no wonder they thought Christ would be a literal king.  Except for the commands and the obvious, I think you have to be mighty careful when you read the Bible literal.  God's ways are not man's ways and God's way of think not man's way of thinking.  We would have missed Christ, too.  So I wonder what we're missing in scripture nowadays?

To understand scripture requires the willingness of the author to explain it to us.

Lord knows.

Oh, and Micah must be picking up the same broadcast because here is the passage I cited from June 24th again:

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord

      to the house of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us His ways,

      so that we may walk in His paths."

Micah 4:2

June 25

The Prophecies of Micah - Micah 1:1-16, 2:1-13

"They covet fields and seize them,

     and houses and take them.

They defraud a man of his home,

     a fellowman of his inheritance."

Micah 2:1

Micah prophecies against the moral bankruptcy of an age that "worships" but does not live according to His will.  God wants our hearts more than our presence in the pews.  This prophecy and this passage from it could have been written for our time.  We live in a time when we've reaped the rewards of our greed.  I believe our recent financial collapse, because it was precipitated by our own greed, is a word from the Lord.  But one of the blessings I see in it is that people are looking to what is really important -- home, family, simple pleasures -- and not to what their money can buy.  Today I happened to see a copy of Success magazine and on the cover was a picture of actor and Parkinson's disease victim Michael J. Fox for a story on what's really important.  It's a sign of the times.

Times are good because our God is good.

Lord knows.

June 24

The Prophecies of Isaiah (Continued) - Isaiah 5:24-30, 1:27-31, 2:19-3:7, 1:18-20, 4:2-6, 2:1-5; 2 Kings 15:19-28, 15:6-7; 2 Chronicles 26:22-23, 27:1, 8, 27:2; 2 Kings 15:32-35; Isaiah's Mission Told in Vision - Isaiah 6:1-13; 2 Kings 15:35; 2 Chronicles 27:3-6

Sunrise at Mt Sinai

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

     to the house of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us His ways,

     so that we may walk in His paths."

Isaiah 2:3

I apologize that my I attention always focuses on scriptures surrounding mountains.  But, for me, the mountains are where I am closest to God.  The "mountain of the Lord" -- I have been there.  If  you've seen the sunrise from a mountain or walked in mountain snow, you've had a glimpse of God's beauty and grace and love toward us.  If you've been caught in a thunder or hail storm, you understand something of the awesome power of the Lord.  And if you've hiked for long miles on a mountain path, you know how He surrounds us day by day by day. 

The mountains seem to me to be a geological exclamation point in scripture.  The Ark comes to rest on a mountain, God's law is given on a mountain, Moses sees the promised land from a mountaintop and is buried there, God  passes by Elijah on a mountain, the Temple is built on one, there is the Mount of Olives and the mountain Jesus' transfiguration.  And as this scripture suggests, the mountains are a metaphor for heaven and the dwelling place of God.  So mountains have a certain prominence and loftiness in scripture.  

I long to be in the mountains.

Lord knows.

June 23

The Prophecies of Isaiah - Isaiah 1:1-9, 5:1-7, 1:10-17, 1:21-26, 2:6-18, 3:8-4:1, 32:9-11, 5:8-23

"Stop bringing meaningless offerings!

     Your incense is detestable to me.

New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations -- 

     I cannot bear your evil assemblies.

Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts

     my soul hates.

They have become a burden to me;

     I am weary of bearing them.

When you spread out your hands in prayer,

     I will hide my eyes from you;

even if you offer many prayers, 

     I will not listen.

Isaiah 1:13-15

Stop doing wrong,

     learn to do right!

Seek justice,

     encourage the oppressed.

Defend the cause of the fatherless,

     plead the case of the widow.

Isaiah 1:16-17

See how the faithful city 

     has become a harlot!

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;

     the widow's case does not come before them.

Isaiah 1:21, 23

I'm a little bit behind in writing my posts this week because my last living grandparent died on Monday.  Grandma Fisher was 94 years old.  She lived in a nursing home attached to a hospital in Standish, Michigan.  She was bedridden and in poor health at the time of her death.  But, for the past four years every Friday at noon, she would receive a single red rose from "Someone Who Cares."  The family tried to figure out who was sending the roses but never could.  Friday after Friday the roses kept arriving from Kitzman's Flowers in Standish but the identity of the person who was sending them remained a mystery -- a mystery that brought so much joy to so many people: to my grandma, to my mother and her sister that someone would think enough of their mother to extend this kindness, to the caregivers and nurses who had something uplifting to wonder about while they did a difficult job of caring for people so in need.  The mystery was a constant source of joy for so many people. 

Then when grandma passed away the family learned who the kind soul was.  Out of respect for his wishes, I'll not reveal his name.  He didn't give the flowers to bring attention to himself.  When asked why he sent the roses to grandma, he said the Bible tells us to take care of widows and orphans and he didn't think the church did enough for them so he sent the roses to my grandmother.

And then I come home to post about the scripture above.  God doesn't want ceremony.  He wants our hearts.  He wants us to care for those who have no one to care for them, the forgotten and powerless.  Take care of the widows and orphans.  It's referred to over and over again in both Old Testament and New Testament.  In James 1:27, the brother of Jesus puts it succinctly when he writes:

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Maybe that's why Jesus makes special arrangements for John to take care of his mother as he is dying on the cross.  Lord knows.

June 22

The Prophecies of Amos (Continued) - Amos 7:10-17; 2 Kings 14:28-29, 15:8-18; Era of Uzziah and Jotham in Judah - 2 Kings 15:5; 2 Chronicles 26:16-21

We can't control our genes but we can determine our unique spiritual DNA. Lord knows.

"...He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit." 2 Kings 15:18

We are now 16 kings into the Kingdom of Israel and still the character of the reigning king is measured and, in some respect, influenced by the character of that first King of Israel, Jeroboam.  To separate himself from Judah, Jeroboam set up his own god for the people to worship -- two golden calves that he ironically proclaimed:  "Here are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of Egypt." [1 Kings 12:28] It's ironic because it was golden calf worship that kept a generation of the Jewish people from reaching the Promised Land.  Of course, those people were all gone in Jeroboam's day and apparently history has never been people's strong suit.  And so they/we are doomed to repeat it.

Which brings me to my point and how today's reading impacted me.  It made me think.  What am I doing now that will influence and, perhaps, damage and doom unborn generations of Eddys?  I shutter at the prospect that the sins of the father may visit themselves on the son.  I know I've benefited and been blessed by my father and grandfather's belief.  My grandfather had little education except for the education God himself gave him through life and scripture and time spent together.  I can't go back further with my religious  DNA than my grandfather because he was left at the doorstep of a relative by his parents.  Perhaps that tells me all I need to know.  

My father and grandfather set a standard of diligence and respect for truth that I'm still blessed by today.  What standards have I set for my own children?  What is there takeaway from our lives together?  What that I've given will they pass on to their own children?

I think and pray about this often.  Lord knows.

June 21

The Prophecies of Amos (Continued) - Amos 5:1-27, 6:1-14, 7:1-9, 8:1-14, 9:1-15

"'The days are coming,' declares the Sovereign Lord,

     'when I will send a famine through the land --

not a famine of food or thirst for water,

     but a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.

Men will stagger from sea to sea

     and wander from north to east,

searching for the word of the Lord,

     but they will not find it.'"

Amos 8:11-12

Today we have Bible's everywhere, several at our house, a whole host of them at the neighborhood bookstore, every version and variety imaginable just a click away at Amazon.com or Biblegateway.com, translated and edited to appeal to every sort of person, from the Cliffs Notes Bible to the Bible for Dummies.  Access to scripture is so easy.

But do we suffer from a famine of hearing the words of the Lord?  It's everywhere.  But do we hear it?  Is it possible in our rejection of scripture that the Lord has brought about a famine so that we can't even hear his words?  It's only nonsense and gibberish, unbelievable archaic stories, myth, misinformed musings for the uneducated and unsophisticated ?  Is our society so out-of-touch with God that even those "searching for the word of the Lord...will not find it?"

Lord knows. 

June 20

The Prophecies of Amos - Amos 1:1-15, 2:1-16, 3:1-15, 4:1-13

"Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,

     you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy

     and say to your husbands, 'Bring us some drinks!'"

Amos 4:1

Whoa, wait a minute there, did I hear a prophet of the God most high call women...cows?  No, that's wrong.  He didn't call all women cows.  Just these women.  

That's funny.  Lord knows.

June 19

The Prophecies of Hosea (Continued) - Hosea 10:1-15, 11:1-12, 12:1-14, 13:1-16, 14:1-9; 2 Kings 14:17-21, 15:1-4, 14:22; 2 Chronicles 25:25-28, 26:1-15

"My heart is changed within me;

     all my compassion is aroused.

I will not carry out my fierce anger,

     nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim.

For I am God, and not man --

     the Holy One among you."

Hosea 11:8-9

Even though God has compared his relationship with Israel like a man of God married to a harlot, He feels compassion.  Man believes in hell because if we think its proper punishment for someone who has cheated on us and openly abused us.  But God is not man.  He doesn't do the expected.  And He didn't dwell among us only as Christ.  He's always been here and always will be.  In fact, I don't believe there's a place He isn't.  

"He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done.  He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God.  As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success." 2 Chronicles 26:4-5

Like Jehoiada and King Joash, Zechariah serves as a religious mentor to KIng Uzziah.  We can't do this alone.  We need people and we're responsible for people.  Even God's chosen king on earth needs someone.  Lord knows.

June 18

The Prophecies of Hosea (Continued) - Hosea 4:1-19, 5:1-15, 6:1-11, 7:1-16, 8:1-14, 9:1-17

"Because of this [man's sin] the land mourns, 

     and all who live in it waste away; 

the beasts of the field and the birds of the air

     and the fish of the sea are dying."

Hosea 4:3

Does our sin impact the environment?  Not pollution, landfill, our carbon footprint or car emissions.  Our sins.  This passage suggest the state of man's soul and nature's health are linked.  Sound crazy to you?  Well, to a sinful generation, "the prophet is considered a fool, the inspired man a maniac." [Hosea 9:7]   

June 17

The Prophecies of Hosea - Hosea 1:1-11, 2:1-23, 3:1-5

"...the Lord said to him, 'Go, take yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness....'" Hosea 1:2

What if God told you to marry a prostitute?  Say what?  Would you ask for clarification?  Would you rationalize this wasn't meant to be taken literally or as a command?  Would you dismiss it because it obviously couldn't fit into God's will as you understand it?  Would you quote a lot of a scripture that this would be wrong?  And there is a lot of scripture that would back you up on that point.  What would you do?  And what if your son came to you and said God told me to marry a prostitute?  Thankfully we don't live in a time when God speaks to us that directly.  We don't?

God seems to ask us to do the unexpected.  But, expect, whatever the unexpected is, he will make good on it.  Lord knows.  

He asked Hosea to do the unimaginable to show how us how much He loves us and what He is willing to do for us.  He does the same with His Son.

But did Hosea know any of this, did he understand the ultimate good and outcome?  Lord knows.  And what questions did he ask God?  The scripture records this response to God's request:

"So he married Gomer...." [Hosea 1:3]  

I wonder what Hosea said to Gomer when she asked him why he wanted to marry her?  God told me to marry a...probably not.

June 16

The Preaching of Jonah Against Nineveh - Jonah 1:1-17, 2:1-10, 3:1-10, 4:1-11; 2 Kings 13:5, 14:25-27, 13:6

"The Ninevites believed God.  They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth." Jonah 3:5

Just a few reminders for the chosen people.  That the chosen people are whomever God choses.  God can and does chose anyone.  The sailors who each cry out "to his own god." [Jonah 1:5] End up being saved when they satisfy the one true God by throwing Jonah into the sea.  And the non-chosen-people of Nineveh are saved when they turn from their evil ways and call upon the Lord. [Jonah 3:10]

So what are we thinking when we think we have the truth and the understand and the one right church?  God chooses who He chooses.  And it doesn't seem to go by our criteria from what I read.

Lord knows.

June 15

Era of Jeroboam II in Israel - 2 Kings 12:21, 14:1-6; 2 Chronicles 24:27, 25:1-4; 2 Kings 13:20-25; 2 Chronicles 25:5-24; 2 Kings 14:7-14, 14:15-16, 14:23-24, 13:12-13

Ok, Elisha might not have headed off to heaven in a fiery chariot like Elijah.  But in death, he did bring another back to life.  Pretty cool and messianic, wouldn't you say?  And a real thrill, I would imagine, for the Israelites doing the burying of what they thought was and would remain a dead body.  In their haste to avoid a group of Moabite raiders, the burial crew throw the mans body they were burying into Elisha's tomb.  When the man's body touches Elisha's bones, he comes back to life.  The story ends there leaving one to wonder what about the Moabite raiders?  Did they witness the miracle, too, and hightail it in fear?  Did the resurrected dead man take up a sword and help his brothers fight the Moabite raiders?  Did he get killed a second time in the battle and the other Israelites shrug and bury him again?  This time in another hole?  And so no one believed their story when they got home?  Did others try to bring their loved ones back to life by touching the bones of Elisha?  Does this count as another Elisha miracle?

Lord knows...I would have loved to have been there to see how everyone reacted when they threw the body in the tomb...only to have it walk out and tap them on the shoulder.

June 14

The Prophecy of Joel (Continued) - 2 Chronicles 24:3-5; 2 Kings 12:4-5, 10:32-36, 13:1-2, 12:6-16; 2 Chronicles 24:6-22; 2 Kings 13:3-4, 13:7; 2 Chronicles 24:23-24; 2 Kings 12:17-18, 13:8-11, 13:14-20, 12:19-21; 2 Chronicles 24:25-27

Joash crowned king by Jehoiada.  And he was a pretty good king as long as Jehoiada was right there at his side.

One person can make a difference.  Take Jehoiada.  "As long as Jehoiada lived, burnt offerings were presented continually in the temple of the Lord." 2 Chronicles 24:14.  And it's like God knows how much the people need Jehoiada.  He lives to be a 130.  Yes, King Joash makes a big deal about raising the money to rebuilt and restore the Lord's temple.  But while it takes Joash years upon years to get the priests to follow through on raising money to restore the temple, Jehoiada, day by day, every day, sees that the Lord is praised through sacrifice.  

And when Jehoiada dies?  

Well, it's as if the conscious of the people and the king dies with him.  This king, who has labored to have the temple restored and who was saved because as a child he hid in the temple and was made king at the temple, loses everything in the temple to the invaders because he turns to other gods outside the god of the temple and kills Jehoiada's son.  The king saved as a child in the temple, turns to other gods and kills the High Priest Jehoiada.  

The only thing richer than the irony is the misery.  What was he thinking?  You're right, he wasn't.  Lord knows.

June 13

The Prophecy of Joel - Joel 1:1-20, 2:1-32, 3:1-21

No offense or disrespect to President Obama.  This is a judgement on us.  We look to him to save us from our materialism and deceit and the economic despair it's handed us to.  We look to him instead of to Him.

"And everyone who calls

     on the name of the Lord will be saved...."

Joel 2:32

The book of Joel is poetry, using the immediate as a metaphor to point us to a larger truth, too large for us to see when we stand right up to it.  

From an epic locust devastation, the prophet/poet Joel conjures an invading army.  He tries to impress upon the people then that this economic disaster is just a symbol and forerunner to something even worse if they don't repent.

What do we think of our economic downturn?  After the 911 attack, there was a great outpouring of religious fervor.  I remember people gathering to pray at the downtown church.  I saw my co-workers assembled there to pray.  But the feeling passed, or has seemed to pass, quickly.  We got over it and forgot what it had inspired.  So now the economic downturn, the result of greed and corruption.  It has hurt so many and in its wake there has been a reawakening of interest in business ethics.  We emphasize family and simple joys because we know longer have the luxury of unlimited funds to purchase lavish entertainments.  But have we used the economic downturn to retreat from materialism.  But have we acknowledge and embraced God in its wake?  Isn't that, at its true heart, what all of this has been about?  Wandering away from God with dollar signs in our eyes.  Now the dollar signs are no longer there to blind and confuse us...so where do we look?  Have we looked to God?  Or a president to save us?

Lord knows. 

June 12

The Era of Joash in Judah - 2 Kings 11:1-3; 2 Chronicles 22:10-12; 2 Kings 10:18-31, 11:4-16, 11:21, 12:1, 11:17-20, 12:2-3; 2 Chronicles 23:1-15, 24:1, 23:16-21, 24:2

A Disney-esque Queen Athaliah Googled and found on Learn Hebrew Online.

"When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family of the house of Judah." 2 Chronicles 22:10

This is one ruthless mama, Athaliah.  She has enough power and intestinal fortitude to whip out everyone who might threaten her in the royal family.  But she misses her infant nephew, Joash, who is hidden from her in the temple of God.  Being the kind of woman Athaliah was, I guess everyone knew she'd never look in the temple.  For anything.  

So here's a woman ruling Judah.  We don't have a whole lot of her rule recorded here.  Within a handful of verses she's being put to death.  I'm sure, given her ruthless manner, she wasn't too popular with the people.  It's intriguing, though, that a woman could rule such a male dominated society as Judah. I wonder what those six years of her rule where like with a woman at the wheel?  She could turn up the heat at the palace now whenever she pleased.  I wonder what her greatest accomplishment was during her six years?

Lord knows.  And He's not talking about it right now.

June 11

Obadiah's Prophecy Against Edom (Continued) - 2 Kings 8:23-27; 2 Chronicles 21:19-20, 22:1-4; 2 Kings 8:7-15, 8:28-29; 2 Chronicles 22:5-6; 2 Kings 9:1-27; 2 Chronicles 22:7; 2 Kings 9:30-37, 10:1-14; 2 Chronicles 22:8-9; 2 Kings 9:28, 10:15-17

When I Googled Jehu, I found this pic of a group named Drive Like Jehu.  lol...I don't know how good this group was but they sure knew their Old Testament.  "The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi -- he drives like a madman." 2 Kings 9:20

"The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, 'Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead.  When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi.  Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room.  The take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, 'This is what the Lord says:  "I anoint you king over Israel." The open the door and run; don't delay!'"  2 Kings 9:1-3

So who or what is this "company of the prophets"?  I always thought of being a prophet as something of a calling.  Not something where you'd have a whole flock or company.  I also always thought of a prophet as more of a solitary pursuit.  Again, not something you'd expect a company of....   So why do we hear so little about the Company(s) of Prophets?  Why are so few singled out in scripture?  Were the others involved in some minor prophecies and mini-miracles?  I wonder?  So only the superstars and MVP prophets make it in print?  What did the Company of Prophets logo look like?  Did they have a secret handshake or sign or yell?  

Anyway.

Whoooah, what am I to make of Jehu?  A little confidence goes a long way.  Jehu gets anointed by one of the minor-company-of-prophet-guys-who-shall-remain-nameless-apparently, his soldier buddies give him a few props and he's off on a royal killing spree.  And, I do mean royal.  No wonder the junior-minor-subordinate-unnamed-prophet-guy-from-the-company-of-prophets was told to run after he anointed the king.  He was trying to avoid the crossfire.  Jehu goes on a killing spree worthy of a shoot-em-up film.  He does in both the kings of Israel and Judah and their family and friends.  After all that, I'm sure he thought himself untouchable, unbeatable, the king.  Lord knows. 

June 10

Obadiah's Prophecy Against Edom (Continued) - 2 Chronicles 21:18; 2 Kings 6:8-23, 8:3-6, 5:1-27, 6:24-33, 7:1-20

"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.'" 2 Kings 7:9

Lots of good stuff in today's reading:  The Lord opening the servant's eyes so he can see the Lord's unseen forces and chariots of fire marshaled and waiting to serve.  Naaman being underwhelmed by the cure for his leprosy and so almost missed out on being healed.  The Lord's way is always unexpected, even to those who believe in Him.  Note to self:  Remember this.  The phantom armies of God that the Arameans hear and flee.

Then there are the four lepers who don't fear death and so go to see what's up and discover the Arameans camp.  They find the enemy gone, leaving their riches.  The discovery is so wonderful, the blessing so great, the victory so complete that the downtrodden leprous Israelites can't help but share the good news.  It's not the messenger.  It's the message.  Do we look to the lepers to tell us the truth?  Or the slick and wealth and well-spoken and educated?  It's not the messenger.  It's the message and God supplies the word.  We need to expect and except truth from unusual places.  

Lord knows. 

June 9

Obadiah's Prophecy Against Edom - Obadiah 1:1-21

Ok, so I'm not the first with the idea.  Here's the ESV Journaling Bible.

"Though  you soar like the eagle

     and make your nest among the stars,

     from there I will bring you down,

     declares the Lord." Obadiah 1:4

Not sure why this prophecy of doom and gloom for Edom is in the Bible as a book.  But it's there.  Perhaps just to tell us that doing God's will isn't enough.  Yes, you heard me.  Edom, Esau's descendants, are doing the will of God when they punish Isreael by plundering them, aren't they?  Israel has fallen away and needs reminding they need God.  But then, Edom will also be punished...for doing the will of God.  I know, I know.  They chose to do evil and God used it for good.  He's good at that.  But doesn't it suggest that you can be an instrument for evil and still achieve results that are God's will for the ultimate good of his people?  You can do God's will and still be in the wrong?  Say what? 

I noted in the margins of my Bible today that last year at this point in the readings we where approaching Ketchikan, Alaska, on our 25th anniversary trip.  I think next year instead of annotating the Bible with my thoughts on scripture as I have for the past two years, I'll make a note of what was happening in my life at that point.  I'll combine my daily reading with a daily journal.  After all, I'm doing all of this as much for my children and their children as I'm doing it for myself.  Wouldn't it be interesting to read scripture and along with it follow the journey and journal of your father's heart?

Lord knows.

June 8

Miracles and Massacres - 2 Kings 8:16-17; 2 Chronicles 21:5, 2-4; 2 Kings 3:6-27, 1 Kings 22:45, 50; 2 Chronicles 20:34, 21:1, 21:20, 21:6-7, 21:11-17; 2 Kings 8:18-22; 2 Chronicles 21:8-10

Elijah and his letter.

"'But now bring me a harpist.'  While the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said: 'This is what the Lord says....'" 2 Kings 3:15-16

There is something about music that puts us in contact with the spiritual realm.  Several times in the Old Testament music is tied to prophecy or a miraculous happening.  Here, Elisha demands a harp and proceeds to announce what the Lord has said to him as harps play behind him.  I can see how music touches the soul of man.  Why do we trying to run away from this in the tradition I was raised in?  Lord knows.

Today's reading includes the mysterious letter to Jehoram, king of Judah, from Elijah.  You know, the Elijah who is no longer with us.  That's just freaky, isn't it?  You know how you can program email to send something days or months from now?  I've always thought it would be fun to set something up to email after you were dead about a y ear.  Oops, there goes my surprise.  But think of the things you could say to weird people out?  Tell them you're still watching them or you dropped in the other night.  Let the preacher know what you think of his sermons...really.  Tell your wife and family how much you love them...just one more time.  Would people take something sent from the dead any more seriously than if it came from the living?  I wonder.

I wonder, too, what Jehoram thought when he received Elijah's letter?  Probably thought it was a ruse.  Someone else had written it under Elijah's name or Elijah had written it long ago (even that would be prophetic given its subject matter).  Why didn't Elijah appear to Jehoram or speak to him in a dream?  It would be harder to dispute, right?  Or perhaps even miracles require the faith of the observer.  Otherwise they'll be explained away.  

Then, again, someone else sent a letter after His time on earth was done.  And that worked out pretty well.  Lord knows.

June 7

Elisha the Prophet - 2 Kings 2:1-25, 4:1-17, 4:38-44, 4:18-37, 8:1-2, 6:1-7

    

"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." 2 Kings 2:9-10

As a kid I always mixed Elisha and Elijah up, Rehoboam and Jeroboam, too.  Elisha and Elijah.  Wonder if others mixed them up back in their day?  "So you're a prophet.  Are you Elisha or Elijah?"  Elisha or Elijah?  Was this ever annoying to Elijah?  I mean he seems like the main prophet dude.  He was the grand champion in the UFP (Ultimate Fighting Prophets) between he and the Prophets of Baal (and the Prophets of Asherah, ever wonder why they don't get much billing on the card?  Baal must of had better agent.)  So does he get a little bit ruffled when people mistake his apprentice Elisha for him?  Does he get bothered we're still doing it?  I don't know.  He was a pretty flawless guy.  Hence the fiery chariot ride.  

But I think I catch a bit of annoyance in his tone when he's getting ready to depart this world and his apprentice responds to Elijah's gracious offer for "anything I can do to help before I go?" by asking for a "double portion" of Elijah's spirit.  "Elijah, supersize me!" "You want it? Well...catch me departing this world in my fiery ride and you got it." Was he putting Elisha off or is this just a spiritual test of Elisha?  If Elisha is able to see this spiritual event, if he has the eyes to see, then he is worthy of the spiritual gift.  Well, he does see and apparently he does get supersized. 

 

The Bible only records five miracles by Elijah.  It records more than twice as many through Elisha - 12.  So the student does outdo the teacher.  But, Elisha never gets his ticket punched on the fiery chariot to heaven.  So it's not quantity its quality.  (In other words, I'm not sure Elisha's retrieving a lost ax head is as big an event as the Baal battle.)  Lord knows.

June 6

Ahab and Jezebel (Continued) - 1 Kings 22:29-36; 2 Chronicles 18:28-34, 19:1-3; 1 Kings 22:37-40, 22:55-53; 2 Kings 3:4-5; 2 Chronicles 19:4-11, 20:1-30, 20:35-37; 1 Kings 22:48-49; 2 Kings 1:1-18, 3:2-3

"When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem, Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, 'Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?  Because of this, the wrath of the Lord is upon you.  There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God." 2 Chronicles 19:1-3

King Jehoshaphat - oh, yeah, Jeho has phat in his name - is a really good guy.  He makes sure the judges and priest judge the people fairly, show impartiality and honor God.  He relies on the Lord when attacked and has the people come as one before the temple to look to God.  He appoints men to sing praises to God when his armies go in to battle and, after the battle, Jehosaphat has men go to the temple with harps and lutes and trumpets.  He's so good hearted that the Lord gives him "rest on every side."

So why is it that King Jehoshaphat makes the exact same mistake twice?  He joins up with the King of Israel - first Ahab and then Ahab's son Ahaziah - to do something - fight a battle and then, later, to build ships.  Why turn to other kings rather than the one true Lord for help?  It can't be that he's worried the Lord can't or won't help him.  God has seen him through a battle where he was outnumbered.  Is it pride and ambition?  Does he feel good about himself when the King of Israel pays him the time of day?  None of it makes sense or seems like a reasonable reason for him to rely on another king rather than God.  But then, does our sin ever make sense?  In a moment of weakness even the strongest among us will or sometimes do something we know is wrong.  Sometimes we do the same thing over and over in spite of our relationship with the Lord.  For all his good, why this lack of confidence that manifests itself in his relying on the Enemy of God?

Lord only knows.