Today's passage from the Bible In a Year Reading Plan is 2 Kings 1-3; Matthew 12:1-23
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 2 Kings 4-6; Matthew 12:24-50
In early Hebrew tradition, 1 and 2 Kings were not separate
books but were one long document, as the flow of the story itself shows. In the
beginning of this part of the narrative, King Ahaziah and his troops show
disdain for the Lord and His servant Elijah and are condemned with fire and
death. Today the Lord would have us treat His servants with proper respect,
pray for them, and hear His Word from them. In this sinful world, God’s Word is
rare and precious, preserving our lives and delivering us from all condemnation.
In Christ, we need not fear our enemies or His wrath.
After briefly noting Ahaziah’s death and before taking up
the account of his successor’s reign, the author records the end of Elijah’s
ministry and the first deeds of his disciple Elisha. When the Lord takes Elijah
to heaven, He also bestows Elijah’s office and authority on Elisha, his chief
disciple. The burning desire to serve God and His people through faithful
leadership is proper. If we set our hearts on such noble service, and walk and
talk with the Lord’s servants to learn from them His Word and wisdom, the Lord
will prepare us for our calling. The heavenly Father will send His Spirit to
embolden and uplift us, through Jesus, His Son. Through three miracles, the
Lord removes all doubts about Elisha as Elijah’s successor. As the Lord calls us
to service, He will prepare and support us. Though miracles may not follow us
(as with Elisha) we have God’s miraculous Word in the pages of Holy Scripture
by which the Lord will bless us with the comfort of salvation and equip us for
every good work.
King Jehoram led Jehoshaphat and the Edomites against Moab
on an ill-conceived military campaign, which had some success due to the Lords
intervention through Elisha. Today, do not equate poor planning with faith. For
all your endeavors, seek God’s blessing through prayer and make your plans
through the wisdom of His Word. The Lord grants us wisdom and thoughtful hearts
so that we may honor Him with our deeds. Thankfully, He planned for our victory
over evil and our everlasting salvation in the person of His Son, Jesus, who
offered Himself freely for the sins of all people.
In our reading from Matthew, God’s purpose in giving the
Sabbath law was to provide physical rest for His people. But those in Jesus’
day who tried to follow all the Sabbath regulations imposed by the Pharisees
found that the law had become a heavy burden, a yoke on their necks. We keep
the Sabbath Day holy when “we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold
it sacred and gladly hear and learn it” (Luther’s Small Catechism). Jesus
offers true rest, the yoke of the Gospel.
Tomorrow's Bible In a Year Passage passage: 2 Kings 4-6; Matthew 12:24-50
3 comments:
I always find the account of Elijah being taken up to heaven amazing - obviously for Elijah himself to experience, and also for Elisha to witness.
The Pharisees show how the sinful nature manages to corrupt what God intends for good (Sabbath rest). Thankful that we can find true rest in Jesus.
I thought the same thing Tammy did. It was more spectacular because Elisha refused to leave Elijah's side and he was able to witness the event firsthand.
I often struggle with keeping the Sabbath for rest as it sometimes becomes my day to catch up with things. It's an area I need to work on.
I know Elijah was relaying God's message to the messengers sent from the king of Samaria, but once again Elijah is relaying some bad news.
Sometimes I have to give a customer some news that I know they don't want to hear, so I always try to have a response to what their different possible reactions could be. I wonder if Elijah did that? Or did he have peace knowing God was in control?
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