In Second Kings, chapter three, verse fifteen, the music of the harp helped seal off all outside distractions and the unbelief around him, bringing Elisha into a frame of mind and spirit to receive the Lord’s revelation. The effect of music in soothing the intelligence regarded in the East appears that the ancient prophets, before …
In Second Kings, chapter two, verse twenty-four, to avenge the honor of the Lord, Elisha pronounced upon them divine judgment expressed in the covenant law of blessing and cursing, as in Leviticus twenty-six, verses twenty-one through twenty-two, and Deuteronomy thirty, verse nineteen, respectively. God judged the depraved children by sending the two bears in Galatians …
In Second Kings, chapter two, verse twenty-three, some believe that the youths who mocked Elisha were a gang organized to oppose his ministry. Older kids would undoubtedly have been out in the fields. But even today, this outsider coming to the village attracted a small group of boys. These children may have heard their parents …
In the Second Kings, chapter two, verses eleven through twelve, Elijah was taken to heaven, as was Enoch in Genesis five, verse twenty-four, without experiencing death. The miraculous transporting of Elijah to heaven was God’s emphatic seal of approval of the prophet’s work, spirit, and ministry. Elijah united to the word of God throughout his …
In Second Kings, chapter two, verse nine, the term “double portion” does not necessarily mean twice the spiritual power of Elijah. Instead, it refers to a father-son relationship, where the first-born son received twice the inheritance the other sons received, as in Deuteronomy, twenty-one, verse seventeen. Elisha asked his spiritual father to give him an …
In Second Kings, chapter two, verse three, the sons of the prophets appear to have been located primarily in three areas: Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho. God evidently sent Elijah to these communities in order to encourage them one last time and to announce that Elisha would be their new leader. In these very corrupt times, …
In Second Kings, chapter one, verse ten, the king and his soldiers, in rebellion against God and His Word, sought to arrest Elijah. In verse twelve, fire came directly by God’s hand as a judgment against Ahaziah, who persists stubbornly opposing God and the prophet. The charge of cruelty against Elijah makes it needful to …
In First Kings, chapter twenty-two, verse fifteen, Micaiah mimicked the prediction of the false prophet that Ahab knew he was not serious, as in the following verse. Micaiah then knew the true prophetic vision he had received in verse seventeen. The meaning was clear: Ahab would die, and Israel would retreat home. The kindness we …
In First Kings, chapter twenty-two, verse six, these four hundred prophets of Ahab were not men of the Lord but religionists who prophesied what the king wanted to hear. These are false prophets of Ahab, such as he had put together by rewards and promises, who knew how to suit his humor, flatter his vanity, …
In First Kings, chapter twenty-one, verse twenty-five, the goal of Ahab’s wicked wife was to uproot the worship of the Lord and to substitute the Baal of Tyre as the chief god of Israel, but she failed to do so. Instead, her name has become synonymous with wickedness, witchcraft, treachery, and spiritual seduction. Jezebel is …
