Author Archive for: meiling

Hi GAMErs,

There are a number of great lessons we can learn from today’s passage, 2 Kings 5:13-27.  Let’s go!

2 Kings 5:13-14 (NIV) 
13  Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 
14  So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. 

On verses 13-14:  Elisha had told Naaman to wash himself seven times in the Jordan River and his leprosy would be cleansed. Naaman was outraged at how “unspiritual” Elisha’s advice was, considering Elisha’s advice to be purely practical and natural instead of supernatural (v11-12).  Yet his servants advise Naaman to take Elisha’s advice seriously (v13).  Naaman follows Elisha’s advice.  When he dips himself 7 times in the Jordan River, his leprosy is cleansed and his skin is restored (v14).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 5:1-12. Let’s go!

On verses 1-12: Naaman was a high-powered commander of Aram’s army, yet he had a disease that his influence, intelligence and experience could not solve. He had leprosy. So with the recommendation of a slave girl in his house, Naaman gets permission from the king of Aram to go to the king of Israel to see if Elisha the prophet can heal him. At first the king of Israel is offended by this request, but Elijah is willing to help. When Elisha tells Naaman to wash seven times in the Jordan River, Naaman is angry because he expected Elisha to do something far more “spiritual” like praying a prayer or commanding sickness to go away. So Naaman turns off in a rage.

What can we learn from this?

1. Like Naaman, we all have a sickness that our intelligence, influence and experience cannot heal. That is the sickness of sin, which unless cured will kill us.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 4:1-6.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-7:  Here we read a story of how God miraculously provided for a widow and her two sons.  There are so many lessons we can learn from this passage, including that:
1. God is full of compassion.  He has a heart for widows, the fatherless and the poor.
2. God will fill as much room as you give Him.  
3. Trust God, take Him at His Word and He will provide for your needs.

On verses 8-17:  In the previous 7 verses, Elisha served a poor widow with two sons.  Here Elisha interacts with the other end of the spectrum: a rich married woman who apparently was barren.  This rich woman and her husband had a heart to serve God and serve Elisha, opening up their home to feed meals to Elisha, and eventually creating a room for him on their roof.  In return, Elisha asks what he can do for this woman. The woman is polite and says she does not lack a thing.  But upon learning that she and her husband had no son, and thus no heir to whom they could pass on their wealth, Elisha declares, “About this next year you will hold a son in your arms” (v16).  The woman replies, “No, my lord.  Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant” (v16) suggesting that deep down this woman longed for a son but was hesitant to ask.  True to His Word, God gives this woman a son.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 3:13-27.  Christmas has come early this year, because in this passage we can see three great gifts that God gives to you and me.  Let’s go!

2 Kings 3:13-14 (NIV) 
13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.” “No,” the king of Israel answered, “because it was the LORD who called us three kings together to hand us over to Moab.” 
14 Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you. 

On verses 13-14: Joram king of Israel, the God-fearing Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and the king of Edom together approach Elisha the prophet for guidance on what to do in their fight against the king of Moab.  Elisha, knowing Joram to be an idol worshipper, wonders, “Why are you coming to me when you can be consulting your idols?”  Joram’s response: “It’s because the Lord has called us here only to be defeated by Moabites” (v13)  There goes Joram blaming God again for something God never told Joram to do.  Elisha states that the only reason he would even consider being in contact with Joram is because of his respect for King Jehoshaphat who has come as well (v14).