Archive for category: GAMEtime Sharing

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 6:24-33.  Let’s go!

On verses 24-32:  King Ben-Hadad of Aram has laid seige to Samaria, Israel’s capital city.  Without ongoing access to food, Samaria suffers a severe famine.  The Israelites in Samaria are so desperate that in verses 26-29 we read about two Israelite mothers who apparently agreed that they would eat their sons to survive.  Now that one mother’s son has been eaten, the other mother refuses to let her own son suffer the same fate.  So they call out to Joram King of Israel to make a decision.  (This conflict between two mothers recalls a previous conflict in 1 Kings 3 when King Solomon had to judge between two mothers who both claim claim that their own son is the living one while the other’s son is the dead one.)  

What can we learn from this?  These mothers were willing to eat a son in order to survive, yet even their son’s flesh would not sustain them forever.  In contrast, in John 6:53-55 Jesus makes a statement that many would misunderstand:  

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 4:18-44. Let’s go!

On verses 18-37:  In these verses we see God using Elisha to effect three incredible miracles: the raising up of a dead boy (v18-37), the de-contamination of a contaminated pot of stew (v38-40), and the feeding of 100 men with 20 loaves of bread (v42-44).   In each case we see the same sequence of events: 

– First, someone moves in faith to help and bless others. (e.g. Elisha speaks in faith that the rich barren woman would have a child and she does (v16-17); Elisha offers to feed his fellow prophets in the midst of a famine; and a man tithes his first 20 loaves of bread by giving it to Elisha.)

– A major challenge or problem arises. (e.g. The boy dies; the stew becomes poisonous; Elisha wants to feed the 20 loaves to the people but his servant fears it won’t be enough).  

– Through faith that challenge is overcome and an even greater story is told as a result (e.g. the boy is raised back to life; the pot is de-contaminated; and the bread not only satisfies the 100 men but there are leftovers, foreshadowing the even greater feeding miracles Jesus would accomplish).  

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).

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 2:13-25.  Let’s go!

2 Kings 2:13-14 (NIV) 
13 He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.
14 Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it. “Where now is the LORD, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. 

On verses 13-14:  Elisha could not cross the Jordan River on his own power.  But when he picks up his mentor Elijah’s cloak and strikes the river with it, the waters part and he crosses over.  Likewise, on our own we sinners have no way of crossing over to heaven where God is.  But Jesus gave us His robe of righteousness, and it is because we are armed with Jesus’ robe of righteousness that we can cross over to where God is and have a relationship with Him.