{"id":2970,"date":"2019-04-29T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T03:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=2970"},"modified":"2019-04-28T21:21:49","modified_gmt":"2019-04-29T04:21:49","slug":"2kings_3_13-27","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2kings_3_13-27\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Great Gifts from God to You"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 Kings 3:13-27Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 3:13-27.\u00a0 Christmas has come early this year, because in this passage we can see three great gifts that God gives to you and me.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

2 Kings 3:13-14 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n13\u00a0<\/span><\/sup>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.”
\n14\u00a0<\/span><\/sup>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.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Elisha, knowing Joram to be an idol worshipper, wonders, “Why are you coming to me when you can be consulting your idols?”\u00a0 Joram’s response: “It’s because the Lord has called us here only to be defeated by Moabites” (v13)\u00a0 There goes Joram blaming God again for something God never told Joram to do.\u00a0 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).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Just as Jehoshaphat was the only reason Elisha could look at Joram, Jesus is the only reason God the Father can look at us.<\/strong>\u00a0 It is not our own righteousness or merit that allows us into the presence of God.\u00a0 Rather it’s Jesus — God’s most incredible gift to us — and our affiliation to\u00a0Him<\/em>\u00a0that enables us to enter the Father’s presence.<\/p>\n

2 Kings\u00a03:15\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/span><\/sup>But now bring me a harpist.” While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 15:\u00a0 To help Elisha focus on the presence of God, he asks for a harpist to play background music.\u00a0 While the harpist is playing and Elisha is praying, the presence of God comes.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God gave us the gift of music so that we could more easily access His presence.<\/strong>\u00a0 When played skillfully, sensitively and with a worshipful attitude, music can be a powerful tool to help people enter God’s presence.\u00a0 So practically speaking:<\/p>\n

– If you are wanting to draw near to God, take advantage of the power of music.\u00a0 One of the favourite ways to connect with God is just to sit in His presence and pray while my favourite worship music plays in the background.\u00a0\u00a0Use worship music to your advantage.<\/strong><\/p>\n

– If you are a musician who plays background music in church while people pray and worship, remember that you are not just playing music.\u00a0 Through your music you are ushering people into God’s presence.\u00a0\u00a0Musicians, you have an important role to play in the church, so keep refining both your musical skills and your spiritual sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 Kings 3:20-24 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/span><\/sup>The next morning, about the time for offering the sacrifice, there it was–water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.
\n21\u00a0<\/span><\/sup>Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to fight against them; so every man, young and old, who could bear arms was called up and stationed on the border.
\n22\u00a0<\/span><\/sup>When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red–like blood.
\n23\u00a0<\/span><\/sup>“That’s blood!” they said. “Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!”
\n24\u00a0<\/span><\/sup>But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 16-27:\u00a0 Joram was convinced that God’s plan was for Moab to defeat the Israel-Judah-Edom alliance that Joram had formed.\u00a0 But Elisha receives a word from God that is just the opposite.\u00a0 He foretells that the Israel-Judah-Edom alliance will decisively defeat Moab (v18-19).\u00a0 Whereas this seemed impossible to Joram, “this is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord” (v18).\u00a0 Without the help of wind or rain, God causes water to flow from the direction of Edom, which in the light of the sun looked like blood to Moabites (v22).\u00a0 Thinking this meant that Israel, Judah and Edom had started to attack each other, the Moabites hastily launch an attack, only to be ransacked by the Israel-Judah-Edom alliance.\u00a0 In his desperate measure to appease his gods, the King of Moab sacrifices his firstborn son on the city wall, but it’s no use.\u00a0 In improbable and unexpected fashion, the Israel-Judah-Edom alliance conquers the Moabites, just as Elisha predicted.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

1. I like what Pastor Jon Courson says about this.\u00a0 In the Bible, water is sometimes used as a picture for the Word of God.\u00a0 Just like the Moabites saw the water which God sent from a distance and mistook it for blood,\u00a0people who have never gotten close to the Word of God, who have never tasted it themselves, often assume that the Word of God is disgusting, abhorrent and a bringer of death<\/strong>.\u00a0 It’s those who come close to the Word of God and taste it who find that\u00a0the opposite is true: the Word of God is good and it’s life giving!<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0The Word of God is living water that saves us from our enemies and gives us life.\u00a0 Thank God for the gift of His Word.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2. Don’t be like Joram and count God’s people out too quickly or assume that God’s plans are to ruin you.\u00a0\u00a0God’s plans for your good.\u00a0 If you’ll trust in Him, He’ll bring about deliverance, salvation and provision in ways you could have never expected or accomplished yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, thank You for sending us three great gifts: the water of Your Word, which saves us from our enemies and gives us life; the gift of music which the Holy Spirit uses to lead us to You; and the gift of Your Son Jesus, for it’s only because of Him that we can enter Your presence.\u00a0 In Jesus’ name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 3:13-27.\u00a0 Christmas has come early this year, because in this passage we can see three great gifts that God gives to you and me.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

2 Kings 3:13-14 (NIV)\u00a0
\n13\u00a0Elisha 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.”\u00a0
\n14\u00a0Elisha 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 Elisha, knowing Joram to be an idol worshipper, wonders, “Why are you coming to me when you can be consulting your idols?”\u00a0 Joram’s response: “It’s because the Lord has called us here only to be defeated by Moabites” (v13)\u00a0 There goes Joram blaming God again for something God never told Joram to do.\u00a0 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).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2971,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2970","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2970"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2970\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2972,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2970\/revisions\/2972"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}