Living Water Community Church

We worked our way through the story of the siege on Samaria. The king of Syria had come down with his entire army and they besieged Samaria. This blockade of the city eventually caused a famine. The writer tells us the famine was so bad the people were willing to pay 80 shekels for a donkeys head. He even reported how the people were resorting to eating their own children. The king of Israel on hearing about these things blamed God for the problems and swore he was going to kill Elisha. He sent his military captain to kill Elisha and Elisha told the elders who were with him to bar the door and not let him in. Elisha proceeded to tell the captain through the door that the Lord was going to provide flour and barley by the next day about this time in abundance. The man scoffed at the word of the Lord and Elisha told him because of his unbelief he would see it but would not get a chance to see it with his own eyes. That evening the Lord caused the Syrian army to believe they were under attack. They fled leaving everything in their tents and cast off things which weighed them down as they fled. This was all discovered by some unnamed lepers who decided since they were bound to die of hunger soon they just might live if they gave themselves up to the Syrians. When they came to the camp they found it deserted so they ate their fill of food and carried off clothing and other goods and returned for more. The conscience of the lepers began to bother them so the went to Samaria and told the guard on the wall the good news which was passed on to the king. The king was suspicious it was a trap, so he sent two men on horseback to check it out. They discovered the camp was empty like the lepers had reported. On top of the camp having horses and chariots they discovered cast off armor and other elements were strewn along the way all the way to the Jordan. To the readers of this story who were in exile it would have been clear that the siege with its famine were a judgment of God on Israel for their idolatry. It is the exact judgement God had declared in Leviticus He would bring on His people if they failed to worship Him and heed His judgments. It is clear from this story they did not heed God’s judgment. But we also see in this story how God’s judgement does not last forever and He ultimately will save His people. So we see in this passage a picture of salvation. The people are rescued from death and destruction not because they deserve it and not because there was something special about the Jews. No, God saves those who He has set His love upon for His own glory and to be faithful to His own promises and no other reason.

Our wants can easily be justified as needs. At the same time we can look at people who accumulate things and think how good they have it. Even wondering sometimes why they have  it so good and we have to struggle so much. The up and coming generation certainly is marked by an attitude of entitlement as a general characteristic when it comes to work and the workplace. Entitlement however is not an exclusive domain held by those growing into adulthood. It is easy for all of us to fall into the trap of entitlement. It is easy for us to simply think more highly of ourselves then we ought to think. Greed and selfishness creep into all of our lives. People do not normally lay down their lives for each other. To the contrary we usually find it easy to demand more from others. We have an uncanny ability to mistake greed for need. We live in a society which is preoccupied with justifying feeling satisfied and safe. We are encouraged on every side to be preoccupied with our own well being. In this kind of environment we can become consumed with ourselves. We can find ourselves defining what is good by what is good for us. Unfortunately this mentality and focus is often a huge influence in our prayers. 
I believe God hears a lot of grossly selfish requests in our prayers. Given the amazing extent of God’s ongoing provision of our needs we must appear to God as an extremely ungrateful people in general. God gives to us an amazing amount of things in His grace and yet we seem to have no trouble coming to God with more “needs”. But we really do have needs and God in His word encourages us to bring our needs to Him. Our intention today is to look at this area of need and consider how the Bible calls us to make our requests to God. 

We explored the story of how Elisha tells the king of Israel to avoid certain places at specific times because the king of Syria has laid a trap or planned a raid. The king of Israel would send scouts to verify it and discovered Elisha was saving him from these plans. This frustrated the king of Syria who became convinced there must be a spy in his court feeding his plans to the king of Israel. But the servants of the king know it is Elisha who is aware of the Syrian plans and alerts the king of Israel. The servants tell the king, “Elisha hears all of his plans even those made in secret.” This revelation frustrates the king and he sends his army to capture Elisha who lives in Dothan. The army surrounds the city and Elisha’s servant is frightened by the development. Elisha prays and God opens the servants eyes and he can see the horses and chariots of fire on the surrounding hills are greater then the Syrian army which surrounds Dothan. Again Elisha prays and God strikes the army with blindness. Elisha then leads the blind army to Samaria and delivers them to the king of Israel. After asking God to restore their sight Elisha instructs the king to feed them and send them home. He does and the good treatment of the army leads to a temporary peace between Israel and Syria. Part of the peace was no doubt the ongoing survival of Elisha who the army failed to capture. Here we see laid out how God is working behind the scenes. In this case God’s army protects Elisha. In Jesus case He could have called on God to send an army of angels but that was not part of His plan. God’s plan in Jesus case was for Him to go the cross and die. It was God’s plan to have His Son sacrificed in our place to bear the penalty for our sins. Without Jesus sacrifice we would have no hope of being brought back into fellowship with God. He rescued us from eternal damnation by bearing our damnation for us. Because we are all sinners damnation is what justice demands we suffer. Since God is just we are destined for damnation, but Jesus stepped in and changed all of that by bearing our penalty. This preserves God’s justice and at the same time gives Him the ability to grant us mercy and grace.

We explored a passage which many see as fantastic or legendary. In it Elisha causes an iron ax head to float. From our perspective it seems almost like an extraordinary action for something we would consider a minor loss. But we need to consider the day in which this happened. The iron age had recently come into its own. This was probably about 200 to 300 years after what we would see as the start of the iron age. The amount of time and effort which the creation of iron implements in this day made it a really expensive metal especially when compared to copper, bronze or brass. The loss of an iron ax head in this day may have been similar to wrecking a car in our day. So while this reads as insignificant because of our context it was a great loss in their day. Even with our understanding of the cost it seems to raise the question of why record this event. In the context of the book of Kings this story is the 6th in a series of stories about God meeting the needs of His people. We had the widow who was about to lose her sons to a lender and would probably lose her home ultimately because of this. She seeks God and through Elisha her needs are met and the lender is paid. This was followed by the rich woman who provided a room for Elisha and really had no need even by her own confession. Yet God gave her a son, that son died as a child and suddenly she is found in great need. She seeks God as the answer to her need and her son is brought back to life. Next a group of students called the sons of the prophets are given a large amount of stew which is accidentally tainted with poison. Elisha puts flour in the stew and it becomes edible and nourishing. A gift of barley loaves is given to Elisha and he again gives it to the students but this time Elisha’s servant objects because there are only 20 loaves and 100 men. But Elisha tells him to serve the bread and there will be enough with some left over and there was. The 5th story is about Naaman the Syrian who is dying from leprosy. At the prompting of his wife’s servant girl he seeks Elisha the prophet and his need of healing is given to him by God. In this story the pagan Syrian commander seeks the Lord and swears to follow Yahweh from then on. The loss of the ax highlights again God meeting the needs of one of his own. To the people in exile and even to us today this highlights how God is there to meet all kinds of needs of His people. From grievous personal needs like the loss of a child or a deadly sickness to immediate needs like the need for food or the loss of material possessions. God is the one to look to in every situation. He is the one who meets all of our needs according to His plan and for our good and His glory. 

We explored 2 Kings chapter 5 and in it we saw the Lord orchestrating events to bring Naaman the Syrian commander to Himself. God did not simply bring this man facing the death sentence of leprosy to healing he brought a man who was facing the death sentence of sin to faith. It is a remarkable and because of this a famous story which starts with the faith a young girl. A girl captured from Israel during a raid and carried into slavery and captivity. This young girl lives much like Joseph when he was sold into slavery. She serves her mistress as best she can. She sees her role in slavery as an opportunity to do good. She believes by faith that God can use Elisha to heal her master Naaman and she tells her mistress what she believes to be true. You could say the faith of this little girl is the catalyst which God uses to bring Naaman to faith. Naaman goes to the king of Syria with the news of this potential cure for leprosy is Israel. The king sends Naaman with letters to seek this cure from the king of Israel. This is the part which really highlights the faith of the little girl. There was no known cure in Israel. There is no record of Elisha healing lepers in the land before this. Jesus even stated in the New Testament how there was no one in Israel healed of leprosy during Elisha’s time except Naaman the Syrian. This all points to the faith of the servant girl which really drives the story forward. Elisha sends to the king for Naaman to come to him. This relieves the king who is distressed over the letter he has received from Naaman’s hand. Naaman comes to Elisha who sends his servant to tell him to go wash in the Jordan 7 times and he will be healed. Naaman is angered by two things. Elisha appears to do nothing, he doesn’t even come out to meet Naaman. Second the Jordan is a muddy river especially when compared to some of the rivers in Syria, this seems to Naaman to be almost an insult. As he heads out to return to Syria in anger his servants convince him to give it a try since he would have certainly done any really hard thing Elisha might have asked him to do. Naaman recognized the truth in what they said and followed Elisha’s instructions and received the healing Elisha had promised. He returned in gratitude to Elisha and expressed a desire to worship Yahweh alone from then on. This is why we can say Naaman experienced the healing of sin from his life as well as the healing of leprosy. In his gratitude he had offered expensive gifts to Elisha, but Elisha rejected them. It was important for Naaman to know God gives good gifts to His children freely. Elisha’s servant Gehazi seems put out that such wealth would be rejected and he concocts a plan to get some of the money. After Naaman leaves Gehazi runs after him and tells a lie about some fictitious sons of the prophets arriving and need cloths and silver. Naaman gladly gives him what he asks for and more. With his silver and clothing secured Gehazi returns to Elisha. Elisha reveals how he knows what Gehazi has done and rebukes him for his greed, adding that the leprosy of Naaman would now come on him and his descendants. The message which Naaman needed to hear was a message of free grace. Gehazi had set out to corrupt that message. The gospel comes to everyone freely and should not be corrupted with the addition of anything. That is really the core message of this passage. It points us to a savior who gave his life for us and gives us the gift of salvation with no strings attached. We can’t earn it. We can’t work for it. It is ours through faith alone, in Jesus alone. The message of salvation Elisha delivered to Naaman is the same message today. The message of corruption added by Gehazi is the same message people continue to deliver today. This story of faith is one I hope you see through new eyes as you come across it in the future.

We continued our study in prayer by examining how the Psalmist and other writers expressed joy in the midst of difficulty. How did they get to joy and what are some common traits of the journey to joy in a not so joyful situation. This is one of those areas where the Biblical writers give us a variety of examples for doing this. It is also something do not naturally  do and so it becomes something we need to practice and work on. We see this type of expression again and again throughout the Bible. We see it in the Psalms and wisdom books as well as commands by Paul to rejoice in the Lord always. David even appointed a whole section of the priests to do nothing but give thanks to God. This priority of giving thanks and praise to God in the Old Testament should certainly inform our own thoughts as we consider how we approach God and what the content of our prayers should include. We are not saying it should only be joy and thanksgiving but if we don’t find this theme being a part of our prayer life we should consider how it can become a part of our engagement with God. 

We worked our way through two stories about Elisha which on first glance appear disconnected accounts of things he did. The first story was about a visit to the sons of the prophets during a famine. Elisha told his servant during the visit to prepare a large pot of stew for the men. One of the sons of the prophets was helping and ended up gathering a poisonous gourd and cutting it up in the stew. Some of the men recognized this poisonous gourd and cried out that death was in the pot. Elisha asked them for some flour and he tossed it in the pot and it made the stew safe to eat. The second story involved a man who brought his firstfruits offering to Elisha. He brought 20 barley loaves. Again they are with the sons of the prophets and Elisha commands his servant to feed the men. His servant objects stating there was simply not enough to feed the over 100 men present. But Elisha restates the command to feed them and says there will be enough and food left over. While these seem disconnected stories they both involve elements of flour and bread which is made from flour. We looked at how both these stories should really drive us to ponder the person and work of Jesus. The prophet Isaiah tells us in chapter 53 how is pleased the Lord to crush Jesus. He was crushed just like wheat is crushed to make flour. This is why the flour in the story is important. The stew is filled with death but the flour makes the stew life giving. Our lives without Jesus are filled with sin and death, but with Jesus substitutionary death applied to our lives we are granted freedom from death and given eternal life. The story of the loaves reminds us of the feeding of the 5000 and 4000. In all of these cases the peoples hunger is satisfied, and there is extra left over. This is a picture again of Jesus substitutionary death. It was sufficient to satisfy the needs of everyone who comes to Him, repents of their sin and follows him as Lord. His work is more than enough. 

We explored the story of the rich woman in Shunem. This woman provided meals and a place to stay for Elisha when he was passing through the area. Elisha was grateful and asked the woman if there was anything he could do for her as he traveled about. She replied that she dwelt among her own people. She was basically saying she was secure and in need of nothing. After she left as Elisha was talking with Gehazi his servant they discussed the fact that her husband was old and she had no son. Elisha then called her back and told her she would have a son about this time next year. She found it hard to believe but in a years time she gave birth to a son. He grew and began to go to the fields with his father. One day in the field he declared his head hurt and his father had a servant carry him to his mother. He ended up dying in his mothers arms around noon that day. She hurried to Elisha because she was in great distress and needed God’s help. This is the real beauty of this story and sets it up as a comparison contrast with the story of the poor widow which precedes it. The widow came to Elisha because she was in need and about to lose her two sons to the creditors to satisfy a debt. The woman of Shunem had no need until God blessed her with the good gift of a son and then took it away. The loss of the gift drove her to seek God’s help. God worked through Elisha to raise her son from the dead. God is always working to bring His people into a state of greater dependence on Him and seeking after Him. Our God is a fundamentally relational God. He draws both the poor and the rich to Himself through a wide range of situations. 

We worked through the first 7 verses of chapter 4. In this passage we have a clear example of God taking care of the needs of His children. In this story a widow of one of the sons of the prophets is going to lose her children to a creditor who is coming to get them. They will become his slaves to settle her debt. In this situation in that day she would not only lose her sons but would probably be left destitute because her sons probably produced an income to support her. The question Elisha asks the woman is almost the same question Jesus asks blind Bartimaeus as He was leaving Jericho. “What shall I do for you?” It is a good question when you are dealing with someone who doesn’t have a problem or has not expressed the problem. In the case of Bartimaeus he was blind and people were taking him to Jesus after Jesus stopped the crowd and invited him to come to Him. The widow in 2 Kings has already told the prophet what she needs. In both cases what they need is clearly seen. But in both cases the people coming for help are invited to express their need. God clearly takes care of His children but He often does it in a relational manner. He calls us to engage with Him and express our need. If He always simply did what we needed without our engagement it would be devoid of relationship. The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God, it is essentially a call to engage in relationship with God. The widow in this story is called to take action. To gather containers from her neighbors and fill them in private out of the jar of oil she has. She does this until all of the containers are full and then Elisha tells her to sell them and pay her debts and live on what is left. This is a situation which points again to how God meets our needs but doesn’t give us more grace then is needed for the situation. If he wiped out our needs we would most likely stop depending on Him. He allows us to continue to experience need so we will not stop depending on Him. This is God at work constantly calling us into engagement in relationship with Him. In a sense this story being told to the Jews in exile is a reminder God is always there an ever present help in times of trouble. 

The idea of resurrection is seen throughout our world in how God made it. Even in the things that men do/create we see ideas of resurrection pop up. If the resurrection didn't happen then Christians of all people are the most to be pitied. Our sins were paid for in their totality by Jesus. Our flesh has been put to death in Christ and now the life we live we live by faith in the Son of God who died on our behalf for His glory. 

The Jews of Jesus' days on earth would see Jesus entering Jerusalem as another picture of a King entering their city. This was part of the reason it was so troubling to the Pharisees since this was something familiar to them from the Scriptures. Solomon foreshadows the coming into Jerusalem of Jesus who was not simply just a King, but also a prophet and priest. Solomon was the shadow of a greater King who would reign forever over His people. 

We explored the section where Jehoram decides he is tired of Moab not paying the tribute they were supposed to send to Israel. Jehoram enlist the help of Jehoshaphat to join him in going to battle against Moab. They decide to march south and come into the territory of Moab from the south. During this journey they enlist the help of the army of the Edomites. The march is long and so after 7 days they are literally dying of thirst and can’t really proceed. Jehoshaphat asks if there is a man of Yahweh who they can seek to get direction from God. Elisha is found and Jehoram proceeds to blame Yahweh for bringing the three armies out here into the wilderness to deliver them into the hands of the Moabites. Elisha dismisses Jehoram by simply stating if it were not for the presence of Jehoshaphat he would not be here at all. Basically he tells Jehoram there is nothing in him which merits God’s blessing and attention. Elisha proceeds to tell Jehoshaphat God is going to supply water in abundance for him and the army and He is also going to grant them victory over the Moabites. In the end they almost completely wipe out the Moabites. All they are left with is one city, everything else is destroyed. They cease their attack when it results in human sacrifice. The key takeaway which stood out to me was the fact of how Jehoram receives the blessing of God, not because he deserves it but because he is in close proximity to a descendant of king David who is intent on serving and glorifying God. Because we are very much like Jehoram. We receive the blessing of God not because we deserve it but because we stand before God in Jesus the eternal descendant of king David. 

We wrapped up the short section which introduces us to Elisha as the prophet to the 10 northern tribes. What we saw was Jericho coming to Elisha in order to seek help from God. It was a relatively young city. While it was a beautiful location it had been cursed at its founding. The city had come to realize the water was causing their animals and wives to miscarry. The Bible describes the city as bereaved. Elisha asks for a new bowl. This is important because a new bowl would not have been used for anything so it would not be contaminated in any way and would be ceremonially clean. Elisha also told them to put salt in the bowl. Salt is symbolic of God’s cleansing and preserving power. But the thing to keep in mind is Elisha could not just handle the salt. Elisha was not a pure enough vessel. The bowl foreshadows the greater and better vessel of Jesus. He would enter into time and He would be able to contain the preserving and purifying power of God. Elisha uses the bowl to cast the salt into the water source for the city and the water is healed by the power of God. Elisha left there and journeyed back toward the region of Samaria. As he was passing by Bethel a bunch of adolescent boys came out of the city and started to mock him. Telling him to keep on going up you baldy. The idea behind the text is very much a don’t stop here, we don’t want you, just keep moving old man. Bethel was the center of idolatry for the 10 northern tribes. The golden calves had been established here. They were proud of their idolatry and wanted nothing to do with God’s man. These young boys were no doubt repeating the sentiment they heard at home. Elisha then curses them and God sends two she bears out of the forest and they maul 42 of them. In Leviticus God had declared a warning that if the people would walk contrary to Him and refuse to listen He would send wild beast which would bereave them of their children. This is the same Hebrew word used in Jericho of the trauma they felt in their loss. It is a striking contrast which emphasizes the importance of the centrality of God through Jesus. A cursed city which is bereaved of its children comes to God’s man and receives grace symbolically through the pure vessel. The self-satisfied city rejects God’s man and is cursed and bereaved of it’s children. It is a dramatic story which illustrates to the people in exile and to us today the importance of the centrality of God to all things. 

We walked through the calling of Elijah to heaven and the transfer of spiritual leadership from Elijah to Elisha. There are many layers to this story and the parallels are important to pick up. In this last story of Elijah’s life there is a strong parallel with Moses. He journeyed from Israel and their captivity to the world and idolatry to the Jordan. On the way they stopped at places where the schools of prophets had been established and some of them even join them on the last leg of their journey. Elijah then leads Elisha through the Jordan on dry ground like Moses led Israel through the Red sea. They went into the desert Moses ascended Mount Sinai to meet with God and receive the law. Elijah is carried by a whirlwind up to meet God. Moses dies and enters God’s presence and never enters the promised land. Elijah is carried into heaven and does not enter back into the promised land. Both of their bodies are never found. Joshua then journeys through the Jordan on dry ground back into the promised land after their sojourn in the desert. Elisha receives a doubles portion of the Spirit of God which is like him receiving an inheritance, he even cries out my father, my father when Elijah is taken away. He then journeys back through the Jordan on dry ground into the promised land. And while these parallels are interesting the reality is when something like this happens and is reinforced we should be asking ourselves what this foreshadows. Paul in the New Testament compares the journey of Israel through the Red sea to Baptism. Baptism is the symbol we use to symbolize someone coming to be identified with Christ as their Lord through salvation. The symbol of water in the Bible is almost always a symbol of judgement and death. Jesus when he was on this earth entered into God’s judgement and death for us. When Jesus entered the river of death He did not stay there but came out on the other side through resurrection. Moses and Elijah were seeking to rescue the people from slavery and idolatry. Jesus however rescues us from all sin and death. He makes all those who trust Him as Lord, His children and He gives us His Spirit. These Old Testament stories are about God working to bring physical deliverance. This simply points forward to the greater and eternal deliverance Jesus worked to bring us.

We continued our study in prayer by examining how the Psalmist and other writers expressed joy in the midst of difficulty. How did they get to joy and what are some common traits of the journey to joy in a not so joyful situation. This is one of those areas where the Biblical writers give us a variety of examples for doing this. It is also something do not naturally  do and so it becomes something we need to practice and work on. We see this type of expression again and again throughout the Bible. We see it in the Psalms and wisdom books as well as commands by Paul to rejoice in the Lord always. David even appointed a whole section of the priests to do nothing but give thanks to God. This priority of giving thanks and praise to God in the Old Testament should certainly inform our own thoughts as we consider how we approach God and what the content of our prayers should include. We are not saying it should only be joy and thanksgiving but if we don’t find this theme being a part of our prayer life we should consider how it can become a part of our engagement with God. 

We explored the first chapter of 2 Kings and the last days of Ahaziah. In this section we have Elijah coming back into focus. The passage tells us Ahaziah is injured pretty badly in a fall. He is concerned he will not recover and he sends servants to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of the Philistines about his recovery. God sends Elijah to meet the servants and tell them Ahaziah is pursuing false gods and will certainly die. When the servants return so quickly with bad news Ahaziah deduces, by their descriptions of the messenger, it was Elijah. Ahaziah sends a captain of 50 men and his men to go get Elijah. This must have been a life threatening situation and when the men demand Elijah come down Elijah declares if he is a man of God may fire come down and consume them. Just as he says this fire comes down and consumes them all. Somehow Ahaziah hears of this and send another captain with fifty men. This captain demands Elijah come down quickly and again God sends fire from heaven to consume them. Ahaziah sends yet another 50 and this captain falls to his knees and asks Elijah to spare his life and the lives of his men. God tells Elijah to go with this man and so he does. Elijah then delivers the same message he had previously given to Ahaziah himself. After this Ahaziah died, and his son Jehoram reigned in his place. 

We explored the outcome of Ahab going to war to take back Ramoth-gilead. Micaiah had prophesied he would be killed by going up to this battle. He believes he can cheat death and God is not capable of overcoming his incredibly clever plan. He completely believes he can fool the enemy and get away with going to war without getting killed if he just disguises himself. He even tries to ensure his success by having Jehoshaphat wear his royal robes into battle so he would appear as the king of Israel. While Jehoshaphat does not get harmed, Ahab is struck by an arrow shot at random. The arrow proves to be fatal and Ahab dies at sundown. It is easy to look at a passage like this and talk about the pride of Ahab in thinking he could outsmart God. But the reality is we all struggle with thinking more highly of ourselves then we should. What this story is really highlighting is God’s word always comes to pass. You cannot hide from or escape God’s plan. What God says will happen always happens. This is a story which reminds us God is active in the world. Even in things which we would describe as random, like an archer shooting his arrow in a random way. What appears as random is part of God’s plan. God is at work all the time in details we cannot begin to fathom. He blesses those who call on His name and seek His face. He calls us to know Him and follow Him. We also saw this played out in the chapter as Jehoshaphat’s story is briefly laid out. He honored God. He restored true worship in Jerusalem. He killed the cult prostitutes. He conquered Edom. He made a poor choice in rebuilding ships in partnership with Ahab’s son Ahaziah but he learned from that poor choice and did not do it again. Jehoshaphat was a good king of Judah who sought to honor God and lead the people back to Him and God blessed him. Ahaziah king of Israel, however; continued to serve Baal and lead Israel into idol worship. He reigned two years over Israel. 

We explored the opening half of 1 Kings 22. In this section we see the first real friendly connection being made between the kings of Judah and Israel. Jehoshaphat and Ahab come together and form an alliance to take back Ramoth-gilead for Israel. Jehoshaphat was a God honoring king and he wanted Ahab to bring in a prophet so they could hear a word from Yahweh about this potential battle. Ahab brings together 400 prophets who prophesy in the name of adonai. These 400 tell Ahab and Jehoshaphat to go up because Adonai will give Ramoth-gilead into their hands. Now adonai means sovereign and was used most often to refer to a ruler or land owner. It was also used to refer to God but was different then prophesying in the name of Yahweh. Upon hearing this Jehoshaphat asks Ahab if there was a prophet they could get who would give them a word from Yahweh. Ahab sends for a prophet who he doesn’t like to hear from because he always prophesies bad things about him. It is interesting how the 400 prophets at this point change their declaration and claim to be prophesying in the name of Yahweh. Michaiah, the prophet Ahab doesn’t like, shows up and begins to declare they should go up and Yahweh would give Ramoth-gilead into their hands. Ahab simply does not believe Micaiah and asks how many times he needs to make him swear he is speaking nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord. Micaiah then proceeds to tell them he sees Israel scattered on the mountains like sheep without a shepherd. Ahab sees this as a bad prophecy about him no longer being around. The king basically says this is the type of thing I thought he would say. Then Micaiah reveals how he saw the Lord in the throne of heaven, asking the host who would entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead. A lying spirit volunteered to go and deceive the prophets. The Lord declared the spirit would have success. Ahab of course does not like this prophecy of his falling in battle, and he has Micaiah put in prison until his return. At this Micaiah declares to Ahab if he returns in peace God has not spoken by him. Micaiah is a true follower of God who follows Him no matter what it cost him

We continued our study in prayer by looking at the presence of God or the lack of feeling like God is there when we pray. There are three distinct ways in which the Bible talks about the presence of God. There is His Omnipresence. This is the way in which God is everywhere all the time. You cannot get away from Him no matter where you go. A sparrow cannot fall from the sky without Him being aware of it. God is always present everywhere all the time. The second way God is present is demonstrated in His protective care. We looked at the life of Joseph and how this is demonstrated for us in his journey to slavery in Egypt. From the man who bought him to his time in prison through his ascension to the second most powerful man in Egypt, God was clearly watching over him. In the great commission which is recited not just here but many places around the world Jesus promises to be with us. The third way we looked at God’s presence is the communion He has with His people. Clearly Adam and Eve communed with Him directly as they walked with Him in the garden of Eden before the fall into sin. Today this aspect of communion with God is expressed through our time in prayer and Bible reading. This communion is facilitated by the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit. We explored the problem of feeling like God is not there when we pray. We explored the roll sin may play in causing us to feel as if we are separated from God in spite of the fact nothing can separate us from God. We also considered the way focusing on the kingdom of God can drive our hearts to a greater longing for God. Longing for God and His kingdom can help us to enter more fully into an engagement which is emotionally rich in meaning and connection. We have spent time looking specifically at ways we can improve our perception of God. We can focus on His attributes, His names, His actions, and His presence

We explored the second part to the story of Naboth’s vineyard. In this section Elijah comes on the scene confronting Ahab over his ill gotten land. He points out how Ahab has not only killed Naboth but has taken his land. This really emphasizes how both the killing and the taking of the land were wrong actions in the eyes of the Lord. The Lord had given the land to families to be passed on to their children. Naboth had told Ahab this. The land was not something he could give even if he wanted to. This was the very issue that had been Ahab’s cause of pouting, which had set in motion everything we have looked at. Ahab is under judgement for both violations of God’s law. He had stolen the land and had committed murder. Ahab starts his conversation with Elijah by calling him his enemy. Elijah points out the reason for his coming rests in the evil he has done. Elijah then goes on to pronounce God’s judgement on Ahab. He tells him how his family will be cut off like Jeroboam and Baasha. How his blood will be licked up by the dogs in the place where Naboth’s blood was spilt. How his descendants who die in the city will be eaten by dogs and those who die in the country by birds. He also tells Ahab Jezebel will be eaten by dogs within the walls of Jezreel. This is now the second time his death has been foretold. Ahab tears his clothes, puts on sackcloth, fasted and went about dejectedly. This is the first time we see Ahab do anything even close to repentance. God’s sees his actions and sends Elijah to tell him God will not bring these actions in his days but in his son’s days