Living Water Community Church

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

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.

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 co

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 invo

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 cont

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

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

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 f

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

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 co

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 y

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 remi

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 chan

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 directl

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

We explored Ahab’s acquisition of the vineyard of Naboth. We looked at how Naboth rejected Ahab’s offer to give him a better vineyard or money for it. He did this in order to remain obedient to God and the command to not permanently transfer any land to anyone. Naboth clearly wanted to honor God. Ahab went home like a little kid and pouted about it. Jezebel comforted him and told him not to worry about it, she would take care of it. She sent letters in Ahab’s name with his seal telling the leaders of Jezreel to declare a fast. This was something usually done when there was sin among the people and they needed to repent. The people gathered in anticipation of this being addressed. They set up Naboth and had false witnesses accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then they took him out and stoned him. Once this was done Jezebel told Ahab to go and take possession of his vineyard. There were a couple of important parallels in the passage. Jezebel foreshadows those who use religion itself to pervert the word of G

We explored the last half of chapter 20. This records for us the second battle Ban-hadad had with the children of Israel. This battle was in the spring and it was staged in a valley with the idea that the God of Israel could not help them in the valley because they believed He was a God of the hills. For this very reason God promised to deliver the Syrians and the armies of their allies into the hands of the king of Israel. But it was a victory declared to be given specifically so that Ahab will know that Yahweh is the God of Israel. Ahab wins a great victory over an immense multitude with a very small army by comparison. There is even a Jericho moment when 27,000 soldiers are killed by a wall collapsing on them. This is clearly a victory given to Ahab by God. God had commanded them to destroy the Syrians. But in the end Ahab strikes a deal with Ben-hadad in exchange for some cities and trade, Ahab gives Ben-hadad his life. God’s prophet then goes and gets beat up and stages a Nathan the prophet kind of story

We worked through the section where Elijah calls Elisha and then moved on to the first part of chapter 20 where we have Ahab and Israel being attacked by Ben-hadad the king of Syria and 32 kings. When Elijah calls Elisha to follow him he is plowing in a field with 12 yolk of oxen. These may have been driven by multiple people working for him. But what we see is Elisha is a wealthy farmer. He sacrifices one of the yoke of oxen to really celebrate the call of God on his life and shares it with all the local people. After this he leaves the farm and goes off to assist Elijah. Meanwhile the story of the attack by the king of Syria and His fellow kings unfolds. It is a dramatic story where a new profit comes to Ahab and tells him God is going to deliver them and they will know it is by the hand of God. The point is this massive army composed of the soldiers from 33 kingdoms is routed by 232 servants who lead an army of less then 10,000. It is a truly dramatic story of deliverance which could only come from the han