The Chariot of Fire - Day 157 Through the Bible

This beautiful handmade comforter/quilt was given to me in memory of  my mother by 2 of  my favorite fellow believers - one a member of Mt. Celo Church.  This was originally meant for my mother as she entered hospice.  The prayer over it and for Mother and me is from John 14:16,18: "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever...I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you."

My Lessons/Applications/Contemplations From Today's Readings

God's Way with Prophets and Kings (2 Kings 1 and 2) Ahaziah, the king of Israel and son of Ahab, has fallen through the lattice work (literally and metaphorically) and is seriously injured...physically, but it turns out his spiritual injury is much deeper.  The king sends messengers to ask the god, Baal-Zebub, if he will recover.  God calls His prophet, Elijah, to deliver a message of doom to the king:  "Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?  Now, therefore, thus says the LORD, 'You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die."'  Ahaziah had no son, so Jehoram becomes the next king of Israel; Jehoshaphat still reigns in Judah.  Now God is "about to take up His prophet, Elijah, into heaven in a whirlwind."  God has dealt gently with this prophet (speaking to him in a still, small voice) who did mighty works through God and to His glory and then fell into a deep despondency, asking God to let Him die. (See Blog Post for Day 155)  God is gracious to His prophet, allowing him to anoint his successor, Elisha, and taking them on journeys to Bethel, Jericho and finally crossing over the Jordan River.  Surrounded by 50 prophets from Jericho (all knowing that God will take up Elijah this day), Elijah asks Elisha, "What may I do for you before I am taken away from you?"  Elisha requests a double portion of Elijah's spirit to be upon him.  This is granted, IF Elisha sees when God takes away his master.  In another point of grace, Elijah does not die, but is taken up in a chariot of fire with horses of fire in a whirlwind.

My Lessons/Applications/Contemplations -  This great prophet will reappear again on earth centuries later on the Mount of Transfiguration with Moses and Jesus (Matthew 17 - Moses is thought to represent the Law and Elijah the Prophets both pointing to Jesus, the Messiah). Most NT scholars also believe Elijah is one of the two witnesses also reappearing (with Moses) even centuries further on in the history of the world in Revelation 11:5.  This is another reason to study the Bible in its entirety - to see how God works through history and through the lives of His people...to understand that there is more to life than the theory of chaos or coincidence...to gain a deeper understanding of the unseen spiritual world in relation to the visible physical world...to see that the history of the Jewish nation binds us together in the past, in the present, and in the future...to learn from our collective mistakes as nations and as individual believers...to forgo the negative consequences that come from those...to grow spiritually...to bring more glory and honor to God...to be fulfill Christ's command: "You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you." (John 15: 16) "The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.”  A. W. Tozer

That We Should Not Be Made to Stumble - John 16 - Jesus gives us the reminder and command above (in red font) and follows it with warnings:  the world will hate us as it hated him...we will be persecuted...we will be put out of synagogues...those who kill us will think they are offering God service.  Why? "And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me." Again Jesus cautions us to "remember...these things I have told you." Then the great promise is given: "Nevertheless I tell you the truth.  It is to your advantage that I go away,; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.  He will...convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment...He, the Spirit of truth, will guide you into all truth...He will tell you all things to come...He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you...for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from God." And our greatest hope and promise:  "but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you."

My Lessons and Applications:  Why am I still surprised, crushed, despondent when I am treated cruelly without cause?  Jesus warns us over and over that this will happen to us and why, (because it was what happened to Him, and we are His and because they that do those things know neither Jesus nor the Father).  Yet we seem to forget, thinking that our Christian life will protect us from earthly persecution, sorrow, rejection, hatred.  Again, even some of God's greatest saints forgot this and became despondent.  Recall our reading of Elijah's life just this week.  To maintain God's perspective, we must stay in His Word and in prayer with Him daily...not just on Sunday, not just relying on a minister to teach us His Word.  This is my responsibility, my covenant, my honor...to come directly to the throne of grace...to open the very word of God, to read of the lives and lessons of His saints and of sinners, His commandments, His warnings...all given to us for our salvation, our edification as we walk with Him during our pilgrimage on earth.

"But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more.  My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits.  I will go in the strength of the Lord God.  I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only."  Psalm 71:14-16