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February 4 - 2 Kings 2 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Tuesday, it's the 4th of
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  February. Great to have your company.
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  Hope you're going well. Here we are at the beginning of
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  a new year in the Bible. If you have a look at the show
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  notes, it has got a link to the outline that we'll be following
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  each day for the next year. And you'll see that on Fridays
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  we have finished the book of Psalms and we have now got the
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  book of Proverbs ahead of us. And Proverbs are a little denser
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  than Psalms, aren't they? Every sentence in the Proverbs
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  is, well, it's a sermon in itself, waiting to be preached.
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  So rather than ploughing through a full chapter of those, we have
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  broken them up into far more digestible amounts so that we
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  can really take to heart what God is teaching us through His
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  proverbs. But that's coming on Friday.
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  Right now we are going to see the transition, this major
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  transition from this phenomenal character of Elijah to his
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  assistant, his replacement Elijah.
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  So why don't you settle in as we hear this passing of the baton
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  and Elijah ending his ministry as we read together Second Kings
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  Chapter 2. When the Lord was about to take
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  Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, Elijah and Elijah
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  were travelling from Gilgal, and Elijah said to Elijah, Stay
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  here, for the Lord has told me to go to Bethel.
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  But Elijah replied, As surely as the Lord lives, and you yourself
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  live, I will never leave you. So they went down together to
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  Bethel. The group of prophets from
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  Bethel came to Elijah and asked him, Did you know that the Lord
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  is going to take your master away from you today?
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  Of course I know, Elijah answered.
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  But be quiet about it. Then Elijah said to Elijah, Stay
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  here, for the Lord has told me to go to Jericho.
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  But Elijah replied again, As surely as the Lord lives, and
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  you yourself live, I will never leave you.
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  So they went on together to Jericho.
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  Then the group of prophets from Jericho came to Elisha and asked
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  him, Did you know that the Lord is going to take your master
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  away from you today? Of course I know, Elisha
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  answered. But be quiet about it.
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  Then Elijah said to Elisha, Stay here, for the Lord has told me
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  to go to the Jordan River. But again Elijah replied, As
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  surely as the Lord lives, and you yourself live, I will never
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  leave you. So they went on together. 50 men
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  from the group of prophets also went and watched from a distance
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  as Elijah and Elijah stopped beside the Jordan River.
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  Then Elijah folded his cloak together and struck the water
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  with it. The river divided, and the two
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  of them went across on dry ground.
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  When they came to the other side, Elijah said to Elijah,
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  Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken away.
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  And Elijah replied, Please let me inherit a double share of
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  your spirit and become your successor.
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  You have asked a difficult thing, Elijah replied.
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  If you see me when I am taken from you, then you will get your
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  request, but if not, then you won't.
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  As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of
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  fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire.
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  It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was
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  carried by a whirlwind into heaven.
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  Elisha saw it and cried out. My father, my father, I see the
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  Chariots and charioteers of Israel, and as they disappeared
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  from sight, Elisha tore his clothes in distress.
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  Elisha picked up Elijah's cloak, which had fallen where he was
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  taken up. Then Elisha returned to the Bank
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  of the Jordan River. He struck the water with
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  Elijah's cloak and cried out, Where is the Lord the God of
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  Elijah? Then the river divided, and
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  Elijah went across. When the group of prophets from
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  Jericho saw from a distance what had happened, they exclaimed,
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  Elijah's spirit rests upon Elijah.
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  And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him.
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  Sir, they said, just say the word and fifty of our strongest
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  men will search the wilderness for your master.
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  Perhaps the spirit of the Lord has left him on some mountain or
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  in some valley. No, Elijah said, don't send
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  them. But they kept urging him until
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  they shamed him into agreeing, and he finally said, all right,
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  send them. So 50 men searched for three
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  days but did not find Elijah. Elijah was still in Jericho when
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  they returned. Didn't I tell you not to go?
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  He asked. One day the leaders of the town
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  of Jericho visited Elisha. We have a problem, my Lord, they
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  told him. This town is located in pleasant
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  surroundings as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is
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  unproductive. Elisha said, Bring me a new bowl
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  with salt in it. So they brought it to him.
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  Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with
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  water and threw the salt into it.
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  And he said, This is what the Lord says.
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  I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or
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  infertility. And the water has remained pure
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  ever since. Just as Elisha said.
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  Elisha left Jericho and went up to Bethel.
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  As he was walking along the road, a group of boys from the
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  town began mocking and making fun of him.
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  Go away, baldy, they chanted. Go away, baldy.
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  Elisha turned around and looked at them, and he cursed them in
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  the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the
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  woods and mauled 42 of them. From there, Elisha went to Mount
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  Carmel and finally returned to Samaria.
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  Our Lord, it's so easy for us to mock will make fun of this group
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  of boys yelling or insults at your prophet.
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  Ah but Lord, we far too easily find ourselves on the wrong
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  side, supporting those that probably don't deserve our
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  support and pushing for an outcome that is probably not
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  what you would hope for. Lord, we are sinful people.
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  We are broken just like your people, Israel, but still You
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  love us and you reach out to us with Jesus and you take away our
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  sins. Lord, thank you for dealing with
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  them once and for all on that cross on the hill of Calvary.
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  Oh, we're so grateful for your transforming love and making a
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  path to bring us home to you now.
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  We love you and we pray all of things in the name of Jesus,
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  Amen.