Latest / A Chapter a Day Bible Reading / February 5 - 2 Kings 3

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February 5 - 2 Kings 3 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean. Here it is, Wednesday.
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  It's the 5th of February. And would you know it, the first
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  Wednesday in February every year is actually World Read Aloud
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  Day. This is a day that was developed
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  15 years ago that encourages all of us to read aloud because
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  there is something glorious about not just literacy, but
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  about reading things out aloud. And this is to help raise our
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  awareness that there are many parts of the world where
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  literacy is not something that is shared by everyone.
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  Many parts of Africa, the female literacy rate particularly, it's
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  still below 50%. And that's something that the
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  world is working on to try and improve.
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  And one small thing that we can do today is celebrate the gift
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  that we have of being able to read.
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  So grab a book, maybe grab a child, but not just any random
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  child, one that you know, otherwise you'll get arrested.
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  And then that one here and read a book.
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  Read a book to them. Celebrate the joy of writing.
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  Well, that's what we are going to do today.
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  Friends. This is like low hanging fruit
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  for me right now because I get to read aloud the next chapter
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  of this book of second kings. Oh yes, And we return to the
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  machinations of kings and their plotting and scheming and
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  warring. So that is what we will read
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  today. So join me as we hear the
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  failure of human kings and the difference between them and our
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  king that we have in Jesus as we read together Second Kings
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  chapter 3. Ahab's son Joram began to rule
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  over Israel in the 18th year of King Jehoshaphat's reign in
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  Judah. He reigned in Samaria 12 years.
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  He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, but not to the
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  same extent as his father and mother.
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  He at least tore down the sacred pillar to Bao that his father
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  had set up. Nevertheless, he continued in
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  the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had committed and LED the
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  people of Israel to commit. King Mesha of Moab was a sheep
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  breeder. He used to pay the king of
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  Israel an annual tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool of
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  100,000 Rams. But after Ahab's death, the king
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  of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.
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  So King Joram promptly mustered the army of Israel and marched
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  from Samaria. On the way he sent this message
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  to King Jehoshaphat of Judah. The king of Moab has rebelled
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  against me. Will you join me in battle
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  against him? And Jehoshaphat replied, Why, of
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  course you and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and
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  my horses are your horses. Then Jehoshaphat asked, What
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  route will we take? We will attack from the
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  wilderness of Edom. Joram replied.
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  The king of Edom and his troops joined them, and all three
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  armies travelled along a roundabout route through the
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  wilderness for seven days, but there was no water for the men
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  nor their animals. What should we do?
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  The king of Israel cried out. The Lord has brought the three
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  of us here to let the king of Moab defeat us.
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  But King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked, Is there no prophet of
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  the Lord with us? If there is, we can ask the Lord
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  what to do through him. One of King Joram's officers
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  replied. Elijah son of Shaphat is here.
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  He used to be Elijah's personal assistant.
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  Jehoshaphat said yes, the Lord speaks through him.
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  So the king of Israel, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the
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  king of Edom went to consult with Elisha.
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  Why are you coming to me? Elisha asked.
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  The king of Israel go to the Pagan prophets of your father
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  and mother. But King Joram of Israel said
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  no, for it is the Lord who called us 3 kings here, only to
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  be defeated by the king of Moab. Elisha replied, As surely as the
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  Lord Almighty lives whom I serve, I wouldn't even bother
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  with you, except for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah.
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  Now bring me someone who can play the harp.
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  While the harp was being played, the power of the Lord came upon
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  Elisha, and he said, This is what the Lord says.
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  This dry valley will be filled with pools of water.
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  You will see neither wind nor rain, says the Lord, but this
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  valley will be filled with water.
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  You will have plenty for yourselves and your cattle and
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  other animals. But this is only a simple thing
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  for the Lord, for he will make you victorious over the army of
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  Moab. You will conquer the best of
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  their towns, even the fortified ones.
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  You will cut down all their good trees, stop up all their
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  springs, and ruin all their good land with stones.
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  The next day, at about the time when the morning sacrifice was
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  offered, water suddenly appeared.
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  It was flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon
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  there was water everywhere. Meanwhile, when the people of
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  Moab heard about the three armies marching against them,
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  they mobilised every man who was old enough to strap on a sword,
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  and they stationed themselves along their border.
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  But when they got up the next morning, the sun was shining
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  across the water, making it appear red to the Moabites, like
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  blood. It's blood, the Moabites
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  exclaimed. The three armies must have
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  attacked and killed each other. Let's go, men of Moab, and
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  collect the plunder. But when the Moabites arrived at
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  the Israelite camp, the army of Israel rushed out and attacked
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  them until they turned and ran. The army of Israel chased them
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  into the land of Moab, destroying everything as they
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  went. They destroyed the towns,
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  covered their good land with stones, stopped up all their
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  springs and cut down all the good trees.
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  Finally, only Kerr harasseth and it's stone walls were left, but
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  men with slings surrounded and attacked it.
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  When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led
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  700 of his swordsmen in a desperate attempt to
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  breakthrough the enemy lines near the king of Edom, but they
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  failed. Then the king of Moab took his
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  oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed
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  him as a burnt offering on the wall.
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  So there was great anger against Israel, and the Israelites
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  withdrew and returned to their own land.
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  Oh Lord, there is much in this story that seems brutal to our
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  modern ears. But Lord, as we hear this, we
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  hear that you are a faithful God and that you are a creative God,
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  and that when the Israelite and Edomite and Judean armies faced
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  this incredible challenge of dryness, that you, in your
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  creativity in a way that nobody could have imagined, solve this
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  problem for them by having a river rush through that area,
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  giving them the water that they needed.
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  Our Lord, I wonder what parts of our lives we need a river of
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  your presence to rush through, but we don't even know to ask
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  for it. Lord, I just pray that in those
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  dry parts of our lives where we are struggling and finding it
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  hard, our Holy Spirit bring that life giving water of your
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  presence and your provision into that dry place of need.
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  You are a good, good God who loves us and provides for us.
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  And we thank you for providing in ways that we don't even know
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  how to ask for. We just rest in your kindness
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  and your provision for us, our creative, providing, loving God.
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  And we pray all of this in that loving name of Jesus, Amen.