Tues.’s Devo - Victory!

Read: 2 Kings 3:1-4:17; Acts 14:8-28; Psalm 140:1-13; Proverbs 17:22 Joram reigned over Israel and even though he was evil, he did tear down the Baal pillar that Ahab had set up. But, he continued to worship the golden calves that Jeroboam had set up. When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled and stop paying Israel tribute. They had supplied Israel with lambs and the wool of rams. King Joram led his army to defeat Moab. He picked up King Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and the king of Edom along his way. After many days of travel they ran out of water and there were no natural springs anywhere around. King Joram, full of guilt, immediately blamed God for getting them out there so He could kill them. King Jehoshaphat asked if there was a prophet of the Lord that they could ask about their outcome. King Joram told him about Elisha who was the follower of Elijah. King Jehoshaphat knew about Elijah so they called for Elisha. When Elisha came he told the king of Israel that he would not have wasted his time to come for Joram, but because King Jehoshaphat was with them and God honored him, he came. LOL! He told them that God would cause water to come from nowhere and it would be enough for all of them and more. He also said that they would completely destroy the Moabites and conquer the best of the towns, even the fortified ones. The next day, water filled the valley. They were able to water themselves and their animals. When the Moabites saw all the water, the sun hit it making it appear to be blood. They thought it was the blood of their enemies and attacked. They were met by the armies who were alive and well. Moab was defeated just as Elisha had prophesied. One of Elisha’s prophets died leaving a wife and two sons. The wife came to Elisha saying that her creditors were going to take her sons as slaves to pay their debt. Elisha asked what she had in her house. She had one little bottle of olive oil. He told her to borrow as many jars as she could from neighbors and start pouring the oil into them. It filled all the jars. Then, Elisha told her to sell the oil and pay off their debts and live on the rest. She did. Elisha spent much time in the town of Shunem. Shunem means “double rest,” so this was a place where Elisha found rest for his body and his soul. A rich woman lived there with her husband and noticed how much Elisha came there. She asked her husband to build a room onto their house for Elisha. She furnished it with a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp and Elisha enjoyed visiting often. He wanted to do something for the woman to thank her but when he called her in and asked her what she needed, she didn’t need anything. He asked his servant, Gehazi if he had any ideas of what they could do for her. He told Elisha that her husband was old and she had no son. Elisha called the woman in and told her that next year she would be holding a son. She was skeptical but it happened just as Elisha said it would. In Acts, Paul and Barnabas were in Lystra. Paul noticed a man who had been crippled from birth. He discerned that he had the faith to be healed so he called him to stand and walk. When he did the crowd thought Paul must be Hermes and Barnabas must be Zeus. They had a temple to Zeus just outside the town so the people started bringing offerings to sacrifice for Paul and Barnabas. They tried to stop them and tell them that they were just men. Some of their enemy Jews arrived and took Paul outside the town and stoned him. They thought they had killed him but Barnabas picked him up and brought him back. Paul and Barnabas left the next day and went to Derbe. They returned to all the places they had been and encouraged the believers there. They went back to Antioch and gave the church reports about their trip and how well the Gospel had been received by the Gentiles. Lord, thank you for you Word and the examples of godly men who stood for You in dangerous times. May we have that same faith to stand in the day we live in. May we see the crippled walk and the blind see and many come to believe that you are the Lord of all lords.