Tues.’s Devo - Unfinished Business

Read: 2 Kings 8:1-9:13; Acts 16:16-40; Psalm 143:1-12; Proverbs 17:26 Elisha warned the woman who built him a room to take her family and move because a famine was coming to the land of Israel and it would last 7 years. So she took her family to the land of the Philistines where they lived for those 7 years. When the famine was over she came home to claim her land. *** She walked in to petition for her land right when Gehazi was telling stories of all the miraculous things Elisha had done. He was telling the king of the time Elisha raised her son from the dead. Gehazi looked up and saw her and told the king that this was the mother. *** The king had her tell her story and it matched the one Gehazi had just told so he commanded that she get back all her land and any proceeds that her land had yielded during the famine. The kindness that she had extended to Elijah continued to reap for her great rewards. *** Meanwhile, Elisha went to Damascus, the capital of Aram where King Ben-hadad was in his bed with an illness. The king had his servant Hazael take a gift to Elisha and ask him if he would recover. Elisha told him he would recover, but then he would die. Elisha stared at Hazael until he finally asked him why. Elisha told him that the Lord had shown him terrible things that he would do to God’s people. He would burn down their cities, kill their young men and their children and rip open the pregnant women. *** Hazael asked how someone as insignificant as him do something so big. Elisha told him because he would become the next king of Aram. *** When Hazael returned to the bedside of Ben-hadad he told him the man of God said he would recover. Then that night, he took a blanket and soaked it and smothered him with it. He became the next king of Aram. *** Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram became king after him and reigned eight years. He married one of Ahab’s daughters who brought her idolatry with her. During his reign, the Edomites revolted and crowned their own king. King Jehoram tried to get them back but was deserted by his own army. *** Jehoram’s son, Ahaziah became king over Judah while Joram was ruling Israel. He was 22 years old and only reigned a year. Ahaziah’s mother was the grandmother of King Omri of Israel who was Ahab’s father. Since he was related to the king of Israel, he joined him against King Hazel of Aram fighting for Ramoth-gilead. King Joram was wounded in the battle. *** Ahaziah went to visit Joram in Jezreel. Elisha sent one of his prophets to take a flask of oil to the battle field at Ramoth-Gilead. He was to find Jehu and take him into a private room and anoint him the next king of Israel, then flee. *** Jehu was the commander of the army. The prophet found him, called him into a private room and anointed him. He also spoke over him that he would avenge the murder of God’s prophets. and all the Lord’s servants who were killed by Jezebel. He would wipe out the entire family of Ahab and destroy all their descendants. The dogs would eat Jezebel at the plot of land in Jezebel and no one would bury her. Then he jumped up and fled. *** When Jehu came back to his group of officers, they asked him what the prophet had said. He finally told them and they spread out the cloaks for him, stood on the steps and blew the ram’s horn shouting, “Jehu is king.” *** Anointing Hazael as king over Syria and Jehu king over Israel were the first two things Elijah was told to do before he died (1 Kings 19:15-16). He didn’t do either. He anointed Elisha and Elisha finished it for him. *** In Acts, Paul and Luke and others were still in Macedonia. As they were going to the place where they met to pray, a slave girl met them. She had the spirit of divination and began following them yelling, “These men are servants of the Most High God and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” It became irritating, so finally Paul turned and cast out the demon of divination out of her. The man who had profited from her gift became very upset and grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the magistrate of the city. He accused them of causing chaos in the city and teaching doctrine that was illegal for Romans to practice. *** A mob formed and they stripped and beat Paul and Silas with wooden rods. Then they threw them in prison where they were clamped in stocks in the dungeon. *** Around midnight, Paul and Silas were singing hymns and praying when there was a massive earthquake. The prison was shaken and all the doors flew open and every prisoner’s chains fell off. The jailer awoke and saw the open doors and assumed all the prisoners had escaped. He was about to kill himself when Paul stopped him. *** The jailer brought them outside and asked them how he could be saved. They told him to believe on the Lord Jesus and he would be saved. He did as well as his whole household. He cared for their wounds and fed them then they returned to the jail. *** In the morning, the jailer was told to set them free, but Paul accused them of beating them without a trial even though they were Roman citizens. When they found out they were Roman citizens they came and apologized and set them free. Paul and Silas went back to meet one more time with the believers, then left the town. *** Lord, just like Elisha finished Elijah’s mandate, may we finish what Jesus came to do. May we set the prisoner free and break the yokes of bondage in the name of Jesus.