Wed.’s Devo - God’s Unfinished Business - Finished

Read: 2 Kings 8:1-9:13; Acts 16:16-40; Psalm 143:1-12; Proverbs 17:26 Elisha went to the woman who Elisha had risen her son back to life and warned her to move out of Israel because God was sending a famine which would last for 7 years. She moved her family to live in the land of the Philistines till the 7 years was over. *** After the famine, Gehazi was sitting with the king telling him stories of when he assisted Elijah. He was at the part where Elijah raised the woman’s son from the dead when she walked into the room to ask for her land and house back. Gehazi introduced her to the king and she told her story. The king had her house and land restored to her and she was given the money that her crops made while she was gone. When we take care of God’s servants, God rewards us. She took care of Elijah and now God was taking care of her. *** Elisha then went to Damascus, the capital of Aram. Their king, Ben-hadad was in bed sick. Ben-hadad heard Elisha was in town and had 40 camels laden with goods to be sent to Elisha to ask if he would recover from his sickness. The man who brought the message to Elisha was Hazael. He was the one God had told Elijah to anoint as the next king of Aram but Elijah didn’t do it. Now, Elisha would finish Elijah’s assignment. He saw all he would do to Israel in a flash. It was so devastating, he began to weep. Hazael asked him what was so upsetting and Elisha shared with him all he would do to the people of Israel. Hazael asked how he could possibly be so powerful to do that. Then Elisha told him he would be the next king of Aram. Elisha told Hazael that Ben-hadad would recover, but he would die. *** When Hazael returned to Ben-hadad he told him that Elisha told him he would recover, but he left out the part where he would surely die. The next day, Hazael smothered Ben-hadad to death and he became the next king of Aram. *** In Judah, Jehoram had succeeded his father Jehoshaphat as king. He did even more evil than his father and married one of Ahab’s daughters. *** During Jehoram’s reign the Edomites revolted from serving Israel and appointed their own king. Jehoram tried to get the Edomites back under his submission but the attack failed and his own army deserted him. Jehoram reigned for 8 years and then his son, Ahaziah became the next king of Judah. *** Ahaziah was young - 22, when he came to reign. His mother Athaliah was the granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. Omri was Ahab’s father and he was evil. Ahaziah went to fight with King Joram against Hazael of Aram. King Joram of Israel was wounded in the battle and returned to Jezreel to heal. Ahazeal went to see visit him. *** Elisha sent one of his young prophets to go to Ramoth-gilead and find Jehu. He was to secretly anoint him with oil and tell him that he would be the next king of Israel, then he was to flee. This was the other unfinished business given Elijah to do (1 Kings 19:15-16). He did it and when the officers asked Jehu what the prophet told him, he told them, he had just been anointed king of Israel. The news spread quickly and they blew the ram’s horn and announced that Jehu was king. *** What Jehu didn’t tell them was that the rest of the message was that he would destroy the family of Ahab to avenge the deaths of God’s prophets who died by the hands of Jezebel. He was to wipe out the entire family of Ahab, even the slaves. *** President Trump has this same mandate, to clean out the mess that former evil presidents have done, namely the Clintons. He is to avenge all the murders of Hillary, who was a type of Jezebel. We are watching that take place in our day. *** In Acts, Paul, Simon, and Luke were in Philippi, a major city of Macedonia. It was also a Roman colony. A fortune teller followed them daily proclaiming that they were men of God and had come to tell other how to be saved. She became such a nuisance that Paul finally cast the spirit of divination out of her. There went many paychecks, so her handlers were very upset. They grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the officials of the city. They accused them of teaching illegal practices. *** When a mob formed, the city officials had them beaten with wooden rods and thrown into prison. They were put in the inner dungeon and their feet put in stocks. *** Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God while the other inmates listened. Around midnight, there was a massive earthquake ad the doors of the prison flew open. The jailer awoke and thought he had lost all his prisoners. He took his sword to kill himself, but Paul told him to stop because they were all there. The jailor could’t believe it. He fell down before Paul and Silas and asked how to be saved. He must have been listening to their singing. They led him to salvation and shared the truth with his family. They all believed and were baptized. They fed Paul and Silas and were filled with joy. ** In the morning, the officials sent word to the jailer to set the men free. But Paul protested that they were Roman citizens and had been beaten without a trial. The city officials were very alarmed when they heard this and begged them to leave their city. Paul and Silas went back to the home of Lydia and soon left town. *** Lord, may we be willing to suffer for the sake of the gospel. Thank you that your truth can not be beaten out, snuffed out or covered up. Your truth is power and light. May we shine your truth today. May we finish anything our predecessors didn’t do. May we be instrumental in bringing your kingdom to earth.