Seeking Help from the Prophet

God's Creative Word
God Calls For Justice:  Justice Enacted
A King Acts on a Widow's Behalf

2 Kings 4:18-27

The Message (MSG)

 ^18-19 The child grew up. One day he went to his father, who was working with the harvest hands, complaining, "My head, my head!"
    His father ordered a servant, "Carry him to his mother."
 ²⁰ The servant took him in his arms and carried him to his mother. He lay on her lap until noon and died.
 ²¹ She took him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut him in alone, and left.
 ²² She then called her husband, "Get me a servant and a donkey so I can go to the Holy Man; I'll be back as soon as I can."
 ²³ "But why today? This isn't a holy day—it's neither New Moon nor Sabbath."
    She said, "Don't ask questions; I need to go right now. Trust me."
 ^24-25 She went ahead and saddled the donkey, ordering her servant, "Take the lead—and go as fast as you can; I'll tell you if you're going too fast." And so off she went. She came to the Holy Man at Mount Carmel.
 ^25-26 The Holy Man, spotting her while she was still a long way off, said to his servant Gehazi, "Look out there; why, it's the Shunammite woman! Quickly now. Ask her, 'Is something wrong? Are you all right? Your husband? Your child?'"
    She said, "Everything's fine."
 ²⁷ But when she reached the Holy Man at the mountain, she threw herself at his feet and held tightly to him.
    Gehazi came up to pull her away, but the Holy Man said, "Leave her alone—can't you see that she's in distress? But God hasn't let me in on why; I'm completely in the dark."

For Reflection

Death is never easy.  Especially when it is the death of a child, your child.  The miraculous gift by the Holy man is gone.  "All is fine," she said.  And it was so.

It is well for those who survive.  It is well for those who have gone to God and it is well for all that God does.  We are in possession of nothing.  So in death we lose nothing.  We have in fact been blessed to have been associated in love with another.  So, even in death, all is well.

Even in this, God is just.

Pray

that you will find the strength of faith necessary to be able to say, even in the face of sorrow, in the face of threat, in the face of failure, in the face of tribulation, "All is well."

A Promised Son

God's Creative Word
God Calls For Justice:  Justice Enacted
A King Acts on a Widow's Behalf

2 Kings 4:8-17

The Message

⁸ One day Elisha passed through Shunem. A leading lady of the town talked him into stopping for a meal. And then it became his custom: Whenever he passed through, he stopped by for a meal.
 ^9-10 "I'm certain," said the woman to her husband, "that this man who stops by with us all the time is a holy man of God. Why don't we add on a small room upstairs and furnish it with a bed and desk, chair and lamp, so that when he comes by he can stay with us?"
 ¹¹ And so it happened that the next time Elisha came by he went to the room and lay down for a nap.
 ¹² Then he said to his servant Gehazi, "Tell the Shunammite woman I want to see her." He called her and she came to him.
 ¹³ Through Gehazi Elisha said, "You've gone far beyond the call of duty in taking care of us; what can we do for you? Do you have a request we can bring to the king or to the commander of the army?"
    She replied, "Nothing. I'm secure and satisfied in my family."
 ¹⁴ Elisha conferred with Gehazi: "There's got to be something we can do for her. But what?"
    Gehazi said, "Well, she has no son, and her husband is an old man."
 ¹⁵ "Call her in," said Elisha. He called her and she stood at the open door.
 ¹⁶ Elisha said to her, "This time next year you're going to be nursing an infant son."
    "O my master, O Holy Man," she said, "don't play games with me, teasing me with such fantasies!"
 ¹⁷ The woman conceived. A year later, just as Elisha had said, she had a son.

For Reflection

In God anything is possible.  The Shunammite woman's hospitality went beyond the conventional.  Her hospitality was rewarded not because she expected a reward for her efforts, but precisely because she expected no reward at all.  How often to you give with out expectation of a return?

 

Pray

that you will offer hospitality with no expectation for return.

The Protector of Widows

God's Creative Word
God Calls For Justice:  Justice Enacted
A King Acts on a Widow's Behalf

Psalm 68:1-6

The Message

A David Psalm

 ^1-4 Up with God! Down with his enemies!
         Adversaries, run for the hills!
   Gone like a puff of smoke,
      like a blob of wax in the fire—
         one look at God and the wicked vanish.
   When the righteous see God in action
      they'll laugh, they'll sing,
         they'll laugh and sing for joy.
   Sing hymns to God;
      all heaven, sing out;
         clear the way for the coming of Cloud-Rider.
   Enjoy God,
      cheer when you see him!

 ^5-6 Father of orphans,
      champion of widows,
         is God in his holy house.
   God makes homes for the homeless,
      leads prisoners to freedom,
         but leaves rebels to rot in hell.

For Reflection

Is it possible there is such joy in justice?  Who has not experienced unfairness.  Even small children understand this concept.  Who among us champions the homeless, the prisoner, the odd person out?

 

Pray

that you will look for God in the needy,  Pray that you will praise God for his effort to open our eyes to those in need.  Pray that we will always be a humble servant.

A Son Restored

God's Creative Word
God Calls For Justice:  Justice Enacted
A King Acts on a Widow's Behalf

Luke 15:11-24

The Message

The Story of the Lost Son

 ^11-12Then he said, "There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, 'Father, I want right now what's coming to me.' ^12-16"So the father divided the property between them. It wasn't long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.
 ^17-20"That brought him to his senses. He said, 'All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I'm going back to my father. I'll say to him, Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.' He got right up and went home to his father.
 ^20-21"When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: 'Father, I've sinned against God, I've sinned before you; I don't deserve to be called your son ever again.'
 ^22-24"But the father wasn't listening. He was calling to the servants, 'Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We're going to feast! We're going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!' And they began to have a wonderful time.

For Reflection 

Two sons, both educated in the ways of God, one was sober and the other risky. This all too familiar story is not just about the risky son.  It is also about the sober one.  What their father thought was justice in embracing the returning son the sober son saw as unjust.  Considering that both sons had a similar upbringing in spiritual matters what do you suppose accounts for the difference in the way the sober son's and the father's sense of justice?

Pray

that you will adjust your sense of fairness to be consistent with the love God expresses and resides in this father.  Pray that your attitudes of justice and your actions are consistent with Godly wittiness.

Solomon's Unsurpassed Wisdom

God's Creative Word
God Calls For Justice:  Justice Enacted
Solomon Judges with Wisdom and Justice

1 Kings 4:29-34

The Message

 ^29-34 God gave Solomon wisdom—the deepest of understanding and the largest of hearts. There was nothing beyond him, nothing he couldn't handle. Solomon's wisdom outclassed the vaunted wisdom of wise men of the East, outshone the famous wisdom of Egypt. He was wiser than anyone—wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, wiser than Heman, wiser than Calcol and Darda the sons of Mahol. He became famous among all the surrounding nations. He created 3,000 proverbs; his songs added up to 1,005. He knew all about plants, from the huge cedar that grows in Lebanon to the tiny hyssop that grows in the cracks of a wall. He understood everything about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. Sent by kings from all over the earth who had heard of his reputation, people came from far and near to listen to the wisdom of Solomon.

For Reflection

Wisdom and Justice are counterparts.  When challenged by circumstance what is the source of your wisdom?  Does it lead to justice?

 

Pray

that you will seek the wisdom of God in all that you do.  Pray for others to follow the wisdom of God's justice.

Grace for a Competitor

God's Creative Word
God Calls For Justice:  Justice Enacted
Solomon Judges with Wisdom and Justice

1 Kings 1:41-53

The Message

 ⁴¹ Adonijah and his retinue of guests were just finishing their "coronation" feast when they heard it. When Joab heard the blast of the ram's horn trumpet he said, "What's going on here? What's all this uproar?"
 ⁴² Suddenly, in the midst of the questioning, Jonathan son of Abiathar the priest, showed up. Adonijah said, "Welcome! A brave and good man like you must have good news."
 ^43-48 But Jonathan answered, "Hardly! Our master King David has just made Solomon king! And the king has surrounded him with Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, with the Kerethites and Pelethites; and they've mounted Solomon on the royal mule. Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king at Gihon and the parade is headed up this way singing—a great fanfare! The city is rocking! That's what you're hearing. Here's the crowning touch—Solomon is seated on the throne of the kingdom! And that's not all: The king's servants have come to give their blessing to our master King David saying, 'God make Solomon's name even more honored than yours, and make his rule greater than yours!' On his deathbed the king worshiped God and prayed, 'Blessed be God, Israel's God, who has provided a successor to my throne, and I've lived to see it!'"
 ^49-50 Panicked, Adonijah's guests got out of there, scattering every which way. But Adonijah himself, afraid for his life because of Solomon, fled to the sanctuary and grabbed the horns of the Altar.
 ⁵¹ Solomon was told, "Adonijah, fearful of King Solomon, has taken sanctuary and seized the horns of the Altar and is saying, 'I'm not leaving until King Solomon promises that he won't kill me.'"
 ^52-53 Solomon then said, "If he proves to be a man of honor, not a hair of his head will be hurt; but if there is evil in him, he'll die." Solomon summoned him and they brought him from the Altar. Adonijah came and bowed down, honoring the king. Solomon dismissed him, "Go home."

For Reflection

It is hard to love one's enemies.  Adonijah must have been an honorable man. I suppose honorable men can sometimes err.  No matter, God will pick up the pieces. 

Pray

that you will not judge harshly those with a view contrary to your own.  Pray that you will hold no grudge with honorable persons.

Solomon Anointed Israel's King

God's Creative Word
God Calls For Justice:  Justice Enacted
Solomon Judges with Wisdom and Justice

1 Kings 1:28-37

The Message

 ²⁸ King David took action: "Get Bathsheba back in here." She entered and stood before the king.
 ^29-30 The king solemnly promised, "As God lives, the God who delivered me from every kind of trouble, I'll do exactly what I promised in God's name, the God of Israel: Your son Solomon will be king after me and take my place on the throne. And I'll make sure it happens this very day."
 ³¹ Bathsheba bowed low, her face to the ground. Kneeling in reverence before the king she said, "Oh, may my master, King David, live forever!"
 ³² King David said, "Call Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada." They came to the king.
 ^33-35 Then he ordered, "Gather my servants, then mount my son Solomon on my royal mule and lead him in procession down to Gihon. When you get there, Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet will anoint him king over Israel. Then blow the ram's horn trumpet and shout, 'Long live King Solomon!' You will then accompany him as he enters and takes his place on my throne, succeeding me as king. I have named him ruler over Israel and Judah."
 ^36-37 Benaiah son of Jehoiada backed the king: "Yes! And may God, the God of my master the king, confirm it! Just as God has been with my master the king, may he also be with Solomon and make his rule even greater than that of my master King David!"

For Reflection

Faced by political intrigue and attempts at forcing a different successor to the throne of David, David's trusted followers set in motion the confirmation of David's promise to appoint Solomon.  In today's world one would say. "that's politics!"  I prefer, "That's God's handy work."

 

Pray

that you will look to the world's affairs with the eyes of God.  Pray that you will try to find God's hand in the affairs of human kind.  Pray that you will search scripture for help.  Pray that you will listen quietly for Gods guidance.  Pray for patience and confidence in God's will.