The Intersection of Bible and Life

(Read the text of II Kings first for this to be most beneficial). Whenever I talk with people about leadership I generally mention the burden associated with leading people.  Leaders are often credited with wins and success.  But leadership has a dark side too.  Leaders are often lonely and not a little unpopular when called on to make controversial decisions.  Leaders can be polarizing and that means being loved and hated.  Elijah experienced both.  He enjoyed success when God used him to make a mockery of Baal worship.  But he faced the rage of a corrupt queen when he worked at cross purposes with Jezebel’s agenda for Israel.      Elisha is successor to Elijah.  How does he view the prospects of becoming a leader in the nation of Israel?  Our text helps us see into the heart of Elisha.  He possesses some necessary qualities for a leader of God’s people. II Kings 2 is transition time.  It’s time whe...

There are three characters in  II Kings 1 with much to teach about ups and downs in our life with the Lord. One prominent character is falling fast.  Another is on the rise.  Yet another character who is not even named, actually demonstrates how falling can be life-giving. Ahaziah is a king in free fall. Falling is in the words and the imagery of this chapter.  The word translated “go down” is used 12 times in the Hebrew text, the repetition of this key term establishing a theme.  And its worse than bumps and bruises.  We learn from verse 2 that Ahaziah has literally fallen from the top story of the royal residence crashing through a lattice and has life-threatening injuries.  He’s bed-ridden, fighting off death.  We don’t have the details regarding the fall.  Maybe he was clumsy.  Possibly there was foul play and he was pushed.  We don’t know, but what we do know is how he responded to his crisis.  He is king of God's ...