"It's about Him" April 30 Readings: 2 Kings 1-5
Reading the Bible Chronologically in 2024
This year, instead of reading from Genesis to Revelation, we will read the Bible as the story flows, as it happened and was written. There are several plans out there and I have worked to combine them into a plan that lets the Bible tell its own story "as it happened." Remember, the Bible is inspired, but not in the order the books appear in our Bibles. The Old Testament is approximately 3/4 of the Bible, but we will give more emphasis to the New Testament, spending half the year in the Old Testament and half in the New.
Bible Readings: 2 Kings 1-5
Background:
Originally, 1 and 2 Kings (the same is true of 1 and 2 Chronicles) were one book, but they were separated to keep the scrolls from becoming too big. At the beginning of 2 Kings we see the transition from Elijah to Elisha. Elijah is taken up into heaven and Elisha receives a double portion of his power.
Daily Devotional: It's about Him!
Sometimes, we forget what it is all about - no, WHO it is all about.
Elijah was a great man of God, one of the greatest found in the pages of the Bible. He was a man of uncompromising conviction who stood up to Ahab and Jezebel and proclaimed God's truth. His confrontation with the false prophets on Mt. Carmel was one of those truly inspiring moments.
Now he was gone. In 2 Kings 2:11, Elijah was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind, carried by chariots and horses of fire. It must have seemed to many that the glory was gone, the power was gone, even the hope was gone from Israel. But it was not.
When he left for glory, there was another to take his place. Elisha took up the mantle and carried on the work. In fact, Elisha asked for a double portion of the power so that the work could prosper. Think about it. Throughout the Bible, people come and people go but the work goes on. Moses dies and Joshua leads the people. David hands the kingdom to Solomon.
In fact, even Jesus left the earth and sent the Holy Spirit to carry on his work in us. We spend too much time venerating men (or women), as if the work belonged to them. But the church belongs to God and the power is his. The glory is his. The work is his. The future is his. People come and people go, but the work goes on. It's not about me, or you or anyone else. It is about the mighty power of a mighty God.
Elijah left, and I'm sure people were devastated. But the One who mattered was still there. The power didn't belong to Elijah, but to God himself. It is important that we would remember that. It's not about any man or woman, but about the God who empowers us.
Elijah was a great man of God, one of the greatest found in the pages of the Bible. He was a man of uncompromising conviction who stood up to Ahab and Jezebel and proclaimed God's truth. His confrontation with the false prophets on Mt. Carmel was one of those truly inspiring moments.
Now he was gone. In 2 Kings 2:11, Elijah was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind, carried by chariots and horses of fire. It must have seemed to many that the glory was gone, the power was gone, even the hope was gone from Israel. But it was not.
When he left for glory, there was another to take his place. Elisha took up the mantle and carried on the work. In fact, Elisha asked for a double portion of the power so that the work could prosper. Think about it. Throughout the Bible, people come and people go but the work goes on. Moses dies and Joshua leads the people. David hands the kingdom to Solomon.
In fact, even Jesus left the earth and sent the Holy Spirit to carry on his work in us. We spend too much time venerating men (or women), as if the work belonged to them. But the church belongs to God and the power is his. The glory is his. The work is his. The future is his. People come and people go, but the work goes on. It's not about me, or you or anyone else. It is about the mighty power of a mighty God.
Elijah left, and I'm sure people were devastated. But the One who mattered was still there. The power didn't belong to Elijah, but to God himself. It is important that we would remember that. It's not about any man or woman, but about the God who empowers us.
Father, help us to remember that you are in charge, that the power is yours, the glory is yours, and the future is yours.
Consider God's Word:
Remember that the work of God is about God, not about us! He uses us but it is God's work in us that matters.
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