1 Kings: Sheep Without A Shepherd

KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday, April 15, 2016
Chapters: 1 Kings 22/2 Kings 1-2
Message: 1 Kings: Sheep Without A Shepherd

Hello My Friend,

The Book of 2 Kings is the twelfth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains twenty-five chapters. The author of the book is Jeremiah and it was written to Israel. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 896 BC to 588 BC. The purpose of the book was to record how God dealt with the Israelites before the coming of Christ. What we are to learn from the book is that God is sovereign ruler of all nations, blessing the obedient, punishing the disobedient, and merciful to those who love Him. “But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.” - 2 Kings 17:36.

As you read through the Bible, especially the Old Testament you can truly see that God is a just God and will have no gods before Him. You can also see something else, mercy and His love for His people. God might have selected Israel to be His chosen, but all people are His people, and He will do whatever He can to try and get them to turn from their false gods to Him. As wicked as king Ahab was, God never stopped trying to get him to repent until the day he died. God may have spared him from seeing his family judged for the things that he and his wife did to Israel, but he did not change His judgment upon them. Ahab rebelled by getting Jehoshaphat, the present king of Judah to help him get control of some land, but God used Micaiah to remind him of his fate.

“So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you.” - 1 Kings 22:15-19,28.

“as sheep that have not a shepherd:” We are all sheep without a shepherd until we find Jesus Christ. With all the people in the world that believe and know God exists you would think that more would receive Him, but sadly very few do. You know, when we receive Christ as our Saviour He becomes our Shepherd, all He has to do is call us and we will hear His voice and come running to Him. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” - John 10:27,28.

One thing I will never understand are rebels, now, we all have a little bit of rebel in us, but most of us will stop at one point, but I am talking about those who completely rebel against any kind of authority. I was not a child of the sixties, but learned enough about it to understand that the start of the US rebelling against God began then. All it took was a woman refusing to wear a bra or a man refusing to submit to being drafted into the army to turn a once godly nation into one that does not even know God. Now, after Ahab died in the battle his son Ahaziah began to reign, once Moab learned that Ahab died they attacked Israel. During the battle Ahaziah fell and God gave him a chance to repent, but instead he calls on Baalzebub for help (sometimes you just have to laugh at these people and their dumb decisions). God sends Elijah to tell him his fate, Ahaziah also tried to

“Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.” - 2 Kings 1:4,13-17.

“is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word?” God only goes where He is wanted, He may hover around and show Himself through many miracles, judgments, and disasters around the world, but unless we want Him in our lives He will not force Himself upon us. Now, that does not mean He approves of the choice or that they are exempt from judgment because they rebel against Him, but it does mean that everyone has a chance to escape death if they repent from their dead works and false gods and turn to Jesus. “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” - Acts 3:19-21.

There is a question that almost every person will hear at one point in their lives in some form, “If you died today, are you 100% sure that you will be in heaven?” Not everyone knows the answer to that question. There is only one person on earth that knew exactly when his life on earth was coming to an end, and that was Elijah. Unlike most people who want to live their life doing God knows what when they find out information like that, Elijah went to different prophetic schools to give them his last blessing before that miraculous event. While passing through, a young prophet named Elisha follows him, seeking to know God as he did. Three times Elijah told Elisha to stay where he was as he walked to the place God would take him up, but he refused to stop following him.

“And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.” - 2 Kings 2:9-14.

“Thou hast asked a hard thing:” Many people see the amazing things that happen in the lives of men and women God uses in His ministry and want what they have, but many fail to realize that it is a life of total dedication to God. No one is perfect, we all mess up from time to time, God is not looking for the perfect model Christian to use in His ministry, He is looking for willing, faithful, and dedicated saved souls. If we are dedicated to God we will seek His will for our lives, and while we may not get everything that someone else has, we will get the things that God wants us to have, most of all, a crown that will never be taken from us. “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” - 1 Peter 5:2-4.

Jesus Christ Revealed: Today Jesus is revealed through the Angel of the LORD and Micaiah, who would say only what God instructed him to say (22:9-27). Jesus faithfully told others only what God told Him to say, “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” - John 8:28.

Today's Prayer: God, Thank You for loving me so much that You were willing to come here Yourself in the flesh of man to become the sinless sacrifice I needed to be able to reach You and heaven. Not by our righteousness do we know You, but by our faith in what Your Son did am I saved. Lord, lead me and guide me, help me to be a witness and a testimony to those who do not know You, open my ears to hear when You tell me to speak to someone about Jesus, and give me Your power and the boldness to speak the truth and not be offended or intimated by those who refuse to listen. Let me live every day of my life seeking Your will so that I can be the salt that helps You heal the bitter waters of this earth. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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