May 10th
Today, we meet the firebrand prophet Elijah, a covenant watchdog in Israel’s northern kingdom. As you’ll see in the video, Elijah boldly confronted idolatry and injustice in Israel. King Ahab and his wife Jezebel institute worship of the Canaanite god, Ba’al, all over Israel. Elijah won’t have any of that. He speaks truth to powerful people who don’t want to hear it. Elijah challenges the prophets of Ba’al to a public showdown between their god and Yahweh on Mount Carmel. As a storm god, Ba’al should have no problem zapping their sacrifice (on a dry altar) with lightning. But no amount of praying or pleading with Ba’al helps. Nothing. Silence. Then Elijah pours 12 large jars of water on his sacrifice (so, not a dry altar). Yahweh rains fire down from the sky that burns everything, the sacrifice, water, soil, and even stones (1 Kings 18:38). Awestruck and probably trembling after Yahweh’s fiery display, the Israelites need no further convincing. “Yahweh—he is God!” After this mountaintop high, Elijah plummets into spiritual despair. A death threat from Jezebel pushes Elijah to the verge of giving up, not just on prophetic ministry, but on life itself. God gives the despondent prophet a hearty meal and a long nap. Then he invites Elijah to meet him on Mount Horeb (another name for Mount Sinai). Like Elijah’s last mountain encounter with Yahweh, this one begins with a fiery spectacle: earth-shattering winds, searing flames, the ground shaking beneath Elijah’s feet. But now God comforts the despairing prophet with a gentle whisper. Yahweh isn’t giving up on Elijah. He’s not giving up on Israel, either.
May 11th
In today’s reading, Ahab and Jezebel expand their already-dismal royal résumé. They repeat some of the worst failures of Israel’s previous monarchs. First, Ahab disobeys Yahweh’s instruction to defeat the Arameans thoroughly. Like Saul, Ahab chooses economic gain instead of obedience and spares the enemy’s king. When a prophet confronts Ahab, the king goes home to pout rather than own his disobedience. Everything descends from there. Like David at his worst, Ahab sees something he desires but can’t have. In this case, it is Naboth’s vineyard. Like Amnon, Ahab holes up in his palace to sulk. When Jezebel finds out, she uses deception and murder to take for Ahab exactly what he wants. Yahweh sends another prophet to confront the guilty king. His response proves surprisingly positive. Ahab, like David at his best, responds with sincere repentance. Yahweh, who consistently shows grace to the humble throughout the story so far, delays an inevitable dynastic disaster for one generation. Why only one generation? Perhaps because Ahab ultimately refuses to heed Yahweh’s prophetic messages. In the following story, Ahab and Jehoshaphat seek Yahweh’s counsel for their war against the Arameans. As many false prophets promise victory, Micaiah speaks the truth. He warns Ahab that his next battle will be his last. Ahab gripes. All the other prophets were optimistic! But Micaiah exposes their promises as flattery designed to draw Ahab to his doom—an idea that came directly from Yahweh’s “divine council.” Watch the video to learn about this group of spiritual beings, the divine council, who serve as something like God’s heavenly staff team.
May 12th
Who will win? On one side, there’s a furious king with massive military power and limitless supplies. On the other, there’s a feisty wilderness prophet with a leather belt and massive need for a haircut. The showdown between Elijah and Israel’s kings continues in today’s reading. Ahab’s son, Ahaziah, tries to muscle Elijah into conflict. Never mind that Elijah can call down heavenly fire. Ahaziah’s foolishness is exposed and worsens from there. Yahweh unleashes a fiery flood of judgment on Ahaziah’s “powerful” soldiers. This flashes back not only to Yahweh’s decisive show of supremacy at Mount Carmel but also to his previous unstoppable acts of judgment against Sodom and Gomorrah and Egypt. After the showdown, Elijah makes a spectacular exit. A flaming chariot appears from the sky with a whirling windstorm that sweeps him up to Heaven. Hyperlinks to Moses pepper this famous story: the parting of waters to cross over on dry ground, the encounter with Yahweh’s presence in a display of fire and wind, and God’s Spirit passing on to Elijah’s successor. Mysteriously, there’s no sign of Moses or Elijah’s body afterward (see Deut. 34:5-6). Elisha picks up his mentor Elijah’s cloak and, like Joshua, starts his ministry by parting the Jordan River. This will be only the first sign in a series of miracles that validate Elisha as a leader empowered by God. He will bring life, pronounce fair judgments, and lead his people toward victory. How will the kings of Israel receive Elisha, Yahweh’s newest spokesman?
May 13th
Times of great pain call for compassionate remedy. Elisha brings miraculous healing and extends Yahweh’s tender care for those who suffer. He rescues them from illness, hunger, destitution, and even death. Israel’s king stands in stark contrast, bringing nothing helpful for anyone in need. Some of the miracles in today’s reading echo into the New Testament. Elisha provides bread for a hungry crowd, raises a person from the dead, and heals a foreigner suffering from leprosy. Unfortunately, Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, has not been empowered like his master—apparently because Gehazi lacks Elisha’s integrity. Driven by greed rather than love and care for others, Gehazi brings his entire family under a curse as he manipulates and schemes. Meanwhile, Naaman, a non-Israelite outsider, experiences not a curse but Yahweh’s good, generous blessing. The Israelite driven by evil receives justice. The non-Israelite who loves and cares for others receives blessing. God’s mercy extends to every person, impartially, whether he’s an Israelite or not. As the story further unfolds, notice how Yahweh engages without favoritism, including his chosen people, Israel. The biblical story continuously suggests Yahweh has a favorite way of life, one compelled by love and care for everyone. People who embrace Yahweh’s way of life tend to experience blessing. Those who harm others tend to experience the opposite.
May 14th
Yahweh is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, overflowing with loyal love and faithfulness (see Exod. 34:6-7). These characteristics do not suggest indifference toward evil. God’s justice is defined by his love, not weakened by it. The events in today’s reading illustrate the crucial, interrelated characteristics of Yahweh’s justice and compassion. The Hebrew word for compassion is rakhamim. As you’ll see in the video, it describes an intense emotional state. In English, “compassion” carries a sense of suffering with another in their pain. When Elisha weeps in front of Hazael, it’s because he knows the pain Hazael will later bring upon Israel. Elisha feels deep compassion for the people of Israel. As today’s psalm puts it, Yahweh’s compassion for humanity is like the fierce, visceral love parents feel toward their children. This kind of love compels parents to fight any danger when their children’s lives are threatened. Ahab and Jezebel’s ruinous influence spreads through Israel like cancer. Their children (Joram in the north and Athaliah in the south) multiply idolatry, injustice, and violence until Israel’s suffering causes God to move with compassion. He rescues Israel from Ahab’s malignant line and appoints Jehu to bring severe judgment on Ahab and Jezebel’s family. It isn’t pretty, but good healing can begin with Ahab and Jezebel’s toxic line cut off and the deadly influence of Ba’al idols smashed. Maybe this fresh start will set the two kingdoms back on track?
May 15th
In today’s reading, both the northern and southern tribes begin an alarming downward spiral that echoes the book of Judges, back when everyone did what was right in their own eyes (see Judg. 21:25). Jehoahaz leads the northern Israelites to do evil in Yahweh’s sight, so Yahweh stops protecting them. This allows Aramean forces to oppress them. Jehoahaz turns to Yahweh for help, and Yahweh raises up a rescuing savior who brings victory and temporary peace. Then Jehoahaz and the people quickly return to injustice and idolatry. The cycle continues, telling us something. Learning to truly trust and follow Yahweh’s instruction with everything you have is no easy task. We’re watching generation after generation advance in certain ways but fail in others. Back in the book of Judges, Israel’s treatment of women was like a barometer reading for its deteriorating moral condition. In Kings, the treatment of the temple serves as a different barometer reading for the same condition. Warning lights now scream: “Danger! Danger!” Joash (also called Jehoash) in the south begins well by repairing the temple. But when Hazael, king of Aram, threatens to invade Jerusalem, Joash plunders the temple treasury to buy Hazael off, rather than trusting Yahweh for protection. Joash’s son, Amaziah, also starts well by following Yahweh’s instruction. However, early military victories puff up Amaziah’s pride. He challenges Israel’s northern kingdom to a bloody showdown. Amaziah’s rash pride comes before a humiliating fall—the temple plundered a second time. Yahweh’s sacred dwelling place is treated like a glorified personal treasure chest! Still, Yahweh won’t abandon them. He responds to their foolishness and suffering with justice, yes, and also with patient and persistent mercy. Will God’s kindness lead his people to repentance?
May 16th
Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, the prophets—each in his own way delivered a huge warning: Idols are not valuable or powerful, and they cannot help you at all. Trusting a wood or stone statue for life is … not smart. Whenever Israel turns to idols, God wants them to turn back to him. He affirms that he loves and rescues them, neither of which are possible with a piece of stone. But idol worship had been normalized; it wasn’t weird to them. Some idolized the moon and stars—which, as today’s video explains, are both associated with spiritual beings in the biblical authors’ imagination. Everyone in Israel’s surrounding world devoted time and resources to honoring their idols in order to achieve a good life. Like all of us, they want goodness but lose themselves when trying to take it on their own terms. People tend to become like the things they worship. If their god has no life, they lose their own lives, too. Israelites, who once loved their kids as priceless gifts from God, began killing them in child sacrifices to idols. The world around them devalued human life to the point that hurting kids in order to gain something “better” seemed sensible. Today’s reading shows Yahweh allowing people to have what they want, a world where a human life matters less than things like money, power, or social acceptance. Enter Assyria, the big, bad empire to the north, armies daily creeping toward Israel. Menahem, a ruthless northern king, taxes people heavily to pay off Assyria. He buys little time. Assyrian warriors eventually attack and, as warned, Israel’s idols, wooden poles, metal calf statues, etc., are powerless to love or rescue. Northern Israel falls. Assyria drags its tribes into exile. Will the southern kingdom learn from its northern sister’s mistakes?