[Ohio-Communities-of-Faith] DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY APRIL 13

[Donnie Parrett]

DONNIE DAILY GEMS FOR WEDNESDAY APRIL 13

WORD OF WISDOM

You don't realize how old you are until you get down on the floor and then
try to get back up.

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DAILY DEVOTION

The Silence of the Saviour


"But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our
iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes
we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one
to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was
oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought
as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so
he openeth not his mouth."
Isaiah 53:5-7

Everything in our universe was created by Jesus Christ. "All things were
made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made" (John
1:3). It was spoken into existence, the power of His voice being enough to
bring something out of nothing, and give it shape and order and purpose.
Jesus still had that same power when He was here on Earth. He could have
summoned angelic armies to deliver Him. "Thinkest thou that I cannot now
pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions
of angels?" (Matthew 26:53).
He could have commanded those who arrested and tortured Him to release Him,
or even to drop dead on the spot. Instead He remained silent. Jesus came to
die for our sins, and He willingly laid down His life so He could be the
Saviour of all who trust Him. When Jesus did speak on the cross, it was not
to free Himself from the pain and agony. Nor was it to judge or condemn
those who put Him there. Instead He prayed for them. "Then said Jesus,
Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his
raiment, and cast lots" (Luke 23:34). What Jesus said, and more importantly
what He did not say, reveals the depth of His love for us.
The loving Jesus who did not speak to free Himself does speak to invite us
to come to Him.

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DAILY BIBLE READING

2 Kings 1-3 New King James Version
God Judges Ahaziah
1 Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was
injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, "Go, inquire of
Baal-Zebub,[a] the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury."
3 But the [b]angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, "Arise, go up to
meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, 'Is it because
there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the
god of Ekron?' 4 Now therefore, thus says the Lord: 'You shall not come down
from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.' " So
Elijah departed.

5 And when the messengers returned to [c]him, he said to them, "Why have you
come back?"

6 So they said to him, "A man came up to meet us, and said to us, 'Go,
return to the king who sent you, and say to him, "Thus says the Lord: 'Is it
because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of
Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed
to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.' " ' "

7 Then he said to them, "What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and
told you these words?"

8 So they answered him, "A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his
waist."

And he said, "It is Elijah the Tishbite."

9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he
went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke
to him: "Man of God, the king has said, 'Come down!' "

10 So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, "If I am a man of
God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty
men." And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Then
he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men.

And he answered and said to him: "Man of God, thus has the king said, 'Come
down quickly!' "

12 So Elijah answered and said to them, "If I am a man of God, let fire come
down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men." And the fire of God
came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

13 Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third
captain of fifty went up, and came and [d]fell on his knees before Elijah,
and pleaded with him, and said to him: "Man of God, please let my life and
the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14
Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of
fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight."

15 And the [e]angel of the Lord said to Elijah, "Go down with him; do not be
afraid of him." So he arose and went down with him to the king. 16 Then he
said to him, "Thus says the Lord: 'Because you have sent messengers to
inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in
Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the
bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.' "

17 So Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had
spoken. Because he had no son, Jehoram[f] became king in his place, in the
second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in
the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

Elijah Ascends to Heaven
2 And it came to pass, when the Lord was about to take up Elijah into heaven
by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. 2 Then Elijah said
to Elisha, "Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel."

But Elisha said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not
leave you!" So they went down to Bethel.

3 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and
said to him, "Do you know that the Lord will take away your master [g]from
over you today?"

And he said, "Yes, I know; keep silent!"

4 Then Elijah said to him, "Elisha, stay here, please, for the Lord has sent
me on to Jericho."

But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave
you!" So they came to Jericho.

5 Now the sons of the prophets who were at Jericho came to Elisha and said
to him, "Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you
today?"

So he answered, "Yes, I know; keep silent!"

6 Then Elijah said to him, "Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on
to the Jordan."

But he said, "As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave
you!" So the two of them went on. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the
prophets went and stood facing them at a distance, while the two of them
stood by the Jordan. 8 Now Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck
the water; and it was divided this way and that, so that the two of them
crossed over on dry ground.

9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha,
"Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?"

Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."

10 So he said, "You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me
when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not
be so." 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly
a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of
them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot
of Israel and its horsemen!" So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his
own clothes and tore them into two pieces. 13 He also took up the mantle of
Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the
Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and
struck the water, and said, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" And when he
also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha
crossed over.

15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were from[h] Jericho saw him, they
said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and
bowed to the ground before him. 16 Then they said to him, "Look now, there
are fifty strong men with your servants. Please let them go and search for
your master, lest perhaps the Spirit of the Lord has taken him up and cast
him upon some mountain or into some valley."

And he said, "You shall not send anyone."

17 But when they urged him till he was ashamed, he said, "Send them!"
Therefore they sent fifty men, and they searched for three days but did not
find him. 18 And when they came back to him, for he had stayed in Jericho,
he said to them, "Did I not say to you, 'Do not go'?"

Elisha Performs Miracles
19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, "Please notice, the situation of
this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground
barren."

20 And he said, "Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it." So they brought
it to him. 21 Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the
salt there, and said, "Thus says the Lord: 'I have [i]healed this water;
from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.' " 22 So the water
remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road,
some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you
baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!"

24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in
the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled
forty-two of the youths.

25 Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to
Samaria.

Moab Rebels Against Israel
3 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the
eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years. 2
And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and
mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.
3 Nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who
had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king
of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand
rams. 5 But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled
against the king of Israel.

6 So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel.
7 Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, "The king of
Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?"

And he said, "I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my
horses as your horses." 8 Then he said, "Which way shall we go up?"

And he answered, "By way of the Wilderness of Edom."

9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom,
and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water
for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. 10 And the king of
Israel said, "Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings together to
deliver them into the hand of Moab."

11 But Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may
inquire of the Lord by him?"

So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, "Elisha the
son of Shaphat is here, who poured[j] water on the hands of Elijah."

12 And Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him." So the king of
Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

13 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with you? Go
to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother."

But the king of Israel said to him, "No, for the Lord has called these three
kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab."

14 And Elisha said, "As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely
were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would
not look at you, nor see you. 15 But now bring me a musician."

Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came
upon him. 16 And he said, "Thus says the Lord: 'Make this valley full of
[k]ditches.' 17 For thus says the Lord: 'You shall not see wind, nor shall
you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your
cattle, and your animals may drink.' 18 And this is a simple matter in the
sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19 Also
you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut
down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good
piece of land with stones."

20 Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that
suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.

21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight
against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were [l]gathered; and
they stood at the border. 22 Then they rose up early in the morning, and the
sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other
side as red as blood. 23 And they said, "This is blood; the kings have
surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to
the spoil!"

24 So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the
Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land,
killing the Moabites. 25 Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw
a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all
the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the
stones of Kir Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked
it.

26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he
took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the
king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then he took his eldest son who would
have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the
wall; and there was great [m]indignation against Israel. So they departed
from him and returned to their own land.

Footnotes
2 Kings 1:2 Lit. Lord of Flies
2 Kings 1:3 Or Angel
2 Kings 1:5 Ahaziah
2 Kings 1:13 Lit. bowed down
2 Kings 1:15 Or Angel
2 Kings 1:17 The son of Ahab king of Israel, 2 Kin. 3:1
2 Kings 2:3 Lit. from your head
2 Kings 2:15 Or at Jericho opposite him saw
2 Kings 2:21 purified
2 Kings 3:11 Was the personal servant of
2 Kings 3:16 water canals
2 Kings 3:21 summoned
2 Kings 3:27 wrath