Author: Dave Dishman (Page 332 of 459)

Jehoram reigned in Jerusalem for eight years, and he did evil in the eyes of the Lord. After Jehoram took over from his father, he consolidated power by killing all his brothers and even some of the officials who faithfully served the previous regime.

Jehoram’s evil turned on him. Invaders attacked Jerusalem and carried off all the treasures in his palace, along with his wives and children.

Since this disaster apparently failed to humble Jehoram, the Lord afflicted him with an incurable disease of the bowels. In the course of time, at the end of the second year, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great pain.

Then this epitaph, recorded forever in the pages of scripture:

He passed away, to no one’s regret.

Good riddance.

These situations come and go throughout history, and I’m not sure how to avoid them. I pray for our leaders. I pray for the process of choosing leaders. I pray for the Lord’s goodness in doing so and when possible, I participate in picking our leaders.

But no guarantees.

As I look at this story and others like it in scripture, one truth is guaranteed and wields hope—the Lord keeps track. An evil leader never escapes justice. In this world, yes, a grandiose life spent tyrannizing others sometimes occurs—but not in the next.

2 Chronicles 21 in week thirty of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Ahmed Adly

The greatest teaching session in history took place on a hillside in Galilee when Jesus gave his Sermon on the Mount. Two thousand years later, many of us thoughtfully relate to these phrases:

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

You are the salt of the earth.

You are the light of the world.

Turn the other cheek.

Love your enemies.

But I find myself skimming over a few other sections:

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law and the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Rather than consider these challenging statements, I prefer to think of myself inheriting the earth, or lighting the world. Funny how I can turn this profound teaching towards my own self interest. Seems to miss the point. But not to worry, Jesus smacks me back to reality, leaving no room for smug self-reflection.

Which I believe is—at least—part of the point.

Matthew 5 in week twenty-nine of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo from a hillside on the Camino de Santiago in Galicia, Spain

At first he ignored the spot.

Either his armor rubbed there, or some bug bit him. Naaman, a Syrian general, spent his days on the move. No time to waste on itchy skin.

Oops. The skin rash matured into a dreaded disease—leprosy. No cure and no hope, except for the slave girl in his house who told of a powerful prophet in Israel. Naaman, grasping at a cure, rode to meet Elisha.

When Naaman arrived, trailing his retinue of fighting men, Elisha didn’t even come to the door. He sent his servant to tell Naaman to go dip himself into the Jordan River seven times. Naaman stomped to his chariot in a huff.

Wisely, Naaman’s people coaxed him into giving it a try. What would it hurt? You came all this way? Don’t be so prideful—face it, Naaman, leprosy respects no man and you ain’t looking any better.

So Naaman dipped and dried, seven times. His skin cleared and his heart opened. He drove home proclaiming, there is no God in all the earth but in Israel!

Notice the evolution of Naaman’s faith—from desperation to indignation to resignation to exultation.

I’m encouraged by Naaman’s kernel of faith. He walked into the water (almost dragged in by his servants), with barely enough faith to even get wet. Turns out that’s enough, when your faith is in the right place.

Here in Colorado water freezes in the winter. I can have all the faith in the world that a half-inch of ice will hold me when I walk onto a frozen lake, but I’ll still fall through. But I can be scared to death when edging onto a lake with ice two feet thick, and I’ll still stay dry. In fact, I could drive my car on that lake. It’s not my faith that’s important, it’s the object of my faith.

Naaman discovered the God of Israel, the only God worthy of faith. In doing so, he experienced fresh skin and more importantly—a fresh soul.

2 Kings 5 in week twenty-nine of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Alex Kramarevsky

One hundred hungry men waited for dinner as twenty small loaves of bread appeared—nothing else. The baker knew the bread wouldn’t fill all those bellies, but Elisha served it anyway. Later, the men pushed back from the table smiling and satisfied.

A widow faced a terrible situation. To satisfy her late husband’s massive debts, the collectors threatened to seize her two sons as slaves. Elisha instructed her to gather all the jars she could possibly find from friends and neighbors, then fill them from the one small jar of olive oil she possessed. After spending a day filling jar after jar after jar, until every one sat brimming with oil, she sold it all and paid off her debts, with enough left over to live on.

A Shunammite woman befriended the prophet, and the Lord blessed her with a son in return. Tragically, a few years later the son died in her arms. Elisha ran to her home and restored the child’s life. The Lord gave life, and then the Lord restored life, both times against the cravings of biology.

These three incidents from the life of Elisha demonstrate the abundant character of our Lord. Abundant with food, abundant with finances, abundant with life.

I often lean toward a mindset of scarcity, worrying about having enough bread or olive oil. I decide to slice the pie thinner—but the Lord just makes more pies. The Lord’s economy supersedes mine. While I possess a scarcity mentality, the Lord points out his abundance.

As a result, I can act generously toward others, sharing what I hold, knowing that the Lord’s wonderful abundance overwhelms my closed-minded scarcity.

Resources in the hand of the Lord multiply.

2 Kings 4 in week twenty-nine of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Roberta Sorge