Author: Dave Dishman (Page 349 of 475)

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

Elisha seemed touchy about his hair loss when he confronted a group of boys jeering at him—Get out of here baldy! Get out of here baldy!

When Elisha called down a curse, two bears rollicked out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. Which is a lot of mauling, and as far as I know, the only bear-curse in history.

What to make of this odd story?

Mocking a prophet of God amounted to mocking God himself. Elisha understood this as he faced the crowd of boys. Also, having just watched his mentor ride to heaven on a chariot of fire, Elisha established his new role as the legitimate successor to Elijah by defending himself.

Finally, perhaps he felt endangered by a crowd of forty-plus adolescents taunting him along a country road? Feels intimidating. I just re-read William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, so idea of a group of young males going rogue doesn’t seem too far-fetched.

Plus, the bald-headed comments stung. Mock a prophet for any number of things, but leave his hair (or lack of it) alone.

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

Photo by Niklas Fredengren

While reading on the kings of Judah and Israel, I moved into stories about the reign of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. I thought, Finally, I’ll get a clue about how the phrase “Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat!” entered our lexicon.

But Jehoshaphat never jumped at all. At least the writers of scripture never record any jump or leap or even a hop. Rather, he’s better known for keeping his feet solidly on the ground.

An invading army caught Jehoshaphat by surprise. Alarmed, Jehoshaphat proclaimed a fast throughout the country and called the people together to seek help from the Lord. Everyone joined Jehoshaphat in seeking the Lord’s protection—All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

The Lord spoke through a prophet and encouraged Jehoshaphat and the people that the battle is not yours, but God’s. The next day, with men shouting, give thanks to the Lord, for his love endures forever!, the king led his tiny army to meet their foe.

The Lord fought in their stead, setting the invaders against each other, and destroying themselves in process. The Lord proved faithful as Jehoshaphat led his people with courage and trust.

So, maybe we should popularize the phrase “Standing Firm Jehoshaphat!!” But I’m doubtful it will catch on—just doesn’t roll off the tongue.

2 Chronicles 20 in week twenty-nine of reading the Bible cover to cover

Here’s an article on where the phrase Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat likely originated.

What if the most important messages arrive with a whisper?

Certainly true for Elijah. After a major confrontation with a cohort of Baal’s prophets, Elijah fled into the wilderness. There he waited for a word from God.

First a tornado tore through the neighborhood. Then an earthquake rattled Elijah’s teeth. Next a massive fire. How long did this prelude take?

Finally, a whisper. Some commentators say the word actually means a profound silence.

God speaks in whatever way God chooses. Just a few days before, Elijah watched the Lord shoot a pillar of fire from heaven and gloriously confirm his presence. But this day, Elijah required a whisper.

If the Lord indeed whispers, I wonder if my mind ever settles down enough to hear? Where exist the silent places in my day? I fill time with the clatter of channel surfing and sports watching and politics hawking, along with silent finger swipes toward random photos and rabbit-hole reading.

How many minutes spent in reflection? How much time with a quiet mind?

Not enough.

If God whispers, then stretches of quiet and stillness and patience are required to even begin to think about hearing.

I think I’ll leave my phone upstairs for the rest of the day.

I Kings 19 in week twenty-nine of reading the Bible cover to cover

Photo by Andraz Lazic