Devotions from 2 Kings

Passage Read: 1 Kings 22 - 2 Kings 3 Meditation Verse: 2 Kings 2:9 The Lord honored the loyalty of Elisha. Elijah encouraged Elisha to remain behind several times, but Elisha refused. Because Elisha stayed with Elijah to the end, Elijah offered him whatever he…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 4-7 Meditation Verse: 5:18 God knows the intent of our heart. He does not merely look on the outward action and judge us. He judges the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. He knows if Naaman is bowing in worship or…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 8-11 Meditation Verses: 10:30-31 Jehu was rewarded with four generations of kings from him because he was zealous for the Lord, in what the Lord had commanded. He was far better than Ahab and his line, but he was no better…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 12-15 Meditation Verses: 12:2-3 Even with a priest guiding him, Joash didn't know to remove the high places. This same thing is said of every king of Judah, even those who did well. The Lord had told the Israelites that they…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 16-19 Meditation Verses: 18:3-5 Hezekiah is the first king who removed the high places, as God had commanded long ago in the Book of the Law. He was obedient and faithful to the Lord to a degree that no one had…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 20-23 Meditation Verses: 22:18-20 Hezekiah did wrong and was rebuked by the Lord, but he wasn't really bothered by it, because he had a promise from God that everything would be fine to the end of his days. Josiah heard the…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 24 - 1 Chronicles 2 Meditation Verses: 2 Kings 24:3-4 Even God has His limits. Manasseh had pushed God too far. The people under Manasseh had sinned so much against God that He was not willing to forgive them. Though Josiah…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 22 - 2 Kings 3 Meditation Verses: 2 Kings 1:9-10 This is probably what James and John were thinking of when the Samaritan town refused Jesus passage and they wanted to call down fire on them. Elijah twice called down fire…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 4-7 Meditation Verse: 4:7 It is a hard thing to get into debt, because it is hard to get out of it. This prophet had felt compelled to go into enough debt that his sons were going to be taken as…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 8-11 Meditation Verse: 10:28-31 Jehu did well, but he didn't take time to know the Lord's complete will. He got rid of the foreign gods, but he grew up believing that the Lord was worshiped with golden calf idols. He didn't…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 12-15 Meditation Verse: 15:34 Uzziah/Azariah was afflicted with leprosy at some point in his reign until the day of his death, yet he was considered faithful to the Lord. He didn't let his disease embitter him against the Lord, but served…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 16-19 Meditation Verses: 18:3-4 Hezekiah did something radical, that no king before him had done: He tore down the high places and destroyed Moses' bronze snake. These were sacred things that had been preserved and allowed for centuries, traditions that ran…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 20-23 Meditation Verses: 23:24-25 Josiah was like a crazy man in his zeal for the Lord! He read the Law of Moses and understood that the Lord should be very angry at Judah, the prophetess confirmed his suspicions, and yet he…

Passage Read: 1 Kings 22 - 2 Kings 3 Meditation Verses: 2 Kings 1:9-12 Elijah and Elisha are a lot more cavalier about the lives of others than seems right. Elijah seems to casually say that if he is a man of God, then let…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 4-7 Meditation Verse: 5:26 Gehazi didn't like that Naaman, an enemy of Israel, had received blessing from God, and Elisha didn't take any payment from him. He wanted the foreigner at least to leave a blessing in return. And of course,…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 8-11 Meditation Verse: 8:19 The Lord made this promise to David, knowing full well that some of his sons would not walk in David's righteous ways. Solomon himself was the first to fall away; it didn't take long for the sons…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 12-15 Meditation Verse: 14:10 It is so easy to give way to pride. Amaziah had success against Edom, then thought he could take on Israel. Perhaps he thought God was with him to bless whatever he decided to do, but that…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 16-19 Meditation Verses: 19:34-37 It is not good to underestimate the Lord, His reality and His power. He is not like the gods of the nations, which are but idols, wood and stone. He is the true and living God. To…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 20-23 Meditation Verse: 20:6 The Lord continues His mercy and kindness to Judah and Jerusalem because of His promise to David. Again and again, He mentions David as His reason to spare Jerusalem, even when they do wrong. Until Manasseh comes…

Passage Read: 2 Kings 24 - 1 Chronicles 2 Meditation Verse: 2 Kings 24:4 The Lord would not forgive the wickedness of Manasseh, though Manasseh himself repented late in life and was apparently forgiven, the people of Israel had pushed the Lord too far too…