KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus
Through Every Chapter
Date: Monday,
April 18, 2016
Chapters: 2
Kings 9-11
Message: 2 Kings: Who
Are God’s People

Hello My Friend,

God’s
people, those of us who know God and have read the Bible know that
Israel is God’s people. In fact, many nations will never admit that
the reason they defend and become allies with Israel is because they
are God’s people, nevertheless, nations rise and fall when they
join or support Israel. But who are God’s people really? Yes, God
chose Israel to put His name on them and He even proclaims them as
His people, but does that mean they are all exempt from the same
judgment that all people are because they are called His people? No.
Every soul created faces the same judgment, Jew or Gentile, we must
all believe in God and turn to Him to escape judgment. Being God’s
people means that He has chosen a specific group of people to reveal
Himself as the only true God who in not only the powerful God of
Israel, but everyone who believes. “Tribulation
and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew
first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to
every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the
Gentile:” -Romans 2:9,10.

If you were to study
world history you would discover that every nation had its own god
that they worshiped. Before the children of Israel came into their
country it was called Canaan and was full of man made gods, which is
why God told them to remove the people from the land once they got
there. They did not, and before long they began forsaking God and
turning to these false gods. It was bad enough that Israel made up
their own god when Israel split, but now not only was the Northern
Kingdom worshiping Baal so was Judah, which all began with Ahab and
the great influence of his wife Jezebel. Now, twenty years after
Elijah warned Ahab that his entire seed would be destroyed and the
kingdom would be taken from them because they caused His people to
turn to Baal, the prophecies were being fulfilled. God began by first
anointing a new king, Jehu.

“And
he arose, and went into the house; and he poured the oil on his head,
and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed
thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. And thou
shalt smite the house of Ahab thy master, that I may avenge the blood
of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the
LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall
perish: and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the
wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel: And it came to
pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he
answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel
and her witchcrafts are so many? And Joram turned his hands, and
fled, and said to Ahaziah, There is treachery, O Ahaziah. And Jehu
drew a bow with his full strength, and smote Jehoram between his
arms, and the arrow went out at his heart, and he sunk down in his
chariot. But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the
way of the garden house. And Jehu followed after him, and said, Smite
him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur,
which is by Ibleam. And he fled to Megiddo, and died there.”
- 2 Kings 9:6-8,22-27.

“Smite him
also in the chariot.” Ahaziah was related to Ahab because
his mother, who was a granddaughter to Ahab married Joram, king of
Judah. However, under the influence of his mother Ahaziah followed
and allowed Baal worship in Judah when he became king, and as a
result he was also killed. God will eliminate anyone who causes His
people to forsake Him and turn to other gods. When God proclaims a
nation as His, it has nothing to do with their obedience to Him, it
has everything to do with His promise that He made to a God fearing
person. Each person is responsible for their own soul, if they choose
Him they choose life, if they choose another god, they choose death
and hell. “As it is written, There is none
righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is
none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they
are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no,
not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus:” - Romans 3:10-12,23,24.

Just as
God promised, Ahab's family, friends, and anyone else associated with
his family, including Jezebel was executed. Jehu did not stop there,
all the worshipers, priests, and prophets of Baal were executed,
making sure that not a prophet, priest, or servant of God would be
harmed.

“Now therefore call unto
me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests;
let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice to do to Baal;
whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did it in
subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers of
Baal. And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly for Baal. And they
proclaimed it. And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the
worshippers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came
not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was
full from one end to another. And it came to pass, as soon as he had
made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the
guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth.
And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the
captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal.
And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing
that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of
Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the
fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. But Jehu took no
heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart:
for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to
sin. In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael
smote them in all the coasts of Israel;” - 2 Kings
10:19-21,25,30-32.

“Because thou
hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes,”
God will use anyone to prove His point and bring judgment to those
who cause His people to sin. While many people do get saved under
dire circumstances, very few actually leave the lives they live and
turn completely to God. Jesus compares a persons faith to branches on
a vine, Jew or Gentile, only those who receive Christ, and allow Him
to live in and through them are fruitful, all the rest get cut off
and burned in the fire. “Abide in me, and
I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide
in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye
are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man
abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and
men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.”
- John 15:4-6.

Quite often, God’s judgment brings
retaliation, when Jehu had all of the house of Ahab killed, he forgot
one, Athaliah. When she found out that her son was dead, she called
for vengeance upon the house of Judah, every male child was killed,
except one. God used the bravery of one woman, Athaliah’s daughter,
to save one boy.

“And when
Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose
and destroyed all the seed royal. But Jehosheba, the daughter of king
Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole
him from among the king's sons which were slain; and they hid him,
even him and his nurse, in the bedchamber from Athaliah, so that he
was not slain. And he was with her hid in the house of the LORD six
years. And Athaliah did reign over the land. And the seventh year
Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains
and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD,
and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house
of the LORD, and shewed them the king's son. But Jehoiada the priest
commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and
said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that
followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her
not be slain in the house of the LORD. And all the people of the land
rejoiced, and the city was in quiet: and they slew Athaliah with the
sword beside the king's house. Seven years old was Jehoash when he
began to reign.” - 2 Kings 11:1-4,15,20,21..

“took
Joash the son of Ahaziah,” Joash might have had some of the
genes that came from the seed of Ahab, but he was not of the seed of
Ahab because because his father was the seed of Judah. As we know, it
was important for a male of the house of Judah to keep the seed of
David alive as God promised David that His seed would come through
the lineage in which David's seed would come. Today, God’s people
are those who believe in His Son. “Even us,
whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?
As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not
my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. And it shall come
to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my
people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.”
- Romans 9:24-26.

Jesus Christ
Revealed: Today Jesus is revealed through Elisha, who sent
one of the sons of the prophets with oil to anoint Jehu to be king.
Oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit, and the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to
anoint all believers of Christ. “But the
anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need
not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of
all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught
you, ye shall abide in him.” - 1 John 2:27.

Today's
Prayer: God, You have proved time and time again that we
do not have to be royalty, perfect, or carry a special degree to be
one of Your people, we just have to believe on and receive Your Son.
Lord, I know I belong to You because I put my faith and trust in
Jesus to save me from my sins, death, and hell through His finished
work on the cross. I want to live a life that is pleasing and
fruitful, lead me and guide me, help me to be the godly example and
testimony that brings others to Your Son. In Jesus’ name. Amen.


God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina

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