KJB Daily Devotion – Following Jesus
Through Every Chapter
Date: Friday,
April 15, 2016
Chapters: 1
Kings 22/2 Kings 1-2
Message: 1 Kings: Sheep Without A Shepherd

Hello My Friend,

The Book of 2 Kings
is the twelfth book of the Old Testament/Bible and contains
twenty-five chapters. The author of the book is Jeremiah and it was
written to Israel. The timeline for these events took place
approximately between 896 BC to 588 BC. The purpose of the book was
to record how God dealt with the Israelites before the coming of
Christ. What we are to learn from the book is that God is sovereign
ruler of all nations, blessing the obedient, punishing the
disobedient, and merciful to those who love Him. “But
the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great
power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye
worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.” - 2 Kings
17:36.

As you read through the Bible, especially the Old
Testament you can truly see that God is a just God and will have no
gods before Him. You can also see something else, mercy and His love
for His people. God might have selected Israel to be His chosen, but
all people are His people, and He will do whatever He can to try and
get them to turn from their false gods to Him. As wicked as king Ahab
was, God never stopped trying to get him to repent until the day he
died. God may have spared him from seeing his family judged for the
things that he and his wife did to Israel, but he did not change His
judgment upon them. Ahab rebelled by getting Jehoshaphat, the present
king of Judah to help him get control of some land, but God used
Micaiah to remind him of his fate.

“So
he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go
against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered
him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of
the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure
thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of
the LORD? And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as
sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no
master: let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king
of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would
prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? And he said, Hear thou
therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne,
and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on
his left. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD
hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of
you.” - 1 Kings 22:15-19,28.

“as
sheep that have not a shepherd:” We are all sheep without a
shepherd until we find Jesus Christ. With all the people in the world
that believe and know God exists you would think that more would
receive Him, but sadly very few do. You know, when we receive Christ
as our Saviour He becomes our Shepherd, all He has to do is call us
and we will hear His voice and come running to Him. “My
sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give
unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand.” - John
10:27,28.

One thing I will never understand are rebels,
now, we all have a little bit of rebel in us, but most of us will
stop at one point, but I am talking about those who completely rebel
against any kind of authority. I was not a child of the sixties, but
learned enough about it to understand that the start of the US
rebelling against God began then. All it took was a woman refusing to
wear a bra or a man refusing to submit to being drafted into the army
to turn a once godly nation into one that does not even know God.
Now, after Ahab died in the battle his son Ahaziah began to reign,
once Moab learned that Ahab died they attacked Israel. During the
battle Ahaziah fell and God gave him a chance to repent, but instead
he calls on Baalzebub for help (sometimes you just have to laugh at
these people and their dumb decisions). God sends Elijah to tell him
his fate, Ahaziah also tried to

“Now
therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed
on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.
And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And
the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees
before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I
pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be
precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and
burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties:
therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. And the angel of
the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him.
And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto
him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to
enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no
God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come
down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. So
he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken.
And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the
son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.” -
2 Kings 1:4,13-17.

“is it not
because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word?”
God only goes where He is wanted, He may hover around and show
Himself through many miracles, judgments, and disasters around the
world, but unless we want Him in our lives He will not force Himself
upon us. Now, that does not mean He approves of the choice or that
they are exempt from judgment because they rebel against Him, but it
does mean that everyone has a chance to escape death if they repent
from their dead works and false gods and turn to Jesus. “Repent
ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the
Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto
you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of
all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy
prophets since the world began.” - Acts 3:19-21.

There
is a question that almost every person will hear at one point in
their lives in some form, “If you died today, are you 100% sure
that you will be in heaven?” Not everyone knows the answer to that
question. There is only one person on earth that knew exactly when
his life on earth was coming to an end, and that was Elijah. Unlike
most people who want to live their life doing God knows what when
they find out information like that, Elijah went to different
prophetic schools to give them his last blessing before that
miraculous event. While passing through, a young prophet named Elisha
follows him, seeking to know God as he did. Three times Elijah told
Elisha to stay where he was as he walked to the place God would take
him up, but he refused to stop following him.

“And
it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto
Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from
thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy
spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing:
nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be
so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as
they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a
chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder;
and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and
he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the
horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own
clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of
Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of
Jordan; And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and
smote the waters, and said, Where is the LORD God of Elijah? and when
he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and
Elisha went over.” - 2 Kings 2:9-14.

“Thou
hast asked a hard thing:” Many people see the amazing things
that happen in the lives of men and women God uses in His ministry
and want what they have, but many fail to realize that it is a life
of total dedication to God. No one is perfect, we all mess up from
time to time, God is not looking for the perfect model Christian to
use in His ministry, He is looking for willing, faithful, and
dedicated saved souls. If we are dedicated to God we will seek His
will for our lives, and while we may not get everything that someone
else has, we will get the things that God wants us to have, most of
all, a crown that will never be taken from us. “Feed
the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof,
not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a
ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being
ensamples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye
shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” - 1
Peter 5:2-4.

Jesus Christ
Revealed: Today Jesus is revealed through the Angel of the
LORD and Micaiah, who would say only what God instructed him to say
(22:9-27). Jesus faithfully told others only what God told Him to
say, “Then said Jesus unto them, When
ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he,
and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I
speak these things.” - John
8:28.

Today's Prayer:
God, Thank You for loving me so much that You were willing to come
here Yourself in the flesh of man to become the sinless sacrifice I
needed to be able to reach You and heaven. Not by our righteousness
do we know You, but by our faith in what Your Son did am I saved.
Lord, lead me and guide me, help me to be a witness and a testimony
to those who do not know You, open my ears to hear when You tell me
to speak to someone about Jesus, and give me Your power and the
boldness to speak the truth and not be offended or intimated by those
who refuse to listen. Let me live every day of my life seeking Your
will so that I can be the salt that helps You heal the bitter waters
of this earth. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God Bless You, I am
praying for you,
Christina

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