Today I've been thinking about the parallels between two kings: Josiah, who reigned over Judah just before the Babylonian captivity (640-609 BCE), and Benjamin, who reigned over the Nephites about 500 years later. Both kings led their people in a spiritual reawakening. Here are some of their common experiences: ExperienceJosiahBenjaminInspired by the scripturesWas horrified when... Continue Reading →
2 Kings 17-25: “He Trusted in the Lord God of Israel” (July 11-17)
"The Flight of the Prisoners," by Jacques Joseph Tissot Even before the Israelites inherited their promised land, the Lord warned them that they would be scattered if they persistently rebelled against Him. (See Leviticus 26:33, Deuteronomy 4:27, Deuteronomy 28:25, 37, 64.) But God also promised that even after they were scattered, He would remember His... Continue Reading →
“Open His Eyes”
When Elisha's young servant arose early one morning, he was alarmed to see the city Dothan surrounded by horses and chariots. Syria was at war with Israel, and the king of Syria had heard that Elisha was helping the king of Israel, much like Alma would later help Nephite military leaders (2 Kings 6:8-12; see... Continue Reading →
Some Great Thing
Naaman was used to commanding respect. As the leader of the Syrian army, he was surrounded by people who would do his bidding. So when the prophet Elisha sent a messenger with instructions on how to be healed, and when those instructions seemed ridiculous, he was angry. "Behold," he complained, "I thought, He will surely... Continue Reading →
The Spirit of Elijah
On the day Elijah was translated, he visited three locations: Beth-El, Jericho, and then a location on the far side of the river Jordan. Each time, he urged Elisha to stay behind, and each time, Elisha answered the same way: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee" (2 Kings 2:2, 4, 6). After they miraculously... Continue Reading →
Gehazi and Gifts
In the book Predictably Irrational, Dan Ariely discusses the problems that come from mixing social norms with market norms. As humans, he said, we make some decisions in purely financial terms—How much is this activity worth? Does the benefit justify the cost?—but we make other decisions in terms of relationships. Applying a market lens to... Continue Reading →
“Would God My Lord Were With the Prophet!”
She was a young Israelite woman, who had been captured by the Syrian army and was now a slave in the house of Naaman. She felt empathy toward her master, who was captain of the Syrian army but who was afflicted with leprosy. She said to Naaman's wife, "Would God my lord were with the prophet that is in... Continue Reading →
It Fell on a Day
Three events from the life of a Shunnamite woman are introduced with the phrase "it fell on a day:" The first time she saw the prophet Elisha and persuaded him to eat dinner at her home (2 Kings 4:8).When Elisha and his servant came to stay at her house, and he promised that she would... Continue Reading →
2 Kings 2-7: “There Is a Prophet in Israel” (July 4-10)
"The Prophet Elisha and the Woman of Shunem" (detail) by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout In a Whirlwind Elijah didn't die. Instead, he was carried to heaven by a whirlwind in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11). This places him in a unique category of prophets who were translated, changed into a state where they... Continue Reading →
“Give Me to Drink”
Today, I've been thinking about three incidents in which a representative of God, or the Savior Himself, asked a stranger for sustenance: During a severe drought, the prophet Elijah approached a poor widow near the gate of the city of Zarephath. "Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may... Continue Reading →