One Year Bible, Friday, June 25th "Elisha Contines His Ministry" "Paul and Silas Hear the Call of the Macedonia Man"
The Floating Ax Head
Elijah's powers were manifest in many ways. As a man was cutting down trees with an axe, it fell off and sank to the bottom of the Jordan River. Elijah threw a stick where the axe went in and it floated to the top.
Elisha Traps the Arameans
In this story, we see another side of Elisha. Whenever the King of Aram would plan to attack Israel, Elijah would tell the King of Israel about their plans. Soon the King of Aram's officers told them to go out and capture Elisha. Elisha's servants were nervous, but Elisha told them the Lord would protect them. He even told them of a vision the Lord gave him in which the hills were filled with thousands of horses and chariots of fire. He said to his young servant, "There is more on our side than theirs!"
What a good thing to think of when you are facing an enemy. You know that the Lord is on your side and you can envision that there are more on your side than theirs. If God is for you who can be against you.
As it turned out when they attacked Israel, Elisha asked the Lord to blind them and He did. When the Israelites took them captive, the King of Israel asked if he should kill them. Elisha told them to give them something to eat and send them home.
Elisha not only showed the power of God but the mercy of God!
Ben-Hadad Besieges Samaria
After the king of Syria besieged Israel there was a great famine in the area. It was so bad people resorted to cannibalism. When the king of Israel saw this, he was deeply grieved and wore burlap clothes as a sign of his grief. He attributed the dire straits to Elisha, the doom and gloom prophet. But instead of a negative prophecy, Elisha predicted they would have food in a abundance at a low price.
Outcasts Visit the Enemy Camp
God provided for the Israelites through four lepers, who had reached the end of their rope and went to surrender themselves to the Arameans. But the Lord had devised a plan that the Arameans would think the Israelites had hired the Hittites to attack them, which sent them into a "tizzy" and they fled back to Aram. With the Aramean tents vacated, the four men looted the gold and silver, drank wine, and ate the food there. Then, they realized it should not all be for themselves, so they brought back some to the others.
God works in mysterious ways to provide for his people, even using unlikely people like these four lepers.
Israel Plunders the Camp
When the king heard about this, he sent officers out to the field, and they found it just as the man of God (Elisha) had said to them. There was so much traffic going out of the city, one of the officers was trampled to death, fulfilling what Elisha had said to the king, "And you will not be there to eat it."
This passage reminds us that sometimes the Lord gives prophets message of rebuke, but other times a message of hope!
Sinee John Mark had left Paul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey, Paul did not want to take him when they went back to strengthen and encourage all of the new churches. Barnabas disagreed so they split ways. Paul took Silas as his new ministry partner, and Barnabas took John Mark.
Although the disagreement was probably not pleasant, it did result in multiplication of leaders for ministry. It also reminds us of the model that we should do ministry in two's not alone.
Paul’s Second Missionary Journey
Paul recruited young Timothy, who became his mentor. Since Timothy's mom was Jewish, and his dad was Greek, he had him circumcised. You might wonder why, since the Church at Jerusalem had decided new Gentile believers did not need to be circumcised?
Paul had decided (for Timothy) that it was better for him to be circumcised than to be a stumbling block to the Jews in the area, which were mostly unbelievers at this point. What a sacrifice Timothy made for the sake of the gospel. If Paul made the decision it would have been quite an act of submission and obedience on Timothy's part.
This story reminds us that sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the sake of the gospel. What in your life might the Lord ask you to give up in order to not cause an unbeliever to stumble for the sake of the gospel?
A Call from Macedonia
This is the famous "Macedonian man" passage. Paul and his associates spent most of their time planting and building churches in modern day Turkey, or Asia Minor. But as they were going on their journey, they heard the voice of the Macedonian man beckoning them to cross the sea into Northern Greece to an area called Macedonia (home of Philippi). Note they were blocked by the Spirit of Jesus from continuing on their previous path.
Paul and Silas were interrupted in what they thought were their plans? God had a better plan which resulted in the planting of many new churches, which would become key centers for the gospel. (I.e. Philippi, Corinth, and Thessalonica).
Lydia of Philippi Believes in Jesus
This is another huge story in our missiology as Christians. Paul and Silas went on the Sabbath down to the river out to see if there were any Jews meeting there. Sure enough they ran into a Lydia, a wealthy woman, who dealt in expensive purple cloths. She was a God seeker, and when she heard Paul's message, she believed and she and her WHOLE HOUSEHOLD was baptized.
Why is this so important?
1. A influential woman comes to faith and leads her whole household to Jesus. Later the church of Philippi becomes a major influential church. Here is one of the first instances of a woman being a leader in the church. This gives credence to the idea of women being in leadership of the church. Though it was not normative per se, it is an incidence of it. There are others in Acts too.
2. Her whole household was baptized. Did everyone of them come to faith exactly at the same time she came to faith? Were there young children in the household who were baptized? These questions give a scriptural basis for infant baptism? Though one could argue this doesn't definitively make a biblical argument for infant baptism most who read this passage straightforward (as we need to read the bible) assume there were either infants, young children, or children younger than the age of accountability (12-13). Your interpretation of this might be based on the church you grew up in and were taught your whole life.
If you grew up in a Baptist home, you might say this is not a definitive argument for infant baptism. If you grew up in a Lutheran home and have read Martin Luther's many arguments for why infant baptism in is biblicalm you would say this passage is in support of it.
So here is the most important question I would challenge you with! When you read the bible with fresh eyes and allow the Holy Spirit guide you, the Scripture promises us the Spirit will guide us into all truth. This is not to say that Tradition is bad or not useful, but in this case there are two major denominations who diametrically oppose each other, so either they are both right, or is wrong on this important Christian doctrine?
I believe the most important biblical principle superceding both of these views is this biblical principle, "Whoever believes and is baptized WILL be saved!" Mark 16:16
Note one thing it does not say. It does not specify the order only that one needs to believe and be baptzed. Remember too that the thief on the cross was not baptized and Jesus said, "Today you will be with me in paradise!" This is not an argument against baptism but an example of how God is bigger than the box we sometimes put Him in.
For those of you who are interested in an excellent article concluding that these passages give excellent biblical precedence for "infant baptism" feel free to read this article.
Justification of Infant Baptism
Remember too that infant baptism was the normative practice for the Catholic and the majority Protestants denominations since the first century. To conclude that none of these baptisms over the past 2,000 years were legitimate is a huge leap. There are probably many of your loved ones in that category. Do you believe they all died without really being baptized?
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