2 Kings 13:14-19 English Standard Version

The Death of Elisha

14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king’s hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The Lord’s arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.”

Yesterday’s comment that in politics we alienate everyone needs explanation.

There will always be those who think we haven’t gone far enough, that we should have done more.

Then there are those that blame the messenger, “Why didn’t you tell us everything?”

Politics is the unhappy bedfellow that is never satisfied.

Perhaps if Joash had a better relationship with God he would have known how many times he should have struck the arrows to the ground. See, I just found a way to blame Joash. There is just no way to satisfy everyone with politics.

Thank God we live in the eternal kingdom of God. This life began when we accepted Christ by faith as Lord and Savior.

Look at what I have written about the elements of 2 Kings 13. They reveal no absolute truths of God the Father, Jesus Christ, Joash or Elisha. They do say something about me and my thinking, my behaviors and my leanings. This is the Holy Spirit revealing in me those things that should be offered up for sacrifice in my life.

Every time we offer questions that the bible does not clearly address it is an opportunity for the devil to cast doubt on the word of God. That is like watching political pundits arguing over politics on television. They are arguing opinions that offer no proof. 

That is Satan’s playground.

1 Corinthians 7:1-5 English Standard Version

Principles for Marriage

7 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

The title of this is “P v P” and the meaning might be lost on us at first.

Psychology Vs Physiology

Hidden in the principles of marriage is the presence of both. If we think back to our youth we might see that we are influenced first by physiology before we understand the psychology behind relationships. Having grown up in the sixties, love was poorly defined in the world.

The expression “free love” had nothing to do with the psychology of relationships and everything to do with the physiology. Control over the body was difficult for those who were experiencing the intense influence of hormones with insufficient information about those influences and the consequences.

Please note that the dynamic of P v P here applies to marriage and marriage alone. It does not apply to anyone outside the covenant of marriage. The issue here in giving over control of our own physiology to the psychology of our covenant partner eludes some of us.

What happens to those who are not given to marriage falls into the dangerous ground of judgment that takes in a third and extremely dangerous arena, politics.

Years ago when I began writing I was advised to avoid two issues. The first was not to take sides. The second was not to make it political.

Our influences need to remain in the realm of spiritual endeavors. What is written and confirmed in the bible are free to be explored as long as we do not violate those two issues.

One alienates individuals while the other alienates nearly everyone.