“Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Ps. 100:3)

2 Kings 10:10,
“Know now that nothing shall fall to the earth of the word of the Lord which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab; for the Lord has done what He spoke by His servant Elijah.”

“You are God possessing all power and strength... omnipotent You reign” sings in the background.

Omnipotent means all powerful. One source notes that common characteristics of omnipotent include:

• Ability to do anything one chooses
• Ability to do the impossible
• Ability to do anything in accord with one's own nature
• Ability to do anything in accord with one's established laws
• Ability to do anything that corresponds with one's overall worldplan. [1]

One thing for certain the 2 Kings demonstrates is that God is all powerful and at the same time highly engaged in the lives of His people. He is actively involved with them - reflecting His nature, His laws, and His purposes. He is completely sovereign.

As one source notes, sovereignty is not only the ability to act in power, but the exercise of that power. This source notes that “An important factor of sovereignty is its degree of absoluteness. A sovereign power has absolute sovereignty if it has the unlimited right to control everything and every kind of activity in its territory.” [2] One who is all sovereign is by no means limited or restricted -other than the limitations or restrictions one chooses to place on oneself.

While giving each person complete freedom of choice, throughout 2 Kings, God was involved in the lives of His people and was working out His purposes in their lives. He made Himself and His will evident at every turn.

In 2 Kings 1:2-4,17 it says,
“Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, 'Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.' But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, 'Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' Now therefore, this says the Lord: 'You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.' So Elijah departed... So Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken.”

Elijah was a spokesperson for God. He did not proclaim his own will or desires, but rather, he made God evident to those around him by speaking forth that which He heard the Lord speak to him. He did not hope that Ahaziah would die. But, rather by speaking forth the word of the Lord to Ahaziah, he was giving him an opportunity to repent and turn back to the Lord so he could be healed rather than perish in his sin.

When Hezekiah was sick and near death, Isaiah came to him and said to him, “Set your house in order, for you shall die, and not live.” (2 Kings 20:1b) Then Hezekiah wept bitterly and cried out to the Lord. And before Isaiah had made it to the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him saying, “Return and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, 'Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father: 'I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord. And I will add to your days fifteen years. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for My own sake, and for the sake of My servant David.” (2 Kings 20:5-6)

Psalm 2:10-12 says,
“Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little.”

God specifically chose Elijah to deliver this message of confrontation to Ahaziah about inquiring of other gods. Psalm 139:13-16 says, “For you formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.”

Elijah some time earlier when Ahab was king, called the people out of their idolatry in serving other gods, turning their hearts back to God. Elijah had told the people, 'How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” (1 Kings 18:21) He then proceeded to call down fire on the altar of sacrifice. And he prayed, “Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to you again.” (1 Kings 18:37) Once their hearts turned back to God, he told them to sieze the prophets of Baal and he executed all 400 of them. Jezebel then threatened to kill him and he ran for his life.

However, when Ahaziah's captain of the army and fifty men came to arrest him for the word he gave to Ahaziah, this time he did not run like he did when Jezebel threatened him. Instead, he sat on top a hill where he could be easily spotted and he called down fire from heaven to consume the men who came in a spirit of irreverence. He did this twice, and on the third time, the commander showed reference for God's power so Elijah went with him. (2 Kings 1:9-16)

One commentary notes that heavenly fire often signals God's divine judgment (see Gen. 19:24).[3] And another commentary goes on to say, “Elijah calls for fire from heaven, to consume this haughty daring sinner, not to secure himself..., nor to avenge himself..., but to prove his mission, and to reveal the wrath of God from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. This captain had, in scorn, called him a man of God: 'If I be so,' says Elijah, 'thou shalt pay dearly for making a jest of it.' He valued himself upon his commission (the king has said, Come down), but Elijah will let him know that the God of Israel is superior to the king of Israel and has a greater power to enforce his commands." [4]

“You said I was yours before I even lived one day” sings in the background.

How God was displayed in Elijah and Elisha was different based on how God had 'knit them together in their mother's womb' and the purpose for which God called them. Elijah demonstrated the wrath and divine judgment of God, calling down fire from heaven and calling people to fear of the Lord and serve Him only. Elijah was pretty much a loner and content to be on his own (2 Kings 2:6). Elisha, on the other hand, was much more relationship oriented, and he revealed a softer and more tender side of God. Many of the miracles worked through him helped and served others in need.

While Elijah and Elisha were unique in the way they represented God and fulfilled their callings, they also had similarities due to their overall call to be prophets. Both Elijah and Elisha called people out of their sin to live wholeheartedly for the Lord. Both of them spoke for God, making the will of the Lord evident. They often spoke of that which is to come, demonstrating God's sovereignty and working out of a bigger story. Their purpose was to reveal God's character, nature and will (heart) so that people would turn their hearts toward the Lord. They called people to see evidence of God in their circumstances, inspiring faith and belief. They were God's spokespeople.

Allen Hood notes that a spokesperson or a 'voice' for the Lord is a laborer, living a consecrated life, fully given to God so that when they open their mouth, they turn people to God by the very life they are living.[5] Prophets were not just voices speaking for Him (the gift of prophesy), but they lived lives that were fully consecrated to God. They put their whole hearts into serving God and seeing His purposes come forth.

“Jesus, I love You with all that I am” sings in the background.

Elisha, being more relationship oriented and tender hearted, lived with the sons of the prophets and cared for their needs. When one of the wives of one of the sons of the prophets died, she came to Elisha with her need. She was out of money and the creditors were coming. Elisha told her to collect as many jars as she could and pour oil into them from her one jar of oil and then sell the jars of oil. She did exactly this and the oil did not run out until there were no more jars available to fill. (2 Kings 4:1-7)

When there was a famine in the land, Elisha fed all the sons of the prophets. When someone brought him twenty loaves of barley bread and newly ripened grain, he said, “'Give it to the people, that they may eat.' “But his servant said, 'What? Shall I set this before one hundred men?' He said again, 'Give it to the people, that they may eat; for thus say the Lord: 'They shall eat and have some left over.' So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.” (2 Kings 4:42-44)

As much as Elisha enjoyed relationships however, he pointed all who came to him toward God and not to himself. When Naaman came to Elisha to be healed from his leprosy, Elisha sent a messenger to him to tell him to go wash in the Jordan seven times and he would be clean (2 Kings 5:10). Naaman eventually humbled himself and went and received what God had for him. When he returned, Naaman offered to give Elisha something in return, but Elisha refused and pointed him to God. (2 Kings 5:16)

As a result Naaman found a relationship with God himself. He said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the Lord,” (2 Kings 5:17)

Elisha spoke forth the will of the Lord in several key situations, making God evident to all. Elisha primarily was a spokesperson to leadership (elders and kings rather than the people). It was most often the leadership that had the greatest influence on people and circumstances, turning the hearts of the people towards (or away from) God.

When Jehoram, king of Israel, and Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, inquired of Elisha about going out against Moab, because Jehoshaphat feared the Lord, Elisha agreed to seek the will of the Lord for them.

In 2 Kings 3:15-19 it says, “Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, 'Thus says the Lord: 'Make this valley full of ditches.' For this says the Lord: 'You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.' And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. Also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

And when there was a famine in the land because Ben-Hadad besieged Samaria, the king of Israel sought out Elisha. The word of the Lord came to Elisha and he said to him, “Thus says the Lord: 'Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barely for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.' So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, 'Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?' And he said, 'In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” (2 Kings 7:1-2)

Then in 2 Kings 7:17-20 it says,
“Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him. So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, 'Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flower for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.' Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, 'Now look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be? And he [Elisha] had said, 'In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.' And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.”

Elisha was willing to confront ungodly leadership when needed. He trusted Himself to God and spoke forth His will. Often, prophets were persecuted by ungodly leadership for speaking forth the truth and being God's spokesperson. An example is Micaiah in 1 Kings 22. Micaiah told the king of Israel the truth, that he would die if he was to go into battle. The king then commanded, "Put this fellow in prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and water of affliction, until I come in peace." Elijah was also persecuted by king Ahab for speaking forth the truth from God. Ahab called him the 'troubler of Israel' (1 Kings 18:17) and Jezebel, his wife, threatened to kill him (1 Kings 19:2).

At the same time, prophets were called to submit to the leadership whose lives they spoke into, especially godly leadership. An example is Nathan. He prophesied into David's life, but at the same time, called himself David's servant. It wasn't a religious submitting out of duty or obligation. He genuinely cared about and respected David so he willingly came under him to support him in his position of authority.

In 2 Samuel 12:9, Nathan confronted David for his sin against Uriah the Hittite for murdering him and taking his wife. However, Nathan was also submitted to David. When Adonijah presumed to be king, Nathan came do David. He bowed before him and said, "My lord, O king, have you said, 'Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne'? For he has gone down today... Has this thing been done by my lord the king, and you have not told your servant who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?" (1 Kings 1:22-27)

When God used a prophet such as Elijah or Elisha to proclaim his will, they were more than just mouthpieces. They were actively engaged and their hearts were integrally involved in the message they delivered. They most often (Jonah an exception) were deeply passionate about seeing the will of the Lord come about. They could speak for God because they had spent time with God in prayer, sharing His heart and will for the people and their situations that they were called to speak into.

They did not speak forth their own thoughts or will into a situation but only what God had spoke to them about it. In most cases, it was just a natural outflow from their prayer lives. Anna in Luke 2:36-38 was an example of this. She prayed continually in the temple. Then as she came out of her place of prayer, she naturally just continued to prophesy. She spoke of Jesus to all who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

Deuteronomy 18:22 says, “If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.”

Their words had power because they were the words and the will of God. And how it was evident that it was the will of the Lord, was that what was spoken came to pass.

God spoke to a prophet to proclaim His will for the children of Israel. But, He also spoke to them about those things that would come to pass that were not his desire but His permitting of man's free will.

An example is in 2 Kings 8:10-15 with Hazael, the servant of Ben-Hadad, king of Syria:
“And Elisha said to him [Hazael], 'Go, say to him[king Ben-Hadad], 'You shall certainly recover.' However the Lord has shown me that he will really die.' then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept. And Hazael said, 'Why is my lord weeping?' He answered, 'because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel; Their stronghold you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill will the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.' So Hazael said, 'But what is your servant -a dog, that he should do this gross thing?' And Elisha answered, 'The Lord has shown me that you will become king over Syria.' Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, 'What did Elisha say to you?'' And he answered, 'He told me you would surely recover.' But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place.”

God frequently allowed man to influence and change circumstance by their active involvement. However, there were other times God decided the outcome He would have and that was the end of it.

In the first situation, and example is in 2 Kings 13:14-21. Elisha was on his death bed and Joash, the king of Israel, came down to weep over him. He told Joash to take a bow and some arrows, open the window and shoot. As he shot, he told him, “The arrow of the Lord's deliverance and the arrow of deliverance from Syria; for you must strike the Syrians at Aphek till you have destroyed them.” He then told the king to take arrows and strike the ground. Joash stuck the ground three times and stopped. Elisha told him, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck Syria till you destroyed it! But now you will strike Syria only three times.”

Then in 2 Kings 13:25 it says, “Three times Joash defeated him and recaptured the cities.”

An example of God in his sovereignty deciding the outcome of a situation, was in 2 Kings 9:30-37. When Jehu conspired against the king and Jezebel according to the will of the Lord, he had her eunuchs throw her down from the window of her place. He then went in and ate and drank with them. When her servants came back to bury her upon the request of Jehu, they found only her skull, feet and palms of her hands. Jehu told them, “This is the word of the Lord, which He spoke by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, 'On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs shall eat the flesh of Jezebel; and the corpse of Jezebel shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, in the plot at Jezreel, so that they shall not say, 'Here lies Jezebel.'”

The Israelites understood God's sovereignty. So much so that when they went to battle, it was not a matter of how much strength or force they had, but they wanted to know what God had to say about it. If God told them through the prophets or priest's ephod that they would have the victory, in faith, they would go into battle expecting to win. Often, falling in battle to their enemies had to do with sin, rebellion and disobedience in their lives towards God (Joshua 7:1-26).

The king of Assyria understood this about their culture. So when he came against the Israelites, he attacked them on the level of their faith in God. He sent messengers that spoke Hebrew to speak in the hearing of the people. They told the people, “But do not listen to Hezekiah, lest he persuade you, saying, 'The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharviam and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” (2 Kings 18:32-35).

After receiving this same message in a threatening letter from the king of Assyria, Hezekiah took the letter and spread it out before the Lord and cried out to him, “Oh Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, Lord the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men's hands -wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them. Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.” (2 Kings 19:15-19)

Isaiah sent a word to Hezekiah, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.' This is the word which the Lord has spoken concerning him:... 'He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city' says the Lord.” (2 Kings 19:20-21,32-33)

In 2 Kings 29:35-36 it says,
“And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty five thousand; and when people arose early in the mourning, there were the corpses -all dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.

“Jesus, I choose now, to be humbled in Your presence, I choose now to fall upon my face” sings in the background.

God is totally sovereign, yet He acted on behalf of the people of Israel because of the prayers of Hezekiah. God rose up Hezekiah for this time and season and then answered his prayers and the cries of his heart. He used Isaiah, who he also raised up for this time and season, to be His spokesperson and encourage Hezekiah and the people to trust in Lord with all their heart, pressing into God in faith.

And, while God used the prophets so that people could clearly see His involvement and sovereignty in their lives, God also worked directly through circumstances to make Himself evident and bring His will to pass.

As an example, God had timed for Gehazi to be speaking to the king about a woman whose son was restored to life just when the woman was approaching the king to request her land back. 2 Kings 8:5-6 says, “Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, 'My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.' And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, 'Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field form the day that she left the land until now.”

Coming back to where I started, God is totally engaged with His people, not just in activities going on in the world. And he raises up certain people for specific purposes in a specific period of time to accomplish His will that He planned long before any of the people even existed. He is completely sovereign and capable of completing all that is on His heart. And He chooses to use His people to engage in His purposes according to how he formed them and according to the plans he established for them. We are all part of His bigger story.

“And I pray that You would use my life, in a way Your name is glorified... I know I don't have much to give, but I promise to give You all I have to give” sings

God, you amaze me. I get lost in the wonder of who You are. When I look at all my sin, I feel like such a mess. I have to confess that I often feel more like I am in the way of Your purposes rather than involved in bringing them about. I work so hard to try to get it all right and try not to blow it, and in doing so, I often miss Your will completely. Other times, I shrink back from Your will in fear. Yet, You used imperfect people throughout time and still accomplished all You had planned in Your heart. So I proclaim with David, “The LORD will fulfill His purposes... Your love, O LORD, endures forever--do not abandon the works of your hands.” (Ps. 138:8)

“And all that I've been through, Your love has never changed... You make oceans from the rain” sings

Lord, Your love never changes. It is relentless. May our hearts fully engage with Your purposes for us in this season of time. May we be a part of Your greater story for our generation. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done. You are more than able to accomplish all that is on Your heart!!! We long to be a part of it.



1.Omnipotence. Wikipedia. Located at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnipotence Last accessed: 12/16/1

2.Sovereignty. Wikipedia. Located at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereignty#Definition_and_types Last accessed: 12/16/10

3. Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson study Bible : New King James Version. Includes index. (2 Ki 1:10). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.

4. Henry, M. (1996, c1991). Matthew Henry's commentary on the whole Bible : Complete and unabridged in one volume (2 Ki 1:9). Peabody: Hendrickson.

5. Hood, Allen. IHOP-KC. Onething 2010 Podcast #6. Located at: http://blog.ihop.org/category/onething-2010/ December 21, 2010.