The Tale of Three Captains

  • October 20, 2023
  • /
  • Jon Polk

Scripture Focus: 2 Kings 1:13-15
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”

15 The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.

Reflection: The Tale of Three Captains
By Jon Polk

2 Kings opens with a story reminiscent of a classic fable: there’s a king, a tragic accident, a trio of warriors, and a wise sage on a hilltop.

First, be reminded of what a rotten king Ahaziah was. The book of 1 Kings ends with this unflattering assessment of his reign, “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord.” His father was Ahab, widely recognized as the worst king of Israel, so Ahaziah’s apple didn’t fall far from the proverbial tree.

Ahaziah suffered an injury after falling from the upper room of his palace in Samaria. He sent a delegation to inquire of the god Baal-Zebub whether he would recover. The messengers never made it to their destination, however. They were intercepted by the bold prophet Elijah.

Elijah delivered a stinging rebuke and prophecy to be relayed to the king. “You’ve rejected the God of Israel, so you turn to the god of the Philistines? You wanted to know if you will recover from your injuries? Be warned, death is coming for you.”

Incensed, Ahaziah asked who had sent the message. From the description, he immediately knew who it was. “Ah yes, that’s Elijah. Send a company of fifty men to bring him to me.”

The first company captain approached Elijah, now sitting on the top of a hill, with scorn, “Man of God, the king says to come at once.”

You can hear the mockery in Elijah’s response, “Oh, you call me a man of God? Well, if I am, may fire come down from heaven and consume your company.” And so it did.

The king sent a second company of fifty men. The second company captain called to Elijah with equal disdain, “Man of God, the king calls for you.”

Surprise, surprise. Second verse, same as the first. Elijah called down fire on company number two.

The third company captain took a decidedly different approach, “Man of God, please respect my life and these fifty men! We are your servants!” This time, Elijah acquiesced and went along to deliver his prophecy directly to the king himself.

How often do we approach God with the same attitude of Ahaziah and the first two company captains, demanding that our needs be met or our questions be answered? 

May we learn from the example of the third company captain who recognized that God cannot be ordered around. Let us approach God humbly, with respect, acknowledging our station as beloved children of God.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Proclaim the greatness of the Lord our God and worship him upon his holy hill; for the Lord our God is the Holy One. — Psalm 99.9

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Kings 1 (Listen 3:13)
Psalms 45 (Listen 2:17)

This Weekend’s Readings
2 Kings 2 (Listen 4:26) Psalms 46-47 (Listen 2:15)
2 Kings 3 (Listen 4:29) Psalms 48 (Listen 1:28)

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Muscle Memory

  • October 20, 2021
  • /
  • Erin Newton

Scripture Focus: 2 Kings 1.16
He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?

Reflection: Muscle Memory
By Erin Newton

Anything we do repeatedly becomes muscle memory. Without thinking our body moves out of habit. We learn new skills intentionally or subconsciously through our environment. For many, our upbringing shapes how we react: good and bad.

Ahab had died and his son Ahaziah took the throne. He was no better than his father and was listed among the evil kings of Israel. He was a product of his environment, raised by parents who delighted in persecuting others. But now, Ahaziah was critically injured. Fearful and uncertain, he looked for answers. Just as he was raised, he avoided God and looked to the idols.

God warned Elijah of the king’s sin. The prophet condemned Ahaziah for looking for hope outside of God. With the king’s life in the balance, death was proclaimed. The prophecy was fulfilled. Ahaziah adopted the sinful behavior of his father and suffered the same tragic death.

For generations, the kings had increasingly turned aside from following God. The habit of seeking one of many foreign idols had become instinctive. Each new king was further desensitized to wickedness. The call of the prophet was to speak truth to deaf ears trusting someday one would finally hear.

Our spirit has “muscle memory” of sorts. Our heart is shaped and trained by our thoughts and actions each day. If the heart is daily practicing hate, gossip, jealousy, rage, divisiveness, or lust, that will become the natural impulse. Professional golfers to hobby knitters all know the importance of practicing the right way of doing something. In the same way, our hearts must be trained to seek God.

Breaking away from old habits can be extremely difficult. Christians are told to be devoted to prayer, encourage one another, continue meeting together, and study the Scriptures. Each of these are daily routines that build spiritual habits. The spiritual disciples keep the heart sensitive to wickedness and open ears to hear the truth.

How can you incorporate new practices in your life that will develop a heart for following God? The commute to work can include moments of prayer. The wait before a doctor’s appointment can be used to read a few verses. The silence of the shower can be an oasis of meditating on truth. Little by little, we discipline our hearts and minds toward godliness, or we create habits that work to destroy our lives.

“…train yourself to be godly.” (1 Timothy 4.7b)

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Test me, O Lord, and try me; examine my heart and mind. — Psalm 26.2

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
2 Kings 1 (Listen – 3:13)
2 Thessalonians 1 (Listen – 1:52)

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Oh, God, planter of the first garden, cultivator of all creation,
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More and More and Less and Less :: Guided Prayer

  • October 18, 2019
  • /
  • John Tillman

Scripture Focus: ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭4.
We instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.

Reflection: More and More and Less and Less :: Guided Prayer
By John Tillman

Paul uses the term “more and more“ twice in the fourth chapter of his letter to the Thessalonians. Both times he is pleased with where the believers are currently, yet hoping for and encouraging them toward more. 

Sanctification is easy to confuse with moralism. 

To the moralist, “more and more” means more rules and ratings.
To those being sanctified, “more and more” means fewer outward rules and more inner change.

Through sanctification, we are slowly transformed by influences beyond our selves—-the Holy Spirit’s power and the reading of God’s Word. In sanctification, we focus on change in our lives, not others.

Through moralism, we transform scriptures into affirmations of our faithfulness and condemnation of others’ sinfulness. In moralism, we focus on others lives, measuring ourselves against them instead of scripture. 

Sanctification and moralism both introduce change, but only one is spiritual and is powered by the gospel. Let us pray this prayer over the weekend that we may not be more “moral.” But that, instead, we may be more like Christ.

More and More and Less and Less
Gracious Father, we know…

We cannot do “more and more” of the things Christ calls us to without doing “less and less” of some other things.

More and more of Christ in our life means less and less of us. He must become greater and we must become less.

Give us more and less, Father… 
More of Christ’s love for others less of our love of self. 
More of Christ’s grace for others and less of our grudging forgiveness. 
More of Christ’s hatred of sin and less of our hatred of those whose sins are different than ours.
More of Christ’s Word, the Bible, and less of the algorithmic sales machines that social media has become.
More of spreading the good news of the gospel and less of spreading the worst news we can find about our enemies.

We know that we will be at our happiest, at our most fulfilled, and at our most true self when we continually surrender more and more to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

No Christian is ever perfect until perfectly conformed to Christ. Conform us, Lord.
No Christian is ever righteous without the righteousness of Christ. Make us righteous, Lord.
No Christian can say, “It is finished.” Christ came to say it for us. Finish your work in us, Lord.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting
O Lord, I cry to you for help; in the morning my prayer comes before you. — Psalm 88.14

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
1 Kings 21 (Listen – 4:19)
1 Thessalonians 4 (Listen -2:24)

This Weekend’s Readings
1 Kings 22 (Listen – 7:51), 1 Thessalonians 5 (Listen -2:37)
2 Kings 1 (Listen – 3:13),  2 Thessalonians 1 (Listen -1:52)

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