Sermons

This passage deals with the tragic consequences that began when Jehoshaphat, king of the southern kingdom of Judah, took a princess of the wicked northern kingdom of Israel as his daughter-in-law for the sake of a political alliance. He was overconfident that his own firm faith would keep him free from evil influence, but that choice led in the end to his son's corruption and to a crisis for the dynasty of David. It shows that sin does not begin with a resolve to do evil from the start, but with compromising and allowing it ourselves in the midst of conflict.

Once we set foot in the swamp of sin it becomes hard to get out, and the passage warns that one person's choice can bring deadly consequences on their descendants and community. But even amid human failure and the attacks of evil powers, God faithfully kept his covenant with David and secretly protected one life, Joash. This means that God's promise is far stronger than human mistakes or Satan's schemes, and it becomes hope for those who keep the faith to the end.

When we cannot tell whether our choices now are right, can we remember the final day of judgment and look at them objectively? And are we keeping an earnest heart that does not forget the pain and regret that follow sin, so that we can make right judgments?

This passage deals with the scene in which Jehu, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, judges the house of Ahab and wipes out the worshipers of Baal. Jehu was used as an instrument of God's judgment and pressed zealously ahead, wielding great power, but inside him, rather than true love for God, there was a pride that wanted to display his own might and sense of achievement. Rather than acknowledging that what he did came from God, he prided himself that it was the result of his own ability and zeal, and acted as though he had already received his whole reward.

Jehonadab the son of Rechab, a Gentile, by contrast chose a life of serving God alone rather than worldly security or power. He followed God without hesitation when Jehu questioned him, kept his distance from idolatry all his life, and charged his descendants to hold on to an eternal hope. Although Jehu seemed outwardly to be working for God, his motives came from human righteousness and boasting, so he did not receive true spiritual reward. Instead, he followed in the sin of idolatry that Jeroboam had committed and in the end fell into the way of corruption.

The sermon asks believers to reflect on their motives when they take up God's work. It points out that even if we look devoted and zealous on the outside, if pride and self-boasting are mixed into our hearts, that cannot be the faithfulness God delights in. It reminds us that we must lay aside our own righteousness and work with a heart that gives glory to God alone. The sermon puts questions to the reader, so that they can look back at the motives of their life of faith and devotion, and choose the path of faith that gains the true reward.

This passage deals with how Jehu, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, was anointed as an instrument of God's judgment and carried out judgment on the sins of the house of Ahab. Apart from any political ambition, Jehu obeyed God's command, judged King Joram and Jezebel, and saw to it that the prophecy Elijah had delivered was fulfilled without a single word failing. This process shows that God's word is surely accomplished regardless of human intentions.

Through Jehu's faithfulness and the miserable end of the house of Ahab, the sermon points to the truth that God's judgment will surely come. King Joram, who for a long time did not repent in spite of God's warnings and let down his guard, resembles us today, who grow used to daily life and live forgetting judgment even though the signs of the end are clear. It warns that God holds back judgment and waits for repentance, but that a fitting judgment awaits those who refuse to the end to leave the place of sin.

How should we look upon God's unseen work and the judgment that is close at hand?

Today's passage introduces Gresham's law, that bad money drives out good, and points to how, throughout society today, lies win out over truth and bluster over real ability. But God's work is the very opposite: he raises up one righteous person to overcome countless evils, and has believers take up the role of light and salt.

This passage begins with the story of the unnamed Shunammite woman. She obeys God's word at once, stays in a foreign land for seven years and keeps her household safe, and after returning receives the remarkable blessing of recovering the property she had lost, through Gehazi's testimony. In the story of Hazael, the Aramean commander, that follows, Elisha prophesies that he will become king, but through the way Hazael murders his master and seizes power apart from God's will, the passage shows that even under God's sovereignty, responsibility follows human choices. Finally, the record of Jehoram and Ahaziah, kings of Judah, who left God, did evil, and were judged, confirms that even in a chaotic age when evil is everywhere, God alone is the ruler of history.

However full of bad money the world may be, when we live the life of good money, devoted and obedient before God to the end, God works through that small lamp. We must ask ourselves whether, without using the dark world as an excuse, we remain good money that God can take up and use, and live as good instruments to the end.

This passage deals with the severe famine and the siege by the Aramean army that the people of Israel suffered for disobeying God's command. The city of Samaria was reduced to such misery by hunger that even an animal's head and dung, things not fit to eat, were traded at astronomical prices. The king, though he sees the people's suffering, avoids his own guilt, blames Elisha, the man of God, and tries to kill him. This shows the typical attitude of shifting responsibility onto outside factors or other people rather than looking within when a problem arises.

Elisha delivers God's word that prices will return to normal, but the officer does not believe it and mocks it. In the end God frightens the Aramean army into flight, and has the news of deliverance brought by lepers who were waiting outside the city gate. The king had the facts confirmed by scouts, but because of unbelief, though he saw with his own eyes the moment Elisha's prophecy was fulfilled, he did not enjoy that grace and met his death. This shows that a heart that doubts God's work and complains ends up bringing even greater loss on itself.

In the darkness and despair of life, how should we respond, without blaming God or judging those who are weak? Let us think about what a faith that trusts God's ways and timing and waits for them looks like, and what lessons we should learn from the results that unbelief brings.

Through two events experienced by the prophet Elisha and his servant, this passage deals with how to keep the faith and look to God in moments of crisis. First, through the miracle of raising a lost axe head out of the water, it shows that God himself saves us from a spiritual state that no human strength can pull us out of. Then, in the desperate crisis when the Aramean army surrounds the city, the servant is afraid of the enemy's visible numbers, but Elisha prays and opens the servant's eyes to see the army of heaven.

The sermon stresses that we must open our spiritual eyes and recognize God's protection, so that we are not overwhelmed by the crises we see with our physical eyes or by the world's power. It also contrasts the king of Aram, who trusted only in visible power and was defeated, with Elisha, who showed grace even to his enemies and revealed God's true character, and through this presents the call to share the grace we have freely received with our neighbors and our enemies. It points out that a life that relies not on the world's standards but on God's sovereignty, and gladly passes on the love it has received, is the true confession of faith.

With what eyes are we looking at the world now, and with whom are we sharing the grace we have freely received?

Today's passage tells how Naaman, commander of the army of Aram, suffering from leprosy, meets the prophet Elisha and is healed. A young girl taken captive from Israel tells him the only way his disease can be cured, showing how God reveals his power through the weak rather than through the powerful of the world. Yet Naaman tried to approach Elisha with his own authority and gifts, and the king of Israel commits the folly of missing God's opportunity.

To break Naaman's pride and his attachment to the world, Elisha gives him a command that is hard to understand. Naaman is healed only when he exposes his disgrace, bears the shame, and washes seven times in the Jordan River. This shows the principle that miracles happen only when we completely cast off the world's righteousness and our pride and obey, standing naked before God. By contrast, Elisha's servant Gehazi, though he had been at Elisha's side, is blinded by greed, tries to take the gifts for himself, and falls under a curse.

With what attitude should we stand before God in order to enjoy his blessing?

Life is one hardship after another, and we are weak beings who can lose what we rely on at any moment. Today's passage records four miracles through the prophet Elisha, and the first is the story of a widow who, after her husband's sudden death and because of debt, faced the danger of having her two sons sold as slaves.

With no way to get by, the woman did not look for a human solution in the face of the creditor's threats, but went to Elisha. Elisha told her to prepare the one jar of oil she had at home and empty vessels borrowed from her neighbours, and the woman poured out oil until every vessel was filled. As a result the oil kept flowing without stopping until all the vessels were full, and she was able to sell it, pay her debt, and save her family.

This miracle came not from the woman's little oil but from the good character she had shown her neighbours and her obedient faith in God. God does not work forcibly all on his own; he uses the small faith and fruit we have as his instruments. And when the Holy Spirit is at work, we must shut our hearts and focus, so as not to mingle with the world.

If we do not look down on the grace we now enjoy or on what we have, and rely on God alone in our place of weakness, what amazing solution will we experience?

This passage records how the allied armies of northern Israel and southern Judah went to war against Moab, and how a victory that seemed certain, with water supplied and the enemy about to be defeated through God's help, ended in failure. Victory had been promised through the prophet Elisha, but at the last moment of the battle the king of Moab offered his son as a burnt offering, and great wrath came upon the army of Israel, and they left the battlefield. This event, which many Bible scholars regard as a difficult problem, is not simply a military failure; it shows the spiritual crisis that those who have received grace go through when they fail to face their own sin.

The sermon points out that God loved and helped Jehoshaphat to the end, even though he allied himself with wicked kings, but that they took that grace for granted and covered up their own sin. God governs the outcome of battles, but he brings judgment on those who fail to show his holiness along the way and who glorify their own sin. Even after experiencing God's miracles and receiving answers, we face the contradiction of still not being free from sin and not walking with God.

When we face moments of hardship and failure that we cannot bear, how should we discern whether it is simply fate or a punishment from God to set us upright? And in the very place where we seemed to have won by God's grace, we are led to look back on whether we truly repented of our sin and submitted completely to God, or whether we sat in the place of opposing God by displaying our own righteousness.

This passage deals with what the prophet Elijah went through before his ascension in order to establish his disciple Elisha as his successor. Before crossing the Jordan River, Elijah tells Elisha three times to stay behind, but Elisha refuses, firmly resolved to follow his master to the end. Because of Elisha's persistent companionship and faith, Elijah promises that he will receive a double portion of the grace of the Holy Spirit, as he desired.

Elisha witnesses his master's ascension with his own eyes and gains not a vague faith but assurance, and afterwards he carries out his mission, performing many miracles. In particular, in healing the bad water of Jericho and bringing God's judgment on those who mocked him, he shows how God protects believers and works on their behalf. The passage emphasises the importance of an obedience that truly loves God and seeks to understand his will, rather than formal religious acts.

We are led to think deeply about how to discern the stumbling blocks and temptations we meet on the journey of faith, and how to keep a faith that perseveres to the end and walks with God even amid the world's mockery and persecution.

This passage deals with the scene in which Ahaziah, king of northern Israel, falls ill and sends messengers to inquire of the god of Ekron, and with how God, angered by this, brings judgment through the prophet Elijah. Despite his sinful life, Ahaziah seeks idols rather than repenting before God, and shows his arrogance by opposing God's messenger. By God's power Elijah brings judgment on the king's soldiers and proclaims that God is the Lord of life.

The sermon points out the nature of sin: in moments of crisis people look first to what others think or to the powers of the world, rather than to God. Ahaziah and the first two captains of fifty were destroyed as they opposed God in their own strength, but the third captain of fifty humbly feared God and his life was saved. This shows that human will or authority cannot preserve life, and that there is salvation only when we obey God.

In life's crises and at the crossroads of choice, we must decide whether to trust God or to look for the visible solutions of the world. What does a life that entrusts sovereignty over life to God alone and obeys his will really look like, and how should we live it?