This Article: (10 Pages)
7) The Kings and Prophets
Asa, King of Judah
Asa in battle with the Ethiopians cries to God.
LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. (2Ch 14:11-12 KJV)
“So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled”.
Elijah
Elijah on Carmel with the prophets of Baal
And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said,LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. (1Kings 18:36-38)
Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
Jonah
When Jonah, was cast out and about to perish he is swallowed by large fish. Jonah prayed unto the LORD his God out of the fish's belly, this remarkable prayer,
I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple. They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. (Jonah 2:2-9)
The answer to this promise, or vow, is immediate!
The LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land. (Jonah 2:10)
It does not end there, when Jonah's fears are realised and Nineveh repents, Jonah prays
I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. (Jonah 4:2-3)
Jonah is beloved and there is an immediate answer, which is not what Jonah prayed for!
Doest thou well to be angry? (Jonah 4:4)
He was so kind that he prepared a plant to shade Jonah, but it was also to teach him,
Should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? (Jonah 4:11)
Hezekiah, king of Judah
Hezekiah begins reforms and calls those of the Northern Kingdom to join in, but having lost the ways of Yahweh they are not ritually clean,
The good Yahweh pardon every one. That prepares his heart to seek God, Yahweh God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. (2 Chronicles 30:19-18)
And Yahweh hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.
Hezekiah's next prayer was made while in grave danger from the invasion of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria. And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, in the temple and said,
O LORD God of Israel, which dwell between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. LORD, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, LORD, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which has sent him to reproach the living God. Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands, And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only. (2Kiings 19:15-19 KJV)
That night the angel of Yahweh destroys the Assyrian army. 185 thousand of them. But soon after Hezekiah is told he will die.
He prays facing the wall of the Temple. The house abutted the temple
I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. (2Kings 20:3 KJV)
Through the prophet Isaiah he was told Yahweh would add to his days 15 years. And he was given a sign of the sundial shadow going back 10 degrees.
Show All
It was the team matriarch's 75th Birthday and I thought what can I give? What would be the Greatest Gift to someone we love?
Many Christians might prefer to call the great and mighty God of Israel “Father”, without fully understanding what it means.
This article was born as it was found that the Greek word from which we have philanthropy, philanthropos, only occurs once in the Bible, with the noun form philanthrōpia occurring only twice. Even more intriguing we found that much is said about 'philadelphia' the Greek word for brotherly love.
It was written that,
For I will lay the land most desolate.. and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through. (Ezekiel 33:28)
This article is written in thanks to Yahweh for help given in modern medicine, and for a measure of healing. The writer, unknown to herself, had heart failure. It seemed like pneumonia, as one of the symptoms is retention of water in the lungs and elsewhere, and then the feet began weeping the fluid through open sores. We trusted and prayed for help. Medical help was given from of all things, results from a test not done correctly. She has been helped much. We thank Yahweh. Also it is soon Thanksgiving in the USA.
