Part 19

Then he went in to Elisha; but when he stood before his master, Elisha said to him, "Where do you come from, Gehazi?" He answered, "Your servant has not been anywhere." But Elisha said to him, "Was I not in spirit with you when the man turned from his chariot to meet you? Now you have received money and you may get clothes, olive yards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, and slaves; but the leprosy of Naaman shall stick to you and to your children forever." Then Gehazi went from Elisha's presence a leper as white as snow.

ELISHA'S WAY OF TREATING ENEMIES

Once while the king of Aram was at war with Israel, he said to his officers, "In such and such a place we shall hide and surprise them." But Elisha, the man of God, sent word to the ruler of Israel, "Take care that you do not pass that place, for the Arameans are hiding there." So the ruler of Israel sent soldiers to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him many times, so that he could there be on his guard.

The king of Aram was very much troubled by this, and he called his officers and said to them, "Can you not tell me who has betrayed us to the ruler of Israel?" One of his officers replied, "No one, my lord, O king, for Elisha, the prophet in Israel, tells the ruler of Israel the words that you speak in your bedchamber." The king said, "Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him." And they told the king, "Elisha is now in Dothan."

So the king sent horses and chariots there and a great army. And they arrived at night and surrounded the city. When the man of God rose early the next morning and went out, an army with horses and chariots was about the city; so that his servant said to him, "Alas, my master! What shall we do?" He answered, "Fear not, for they who are with us are more than they who are with them." And Elisha prayed and said, "Jehovah open his eyes, that he may see." Then Jehovah opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw that the highlands around about Elisha were full of horses and chariots of fire.

When the Arameans came toward him, Elisha prayed to Jehovah, and said, "Make this people blind." So Jehovah made them blind, as Elisha asked. Then Elisha said to them, "This is not the way nor the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek!" So he led them to Samaria.

But as soon as they came to Samaria, Elisha said, "O Jehovah, open the eyes of these men, that they may see." And Jehovah opened their eyes, so that they could see, and there they were in Samaria. When the ruler of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, "My father, shall I cut them down?" Elisha answered, "You shall not cut them down; would you cut down those whom you have not taken captive with your sword nor with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master." So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had had food and drink, he sent them back to their master. So the robber bands of Arameans no longer invaded the land of Israel.

Later, Benhadad, king of Aram, gathered all his army and besieged Samaria. The famine was so severe in Samaria while they were besieging it, that an ass's head was sold for eighty pieces of silver.

Once as the ruler of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, "Help, my lord." He answered, "If Jehovah does not help you, from where can I bring help to you? From the threshing-floor or from the wine-press?" However, the ruler of Israel said to her, "What is the trouble with you?" She answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow!' So we cooked my son and ate him, and I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son."

When the ruler of Israel heard the words of the woman, he tore his clothes; and as he was passing by on the wall, the people looked and saw that he wore sackcloth next to his skin.

Now Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders beside him; and while he was still talking with them, the ruler of Israel came down to him and said, "See, this is the evil that comes from Jehovah! Why should I put my hope in Jehovah any longer?" But Elisha said, "Hear the word of Jehovah, for he says, 'To-morrow about this time a peck of fine meal shall be sold for a piece of silver and two pecks of barley for a piece of silver in the gate of Samaria.'" Then the charioteer on whose arm the ruler of Israel leaned answered the man of God, "If Jehovah himself should make windows in heaven, could this be possible?" He said, "You shall see it with your own eyes."

Now there were four lepers just outside the gate; and they said one to another, "Why do we sit here until we die? If we say, 'We will enter the city,' then, since there is famine in the city, we shall die there; but if we sit here, we shall die too. Now, come, let us go over to the army of the Arameans. If they spare our lives, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall but die."

So they set out in the evening to go over to the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp of the Arameans, no one was there, for the Lord had made the army of the Arameans hear a noise of chariots and of horses and of a great army, and they said to one another, "Surely the ruler of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us." So they rose and fled in the twilight; and they left their tents, their horses and their asses, even the camp as it was, and fled for their lives. When these lepers came to the edge of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank and carried away silver and gold and clothing and hid them. Then they came back and entered another tent and carried away what was in it and went and hid that.

Then they said to one another, "We are not doing right; this day is a day of good news. If we keep still and wait until morning punishment will overtake us. Now, come, let us go and tell those in the palace." So they called the watchmen at the city gate and said to them, "We went to the camp of the Arameans, but there was no one there and no sound of men's voices. The horses and asses were tied and the tents were just as they had been."

The watchmen at the city gate shouted this news to those in the palace. And the ruler of Israel rose in the night and said to his servants, "I will now tell you what the Arameans have done: they know that we are hungry; so they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, thinking, 'When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and get into the city.'"

But one of his servants spoke up and said, "Let some men take a pair of the horses which are left here. If they die, they will be like most of the Israelites who are dying! Let us send and find out." So they took two men on horseback, and the ruler of Israel sent them after the army of the Arameans with the command, "Go and see." They followed them to the Jordan; and all the way was filled with clothes and weapons which the Arameans had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the ruler of Israel.

Then the people went and carried things away from the camp of the Arameans. So a peck of fine meal was sold for a piece of silver, and two pecks of barley for a piece of silver, just as Jehovah had said.

THE END OF AHAB'S SELFISH FAMILY

Elisha the prophet called one of the followers of the prophets and said to him, "Tighten your belt, take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth in Gilead. When you arrive there, look for Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, and when you go in take him into an inner room, away from those who are with him. Then from the flask pour oil on his head, and say, 'Jehovah declares, I have anointed you to rule over Israel.' Then open the door and flee without delay."

So the young man went to Ramoth in Gilead. When he arrived, the officers of the army were sitting together. And he said, "Commander, I have a message for you." Jehu said, "To which of us?" He replied, "To you, O commander." Then Jehu rose and went into the house; and the young man poured the oil on his head and said to him, "Jehovah the God of Israel says, 'I have anointed you to rule over Jehovah's people, over Israel!'" Then he opened the door and hurried away.

When Jehu came out to the servants of his master, they asked him, "Is all well? Why did this insane fellow come to you?" He answered, "You know the man and his message." But they said, "You are deceiving us. You must tell us." Jehu replied, "He said this to me: 'Jehovah says, I have anointed you to rule over Israel.'" Then each quickly took his garment, laid it at his feet on the bare stairs, and blew the horn and cried, "Jehu is the ruler of Israel." So Jehu plotted against Joram.

Now Joram, with all the Israelites, had been defending Ramoth in Gilead against Hazael king of Aram, but Joram had gone back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which he had received from the Arameans when he fought with Hazael king of Aram. So Jehu said, "If it is your will, let no one escape from the city to bring news to Jezreel." Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went toward Jezreel.

While the watchman was standing on the tower of Jezreel, he saw the cloud of dust about Jehu, as he came, and said, "I see a cloud of dust." Joram said, "Send a horseman to meet him and ask whether he comes with peaceful purpose." So the horseman went out to meet him and said, "The ruler of Israel asks, 'Do you come with peaceful purpose?'" Jehu replied, "What have you to do with peace? Turn and follow me." So the watchman said, "The messenger went to them, but does not return." Then Joram sent out a second horseman who went to them and said, "The ruler of Israel asks, 'Do you come with peaceful purpose?'" Jehu answered, "What have you to do with peace? Turn and follow me." So the watchman said, "He also went to them but does not return; however, the driving is like the driving of Jehu, for he drives very fast."

Then Joram said, "Get my chariot ready," and when it was ready he went to meet Jehu and found him in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. When Joram saw Jehu, he said, "Do you come with peaceful purpose, Jehu?" Then Joram turned to flee, but Jehu drew his bow and struck Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow went through his heart, and he fell down in his chariot.

Then Jehu said to Bidkar, his charioteer, "Take him up and throw him into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, for I well remember that, as you and I rode together after Ahab, his father, Jehovah pronounced this sentence upon him: 'Surely I saw yesterday the blood of Naboth and his sons, and I will punish you on this same piece of land.' So throw him into this piece of land, as Jehovah said."

Then Jehu arrived at Jezreel. As soon as Jezebel heard of it, she painted her eyes, arranged her hair, and looked out of the window. As Jehu came in at the gate, she said, "Is all well with you, you traitor, you murderer of your master?" But he looked up to the window and cried, "Who is on my side? who?" Two or three slaves looked down at him, and he said, "Throw her down." And they threw her down and the horses trampled on her. When Jehu had gone in and had had something to eat and drink, he gave this command, "Look after this woman and bury her, for she is a king's daughter." But when they went to bury her, they found no more of her than the skull, the feet, and the hands. When they went back and told Jehu, he said, "This is what Jehovah declared by his servant Elijah when he said, 'On the piece of land at Jezreel the dogs shall eat Jezebel's flesh, and her body shall be as refuse on the surface of the field, so that no one can say, This is Jezebel.'"

THE BOY JOASH ON THE THRONE OF JUDAH

When Joram had ruled twelve years over Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram began to rule over Judah. And he went down to Jezreel to visit Joram, who was ill. When Jehu struck down Joram, Ahaziah saw it and fled toward Beth-gannim. But Jehu followed after him with the words, "Shoot him down, too, in the chariot." So they shot him down on the way up to Gur, near Ibleam, but he escaped to Megiddo and died there.

When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah, learned that her son was dead, she rose and put to death all of Ahaziah's children except Joash, whom his aunt, Jehosheba, secretly took and placed with his nurse in the bedchamber. In this way she hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death. He was with her, hid in the temple of Jehovah, six years, while Athaliah ruled over the land.

But in the seventh year Jehoiada the priest called together the officers of the royal guard and brought them into the temple of Jehovah. After he had made them make a solemn promise, he showed them Ahaziah's son, and gave them these orders, "This is what you shall do: a third part of you who go in on the Sabbath to guard the palace shall keep watch over it. Two divisions of you, including all who go out on the Sabbath to guard the temple of Jehovah, shall surround Joash, each with his weapons in his hand. And let every one who comes within the ranks be put to death. Thus you shall guard Joash, when he goes out and when he comes in."

The officers did as Jehoiada the priest commanded. And he brought out Ahaziah's son and put the crown and the royal ornaments upon him; and they made him ruler over Judah and poured oil upon his head and clapped their hands, crying, "Long live the ruler!"

But when Athaliah heard the people shouting, she came to them in the temple of Jehovah. When she saw Joash standing by the pillar, as was the custom, and the officers and the trumpeters by him, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets, she tore her clothes and cried, "Treason! Treason!" But Jehoiada the priest gave this order to the officers: "Bring her out between the ranks, and kill with the sword whoever follows her," for the priest said, "Let her not be put to death in the temple of Jehovah." So they seized her, and she was killed as she went through the horses' entry to the palace.

Jehoiada made a solemn agreement between Jehovah and the new ruler and the people, that they should be Jehovah's people; also between the ruler and the people, and Joash ruled forty years in Jerusalem.

A YOUNG MAN WHO SAID, "SEND ME"

Uzziah, Joash's grandson, was sixteen years old when he began to rule over Judah and he ruled fifty-two years in Jerusalem.

He fought against the Philistines, and broke down the wall of Gath and of Jabneh and of Ashdod and built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines. And God helped him against the Philistines. The Ammonites also paid tribute to Uzziah, for he became very strong.

And Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the Corner Gate and at the Valley Gate and at the corner of the wall, and fortified them. He also built towers in the wilderness and dug many cisterns, for he had many herds in the lowland and farmers in the plain and vine-dressers in the mountains and in the fruitful fields, for he loved to cultivate the ground. But he was a leper to the day of his death. He lived in his own house, while Jotham, his son, was at the head of the royal household, ruling the people of the land. And Uzziah died; and they buried him with his fathers in the city of David, and Jotham, his son, became ruler in his place.

Isaiah said it was in the year that Uzziah, the ruler of Judah, died that I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Guardian angels stood above him. Each had six wings, one pair to cover the face, another pair to cover the feet, and another pair with which to fly. And they cried to one another:

"Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts, The whole earth is full of his glory."

The foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of those who called, and the temple was filled with smoke. Then I said: "Woe is me! I am ruined; for I am a man with unclean lips, and I live among a people with unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts!" But one of the guardian angels flew to me with a hot coal in his hand that he had taken from off the altar, and with it he touched my mouth and said: "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin forgiven."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

"Whom shall I send, And who will go for us?"

and I said, "Here am I, send me."

JEREMIAH'S CALL TO DO A HARD TASK

This was the message which came to me from Jehovah: "Before you were born I knew you and prepared you for your work. I have appointed you to be a prophet to the nations." But I (Jeremiah) said: "O Lord Jehovah! I do not know how to speak in public, for I am only a youth." Then Jehovah said to me: "Do not say, 'I am only a youth,' for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to protect you."

Then Jehovah stretched out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me: "See. I have put my words in your mouth, and I have appointed you this day over the nations and kingdoms, to tear up and break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."

Again this message came from Jehovah, "What do you see?" I answered, "A great kettle brewing hot, and it faces from the north." Then Jehovah said to me: "From the north trouble is brewing for all the people of the land. For I am about to call all the kingdoms of the north, and they shall come and each set up his throne at the entrance to the gates of Jerusalem and around its walls and against all the cities of Judah. And I will pass judgment upon Jerusalem and these cities for all their wickedness, for they have been disloyal to me and offered sacrifices to other gods and have worshipped that which their own hands have made.

"Therefore make ready, rise, speak to them all that I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for see, I myself will make you this day like a fortified city, and like a bronze wall against the rulers of Judah, its leaders, its priests, and the common people. Though they fight against you, they will not overcome you, for I am with you to protect you."