Ethan: Welcome To Immerse: The Daily Bible Reading Experience.
Day 200 and 29
one day the widow of a member of the group of prophets came to Elijah and
cried out, my husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord.
But now a creditor has come threatening to take my two sons as slaves.
What can I do to help you?
Elisha asked, tell me, what do you have in the house?
Nothing at all except a flask of olive oil.
She replied, and Elisha said, borrow as many empty jars as you
can from your friends and neighbors.
Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you.
Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each
one aside when it is filled.
So she did, as she was told, her sons kept bringing jars to her
and she filled one after another.
Soon.
Every container was full to the brim.
Bring me another jar.
She said to one of her sons, there aren't anymore.
He told her.
And then the olive oil stopped flowing.
When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, now sell the
olive oil and pay your debts and you and your sons can live on what is left over.
One day, Elisha went to the town of Shun.
A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to come to her home for a meal.
After that, whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for something to eat.
She said to her husband, I am sure this man who stops in from
time to time is a holy man of God.
God, let's build a small room for him on the roof and furnish it with
a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp.
Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by.
One day, Elisha returned to s Shnu and he went up to this upper room to rest.
He said to his servant, Gaza, tell the woman from Suna, I wanna speak to her.
When she appeared, Elisha said to Gaza, tell her we appreciate the
kind concern you have shown us.
What can we do for you?
Can we put in a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?
No.
She replied, my family takes good care of me.
Later, Elisha asked Za, what can we do for her?
Za replied, she doesn't have a son and her husband is an old man.
Call her back again.
Elisha told him when the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the
doorway, next year at this time, you will be holding a son in your arms.
No, my Lord, she cried.
Oh man of God.
Don't deceive me and get my hopes up like that.
But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant, and at that
time, the following year, she had a son just as Eisha had said.
One day when her child was older, he went out to help his father who
was working with the harvesters.
Suddenly he cried out.
My head hurts.
His father said to one of the servants, carry him home to his mother.
So the servant took him home and his mother held him on her lap.
But around noontime, he died.
She carried him up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then
shut the door and left him there.
She sent a message to her husband, send one of the servants and a
donkey so that I can hurry to the man of God and come right back.
Why go today?
He asked, it is neither a new Moon festival nor a Sabbath, but
she said it will be all right.
So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, hurry, don't
slow down unless I tell you to.
As she approached the man of God at Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance.
He said to Gaza, look, The woman from Suna is coming run out to meet her
and ask her, is everything all right with you, your husband and your child?
Yes, the woman told Gaza everything is fine.
But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground
before him and caught hold of his feet.
Je eye began to push her away, but the man of God said, leave her alone.
She is deeply troubled, but the Lord has not told me what it is.
Then she said, did I ask you for a son, my Lord?
And didn't I say Don't deceive me and get my hopes up?
Then Elisha said to Gaza, get ready to travel.
Take my staff and go.
Don't talk to anyone along the way.
Go quickly and lay the staff on the child's face.
But the boy's mother said, as surely as the Lord lives, and you yourself live,
I won't go home unless you go with me.
So Elisha returned with her.
Gaza hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child's face, but nothing happened.
There was no sign of life.
He returned to meet Elisha and told him the child is still dead.
When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet's bed.
He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the Lord.
Then he laid down on the child's body, placing his mouth on the child's
mouth, his eyes on the child's eyes, and his hands on the child's hands.
And as he stretched out on him, the child's body began to grow warm again.
Elijah got up, walked back and forth across the room once, and then stretched
himself out again on the child.
This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.
Then Elisha summoned Gaza.
Call the child's mother.
He said, and when she came in, Elisha said, here, take your son.
She fell at his feet and bowed before him, overwhelmed with gratitude.
Then she took her son in her arms and carried him downstairs.
Elisha now returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in the land.
One day, as the group of prophets was seated before him, he said to his servant,
put a large pot on the fire and make some stew for the rest of the group.
One of the young men went out into the field to gather herbs and came back
with a pocket full of wild gourds.
He shredded them and put them into the pot without realizing they were poisonous.
Some of the stew was served to the men, but after they had eaten a
bite or two, they cried out, man of God, there's poison in this stew.
So they would not eat it.
Elisha said, bring me some flour.
Then he threw it into the pot and said, now it's all right.
Go ahead and eat.
And then it did not harm them.
One day, a man from Bale shisha brought the man of God a sack of fresh grain
and 20 loaves of barley bread made from the first grain of his harvest.
Elisha said, give it to the people so they can eat.
What his servant exclaimed feed a hundred people with only this, but Elisha
repeated, give it to the people so they can eat for this is what the Lord says.
Everyone will eat and there will even be some leftover.
And when they gave it to the people, there was plenty for all and some left
over just as the Lord had promised.
The King of Aram had great admiration for Neiman the commander of his
army, because through him, the Lord had given Aram great victories.
But though Neiman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy.
At this time, AIAN Raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their
captives was a young girl who had been given to Neiman's wife as a maid.
One day the girl said to her mistress, I wish my master would
go to see the prophet in Samaria.
He would heal him of his leprosy.
So Neman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said, go and visit
the prophet, the King of Aram told him, I will send a letter of introduction
for you to take to the King of Israel.
So Naamen started out carrying as gifts, 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds
of gold, and 10 sets of clothing.
The letter to the King of Israel said, With this letter,
I present my servant Neiman.
I want you to heal him of his leprosy.
When the King of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in
dismay and said, am I God that I can give life and take it away?
Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy?
I can see that he's just trying to pick a fight with me.
But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the King of Israel
had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him.
Why are you so upset?
Send Neman to me and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel.
So Neman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of
Elisha's house, but Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message.
Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River.
Then your skin will be restored and you will be healed of your leprosy.
But Neman became angry and stocked away.
I thought he would certainly come out to meet me.
He said, I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the
name of the Lord his God, and heal me.
Aren't the rivers of Damascus, the Abna and the far par better
than any of the rivers of Israel?
Why shouldn't I wash in them and be healed?
So Neman turned and went away in a rage, but his officers tried
to reason with him and said, sir.
If the prophet had told you to do something very difficult,
wouldn't you have done it?
So you should certainly obey him when he says, simply go and wash and be cured.
So Naamen went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times as the
man of God had instructed him and his skin became as healthy as the skin
of a young child, and he was healed.
Then Neman and his entire party went back to find the man of God.
They stood before him and Neman said, now I know that there is no God
in all the world except in Israel.
So please accept a gift from your servant.
But Elisha replied, as surely as the Lord lives whom I serve,
I will not accept any gifts.
And though Naomi and urged him to take the gift, Elisha refused.
Then Naman said, all right, but please allow me to load two of my
mules with Earth from this place, and I will take it back home with me.
From now on, I will never again offer burnt offerings or sacrifices
to any other God except the Lord.
How may the Lord pardon me in this one thing?
When my master, the king goes into the temple of the God, RI to
worship there and leans on my arm.
May the Lord pardon me when I bow too.
Go in peace, Elisha said.
So Neiman started home again, but Za the servant of Elisha, the man of
God, said to himself, my master should not have let this air Amenan get away
without accepting any of his gifts.
As surely as the Lord lives, I will chase after him and get something from him.
So Gaza set off after Neiman.
When Na in saw Gaza running after him, he climbed down from his
chariot and went to meet him.
Is everything all right?
Naamen asked?
Yes, Jeza said.
But my master has sent me to tell you that two young prophets from the hill
country of Raim have just arrived.
He would like 75 pounds of silver and two sets of clothing to give to them.
By all means, take twice as much silver, Naomi, and insisted he
gave him two sets of clothing.
Tied up the money in two bags and sent two of his servants
to carry the gifts for Gaza.
But when they arrived at the Citadel, Gaza took the gifts from
the servants and sent the men back.
Then he went and hid the gifts inside the house.
When he went into his master, Elijah asked him, where have you been?
Gaza?
I haven't been anywhere.
He replied, But Elisha asked him, don't you realize that I was there
in spirit when Neman stepped down from his chariot to meet you?
Is this the time to receive money and clothing, olive groves and
vineyards, sheep and cattle, and male and female servants?
Because you have done this, you and your descendants will suffer
from ne amen's leprosy forever.
When Gaza left the room, he was covered with leprosy.
His skin was wide as snow.
One day the group of prophets came to Elisha and told him, as you can see, this
place where we meet with you is too small.
Let's go down to the Jordan River where there are plenty of logs there.
We can build a new place for us to meet.
All right.
He told them, go ahead, please come with us.
Someone suggested I will.
He said, so he went with them.
When they arrived at the Jordan, they began cutting down trees, but
as one of them was cutting a tree, his axe head fell into the river.
Oh, sir, he cried.
It was a borrowed axe.
Where did it fall?
The man of God asked when he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and
threw it into the water at that spot.
Then the Axe head floated to the surface.
Grab it, Elisha said.
And the man reached out and grabbed it.
This concludes today's Immer reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.