READING FOR NOVEMBER 26, 2025:  2 KINGS 13, 1 JOHN 4, PSALM 119:89-96                            2 KINGS 13 Elisha and the Kings of Israel from Jehu to Jeroboam II.

all this wisdom along to our children and grandchildren? Because of Jehoahaz’s evil work, God became angry with all of Israel (vs. 3).   For some reason, people sometimes say they are offended by the thought of God being angry at us. But what if the possibility of God’s anger keeps us from doing evil?  Isn’t that a good thing? And if we cause His anger through our disobedience, isn’t His anger a good thing if it motivates us to repent? 

In this case, God expressed his anger by handing Israel over to the nation of Aram. Verse 4 tells us that Jehoahaz did repent, prompting God to deliver Israel from Aram. See, God knew what He was doing. Yet, such was the hold that sin had over the country that the people still did not abandon the sins of Jeroboam I, from over a century earlier. It can be great that we continue certain family or church traditions, but let’s make certain these traditions align with God’s will as revealed to us in His Word, not sinful practices that have been engrained over the years. 

When Jehoahaz died, his son Jehoash became King of Israel. During his 16-year reign, he also followed the poor model of Jeroboam I from over a century earlier. We might read this and get frustrated. But this writer, despite having the resources of the Holy Spirit and the Bible, still struggles with sin. We are in a battle against evil for as long as we are alive (Eph. 6). God can work with and through us to defeat evil, but we must always be aware of sin’s deception. 

At this time the great prophet Elisha became deathly ill. No, God did not heal him; it was time for his life to end, as it must for all of us. King Jehoash rightly understood that this upcoming death would be a great loss to him. Jehoash brought to Elisha’s attention the country’s weak military position compared with Aram. So, Elisha told Jehoash to shoot an arrow of victory in the air. Exciting. Then he told Jehoash to strike the ground with his arrows. Jehoash gave the ground three strikes (like in baseball). But Elisha said he should have struck the ground 5 or 6 times to really finish off Aram.  Still verse 25 says, “Three times Joash defeated him [King of Aram] and recovered the cities of Israel.” Let’s fully obey God today and watch Him give the victory! 

1 JOHN 4 As we read in Deuteronomy 18, there are still false prophets around that we need to test before believing what they say. In John’s time the specific false teaching gaining traction                                    

READING FOR NOVEMBER 26, 2025 CONTINUED: 1 JOHN 4, PSALM 119:89-96                       was the Gnostic teaching that Jesus could not have come in a human body. They thought He must have been only a spirit being who appeared to be human. This view is called Docetism. Thus, John stresses this aspect of Jesus’s nature: He was flesh (vs. 2). The more common false doctrine taught today is that Jesus was not and never claimed to be God. Many non-Christian biblical scholars at major universities teach this false view. Groups such as Jehovah Witnesses and Muslims hold variants of this view. Mormons believe Jesus became God and any good Mormon can also be exulted to divine status. Hindus believe Jesus was a god, along with many million other gods. All these views are refuted by verse nine: “God has sent His only Son into the world so that we may live through Him.”  Non-Christian scholars and Muslims respond by saying the Bible is not reliable. Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons developed their own translations to alter the meaning, and Mormons added other scriptures. But Jesus is the chief cornerstone.

Another test John suggests is observing if people are loving. We know God the Father is love because He sent God the Son to die in our place. If we believe in Jesus, we need to love each other. This kind of love is possible for us because God sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us (vs. 13). If we practice this self-sacrificial love of Jesus, we can have confidence as we approach the final judgment (vs.17). Yet, if we hate other Christians (brothers and sisters) whom we can see with our eyes, we are not really loving the God who presently is not visible to us (vs. 20). The rationale for thinking John is likely referring to loving fellow believers comes from Jesus’s own comments in Mark 3:31-35, Matthew 12:46-50, and Luke 8:19-21. 

PSALM 119:89-96 This section begins with a bold claim for God’s word: It stands forever in heaven. But what about changes in cultural practices since it was written? God’s word stands forever. But what about all we have learned about the universe since it was written? God’s word stands forever.  But what about other religions that other sincere people follow? God’s word stands forever. It appears God is forcing us to accept His truth alone as eternal and unchanging or stop pretending to be His followers. Some of us remember Pastor Steve Loft repeat this weekly: The grass withers, And the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25).  Don’t we find it reaffirming that we can take God’s word to the bank?  Notice how the Psalmist avoided perishing in misery. It was by delighting in, not just grudgingly reading, God’s word (vs. 92). Ask the Holy Spirit to give joy in the scriptures. It’s not weird.  If we actually had the spiritual perception to understand how evil forces are lurking to destroy us (vs.95), we might read the Bible with a bit more urgency. Heed the Psalmist’s warning and follow his example. He has been around the block (vs. 96) and knows nothing tops God’s Word.