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Written by Chuck Durham
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 Does God rejoice when He judges the wicked? In 2 Kings 8:1-15 lies an answer to this question. Elisha anoints Hazael to be king over Syria (v.13). When Hazael inquires of Elisha for his master’s health, Elisha tells him that Ben-hadad will die (as it turns out by the murdering hands of Hazael). Verse 11 (ESV) states: “And he [Elisha] fixed his gaze and stared at him [Hazael] , until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept.” Hazael was not only embarrassed by Elisha’s stare, but puzzled as well by the weeping of the prophet. Elisha answered with tear-stained face: “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel…you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women” (v.12). |
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Written by Chuck Durham
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 Walking with my wife a few evenings ago I mentioned my intention of penning this article at the request of a Focus Magazine editor. I asked her for her help. “What would she suggest,” I asked, “is the goal of marriage?” She never skipped a beat and said, “Survival.” We walked in silence for a while. I’m thinking, “What does she mean by that?” In fact, all men live inside those quotes when it comes to understanding a woman! So, I cleared my throat and she took that as her queue to explain: “So that we may go to Heaven and make it through this life.” I breathed a little more easily….I think! |
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Written by Chuck Durham
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 There is an obscure passage in 2 Kings that bears on all who would follow the LORD. The kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom were going to battle against Moab. In seeking for a prophet of the LORD to guide them, a servant remembered “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah” (2Kings 3:11). Not a very glamorous thing to put on one’s résumé: “I washed the CEO’s hands before lunch.” |
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Written by Chuck Durham
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Do you ever find yourself thinking, “If only I could have seen Jesus heal the lepers; if only I could have seen the parting of the Red Sea; if only I could have been at the tomb when Lazarus came forth! - What a fully convinced, on-fire-for-the-Lord Christian I would be!” |
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At Liberty Only To Be Bound |
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Written by Chuck Durham
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 Micaiah, the prophet of Yahweh, understood the pivotal issue of man’s relationship with God: “As the LORD lives, whatever the LORD says to me, that I will speak” (1 Kings 22:14). We are not at liberty to tweak it, massage it, bend it, or pervert it. We are at liberty to do one thing: be bound by it. How many grasp this fundamental truth? |
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