Elisha Sees

 "Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept." 2 Kings 8:11 

Elisha is such an interesting character. There's no hesitation in him. He starts his ministry off by smacking a river and shouting, "Where is the Lord God of Elijah?" He demanded that God respond... and the weird part is, God did. Elisha demands all kinds of wild things, and God does them.

Even if the writer is only jotting down the wild stories... if I try to stretch what I read about Elisha to somehow connect with my own experience of how God answers prayer... it doesn't fit. I can't see how or why God answers Elisha the way He does. It's as if Elisha has every super-power anyone has ever dreamed of all at once. From bringing people back to life who had been dead for days... to feeding lots of people from someone's snack... to making an ax head float.

Elisha can see stuff that no one else sees. I started reading about Elisha when I looked up this story:

"When the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, 'Alas, my master! What shall we do?'"

I'm thinking he just sloshed his coffee all over himself.

"So he answered, 'Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.' And Elisha prayed, and said, 'Lord I pray, open his eyes that he may see.' Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha." 2 Kings 6:15-17

Not only does Elisha see... he knows what to do about it.

  1) Not panic
  2) Pray some more
  3) Laugh

Me? I'd be wondering how to organize flaming chariots. I'd be wondering if we should attack the enemy? Make an escape? Not Elisha. He asks God to blind them... and then leads them into the middle of his country's military base. His king isn't sure what Elisha is up to, either (I feel so much better!) He is smart enough to check with the prophet before killing the POW's. Elisha tells him to let them go free and they tuck tail and run, lesson learned!

Today I read a verse where Elisha did not like what he saw.

 "Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept." 2 Kings 8:11 

I had to read the phrase a few times before I realized that, yea... Elisha stared at this guy, Hazael, until he was squirming. "Set his countenance", "fixed his gaze", "stared steadily," - however it is translated from Hebrew, it's weird. It makes Hazael, the recipient of this noted expression, very uncomfortable.

Apparently not as uncomfortable as the man of God, himself, though... 'cause Elisha starts crying.

The conversation that follows shows how Elisha saw what Hazael would do with his life. Hazael tried to play innocent for a moment, "Who, me?!" But the exchange is brief and he hurries on his way to start his reign of terror.

*sigh* I don't know why I'm writing about this verse, I guess. I think it is amazing how much Elisha saw and how boldly he acted on it. I'm sad for him that it wasn't always good, that this time, it broke his heart. I can imagine what it would feel like to see bad things before they even happened. Sometimes there isn't anything to do about it, no way to fix things. I would want to kill the one to save the many if I saw what Elisha saw. Other times he declared someone dead and they were... it's not like he couldn't have done it. I'm not sure why God let Hazael live. Why did Elisha let him live?

Maybe it's ok that I'm blind to a lot of stuff that God sees. Even if He shared Why he lets evil continue, my heart would be so broken. I suppose just like His.

Would you want to see? Even if it hurt? Or would you rather only see what you can change for the better?

Images from Habakkuk

Originally posted on Colorimetry on October 14, 2012

"Awake, O north wind,

And come, O south!

Blow upon my garden, 

That it's spices my flow out."

 - Song of Solomon 4:16

 

Welcome to my innermost thoughts from reading the Bible. This is where my imagination begins...

The thoughts I'm sharing don't come from church or preaching, but I'm not trying to communicate anything negative about church or preaching. 

Habakkuk is really fun to say... I like all the strong "k" sounds kind of like that Justin Bieber song that the radio plays every other minute nowadays: "As long as you love me, we could be starving, we could be homeless, we could be broke." I wait to hear that "k" - it's amazing.

Habakkuk reads like a Psalm, full of visual pictures. 

This verse reminds me of all the Presidential debates:

"Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth." 1:4

But let's not discuss politics especially on a post with Bible verses. *cough*

I love these descriptions of the bad guys:

"Their horses also are swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves." 1:8

"Their faces are set like the east wind.They gather captives like sand." 1:9

I can picture it. Are evening wolves more fierce than morning wolves? They sound like it. Is the east wind immovable?  Isn't this beautiful? Like a moving force that is unstoppable.

I always love words about writing...

"Write the vision
Make it plain on tablets
That he may run who reads it." 2:3

Doesn't this feel like something important is written? That the reader will want to run and know where and how? It's goosebumpy cool.

More fun:

"The stone will cry out from the wall,
And the beam from the timbers will answer it." 2:11

The wall is talking to itself. Ha!

"The mountains... trembled;
The deep uttered its voice." 3:10

"My lips quivered at the voice;
 Rottenness entered my bones." 3:16

"He will make my feet like deer's feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills." 3:19

There are some great visuals of God, too:

"You are of purer eyes than to behold evil." 1:13

"The LORD is in His holy temple.
Let all the earth keep silence before Him." 2:20

"He had rays flashing from His hand." 3:4

Habakkuk is very short. Three chapters and it's done. His name comes from Hebrew habaq: "embrace", meaning "one who embraces or clings".

Which visual picture do you like best?

I always love the idea of nature talking. The mountains and the "deeps" of the waters. It sounds like it is calling back and forth all around us. I love that.

Blessed if you do

Originally posted on Colorimetry October 7, 2012

"Awake, O north wind,

And come, O south!

Blow upon my garden, 

That it's spices my flow out."

 - Song of Solomon 4:16

 

This is a new Feature at Colorimetry, specifically to share the odd & unusual thoughts I get reading the Bible every week. Most of my story ideas come from the Bible and they are anything but "normal" - but that could be because of me. *ahem* To clarify... the thoughts I'm sharing don't come from church or preaching, but I'm not trying to communicate anything negative about church or preaching. 

Every once in awhile, I skip to Revelation. There's no "must read" order to the Bible... and it's not like spoiling the story. Maybe it should be like spoiling The Story of Life, but Revelation is so thick with paranormal visions I don't understand, the secret is safe from me. *snort*

It starts off with "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear" and I smile 'cause it doesn't say "blessed is he who 'gets' what this means," which is a relief. "Blessed" sounds great, though, and this week could use a dump-load, so I'm spreading it around by sharing words from this book.

Sort of like confetti. Only different.

Here are some of my favorite bits from the first three chapters... Tell me these don't sound like the makings of great stories!!!!

"To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God" 2:7 

"Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life." 2:10 

"I will give some of the hidden manna to eat." 2:17 

"I will give him the morning star." 2:28 

"He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life." 3:5 

"I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more." 3:12 

"Buy from Me gold refined in the fire that you may be rich; and white garments that you may be clothed... and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see." 3:18

Some of these give me shivers, but they are all deliciously visual. There is one, in particular, that I have taken quite practically. *ahem* And, yes, completely out of context. (Well... maybe... who's to say? The context is churches acting like lampstands!!  ?!)

"And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it." 2:17

I'm just gonna say it. I collect stones.

New Name

by Donna Smallenberg

I started off by taking this verse literally. I was chatting with God* while walking on the beach and I found this agate. So I saved the stone as if He had answered me, in hopes of receiving my answer some day.

I never told anyone what "name was written on it" 'cause this verse says "no one knows." I did get what I was praying for. And I still have my stone.

Every time I'm thinking about something big, now, I keep an eye out for a stone. I don't know if God is giving them to me - maybe some of them, maybe none. I don't think it irritates Him that I hope for promises and answers. (It's not like I move across the country 'cause I find a really pretty rock. You know?) It's just a little thing that thrills me to my story-lovin' bones.

Want to see my little collection? 

Obviously they aren't all white. Some of 'em remind me of special moments, memories with my family. Since we "collect rocks" my little stones hide in plain sight. Treasures with secret names.

If you think of it this week, watch for a little treasure of a stone. See if it doesn't come with a "name" - like "dumploads of blessing coming my way!"Maybe take a picture of it and share with me. :-)

*I say "chatting with God" very lightly. I don't mean to be irreverent. I sort of keep an ongoing conversation that would sound a lot like talking to myself except I don't like what I answer myself, so I prefer not to do that.

From My Secret Garden - Thoughts on Hosea

Originally posted on Colorimetry on Sept 30, 2012

"Awake, O north wind,

And come, O south!

Blow upon my garden, 

That it's spices my flow out."

 - Song of Solomon 4:16

 

This is a new Feature at Colorimetry, specifically to share the odd & unusual thoughts I get reading the Bible every week. Most of my story ideas come from the Bible and they are anything but "normal" - but that could be because of me. *ahem* To clarify... the thoughts I'm sharing don't come from church or preaching, but I'm not trying to communicate anything negative about church or preaching. 

Why Hosea?  Why, indeed!

Cool, Man & I thought it would be fun to read Daniel. My Nook copy has reference links & while trying to turn a page, I ended up in Hosea. We had this weird conversation about whether or not Hosea existed and how to pronounce it... and started reading.

Spicy Thoughts

God tells this prophet (uh... Hosea) to marry a harlot... and then names their kids after the destruction he's sending to Israel & Judah. *____*  I have all kinds of jumbled thoughts about this.

1) Who is going to apply for Hosea's job after him? Ugh!

2) Who is this Gomer-the-harlot? Is she nice?  Is she happy to have a home and family? (And this prophet-guy for a husband?!) Is she getting dirty looks at the watering hole? Is she sneaking out at night to visit former acquaintances? Who is she?!  We don't get that scoop.

3) Seriously, WHO wants these names for their kids: "No Mercy" & "Not My People." Ouch. When we named Cam, we went out of our way to find something that didn't mean "crooked nose" - 'cause who wants to wish a broken nose on their kid, you know? I can just imagine No Mercy trying to make friends at school. It'd be perfect, I suppose, if she was a bully, but... who wants their daughter to grow up to be a bully?!

Which leads me back to #1 - Hosea had it rough being a "prophet of God". You would THINK that is a cool job. It's not as if he had to question whether God was real or not, God was talking to him all the time. That's a perk, I think.

Here are some more perks. Buried in Hosea are some of the most beautiful phrases, some of these I've heard quoted before, but some are like a splash of ice water, shockingly beautiful:

"I will hedge up your way with thorns." 2:8

"I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness and speak comfort to her heart. I will give her vineyards and a door of hope; She shall sing there." 2:14,15

"I will betroth you to Me forever,
Yes, I will betroth you to Me
In righteousness and justice,
In lovingkindness and mercy;
I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness,
And you shall know the LORD. 2:19,20

"I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; (No Mercy)I will say to those who were not My people,
"You are My people!"
And they shall say, "You are my God!"" 2:23

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." 4:6

"The wind has wrapped her up in its wings". 4:19

Achingly beautiful. 

Pictures spring to mind, like faerytales... paths covered in thorns that grow thicker as you try to break through... wandering in a daze into the wilderness, awaking lost to find gifts and a portal to hope... unexpected romance... passionate promises... the beauty & depth of MERCY... heartbroken anger... and the wind, the wind has wings!

Which of these phrases do you like best? 

The last one jumped out at me the loudest. I love it. What would it be like to be wrapped up in the wings of the wind? It makes me want to write a story!