Hi James and Ellen,
2 Kings is the continued dissertation of probably a Levi tribal clan researcher who scribed a thesis on the guys and gal who ended up in the king or power position as rulers over the Israelite people groups northern and southern kingdoms’ clans. The author of this investigative project – which he did in a chronological way, more than likely did his analytical, history rooted study after Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army were prompted in 586 B.C. by God to exile – because of their incessant disobedience of His mandated life and worship norms, guys and gals from among the Israelite people group guys and gals – who are His specially chosen guys and gals, who were living in the land of Judah and in the city of Jerusalem to their country of Babylonia. God using the Assyrian people group army had seen to it in 722 B.C. that His specially chosen guys and gals who were living in Israel’s northern kingdom’s land area were exiled for their disdainful contempt of His mandated life and worship norms. The author’s discovery findings were initially presented by the author in a single literary piece or manuscript. This data specific work was assigned the title “Kings”. An arbitrary decision was made by Septuagint translators to divide the Kings Book into two books. Because there are a number of happenings or incidents near the beginning of 2 Kings that are centered around a prophet – whose name was Elisha, who God assigned from 848 B.C. to 797 B.C. to be His representative on planet Earth to His specially chosen guys and gals who were living in Israel’s northern kingdom’s land area, your grandpaa thinks that the Septuagint translators possibly decided to use to begin the 25 chapters that are in 2 Kings the ‘King’ Book author’s recounting of inspirational accounts of Elisha’s unbridled faith in God. Even though the author of the ‘King’ Book scribed what he scribed to leave as an accurate account – beginning with Solomon, who the kings and power players were who ruled over the Israelite people groups northern and southern kingdoms’ tribal clans, the guy also included in his formalized narrative a couple of guys who were voices for God during the almost 400 year timeframe that the ‘King’ Book covers. The fact that the ‘King’ Book author included the roles that were played by a couple of God’s planet Earth spokesmen in his findings suggests to your grandpaa that the guy may have been prompted to write his treatise because of having a personal intrigue in what these God-assigned guys did through God’s name and power.
The Assyrian people group army overrunning Israel’s northern kingdom’s tribal clans and Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army overrunning Israel’s two southern kingdom tribal clans are the two most game changing, monumental events that can be found in 2 Kings. Even though the author or editor of the ‘King’ Book defines the demise of God’s specially chosen guys and gals who were living in both Israel’s northern and southern kingdoms, the guy also alludes back to David and to the promises that were given to him from God that – even though God had to have His specially chosen guys and gals do a timeout punishment as exiles or indentured slaves – because of their insolence towards Him, that He would in His divine ordered timetable send a Guy – Who would be His only Son, to free them and to lead them. Your grandpaa wonders that just maybe the ‘King’ Book author wrote his missive as a way to give hope to his exiled Israelite people group compatriots.
Because of Elisha’s life story, 2 Kings is a Bible book that your grandpaa has gone to in recent years to use in a short term ministry team devotional venue. Elisha’s story actually begins before 2 Kings begins. Your grandpaa senses having an affinity with Elisha. Elisha’s dad was a farmer. Your grandpaa’s dad was a farmer. There is a good likelihood that Elisha was the oldest kid in his family. Your grandpaa was the oldest of six kids in his family. Elisha stopped what he was doing – which was working in a field for his dad, when Elijah showed up to tell him to go with him to succeed him as God’s planet Earth representative. Your grandpaa stopped what he was doing – which was managing a Beneficial Finance office, when a missionary – whose name was Larry Wright, asked dads and mas to stand up to affirm their support for their kids if any of their kids heard God’s call to be a missionary. Your grandpaa heard God calling to be a missionary – so he stayed sitting. When God’s plan for Elijah’s future life was arriving for Him to take Elijah to his home in heaven via a chariot of fire, Elisha brazenly asked Elijah for a double portion of his faith. Elisha was given that double portion. Your grandpaa has come to the conclusion that God has hardwired him with a blind faith that may actually be just blind stubbornness but . . . just as Elisha made decisions based on believing that anything and everything is possible through God’s divine help, your grandpaa believes the same. Your grandpaa believes that the moment that Elisha became Elijah’s disciple, Elisha was enabled by God to accept His truths as being absolute. When Elisha was heckled by a bunch of young idiots who thought that it was cool to call him baldy, Elisha reacted by asking God – as Elisha may have internalized that God was Who was being vicariously ridiculed, to curse the kids. God sent two bears to maul 42 of the young brats. As a God-embedded prophet, Elisha’s story is often punctuated with God doing a miraculous act through him. Your grandpaa would like to be an Elisha.
2 Kings