Key Verse: 2 Kings 13:21
So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha; and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

Imagine the surprise of the graveyard crew when they were running from the Moabites, to find the man they had just thrown in the tomb of Elisha running after them! Perhaps this is the reason why in some cathedrals the bones of people judged to be very godly are on display. I wouldn’t count on the same thing happening with those bones. Stretch this last of Elisha’s miracles a bit to connect to the bones, as if they were were of Paul, Peter, John Wesley, and others. When we read their writings, there is a sense that we are touching the very structure of their lives and spiritual life is flowing. There were no bones left behind in the tomb of Jesus (I’ve personally checked it out in both suggested tombs), yet life definitely flows into us from contact with the living Christ. We can never read too often Colossians 2:13-22.
If we really like figuring out things, the Jehoash/Joash kings in both the north and the south will prove an enjoyable challenge. Their mother’s names may be the key to solving the puzzle.
We are first introduced to the Prophet Jonah here (2 Kings 14:25). Perhaps Jonah knew that Nineveh, capital city of Assyria, would soon devastate Israel and in an ethnic cleansing move the Assyrians would disperse the ten tribes of the north over the entire world. This may be the reason Jonah headed west to Spain instead of Northeast to Nineveh.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord Jesus, I pray for Your consistency to be strong in me. This is a two-year journey which may well be the most important two years of my life. I’m counting on Your indwelling Presence to keep me true. In Your all-powerful Name, JESUS, Amen!!!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:
In today’s reading I noticed that Jonah was from Gath Hepher. This is not the “Gath” of the Philistines, from which Goliath came. This place is located between Cana of Galilee and Nazareth. It’s now called Mishad. This is the village which figures prominently in the conversion of my Arab son-in-law. I’ll try to remember to tell the story tomorrow, God willing, of how God saved Nizar’s life in the ancestral hometown of Jonah.

Yours for consistency and integrity,

David