V.27 The woman of Shunem had not been comfortable with Gehazi.  Her suspicion, of his dubious character, proved to be true.  Gehazi was an opportunist who was easily tempted by temporal gain.  However, that gain was short lived, as the prophet, by the power of Yahweh, uncovered Gehazi's deceit.  The burden of sin (leprosy) was placed upon him as due punishment. 

Sin, as we know, leads to death (Rom 6:23).  All opportunists fail to see that Yahweh cannot be fooled (Mark 4:22).  We have plenty of examples in the scripture to show us the folly of this kind of action - for example: Achan (Josh 7:20,21); Judas (Matt 26:14-16); Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-4). 

Let us not give up our hope of eternal life by acceding to worldly things.  Let us, rather, remain true to the values of Yahweh and not be dissuaded by temporary gain (Matt 6:19-21).

5:9  Naaman ‘stood at the door’ as did the woman - 2Kin 4:9  but, unlike the woman, Naaman was more interested in himself than the things the prophet said.

V.1 A leprous person, under the Law, had to be separated from the community as long as the infection persisted (Lev 13:45,46). 

In other cultures, this restriction did not apply.  And so, Naaman was allowed to function at a high level (commander of the King of Aram's army) while bearing the disease.

5:13  Baptism is not a ‘great thing’ in the sight of men. Naaman wanted to prove his commitment to the prophet’s instruction by showing himself to be strong. Washing in Jordan showed his submission to the words of the prophet. In like manner baptism is an act of submission – not an act of great human strength.

5:5-6 Isn’t it interesting that the king of Syria, though a mighty threat to Israel, still recognises that Yahweh has the power to heal.

Vs.11,12 The great man Naaman was angry and full of pride.  He considered the Rivers Abana and Pharpar, (known today as Barada and Awaj), better than the River Jordan, in which he refused to bathe.  However, after hearing his lowly maid, the great man humbled himself, bathed in the river Jordan, and was cured.  Do we accept direction from those whom we might not consider our equals?  Do we stand on pride, or are we prepared to humble ourselves?

5:2 Doubtless the Hebrew girl had not viewed her captivity as ‘of God’ however she was in the right place at the right time to speak to Naaman about the God of Israel. Of course she was not compelled to say anything – it was her conviction that the God of Israel could help that moved her to speak

V.2 The little girl who was carried away captive was insignificant in herself, as countless little girls had been carried away captive through all the incursions recorded in the Bible.

However, Yahweh can use the weakest, most insignificant person to bring about His will.  Such was the case of this little girl, who would be the instrument to turn the commander of the Syrian army to be peaceable towards Israel (Psa 8:2).

V.5 In the KJV, it seems that 6000 pieces probably meant 6000 shekels of gold.  In the Jewish system of weights and measures, a shekel could vary between 9 gm. and 17 gm. If we take the average of 13 gm., then the total value for the gold, by today's prices, would be $2,608,320. The value of the silver, at $29,568 per talent, would be $295,680. What would be the value of ten changes of raiment - who knows?

Vs.23,26 Two talents of silver (= $59,136) could have bought much in Elisha’s day. The Spirit tells us that Gehazi had already thought about what he was going to buy with the money.  Even if Elisha allowed his servant to retain the two talents of silver, Gehazi, as a leper, would not be able to realize his dreams (1Tim 6:10).

For us, let us not be poor watchmen who are greedy for gain (Isa 56:11). Instead, let us be content as we are and trust Our Heavenly Father (Heb 13:5).

5:1 The events associated with Naaman and his healing should have taught Israel that God was not only concerned with Israel but also with faithful gentiles. It required Jesus to make this point – Luke 4:27– and then the people did not like it!

5:1 The events associated with Naaman and his healing should have taught Israel that God was not only concerned with Israel but also with faithful gentiles. It required Jesus to make this point – Luke 4:27 – and then the people did not like it!

 2Kin 5:1 - as Michael Parry noted in his  2007 comments, "Naaman" means "pleasantness" - perhaps God, overlooking Naaman's leprosy, saw something "pleasant" in him. Peter Cresswell in his 2001 comments noted Lev.13 where incurable lepers would be put outside the camp as leprosy was a symbol of sin (unwashed sin isn't allowed in the kingdom).  2Kin 5:2-4 - this young slave girl demonstrates God's ability to use the humblest among us as instruments to spread the Gospel, that a symbolic sinner would recognize his need for a covering for sin, and that God preaches the Gospel to both Jew and Gentile (Luke 4:25-27). 2Kin 5:7 - a young slave girl has more Godly knowledge and faith than the king of Israel. 2Kin 5:9-13 - Elisha is somewhat like Christ providing direction and instruction in salvation; vs 9 Naaman is at the door of Elisha's house which is somewhat like Christ being the door to the kingdom (John 10:7,9); vs 10 belief and burial in water cleanses from sin and leads to newness of life; vs 11 Naaman like many today had preconceived ideas he had to overcome; vs 13 Naaman was encouraged to be obey and we should similarly encourage our brethren and associates also. 2Kin 5:14-17 - vs 14 Naaman humbled himself and was baptized being dipped "seven times" (some believe "7" indicates spiritual perfection, God's seal or covenant number.), Naaman's sins were figuratively washed away; vs 16 we don't serve God as a means to financial gain; vs 17 Naaman wants to make an acceptable offering to God (Exo 20:24). 2Kin 5:18-19 - confession of sin (should this read as past tense as Elisha then says, "Go in peace"?).

2Kin 5:20-27 - Gehazi may echo some of the Jews resting in the Law, resenting the Gospel being preached to the Gentiles; also we have a Gentile saved and a Jew being cast off; to covet the riches of the world is to court the judgment of God.

v.1 The book of Lamentations is, in part, an Acrostic. Notice that chapters 1,2,4 each have 22 verses. Chapter 3 has 66 verses.
The first letter in each verse in chapters 1,2,3 begin with consecutive letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Chapter 3 differs in that verses 1,2,3 beginning with the first letter of the Hebrews alphabet and verse 3,4,5 the second and so on.
This is an aid to memory. As you read the book consider the metre of the book.

Chapter 5 is not acrostic, even though it does have 22 verses - the number of letters in the Hebrew Alphabet. There seems to be no structure to the letter to the first verse of each verse.

Jeremiah reminds Israel that their captivity has come because of their sinfulness. He does this by making many quotations from the curses of Deuteronomy 28

Notice also the quotation from Psalm 79 (1:10 The heathen … sanctuary quotes Psalm 79:1) we noticed a number of links with this Psalm when we were considering the prophecy of Jeremiah.

V.1 Jeremiah laments over a city (Jerusalem) that had lost its king, and had now become a widow, by the hand of Babylon. 

Contrast this with the boast of the latter-day Babylon as being a queen and not a widow (Rev 18:7).  This arrogance will be met with destruction and perpetual widowhood (v.8).

The Book of Lamentations is accredited to Jeremiah, although no direct mention of him is made.  Certainly the tone of the work and the historical context would point to Jeremiah as the author. Lamentations consists of five poems of mourning (each chapter is one poem). 

 Chapters 1-4 are acrostic, which means that a letter of the (Hebrew) alphabet, in order, begins each sentence (i.e. aleph, the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet begins line one; bet, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet begins line two etc.). 

Chapter 3 differs slightly in that the same letter of the alphabet starts three consecutive lines rather than just the one (i.e. aleph begins the first three lines etc.). 

1:6  Jerusalem had not just become desolate. It was a consequence of her harlotry (Isa 1:21)

V.1 All the pains associated with widowhood were Judah's. An absences of God's visible presence, favor, and protection; truly a feeling of helplessness.Joel 1:8

1:2,21 In verse 2 the prophet lament Jerusalem’s fate, in verse 21 Jerusalem laments her own fate.

1:8 In saying ‘Jerusalem is removed’ Jeremiah is echoing the word of Deut 28:25 and the sentiments of that area of De 28. Judah have gone into captivity as a consequence of their Godless behaviour.

Vs.7-9 It is easy to read this account of the fall of Jerusalem, in a flat, un-engaged manner.  But, let's  go beyond the words to feel the agony of the situation. 

The Babylonians had laid siege to the city.  People were slowly starving.  As the siege continued, people lost their values as moral decay set in.  Desperation drove them to murder.  Hunger forced them to cannibalize their own weak and defenceless children.  Calloused consciences gave them licence to ravage their families and neighbors, in every way.  Wretched behavior was the norm. 

Look beyond the words and picture the devastation.  The kind of incident described by Jeremiah happened again in the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD; and it will happen again to Jerusalem, in the end times, before Jesus saves His nation (Zech 14:2).  

But, all the behavior that we read about concerning Jerusalem is going on in the world at large.  What does this tell us about human nature? The scriptures tell us that it cannot be trusted: for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth (Gen 8:21).  But, for us, we know that it is better to trust in Yahweh (Psa 118:8;146:3).

1:9 Notice Jeremiah speaks of ‘my’ afflictions. He identifies with the falloff Jerusalem even though he was not responsible for her fall.

V.1 The authorship of the book of Lamentations is accredited to Jeremiah.  In fact, some commentators believe that the books of Jeremiah and Lamentations were originally one book.

Books were originally written on scrolls. And when one book immediately followed another, it was easy to lump them together.  In any event, in Judaism, there is a recognized collection of five books called the Megilloth  (which means scroll).  These books are: Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations, Ruth, and Esther.

V.13 With his isolation, Jeremiah felt a sense of desperation.  He complained and vowed that he would not represent Yahweh any more. But, he could not contain himself, because the Word of Yahweh burned within him (Jer 20:9). 

When we have low spots in our lives, do we pick ourselves up and move forward, because the Word burns within us, and cannot be contained? (2Tim 2:9).

Vs.18-20 Jeremiah was in turmoil, because he felt that he did not put in enough effort to dissuade the people of Judah and Jerusalem to turn from their sins and be saved.  His concern for his loneliness and sense of desperation was counted by Jeremiah as rebellion, which he felt took away from any valuable effort to reform the people.  Jeremiah was truly repentant of his perceived rebellion.

Jeremiah could in no way change what Yahweh had already deemed would happen, but this genuine servant of Yahweh felt somewhat responsible. What a fine example for us to follow in our dealings both inside the ecclesia and out.

Jeremiah could not change Yahweh’s will regarding the fall of Judah and Jerusalem.  But, Yahweh had given Jeremiah a task for his learning, faith, and growth. This is something for us to ponder. 

Are we ever involved in a task about which we become frustrated because we see that our efforts don’t seem to change matters? Well consider the following story:

One day, Yahweh asked a man to push on a huge boulder.  The man set to and pushed. Faithful to Yahweh’s command, the man applied all his strength to try and move the boulder.  Day after day, he strained and sweated as he dug into the ground and shouldered the boulder.  But with all his efforts, the man could not budge the boulder. 

After quite some time of applying himself daily to the task, the man became disillusioned at his apparent lack of success.  Then, the man spoke to Yahweh, in his despair, and said that he had faithfully applied himself day after day to move the boulder, but without success.  He felt like a failure. 

Yahweh replied, but I did not ask you to move the boulder, I asked you to push on it.  Now, look at your arms, legs, and shoulders.  See how strong and well developed you have become.  That is what I wanted to see.

Let us think about Heb 12:6,11.

1:12 Jeremiah laments the fact that the nations round about are not sorrowful at the overthrow of Jerusalem.

'Decently' 2156 is translated 'honestly' Rom 13:13
'order' 5010 is found in Hebrews 5:10

Is there any application for this chapter at all, to our day and age, now that the Spirit Gifts are no longer with us?

We tend to use v40 quite often when justifying the structured way in which we order our Church services. Is it right to do so, considering the context?

Do we know what "prophesying" is in this chapter? In v6 it is evident that it is not the same as a revelation.

Vs.34,35 In this day of women's liberation these verses might seem hard to take.  Recently, churches of Christendom have been ordaining women priests in ever-increasing numbers. 

It is not surprising, therefore, that worldly trends have crept into the ecclesias.  Some have even suggested that sisters give prayers and officiate at meetings - not to mention that head coverings are not necessary. 

We must listen to what the scriptures are trying to tell us about the status of women (sisters), and although it might seem archaic, we must comply. 

The world thinks that our beliefs are anachronistic anyway. Who cares! The world is headed for doom; we are headed for eternal life.  Let us not compromise our chance of life by being sucked into the world's way of thinking.  

14:13  It is evident that speaking in tongues was coveted. Nor surprisingly really as it would cause a stir when someone spoke in tongues. But an interpreter is necessary! So the gift of tongues, on it’s own, is valueless. So even with the gifts of the spirit the unity of believers with different gifts is taught.

V.28 It is clear from Acts that the gift of tongues was the ability to speak in foreign languages and not the unintelligible mumbo-jumbo that is acclaimed by some (Acts 2:3-6). 

Nevertheless, speaking in a foreign tongue was of no value to the ecclesia, as a whole, unless an interpreter was present to explain what was being said. 

If an interpreter was not present, then the one who wished to say something in a foreign tongue was obliged to be quiet.  The object then, as today, in the ecclesia was to permit all present to be uplifted by what was being said. 

14:23 Whilst we do not have the spirit gifts today the principles can still apply. In this case we learn that it is pointless speaking deep, profound, words if they cannot be understood. Better is it to be clear and to the point and understood than not understood – 1Cor 14:19

V.26 First century brethren had Holy Spirit gifts and, today, we do not.  Nevertheless, the same attitudes and desires to build up the ecclesia should apply.

14:16 If the ‘unlearned’ s to say ‘amen’ at the ‘giving of thanks’ so should we be able to hear the ‘amen’ from the ‘learned’ at the end of public prayers?

14:5 In emphasising teaching above speaking in tongue Paul is reinforcing the point of the order of value of the gifts that he has already laid out – 1Cor 12:28-29

V.5 Speaking in tongues (Gr. glossolalia) meant speaking in foreign languages.  It does not mean speaking in some unintelligible utterance as some would suppose. 

V.18 The fact that Paul had the gift of languages is demonstrated in Acts when he spoke to the Roman captain in Greek (Acts 21:37), and then switched to Hebrew for the Jews (v.40). 

Vs.34,35,37 Paul instructs women to be silent in the ecclesia. This instruction had the authority of the Lord.

14:14  Notice that speaking in unknown tongues could be ‘unfruitful’. The use of a spirit gift did not of itself guarantee that a benefit would flow from its use.