Transcript

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch.19-20 NLV, Ch. 21-22 CEB

Podcast Introduction

It’s  History Tuesday, and we’ll read 1 Kings 19-22. I’m calling this episode “Hearing From God.”

Comments on 1 Kings 19

When we last saw Elijah, God had answered his prayers to rain down fire on the sacrifice in order to show that Baal was a false god. God did that and more, remember?

And here we see Elijah cowering at a threat from Jezebel. Seem strange? Maybe just a bit.

At least we know that Elijah was aware that this great thing that God did in consuming the sacrifice and the water and the dirt was a God thing and not an Elijah thing. He stayed humble and aware of his own humanity. That’s a good thing.

And he didn’t presume on God’s favor, which I happen to think is a good thing, too. We sometimes have the idea that since we are “kids of the King” that we don’t have to be concerned about things…that God will just magically take care of us. We forget what Jesus said to satan when He was in the desert and satan was tempting Him. 

Satan told Jesus to jump from a high spot because God’s angels would surely keep Him from harm. But Jesus told satan that we must not put the Lord to the test.

So Elijah took Jezebel’s threat to heart. 

Remember that earlier, God told Elijah to hide when his life was in danger? So Elijah just naturally assumed that this would be a good thing to do here, as well.

And while Elijah was in the desert, we see that he was greatly discouraged. He even said to God, “Just let me die here.” 

Isn’t that strange, too? You would think that after witnessing God’s great display before the false prophets of Baal, and the celebration of the people of Israel, Elijah would be on cloud nine. But we see a man who is worn out. The running, the hiding, the threats have all weighed on him. And we now know that after a great emotional high, it is natural to fall into a funk shortly thereafter. So there might have been a bit of that in play here, as well.

Regardless, God wasn’t through with Elijah, and he sent an angel to care for him there in the desert. He sent food and water. And after eating two meals, with a time of sleep in between, the food sustains Elijah for forty days as he traveled to Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God.

This was the same mountain where God appeared to Moses and gave Moses the tablets. This is where God first spoke to Moses from the burning bush, and where he actually revealed a bit of himself to Moses.

And God spoke to Elijah here. He wasn’t in the terrible wind. He wasn’t in the earthquake. He wasn’t in the fire. But he was in the sound of gentle blowing…a still, small voice.

When is it that you’re able to hear a gentle, quiet, still, small voice? When you are listening. When *you* are still. 

Do you want to hear the voice of God? Do you really? Are you ready for it? Do you desire it more than anything? Then stop. Be still. Listen. Wait.

If you are really thirsting to hear Him, I believe He will speak to you, as He spoke to Elijah, and as He has spoken to me. 

As Elijah said in today’s reading, and as I echo, “I am not better than my fathers.” You don’t have to be some great prophet. You only have to be willing to humble yourself and desire to know God more. 

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Transcript

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Transcript corrected by Sister Denise

Steve Webb 0:00
The running, the hiding, the threats have all weighed on him.

Steve Webb 0:11
This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we are reading through the entire Bible in a year. And not only that, this is the Lovely Lady LeeAnn’s birthday. Today is History Tuesday, and we’ll read 1 Kings 19 through 22. I’m calling this episode “Hearing From God.” Let’s get started with a word of prayer. Our gracious heavenly Father, how we love you, and we thank you for your Word. Thank you for giving it to us so that we can know you. I pray that as we read today, you would speak to our hearts. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. All right, let’s begin.

Steve Webb 0:56
1 Kings, chapter 19. Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done. He told her how Elijah had killed with the sword all the men who spoke for Baal. Then Jezebel sent news to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Elijah was afraid. He got up and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba of Judah, he left his servant there. But he himself traveled for a day into the desert. He came and sat down under a juniper tree. There he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough now, O Lord. Take my life. For I am not better than my fathers.” When he lay down and slept under the juniper tree, an angel touched him. The angel said to him, “Get up and eat.” Then Elijah looked and saw by his head a loaf of bread made ready on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him, and said, “Get up and eat. Because this traveling is too hard for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. And he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. He came to a cave, and stayed there. The word of the Lord came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah said, “I have been very careful to serve the Lord, the God of All. For the people of Israel have turned away from Your agreement. They have torn down Your altars and have killed with the sword the men who speak for You. Only I am left, and they want to kill me.” So the angel said, “Go and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And the Lord passed by. A strong wind tore through the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind the earth shook. But the Lord was not in the shaking of the earth. After the earth shook, a fire came. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a sound of gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he put his coat over his face, and went out and stood at the opening of the hole. Then a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He said, “I have been very careful to serve the Lord, the God of All. For the people of Israel have turned away from Your agreement. They have torn down Your altars. And they have killed with the sword the men who speak for You. Only I am left, and they want to kill me.” The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the desert of Damascus. When you get there, set apart Hazael to be the king of Syria. Set apart Nimshi’s son Jehu to be the king of Israel. And set apart Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to speak for God in your place. Jehu will kill the one who gets away from the sword of Hazael. Elisha will kill the one who gets away from the sword of Jehu. But I will leave 7,000 in Israel whose knees have not bowed down in front of Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” So Elijah left there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat. Elisha was plowing with twenty-four bulls, and was with the last two. Elijah passed by him and threw his coat on him. And he left the bulls and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and mother. Then I will follow you.” And Elijah said to him, “Return. For what have I done to you?” So Elisha returned from following him. He took his two bulls and killed them. Then he boiled their flesh over a fire, burning the wood cross-pieces the bulls used to pull the load. And he gave the meat to the people, and they ate. Then Elisha got up and followed Elijah and served him.

Steve Webb 4:57
1 Kings, chapter 20. Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, and horses and war-wagons. And he went up against Samaria in battle. Then he sent men with news to the city of Ahab king of Israel, saying, “This is what Ben-hadad says. ’Your silver and gold are mine. Your most beautiful wives and children are mine also.’” The king of Israel answered, “It is as you say, my lord, O king. I am yours, and all that I have.” Then the men returned and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says. ‘I sent word to you saying, “You must give me your silver and gold and your wives and children.” But I will send my servants to you tomorrow about this time. They will look through your house and the houses of your servants. And they will take away all that is of worth to you.’” Then the king of Israel called all the leaders of the land. He said to them, “Look and see how this man is looking for trouble. He sent to me for my wives and my children, my silver and my gold. And I did not say no to him.” Then all the leaders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen or agree.” So Ahab said to Benhadad’s men, “Tell my lord the king, ‘I will do all that you first asked of your servant, but this I cannot do.’” The men left and returned again with news for him. Ben-hadad sent word to him saying, “May the gods do so to me and more also, if the dust of Samaria will be enough to fill the hands of all the people who follow me.” The king of Israel answered and said, “Tell him, ‘Let not him who dresses in battle-clothes talk with pride like him who takes them off.’” When Ben-hadad heard these words, he was drinking with the kings in the tents. He said to his servants, “Go to your places.” So they went to their place of battle against the city. Then a man who spoke for God came to Ahab king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says. ‘Have you seen all these many people? See, I will give them to you today. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” Ahab said, “By whom?” So he told him, “The Lord says, ‘By the young servants of the leaders of the lands you rule.’” Then Ahab said, “Who will start the battle?” And he answered, “You.” Then Ahab called together the young servants of the leaders of the nations, 232 men. And he called together all the people of Israel, 7,000 men.They went out at noon, while Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the tents with the thirty-two kings who helped him. The young servants of the leaders of the lands went out first. Ben-hadad sent men out to get news, and they told him, “Men have come out from Samaria.” Then he said, “If they have come out for peace or for war, take them alive.” So the young servants of the leaders of the lands went out from the city, and the army whi ch followed them. Each one killed his man. The Syrians ran away, and Israel went after them. And Ben-hadad king of Syria got away on a horse with horsemen. The king of Israel went out and destroyed the horses and war-wagons. He killed many of the Syrians. Then the man who spoke for God came to the king of Israel, and said to him, “Go and make yourself strong. Look and see what you have to do. For the first of next year the king of Syria will come to fight against you.” Now the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Israel’s gods are gods of the mountains. So they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and for sure we will be stronger than they. And do this. Take each of the kings from his place, and put captains in their places. Gather together an army like the army you lost, horse for horse, and war-wagon for war-wagon. Then we will fight against Israel in the plain. For sure we will be stronger than they.” And Ben-hadad listened to them and did so. When the new year came, Benhadad called together the Syrians and went up to Aphek to fight against Israel. The people of Israel were called together and given what they needed, and went to meet them. The people of Israel gathered in front of them like two little flocks of goats. But the Syrians filled the country. Then a man who spoke for God came to the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says. ‘The Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys.” So I will give all these many people to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” So they stayed beside each other for seven days. On the seventh day the battle was fought. And the people of Israel killed 100,000 Syrian foot soldiers in one day. But the rest ran away into the city of Aphek. And the wall fell on 27,000 men who were left. Ben-hadad ran away and came to a room in the city. His servants said to him, “Now see, we have heard that the kings of the family of Israel are kings who show kindness. Let us dress in cloth made from hair and put ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel. It might be that he will save your life.” So they dressed in cloth made from hair and put ropes on their heads, and went to the king of Israel. They said to him, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘I beg you, let me live.’” Ahab said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.” Now the men were watching for something special to happen. They were quick to catch his word, and said, “Yes, your brother Ben-hadad.” Then Ahab said, “Go and bring him.” So Ben-hadad came out to him, and Ahab took him up into the war-wagon. Ben-hadad said to him, “I will return to you the cities which my father took from your father. And you will make streets for yourself in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria.” Ahab said, “I will let you go with this agreement.” So he made an agreement with him and let him go. Now a certain son of the men who spoke for God said to another by the word of the Lord, “Hit me.” But the man would not hit him. Then he said to him, “Because you have not listened to the voice of the Lord, as soon as you have left me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he had left him, a lion found him and killed him. Then he found another man and said, “Hit me.” And the man hit him, and hurt him. So the man of God left, and waited for the king by the way. He tied a cloth over his eyes so no one would know him. As the king passed by, he cried to the king and said, “Your servant went out to the battle. A soldier turned and brought a man to me, and said, ‘Keep this man. If he is missing for any reason, you will pay for his life with your own. Or else you must pay a man’s weight in silver.’ But while your servant was doing things here and there, the man got away.” The king of Israel said to him, “So you must be punished. You yourself have decided it.” In a hurry the man took the cloth away from his eyes. And the king of Israel saw that he was one of the men who spoke for God. The man said to him, “This is what the Lord says. ‘You have let the man go whom I had given to be destroyed. So you will pay for his life with your own. And your people will pay for his people.’” So the king of Israel went home sad and angry, and came to Samaria.

Steve Webb 12:34
1 Kings, chapter 21. Now it happened sometime later that Naboth from Jezreel had a vineyard in Jezreel that was next to the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. Ahab ordered Naboth, “Give me your vineyard so it can become my vegetable garden, because it is right next to my palace. In exchange for it, I’ll give you an even better vineyard. Or if you prefer, I’ll pay you the price in silver.” Naboth responded to Ahab, “LORD forbid that I give you my family inheritance!” So Ahab went to his palace, irritated and upset at what Naboth had said to him—because Naboth had said, “I won’t give you my family inheritance!” Ahab lay down on his bed and turned his face away. He wouldn’t eat anything. His wife Jezebel came to him. “Why are you upset and not eating any food?” she asked. He answered her, “I was talking to Naboth. I said, ‘Sell me your vineyard. Or if you prefer, I’ll give you another vineyard for it.’ But he said, ‘I won’t give you my vineyard!’” Then his wife Jezebel said to him, “Aren’t you the one who rules Israel? Get up! Eat some food and cheer up. I’ll get Naboth’s vineyard for you myself.” So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, putting his seal on them. She sent them to the elders and officials who lived in the same town as Naboth. This is what she wrote in the letters: “Announce a fast and place Naboth at the head of the people. Then bring in two liars in front of him and have them testify as follows: ‘You cursed God and king!’ Then take Naboth outside and stone him so he dies.” The elders and the officials who lived in Naboth’s town did exactly as Jezebel specified in the letters that she had sent. They announced a fast and placed Naboth at the head of the people. Then the two liars came and sat in front of him. They testified against Naboth in front of the people, “Naboth cursed God and king!” So the people took Naboth outside the town and stoned him so that he died. It was then reported to Jezebel, “Naboth was stoned. He’s dead.” As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take ownership of the vineyard of Naboth, which he had refused to sell to you. Naboth is no longer alive; he’s dead.” When Ahab heard that Naboth had died, he got up and went down to Naboth’s vineyard to take ownership of it. The LORD’s word came to Elijah from Tishbe: Get up and go down to meet Israel’s King Ahab in Samaria. He is in Naboth’s vineyard. He has gone down to take ownership of it. Say the following to him: This is what the LORD says: So, you’ve murdered and are now taking ownership, are you? Then tell him: This is what the LORD says: In the same place where the dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, they will lick up your own blood. Ahab said to Elijah, “So you’ve found me, my old enemy!” “I found you,” Elijah said, “because you’ve enslaved yourself by doing evil in the LORD’s eyes. So I am now bringing evil on you! I will burn until you are consumed, and I will eliminate everyone who urinates on a wall that belongs to Ahab, whether slave or free. I will make your household like that of Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, and like the household of Baasha, Ahijah’s son, because of the way you’ve angered me and because you’ve made Israel sin. As for Jezebel, the LORD says this: Dogs will devour Jezebel in the area of Jezreel. Dogs will eat anyone of Ahab’s family who dies in town, and birds will eat anyone who dies in the country.” ( Truly there has never been anyone like Ahab who sold out by doing evil in the LORD’s eyes—evil that his wife Jezebel led him to do. Ahab’s actions were deplorable. He followed after the worthless idols exactly like the Amorites had done—the very ones the LORD had removed before the Israelites.) When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes and put mourning clothes on his body. He fasted, even slept in mourning clothes, and walked around depressed. The LORD’s word then came to Elijah from Tishbe: Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done so, I won’t bring the evil during his lifetime. Instead, I will bring the evil on his household in the days of his son.

Steve Webb 16:54
1 Kings, chapter 22. For three years there was no war between Aram and the Israelites. In the third year, Judah’s King Jehoshaphat visited Israel’s king. Israel’s king said to his servants, “You know, don’t you, that Ramoth-gilead is ours? But we aren’t doing anything to take it back from the king of Aram.” He said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me into battle at Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat said to Israel’s king, “I am with you, and my troops and my horses are united with yours. But,” Jehoshaphat said to Israel’s king, “first let’s see what the LORD has to say.” So Israel’s king gathered about four hundred prophets, and he asked them, “Should I go to war with Ramoth-gilead or not?” “Attack!” the prophets answered. “The LORD will hand it over to the king.” But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there any other prophet of the Lord whom we could ask?” “There is one other man who could ask the LORD for us,” Israel’s king told Jehoshaphat, “but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me, only bad. His name is Micaiah, Imlah’s son.” “The king shouldn’t speak like that!” Jehoshaphat said. So Israel’s king called an officer and ordered, “Bring Micaiah, Imlah’s son, right away.” Now Israel’s king and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat were sitting on their thrones, dressed in their royal robes at the threshing floor beside the entrance to the gate of Samaria. All the prophets were prophesying in front of them. Zedekiah, Chenaanah’s son, made iron horns for himself and said, “This is what the LORD says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans until there’s nothing left of them!” All the other prophets agreed: “Attack Ramoth-gilead and win! The LORD will hand it over to the king!” Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Listen, the prophets all agree that the king will succeed. You should say the same thing they say and prophesy success.” But Micaiah answered, “As surely as the LORD lives, I will say only what the LORD tells me to say.” When Micaiah arrived, the king asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war with Ramoth-gilead or not?” “Attack and win!” Micaiah answered. “The LORD will hand it over to the king!” But the king said, “How many times must I demand that you tell me the truth when you speak in the name of the LORD?” Then Micaiah replied, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd! And then the LORD said: They have no master. Let them return safely to their own homes.” Then Israel’s king said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you? He never prophesies anything good about me, only bad.” Then Micaiah said, “Listen now to the LORD’s word: I saw the LORD enthroned with all the heavenly forces stationed beside him, at his right and at his left. The LORD said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab so that he attacks Ramoth-gilead and dies there?’ There were many suggestions until one particular spirit approached the LORD and said, ‘I’ll persuade him.’ ‘How?’ the LORD asked. ‘I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets,’ he said. The LORD agreed, ‘You will succeed in persuading him! Go ahead!’ So now, since the LORD has placed a lying spirit in the mouths of every one of these prophets of yours, it is the LORD who has pronounced disaster against you!” Zedekiah, Chenaanah’s son, approached Micaiah and slapped him on the cheek. “Just how did the LORD’s spirit leave me to speak to you?” he asked. Micaiah answered, “You will find out on the day you try to hide in an inner room.” “Arrest him,” ordered Israel’s king, “and turn him over to Amon the city official and to Joash the king’s son. Tell them, ‘The king says: Put this man in prison and feed him minimum rations of bread and water until I return safely.’” “If you ever return safely,” Micaiah replied, “then the LORD wasn’t speaking through me.” Then he added, “Pay attention, every last one of you!” So Israel’s king and Judah’s King Jehoshaphat attacked Ramoth-gilead. Israel’s king said to Jehoshaphat, “I will disguise myself when we go into battle, but you should wear your royal attire.” When Israel’s king had disguised himself, they entered the battle. Meanwhile, Aram’s king had commanded his thirty-two chariot officers, “Don’t bother with anyone big or small. Fight only with Israel’s king.” As soon as the chariot officers saw Jehoshaphat, they assumed that he must be Israel’s king, so they turned to attack him. But Jehoshaphat cried out for help. When the chariot officers realized that he wasn’t Israel’s king, they stopped chasing him. But someone randomly shot an arrow that struck Israel’s king between the joints in his armor. “Turn around and get me out of the battle,” the king told his chariot driver. “I’ve been hit!” While the battle raged all that day, the king stood propped up in the chariot facing the Arameans. But that evening he died after his blood had poured from his wound into the chariot. When the sun set, a shout spread throughout the camp: “Retreat to your towns! Retreat to your land!” Once the king had died, people came from Samaria and buried the king there. They cleaned the chariot at the pool of Samaria. The dogs licked up the king’s blood and the prostitutes bathed in it, just as the LORD had spoken. The rest of Ahab’s deeds and all that he did—including the ivory palace he built and all the towns he constructed—aren’t they written in the official records of Israel’s kings? Ahab lay down with his ancestors. His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king. Jehoshaphat, Asa’s son, became king over Judah in the fourth year of Israel’s King Ahab. Jehoshaphat was 35 years old when he became king, and he ruled for twenty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Azubah; she was Shilhi’s daughter. Jehoshapat walked in all the ways of his father Asa, not deviating from it. He did the right things in the LORD’s eyes, with the exception that he didn’t remove the shrines. The people continued to sacrifice and offer incense at them. Jehoshaphat made peace with Israel’s king. The rest of Jehoshaphat’s deeds, the great acts he did, and how he fought in battle, aren’t they written in the official records of Judah’s kings? Additionally, Jehoshaphat purged the land of the consecrated workers who remained from the days of Asa. Now Edom had no king; only a deputy was ruler. Jehoshaphat built Tarshish-styled ships to go to Ophir for gold. But the fleet didn’t go because it was wrecked at Ezion-geber. Then Ahaziah, Ahab’s son, said to Jehoshaphat, “Let my sailors go with your sailors on the ships.” But Jehoshaphat didn’t agree to this. Jehoshaphat died and was buried with his ancestors in his ancestor David’s City. His son Jehoram succeeded him as king. In the seventeenth year of Judah’s King Jehoshaphat, Ahaziah, Ahab’s son, became king over Israel in Samaria. He ruled over Israel for two years. He did evil in the LORD’s eyes. He walked in his father’s ways and his mother’s ways—that is, in the ways of Jeroboam, Nebat’s son, who had caused Israel to sin. Ahaziah served Baal and worshipped him. He angered the LORD, Israel’s God, by doing all the same things his father had done.

Steve Webb 24:36
Let’s talk a couple of minutes about 1 Kings 19. When we last saw Elijah, God had answered his prayers to rain down fire on the sacrifice in order to show that Baal was a false god. God did that and more. Remember? And here in chapter 19, we see Elijah cowering at a threat from Jezebel. Does that seem strange? Well, maybe just a bit. At least we know that Elijah was aware that this great thing that God did in consuming the sacrifice and the water and the dirt was a God thing and not an Elijah thing. He stayed humble and aware of his own humanity. And that’s a good thing. And he didn’t presume on God’s favor, which I happen to think is also a good thing. We sometimes have the idea that since we are “Kids of the King” that we don’t have to be concerned about things that God will just magically take care of us. We forget what Jesus said to Satan when he was in the desert and Satan was tempting him. Remember? Satan told Jesus to jump from a high spot because God’s angels would surely keep him from harm. But Jesus told Satan that we must not put the Lord to the test. So Elijah took Jezbel’s threat to heart. Do you remember that earlier God told Elijah to hide when his life was in danger? So Elijah just naturally assumed that this would be a good thing to do here with the Jezebel situation as well. And while Elijah was in the desert, we see that he was greatly discouraged. He even said to God, “Just let me die here.” Isn’t that strange, too? You would think that after witnessing God’s great display before the false prophets of Baal and the celebration of the people of Israel that Elijah would be on cloud nine. But here we see a man who is worn out. The running, the hiding, the threats have all weighed on him. Did you know that after a great emotional high, it’s natural to fall into a funk shortly thereafter? So there might have been a bit of that in play here as well. Well, regardless, God wasn’t through with Elijah, and he sent an angel to care for him there in the desert. He sent food and water. And after eating two meals with a time of sleep in between the food sustains Elijah for forty days as he traveled to Mount Horeb, the mountain of God. This was the same mountain where God appeared to Moses and gave Moses the Tablets. This is where God first spoke to Moses from the burning bush, and where he actually revealed a bit of himself to him. And God spoke to Elijah there. And he wasn’t in the terrible wind. He wasn’t in the earthquake. He wasn’t in the fire. But he was in the sound of gentle blowing, a still small voice. When is it that you’re able to hear a gentle, quiet, still small voice? When you’re listening, when you are still. Do you want to hear the voice of God? Do you really? Are you ready for it? Do you desire it more than anything? Then stop, be still, listen, and wait. If you are really thirsting to hear him, I believe he will speak to you as he spoke to Elijah. And as he’s spoken to me. As Elijah said, in today’s reading, and as I echo, I am not better than my fathers. You don’t have to be some great prophet. You only have to be willing to humble yourself and desire to know God more. Do you have that desire? Do you want to know God more? Ask him. That’s a prayer he’ll always answer. You have comments or questions? Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511, or comment via Boostagram or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com. Tomorrow will be Psalms Wednesday, and we’ll read chapters 75 through 77. And I’m not positive, right now, that I’ll be able to do the Essentials segment tomorrow. As I mentioned at the top of the show there, today is the Lovely Lady LeeAnn’s birthday. I’m going to be taking her to dinner tonight to celebrate and I’ve got a very busy day planned in our family business today. So I don’t know that I’ll have time to put the Essentials segment together in time to publish the show on time. I’ll try, but no promises so just a heads-up.

Steve Webb 29:10
Since this is the birthday of the most important woman in my life, the Lovely Lady LeeAnn, I would like to say here on the show that I am so blessed to be married to a true Proverbs 31 woman. It always embarrasses her when I say that, but it’s true. And since we won’t be reading Proverbs 31 together here on the show until July, let me read a portion of it here if you don’t mind. Verses 10 through 12 says, “An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.” Proverbs goes on another 17 verses describing the type of woman who is a blessing to her husband. And LeeAnn is truly the embodiment of this type of woman. I don’t deserve her, but in his grace, God gave her to me. Is she perfect? Well, maybe not. But she is the perfect woman for me. And I’ll add that without her heart for God, without her support, you would not be listening to me now. There are very, very few wives who would give up the literally thousands of hours that I’ve put into producing the more than 3000 episodes of this and the other Lifespring shows since 2004. She is as invested in this ministry as I am. She loves the Lord. She loves me. And, Beloved, she loves you, too. So, today on her birthday, I honor LeeAnn Webb, my wife, my helper, my love, my friend. If you’d like to wish her a Happy Birthday, I know she would love to hear from you. Her email is la**@*************ia.com. And if you’d like to send her a gift, just go to lifespringmedia.com/support, and be sure to put “Happy Birthday” in the note area. I’ll be sure she gets it. And as long as LeeAnn is the subject of conversation for the moment, I’ll give you an update on her surgery outcome. I’d usually wait for our Wednesday praise report and prayer requests segment but you might be curious. I’ve been taking care of her and despite that, she’s doing great. She’s had very little post-operative discomfort and she’s being a great patient. She’s a trooper. So she is recovering well from Saturday’s elective surgery. As I said, I’ll be taking her to dinner, so, you know, that tells you she’s doing pretty well. Her incisions are already showing signs of healing and she’ll be able to return to work next week as planned. So, thanks for your prayers, and praise the Lord.

Steve Webb 31:47
Boostagram. Well, a row-o-ducks boostagram came in, 2222 sats from, and I’m not sure how to pronounce this… It’s r-y-s-z-a-r-d. @ryszard? Anyway, @ryszard sent this in using the Fountain app as he or she (I’m not even sure with the name, of course, if it’s a male or a female) was listening to the “Leviticus 7-9: God Deserves Our Best” episode. They said, “Love listening every morning. Thank you, Steve, and God bless.” Well, God bless you. And I love knowing that you’re a member of the Lifespring family. Thank you so much for the boostagram.

Steve Webb 32:26
If you have a prayer request or praise, now’s the time to send it in because tomorrow is praise report and prayer request Wednesday. If there’s a need in your life you’d like us to be praying with you about or if God is doing something great in your life, let me know. Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511 or go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com You’ll find a really easy-to-fill-out form there where you can tell me whatever you want me to know. I’ll pray for you in my quiet time and will rejoice with you or pray for you right here on the show, prayer.lifespringmedia.com. And as always, if you want to remain anonymous, just let me know.

Steve Webb 33:11
Thanks to Sister Denise, Michael Haner, Scott Snider, Jason Paschall, today’s show art contributor, and Sister Brittaney. Thanks to you, Beloved, for inviting me to be a part of your day. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Happy Birthday to LeeAnn. Bye.

Announcer 33:31
Happy Birthday!

Transcribed by https://otter.ai