The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

II Kings 1:1-6, “Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

2 And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.’

3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’

4 “Now therefore thus says the LORD, ‘You shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'” Then Elijah departed.

5 When the messengers returned to him he said to them, “Why have you returned?”

6 And they said to him, “A man came up to meet us and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you and say to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.’”

One of the exciting aspects of the Old Testament is how the LORD deals with His people and with people who are not spiritually His! When Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room, he immediately inquired of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. The jealousy of the LORD prompted Elijah to revile the messengers of the Samarian king.

To whom should we go when we are faced with physical difficulties? Is our first line of defense prayer to the LORD? It ought to be! He’s the best that we have, and He delights in our leaning upon Him! Yes, the LORD has put doctors in our paths; still, He ranks far above the sharpest in the medical profession. Don’t forget: Christian doctors pray, too!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas,

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

1 Kings 9:1-7, “Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all that Solomon desired to do. 2 that the LORD appeared to Solomon a second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 The LORD said to him, ‘I have heard your prayer and your supplication, which you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.’ 4 “As for you, if you will walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and will keep My statutes and My ordinances, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, just as I promised to your father David, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 “But if you or your sons indeed turn away from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them, and the house which I have consecrated for My name, I will cast out of My sight. So Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples.’”

The LORD’s promises to us are much like the one to Solomon. If we live as He wants us to live, we can be assured of His blessing. If we fail to live as He wills, we will suffer loss. Are we submitting ourselves to Him, as He demands, or are we ignoring His demands upon our lives? There is no doubt that He will deal with us much as He promised Solomon. Dare we take the chance? I pray we will choose to follow Him.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas,

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”
– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

II Samuel 3:30-34, “So Joab and Abishai his brother killed Abner because he had put their brother Asahel to death in the battle at Gibeon. 31 Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, ‘Tear your clothes and gird on sackcloth and lament before Abner.’ And King David walked behind the bier. 32 Thus they buried Abner in Hebron; and the king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept. 33 And the king chanted a lament for Abner and said, ‘Should Abner die as a fool dies? 34 Your hands were not bound, nor your feet put in fetters; as one falls before the wicked, you have fallen.’ And all the people wept again over him.”

Things were not always smooth in Israel. In some ways, ancient times were virtually as difficult as they are today. Of course, if someone were to intentionally kill a member of my family, I would undoubtedly want to take revenge for the killing, too. But laws in David’s era were different from what they are today. Furthermore, David obeyed the laws of his God.

Tearing one’s clothes and putting on sackcloth were early Jewish rituals for showing love for the one who had died. There was always sufficient time for avenging a death. It is easy to see that the Israelites were not simply “bloodthirsty,” for they dealt with the suffering family before effecting vengeance on the one who killed their brother.

As believers in our LORD Jesus Christ, we should never plan or execute vengeance on others, regardless of what they do against us. We live under the mandates of the New Testament. Our chief responsibility is to confess our sins and heinous thoughts to the LORD and seek His forgiveness for even our thoughts of retribution. We must remember that our primary responsibility in such situations is to “show forth to the praise of His glory.”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas,

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

I Samuel 12:12-16, “When you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ although the LORD your God was your king.

13 “Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the LORD has set a king over you.

14 “If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.

15 “And if you will not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers.

16 “Even now, take your stand and see this great thing which the LORD will do before your eyes.”

There’s an old children’s song that you may have learned as a child. It has but seven verses, and verse three reads as follows:

“O be careful little tongue what you say;

O be careful little tongue what you say;

For the Father up above

Is looking down in love;

So, be careful little tongue what you say.”

Israel had seen her enemy coming against her. She would have done well to have looked to the LORD for protection; yet she refused. How like Israel we often are! We know the LORD is our best protection, yet we cry out for help from another source, as Israel did. Who do you know that’s a better protection than Jesus? Why, then, are you not trusting Him in the situation you are currently facing?

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas,

United States of America

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Ruth 4:1-6, “Now Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the close relative of whom Boaz spoke was passing by, so he said, “Turn aside, friend, sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down.

2 And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.

3 Then he said to the closest relative, “Naomi, who has come back from the land of Moab, has to sell the piece of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech.

4 “So I thought to inform you, saying, ‘Buy it before those who are sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, tell me that I may know; for there is no one but you to redeem it, and I am after you.'” And he said, “I will redeem it.”

5 Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of the deceased, in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance.”

6 And the closest relative said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I jeopardize my own inheritance. Redeem it for yourself; you may have my right of redemption, for I cannot redeem it.”

To be sure, it was a different day. The law in Israel varied considerably from what we would find it to be, even today. Earlier in this Book of Ruth, we learn that Ruth, a Moabitess, had accepted Israel as her home. We also learn that Boaz, a wealthy businessman, had come to love Ruth and intended to marry her. But there were legal maneuvers to which Boaz was required to adhere before the marriage could be officially recognized.

Unfortunately, we’ve drifted considerably from those ancient requirements. Still, Boaz loved the LORD; and he was determined to follow the teachings of his religion. What a joy it would be were we to be as faithful to the LORD’s teachings today as Boaz was in ancient Israel.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas, USA

“We will never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

– Corrie ten Boom