THE MOABITE CONFLICT
2
Kings 3:1-27
In the last chapter, we saw
Elijah being taken up to heaven. It was
a chapter that was full or prophecies and spiritual realities and a seeking for
the Spirit of God. As we come to this
chapter, we are struck by the stark contrast.
This is a chapter or war and politics and dealings with kings and
nations. It brings us back to the “real
world.” The truth is that BOTH chapters
deal with the “real world.”
God works, not only in the
voices of His prophets and in the hearts of His followers, but also in the
world of politics and kings and nations.
Remember that the next time you pick up a newspaper. God is at work in His world.
THE EVIL CHARACTER OF
JEHORAM’S REIGN
1 Now Jehoram the son of
Ahab became king over
2 He did evil in the sight
of the Lord, though not like his father and his mother; for he put away the
sacred pillar of Baal which his father had made.
3 Nevertheless, he clung to
the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made
Jehoram was the second son of
Ahab (not to be confused with the son of Jehoshaphat by the same name). The eldest son of Ahab had been Ahaziah who had died after a short reign of only two
years. Ahaziah
had died childless and so now his younger brother came to the throne.
The good news is that Jehoram
was not as bad as his father and mother had been. He put away the sacred pillar of Baal and
allowed people to return to the worship of Yahweh. The bad news is that his return to the Lord
involved a return to Jeroboam’s politically correct method of worshiping the
Lord. Jeroboam had set up golden calves
at Dan and at
INVASION OF
4 Now
Mesha king of
5 But it came about, when Ahab died, the king of
7 Then he went and sent
word to Jehoshaphat the king of
8 He said, “Which way shall
we go up?” And he answered, “The way of
the wilderness of
The Moabites were descendants
of
We saw in 2 Kings 1:1 that
Jehoram was seeking victory
through strategic planning and military might, not by trusting in the
Lord. His theory was that God fights on
the side which has the largest artillery, so he did not need God. Instead he trusted in his own military alliance.
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Do not be bound together
with unbelievers; for what partnership have
righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? 15
Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with
an unbeliever? (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). |
Jehoshaphat was the king of
PROMISE IN A DRY LAND
1. The
Problem - No Water.
9 So the king of
10 Then the king of
The
invasion of
They
marched around the southern end of the Dead Sea, coming at last to the Wadi Zered which flows into the
southern end of the
a. Blame
God and act in unbelief.
This
is the typical response of the man who ignores God before trouble comes and
then who blames God once it does come.
b. Turn
to God in faith, seeking the salvation which He has promised.
Problems
can either make you bitter or better. It
all depends upon your attitude toward the Lord.
2. Request
for a Prophet.
11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is
there not a prophet of the Lord here, that we may
inquire of the Lord by him?” And one of
the king of
12 Jehoshaphat said, “The word
of the Lord is with him.” So the king of
It
is Jehoshaphat, king of
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Jehoram |
Jehoshaphat |
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King of |
King of |
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Assumed that
God had decreed the destruction of his confederation (3:10). |
Asked for a
prophet of the Lord (3:11). |
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Assumes the
worst of God. |
Seeks the voice
of God. |
Jehoshaphat
not only recognizes the hand of the Lord in these events, he also asks for the
Lord’s guidance.
The
very fact that Elisha was present in the wilderness with these armies is
indicative of God’s faithful sovereignty.
God had provided for the needs of His people BEFORE they even had needs
for which to pray. He had led Elisha
into the wilderness to be available to Jehoshaphat’s request.
As
Elisha comes before the confederation of kings, there is a contrast between
this coming and the previous confrontation which Elijah had with Ahaziah.
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Elijah prophesies the
demise of Ahaziah, the eldest son of Ahab (2 Kings
1). |
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Elisha prophesies the
deliverance of Jehoshaphat of Judah and Jehoram, the younger son of Ahab
(2 Kings 3). |
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Elijah passes the prophetic
mantle on to Elisha (2 Kings 2) |
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What
made the difference? It was the presence
of Jehoshaphat, the king of
3. Elisha’s
Response.
13 Now Elisha said to the king
of
14 Elisha said, “As the Lord
of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that
I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of
The
wisdom of the world would have told Elisha to “butter up” the king of
“The
prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother” is a reference to the prophets whom Elijah ordered
put to death. Elisha is suggesting that
Jehoram follow those prophets to the grave.
There
is a principle here. It is that there
are times when God does not answer prayer.
He makes no promise to answer the prayer of an unrepentant heart.
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not so
short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.
But your iniquities have made a
separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from
you, so that He does not hear. (Isaiah 59:1-2).
The
only reason that Elisha has consented to come before Jehoram is for the sake of
Jehoshaphat, king of
4. Request
for a Minstrel.
“But now bring me a
minstrel.” And it came about, when the
minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him. (2 Kings 3:15).
Elisha
is going to prophesy. He will receive a
message from God and he will deliver that message to these kings. But first he calls for a minstrel. Why?
There seems to be some connection between the playing of the minstrel
and the hand of the Lord coming upon Elisha.
What is the connection? I am not
certain. But there IS something in music
which speaks to the heart of a man. That
is why music is to be a part of our worship and our praise to the Lord. We are called to speak to one another “in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Ephesians 5:19).
5. The
Promise of Water.
He said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Make
this valley full of trenches.’ 17 For thus says the Lord, ‘You
shall not see wind nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with
water, so that you shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts.’ 18 This is
but a slight thing in the sight of the Lord; He will also give the Moabites
into your hand. 19 Then you shall strike every fortified city
and every choice city, and fell every good tree and stop all springs of water,
and mar every good piece of land with stones.’” (2 Kings 3:16-19).
The
three invading armies were without water in a dry land. There was no sign of rain. And there would be no sign of rain. Yet the valley in which they were presently
camped would soon be full of water.
They
are called to dig trenches. The purpose
for these trenches will be to catch the water which is promised. Without the trenches, the water will merely
flow down the wadi and out into the
God’s
promises are often like that. He gives
us a promise and then He calls upon us to act on that promise BEFORE we are
able to see the fulfillment of the promise.
VICTORY IN
20 It happened in the morning
about the time of offering the sacrifice, that behold, water came by the way of
Edom, and the country was filled with water.
21 Now all the Moabites heard
that the kings had come up to fight against them. And all who were able to put on armor and
older were summoned and stood on the border.
22 They rose early in the
morning, and the sun shone on the water, and the Moabites saw the water
opposite them as red as blood.
23 Then they said, “This is
blood; the kings have surely fought together, and they have slain one another. Now therefore,
24 But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites
arose and struck the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they went
forward into the land, slaughtering the Moabites.
25 Thus they destroyed the
cities; and each one threw a stone on every piece of good land and filled it.
So they stopped all the springs of water and felled all the good trees, until
in Kir‑hareseth only they left its stones;
however, the slingers went about it and struck it. (2 Kings 3:20-25).
We are not told the source of the water — only that it
came by way of
As
A BLASPHEMOUS OFFERING
26 When the king of
27 Then he took his oldest son
who was to reign in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering on the wall.
And there came great wrath against
The god of
One of the hallmarks of
worship of these deities was child sacrifice.
Such a practice was forbidden in the Law.
Neither shall
you give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech,
nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.
(Leviticus 18:21).
This rite of child sacrifice
involved throwing an infant child into the burning furnace at the foot of the
idol. It was a rite which had been
practiced among the pagans in the surrounding nations and, because these
hellish practices had been permitted to take root in
As they now witness this
rite, that intimidation takes root in their heart and they disregard the
promises of God so recently given and turn their steps toward home. Defeat is snatched from the very jaws of
victory.
Why are we given such a
story? It is an account of great
defeat. Frankly, it would seem a bit
depressing if that were the end of the story.
It isn’t. This narrative is given
to prepare us to see a wonderful contrast.
By seeing this defeat of God’s people, we are prepared to see an
eventual victory.
This narrative tells of a
victory turned to defeat by a pagan king offering up his son as a sacrifice
upon the walls of the city. By contrast,
we are reminded of how God offered up His own Son outside the walls of the city
of
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