2 Kings - Chapter 3

In this transcription, the host discusses the revolt of the nation of Moab against the northern tribes of Israel in chapter 3 of 2 Kings. The host also mentions the idolatry of the golden calves set up by Jeroboam, the sins of Ahab and his marriage to Jezebel, and the death of Ahab during a battle with Aram. The host explains that Moab and Edom were vassal nations to Israel and paid tribute. After Ahab's death, Moab stopped paying tribute, and Joram, Ahab's son, wanted to collect the tribute money. Joram and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, went to war against Moab but ran out of water. They sought the prophet Elisha for guidance, and Elisha instructed them to make ditches in the valley. Water miraculously came, and the Moabites mistook it for blood. The Israelites invaded Moab and defeated them. The I am Julie Callio, your host, and thanks so much for taking time out of your busy schedules to tune in with me today. If by chance you want to contact me, you can do that at theab.bc.pc at gmail.com. Today we are looking at chapter 3 of 2 Kings with the revolt of the nation of Moab against the northern tribes of Israel. The book of 2 Kings begins, After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel. As a reminder, after the northern ten tribes revolted against Judah and Benjamin, Jeroboam was their first king, and because he did not want his people to go to Jerusalem to worship, he set up two golden calves, one in Dan, up north, and one in Bethel, close to the southern border of Israel, across from the border of Judah. All the kings of Israel followed suit, and they were described as walking in the ways of Jeroboam and in his sin, which he had caused Israel to commit. In 1 Kings chapter 16 verses 30 and 31 it says, Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial, did you get that, trivial, to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel, daughter of Ishmael, king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. First Kings ends with the death of Ahab during a battle with Aram, which is also known as Syria. Ahab joined forces with the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat. It was this godly king that asked if there was a prophet of the Lord to inquire about the battle. And Matthea came and told the king that he would lose his life. Ahab had Jehoshaphat stay in his kingly garments, and Ahab dressed in a disguise as if he could outsmart the word of the Lord. And verse 34 of chapter 22 says, But someone, just someone, drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. Ladies, we cannot fool God. He knows all things. The end of First Kings tells us that Ahaziah son of Ahab became king, but he only reigned for two years. In verses 52 and 53, the writer says, He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he walked in the ways of his father and mother, and in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He served and worshipped Baal and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done. Chapter 1 of Second Kings tells us of King Ahaziah's death because he sought wisdom from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, a Philistine city, instead of seeking the Lord. Second Kings chapter 1 verse 17 says, So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Because Ahaziah had had no son, Joram succeeded him as king. So in chapter 3 we find that Joram was Ahaziah's brother because it says in verse 2, He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless, he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. He did not turn away from them. So Joram was not as bad as his dad, but yet he still walked in the ways of Jeroboam with the idolatry of the golden calves. Now one more point that will make this section more understandable. When the kingdom was united under King David, in 2 Samuel chapter 8 verse 2, we learn that David had defeated the Moabites and they became subject to David and brought tribute. This made them a vassal nation, where they could still be called Moab, but David placed a governor over their land so they weren't completely free. Also in 2 Samuel chapter 8 verses 13 and 14, we learn that David also overtook Edom and all Edomites became subject to David. Edom also then became a vassal nation to Israel when it was a united kingdom. One other note, the Edomites were descendants from Esau, Jacob's brother, and the Moabites were descendants from Lot, Abraham's nephew. Now back to chapter 3 verse 4 of 1 Kings, Mesha the king of Moab's tribute was to supply the king of Israel with 100,000 lambs and with the wool of 100,000 rams. Now we know Moab is across the Jordan river from the northern tribes of Israel and that they paid tribute to Israel. And since Edom is to the south, they stayed with Judah, but I don't know if we ever found out how that came about after the divided kingdom of Israel happened. Since we know that once Ahab died, Mesha stopped paying the tribute and now it was around two years after Ahab's first son died, so now that Doram is king, he wants all that tribute money. He gathered all his men and then he asked Jehoshaphat king of Judah to help and he agreed as he had with king Ahab. These two men set out south with the intent of going through the desert of Edom so they could attack from the southern border. Since Edom was a vassal nation with Judah, they had to join forces. They went a roundabout way and ended up running out of water for themselves and their animals. The king of Israel said, what has the Lord called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab? Jehoshaphat asked, is there no prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of the Lord through him? One of the commentators suggested that if Jehoshaphat would have inquired of the Lord first, they would not have been in this mess. An unnamed officer of the king of Israel answered in verse 11, Elisha son of Shephat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah. That seems to mean that Elisha was Elijah's servant and disciple. Because of his association with Elijah, Jehoshaphat knew the Lord was with him. The three kings went to him and their encounter is found in verses 13 through 20. Elisha said to the king of Israel, what do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother. Even though the king had taken down the sacred stone of Baal, there was still Baal worship plus the idolatry of the golden calves. It seems that the king is a bit put off that, quote, the Lord put them in this place just to hand them over to Moab. Elisha said, as surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you. But now bring me a harpist. Verse 15b says, while the harpist was playing, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha. Now there seems to be a connection between the prophets of the Lord and music. In first Samuel chapter 10 verse 5, when Samuel anointed Saul as king, there was a procession of prophets coming down from the high places with lyres, tambourines, flutes, and harps being played before them, and they were prophesying. David was considered a prophet in Acts chapter 2 verse 30, and he also was a musician. Before David was king, when Saul had an evil spirit, first Samuel chapter 16 verse 23 says, whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul. He would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him. Moses was a prophet, and he, with all Israel, sang a song to the Lord after the Egyptian horse and rider fell into the sea, Exodus 15. And also in 15, Miriam his sister, also a prophetess, sang and led the women with the tambourine in her hand and sang, Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider, he has hurled into the sea. We have a song from Deborah, the prophetess and judge, found in chapter 5 of Judges. Then in 1 Chronicles chapter 25 verse 1a it says, David, together with the commanders of the army, set apart some of the sons of Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun for the ministry of prophesying, accompanied by harps, lyres, and cymbals. Here we see that some prophets were musicians, but that does not mean that all of them were. Once we get into the classical books of prophecy, we will find that there are many ways to declare the message of the Lord. Being a musician myself, there is something about music that touches a part of our brain and our heart that nothing else can do. That is why it is extremely important what kind of music we listen to. Is it something that helps us think about God and good things, or is it music that makes us focus on ourselves and our troubles? Well the music was played for Elisha, and the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha. He instructed them to make ditches in the valley, for the Lord would bring water, but they would not see a storm. He will hand Moab over to them, and they will overthrow every major city they encounter, and they will cut down the trees, stop up their springs, and ruin every good field with stones. That next morning, about the time of morning sacrifice, it was just as Elisha said. Water came from Edom, and the land was filled with water. From Moab they saw the water, and it looked like blood to them. According to Roy L. Honeycutt, Jr., the cause of this abundance of water in Moab was a heavy rain in Edom, which produced a flash flood much farther up the wadi. The water which came down from the red sandstone hills of Edom shone in the morning sun like blood. The Moabites thought the three kings had turned on each other, so they rushed down to the valley to take all their loot, so they were surprised to see everyone was alive and well. The Israelites invaded Moab and slaughtered them. They did everything Elisha said they would do. When the king of Moab saw what was happening, he took 700 swordsmen to break through the king of Edom, but they failed. Therefore, verse 27, the last verse says, Then he took his firstborn son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great. They withdrew and returned to their own land. Children's sacrifice was a part of the religions of Moab, as well as the surrounding nations, and even the nation of Israel would occasionally do such a horrible thing, such as Judges 11.30-31, and then possibly the reference of Hiel of Bethel when he rebuilt the walls of Jericho in 1 Kings 16.34. These are two opinions of what the fury against Israel meant. The main thought is the Moabites were so motivated that the king would kill his own son that their fate would be worse if they did not win, so they fought with fury. Or it could mean that the Israelites were so aghast at the sight that they left. Either way, Israel, Judah, and Edom all left that land and returned to their own land. This helped establish Elisha as a prophet of the Lord among the kings of Israel and of Judah. In my ESV study Bible, it has a note with regards to this battle. The Moabite stone, currently in the Louvre Museum in Paris, is a steel set up by Mesha, king of Moab, to commemorate his achievements. Mesha makes his version of a war fought with Israel in 850 BC prominent. The Israelite account appears in this chapter. The two accounts differ, Mesha emphasizes his victories over Israel and the Biblical writer emphasizes Israel's successful counterattacks. That reminds me that we all have our own spin on things, and as I've mentioned before, every writer writes with a purpose in mind, and that influences what he adds or what he leaves out. Thankfully, the Lord knows the full truth, and he knows the future. He is the one we are to seek wisdom and guidance from, and unlike Jehoshaphat, we should seek it first before we attempt something instead of waiting until we are in a mess. Thankfully, however, the Lord can help us in the mess too, just like he did with these three kings. If you have heard his voice today, please don't harden your heart like King Joram, instead let's be women of faith who seek the Lord, hear from the Lord, focus on the Lord, sing music to the Lord, and obey the Lord. Until next time, and thanks so much for listening.