2 Kings 3:9-12 - So the king of Israel went with the king of
Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven
days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed
them. And the king of Israel said,
"Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them
into the hand of Moab." But
Jehoshaphat said, "Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may
inquire of the Lord by him?" So one of the servants of the king of Israel
answered and said, "Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on
the hands of Elijah." And
Jehoshaphat said, "The word of the Lord is with him." So the king of
Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.
The Moabites had stopped paying the tribute taxes and sending
huge numbers of sheep to the king of Israel. They were a sort of rent payment…because
Israel controlled the land. It was a
rebellious act of the new king of Moab…the son of the one who had made the
agreement. Unacceptable to the king of Israel…he convinced the king of Judah
and the king of Edom to go with him to battle.
They took a sneaky route through the wilderness….in hopes of
making a surprise attack…but they did not take enough water with them. The wilderness had no water supply either…so
they found themselves quickly in dire need of water for themselves and their
animals. King Jehoram blamed God…but King Jehoshaphat sought God’s counsel…and
sent for Elisha.
Elisha quickly rebuked the king of Israel for his wicked
ways….but agreed to seek God’s will for the sake of King Jehoshaphat. So he called for a musician to play music…to
soothe his troubled sprit…to help him calm his judgemental thoughts…so he could
hear God’s new words of direction….and find water for this group of travelers. The story had a great ending….Elisha heard
the word of God….he told them to dig trenches for the water God would spring up
out of the ground…and even gave them a word of victory for the battle to come.
The lesson in this story for me is to never conform completely
to a group of people you may link yourself to for a time. The simple truth is ….that we live in a world
of mixed believers….everyone does not believe in Christ. Just as Jehoshaphat had the courage to call
for a Prophet of god…we must have the courage to speak his truth when we find
that God has placed us in the midst of unbelievers for a time. We simply do not
have to go along with the crowd...because we are the only one of three who believes
something is wrong.
The problem is that we don’t get to send for a prophet…. and
play soothing music for him…. and then wait for him to speak the truth of
God. God has placed his spirit inside
each of us who believe in him. We must
find our own quiet place…and seek his answers from the Bible he left us….and
prayerfully search the hearts of our Christian friends for counsel when it is
unclear. We must have the courage to
speak out loud the question….What would Jesus do?
Father…thank you for this story that gives me courage to
stand on my own convictions sometimes.
Give me the courage of Jehoshaphat….to be the odd man out …and be the one
who speaks up for God’s way. Help me to
recognize the directions you have for me in all situations…and seek your
guidance in all that I do. Help me to
always seek your counsel in Godly people and the word of truth when I need
answers…..help me to always ask ….What would Jesus do? Amen.
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