2 Kings 3

When I initially read this chapter, I was confused by what took place. Joram, King of Israel, was not a faithful king. Verse 2 states he put away the Baal pillar that his father had, but verse 3 states he did not give up the sin that his father had. 

After Moab rebelled, Joram asked Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, to fight with him against Moab. Three armies searched for days without success of finding Moab.  In verse 13, Joram states “The Lord had called these three kings together to put them in the grasp of Moab” as he was looking for relief from the lack of water, and sought out Elisha for guidance. Elisha sought God’s guidance, and God provided water for the men, and they were able to take on the Moabites in battle.

When I first read it, I was confused by why God would have helped Joram succeed, when he was a lousy and faithless king. And Joram knew this as he realized their lack of water was due potentially to his lack of faith. He never sought God’s guidance before going to war. He just assumed he would win with Jehoshaphat’s army’s help. After doing some additional readings, I remembered that Jehoshaphat was a godly king, like his father Asa, “doing what was right in the Lord’s sight” (1 Kings 22:43). So Jehoshaphat knew the should seek a prophet during their time of need to hear from the Lord. And Elisha was only willing to speak to the kings because of Jehoshaphat. So in all actuality, this fight was successful because of Jehoshaphat‘a faith. 

Another big pointer in this chapter is the fact that after searching for seven days, and being tired and thirsty, the kings told their men to make catch basins to catch the water God promised. They were told to dig ditches basically, even though they were tired and thirsty. They needed to prepare the way for the Lord. To receive the Lord’s promise, they had to work hard no matter their disposition. 

In John 4:13-14, Jesus told the woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst.” We need to prepare our hearts to receive God. We need to dig the trenches so we can be filled with the water promised to quench our thirst forever. We can’t be unprepared and let His blessing pass us by! In those moments where we feel God is calling us to do something, but it feels uncertain or that it would be unimportant in the time being, remember those are the moments that could be preparing us for our future.