2 Kings 3

Jonathan Ledbetter

Kingdom, Come • Sermon • Submitted 8 months ago • Presented 8 months ago

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Scripture Reading: Psalm 37:1-5

Introduction

Mesha Stone is One of the Earliest Extra-Biblical Archaeological Finds…

That Mentions Biblical Names/Events

Also Mentions the Divine Name (Yahweh)

We’ll Meet Mesha in Our Text

2 Kings 3

The Very First Verse of 2nd Kings Says:

2 Kings 1:1 (NASB95)

1 Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

Nothing More has Been Said about Moab’s Rebellion

That is, Until Now

Chapter 3 Recounts the Story of Their Rebellion…

After We’re First Introduced to Israel’s New King

2 Kings 3:1–3 (NIV)

1 Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. 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. 3 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.

Joram is the Last Israelite King of the Dynasty of Omri

Like His Brother, Ahaziah…

And His Dad, Ahab…

And His Grandpa, Omri…

Joram was Not a Good King

He wasn’t as Bad a Mom & Dad…

Because He at Least Got Rid of a Sacred Stone of Baal that Ahab had Made…

But He was Still a Very Sinful Man

2 Kings 3:4–6 (NET)

4 Now King Mesha of Moab was a sheep breeder. He would send as tribute to the king of Israel 100,000 male lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. 5 When Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 At that time King Jehoram left Samaria and assembled all Israel for war.

2 Kings 3:7–8 (CSB)

7 Then he sent a message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” Jehoshaphat said, “I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 He asked, “Which route should we take?” He replied, “The route of the Wilderness of Edom.”

The Moabites are the Descendants of Moab…

The Child Born to Lot & His Oldest Daughter

The Moabites were Enemies of Israel Throughout Their History

Their Territory was East of the Jordan River & Dead Sea

And Now They’ve Rebelled Against Israel…

And have Begun to Attack & Take Israelite Cities

King Joram Asks King Jehoshaphat of Judah to Go to War with Him…

And Jehoshaphat Gives Him the Same Answer…

That He Gave Joram’s Father, Ahab

I Caught Something While Studying that I hadn’t Caught Before

I’ve Been Wondering:

Why Does the Good/Righteous King Jehoshaphat…

Keep Allying Himself with the Wicked Kings of Israel?

He Allied Himself with Ahab, Ahaziah, and Now Joram

Then I Read this in 2 Chronicles:

2 Chronicles 18:1 (NASB95)

1 Now Jehoshaphat had great riches and honor; and he allied himself by marriage with Ahab.

In What Way Did He Ally Himself By Marriage with Ahab?

Through His Son, Jehoram

2 Chronicles 21:5–6 (NASB95)

5 Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 6 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel, just as the house of Ahab did (for Ahab’s daughter was his wife), and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

Why was the Righteous King of Judah Always Allying Himself…

To the Wicked Kings of Israel?

Because He Married His Son to King Ahab’s Daughter

The Kings of Judah & Israel Struck a Marriage Alliance with Each Other

So, Jehoshaphat & Joram are Going to War with Moab

But We Read Something Interesting at the End of Verse 8

They’re Going to Moab By Way of Edom

We’ll Find Out in Verse 9 that They’ll Get Edom…

To Go to War with Them Against Moab

So that’s One Reason to Take this Longer Route

But There’s Another Strategic Reason for Attacking Moab from the South

Moab Focused Most of Their Military Power on Their Northern Border

So Attacking from the South Evades Most of Moab’s Defenses

But, Going Down to Edom can Also Be Problematic

2 Kings 3:9–10 (NET)

9 So the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom set out together. They wandered around on the road for seven days and finally ran out of water for the men and animals they had with them. 10 The king of Israel said, “Oh no! Certainly the Lord has summoned these three kings so that he can hand them over to the king of Moab!”

Edom is a Desert

And Now the Armies of Israel, Judah, & Edom…

Have Run Out of Water

2 Kings 3:11–17 (NLT)

11 But King Jehoshaphat of Judah asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord with us? If there is, we can ask the Lord what to do through him.” One of King Joram’s officers replied, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to be Elijah’s personal assistant.” 12 Jehoshaphat said, “Yes, the Lord speaks through him.” So the king of Israel, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, and the king of Edom went to consult with Elisha. 13 “Why are you coming to me?” Elisha asked the king of Israel. “Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother!” But King Joram of Israel said, “No! For it was the Lord who called us three kings here—only to be defeated by the king of Moab!”

14 Elisha replied, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I wouldn’t even bother with you except for my respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah. 15 Now bring me someone who can play the harp.” While the harp was being played, the power of the Lord came upon Elisha, 16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says: This dry valley will be filled with pools of water! 17 You will see neither wind nor rain, says the Lord, but this valley will be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves and your cattle and other animals.

2 Kings 3:18–19 (NIV)

18 This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also deliver Moab into your hands. 19 You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.”

This Time, Jehoshaphat Doesn’t Ask What God’s Will is…

Until After They’ve Already Begun Going Through with Their Own Plan

Elisha Happens to Be There…

And He Wants Nothing to Do with Joram

But, Because of Jehoshaphat…

He Tells Them that God is Going to…

Miraculously Bring Them Water in the Middle of the Desert

But then Elisha Says, “Oh that’s Too Easy for God!”

“He’s Also Going to Cause You to Defeat the Moabites”

God is Going to Allow Israel to Totally Obliterate All of Moab

2 Kings 3:20–26 (NLT)

20 The next day at about the time when the morning sacrifice was offered, water suddenly appeared! It was flowing from the direction of Edom, and soon there was water everywhere. 21 Meanwhile, when the people of Moab heard about the three armies marching against them, they mobilized every man who was old enough to strap on a sword, and they stationed themselves along their border. 22 But when they got up the next morning, the sun was shining across the water, making it appear red to the Moabites—like blood.

23 “It’s blood!” the Moabites exclaimed. “The three armies must have attacked and killed each other! Let’s go, men of Moab, and collect the plunder!” 24 But when the Moabites arrived at the Israelite camp, the army of Israel rushed out and attacked them until they turned and ran. The army of Israel chased them into the land of Moab, destroying everything as they went.

25 They destroyed the towns, covered their good land with stones, stopped up all the springs, and cut down all the good trees. Finally, only Kir-hareseth and its stone walls were left, but men with slings surrounded and attacked it. 26 When the king of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he led 700 of his swordsmen in a desperate attempt to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom, but they failed.

Just as God had Promised, Water Came Flowing in Out of Nowhere

And When the Moabites Saw the Desert Covered in Liquid…

With the Help of the Morning Sun…

They Believed it was Israelite Blood

But They were Wrong & were Ambushed By Israel, Judah, and Edom

As They were Wiping Out the Moabites…

They Began Doing Exactly What God Said:

They Destroyed Every City

They Ruined Every Good Piece of Land

They Stopped Up Every Spring

They Cut Down Every Good Tree

There was Only One City Left

The Capital City of Kir-Hareseth

That Leads Us to the Final Verse of the Story

This Story Doesn’t End the Way You’d Think

In Fact, I Guarantee You couldn’t Guess How this Story Ends…

If I Gave You 100 Tries

2 Kings 3:27 (NLT)

27 Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have been the next king, and sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. So there was great anger against Israel, and the Israelites withdrew and returned to their own land.

The King of Moab Sacrificed His Son as a Burnt Offering

Then We See Israel, Judah, & Edom Back Down & Go Home

And that’s the Very Anti-Climactic Climax of the Story

Application

What Caused this Abrupt, Anti-Climax of an Ending?

What Stopped Israel, Judah, & Edom…

From Totally Annihilating the Moabites?

All the Text Tells Us is:

“There was Great Anger/Wrath Against Israel”

Whose Wrath?

We aren’t Told

Some Believe it was God’s Wrath Against Them

This Doesn’t Seem to Make Sense

They were Doing What God Said to Do

Why would He Suddenly Turn on Them?

Some Believe it was the Wrath of Chemosh, the Moabite God

That He Strengthened the Moabites to Overpower Israel

That Can’t Be it

Chemosh is No Match for God

Some Believe it was the Wrath/Disgust of the Israelites Themselves…

After Seeing the King Sacrifice His Own Son

That Doesn’t Make Much Sense Either

The Only Option that Seems to Make Any Sense is:

The Wrath that Ran Israel, Judah, & Edom Off was:

Wrath of the Moabites

The Moabites Saw Their King Sacrifice His Own Son to Chemosh…

And this Filled Them with a Faithful/Rageful Zeal Against the Israelites

And When the Israelites Saw this…

They Backed Down

Could Israel, Judah, Edom have Still Defeated the Moabites?

Absolutely!

No Question about it!

Then Why Did They Quit & Run?

When it Comes Down to it…

They had More Faith in Moab’s God Than Their Own

Has that Ever Been Us?

How Many Times have We Lost or Quit…

Because We Lack the Faith to Win?

In this Text, Elisha Told Israel…

That Making a Lake Out of a Desert was Too Easy for God

So He’d Also Give Moab into Their Hands

There is Nothing that is Difficult for God

But Do We Trust that?

Broken Relationships are Too Easy for God to Reconcile

But How Many Times Do We Live Estranged from Others…

Because it Seems to Difficult to Hope in Reconciliation?

Diseases Like Cancer are Too Easy for God to Defeat

But How Many Times have We Given Up Hope…

And Stopped Praying…

Because it Seems Too Difficult to Defeat?

Temptation is Too Easy for God to Destroy

But How Many Times Do We Give in to its Seduction…

Instead of Standing Firm & Remaining Self-Controlled…

Because We Believe it Falsely Promises…

Better Things Than God has to Offer?

Sin is Too Easy for God to Forgive

But How Many Times Do We Feel Completely Hopeless…

And Beyond Forgiveness?

It’s Too Easy for God to Use Us to Do Great Things for His Glory

But How Many Times Do We, Out of Fear…

Refuse to Use Our Talents, Abilities, Gifts…

To Do Good in this World & Point Others to Jesus?

All of These Things are Too Easy…

For God to Accomplish in Us, For Us, & Through Us

Just Like Israel, Judah, & Edom…

The Only Thing that Keeps Us from These Blessings…

Is Our Lack of Trust in God to Accomplish Them

It’s the Age Old Principle that’s Been True from the Beginning:

If We Put Our Trust in God…

He can/will Do Amazing Things

If We Don’t Trust Him…

Then We Close Ourselves Off from His Blessings