HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 699
2 KING S 4
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rams. 5 But after Ahab’s death, the king of Moab
rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Joram promptly mustered the army of Israel and
marched from Samaria. 7 On the way, he sent
this message to King Jehoshaphat of Judah:
“The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will
you join me in battle against him?”
And Jehoshaphat replied, “Why, of course!
You and I are as one. My troops are your troops,
and my horses are your horses.” 8 Then Jehoshaphat asked, “What route will we take?”
“We will attack from the wilderness of Edom,”
Joram replied.
9 The king of Edom and his troops joined
them, and all three armies traveled along a
roundabout route through the wilderness for
seven days. But there was no water for the men
or their animals.
10 “What should we do?” the king of Israel
cried out. “The Lord has brought the three of
us here to let the king of Moab defeat us.”
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.
18 But this is only a simple thing for the Lord,
for he will make you victorious over the army of
Moab! 19 You will conquer the best of their towns,
even the fortified ones. You will cut down all
their good trees, stop up all their springs, and
ruin all their good land with stones.”
20 The next day at about the time when the
morning sacrifice was offered, water suddenly
3:11 Hebrew He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.
3:13 Hebrew What is there in common between you and me?
3:15 Hebrew the hand. 3:24 The meaning of the Hebrew is
uncertain. 3:27 Or So Israel’s anger was great. The meaning
of the Hebrew is uncertain.
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.
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.
Elisha Helps a Poor Widow
One day the widow of a member of the
group of prophets came to Elisha and cried
out, “My husband who served you is dead, and
you know how he feared the Lord. But now a
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• Will of God
2 K I N G S 3:11
Should I be embarrassed about asking
for God’s guidance in front of those who
don’t believe in God? When Jehoshaphat,
who served the Lord, was in a desperate
position along with ungodly Joram and
the pagan king of Edom, he suggested
that they ask the Lord for help—and God
came through. Joram’s life, at least, was
affected positively. Everyone experiences
tough times sooner or later. When your
unbelieving friends or acquaintances
encounter difficulties, it can be a natural
time to offer to pray for them and to
encourage them to seek God’s aid. Then
watch and see how God responds—and
how your friends respond to God!