Speaker 1: Life Audio. For more resources to help you in your
Speaker 1: walk with Christ, please visit us at Bible Study Headquarters
Speaker 1: dot com. You're listening to the Chapter a Day Audio Bible.
Speaker 1: I'm John Stanghi, and today we're in Second King's chapter three,
Speaker 1: and this is what we read. Ahab's son Joram, began
Speaker 1: to rule over Israel in the eighteenth year of King
Speaker 1: Jehosaphat's reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria twelve years.
Speaker 1: He did what was evil in the Lord's sight, but
Speaker 1: not to the same extent as his father and mother.
Speaker 1: He at least tore down the sacred pillar of bail
Speaker 1: that his father had set up. Nevertheless, he continued in
Speaker 1: the sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had committed and
Speaker 1: led the people of Israel to commit. King Misha of
Speaker 1: Moab was a sheep breeder. He used to pay the
Speaker 1: King of Israel an annual tribute of one hundred thousand
Speaker 1: lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. But
Speaker 1: after Ahab's death, the King of Moab rebelled against the
Speaker 1: King of Israel. So King Joram promptly mustered the army
Speaker 1: of Israel and marched from Samaria. On the way, he
Speaker 1: sent this message to King Jehosaphat of Judah. The king
Speaker 1: of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you join me
Speaker 1: in battle against him? And Jehosaphat replied, why, of course,
Speaker 1: you and I are as one. My troops are your troops,
Speaker 1: and my horses are your horses. Then Jehosaphat asked, what
Speaker 1: root will we take? We will attack from the wilderness
Speaker 1: of Edom. Joram replied The King of Edom and his
Speaker 1: troops joined them, and all three armies traveled along a
Speaker 1: roundabout root through the wilderness for seven days, but there
Speaker 1: was no water for the men or their animals. What
Speaker 1: should we do? The King of Israel cried out, The
Speaker 1: Lord has brought the three of us here to let
Speaker 1: the King of Moab defeat us. But King Jehosephad of
Speaker 1: Judah asked, is there no prophet of the Lord with us?
Speaker 1: If there is, we can ask the Lord what to
Speaker 1: do through him. One of King Joram's officers replied, Elisha,
Speaker 1: son of Shafat, is here. He used to be Elijah's
Speaker 1: personal assistant. Jehosephat said, yes, the Lord speaks through him.
Speaker 1: So the King of Israel, King Jehosephad of Judah and
Speaker 1: the King of Edom went to consult with Elisha. Why
Speaker 1: are you coming to me, Elishah asked the King of Israel.
Speaker 1: Go to the pagan prophets of your father and mother.
Speaker 1: But King Joram of Israel said no, for it was
Speaker 1: the Lord who called us three kings here, only to
Speaker 1: be defeated by the King of Moab. Elishah replied, as
Speaker 1: surely as the Lord Almighty lived, whom I serve, I
Speaker 1: wouldn't even bother with you, except for my respect for
Speaker 1: King Jehosaphad of Judah. Now bring me someone who can
Speaker 1: play the harp. While the harp was being played, the
Speaker 1: power of the Lord came upon Elisha, and he said,
Speaker 1: this is what the Lord says. This dry valley will
Speaker 1: be filled with pools of water. You will see neither
Speaker 1: wind nor rain, says the Lord. But this valley will
Speaker 1: be filled with water. You will have plenty for yourselves
Speaker 1: and your cattle and other animals. But this is only
Speaker 1: a simple thing for the Lord, for he will make
Speaker 1: you victorious over the army of Moab. You will conquer
Speaker 1: the best of their towns, even the fortified ones you
Speaker 1: will cut down all their good trees, stop up all
Speaker 1: their springs, and ruin all their good land with stones.
Speaker 1: The next day, at about the time when the morning's
Speaker 1: sacrifice was offered, water suddenly appeared. It was flowing from
Speaker 1: the direction of Edom, and soon there was water everywhere. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: when the people of Moab heard about the three armies
Speaker 1: marching against them, they mobilized every man who was old
Speaker 1: enough to strap on a sword, and they stationed themselves
Speaker 1: along their border. But when they got up the next morning,
Speaker 1: the sun was shining across the water, making it appear
Speaker 1: red to the Moabites like blood. It's blood, the Moabites exclaimed,
Speaker 1: the three armies must have attacked and killed each other.
Speaker 1: Let's go, men of Moab and collect the plunder. But
Speaker 1: when the Moabites arrived at the Israelite camp, the army
Speaker 1: of Israel rushed out and attacked them until they turned
Speaker 1: and ran. The army of Israel chased them into the
Speaker 1: land of Moab, destroying everything as they went. They destroyed
Speaker 1: the towns, covered their good land with stones, stopped up
Speaker 1: all the springs, and cut down all the good trees. Finally,
Speaker 1: only kir Harriseth and its stone walls were left, but
Speaker 1: men with slings surrounded and attacked it. When the King
Speaker 1: of Moab saw that he was losing the battle, he
Speaker 1: led seven hundred of his swordsmen in a desperate attempt
Speaker 1: to break through the enemy lines near the king of Edom,
Speaker 1: but they failed. Then the King of Moab took his
Speaker 1: oldest son, who would have been the next king, and
Speaker 1: sacrificed him as a burnt offering on the wall. So
Speaker 1: there was great anger against Israel, and the Israelites withdrew
Speaker 1: and returned to their own land. Let's pray, Lord, we
Speaker 1: thank you for your word, and we thank you for
Speaker 1: the privilege of being able to look at it today.
Speaker 1: And Lord, as we look at this example from history,
Speaker 1: we can see a variety of things taking place. Here.
Speaker 1: We could see that when times were difficult, the heart
Speaker 1: of the kings were turned to seek counsel from you
Speaker 1: through your prophet. And likewise, Lord, we could see the
Speaker 1: desperation of the conquered king as he sacrificed his son
Speaker 1: in a detestable fashion, doing something that shows that his
Speaker 1: mind and his heart were not on you. Lord. It's
Speaker 1: interesting to think just how much we think we need
Speaker 1: to do what only you could do. We could see
Speaker 1: the King of Moab trying to accomplish something in his
Speaker 1: own strength that he was incapable to accomplish. But Lord,
Speaker 1: we're grateful for the fact that your son was sacrificed
Speaker 1: for us, the innocent son of God, Jesus Christ, given
Speaker 1: for the sins of humanity, so that through faith in
Speaker 1: him who rose from death, we can live forever, enjoy forgiveness,
Speaker 1: and be welcomed into your family and into your presence. Lord,
Speaker 1: we're grateful for these things, and we're grateful for the
Speaker 1: fact that we can communicate with you, that we can
Speaker 1: listen to your voice, that we could look at your
Speaker 1: word and we could see what you have revealed, and
Speaker 1: that our in our lives can be impacted as a result. Lord,
Speaker 1: we pray that throughout the course of this day that
Speaker 1: we would honor you, that we would put you first
Speaker 1: in all things, and that we would walk by faith
Speaker 1: in you as you empower us through faith in your son,
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. We thank you, Lord for all of these things,
Speaker 1: and we commit this day to your care and pray
Speaker 1: this all in Jesus' name. Amen.