2 Kings 3:5-8 CSB – the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So King Joram marched out from Samaria at that time and mobilized all Israel. 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.”
2 Kings 3:9-10, So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out. After they had traveled their indirect route for seven days, they had no water for the army or the animals with them. 10 Then the king of Israel said, “Oh no, the Lord has summoned these three kings, only to hand them over to Moab.”
Contrasting Responses
(Bad King) King of Israel- “God is angry with us!”
(Good King) Jehoshaphat – 2 Kings 3:11a CSB – But Jehoshaphat said, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord here? Let’s inquire of the Lord through him.”
One of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha…. who used to pour water on Elijah’s hands, is here.”
Bad King—“Blame God!”
Good King—“Seek God!”
Where is Elisha? Closer than you knew!
I FLED Him, down the nights and down the days;
I fled Him, down the arches of the years;
I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways
Of my own mind; and in the mist of tears
I hid from Him, and under running laughter.
Up vistaed hopes I sped;
– Francis Thompson, The Hound of Heaven
Where is God? Closer Than You Think!
Isaiah 55:6-7 – Isaiah invites like Elisha,
Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call to him while he is near.
7 Let the wicked one abandon his way
and the sinful one his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord,
so he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will freely forgive.
Enter Elisha
2 Kings 3:12 CSB – Jehoshaphat affirmed, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went to him.
Notice: The King’s Great Need Is God’s Great Opportunity
God doesn’t want us to USE HIM to meet OUR needs.
God wants to use OUR needs to draw us closer to Him!
2 Kings 3:13a CSB – However, Elisha said to King Joram of Israel, “What do we have in common? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother!”
Elisha the Trash Talker!
2 Kings 17:13b CSB – But the king of Israel replied, “No, because it is the Lord who has summoned these three kings to hand them over to Moab.”
2 Kings 13:14-15 CSB – Elisha responded, “By the life of the Lord of Armies, before whom I stand: If I did not have respect for King Jehoshaphat of Judah, I wouldn’t look at you; I would not take notice of you.Now, bring me a musician.”
What do you feel when you hear each song?
2 Kings 3:15a CSB – Now, bring me a musician.”
While the musician played, the Lord’s hand came on Elisha
2 Kings 15:15b-16,the Lord’s hand came on Elisha. 16 Then he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Dig ditch after ditch in this wadi.’
Elisha’s Command, “Dig Ditches”
Radical Faith: God Provides the Water, You Dig the Ditches
James 2:14, 18-20, 26 CSB – What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder.
20 Senseless person! Are you willing to learn that faith without works is useless?
For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Faith is not a lottery ticket. Faith is a work-order.
Malachi 3:10 CSB – Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.
The Opposite of Faith: “God, send water, then I’ll dig a ditch”
Hebrews 13:4 CSB – Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
Normal/Radical Faith Believes Big; AND is Willing to Start Small
Ephesians 3:20 CSB – Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—
Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work.– Thomas A. Edison
Proverbs 20:4 CSB – The slacker does not plow during planting season; at harvest time he looks, and there is nothing.
Believe Big. Start Small.
Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty ocean,
and the pleasant land.
So the little moments,
humble though they be,
Make the mighty ages,
of eternity.
– Julia Fletcher Carney
