Skip to main content

2 Kings 3:13-17 We three kings are very thirsty Day 295

Good morning friends,

We are familiar with the Christmas carol, "We three kings"  So to celebrate Christmas in July, we have a different group of three kings who find themselves out of water in a wilderness.  These guys are not following a star or looking for a savior.  They are out doing what seems right in their own eyes.

Blessings,

Jeff

Observations

You would think the Jehoshaphat would have learned his lesson.  He made an alliance with Ahab that almost got him killed.  Ahab disguised himself so the Syrians thought Jehoshaphat was the king of Israel and initially went after him.  But now here is in alliance with Ahab's second son, Jehoram, which means "Jehovah is exalted".

Consulting a prophet of the Lord regarding battle plans is a last resort.  Jehoram decided to march through the wilderness of Edom to put down the revolt of the king of Moab.  After a "circuitous seven days march" they find themselves out of water.  Maybe that is why it is called "the wilderness of Edom"  Jehoram concludes that it is the Lord who has called the three kings to give them into the and of the king of Moab.  Blaming God for the consequences of folly is part of fallen human nature.

Only in extremis does Jehoshaphat ask about inquiring of a prophet.

Not only is "a prophet" in the area, but "the prophet."

Elisha had taken over from Elijah. Isn't it just like God to use man's free will to drag him to the place where God provides.  If Jehoram had thought of seeking guidance in the first place, he would have to go to the very place he eventually wound up at. 

The "felt need" of the three kings is lack of water.  God graciously uses the answer to this "felt need" to provide a great victory over Moabites.  A kind of divine "two for the price of one". 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2 Chronicles 33:7-9 Thoughts on Davidic covenant - Day 362

Good morning faithful readers, The finish line is in sight!!!  One of the themes of scripture is that God is a covenant keeping God.  There are many between God and man. Adam, Noah, David are examples.  Covenants are more than promises.  They are made between a superior and inferior with conditions for each side and blessing and penalties based on keeping the conditions.  These are covenants of works which fallen man was unable to keep.  Thanks be to God that the Father made a covenant of grace with Christ, the second Adam, which he fully kept. Blessings, Jeff The promise in v8 was made to David when he had planned to build the temple and God promised to build him a house forever. (2 Sam 7:10).  Seems like there are only two possibilities about Manasseh's disobedience.  Either he knew of this covenant that God had made with his 13th great grandfather and chose to disregard it, or he didn't know of it and was unaware of the penalty.  Let's con...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 Chronicles 30:16-20 Hearts set to seek the Lord - Day 359

Good morning fellow members of the household of God, After writing the devotional, I am thinking about the Passover as a household event.  In ancient Israel, the physical household of man was covered by the blood of the lamb.  Now, it is the spiritual household of God that is covered by the blood of the Lamb. Blessings, Jeff The account of the greatest celebration of Passover since time of Solomon (v 26).   Observations: One of the things that made this one great is participation of some of the tribes from the northern kingdom.  Israel was a united kingdom and Solomon and now toward the end of the northern kingdom, there is at least a semblance of being united. God allows some exemptions: Who offers the sacrifice:  The original Passover was a family by family sacrifice of a lamb.  However in  Deuteronomy 16:5-6 this changed to a centralized location once they entered the promised land.  (You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 Chronicles 35:23-26 Lament for the last good king - Day 364

Good morning fellow exiles and pilgrims, One more day of devotions.  We are indeed exiles and pilgrims in this world as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  The 20th anniversary of 9/11 attacks can serve as a reminder that this world is not our home. Blessings, Jeff The lamentations for Josiah written by Jeremiah.  However, the book of Lamentations does not include any reference to Josiah as they are focused on the fall of Jerusalem.  While these lost lamentations were "made the rule" there are only 4 more kings and none of them were good like Josiah and none died in Jerusalem.  The phrase "to this day" generally refers to the time of the author (post exile).  Taken together, it may be that these laments were for the last good king and during the exile the people were longing for the next good king. Zerubbabel in a way was the next good king as temple and Jerusalem were rebuilt. But Jesus truly was the next king and He...
Post a Comment
Read more