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Day 172 Uzziah's Pride
2 Kings 3
Chapter 3: The Moabite War
2 Kings 3:1-3 ~ Introduction to the reign of Jehoram king of Israel (852-841 BC)
Elisha succeeded Elijah as Yahweh's chief prophet about midway in Jehoram of Israel's reign (852-841 BC) since Elijah was still living when Jehoram of Judah was king (848-841 BC) and sent him a written prophecy of his death that would result from a bowel disease (2 Chr 21:12-15). Jehoram of Judah became king in the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel's reign (2 Kng 9:16).
Question: For what good act is Jehoram credited?
Answer: He removed the pillar to the false god Baal that his father had erected.
As in the earlier histories, all the bad kings of Israel are compared to Israel's first bad king, Jeroboam (see 1 Kng 12:26-33).
Question: For what sin was King Jeroboam condemned and that Jehoram repeated? See 1 Kng 12:28-33 and 14:7-10.
Answer: He established his own form of worship by promoting idol worship, a violation of the first of the Ten Commandments.
2 Kings 3:4-8 ~ The alliance against Moab
The inscription known as the Moabite Stela of King Mesha confirms that Moab paid tribute to Israel. It notes the occupation of Moab in the days of King Omri of Israel and his son (Ahab). It also records that King Mesha of Moab undertook actions against the Israelites in occupied northern Moab before Ahab's death. It was at this time (or immediately after Ahab's death), according to the inscription, that Mesha withheld the tribute to Israel (2 Kng 1:1; 3:5), slaughtered people from the Israelite tribe of Gad in the city of Ataroth, and then moved north of the Arnon River with his army.
The unnamed king of Judah who joined Jehoram of Israel was Jehoram of Judah (848-841 BC), son of good king Jehoshaphat.
Question: How did the armies travel in the plan to attack Moab? See 2 Kng 3:8 and consult a map.
Answer: Their strategy was to march south through the land of Judah, around the southern end of the Dead Sea and through the land of Edom to approach Moab from the south. Moab was north of Edom.
Presumably the majority of King Mesha's army was north of the Arnon River, but the core of his kingdom was south of the river up to the Edomite border. The success of their strategy was dependent on an adequate supply of local water.
2 Kings 3:9-19 ~The expedition of Israel, Judah, and Edom against Moab and the prophecy of Elijah
Question: What three kings formed an alliance to go to war against Moab?
Answer: The kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom.
Edom was a vassal kingdom of Judah that had been conquered by King David and continued to be dominated during the reign of King Jehoshaphat of Judah (1 Sam 8:13-14; 1 Chr 18:12; 1 Kng 22:48). Jehoram of Judah probably agreed to the alliance because he didn't want the Edomites to be encouraged by a successful Moabite revolt.
Question: After seven days, what problem did the armies encounter that threatened their mission, and who did they blame?
Answer: They ran out of water and they blamed Yahweh, reasoning that it was part of a divine plan against the coalition.
2 Kings 3:20-27 ~ The Moabite war
The next morning the miracle occurred at the same time the Tamid lamb was being sacrificed at the beginning of the morning worship service at the Jerusalem Temple "at the third hour Jewish time or 9 AM our time. Just as Elisha said it would, the dugout wadi filled with water without a rain storm as the water flowed into the wadi from the south. The men of armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom had all the water they needed for themselves and their animals as Elisha prophesied in verse 17. It is significant that the water came from the south into the wadi that was in Edom, a land rich in copper mineral deposits which made the soil red. The word Edom in Hebrew, in fact, means "red."
The Israelite coalition, in response to the "strong magic" of human sacrifice that could prompt the Moabite god to strike out against them, retreated in terror. Concerning this passage St. Ephraim writes: "And then the wrath against the Israelites increased, because the calamities, which the Scripture accurately relates after these events, happened to them again. They had seen how God protected them, and the abundance of water that he had made miraculously flow for them and the retreat of their enemies before them. Nevertheless, they persisted in their dishonor, and their hearts were still attached to their calf" [Golden Calf worship] (Ephraim, Second Book of Kings, 3:25-27).
Does it seem shocking to you that the Israelite coalition, that had beaten the enemy and had victory within their grasp as promised through the word of God spoken by his prophet, and were standing outside the gates of their objective, failed to trust the word of God to the point of throwing their victory away? Such has been the failure of men and women down through salvation history. In the Old Testament, God gave divine Law as the pathway to salvation that taught there was no other God but Yahweh, and mankind's only victory over sin and death could be achieved through Him. In the New Testament, God the Son won the victory over sin and death on the Altar of the Cross. His victory promised mankind the gift of eternal salvation. In anticipation of that victory, today we stand outside the gates of the city of the heavenly Jerusalem. All we have to do is to have faith and trust in God to claim that victory, and yet day after day men and women retreat from God and throw away their promised victory. The lesson for us in this story is: "Don't retreat!" Stand firm in the face of the adversities and fears of life; have faith and trust in God and claim your victorious inheritance from the Cross "the heavenly city of eternal life!
CHALLENGE:“I would love to believe. I see the benefits religious faith brings people, and I wish I could embrace it. Yet I find myself unable to do so.”
DEFENSE: This problem is common because it's based on our psychological makeup, but it is not insurmountable.The possibility of overcoming it is indicated by the fact that the vast majority of people have some form of religious faith. It is not contrary to human nature. Indeed, religion is a human universal found in all cultures, both historical and present.
Similarly, choosing one religion over another is not impossible. This is illustrated by the growth of Christianity. As the Christian message spread, evangelists urged people to believe it, and many did. Otherwise, no growth would have occurred. This shows that people are capable of choosing to adopt it, regardless of their prior belief.
Difficulties a particular person feels in this regard are due to circumstance rather than human nature itself. William James’s essay “The Will to Believe” (available online) contains a helpful discussion. He describes views as either “live” or “dead.” Live views are those that one feels it possible to accept, while dead ones are those that seem impossible to accept.
Which views are live depends on circumstances. Some today feel that being an agnostic is a live option, but being a Christian is not. They have a psychological impediment—which others do not have—against being a Christian. While this impediment remains, it will be hard for them to choose to embrace the Faith.
Having identified Christian faith as desirable (evidentially or otherwise), the solution is to work on the psychological impediment so that it becomes a live option. This can be accomplished more than one way.
One way is by studying Christian apologetics and seeing the evidences that support the Christian faith and answer opposing views. Another is by choosing to live as a Christian. This is discussed by Blaise Pascal: “Follow the way by which [believers] began; by acting as if they believed, taking the holy water, having masses said, etc. Even this will naturally make you believe, and deaden your acuteness” (Pensées 233).
Choosing to act on the premise that the Faith is true will gradually lead to it becoming psychologically acceptable and thus make it a live option.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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