2 Kings 3:4-20

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.—

2 Kings 3:4. An annual tribute on Moab—The custom is common in the East to pay custom or taxes with the products of the land. For a Moabitish king, with rich pastures in his own territory, and also in the Arabian wilderness, this was but a small tribute to pay. 2 Kings 3:6. Confederation of Jehoram and Jehoshaphat—This was effected “at the same time” (2 Kings 3:6) as Jehoram began his reign and Moab rebelled; and the confederation was with the design of crushing Moab. The king of Israel “numbered,” or mustered, a considerable army from his subjects throughout “all Israel,” and invited the king of Judah to join him in the campaign.

2 Kings 3:8. The way through the wilderness of Edom—i.e., not crossing the Jordan, but marching down by the Dead Sea to its southern extremity, and thence up through the wilderness, and over the mountains of Edom, approaching Moab from the south. Moab was best fortified on its northern boundary; besides which, to reach Moab by a northerly route they would have had to risk a collision with the Syrians, whereas Edom was at this time ruled by a deputy, whom Jehoshaphat had appointed (1 Kings 22:47).

2 Kings 3:9. Seven days’ journey—It was a weary route over the desert region south of the Dead Sea, while also “the deep rocky valley of Ashy” (Keil) was most difficult of penetration. They found, to their distress, that the Wady of this valley was dry. 2 Kings 3:10. Jehoram despairs; Jehoshaphat seeks a prophet of Jehovah.

2 Kings 3:11. Which poured water on the hands of Elijah—i.e., “who was about Elijah daily as his servant, and who is certainly the most reliable prophet, since he [Elijah] is gone” (Thenius). The phrase, פֹה אֱלִישַׁע, “Here is Elisha,” means that he was in the camp or close at hand. Perhaps, as Keil suggests, the prophet, led by Divine impulse, had come near the armies to guide their kings in the hour of embarrassment and despair. Elisha’s ministry might now convert Jehoram from idolatrous sympathies, by showing him the true God.

2 Kings 3:13. Elisha said to Jehoram, “What have I to do with thee?”—Elisha meets him with sternness to rebuke his pride and impiety, and then ironically refers him to the idols for which he bad deserted Jehovah. “NAY”—אַל—i.e., not—not so; do not so answer and refuse me; or, It will not help me to go to the prophets of Baal.

2 Kings 3:15. Now bring me a minstrel—To soothe and elevate his mind into preparedness to heed the voice of God’s spirit within him. On יַד יְהֹוָה, “the hand of the Lord,” see Notes on 1 Kings 18:46.

2 Kings 3:19. Mar every good piece of land—כָּאַב, to inflict pain; grieve the land.

2 Kings 3:20. Came water by the way of Edom—Occasioned by sudden rains supernaturally given, which fell on the mountain heights of Edom, and quickly filled the Wady, and overflowed into the “ditches.”

HOMILETICS OF 2 Kings 3:4

THE POWER OF A GOOD MAN IN EXTREMITY

On the death of Ahab the Moabites rebelled against Israel, and refused any longer to pay the heavy tribute they had been accustomed to render. During the short and unwarlike reign of the unfortunate Ahaziah, nothing was done to chastise the Moabites for their revolt; but as soon as Jehoram seized the sceptre, he organized an expedition against Moab to compel the payment of the accustomed tribute. The whole undertaking would have ended in terrible disaster and loss, but for the timely intervention of the despised Elisha. It is in extremity that man discovers his own helplessness, and learns to venerate and love that God who is a present help in trouble.

I. That the most carefully planned enterprise may be unexpectedly reduced to great extremity (2 Kings 3:4). Israel, Judah, and Edom united their armies, and marched, a formidable host, against the revolted Moabites, led in person by the monarch of each nation. A route was selected which, by attacking the Moabites from the South, was intended to take them by surprise, as they would hardly expect an attack from Israel in that quarter. The plot was well laid—success was certain—the Moabites would be driven into immediate submission; when suddenly the advancing host found itself menaced by a danger more distressing than that of the mightiest army—there was no water for man or beast! Of what avail now was their multitude of warriors, and the imposing splendour of their equipment? Their numbers aggravated the suffering, and their proud display added to the ignominy of the failure. The most consummate strategist is often baffled by unlooked-for difficulties. History furnished a melancholy example in Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Russia and his disastrous retreat from Moscow.

II. That in a time of extremity the help of a good man is anxiously sought (2 Kings 3:10).

1. Heathenism is powerless to help in extremity. Jehoram yields at once to despair, and can see no possible way of deliverance (2 Kings 3:6). What an acknowledgment of the imbecility of his gods! Idolatry had no comfort for the sorrowing, no resources in times of difficulty. It breeds a spirit of sullen and forlorn fatalism.

2. The worshipper of Jehovah knows where to go for help (2 Kings 3:11). How different is the conduct of the two kings! Jehoram wrings his hands in utter helplessness; Jehoshaphat calls for a prophet. The believer in Jehovah has resources to fall back upon in adversity of which the world knoweth not. A tender-hearted doctor once said to a patient who was suffering excruciating pain, “It is a brave heart that bears all this so grandly.” “Ah! no, Doctor,” was the meek and gentle response, “it is not the brave heart at all; Jesus bears it all for me.”

3. In extremity goodness commands the homage of greatness. “So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him” (2 Kings 3:12). They did not summon Elisha into the royal presence, as was the case with Micaiah (1 Kings 22:9). They were in distress. It was not a time to stand on ceremony, or to make a vain display of royal pomp and greatness. They eagerly and humbly sought the help of the man of God. True worth will triumph in the end, however much it may be ignored and vilified; and will command the respect even of its enemies.

III. That a time of extremity affords an opportunity for a good man to exalt the Lord.

1. He is fearless in reproving wrong. Elisha repudiates Jehoram’s claim to any consideration, and tells him to go “to the prophets of his father and to the prophets of his mother” (2 Kings 3:13). He has already discovered the powerlessness of his national idol; and keenly as he must have felt the rebuke of the man of God at this time, he could not but admit its justice. No opportunity for reproving wrong should be neglected, and circumstances sometimes arise in which such neglect would be specially reprehensible.

2. He acknowledges the good in whomsoever found. “Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not look towards thee, nor see thee” (2 Kings 3:14). One sovereign is condemned, while another is commended, as if to show that no disrespect is intended to the royal office, but that sin must be reproved, whether found in the person of the sovereign, or in that of the meanest subject. “What shall not be done for a Jehoshaphat? For his sake shall those two other princes, and their vast armies, live and prevail. It is in the power of one good man to oblige a world. We receive true though insensible favours from the presence of the righteous. Next to being good, it is happy to converse with them that are so; if we be not better by their example, we are blest by their protection.”

3. He recognizes the Divine source of all true help (2 Kings 3:15). Elisha calls for music to soothe and tranquillize his mind, and prepare himself for the reception of Divine communications. He was fully aware that God, and God only, could render help in such an extremity. Help is found, not in the multitude of an host, not in the power of the crown, not in the charms of song and the grandeur of sacrifice, not in the goodness and greatness of the individual instrument, but only in God. This cannot be too frequently iterated, or too constantly acknowledged.

4. He is favoured with revelations of the Divine intentions (2 Kings 3:16). Not only is water promised to relieve their present distress, but the kings are assured of victory over the Moabites. The good man is privileged to know more of the Divine mind than can be understood by the ungodly. “The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will shew them His covenant” (Psalms 25:14).

IV. That Divine aid in extremity is not sought in vain (2 Kings 3:20). It seemed very unlikely that the dry channels of the Edom valley should be filled with water. The air was still, the sky was clear, not a shred of rain-cloud was visible; and the work of the busy multitude in digging trenches seemed a mockery. Faith in Elisha and in the God of Elisha was put to the test. Evening sank into night, and night gave place to morning. But “at the hour of the morning sacrifice, no sooner did the blood of that oblation gush forth, than the streams of water gushed forth into their new channels, and filled the country with a refreshing moisture. Elijah fetched down his fire at the hour of the evening sacrifice; Elisha fetched up his water at the hour of the morning sacrifice. How seasonably doth the wisdom of God pick out that instant wherein He might at once answer both Elisha’s prophecy and His people’s prayers.” The Lord will never disappoint His people’s confidence. It is in extremity that He most signally displays His power and goodness.

LESSONS:—

1. Extremity reveals the helplessness of man.

2. Calls for special Divine interference.

3. Teaches the most wholesome lessons.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

2 Kings 3:4. When kings and lords fall away from God, then their subjects must fall away from them. And when the fathers are disobedient to God, the children and servants must also be disobedient to them, for their punishment.

2 Kings 3:10. What are the greatest monarchs of the world, if they want but water to their mouths! What can their crowns and plumes and rich arms avail them, when they are abridged but of that which is the drink of beasts? With dry tongues and lips do they now confer of their common misery. Jehoram deplores the calamity into which they were fallen; Jehoshaphat asks for a prophet. Every man can bewail a misery; every man cannot find the way out of it. Not without some specialty from God does Elisha follow the camp; else that had been no element for a prophet. Little did the good king of Judah think that God was so near him. Purposely was this holy seer sent for the succour of Jehoshaphat and his faithful followers when they were so far from dreaming of their delivery that they knew not of a danger. It would be wide with the best men if the eye of Divine Providence were not open upon them, when the eye of their care is shut towards it. How well did Elisha in the wars! The strongest squadron of Israel was within that breast; all their armour of proof had not so much safety and protection as his mantle.—Bp. Hall.

—In need and distress the state of a man’s heart is brought to light. Jehoram falls into despair, he does not know what counsel to take, nor how to help himself. Instead of seeking the Lord and calling to Him for help, he accuses Him and cast the reproach upon Him that He means to destroy three kings at once. Jehoshaphat, who had always bent his heart to seek God (2 Chronicles 19:3), does not wring his hands in despair, but is quiet and composed. He thinks within himself, The Lord has neither now, nor ever, withdrawn Himself from His people. Therefore he trusts, and asks for a prophet of the Lord.—Lange.

2 Kings 3:10. Despair. I. A natural fruit of idolatry. II. Shows the helplessness of man. III. Is ever ready to throw the blame of misfortune on others.

2 Kings 3:12. “The word of the Lord is with him.” A true prophet. I. Is easily recognized by all lovers of truth. II. Is invested with Divine authority. III. Is eagerly and humbly consulted in time of need.

—So long as men are free from distress and danger, they ask nothing about the ministers of the gospel, they take no notice of them, they wish to have nothing to do with them, they throw their faithful warnings to the wind; but when an accident or a death occurs, then they are glad to see the despised preacher, and they desire to make use of his services and his prayers. Three kings descend from their elevation and come humbly and with petitions to the man who was once a servant of Elijah, of whom they had not even known so much as that he had joined the expedition. So now emperors and kings bow the knee before Him who came to His own and His own received Him not, who did not have a place to lay His head, but who is now confessed to be the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.—Wurt. Summ.

2 Kings 3:13. The vain pretences of idolatry. I. Truthfully rebuked. II. Unmistakably apparent in times of difficulty. III. Invalidate all claim for help.

2 Kings 3:13. How sharply dares the man of God to chide his sovereign, the king of Israel! The liberty of the prophets was no less singular than their calling; he that would borrow their tongue must show their commission. As God reproved kings for their sakes, so did not they stick to reprove kings for His sake. Thus much freedom they must leave to their successors, that we might not spare the vices of them whose persons we must spare.—Bp. Hall.

—Elisha stood before the Lord, the living God; Jehoram before the calf-god. That was not only a difference in religious views and opinions, but also an entirely different standpoint in life. Where there is a life in God, there there can be no fellowship with those who have denied and abandoned the living God: the two ways diverge directly and decidedly. The relation in which a man stands to God is decisive for his relation to other men; it divides from some by a separation which is just as wide as the communion into which it brings him with others is close.—Starke.

2 Kings 3:14. He who has renounced God and His word can make no claim to esteem, even though he be a king. Fidelity to God and holding fast to His word are what make a man truly estimable, even though he were the poorest and lowliest. God does not let the righteous perish with the unrighteous; it rather comes to pass that, for the sake of a single righteous man, many godless persons are saved and preserved.—Lange.

2 Kings 3:15. The power of music. I. Soothes and tranquillizes the soul ruffled by contact with wrong. II. Prepares the heart for the reception of Divine blessing. III. Finds its loftiest use in the worship of God.

—Who wonders not to hear a prophet call for a minstrel in the midst of that mournful distress of Israel and Judah? Who would not have expected his charge of tears and prayers rather than of music? How unseasonable are songs to a heavy heart! It was not for their ears, it was for his own bosom, that Elisha called for music; that his spirits, after their zealous agitation, might be sweetly composed, and put into a meet temper for receiving the calm visions of God. None but a quiet breast is capable of Divine revelations; nothing is more powerful to settle a troubled heart than a melodious harmony.—Bp. Hall.

2 Kings 3:16. The Lord gives beyond what we pray for, beyond what we understand; He not only saves from need and danger, but He also gives the victory besides, out of pure undeserved grace. That is the fundamental feature of all Divine promises. The Lord not only does not deal with us according to our sins, but He gives us, besides that, the victory.—Lange.

2 Kings 3:16. Preparatory work. I. Necessary in all Divine arrangements. II. Must be done because commanded, not always because it is understood. III. Is an evidence of genuine faith. IV. Its value will be made apparent (2 Kings 3:20).

2 Kings 3:17. The methods of Divine relief. I. Often unseen and mysterious. II. Inevitably sure. III. Superabundant in supply (2 Kings 3:18).

2 Kings 3:19. This is by no means a mere prophecy, as Wordsworth says, a simple prediction of what the allied armies would inflict on Moab; but a command as plain and positive as that by which he had formerly authorized the destruction of the idolatrous Canaanites. So utter a destruction of the Moabites did the Lord now authorize, that He even suspended the law of Deuteronomy 20:19, which forbade the destruction of the fruit trees of the enemy. This felling of the good trees would be to the surviving Moabites a memorable woe. Their ruined cities they might speedily rebuild, and unstop their wells, or dig new ones, and clear the land of stones; but years must pass before new fruit trees could be reared.—Whedon.