2 Kings 3:16-2016And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches. 17For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. 18And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. 19And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. 20And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. (2 Kings 3:16‑20)
Once while Elisha was a prophet of Israel, the king with his army and two other kings and their armies started to go to light an enemy without asking wisdom of the Lord.
They had to cross a desert land where there was no water for the soldiers or the animals to drink, and the kings knew all would soon die there; then they went to ask Elisha what to do.
The Lord told Eisha to tell them to dig ditches, and that, without storm or rain, the ditches should he filled with water for the men and the animals to drink.
They dug the ditches and in the morning, water came front the land nearby, filling the ditches. We do not know if the water came from springs or streams, but there was plenty for all. The kings could not bring it there, but Elisha said, “It was a light thing” for the Lord to do.
And the water also made the enemy lose the battle, for as they stood up on the hills in the morning, and looked down into the valley where the bright sun was shining on the ditches of water, it looked so red they thought the water was blood, and that the armies of the kings had killed each other.
So they rushed down thinking to take the weapons and all that was valuable from the kings and their men.
But the army of Israel easily drove them back to their country, Moab, which was a part of what we call Arabia. This king had many flocks of sheep, for he paid his tax to Israel in sheep and wool. He and his people worshiped idols, and the last verse shows how wicked he was for he sacrificed his son because his plans were spoiled. It has always been most dreadful to be without God, and without hope. People who believe God have always had a sure hope in Him, although they may lose all on earth.
We wonder at the great power God showed for Israel so many times, yet the kings, and many of the people were very ungrateful, and many of them also honored the golden calf idol instead of the Lord.
Perhaps we too are like the kings, that we do not ask the Lord for what to do until we are in great trouble. He wants His people to ask Him about all they do. They are not now to go to war, yet need His direction each day, and it honors Him for them to ask Him and learn His will from His Word; they, too, will prove “it is a light thing” for God to help them.
ML 05/07/1939