II Kings Chapter 3

Please read:  II Kings 3 –

The very first king of Israel of the split kingdom, Jeroboam, had set the tone for all the other kings that would come after him.  Israel had one king after another that did evil in the sight of God.  We learned in chapter 1 that when king Ahab died, who was perhaps the most evil king of them all, his son Ahaziah reigned.  Ahaziah’s reign was very short, and then another son of Ahab came into power and his name was Jehoram.  The Bible tells us that when Jehoram came to the throne, Jehoshaphat was still on the throne in the southern kingdom. 

Now the king of Israel, Jehoram, has come into a bit of trouble.  The Moabites had rebelled against a deal they had made with Ahab when he was king.  We are not told whether the deal was an ongoing yearly payment of lambs and wool or just a one-time payment.  But when Ahab died the Moabites did not make payment and the new king, Jehoram did not like this.  So, he enlisted the help of the king of the southern kingdom and the king of Edom to attack Moab.  If you look at a Bible map you will find that the country of Moab was east of the promised land and the country of Edom was south of Moab. 

The king of Israel had made the decision that they would attack from the south of Moab.  Their march was hampered by the lack of rain, and the armies were very thirsty as well as the animals that followed them. Jehoram blamed God for their predicament and thought the lack of rain was a sign that God was going to cause all 3 kings to fall at the hand of the Moabites.  But Jehoshaphat who followed in God’s ways, thought it best to seek the wisdom of God and asked if there was a prophet in the area that could speak to God for them.  He was willing to seek God while Jehoram just blamed God.

Let's Reflect

1.  Someone suggested to the 3 kings that there was a prophet living in the area and his name was Elisha.  What did Jehoshaphat know and say about Elisha?

2.  The 3 kings went to see Elisha rather than sending for him.  It was a good thing they did because had Elisha heard who wanted to see him, he probably would not have gone.  How did Elisha feel about Jehoram the king of Israel? 

3. Just the sight of Jehoram got Elisha pretty riled up.  He was a sinful king.  Sin should always upset a follower of God.  What did Elisha do to calm down enough to be able to hear the voice of God?

4.  When Elisha did speak to the 3 kings they were standing near a dry stream bed.  Elisha told them that God was going to perform a miracle.  It was not going to rain nor would they see wind.  God was not going to send a rainstorm, but He was going to do what for them?

5.  What did Elisha say to the kings regarding their planned attack on Moab?

6.  According to verse 21 the Moabites had heard that the kings had come up to fight against them.  What did the Moabites do?

7.  Camped out by the border of Moab and Edom, when the Moabites woke the next morning, they awoke to an unusual sight.  The sun shining on the water in the stream bed that God had filled, appeared to be bloody red.  What did the Moabites think had happened?

8.  The Moabites thought they would just walk into the camps of the three kings and grab up spoils of war.  They may have even been unarmed.  What happened next?

9.  The armies of Israel, Judah and Edom destroyed the land of Moab as Elisha had instructed them to.  The king of Moab seeing the tremendous devastation of his kingdom decided to offer up a human sacrifice to his god hoping that would save him.  Who did this evil man sacrifice?

10. Seeing that the king of Moab offered up this horrible sacrifice, the 3 kings took that as a sign that they had defeated Moab.  What did they do next?