2 Kings 3:4-14

2 Kings 3:4-14 - Daily Devotion - 7 July 2026 St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park 4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5 But after the death of Ahab, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6 So at that time King Jehoram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. 7 And he sent a message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”“I will go,” replied Jehoshaphat. “I am like you, my people are your people, and my horses are your horses.” 8 Then he asked, “Which way shall we go up?”“By way of the Desert of Edom,” replied Joram.9 So the king of Israel, the king of Judah, and the king of Edom set out, and after they had traveled a roundabout route for seven days, they had no water for their army or for their animals.10 “Alas,” said the king of Israel, “for the LORD has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab!”11 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the LORD here? Let us inquire of the LORD through him.”And one of the servants of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.[C] ”12 Jehoshaphat affirmed, “The word of the LORD is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.13 Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!”“No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”14 Then Elisha said, “As surely as the LORD of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not for my regard for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or acknowledge you.REFLECTIONSWritten by Stephen SheadAround the time of 2 Kings, the land of Moab was under the control of the northern kingdom of Israel, and had to send a huge sheep tax every year. But when King Ahab of Israel had died, the king of Moab thought there might be a chance of throwing off Israel’s rule. Today and tomorrow, we are reading about the Israelite war campaign in response to Moab’s defiance.I found the whole account very strange. It is full of odd details and ambiguities that we aren’t given the answers to. Why is King Jehoshaphat of Judah so keen to join in this war? He was a faithful follower of the Lord God – surely he should have known that Joram worshipped idols, and that should have made him think twice?Then there’s Joram saying, in verse 13, that it was the Lord who had prompted him to start this war – but there was nothing about that at the start of the chapter. Is Joram pretending to be following the Lord’s directions, so that Jehoshaphat would join his war effort? Is he using God to justify his own greedy warmongering? “The Lord told us to do this, honest!”Paul says to the Corinthians, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness?” (2 Cor. 6:14) That’s not actually about dating and marriage (though it applies there). It’s warning more broadly against being careless in the kinds of people you enter into close partnerships with, because tying your goals and dreams and promises to those of an unbeliever can sometimes lead to intense pressure to engage in unrighteous conduct. Ask God to give you wisdom to know when to say “no” to these, even if the possible profits or benefits look amazing. ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen is our Senior Minister.