Thursday Evening Bible Study

January 24, 2013

Introduction

Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel preached? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk – Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved?

After the death of King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel split into two nations.

The northern kingdom would be known as “Israel”.

The southern kingdom was known as “Judah”.

We’ve followed the events in the northern kingdom as one dynasty was replaced by another, and we are now in dynasty of wicked Ahab and Jezebel, and though Ahab is dead, the northern kingdom is ruled by one of his sons, Jehoram.

During this time of great wickedness, God had a man that He was using – the prophet Elijah.  But now Elijah is gone, and the man of the hour is the prophet Elisha.

We pick it up toward the end of chapter 2 (which we didn’t cover last week…)

2:19-22 Water Purified

:19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees; but the water is bad, and the ground barren.”

:19 the men of the city

Last week as we watched the transition from Elijah to Elisha, we watched as Elisha followed Elijah from city to city. 

Play Elisha/Elijah travel map clip

They went from Samaria to Gilgal, then to Bethel, to Jericho, to the Jordan River, crossed the Jordan River, and then came back to Jericho where there had been a “school of the prophets”.

They are back in Jericho

:19 this city is pleasant … but

Jericho is a nice place.  But they were having a problem – the water was bad.

:20 And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

:21 Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.’ ”

:22 So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.

:21 I have healed this water

It was the Lord that healed the waters, not the salt.

I think this is intended to be a lesson to teach us something.

I think it can be a beautiful picture for us to learn from.

Lesson

Healing the waters

God has placed us in places that have lots of needs, and lots of putrid things going on, even though the world we live in can be quite the “pleasant place”.  I think of our nation.  Perhaps where you work.  Perhaps your neighborhood.  Perhaps your family.

God requires a new vessel.

God likes to break the mold every once in a while. The Pharisees had a problem with why Jesus seemed to be shaking things up so much with His teachings. Jesus said,

(Mt 9:17 NLT) “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine is stored in new wineskins so that both are preserved.”

Sometimes God wants to do things differently. A new way of going about things.

(Is 43:19 NKJV) Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.

God requires salt

That’s us.

(Mt 5:13 NKJV) “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

Maybe all God needs is to have a new vessel filled with salt, and throw the salt into the polluted spring.

Maybe there’s other ways this can be applied, perhaps to your neighborhood or work.

:22 the water remains healed

From Pastor Chuck: “Today, right across the street from the Tel of Jericho, you can go to Elisha’s spring. Still a very healthy spring. Good flow of water comes out, and I’ve drunk the water, and it is good, even till this day. That spring was healed, the water is not brackish, it’s very palatable, and of course the area below where the water flows, is just verdant garden area. Beautiful! And so, during the time of Elisha, that spring was healed, and it remains so to the present day.”

2:23-25 Bear Attack

:23 Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!”

:23 some youths came from the city

The Old King James has “little children”, which is unfortunate.

The Hebrew word is “na’ar”

Abraham uses it to describe the young warriors in his army (Gen. 14:24)

It is used to describe part of the crowd that tried to rape Lot’s visitors (Gen. 19:4)

It is used to describe Joseph when he was seventeen (Gen. 37:2), and again when he was thirty (Gen. 41:12).

It might be more appropriate to think of Elisha being confronted by a gang.

:23 from there to Bethel

Play Jericho to Bethel map clip

14 miles back up into the hills from Jericho.

Keep in mind that Bethel not only had a “school of the prophets”, but it is one of the places where the “golden calves” of Jeroboam were set up.

This is one of the places where Jeroboam’s twisted religion was being taught.

It’s very possible that these young men are followers of the golden calf.

:23 Go up, you baldhead!

I guess you could say that we have an idea about Elisha’s appearance.

They are taunting him.  Word has gotten out that Elijah had ascended into heaven in a chariot of fire.  They want to know where his ride is.

:24 So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the Lord. And two female bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.

:24 pronounced a curse

There must have been a decent reason for this curse to come in God’s sight.

(Pr 26:2 NKJV) Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, So a curse without cause shall not alight.

:24 mauled forty-two of the youths

Illustration

Two hunters were in the forest when they came across a huge grizzly bear. One of the hunters raised his rifle and shot, but instead of killing the bear, he only wounded it, making the bear really mad. The bear began to charge the hunters. One of the hunters stopped, took off his boots and began to put on a pair of tennis shoes. The other hunter said, “What are you doing, do you think you’re going to out run that bear?” “No”, replied the hunter, “I only have to out run you!”

These were pretty fearsome bears. Two bears against forty-two young men. None of them ran fast enough. Note: It doesn’t say that forty-two were killed, but that the bears “mauled” them.

Lessons

1. Be nice to bald people.

Like Pastor Chuck and Greg Laurie J

2. Teach your children to respect others.

(Le 19:32 NKJV) ‘You shall rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man, and fear your God: I am the Lord.

Parents, I believe this starts by making sure that your kids respect you.

I determined early on that when I heard my kids speak disrespectfully to my wife or myself, it was worthy of a paddle if need be.

Not in anger, but in discipline and instruction.

Note to single parents: It’s not wrong to expect respect for yourself.

You may have problems respecting yourself, but if you allow you children to do the same, it’s not only hurting you, but even worse, you are teaching your children to disrespect authority.

:25 Then he went from there to Mount Carmel, and from there he returned to Samaria.

:25 Mount Carmel

Play Bethel – Carmel – Samaria map clip

Elisha travels another 65 miles to the north from Bethel, then another 40 miles back to Samaria.

Remember that Carmel was the place where Elijah had the showdown with the false prophets proving who the real God was.

Then he’s back to Samaria, where the king lives.

3:1-27 The Moab Rebellion

:1 Now Jehoram the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned twelve years.

:1 Jehoram the son of Ahab

When Ahab died, his son Ahaziah originally had taken the throne. Ahaziah died due to an accident (2Ki. 1), and since Ahaziah didn’t have a son to become king, the kingdom is put in the hands of Jehoram, another son of Ahab.

:1 the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat

We were told that the brother Ahaziah started his reign in the 17^th year of Jehoshaphat and reigned two years.

Apparently the way the northern kingdom measured their chronology, being king in part of a year counted for a whole year.

If he began to reign at the end of Jehoshaphat’s 17^th year, and just started into the 18^th year when he died, it was counted as 2 years, though it wasn’t a full two years, since his brother took over in the 18^th year.

This is why things don’t fit perfectly when you try and chart out the chronology of the kings.

:2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made.

:2  he put away the sacred pillar of Baal

This guy was bad, but at least he wasn’t as bad as his dad because he didn’t worship the Baals to the extent that his parents and brother did.

He did though allow Baal worship to continue, but just not as intense.

We’ll see when we get to chapter 10 that Baal worship is still thriving in the northern kingdom.

:3 Nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

:3 the sins of Jeroboam

Jeroboam was the first king of the northern kingdom, as it broke away from Solomon’s son, Rehoboam.

His great sin was to set up two golden calves, one in the north in Dan, and the other in the south in Bethel.

He did this to give the people something to worship, and keep them from going back to worship God in Jerusalem.

The “sins of Jeroboam” were repeated by every single king of the northern kingdom.

:4 Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheepbreeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams.

:4 he regularly paid

As a tributary nation to Israel, this was what Moab paid the king of Israel each year.

The reason for war will be the economy.

:5 But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

:5 when Ahab died

Ahab was a strong leader, and strong militarily.

When the strength is gone, it’s not uncommon for people to take advantage of the situation.

The rebellion actually came while Ahaziah was still king (2Ki.1:1). Jehoram now inherits the problem from his brother.

We talked about this briefly back in 1Ki. 1:1.

:6 So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel.

:7 Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

:7 my people as your people

Jehoshaphat has an ongoing treaty with the northern kingdom because his son is married to Ahab’s daughter Athaliah.

This is how Jehoshaphat got involved in the last battle at Ramoth Gilead, and God had rebuked Jehoshaphat for doing this.

(2 Ch 19:2–3 NKJV) —2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to King Jehoshaphat, “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Therefore the wrath of the Lord is upon you. 3 Nevertheless good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God.”

It’s hard to understand why Jehoshaphat is agreeing so quickly to this.

:8 Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?” And he answered, “By way of the Wilderness of Edom.”

:8 By way of … Edom

Israel is going to be allied with Judah and Edom.

The expected way that you would attack Moab would be from the west, north of the Dead Sea.

But Israel and Judah are going to circle around the Dead Sea and attack from the south.

:9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them.

:9 there was no water

This is a mountainous, desert region with no water in sight. The only water source is the undrinkable Dead Sea. Apparently there is a small stream on the route that usually has water in it, but it must have been dry this time.

:10 And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

:10 For the Lord has …

It’s only been a year or so since the disastrous battle between Israel and the Ammonites, where Micaiah the prophet declared that Yahweh had allowed a deceiving spirit to go and deceive the kings and let them be defeated because God had declared that it was time for Ahab to die.

Perhaps this is in Jehoram’s mind as they start hitting difficulties.

Lesson

Don’t guess, ask.

Sometimes things aren’t what they seem.

Illustration

The Stove

An engineer, a psychologist, and a theologian were hunting in the wilderness of northern Canada. Suddenly, the temperature dropped and a furious snowstorm was upon them. They came across an isolated cabin, far removed from any town. The hunters had heard that the locals in the area were quite hospitable, so they knocked on the door to ask permission to rest. No one answered their knocks, but they discovered the cabin was unlocked and they entered. It was a simple place ... 2 rooms with a minimum of furniture and household equipment. Nothing was unusual about the cabin except the stove. It was large, pot-bellied, and made of cast-iron. What was strange about it was its location ... it was suspended in midair by wires attached to the ceiling beams. “Fascinating,” said the psychologist. “It is obvious that this lonely trapper, isolated from humanity, has elevated this stove so that he can curl up under it and vicariously experience a return to the womb.” “Nonsense!” replied the engineer. “The man is practicing the laws of thermodynamics. By elevating his stove, he has discovered a way to distribute heat more evenly throughout the cabin.” “With all due respect,” interrupted the theologian, “I’m sure that hanging his stove from the ceiling has religious meaning. Fire LIFTED UP has been a religious symbol for centuries.” The three debated the point for several hours without resolving the issue. When the trapper finally returned, they immediately asked him why he had hung his heavy pot-bellied stove from the ceiling. His answer was succinct. “Had plenty of wire, not much stove pipe.”

It seems to me that we can get some pretty silly ideas about God when we look at our circumstances.

Maybe we should learn to simply ask Him and wait for His answer.

(Ps 91:14–15 NLT) —14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them.

:11 But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” So one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.”

:11 Is there no prophet of the Lord here

Good old Jehoshaphat.

He’s got the right idea.  He did this with Ahab and the battle of Ramoth Gilead.

Lesson

Point to the Lord

When you come across a Pessimistic Pete, try suggesting prayer!

It’s amazing what kind of transformations can take place before the throne of God.

And don’t just tell them to pray, you pray with them!

It doesn’t even matter if they don’t believe in God or believe in prayer.

You can play the role of the priest, taking them to their petitions before the throne.

Many times, all it takes is prayer to alleviate a person’s fears:

(Ps 34:4 NKJV) I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.

:11 who poured water on the hands of Elijah

Elisha had been Elijah’s servant.

:12 And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

Apparently Elisha went along with the armies and was somewhere in the camp (vs.11 - “is there not here ...”)

They went down from their chariots and went into Elisha’s tent.

:13 Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

:13 Go to the prophets of your father

Elisha is suggesting that Jehoram gets his answers from the prophets of Baal and Asherah.

:14 And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you.

:14 I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat

Lesson

You bring blessing.

God knows and cares about Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat may be flawed, but he loves the Lord, and God knows that.

God is going to step into this situation because of Jehoshaphat.

We do not live in a perfect world.

We live among and work among people who don’t know the Lord.

Your boss may not be a believer.

Yet God knows you.  God may bless those around you for your sake.

You see it in the life of Joseph, sold as a slave into Egypt, working for a pagan man named Potiphar.

(Ge 39:5 NKJV) So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field.

May you be used to bring blessing to those around you.

:14  before whom I stand

before – paniym – face; in front of, before, in the presence of, in the face of

Elisha is one who has spent time before “God’s face”. 

I stand – ‘amad – to stand, attend upon, be or become servant of

Elisha is one who “stands” as a servant “stands” before his master or before his king.

Qal Perfect

This is a Hebrew “perfect” tense, and it can carry the idea of something completed in the past, that Elisha has “stood” in God’s presence.  It can also be used to convey something similar to a present tense for things that occur frequently, that Elisha is one who “stands” regularly in God’s presence.

Lesson

True authority

Elisha was a man who recognized the true authority in his life.

Here he was being asked for advice from three kings, and yet it is clear to Elisha that the one true authority in his life is God – the One whose face Elisha has been standing before.

(Ps 118:6 NKJV) The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

(Pr 29:25 NKJV) The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.

(Heb 13:5–6 NKJV) —5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

Before Whom do you stand?

:15 But now bring me a musician.” Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

:15 when the musician played …

Lesson

Music and ministry

I think that music has a way of impacting a person’s “soul”, and that has the ability of opening them up to the work of God.

We caught a glimpse of this in Saul’s life. He was told that he would meet a group of musical prophets, and it was then that he would be baptized in the Holy Spirit.

(1 Sa 10:5–6 NKJV) —5 After that you shall come to the hill of God where the Philistine garrison is. And it will happen, when you have come there to the city, that you will meet a group of prophets coming down from the high place with a stringed instrument, a tambourine, a flute, and a harp before them; and they will be prophesying. 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.

David’s music also had an effect on Saul’s life.

(1 Sa 16:23 NKJV) And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

When we are filled with the Spirit, one of the results will be music in our hearts.

(Eph 5:18–20 NKJV) —18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

The command is to be “filled” with the Spirit. But the grammar suggests that the things that follow (speaking, singing, etc.) are results of being filled with the Spirit.

I think music is a good tool that the Lord can use to draw us closer to Him.

:16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’

:17 For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’

:16 this valley

Play Zered video

It is thought that this might be the valley of the River Zered, the southern border of Moab.

:16 Make this valley full of ditches

The ancient people of the Qumran community, known as the Essenes, living around the time of Christ, learned to survive in this desert area where there is no water.

Even though the Dead Sea is nearby, there is nothing drinkable about the Dead Sea.

The people built a system of ditches or aqueducts that would empty into cisterns dug into the ground.

When the hills would get rain, the water runs down through the canyons toward the Dead Sea.  The Qumran community learned to catch all this run off and live off of it.

Play Qumran Water clip.

:18 And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand.

:18 this is a simple matter

The water is nothing.

God is also going to give these kings victory over the Moabites.

:19 Also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

They are commanded to wage destruction upon Moab.

:20 Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.

:20 when the grain offering was offered

This refers to the sacrifices taking place back in the temple in Jerusalem. This is simply a reference to time. This would be the very break of day, no sacrifice was to take place until sunrise (see Gill on Ex.29:39)

:16 valley full of ditches

Lesson

Surviving Dry Times

Everybody goes through “dry” times, times when it doesn’t seem like God is at work in our lives.

People who are new to the faith are wondering if it all is “wearing off”.  It’s not.

It’s just a season.  Everyone goes through dry periods.

We need to learn to keep “digging ditches”.

Keep digging away at God’s Word and get ready for the flood.

Charles Spurgeon told his young preachers that when you are looking for a Bible text to preach from, you keep digging and digging until you find a gem.

Expect that God will fill you again with His Spirit.

The ditches were for holding the water that was about to come rushing through the canyon.

:21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were gathered; and they stood at the border.

:22 Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood.

:23 And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!”

:23 the kings have surely struck swords

I’m not completely sure about the chronology here, but there was another battle that involved Moab, Edom, and the kingdom of Judah somewhere around this time.

The battle described in 2Chronicles 20 was between Moab, Ammon, and Edom against the nation of Judah, and I think it’s possible that it took place before our current battle.

It seems that the 2Chron. 20 battle took place before our current battle since it seems (2Chr. 20:1; 2Chr. 18) that it might have taken place closer to the battle against Ramoth Gilead when Ahab died.

But it may be the other way around, that our battle took place first – not real clear.

Yet in the battle of 2Chron. 20, as Jehoshaphat was facing the combined armies of Moab, Ammon, and Edom, God told Jehoshaphat to just stand by, and God would take care of it.

Judah won the battle, and this is how God did it:

(2 Ch 20:23 NKJV) For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

Perhaps the king of Moab is thinking that these armies approaching him have all killed themselves in the same way.

:23 to the spoil!

When an army thinks the battle is over, and all they have to do is go in and collect the goodies, their guard is going to be down. They might have even taken off their armor so they can carry more spoil.

:24 So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites.

Israel didn’t have to go looking for the enemy, the enemy showed up on their front doorstep.

:25 Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked it.

:25 Kir Haraseth – “wall of clay pottery”

Kir Haraseth was apparently either the capital of Moab at that time, or at least an important city.

Play Kir Haraseth map clip

The Israelite coalition moved south around the Dead Sea and then northward up into Edom.  Look at the cliffs that surrounded Kir Haraseth.  Amazing stuff.

:26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not.

:27 Then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great indignation against Israel. So they departed from him and returned to their own land.

:27 a burnt offering

To these ancient peoples, defeat at the hands of the enemy was a sign that their god was angry at them.

Mesha sacrifices his eldest son to their god Chemosh.

:27 great indignation against Israel

There is a remarkable archeological discovery, called the Moabite Stone, which contains Mesha’s own record of these events.

On this stone, Mesha claimed to have been delivered from the Israelites by his god Chemosh on this day.

He may have had his life spared, but he was still defeated, the rest of the nation was wiped out.

indignation – It doesn’t say that it was God’s indignation against Israel, just indignation.

It is most likely that the armies of Israel and Judah were so disgusted with this human sacrifice, that they decided to leave, figuring that it wasn’t worth staying around and watching what Mesha might do to get out of his siege.

Yet God had still given Israel and Judah a great victory over Moab, just as God said would happen.