the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Verse- by-Verse Bible Commentary
New American Standard Bible
Bible Study Resources
Nave's Topical Bible - Armies; Moabites; Water; Thompson Chain Reference - Elisha; Jehoshaphat; Miracles; Preparation; Prophet's; Readiness-Unreadiness; Torrey's Topical Textbook - Valleys;
Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 Kings 3:16. Make this valley full of ditches. — The word נחל nachal may be translated brook, as it is by the Vulgate and Septuagint. There probably was a river here, but it was now dry; and the prophet desires that they would enlarge the channel, and cut out various canals from it, and reservoirs, where water might be collected for the refreshment of the army and of the cattle; and these were to be made so wide that the reflection of the sun's rays from this water might be the means of confounding and destroying the Moabites.
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Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on 2 Kings 3:16". "The Adam Clarke Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/acc/2-kings-3.html. 1832.
Bridgeway Bible Commentary
Elisha helps in the defeat of Moab (3:1-27)
Joram (or Jehoram) succeeded his brother Ahaziah in Israel. He was not as bad as his father Ahab, and at least showed some displeasure with Baal worship by removing a sacred pillar that his father had built (3:1-3).
After Ahab’s death, Moab had revolted against Israelite rule and refused to pay tribute, but Ahaziah did nothing about it (see 1:1). Joram tried to recover this valuable source of income by a military attack in which he had the support of Judah and Edom, both of whom would benefit if Moab was weakened. The army marched around the southern end of the Dead Sea and approached Moab from the deserts of Edom (4-8).
When, after a week’s march, the army had no water, Joram blamed God. Jehoshaphat knew God better and asked him through the prophet Elisha what they should do (9-12). Elisha felt no obligation to help Joram, but for the sake of Jehoshaphat he announced that God would supply enough water to meet all their needs. They were then to attack and devastate Moab. That night, probably as a result of a storm in the distant red hills of Edom, water flowed down the dry creek bed beside which the army was camped (13-20).
Next day the refreshed allies slaughtered the falsely confident Moabites and devastated their towns, farmlands and forests. They seemed certain of complete conquest of the land when suddenly, while approaching the last stronghold, they saw the Moabite king sacrifice his son. This must have so inspired the Moabites and terrified the Israelites that the allied army was forced to retreat and finally return home (21-27). Relieved of pressure from their attackers, the Moabites took the opportunity to rebuild their country. Soon they were engaging in guerilla attacks against Israel (see 13:20).
Elisha’s miracles
At this point the writer of Kings departs from his chronological pattern and recounts a number of incidents to demonstrate the nature of Elisha’s work. Elisha had an important part to play in God’s judgment on the northern kingdom because of its unfaithfulness during the time of the dynasty of Omri. He also had to help preserve and strengthen that small body of believers in Israel who remained faithful to God (see 1 Kings 19:15-18). A collection of six stories (4:1-6:7) shows how Elisha used his supernatural powers to help preserve this small remnant when it was threatened with extinction. A second collection (6:8-8:15) deals with that part of his work which was concerned with judgment on the nation Israel.
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Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Fleming, Donald C. "Commentary on 2 Kings 3:16". "Fleming's Bridgeway Bible Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bbc/2-kings-3.html. 2005.
Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible
ELISHA PROPHESIED GOD'S PROVISION OF ABUNDANT WATER
"And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay; for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, that when the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him. And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, Make this valley full of trenches. For thus saith Jehovah, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, and ye shall drink both ye and your cattle and your beasts."
The first two verses here reveal the complete rejection of the king of Israel by the prophet, for he declared flatly that, if he had not been accompanied by the king of Judah the prophet would not even have looked at him.
"Make this valley full of trenches" The different rendition here by the RSV is probably correct, based upon the fact that God did NOT need any help to supply plenty of water for that host with all their animals. That rendition is, "Thus saith the Lord, I will make this dry stream-bed full of pools." We strongly prefer the RSV here, because it frustrates the erroneous interpretation of some writers that, "In this wady it is still possible to obtain water by digging for it!"
"Ye shall not see wind, neither… rain, yet this valley shall be filled with water" This prophecy of Elisha meant that the wind and rain normally to be expected together (in that area) would NOT be seen. Why? It would occur at a great distance from the host, and none of them would even be aware of it. It should be noted that Elisha did not say that there would not be rain, but that they would not see it!
"Ye shall drink… ye and your cattle and your beasts" "The cattle (Hebrew = flocks and herds) is a reference to their food supply, and beasts refers to the luggage animals."
Coffman's Commentaries reproduced by permission of Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. All other rights reserved.
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on 2 Kings 3:16". "Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/2-kings-3.html. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.
Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible
Ditches - Or “pits” Jeremiah 14:3. They were to dig pits in the broad valley or wady, wherein the water might remain, instead of flowing off down the torrent course.
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Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on 2 Kings 3:16". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bnb/2-kings-3.html. 1870.
Smith's Bible Commentary
Chapter 3
Now chapter 3.
Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, and he reigned for twelve years ( 2 Kings 3:1 ).
So Jehoram, the other son of Ahab, began now to reign while Jehoshaphat was still king of Judah; he reigned for twelve years.
And he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not as bad as his father: for he did remove the Baal image of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he continued in the ways of the first king of Israel, Jeroboam, and he made Israel to sin ( 2 Kings 3:2-3 ).
Now this time Moab, the area across Jordan River, the area that is now Jordan, rebelled against Israel. They have been tributaries, and Moab had to pay a hundred thousand sheep and a hundred thousand goats a year as tribute. They have been conquered, and so this was the tribute that was laid upon them. A hundred thousand sheep, hundred thousand goats with the full wool were to be turned over to the king of Israel every year. And the king of Moab rebelled against this, so Jehoram drafted all of the men of Israel and he sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah asking him to go up against Moab with him in battle. And so he said, "Of course, I'm as you are. You know, my men with your men." And so they said, "Which way shall they go?" And they said, "Let's go down through Edom." So they were going to go south and attack them at the flank from the southern flank. The king of Edom joined with them.
And so they made this journey. It would be south of the Dead Sea to Edom, and then coming north on the other side of the Jordan River to attack Moab. And they came to a barren area.
No water for them, and for the cattle that followed them. And the king of Israel said, Alas! the LORD has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! But Jehoshaphat said, Isn't there a prophet around here, that we might inquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king's servants answered and said, There is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which actually ministered unto Elijah. 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. And Elisha said to the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? Why don't you go to the prophets of your father, and the prophets of your mother? ( 2 Kings 3:9-13 )
Elisha really had no use for the king of Israel because of the idolatry that was in the land.
And he said, Nay: the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts lives, if it weren't that I respected Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not even pay any attention to you. I wouldn't even look at you. But bring me now a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make a valley full of trenches. For you will not see the wind, neither will you see the rain; yet the valley will be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites into your hand. And ye shall smite every fenced city, every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all the wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones. And so 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 3:13-20 ).
Now this does happen down there in that great rift by the Dead Sea. It can be a hot sunny day, and suddenly you get torrents of water flowing down through the canyon from the rain that... It's like out here in the desert when it rains in the mountains. You can be going through the desert, and it can be having a cloudburst up in the mountains, and these gullies just become filled with water. Though it may not even be raining where you are, the gullies become just torrents, rivers. And so this did happen there. They didn't see the rain; they didn't hear the winds. And yet, the valley was full of water that came from Edom.
And now when the Moabites heard that the kings were coming to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armor, and they stood at the border. And they rose up early in the morning, and they saw this valley full of water but in the early morning sun reflecting off of it, it looked like blood ( 2 Kings 3:21-22 ):
The early morning sun rising was a reddish, you know, the reddish tint that is, and as it was reflecting on the water, they said, "Oh, they must have all taken the sword against each other and they've been fighting with each other. Let's go in and just mop them up." And so, they came rushing in, in a mop-up operation, and of course, all of the fellows were just waiting for them. And so the Moabites were defeated, and they went forth and destroyed the cities. "
Copyright © 2014, Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, Ca.
Smith, Charles Ward. "Commentary on 2 Kings 3:16". "Smith's Bible Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/csc/2-kings-3.html. 2014.
Dr. Constable's Expository Notes
God’s victory over the Moabites ch. 3
Even though Jehoram was better spiritually than Ahab (2 Kings 3:2), he was still so much of an idolater that Elisha had no use for him (2 Kings 3:13-14).
Mesha had rebelled against Israel earlier (2 Kings 3:3), but he continued to do so. This uprising led to the alliance and battle the writer described in this chapter. Jehoram evidently sought an alliance with Jehoshaphat because he wanted to cross Judean territory to get to Moab. [Note: Stigers, p. 343.] The southern approach to Moab through Edom apparently did not have as strong defenses as Moab’s northern border (2 Kings 3:8). Edom was at this time under Judah’s authority. Jehoram regarded the water shortage as a judgment from Yahweh (2 Kings 3:10). Elisha used to serve Elijah by pouring water on his hands as Elijah washed them, a menial task, as well as in other ways (2 Kings 3:11; 1 Kings 19:21). Music sometimes facilitated prophetic revelations (cf. 1 Samuel 16:23).
"It is more likely amid these calamitous circumstances Elisha simply wanted soothing music played so that he might be quieted before God and thus to be brought to a mood conducive for God to reveal to him his will." [Note: Leon J. Wood, The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament, p. 118.]
Elisha conceded to help because Jehoshaphat had humbled himself by seeking Yahweh’s assistance (2 Kings 3:12). God provided water (refreshment) supernaturally to His people, but He brought defeat and lack of fertility and productivity on Moab for opposing Israel. He began the deliverance at the time of the Israelites’ daily sacrifice when they symbolically dedicated themselves anew to God (2 Kings 3:20). God’s deliverance was supernatural (2 Kings 3:22-23) and showed everyone present that Israel’s victory was not her own doing.
"The dried-up river bed (probably the Wadi Hesa; River Zered) was to have many trenches (Heb. ’trenches trenches’) dug to retain the flash-flood (Arab. sayl) which would result from rain falling out of sight on the distant Moabite hills. This form of irrigation is still common in central and southern Arabia." [Note: Wiseman, p. 201.]
Kir-hereseth (modern Kerak) stood on an easily defended hill. In the ancient Near East nations generally viewed defeat in battle as a sign that they had offended their gods who were punishing them. For this reason Mesha offered the supreme sacrifice, his heir to the throne, to Chemosh, the Moabite god (2 Kings 3:27). Mesha’s sacrifice of his son was an integral part of an age-old Canaanite tradition of sacral warfare. It virtually guaranteed, from his point of view, that his god would save the lives of the entire population under siege. [Note: Baruch Margalit, "Why King Mesha of Moab Sacrificed His Oldest Son," Biblical Archaeology Review 12:6 (November-December 1986):62-63. Cf. Montgomery, p. 363.]
This sacrifice expressed Mesha’s great wrath against Israel. The battle meant everything to him. Nevertheless it was not that important to the members of the alliance that opposed him. All they wanted to do was keep Moab from revolting. Therefore the allies departed from Mesha and returned home having won the battle even though they could not take Mesha’s stronghold.
"The object of the campaign had been attained; the power of Moab was broken, the rebellion suppressed, and the country again placed under the scepter of the king of Israel." [Note: F. W. Krummacher, Elisha, p. 45.]
The Moabite Stone, a significant archaeological find, contains Mesha’s own record of this battle and other battles with Israel. On it he claimed to have won with Chemosh’s help. Though he lost the battle he did not lose his life or his capital.
This chapter shows that God was willing to give Israel victory because she allied with Jehoshaphat who humbled himself under God (cf. 2 Kings 2:23-25). God in His grace sometimes allows His blessings for obedience to spill over to those who are less worthy (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:14).
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Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentary on 2 Kings 3:16". "Dr. Constable's Expository Notes". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dcc/2-kings-3.html. 2012.
Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible
And he said, thus saith the Lord, make this valley full of ditches. In which the allied army lay encamped, that they might be ready to receive large quantities of water, sufficient for the whole army and cattle, when it came.
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernised and adapted for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rights Reserved, Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Gill, John. "Commentary on 2 Kings 3:16". "Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/2-kings-3.html. 1999.
Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible
| The Expedition against Moab; Elisha Consulted. | B. C. 895. |
6 And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel. 7 And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses. 8 And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. 9 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them. 10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! 11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. 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. 13 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. 14 And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee. 15 But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him. 16 And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches. 17 For 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. 18 And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand. 19 And 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.
Jehoram has no sooner got the sceptre into his hand than he takes the sword into his hand, to reduce Moab. Crowns bring great cares and perils to the heads that wear them; no sooner in honour than in war. Now here we have,
I. The concerting of this expedition between Jehoram king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah. Jehoram levied an army (2 Kings 3:6; 2 Kings 3:6), and such an opinion he had of the godly king of Judah that, 1. He courted him to be his confederate: Wilt thou go with me against Moab? And he gained him. Jehoshaphat said, I will go up. I am as thou art,2 Kings 3:7; 2 Kings 3:7. Judah and Israel, though unhappily divided from each other, yet can unite against Moab a common enemy. Jehoshaphat upbraids them not with their revolt from the house of David, nor makes it an article of their alliance that they shall return to their allegiance, though he had good reason to insist upon it, but treats with Israel as a sister-kingdom. Those are no friends to their own peace and strength who can never find in their hearts to forgive and forget an old injury, and unite with those that have formerly broken in upon their rights. Quod initio non vulvit, tractu temporis invalescit--That which was originally destitute of authority in the progress of time acquires it. 2. He consulted him as his confidant, 2 Kings 3:8; 2 Kings 3:8. He took advice of Jehoshaphat, who had more wisdom and experience than himself, which way they should make their descent upon the country of Moab; and he advised that they should not march against them the nearest way, over Jordan, but go round through the wilderness of Edom, that they might take the king of Edom (who was tributary to him) and his forces along with them If two be better than one, much more will not a three-fold cord be easily broken. Jehoshaphat had like to have paid dearly for joining with Ahab, yet he joined with his son, and this expedition also had like to have been fatal to him. There is nothing got by being yoked with unbelievers.
II. The great straits that the army of the confederates was reduced to in this expedition. Before they saw the face of an enemy they were all in danger of perishing for want of water, 2 Kings 3:9; 2 Kings 3:9. This ought to have been considered before they ventured a march through the wilderness, the same wilderness (or very near it) where their ancestors wanted water, Numbers 20:2. God suffers his people, by their own improvidence, to bring themselves into distress, that the wisdom, power, and goodness of his providence may be glorified in their relief. What is more cheap and common than water? It is drink to every beast of the field,Psalms 104:11. Yet the want of it will soon humble and ruin kings and armies. The king of Israel sadly lamented the present distress, and the imminent danger it put them in of falling into the hands of their enemies the Moabites, to whom, when weakened by thirst, they would be an easy prey, 2 Kings 3:10; 2 Kings 3:10. it was he that had called these kings together; yet he charges it upon Providence, and reflects upon that as unkind: The Lord has called them together. Thus the foolishness of man perverteth his way, and then his heart fretteth against the Lord,Proverbs 19:3.
III. Jehoshaphat's good motion to ask counsel of God in this exigency, 2 Kings 3:11; 2 Kings 3:11. The place they were now in could not but remind them of the wonders of which their fathers told them, the waters fetched out of the rock for Israel's seasonable supply. The thought of this, we may suppose, encouraged Jehoshaphat to ask, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, like unto Moses? He was the more concerned because it was by his advice that they fetched this compass through the wilderness, 2 Kings 3:8; 2 Kings 3:8. It was well that Jehoshaphat enquired of the Lord now, but it would have been much better if he had done it sooner, before he engaged in this war, or steered this course; so the distress might have been prevented. Good men are sometimes remiss and forgetful, and neglect their duty till necessity and affliction drive them to it.
IV. Elisha recommended as a proper person for them to consult with 2 Kings 3:11; 2 Kings 3:11. And here we may wonder, 1. That Elisha should follow the camp, especially in such a tedious march as this, as a volunteer, unasked, unobserved, and in no post of honour at all; not in the office of priest of the war (Deuteronomy 20:2) or president of the council of war, but in such obscurity that none of the kings knew they had such a jewel in the treasures of their camp, nor so good a friend in their retinue. We may suppose it was by special direction from heaven that Elisha attended the war, as the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof. Thus does God anticipate his people with the blessings of his goodness and provide his oracles for those that provide them not for themselves. It would often be bad with us if God did not take more care of us, both for soul and body, than we take for ourselves. 2. That a servant of the king of Israel knew of his being there when the king himself did not. Probably it was such a servant as Obadiah was to his father Ahab, one that feared the Lord; to such a one Elisha made himself known, not to the kings. The account he gives of him is that it was he that poured water on the hands of Elijah, that is, he was his servant, and particularly attended him when he washed his hands. He that will be great, let him learn to minister: he that will rise high, let him begin low.
V. The application which the kings made to Elisha. They went down to him to his quarters, 2 Kings 3:12; 2 Kings 3:12. Jehoshaphat had such an esteem for a prophet with whom the word of the Lord was that he would condescend to visit him in his own person and not send for him up to him. The other two were moved by the straits they were in to make their court to the prophet. He that humbled himself was thus exalted, and looked great, when three kings came to knock at his door, and beg his assistance; see Revelation 3:9.
VI. The entertainment which Elisha gave them. 1. He was very plain with the wicked king of Israel (2 Kings 3:13; 2 Kings 3:13): "What have I to do with thee? How canst thou expect an answer of peace from me? Get thee to the prophets of thy father and mother, whom thou hast countenanced and maintained in thy prosperity, and let them help thee now in thy distress." Elisha was not imposed upon, as Jehoshaphat was, by his partial and hypocritical reformation; he knew that, though he had put away the image of Baal, Baal's prophets were still dear to him, and perhaps some of the were now in his camp. "Go," said he, "go to them. Get you to the gods whom you have served,Judges 10:14. The world and the flesh have ruled you, let them help you; why should God be enquired of by you?" Exodus 14:3. Elisha tells him to his face, in a holy indignation at his wickedness, that he can scarcely find in his heart to look towards him or to see him,2 Kings 3:14; 2 Kings 3:14. Jehoram is to be respected as a prince, but as a wicked man he is a vile person, and is to be condemned, Psalms 15:4. Elisha, as a subject, will honour him, but as a prophet he will cause him to know his iniquity. For those that had such an extraordinary commission it was fit (though not for a common person) to say to a king, Thou art wicked,Job 34:18. Jehoram has so much self-command as to take this plain dealing patiently; he cares not now for hearing of the prophets of Baal, but is a humble suitor to the God of Israel and his prophet, representing the present case as very deplorable and humbly recommending it to the prophet's compassionate consideration. In effect, he owns himself unworthy, but let not the other kings be ruined for his sake. 2. Elisha showed a great respect to the godly king of Judah, regarded his presence, and, for his sake, would enquire of the Lord for them all. It is good being with those that have God's favour and his prophet's love. Wicked people often fare the better for the friendship and society of those that are godly. 3. He composed himself to receive instructions from God. His mind was somewhat ruffled and disturbed at the sight of Jehoram; though he was not put into a sinful heat or passion, nor had spoken unadvisedly, yet his zeal for the present indisposed him for prayer and the operations of the Spirit, which required a mind very calm and sedate. He therefore called for a musician (2 Kings 3:15; 2 Kings 3:15), a devout musician, one accustomed to play upon his harp and sign psalms to it. To hear God's praises sweetly sung, as David had appointed, would cheer his spirits, and settle his mind, and help to put him into a right frame both to speak to him and to hear from him. We find a company of prophets prophesying with a psaltery and a tabret before them,1 Samuel 10:5. Those that desire communion with God must keep their spirits quiet and serene. Elisha being refreshed, and having the tumult of his spirits laid by this divine music, the hand of the Lord came upon him, and his visit did him more honour than that of three kings. 4. God, by him, gave them assurance that the issue of the present distress would be comfortable and glorious. (1.) They should speedily be supplied with water, 2 Kings 3:16; 2 Kings 3:17. To try their faith and obedience, he bids them make the valley full of ditches to receive the water. Those that expect God's blessings must prepare room for them, dig the pools for the rain to fill, as they did in the valley of Baca, and so made even that a well, Psalms 84:6. To raise the wonder, he tells them they shall have water enough, and yet there shall be neither wind nor rain. Elijah, by prayer, obtained water out of the clouds, but Elisha fetches it nobody knows whence. The spring of these waters shall be as secret as the head of the Nile. God is not tied to second causes. Ordinarily it is by a plentiful rain that God confirms his inheritance (Psalms 68:9), but here it is done without rain, at least without rain in that place. Some of the fountains of the great deep, it is likely, were broken up on this occasion; and, to increase the miracle, that valley only (as it should seem) was filled with water, and no other place had any share of it. (2.) That supply should be an earnest of victory (2 Kings 3:18; 2 Kings 3:18): "This is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord; you shall not only be saved from perishing, but shall return in triumph." As God gives freely to the unworthy, so he gives richly, like himself, more than we are able to ask or think. His grants out-do our requests and expectations. Those that sincerely seek for the dew of God's grace shall have it, and by it be made more than conquerors. It is promised that they shall be masters of the rebellious country, and they are permitted to lay it waste and ruin it, 2 Kings 3:19; 2 Kings 3:19. The law forbade them to fell fruit-trees to be employed in their sieges (Deuteronomy 20:19), but not when it was intended, in justice, for the starving of a country that had forfeited its fruits, by denying tribute to those to whom tribute was due.
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that is available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library Website.
Henry, Matthew. "Complete Commentary on 2 Kings 3:16". "Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhm/2-kings-3.html. 1706.
Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible
However, the next chapter (2 Kings 3:1-27) brings us at once into earthly circumstances. "Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah." There was no doubt a painful state of things most offensive to God. Not that the king of Judah was not pious, but that his testimony was ruined by his alliance with the kingdom of Israel. Accordingly, then, we find there is great weakness here, though God deals in nothing but tender mercy and goodness. The king of Moab provokes a rebellion against the king of Israel, and Jehoram goes to put it down. He calls upon Jehoshaphat to fulfil his treaty obligations, and, with the king of Edom, goes against the refractory king of Moab. But they come into difficulties. They are in danger of being themselves overthrown.
"Alas!" said the king of Moab, after they had been for some time without water and food for the cattle "alas! that Jehovah hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab." Jehoshaphat knew better. "Is there not here a prophet of Jehovah," says he, "that we may enquire of Jehovah by him?" And one of them tells him of Elisha. Jehoshaphat at once recognized him. He knows that the word of Jehovah is with him. So they go down to him; and Elisha says to the king of Israel, "What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the prophets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay; for Jehovah hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab." False confidence soon yields to real despair, but faith can be calm and wait upon God. "And Elisha said, As Jehovah liveth before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee."
There is no doubt in this a rebuke, and a stern one, but we shall find that the action of the prophet is full of grace. "But now bring me a minstrel." He felt, as it were, that he was out of tune with his proper ministry. The presence of the wicked king had disturbed the heavenly tone of his soul. "Bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of Jehovah came upon him. And he said, Thus saith Jehovah, Make this valley full of ditches. For thus saith Jehovah, 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. And this is but a light thing in the sight of Jehovah; he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand." Thus an answer of mercy comes instead of judgment. "And 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." This very thing misleads the Moabites, for they fancy it is blood. "And they rose up early in the morning and the sun shone upon the waters, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood" for God was pleased that so it should appear. "And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another; now therefore Moab to the spoil." They were caught in their own trap. "But when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rode up and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them; but they went forward smiting the Moabites even in their country. And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees: only in Kirharaseth left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about and smote it. And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom; but they could not." The defeat not only was immediate but hopeless, so much so that the king was guilty of an act that filled the people of Edom with indignation against Israel. "For he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel, and they departed from him." This then was another signal manifestation of the mercy that God had caused to shine through Elisha.
But we find further in the next chapter (2 Kings 4:1-44), and in a very beautiful way not in these outward events that the world calls great, but in that which in my judgment is a still more blessed pledge, a witness of the real greatness of God. The greatness of God is far more shown in His care for souls, for individuals and in his ability to think of the least want and of the least necessity of His people. "Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear Jehovah; and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons as bondmen." Elisha asked her what she wished him to do, and what she had in the house. "And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil." Now it is according to what we can receive that God loves to bless us. "Go, borrow thee," says he, "vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. So she went from him and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed." It is only so that the blessing stays. There never can be a stay to the blessing as long as there is a heart ready to receive it. What a remarkable illustration! "Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt."
But this is not all. There is no doubt the rich supply of that which is the well-known type too, of what is essential of the Spirit. But further, "It fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman" that is, a person of consequence "and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread" for Elisha was not as Elijah. Elijah was more after the pattern of John the Baptist who repelled the advances of men; who rebuked, if he came across those who were in exalted station but living to dishonour God. Elisha, on the contrary, was a witness of grace, and he therefore does not turn away from the habitations of men into the desert, but could, as we see, pass in to eat bread with this Shunammite. "And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick; and it shall be when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither."
So on one day that he was there, he bethought him of a return of love for the love that was shown to him. And he called the Shunammite, and when she stood before him, he said unto her, "Behold thou hast been careful for us with all this care what is to be done for thee? Wouldst thou be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the host?" We can hardly conceive such an enquiry from Elijah; it was perfectly in keeping with Elisha; and I am anxious to bring out strongly the contrast between this twofold ministry. "And she answered, I dwell among mine own people"; she was right, she was content; and godliness with contentment is great gain. "He said to Gehazi, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child and her husband is old. And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door. And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid" but so it was according to the word of the prophet.
Yet in this world, even the mercies and the gifts of God are not without deep trial, and so it was that the Shunammite's son for the more that he was loved and valued as the gift of God, most especially by his mother, sorrow was her portion was taken sick, comes home to his mother and dies. "And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door upon him and went out. And she called unto her husband and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God and come again." The husband little knowing what was the matter, wonders, but the point is yielded, and she sets out and comes in full haste to mount Carmel. And the man of God seeing her afar off, remarks upon it to his servant Gehazi. And when she came to him she caught him by the feet, so that the servant wished to repel her. But the prophet knew right well that there was some worthy cause for an action so peculiar. "Her soul is vexed within her," said he most surely, "and Jehovah hath hid it from me" even the one that was the witness of grace none the less. "Then she said, Did I desire a son, O my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?"
He understands. He says to Gehazi, "Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand and go thy way." He was to go peremptorily, heeding no one, saluting no one. He had his mission to lay the prophet's staff upon the face of the child. This would not satisfy the faith of the mother. The staff would not do. The prophet, and nothing else than the prophet, must go. She said, "As Jehovah liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her."
So here again was another test of faith, and she was right. "And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the, child; but there was neither voice nor hearing. Yes, she was right. "Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him saying, The child is not awaked. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto Jehovah. And he went up and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands, and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm."
All the world might have done it in vain. God was pleased so to draw out the mind and heart of the prophet. It was not merely to be a cold request or even an earnest one. It showed in the most vivid manner that God had an interest in the prophet and answers faith. "Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up and stretched himself upon him; and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. Then she went in and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son and went out."
Here then was not merely the gracious reply of what was good, but the power that was superior to evil, in its form most terrible to man upon the earth, superior to death. And this too in perfect grace. It was not that the Shunammite had asked him for the blessing, for it was he who had sought to give the blessing. But at the same time God wrought in her heart to expect another, and she was not disappointed.
Yet it was not merely in this way; for now we find a dearth in the land. And the sons of the prophets were there. "And as they were seething pottage, one of them put in some wild gourds, which were poisonous. So they poured out for the men to eat, and it came to pass as they were eating of the pottage that they cried out and said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot. And they could not eat thereof. But he said, Then bring meal. And he cast it into the pot; and he said, Pour out for the people that they may eat. And there was no harm in the pot." It is the same character of gracious power.
Further, another thing it was unselfishly gracious; for when the prophet was presented with twenty loaves of barley and full ears of corn in the husks thereof, he says again, "Give unto the people that they may eat." We remember the remarkable difference in the case of Elijah, who tested the faith of the poor widow by asking first for himself. Not but what he knew the power that would meet her need, but still he tested her after so severe a sort. But in this case, thoroughly characteristic of Elisha's ministry, what is sent to him, he gives to others. And his servant, astonished, asked him, "What, should I set this before an hundred men? He said again, Give the people that they may eat, for thus saith Jehovah, They shall eat and shall leave thereof. So he set it before them, and they did eat and left thereof, according to the word of Jehovah." There is no stinting with God. But it is not merely in the midst of the distressed, and the mourning, and the needy, and the dying, or dead, of God's people. The grace of God, when once it begins to flow, breaks over all boundaries.
And this is what we learn in the chapter that now follows (2 Kings 5:1-27) and that we have authority from God to interpret it so, can be easily shown. Our Lord Himself shows that the very essence of the teaching of this chapter is the grace that went out sovereignly to visit the Gentiles. There were many lepers in Israel, but it was not there that grace worked. If grace works it will prove its own character, it will prove its own sovereignty, it will prove its own wisdom. God was looking for the neediest where He could be least expected where there was evidently no claim upon Him. Naaman the Syrian, commander in chief of the most powerful Gentile army opposed to Israel, was the one that God was pleased to visit with His mercy and in a manner altogether peculiar, and most encouraging. A little maid of Israel, a little captive maid, becomes the instrument of making it known. But the king of Israel's own powerlessness comes out, for he knew right well that it was not in man to cure leprosy; it was one of the things that God kept in His own power. However, here was exactly the opportunity of the prophet.
I have already referred to the fact, and it is even more remarkable in Elisha's case than in Elijah's, that it is more in deed than in word that we find these two prophets manifesting God. Acts may be as prophetic as words, and their acts were so. We are entitled therefore to give them the fullest meaning they can bear a meaning, of course, guided by scripture elsewhere; for we must bear in mind that symbolic language is just as precise as the ordinary language of every day, and I should say rather more so. It is not everyone that can understand it so easily, but when the heart gets accustomed to the language of the book of God, it is not found so very difficult. There must, of course, be the hearing ear and the attentive heart; but I say again that the symbols of scripture are as fixed in their meaning as the plain language of it.
Now, in this case, we have the Gentile coming to the prophet, and he comes as Gentiles will do, very full of their own thoughts and their own expectations. But the heart must prove its own utter ignorance and folly; it is only so that the full blessing may come. However, to Jordan he must go. His own rivers would not suit just because they were his own. The river of God that is the river for the leper. And there he goes down into the waters of death, for such is the meaning of Jordan not merely for the Jew to enter in, but for the Gentile by grace to receive the full blessing of God. And this, too, when Israel had utterly departed from the living God, and was under a cloud. This chapter puts it very strongly, for I have no doubt that guilty, covetous and unbelieving, is as rightly descriptive of the state of Israel now as then.
Naaman was of the Gentile race; but, alas! the Jew is accursed with the leprosy from which the Gentile is delivered. And such was the state, not merely without a blessing, but under a judicial curse from God. The Gentile then is delivered, and we see the beautiful picture of a man not only set free, but with conscience active because he was set free. I do not say that he was all right; it is in vain to expect that all at once, but he was on the right road. And beautiful it is, beloved friends, to learn the lesson I think we all need it sometimes not to hurry souls, and not to be anxious to form them according to our own mould or our own measure.
Thus we see, though the prophet could have answered at once as to the difficulty that Naaman presented, he leaves him in the hands of God. He had done that which ought well to awaken and exercise the conscience of the Gentile. He would rather leave him than give him premature knowledge. There is nothing that often more stifles the divine life. When people want to use their little well they should be disciplined in the right use of the little they know already. This was the case then with Naaman. Gehazi, alas! Disappears: he has gone out from the presence of God as Israel is now, as it were, gone out from God's presence.
In the next scene (2 Kings 6:1-33) we have Elisha still in the same career of grace. The sons of the prophets find the place where they dwell is too strait for them, and they say, "Let us go to Jordan," and there they take beams, and so on, for the construction of their large dwellings. "But as one was felling a beam, the axe head fell into the water. And he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed."
Now here again we see the same thing. It is not reprimand. No doubt there was carelessness, but it is the grace that can meet every need, the little just as much as the great. And I do not hesitate to say that true greatness shows itself in its capacity to take in the little. "And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick and cast it in thither, and the iron did swim. Therefore, said he, Take it up to thee; and he put out his hand and took it."
In what follows we have what is on a totally different scale, that is, the deliverance that appears from the enemy. Elisha's servant was alarmed, but the prophet prays for him. The film is removed from his eyes, and he sees how true is the word that more were on their side than on that of their adversaries. Elisha's prayer then is answered by the Lord and the mountain was seen to be full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. "And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto Jehovah and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness." But then there is all the difference even between this act and Elijah's. Where Elijah sends anything of the sort, he leaves them to it. When Elisha seems to depart for a season from grace, it is only to show the fuller grace in the end just like our Lord, who, when appearing to be deaf to the Syro-Phenician's request, only meant to send her away with a greater blessing, and a deeper sense of the Lord's goodness.
So now, Elisha leads these very, blinded, men into Samaria, into the city which least of all they would have wished so to enter. They were helpless prisoners so much so that the king of Israel wants to smite them; but the prophet stays his hand. "My father, shall I smite them?" "Thou shalt not smite them. Wouldest thou smite those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and with thy bow? Set bread and water before them that they may eat and drink and go to their master." And what was the effect? "The bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. To have smitten them would have only provoked another campaign. To have smitten them with blindness and to have restored their sight, and then to have fed them with bread and water in the very heart of the enemy's land, brought the immediate surrounding of the power of God so impressively before their eyes that the bands of Syria came no more into the land of Israel. It was no doubt a most effectual blow, but it was a blow of mercy and not of judgment.
What next follows I may be brief upon. We are all more or less familiar, no doubt, with the great famine in Samaria, and how the Lord changed everything, and changed so surprisingly, and by such simple means. The distress was excessive. The king of Israel was most helpless, and all was in confusion. "And as the king of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, If Jehovah do not help thee whence shall I help thee?" "And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we boiled my son and did eat him; and I said unto her on the next day, Give thy son that we may eat him, and she hath hid her son." No wonder that the king rent his clothes, and wore sackcloth; but there was no fear of God on the contrary, there was a murderous intent against the prophet of God.
The blame was laid upon him. "But Elisha sat in his house and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him; but ere the messengers came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer" (for indeed he was) "hath sent to take away mine head." But there is no fire that comes down from heaven to consume him quite the contrary. He said, "Behold this evil is of Jehovah; what should I wait for Jehovah any longer." There was no fear of God before the king's eyes. There was no confidence in God; and the fear of, and confidence in, God go together.
Now what does Elisha say? "Hear ye the word of Jehovah. Thus saith Jehovah, Tomorrow about this time shall a measure of fine flour be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria." There was to be then the utmost abundance, and that, too, the very next day, where there was this most excessive famine even to the eating of poor little children. We can understand how that unbelieving lord should challenge the word of the prophet and say, "Behold, if Jehovah would make windows in heaven, might this thing be?" He did not expect that God was listening, and that God was answering, for his prophet instantly replies, "Thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but shalt not eat thereof." And so it was.
Then we have details of the four lepers brought before us, and the fleeing away of the Syrians, and the abundance that was left behind, and the way in which they themselves had found the mercy of God meeting them in their distress. They became the heralds of it to others that were only less distressed than themselves. Thus was the word accomplished, and there was abundance of food for the people. The word was fulfilled to the letter, but not yet was the ministry of Elisha exhausted.
For in the next chapter (2 Kings 8:1-29) he goes and says to the woman whose son he had restored to life, "Arise, and go thou and thy household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn." What was he going to do? To inflict a famine upon the land? Nay. We do not hear that it was he that prayed for it, but we do hear that it was he that warned this Shunammite, so that she should be preserved from the bitter consequences of the famine. It was an intervention of grace and not an execution of judgment. The Shunammite woman is told to go where she can. "It shall come upon the land," says he, "for seven years. And the woman arose and did after the saying of the man of God. And she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years." And when the full time of dearth was passed, this woman returned.
Can one doubt that as Gehazi represents Israel in their unbelief, and the solemn judgment of God upon them, because of it, and that too when the Gentile receives the blessing (for nothing more irritated Israel, as we see in the New Testament, than the Gentile receiving such a blessing of God), so here we find this woman is the sign of the return of Israel after the long period. The full term of famine has passed over the land once favoured of God, but now given up to the miserable curse. She returns again, then, out of the land of the Philistines, and she comes and cries to the king for her house and land. And the king was talking at that very moment with Gehazi (or what remained of this miserable man) of the wonders he had once seen, but no longer had an active personal interest in. And this is all that poor Israel can do. This is all that Gehazi does in the courts of the king.
So the Jew may talk of his traditional glory, but he has got none now. All that he can have now is to his shame. He is a wanderer and a vagabond on the face of the earth. No matter what he may be, such is an Israelite now. He is under the very badge of shame. He carries on his brow his sentence as a wanderer and a leper before God. But there are bright hopes for Israel, and to Israel they will surely come. Not to this generation the generation that cast out the Lord and has continued in its unbelief it will still come under the desperate judgments of God. But there is a generation to come. I believe therefore that as Gehazi is the type of this generation, the woman now returning after the seven years is the type of the generation to come. And she has all restored to her, and the fruits of the field. She not merely enters upon her land intact, but all that she should have had during the long seven years is all given back; for the Lord will repay with interest all that is due to Israel. And what will He not count due when He is pleased to take up the cause of His ancient people? Thus, then, we have Elisha still in the activity of grace.
And he comes to Damascus, and there he acts more strictly as a prophet than we have usually seen him, though I do not doubt that all was prophetic. All his actions were prophetic, as I have been endeavouring a little to show you here. And Elisha tells Hazael, in answer to the request of the king of Syria, that his master was to die, but that there was no necessity that he should die. Alas! he was to die by the treacherous hand of man; and the man was there. It was none other than this Hazael. Elisha said to him, "Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover; howbeit Jehovah hath showed me that he shall surely die." This was a riddle. "And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed." For deep thoughts passed in the prophet's mind as he looked upon the face of the murderer the murderer in prospect. "And the man of God wept." Well he might as he thought of such ways upon earth. "And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel. And Hazael said, But what! is thy servant a dog that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, Jehovah hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria." And so it came to pass. And the chapter pursues the public events of the kingdom, on which I need not dwell more than just to finish the story of Elisha.
But in 2 Kings 9:1-37, Elisha again is found. "He called one of the children of the prophets and said unto him, Gird up thy loins and take this box of oil in thine hand and go to Ramoth Gilead. And when thou comest thither, look out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi and go in and make him arise up from among his brethren." And so it was done. The young man went and anointed him for his work. He gives him his terrible commission, and Jehu does not fail of accomplishing it the commission of destroying, cutting off from Ahab every male. "And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel," the portion of sin, of covetousness and blood. But here I must close for the present.
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Kelly, William. "Commentary on 2 Kings 3:16". Kelly Commentary on Books of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wkc/2-kings-3.html. 1860-1890.
