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2 Kings Chapter
Three
2 Kings 3
Chapter Contents
Jehoram, king of Israel. (1-5) War with Moab, The
intercession of Elisha. (6-19) Water supplied, Moab overcome. (20-27)
Commentary on 2 Kings 3:1-5
(Read 2 Kings 3:1-5)
Jehoram took warning by God's judgment, and put away the
image of Baal, yet he maintained the worship of the calves. Those do not truly
repent or reform, who only part with the sins they lose by, but continue to
love the sins that they think to gain by.
Commentary on 2 Kings 3:6-19
(Read 2 Kings 3:6-19)
The king of Israel laments their distress, and the danger
they were in. He called these kings together, yet he charges it upon
Providence. Thus the foolishness of man perverteth his way, and then his heart
fretteth against the Lord, Proverbs 19:3. It was well that Jehoshaphat
inquired of the Lord now, but it had been much better if he had done it before
he engaged in this war. Good men sometimes neglect their duty, till necessity
and affliction drive them to it. Wicked people often fare the better for the
friendship and society of the godly. To try their faith and obedience, Elisha
bids them make the valley full of pits to receive water. Those who expect God's
blessings, must dig pools for the rain to fill, as in the valley of Baca, and
thus make even that a well, Psalm 84:6. We need not inquire whence the water
came. God is not tied to second causes. They that sincerely seek for the dew of
God's grace, shall have it, and by it be made more than conquerors.
Commentary on 2 Kings 3:20-27
(Read 2 Kings 3:20-27)
It is a blessing to be favoured with the company of those
who have power with God, and can prevail by their prayers. A kingdom may be
upheld and prosper, in consequence of the fervent prayers of those who are dear
to God. May we place our highest regard upon such as are most precious in his
account. When sinners are saying Peace, peace, destruction comes upon them:
despair will follow their mad presumption. In Satan's service and at his
suggestion, such horrid deeds have been done, as cause the natural feelings of
the heart to shudder; like the king of Moab's sacrificing his son. It is well
not to urge the worst of men to extremities; we should rather leave them to the
judgment of God.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 2 Kings》
2 Kings 3
Verse 3
[3] Nevertheless
he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which made Israel to
sin; he departed not therefrom.
The sins —
The worship of the calves: which all the kings of Israel kept up as a wall of
partition between their subjects and those of Judah. So that altho' he had a
little religion, yet he had not enough to over-rule this policy.
Verse 4
[4] And Mesha king of Moab was a sheepmaster, and rendered unto the king of
Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.
A sheep-master — A
man of great wealth (which in those times and places consisted much in cattle)
which enabled and emboldened him to rebel against his sovereign.
Verse 7
[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.
He said — He
joins with him in this war; because the war was just in itself, and convenient
for Jehoshaphat, both in the general, that revolters should be chastised: lest
the examples should pass into his dominions, and the Edomites be encouraged to
revolt from him, as they did from his son; and in particular, that the Moabites
should be humbled, who had invaded his land before this time, 2 Chronicles 20:1, and might do so again if they
were not brought low; for which a fair opportunity now offered.
Verse 9
[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.
King of Edom —
That is, the vice-roy under Jehosaphat, 1 Kings 22:47, here called king: because that
word is sometimes used for any prince or chief ruler.
Seven days —
Because they made a great army, which could move but slowly; and they fetched a
greater compass than was usual, for some advantage which they expected by it.
No water — A
frequent want in those parts; and now, it seems, increased by the extraordinary
heat and dryness of the season.
Verse 11
[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.
Is there not, … —
This he should have asked before, when they first undertook the expedition, as
he did in a like case, 1 Kings 22:5, and for that neglect he now
suffers; but better late than never: his affliction brings him to the remembrance
of his former sin, and present duty.
Poured water —
Who was his servant; this being one office of a servant: and this office was
the more necessary among the Israelites, because of the frequent washings which
their law required. Probably it was by a special direction from God, that
Elisha followed them, unasked, unobserved. Thus does God prevent us with the
blessings of his goodness; and provide for those who provide not for
themselves.
Verse 12
[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.
The word, … — He
is a true prophet. Which Jehoshaphat might easily understand, because being a
good man, many would be ready to inform him of.
Went — To
his tent; which was either in the camp, or not far from it: they did not send
for him, but went to him, that by giving him this honour, they might engage him
to give them his utmost assistance.
Verse 13
[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.
What have I, … — I
desire to have no discourse with thee.
Get thee — To
the calves, which thou after thy father's example dost worship; and to the
Baals which thy mother yet worshippeth by thy permission; let these idols whom
thou worshippest in thy prosperity, now help thee in thy distress.
Verse 14
[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.
Jehoshaphat —
Whom I reverence and love for his piety. It is good being with those who have
God's favour, and the love of his people. Wicked men often fare the better, for
the friendship and society of good men.
Verse 15
[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.
Minstrel —
One that can sing and play upon a musical instrument. This he requires, that
his mind which had been disturbed at the sight of wicked Jehoram, might be
composed, and that he might be excited to more fervent prayer whereby he was
prepared to receive the prophetic inspiration. Those that desire communion with
God must keep their spirits quiet and serene. All hurry of spirit, and all
turbulent passions, make us unfit for divine visitations.
The hand, … —
The spirit of prophecy, so called, to note that it was no natural nor acquired
virtue inherent in him; but a singular gift of God, given to whom and when he
pleased.
Verse 19
[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.
Ye shall smite —
And if this command seem severe, it must be considered, that the Moabites were
a very wicked people, perfidious, cruel, implacable enemies to God's people
upon all occasions, and now in a state of rebellion.
Verse 20
[20] 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.
The meal-offering —
That is, the morning sacrifice: which doubtless was attended with the solemn
prayers of God's people. At this time Elisha joined his prayers with the
prayers of God's people, especially those at Jerusalem. And this time God chose
to answer their prayers, and to work this miracle, that thereby he might
determine the controversy between the Israelites and the Jews, about the place
and manner of worship, and give a publick testimony from heaven for the Jews,
and against the Israelites. God that commands all the waters both above and
beneath the firmament, sent them abundance of water on a sudden.
Verse 21
[21] And
when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them,
they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the
border.
The border — Of
their country, to defend the passage.
Verse 25
[25] 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 it, and smote it.
Kir-haraseth —
This was the royal city of the Moabites, into which the remnant of the Moabites
were gathered, where also their king was with them.
The stones — The
walls and buildings of this city only were left; their whole country being
destroyed.
The slingers —
Such as slung great stones against the walls to break them down, according to
the manner of those times. Made breaches in the walls, by which they might enter
the city, and take it.
Verse 26
[26] 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.
To break thro' —
That he might make an escape: which he chose to do on the king of Edom's
quarter; because he thought his was the weakest side.
Verse 27
[27] Then
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, and returned to their own land.
His son — Or
rather, his own son: whom he sacrificed; partly, to obtain the favour of his
god, according to the manner of the Phoenicians and other people in publick
calamities; and partly, to oblige the Israelites to quit the siege out of
compassion; or, as despairing to conquer (at least without greater loss of men
than it was worth) him who was resolved to defend the city to the utmost
extremity.
On the wall —
That the besiegers might see it, and be moved by it.
There was, … —
Or, great trouble or repentance upon Israel, the Israelitish king and people
(who was the first cause of the war, and had brought the rest into confederacy
with him) were greatly grieved for this barbarous action, and resolved to
prosecute the war no farther.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 2 Kings》
03 Chapter 3
Verses 1-27
Verses 1-3
Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign.
Evil-the same in principle though not in form
Two subjects are here illustrated--
I. That whilst the
forms of evil may change, the principle may continue rampant. His father and
mother worshipped Baal, but the very “image” of the idol “that his father had
made he put away.” But notwithstanding that, “he cleaved unto the sins of
Jeroboam.” Observe:
1. Though the existing generation sins not in the form of the
preceding, their sin is not less sin on that account. The forms in which
barbarians and our uncivilised ancestors sinned, appear gross and revolting to
us; nevertheless, our sins are not the less real and heinous in the sight of
God. Our civilisation hides the revolting hideousness, but leaves its spirit
perhaps more active than ever.
2. That mere external reformations may leave the spirit of evil as
rampant as ever. Jehoram “put away the image of Baal,” but the spirit of
idolatry remained in him in all its wonted force. “He cleaved unto the sins of
Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin: he departed not
therefrom.” This is ever true. You may destroy this form of government or that,
monarchical or democratic, and yet leave the spirit in which these forms work,
vital and vigorous to manifest itself in other forms. Another subject
illustrated here is--
II. That whilst sin
may only be in the form of neglect of duty it may in the case of one man entail
serious evils on posterity. (Homilist.)
Manipulation of evil
A remarkable character is given of Jehoram. He was not an imitator
of the evil of his father as to its precise form, but he had his own method of
serving the devil. We should have thought that Ahab and Jezebel had exhausted
all the arts of wickedness, but it turns out that Jehoram had found a way of
his own of living an evil life. There is room in wickedness for the exercise of
genius of a certain limited kind. The limitation is imposed by wickedness
itself, for, after all, wickedness is made up of but few elements. Many persons
suppose that if they do not sin according to the prevailing fashion they are
not sinning at all They imagine that by varying the form of the evil they have
mitigated the evil itself. A good deal of virtue is supposed to consist in
reprobating certain forms of vice. Jehoram made a kind of trick of wickedness;
he knew how to give a twist to old forms, or a turn to old ways, so as to
escape part of their vulgarity, and yet to retain all their iniquity. A most
alarming thought it is to the really spiritual mind that men may become adepts
in wickedness, experts in evil-doing, and may be able so to manage their corrupt
designs as to deceive many observers by a mere change of surface or appearance.
We do not amend the idolatry by altering the shape of the altar. We do not
destroy the mischievous power of unbelief by throwing our scepticism into
metaphysical phrases, and making verbal mysteries where we might have spiritual
illumination. We are deceived by things simply because we ourselves live a
superficial life and read only the history of appearances. What is the cure for
all this manipulation of evil, this changing of complexion of form, and this
consequent imagining that the age is improving because certain phenomena which
used to be so patent are no longer discernible on the face of things? We come
back to the sublime doctrine of regeneration, as the answer to the great
inquiry, What is the cure for this heart-disease? “Marvel not that I said unto
thee, Ye must be born again.” We may change either the language or the manners
of wickedness, or the times and seasons for doing wicked things; we may
decorate our wickedness with many beautiful colours but, so long as the heart
itself is unchanged, decoration is useless; yea, worse than useless, for it is
a vain attempt to make that look true which is false--an endeavour even to
deceive Omniscience itself. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Verse 11
Elisha . . . which poured water on the hands of Elijah.
Contrast between Elijah and Elisha
The resemblances between Elijah and Elisha are occasionally so great, that it is
scarcely surprising the one prophet is confused with the other. They both lived
in one country and in one age. They were both the messengers of God to kings.
They both wrought miracles, and even the same class of miracles, multiplying the
widow’s off, and raising from the dead a mother’s only child. Last of all, the
life-work of both was to withstand and witness against idolatry, and restore
the worship of the true God in the land of Israel. And yet to the careful
reader there is no contrast in the Bible more striking or complete. What John
was to Peter, Mary to Martha, Melanchthon to Luther, that was Elisha the
Prophet of Peace to Elijah the Desert Prophet--the Prophet of Fire. The one is
John the Baptist,
the other is the gentler John--the Evangelist, the disciple of love--who,
leaning on his Master’s bosom, caught and breathed a kindred spirit. In place
of the long shaggy locks that had marked the awful Elijah, the head of the new
and youthful prophet was shorn and smooth. Instead of the sheepskin mantle, he
wore the attire of the period. In his hand he carried a walking staff. His
whole gait was that of the ordinary citizen. Elisha was no lonely man dwelling
in the grot of Cherith or the solitudes of the wilderness. He had his own house
in Samaria. He was known in far Damascus. Indeed the whole contrast between
Elijah and Elisha is so significant and instructive as to be well worth
following from point to point.
1. Elijah simply drops upon the scene. There is no warning, no period
of pupilage or preparation. Of his previous history nothing whatever is known.
Like Melchisedec he has neither “beginning of days nor end of life.” We meet
Elisha, on the other hand, for the first time in his father’s fields, in “the
meadow of the
dance,” at Abel-meholah. Shaphat is a man of means, for he has twelve ploughs
at work; a man of piety also, for he has refused to do homage at the shrine of
Baal. In particular, he has trained his son to know Israel’s God.
2. During the whole of his public life--about twelve years at the
most--Elijah to a large extent lived out of the world, or at least far above
it, in stern sublimity. Elisha, on the other hand, is intimately mixed up with
all the political movements and events of his day. Three kings seek him as their
counsellor. Jehu is crowned at his bidding. Ben-hadad consults him in war.
Joash attends at his death-bed. Whenever Elijah is seen in connection with
kings and courts, it is always as their enemy--Ahab, Jezebel, Ahaziah. When
Elisha is seen in the same connection, it is always as their friend--“My
father, my father,” is their uniform and reverent mode of address.
3. The miracles wrought by the two prophets form another interesting
point of contrast between Elijah and Elisha. It is noticeable that Elisha wrought
twice as many miracles as Elijah did, suggesting the inference that the parting
request had been complied with to the letter: “And Elisha said, I pray thee let
a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.” On his introduction to work, Elijah
begins with a miracle--the emblem of so much of his future career--a miracle of
judgment: “There shall not be dew nor rain these years,” referring to the
drought, “but according to My word.” Elisha begins with a miracle--the emblem
also of so much of his future career--but it is a miracle of mercy: “There
shall not be from thence,” speaking of the bitter waters of Jericho sweetened,
“any more death or barren land.” The miracles of Elisha, in fact, remind us
very much of the miracles of Christ--miracles of beneficence. The very grave of
Elisha wrought a miracle that reads very like a miracle of Christ, for “when
the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood up
on his feet.”
4. As another point in the contrast between Elijah and Elisha, it cannot
be out of a place to say that of Elisha, like Joshua the son of Nun, not a
single infirmity or failing is recorded. This cannot be said of Elijah, for he
fled into the wilderness and lay down under the juniper tree to escape a
woman’s vengeance, and in despair to die. The humbler Elisha may do the greater
work. There is every reason to believe that in reclaiming Israel from idolatry,
by the conversion of individual men and women, the “still small voice” of
Elisha, conjoined with his healing acts and social intercourse, accomplished
wider and more permanent changes than the fire and storm and national upheaval
caused by Elijah. Nor is this to be wondered at. The ministry of Elisha in
Israel lasted nearly five times longer than the ministry of Elijah. The rough
and pioneer work had already been done.
5. The translation of the one, the ordinary death by dissolution of
the other. In conclusion, the whole
career of Elisha supplies us with some serious and useful practical lessons.
His special feature of character was this--holiness. He was “a holy man of
God.” What a
sublimity there is in this simple language! What honour or title is ever to be
compared with it? Abraham was “the friend of God,” David was “the man after
God’s own heart,” Daniel was “the man greatly beloved,” Elisha is “the man of
God.” All social distinctions that count so much with men sink here into
insignificance. Whatever else we are honourably known to be, let us seek to “be
holy even as God is holy.” Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.” (H. J.
Howat.)
The present ministry
A young man, who a few years ago was a student of Harvard College,
became noted for his quiet offices of kindness, religious and otherwise, among
the younger students. Without patronage, he seemed to adopt the role of eider
brother to many a boy who, but for him, would have gone wrong and reaped the
consequences. Some one asked a question one day, and drew out the secret. He
had confided to his pastor his determination to “enter the ministry” as soon as
he had graduated. “why not enter it now?” said the wise counsellor. “You will
be all the better minister for ministering as you go along.”
And Elisha said unto the King of Israel, What have I to do with
thee
Aspects of a godly man
Elisha was confessedly a godly man of a high type, and these
verses reveal him to us in three aspects:--
I.
As
rising superior to kings.
1. He rebukes them for their idolatry. The loudest professors of our
religion in these times will crouch before kings, and address them in terms of
fawning flattery.
2. He yields to their urgency out of respect to the true religion.
“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.” Jehoshaphat was pre-eminently a godly man (2 Chronicles 17:5-6), and that
influenced this great Elisha to interpose on their behalf. “Those that honour
me I will honour, saith the Lord.” A godly man is the only truly independent
man on this earth; he can “stand before kings” and not be ashamed, and rebuke
princes as well as paupers for their sins.
II. As preparing
for intercession with heaven what these kings wanted was the interposition of
heaven on their behalf, and they here apply to Elisha to obtain this: and after
the prophet had acceded to their request, he seeks to put himself in the right
moral mood to appeal to heaven, and what does he do? “But now bring me a
minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the
Lord came upon him.” Probably his mind had been somewhat ruffled by the presence
of these kings, especially at the sight of Jehoram, the wicked and idolatrous
king, and before venturing an appeal to heaven he felt the need of a devout
calmness. Hence he called for music, and as the devout musician sounded out
sweet psalmody on his ear he became soothed and spiritualised in soul. Luther
taught that the “spirit of darkness abhorred sweet sounds.” There is a
spiritual mood necessary in order to have intercourse with heaven, and this
mood it is incumbent on every man to seek and retain.
III. As becomes the
organ of the supernatural.
1. Through him God made a promise of deliverance. Through him God
affected their deliverance (2 Kings 3:24-25). We would remind those
who perhaps ridicule the idea of man becoming the organ of Divine power:
1. That there is nothing antecedently improbable in this. God works
through His creatures; since He created the universe He employs it as His
agent.
2. Biblical history attests this. Moses, Christ, and the apostles
performed deeds that seem to us to have transcended the natural. A morally
great man becomes “mighty through God.” God has ever worked wonders through
godly men, and ever will (Homilist.)
Holy Spirit should come upon him to inspire him with prophetic
utterances. “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” We
need that the hand of the Lord should be laid upon us, for we can never open
our mouths in wisdom except we are under the Divine touch. Elisha had noticed
that the Spirit of God acted upon him most freely when his mind was restful and
subdued. He found himself best prepared for the heavenly voice when the noise
within his soul was hushed, and every disturbing emotion was quieted. Having
ascertained this fact by observation, he acted upon it. He could not create the
wind of the Spirit, but he could set his sail to receive it, and he did so. At
the particular time alluded to in the text, Elisha had been greatly irritated
by the sight of Jehoram, the King of Israel, the son of Ahab and Jezebel. In
the true spirit of his old master, Elijah, the prophet, let Jehoram know what
he thought of him; and having delivered his soul, he very naturally felt
agitated and distressed, and unfit to be the mouthpiece for the Spirit of God.
He knew that the hand of the Lord would not rest upon him while he was in that
state, and therefore he said, “Bring me a minstrel.” The original Hebrew
conveys the idea of a man accustomed to play upon the harp. Under the influence
of minstrelsy his mind grew quiet, his agitation subsided, his thoughts were
collected, and the Spirit of God spake through him. It was a most commendable
thing for him to use the means which he had found at other times helpful,
though still his sole reliance was upon the hand of the Lord.
I. Let us strive
to be in a fit state for the Lord’s work. If we know of anything that will put
our mind into such a condition that the Spirit of God is likely to work upon us
and speak through us, let us make use of it.
1. It is very evident that we, too, like the prophet, have our
hindrances. We are at times unfit for the Master’s use. Our minds are
disarranged, the machinery is out of order, the sail is furled, the pipe is
blocked up, the whole soul is out of gear. The hindrance in Elisha’s case came
from his surroundings. He was in a camp; a camp where three nations mixed their
discordant voices; a noisy, ill-disciplined camp, and a camp ready to perish
for thirst. There was no water, and the men-at-arms were perishing; the
confusion and clamour must have been great. Prophetic thought could scarcely
command itself amid the uproar, the discontent, the threatening from thousands
of thirsty men. Three kings had waited on the prophet; but this would not have
disconcerted him had not one of them been Jehoram, the son of Ahab and Jezebel.
What memories were awakened in the mind of Elijah’s servant by the sight, of
the man in whom the proud dame of Sidon and her base-minded consort lived
again. Elisha acted rightly, and bravely. When he saw Jehoram coming to him for
help, he challenged him thus--“What have I to do with thee? Get thee to the
prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother.” When the king
humbly and with bated breath confessed that he saw the hand of Jehovah in
bringing the three kings together, the prophet scarcely moderated his tone, but
exclaimed, “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.” It was fit that he should be in that temper;
the occasion demanded it. Still it was not a fit preface to the inward whisper
of the Spirit of God, and the prophet did not feel ready for his work. Do you
not occasionally fred yourself in an unhappy position? You have to preach, or
to teach a class in school, or to carry an edifying word to a sick person, but
everything distracts you. What With noise, or domestic trouble, or sinful
neighbours, or the railing words of some wicked man, you cannot get into a fit
frame of mind. Little things grieve great minds.
2. Elisha’s hindrances lay mainly in his inward feelings: he could
not feel the hand of the Lord upon him until the inner warfare had been
pacified. He burned with indignation at the sight of the son of Jezebel, and
flashed words of flame into his face. I know of nothing that is more likely to
put a man out of order for the communications of the Spirit of God than
indignation. Even though we may be able to say, “I do well to be angry,” yet it
is a very trying emotion. Doubtless, also, the prophet’s spirits were
depressed. Be saw before him the King of Edom, an idolater; the King of Israel,
a votary of the calves of Jeroboam; and Jehoshaphat, the man of God, in
confederacy with them. This last must have pained him as much as anything. What
hope was there for the cause of truth and holiness when even a godly prince was
in alliance with Jezebel’s son? Moreover, the servant of God must have been the
subject of a fierce internal conflict between two sets of thoughts. Indignation
and pity strove within his heart. His justice and his piety made him feel that
he could have nothing
to do with two idolatrous kings; but pity and humanity made him wish to deliver
the army from perishing by thirst. Like a patriot, he sympathised with his
people; but, like a prophet, he was jealous for his God.
3. But what are our helps when we are pressed with hindrances? Is
there anything which in our case may be as useful as a harp? “Bring me a
minstrel,” said the prophet, for his mind was easily moved by that charming
art. Music and song soothed and calmed and cheered him. Among our own helps
singing holds a chief place; as saith the apostle, “Speaking to yourselves in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart
to the Lord.” Suppose, however, that singing has no such power over you; let me
recommend to you the quiet reading of a chapter of God’s Word.
II. We should use
every means to obtain the touch of the Divine hand.
III. We should more
abundantly use holy minstrelsy. Saints and sinners, too, would find it greatly
to their benefit if they said, “Bring me a minstrel.” This is the world’s cry
whenever it is merry, and filled with wine. The art of music has been
prostituted to the service of Satan. It is for us to use singing in the service
of God, and to make a conquest of it for our Redeemer. Worldlings want the
minstrel to excite them; we want him to calm our hearts and still our spirits.
That is his use to us, and we shall do well to employ the harper to that end.
When the house is full of trouble, and your heart is bowed down, is it not well
to say, “Bring me a minstrel, and let him sing to me the 27th Psalm: ‘The Lord
is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my
life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my
foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though an host
should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise
against me, in this will I be confident.’” When we come to die we will breathe
our last breath to music. Then will we say, “Bring me a harper,” and like Jacob
and Moses we will sing ere we depart. Our song is ready. It is the 23rd Psalm:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy
rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” Suppose you have done with the minstrelsy
which I have now mentioned, there is next the music of gospel doctrine. If
these do not charm you, fetch a minstrel from experience. Think how God has
dealt with you in times of sorrow and darkness long gone by, and then you will
sing, “His mercy endureth for ever.” If you want music, there is yet a sweeter
store. Go fetch a minstrel from Calvary. Commend me for sweetness to the music
of the Cross. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Minstrelsy and inspiration
A Levite, likely, he meant, that played and sung some psalm of
David. Such a one the prophet here calleth for, to dispel his grief, say some
Hebrew doctors, for the loss of Elijah; from whose translation, till the then
present occasion, the spirit of prophecy, say the same authors, rested not upon
him. To compose his spirits, say some, much moved with indignation at Jehoram;
for which purpose also the Pythagoreans, every night when they went to bed,
played on an instrument. And Plato in his laws attributeth the same virtue to
music. But besides this, the prophet’s mind might hereby be raised up to an
expectation of God communicating himself. The way to be filled with the Spirit
is to edify ourselves by psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs. (J. Trapp.)
Music
Good music brings restfulness, and it brings ideas; more, it seems
to give one wisdom. George Eliot understood that so well. Hear a good deal of
music--hear it, if you can, every day; it is better, even, for the imagination,
than the noblest verse, because it gives wings to thought, and sets the fancy
free, and opens the doors of the unreal world. (Walter Besant.)
The Church’s use of secular aids
We are apt to believe that the Spirit of God is a solitary agent
acting by its own strength and conquering by its own power. We think of the
beauties of holiness as themselves sufficient to inspire. Shall the hand of God
work in unison with the harp of man! Shall the soul be aided to its vision of
Divine glory by listening to the strains of a purely human melody and thrilling
to the notes of an instrument with mundane strings! Elisha says “Yes,” he calls
for a minstrel before prophesying. The minstrel was probably a man vastly
inferior to himself, and was perhaps not a religious man at all; yet Elisha was
not ashamed to use him for the service of God. Was he here again influenced by
the memory of Elijah, by the tendency to imitate his master? Did he remember
how that master was fed by ravens? Did he remember how the mightiest was
supported by the ministration of the meanest? Did he remember how the mere
secular forces of life had been made to serve the kingdom of God? I think it
likely. Elisha must have felt that if the tempestuous soul of his master could
be content to be fed by earthly streams, the quiet river of his own life might
well be thus satisfied too. At all events he was content. He was satisfied to
sun himself in a worldly beauty, to cheer himself into the work for God by a
study of the work of man. At the time when he had nothing to draw with, he let
the Samaritan bring the pitcher. In the hour when his alabaster box was broken,
he allowed his costliest treasures to be carried in earthen vessels. And the
Christian Church has ever followed the example of Elisha. The voice of the
Church has ever increasingly been, “Bring me a minstrel!” She began without the
minstrel--in the humble precincts of an upper room. But she found that she needed
stimulus. She was marching as an army to battle, and, like an army marching to
battle, she acquired a blast of music. Christianity has ascended the hill to
the tune of trumpets on the plain; and the feet of the Christian soldier have
moved in unison with the measure of an earthly melody. The religion of the
Cross has proceeded up the dolorous way crowned with the flowers of the world’s
field. It has availed itself of every secular aid. It has beautified the places
of its worship. It has imparted human graces to its heavenly services. It has
cultivated by natural art the voices of its choristers. It has sent its
prophets to drink at the wells of worldly wisdom. It has given a literary form
to its liturgies It has incorporated with its psalmody the sentiments of men
not called inspired. (George Matheson, D. D.)
Verse 16
Make this valley full of ditches.
Preparation for revival
In this story there were no less than three powerful kings,
surrounded by numerous hosts of
valiant men, marching forth, as they supposed, to easy victory.,
but when the water failed they themselves had failed in their enterprise. Moab
may well be feared when there is no water for Israel, and for Judah, and for
Edom. But oh, beloved, this is only a picture of the Church which has not
constant supplies of God’s refreshing grace, and of the Christian community
from which the favour and the Spirit of the living God have been withdrawn.
There may be riches and learning, there may be numbers and influence, there may
be talent and organisation, but if there be not the Spirit of all grace, and
the helpful influences that come from Him, these other things may prove but
hindrances instead of helps. I notice in the story that though the kings were
powerless, they were not prayerless. There is hope for any heart that has not
forgotten the way to the mercy-seat, and for any child that still believes in,
and practises the holy art of prayer.
I. It is man’s
part to make the trenches. He set all the people of Israel, and Judah, and Edom
to dig the ditches, that presently His power might be seen in filling them.
1. It is God’s wont to use ordinary instruments. Sometimes, indeed,
He goes out of His own beaten track, He is not necessarily confined to any one
course; still, He is a God of order, and does everything accordingly. Nor have
I forgotten that when Jesus was amongst men, He acted on the same principle
exactly. He took the loaves and fishes of the lad, and multiplied them into a
sufficient meal for the multitude.
2. Moreover, preparation for the coming blessing is essential.
Suppose in this instance God had sent the water, but there had been no previous
preparation for conserving it, it would have been virtually wasted. If there
had been no trenches dug, the water would have speedily disappeared; there
would have been a momentary refreshing, but nothing more. God will not have His
gifts wasted. He outpours His blessings that they may secure the best possible
results. This trench-making is not an inapt illustration of Christian effort. I
know there are some hearts that will not receive God’s blessing until there has
been a good deal of digging in them first. There is nowhere to store it, no
place to contain it. Their prejudices must be dug away, their doubts and fears
must be uprooted. Digging is hard and difficult work, especially for those who
are not used to it. I have found digging to be hard back-breaking work, but it
is not so hard as is the labour of trying to get men’s hearts right before God.
There is something delightfully individual about this digging, inasmuch as
every one can have a hand in it. You may not all be able to lead the hosts, but
you can all have your spade and mattock with which to dig a ditch in your own
immediate neighbourhood. It is humble work this; it is not like storming a
citadel, or rushing on the foe, but it is just as necessary. Pick and shovel
can be consecrated as surely as sword and spear. Do not be ashamed of delving
for Christ, and of digging for Jesus.
II. It is God’s
part to fill the
trenches with water. Do not omit your duty; but do not attempt His. There are
some who go to this extreme. They want to “get up” a revival. Revivals that are
worth having are not got up, they are brought down; they are the work of the
Spirit of God.
1. Mark how mysteriously the water came. There was no sound of wind
which generally precedes the rainstorm. There was no falling of the rain
overnight. From whence did the water come? Was there some rock in the desert,
struck as by the hand of God, that gushed its waters forth, as Horeb’s did long
years ago? When and where He pleases He does His sovereign will. I notice that
the water came by the way of Edom--a most unlikely source. Let it come by way
of Edom if it will, so long as it comes from God.
2. The Lord sent this blessing in spite of the sinners that were in
the camp. They often hinder God’s work, but sometimes He seems to set them
aside, as if to say, “My time to work is come, and even Jehoram and the abominations of Baal shall
not prevent, and for Jehoshaphat’s sake, I will save this people, and do them
good.”
3. How copious was the supply, when it did come. It filled the whole
of the valley; the deepest trenches were filled to the brim, and the longest
had enough to fill them from end to end. Oh, that some such favour might come
to us, till heart and home are filled with blessing, and the whole Church
rejoices in the love of God, shed abroad in our hearts, and in the saving power
of His grace, effecting wonders far and wide.
4. And this, mind you, was only the beginning of good things. God
called it “a little thing” to fill the valley with water. “He will deliver the
Moabites also into your hands,” the prophet said. There are surprises in store
for those who trust in God, and do their part.
5. Remember also, when this blessing came! It was in the early
morning when the meat offering was offered. God wrought many of His marvellous
acts when either the morning or the evening sacrifice was being offered. ‘Twas
then that Elijah called upon his God, who answered him by fire. ‘Twas then that
Ezra rose up from his heaviness. It was then that Daniel was touched by the
hand of Gabriel. Nor can I forget that when Jesus Christ was sacrificed, our
offering for sin, the rocks rent, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from
the top to the bottom, and many that slept arose out of their graves. Ah! there
is a lesson for us here. The blessing comes at the time of sacrificing. (T.
Spurgeon.)
Make this valley full of ditches
Many useful lessons might be gathered from this narrative if we
had but time. Upon the very surface we are led to observe the weakness of man
when at his utmost strength. Three kings, with three armies well-skilled in
war, were gathered to subdue Moab, and lo, the whole of the leaguered hosts
were brought to a dead-lock and a standstill by the simple circumstance that
there was a want of water. How easily can God nonplus and checkmate all the
wisdom and the strength of mankind! We may also learn here how easily men in
times of difficulty which they have brought upon themselves, will lay their
distress upon providence rather than honestly see it to be the result of their
own foolish actions. Hear the King of Israel cast the blame upon Jehovah: “For the
Lord has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of
Moab.” Providence is a most convenient horse to bear the saddles of our folly.
I. Our present
position. The armies of these kings were in a position of abject dependence;
they were dying of thirst; they could not supply their need; they must have
from God the help required, or they must perish. This is just the position of
every Christian church. So dependent is the Christian Church upon the Holy
Ghost, that there never was an acceptable sigh heaved by a penitent apart from
him; never did holy song mount to heaven except he gave it wings; never was
there true prayer or faithful ministry except through the power and might of
the Holy Ghost. Sinners are never saved apart from the Spirit of God.
II. Our duty as the
prophet tells it to us. The prophet did not tell the kings that they were to
procure the water--that, as we have already said, was out of their power--but
he did say, “Make this valley full of ditches,” that when the water came there
might be reservoirs to contain it. If we expect to obtain the Holy Spirit’s
blessing, we must prepare for his reception. Before the Nile begins to rise,
you see the Egyptians on either side of the banks making ready first the deep
channel, and then the large reservoir, and afterwards the small canals, and
then the minor pools, for unless these are ready the rising of the Nile will be
of little value for the irrigation of the crops in future months; but when the
Nile rises, then the water is received and made use of to fertilise the fields;
and so, when the treasury of the Spirit is open by His powerful operations,
each one of us should have his trench ready to receive the blessed flood which
is not always at its height.
Have you never noticed the traders by the river’s side? If they expect a barge
of coals, or a vessel laden with other freight, the wharf is cleared to receive
it. Have you not noticed’ the farmer just before the harvest-time--how the barn
is emptied, or the rick yard is made ready for the stacks? Men will, when they
expect a thing, prepare for the reception of it; and, if they expect more than
usual, they say, “I will pull down my barns and build greater, that I may have
where to bestow my goods.” The text says to us, “Prepare for the Spirit of
God.” Do not pray for it, and then fold your arms and say, “Well, perhaps He
will work”; we ought to act as though we were certain He would work
mightily--we must prepare in faith.
1. Prepare for a blessing: prepare largely. “Make this valley full of
ditches,” not make one, trench, but as many as possible. For God, when He
worketh, worketh like a God. Expect great things from a great God. “Make this
valley full of ditches.” Have a holy covetousness of the Divine blessing. Never
be satisfied with what God is doing in the conversion of souls; be grateful,
but hunger after more.
2. Moreover, prepare at once--trot dig trenches in a month’s time,
but “make this valley full of ditches” now.
3. Furthermore, prepare actively. Ditchmaking is laborious work; God
is not to be served by child’s-play, or sham work with no toil in it. When a
valley is to be trenched throughout its whole length, all the host must give
themselves to the effort, and none must skulk from the toil. I believe with all
my heart in the Spirit of God; but I do not believe in human idleness.
Celestial power uses human effort. The Spirit of God usually works most where
we work most. “Make this valley full of ditches,” a little more plainly and
pointedly. If we are to have a blessing from God, we are every one of us to
have a trench ready to receive it. “Well, how shall I have mine ready?” one
says. My answer is, have large desires for a blessing: that is one trench you
can all dig. Next, add to these desires, faithful, vehement, and importunate
prayers. Furthermore, if desires and prayers are good, yet activity is even
more so. Every Christian who wanteth to have a blessing for himself or for
others, must set to work by active exertion, for this is the word, “Make this
valley full of ditches.” One thing more, and I leave this point. With all the
work that the Church does in making the valley full of ditches, we must take
care that we do it in a spirit of holy confidence and faith. These ditches were
to be dug, not because the water might come, but because they were sure it
would come.
III. Divine
operations. Observe how sovereign the operations of God are. When Elijah wanted
rain, there was a cloud seen, and he heard a sound as of abundance of rain, and
by and by the water descended in floods; but when God would send the water to
Elisha, he heard no sound of rain, nor did a drop descend. I know not how it
was that the trenches were filled. Whether adown some deep ravine, the ancient
bed of a dried-up torrent, God made the mighty flood to return, as He did along
the bed of Kishon of old, I do not know, but by the way of Edom the waters came
obedient to the Divine command. God is not tied to this or that mode of form.
1. As the blessing comes sovereignly, so it comes sufficiently: there
was enough for all the men, for all the cattle, and all the beasts. They might
drink as they would, but there was quite enough for all.
2. Observe, that this flood came very soon, for the Lord is a
punctual paymaster. Moreover, it came certainly; there was no mistaking it, no
doubting it; and so shall God’s blessing wait upon the earnest prayers and
faithful endeavours of Christian people--a blessing such as the greatest
sceptic shall not be able to deny, such as shall make the eyes of timidity to
water, while he says to himself, “Who hath begotten me these?”
IV. The Lord bade
His servant tell them that not only should there be water, but he said, “This
is but a light thing in the sight of God. He will deliver the Moabites also
into your hand.” Greater things are behind, and are to be expected. (C. H.
Spurgeon.)
Verse 20
And it came to pass in the morning there came water by the way of
Moab.
Defeat of the Moabites
I. The threefold
preparation for this miraculous interposition.
1. The preparation of supplication. The kings, in their need,
“inquired of the Lord” (2 Kings 3:11) by means of His
prophet. The act implies an application for the help of Jehovah. Preparation
for the reception of special blessing by means of supplication is a law of
God’s kingdom. The prayer of the leper made way for Christ’s miraculous healing
(Matthew 8:2-4); the beseeching entreaty
of the Syro-Phenician woman brought down the blessing she desired (Luke 7:24-30). The supplication (Acts 2:14) of the Early Church was the
preparation for the descent of the Holy Spirit. Supplication is the placing of
the wood in order upon the altar in readiness for the descent of fire from heaven.
2. The preparation of the prophet’s mind for the reception of the
Divine direction. “When the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon
him” (2 Kings 3:15). The soul that has to
bear the message of God to others needs to rise into some degree of harmony
with the mind of God, to partake in some measure of the holy calm which belongs
to Him. Music prepares the heart of the good man to receive, and hence to be
the bearer of special help from the Divine Spirit.
II. The miracle
itself. That the flowing in of the water was miraculous is evident because it
came without rain, where there were no natural springs, and in fulfilment of
Elisha’s prophecy. In the New Testament the supernatural Divine workings are
classified into “signs, wonders, miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost.” (Hebrews 2:2).
III. The twofold
effect of the miracle. It was the occasion of life to one army and of death to
the other. The one was brought about by the supernatural interposition, the
other by a natural, though mistaken, inference. The cloud that was the help of
Israel at the Red Sea, became the destruction of the Egyptians. (Sermon Outlines.)
Attracted by grace
I noticed on one of our streets during the frost, when the pipes
were all congealed and frozen and waterless, that the water authorities opened
the main pipe early in the morning. The inhabitants got up that frosty morning,
they turned the tap, but no water flowed. Then the neighbours began to tell one
another that in a certain street the main pipe was flowing, and the bairns got
their pitchers and buckets and flagons, and the women put their shawls over
their heads in their hurry, and the domestics were sent out with the utensils
from the kitchen. The cry had gone out that the water was flowing, and on that
frosty morning they gathered round the main pipe. What brought them? Just the
real flowing of real water. That was the reason of the crowd. If Christians
were to experience freshly and literally and truly the grace of God, thousands
would flock into every assembly in the city, and in the land, just drawn and
won by the reality of the grace of Christ. (J. Robertson.)
Then he took his eldest son . . . and offered him
for a burnt offering.
A king’s sacrifice
The King of Moab’s sacrifice a picture of the world’s sacrifices.
The King of Moab was besieged in Kirharaseth by the allied armies of Israel,
and Judah, and Edom. Finding himself hard pressed, he resolved upon a sortie,
in hopes of regaining the open country. Selecting seven hundred of the choicest
of his troops, he headed an assault against the lines of the King of Edom, but
was driven back. Turning in despair to his counsellors, says a Jewish legend,
he inquired how it was that such feats of valour could be done by the men of
Israel, and how such miracles were wrought in their behalf; to which his
counsellors replied, that they sprang from Abraham, who had an only son, and
offered him in sacrifice to God. “Then I, too, have an only son,” said the King
of Moab. “I also will go and offer him up as a sacrifice to my god;” upon which,
as it is stated in sacred history, “he took his eldest son that should have
reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt offering upon the wall.” It
is not probable that the explanation of the Rabbis is correct. More than
likely, as already has been hinted, the act of Mesha was done out of pure,
blind, debasing superstition--as a peace-offering or bloody propitiation to the
Moabitish war-god, Chemosh. Philo tells us it was a custom among the ancients,
in times of great national disaster, instead of all being devoted to
destruction, for those who had the rule in either town or country to give up
the well-beloved child of their families to be put to death, as a ransom price
to secure the favour of the gods (cf. Tennyson’s poem, “The Victim.” In a time
of plague and famine the gods, when consulted, answer--
The
king is happy in child and wife.
Take
you his nearest; take you his dearest: give us a life.
Cf.
also the speech of Caiaphas in John 11:49; John 11:1); and, doubtless, this was the
custom in accordance with which the sheep-master offered up his son. Thus it
was a picture of the way in which the unbelieving world has all along
endeavoured to make peace with God. “How shall I obtain forgiveness? how ever
shall a man be justified before God?” is the universal cry of the human heart;
and thousands upon thousands in every age have answered it like Mesha: “By giving
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul.” In heathen lands how many myriads
of little children have fallen victims to this foul superstition? As if the
guilt already incurred by a sinner could be wiped away by the simple process of
contracting more! Let us thank God that even those among us who have not yet
obtained forgiveness have been delivered from this miserable delusion. At the
same time, there is room for inquiring if the dregs, at least, of that very
superstition which made a victim of the son of Mesha on the wall of
Kirharaseth, be not remaining with us. Do we not sometimes offer, as our
atoning sacrifice, with a view to purchase heaven’s favour, if not the fruit of
our bodies, the fruit of our souls--our good deeds, our moral lives, our excellent
dispositions, our prayers, our praises, etc.? They are as much a sacrifice of
superstition as was that of Mesha. The only difference is, that Mesha’s
sacrifice was offered to an idol; whereas ours is presented to the living God.
If there be another point of difference, it is this, that Mesha knew no better,
whereas we are well assured that all such sacrifices are vain. (T. Whitelaw,
M. A.)
Sacrifice of the first-born
One of the most striking evidences of the widespread conviction
among the Israelites of the efficacy of the sacrifice of the first-born son,
whether infant or grown, is afforded by the story of the sacrifice of the son
of the King of Moab. Each town or nation believed in the existence of its own
special god, to whom it stood in a peculiar relation. At times it became
necessary to strengthen the hands of that god, as it were, against the gods of
hostile nations, who seemed to be too strong for him, or to arouse his
interest, which seemed in some way to have been alienated or diverted. He may
be offended, because he had not received that which was his due. Or it might be
that the god was not able to withstand the power of other gods his adversaries.
The King of Moab was sore pressed. As a last resort, whether to appease his
deity, Chemosh, or to strengthen Chemosh’s hands against the gods of his
adversaries, the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom, Mesha sacrificed on the wall
of the city, in sight of the allied hosts, his son and the heir to the throne.
The Israelites, Jews, and Edomites who beheld the sacrifice were filled with terror,
knowing the meaning and power of this sacrifice, and believing that it would so
arouse and strengthen the god of Moab that he would become almost if not quite
irresistible. (J. P. Peters, D. D.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》