to 2 Kings chapter 3. 2 Kings chapter 3, as we've begun to consider the life and ministry of Elisha, seeking to learn from the Word of God this unique point of redemptive history. but also getting a glimpse at how Elisha points ahead to the greater, the greatest prophet, the ultimate prophet, King Jesus, Prophet Jesus. We come tonight to 2 Kings 3. I'm going to read the whole chapter. Let's once again give our careful attention to the word of God. In the 18th year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, Jehoram, the son of Ahab, became king over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned 12 years. He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother, for he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless, he clung to the sin of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin. He did not depart from it. Now Misha, king of Moab, was a sheep breeder, and he had to deliver to the king of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. But when Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. So King Jehoram marched out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. And he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, the king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to battle against Moab? And he said, I will go. I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses. Then he said, by which way shall we march? Jehoram answered, by the way of the wilderness of Edom. So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, there was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. Then the king of Israel said, alas, the Lord has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord? Then one of the king of Israel's servants answered, Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah. And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat, the king of Edom, went down to him. And Elisha said to the king of Israel, what have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother. But the king of Israel said to him, no, it is the Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I had regard for Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you. But now bring me a musician. And when the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon him. And he said, thus says the Lord, I will make this dry stream bed full of pools. For thus says the Lord, you shall not see wind or rain, but that stream bed shall be filled with water so that you shall drink, you your livestock and your animals. This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give you the Moabites into your hand, and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones. The next morning, about the time of offering the sacrifice, behold, water came from the direction of Edom till the country was filled with water. When all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to put on armor from the youngest to the oldest were called out and were drawn up at the border. And when they rose early in the morning and the sun shone on the water, the Moabites saw the water opposite them as red as blood. And they said, this is blood. The kings have surely fought together and struck one another down. Now then, Moab, to the spoil. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose and struck the Moabites till they fled before them. And they went forward, striking the Moabites as they went. And they overthrew the cities, and on every good piece of land, every man threw a stone until it was covered. They stopped every spring of water and felled all the good trees, till only its stones were left in Ker-Heraseth, and the slingers surrounded and attacked it. When the king of Moab saw that the battle was going against him, he took with him 700 swordsmen to break through opposite the king of Edom, but they could not. Then he took his oldest son, who was to reign in his place, and offered him for a burnt offering on the wall. And there came great wrath against Israel, and they withdrew from him and returned to their own land. Let's stop and pray together. Father in heaven, we thank you for your word and we thank you for your work. Through the prophet Elisha, on this day and in this day of trouble. And Lord, as we now seek to hear and understand and apply your word, we pray that you would show us, as we've just sung in Psalm 86, that you are the merciful God, full of grace, slow to wrath, abounding in truth and in love. Lord, show us our need for you. Help us to put our faith in you. Help us to understand more of who you are. And trust all the more in you, our mighty and gracious God. And we pray this all in Jesus' name, amen. We come tonight to one of those stories, those great stories in the Old Testament, perhaps not a story that we know quite as well, but one of those stories that's colorful, action-packed, full of plot and rising action and tension and resolution. These stories that grip us even as little children. But this story, like the other great stories in the Bible, is far more than just a good story. It is part of the larger grand story, the story of redemption. And it gives us a glimpse into the character of the Redeemer, our saving God, our mighty, merciful, and gracious God. This story gives us an opportunity to ask, who is this God? Who is our God? Why must I trust him? How is he a comfort? How is he a savior? How is he a rock to me? How can I walk by faith in this world, putting my hope in him? Why does he save sinners? Why does he do far more abundantly than we could ask or imagine? As the armies in our story tonight find themselves in great need, we see God in his grace and in his power going above and beyond to meet that great need. And it's an opportunity for all of us. It's a call to you and me to look to this God, to look to him, not to earthly solutions when we find ourselves in need, not to look to man, not to look to our strength or power or lack thereof, but look to the Lord, the Lord of hosts. And so people of God, our story from God's word tonight calls you to put your hope in the Lord of hosts. Turn to him when you are in need. Look with faith to the Lord of hosts who does far more abundantly than we could ask or even imagine. Put your hope in the Lord of hosts. Put it in him for salvation, to meet your ultimate need. But put your hope in the Lord each day as well for all of your needs or whatever situation you find yourself in. Put your hope in the Lord of hosts who does far more abundantly than we ask or think. Let's seek to see this together in God's word tonight. And I want us to look at this story and consider first this evening that we're introduced to an evil king. Let's consider the evil king. Look again at verses two through three. Speaking of Jehoram, he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, though not like his father and mother. For he put away the pillar of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless, he clung to the sin of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which he had made Israel to sin. He did not depart from it. Jehoram, who is Ahab's son, we read here, did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. And the sight of the Lord is what matters most. His sight is perfect. His sight is full and complete. And his view of Jehoram was that he was evil. He did evil. He may not have been evil in the sight of man. He may not have been evil in the sight of his peers or many of his subjects. He was probably not evil in his own sight. But in the sight of God, he was evil. He did what was evil. And we're reminded, as we consider Jehoram, Ahab's son, we're reminded that sin often has generational consequences. Jehoram learned evil from his father and his mother, Ahab and Jezebel. What are our children learning from us? What are we passing on to the next generation? Is it good or is it evil? Is it the God who overcomes our evil? While we're told that Jehoram was evil, we're also told that he wasn't as evil as Ahab. One of the ways this comes out is the fact that he put away the pillar of Baal. And this is a good thing that the Lord had done through him, and yet his reforms were not full. We also read that he continued in the sin of Jeroboam. And so we're reminded, we see here that God had brought some progress in past years. He had brought some progress through the ministry of Elijah. Remember, Elijah thought he had done nothing. He'd made no progress. But we see that Baal was somewhat restrained in his influence in Israel through the ministry of Elijah. Evil was not as great as it was under Ahab. And yet, there was no true widespread revival. National reform and repentance really has not happened in Israel. And when Elisha meets Jehoram, he says he has nothing to do with him. And he asks him, why would you not go to a prophet of Baal? Elisha knows that his heart is evil. It's not subject to the true God. And we really see this unfold in his actions and in his decisions in this story. For example, when Moab rebels, evil King Jehoram does not first seek out the Lord. He doesn't seek out the Lord's prophet, Elisha. He turns to political and military solutions. He seeks out Jehoshaphat. And then later, when they run out of water, Elisha is not even on his radar. When things go badly, Jehoram doesn't humble himself before the Lord and seek his face. Instead, we find him blaming the Lord. This is the Lord that's done this. And so this evil king that we're introduced to is a warning and a reminder to us to not put our trust in man, not put our trust in princes, not put our trust in earthly power. Don't put your trust or your hope in politics or in the military. Put your trust in the Lord. But the encouragement here for us as we meet King Jehoram is that despite this evil king on the throne in Israel, Who's on the ultimate throne here in 2 Kings chapter 3? Who is the righteous King of Kings and Lord of Lords? It is the Lord. And he is not surprised by Jehoram's evil. He has not left his people. He is still at work among his people. He's given some blessing and relief under the ministry of Elijah. And as we're going to see, he is still graciously ministering to his people. There is his prophet right with them, despite their evil king. And despite the fact that they have not returned to him in widespread repentance. There is Elisha with them, and here is God on his throne, and he's going to display his power and his mercy for all to see, so that they might put their trust in him, even though they had neglected him. And they're in such a bad situation. God would show that despite the evil of man, he is the one that is still on the throne, and he is gracious and merciful. Well, that is the evil king. Let's consider, second then, tonight, a thirsty army. A thirsty army. It's actually three thirsty armies. And what led to this, this situation that we read about in our text, was Moab rebelling against Israel, who's now under new leadership, under King Jehoram. Moab is no longer supplying a significant amount of lambs and wool as tribute to Israel. And Jehoram knows no other way to respond than to march on Moab. And we read that he calls upon Judah, his king friend, King Jehoshaphat, in order to give him aid. And so together they march on Moab by the way of Edom. And they pick up the king of Edom on their way. He's an ally of Judah. And so these three armies marching on Moab bring us to the crisis that we read about here in this story. Look again with me at verses 9 and 10. So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. And when they had made a circuitous march of seven days, There was no water for the army or for the animals that followed them. Then the king of Israel said, Alas, the Lord has called these three kings to give them in to the hand of Moab." Kids, I want you to imagine this situation. These three armies that are making this long march to attack Moab, and all of a sudden they run out of water. An army with no water is not a good situation for that army. Three armies with no water is even worse. You can't live without water, let alone march, carry supplies, fight a battle, keep your livestock alive. And so this is a very serious crisis. This is a life-threatening crisis. All of a sudden, these kings go from a position of power where they expect victory to a position of great weakness where they expect a great defeat and significant loss. And how does Jehoram respond? He responds by blaming God. And how often do we respond that way, with a lack of faith, when we come into crisis? But Jehoshaphat, who fears God, asks in verse 11, he has the right response, he asks, is there no prophet? There's no water, is there no prophet? Jehoshaphat has the right impulse. We need the Lord right now. We need to hear from the living God. We need the help of the Lord. And ironically, it's not Jehoram who responds, but one of his servants in verse 11. One of the king of Israel's servants answered, Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah. There is no water. And remember, Baal, the false god Baal, was the supposed god of the weather, the supposed god of water. But there's a prophet of the true God, and so all of the sudden, Elisha, the prophet of the true God, has audience with these three kings in desperate need. And did you notice what's said about Elijah here in verse 11 and 12, how he's described? He's the one who poured water on the hands of Elijah. This is the new prophet who had served and assisted Elijah for so long. That's how he's known. He is known as a servant, a disciple of Elijah, one who had been trained by Elijah. Well, this servant, this water pourer, is now standing before kings. And so often in God's plan, in God's economy, humble service precedes greatness. Service and sacrifice come before great responsibility. He's also known to Jehoshaphat in verse 12 here in this way. Jehoshaphat says, the word of the Lord is with him. The word of the Lord is with him. This is the highest of compliments and the most important characteristic of a prophet. The word of the Lord is with this man. The greatest need of these kings, the greatest need of these armies is not water, but the word of the Lord, the ministry of his true prophet, the mercy of the true and living God. And King Jehoshaphat, in his right response here, illustrates for us where we must turn in crisis and in need. To the living God. To his word. Brothers and sisters, where do you turn? Do you blame God? Do you turn to man? Do you turn to your own wit or wisdom? Do you crumble in fear or indecision? Do you turn to the proud or do you turn to humble servants of God and to his word? Do you ask, is there no prophet of the Lord? Can we not hear from the Lord? Brothers and sisters, put your hope in God. Put your hope ultimately in Jesus who is the water of life, who like Elisha was a humble servant. And not only was he the word of God, not only was the word of God with him, with Jesus, he was the word of God in the flesh. And whatever our earthly needs are, however great or desperate they may be, Jesus is and he must be our ultimate hope and answer. He is where we must look and where we must turn. Well, that brings us then third tonight to consider a mighty God. A mighty God. How would God answer and show his might? Look again with me at verse 13. Elisha said to the king of Israel, what have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and to the prophets of your mother. But the king of Israel said to him, no, it is the Lord who has called these three kings to give them into the hand of Moab. Elisha begins, not in a very diplomatic way, he begins by asking Jehoram, why are you even talking to me? What do you want with me? Why the interest in me all of a sudden? He knows Jehoram to be an evil king, even though he was no Ahab. And he suggests, rather sarcastically but appropriately, why didn't you go to your parents' prophets? Why have you not turned to the prophets of Baal? Can't they help you out? After all, as we already mentioned, Baal is the god who should have been able to send water. But remember, for three and a half years, Baal could send no water during the drought, during King Ahab's reign. Remember on Carmel, when hundreds of his prophets called for fire on their sacrifice, there was no reply. Baal was a fraud. He was a false god. He was powerless. It was the Lord who Elijah served who had sent rain and who had answered with fire. And so this is a subtle and yet clear rebuke to Jehoram that he was following a false god, not the living mighty God. And that's where Elisha turns his focus in verse 14. Elisha said, as the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would neither look at you nor see you. Elisha served the Lord of hosts who lives, the Lord of hosts who lives, not Baal of the false prophets who does not live, who does not exist, Elijah stands before the Lord of Hosts. And he stands before him because this God is everywhere present. And he sees everything. And the Lord of Hosts is not threatened by Moab. He's not threatened by this situation of no water. He is the mighty God of angels. That's what's captured in that title, the Lord of Hosts. The God of heavenly armies. The God who always lives. And it's only Elisha's regard for Jehoshaphat, who was a God-fearer, serving this God, that compels him to even look at Jehoram, because of the faith and faithfulness of Jehoshaphat, and the mercy and might of the Lord of hosts. Elisha does speak to him. He agrees to address this situation, and so he asks for music. And as the music is played, God's hand comes upon him. And we read this in verse 16. Look at verse 16 and following with me. And he said, thus says the Lord, I will make this dry stream bed full of pools. For thus says the Lord, you shall not see wind or rain, but the stream bed shall be filled with water so that you shall drink you, your livestock and your animals. The Lord through his prophet Elisha speaks. He brings his word to his needy people and he promises water. He promises to make the dry stream beds full of pools. and not by way of a local storm, but by his mighty hand, so that they and their animals could drink and live, so that they might not be destroyed, but they might actually be able to carry out their battle. God is showing his people, he's showing Jehoram, he's showing wayward Israel that he is the Lord of hosts. He is the living and mighty God, unlike Baal. He's merciful and he is mighty. Evil Jehoram did not deserve this display, this word, this wondrous work. And yet, because of God's mercy and in his great might, he sends water. And some have pointed out here that Jehoshaphat is a Davidic king, whose line King Jesus would come from. And it's ultimately because God has regard for King Jesus that he has mercy on us. It's the presence and righteousness of Jesus that allows God to pour out mercy on us, even though we do not deserve it. I want to ask once again tonight, brothers and sisters, where do you place your hope? Where do you turn? Is your hope in the Lord of hosts, the living and mighty God, the merciful God and his son? Well, that brings us then forth and finally tonight as we move through this story to consider a light thing. We've considered an evil king, a thirsty army, a mighty God. Now let's consider a light thing. Look with me again at verse 18 and following. After Elisha speaks the word of God promising water, he says, this is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. This is a light thing in the sight of the Lord. He will also give the Moabites into your hand, and you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city and shall fell every good tree and stop up all springs of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones. And this is what happened the next morning, verse 20. The next morning, about the time of the offering of the sacrifice, behold, water came from the direction of Edom, till the country was filled with water." At the beginning of this story, we read that Jehoram did evil in the sight of the Lord. Here we read that sending water was a light thing in the sight of the Lord. In God's eyes, this is a small thing, to provide water where there was none. This is easy. It's light. It is not hard for the mighty Lord of hosts. What's an insurmountable crisis that is likely going to mean death for these three kings, these three armies, is a light thing. for the King of Kings, the Lord of angel armies. It was a light thing to withhold rain during Ahab's reign. It was a light thing for him to send fire on Mount Carmel. It was a light thing for him to part the Jordan River for Elisha and to show how such a light thing this was. And to show even more of his might and his mercy, God says, I'll go above and beyond just giving you the water. I'll do more than just meet your pressing physical need. I'm going to give Moab into your hands, and it'll be a complete and decisive victory. And so we read the very next morning in verse 20, water came and filled the country. God promised and he fully provided. He also promised victory over Moab and provided. And it was a light thing. A light thing in the eyes of the Lord. The rest of the story explains how God gave them, gave Moab into their hands, even using the water to expose them and surprise them. God is putting His power and His mercy and His truth on display. He's giving His wayward people an evil Jehoram, yet another opportunity to see His existence and His power and His mercy. He's giving them an opportunity to see that He does far more abundantly than we ask or think, even when we do not deserve it. Even when we see no earthly solution, he's giving his people yet another opportunity for revival and repentance. This is the God we must worship and serve and turn to in faith. This is a story of the amazing power and mercy of God, delivering the needy and giving even more, giving victory. And this is a light thing, a light thing in the eyes of God. And so it is. This is a light thing to the God who spoke the world into existence out of nothing. This is a light thing to the God who gives sight to the blind. This is a light thing to the God who says to the paralytic, take up your mat and walk. This is a light thing to the God who raises the dead. A light thing to the God who saves undeserving sinners. A light thing to the God who defeats and destroys sin and death and Satan. This God gives the water of life to sinners. in order to redeem them, to quench their deepest thirst. He defeats their greatest enemies. And in Isaiah 49 verse 6, as Isaiah the prophet is looking forward to the coming of Jesus, looking forward to the Lord sending Jesus to restore Israel, that restoration of Israel is described as a light thing, too light. God would do far more than just restore Israel. Listen to Isaiah 49 verse six. It is too light a thing that you should be, Jesus, you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. I will make you as a light for the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Brothers and sisters, the Lord of Hosts is so mighty, so gracious, so awesome, that sending Jesus to save just Israel is too light a thing. His plans were far more abundant and gracious and wonderful. Jesus was sent to save sinners from all nations. And this passage before us tonight, way back in 2 Kings 3, is a call to each and every one of you tonight to put your hope in the Lord. Put your hope in Jesus. Recognizing our situation apart from him is far worse than the situation of these three armies. We are dead in our sins. We are lost and without God and without hope. Put your hope in the Lord because he does far more than we ask or think. Through Jesus, he saves sinners from sin and death. And above and beyond that, he destroys our enemies. He gives us full victory over Satan, over the grave, over sin. Where is your faith? Where is your ultimate hope? Where do you turn in crisis and in need? Do you look to man? Do you look to what you can see around you with your earthly eyes? Do you look to false gods? Or do you look to the Lord of hosts by faith? The one who says it is a light thing to give water in the desert, the one who loves you, the one who is on his throne, the one who knows exactly what you need. Friends, look to the one who says, it is a light thing in my eyes. Well, after the battle and the victory is described, Our story ends in a very sad and gruesome way. We're not going to consider it for very long. But just notice how this story ends in verse 27. With the king of Moab in an act of desperation, seeking a false god, publicly sacrificing his own son as a burnt offering. And the battle ends. And there's such a striking contrast here between the merciful, living, true, powerful God of Israel, for whom it's a light thing to give water and victory, and the false God of Moab, whose people are defeated, whose people have no help, even though they sacrifice the king's own son. But Israel needs no sacrifice. They don't need to get their God's attention. They don't need to appease his wrath because he is the Lord of hosts who is merciful and gracious. Who gives his people his attention because he loves them and who gave his own son as a sacrifice for us. All his people need to do. All we need to do is trust in him. Look to him. He sacrificed his own son to give us the ultimate victory, to deliver us from far worse than thirst or military defeat. This God does far more than we deserve, far more than we could ask or think, far more abundantly And he has done so for us ultimately through his own son which he offered up as a sacrifice for sinners. That son who we get to remember and commune with shortly in the Lord's Supper. And I want to read once again Ephesians 3 verse 20 through 21. You heard this already tonight. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think according to the power at work within us. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. People of God, put your hope in this God, in this Savior. Put your hope in the Lord of hosts who does far more abundantly than we ask or think. Amen. Let us pray. Father in heaven, we pray that you would press your word into our hearts. Our faith is so often weak and so often we open our earthly eyes and look to everything around us and we see only crisis. We see no water and we are afraid and we take our eyes off of you. Lord, you are the Lord of hosts, the merciful and mighty God who has given us your only son, who does far more than we ever ask or think, far more than we deserve. We deserve the opposite. And so, Lord, we pray that you would fix our eyes on you. We pray that we would turn not to earthly solutions or earthly princes or earthly power, but we would turn to the Almighty God and to your Son, and that our hope would be in you. We pray this all in Jesus' name, amen. Let's respond to God's word by singing praise to him. Please turn together to Psalm 107, selection E.