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after three always feel constrained to apologize to the Wednesday night group when I repeat some of these messages but it's tough to jump back into James when I know that mike is going to be still doing a lot of preaching in the sunday evening services and as well convinced that the message of second Kings at least at this point has been very practical and hopefully repetition will drive these lessons home and if you're hearing it for the first time may God indeed show himself through his word to each of you so let us begin reading in 2nd Kings chapter 3 at verse 1 now Joe harem the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah and reigned twelve years and he did evil in the sight of the Lord but not like his father and mother for he put away the sacred pillar of bail that his father had made nevertheless he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and who had made Israel sin he did not depart from them now Meisha king of Moab was a sheep breeder and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand Rams but it happened when Ahab died that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel so King Joe harem went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah saying the king of Moab has rebelled against me will you go up with me to fight against Moab and he said I will go up I am as you are my people as your people my horses as your horses then he said which way shall we go up and he answered by way of the wilderness of Edom so the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom and they marched on that roundabout route seven days and there was no water for the army nor for the animals that followed them and the king of Israel said alas for the Lord has called these three Kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab but Jehoshaphat said is there no prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of the Lord by him so one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said Alijah the son of shaphat is here who poured water on the hands of Elijah and Jehoshaphat said the word of the Lord is within so the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him then Elisha said to the king of Israel what have I to do with you go to the profits of your father and the profits of your mother but the king of Israel said to him no for the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab and Elisha said as the Lord of Hosts lives before whom I stand surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah I would not look at you nor see you but now bring me a musician then it happened when the musician played that the hand of the Lord came upon him and he said thus says the Lord make this valley full of ditches for thus says the Lord you shall not see wind nor shall you see rain yet that Valley shall be filled with water so that you your cattle and your animals may drink and this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city and shall cut down every good tree and stop up every spring of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones now it happened in the morning when the grain offering was offered that suddenly water came by by way of Edom and the land was filled with water and when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them all who were able to bear arms and older were gathered and they stood at the border then they rose up early in the morning and the sun was shining on the water and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood and they said this is blood the kings of surely struck swords and have killed one another now therefore Moab to the spoil so when they came to the camp of Israel Israel rose up and attacked the Moabite so that they fled before them and they entered their land killing the Moabites then they destroyed the cities and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it and they stopped up all the springs of water cut down all the good trees that they left the stones of kier harris f intact however the slingers surrounded and attacked it and when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him he took with him 700 men who drew swords to break through to the king of Edom but they could not then he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall and there was great indignation against Israel so they departed from him and returned to their own land amen will let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word we thank you for the Old Testament Scriptures God we know there is so much practical Christianity in the pages there in God help us to learn concerning the religion or the religious approach of Johor 'm help us to learn something in the nature of the prophetic ministry and father most of all help us to learn of God for you reveal yourself here in an amazing manner you are a God of miracle a god of glory @ god of wonder and power a God of majesty and great grace we so often think of the text in Ephesians 3:20 that you're able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think yet so often we forget how many times this concept comes up in the pages of the Old Testament may your Holy Spirit guide us now may he instruct us may you forgive us for all of our sins and our unrighteousness and we ask these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well as we see in this particular chapter the specific thing going on is the rebellion of Moab if you go back to chapter 1 in second Kings you'll see that Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab so after the death of a.ab his son Ahaziah took the throne hey huzzah had no concern to quell Aquash this a Moabite rebellion and so ultimately he passes from the scene that's not the only reason and now we have this situation facing Jawara so we'll look at the rebellion of Moab and verses 1 to 10 secondly the prophetic word of elijah in verses 11 to 19 and then the victory over moab in verses 20 to 27 but in the first place note the king that's in charge at this particular time this is in the northern kingdom the southern are the northern tribes of Israel it says Joe harem the son of Ahab became king over Israel at Samaria in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah and he reigned twelve years now the reason for this is that Isaiah according to chapter 1 did not have a son and so Jehoram the other son of Ahab now occupies the throne so he is reigning over the northern kingdom Jehoshaphat is the king in the southern kingdom and if you do the math you'll see a bit of a discrepancy in terms of the numbers involved but you need to remember that they oftentimes there is a co-regency between the king and between his son and such was the case with reference to joseph at but then notice it tells us something about his religious commitments in verses 2 & 3 it says he did evil in the sight of the Lord but not like his father and mother so on the one hand we see that he continues to perpetuate wickedness he continues to perpetuate evil he's not as bad as where his father and his mother but he's not what he ought to be and that will certainly reflect itself in the narrative as we follow as we follow along tonight but he did evil in the sight of the Lord but not like his father and his mother notice what it goes on to say with reference to this he says he put away the sacred pillar of bail that his father had made now you got to remember when it says they wasn't as bad as his father and mother remember that his father and mother were a hab and Jezebel I think humanly speaking it'd be hard to be worse than that so this isn't a glowing report by any stretch of the imagination we ought not to conclude from this that joram is a wonderful specimen of religious life no not to be as bad as Ahab and Jezebel is probably something very achievable for the garden-variety sinner in this world but he does put away this pillar of bail this sacred builder of bail that his father had made but then go on to verse 3 nevertheless he persisted in the sons of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who had made Israel sin he did not depart from them so on the one hand he gets rid of the sacred pillar of bale but on the other hand he continues according to the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat now this the sin of Jeroboam the son of Nebat was calf worship Jeroboam the son of knee bat erected two places in Israel according to first Kings chapter two which were calf cults they were places where these calves were worshiped and glorified and honored so that johor amused down this path shows us that he doesn't put away the sacred pillar of bale based on conscience if it was conscience if it was religious conviction he would get rid of the calves as well I submit and I think the rest of the narrative bears this forth that Joe harem has what's called a utilitarian approach to religion now many of you have probably heard of utilitarianism when it comes to ethics if you haven't it's very simple utilitarian ethics simply say that the most happiness promotes or the most that something promotes in terms of happiness that's the right position towards you 51% of the people in a population are happy with a given decision well then that makes it right in other words the majority is right now certainly that would be good if 51 percent agreed that abortion was wicked and sodomy was wicked and euthanasia was wicked but when 51% agree that those things are righteous when 51% agree that those things are good based on utilitarian ethics it now becomes the good and that's a wretched approach to ethics isn't it it ought never to be a majority vote it ought never to be a democracy in terms of what is right and what isn't as Christians we subscribe to the God of the Bible we have a law code we have ethics we have a revelation of who God is and that dictates for us what that ultimate standard of ethics are but when I say utilitarian religion this simply means he uses religion for his own ends and I think there's a bit of Johor 'im in all of us I don't want to get to psycho and analytical but Johor improbably has a bit of a of an identity in our own hearts I submit that he doesn't put away the sacred pillar of bail or he does rather put away the sacred pillar of bail because he knows a couple of things if he is going to march against this Moabite rebellion he's going to need help he's at least smart enough to know that he's going to need some assistance so perhaps he puts away this sacred pillar of bail that a habit built in order to court the favor of Yahweh in other words I can't go into battle successfully against these Moabites if Yahweh doesn't aid me and he doesn't assist me so what Joe harem does is he employs a little bit of religion to try and secure his ends as well he's going to need the favor and the help and the assistance of Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat barring some foolish decisions in terms of alliances with a Havana harem is nevertheless a godly king he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord he was a faithful man so when Joe harem asked to ask Jehoshaphat if he'll go with him into battle so that they can suppress this Moabite rebellion he knows that it will look good it will look favorable if he has put away the sacred pillar of bail you see the idea is is that I'll use religion insofar as religion is useful to me that's what I mean by utilitarianism with reference to religion and I submit that this is probably something that you and I fall prey to as long as God's blessing or flowing worth a vibrant faithful healthy Christians but as long as trials commerce sorrows come or difficulties come we're ready to jump ship it's kind of like being a Canucks fan or some sort of games a teams fan long as they're winning we're a good fan but as long as they're losing we don't like them so much what religion is a bit like this we tried to pray but it didn't bring any help so we don't pray anymore I went to church but I really didn't get anything out of it can you search the scriptures and tell me that the purpose for church is for you to get something out of it now certainly you should get something of it if the Bible is preached and the God of heaven and earth is worship and glorified that has a karela a correlative effect upon the worshiper the brethren we come here to worship God we don't come here for ourselves it's not about seek first your kingdom your priority your blessing your privilege your happiness and your joy no there's a bit of harm and all of us will use religion in order to get what it is that we are really after when in reality we ought to be about the religion of Christ because it presents us with the God of heaven and earth it presents us with the glory of Father Son and Holy Spirit it presents us with communion with the living in the true God so Johor um's religion is better than ahab and jezebel but that's not saying a whole lot he is still an evil man now notice quickly in verses 4 & 5 just to set the stage for you this may shot rebels against Israel back in 2nd samuel chapter 8 David had subdued the Moabites David had brought them to a place where they were now a vassal state and they had to pay taxes they had to pay tribute they had to pay basically in order to make it such that Israel would not invade them or Israel would not take them captive you see that reference here in verses 4 and 5 Meisha king of Moab was a sheep breeder and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs in the wool of one hundred thousand lambs again he's doing that not out of the goodness of his you know ran and land heart he's doing it because Israel has this relationship they had subdued they had conquered under King David this particular nation they're a vassal state they owe this tribute to the king of Israel but at this particular time notice in verse five that happened when Ahab bite that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel he didn't want to pay anymore he didn't want to keep giving up those precious commodities of the Moabites state to these Israelites the the sort the whole situation wasn't favorable to him and so he wants to stop now notice this coalition of Kings that is growl found it six Israel gathers together under King Johan and then in verse seven he went and sent to Jehoshaphat king of Judah saying the king of Moab has rebelled against me will you go out with me to fight against Moab and he said I will go up I am as you are my people as your people my horses as your horses so he makes this alliance with Jehoshaphat I've already said jehosophat's done this one other time in first Kings chapter 22 a hab is going into battle and he enlists the assistance of Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat says the same thing to Ahab I will go up I am as you are and my people as your people my horses as your horses now in that battle it almost cost Jehoshaphat is life because what a habit does is he takes off his royal robes when he gets wind of the fact that those want to kill him and so what happens is that Jehoshaphat is basically a sitting dock because he enters into this alliance and we learned back there and we learn here because this isn't a good alliance as well until of course Elijah and God get involved in the situation but we learn here brethren that godliness does not always translate into good common sense you need to work on that not you specifically we all need to work on good horse sense you know there's not a Roman 17 that tells us that shall have no alliances with your harem king of Israel there's no Romans 18 that says thou shalt not have alliances with a hab king of Israel God saved us God's renewed us God has blessed us God has given us the spirit God has given us the word and God has given us minds so that we search the word for the wisdom necessary so that we don't enter into ungodly or unholy or unwise alliances with other persons you see brethren this is jehosophat's fault perhaps he's just a nice guy perhaps he just finds it hard to say no perhaps the inner peace or the inner desire to have peace with both Israel and Judah to have one unified Kingdom again is what drives him and that's a good thing I mean the fact that there's civil war in Israel ought to be troubling to every Israelite in that in that timeframe so maybe what's driving a Joshua fad is the zeal to bring the two kingdoms back together but all of his good intentions all of his good zeal all of his good and ideas are undone by these foolish alliances you see brethren were not always to act upon the best of intentions if the way that we're going to pursue it is not the best way in view so godliness does not always result in good sense and we see that with reference to Jehoshaphat now note their journey to Moab in verses 8 to 10 now they could have gone from Samaria above the Dead Sea right down into Moab but there is a man well this man Meisha the the king of the Moabites there's actually a stone found it's called the Moabite stone and it dates back to the time of this maisha it's presently in the Louvre Museum I think I'm pronouncing that right it looks like louver to me but that's kind of like a Texan you know pronouncing anything it's in that Museum presently it was found in the 1800s and it's there well basically what this Moabite stone contains is the boasting of Meisha the boasting and the glory of Meisha in his military conquests and he had secured that northern route there so Israel is smart not to go above the Red Sea and approach Moab by the north what they do rather is go way south underneath the Red Sea go east and then come up from the south into Moab they make sure they have what's called the king of Edom in this particular chapter he's not a king he's a deputy he's a deputy under Jehoshaphat because back in second samuel 8 when david subdued mlady also subdued Edam and so wide they have ahora me Hacha fat and this this king of edom and this king of edom is probably a good choice for that it probably bolsters their army or military power but it also keeps from the king of edom which is just south of moab from joining mesa and the Moabite rebellion so is everybody with me you got to kind of picture that there instead gonna instead of dropping over like that which would be a relatively short trip they're going to go down and over actually do it the other way for the way you're looking and then come up so it's going to be a long trip and that's set as that's what sets the stage for the problem that they encounter now notice this lack of water this is the first problem so verse eight and he said which way shall we go up he answered by way of the wilderness of Edom so the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom and they marched on that roundabout route seven days and there was no water for the army nor for the animals that followed that now notice this is the issue this is the problem they're on a long journey they no longer have any water and without water you're going to die without water your animals are gonna die without water everything dies and they realize this and they reckon this note the two responses from the two kings in the first place notice to Horeb first and the king of Israel said alas for the Lord has called these three Kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab let's start utilitarian religion isn't it isn't it what's he doing he is blaming God he is blaming the sovereignty of God he says that the Lord has orchestrated it thus so that he can deliver us into the hands of Moab then in order that we might die that's utilitarian religion when things go our way we want God's help when things don't go our way we blame God it's akin to September 10th it's akin to September 12th nobody cared where God was then but in September 11th everybody cared because they needed someone to blame and verse 10 is Joe harem blaming God we don't have we're gonna ultimately end up being delivered into the hands of the Moabites now note the response of Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat wants to inquire of the Lord again not good sense in the sense that he waited too long in other words brethren inquire of the Lord prior to setting out for bad homes he did this with Ahab and that was a blessed thing to be sure not so here he does this after they've been in the desert after they have known something of drought conditions he does it after the fact but nevertheless he gets props for doing it so Joe Haram wines he grumbles he complains about the sovereignty of God Jehoshaphat says get us a prophet so that we can hear from God let us inquire from the Lord again he doesn't have the best sense but he's a godly man and he knows from Wednesday's help Tom's that is precisely what is happening here in verses 10 and 11 Jehoshaphat said verse 11 is there no prophet of the Lord here that we may inquire of the Lord by him so one of the servants of the king of Israel answered in sattell I shot the son of shaphat is here now that brings us to consider the prophetic word of Elijah in 11 to 19 notice how Elijah is identified here this is quite beautiful notice in verse 11 elisha the son of shaphat is here who poured water on the hands of Elijah that was his job prior to taking the mantle in chapter 2 what do you do for a living Elijah I pour hands on alright pour well not hands on water I pour water on the hands of my master is that rich in fulfilling work is there a 401k plan associated with that what kind of benefits do you have do you get two weeks off in the summer you see Elijah's not concerned with any of that Elijah is concerned with serving God's profit this is the identifying mark of Elijah this is why he is in many respects the natural successor to Elijah back in first Kings 2nd Kings chapter 2 he poured water on the hands of Elijah that's how he's known to the servant of the king of Israel and is it intriguing so one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said it wasn't johor remove PO need up this information - Joseph - Joseph at it wasn't Johan who said well there is a prophet it wasn't Johan who said there is an Elisha no it's one of the servants in the way that one of the servants knew this prophet was because he poured water on the hands of Elijah now notice in verse 12 they go to meet with Elisha Joshua fat said the word of the Lord is with him so the king of Israel and Joshua fat and the king of Edom went down to him now note the response by Elijah in verse 13 so you got the scene again I think it's very important that everybody visualize not in some mystical weird sense but in terms of geography the traveling they've got to get to Moab they've hit this problem where there is no water so they need a prophet they need the prophet of God one of the servants says hey there is a guy his name is Elijah Jehoshaphat says he is indeed a man of God so let's meet with him let's find instruction by him let's get guidance from Yahweh through the prophet Elijah so now we have jahannum and Jehoshaphat coming to Elisha now the text doesn't answer why Elijah is there but you know God doesn't have to answer everything to us or for us Elijah happens to be there notice in verse 13 well I just said to the king of Israel what have I to do with you go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother one of the other evidences as to why I suggest that Jo harms religion is utilitarian I think that's what Elijah thinks it is why are you coming to me you have never had time for Yahweh before you have never sought God through the prophet before you have never met me you've never talked to me you've never asked me anything concerning anything you didn't ask me about going in and seeking to suppress the Moabite rebellion you didn't ask for anything until you don't have water so he says go talk to the prophets of your father or go talk to the of your mother in other words if you are a ballast if indeed you are an idolaters then seek your help in them he doesn't even want to answer him Davis explains why this sudden interest Elijah seems to say in Yahweh's word go to the bail prophets your mother fed remember in first Kings chapter 18 there were a whole host of prophets four hundred that fed at Jezebel's table that means they were state-sponsored you know sometimes we get bothered when tax dollars go for things that we don't like we do don't win you look at me like I'm nuts here you don't cuz I do oh we're gonna spend this amount of money on this sort of a thing do we all just say yay no typically we don't like that we leave nasty comments on Facebook or blog posts or whatever it is we like to express our disillusionment with government waste imagine living in Israel under Ahab and seeing the prophets of Asherah state-subsidized imagine that you're perhaps hungry because your fields aren't producing as they once did you're going through difficulty because you've been laid off from the plant but these 400 prophets of Asherah are patting their bellies because they're getting free food from Jezebel and you know that your taxes are going to support those particular profits it's a terrible thing and so what Elijah says in the language of Davis is that go to the bail profits your mother fed or to the bootlickers your father capped at court remember in first Kings chapter 22 led by Zedekiah the guy with the iron horns what did they do they told the Prophet the king what he wanted to hear Davis again apparently there was no seeking of Yahweh's guidance before this military venture but now that Jehovah is in a jam he seeks Yahweh and all of a sudden Joe harem has this belief in the sovereignty of God notice in verse 10 for the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab that is a belief in the sovereignty of God thinking that God has the ability and the power and the comprehensive sovereignty to deliver these three Kings into the hands of Moab that is a recognition of God's sovereignty he uses it in a weaselly way he uses it in a blame ful way or a blow way to blame God Almighty but he nevertheless somehow has recognized this Davis again says always beware of folks who can cite the sovereignty of God in order to excuse or accuse but not to worship and adore they just read that again because as Calvinism is quite popular today and persons all think about and revel in the fact that God is sovereign oftentimes it goes astray it goes awry and persons deduce from this doctrine of God's sovereignty they can now excuse their godless nests or they can accuse God because where was he on September 11th always beware of folks who cite the sovereignty of God in order to excuse or accuse but not to worship and adore that's an important point a recognition of God's sovereignty ought to produce worship and adoration a recognition of who God is ought to yield praise notice Joe home responds in verse 13 Beno for the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab there's his parenting of what he says in verse 10 God sovereign he's going to deliver us into the hand of the kings at the king of Moab now notice this statement by Elijah in verse 14 Elijah said as the Lord of hosts lays before him I stand surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah I would not look at you nor see him that's frightening is it that it should be frightening because it indicates there is a point at a time at which God will no longer hear you God will no longer look at you now of course God hears all things God sees all things this is indeed an improper predication it's spoken in the manner of man but it highlights the justice of I know obviously Elijah's not God but he is the prophet of God but that is some powerful statement he says as Yahweh lives before whom I stand were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah in other words if it wasn't for him I wouldn't look at you I wouldn't hear you think about that brethren and then in verse 15 but now bring me a musician really shifts the two focus of a narrative were not for Jehoshaphat I wouldn't look at you I would listen to you I would have no consciousness of you whatsoever now bring me a musician musical instruments seen in conjunction with prophetic ministry is you can see it in 1st Samuel chapter 10 and particularly what we see here is when the musician plays the hand of God comes upon Elijah and Elijah now gets the prophetic word notice specifically the making of ditches in verse 16 it happened when the musician played that the hand of the Lord came upon him and he said thus says the Lord make this valley full of ditches it's probably not a command to Israel to take their shovels and to go out and make ditches it's probably a statement of what God is going to do in other words when I bring this water to bear upon Edom there is going to be ditches or there are going to be ditches in the ground notice as well the miraculous supply of water that God will give them verse 17 for thus says the Lord you shall not see wind nor shall you see rain yet that Valley shall be filled with water so that you your cattle and your animals may drink it's not an amazing thing God surgeon I go to see when you're not gonna see rain you're not gonna see the normal delivery systems for water you know we know when it's going to rain many are praying for rain here in BC so that we can see some help with reference to these forest fires well we wouldn't think that it's going to rain on a day like today because there's no clouds in the sky and this is essentially what the Prophet is saying with reference to God you're not going to see when you're not going to see rain yet that Valley shall be filled with water so that you your cattle and your animals may drink now notice in verse 18 we have the amazing grace of God and what call an Ephesians 3:20 moment he is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask their saying verse 18 and this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand you see they cry out to God through Elijah for water don't we do that God we just pray that you'd bring us this particular blessing and what happens it's exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think we've all had those moments before haven't we we've cited Ephesians 3:20 before haven't we we say I prayed for this and God gave me this on some Benny Hinn sorta way not none you know that weird health wealth and prosperity soared away but you've all tried and proven your God this way we went to the throne of grace we sought to lay our petitions before the Lord he not only gave me this job but he also gave me a promotion he gave me all this stuff it was it was just fantastic it was wonderful this is an Ephesians 3:20 moment it's chump change essentially as what Elijah is saying for God to fill this valley with water he's going to give you a victory over the Moabites - you see this convention utilized by the Prophet I say and one of the servant songs in Isaiah 49 God says concerning Messiah it's too small a thing for you to rescue the tribes of Jacob I'm gonna give you as a light under the Gentiles in other words you are too glorious to confine your saving efforts to one small people group I'm gonna give you to every tribe every tongue every people every nation brethren in your Bible reading you gotta stumble upon those Ephesians 3:20 moments when you find them it just so happens that 2nd Kings is packed with that absolutely chock full packed at least up until where we are in second Kings we finished chapter 4 the other night that's what God says through the Prophet this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord he will also deliver the Moabites into your hand now the description of the attack is severe very severe according to verse 19 and this is probably owing to what Meisha boasted about and specifically with reference to his previous dealings with Israel notice in verse 19 you shall attack every four I'd City every choice city you shall cut down every good tree stop up every spring of water and ruin every good piece of land with stones now some would say that this is a violation of Deuteronomy chapter 20 verses 19 and 20 where you're told not to in the battle time cut down trees Davis points out the text there only forbids whacking down food food producing trees as lumber for siege work so in other words verse 19 is the instruction in terms of how they're going to go to battle against Moab now let's look finely and quickly at verses 20 to 27 we see the fulfillment of Elijah's word in verses 20 to 25 and the futility of pagan religion in verses 26 and 27 notice in verse 20 now it happened in the morning when the grain offering was offered that suddenly water came by way of Edom and the land was filled with water this should sure put a bit of wind in your sails to go to battle in Moab wouldn't it you get it now that the water is here that means God really is gonna answer our prayer God's really gonna answer as he specifies in verse 18 the waters are down payment for the victory over Moab I mean the watering of itself was probably delightful I can only imagine being out there for that long watching your animals dying watching yourselves dying and then suddenly this great torrent comes and the valley is filled with water they probably splashed they probably frolicked they probably delighted in that wonderful liquid from God but then they came to their senses and realized we're gonna win the Moabites we're gonna beat them because God who said the small thing was the water is also able to deliver on the big thing which was the victory over Moab it's a beautiful thing now notice how God does this it's in his sovereignty he confuses the Moabites now those who have trouble with the sovereignty of God ought not just to be troubled with Romans 9 or John 6 or Ephesians 1 I don't know how they can read through the Old Testament without going nuts how do you read through the Old Testament without a belief in the sovereignty of God not go nuts thankfully you all believe in the sovereignty of God so you shouldn't go nuts but notice in verse 21 when all the Moabites heard the Kings or heard that the Kings had come up to fight against them all who were able to bear arms and order older were gathered and they stood at the border then they rose up early in the morning and the Sun was shining on the water now this was not a common thing for them to see this amount of water at this particular time of the year notice they saw the star they saw the sun shining on the water and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood when they see the water on the other side as red as blood they make this conclusion they make this inference oh the coalition of Kings has turned one against the other they're slaughtering themselves over on the other side we can now go in and mop up you see God produces confusion into the minds and in the hearts of these Moabites Matthew Poole says they were so highly confident that they send no Scouts they marched either with their whole army and that in great disorder wherein there was also a divine hand strengthening them in their mistakes and hardening them to their destruction again that would bother an armenian or a Pelagian but you ought to stand in awe at your great and glorious God he will send confusion upon an enemy army so that he can secure victory for his people he will send if he needs to a lying spirit according in first Kings chapter 22 again another passage that trouble people that don't see the comprehensive sovereignty of God here he'll cause Mullah bytes to look across to see this water to see the shot of sun shining on it to see that it's red and then wrongly conclude that Ahura Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom have taken up swords against one another so what do they do they say to the spoil Moab notice verse 24 so when they came to the camp of Israel Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites so that they fled before them and they entered their land killing the Moabites then they destroyed the cities and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it and they stopped up all the Springs of water and cut down all the good trees but they left the stones of kir Harris F intact however the slinger surrounded and attacked it in other words stay rush the coalition they defeat or the Moabites rushed the coalition and then the this coalition of Kings turns on them rushes them and does precisely what Elijah had prophesied now let's just quickly look at this futility of pagan religion notice what Meisha does in verses 26 and 27 and when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him he took with him seven hundred man who drew swords to break through to the king of Edom but they could not so he first tries to flee tries to escape probably chooses the king of Edom or this deputy because his forces aren't as strong nations a lot of things but he's not a fool he's gonna rush the king of Edom but he couldn't do that then verse 27 tells us he took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place and offered him as a burnt offering now some suggest he took the king of Edom Zelda's son but that makes no sense maisha took nation's oldest son this is the futility of pagan religion if I sacrifice my son and the gods will be favorable to me and we will win this battle it's a pathetic view isn't it it's a sad and distressing thing to see it's kind of like when you see those prophets of bale in first Kings chapter 18 there they're cutting in themselves and they're dancing around in a frenzy I mean it's a it's a pathetic sight kinda like what we saw this morning what is the consequences of sin it's a man like Judas who ends up hanging himself sin never produces good things pagan religion never produces good things you're never a winner or a benefactor by sin or by pagan religion and you see that here with Meisha he took his oldest son who would have reigned in his place he offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall and there was great indignation against Israel so they departed from him and returned to their own land now admittedly verse 27 is a bit ambiguous it's a bit difficult to get one one's mind wrapped around there are several things that per commentators suggest they would suggest first of all that the wrath in view is the wrath of Yahweh there was great indignation or a great wrath against Israel they would teach that this wrath was from God upon Israel because they cut down trees in violation of Deuteronomy 20 that makes no sense they didn't violate Deuteronomy 20 but God wouldn't tell them I'm giving you the Moabites and then not give them the Moabites some suggest that this is the wrath of ki mosh that's the God of or the the God of these these Moabites now no biblical author would describe this to ki mosh some commentators in the liberal field would say oh yeah it's ki mosh Israel was turned against Israel and so they flee and they don't they don't win the battle wholesale well no biblical author would do that we wouldn't even entertain that others suggest it's the wrath of Moab in other words when Meisha sacrifices his son all of Moab sees it now they're fired up and they turn their wrath against Israel the tables turn against Israel again it doesn't make sense that Yahweh would promise them victory and then would not deliver the way that we ought to interpret it is that it's the wrath of Israel Davis says this view takes the preposition as a pawn rather than against if the ignant indignation is upon Israel it can mean that Israel has or manifests indignation the text refers to the indignation horror or repugnance Israel felt at maces act hence they quit the field without total victory in other words it was probably something akin to this that this man goes to this length shows the utter bankruptcy of that society they're already defeated and Israel leaves I think that makes the most sense in the context but I would submit that to you that will prove to be some good Monday afternoon reading for you but just by way of conclusion a couple of thoughts and then we'll move upstairs and thank the Lord for the time that John and Jeannie have been with us and hopefully see them off with some encouragement and some blessing first we see the inconsistency of jehoshaphat we dealt with this a little bit but I want to deal with it a little bit more brethren God calls us to exercise good sense I think so many of our problems and so many of the issues we find ourselves in so many of the things that we do that are foolish are due to foolishness for the most part as God's people we seek to honor the Lord we have good intentions we want to fear God we want to keep his Commandments we want to benefit others we want to be a help and a and a blessing and an encouragement to the church but we cannot do this if we suspend common sense we as God's people need to be in God's Word informing our minds with reference to Christian living we need to pursue wisdom it's not just you know indwelt it's not that we get converted come out of the womb of conversion and we're as wise as Solomon it simply doesn't happen that way the wisest men and women in the church are those most filled with God's Holy Word the wisest men and women in the church that don't engage in foolish alliances with ungodly persons are those most filled with God's words you see at times I think we have this defeatist mentality well you know I'm just a simple fellow I could hardly do you know my basic math and school and I you know barely clawed my way out of school perhaps I didn't even finish school I'm just not that bright of a bull but brethren we ought to remember the psalmist he says the law of Yahweh makes wise who the simple it's attainable good sense is contained in this book study it learn it understand it and by the grace of God may it lead you along I mean obviously the spirit but may the Spirit leads you with this good dose of common sense that may be your friend and your guide with reference to Johor UM's religion the putting away of the pillar of bail was utilitarian either to pacify God or to pacify Jehoshaphat the recognition of the sovereignty of God was only when it suited him only when he needed a scapegoat only when he needed someone to blame the seeking of the prophet of Yahweh when he needed help in battle listen to Davis again here go back to verse 14 Elijah says were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah I would not look at you nor see you Davis says now chew a bit on Elijah's words do you hear him he is saying that Joe harem is beyond the help of God's Word if it weren't for Jehoshaphat that is a frightening implication you can place yourself beyond the point of receiving direction or help from God how might you know if you were in danger of doing that well if your pattern is to seek God like Johan only for your convenience so that you are trifling with God I don't think this is illegitimate I think this is precisely what the author is showing us you see part of Kings is not just to tell us the history of Israel but it's to do theology and what we learn of Johar's religion is something that lives on today in the Christian Church what we learn of a Hosea's religion in chapter 1 is something that lives on in the Christian Church when is I have falls through the lattice of his roof onto the ground as he called upon Yahweh nope he calls upon bails above for assistance in other words what you worship is who you call upon in times of distress there's a bit of a Isaiah in the Christian Church today isn't there those who abuse drugs or alcohol when there is trouble when there is difficulty instead of bringing it to your way they take another drink and they smoke another whatever so this whole idea is a reality if your pattern is to seek God like Jehovah monly for your convenience so that you were trifling with God you may not you may be interested only in escape from trouble not in the path of discipleship that was Joe harem he wanted to use the Word of God in the moment but not to submit to it long term Joe Hara mites view the Word of God is something for emergency only but not for normal days God is simply the airbag in the disasters of life which you hope you never have to use if that is your pattern you may be placing yourself beyond the help of God's Word now I know it's late and I know that it's the smell of coffee you'll be wafting through here soon and there's cake I don't know if it's chocolate or vanilla whatever it is I'm sure it'll be delightful but but you need to feel the import to this I wouldn't preach this again if I didn't think it was applicable but I think it's very applicable I think this Jehovah might approach to religion is alive and well not just in the Armenian churches not just in the Pelagian churches not just in Benny Hinn's palace but it's alive and well among us we use God as a means to an end that's wrong we use God as a technique for our satisfaction we use God to get what we want instead of seeing that God is what we should want brethren Joe harem lives in the church today and finally we ought to appreciate the glory of God first his miraculous power in the water and the victory his miraculous power in the water and the victory but secondly his amazing grace in the water and in the victory I want to close again on a Davis quote because I think he nails this does Joe harm deserve what he gets be honest does Joe harm deserve what he gets here no not at all he's not as bad as a hab and Jezebel but as I pointed out that's not saying much I mean Judas might have been able to fit that category at some point in his life not as bad as Ahab and Jezebel I mean Ahab and Jezebel were you know wicked people of the Year recipients for as long as they lived I mean they had coffee cups that said wicked people of the year you know the best mom in the world she had you know worst mom best dad no he had worse death these were miserable people terrible people so the fact that he is not as bad as them does not indicate that he's a good guy he put away the sacred pillar of bail that his father had made but he continued in the sins of jeroboam the son of nebat he himself continued about a Cavs it's when God hears this man cry out for first water which she doesn't even cry out for it but water and then victory over the Moabites why in the world would God bless Johar because it's in his immediate proximity to Jehoshaphat is now at verse 14 says if it were not for Jehoshaphat I wouldn't hear you I wouldn't see you I'd have nothing to do with you brethren all in all joe-joe harem didn't deserve anything but neither do we we don't deserve water we don't deserve victory we don't deserve any Ephesian 320 moments we don't deserve anything that we ever asked for but it's by our immediate proximity to a son of Jehoshaphat that we benefit tremendously listened to Davis some have been muttering that this idolatrous rascal Joe harem doesn't deserve such benefits of course he doesn't but notice why he received them because of Jehoshaphat the king of David's line Joe harem received these benefits because of another and it is the same with you if you receive any benefit from God it is because you stand next to the Davidic King Jesus the descendant of David and Jehoshaphat you are in exactly the same position as Jorah you don't deserve heavens crumbs but receive massive mercies only because Jesus the Davidic King stands beside you see how practical 2nd Kings chapter 3 is for Christians in the 21st century it's because we stand with Jesus we are recipients of God's Amazing Grace if you are not a believer tonight let that serve as a grand invitation to you stand next to Jesus Biaggio harem who finds a Jehoshaphat and stand there alongside of him because God blessed even undeserving Joe harem because of Jehoshaphat his beloved the same is the case with reference to the gospel flee to Jesus he is the one in whom all the blessings of God flow to and through well let us pray our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for the practicality of these Old Testament books may we reflect upon Joe harem and Jehoshaphat and Elijah but most of all may if we reflect upon your amazing grace you not only give but you give exceedingly abundantly above all they could have asked or or thought the same is the case in our own lives how we praise you for Amazing Grace we praise you for the Son of David the son of Jehoshaphat ultimately the son of God even our Lord Jesus Christ and whom we have been richly blessed we ask now that you would go with us we do pray for John and Jeannie that as they move to Creston your smile would be upon them that their family would rejoice God that you would just give them grace to grow in their new church to be a blessing in that new church and may they grow in their their love and appreciation for the Christian gospel each and every day we ask these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then as I said we can move upstairs