Thought for the Week

Not long ago, there was a story about a whale entangled in fishing nets. It was likely going to cost the whale her life. But, fortunately there were scuba divers who worked together to cut the nets away and allow the whale to go free. There are spiritual entanglements we should be aware of just as dangerous, or more so, than fishing nets. There is a specific story in II Kings 3, with surrounding Scriptures, about just this very thing. The nation of Moab and its king Mesha, were subjugated to Israel. They were required to pay tribute of 100,000 lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams annually. When a new young king came to the throne of Israel, King Mesha decided to rebel and break free from Israel’s dominance. In order to quell this uprising, new King Jehoram decided to form an alliance with King Jehoshaphat of Judah and the king of Edom. A bit of background: King Jehoram was a wicked king, the son of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, probably the most wicked royal couple Israel ever had. Jehoshaphat, on the other hand, was a godly king. I think it was a mistake for Jehoshaphat to entangle himself in this alliance. Also, he did not consult God about it. At any rate, the three kings and their armies decided to march through the land of Edom to attack Moab. There was a problem: they ran out of water for the armies and their animals. A council among them resulted in seeking counsel from God. The godly prophet Elisha, was sought. Elisha had nothing but contempt for wicked King Jehoram. He even mocked him by telling him to consult the idol Baal, whom Jehoram and his parents worshipped. But, Elisha saw and had respect for Jehoshaphat. He said, ‘If it were not for King Jehoshaphat, I would not even look at you.’ But he did consult God and ultimately gave this answer: “Dig ditches in the plain. You won’t hear or see wind or rain, but those ditches will fill with water. There will be plenty of water for man and beast to drink.’ They did and it was so. In addition, the rising sun reflected on the waters and the Moabite army, supposed it was blood and the armies of the three kings had ‘fallen out’ with and killed each other. They disregarded their weapons and rushed out to claim the victory and the booty. The armies of the three kings overcame them and captured Moab. A sad event followed. King Mesha, in following the tenants of his idolatry, offered his son as a burnt sacrifice to Chemosh the idol he worshipped. This caused contempt in and for Israel, although I am not sure why they were blamed for the doings of King Mesha. There was another entanglement that Jehoshaphat should have avoided. He allowed his son to marry the sister of Jehoram, daughter of wicked King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. She was almost as wicked as her mother and later caused many deaths and much suffering. I know, Christians are expected to be in the world but not of the world. We must be careful to be light and salt, providing good influence. But, at the same time we dare not let the world influence us. Getting entangled in the attitudes and actions of godlessness and what is of the ‘fallen world’ can be very dangerous to any Christian. Jehoshaphat had a number of ‘close calls’, which should have given him warning. God’s prophets were there and available to counsel him to evade those who would turn him away from loving and serving God, the God of his ancestor David. Do not compromise with evil.

Scriptures to Read

II Kings 3:1-7

II Kings 3:8-12

II Kings 3:13-20

II Kings 3:21-25

II Kings 3:26-27

II Kings 11:1-8

II Kings 11:9-21