Today I want to continue to examine & illustrate the truth we studied last week which was: the power of God to change the unchangeable. It is so important to keep our focus on the Lord & His ability instead of the complexities of the situation or the hardness/coldness of the person’s heart. Many of you came forward last week to lift your petition to God asking Him to change that which seems unchangeable. How have you done this week in keeping that petition before the Lord & in keeping your focus upon Him instead of the person or situation? I trust this story today will simply strengthen & help keep your focus on God.
The story today basically states the same truth as last week’s but it adds a warning – a warning of the danger of getting your eyes off the Lord & His ability to do the impossible by focusing our eyes on seemingly powerful displays by the enemy which are destined to distract & divert our focus. And when we get distracted like that, it keeps us from experiencing & seeing God’s complete victory.
-3:1-3 – Here we are introduced us to Jehoram, who was the son of Ahab. He has now become king after the death of his brother, Ahaziah. He, like all the kings of the northern kingdom of Israel, did evil in the sight of the Lord & lived in idolatry.
-3:4-6 - Shortly into his reign, he faced a crisis. Moab had been a vassal state of Israel since the time of David. They had been forced to pay tribute to the king of Israel in the form of 100,000 lambs & the wool of 100,000 rams. But w/ the new king on the throne Mesha, king of Moab, saw this as his opportunity to break away from Israelite domination & to avoid further payments of tribute. So we read in v.5 that the “king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.”
Naturally, this could not go unanswered by Jehoram so he gathered his troops for war (v.6). But he recognized there is strength in numbers so he enticed Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah to join him – 3:7. There is no indication that Jehoshaphat sought the Lord’s will before making this alliance w/ an ungodly king. Jehoshaphat had a history of doing this. He should have known better from past experiences but we all know in our own lives how frequently we fail to learn from past mistakes.
So an alliance is formed along w/ a 3rd king, the king of Edom. The alliance is in place, now comes the strategy – 3:8...
Geography lesson: picture the Dead Sea – NNW – Israel; W – Judah; S – Edom; E - Moab
So notice their strategy - the king of Moab would most likely be expecting them from the north around the top end of the Dead Sea, but instead they decided to take their troops down through the wilderness around the southern end of the Dead Sea through Edom & up into Moab from the south which was probably not as heavily armed. By this strategy they thought they would surprise & thus be able to defeat the Moabites.
I am not surprised to read in v.9...
Now notice the 1st words out of Jehoram’s mouth in response to their dire circumstances – v.10 – (NIV) “What!" exclaimed the king of Israel. "Has the LORD called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?" Isn’t it interesting that this is the first time he’s spoken about the Lord – and the only thing he has to say is negative? It is not amazing how often we blame the Lord when we find ourselves in an unpleasant situation of our own doing & then call upon Him to rescue us from it. “Why did the Lord let us come into this miserable position?” we bemoan, when we did not seek His guidance in the first place. All I can say is thanks be to God that He is a longsuffering God.
Well, it was a good thing Jehoshaphat was there. Jehoshaphat was a follower of God even though he made foolish alliances at times. Refusing to accept Jehoram’s assessment, he asks (11), “Is there not a prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of Lord by him?” Why had he not thought of this before? Why don’t we, before we act?
“Is there not a prophet of the Lord here?” A nameless servant replies, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.”
Let me take a few moments & draw out of this section some characteristics I see here in Elisha that would be greatly desirable to have in our lives during a time when people become desperate for answers as we see here w/ Elisha.
Characteristic #1 – You should be someone people think of when they want to find out what God says.
This means your life will have to be 1 that is consistently governed by the Word of God, by God’s wisdom. There is a lot of human wisdom floating around, but when people get desperate for answers they don’t want the latest ditty or theory, they want something that works, that is true. So you must develop the reputation of living your life by God’s authority & Word. People must see that consistently in your life so they know you are someone who knows God’s heart, God’s wisdom, God’s truth.
Elisha was known as that kind of man. Notice Jehoshaphat says, (v.12) “The word of the Lord is w/ him.” In other words, if we want to know what God says, he’s the man to go to. Wouldn’t you love to have that kind of reputation? You can but it involves choices on how you live your life, choices that must be built on each day.
Characteristic #2 – You should be someone who has shown yourself to be a faithful servant.
It is significant that the king’s servant identified Elisha as the one “who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.” Elisha left behind a prominent & financially secure position w/ his family to go be a servant for 10 years or more to Elijah. He’s known as the man who pours water for Elijah. I don’t think too many people would be content to be known by that.
Jesus came as a humble servant & that is the attitude we must have. Are you a servant, especially those of you who are leaders?
There are a lot of ways to have a servant attitude. I could not list them all but here is a test: how many of you pitch in at church dinners or picnics to help set up & clean up or it is left to the same old people every time? You stand around & talk while they set up & clean up. We are to be servants. God honors & uses people who are servants.
Characteristic #3 – You should be someone who is unaffected by flattery or w/ people.
Here standing before Elisha are 3 kings. Its not everyday 3 kings come crawling up to you asking for your advice. Elisha was unmoved by it all. He has been in the presence of God, so he is not impressed by the persona of men. Elisha was a man not prone toward partiality for even a moment. His allegiance was to the Lord & to the principles of His Word regardless of a person’s position, power, or wealth.
I fear for some of the well-known preachers, musicians & Christian leaders of our day. Since we turn them into celebrities it is a temptation for them to think more highly of themselves than they ought.
3:13-14...
For Elisha, it makes no difference who stands before him, he simply speaks what God gives him. There is no cringing or catering before royalty. He is fearless as he points out the emptiness of Jehoram’s phony religion & prophets. There are times when it’s right to highlight the bankruptcy of the world’s religions & philosophies.
Characteristic #4 – You should be someone who cultivates sensitivity to the Spirit of God.
3:15...
I think there is some righteous indignation here in Elisha & rather than speaking the first thing on his mind or what he would like to speak, he takes time to quiet his heart before the Lord in order to hear clearly what the Lord wants him to say. He desires to be sensitive to God’s Spirit speaking to him & through him.
How quick we are to speak. Some of the most unproductive & many times damaging words in the human language are, “I think...”
I have no doubt if it is needed the Lord will give us what to say on the spot, but let us be slow to speak our opinions. Let us cultivate a sensitivity to the Spirit of God & hear from Him before we speak.
Characteristic #5 – You should be someone who will speak out clearly what God says.
3:16-19...
“Dig ditches. Attack & overthrow Moab.” That was the essence of Elisha’s word from God but that is what God said so that is what Elisha said.
In Elisha’s instructions we see a beautiful dovetailing of God’s sovereignty & human responsibility. The Lord’s provision for their needs would be a miraculous gift of water but they had to dig ditches in order to receive it.
Victory would be theirs if they were obedient to their human responsibilities of digging the ditches. This would demonstrate their dependence on the Lord, a change from their former self-dependence which had already failed them.
They dug the ditches & in the morning the ditches, ditches out in the middle of the wilderness, were filled w/ water. It had not rained, no thunderstorm, but there was water.
God also told them – v.19...
God told them to pursue a course which military tacticians call a “scorched earth policy.” Sometimes God Himself is not very environmentally friendly when it comes to dealing w/ sin. Good thing the UN was not around then.
But let’s go back & soak in the statement Elisha declared about the Lord in v.18 – “And this is but a slight thing in the sight of the Lord; He shall also give the Moabites into your hand.” NIV – “This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD;”
Oh, how encouraging that is. The armies were facing an impossible situation. There was nothing they could go to fix it, to solve it. They were going to die. But listen, oh Christian, that which was impossible for them to fix, that which was unchangeable, was “an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord” to remedy. Don’t skip over that.
Listen to me - the miraculous is a very little thing w/ God. We think just the opposite – it is a very big thing. But it is a slight thing w/ the Lord. It requires no effort. God does not have to go & rest afterwards because He is drained from the effort. It requires no effort on God’s part to change that which is unchangeable. Our God is omniscience. He is omnipotent. It is an easy thing. It requires no effort.
ow so that you get the force of this statement let me apply it to other situations for I believe it is just as accurate:
• It is was an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to create the heavens & the earth.
• It was an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to have the creativity to create so many different & unique & beautiful
creatures.
• It was an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to provide for 3 million people in a desert for 40 years.
• It was an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to deliver Israel time & time again against outnumbered & outgunned
nations.
• It was an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to heal the many sicknesses told about in the Bible.
• It was an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to cause a virgin to be pregnant & to be pregnant w/ One who was divine
& human.
• It was an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to raise Jesus from the dead.
• It will be an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to completely & forever defeat Satan & all his hosts.
• It will be an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to create a new heavens & a new earth.
Let your mind consider the possibilities which are contained in those words of v.18.
It is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord to take care of you, provide for you, to pour out His grace in you. And whatever situation you are facing today, that is on your heart today, whatever person is on your heart today – it is an easy thing for the Lord to deal with or to reach that one & turn them around. He is not baffled, stumped or frustrated. It requires no emergency meeting of the Godhead. He is the God who has the power to change that which is unchangeable. There is no situation which requires more effort than any other situation, but He does command our trust & obedience.
Now while this is true, on the other side of the coin, we must acknowledge that we allow impressive displays by the enemy to detour us from trusting the Lord for complete victory. And we see that in the conclusion of this story. If you remember I said this story contains for us a warning - a warning of the danger of getting our eyes off the Lord & His power to do the impossible by setting our eyes on seemingly powerful displays by the enemy which are destined to distract us. And when we get distracted like that, it keeps us from experiencing & seeing God’s complete victory.
3:21-27 – Idolatry which has its source in the demonic powers of Satan, a murderer and hater of mankind, often included human sacrifice, especially the offering of children. The Moabite king sacrificed his firstborn son & thus released a demonic backlash of fury against the Israelites that was so intense it caused the retreat of the Israelite forces & thus kept them from complete victory.
We see the same principle at work in our situations many times. Someone has pointed out that the devil is a defeated foe & his only power is in the power to deceive us. And that is exactly what he does in these unchangeable situations that are on our hearts today.
We see the chains that bind our loved ones & we think it is hopeless which leads us to get our eyes off the Lord & his power to change that which is unchangeable.
We see the sickness that doesn’t respond to treatment or worse, completely baffles the doctors & we conclude it is hopeless.
The enemy wants to deceive you into thinking it is hopeless for he knows if he can accomplish that you will get your eyes off the Lord & thus stop believing that the situation before you is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord. And if he can deceive you in that way, you will quit calling on the Lord & trusting in the Lord to do the impossible.
God wanted to give these 3 kings the complete victory. It was an easy thing to do, but they were kept from complete victory because they allowed some mighty display of the enemy to get their eyes off the Lord & His great power to work on their behalf.
So this morning, I call you back to the truth that we belong to a God who can change the unchangeable; to a God that no matter what situation or person we lay before Him – it is an easy thing in His eyes to deal w/ it, to work in it.
Granted I don’t know his will & plan for each impossible situation represented in this room this morning – He doesn’t always change the unchangeable – sometimes He changes us instead – so I don’t know His mind & will in each situation but let us repeat those famous words of old – “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire...but even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
Yes, it is an easy thing in the eyes of our God to changed the unchangeable but whether it is His will or not, I will continue to trust my life, my family, my all in all to His sovereign omnipotent care. And I will continue to ask in Jesus’ name that He would display His mighty power once again in this situation that is on my heart & show once again that He is the God who can change the unchangeable. Bless His holy name!
Song: He Is Able
