‘DIGGING DITCHES IN THE DESERT’
2 KINGS 3:4-24
Have you ever been involved in digging ditches? It is hard work, thus you usually have been many bosses.
This is a strange story but it is a story that has some truths and principles in it that is good for us to look at.
I-NOTICE THE PEOPLE INVOLVED: 1-8
At the time when this story took place, Mesha, the king of Moab was trying to outwit Jehoram, King of Israel. Israel, Judah, and Edom were upset because Mesha was not fulfilling his agreement to pay the King of Israel 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. When King Ahab died, whom the promise was made to, Mesha backed out on the deal. Thus they wanted to make war against them.
Thus we see a group of people about to be engaged in war because of a broken promise.
You and I might not have much talent, or might not be rich, or might be the least of all Christians. But one thing we can do is to keep our promises with the Lord and the people around about us.
Ronald Reagan, commenting on the Democratic presidential primary debate in New Hampshire: "There were so many candidates on the platform that there were not enough promises to go around."
One candidate was so happy about winning that he accidentally kept one of his campaign promises.
When we think about promises, we know for sure, we can trust God to keep His promises. I Kings 8:56
A promise from God is a statement we can depend on with absolute confidence. Here are 12 promises for the Christian to claim.
God’s presence— “I will never leave thee” (Heb. 13:5)
God’s protection—”I am thy shield” (Gen. 15:1)
God’s power—”I will strengthen thee” (Isa. 41:10)
God’s provision—”I will help thee” (Isa. 41:10)
God’s leading—”And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them” (John 10:4)
God’s purposes— “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil” (Jer. 20:11)
God’s rest—”Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28)
God’s cleansing— “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9)
God’s goodness— “No good thing will He withhold from them that work uprightly” (Psalm 84:11)
God’s faithfulness—”The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake” (1 Sam. 12:22)
God’s guidance—”The meek will He guide” (Psalm 25:9)
God’s wise plan—”All things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom. 8:28)
II-NOTICE THE PROBLEM INVOLVED: 9-10
The army was arrayed in full armor. They had their swords in their hands and were ready for war. But as they started out, someone said, “Something is wrong, we don’t have any water.”
They had came to the valley to do battle, and from a military viewpoint they were prepared, but had no water.
This is a strange scene; yet it is a picture of many Churches who are well organized, has all the right programs yet does not have the Spirit of the Living God.
I read where a visitor was out in a large Church in the Midwest, which had baptized 2000 the year before. The man was disappointed in seeing no pipes for the organ, no chandeliers. The preacher said, we don’t’ depend on the beauty of a building but on the power of God, the Holy Spirit.
Bailey Smith tells of seeing an old Western movie in which there was a tragic scene about a man dying on the desert with a pouch full of solid gold pieces. Given a choice, that man would have traded the sack of gold for a drink of water.
I have a glove here in my hand. The glove cannot do anything by itself, but when my hand is in it, the glove can do many things. True, it is not the glove, but my hand in the glove that acts. The Christian is a glove. It is the Holy Spirit in us, the hand, which does the work. We have to make room for the hand so that every finger in the glove is filled.
D. L. Moody said, “I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled.”
III-NOTICE THE PROPHET INVOLVED: 11
I am glad when they discovered their need for water; they didn’t call for a waterman with stick, or a geologist but a man of God.
I hope that the lost will think of us as Christians when they had a need in their life.
When D. L. Moody was preaching in revivals if he felt he was not ready to preach, he would say sing another song. He was saying, I am not ready, I need to pray more, I need to perfectly cleansed, and I need more of God’s power on me. Thus when he stood to preached, he was able to meet their spiritual needs.
IV-NOTICE THE PRAISE INVOLVED: 15
Martin Luther said, “One of the finest and noblest gifts of God is music. This is very hateful to the devil, and with it we may drive off temptations and evil thoughts.
In a concert in Chicago, Harry Lauder, Scottish singer and songwriter, sang to an overflowing audience. At the conclusion, the audience stood en masse, and applauded uproariously. After the applause subsided, the audience said in unison, “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Showing splendid humility, Lauder replied, “Don’t thank me! Thank the good God who put the songs in my heart!”
More than 30,000 people attended 14 performances of a Christmas musical at Overland Christian Church in Kirkland, Wash. The church recorded 2,375 decisions for Christ at the performances. When Seattle’s CBS affiliate, Channel 11, televised the Broadway-style musical, the church received 1,800 calls in 90 minutes. Some 115 callers made first-time decisions for Christ, the church said.
V-NOTICE THE PLAN INVOLVED 16-18
The prophet’s plan came from God for notice, “Thus saith the Lord.”
Jan King tells the following story in “Humor in Uniform”. A friend often told me about the problems he had getting his son to clean his room. The son would always agree to tidy up, but then wouldn’t follow through. After high school the young man joined the Marine Corps. When he came home for leave after basic training, his father asked him what he had learned in the service. “Dad,” he said. “I learned what ‘now’ means.”
They were obedient unto God in digging the ditches and God was going to perform a miracle.
John Underhill tells an experience about his brother and his dog. My brother Ron had a dog-named Lucy. She often would bury all the food Ron gave her, and one time buried the bowl along with the food. She didn’t realize that as long as she belonged to Ron, she would be fed. We often hoard what God gives us today because we don’t trust Him to provide for our needs tomorrow.
Notice the word “yet” in verse 17. They were to prepare for the blessing of God by digging the ditches and see God work a miracle.
I wonder how many blessing from God you and I miss because we were not prepared to receive them?
My daddy caught fish every time he went fishing. I would go with him, and I wouldn’t catch anything but he would always catch some. I found out his secret was that he had all kinds of baits in his tackle box. He was prepared
“President Nixon once told me that while talking to Winston Churchill’s son, he told him how much he admired the Prime Minister’s great ability at giving “extemporaneous” speeches. Churchill’s son replied, “Oh, yes. I’ve watched my father work for hours preparing those extemporaneous speeches.”
If we all during the week would prepared for Sunday services by digging ditches by praying, by studying His Word, by witnessing, by confessing our sins, we would see His blessing fill the ditches on Sunday.
VI-NOTICE THE POWER INVOLVED: 20-21
God kept his promises and the ditches were full of water in the morning.
Notice verse 18-this wasn’t even a challenge to God.
In a seminary missions class, Herbert Jackson told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a car that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used this ingenious procedure for two years.
Ill health forced the Jackson family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Jackson proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new man began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why, Dr. Jackson, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Jackson’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.
For two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Jackson from putting that power to work.
J. B. Phillips paraphrases Ephesians l:19-20, “How tremendous is the power available to us who believe in God.” When we make firm our connection with God, his life and power flow through us
VII-NOTICE THE PURSUIT INVOLVED: 24-27
We see here that the devil’s crowd threw in the towel and went home; they gave up. When we obey God in faith, not only will He bless us, but He will defeat our enemies.
Vernon Grounds tells of an incident that happened while he was in seminary. Since the school had no gymnasium, he and his friends played basketball in a nearby public school. Nearby, an elderly janitor waited patiently until the seminarians finished playing. Invariably he sat there reading his Bible. One day my friend asked him what he was reading. The man answered, ‘The book of Revelation.’ Surprised, my friend asked if he understood it. ‘Oh, yes,’ the man assured him. `I underst it.’ ‘What does it mean?’ Quietly the janitor answered, `It means that Jesus is gonna win.’
When Lord Nelson reported to the British admiralty his great victory over the French fleet in the Battle of the Nile, he said that “victory” was not a large enough word to describe what had taken place.
When Paul spoke of the victory which through Jesus Christ he had won over all the ills and adversaries and temptations and woes of life, that greatest of all words, “conqueror,” was not sufficient to describe it; and therefore he said “more than conquerors, through him that loved us.”
CONCLUSION: The Lesson for us is that if we will trust and obey the Lord, then the victory will come.
DR. AC DIXON, a well-known pastor in Boston, found his church needed $5,000 to square accounts. He and his deacons prayed about it. One deacon arose and said, “Brethren, God has answered our prayers. He will send the money in next Sunday’s collection. That Sunday it rained all day and the congregation was small. A deacon suggested that they not take the collection. But the deacon who had believed for a good offering said, “I didn’t trust the weather; I trusted God!” They took the offering and it came to $5,600!”
