"And he said, “This is what the LORD says: Make this valley full of ditches. For this is what the LORD says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water, and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink." 2 Kings 3:16-17 (NIV)
The armies of Judah and Israel were out in the middle of the desert with no water and they were getting scared. They were on their way to Moab but now they were concerned that they were not even going to make it to the battle. They inquired of Elisha the prophet and this was the word passed to them from God through Elisha. Obediently, they dug the trenches and one morning they looked and mysteriously saw water coming from Edom and filling up their trenches such that they and their animals had plenty of water to drink.
And just what does this verse have to do our personal issues, you ask? It’s a verse about “blessings and Supply”. The armies needed to be blessed by God and they were, miraculously. I’d venture that each of us would welcome a blessing from God (I know I would) whether it be in the area of finances or whatever. So, let’s examine this passage in more detail.
First we see that the armies were concerned. They had a big problem and didn’t know how to solve it. Plus this problem was spilling over into other areas of their lives as they were worried they would be unsuccessful in their battle with their enemy. Are they any big problems in your life that you don’t know how to solve? Where do you turn to seek help as the armies of Israel did? Psalms 121:1 says "I will lift up mine eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? MY help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth" It's so unfortunate that some of us seek help from the wrong places. When Saul was in battle, instead of inquiring of the Lord, he went to a medium to inquire of the dead spirit of Samuel (1 Samuel 28:3-11). but these guys knew where to go!
Let’s look at the steps they followed in this story:
1. Go to God: Note what they did with their problem – they went down to a prophet of God, Elisha, to find out what God was going to do in this situation. I think that was definitely the correct decision. If you’re facing a giant of a problem, remember that God is the biggest giant of them all.
2. Prepare for the blessing: Now the prophet told them to do something strange; he told them to dig a bunch of ditches in the middle of the desert. This might seem like a pointless exercise to you and it might have seen pointless to them, too….but they did it. They were obedient to God and dug the ditches. They had to believe that God was going to give them the blessing and they had to put in some hard work to prepare for it. Sometimes God will ask you to do some strange things that you do not even understand yourself, but be obedient.
The armies dug the ditches and the water came. There is a bit more to the story though. When the Moabites woke up they saw reflections off of the water from the early morning sun. It reflected red so they thought they armies of Judah and Israel and Edom had attacked and killed each other. The Moabites then rushed out to take the spoil only to be surprised and quickly defeated by the armies.
If you think about it, their biggest concern of having no water and thus losing the battle to Moab actually led to their victory! They went to God and were obedient to Him. As a result, their immediate need for water was taken care of and their ultimate need for victory was facilitated through the blessing. Amazing!
So what exactly does this mean for each of us? How exactly should we prepare for the blessing from God? Well, that’s a hard question to answer. I would guess it would be a very individualized answer for each one of us. What I do know is that we need to take our concerns to God with the assurance that he cares for us and will bless us. Peter reminds us that we should cast all our cares and worries to him who cares for us. (1 Peter 5:7). Where do you take your cares and worries? Learn to trust Him (God) who never fails and He will release blessings for you if and only if you are prepared for the same.
God bless (prepare for it! - The Blessing)...
