2 Kings 4:1-7 Spiritual Blessings!

“A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”” ‭‭

II Kings‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭7‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves: This woman, the widowed wife of one of the sons of the prophets, had debts and no means to pay them. The legal system in Israel would not allow her to declare bankruptcy; she had to give her sons as indentured servants to her creditor as payment for the debts.

i. “However inhumane this might seem, the creditor was within his rights; for Mosaic Law allowed him to enslave the debtor and his children as far as the Year of Jubilee in order to work off a debt.” (Patterson and Austel)

b. Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil: There is some evidence that this jar of oil was not a larger supply held for cooking, but a smaller vessel that held only oil for anointing.

i. “A unique word here, possibly for a small anointing flask.” (Wiseman)

c. Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors: Elisha made this woman commit herself in faith to God’s provision. To borrow vessels in this manner invited awkward questions, but she did as the word of God through His prophet commanded her.

i. “She did what she was commanded to do: she did it in faith; and the result answered the end. God takes care to deliver his servants in ways that exercise their faith. He would not have them be little in faith, for faith is the wealth of the heavenly life.” (Spurgeon)

ii. “You have God in the measure in which you desire Him. Only remember that the desire that brings God must be more than a feeble, fleeting wish. Wishing is one thing; willing is quite another. Lazily wishing and strenuously desiring are two entirely different postures of mind; the former gets nothing and the latter gets everything, gets God, and with God all that God can bring.” (Maclaren)

d. Pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones: Elisha told the woman to take what she had – one jar of oil (all that she had) – and pour that out in faith into the borrowed vessels. As she did this, the oil miraculously kept pouring from the original vessel until all the borrowed vessels were filled. At the end of it, she had a lot of oil.

i. We notice that Elisha made her do this. Perhaps Elisha was tempted to gather the vessels and pour the oil himself, but he knew that she had to trust God herself.

ii. The original vessel of oil – the one the woman had in her house – was a smaller vessel that held only oil for anointing. This means that the distribution of the oil into the other vessels required constant pouring and allowing the oil to supernaturally fill the small vessel again.

iii. The vessels also had to be empty before they could be filled with oil. It did no good to bring the widow full vessels. “A full Christ is for empty sinners, and for empty sinners only, and as long as there is a really empty soul in a congregation, so long will a blessing go forth with the word, and no longer. It is not our emptiness, but our fullness which can hinder the outgoings of free grace.” (Spurgeon)

e. So the oil ceased: The miracle was given according to the measure of her previous faith in borrowing vessels. She borrowed enough so the excess oil was sold and provided money to pay the debt to the creditor and to provide for the future. Had she borrowed more, more would have been provided; had she gathered less, less would have been provided.

i. “If she borrowed few vessels, she would have but little oil; if she borrowed many vessels they should all be filled, and she should have much oil. She was herself to measure out what she should have; and I believe that you and I, in the matter of spiritual blessings from God, have more to do with the measurement of our mercies than we think. We make our blessings little, because our prayers are little.” (Spurgeon)

ii. The oil did not pour out on the ground or simply flow about. It was intended for a prepared vessel. Each vessel had to be prepared by being gathered, by being assembled, by being emptied, by being put in the right position and by staying in the right position. When there was no more prepared vessel, the oil stopped.

iii. The principle of this miracle was the same as the principle of the ditches dug in the previous chapter. The amount of man’s work with the miracle determined the amount of blessing and provision actually received. God’s powerful provision invites our hard work and never excuses laziness.

iv. “Men must likewise see to it, that their ministers’ widows and children have a comfortable subsistence.” (Trapp)

(Guzik)

Spiritual Blessings!

Don’t miss this important correlation!

“spiritual blessings from God, have more to do with the measurement of our mercies than we think. We make our blessings little, because our prayers are little.” (Spurgeon)

How is your prayer life?

Blessings 

spiritual-blessings

2 Kings 3:26-27 Human Sacrifice

 “And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred 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.” II Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭26‬-‭27‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. He took his eldest son who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall: This shows how desperate the king of Moab was following his defeat on the field of battle. He did this to honor his pagan gods and to show his own people his determination to prevent defeat.

b. So they departed from him and returned to their own land: The radical determination of the king of Moab convinced the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom that they could not completely defeat Moab. They left content with their near-complete victory.

i. “Sickened by the maddened spectacle of senseless human sacrifice, the allies lifted the siege and returned to their homes.” (Patterson and Austel)

(Guzik)

Human Sacrifice 

You could say Jesus was our human sacrifice on the cross when actually He was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and Isaiah 53 prophesies about it years before Jesus was born.

“Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭1‬-‭12‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Have you accepted His sacrifice for your sins?

Blessings 

2 Kings 3:21-25 Christian Leadership

 “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 have 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 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 Haraseth intact. However the slingers surrounded and attacked it.” II Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭21‬-‭25‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood: The ditches caught the water and saved the armies of these three kings from dehydration. They were also the means of confusion and defeat to the enemies of the people of God. When they saw the sun shining on the water collected in the ditches, they thought it was blood, from the three kings fighting each other.

b. So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them: God used the ditches in a completely unexpected way to supply the need andto defeat the enemy.

i. The whole account of God’s provision in the desert gives many principles that apply to Christian leadership.

· Like digging ditches, leadership is hard work.

· Like digging ditches, leadership is done with faith in the future.

· Like digging ditches, leadership is blessed beyond reasonable expectation.

· Like digging ditches, leadership must use delegation.

· Like digging ditches, leadership matters nothing without a miracle.

· Like digging ditches, the work of leadership often feels like work without reward.

· Like digging ditches, the work of leadership comes from God’s revelation.

· Like digging ditches, the work of leadership will be criticized or doubted.

· Like digging ditches, leadership means not accepting the present state of dryness.

· Like digging ditches, the work of leadership often seems unimpressive or unspectacular.

· Like digging ditches, the work of leadership is purposely used and relied on by God.

c. And cut down all the good trees: “But surely fruit trees are not intended here; for this was positively against the law of God, Deuteronomy 20:19-20.” (Clarke)

(Guzik)

Christian Leadership 

The Christian leadership at our church has made the youth a priority for Jesus Christ and the future His church.

Yesterday we were blessed with the youth group pastor leading our church service and explaining what the youth group has been doing this summer. They have been traveling to different cities in our state and praying for the city and people on the streets. The video of their journey was impressive along with seeing the revival of the youth on fire for Jesus. 

Are you praying for the Christian leadership at your church? 

Blessings 

2 Kings 3:20 Hard and Unpleasant Work!

 “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.”

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

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.

a. Suddenly water came by way of Edom: It seems that God sent an intense downpour in the nearby mountains, and this caused a flash flood through the desert of Edom.

b. The land was filled with water: The water was available only because they were obedient to dig the ditches. The ditches collected the water from the flash flood.

i. If Israel and Judah had disobeyed God’s word and failed to dig the ditches, God’s blessing would have passed them by. God told them to get ready and prepare to receive and catch His blessing. God often moves us to do things that may or may not make much sense for the moment, but they are things that will prepare us for what He will do in the future.

ii. The measure of water available to these thirsty men was directly connected to how faithful they were to dig the ditches. The more ditches and the bigger the ditches, the more water was provided. Though it was hard and unpleasant work, the more they did, the more blessing they received.

iii. The ditches were not the blessing, and they were not the victory, though they were essential parts of both the blessing and the victory. When God wants us to do something to prepare for blessing, we should not confuse the preparation with the blessing itself. Without the miraculous blessing of God, the ditches meant nothing. (Guzik)

Hard and Unpleasant Work!

Digging the ditches while being thirsty was definitely hard and unpleasant work but they had the faith to dig knowing that the blessing would follow!

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews‬ ‭11‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

If God asks you to do something hard and unpleasant do you have the faith to do it even if the blessing goes to another?

Blessings 

2 Kings 3:16-19 Make Ready!

 “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.””

‭‭II Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water: This was a strange promise from God. Water would be provided, but without any apparent rain or storm.

b. Make this valley full of ditches: God promised to send water to the valley, but they had to dig the ditches to catch what God would provide. They had to dig the ditches before the water was apparent, so they could benefit from it when it came.

i. “The dried-up river bed was to have many trenches (Hebrew ‘trenches trenches’) dug to retain the flash flood.” (Wiseman)

ii. When the kings returned from their visit to Elisha and told their commanders to have the men dig ditches, it must have been hard to hear. Thirsty, near-dead men in the middle of the desert don’t look forward to the hard work of digging ditches in dry ground. Yet this work was essential.

iii. This demonstrates the principle that God wants us to prepare for the blessing He wants to bring. Listening to Him, we are to anticipate His working and to get ready for it.

iv. Digging ditches was something the people of God could do. God didn’t ask them to do more than they were able to do. When God wants us to prepare for the blessing He will bring, He gives us things that we can really do.

v. “If we expect to obtain the Holy Spirit’s blessing, we must prepare for his reception. ‘Make this valley full of trenches’ is an order which is given me this morning for the members of this church; make ready for the Holy Ghost’s power; be prepared to receive that which he is about to give; each man in his place and each woman in her sphere, make the whole of this church full of trenches for the reception of the divine water-floods.” (Spurgeon)

vi. “But the most of people say, ‘Well, you know, of course, if God sends a blessing, we must then enlarge.’ Yes, that is the way of unbelief, and the road to the curse. But the way of faith and the road to the blessing is this: God has promised it – we will get ready for it; God is engaged to bless, now let us be prepared to receive the boon. Act not on the mere strength of what you have, but in expectation of that which you have asked.” (Spurgeon)

c. This is a simple matter in the sight of the LORD: The kings came to Elisha inquiring about water. God wanted to give them more than their immediate need. God wanted to give them more than immediate provision; He wanted to give them complete victory over their enemies. (Guzik)

Make Ready!

“If we expect to obtain the Holy Spirit’s blessing, we must prepare for his reception…..be prepared to receive that which he is about to give” (Spurgeon)

Praying and preparation is the key that unlocks the power of the Holy Spirit!

If you pray for work but sit at home are you preparing?

If you pray for food but don’t leave your door open, will your table be filled?

Like the preparation of trenches for the water we need to be proactive and prepare for the power of the Holy Spirit!

Make ready because the Holy Spirit is willing!

Blessings 

2 Kings 3:13-15 God-given talents!

 “Then Elisha 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.” 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.” ‭‭

II Kings‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother: Elisha’s call was to continue the ministry of Elijah, and here he imitated Elijah’s plain speaking to powerful people. Elisha’s plain speaking struck the conscience of the king of Israel.

i. What have I to do with you: “The Hebrew idiom… is commonly employed to express emphatic denial (cf. 2 Samuel 16:10) or differences of opinion between the persons involved (cf. John 2:4).” (Patterson and Austel)

b. Were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you: It wasn’t that Elisha was against every king or powerful person. He was willing to speak to these three kings for the sake of Jehoshaphat, the godly king of Judah.

c. Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him: When Elisha wanted to become more sensitive to the leading and speaking of the Holy Spirit, he asked for the service of a musician. This demonstrates the great spiritual power in music.

i. “This he requires, that his mind, which had been disturbed and inflamed with holy anger at the sight of wicked Jehoram, might be composed, and cheered, and united within itself, and that he might be excited to the more fervent prayer to God, and joyfully praising him; whereby he was prepared to receive the prophetical announcement.” (Poole)

ii. “The way to be filled with the Spirit is to edify ourselves by psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.” (Trapp)

iii. “This nameless musician was endowed with God-given talents and he used them for the good of others. Surely it never occurred to him that by his music he would help win a military victory and have a dramatic effect on history. But when he shared his God-given ability, the power of God came upon the prophet.” (Dilday)

(Guzik)

God-given talents!

“This nameless musician was endowed with God-given talents and he used them for the good of others.” (Dilday)

Let this nameless musician be a godly example for us! 

But first we must be filled with the Spirit! “The way to be filled with the Spirit is to edify ourselves by psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.” (Trapp)

Edify yourself and share your God-given talents is a great way to start your day!

Blessings