Lesson 309 - Senior

Memory Verse

"I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground:  I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring"  (Isaiah 44:3).

Cross References

I Incidents of Mercy and Judgment

1. The mercy of God was extended to those who sought that mercy, [2KG:2:19-22]; [EXO:34:6-7]; [2CH:30:9]; [PS:103:17]; [PS:106:1].

2. The judgment of God was sent to those who blasphemed and refused to honour God, [2KG:2:23-25]; [LEV:26:21-39]; [PS:9:16]; [ZEP:3:5]; [ROM:2:2].

II Elisha and the Kings of Israel and Judah

1. Jehoram, king of Israel, made a partial, but not sufficient, reform, [2KG:3:1-3].

2. Israel's state was not a prosperous one, nor a peaceful one, [2KG:3:4-5]; [JOS:1:1-9]; [LEV:20:22-24]; [DEU:6:10-15]; [DEU:31:20-21]; [JUG:2:1-3], [JUG:2:11-15].

3. Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, compromised with Jehoram and all were brought to trouble, [2KG:3:6-10]; [1KG:15:16-20]; [2CH:18:1-34]; [2CH:19:1-2]; [ISA:30:1-2]; [ISA:31:1].

4. Jehoshaphat turned to God when in trouble, [2KG:3:11-12].

5. Elisha announced that he would not compromise with Jehoram, [2KG:3:13-14].

6. Music is often successfully used when one seeks for and carries out God's will, [2KG:3:15]; [JUG:5:1]; [1SM:16:23]; [2CH:20:20-22].

7. Deliverance was given by God in a way that proved beyond a doubt that He had sent it, [2KG:3:16-20]; [JUG:7:2].

8. God's deliverance for His people became a snare for the ungodly, [2KG:3:21-27]; [2CO:2:16]; [EXO:14:19-20].

Notes

God's Mercy and Goodness Our Example

Elisha had received a doubled portion of the power that had rested upon Elijah, and then had returned to Jericho. At Jericho he faced those who had been witness to the determination he had that would allow nothing to stop him from receiving God's power; and there Elisha had heard their request that a search be made for Elijah. These unbelievers should have known that Elijah was with God in Heaven and not abandoned by Him on some mountaintop or in some valley. They lived in a place of pleasant situation, but they failed to go on to the realm of spiritual privilege that was open before them. They were supposed to be godly, but they were full of doubts and of a disposition that would not seek for the best of God's blessings. Elisha believed and received; he sought after the power of God and came back with it. While it is granted that the call given to these sons of the prophets was not the same as Elisha's, nevertheless, they could have attained to a greater degree of godliness had they had a mind to strive for it. Now, in one of the first tests of Elisha's power, God showed, through His prophet, that He is vitally interested in man's entire welfare.

When Jesus gave His Sermon on the Mount, He taught the multitudes that they should love their enemies, do good to those who hated them, bless those who cursed them and pray for the very ones who persecuted them and abused them. This they should do if they would be children of their Father in Heaven, because God the Father is a God of mercy, love, and goodness. These attributes or virtues are extended to, or poured out upon, all mankind in one way or another by God. All who bear the image of their heavenly Father must be like Him, by and through His grace and regenerating power, in these attributes that affect and influence those with whom they associate.

When Elisha arrived at Jericho he found the situation of the city pleasant, but the water supply was poor and the land barren. There are many people in the world who are endowed with talent and intellect who could well be used to bless and benefit the less fortunate of the earth but who fail in this admirable work and calling because they do not possess virtues necessary for success. We all must have the godly virtues of mercy, love, and goodness, to be successful for God and eternity. If one is to retain God's salvation, he must bear these essential fruits of the Spirit. And if one of God's children should fail, he should go to the source of his trouble in order that he might be brought back into conformity with God's will for him. To do this he will turn his eyes inward, to his own heart; and after diligent and prayerful search, he will proceed to tear out any "root of bitterness.” Seed of hatred, parasitic growth of iniquity, or stones of unmercifulness that might be newly planted there by the enemy of his soul.

A Warning of God's Sure Judgment

But as surely as God's mercy, love, and goodness are manifested toward those upon whom He will have mercy, just so surely will His judgments be poured out on those who refuse that mercy. We do not have a promise that God's judgment will be delayed or postponed, allowing us to continue on in our sin and rebellion until we reach a mature age. One violation of the infinite law merits eternal punishment. God is just, and all His ways are equal and right; and His utmost desire is that the wicked should come to Him in order that He might give them His mercy, love, and goodness in full measure.

But if the wicked continue in their wickedness, they can expect nothing but God's judgment -– a just penalty for their sin and rebellion. And if God, who knows all things and who saw the end at the very beginning, cuts off a sinner in the start of his sinful life, that judgment is just. God knows whether or not the sin of an individual will ever be repented of; and, in the case of the young men who mocked and cursed Him by doing so to His representative, He did not hesitate to send sudden judgment upon them. (Read [ECC:8:11-13].)

The Folly of Compromise and Alliances with Sinners

The next portion of our lesson deals with three kings and their actions, which were, for the most part, unwise. Jehoram was king of Israel, now a backslidden, idolatrous nation. The best that could be said of him was that "he wrought evil in the sight of the LORD; but not like his father, and like his mother: for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made.” He renounced the idolatry of those who had preceded him, but he kept the sin that the idolatry had allowed. His putting away of the idols was good, but it was not enough.

Some who hear the call of God tell that it is sufficient if they put away the idols they once served and take the name of Christian. They feel that in doing so they are fitting themselves for Heaven. But this is not enough. Idolatry is the worship of something other than the true God, and there are many in the world who are idolaters because they worship the works of their own hands, intellects, or sagacity. If they love something more than God, that thing becomes an idol. To be free from idolatry, then, means that we must love the Lord more than anything.

It is no small thing for one who has been an idolater, in the actual sense of the word, to throw down his images, lay aside his former creeds and beliefs, and become affiliated with Christian people. Many times such have had to face the persecutor's wrath because of the stand they have taken. Many times they overcome, by sheer will power and persuasion of their own selves, the fears and struggles that surge within their breasts. What they do in their renouncing of idolatry, when they have known nothing but that form of worship their entire lives, is more than many people do who merely accept Christ as their personal Saviour and who make no great change in their form or mode of living.

But as commendable as this great step of renunciation of the fears and loyalties to heathen gods is, it is not enough. Everyone has sinned and therefore everyone must seek for the forgiveness of sin and for power over sin, which God will give to every sincere seeker after righteousness. Unless that pardon is secured, and the individual is truly born again, his efforts are of no avail. He is yet in his sins and he will feel the judgment of God upon him for those sins. Jehoram put away the idols, but he continued on in his sins.

Not much is said in this particular place about the king of Edom but we can safely assume that his character would not commend him to God. He had no trust in God but put his whole trust in the might of armies and the wisdom of man. His very presence as an ally of a sinful king is enough to let us know his sinful condition.

But against Jehoshaphat a great measure of condemnation can be levelled. Jehoshaphat seemed to have a weakness for making alliances with the ungodly, for at two previous times he had done so with those who were out of favour with God, and he had felt the judgment of God against him for his action both times [2CH:18:1-34]; [2CH:20:35-37]). But in spite of all that he knew and all that he had experienced, he accepted the invitation of the king of Israel to make an alliance for the purpose of quelling the rebellion of Moab against Israel.

There was no apparent reason for Judah to be interested in the economic plight of Israel. None of the tax that had formerly been received from Moab had found its way into the treasury of Judah. Judah was not being deprived of anything by the Moabites' refusal to pay tribute to Israel. It is difficult to find a reason for the alliance, as far as Judah is concerned, and still see Jehoshaphat as a sincerely pious man. He had a fear of God, it is true; and he had a respect for God and a desire for His protection. He had a certain recognition of God's prophets [1KG:22:7]), but he did not always follow the word that the prophet brought from the Lord, especially if that word was opposite to his own ideas.

In this case, Jehoshaphat did not inquire of the Lord as to the wisdom of the decision that was made, neither did he do that which should have been evident to him as the wise thing to do, if a person's past experience is of any value to him. He went ahead and made the alliance with the ungodly kings and sealed it with the statement: "I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.” If this statement was a true one, there is not much good that can be said about the people of Judah. But if it was merely an insincere, political statement, then the leader of the people of Judah surely was far from what he should have been for saying it.

But the sad part of the whole compromise incident is that after they had made their own decisions, and gone their own ways, without consulting the God of their fathers, they were quick to blame that God for the failure of their expedition. When the first difficulty came -– before the enemy was even sighted -– they accused God of leading them into a trap. The route was their, and not God's. The plan was theirs, and not God's. The alliance was theirs, and not God's. But according to them, the blame and responsibility for the failure was His!

One does not have to go back nine centuries before the coming of Christ as the Babe of Bethlehem to see other exhibitions of such inconsistency. There are many who do the same thing today. Many people choose the way of evil, and then blame God for the ultimate consequence of that way. They sow seeds of iniquity, and then blame God for the harvest. They leave God out of their plans, and then blame Him for not making their plans successful. They fail to seek God's leadership, and then blame Him if they find their way is not right.

The Humble Servant of God and the Minstrel

But there are some encouraging places in the narrative, and some incidents and individuals from which we can take example. Elisha was known to one of the king's servants as a humble servant of the former man of God; and Jehoshaphat proved beyond doubt his neglect and guilt in not asking Elisha for the will of God by admitting that the word of the Lord was with Elisha. There was some good in the past life of Jehoshaphat, and the man of God remembered it; so he interceded for the men out of respect to the king of Judah. He asked for a minstrel; and when the strains of music began to be heard, the Spirit of God came on the man of God.

God uses many means to reach the hearts of man. But one of the means He has used, in addition to the preaching of the Word of God, which is always the most important method of spreading the Good News, is the medium of good music and song. Battles have been won through singing -– not only spiritual battles but physical ones also. Music has quieted those who were tormented by Satan and enabled them to hear the still, small voice of God. Music and song have prepared the way for the preaching of the Gospel many times, when inspired by, and anointed with, the Spirit of God. And music and song have often been used by God, in this and in former dispensations, as an actual sermon to reprove men of their sin and show them their true condition before God.

Effort Demanded for God's Deliverance

The directions that the man of God gave for the deliverance of the armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom, were strange. One might have asked why ditches were to be dug in the wilderness. Why not dig holes instead, if digging for water was necessary? But when God commands, it is best that we obey His commands.

There is no victory to be gained in continuing on in our own ways when they have already led us to disaster. The only victory to be gained is in following the way of our Leader and obeying His commands. It will require digging. An effort will have to be made. The blind man of Jesus' day had to wash the mud from his eyes; the impotent man had to take up his bed and walk; the woman at the well had to draw water from the well and give to Him who was a Jew. It was not what these who obeyed Jesus did that brought the healing or salvation; it was the fact that they obeyed what He said that brought the results. The armies dug the ditches, and the Lord did the rest. And the wonderful thing about it is that the water came for their deliverance from the most unexpected place. It came from out the desert.

How different God's ways are from ours! How much trouble we could save ourselves if we always kept an ear open for the commands of God and then, having heard them, quickly obeyed them. We need not understand how God is going to deliver us. We need not be able to reason how He can bring water out of a wilderness to slake our thirst. Our only obligation is to do what He commands and let Him have His way in our lives. Where He rules there will be peace. And where He leads there will be victory.

Questions

1. What lesson did you learn from the incident of Elisha curing the waters?

2. Why can we say God's judgment was just, when He sent it against the young men who mocked Elisha?

3. What is the best that the Bible says concerning Jehoram, king of Israel?

4. On what occasions had Jehoshaphat made alliances similar to this one?

5. What did Jehoshaphat do, and what did he say, when he made the alliance with Jehoram?

6. Why was Jehoram eager to make the alliance with Jehosha-phat? and what advantage would this alliance give Jehoshaphat and Judah?

7. What stand did Elisha take when he was sent for?

8. What statement did Jehoshaphat make, when Elisha was called, that is a condemnation for his neglect in not calling the prophet earlier?

9. What part did music have in these proceedings?

10. Tell why the familiar hymn, "Trust and Obey.” Is particularly fitting to this lesson.