And Elisha said unto the king of
Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father,
and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay:
for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the
hand of Moab. And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I
stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king
of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.
2 Kings 3:13-14
King Jehoram (Joram) of Israel
lived in a very interesting time in Israel. At the outset of his reign, the
king of Moab rebelled against Israel (cf. 2 Kings 3:4). He was a wicked king
like the kings of the line of Ahab and even further back (cf. 2 Kings 3:3).
However, Jehoram was not foolish; he knew he needed help, so he appealed to
Jehosophat, king of Judah (cf 2 Kings 3:7). Not only does he find help in Judah,
but Edom as well (cf 2 Kings 3:9). As we have noted in previous articles, this
was the folly of Jehosophat’s good reign.
This alliance was certainly
good for King Jehoram. The prophet Elisha even told Jehoram how he felt about
the situation when the three kings asked for help. The Lord helped the other
two because of the one. One would hope that this would cause Jehoram to
reconsider his ways and turn to the Lord. Unfortunately, it did not. Later, Elisha will anoint Jehu king over
Israel, and he will be the one who removes Jehoram from power (cf. 1 Kings
9:6,24).
What can we learn from yet
another tragedy in the house of Israel? First, at times, men are indirectly
blessed by being near men of God. On one occasion, the Ark of the Covenant
being in the house of Obed-Edom was the reason for the house of that man to be
blessed (cf. 2 Sam 6:11). Jehovah blessed the household of Potiphar because of
Joseph (cf. Gen. 39:5). Yet, that blessing was because of with whom or what
they were associated. God provided out of care for Jehosophat, and we find that
when the time arose, the wicked Jehoram would not be able to ride the coattails
of the king of Judah. Second, we also see in the life of Jehoram that God has
kept His word. He would destroy the household of the wicked Ahab. Judgment was
sure to come and it did by the hand of God. When Elisha anointed Jehu as king,
he was given the order to remove Jehoram from power.
In the Christian dispensation, many people are blessed by being near the Lord's people. If you think about some the laws of our nation, many of them, at least at one time, were based on Biblical principles. The Bible is readily available and there are congregations of the Lord's people throughout the nation and the world. We must not be content that because people live near the Lord's people that they receive some indirect blessing. We must recall that we are to bring a direct blessing of the Gospel of Truth to our friends and neighbors.
Grace and Peace,
Ryan
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