“MAKE THIS VALLEY FULL OF DITCHES…” Says who? Not me, since I know that ours is full of potholes. I also know that alliances can land us in the unexpected ditch, depending on our political leanings or family loyalties. As everyone should know by now, biblically speaking the caveat applies that “text without context is pretext.” We are thus set straight by reading 2 Kings 3:16-17a, “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…”
Jehoshaphat, the very good king of Judah, had his son marry the daughter of Ahab, the worst ever king of Israel and husband of evil Jezebel. That explains why he almost got himself killed when he agreed to go to war with Ahab against Syria (2 Chron.18:28-34). He had made Moab a vassal state and required a hefty annual tribute. After his death, Mesha king of Moab, turned rebel and stopped paying it. So Joram, Israel’s new king on his father’s throne, enlisted Jehoshaphat’s help to go to war with him against Moab. Stupidly, as he had done before, the good king of Judah replied, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horse.” True, Joram had abandoned the Baal worship aggressively championed by Jezebel, his mother, but had two golden calves set up for Yahweh in Dan and Bethel. He feared that his subjects would grow nostalgic for worship in Jerusalem’s famous temple.
More experienced in military matters, Jehoshaphat advised Joram to attack Moab from the south and advance through the desert of Edom. After marching for 7 days, the army and their animals had run out of water, and Joram had the gall to blame God. True to the déjà vu feel of this story, the king of Judah asked to consult a prophet of the Lord, and an officer knew that Elisha, successor to Elijah, was nearby. God’s man of the hour was so angry that he called for a harpist to soothe him with music. Then he was calm enough to receive the Holy Spirit’s directive that ended on this reassuring note, “This is an easy thing in the eyes of the LORD; He will also hand over Moab to you.” The dehydrated soldiers were hardly thrilled to trade their weapons for shovels, but the next morning thunder storms in Edom’s distant mountains triggered flash floods “and filled the land with water.” The sun’s reflection made it look blood-red and the Moabites concluded that their adversaries had fought and slaughtered each other. Rushing in for the spoil and recoiling in shock, they were mowed down with the scythe of revenge. King Mesha sent for reinforcements and his firstborn son, heir to the throne, and presented him as a burnt offering to Chemosh, desperate for his kind of divine favor. Amazingly, when informed of this atrocity, intense fear fell on Israel’s soldiers and made them beat a hasty retreat back to their own land.
It has been my privilege to draw attention to this riveting narrative recorded in 2 Kings 3. Feel free to draw your own conclusion in this pivotal season in our nation’s history. What stands out for me is the repeated nudge to heed “Thus says the LORD,” for whom it is still easy to focus our mind and hearts on the supremacy of advancing His kingdom.
Thank you Vreni for the history lesson reminder! The lessons are there for us to remember and take to heart, and not to ignore or forget!