Elisha-The Great Battle Plan

By Mary Vee

II Kings 3

From King Jehoshaphat's Journals

The prophet Elisha told us to dig ditches. Many of them. Throughout the entire valley.

The soldiers dug for several hours, even after the sun went down. When the last pieces of dirt flew out of the last ditch, all the men from the armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom went to sleep.

As the sun rose the next morning, we prepared to offer sacrifices in thanks to God for what He would do and for our sins. One of my men came running to me. "Look! All the ditches have water in them. The animals are already drinking."

I turned and found water flowing from the direction of Edom. Praise God He provided water for us.

A moment later one of my spies interrupted. "Excuse me, my lord. I have news."

"Tell me at once." He was the man I had sent to discover what the Moabites planned to do.

"I hid behind a bush and heard them as they woke this morning. They looked toward the desert and saw the ditches we dug and the water in them. But from where they stood, and with the red morning sky reflecting from the water, they thought blood filled the ditches. They did not know God placed water there for us.

"Once they decided blood filled the ditches they shouted, 'The kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Let's go an take all the plunder we can!'  They laughed and have assembled their men read to plunder."

"Our God has given us the battle indeed and has shown us his battle plan. Tell everyone to lie down as if dead. Hurry. Tell them to wait for my signal then leap upon our enemy the Moabites."

The spy went throughout the camp, gathering many men to spread the word. 

I peeked out from my tent at the "dead" soldiers from Israel, Judah, and Edom. I listened for the rumble of the Moabite army and waited for them to come close. They would not carry their weapons to free their arms for plunder. 

As the Moabite army reached ten feet away from our army I shouted. "Attack!" Our entire army leaped to their feet with their swords in hand. The army fought valiantly until the Moabites fled. We invaded their land, and conquered everything just as Elisha said.

The king of Moab gathered seven hundred swordsman and ran after the king of Edom to attack however our armies protected the king of Edom. 

The battle had been won. 

We returned to our homes the victors and only because of the hand of God. 

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photo courtesy of visualbiblealive.com

1.  Why did the soldiers dig ditches throughout the valley?

2.  The next morning what did they find in the ditches?

3.  A spy reported the Moabites waking and seeing what in the valley?

4.  What did they think happened?

5.  What did the Moabites decide to do.

6.  How did the Israelites, Judaeans, and Edomites surprise the Moabites?

7. Who supplied the water? Who gave the perfect battle plan?

Elisha-Dealing with The Ornery and the Good

by Mary Vee
II Kings 3

From King Jehoshaphat's Journals

I know I shouldn't help Joram, king of Israel. He doesn't put his faith in God. However, we are brothers, and kings of the people chosen by God to live in the promise land.

My name is Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

Joram sent me a message. I happened to be in Jerusalem at the time. The message stated the Moabites had rebelled against him. "Will you go with me to fight against Moab?"

We may not get along, but it is my duty to help protect the Israelites. I sent a message back. "I'll go. We are brothers, my people are as your people, my horses are as your horses. What is your battle plan?"

We met together with our armies not far from Jerusalem where I lived. Joram greeted me. "Here is my plan: We will go through the Desert of Edom to attack Moab."

We traveled to the Edom and there asked the king of Edom to join us. He did. 

The three armies marched for seven days then ran out of water. There wasn't any for the soldiers or the animals.

Remember, I said Joram hadn't put his faith in God. When he discovered there wasn't any water left and there wasn't a spring, pool, or lake nearby he became angry. 

"What! Has the Lord called us three kings together only to hand us over to Moab?"

Sigh. Of course he meant he was terribly thirsty.

I turned to the others standing nearby and asked, "Isn't there a prophet of the Lord here for us to ask questions to God through him?

One of Joram's officers nodded. "Yes. Elisha is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah."

"Perfect. The word of the Lord is with him. Let's go ask him."

We found where Elisha was staying and asked to speak with him.

Elisha came out of his tent. "What do you want? You have the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother."

This was not a good way to start. He had been looking at Joram and knew Joram didn't put his faith in God. I understood his point. Why give the king of Israel an answer from God when the man didn't believe in God?

Joram shook his head. "No, we can't go to them because it was the Lord who called us three kings together and now he plans to hand all of us over to Moab!" 

This wasn't the best way to speak to Elisha. If you want something from someone, insulting the person is not the way to get it.

Elisha took a deep breath and squinted at Joram. He pointed his finger and said, "As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I didn't have respect for the  presence of this man," he pointed at me, "Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not even look at you or notice you." 

He looked away from Joram and huffed. "Bring me a harpist."

A harpist would play sweet music to calm down the tempers. Good idea. A harpist was found and brought to Elisha. As the music played Elisha closed his eyes, not to sleep, but as if he heard something or someone. 

Elisha spoke, "This is what the Lord says: Make this valley full of ditches. 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. This is an easy thing in the eyes of the Lord. He will also hand Moab over to you. You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones."

We thanked him and set the men to work digging ditches and the Lord said.

I will finish this telling next time. Hopefully Joram will be kinder then.

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1, ___________ is the king of Israel.
2. ___________ is the king of Judah.
3. ______________ caused trouble for Israel.
4. King Joram asked _______________ to help him fight the battle.
5. Along the way they asked the king of ______________ to help them.
6. The three kings traveled over the desert and became _____________
7. They asked _______________ for help.
8. ______________ was rude to Elisha.
9. Elisha still prayed to God for help. God told the kings to ________________

King Jehoshaphat-True Confession

by Mary Vee
II Chronicles 20 and I Kings 22

From King Jehoshaphat's Scroll

We won the war. 

Judah had the victory. 

We didn't do anything other than to march to the battlefield. In truth, God took care of everything else. 

We were so happy gathering all the plunder, sharing the goods with our families. 

God's power amazed us.




And then I did something stupid.

Sigh

The king of Israel, Ahaziah asked me to make an alliance with him. I knew better, I know and I knew. 

I don't know what came over me. What caused me to make such a bad choice. 

I had already forgotten the alliance I made with his father, king Ahab. Well, that turned out to be a disaster. Did I learn my lesson? 

Sigh. I guess not.

King Ahaziah asked me to construct a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir and collect gold. Once the workers finished building the ships I received a visit from Eliezer. Eliezer the prophet.

I knew. The moment I saw him, his message would not be good.

Eliezer said, "Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made."

Sure enough, and I knew never to doubt a message from the Lord, the ships were wrecked and to able to set sail to gather trade. 

I wish I made the right choice the first time. King Ahaziah sent a messenger requesting to allow his men to sail with my men."

I made a bad choice the first time, but I would not the second. "Messenger, return to your master with this word: No, your men may not sail with my men."

Oh, Lord, help me to obey your commands the first time.

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photo courtesy of http://www.morguefile.com

1.  What good recently happened for Judah and their king, Jehoshaphat?
2.  What did Ahaziah, king of Israel ask king Jehoshaphat to do?
3.  What did Jehoshaphat answer?
4.  What did Jehoshaphat make?
5.  After the project ended, who visited Jehoshaphat?
6.  What message did the visitor bring?
7.  King Ahaziah asked for more help. What did Jehoshaphat say this time?

King Jehosophat Does What is Right

By Mary Vee
II Chronicles 19

From King Jehosophat's Scrolls

I must admit, I made a big mistake when deciding to help king Ahab with his battle. The prophet of the Lord warned us not to go. I should have listened.

I have repented. Now I must show the Lord, my strong interest in doing His will. 

I went out among the people from as far south as Beersheba to the northern hill country of Ephraim, and spoke with them about the importance of turning back to the Lord, the God of their fathers. The people listened.

I appointed judges in the land, one for each fortified city of Judah and told the judges: "Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for man but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. Let the fear of the Lord be upon you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery."

I returned to Jerusalem and appointed some of the Levites, priests, and heads of Israelite families to be in charge of the laws of the Lord and to settle disputes. I instructed them, "You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord. In every case that comes before you from your fellow countrymen who live in the cities, whether the issue is bloodshed or other concern, you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord. Otherwise His wrath will come on you and your brothers. Do this, and you will not sin."

I appointed Amariah as chief priest for matters concerning the Lord, Zebadiah as leader of the tribe of Judah for matters concerning the king, and the Levites as officials. "Gentlemen, act with courage,and may the Lord be with those who do well."

The order had been established. Judges appointed and I had clearly presented to the people the importance of worshiping the Lord, the God of their fathers.

A few days later, I saw all that had been arranged went well. About this time a messenger came to my chamber requesting to deliver urgent news.

"Yes. Come in."

He bowed. "Your majesty, a vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. They are already in En Gedi."

War? Surely this is the Lord testing my faithfulness. There was only one solution. Inquire of the Lord and proclaim a fast in the kingdom while we prayed. 

Come back next time to see what happens.

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photo courtesy of visualbiblealive.com

1. King Jehosophat had been told by the prophet that he did wrong by helping wicked king Ahab. What did Jehosophat do after hearing the news?
2. King Jehosophat traveled to ____________ in the south and _______ in the north.
3. He encouraged the people to follow _______________
4. King Jehosophat appointed _____________ over the people.
5. After all was set up and the people of Judah once again worshiping the Lord, a messenger came and reported ______________

Isn't There One Prophet of the Lord?

By Mary Vee
I Kings 22

From Jehoshaphat's Scrolls

I had asked King Ahab if there was not a prophet of the Lord whom we could ask our question. He had called his prophets of Baal and the answer they gave did not seem right to me. 

Ahab said, "There is still one man through whom we can ask a question of the Lord, but I hate him because he never prophesies anything good about me. Only bad. His name is Micaiah."

I sighed. "Ahab, you shouldn't say such things."

"Fine." Ahab puffed his chest forward. "I'll show you." He turned to the guards standing nearby. "Guard, bring Micaiah to me at once."

When he arrived, the guards brought Micaiah to us right away.

Ahab slouched back in his chair as if he knew the answer to his question before asking. "Micaiah, shall we go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?"

Micaiah didn't wait a moment. Rather he shrugged and said, "Attack and be victorious for the Lord will give it into your hands."

Ahab slammed his fist on the throne. "How many times must I make you promise to tell me nothing but the truth in the name of the Lord?"

Micaiah drew a deep breath. His face showed he knew the answer before he came to Ahab's chambers. He clearly had spoken with the Lord before he entering the palace. He said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, 'These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.'"

Ahab's face turned red with rage. He turned to me and slammed his fist on the throne again. "Didn't I tell you he never prophesies anything good about me, only bad?"

Micaiah continued speaking. "Hear the word of the Lord. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the host of heaven standing around him on this right and left side. The Lord said, 'Who will talk Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?'

"One suggested this, and another that. Finally, a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord. It said, 'I will talk him into attacking.'

"The Lord asked, 'How will you do this?'

"'I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,' he answered.

"'You will succeed in doing so,' said the Lord. 'Go and do it.'

"And now the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you."

Ahab's fist balled tighter. He stood and pointed at Micaiah. "Take this man and send him back to Amon and to Joash, the king's son and say, 'King Ahab decrees you should put this man in prison and give him nothing but bread and water until I return safely.'"

The guards grabbed Micaiah arms. Micaiah turned back to the king and shouted, "If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me. Mark my words, all you people."

The guards hauled him out of the room.

So, which is telling the truth? Come back next week to see.

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Photo courtesy of christianimagesource.com

1. Jehoshaphat asked for ______________________ to answer Ahab's question.
2. King Ahab didn't want to ask Micaiah to come because Ahab __________________
3. What did Ahab ask Micaiah?
4. What did Micaiah answer?
5. Did Ahab listen?
6. What happened to Micaiah?