2 Kings 3:1-27
Moab’s King Refuses to Obey Israel’s King
Joram became king of Israel in Samaria. It was in the 18th year that Jehoshaphat was king of Judah. Joram ruled for 12 years. He was the son of Ahab. Joram did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. But he wasn’t as bad as his father and mother had been. Joram’s father had made a sacred stone used to worship the god named Baal. Joram got rid of it. But he kept on committing the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. Jeroboam had also caused Israel to commit those same sins. Joram didn’t turn away from them.
Mesha raised sheep. He was king of Moab. He had to pay the king of Israel 100,000 lambs a year. He also had to pay him with the wool of 100,000 rams a year. After Ahab died, Moab’s king refused to obey the next king of Israel. So at that time King Joram started out from Samaria. He gathered together all of Israel’s troops. He also sent a message to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. Joram said, “The king of Moab is refusing to obey me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”
“Yes. I’ll go with you,” Jehoshaphat replied. “My men will go with you. My horses will also go with you.”
“What road should we take to attack Moab?” Joram asked.
“The one that goes through the Desert of Edom,” Jehoshaphat answered.
So the king of Israel marched out. The king of Judah and the king of Edom went with him. Their armies marched around the southern end of the Dead Sea. After seven days they ran out of water. There wasn’t any water for the men or their animals.
“What should we do now?” exclaimed the king of Israel. “The Lord has called us three kings together. Did he do it only to hand us over to Moab?”
But Jehoshaphat asked, “Isn’t there a prophet of the Lord here? Can’t we ask the Lord for advice through him?”
An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha is here. He’s the son of Shaphat. Elisha used to serve Elijah.”
Jehoshaphat said, “The Lord speaks through him.” So the king of Israel went down to see Elisha. Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom also went there.
Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why do you want to come to me? Go to your father’s prophets. Go to your mother’s prophets.”
“No,” the king of Israel answered. “The Lord called us three kings together. He did it to hand us over to Moab.”
Elisha said, “I serve the Lord who rules over all. You can be sure that he lives. And you can be just as sure that I have respect for Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t pay any attention to you. But now bring me someone who plays the harp.”
While that person was playing the harp, the Lord’s power came on Elisha. Elisha announced, “The Lord says, ‘I will fill this valley with pools of water.’ This will happen because the Lord says, ‘You will not see wind or rain. But this valley will be filled with water. Then you, your cattle and your other animals will have water to drink.’ This is an easy thing for the Lord to do. He will also hand Moab over to you. You will destroy every city that has high walls around it. You will destroy every major town. You will cut down every good tree. You will stop up all the springs of water. And you will cover every good field with stones.”
The next day, the time came to offer the morning sacrifice. And then it happened! Water was flowing from the direction of Edom! In fact, the land was filled with water!
Now all the people of Moab had heard that the kings had come to fight against them. So the king of Moab sent for all Moab’s fighting men. It didn’t matter whether they were young or old. He sent for everyone who could carry a weapon. All of them were stationed at the border. They got up early in the morning. The sun was already shining on the water. Across the way, the water looked red to the men of Moab. It looked like blood. “That’s blood!” they said. “Those kings must have fought and killed each other. Let’s go, Moab! Let’s take everything that has any value.”
So the men of Moab went to the camp of Israel. Just as they arrived there, the men of Israel got ready to fight. They fought against the men of Moab until those men ran away. The men of Israel marched into the land and attacked it. They killed the people of Moab. They destroyed the towns. Each man threw a large stone on every good field. They did that until the fields were covered. They stopped up all the springs of water. And they cut down every good tree. The only town left with any stones in place was Kir Hareseth. But some of the Israelites armed with slings surrounded it. Then they attacked it.
The king of Moab saw that the battle had gone against him. So he took with him 700 men who had swords. They tried to break through the battle lines to the king of Edom. But they couldn’t do it. Then the king of Moab took his oldest son. He was the son who would become the next king of Moab. But the king offered his son as a sacrifice on the city wall. That shocked and terrified the men of Israel. So they pulled back and returned to their own land.
2 Kings 4:1-37
Elisha Provides Olive Oil for a Widow
The wife of a man from the group of the prophets cried out to Elisha. She said, “My husband is dead. You know how much respect he had for the Lord. But he owed money to someone. And now that person is coming to take my two boys away. They will become his slaves.”
Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me. What do you have in your house?”
“I don’t have anything there at all,” she said. “All I have is a small jar of olive oil.”
Elisha said, “Go around to all your neighbors. Ask them for empty jars. Get as many as you can. Then go inside your house. Shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars. As each jar is filled, put it over to one side.”
The woman left him. Then she shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her. And she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she spoke to one of her sons. She said, “Bring me another jar.”
But he replied, “There aren’t any more left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
She went and told the man of God about it. He said, “Go and sell the oil. Pay what you owe. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
The Son of a Woman From Shunem Is Brought Back to Life
One day Elisha went to the town of Shunem. A rich woman lived there. She begged him to stay and have a meal. So every time he came by, he stopped there to eat. The woman said to her husband, “That man often comes by here. I know that he is a holy man of God. Let’s make a small room for him on the roof. We’ll put a bed and a table in it. We’ll also put a chair and a lamp in it. Then he can stay there when he comes to visit us.”
One day Elisha came. He went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Go and get the woman from Shunem.” So he did. She stood in front of Elisha. He said to Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to a lot of trouble for us. Now what can we do for you? Can we speak to the king for you? Or can we speak to the commander of the army for you?’ ”
She replied, “I live among my own people. I have everything I need here.”
After she left, Elisha asked Gehazi, “What can we do for her?”
Gehazi said, “She doesn’t have a son. And her husband is old.”
Then Elisha said, “Bring her here again.” So he did. She stood in the doorway. “You will hold a son in your arms,” Elisha said. “It will be about this time next year.”
“No, my master!” she objected. “You are a man of God. So please don’t lie to me!”
But the woman became pregnant. She had a baby boy. It happened the next year about that same time. That’s exactly what Elisha had told her would happen.
The child grew. One day he went out to get his father. His father was with the people who were gathering the crops. The boy said to his father, “My head hurts! It really hurts!”
His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” The servant lifted up the boy. He carried him to his mother. The boy sat on her lap until noon. Then he died. She went up to the room on the roof. There she laid him on the bed of the man of God. Then she shut the door and went out.
She sent for her husband. She said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey. Then I can go quickly to the man of God and return.”
“Why do you want to go to him today?” he asked. “It isn’t the time for the New Moon feast. It isn’t the Sabbath day.”
“Don’t let that bother you,” she said.
She put a saddle on her donkey. She said to her servant, “Let’s go. Don’t slow down for me unless I tell you to.” So she started out. She came to Mount Carmel. That’s where the man of God was.
When she was still a long way off, he saw her coming. He said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the woman from Shunem! Run out there to meet her. Ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’ ”
“Everything is all right,” she said.
She came to the man of God at the mountain. Then she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is suffering terribly. But the Lord hasn’t told me the reason for it. He has hidden it from me.”
“My master, did I ask you for a son?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t make me hope for something that won’t happen’?”
Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your coat into your belt. Take my walking stick and run to Shunem. Don’t say hello to anyone you see. If anyone says hello to you, don’t answer. Lay my walking stick on the boy’s face.”
But the child’s mother said, “I won’t leave you. And that’s just as sure as the Lord and you are alive.” So Elisha got up and followed her.
Gehazi went on ahead. He laid Elisha’s walking stick on the boy’s face. But there wasn’t any sound. The boy didn’t move at all. So Gehazi went back to Elisha. He told him, “The boy hasn’t awakened.”
Elisha arrived at the house. The boy was dead. He was lying on Elisha’s bed. Elisha went into the room. He shut the door. He was alone with the boy. He prayed to the Lord. Then Elisha got on the bed. He lay down on the boy. His mouth touched the boy’s mouth. His eyes touched the boy’s eyes. And his hands touched the boy’s hands. As Elisha lay on the boy, the boy’s body grew warm. Elisha turned away. He walked back and forth in the room. Then he got on the bed again. He lay down on the boy once more. The boy sneezed seven times. After that, he opened his eyes.
Elisha sent for Gehazi. He said to him, “Go and get the woman from Shunem.” So he did. When she came, Elisha said, “Take your son.” She came in and fell at Elisha’s feet. She bowed down with her face toward the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
