2 Kings 3:9

 2 Kings 3:9 says, So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.  As the army was travelling, they almost died of thirst.  If we are engaged in a spiritual war today, we must rely on the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength so that we are filled with the Living Water. and never thirst.  Verse ten adds, And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the Lord hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!  The king of Israel said that God had called them together simply to let them die or be defeated by the Moabites.  We should never lose faith in God when things start to look bad in life.  Verse ten continues, But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the Lord, that we may enquire of the Lord by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.  Jehoshaphat asked if there was not a prophet of God that they could inquire of God from.  Looking to God should always be our first step in finding solutions in life today.  One of the servants of the king of Israel told him there was Elisha.  If people are looking for guidance from God today, He will always have someone able to point the way to them.  Verse twelve states, And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the Lord is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.  Jehoshaphat said the word of God was with Elisha, so he and the other two kings went down to him.  They didn't demand that he come to them, just as we cannot demand that God send His messenger to us today because we feel more important than them.  Verse thirteen adds, 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.  Elisha asked the king of Israel why he didn't inquire of the prophets of his father and mother, but the king of Israel said that the LORD had called the three kings together.  Of course, if God has called us together to do His work, and we are encountering difficulties, we don't have to go to someone else to find out what He wants us to do.  We simply need to go to Him in faith.  Verse fourteen continues, 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.  Elisha said if it weren't for Jehoshaphat being with them that he would have nothing to do with them.  Even if people have stood in defiance to God in the past, I don't believe that we can ever afford to tell them that we will have nothing to do with them if they sincerely come to us seeking God's direction, but it is also possible that Jehosaphat was the only one of the three who really was.  Verse fifteen declares, But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.  Elisha asked for a minstrel and as he played, the hand of the LORD came upon him.  Music has always had an important part in the worship of God, and it should lead us to a closer attitude of worship today when we play and sing.  Verse sixteen adds, And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches.  Elisha told them to make the valley full of ditches.  This might have seemed a strange request to people dying of thirst, but I believe it was made to show their willingness to do what God said without any sight that it was going to do any good.  We should never question God's reasons for having us do something today but should simply respond in faith and not by sight.  Verse seventeen continues, For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.  Elisha said that God had said that they would not see any rain nor feel any wind, but after they filled the valley with ditches, God would fill the valley with water for them and their animals.  I believe this was so that they would know that it was God Who had done this.  I also believe that when God is at work in the world today that we as followers of Christ will always know that He alone could have brought about the result.  Verse eighteen says, And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.  Elisha said that filling the valley with water was an easy thing for God, just as anything He does in the world today for His people is.  Elisha also said that God would deliver the Moabites into their hands.  We may come to God today because we are spiritually thirsty, but He has already given us the everlasting victory over sin and death if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse nineteen adds, And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.  Elisha told them that they were to totally destroy everything of the Moabites, just as we as Christians should destroy everything that stands between us and doing God's will today.  We cannot leave a few sins in our lives and be successful as followers of Christ.