We pick up our story in 2 Kings 3 with the 3 kings Joram, Jehoshaphat and Mesha king of Edom in a real predicament.

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1 2 Kings 3:13-15 Introduction We pick up our story in 2 Kings 3 with the 3 kings Joram, Jehoshaphat and Mesha king of Edom in a real predicament. They are in the wilderness about to perish because of a lack of water. But remember, this was the result of not taking God seriously and consulting Him concerning their plans. So ultimately, the greater enemy was not the Moabites, but their own failure to seek God s direction. The real issue always is the LORD. One cannot live in this world while rejecting the LORD S will and get off unscathed. The LORD didn t create the universe to function that way.

2 2 I. The Word from the Lord. A. Elisha rebukes the kings (vss ). 13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, What do we have to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother. No, the king of Israel answered, because it was the LORD who called us three kings together to hand us over to Moab. 14 Elisha said, As surely as the LORD Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you or even notice you. (2 Kings 3:13-14) 1. The sarcasm just drips off the page. 2. As we can see from these verses, Elisha was a man who refused to show favoritism even a moment. 3. His allegiance was to the Lord and to the principles of His Word regardless of a person s position, power, or wealth.

3 3 4. Because he took God seriously because he was willing to trust the Lord regardless of the outcome, like Elijah, he could stand fearlessly and declare the truth. B. What do we have to do with each other? (v. 13) 1. Elisha didn t pull any punches, did he? 2. He came directly to the point. 3. In this question he was saying, what do we have in common, why have you, an idolater, a rejecter of the commandments of God come to me? C. Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother (v. 13). 1. This is probably a reference to his grandparents, Ahab and Jezebel.

4 4 2. They were the prophets of Baal, the false prophets of idol worship, who had no word from God as demonstrated so clearly in 1 Kings All they had to offer were the false and deceptive satanic visions. 4. They were yes-men prophets. They said what the kings wanted to hear. 5. Elisha, then, was telling Joram to be consistent. a. They had been ignoring God and following after their idols, b. So why run to God now that they were in big trouble? c. Elisha was using irony by asking, Can t your present religious system and your present way of life deliver you? d. Don t your prophets have the answers?

5 5 e. Do you think you can ignore God and then, at your whim, when trouble strikes, just turn to God as though he were a genie in a bottle? (1) A lot of people think this. (2) The idea is that God is here to patronize our plans, goals, and general outlook on life. (3) The whole genie-in-a-bottle thing really sums it up. 6. Elisha would never have spurned the genuine requests of a repentant man, but he knew Joram and said what he did to emphasize the futility of the life he had chosen. 7. God often engineers defeat, failure, and frustration, seeking not only to get our attention, but to teach us our futility in order to draw a confession from us hoping to bring us to repentance.

6 6 D. In verse 13b we see the king of Israel s admission that the false prophets cannot help that they are futile. 1. He is saying, no, he can t turn to them, they cannot help. 2. Then he adds because it was the LORD who called us three kings together. 3. He knew his ways were wrong, guilt filled his soul and he knew he deserved God s wrath. 4. Now remember, it was Jehoshaphat who asked for a prophet of the Lord that they (the three kings) might inquire of the Lord by a prophet (vs. 11).

7 7 5. But Elisha s rejection of Joram illustrates the concept of unanswered prayer and God s refusal sometimes to bring deliverance because of the spiritual condition of the heart. E. Now in verse 14 we see Elisha s reply to Joram. 1. This is an implied rebuke to Jehoshaphat and an encouragement to the good king. 2. He had no business being there with one whom God would neither look upon nor hear. 3. This was an unholy alliance and a failure to take the Lord seriously in all areas of his life. 4. Because Jehoshaphat was (on the whole) a godly man who sought the Lord, the Lord spared him in this alliance with Joram. 5. This was pure grace. II. Preparation to Minister the Word. 15 But now bring me a harpist.

8 8 While the harpist was playing, the hand of the LORD came upon Elisha. (2 Kings 3:15) A. Elisha had been agitated by his confrontation with Joram and bothered by the alliance of Jehoshaphat. 1. He was in no mood to receive and to give the Word of God. 2. His anger had been godly indignation. a. He had not sinned. b. But still his heart and mind needed to be prepared by the Lord to be able both to hear God s Word and to give it. B. Here is an important lesson for us. 1. The heart needs to be prepared (put right) that we might be in a condition to hear and respond to the Lord. 2. Failure to prepare the heart can lead to unfaithfulness (Ps. 78:8).

9 9 8 They would not be like their forefathers a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirits were not faithful to him. (Psalms 78:8) Conclusion 3. There are things that are helpful to the preparation process like music, the kind that can quiet the spirit and help one to focus on the things of God. 4. Elisha called for someone to come and play. 5. Then the minstrel played, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha God moved to give His word and direction on this matter. We must also... (1) Have a word from the LORD. (a) (b) Depend on it. Trust in it. (2) Be prepared to minister the Word. (a) Our hearts need to be right.

10 10 (b) Then the LORD can direct us to give direction to others. Invitation