Are Others Blessed Because of You? (2 Kings 3: 1-27)

The Bible Project Daily Podcast is a daily, in-depth study of the entire Bible, chapter by chapter, verse by verse. 

Episode Notes:  Are others Blessed Because of You?  (2 Kings 3: 1-27)

 Welcome back, friends. Today, we’re stepping into one of the most surprising stories in the life of Elisha, a moment when God pours out blessings on people who didn’t deserve it, simply because one man humbled himself before the Lord. 

 It’s a story that asks a searching question of every believer: Is it possible that God sometimes blesses people because of us?

 The bible gives us some examples of exactly that, and one of the clearest is found right here today in 2 Kings 3.

 This is a fascinating story because of that exact twist, because here we see God blessing people who don’t deserve it, simply because of someone who does deserve that blessing.

 So, join me in 2 Kings chapter 3….

Transcript

Are Others Blessed Because of You?  (2 Kings 3: 1-27)

Welcome back, friends. Today, we’re stepping into one of the most surprising stories in the life of Elisha, a moment when God pours out blessings on people who didn’t deserve it, simply because one man humbled himself before the Lord. 

It’s a story that asks a searching question of every believer: Are others blessed because of you?  

As Christians, it’s encouraging to understand something very basic:

If we know the Lord and walk in obedience, He blesses us. That theme runs from Genesis all the way to Revelation. God delights to bless His people.

We also know that God wants to use us to bless others. In that sense, He then also blesses through us.

So, he pours blessings towards us… and He blesses through us.

But did you know that there's a third possibility?

Is it possible that God sometimes blesses people because of us?

Not to us.

Not through us.

But because of us.

That’s a different category altogether.

Imagine a room full of people — some believers, some not. And God pours out a blessing on everyone in the room simply because one believer is there. 

That may sound strange, but the bible gives us some examples of exactly that.

And one of the clearest is found right here today in 2 Kings 3.

This is a fascinating story because of that exact twist, because here we see God blessing people who don’t deserve it, simply because of someone who does deserve that blessing.

So, join me in 2 Kings chapter 3….

Setting the Stage:

To understand this passage, it’s helpful to remember that Israel is now a divided kingdom. After Solomon died, the nation split:

Ten tribes formed the Northern Kingdom, called Israel.

Two tribes formed the Southern Kingdom, called Judah.

From that point on, the relationship between the two kingdoms was sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile — and that tension forms the backdrop of this story.

Let’s begin in verse 1:

Now Jehoram, the son of Ahab, became king over Israel at Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah and reigned twelve years. 2 And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and mother; for he put away the sacred pillar of Baal that his father had made. 3 Nevertheless, he persisted in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; he did not depart from them.

(2 Kings 3: 1-3)

This introduces our two main characters.

Jehoram, king of Israel in the north

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah in the south

The opening also gives us a spiritual snapshot of Jehoram telling us “He did evil, but not like his father and mother…”

So, he was a bad guy, but not as bad as his mother and father. Well, that’s not hard; his parents were Ahab and Jezebel, and you would have to work pretty hard to be worse than that.

Jehoram did remove some of the Baal pillars — but not all. Meaning:

He cleaned up a little idolatry, but he kept the main idols, the golden calves, and he continued leading Israel into sin.

So that’s character number one. A half‑hearted reformer who still walked in the ways of his parents.

But then a rebellion brew

Verse 4-5 introduces a new figure:

4 Now, Mesha, the king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he regularly paid the king of Israel one hundred thousand lambs and the wool of one hundred thousand rams. 5 But it happened, when Ahab died, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

(2 Kings 3: 4-5)

Moab lay to the southeast of Israel. Israel had conquered Moab earlier, and Moab was paying a massive annual tribute, 100,000 lambs and 100,000 rams’ wool. That’s a staggering amount.

But when Ahab died, the king stopped paying. He saw a new king on the throne — a weaker king — and he seized the moment.

So, the narrative continues….

6 So King Jehoram went out of Samaria at that time and mustered all Israel. 7 Then he went and sent to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab? “And he said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.” 8 Then he said, “Which way shall we go up?”

(2 Kings 3: 6-8)

So Jehoram is preparing for war. But to reach Moab, he needs to travel south — through Judah. So, he asks the king of Judah, " Will you go with me to fight?’” And Jehoshaphat says, " Yes, absolutely.

Now pause a moment.

Was that wise?

Jehoshaphat had already made this mistake once.

In 1 Kings 22, he joined forces with another northern king, king Ahab, and nearly got himself killed.

You’d think he would have learned.

You’d think he’d call a council.

You’d think maybe, he’d pray.

But no, he jumps right in, and they agree they will drop south, swing around the bottom of the Dead Sea, and attack Moab from the south.”

So, verse 9:

So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom, and they marched on that roundabout route seven days; (And here comes the crisis) and there was no water for the army, nor for the animals that followed them. 

So, there is no water for the army nor for the animals. They’re in the desert, and this desert they are traversing is some of the most barren land in the whole of the Middle East….. Nothing grows there to this day, nothing lives. And the only water is the Dead Sea, 1,300 feet below sea level, and it is 33% salt, and absolutely undrinkable.

You can’t drink it; you can’t give it to your animals. If you are washing in it, you can’t even want to splash it in your eyes.

So now we have three kings, three armies, thousands of soldiers, thousands of animals — and no water. They are in desperate trouble.

And that’s where the story gets interesting.

Verse 10:

“And the king of Israel said, “Alas! For the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”

What?

Now it’s God’s fault?

He’s the one who marched them into the desert without asking the Lord. He’s the one who formed this dodgy alliance, and he’s the one who chose the route…. But now that the consequences show up, he blames God.

Ever done that? Ever gotten yourself into a mess and then said, “Lord, why did You let this happen?”

That’s exactly what this King of Israel is doing. He’s blaming the Lord for a predicament he created.

But Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah in the South, responds differently.

Verse 11:

But Jehoshaphat said, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, that we may inquire of the Lord by him?” So, one of the servants of the king of Israel answered and said, “Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who poured water on the hands of Elijah.”

Now this is interesting.

The King of the North blames God. The King of the South says, “Let’s seek God.”

At last, now we’re getting somewhere. That’s like us saying, “We’ve made a mess. Maybe we should open the Bible and see what God says.”

And here’s the irony: Jehoshaphat should have done that before he got into this mess. He’s been in this exact situation before and nearly died. But he didn’t learn, he didn’t pray, and he didn’t ask counsel… He just jumped in.

And now he’s in trouble, again.

This happens in all kinds of areas of life.

People get into financial trouble — deep, deep trouble — and then they ask for help.

People ignore medical symptoms, especially men, and wait until it’s almost too late.

People wait until their marriage is in crisis before seeking counsel.

Delaying wisdom only makes the problem worse.

But, to his credit, Jehoshaphat finally asks for the Lord’s direction.

And it’s never too late to do that.

Verse 12:

And Jehoshaphat said, “The word of the Lord is with him.” So, the king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom went down to him.

So, the three kings go down to Elisha. Now remember, the King of the North is the son of Jezebel. He’s a Baal worshiper, and he blamed the Lord for the problem, and now he wants help from the Lord.

Verse 13:

Then Elisha said to the king of Israel, “What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.” But the king of Israel said to him, “No, for the Lord has called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

I love this. Elisha basically says, “Why are you talking to me? You worship Baal. Go talk to Baal.”

And the King of the North replies: “No — the LORD brought us here to destroy us.” So, he’s still blaming God. But Elisha responds….

And Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, surely were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you, nor see you. 

Wow…. Elisha says, “King of the North, I wouldn’t normally give you the time of day. But because Jehoshaphat is here, because of him, I will help you.”

This is the heart of the whole story.

God is about to bless three kings — including one wicked king — because of one righteous man standing before him.

Jehoshaphat isn’t perfect. He made mistakes. He should have sought the Lord earlier. But he humbled himself.

He turned to the Lord, and because of that, God will bless all three armies.

That’s the theme of this chapter… God sometimes blesses others because of one faithful person.

Verse 15:

But now bring me a musician.” Then it happened, when the musician played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him.

This is fascinating. Elisha asks for music before he prophesies.

One commentator I read said Elisha probably wanted soothing music to quiet his spirit so he could hear from God. That sounds reasonable to me; in fact, it is similar to David playing for Saul, calming him so he could think clearly.

Maybe Elisha is saying, Let’s all quiet our hearts before the Lord.”

That’s what Elisha is doing: he’s creating space to hear from God.

And when the music played, it says, “The hand of the LORD came upon him.”

That’s what Elisha is doing. He wants to quiet his heart so he can hear from God.

And when the music begins….

The Lord came upon him. 16 And he said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ 17 For thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not see wind, nor shall you see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, so that you, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ 18 And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord; He will also deliver the Moabites into your hand. 19 Also, you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

(2 Kings 3: 15b-19)

Now that’s interesting. God says, “Dig ditches, and I’ll fill them. You won’t see wind. You won’t see rain. But I will provide.” And here’s the key. God is about to bless these three kings, including the wicked King of the North, because of Jehoshaphat.

He’s going to bless the King of Israel.

He’s going to bless the King of Edom.

He’s going to bless their armies, and He’s even going to bless their animals.

Why?

Because of one righteous man standing in the room.

Is this fascinating or what?

But not only will God give them water — He’ll give them victory…. 

Talk about grace.

Let me get a little theological for a moment.

We often define grace as “unmerited favour.”

Meaning: you didn’t earn it, and that's true, of course.

But grace is even more than that. Grace is also undeserved favour. Meaning you sometimes actually deserve the opposite — and God blesses you anyway.

If there was ever an illustration of undeserved favour, then this is it.

Did these kings deserve a blessing? No.

Did they earn it? No.

Did they even seek God properly? Not really.

But God still blesses them because of Jehoshaphat.

And in verse 19, the judgment falls on Moab.

Verse 20:

Now it happened in the morning, when the grain offering was offered, that suddenly water came by way of Edom, and the land was filled with water.

God kept His word.

The ditches filled, the animals drank, and the armies revived.

The water didn’t come from rain; it came from Edom. Some experts say it likely came as runoff from distant storms or melting snow…. However God did it, He supplied water.

Why?

Because of one man who simply asked, “What does the Lord say?”

Jehoshaphat’s act of turning to the Lord brought blessing to three kingdoms.

But then, at the end of the chapter, there is a strange twist in the story

Verse 21:

21 And when all the Moabites heard that the kings had come up to fight against them, all who were able to bear arms and older were gathered; and they stood at the border. 22 Then they rose up early in the morning, and the sun was shining on the water; and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood. 23 And they said, “This is blood; the kings have surely struck swords and have killed one another; now therefore, Moab, to the spoil!”

(2 Kings 3: 21-23)

It wasn’t actual blood — it just looked like it. Maybe the soil was red, or maybe the sunrise reflected off the water….. Maybe both.

But the Moabites said, “This is blood! The kings have struck one another! They had heard about the tension between Israel and Judah, and they assumed the alliance had collapsed. So instead of preparing for battle, they rushed in unarmed to gather spoils.

24 So when they came to the camp of Israel, Israel rose up and attacked the Moabites, so that they fled before them; and they entered their land, killing the Moabites. 25 Then they destroyed the cities, and each man threw a stone on every good piece of land and filled it; and they stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees. But they left the stones of Kir Haraseth intact. However, the slingers surrounded and attacked it.

(2 Kings 3: 24-25)

So, this is a complete victory, followed by a simply horrific ending.

Verse 26:

“26 And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred men who drew swords, to break through to the king of Edom, but they could not. 27 Then he took his eldest son, who would have reigned in his place, and offered him as a burnt offering upon the wall; and there was great indignation against Israel. So, they departed from him and returned to their own land.

(2 Kings 3: 26-27)

How horrific, he sacrificed his own son to the god Chemosh, a pagan deity always associated with child sacrifice. This is what God’s people were up against.

This is one of the darkest moments in the Old Testament.

And it illustrates why God commanded Israel to remove the Canaanite religions.

These nations practiced child sacrifice. Israel failed to remove them, and eventually, Israel adopted the same practices. 

This act of child sacrifice was the final straw. It was one of the reasons God eventually sent Israel into captivity.

It’s a sobering reminder of how far a nation can fall when it rejects the Lord.

The king of Moab sacrificed his eldest son, the heir to the throne, right there on the city wall. It was a horrific act, meant to appease his god after losing the battle. And the final verse in the chapter says:

“There was great indignation against Israel.”

The Hebrew word translated indignation is somewhat inert in our modern translation; I am told the original word used carries the idea of fury, outrage. 

In the ancient Near East, when a nation lost a battle, they assumed they had offended their gods. That’s what’s happening here.

And after this shocking act, the text simply says:  “They left and returned to their own land.”

Commentators debate why.

Some say the rebellion was already suppressed.

Some say the Israelites felt they had accomplished their mission.

Others say the sacrifice horrified them so deeply that they withdrew.

Whatever the reason, the battle was over.

Now — that’s the end of today's chapter and the story.

But not the end of the message.

Because I need to remind us what the point of all this is.

If you missed it, let me bring it front and centre again.

God blessed these disobedient people because of one man,  Jehoshaphat.

This King of the North was wicked; he served Baal, and he blamed God for his own foolish decisions…. He didn’t deserve anything.

But God gave him water.

God gave him victory.

God saved his army.

God even saved his animals.

Why? Because he humbled himself and sought the Lord.

This is what I call blessing by association.

God blessed the King of the North because the King of the South turned to Him.

Neither man was perfect; Jehoshaphat made mistakes twice. But he humbled himself, he sought the Lord, and God blessed everyone around him because of it.

I began this message today by asking: Does God still bless other people because of us?

Yes, God directs his blessings towards us.

Yes, God blesses others through us.

But does God ever bless others because of us?

This story says yes.

Are there examples in the New Testament? 

Absolutely.

Let me give you two.

Example 1: Paul on the Ship (Acts 27)

Paul is a prisoner on a ship headed for Rome. A violent storm hits, and they throw cargo overboard. They even throw tackle overboard.

They haven’t seen the sun or stars for days, they’ve run out of food, and they’ve lost all hope. Verse 4:20 says: “All hope that we would be saved was finally given up.”

Then Paul stands up and says: “Men, you should have listened to me…” In other words: “You don’t deserve to be rescued.” But then he says: “Take heart… There will be no loss of life among you.”

Why?

Paul explains: “For there stood by me this night an angel of God… saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul… God has granted you all those who sail with you.’”

Did you catch that? 

God spared everyone on the ship because of Paul…. That’s blessing by association.

You, my friend, if you are a believer living in obedience to God, are blessed in Christ. In fact, Ephesians 1 says you have “every spiritual blessing.” And when you walk into a room, onto a plane, into a workplace, you never know who might be blessed simply because you’re there.

That’s really encouraging.

Example 2: A Believing Spouse blesses their partner. (1 Corinthians 7)

Paul talks about a believer married to an unbeliever. And he says: “The unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband.”

Now, sanctified doesn’t mean saved, but it does mean “set apart.”

Set apart to what? Set apart by the influence of the gospel. And set apart to the blessing of being near someone who knows the Lord.

Meaning: Your presence in that home may be the very thing God uses to bring salvation…. That again is a blessing by association.

This dear listener should encourage you.

You don’t have to be perfect. Jehoshaphat wasn’t.

He made mistakes — big ones, but he humbled himself.

He sought the Lord, and God blessed an entire army because of him.

Just walk with the Lord. Just seek His guidance and just be faithful.

You never know who might be blessed simply because you’re in the room.

I know a man who came to Christ — and later became a defender of the faith — because of the quiet, steady faithfulness of his wife. She didn’t preach. She didn’t argue. She just walked with the Lord.

And God used her to bless him.

You never know who God might bless because of you. Your part is just to continue to walk with the Lord.

Your very presence may bless somebody else who is really important to you.

Outro:

Thanks for spending this time in the Scriptures with me. I hope this passage encourages you to walk closely with the Lord, because you never know who might be blessed simply because you’re there.

In our next episode, we’ll move into 2 Kings chapter 4, where we’ll look at three remarkable stories of God’s provision.

Provision for a widow in crisis, provision for a barren couple longing for hope, and provision in the face of death itself.

These stories remind us that God not only blesses through His people, but He also delights to provide for His people.

I’d love for you to join me for that.