17. JEHORAM
JEHORAM
"The king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, and they made a circuit of seven days’ journey. And there was no water for the army, and for the cattle that followed them. And the king of Israel said, Alas! that Jehovah has called these three kings together, to give them into the hand of Moab !"
Jehoram, another of Ahab’s sons, succeeded his brother Ahaziah, who had no son, on the throne of Israel. God notes that he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, but not like his father and his mother. While de-emphasizing Baal-worship, he did not depart from the idolatry introduced by Jeroboam, but persisted in this. When Ahab died, Moab, which had been subjugated by David nearly 1½ centuries earlier, rebelled against Israel. Nothing had been done against this during Ahaziah’s brief reign, but now Jehoram sought the king of Judah, Jehoshaphat, and the king of Edom, tributary to Judah, to help him fight against Moab. Taking the roundabout route through the Wilderness of Edom, these kings encountered a great problem: no water. Jehoram’s response is one typical of him. We shall see it on subsequent occasions also: blame Jehovah! He had asked Jehoshaphat’s help, but he now charges Jehovah with bringing the three kings together, as he puts it, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!
Isn’t this a typical reaction of unsaved men and women when they face problems? They get themselves into trouble, and then blame God for the trouble. Even problems they may not be personally involved in are ascribed to God, often with the protestation, If God is a God of love, why does He do this, or allow so-and-so? While holy and righteous, God is a God of love. The next morning He miraculously provided water for the three armies in their distress and then also gave a great victory over the Moabites.
"When Elisha.heard that the king.had rent his garments.he sent to the king, saying, Why hast thou rent thy garments? Let him come now to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."
2Ki 5:8 The king of Syria had sent his army commander Naaman to the king of Israel with a letter demanding, "Behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest cure him of his leprosy." Naaman’s wife’s maid, a captive Israelite girl, had spoken of the prophet in Samaria, saying that he would cure her master of this dread disease. Jehoram of course knew nothing of all this, but was distraught by the impossible demand being made of him. Deeply agitated, he tore his clothes, seeing in this impossible demand the excuse his Syrian enemy would use to renew the war that had raged intermittently for decades between their two lands. "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to cure a man of his leprosy?" He knew God, knew the power of God, but had absolutely no relationship to Him and certainly no thought of turning to Him for help in his predicament.
King Jehoram has many present-day successors. They get upset about a problem, often of colossal proportions, and recognize that it is beyond their ability to resolve. They then mention God; in fact, they may even use His name in their imprecations. But He means nothing to them, for they neither know Him nor have a relationship with Him. Like Jehoram, they would not think of turning to Him for help in their need, far less for salvation! Yet God mercifully intervened. Naaman went to God’s prophet Elisha’s home and learned how he could be cured of his leprosy. Though angrily rebelling at first, he did go down to the Jordan, dipped seven times and was totally cleansed. Then, unlike King Jehoram, he entered into a true relationship with Israel’s God.
"The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and he was on his guard there.The king of Israel said to Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite? Shall I smite them? And he said, Thou shalt not smite them.He said, God do so, and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall remain on him this day!"
2Ki 6:10; 2Ki 6:21-22; 2Ki 6:31 The story of the prophet Elisha is closely associated with the history of King Jehoram. In 2Ki 6:1-33 we see three very different instances of their contact with each other, instances that have their present-day applications as well. In the first, Elisha repeatedly warned Jehoram of traps that the enemy king of Syria was setting for him. Jehoram took these warnings seriously and was spared many a problem. How God was trying to reach out to him! Today too God may place His servants in places where they can offer helpful counsel to political leaders. Oh, that such advice might be gratefully acted upon! In the second portion, God had protected Elisha when the Syrian host foolishly attempted to capture him. Instead, God’s prophet had captured the whole host of the enemies after God had blinded them according to Elisha’s request. Elisha led them to Samaria and prayed that God might open their eyes. Jehoram would have taken advantage of the situation, but first sought the prophet’s direction. Oh, that leaders today might seek God’s direction from His servants, especially where it involves moral decisions!
Yet in a situation of deep distress, the third case, Jehoram is quick to blame his problems on God’s prophet and by implication, on God. How fickle is man’s heart! Human leaders are seldom like Job, who said, "We have also received good from God, and should we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10). Rather, man rants against God!
"The king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha has done. And it came to pass as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life."
It is sadly interesting, but yet a real warning to us to see how interested a person can be in spiritual things without ever making a spiritual commitment. We see a good example of this in the story of Jehoram. Again and again he had had contact with Elisha and had seen the effect of this prophet’s ministry. Now he is asking Gehazi, once Elisha’s servant who had been stricken with leprosy for trying to make personal gain from Naaman’s cleansing, to recount all the great things Elisha had done.
Just as Gehazi is telling about the woman whose dead son Elisha had restored to life, she and the son show up to petition the king to have their property restored. She fully corroborates Gehazi’s account. The king orders that her land be restored to her, along with all its income during the years she had been away from it. We appreciate his fairness, but oh, we would like to see more. Is this all the impact Elisha’s deeds have on him?
Many people today have heard of the great things that Jesus has done. They know something of His birth, His holy life, His parables and teachings, and they’ve heard how He was crucified, died, and rose again. They may even have personal contact with others to whom He has given life, eternal life, and marvel at their changed lives; for becoming a Christian involves a new birth and a new life altogether. But that’s as far as their interest goes. They know about Christ, but they do not know Him! This is not enough. Nor is it sufficient to be fair or kind or good. Where do you stand in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ?