以色列與摩押爭戰
1 猶大王約沙法十八年，亞哈的兒子約蘭在撒馬利亞登基作了以色列王十二年。 2他行耶和華眼中看為惡的事，但不致像他父母所行的，因為除掉他父所造巴力的柱像。 3然而，他貼近尼八的兒子耶羅波安使以色列人陷在罪裏的那罪，總不離開。
4 摩押王米沙牧養許多羊，每年將十萬羊羔的毛和十萬公綿羊的毛給以色列王進貢。 5亞哈死後，摩押王背叛以色列王。 6那時約蘭王出撒馬利亞，數點以色列眾人。 7前行的時候，差人去見猶大王約沙法，說：「摩押王背叛我，你肯同我去攻打摩押嗎？」他說：「我肯上去，你我不分彼此，我的民與你的民一樣，我的馬與你的馬一樣。」 8約蘭說：「我們從哪條路上去呢？」回答說：「從以東曠野的路上去。」
9於是，以色列王和猶大王，並以東王，都一同去繞行七日的路程；軍隊和所帶的牲畜沒有水喝。 10以色列王說：「哀哉！耶和華招聚我們這三王，乃要交在摩押人的手裏。」 11約沙法說：「這裏不是有耶和華的先知嗎？我們可以託他求問耶和華。」以色列王的一個臣子回答說：「這裏有沙法的兒子以利沙，就是從前服事以利亞的。」 12約沙法說：「他必有耶和華的話。」於是以色列王和約沙法，並以東王都下去見他。
13 以利沙對以色列王說：「我與你何干？去問你父親的先知和你母親的先知吧！」以色列王對他說：「不要這樣說，耶和華招聚我們這三王，乃要交在摩押人的手裏。」
各位弟兄姊妹，平安！今天我們要讀的是《列王紀下》第三章1到13節的故事。首先，簡單介紹一下當時以色列的背景：在所羅門之後，國內的動盪不安導致了以色列的分裂。北邊的十個支派形成了以色列國，而南邊剩下的兩個支派組成了猶大國。這個時候，北國以色列的王約蘭，他在撒瑪利亞登基成為以色列王；而南國猶大的王則是約沙法。
而摩押這個部落，原本是受到以色列的管轄。在南國和北國分裂之後，摩押趁機背叛，宣告獨立。於是，北國以色列的王約蘭決定出兵討伐摩押。他去尋求南邊的兄弟——猶大國的王約沙法，詢問是否願意與他聯手一起攻打摩押。我們知道，在以色列的二十個王當中，沒有一個是真正願意聽從上帝話語的。在這一章的開頭，我們也看到了約蘭並不是一個好王，他選擇了帶領以色列人走向偶像崇拜和罪惡的道路。所以，當他決定發動戰爭時，國家也在他的領導下走向了錯誤的方向。
行軍七天後，他們深入敵境，卻面臨缺水和糧食不足的危機。以色列王約蘭和以東王開始感到不安和動搖，覺得自己陷入了困境。是約沙法王在此時提出，既然附近有上帝的先知以利沙，為何不去求問他，看看這場戰爭是否合乎上帝的旨意。
這段故事反映了人性的弱點：許多人往往在自己做出決定並陷入困境時，才開始尋求上帝的旨意，而不是在一開始就求問上帝。因此，人們經常把自己置於困難的境地，然後才想起來尋求上帝的幫助。雖然這樣的行為是不對的，但也反映了人性：許多人總是在經歷困難和軟弱之後，才學會尋求上帝的幫助。至少約沙法還記得有上帝的先知存在，於是他們趕緊來求問以利沙，請他代為求問上帝的旨意。
以利沙對三位領袖毫不客氣，直接對他們說：「若不是看在約沙法的面子上，我根本不會理會這個以色列王。」從以利亞到以利沙，先知師徒兩人一直在對以色列國發出預言和警告，所以此時的以利沙並不打算和以色列王好好交談。而且，以色列王約蘭此時並沒有真正要求問上帝的旨意，他的母親耶洗別太后依然崇拜巴力邪神。因此，約蘭依然是一個背棄上帝、拜偶像的王。而且約蘭還想把自己的魯莽怪罪在上帝身上，兩次他說 “這是耶和華招聚我們三王，為要交在摩押人手裡”。
人擁有權力的時候，常常會自以為是。以色列王貿然發起戰爭，直到陷入困境時才想起求問上帝，不僅如此，還把自己的兄弟和盟友一同拉進這個困境中，而且他還想要把這個自己犯下的錯誤都怪在上帝身上。當我們省察，是否也是這樣？我們陷入的困境，有很多時候是沒有先求問上帝，冒然決定，把自己放在困難之中，等到自己走不動了，才想起求問上帝？
那麼，以利沙會怎麼回答他呢？我們明天會繼續閱讀《列王紀下》第三章的下半部分，看看以利沙是如何回應他們，並且這場戰爭會走向何處。感謝各位的聆聽。
Moab Revolts
1Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. 2He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone of Baal that his father had made. 3Nevertheless he clung to the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.
4Now Mesha king of Moab raised sheep, and he had to pay the king of Israel a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. 5But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. 6So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. 7He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?”
“I will go with you,” he replied. “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
8“By what route shall we attack?” he asked.
“Through the Desert of Edom,” he answered.
9So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom. After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.
10“What!” exclaimed the king of Israel. “Has the Lord called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?”
11But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?”
An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.”
12Jehoshaphat 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.
13Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why do you want to involve me? 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 deliver us into the hands of Moab.”
Dear brothers and sisters, peace be with you! Today, we will read the story from 2 Kings 3:1-13. First, let me briefly introduce the background of Israel at that time: After Solomon, the internal turmoil led to the division of Israel. The ten tribes in the north formed the Kingdom of Israel, while the two remaining tribes formed the Kingdom of Judah. At this time, Jehoram was the king of Israel, and he ascended the throne in Samaria; meanwhile, Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah.
Moab, a neighboring tribe, was originally under the control of Israel. After the division between the northern and southern kingdoms, Moab seized the opportunity to rebel and declare independence. So, King Jehoram of Israel decided to launch a campaign to subdue Moab. He sought the help of his southern brother, King Jehoshaphat of Judah, asking if he would join him in attacking Moab. As we know, out of the twenty kings of Israel, not one was truly willing to follow the word of God. In the opening of this chapter, we see that Jehoram was not a good king either, as he led the people of Israel into idol worship and sin. Therefore, when he decided to go to war, the nation, under his leadership, was already heading in the wrong direction.
After seven days of marching, they found themselves deep in enemy territory but faced a crisis of no water and insufficient food. King Jehoram of Israel and the king of Edom began to feel uneasy, realizing they were in a difficult situation. It was at this moment that King Jehoshaphat suggested that, since the prophet Elisha was nearby, they should seek him out to inquire whether this war was in accordance with God's will.
This story highlights a weakness in human nature: many people often only seek God’s guidance after they have made decisions and found themselves in trouble, rather than asking for God's direction from the beginning. As a result, they often place themselves in difficult situations before they remember to seek God’s help. Although this behavior is not right, it reflects human nature: many people only learn to seek God’s help after experiencing hardship and weakness. At least Jehoshaphat remembered the presence of God's prophet, and they hurried to ask Elisha to inquire of God’s will.
Elisha was blunt with the three leaders, saying, "If it were not for the presence of Jehoshaphat, I would not even look at you or notice you." From Elijah to Elisha, the prophets had been issuing warnings and prophecies to the Kingdom of Israel, and Elisha had no intention of speaking kindly to the king of Israel at this time. Furthermore, King Jehoram was not truly seeking God’s will; his mother, Queen Jezebel, still worshipped the false god Baal. Thus, Jehoram remained a king who had abandoned God and worshiped idols. Moreover, Jehoram tried to blame his reckless actions on God, as he said twice, “This is the Lord who has called us three kings together to hand us over to Moab.”
When people hold power, they often become self-confident. King Jehoram of Israel recklessly initiated this war and only thought of seeking God’s guidance after he found himself in difficulty. Not only that, but he also dragged his brothers and allies into the same trouble and then attempted to blame God for his own mistakes. As we reflect on this, do we do the same? Many of the difficulties we face are because we did not seek God’s guidance first, made hasty decisions, and put ourselves in difficult situations. And then, when we can no longer move forward, we finally think of asking God for help.
So, how will Elisha respond to this? We will continue reading the second half of 2 Kings 3 tomorrow to see how Elisha answers them and where this war will lead. Thank you all for listening.
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