{"id":63237,"date":"2019-09-22T14:33:05","date_gmt":"2019-09-22T11:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=63237"},"modified":"2023-04-14T16:07:27","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T13:07:27","slug":"points-to-ponder-2-kings-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/points-to-ponder-2-kings-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Points to Ponder – 2 Kings 3"},"content":{"rendered":"
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  1. Jehoram gets a passing grade<\/em>. Elisha at first wouldn\u2019t agree to prophecy for him. But the text gives him the grade of \u201cgood enough.\u201d At least as compared with his parents. While he does do (some) evil the eyes of God, it was \u201cyet not like his father and mother,\u201d for he even \u201cremoved the pillars of Baal that his father had made\u201d (verse 2). And so he was only guilty of some of the sins that go all the way back to Rehoboam.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Mesha the sheep breeder.<\/em> What do we know about Mesha? According to verse 4, he was a sheep breeder. And in the days of Ahab, he even was able to pay a sizable tax on lambs and wool. Mesha the King of Moab is also known from extra-biblical sources: the Mesha Stele, a stone inscribed to the glory of Mesha and his victory over Israel (that he had made for himself). Reading the stele, you can read his version of events. You can see it in the Louvre, or on line.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. History repeats itself.<\/em> There are striking similarities between the war on the heights of Gilead, described three chapters ago, in 1 Kings 22, and the war here, against Moab: cooperation between Judah and Israel, Jehoshaphat\u2019s answer \u201c\u2018I will do what you do: my troops shall be your troops, my horses shall be your horses.\u2019\u201d Not to mention the search for a prophet to inquire of the Lord.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. \u00a0Musical inspiration.<\/em> You want prophetic inspiration? Bring a musician. That\u2019s what Elisha requests: \u201c\u2018Get me a musician.\u2019 As the musician played, the hand of the LORD came upon him\u201d (verse 15). Several of today\u2019s pieces relate to this enticing image.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Are the trees of the field not human?<\/em> The Deuteronomic law (chapter 20) states that during wartime it is forbidden to chop down fruit trees. But here, Elisha orders the total devastation of Moab, including all the trees. Why? Commentators suggest a range of answer (see also Alex Israel\u2019s piece on this today).<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Human sacrifice – and wrath.<\/em> What was the king of Moab attempting to achieve with his human sacrifice -and from whom? Why is there \u201c\u201dwrath upon Israel,\u201d and from whom? 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