DIG DOWN DEEP!
2 Kings 3
INTRODUCTION:
Good morning everyone! And thanks again for joining us today. We are so grateful that you’d take the time to engage with us as we worship God and study His Word. It’s my hope today that this message will not just inform you — but will transform you (as you apply God’s Word to your life).
This morning, I want us to explore what the Bible has to say about one of the most interesting people in all of scripture. His name is Elisha. And you may be a bit familiar with him — as he was the understudy and successor to the prophet Elijah.
This morning I want to pick up his story in the Old Testament book of 2 Kings.
So, if you have your Bible — pull it out, and turn their with me. We’ll be in 2nd Kings — chapter 3.
As I begin this message — I want to point out that this message is built around a STRONG NARRATIVE (a story if you will). And so, I think the best way to handle a story in scripture — is to TELL IT!
So, I’d like to just tell the story, and make them some observations. But after that — I want to offer you some valuable points of APPLICATION. And that’s important! Because, if all we do is study a story from long ago and far away and never connect it to our lives today (in the HERE and NOW), then we’ve really failed to really understand the primary reason that God has chosen to give us the story in the first place.
So, here’s it is.
MESSAGE:
In 2 Kings chapter 3, the nation of Israel was in this dangerous predicament.
Sometime earlier, the nation went through a civil war and had divided into two nations (the northern Kingdom of Israel and southern kingdom of Judah).
The northern kingdom was in a transitional season of leadership. The previous King had died and his successor had taken the throne (it happened to be his brother). This kings name was Jehoram — and like his brother before him, and his father before him, Jehoram did a lot of evil things! And he taught God’s people to do a lot of evil things.
He just wasn’t a good king. And shortly into his reign, he faced a major crisis.
One of the neighboring kingdoms (a nation known as Moab) chose to break an agreement they had with Israel. You see, for years Moab had been paying tribute (or taxes) to Israel. They had been under Israel’s rule since the time of King David.
And for years they paid an annual tax to the king of Israel in the form of 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams. That was about 275 sheep andbaskets of wool per day.
Seems like a lot to me — and apparently, Mesha, the king of Moab, agreed. Because when this new King came to power, he decided he wasn’t going pay this anymore.
Well, Jehoram couldn’t allow this act of rebellion to go unanswered — so he gathered his army and prepared for war. But knowing there is strength in numbers — he reaches out to Jehoshaphat (king of Judah), and invites him to help.
Well, Jehoshaphat agrees and the two kings push out into the dessert where they meet up with the army of Edom. And so, this triad of nations press on. But here’s the thing — after marching for 7 days in the dessert, and they ran out of water.
Water was a precious commodity —and they ran out of it. So, after stalling in the desert, Jehoram sort of throws his hands up and says — “Great! We’re going to die out here.”
But, it was a good thing Jehoshaphat was there, because this king served God. And even though he had made a rash decision and marched off to war without preparing properly — he at least had the wisdom to call upon God for help.
And in verse 11 it says,
11 King Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there a prophet here through whom we can consult the Lord?”
And someone spoke up and said — yes, there’s this guy named Elisha. He’s like the new prophet of God. And he comes with pretty impressive credentials — because he served Elijah!
And the King of Israel apparently didn’t know who he was — but the King of Judah did. And in verse 12, King Jehoshaphat said,
12 “He is a true prophet,”…So the three kings went to Elisha.
Well, the kings approach Elisha — but he’s not interested in helping them. He’s traveling with the armies, but he’s not a fan of Jehoram. And in verse 14 he says,
14 …“By the living Lord, whom I serve, I swear that I would have nothing to do with youif I didn’t respect your ally, King Jehoshaphat of Judah. 15 Now get me a musician.”
So Elisha wasn’t interested in helping this new ungodly king sitting on the throne of Israel, but because he likes the King of Judah, he agrees to seek the Lord for them.
But don’t miss this little phrase in verse 15. After agreeing to seek the Lord — Elisha says,
15 Now get me a musician.
He says, “If I’m going to hear from God, I need to worship. I need some background music.”
Come on…that’s great.
He wanted to set the mood to hear from God. He wanted to worship and get his heart right — get his mind right — he understood that you always ENTER GOD’S PRESENCE with thanksgiving and praise.
As a musician, I dig that! I love that God added that line in this story. Because it’s significant.
Listen, WORSHIP is key to hearing from God. Don’t ever think that is cool to skip-over WORSHIP. Where ever you are, you can slow down and worship God.
Well, as verse 15 continues, we’re told:
As the musician played his harp, the power of the Lord came on Elisha, 16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Dig ditches all over this dry stream bed. 17 Even though you will not see any rain or wind, this stream bed will be filled with water, and you, your livestock, and your pack animals will have plenty to drink.’”
Let me pause and explain this to you — because this is significant.
In the ancient middle-east, people often survived — simply off of the water collected in these little gullies or ditches that were dug in the low places of the desert. They were known as “wadis”.
A “wadi” was simply a low place or a dry bed in the desert — sometimes they were hand hewn — dug out places to catch the waters from the sudden rains or“flash-floods” that might come. But these “wadis” were critical to the sustenance and survival of nomadic peoples like that of Israel.
And so, God is telling these Kings and their armies to get to work. The natural wadis aren’t enough. If you want to survive and receive the BLESSINGS OF GOD that have been promised to you — then DIG DOWN DEEP!
Get working. Break out the shovels! And so, in verse 18, Elisha speaks up again. And informs the Kings — that this miracle in the dessert isn’t the only thing God is going to do for them. Listen to what it says,
18 And Elisha continued, “But this is an easy thing for the Lord to do; he will also give you victory over the Moabites. 19 You will conquer all their beautiful fortified cities; you will cut down all their fruit trees, stop all their springs, and ruin all their fertile fields by covering them with stones.” — 2 Kings 3:18-19 (GNT)
The idea here is this: God’s going to help them…He’s going to bless them — BUT only after they DIG DOWN DEEP!
Well, verse 20 tells us about the miracle. And it’s EXTRAORDINARY! It says,
20 The next morning, at the time of the regular morning sacrifice, water came flowing from the direction of Edom and covered the ground.
So, as the men were getting up from their sleep—they discovered that the rains had come in the mountains adjacent to them, and so much rain had fallen overnight that the mountains were creating a “flash flood” of fresh water that covered the valley floor.
And because they had dug down deep — and filled the valley with ditches to collect the water (as God had instructed), they were saved. Them and all their animals. The had plenty to drink and be refreshed.
And in the end (you can read about it later), they also defeated their enemy — the MOABITES, JUST AS GOD HAD PROMISED!
Such an amazing story. Another EXTRAORDINARY STORY of God’s work through Elisha — an ORDINARY MAN!
Well, in the time that remains — I want to shift gears again and give you some real life application from this story. And I hope it will help you learn to DIG DOWN DEEP where you are as you look to God to BLESS YOUR LIFE!
And the first thing I want to encourage you to do is to:
1. ALLOW YOUR TROUBLE TO MOVE YOU TOWARD GOD!
What I’m saying is don’t waste your hurt. When you life is hard — turn to God. When pain is increasing — turn to God. When troubles come — turn to God.
It’s interesting to me that PAIN, an TROUBLE, and DISAPPOINTMENT typically moves people towards God or away from Him. But it’s rare that it doesn’t move people. We rarely apathetic towards our problems.
Some people blame God and turn from Him.
Yet others, cry out to God and turn to Him.
In this story we see nations pulling close and crying out for God! Remember what verse 11 said,
11 King Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there a prophet here through whom we can consult the Lord?”
In ancient times, God used prophets to communicate His Word to people. And when they wanted to speak to God — they turned to the prophets or the priests. And so, King Jehoshaphat (being a godly man) — recognized the size of his problem, and in his desperation, he turned to God.
And that’s what we must do too!
I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve heard through the years of people who in their moments of deep pain and sorrow — they abandoned everything and put their faith in God.
I bet that’s the case for many of you listening today. Maybe that describes your salvation story. In your desperation — you cried out to God and He saved you!
God is able to take care of every problem you bring to Him. Whatever you are facing may be big to you, but nothing is impossible for Him!
So, allow your trouble to move your toward God. Secondly…
2. ACT UPON THE WORD GOD GIVES!
Just be obedient. Do what He says. Don’t wait for a better word to come from God. Don’t wait for something else to happen to bring you another option. When God speaks — obey. Let God’s Word be your only option in life.
God often moves us to do things that may or may not make much sense for the moment, but they are things that will prepare us for what He will do in the future.
So, if God tells you to dig…then dig down deep!
For the Israelite army, God’s word was to dig a ditch to collect the water that He would send. And between verses 19 and 20, there appears to have been a lot of work accomplished. Apparently the 3 armies all pulled out their shovels and began to dig. Apparently they acted upon the God’s Word through Elisha.
Now, God probably won’t ask you to dig a ditch to catch water — but He will ask you to get involved in the miracles that He wants to work in you. He always does. He never calls you to lay back and be an observer.
God’s plan for you to is be a participant. So act upon His Word — and specifically, I’d suggest you act upon the Word of God that He’s already given you. And His Word directs you in all areas of your life. So, wherever you want to see God work — act upon His Word and prepare for His blessing.
IF YOU WANT A BETTER MARRIAGE?
Dig down deep — and demonstrate kindness and gentleness.
Dig down deep — and prefer one another above all others.
Dig down deep — and root sin out of your life.
Dig down deep — and practice dating each other again.
Dig down deep — and put God first, and your spouse 2nd, and all others after them.
Dig down deep — and express love to your spouse daily, say it…and show it.
IF YOUR SINGLE, BUT YOU WANT TO BE MARRIED?
Then Dig down deep — and become a person of godly character. Just start there.
Dig down deep — and grow closer to God (put him first in everything…seek Him above all things)
Dig down deep — and cultivate your own heart and soul (become the best you, you can be).
Dig down deep — and work to care for yourself (become settled and satisfied…thats attractive).
And then, maybe Dig down deep — and anticipate God’s blessing to come your way.
IF YOU WANT TO BE FINANCIAL HEALTHY?
Dig down deep — and practice integrity
Dig down deep — and use your resources wisely
Dig down deep — and set a budget.
Dig down deep — and work to eliminate debt.
Dig down deep — and put God first — practicing faithful generosity through tithes and offerings
AND IF YOU WANT A CLOSER WALK WITH GOD?
Dig down deep — and read His Word.
Dig down deep — and spend time with Him in prayer
Dig down deep — and discipline yourself to live for Him
Dig down deep — and worship Him, personally and corporately. Sing, shout, praise God, lift your hands and honor Him.
Dig down deep — and make church a priority. Don’t miss out on gathering with others in faith. Show up, love others, and use your gifts and serve.
Dig down deep — and walk in faith — believe God and expect great things from Him!
Regardless of your situation, when you dig down deep, you are CREATING SPACE for God to work in your life.
So, allow you troubles to lead you to Jesus. Act upon His Word. And lastly,
3. ANTICIPATE GOD’S GOODNESS!
LISTEN, God is kind and generous and benevolent. HE’S A GOOD GOD! And He loves to bless people. So, live your life with an anticipation of His kindness. Expect blessings to come your way. Expect His to do good to you…and to always keep His Word!
Don’t be shocked when God does good to you! Live with an anticipation and appreciation of His goodness!
The Bible tells us in verse 20, that “water came flowing…”
The water came flowing. God’s goodness came just that simply. It came — FLOWING!
There seems to be a description that goes far beyond just the water. But the implication is that all good things come FLOWING from God to you and me.
If you will live in faith — trusting and serving God, then good things will come flowing from God to you. Again. And Again, and again. And again!
David put it this way in Psalm 23:6,
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” — Psalm 23:6 (NKJV)
Notice the word he used,“Surely”. David’s declaring that God’s goodness and mercy are sure things! David didn’t say,‘maybe, possibly, I hope so, or even I have a hunch’.He said, ‘Surely’ and that’s a promise you can count on!
In this story we’re looking at today — we’re told,
“water came flowing…and covered the ground.”
This is an indication that the land was filled with water. But, understand — the water was only available to the kings and their armies, and do you know why?
Because they anticipated its arrival. They chose to exercise FAITH! And they dug down deep!
And that act of faith set them up for GOD’S EXTRAORDINARY BLESSING! The ditches they dug in faith — received the water God had promised to them.
They anticipated that God would show up — and they acted in faith. Listen, all we can do is DIG DOWN DEEP — but God has to bring the water! But when we do our part — HE ALWAYS DOES HIS PART!
Just imagine how different this story would have been if they hadn’t acted in Fatih! If they hadn’t anticipated God keeping His Word—if they had disobeyed God’s command, if they would have failed to dig down deep—God’s blessing would haves till come, but it would have passed them by.
I believe God’s blessing still would have come! The rains still would have fallen, and the valley would have still flooded, but the armies would have missed it all because they would not have prepared. If they hadn’t anticipated God’s faithfulness — they would have died of dehydration.
Anticipating God’s work in your life is so important!
Choose to believe. Choose to have faith. Choose to trust God! Because He always comes thru!
The Bible says in Psalm 138:2, that God has magnified (or exalted) His Word above all things — even His Name. Meaning simply, that He keeps His Word. He does what He says. He never breaks a promise.
And that’s good news because it tells us that God can be trusted. He can be believed.
You know something else — the measure of water available to these men was directly connected to the preparation the men put into and how many ditches they dug. The more they dug — the more water they received. The deeper they dug — the greater God’s blessing in their lives.
I guess I’m trying to remind you that:
There will always be a divine correlation between the FAITH you profess and the WORK you express!
The measure of FAITH YOU HAVE IN GOD will always be reflected by the measure of WORK YOU DO FOR GOD!
If your faith in God is shallow — you’ll do very little to bring Him glory! Conversely, if you faith in God is great — then you’ll spend your life doing good in order to Honor Him and bring Him glory!
Which shouldn’t surprise us — because FAITH and HARD WORK just go hand in hand!
James tells us in his epistle (or letter) in the New Testament that:
“…faith without works is dead!” — James 2:26 (NIV)
Faith will always be accompanied by good works. And that’s what this story of digging ditches is all about. In the end, it’s a story of faith. In order for these men to experience God’s presence and power — they first had to DIG DOWN DEEP! You see, the digging deep was really just their way of giving SPACEf or God to work in their lives.
And it’s the same for you and me today as well. If we want God to show up in our lives — then we must DIG DOWN DEEP and create some space for Him to move in us.
Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not talking about working to earn salvation. That’s a free gift that is offered completely apart from anything we do. All we have to do is accept it.
That’s the beauty of the gospel—you WERE in a pit, too deep to save yourself, and instead of throwing you a shovel and saying dig your way out, the King of kings and the Lord of lords stepped into that put and brought you out.
That’s a picture of salvation. That’s the gospel!
CLOSING
Listen, as I close this message out — I just wonder:
What ditches need to be dug in your life?
Where to you wish to see God work?
If you want God to do a miracle in you — then prepare for that miracle by believing in Him, living for Him, trusting in Him, hoping in Him, and getting to know Him more every day.
LET’S PRAY!
Would you pause and bow your head in prayer with me — right where you are? And let’s pray.
Spirit of God, we ask you to lead us now to those places in our lives where we need to DIG DOWN DEEP. Speak to us today. Guide us to those places that need our attention. Help us today to become responsive to you — as we prepare and make room for you to move in our lives.
For some listening today — it’s possible that they’ve never encountered you as their Savior. If that’s the case, then help them today to confess their sin to you — and accept you as their Savior. Do that now!
Maybe for others today — they’ve just grown distant from you. Maybe today you’d call them to carve out some time in their schedule to put your first. Maybe you’re asking them to DIG DOWN DEEP and grow in their relationship with you!
Whatever it is today that you want to do in our lives — God, we’re going to be responsive. So as we work to DIG DOWN DEEP—we’re asking you to come and fill that space within us.
Lord, for the marriages that need to be rebuilt — or the families that need your guidance — or the friendships that need to be reconciled, would you come and rain down your blessing on them?
May we dig some ditches this week and see your blessings flow into our lives all the more…because we need you! So lead us and guide us and we will be obedient to you. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.