2 Kings 3:17

2 Kings 3:17
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 shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts.


This is one of the Bible stories that is easy to miss because it is tucked away in the Old Testament's history section. But it demonstrates a critical lesson about trusting the leading of the Lord.

During the days of Ahab and Jezebel,  Mesha, the king of Moab, had paid Ahab, king of Israel, 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams to, shall we say, "maintain good international relations." When Ahab died, Mesha saw this as an opportunity to rebel against Jehoram, Ahab's son who was also the new king of Israel. Jehoram mustered his troops, and then sent word to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, asking for help and reinforcements.  Jehoshaphat sent back his reply, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." So, that was a "Yes!"  The king of Edom joined as well, so the armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom made a week-long circuitous march through the wilderness to get in position to attack Moab. But they found themselves without water for the troops and the cattle that followed them.

Cattle followed armies in those days because you don't have to refrigerate a live cow. You do, however, have to water it; and cows take a lot more water than a person. The situation was such that, without water, the king of Moab would win even without fighting. They desperately needed a lot of water for their mission against Moab to succeed.

2 Kings 3:11, 12 -  "And Jehoshaphat said, 'Is there not a prophet of the LORD here, through whom we may inquire of the LORD?' Then one of the king of Israel’s servants answered, 'Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who used to pour water on the hands of Elijah, (meaning that Elisha used to be Elijah's servant).' Jehoshaphat said, 'The word of the LORD is with him.' So Jehoram, the king of Israel; and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah; and the unnamed king of Edom went down to him."

Elisha was less than thrilled about helping Jehoram because, even though he was a little better than his parents had been and removed the stone pillar of Baal, he was still an unsavory fellow. But out of respect for Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, Elisha agreed to seek the Lord. He called for a minstrel, and while the musician played, the hand of the Lord came upon Elisha and he said, "Thus says the LORD, 'Make this valley full of trenches.' For the LORD says, 'You will not see wind or rain, but the wadi (a gully-size valley that typically has a stream that flows only during the rainy season) will be filled with water, and you will drink—you and your cattle and your animals.'"

I suppose you are beginning to think, 'What does this have to do with a runaway bride?' It is all about hearing and acting on the Word of the Lord.

The three armies were dehydrated, there was no sign of rain, and they were told to dig trenches in a dry gully. KatieLyn was anxious, she saw no sign of assurance, and God had told her Joe was to be her husband.

The armies dug the trenches, and in the morning, water filled the trenches. Out of sight, somewhere in the mountains of Edom, there had been a flash flood and the water had drained into the wilderness valley. The early morning sun lit the water, and to the enemy Moabites standing opposite, it looked like blood. They assumed, wrongly, that the alliance between the kings of Israel, Judah, and Edom had fallen apart and they'd all killed each other during the night.

You can read the full ending, if you wish, in 2 Kings 3. But the short story is that the Moabites made a really, really big miscalculation when they believed the blood was water, and it ended in tragedy for many.

KatieLyn was getting bad field intel from the enemy. The devil did not want her marriage to proceed. She based her decision on what things looked like at the moment, and not on the word that she had received from the Lord. It was a really, really big miscalculation.

Out of KatieLyn's sight, the Lord had a mountain-sized provision of refreshing water for her. If she had held on until the morning, she would have seen it and rejoiced. The devil had people telling her that she HAD to be 100% sure, which would not have been wrong if they had also said, "God does not lie, and He does not fail to fulfill His promise."  But that isn't how the enemy works. He had people telling her that she HAD to be 100% sure that the water would be there, and then they said, "Where is the wind? Where is the rain?"

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 shall drink, both you and your cattle and your beasts.

The Lesson
God normally tells people only what they need to know, especially if they have not previously cultivated a relationship with Him. All Jehoram was told was that he was to dig a lot of ditches and somehow, some way, they would be filled with drinking water. He did not know how the water would get there. He certainly had no clue that the enemy would look at the water and think it was evidence of bloodshed! God requires us to act on only the word that He has told us. We have to trust Him to take care of the details for us.