ToddGaddisBook_October2023_8.5x5.5.indd

A two-fold blessing- Which begins with the Lord’s provision . Just like before, He provided water to thirsty people, this time without wind or rain. God didn’t just sprinkle out a blessing, He poured forth a blessing, filling the valley with pools. In fact, “When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water” (2 Kings 3:22).Without food in the desert, the Israelites received manna from heaven for 40 years. God even gave them quail when they complained about no meat. Jesus fed the 5000 from a lad’s lunch of two fish and five loaves, with 12 baskets of pieces left over. God, “is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Ephesians 3:20, emphasis added). As believers, we have something that even Elijah and Elisha did not have– the Holy Spirit residing within us.The power is there.The question is, are we willing to ask and be pre pared to receive? Along with a blessing of provision for the Israelites, God added His protection. When their enemy saw the pools of water, they thought it was blood. Assuming the three kings must have fought and slaughtered one another, they went for the plunder. And then, as the Bible says, “when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled . And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites” (2 Kings 3:23,24). This is one of numerous times in the Bible where God con fuses the enemy and delivers His people. Centuries before, when Saul was king, the Lord threw the Philistines into confusion as they battled the Israelites. As the enemy fought amongst them selves, God’s people emerged victorious (1 Samuel 14:20-24). Later in our story, we’ll see where the Lord blinded the Arameans and led the Israelites to victory (2 Kings 6:18). During Napoleon’s Austrian campaign, the French army ad vanced to within six miles of Feldkirch, anticipating an easy victory.

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