These verses in 2 Kings 3:4-8 describe the rebellion of King Mesha of
Moab, which was a vassal to Israel. This meant that Moab would be
subservient to Israel and would have to pay a yearly tribute to the latter. The
amount they had to pay for the protection accorded to them by Israel was
100,000 lambs and the wools of 100,000 rams. When King Ahab died, Moab rebelled
against Israel. In 2 Kings 1 under the reign of Ahaziah, they already showed
their colors. Ahaziah apparently did nothing to squelch the rebellion. When
Jehoram took the reign, he decided to deal with the renegade
Mesha.
Reacting
to the rebellion, Jehoram gathered the forces of Israel to go out and deal with
Moab. Verse 7 said that he sent word to Jehoshaphat of Judah to help him in the
battle. Remember, Jehoshaphat was the father-in-law of his sister Athaliah. He
had escaped death once before when he supported Ahab and helped him with his
campaign to fight the Aramean to recover Ramoth-Gilead. It was in that battle
that Ahab, though in disguise, was hit by an arrow that an archer shot
randomly. We would have thought that Jehoshaphat, who escaped from that battle
unscathed, would have learned his lesson. He should have been more circumspect
in his response to the call of Jehoram, Ahab’s son, but he didn’t. His response
to him was immediate. He said, “I will go up; I am as you are, my people
as your people, my horses as your horses.” So together they also enlisted
Edom, another vassal of Israel to join forces with them in dealing with
Mesha.
Once again, we draw the lesson on the importance of who we mix with in life. We can be needlessly led into trouble by running with the wrong crowd. This was now the second time that Jehoshaphat was drawn into a fight that was not his own. It is better to be safe than to be sorry. Who we mix with in life matters. Choose friends carefully. A good ally brings encouragement, but a wrong friend can mean endless troubles. Never underestimate the influence of friends, whether good or bad!
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