Ditches

And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches.  For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts. – 2 Kings 3:16-17 (KJV)

And he said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘I will make this dry streambed full of pools.’  For thus says the Lord, ‘You shall not see wind or rain, but that streambed shall be filled with water, so that you shall drink, you, your livestock, and your animals.’ (ESV) 

Is it important whether the Lord’s message was to dig trenches or that He was going to fill the existing dry streambeds?  Given my time constraints today, I’m not sure I can do justice to this passage.  The ESV is reasonable in the context because the armies which were dying of thirst were in pursuit of the Moabites.  From reading Lawrence who warred in that region, it was common to move forces from seasonal pool to seasonal pool.  It’s unlikely that an experienced native commander would strike out across places where he was unlikely to find water.  The combined forces of Judah, Israel, and Edom had followed a circuitous route in an attempt to take the Moabites by surprise.  Seven days of marching found them stranded in a barren area.  They were set up to be forced to surrender to their enemy or perish by dehydration.

The prophet called upon was Elisha, as this appears to have happened not long after the catching away of Elijah by chariots of fire.  Elisha was reluctant to assist the backslidden king of Israel, Jehoram, the son of the evil Ahab and Jezebel.  Edom at that point was a vassal state to Israel, as Moab had been prior to this episode of rebellion.  Judah, under the righteous, though somewhat excessively tolerant Jehoshaphat, was not much better than a thrall.  Israel appears to have possessed the most potent military in the region.  It was the presence of the godly king of Judah that caused Elisha to trouble himself enough to summon a musician for some pickin’n’prophesyin’.  

While, as I said, the ESV makes sense, I am inclined to follow the more traditional and very common interpretation that requires some preparatory action on the part of man.  I think they were camped in or near a wadi where they might normally find a stream, but I think, too, that the Lord instructed them to dig ditches in the wadi. 

There are times even on the right road when all our hope dries up.  We can find ourselves unable to carry on toward our destiny though we have followed a correct and wise path.  Instead of trying to move forward, we might consider going deeper.  Notice that the prophet did not instruct them to excavate the hilltops or the mountainsides, but to delve in the valley, in the place where they had expected to find sustainment and refreshing.  Just because it looks dead and dried up on the surface does not mean we might not find some life if we dig a little deeper. 

We should not be too hasty to move on from the place to which the Lord has led us, and we should not be deceived by outward appearances.  Our homes and churches, marriages, families, occupations, all these are places we should expect to find help and hope and support.  That isn’t always the case, unless we are prepared to have a little faith, stand our ground, put in a little effort and dig some ditches in the desert.