And he said, “Thus says the LORD: ‘Make this valley full of ditches.’ 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, your cattle, and your animals may drink.’ And this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord…” 2 Kings 3:16-18 (NKJV)
Here we see the importance of digging ditches. Basically, the Lord is saying, “Prepare for a flood in the desert.” Elisha directs the kings and their armies to dig ditches in the desert valley. They are to fill the valley with ditches, or trenches, for the Lord is going to provide water.
This is not the first time the Lord requires His people do something seemingly illogical:
- The Lord tells Noah to build a large ark and gather the animals for the coming worldwide flood.
- The Lord tells Abraham to take Isaac, through whom are the covenant promises of God, upon the mount and sacrifice him.
- At the Lord’s command Joshua instructs Israel to march around Jericho once a day for six days and then seven times on the seventh day. At the end of the seventh round the people were to shout and the walls would fall down.
When these commands are obeyed, then the promises of God are fulfilled. These commands always require faith on man’s part and a miracle on God’s part.
In their thirst and utter exhaustion, they set about digging ditches, but there is no immediate result. They are in the desert in the tormenting heat and full of thirst, and they are just digging. However, after their long day of digging, they retire to bed and the next morning they wake up and find that water has filled the land. Only God can send the rain. God asked them to do the possible and He did the impossible We know with God nothing is impossible. In fact, it says in verse 18, “…this is a simple matter in the sight of the Lord.”
In 1867, CH Spurgeon said:
Be prepared to receive that which He is about to give; each man in his place and each woman in her sphere, make the whole of this Church full of trenches for the reception of the Divine Floods.