Joram’s expedition against Moab was not prompted by the Lord for he ignored Yahweh when considering how to respond to their rebellion. His military venture was concerned only with recovering lost resources not doing God’s will. Consequently, he enlisted the support of others and trusted in the might of the army he amassed. Yet he sorely miscalculated the supplies he needed to achieve success. Only when faced with defeat did he seek to consult the prophet of the Lord. He lied to Elisha to cover his fault by saying that it was the Lord who had commanded him to take such action. Elisha was not fooled. He knew that Joram was a hypocrite who had no use for God except when he was in trouble. Elisha’s prophecy foretold what would happen. Though Israel achieved initial success, in the end, God’s wrath fell on them and they retreated.
Many people today are hypocrites like Joram. Many say they believe in God, they serve and trust Him, yet they make plans without asking Him first. After they have decided on a course of action they then pray, but only to enlist His support and blessings on what they have already determined to do. When things do not go right they blame Him for their trouble and demand He bail them out. He may do that or He may just let them learn from their troubles that they are not really serving Him with their whole hearts.
Nations and governments do the same thing as well. They decide to go to war or to undertake some form of action to address a crisis but without asking God for wisdom. Then they pray to God to bless them because they have determined that their cause is righteous. God is on their side. Perhaps if they asked God for help in making a choice of action, they might realize that there may be others ways to handle the problem, by negotiating for peace or through compromise. No wonder so many nations get into trouble.
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