2 Kings 3:12, commentary and pictures

Elisha is the one with whom the word of the Lord is, and for that reason the king of Israel with Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom go down to him to seek God's direction. The episode is a test of faith in which teachers of truth pass through sifting, searching, trying trials, with faith and patience severely tried by apparent impossibilities blocking the way. That same test of faith will be met again by those who trust God.

The lesson is to trust not in what people can do by themselves but in what God can do for them and through them. Those who trust in this way will certainly experience and realize God's power in their work. The Lord has ways and means and resources for every emergency.

He works in the least expected ways, turning the battle against the enemy not by human strength but by His own strength as the mighty General and commander of armies. He gives the victory and works for the glory of His own name. Therefore His workers must go forward with the grace of Christ without questioning the length of the way or its obstacles, walking by faith and not by sight rather than living by what is seen. They must not limit the Holy One, whose power is from of old and whose ways are past finding out and beyond finding out, by marking out in advance how He will work, or they will be disappointed.