Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory

2 Kings 3-4

            2 Kings 3:27 is a tough verse.  The way the NIV translates it, it seems to be a non sequitur, a thing that doesn’t follow from what went before.  NIV’s translation seems to say that the defeated king of Moab took his son and sacrificed him.  But how would that incite great fury against Israel?

            Possibilities include the following.  First, the king of Moab’s action could have galvanized his people for one final push against the Israelites, driving them out.  I think this is what the NIV translators are suggesting.  In that case, the lesson would be something about how Israel had the Lord’s explicit promise that Moab would be conquered yet failed to hold what the Lord had given.  That certainly fits with Israel’s history.

            Another possibility might be that the defeated king of Moab captured the son of the king of Edom in his last furious assault against Edom.  Then, the king of Moab executed the son of Edom, causing Edom to be angry with Israel and to withdraw from the alliance.

            There are other variations on the theme, but the upshot of them all seems to be the same:  Israel withdrew.  They managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  That’s a remarkably human story.  Perfection, dedication, follow-through—those are all things our race consistently fails at.  So, a reminder of the Gospel:  Jesus follows through—He went through the death and the grave on to victory.  And a reminder that when life counterpunches and we’re ready to retreat, we are called to stand our ground (Ephesians 6:13).