Melachim II Perek 3

• Yehoram, the son of Achav, became the next king of Yisrael.

• Yehoram wanted Yehoshaphat to join him in battle against Meisha, king of Moav.

• They decided to travel through the desert of Edom.

• The king of Edom joined Yehoram and Yehoshaphat to do battle against Moav.

• While in the desert of Edom the three kings ran out of water.

• Yehoshaphat urged the group to seek Elisha and find out from him what it is that Hashem wants from them.

• Elisha spoke sharply to Yehoram and told him that if not for Yehoshaphat being with them, he would not even look at Yohoram’s face.

• Elisha called for a musician to raise his spirits so that he would be able to regain his prophecy. (Rashi: Elisha lost his prophecy momentarily when he got angry at Yehoram.)

• Elisha told the three kings that they would win the battle against Moav.

• Water miraculously appeared for the three kings.

• The king of Moav saw the water from the distance, but it appeared to him as a large pool of blood.

• Moav thought that the three kings had killed each other and that he could now just enter their camp and take the spoils.

• The three kings decimated Moav’s army when Moav reached their camp.

• The king of Moav saw what was happening and he brought his first-born son as a sacrifice. This caused Yisrael to flee.

Sanhedrin 39b: Rav learned that the king brought a proper sacrifice to Hashem. When Hashem saw that the king of Moav had brought a sacrifice and Yisrael hadn’t, judgment was aroused against Yisrael. The king of Moav had mistakenly learned from Avraham to bring one’s own son as a sacrifice, to arouse divine compassion. Shmuel: The king of Moav brought the sacrifices for idol worship. This aroused judgment against Yisrael because it reminded Hashem that Yisrael was also steeped in idol worship.