Who Digs the Ditch Part 2

When the God you’ve heard about doesn’t match the God you’ve come to know.

This past Sunday, I sat in a church service with friends, eager to hear a message from 2 Kings 3—one of my new favorite stories. You might remember from Part 1 of this blog that I see the dry land as us, and the ditch in this story as a picture of the human heart, and the water as the life of Jesus—given freely.

I didn’t know what the sermon would be, but I never expected what I heard.

The preacher read verses 4 through 25. Early on, he paused to highlight King Joram’s words in verse 10:

“Oh no, the Lord has summoned these three kings, only to hand them over to Moab.”

From this, the preacher built a case that God brings calamity—not just allows it, but sometimes sends it. He supported this idea with a verse from Job:

“Shall we accept good from God, and not adversity?” (Job 2:10)

My heart sank.

Not because I was offended, but because I was grieving.

Because that’s not the God I know.

It’s not the God I see in Jesus—the image of the invisible God, the One who heals, rescues, and restores.

It’s not the God who bore the curse so I wouldn’t have to.

The Joram Problem

Here’s what struck me immediately: Joram wasn’t a man who walked with the Lord. He was a Baal worshiper. He came from a long line of idolaters. So when things went wrong, Joram naturally blamed the divine—because in his belief system, that’s what gods did.

They punished. They destroyed. They manipulated people through fear.

He projected his beliefs about Baal onto Jehovah.

I can’t be the only who who stopped to consider that Elisha, the prophet of the Lord, didn’t agree with Joram?

“What do we have in common? Go to the prophets of your father and your mother!” — 2 Kings 3:13

That’s Elisha’s response.

Not, “Yes, the Lord is punishing you.” Not, “That’s right—He brought calamity to humble you.” Just: We have nothing in common.

Nothing.

No shared faith. No shared spirit. No shared understanding of who God is.

So why was Joram quoted—as if his words are truth—when Elisha, God’s representative, rejected him outright?

The Job Problem

And then came the verse from Job. I’ve heard it used all my life:

“Shall we accept good from God and not adversity?” (Job 2:10)

Only here’s what so few ever seem to notice:

By the end of the book, Job takes it back.

He says in Job 42:3:

“Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderous for me to know.”

And in verses 5 & 6:

“I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I reject my words am sorry for them.”

Job repents. He acknowledges that he was wrong about God.

So why are them some quoting the parts he later recants? Why do we stop in chapter 2 when the Holy Spirit carried the story all the way to chapter 42?

Why do we use misunderstanding to explain mystery?

The Truth About Calamity

The idea that God brings calamity—even if “only sometimes”—is a deeply damaging belief. It builds fear where trust is supposed to grow. It warps intimacy. It makes us question His goodness when life hurts the most.

Perhaps worst of all: it minimizes the Cross.

If God is the author of suffering, then why did He take suffering on Himself?

Why would Jesus, who said,

“The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I came that they may have life,” go around healing, comforting, and delivering people from the very adversity we say God sends?

Was Jesus undoing the Father’s work?

Of course not.

He was revealing the Father.

So… Who Digs the Ditch?

In 2 Kings 3, the ditch still matters, but I’m more convinced than ever that we’ve misread the story.

The ditch isn’t our effort. The ditch isn’t punishment. The ditch is a foreshadowing of the space Jesus’ death and resurrection creates within us.

We are the ditch.

And Jesus—beautiful, faithful Jesus—fills us with His Living Water.

Even when we misunderstand. Even when we blame Him. Even when we’ve mixed up Baal and Jehovah.

He comes anyway. He fills the valley. He brings life where there was only dust.

Final Thoughts

If you’ve ever been told that your suffering was sent by God, I’m so sorry. I pray you’ll find comfort in the truth:

God is not the source of your suffering. He is your Savior in the midst of it.

Jesus doesn’t just bring Living Water—He is the Living Water. And He doesn’t hold off on filling you until you dig a ditch deep enough. He’s already dug the ditch.

He fills you because you are loved enough.

So next time someone tells you that God brought the calamity, remember Joram. Remember Job.

And above all, remember Jesus—the only perfect picture of who our God truly is.

I am thankful that 2 Kings 3 was brought to my remembrance this weekend and the story of Job. Both instances sent me to the feet of Jesus. While the message didn’t line up with who Jesus showed us the Father is, it forced me to dig deeper and search for the answers to confirm what my heart already knew.