2 Kings 3:23
“They said, “This is blood. The kings are surely destroyed, and they have struck each other. Now therefore, Moab, to the plunder!””
What does 2 Kings 3:23 mean?
The Moabites are seeing what they think is blood on the ground at dawn and jumping to a hopeful conclusion: the three allied kings fighting against them must have turned on each other in the darkness and destroyed themselves. It's a moment of misreading a situation, though the irony is that what they're seeing is actually just the reddish clay soil reflecting the morning sun, not blood at all. Their assumption, though wrong, is understandable given the tension of the night before. This captures something real about how fear and hope can cloud our judgment, especially when we're desperate for good news or when we fill in blanks with what we want to believe.