THE SHUNAMMITE S LAND RESTORED HAZAEL MURDERS BEN-HADAD JEHORAM KING OF JUDAH AHAZIAH KING OF JUDAH 2 KINGS 8:1-29

Transcription

1 1 THE SHUNAMMITE S LAND RESTORED HAZAEL MURDERS BEN-HADAD JEHORAM KING OF JUDAH AHAZIAH KING OF JUDAH 2 KINGS 8:1-29

2 2 The Shunamite s Land Restored Hazael Murders Ben-Hadad Jehoram King of Judah Ahaziah King of Judah Text: 2 Kings 8:1-29, 1. Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years. 2. The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3. At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. 4. The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done. 5. Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land. Gehazi said, This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life. 6. The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.

3 3 7. Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, The man of God has come all the way up here, 8. he said to Hazael, Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult the LORD through him; ask him, Will I recover from this illness? 9. Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, Will I recover from this illness? 10. Elisha answered, Go and say to him, You will certainly recover. Nevertheless, the LORD has revealed to me that he will in fact die. 11. He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed. Then the man of God began to weep. 12. Why is my lord weeping? asked Hazael. Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites, he answered. You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women. 13. Hazael said, How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat? The LORD has shown me that you will become king of Aram, answered Elisha. 14. Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. When Ben-Hadad asked, What did Elisha say to you? Hazael replied, He told me that you would certainly recover. 15. But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king s face, so that he died. Then Hazael succeeded him as king. 16. In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. 17. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years.

4 4 18. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. 19. Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever. 20. In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. 21. So Jehoram went to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night; his army, however, fled back home. 22. To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time. 23. As for the other events of Jehoram s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? 24. Jehoram rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king. 25. In the twelfth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign. 26. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year. His mother s name was Athaliah, a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel. 27. He followed the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the LORD, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab s family. 28. Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth Gilead. The Arameans wounded Joram; 29. so King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramoth in his battle with Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of

5 5 Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to see Joram son of Ahab, because he had been wounded. (NIV) Introduction: I. The people of Israel soon forgot God s marvelous deliverance and returned to their sins. So again they suffer the judgment of a famine. (McGee) II. In this chapter Elisha is seen in two (2) roles, one relating to the king of Israel and one relating to the king of Syria/Aram. A. In regard to the king of Israel, Elisha s influence helped restore the Shunammite s property. B. In regard to the king of Syria, Elisha was instrumental in international politics. Commentary: The Shunammite s Land Restored 2 Kings 8:1, Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years. (NIV) I. Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life,... A. 2 Kings 4:8-37, One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, I know that this man who often

6 6 comes our way is a holy man of God. Let s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us. One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. He said to his servant Gehazi, Call the Shunammite. So he called her, and she stood before him. Elisha said to him, Tell her, You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army? She replied, I have a home among my own people. What can be done for her? Elisha asked. Gehazi said, She has no son, and her husband is old. Then Elisha said, Call her. So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. About this time next year, Elisha said, you will hold a son in your arms. No, my lord! she objected. Please, man of God, don t mislead your servant! But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. He said to his father, My head! My head! His father told a servant, Carry him to his mother. After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. She called her husband and said, Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return. Why go to him today? he asked. It s not the New Moon or the Sabbath. That s all right, she said. She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, Lead on; don t slow down for me unless I tell you. So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, Look! There s

7 7 the Shunammite! Run to meet her and ask her, Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right? Every-thing is all right, she said. When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the LORD has hidden it from me and has not told me why. Did I ask you for a son, my lord? she said. Didn t I tell you, Don t raise my hopes? Elisha said to Gehazi, Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Don t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy s face. But the child s mother said, As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you. So he got up and followed her. Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, The boy has not awakened. When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy s body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, Call the Shunammite. And he did. When she came, he said, Take your son. She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out. (NIV) B. Clarke wrote that this refers to something that Elisha had said to the Shunammite years before and that this passage, therefore, should read, But Elisha had spoken unto the

8 8 woman whose son he had restored unto life; and the woman had arisen, and acted according to the saying of the man of God, and had gone with her family, and had sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. (The Pulpit Commentary agrees.) 1. The events in verses 1-2 happened several years before the time specified in verse 3. (Clarke) II. Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the LORD has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years. A. This famine may have done more damage overall than the siege of Samaria. (Long) 1. 2 Kings 4:38-41, Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets. One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, Man of God, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat it. Elisha said, Get some flour. He put it into the pot and said, Serve it to the people to eat. And there was nothing harmful in the pot. (NIV) 2. This famine, Long wrote, may have been due to Israel s disobedience of God s Torah, Law.

9 9 a. God decreed the famine. b. Deuteronomy 28:16-18, You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country. Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed. The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. (NIV) 3. Elisha, left the choice of her dwelling place to the Shunammite. 4. Even though the Shunammite was a person of substance, Elisha, knowing the length and severity of the coming famine, advised her to go to a place less affected by the famine. Note: The famine in Egypt during Joseph s lifetime was of seven (7) years duration as well. Genesis 41:27, The seven lean, ugly cows that came up afterward are seven years, and so are the seven worthless heads of grain scorched by the east wind: They are seven years of famine. (NIV) (The Pulpit Commentary) 2 Kings 8:2, The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years. (NIV I. The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. A. The Shunammite woman continued to be a person of remarkable faith and obedience. 1. She set us a noble example to follow. 2. When God speaks, we are to obey!

10 10 II. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years. A. Philistia, being located on the coastal plain, Coffman wrote, was usually spared the droughts to which Israel was subject and, when not spared, supplies were readily available by sea from Egypt and the Nile Delta. 1. Judges 15:5, lit the torches and let the foxes loose in the standing grain of the Philistines. He burned up the shocks and standing grain, together with the vineyards and olive groves. (NIV) 2. Philistia had good soil and was well watered from the Mediterranean Sea. B. During the Shunammite s sojourn in Philistia, others took possession of her property in Shunem. 1. So much for human nature! 2. She was in Philistia seven (7) years, the total duration of the famine. C. She appealed to the king to restore ownership of her property. 1. Coffman wrote that it would appear her husband had died during their stay in Philistia. D. McGee wrote, The famine, once again, was a judgment of God upon the Northern Kingdom.

11 11 2 Kings 8:3, At the end of the seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to appeal to the king for her house and land. (NIV) I. At the end of the seven (7) years she came back from the land of the Philistines and went to the king to beg for her house and land. A. The Shunammite was a wise and prudent person who had no reluctance to seek a redress of grievance even of the king Samuel 14:4, When the woman from Tekoa went to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, Help me, Your Majesty! (NIV) B. As soon as the famine ended, the Shunammite went home! C. Women, especially widows, were vulnerable in that ancient society. 1. Isaiah 10:2, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. (NIV) 2. There are too many people around today who take advantage of anyone they can. 2 Kings 8:4, The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said, Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done. (NIV)

12 12 I. The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, and had said,... A. After being afflicted with Naaman s leprosy, Gehazi s activites are not specifically detailed. 1. Some suppose the four (4) lepers at the city gates of Samaria were Gehazi and his three sons which could explain, if true, his appearance here talking with the king. 2. It appears, now that the siege of Samaria has been lifted as Elisha had foretold, that the king s attitude toward Elisha had changed for the better. 3. Coffman considered the mention of Gehazi in this paragraph as problematic. a. Gehazi may have been healed of leprosy. b. These events may have predated Naaman s healing. c. Coffman further said it was highly unlikely that the king would be speaking with a leper. d. Some believe this king was Jehoram/Joram while others believe this king was Jehu. 4. The main points of this narrative, Coffman wrote, are the Shunammite s trust of the prophet s word and her reward for her trust. 5. Clarke wrote that some place this conversation between the king and Gehazi before the healing of

13 13 Naaman while others place the conversation after his dismissal from Elisha s service because the king wanted to know more about Elisha and Gehazi was his best source of information. The king conversed with leprous Gehazi while keeping his distance from the uncleanness. II. Tell me about all the (great) things Elisha has done. A. Great things in Scripture often refer to miracles. 1. Job 5:9, He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. (NIV) 2. Job 9:10, He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted. (NIV) 3. Job 37:5, God s voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. (NIV) 4. Psalm 71:19, Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who have done great things. Who is like you, God? (NIV) 5. Psalm 106:21, They forgot the God who saved them, who had done great things in Egypt, (NIV) 2 Kings 8:5, Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to appeal to the king for her house and land. Gehazi said, This is the woman, my lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life. (NIV)

14 14 I. Just as Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life,... A. At the opportune moment when Gehazi was telling the king about Elisha s raising the Shunammite s son from the dead, the Shunammite appears before the king. B. Gehazi was a personal witness to this wondrous event, perhaps the greatest of all of Elisha s miracles Kings 4:29-36, Elisha said to Gehazi, Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Don t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy s face. But the child s mother said, As surely as the LORD lives and as you live, I will not leave you. So he got up and followed her. Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, The boy has not awakened. When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the LORD. Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy s body grew warm. Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, Call the Shunammite. And he did. When she came, he said, Take your son. (NIV) II. the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came to beg the king for her house and land.

15 15 A. The raising of the Shunammite s son from the dead was truly one of Elisha s mighty works. B. How, opportune is the timing of God s providential intervention! (See Coffman.) 1. Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (NIV) 2. Esther 6:1-14, That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. What honor and recognition has Mordecai received for this? the king asked. Nothing has been done for him, his attendants answered. The king said, Who is in the court? Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the palace to speak to the king about impaling Mordecai on the pole he had set up for him. His attendants answered, Haman is standing in the court. Bring him in, the king ordered. When Haman entered, the king asked him, What should be done for the man the king delights to honor? Now Haman thought to himself, Who is there that the king would rather honor than me? So he answered the king, For the man the king delights to honor, have them bring a royal robe the king has worn and a horse the king has ridden, one with a royal crest placed on its head. Then let the robe and horse be entrusted to one of the king s most noble princes. Let them robe the man the king

16 16 delights to honor, and lead him on the horse through the city streets, proclaiming before him, This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor! Go at once, the king commanded Haman. Get the robe and the horse and do just as you have suggested for Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king s gate. Do not neglect anything you have recommended. So Haman got the robe and the horse. He robed Mordecai, and led him on horseback through the city streets, proclaiming before him, This is what is done for the man the king delights to honor! Afterward Mordecai returned to the king s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief, and told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. His advisers and his wife Zeresh said to him, Since Mordecai, before whom your downfall has started, is of Jewish origin, you cannot stand against him you will surely come to ruin! While they were still talking with him, the king s eunuchs arrived and hurried Haman away to the banquet Esther had prepared. (NIV) III. Gehazi said, This is the woman, my Lord the king, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life. A. Gehazi confirmed that this was indeed the woman whose son Elisha had raised from the dead. B. The Shunammite could certainly verify the mighty deeds of Elisha in her life. C. Both the Shunammite and her son, now ten (10) or twelve (12) years old according to The Pulpit Commentary, were present on this occasion.

17 17 2 Kings 8:6, The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now. (NIV) I. The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. A. The woman confirmed the facts in the cases; that is, Elisha s remarkable roles in her life and the injustice done by others in taking possession of her land while she was away. II. Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now. A. The king decided the case in the Sunammite s favor and directed one of his officials to se that his order was executed. 1. Elisha through Gehazi spoke to the king on Shunammite s favor. (Coffman) a. 2 Kings 4:13, Elisha said to him, Tell her, You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army? She replied, I have a home among my own people. (NIV) B. While the Shunammite was in Philistia evidently someone had taken possession of her property. C. A eunuch was assigned to this case to guarantee that there would be no improprieties by this court official in regard to the Shunammite woman.

18 18 D. David s court contained eunuchs as did the courts of Hezekiah, etc Chronicles 28:1, David summoned all the officials of Israel to assemble at Jerusalem: the officers over the tribes, the commanders of the divisions in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, and the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the warriors and all the brave fighting men. (NIV) 2. Isaiah: 56:3-4, Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say, The LORD will surely exclude me from his people. And let no eunuch complain, I am only a dry tree. For this is what the LORD says: To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant (NIV) E. Those who had taken the Shunammite s property were left with nothing. 1. They were forced to return all the Shunammite s property and pay her everything the land produced while she was away. 2. Crime, in this case, did not pay! 2 Kings 8:7, Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill. When the king was told, The man of God has come all the way up here, (NIV) I. Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Aram was ill.

19 19 A. Elisha, the great prophet of Israel, now is in Damascus, the capital of Israel s great Aramean/Syrian enemies Samuel 8:6, He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought tribute. The LORD gave David victory wherever he went. (NIV) 2. 1 Kings 15:18, Asa then took all the silver and gold that was left in the treasuries of the LORD s temple and of his own palace. He entrusted it to his officials and sent them to Ben-Hadad son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, the king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. (NIV) B. Coffman surmised that Elisha s honorable reception in Damascus at this time may have resulted from Naaman s miraculous healing. 1. Remember the events pertaining to Elisha in 2 Kings are not necessarily presented in chronological order. 2. Not only in Israel, but also in the neighboring nations, Elisha was well known and respected as God s man. (Teacher s Bible Commentary via Coffman) C. Ben-Hadad had tried to kill Elisha, but now he is a sick old man and his attitude toward Elisha has changed. (See McGee.) 1. He now sought the prophet s counsel. II. When the king was told, The man of God has come all the way up here,...

20 20 A. Clearly Ben-Hadad had confidence in Israel s prophet. B. Elisha made no effort to conceal his presence in Damascus. C. Elisha was now often referenced as the man of God Kings 4:7, 21, 40, She went and told the man of God, and he said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left. She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, Man of God, there is death in the pot! And they could not eat it. (NIV) 2. 2 Kings 5:20, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the LORD lives, I will run after him and get something from him. (NIV) 3. 2 Kings 6:6, 10, The man of God asked, Where did it fall? When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. (NIV) 4. 2 Kings 7:2, 18, The officer on whose arm the king was leaning said to the man of God, Look, even if the LORD should open the floodgates of the heavens, could this happen? You will see it with

21 21 your own eyes, answered Elisha, but you will not eat any of it! It happened as the man of God had said to the king: About this time tomorrow, a seah of the finest flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria. (NIV) 2 Kings 8:8, he said to Hazael, Take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. Consult the LORD through him; ask him, Will I recover from this illness? (NIV) I. The (the king) said to Hazael, take a gift with you and go to meet the man of God. A. Coffman noted, This character, a nobody, should not be confused with Hazael, the father of Ben-Hadad Kings 13:3, So the LORD s anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben- Hadad his son. (NIV) B. Perhaps Ben-hadad thought Elisha would restore him to health. (See McGee.) C. Hazael was evidently the commander of the Syrian armed forces. (McGee) 1. However, The Pulpit Commentary states Hazael was probably only a chamberlain, a personal assistant to the king. D. It was customary for those who consulted a prophet to accompany their requests with gifts.

22 Samuel 9:7, Saul said to his servant, If we go, what can we give the man? The food in our sacks is gone. We have no gift to take to the man of God. What do we have? (NIV) 2. 1 Kings 14:3, Take ten loaves of bread with you, some cakes and a jar of honey, and go to him. He will tell you what will happen to the boy. (NIV) 3. 2 Kings 5:5, By all means, go, the king of Aram replied. I will send a letter to the king of Israel. So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. (NIV) II. Consult the LORD through him; ask him, Will I recover from this illness? A. Even Ben-Hadad had come to realize that Jehovah was Lord and that Elisha was his prophet. 1. Ben-Hadad was asking God for an answer to his question, the answer only being conveyed through Elisha. 2. Had Ben-Hadad also consulted the idols of his people as to his recovery of his health? 2 Kings 8:9, Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. He went in and stood before him, and said, Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, Will I recover from this illness? (NIV)

23 23 I. Hazael went to meet Elisha, taking with him as a gift forty (40) camel-loads of all the finest wares of Damascus. A. This was a substantial gift!... only the best for God s prophet! 1. Elisha must have lived well! 2. It was customary to send gifts to prophets of whom requests for favors were being requested. B. The gift consisted of only the best Damascus had to offer. 1. Ezekiel 27:18, Damascus did business with you because of your many products and great wealth of goods. They offered wine from Helbon, wool from Zahar (NIV) 2. Amos 3:12, This is what the LORD says: As a shepherd rescues from the lion s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric from a couch. (NIV) 3. This verse does not mean the gifts were all that forty (40) camels could carry, but rather that the gifts were borne by forty camels, each carrying less than his potential which parade must have been most ostentatious, impressive. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) II. He went in and stood before him, and said,... A. This shows the respect, deference Ben-Hadad and Hazael had for Elisha.

24 24 III. Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram has sent me to ask, Will I recover from this illness? A. Coffman estimated this event can be dated to the reign of Jehoram/Joram in Judah, about three (3) years before Jehu seized the throne of Israel. (See the New Bible Commentary Revised) B. The Pulpit Commentary states that Ben-Hadad sought to propitiate Elisha by calling him his son, thus indicating the respect he felt for this man of God Kings 6:21, When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them? (NIV) 2. 2 Kings 13:14, Now Elisha had been suffering from the illness from which he died. Jehoash king of Israel went down to see him and wept over him. My father! My father! he cried. The chariots and horsemen of Israel! (NIV) C. Consultation of an oracle was common in the ancient world, especially in regard to health questions, and a clear, definitive answer was rarely given. (See The Pulpit Commentary.) 2 Kings 8:10, Elisha answered, Go and say to him, You will certainly recover. Nevertheless, the LORD has revealed to me that he will in fact die. I. Elisha answered, Go and say to him, You will certainly recover ; but the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die.

25 25 A. From his present illness Ben-Hadad would recover, but he would soon die of another cause, Elisha told Hazael. B. Coffman understood Elisha to be telling Hazael, Go ahead and assure him of his recovery as you have already decided to do but God has revealed to me that he will die. C. McGee speaks of this as a double-talk. 1. McGee wrote, Of course the king will be glad to hear he is going to recover and that s what you are going to tell him, but you won t let him recover. D. Elisha may have been saying, Ben-Hadad will not die as a result of his present illness, but he will die. (See Clarke.) 1. It was Hazael who killed Ben-Hadad. E. The Pulpit Commentary explained this reply to mean, Go, say unto him, Thou shalt surely live; i.e., Go, say unto him, what you have already made up your mind to say what a courier is sure to say, You shall recover However, the Lord has showed me that he shall surely die. 1. Elisha told it the way it was. 2. Hazael just did not tell Ben-Hadad everything Elisha had said. 2 Kings 8:11, He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed. Then the man of God began to weep. (NIV) I. He (Elisha) stared at him (Hazael) with fixed gaze until Hazael felt ashamed.

26 26 A. Elisha revealed to Hazael that he fully knew what Hazael was going to do and this caused Hazael to feel ashamed. 1. However, his feeling ashamed did not cause him to change his wicked plans. 2. Elisha stared at Hazael until he (Hazael) felt embarrassed. a. It could be Haael had already determined to murder Ben-Hadad and he now knew Elisha knew what he planned to do. II. Then the man of God began to weep. A. Elisha wept when God revealed to him all the evil Hazael as king of Syria would do to Israel. 2 Kings 8:12, Why is my lord weeping? asked Hazael. Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites, he answered. You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women. (NIV) I. Why is my lord weeping? asked Hazael. A. Hazael was confused, unable to know why Elisha was crying. 1. Surely he was not crying over the coming death of Ben-Hadad, an enemy king. B. The phrase my lord was used by slaves in addressing their masters or by subjects in addressing their monarchs. (The Pulpit Commentary)

27 Kings 5:3, She said to her mistress, If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy. (NIV) 2. 2 Kings 6:12, None of us, my lord the king, said one of his officers, but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom. (NIV) II. Because I know the harm (evil) you will do to the Israelites, he answered. A. Elisha clearly and in detail answered Hazael s questions. B. Related Scriptures: 1. 2 Kings 10:32-34, In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overpowered the Israelites throughout their territory east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer by the Arnon Gorge through Gilead to Bashan. As for the other events of Jehu s reign, all he did, and all his achievements, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? (NIV) 2. 2 Kings 13:3, 7, So the LORD s anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben- Hadad his son. Nothing had been left of the army of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust at threshing time. (NIV)

28 28 III. You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women. A. The atrocities of oriental warfare were horrible. 1. Psalm 137:9, Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks. (NIV) 2. Isaiah 13:15-16, 18, Whoever is captured will be thrust through; all who are caught will fall by the sword. Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be looted and their wives violated. Their bows will strike down the young men; they will have no mercy on infants, nor will they look with compassion on children. (NIV) 3. Hosea 10:14, the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be devastated as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children. (NIV) 4. Nehemiah 3:10, Adjoining this, Jedaiah son of Harumaph made repairs opposite his house, and Hattush son of Hashabneiah made repairs next to him. (NIV) 5. Amos 1:13, This is what the LORD says: For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not relent. Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders, (NIV) 6. 2 Kings 10:32-33, In those days the LORD began to reduce the size of Israel. Hazael overpowered the

29 29 Israelites throughout their territory east of the Jordan in all the land of Gilead (the region of Gad, Reuben and Manasseh), from Aroer by the Arnon Gorge through Gilead to Bashan. (NIV) 7. 2 Kings 13:3-7, So the LORD s anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben- Hadad his son. Then Jehoahaz sought the LORD s favor, and the LORD listened to him, for he saw how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. The LORD provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before. But they did not turn away from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit; they continued in them. Also, the Asherah pole remained standing in Samaria. Nothing had been left of the army of Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like the dust at threshing time. (NIV) 8. Amos 1:3-4, This is what the LORD says: For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent. Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth, I will send fire on the house of Hazael that will consume the fortresses of Ben- Hadad. (NIV) 2 Kings 8:13, Hazael said, How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat? The LORD has shown me that you will become king of Aram, answered Elisha. (NIV)

30 30 I. Hazael said, How could your servant, a mere dog, accomplish such a feat? A. Hazael regarded these wicked feats as admirable accomplishments, nothing of which to be ashamed. B. Coffman suggested that Hazael s comparing himself to a dog was slandering, maligning the dog. C. The prophet knew by divine revelation what Hazael would do and it caused Elisha to cry! 1. It is more important what we do than what we say! 2. Talk is cheap! 3. Often it is very difficult to see any connection between what a person says and what he does! D. Clarke understood this verse to mean that Hazael was delighted at the prospect of his becoming king of Syria and may have wondered how such a person as he could ever become so powerful. 1. In Scripture dogs are regarded as despicable rather than cruel animals. (Clarke) 2. Dog was a word of extreme contempt. a. 1 Samuel 24:14, Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? (NIV) b. 2 Samuel 16:9, Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, Why should this dead dog

31 31 curse my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off his head. (NIV) 3. Hazael speaks of himself as a dog in view of his humble position as the king s domestic servant. E. The Pulpit Commentary states the Septuagint rendering of this verse is correct; viz., 1. But what is thy servant, this dog, that he should do so great a thing? II. The Lord has shown me that you will become king of Aram, answered Elisha. A. Some take this pronouncement to be Elisha s way of influencing Aramean politics. (See Long.) B. Long suggested Elisha, at God s bidding, was raising up another adversary for wicked Israel. C. Elisha was also instrumental in Jehu s being anointed king over Israel. (See Long.) 1. 2 Kings 9:1-13, The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of olive oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead. When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room. Then take the flask and pour the oil on his head and declare, This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel. Then open the door and run; don t delay! So the young prophet went

32 32 to Ramoth Gilead. When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. I have a message for you, commander, he said. For which of us? asked Jehu. For you, commander, he replied. Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu s head and declared, This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I anoint you king over the LORD s people Israel. You are to destroy the house of Ahab your master, and I will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all the LORD s servants shed by Jezebel. The whole house of Ahab will perish. I will cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel slave or free. I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha son of Ahijah. As for Jezebel, dogs will devour her on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and no one will bury her. Then he opened the door and ran. When Jehu went out to his fellow officers, one of them asked him, Is everything all right? Why did this maniac come to you? You know the man and the sort of things he says, Jehu replied. That s not true! they said. Tell us. Jehu said, Here is what he told me: This is what the LORD says: I anoint you king over Israel. They quickly took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, Jehu is king! (NIV) D. Both Hazael and Jehu would wield the sword of God against Israel. (Long) 1. 1 Kings 19:15-17, The LORD said to him, Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king

33 33 over Aram. Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. (NIV) 2. 2 Kings 8:11-12, He stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed. Then the man of God began to weep. Why is my lord weeping? asked Hazael. Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites, he answered. You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women. (NIV) 3. 2 Kings 13:3, 22, So the LORD s anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben- Hadad his son. So the LORD s anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son. (NIV) E. Hazael is enticed by the word of the prophet to eliminate his master Ben-Hadad and in this way is anointed king of Aram. (Long) F. God had commanded Elijah at Horeb to anoint Hazael king of Syria and it may have been that this was here done through Elijah s servant, Elisha Kings 19:15, The LORD said to him, Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of

34 34 Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. (NIV) 2 Kings 8:14, Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his.master. When Ben-Hadad asked, What did Elisha say to you? Hazael replied, He told me that you would certainly recover. (NIV) I. Then Hazael left Elisha and returned to his master. A. Hazael, at this point, did as was expected of him. II. When Ben-Hadad asked, What did Elisha say to you? A. That is, What did Elisha say in answer to my question, viz., 1. Will I recover from my present illness? III. Hazael replied, He told me that you would certainly recover. A. Hazael lied to Ben-Hadad in this matter just as Elisha said he would. B. Had Hazael repeated the whole of Elisha s answer Say unto him, Thou shalt surely recover; howbeit the Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die Ben-Hadad might have been puzzled, but he would not have been deceived. (The Pulpit Commentary) 2 Kings 8:15, But the next day he took a thick cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the king s face, so that he died. Then Hazael succeeded him as king. (NIV)

35 35 I. But the next day he took a thick cloth (coverlet, hairy as woolen cloth) soaked it in water and spread it over the king s face, so that he died. A. Did Ben-Hadad recover of his illness by the next day?... or did Elisha mean he would have recovered if he had lived longer? B. Hazael suffocated, smothered Ben-Hadad. 1. The exact type of coverlet or thick cloth used is not defined and is immaterial because, whatever they were, they were adequate for the purpose for which they were used. 2. The soaking of the cloth or pillow would fill the air space and make it a more lethal weapon. a. 1 Samuel 19:13, Then Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed, covering it with a garment and putting some goats hair at the head. (NIV) C. Hazael certainly did not wait long, just the next day, to murder Ben-Hadad. II. Then Hazael succeeded him as king. A. Hazael may now be king, but he was still a dog!... definitely a dog!

36 36 Jehoram King of Judah 2 Kings 8:16, In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. (NIV) I. In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. A. The historical line now goes from Israel to Judah because the fortunes of the two kingdoms are intertwined. (Long) B. The two houses (Israel and Judah) have been united in marriage, and Ahaziah, the son of Jehoram of Judah, will also experience Yahweh s wrath at the hands of Jehu. (Long) 1. 2 Kings 9:14-29, So Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, conspired against Joram. (Now Joram and all Israel had been defending Ramoth Gilead against Hazael king of Aram, but King Joram had returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds the Arameans had inflicted on him in the battle with Hazael king of Aram.) Jehu said, If you desire to make me king, don t let anyone slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel. Then he got into his chariot and rode to Jezreel, because Joram was resting there and Ahaziah king of Judah had gone down to see him. When the lookout standing on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu s troops approaching, he called out, I see some troops coming. Get a horseman, Joram ordered. Send him to meet them and ask, Do you come in peace? The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, This

37 37 is what the king says: Do you come in peace? What do you have to do with peace? Jehu replied. Fall in behind me. The lookout reported, The messenger has reached them, but he isn t coming back. So the king sent out a second horseman. When he came to them he said, This is what the king says: Do you come in peace? Jehu replied, What do you have to do with peace? Fall in behind me. The lookout reported, He has reached them, but he isn t coming back either. The driving is like that of Jehu son of Nimshi he drives like a maniac. Hitch up my chariot, Joram ordered. And when it was hitched up, Joram king of Israel and Ahaziah king of Judah rode out, each in his own chariot, to meet Jehu. They met him at the plot of ground that had belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. When Joram saw Jehu he asked, Have you come in peace, Jehu? How can there be peace, Jehu replied, as long as all the idolatry and witchcraft of your mother Jezebel abound? Joram turned about and fled, calling out to Ahaziah, Treachery, Ahaziah! Then Jehu drew his bow and shot Joram between the shoulders. The arrow pierced his heart and he slumped down in his chariot. Jehu said to Bidkar, his chariot officer, Pick him up and throw him on the field that belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite. Remember how you and I were riding together in chariots behind Ahab his father when the LORD spoke this prophecy against him: Yesterday I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons, declares the LORD, and I will surely make you pay for it on this plot of ground, declares the LORD. Now then, pick him up and throw him on that plot, in accordance with the word of the LORD. When Ahaziah king of Judah saw what

38 38 had happened, he fled up the road to Beth Haggan. Jehu chased him, shouting, Kill him too! They wounded him in his chariot on the way up to Gur near Ibleam, but he escaped to Megiddo and died there. His servants took him by chariot to Jerusalem and buried him with his ancestors in his tomb in the City of David. (In the eleventh year of Joram son of Ahab, Ahaziah had become king of Judah.) (NIV) 2. The faithfulness of both Israel and Judah at this time was at a very low level indeed. (See Coffman.) Note: Coffman stated that Joram is merely the abbreviation of Jehoram. a. Jehoram king of Judah was a terribly wicked man. i. 2 Chronicles 21:4-20, When Jehoram established himself firmly over his father s kingdom, he put all his brothers to the sword along with some of the officials of Israel. Jehoram was thirtytwo years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. Nevertheless, because of the covenant the LORD had made with David, the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever. In the time

39 39 of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. So Jehoram went there with his officers and all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night. To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time, because Jehoram had forsaken the LORD, the God of his ancestors. He had also built high places on the hills of Judah and had caused the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves and had led Judah astray. Jehoram received a letter from Elijah the prophet, which said: This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: You have not followed the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or of Asa king of Judah. But you have followed the ways of the kings of Israel, and you have led Judah and the people of Jerusalem to prostitute themselves, just as the house of Ahab did. You have also murdered your own brothers, members of your own family, men who were better than you. So now the LORD is about to strike your people, your sons, your wives and everything that is yours, with a heavy blow. You yourself will be very ill with a lingering disease of the bowels, until the disease causes your bowels to come out. The LORD aroused against Jehoram the hostility of the Philistines and of the Arabs who lived near the Cushites. They attacked Judah,