#498 I Know, You Would Never Stoop So Low

Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the Lord hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.

2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.

4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.

5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.

6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.

7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.

8 And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?

10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou mayest certainly recover: howbeit the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die.

11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept.

12 And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child.

13 And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.

14 So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely recover.

15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.

16 And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Je hoshaphat king of Judah began to reign.

17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.

18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.

19 Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to give him alway a light, and to his children.

20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.

21 So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their tents.

22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time.

23 And the rest of the acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?

24 And Joram slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah begin to reign.

26 Two and twenty years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri king of Israel.

27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house of Ahab.

28 And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war against Hazael king of Syria in Ramothgilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.

29 And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. 2 Kings 8 KJV

We never know when it is that we may be attending to angels, or that we may be sending them away, but this woman new before this dispensation of grace that when you have done it unto the least, you have done it unto God. Elisha is renown but like the plague. He is not always the bearer of good news and if he is telling this woman to go away for 7 years, then it is a mercy, a rapture of a saint before the certain judgment of this place. They had received so much relief from such great misery in the preceding chapters, but still had not reformed. This woman has returned and apparently in her absence someone else has come to hold her land, but at this same hour of her journey to reclaim it, so the king is speaking to Gehazi. Now some argue that this reflects back to a time before his leprosy, for they think, what king would speak to a leper. On the other hand the king here may act the priest for lack of knowledge, nor for liberty. It is also held, but not proven in Jewish tradition that Gehazi and his sons were of the 4 lepers who went into the camp. I could see him hiding treasures, but then having suffered Laaman's infirmity for his lie to him about the one who represented the voice of God, and against the least it is reckoned unto God, so it must be when he misrepresented His prophet. Is it possible that Gehazi has like the child who has been nurtured and admonished in the Lord, returned to the Lord? He was a witness to much, and when the lepers in the camp realized that this was a thing that needed to be shared, they ran back to the city. They told the good news, first to one and then it spread throughout. Maybe this has caused the king's admiration and a desire to here the acts of Elisha from the mouth of his servant. Maybe, but at any rate, he hears the testimony of the child who was raised from the dead at the time of the woman's approaching, and the king is quick to give her back what is hers, to act on her behalf as just. She left because of the God's warning through the prophet, so what good would it do any king to resist her request?

Now, the king of Syria is ill, but when he knows the oracle of God is near, he sends a gift to him to bring word. Is my condition fatal? No, the condition is curable, but you will die anyway. Tell him this

when you see him, but there is a long silence, a piercing stare, not at the face but deep into the soul. God has shown Elisha something that he does not want to see, and his eyes cannot hide the sorrow. A tear is a tell that always begs an explanation. Why do you cry? Because God has shown me what you will do to my people. You will be king of Syria. Now if God has said anything, we know from watching David's patient assent to the throne, that you do not have to act in malice, and the prophet does not here encourage such deceit. He has no reason to, for he knows that the punishment will be from God, but his heart hurts for Israel. Hazael, according to his assessment of himself, is not capable of this, this is beneath him. There is not one righteous the Bible claims, but men reject the charge of their capacity, their utter depravity. Spurgeon puts all of this so well in these few paragraphs:

Our ignorance of the depravity of our own hearts is a startling fact. Hazael did not believe that he was bad enough to do any of the things here anticipated… I appeal to you, Christian men and women, if anyone had told you that you would have loved your Savior so little as you have done; if any prophet had told you, in the hour of your conversion, that you would have served him so feebly as you have done, would you have believed it!” (Spurgeon)

As it turned out, God knew the actions of Hazael, but He did not make Hazael do it. “It was absolutely foretold that Hazael would be king of Syria. The prophet knew the fact right well, and he clearly descried the means; else, why should he look into Hazael’s face, and weep? God foreknew the mischief that he would do when he came to the throne; yet that foreknowledge did not in the least degree interfere with his free agency.” (Spurgeon)

“The predestination of God does not destroy the free agency of man, or lighten the responsibility of the sinner. It is true, in the matter of salvation, when God comes to save, his free grace prevails over our free agency, and leads the will in glorious captivity to the obedience of faith. But in sinning, man is free, – free in the widest sense of the term, never being compelled to do any evil deed, but being left to follow the turbulent passions of his own corrupt heart, and carry out the prevailing tendencies of his own depraved nature.” (Spurgeon)

Then sadly at the end of this passage we see the fruit of an unequal yoke between those who have feared God and those who have been openly apostate. Judah has followed in the path of Israel rather than assist her reformation. Edom has revolted and a portion of Judah has removed itself in disgust, one for the honor of heritage or independence, the other being Libnah, maybe for the honor of God. What a hard book so far, and it is hard not to despair, I think about these pages being pressed over this present time, and wonder where we would even go? It is good to cry, but one cannot stay in such despair as that would be unbelief, as any other atheism, that it is too sad for there to be a God, or like Hazael, it is beneath me. Lord, please save me.

0 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ Revelation 3: 10-13