II Kings Chapter 8
Please read: II Kings 8 –
There is some question as to the placement of this chapter because the servant of Elisha that is speaking to the king of Israel is Gehazi, the same man who was cursed with leprosy. Gehazi had wrongfully pursued Naaman to take gifts that Elisha had turned down. You’ll find that account in chapter 5. It just seems like the king would not be talking to a man covered in leprosy. But the timing is not important in this case. What is important is to understand the respect and notoriety that Elisha had throughout the land. The people had seen many miracles at his hand, and they knew that Elisha had miraculously escaped death several times. The king was now fascinated with this man called Elisha.
The king was not the only king fascinated with the prophet Elisha. The king of Syria, Ben-hadad, who had previously tried to kill Elisha now wanted his services to learn if he would die or recover from his illness. He sent one of his servants to Elisha to pose the question. He didn’t send him empty-handed though, he sent him with a ridiculous number of gifts to help procure the answer he was looking for. We know that Elisha did not accept bribery gifts for doing the work of the LORD. And what Elisha told this servant was so astoundingly scary that it made him weep.
Elisha had told him to tell the king of Syria that he would recover. But there was more to the story. Elisha stood looking at this servant in a dead stare as the LORD revealed to him what would happen. Elisha saw things that no man wants to see. The Bible says that when Elisha realized he had been staring at this man he was a bit embarrassed, but then he began to weep. These were not tears for a king who would die. Elisha shed tears for the horrible things the next king of Syria, the man standing before him, would do to the people of Israel.
And then the last part of the chapter picks up with a historical record of the kings of the divided kingdom. And this part can be confusing because there were kings with the same name.
Let's Reflect
1. According to verse 1 what was one of the great miracles of Elisha that Gehazi told the king about?
2. Gehazi told the king how Elisha had warned the Shumanite woman (chapter 4) to leave because a famine was coming. This again was a fascinating story for the king because Elisha told her to do this prior to the famine ever happening. Where did the woman reside while there was famine in Israel?
3. The king rewarded this woman with something. What was it?
4. Elisha went to Damascus in the country of Syria. When the king heard that Elisha was there he sent his servant to ask if he was going to die from his illness or recover. What was the name of the servant sent to speak with Elisha?
5. How many camels were sent with Hazael laden with gifts for Elisha?
6. Some might say that Elisha should not have told Hazael what was going to happen, that he set the whole evil thing in motion. But we must remember that God knows the heart of each man and everyone has a choice to do what is right or wrong. What did Hazael do to the king of Syria?
7. Verses 16-29 will be mostly speaking of the kings of Judah, the southern kingdom. But for reference of time we read who was in power in the northern kingdom. The first thing you must keep in mind in understanding these verses is that there were 2 kings named Jehoram and that name was often shortened to Joram. So there was a king called Joram in Israel (the son of Ahab) and there was a king called Jehoram or Joram that was king in Judah (the son of Jehoshaphat). The Jehoram of the southern kingdom married the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. As you can imagine her influence turned the king of the Judah against the LORD.
Joram, the king of Judah had died and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place. The point of these verses is to let us know that these 2 kings worked together (Ahaziah and Joram) to go and fight the king of Syria. That king was Hazael. What happened to the king of the northern kingdom, Joram, in this attack against Syria?
