2 Kings 8

CHAPTERS 810THEME: Judgment of the wickedThe people of Israel soon forgot God’s marvelous deliverance and returned to their sin. So again they suffer the judgment of a famine.

2 Kings 8:1

ELISHA’S PREDICTION OF FAMINEElisha told the Shunammite woman to leave the land and go to another place because there was going to be a seven-year famine in the land. She believed and obeyed Elisha. She took her household into the land of the Philistines and lived there during the period of the famine. The famine, once again, was a judgment of God upon the northern kingdom. Frankly I believe that the different tragedies that have struck our land in recent years have been a warning to our nation. The earthquakes, hurricanes, storms, and other tragedies that have swept across our land have, I think, been warnings from God to stop and think and change our ways.

2 Kings 8:3

THE SHUNAMMITE’S LAND RESTOREDWhen the famine was over and the Shunammite woman returned to her former home, she apparently found others living on her land. At the same time, in God’s providence, the king was inquiring about some of the lesser known acts of the prophet Elisha, and Gehazi was telling him about Elisha raising the Shunammite woman’s son from the dead. The king made a ruling that her property was to be restored to her as well as all the fruit of the land.

2 Kings 8:7

ELISHA PREDICTS HAZAEL’S TREASONHere is another incident in the life of Elisha that is quite remarkable. You will recall that the king of Syria had attempted to capture Elisha and slay him. But now the king is an old man, and he is sick. The king thought that Elisha would restore him to health. In view of the fact that his own life might hang in the hands of Elisha, of course the king would not touch one hair of his head.

2 Kings 8:8

Hazael went to meet Elisha. He is the captain of Ben-hadad’s hosts. There is a reference to him in 1Ki_19:15 which says, “And the LORD said unto him [Elijah], Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.” So Hazael had been anointed king many years earlier; he is just waiting around for old Ben-hadad to die. You can well understand that it would be very difficult for the king’s successorwhether it be a son, a general, or someone elseto shed very many tears at his funeral because it was his funeral that would bring his successor to power. So Hazael went out to meet Elisha, but I don’t think he went with a great deal of enthusiasm. He took an impressive gift to Elisha, which was from the king.

2 Kings 8:9

Notice the message that Elisha gave: “You will surely live, but you won’t live.” That sounds like double-talk. Can’t you just see Hazael when he hears that the king is going to die? A smirk comes over his face, and then a smile because he is going to be king.

2 Kings 8:11

Elisha’s knowing eyes bored into him until Hazael felt embarrassed. Then Elisha began to weep.

2 Kings 8:12

Hazael is amazed, “Why weepeth my lord? Why are you weeping about this man who sought your life?” Elisha was not weeping for the king. Elisha loved his people. He loved his God. He loved the service God had given to himhe was a prophet. The heartbreak because of Ben-hadad had been bad enough, but Hazael is going to bring even more heartbreak to the people. Although Elijah had anointed Hazael king, and Hazael professes that he isn’t going to do evil, Elisha knows better.

2 Kings 8:13

I don’t know whether or not he was a dog, but he did it.

2 Kings 8:14

This is what Elisha foresaw. In substance he had said, “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.” The rest of this chapter will be less confusing if you follow along carefully the Chronological Table of the Kings on page 227.

2 Kings 8:16

Now you can see why God doesn’t go for mixed marriages. Although Jehoram was the son of the God-fearing king Jehoshaphat, he married the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and under her evil influence, “he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel.” Now we begin to see that Israel is going downhill as a great nation. Both Edom and Libnah revolted against them. Then Jehoram died, and Ahaziah became the new king of Judah. He joined forces with Joram, king of Israel, to war against the Syrians. Joram was wounded and went back to Jezreel to be healed from the wounds which he suffered at the hands of the Syrians.

2 Kings 8:29

In the next chapter we shall see what happened to him while he was in Jezreel recovering from his wounds.