seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
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,” 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.
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Go, say to him, “You shall certainly recover.” However the LORD has shown me that he will really die: God gave Elisha insight into more than the health of the king of Syria. He also saw the inevitable and ultimately God-ordained political machinations that would unfold.
He set his countenance in a stare… I know the evil that you will do: This was a dramatic, personal confrontation between this prophet and the high official of the king of Syria. Elisha stared at him so because he had prophetic knowledge of future events, and how this man would trouble Israel in the future.
And the man of God wept: God told Elisha more about the coming situation than he wanted to know. He showed the prophet that the messenger of the king (Hazael), after he took the throne from the present king of Syria, would do evil to the children of Israel.
But what is your servant — a dog, that he should do this gross thing: Perhaps Hazael had planned this assassination and simply acted ignorant at Elisha’s announcement. Perhaps he had not yet planned it, but did not know the evil capabilities in his own heart.
Either way, his offense was inappropriate. He should have taken this warning as an opportunity to confront himself and to do right, instead of turning an accusation back upon Elisha.
“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)
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I'm surprised that Syria [Aram] is so important in the history of Israel. I don't know why I'm surprised. After all, I didn't know that Israel was split and Judah had their own king too. I wish the preachers taught the whole Bible, instead of the pretty stories, or the sugar-coated horror stories.
Ok... So, Ben-Hadad got sick. He got so sick; he was afraid he was going to die. He sent one of the High Court Officials, Hazael, to ask Elisha if he would die.
Isn't it interesting, out of all the people the king of Syria could send on that mission, he sent the one man who was going to murder him.
Do you think Hazael knew he was going to murder Ben-Hadad? Do you think Elisha read the man's thoughts instead of having a vision from God? Did Elisha have the ability to see into the man's sole? Or, did God have a plan and Elisha was the key to planting the murder plot in Hazael's subconscious?
The commentary says that Hazael could have changed his mind. The commentary says that Elisha warned Hazael of the oncoming struggle and Hazael could have decided to "do the right thing".
But then again.... God made a donkey and the wind talk, so why does the commentary insist that Hazael could have changed the outcome it was actually God's plan.
If God wants Ben-Hadad gone because of the way Syria treated Israel, wouldn't he put Hazael in place to do it? Why does the commentary say that Hazael had control of the outcome?
Check out verse 12. Elisha warned Hazael of the horror the Israelites would suffer when Hazael became king. The children and pregnant women would pay. Slicing a baby out of a pregnant woman is outrageous. Could Hazael have stopped that from happening if he chose "to do the right thing"?
In the headlines recently, Basar Assad, has been a horrible man. Did Assad order the bashing of children and the murder of babies in the womb?
Hazael had a choice, according to the commentary.
Did Hazael really have a choice?
Could Hazael just take the knowledge Elisha shared and change the outcome?
Could Hazael actually be a good man?
Did Hazael really want to throw that wet towel over Ben-Hadad's face?
Remember now, Israel was not worshipping God at this point. Ahab had them worshipping in his temples to keep production up around the Jewish holidays, and to make Jezebel happy.
Was Hazael just a tool in God's plan to bring the Israelites back?
Did Hazael have to murder Ben-Hadad?
