2 Kings 8 (Part 2) Bible Study (Ben-hadad's Murder/Jehoram & Ahaziah Reign) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Second Kings chapter eight, and we are completing this chapter this evening as we begin in verse seven. And I know that, we just prayed, but I would love for us to pray again. Will you join me in that? Bow your hearts with me, please. Lord, we look to you tonight.

Again, thankful that you have brought us into this new year. Thank you for being merciful. Merciful to this nation, merciful to us as individuals, merciful to this church and every church represented here. Lord, we know that this study can easily become a stale service, But, Lord, we think of the power of the Holy Spirit even now. What's available to us?

How you can make this moment alive and powerful? We think of what you said of the Messiah in Isaiah 50, where we're told there that he received the tongue of those who are taught, that he may sustain with a word him who is weary. We ask, Lord, that this Bible study would do just that. It would sustain us. It would infuse a grace in our hearts so that we could with great strength run this race into 2025.

So, Lord, we pray for a special blessing upon this time and that you would receive maximum glory and praise. Oh, Lord, we wanna fall deeper in love with Jesus. We want to be more godly, more in tune with your Holy Spirit. We wanna be more aware of this grace and the knowledge of the person of Jesus Christ. We ask these things and commit them into your hands, believing that you'll answer speedily.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Well, I can tell you ahead of even reading this passage why this will be a unique bible study as we've been looking closely at the life and the ministry of this man of God named Elisha. Because as we've been exploring every episode that's been preserved for us in this book, they all took place within the boundaries of the nation of Israel.

But what you and I are gonna learn right away is that what this episode is about is yes, another miracle, you can categorize it as a supernatural thing, but it's going to happen in an unlikely place. Not Samaria, not any other city or town within the Kingdom Of Israel, but in Damascus. We are going to find Elisha within enemy territory. And there's a reason for that. So let's read this section.

We're gonna complete the chapter, but let's read the section that deals with that particular scene and then we will dissect it as we always do. So let's begin in second Kings eight seven. Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben Hadad, the king of Syria, was sick. And when it was told him, the man of God has come here, the king said to Hazael, take a present with you and go to meet the man of God and inquire of the Lord through him saying, shall I recover from this sickness?

So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, 40 camels loads. When he came and stood before me, he said, your son Ben Hadad, king of Syria, has sent me to you saying, shall I recover from this sickness? And Elisha said to him, go, say to him, you shall certainly recover, but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die. And he fixed his gaze and stared at him until he was embarrassed, and the man of God wept. Let's stop here.

I I was planning to read on, but I think this suffices, before we continue. Here's my first question for us, and I'm actually inviting you to answer it as long as your answer is not too lengthy. Why is Elisha in Damascus? Is there any idea? And let me help with the potential answers here.

We can rule out the option that Elisha is here to see Benadad, the king of Syria. Why? Because based on what we read, it looks like Benadad learned of Elisha's arrival and sought him out. Right? So this is not a planned meeting between the prophet, the man of God, and the king of Syria.

So with that now being dismissed, what other clues might we have for why Elisha is here? Who is he here for? What is he here to do? Any ideas? And while you guys are thinking about that oh, please guys, if you can help me with that buzzing, I know all it takes is a little button and it's there.

No, not yet. There. Okay. There it is. Any idea?

It's okay. You can guess if you're not certain. Any idea why Elisha is at Damascus? No idea? Okay.

He's there to do something. Yes. A miracle. You can you can say it's a miracle. A miracle is going to happen.

Any idea? That's a good guess. Well, we don't have to guess, because the Bible provides us a clear answer. However, it's going to require us to go back to another book to see the answer. And the book is the neighboring book, first Kings chapter 19.

This is when Elijah was refreshed and recommissioned by the Lord after he was rescued from this episode of spiritual depression. We remember we study that in-depth. Right? So the Lord speaks to Elijah and he gives him a threefold command following this recovery. Look at first Kings 19 beginning in verse 15.

And the Lord said to him, go return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. And Jehu, the son of Nimshi, you shall anoint to be king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shephat, of Abel Meholah, you shall anoint to be the prophet in your place. So we see the threefold command.

Right? He is supposed to anoint three separate individuals. A new king in Syria, a new king in Israel, and his successor, Elisha. Now here's what's so interesting. We are told why Elijah was to set these appointments up and these nominations.

The very next verse. Look at first Kings nineteen seventeen. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. So what's the reason for these men being appointed into these offices? Judgment.

Judgment. God is raising up these two kings and this prophet to take Elijah's place to punish Israel's present and future idolatry. Now here's what's amazing. Out of these three anointings, which one have we seen come to pass? Elisha.

There is no record of Elijah anointing the king of Syria or anointing Jehu to be the king of Israel. Correct? Now this has troubled some Bible students. You can imagine why. Because you're left to believe that Elijah didn't obey the Lord fully, or that he delayed it long enough for Elisha now, who took his place to complete what was not fulfilled.

But, we can say that Elijah did obey, though it's not recorded. That he did in secret without the historian putting it in the Bible, without the Holy Spirit inspiring the historian to put in the Bible, that he did honor what God asked him to do. Which might cause you to ask them why is Elisha, because what we're gonna see this week and next week is that Elisha is gonna anoint the king of Syria and the king of Israel. So if Elijah did it, why does Elisha anoint them? Have we ever seen kings being anointed more than once?

Yes. We've seen David be anointed more than once. We've seen Solomon anointed more than once. So that's a great possibility. But I think there's even a better answer.

Let's suppose that Elijah delayed, anointing these two kings and prioritize anointing Elisha to train him to be his successor. Something happened a couple chapters after first Kings 19 that indicates that the responsibility to anoint the king of Syria and the king of Israel was transferred over to Elisha. First Kings 21. This is when Elijah was called by the Lord to confront Ahab after having Naboth killed for his land. Do you remember that episode?

And Ahab responds in a certain way, and I want you to see it again and notice how the Lord says something quite spectacular. First Kings twenty one twenty eight, and the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite saying, have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he had humbled himself before me, I will not bring the disaster in his days. But in his son's days, I will bring the disaster upon his house. Does it make sense now?

Because of Ahab's repentance, God said, I'm going to suspend this judgment in your days. I'm going to delay it, but I'm gonna bring it about in your son's days. Now who is the king of Israel during Elisha's ministry at that point or at this point rather? Do we remember? Jehoram, who is the son of who?

He's the son of Ahab. So here's how we make sense of this. Because of Ahab's repentance, God, again, postponed the judgment he had planned to carry out. However, after Ahab dies and his son takes his place, Elisha now is commissioned because the judgment is reinstated. And he is going to anoint the king of Syria and the king of Israel so that it can take place.

So in other words, Elisha is in Damascus to anoint Hazael to be the king in order to prepare judgment against the people of Israel. That's why he's in Damascus. And I think there are a couple of lessons that we can learn from this. The first one is this, God delights in averting judgment. God takes deep delight in averting judgment.

I mean, we heard in the opening passage through pastor Daniel Bena when he quoted Micah. He delights to forgive. I think of Ezekiel where it says that he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked should turn from his evil and live. So this is God's heart. Whenever there is a hint of repentance, he is willing to change the judgment that has been designed for that particular sin that's repented of.

But here's what's so beautiful about God. Not only is he willing to delay judgment, like he does on this case, he's willing to cancel it altogether. He's willing to delete it altogether, but the condition for that to take place is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Only embracing the son of God is able to remove every ounce of judgment that has been ascribed to each of us. Only in Christ hiding in him, being clothed in his righteousness do we evade wrath.

He's willing. It's just we have to be willing to repent and to confess and to turn to him. The second truth that we get from this is also very important. He does delight in averting judgment, but that when he does judge, God often will raise up cruel leaders to punish the sins of a people. And this is what we see doing in here.

He appoints these men particularly to chastise his own. And as we're going to see in the coming weeks, the the rising of these two kings is going to unleash waves of devastation against the people of Israel. It's going to be horrific. And to think that this is a unique way that God judges people, is to admit ignorance of the bible, because it's not unique to this episode. God often throughout history has proven that when he wants to bring about judgment to a people, to a nation, he will do so through the hands of a vicious leader or government.

I'm reminded of a verse in Hosea thirteen eleven where Hosea is rehearsing the history of the people of Israel and God speaks to the prophet and says this, I gave you a king in my anger and I took him away in my wrath. Who's he referring to? He's referring to King Saul. And he tells the people, I did give you Saul, but I did so in my anger. Because in your request for a king, you denied me as your king.

And I would say that there's a broader application to that truth that God when he is angry, rightly angry, he will give people a cruel leader. A cruel president, prime minister, dictator, whatever the case may be. And it will ultimately culminate in his final act of judgment in this world. We believe in something, someone known as the antichrist. And when the antichrist does come, leading up to the final events of human history, he will be a government leader that will take over the globe.

And his arrival on the scene, according to second Thessalonians chapter two, is defined for us. We know why this lawless one will come up, why he will be worshiped, why he will dominate everything. And let me read it to you from second Thessalonians two nine and ten. You don't have to go there, but let me read it to you. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved.

So, I mean, there's so many things you can say about that passage, but I I I remember preaching this at Maranatha a few years ago and we use this text to know how we can all be deception proof. If you want to assure yourself that you will never be deceived, love the truth. Love the truth. Not just know the truth, love the truth. Because there are many people who know the truth, but will, with the right pressure, the right price compromise the truth.

It's not enough to know the truth. Many people who are compromising the truth know what the Bible has to say. But it's only when you love the truth, where you are spared from deception. But those who refuse to love the truth, they will eat up everything that the Antichrist has to offer. Especially because he'll back it up with false signs and wonders.

That's not my main point. The main point is this, is that God often again, from the beginning of time to the end of time will raise up certain leaders as a way of giving people over to what they want. You want a God besides me? Then here's somebody who will rule over you and he will treat you accordingly. And so these kings are an act of judgment and it reminds of how God judges in this world.

Well, let's continue to read on. He goes to Damascus. Benadab learns that he is in the area, but he's not aware of this anointing that's gonna take place. Instead, he's preoccupied by his own personal need. It's an urgent need, and he summons Elisha.

Now this should be shocking. Why? Because we've studied Ben Hadad, the king of Syria, more than once in previous studies and every single time we find this king hostile towards the prophet. But his tone is different here in second Kings eight, at least the second part of it. Notice how he refers to the prophet.

What does he call him? Yeah. He says you're the man of God. Right? And then look peek at the end of verse nine for a second.

When Hazael comes to Elisha, he says, your son Ben Hadad king of Syria sent me to you. So not only is Elisha all of a sudden now the man of God, he's also a spiritual father to Ben Hadad. And moreover, what do we have? We have a pagan king inquiring of the true God through his main prophet. Because he asked Hazael to go.

Right? He says, ask and inquire the Lord through him if this sickness is gonna kill me. And so here's what he's confessing by that. That this God, the God of Israel is far superior to all the other gods of Syria. All the other idols that we acknowledge, this God is a true God.

It makes you wonder if the healing of Naaman made an impression on him. But here was my question when I was studying this. Why the change of attitude all of a sudden? Remember, Naaman was healed, that didn't affect him. His army was spared from complete annihilation more than once, that didn't affect him.

What changed all of a sudden? One word, sickness. Sickness. When the goodness of God touched things and people around him, it didn't move him. But the moment his body was afflicted, his tone changed.

You know who has insight about what sickness can do to a man? Satan. Do you remember when he wanted to test Job and he called God to put him through the test? And the first round was what? That his his children, his property, anything and everything besides Job directly was impacted.

And he he didn't curse God. So he makes a reappearance before the throne of God. God praises Job. And what does Satan do? What does he respond with?

Skin for skin. And then he goes on, I've stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh and he will curse you to your face. You know what he's saying? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. It's a whole different game when you touch a person's body, when you afflict them personally. So let's see if this man is really faithful as you say he is. But it goes both ways. Sickness can either provoke hatred towards God or it can drive one to seek favor from him.

Right? And in Benedadt's case, this ailment, whatever it is, healed him of his antagonism towards the Lord and his prophet at least at this time. And so now he he he's attracted to the man of God and he's attracted to the God that he represents and so he he asked for him. But we're left to wonder if Ben Hadad is sincere here. If what he is doing here is about true healing or just physical relief, because you don't get a hint of repentance here, do you?

There is no evidence here that he is wanting to be reconciled to this god. It just seems like he wants to know through prophetic insight if he will continue to live on. And that is not uncommon. You know, if you don't have people who outright opposed to the faith, you know what you'll find? Some who are still drawn to the Lord Jesus for what he offers in the temporal.

I have seen time and time again in the ministry, unbelievers or even nominal Christians who will make a desperate plea for Christ intervention for some earthly issue only when every other option has failed them. And you're saying, well, isn't that good? Well, depends. Because they might be just looking for a way out of something that has nothing to do with their souls, which brings me to this next point. Have you ever noticed something about human nature?

And I have to be careful here because I'm not saying that God is not concerned about these needs, but I have noticed and maybe you share in this observation that people are much more passionate and urgent when it comes to something that's temporal rather than something that is more permanent in their lives. You'll have you'll have much more people willing and asking for healing than for their sins to be eradicated. That's what I'm trying to say. It's it's very rare where you see somebody making a desperate plea for Christ to deliver them from iniquity and bondage and a pattern of breaking God's law, what you will find more than that is people saying, can he provide for me? Can he deliver me from this problem?

Can he solve these relational tensions? Okay. God can do all of that. But I'm afraid Ben Hadad is reflecting what we see in most people. Looking for a cop out and for some kind of divine help only for something that deals with this life and this life alone.

They have that tendency to be delivered from the consequences of sin and not sin itself. Only the Lord knows Benedet's heart. But what we're about to discover as we read that is that God knows every person's heart, including the one that was dispatched to Elisha, this man, this deputy. Let's look at verse 10 again. Hazael comes to him, meets him, ask him if Ben Hadad, king of Syria, will be recovered from the sickness.

And look how Elisha answers in verse 10. And Elisha said to him, go say to him, you shall certainly recover, but the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die. That sounds like a contradiction to me. That sounds quite paradoxal. Yeah.

He he's gonna he's gonna recover, but he's actually gonna die. But it's not as problematic as one might think. If you read it carefully, then you Elisha is trying to convey. What he is saying is, sure, Benadad will recover from the sickness, but he is going to die by another means. And Elisha knows exactly how Benadad is going to die.

Do you know how? He's gonna be assassinated. How Benedet is going to die. Do you know how? He's gonna be assassinated.

Who's the perpetrator? The guy that's standing in front of him. We didn't read that part yet. That's why I chose to stop it there. So Elisha is receiving this prophetic download, if you will.

And Hazael here is standing before him saying, what news do I bring back? He's gonna recover, but he's gonna die. But notice, Elisha doesn't tell him that. Elisha doesn't say exactly how he's gonna die. He just says he's gonna die by another way.

And look at verse 11. Elisha learning about the future and learning about what this man is capable of, fixes his gaze and stares at him until he was embarrassed and the man of God wept. So he just stares at him. Right? And you could just imagine those piercing prophetic eyes, how they burned Hazael's conscience at this moment.

Right? Because we're told he he was embarrassed. Now, you might read that as this is awkward. Like you're not saying anything, you're just staring at me. But it could be that as the prophet is looking at him, this man feels as though he's being exposed.

In other words, Elisha saying what's going to truly happen to the king of Syria, and by looking at him, the way he's looking at him, could be communicating, I know what you're capable of and I actually know what you might really want to do. I know the deepest desires of your heart. And he's he's almost scanning this man. And so he looks at him and he starts weeping. But before we get to the weeping part, are we not reminded of something through this man, this man of God?

God sees everything. God knows everything. There is nothing hidden from his sight. Every move, every motive, every meditation is laid bare before the Lord. And so we even get a glimpse in this that the Lord registers and takes note of it all.

And so there is nothing that we can conceal from. There's nothing that we can dodge. There's nothing that we can hide and this is supposed to remind us of that. You know, I think a lot of Christians are familiar with, Hebrews four twelve. Right?

That that famous passage that talks about the power of the Word of God. That it is what? It is living. It is active. It is sharper than any two edged sword.

Piercing to the division of soul and spirit. And there are many many people who are familiar with Hebrews four fourteen and fifteen that talks about how we have this great high priest who enters into the heavens and because he is such a great high priest, he sympathizes with our weaknesses. Right? People know those verses by heart. But I'm afraid most people don't know the verse tucked between those two.

So you have Hebrews four twelve about the power, the sharpness, the position of of God's word. Hebrews four fourteen and fifteen, this great high priest. What about Hebrews four thirteen? This is not this is not one that's often memorized in Sunday school, but let's go there and see it. Hebrews four thirteen, it's probably already behind me.

What does the Lord say there? And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. No wonder it's not memorized. People like to skip over this one. God sees everything.

That's what it means to live in the fear of God, by the way, at least partly. I know God is here. I know God hears. I know God sees. So I can't get away with anything.

That's to live as a God fearing man or God fearing woman, in part. But I love to ask these questions because the Bible is not meant to be quoted like fortune cookies, where you take one verse and, you know, there's a context. What's the context of this? You go from talking about the word of God, to God seeing and knowing everything, to this great high priest. Right?

And I think this is this is the context. After explaining how sharp the Word of God is, how precise it is to discerning the thoughts and the intents of the heart. We go to verse 13 now where the Holy Spirit tells us, God like his word is perfect in his judgment. He is fully aware. He he he scans perfectly and no one can dispute him.

He evaluates without anybody being able to protest him. So just like his word, the God of the word is accurate in his assessment and no one no one can evade his evaluation. And so you read about the word of God, then you realize the word of God is yes, this powerful, but it also reflects the God of the word and it's supposed to overwhelm you by the way. It's supposed to make you feel, he knows everything. That's the point.

Only for you not to be overcome by despair to the point where you're crushed and condemnation, within in verse 14 now we're told about this great high priest. Do you get it now? He knows everything. He sees everything. We're all doomed then.

But listen, there's a great high priest who's able to sympathize with our weakness. And then you go to Hebrews four sixteen where we're told that we now because of this high priest, though God sees and knows everything, gives us the confidence to approach the throne of grace. Ain't that wonderful? Even in that, yes, he sees everything, he knows everything. That can terrify you and it should, but you're relieved of that terror when you realize Christ's forgiveness in your life.

And how he mediates on your behalf. And how because of that now despite anything that you have done, you are covered in his blood and you can boldly approach God. And you come to him at any point, anytime, even on that final day. So this man is about to learn that God sees everything and it's supposed to remind us that God sees everything. He hasn't changed.

But, oh, if you're if you're in Christ, that shouldn't bother you a bit. Because in your account, you have Christ perfection. So what happens? The man of God wept. Why did he weep?

Because he's now about to disclose the potential evil that this fellow is about to commit in the near future. But I I don't want to go there right now. I want to just look at Elisha the man. Elisha was faithful in preaching the whole counsel of God. Was he not?

He preached judgment when he needed to preach judgment. However, we've seen continually how he was a man of deep compassion. Haven't we seen that over and over? Especially when he deals with widows, there's so much compassion in his heart. And that compassion continues on here.

How so? Because when he was asked let's look here at verse 12. Hazael said, why does my lord weep? He answered, because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant woman.

So what is he weeping about? He's weeping about the fate of his people Israel. He is overcome with grief in the realization that though the people have been idolatrous, though they've been apostate, they are going to be severely judged and this broke this man's heart. And here's why I moved. People might be moved by the prophetic knowledge that Elisha had.

People might be impressed by how he was bold despite the 40 camel loads of gifts. He said, this is what God said. Those are all wonderful things, but here's what I moved by. Elisha was broken about souls. Elisha was overcome in the realization of the faith of sinners.

After all those years of ministry, we're coming near the end of Elisha's ministry. He did not become jaded. He didn't become too familiar. He didn't lose his sensitivity to the eternality of things. The severity of sin.

The goodness of God. His heart was still tender. And I read that earlier tonight I thought to myself, Lord, keep my heart soft towards the lost. Let not frustration with sinners, let not disappointment caused by sinners ever cause me to become calloused. Or just, okay, it's just another number.

Okay. Just in the No. No. No. No.

To really feel what you feel about people. And the way that you and I protect our hearts from becoming cold in that area is by staying connected to the Lord in communion. Only communion with the Lord and his word and his presence will keep your heart warm towards those who don't know the Lord, towards even the church. If you don't have Christ's heart beating in this chest of yours, you'll become very very very very jaded. Not just towards sinners but even towards the people of God.

But Elisha was not there. Elisha was sensitive. He still could have tears streaming down his face because he still had God's heartbeat even after all these years. This made me want to pray, Lord, I I want that kind of heart for the rest of my life. I never want to preach with ice covering my heart.

I never wanna counsel with an indifference. I never wanna treat people or look at them as numbers. I wanna see them as you see them, each one by name, created in your image, loved by you. You shed your blood for them. Help me see them as you see them.

That's what I find in this mighty man of God. And so he begins to cry when he sees in his mind's eye what's about to happen. How does this man respond? Let's look at verse 13. And Hazael said, what is your servant who is but a dog that he should do this great thing?

Now how would you interpret Hazael's response? Here's I think here's what I think most people understand it to mean. That he was so repulsed by this prophecy. He was so almost offended. In other words, you can almost translate in this way.

Am I a moral monster that I would commit such heinous things? Right? Is that how most people would understand it? That's not what he is saying. That's not what he is saying at all actually.

And we have two main reasons for that. One, notice here that he refers himself as a dog. Look again in verse 13. He says, what is your servant who is but a dog? Who is but a dog?

Now when we think of dog, we think of, you know, as as a as a term to kind of denote insensitivity or cruelty or selfishness or animalistic kind of behavior, but that's not what he's saying. In different context, it can simply mean one of lowly position or status. One who is inferior in position. Right? He says, who who am I?

I'm but a dog. And the reason why we can say that is because of how Elisha answers him. What does Elisha say in response? He says, I'm but a dog that I should do this great thing. Elisha answered, the Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.

So what he's saying essentially is, no, you're gonna be able to do this because you're gonna be king next. So that confirms that Hazael's answer is not so much about being offended, he's actually perplexed. You're saying I'm gonna do this. You're saying that I'm gonna have this kind of military conquest and I'm telling you I'm but a dog in comparison to a king. And if he was talking about his moral integrity, you would think that Elisha would answer with, no, no, I'll tell you actually, you're actually you're corrupt, you're evil, this or that.

No, no, no. Elisha's not it's gonna happen because you're gonna become king. You're gonna have you're gonna attain the authority and the power to be able to execute these things. So then we have to now see this in a different light. This is not this man being offended.

This is the man actually, you ready for this? Being humbled. He's being humbled. So he hears this great victory and instead of like, as you just probably reacted when you heard the details of what he was gonna do, instead of recoiling, he goes, I can't do that. I'm but a dog.

So then what are you supposed to see? You're supposed to see just how vile this man is. You're supposed to see the depths of his corruption. He's not humbled because of his moral depravity. He's humbled because he can't imagine him being able to do this.

And when he says, I'm but a dog, and then he goes on to add, who would do this great thing, he's not talking about this great thing as though this great act of evil. He's thinking of it as a positive thing. I'm going to be able to commit this great thing, do this great thing, achieve this great thing. So when you see it that way then, you get different insight. Because the way some people most people interpret that is, see just like Hazael, you do not know the potential of your sinfulness.

Right? And they might connect it with Peter who who refused to believe that he could deny Christ. I don't think there's a text to use that for. Instead, what you're supposed to see in this is that this man proves to us that so many people are willing to commit great evils when the right opportunity comes. That's the lesson.

You know, some people think and believe that only when somebody's promoted to a certain position of power or they acquire a level of resources that makes them powerful, that's what corrupts people and it can. But I am of those who believe that when or if somebody attains that position or that status or that kind of influence, it doesn't corrupt them. It just exposes the corruption that was in them all along. And you've probably seen some of those people in your life. Where where for the longest time they seem calm, they seem sensitive, they seem understanding, and the moment they climb the certain ladder, even within the church, something changes.

Something changes. Something changes in their outlook, something changes in their attitude, something changes in how they treat people. Why? Did the position corrupt them? It could, but oftentimes it just reveals what was in their hearts all along.

And I believe that's the case here. Hazael had this in his heart and it would ultimately manifest when he occupied the throne. And the corruption of Hazael will begin to manifest in the next couple of verses. What happens? Let's read in verse 14.

Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, what did Elisha say to you? And he answered, he told me that you would certainly recover. But the next day, he took the bed cloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face till he died. And Hazael became king in his place. You know what?

Some people might believe that Hazael committed this crime because it was predicted by Elisha. Did Elisha predict that this would happen? No. What did he tell this man? He said that, yeah, he will recover but he will certainly die.

He didn't tell him how he was gonna die. So this isn't Hazael mustering up the courage to do this because he thought, well it's been prophesied that I'd be the next king through assassination, so I'm just gonna assassinate him. That's not what's happening here. Here's what I believe is happening. That as he's making his way back to his boss, the thought came to him.

Well, if Ben Hadad is gonna die anyway, might as well speed up the process. That's what's happening. And so he makes his way before the king. And and let me let me make this point based on that. Lust for power has a way of arousing and excusing other evils to obtain it.

Lust for power has a way of arousing and excusing other evils in order to obtain it. Even as I said earlier, within the context of ministry, professing Christians, will they not resort to lying, slander, flattery, to gain, or to protect some kind of role in the church, especially if it's a leadership role? If you're really truly called by the Lord, man or woman, then you will act like David, who is faithful in whatever he was found in, while he waited on the Lord for his timing. You don't have to do anything of the flesh. You don't have to resort to anything of the carnal man in order to get something from the Lord or get something from somebody else.

Hazael is quite different from David. In fact, he's the opposite. So he makes his way to the bedside of this king. The king asked, what's what's the message? And what does Hazael said?

You shall certainly recover. Is that the full truth? No. It's not the full truth. What's the full truth?

You're gonna recover but you're gonna die too. And I can't help but think but if Hazael was righteous, then he would have delivered the full thing. And if he delivered the full thing, then he might have granted Ben Hadad the opportunity to get right with God before he slipped into eternity. But he doesn't. Why?

Because he wants to fulfill that second part. He wants to ensure that he is dead and he doesn't want to raise up any suspicion. So he just says, you're gonna recover from this sickness. And he he can hardly wait so he does it the next day. I think Hazael here is a reflection of many things, but he's primarily a reflection of how Satan works.

How does Satan work with the word of the Lord? If you can't stop God's word from being preached altogether, then he will find people to leave out the parts that would necessitate you to reflect and potentially repent. He will lull you to sleep in your condition by giving you Is that not part of Elisha's word? Yes, it was. You shall certainly recover.

That was part of the message. That was what he was he was exposed to. So it's partly God's word, but not totally God's word. And I find that what we see with this man is what we see in many pulpits. If he can't stop the word from being shared, he will have those who share it withhold the parts that stir urgency to make the appropriate response.

And he will deceive messengers into using the word of the Lord to lull people into a complacency until they die in their unbelief and sin. Is that not true? It is true. And like the king, to be so relaxed that they never consider repentance. Now I'm thinking of this from Hazael's point of view and I'm also thinking of this from Benadad's point of view.

Because this man has received ample opportunity to repent. How much has God done for this man? How many experiences of his grace has he tasted for him to finally change his ways and he refused to do so. And now when it comes to him being riddled with this disease, he shows some interest in the true God. And though we think here that this is a bedside opportunity to repent, it's not really.

Because instead of an invitation, a revisitation of the truth being brought to him in his final moments, what's there? An incomplete truth. You can say a lie that robbed him of the opportunity of getting right with God. Bedside repentance is never guaranteed for anyone, even if you find yourself on a bed knowing that you're going to die in any moment. Because like Ben Hadad, instead of having the opportunity to get right with the Lord through Jesus Christ, you might be surrounded by the lies of the enemy to the point where they overwhelm and overtake any opportunity to come to the truth.

I remember a time many many years ago, maybe a year or two into me moving to the city here in Chicago, where I receive I'll be as broad as possible. I don't wanna be too specific. That I received a phone call from a relative who was at the hospital visiting another relative who was sick. And while this relative was visiting this other relative, she heard her name being called down the hospital aisle from a young man who went to my high school. My brother and I had a chance to play basketball with this fellow.

And the relative who engaged with this young man who recognized, called her name, told this person that he's dying of cancer and he's my age. And so my relative contacted me and said, so and so is dying of cancer. Can you believe that I bumped into him or he bumped into me? This is the Lord. Because this person doesn't know the Lord.

And so I received the number to contact him while he's in the hospital. I haven't seen this man in years. And the last that I knew of him is that he was a troublemaker. He got in trouble with the police. He had a broken family life.

So I called this young man. I called him from Chicago. And I talked to him for ten minutes and I and I thought to myself, surely this is of the Lord. To give this man a chance to repent, if he's not healed. And so I had short conversation with him just about, you know, life and then I got to it.

I hear what's happening in your life. I hear what's happening to your body and I just gave him the gospel. Now here's what's interesting. This man's father was a Muslim And he identified as a Muslim. And so, what He allowed me to share the gospel and then at some point he said, yeah, but do you understand that I'm a Muslim?

I said, with all due respect, Muhammad can't save you. Your faith can't save you. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can save you. You need to repent and put your trust and faith in him. And as I am presenting the gospel, I hear people in the background coming into the hospital room.

And I could tell that he was getting distracted and I could tell that I needed to give a little bit more oomph to my presentation here to get his to get his attention. So I tried only for me to be interrupted with, brother, I'm sorry, but my family's here and I have to go. It's good hearing your voice, and the conversation ended. I don't know what happened to this young man. I actually ended up learning that he did pass away.

I don't know when. But I wonder if I was the last voice that was able to give him the truth, or if whatever I said was eclipsed by family that believed in a different god. That maybe canceled out the things that I was able to share with him. I'm putting my faith and trust that the seed of the gospel was able to do something in that young man's heart. But I was reminded that as much as we think God is gracious enough to meet us in our final moments, Satan is vicious enough to make sure that you don't make it in your final moment.

Isaiah came to this man, supposedly with a word from the Lord, but it was a lie. Half truth. One that would not prepare him to meet with his God, but one that left him unprepared. Well, we can end here, but look at all those verses left. So hang tight because we're gonna complete this chapter.

You know, if you've been studying with us in second Kings, then you'll realize that the writer has primarily focused on the events concerning the Northern Kingdom Of Israel. And this is gonna be overview. We're not gonna be touching on every verse here. But what's interesting with the remaining verses of this chapter is that we are transported from the events taking place in the Kingdom Of Israel and the affairs related to the kingdom, to the transfer and the change of politics in the Kingdom Of Judah. And the question is why?

And here's the answer, because the corruption and the evil that overtook the nation and the Kingdom Of Israel was seeping into the Kingdom Of Judah. So the the very sin that invited God's judgment, the judgment that was ready to be unleashed, to the king of Syria being elected and the king of Israel, this man Jehu is gonna show up in the next chapter. Now we're left to wonder, that sin that brings about this judgment, it's now seeping into the kingdom of Judah and we're wondering what's gonna happen to Judah. Now if you need proof of that, look down here at second Kings. Let's just read verse 16 down.

It says here, in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jeroram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. Now you might be wondering what's going on here? I thought Jerram was the king of Israel. That's the son of Ahab. Right?

Jerram is the son of Ahab, but we learn here that there's another Jerram who's gonna be the king of Judah. You ready for this? It's not a contradiction. People can share the same name. Right?

Daniel. Daniel. Right? Daniel. Daniel.

Jehoram Jehoram. It's possible. So you had Jehoram of the king of Israel and then now you have a Jehoram who's the king of Judah. He was 32 years old when he became king and reigned eight years in Jerusalem. Now here here's the important verse, verse 18.

And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel as the house of Ahab had done for the daughter of Ahab was his wife and he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. So we're supposed to as the readers go, this is bad. He married a daughter of Ahab and now he's walking in the ways of the king of Israel. You just read up to this point that God is ready to judge, fulfill the word that he gave to Elijah. Hey, Hazael is gonna come up, and he's gonna be an instrument of judgment.

Jehu's gonna come up, he's gonna be an instrument of judgment. So what's gonna happen to the kingdom of Judah then? Are they gonna face a similar fate? Are they gonna see a worse fate? And then look at what happens here, verse 19.

As though the Lord anticipated this question, we get an answer. Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah for the sake of David, his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever. So God is going to treat the kingdom of Judah differently. Why? Because of the Davidic dynasty.

So he is not going to wipe out the kingdom of Judah. He's not going to destroy them completely because he made a promise. And this is so important as you read through the whole Bible, That from time to time when you see the people of God entertaining sins that are worthy of God deserting them and keeping them in that place, we are frequently reminded God is faithful. Even though his people are faithless. And that he is a covenant keeping God.

And he made a promise to David and despite his descendants, he would hold on to his promise to his seed. Say, well, does that mean that they can do whatever they want? No. Because they would still experience chastisement. That's what you read in verse 20.

In his days, Edom revolted from the rule of Judah and set up a king of their own. Then Joram passed over Zaire. Now Joram, you see that? That's an alternate way of spelling Jehoram. So Joram, Joram, same person, passed over to Zaire with all his chariots and rose by night, and he and his chariot commanders struck the Edomites who had surrounded him, but his army fled home.

So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. Now 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? So Jeram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Ahaziah his son reigned in his place. In other words, they were chastised and disciplined for their sin, but God wouldn't put an end to this kingdom because of what he said to David.

Right? Edom was raised up to depart from them. Libnah was raised up to revolt against him and that was his and if you want proof that that was God's doing, let me quote you second Chronicles. And this is important, you don't have to turn that, but just to know as a reference, twenty one ten. This is the parallel account and here's what the chronicler says.

So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day. At that time, Libnah also revolted from his rule because he had forsaken the Lord, the God of the fathers of his fathers. So this uprising of the Edomites and the people of Libnah was because Jehoram king of Judah departed from the Lord and walked in the ways of the kings of Israel. So what happens? Does it get any better with his son Ahaziah?

Let's read. '25. In the twelfth year of Joram, the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah, the son of Joram, king of Judah, began to reign. Ahaziah was 22 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Athalia.

She was a granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel. His mother's name was Athalia. I believe it was Matthew Henry who said, when you choose a wife, you have to understand you're also choosing the mother of your children. So his mother's name was Athalia. She was a granddaughter of Omri king of Israel.

He also walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done for he was a son-in-law to the house of Ahab. Now notice what happens here. He went with Joram, the son of Ahab. That's Joram king of Israel, not the one that just died, king of Judah. I hope I'm not confusing anybody.

He went with Joram the son of Ahab to make war against who? The new king of Syria, Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead, and the Syrians wounded Joram. King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Syrians had given him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Isaiah the son of Joram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab and Jezreel because he was sick. So now you see this alliance between the king of Judah and the kingdom of Israel.

Ahaziah now is checking up on Joram after this war against Syria. And though they felt as though they potentially evaded Hazael's punishment, his ruthless antics and ability, they don't see what's coming in the next chapter. Because there's still one more person out of the three from first Kings nineteen fifteen to be anointed. Who's that person? Jehu.

And Jehu is going to be the instrument in God's hand that's going to bring an end to the house of Ahab. And we have to come next week to see it. Why don't we stop here and give thanks to God for this study? Lord, we thank you for the study. We bless your great and holy name that, Lord, just as your word says in Hebrews four twelve, this word is indeed living and active.

It is as a double edged sword. There is no part of it that doesn't cut us. Every part of your word has the potential of pricking our conscious or comforting our weary souls. Thank you that every part has an edge and we've experienced that tonight in this chapter. Lord, receive maximum glory and praise from the fruit of our lips, the sacrifice of praise as we acknowledge your greatness in your word and in our lives.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen and amen. Let's praise the Lord for his goodness and his wisdom and his glory. You know, if there's one takeaway from this Bible study, it's this. When God says something, he means it.

When God promises something, he means it. Both for our good and both for his justice if it means the pain of those who deny his good. So he keeps his word. Let's stand. Let's give him thanks tonight.

God keeps his word, whether it's a warning or it's a promise. You know, I left something out for my bible our bible study tonight, but I'm gonna share it in closing. Who are the Edomites? They're the descendants of Esau. Who is Esau?

Jacob's brother. Remember that. Right? And what did Jacob do to make Esau very, very upset? He stole his inheritance, and he took away his blessing.

And so Esau comes to his father and begs him, oh, do you have something left for me? Do you have something left for me? And really, it's a bottom of the barrel prophecy that he grants him, but there's something in it that is related to second Kings chapter eight, and it's quite staggering. It says here in Genesis 27 verse 39, then Isaac his father answered and said to him, behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away from the dew of heaven on high. By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother.

Right? Though he was older, he was gonna serve his brother. But notice what happens. But when you grow restless, you shall break his yoke from your neck. So it wasn't a permanent servitude to Jacob and his descendants.

At some point, Esau and his descendants would grow so restless that they would break free from the yoke of Jacob. When do you think that happened? In what you heard in the final verses of second Kings chapter eight, that when the Edomites broke free from Israel and became their own independent kingdom. Why do I bring that up? Because a promise that God gave in Genesis was fulfilled in second Kings.

Why? Because God doesn't forget his word. When God says something, he means it. And so even in things that we have not yet realized, he will bring it to pass. Even things from Genesis that have not yet been realized, it's gonna happen because his god is true.

Amen? Amen. We thank you, Lord. You're a trustworthy God. This book in our hands is the living word.

It's your breath. It's your voice. It's your promise. It's your guidance in our lives. We honor you for it.

Lord, may we love it every day. I pray personally for every person here, and I pray for myself that there would be an appetite for the word in 2025 that has never been realized in prior years. We pray that you would enlarge our hearts that we may run-in the way of your commandments. We honor you. We thank you.

We pray that this church, by your grace, would be a bible preaching, bible believing, bible heralding, bible honoring church until you come and bring us home. Lord, may we not be like Hazael and shy away from everything you have to say, but we may believe that even the strongest words, the strongest warnings are for our good for people's lives to be saved including our own. We bless you. Bring us back again safely in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.

Lord willing, we will see you this Sunday. We're breaking bread together. We're gonna welcome in new members. And again, we're gonna hear from the Lord. No Bible series just yet.

Still preaching different messages. So be praying for the next series. Will you please? That'd be wonderful for me and for the leadership. We'll see you there, Lord willing.

God bless you. Be safe. Take care now.