2 KINGS LESSON 8

      We will begin this lesson in II Kings 8:1 "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."

     This Shunammite woman had befriended Elisha on several occasions.
He had prayed, and God had brought her son back to life on one
occasion. He knew of the 7 year famine, that would come upon the land.
He went to his friend, and told her to take her family out of the
land, before the famine begins. The famine in Egypt, at the time of
Joseph, had been for 7 years, as well. It seems, a severe famine lasts
7 years.

     II Kings 8:2 "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."

     This woman does not doubt what the prophet Elisha has told her.
She immediately does exactly as the prophet has told her to do. She
knows that Elisha spoke as an oracle of God. She chose the land of the
Philistines, because they were less subject to famine. Grain was
plentiful there, and there was much water there, as well. She was a
woman of means, so she could move fairly easily.

     II Kings 8:3 "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."

     She had not sold her land, but had left it to find safety for her
family. When she came back after the seven years, it seems, someone
had tried to claim her place. She had gone to the king to judge on the
matter.

     II Kings 8:4 "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."

     This particular account was while Gehazi was still in good
standing with Elisha. Later on, Gehazi becomes a leper because of his
greed and lying. The king, perhaps, had not heard much of the miracles
Elisha had done, and who would be better to tell him of them than his
closest servant?

     II Kings 8:5 "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."

     Of course, the greatest miracle that Gehazi had seen Elisha do,
was the  restoration of life to the young boy. God arranged, that at
the very moment he is telling of this miracle, the woman, who it
happened to, would enter. She will confirm the fact, that this miracle
really did take place.

     II Kings 8:6 "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."

     Not only did she have the opportunity to tell the king of the
miracles of Elisha, but the king believed her about her claim for her
land, and she was restored her property, as well.

     II Kings 8:7  "And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the
king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is
come hither."

     We are not told why Elisha came to Damascus. We can safely assume
the LORD sent him. He might have been having trouble in Samaria at
this time, but I would assume, it was to meet Hazael. Ben-hadad, king
of Syria, is sick. Everyone in Syria knew of the miracles that Elisha
had performed in the past. The king will surely try to get help from
Elisha.

     II Kings 8:8 "And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in
thine hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of the LORD by
him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?"

     We know that before the ascension of Elijah into heaven, the LORD
had told him to anoint Hazael as king of Syria. If he did that, it was
long before the opportunity arose for Hazael to be king. It was Hazael
that Ben-hadad sent to inquire of Elisha, if he would live over this
sickness?

     II Kings 8:9 "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 Ben-hadad king of Syria
hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease?"

     Elisha was not the father of Ben-hadad. This was a way of showing
the honor due Elisha from Ben-hadad. This gift, that he sent, was
tremendous. The gift consisted of gold, and silver, and expensive
clothing, just like the offering that Naaman had brought earlier for
his cleansing from leprosy. He wanted Elisha to tell him, if the
sickness he had was fatal, or not.

     II Kings 8:10 "And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou
mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath shewed me that he
shall surely die."

     It appears, that the king is going to die. Hazael would,
probably, not want to tell the king that. Elisha just says, "if you
want to, go and tell him he will live, but he will die".
     II Kings 8:11 "And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until
he was ashamed: and the man of God wept."


     This is speaking of Elisha. When he could control his feelings no
longer, he began to weep.

     II Kings 8:12 "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."

     Hazael appeared to be concerned about Elisha, but he was not
interested in anyone, except himself. We must stop and take note that
even an evil king, like Hazael, was king because God put him in power.
Wars, in this region of the world, were bloody, cruel wars where all
of the things Elisha mentioned above are commonplace. They did not
have human feelings toward their enemies, or their families.

     II Kings 8:13 "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."

     At the time that Elisha said this, Hazael did not even know that
he would be king. To call someone a dog, was about the lowest name you
could call them. Hazael denies that he would act like a dog, if he
became king. Elisha reminds him that the LORD showed him Hazael as
king, and the kind of king he would be.

     II Kings 8:14 "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."

     He told the king what he wanted to hear. We are not told, whether
Elisha accepted the camels with all the gifts on them, or not. We do
know that he gave Hazael a different answer, than the one he gave Ben-
hadad.

     II Kings 8:15 "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."

     This, to me, is saying that Hazael suffocated Ben-hadad to death.
This makes the answer that Elisha gave a little more understandable.
Ben-hadad would have recovered from his illness, had not Hazael
suffocated him with the wet pillow over his face. Hazael was next in
line, to became king.

     II Kings 8:16  "And in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab
king of Israel, Jehoshaphat [being] then king of Judah, Jehoram the
son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign."

     This is on an entirely different subject here. The rule of the
kings of Syria are dropped, and now, this reflects back to the rule of
the kings in Judah. There were two kings named Joram, or Jehoram. One
ruled in Israel, and one in Judah. It is very strange that Israel
would have a king by the same name as the king of Judah, at the same
time.  Jehoram of Judah married the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. He
did not follow in the footsteps of his father Jehoshaphat, who did
right in the sight of God. Both, Jehoram of Judah and Jehoram of
Israel, were very evil.

     II Kings 8:17 "Thirty and two years old was he when he began to
reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem."

     This Jehoram {Joram} of Judah, reigned until he was 40 years old.

     II Kings 8:18 "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."

     He brought the worship of Baal and Astarte to Judah. Probably,
his evil wife brought them with her. Her mother, Jezebel, and her
father, Ahab, had introduced the worship of these false deities in
Israel. This wife's name was Athaliah, and she was just as evil as her
mother.

     II Kings 8:19 "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."

     We see the only reason God did not destroy Judah, was because of
his promise to David. There would always be a glimmer of the Light of
the LORD in Judah.

     II Kings 8:20  "In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of
Judah, and made a king over themselves."

     Edom was the land that Esau settled so many years ago. Edom was
an enemy of God's people continuously. They were constantly breaking
away from Judah, and proclaiming their freedom. This is just one more
time, when they did that very thing.

     II Kings 8:21 "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."

     Joram is the same as Jehoram. He fought with the Edomites, to
keep them from gaining their freedom from Judah.

     II Kings 8:22 "Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah
unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time."

     The battle of Jehoram was not effective. They still revolted.
Libnah was near Philistia. They took advantage of the revolt of Edom
and revolted, too.
     II Kings 8:23 "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?" II Kings 8:24 "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."

     This is that same book of records, that is not in the Bible. He
was buried in the city of David. His very evil son, Ahaziah, who was
the grandson of Jezebel and Ahab, reigned in his stead. Ahaziah was,
also, called Azariah, and Jehoahaz.

     II Kings 8:25  "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."

     I suppose, it is giving the name of the king of Israel, when each
person is king of Judah, to show who they had to deal with during
their reign. Ahaziah, probably was acting king during the two years of
his father's illness. At his death, he became sole ruler.

     II Kings 8:26 "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."

     His mother's father was, actually, Ahab. Omri was her
grandfather. The name "Athaliah" means whom Jehovah hath afflicted.
Omri was prominent, because he did a great deal to establish the ten
tribes as separate Israel.

     II Kings 8:27 "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."

     This is speaking of him carrying on the worship of Baal in Judah.
He was a relative of Ahab. His mother was the daughter of Ahab.

     II Kings 8:28 "And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war
against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians wounded
Joram." II Kings 8:29 "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."

     His father and his uncle, both, were named Joram or Jehoram. It
would be a likely thing for these close relatives to join forces in
battle against a mutual enemy. We remember, that Hazael was unusually
wicked. He called himself a dog, when Elisha told him of what he would
do. Ramoth-gilead was in the hands of Israel at the time of this war.
Hazael was the aggressor, then. His uncle, Joram, was wounded in the
battle, but it was not a fatal wound. It appears, that he and his
uncle left the battlefront in the hands of capable captains, and went
home to their capitals. It appears, from this, that Ahaziah actually
took Joram, king of Israel, to Jezreel to be healed, before he went
home to his own capital.
                        2 Kings 8 Questions


1.  Elisha warned the Shunammite woman of a ___________.
2.  How long will the famine last?
3.  Where did she take her family, until the famine was over.
4.  She knows that Elisha speaks as an ___________ of God.
5.  Why did she choose the land of the Philistines?
6.  After the 7 year famine, what did the woman do?
7.  Who was the king speaking with, when she came to him?
8.  What had the king asked him?
9.  Gehazi told him of what miracle?
10. What did Gehazi tell the king that helped get her land back for
    her?
11. In verse 7, where did Elisha go?
12. Who was sick?
13. Who did Ben-hadad send to inquire of Elisha?
14. What did the king want to know?
15. How large was the gift he brought to Elisha?
16. What did Elisha tell Hazael to say?
17. Why did the man of God weep?
18. What does Hazael call himself in verse 13?
19. How did Elisha know of the evil he would do?
20. How did Ben-hadad really die?
21. What two kingdoms had a king named Joram, or Jehoram?
22. Jehoram of Judah reigned, until he was ________ years old.
23. What was the only reason God did not destroy Judah?
24. Who revolted from Judah?
25. How old was Ahaziah, when he began to reign?
26. What kind of a king was he?
27. Who did Hazael war against at Ramoth-gilead?
28. Who was wounded in battle, and taken to Jezreel to heal?