2 Kings 8:7-29

2 Kings 8:7-29

As the story shifts its focus back to the kings, it begins by showing the power struggle that was arising in Syria. When king Ben-hadad was on his death bed, he sent his servant Hazael to inquire of Elisha. He wondered if he would recover from the sickness he had received. Elisha told Hazael that the king would surely recover from his illness but he would also die. He then began to weep knowing what the future held for Hazael, Syria, and Israel. Elisha went on to tell Hazael that because of the evil in his heart, he would be the one that would not only kill Ben-hadad but also attack Israel. Shocked at what Elisha had told him, Hazael could not believe what Elisha had predicted about his future, but after relaying the good news to the king about his recovery, Hazael murdered Ben-hadad. He was then promoted and became king of Syria.


Meanwhile, Judah was beginning to drift from God. For the most part, Judah had been blessed with several great kings. It was a rare exception when they found one that chose to turn from God. As they were all direct descendants of David, most followed in his footsteps. Jehoram, however, did not. His wife was Ahab’s daughter, and if you remember anything about Ahab, he was the worst king Israel had ever seen. The influence of her family caused Jehoram to stumble, and he followed in their ways and not the ways of God. While God could have destroyed Judah then and there, He chose to spare them due to the promise He had made with David. There was punishment, however, as the Edomites revolted against Israel, setting up their own king. Whereas kings like David and Solomon were blessed by conquering new lands and extending the kingdom, Jehoram experienced the loss of land due to his disobedience.

After his death, his son, Ahaziah, took the throne. He too had connections with the house of Ahab. His mother was Ahab’s granddaughter. So he walked in the ways of Ahab and not of God. He later formed an alliance with Israel, but not in an effort to reunite the two nations. He knew that Syria was a common enemy, so the two nations joined forces in an effort to destroy Hazael and Syria. The plan backfired, and Joram (king of Israel) was injured.

The wickedness of the house of Ahab had now spread throughout all of Judah, and they had become as corrupt as their northern neighbor, Israel. This story illustrates the dangers of associating ourselves with people such as these. While it is important to reach out to all people in an effort to share the Gospel with them, and while it is important to build those relationships so that they can see Christ living in us, our strongest relationships should be with fellow Christians. It is far easier for non-believers to bring us down than for us to lift them up. Please do not think that I am saying that we should not have strong relationships with non-believers (for we should for the sake of the Gospel). But those relationships should look a lot different from the relationships we have with fellow believers.

Thankfully, Ahab’s influence was about to come to end. God had promised Ahab that his line would find its end in Israel. Remember that whereas the kings of Judah were still from the same line of David (an unbroken line), the kings of Israel came from many different families. Due to corruption and murder, several different families had inherited the throne in Israel. So while God did not end it with Ahab, He told Ahab that his son would be the end of his line. The story continues in 2 Kings 9.

Matt