Lessons From Elisha, Part 26
In Control Even of the bad Stuff
There are many lessons to be learned from stories of Elisha. This is the last in
a series of 27 that focuses on the life of this great prophet of God.
“And Hazael . . . Stood before him and said, ‘Your son Ben-Hadad king of Aram
has sent me to ask, “Will I recover from this illness?”’ Elisha answered, ‘Go
and say to him, “You will certainly recover”; but the LORD has revealed to me
that he will in fact die.’ . . . Then the man of God began to weep . . . ‘I know
the harm you will do to the Israelites . . . The LORD has shown me that you will
become king of Aram,’ answered Elisha. 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.’ 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.” (2 Kings 8:9-15)
The last recorded story of the prophet Elisha does not take place in Israel or
Judea. It takes place in the land of the enemy: Syria (Aram)! The fame of Elisha
had spread far and wide within this enemy country. Naaman, the commander of the
Syrian army had already been healed of Leprosy; the entire Syrian army had been
struck down with blindness, led to Samaria, then treated with kindness and
released, all because of this man. Oh yes. The Syrians knew about Elisha. So
when it was reported that he was in their land, and it just so happened at that
very time that the king, Ben-Hadad, was deathly ill, the king’s officer, Hazael,
was sent to Elisha to find out if Ben-Hadad would recover.
Elisha’s answer to Hazael is very interesting: “Tell him, ‘you will certainly
recover’; but the Lord has revealed to me that he will in fact die.”
What kind of an answer is that??? It sounds like a contradiction; like maybe
Elisha is telling Hazael to lie to Ben-Hadad!
If you read through to the end of the story, it all becomes clear. The illness
from which Ben-Hadad suffered would not have led to his death; nonetheless,
Elisha was telling Hazael that his king would die anyway! And sure enough, the
next day, Hazael “took a thick, cloth, soaked it in water and spread it over the
king’s face, so that he died.” (vs. 15). Ben-Hadad would have recovered, but
instead, as Elisha prophesied, he died, and Hazael became the next king of
Syria.
What was Elisha doing in Syria, anyway? Why would God have taken such keen
interest in a foreign, idolatrous nation who would seriously hurt His people,
Israel?
Because God has His hand in history, whether for the good or for the bad! God is
even in control of the bad stuff!
But Hazael would go on to severely oppress Israel (see vs. 12). Why would God
bring about this awful thing that would ultimately hurt his people?
Israel, at this stage in their history, had turned away from God. Israel’s kings
had led the people to seek after idols and devil worship. God was simply using
Syria as a tool in His hand to punish the people, to get their attention and
help them to remember that it was only by worshipping the only True God that
their history was so rich in blessings! God cannot bless those who refuse to
acknowledge Him, and what better way to get someone’s attention than to allow
calamity into their lives?
God is in control of history, friends, both the good and the bad. And He
sometimes allows the bad things to get our attention, to shape us into what we
potentially can be in Christ. Sometimes those lessons aren’t very pretty, but we
must always remember: “Everything comes from him; Everything happens through
him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.”
(Rom. 11:34-36, THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene
H. Peterson. All rights reserved.)
God’s in control, even of the bad stuff, and it’s for our own best interest!
Let’s remember to praise Him always!
For prior Lessons From Elisha, please see
lessons_from_elisha.htm
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org ,