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A Prophecy, a Murder, and a Heavy Heart: 2 Kings 8
In 2 Kings 8:7-8, Elisha goes to Damascus, the capital of Aram. We don’t know why he went to an enemy nation, but it seems God often sends prophets to work in odd places.
Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, is sick. He hears Elisha is in town and he wants to ask this prophet if he will recover.
So he commands Hazael to take 40 camels loaded with goodies to Elisha to ask. He probably sent all those goods in hopes of a good prognosis.
In 2 Kings 8:9-11, Elisha tells Hazael the king will certainly recover but in fact die. This contradictory statement is followed by a gaze so fixed it causes Hazael to feel embarrassed.
Elisha is a prophet. He can look into Hazael’s soul and see the sin of a murderer lurking. He knows God will heal the king who would recover given the time. However, Hazael will not let the king recover. He will kill Ben-Hadad.
In 2 Kings 8:12-15, poor Elisha is quickly overcome by his vision of the devastation Hazael will cause as king of Aram. Hazael will be a ruthless enemy to Elisha’s people.
Of course Hazael denies the accusation that he could be so powerful, but it’s obviously false humility. He wastes no time helping the prophecy along by expediting Ben-Hadad’s death himself.
Bible Bender
The Bible Bender in this story is that clear back in 1 Kings 19:13-18 at Mount Horeb God foretold He would use Hazael as an instrument of His judgement against Israel because the Israelites rejected Him and broke His covenant.
At that time, God spoke to Elijah, not Elisha. He commanded Elijah to anoint Hazael as king of Aram, Jehu as king over Israel, and Elisha as his successor. The anointing of Elisha came first and now Elisha is finishing the work Elijah was given.
Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha will be God’s swords of judgement to put the Israelites to death.
Elisha and Jesus Wept
God had restored life to Israel by rescuing them from the famine. Now he will revoke life because they broke the covenant. Life and blessings come to the pure heart, but there is judgement and death for idolatry and disobedience.
Elisha saw in a vision what would become of Israel, and he wept. Jesus wept too in Luke 19:41-44 when he foresaw a future of judgement in 70 AD when the Romans would surround the walls of Jerusalem and destroy the Temple.
Will Jesus weep again in the final judgement? There is no victory in judgement, only sorrow.
In the last article, we read a story about the restoration of life. It was an act of mercy for the Shunammite woman. Her land and her child were restored. It was good news to retell and inspire others to believe.
Today, we read about the revoking of life. An act of judgement on the Israelites. It is a story of bad news to retell and warn others to obey God.
Hazael became a mighty king in Aram. The Assyrian records mention him as a formidable opponent, and his reign marked a period of Aramean dominance in the region with significant empire expansion. He controlled large parts of both Syria and Israel.
Two Jehorams, One Nation in Trouble
What follows next is a continuation of the list of kings. The author turns his focus back to Judah, the southern kingdom, in 2 Kings 8:16-24.
At this point in history, it’s a bit confusing because both the king of Judah and the king of Israel are named Jehoram. For clarity, Joram is used for the King of Israel in the NIV and several other Bible versions and commentaries.
The good King Asa of Judah had a son named Jehoshaphat who was also a good king except for one weakness…a desire to align himself with Israel. He married his son Jehoram to King Ahab’s daughter Athaliah.
Athaliah is like her mother Jezebel. She leads God’s people into idolatry and Baal worship.
Jehoram’s father and grandfather were both good kings. But Jehoram chooses to follow his evil wife, Queen Athaliah, and the kings of Israel. He does evil in the eyes of the Lord.
Marriage matters. It can be an influence for good–iron sharpens iron–or in this case for evil.
Athaliah’s model for marriage was Ahab and Jezebel, the most evil couple ever. Her evil influence over Jehoram trumped any good his father had on him.
However, this is Judah. God is sticking to His covenant with David from 2 Samuel 7 and the throne will not leave the family despite Jehoram’s evil ways.
Ahaziah succeeds Jehoram. That makes Athaliah the queen mother now, which is more power for her. Unfortunately, with more power comes more evil influence over Israel.
Fatal Alliances
In 2 Kings 8:25-29, Ahaziah does evil in the eyes of the Lord. No surprise there. He has the DNA of Omri, Ahab, Jezebel, and Athaliah running through his veins.
Then the author sets up a future scene. Ahaziah, king of Judah, joins his uncle Joram, king of Israel, in a war against Hazael, king of Aram.
Because we have insider information that Elijah prophesied Hazael will be an instrument of judgment against Israel, we can guess how this war is going to go. What we don’t understand yet is how Judah will be impacted and why Ahaziah, king of Judah, is mixed up in God’s judgement on Israel.
So the stage is set and the war begins.
Then Joram (the king of Israel) is injured. Ahaziah (the king of Judah) visits his uncle in Israel to check on him. Hold that scene in your mind for later. Before we get back to this sick visit, Elisha executes the third and final anointing in Elijah’s prophecy.
Prophecies in Motion: 2 Kings 9
God commanded Elijah to anoint Elisha as his successor, Hazael as king of Aram, and Jehu as king of Israel. As of now, Elisha has been anointed. Check.
Elisha picked up the list where Elijah left off and installed Hazael as king. Check.
Now it’s time for Elisha to anoint Jehu as king of Israel.
Each of these details is important because God said in 1 Kings 19:17-18 that first Hazael will kill a bunch of Israelites. Then Jehu will kill more. Lastly, Elisha will kill the rest until there are only 7,000 men left who have never bowed down to Baal.
In 2 Kings 9:1-10, God says He will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam. Remember Jeroboam? He was the first King of Israel and led the people into idolatry. Baasha killed his lineage. Then Baasha’s lineage was killed by Zimri.
Both were eliminated because they did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Omri and his son Ahab’s lines are next along with Ahab’s wicked wife Jezebel.
One Big Evil Family
The scene in 2 Kings 9:11-13 seems a bit frantic. The soldiers are camped out and enjoying a chat. Then a maniac prophet pulls their commander in for a mysterious message.
They press Jehu for the scoop about what the prophet wanted only to discover, to their delight, that they are looking at the new king of Israel. It’s like they themselves got a promotion, and they initiate an impromptu coronation celebration.
We don’t know anything about King Jehu’s origins other than that his father’s name was Jehoshaphat (but not King Jehoshaphat). And his grandfather was Nimshi.
We know he is a military commander and therefore accustomed to war and death. He is a ruthless warrior as brutal, if not more so, than Hazael.
Jehu, the newly anointed king over Israel, is given simple instructions from the Lord. Destroy the house of Ahab.
Why is Jehu supposed to rid Israel of every male from the house of Ahab? To avenge the murder and brutality of Jezebel which included the blood of God’s servants the prophets along with His other servants.
Those that must die include:
- Joram, the king of Israel and Ahab’s son.
- Queen Jezebel, Ahab’s wife and King Joram’s mother.
- Ahaziah, the king of Judah, who is Ahab’s grandson and Athaliah’s son. He’s also the nephew of Joram, the king of Israel.
And there is an answer to why Ahaziah, the king of Judah, will be part of God’s judgement on Israel. Because he is also part of the house of Ahab.
It’s all one big evil family that started with King Omri in Israel and through one marriage has infiltrated Judah. God decreed in 1 Kings 21:20-26 that they would die.
When Royalty Meets Prophecy
What happens next in 2 Kings 9:14-21 is a direct fulfillment of this prophecy beginning with the recounting of Jehu’s violent killing spree.
And now this takes us back to the sick visit scene. King Ahaziah of Judah is in Israel visiting his uncle Joram, the king of Israel, who was wounded in their war against King Hazael of Aram.
Jehu has been anointed king of Israel, and he is approaching as an enemy. But they don’t know that yet. They know him as one of their commanders.
So when Jehu says to the two horsemen to fall in behind him they obey the command. He is their superior.
Ending a Cycle of Sin
Finally, Jehu comes close enough that kings Ahaziah and Joram recognize his crazy driving and know who he is. Curious, they hop in their chariots and go out to meet him.
The place they meet up with Jehu is the very plot of land that belonged to Naboth, the man Jezebel had killed so Ahab, Joram’s father, could have the vineyard he wanted. God’s timing for their meet up is a miracle of irony.
The death of Naboth is what sparked Elijah to go to Ahab and prophecy how his family would die. Now Joram is going to die on the very land his mother and father killed for.
There is closure to this circle of sin.
In 2 Kings 9:22-26, Jehu kills Joram and throws his body into Naboth’s field. Jehu also adds to what we know of the story of Naboth. Apparently, Jezebel killed Naboth’s sons too.
In 2 Kings 9:27-28, Jehu kills Ahab’s grandson, Ahazia, the king of Judah, too. And he isn’t going to stop there. In the next chapters, he will kill both the wicked queen of the north and her evil daughter, the wicked queen of the south. More closure to this circle of sin.
🎧 Ready to dive deeper? Listen to episodes of the Bible Book Club Podcast here.
Themes of this podcast:
Disobedience has a ripple effect across generations. Evil relationships and marriages create destructive cycles that span generations. Ahab and Jezebel’s wickedness spread through family connections – particularly through Athaliah’s marriage into Judah’s royal line. Our relationships matter and can be an influence for either good or evil.
Judgment breaks God’s heart, even when it’s just. Elisha weeps when he foresees the suffering Hazael will cause. Jesus weeps over Jerusalem’s coming destruction. God’s judgment is never flippant; it is sorrowful and slow in coming, but righteous and sure.
God’s justice is precise and inevitable. Every prophecy, from Elisha’s anointing to the judgment on Ahab’s family, unfolds with striking accuracy. Nothing escapes God’s attention, and every act of injustice meets its appointed response in His timing.
