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2KINGS
CHAPTER 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

God has impeccable timing!
Elisha had warned the Shunammite woman about a famine which God had told him would last seven years. She left Israel, as Elisha told her she should, and was gone all that 7 years.
At the end of the 7 years, the king was asking Gehazi to remind him of all the things Elisha had done. Just as Gehazi was telling the king about Elisha restoring the life of the Shnamite woman's son, she SHOWED UP! She was begging for her land to be restored to her.
The kind demanded herland restored, and any productiveness it brought was to be hers!
This woman had shown a simple kindness to Elisha. God had seen to it that she received a son; the son was restored to life when he died; and now, God had seen to it she lost NOTHING while she was gone 7 years!
Faithfulness to God has its rewards!

7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-ha'dad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. 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? 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-ha'dad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? 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. 11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly, until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Now, on the other hand UNFAITHFULNESS also has its rewards!
Benhadad had long been a thorn in the side of Israel. He had relentlessly persecuted and warred against the Northern ten tribes.
Now he is ill, and he sends a trusted messenger to Elisha. Hazael asks if Benhadad will recover from the illness.
Elisha said, "Yes, he will recover - but he will die soon." In other words, he would recover from this sickness, but would die from something else.
Then ELisha fixed a LONG gaze upon Hazael. It was so LONG that Hazael became ashamed. Then Elisha began to cry. And Hazael asked why. Elisha told him he would become king, and he would actually do WORSE things to Israel than Benhadad had done.
Hazael went home and told Benhadad that he would recover. But then, the next day, Hazael killed Benhadad and established himself as king of Syria.
Thus Benhadad died without having an opportunity to REPENT!
UNFAITHFULNESS has its rewards!

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. 17 Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. 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. 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. 20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves. 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. 22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. 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? 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.

When Jehoshaphat was older, he appointed his son Jehoram to reign over the Southern kingdom of Judah. Jehoram married Athaliah, who was the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel.
The report is that Jehoram "did evil," in that he "walked in the ways of the kings of Israel." In other words, Jehoram became an idol worshipper.
The Edomites selected a king, and rebelled against Judah. Jehoram soundly defeated them in battle, but never followed through and made them return to servitude. Such is the way of a leader who cannot focus on his WORK because of his PLAY!
In Genesis 27:40, Isaac had prophesied that this would happen. He had said that "the elder would serve the younger" - referring to the fact that Essau's descendents would serve Jacob's descendents. And they HAD for over 150 years! But now Isaac's second part of that prophecy came true. He had also said that the elder would "break the yoke off his neck."
It wasn't enough that the Edomites rebelled. The town of Libnah rebelled also. This was a RELIGIOUS city. It was a town which Joshua had given to the priests. These people were rebelling against Jehoram's wickedness.
Jehoram never even tried to correct this problem. It seems that he KNEW he was doing evil and continued that way!
Once I was visiting a man about salvation. After I had explained God's plan of forgiveness and eternal assurance to him, I asked if he wanted to give his life to Jesus. He told me, "No, not now. I've got some things I want to do in life before I become a Christian." In other words, he KNEW he was doing evil, and he wanted to CONTINUE that way.

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Jehoram reigned eight years and was succeeded by his son Ahaziah. This son was the daughter of Athaliah. According to verse 18, Athaliah was Ahab's daughter (by Jezebel), and according to verse 26, she was the granddaughter of Omri (6th king of Israel).
Ahaziah went to war once. He was joined by Joram, king of Israel, in a battle against Hazael, king of Syria. In that battle, Joram was wounded and Ahaziah went to visit him.
Later, (that year apparently) Jehu killed Ahaziah. And his mother, Athaliah killed all her own grandsons so she could become queen of Judah for seven years.
It is a sad state of affairs in any country when wicked men rule. It is a more sad state of affairs when wicked men rule and are followed by even MORE wicked men (or women).

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