And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael, all those days.
Israel's northern kingdom had run through several generations of kings. Not one of them broke with the idol-worship Jeroboam had set up. This verse records what that brought on the nation: God's anger, and years under Syrian control. So who was the real power behind Israel's defeats?
Jehoahaz kept the sins of his father Jehu, and of every king before him:
Jehoahaz followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, as his father Jehu had done (v.2). None of the kings who reigned in Israel (the twelve tribes) were godly men, but all followed the idolatry that Jeroboam had introduced. Again the Lord's anger was aroused against Israel, so that they were oppressed by Hazael the king of Syria and by his son Ben-Hadad (v.3).
God's verdict on this king was "evil," even though his neighbours may have seen nothing wrong:
The same sad formula describes how these kings of Israel behaved, and it never changes: "He did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord." His ways may not have looked sinful to the people around him. But God, who "sees not as man sees," called it "evil," and sent on him and his subjects the chastisement their wicked idolatry deserved.
God handed Israel over to Syria. One writer looks back to an earlier invasion, where God used the Midianites in the same way:
The Midianites did not know that it was Jehovah who had delivered Israel into their hands, yet in reality they were only the rod with which it pleased Him to punish His people. As with the Assyrian (Isa. 10): "Ah, Assyria, the rod of my anger; the staff in their hands is my fury!" When He has finished with His rod, He can break it or burn it. "Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it, or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it? As if a rod should wield him who lifts it, or a staff should lift him who is not wood!"
Years earlier Hazael had stood before Elisha with a message about a sick man. The prophet wept:
When Hazael came before him with his message, Elisha realised that a fateful moment had arrived for Israel. So he told his visitor that there was no real reason why the sick man should not recover — but that in fact he would not, because Hazael was destined to be king over Syria. Then he wept. All the cruelties that come with war rose up before his mind. He knew Israel richly deserved the chastening rod, yet he loved the people, and mourned over the ruin coming upon them.
Older translations end this verse "all their days," which shows how long the pressure lasted:
"Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz" (2 Kings 13:22). There was no relief until Joash's day. If his repentance truly came from "godly grief" for his own sins and the nation's, this must have tested his faith. But when has faith ever flourished untried? So do not waver or stumble, dear fellow believer, at "the testing of your faith." God "listened" to Jehoahaz, though he died while Hazael was still devastating his kingdom.
The oppression had a goal, and it reached it:
God was even in this way seeking to turn them back from their idolatries to repentance. This bitter chastisement seems to have had a healthy effect upon Jehoahaz, for he "sought the Lord." When the "kindness" of God fails to bring men to repentance, His "severity" is needed, and He uses it.
Israel's trouble was self-inflicted. Even so, the Lord listened when their king cried to Him:
They were a backslidden people. They had turned their backs on God, gone their own self-willed way after idols, and were only reaping what they had sown. Then King Jehoahaz sought the Lord. We know this was always the last resort of these children of Jacob. It had always been proof that they were at their wits' end. Yet the Lord listened to his cry, and this was evidence of the patience of their God and ours. He is a God ready to forgive and rich in mercy.
- Cause — Jehoahaz kept Jeroboam's idolatry. God, who does not see as people see, called it evil and sent the chastening it deserved.
- Rod — Hazael conquered, but he was the rod in God's hand. Such instruments never know their part, and God can break the rod when He has finished with it.
- Tears — Elisha had already wept over this invasion. He knew Israel deserved the rod, and still loved the people who would feel it.
- Length — The pressure lasted "all their days," past the praying king's own death. God tested faith instead of giving a quick fix.
- Aim — Kindness had failed, so God used severity, and it worked: the king sought the Lord, and found Him ready to forgive.
(And Jehoahaz besought Jehovah, and Jehovah hearkened to him; for he saw the oppression of Israel, because the king of Syria oppressed them.
Israel is being ground down by Syria, and the king on the throne is a man whose heart has never changed. Then he prays — and the verse tells us God listened, and tells us why.
The pressure on Israel was not an accident of politics. One writer traces it back to a prophecy about Hazael, the Syrian king. He reads the suffering as what God used when His kindness failed to reach them:
In this brief aside we see how Elisha's prophecy came true: Hazael pitilessly oppressed the people of Israel (2 Kings 8:12). No wonder the man of God, who loved Israel so much, wept when the man destined to carry out these cruelties stood before him. Even in this way God was seeking to turn them back from their idols to repentance. This bitter discipline seems to have done Jehoahaz good, for he "sought the favor of the LORD." When God's "goodness" fails to bring men to repentance, He must use His "severity," and He does.
Nothing here suggests Jehoahaz changed his ways. That is what makes the verse remarkable:
Yet what mercy in the heart of God! Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord with no change of heart at all. That was enough for Him to answer, moved by the misery and oppression of Israel. He takes account of the slightest movement of an unhappy soul toward Himself. God is very easily found. The most ungodly man turns toward Him for a single instant and receives an answer. Who can ever say, after that, that he sought Him in vain?
The verse gives God's reason for listening: He saw what Syria was doing to them. One writer notes how late the prayer came, and how the Lord answered it anyway:
They were a backslidden people. They had turned their backs on God and gone their own self-willed way after idols. They were only reaping what they had sown. Then King Jehoahaz prayed to the Lord. We know that this was always the last resort of these children of Jacob. It had always been proof that they were at their wits' end. Yet the Lord listened to his cry, and this was evidence of the patience of their God and ours. He is a God ready to forgive and full of mercy.
This verse says God listened. Yet verse 22 says Syria kept oppressing Israel for his whole reign. That gap is itself a lesson:
The prayer of Jehoahaz was heard, but it was not fully answered at once… Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, was the first one through whom a partial deliverance came (verse 25), and the full deliverance came under his grandson Jeroboam II. Here we see how the Lord hears prayer. In His sovereignty and all-wise purposes He may delay the answer for many years. It should be enough for God's people to know that He hears prayer and to leave the answer with Him, who does all things well. And so Jehoahaz saw nothing but oppression (verse 22), though he had turned to the LORD and had prayed. It was a trial of faith.
The relief God sent did not produce a changed nation. Verse 6 records that they stayed in the sins they had inherited. Still, the bare act of turning to God was not ignored:
How gracious is the Lord! We see, sadly, that the one who began so well finally drifts away from his original integrity. But we see that the man who listens and bows to the Lord is never without at least some measure of recognition on God's part.
Commentators differ on who the deliverer turned out to be. One writer sets the king's cry against a warning about trusting in human strength, and draws a line from it to an open invitation and to a greater rescue:
God warns us in His Word, "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD" (Jeremiah 17:5). Jehoahaz gives us a better example. He "sought the favor of the LORD," and we read that "the LORD listened to him." Through the psalmist Asaph He had given the invitation: "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me" (Psalm 50:15). Whether Jehoahaz ever glorified Him we do not know, but God is faithful. He heard Jehoahaz's pleading, but more than that, He pitied His people and gave them a deliverer from the Syrian oppression. Who this was we do not know, but thank God for the Savior we do know!
- Pressure — God's goodness did not turn Israel, so He used His severity. Hazael's cruelty is what drove a king to pray at last.
- Prayer — The cry came from an unchanged heart, at the end of his options. God still heard it. He notices the slightest movement of an unhappy soul toward Him.
- Pity — The stated reason God listened is what He saw: their oppression. His compassion, not the king's merit, is the hinge of the verse.
- Patience — Heard is not the same as answered. Jehoahaz saw only oppression to his dying day; the deliverance came to his son. Prayer heard, answer delayed — that is a trial of faith, not a refusal.
- Provision — God did send Israel a deliverer. The pattern points past Syria to the Saviour we do know by name.
And Jehovah gave Israel a saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians; and the children of Israel dwelt in their tents as before.
Israel had never left behind the idols Jeroboam set up, and Syria had crushed the nation for years. Yet God gave them a saviour, which raises three questions: why He answered, who the deliverer was, and what Israel did with the rescue.
Israel's suffering was not bad luck. Elisha had foretold it, and God used it to turn the nation back.
This paragraph, set inside the account, shows how Elisha's prophecy came true. Hazael would oppress the people of Israel without pity (2 Kings 8:12). Elisha loved Israel dearly, so he had good reason to weep when the man destined to do these cruel things to his people stood in front of him. Even in this way God was seeking to turn them back from their idols to repentance. This bitter punishment seems to have done Jehoahaz good, for he begged the LORD. When the "goodness" of God fails to bring men to repentance, His "severity" is needed, and He uses it. See Ps. 78:34; Hosea 5:15.
Nothing in Jehoahaz had changed. He asked, and that was enough for God to move.
Still, what mercy there is in the heart of God! Jehoahaz begged the Lord, though his heart was not changed in any way. That was enough for Him to answer, moved by the misery and oppression of Israel… He takes account of the slightest movement of an unhappy soul toward Himself. God is very easy to find. Who from now on could say he had sought Him in vain? The most ungodly man receives an answer if he turns toward Him for even an instant.
God heard the prayer at once. The rescue took two more reigns to arrive.
Verses 5 and 6 form a parenthesis. The prayer of Jehoahaz was heard, but it was not fully answered at once. These two verses give a summary of the whole history: God sent a saviour, and yet they continued in their sins. The first partial deliverance came through Joash, the son of Jehoahaz (verse 25). The full deliverance came under the grandson Jeroboam II (14:25-27). Here is a good illustration of how the Lord hears prayer. In His sovereignty and all-wise purposes He may delay the answer for many years… And so Jehoahaz saw nothing but oppression (verse 22), though he had turned to the LORD and had prayed. It was a trial of faith.
Commentators differ here. Some point to Joash, the son who succeeded Jehoahaz. Others say Scripture never tells us his name.
He heard the pleading of Jehoahaz, but more than that, He pitied His people and gave them a deliverer from the Syrian oppression. Who this was we don't know, but thank God for the Saviour we do know!
One writer does give him a name, and notes how long he had gone unnoticed.
As He gave a Saviour to Israel in their poverty — and that Saviour was without doubt Elisha — so He will still deliver His people. Elisha's presence in the land seems to have been forgotten for forty years. Yet he was there, ready to show the kindness of God to the people whenever they turned to Him.
Israel prayed only when everything else had failed. What God gave back was ordinary life at home — the older translation quoted here reads "in their tents."
Then King Jehoahaz begged the Lord. We know that this was always the last resort of these children of Jacob. It had always been a sign that they were at their wits' end. Yet the Lord listened to his cry, and this was evidence of the patience of their God and ours. He is a God ready to forgive and full of mercy. So we read: "He was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and gave them a Saviour, so that they went out from under the hand of the Syrians, and lived in their tents as before." This means they were free and safe and happy, as God always wished them to be.
The next verse shows what Israel did with the rescue.
God was kind and answered their prayer. Even so, Israel kept up their idolatrous worship of the idols Jeroboam had set up, and of a wooden image in Samaria.
- Given a rod. Syria's oppression fulfilled Elisha's earlier word. It was God's severity at work after His goodness had failed to turn the nation back.
- Given a hearing. Jehoahaz prayed out of desperation with an unchanged heart. God still answered. He notices the smallest turn of an unhappy soul toward Himself.
- Given a saviour. Commentators differ on who he was. Some name Joash, some name Elisha, and some say Scripture never tells us — leaving us with the Saviour we do know.
- Given time. God heard at once, but the answer came slowly: in part under Joash, in full under Jeroboam II. Jehoahaz himself lived under oppression to the end. It was a trial of faith.
- Given rest. Living at home again meant free, safe, and happy. Yet Israel kept its idols. Rescue is not the same as repentance.
Nevertheless they departed not from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, who made Israel to sin they walked therein; and there remained also the Asherah in Samaria.)
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
For he had left of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen, and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen; for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing.
Israel's king Jehoahaz had prayed, and God had listened. Yet this verse counts the handful of men and chariots he had left, and it raises a hard question: what does it mean for God to hear a prayer while the oppression grinds on?
The numbers measure a collapse. One writer reads them as the outcome of Jehoahaz's whole reign.
Israel's army was left pathetically weak, with only 50 horsemen, ten chariots and 10,000 foot soldiers, because of the destruction the Syrians brought on them. The seventeen years of Jehoahaz's reign ended only in defeat and disaster.
This did not happen overnight. It had started under an earlier king, and the text names the cause.
Already in Jehu's day "the LORD began to cut Israel short." They lost the land east of the Jordan to the Syrians under Hazael. Things grew worse until Jehoahaz's army was down to a pitiful 50 horsemen, 10 chariots, and 10,000 footmen. God's Word traces this situation to the LORD's anger burning against Israel. And no wonder, for they still followed the sins of Jeroboam.
Another writer says the ruin was self-inflicted.
They were a backslidden people. They had turned their backs on God and gone their own wilful way after idols. They were reaping what they had sown.
Threshing crushed grain on a floor to separate the seed. One writer points to where that threshing fell on Israel, and to the man who carried it out.
The threshing of Gilead with iron instruments took place when Hazael of Damascus conquered the land east of the Jordan. Hazael murdered Ben-hadad, and Elisha had predicted all the horrible things he would do to Israel.
Hazael was not acting outside God's control.
When Assyria stopped attacking him, Hazael turned his weapons against Israel. God used him as the instrument to punish His guilty people, and "to cut Israel short." Hazael struck all the borders of Israel. He kept up this hostility to the end of his life. From time to time God gave His people relief, but they did not turn from their evil ways.
Verses 5 and 6 tell of a saviour and of continued sin; verse 7 then circles back to the wreckage. One writer explains why the answer to Jehoahaz's prayer took generations to arrive.
Verses 5 and 6 form a parenthesis. The seventh verse tells of the destruction the king of Syria had caused among Israel. The prayer of Jehoahaz was heard, but not answered in full at once… God worked a partial deliverance first through Joash, the son of Jehoahaz. The full deliverance came under the grandson, Jeroboam II. Here we have a good illustration of how the Lord hears prayer. In His sovereignty and all-wise purposes He may delay the answer for many years.
Jehoahaz never lived to see the relief. One writer turns this into encouragement for believers who are still waiting.
When has faith, untried, ever flourished? Do not waver, then, or stumble, dear fellow-believer, at "the trial of your faith." God "listened" to Jehoahaz, though he died with Hazael still busy at his work of devastation in his kingdom.
Israel's army was almost gone, but not gone. One writer measures the loss against Israel's better days.
How reduced they were from the days when they followed the victorious Joshua into the land God had given them! What a change from the prosperous days of David and Solomon! Their sins had brought them so low. God's mercy had spared them from destruction.
The same writer applies this to believers who have drifted away from God.
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Wherever there has been backsliding, this is the way of restoration. And restoration to fellowship with our God and Father and our Lord Jesus Christ means deliverance from oppression and defeat, and spiritual revival.
after_note: DELETE We come out from under the hand of the Syrian, and live in our tents as before.
- Cause. The army did not shrink by bad luck. God's anger burned against a people who kept following the sins of Jeroboam.
- Instrument. Hazael threshed Israel like dust, and God used him as His rod against His own guilty people. Real cruelty, never out of His hand.
- Remnant. The tiny army left measures the ruin sin caused and the mercy that stopped short of wiping Israel out.
- Delay. God heard Jehoahaz's prayer, yet verse 7 still records the wreckage. Full deliverance came only under his son and grandson.
- Comfort. He died with the oppression still raging. God can hear a prayer while the trouble goes on, and that is the trial of faith, not a refusal.