2 Kings 8:8–29

These were exactly the same words that Ahaziah, king of Israel, had spoken when he sent his messenger to consult Baalzebub (2 Kings 1:2). This shows two things. The first is that all men, whether idolaters or those who know the true God, are alike constantly preoccupied with death.

Their only hope is in visible things. So the thought that they may have to leave them troubles them deeply. And uncertainty about the future fills their minds too… A sun worshipper got no answer from his god. So he preferred to turn to the man of God, who was right there in his path. He wants to consult the LORD through him — not to find an answer for the needs of his conscience, but only to know whether he will live longer.

In his sickness he recognises and honours the man of God. In his prosperity the king had sent a great army to capture him: in his sickness he sends a great gift to honour him. In health he tries to surround him for his destruction: in sickness he tries to win him over for his help. Driven by need, he recognises and owns the God he had until then despised. Such is man, and such are our hearts.

Like Naaman, he was prepared to pay well for any benefit he might receive. So he sent the man of God "a present of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden." God is not a trader but a giver — and a very generous giver. Men seem to find that fact very hard to grasp. In every age men are inclined to bargain with God: so much money or labour for so much blessing.

Hazael comes before the man of God and repeats the king's words. But in the depths of his being something is already stirring — hidden desire, coveting, a plan, perhaps vague, but waiting only to be confirmed. Elisha has read his heart. His secret thoughts do not escape God's eye.

It is deeply solemn to find every testimony and ministry of grace closing in judgment. It is all the more hopeless because the light has been all but put out. Patience is exhausted, every warning neglected, and the pleading of grace answered by the mockery of unbelief… So too the Holy Spirit here closes the public ministry of Elisha and draws the sword of judgment — first Hazael's, then Jehu's.

Elisha's service is not confined to Israel and the Land. So we read he "came to Damascus," and is found among the Gentiles. Ben-hadad, the king of Syria, is sick. In his sickness he recognises and honours the man of God. In his prosperity the king had sent a great host to capture him: in his sickness he sends a great gift to honour him. In health he seeks to surround him for his destruction: in sickness he seeks to win him over for his help. Driven by need he recognises and owns the God that until now he had despised. Such is man, and such our hearts.

The world, when faced with some terrible disaster, will outwardly recognise God and turn to Him. Sadly, even a believer may walk carelessly, with little thought of God, when everything runs smoothly and health is good. But in our troubles we have to turn to God — and it is good that we do turn to God, and that we have such a God of grace to turn to.

Like Naaman, he was ready to pay a lot for any benefit he might receive. So he sent the man of God "a present of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' load." God is not a trader but a giver — and a very generous giver. Men's minds seem to find that fact extremely hard to grasp. In every age men want to bargain with God — so much money or labour for so much blessing.

He wants to consult the Lord through him. He is not looking for an answer to the needs of his conscience, but only to know if his life will be prolonged. … Ben-hadad knows so little about the prophet who had refused Naaman's gifts that he sends him a royal present by Hazael, hoping to get into his good graces.

How offensive to God it is for unrenewed man to ignore the question of sin and come before Him with a gift.

The present Hazael brought was amazing — 40 camel-loads of every good thing of Syria! We are not told that Elisha accepted this, and in fact we may be sure he did not. Hazael then presented Ben-hadad's question, would he recover of this disease (v.9).

These were exactly the same words that Ahaziah, king of Israel, had spoken when he sent his messenger to consult Baal-zebub (2 Kings 1:2). This shows two things. The first is that all men are constantly preoccupied with death — idolaters and those who know the true God alike.

The second is that the so-called religious resources they have at hand cannot satisfy. … A sun worshipper, receiving no answer from his god, preferred to turn to the man of God who was there in front of him.

Hazael comes before the man of God and repeats the king's words. But deep inside him something is already stirring: hidden desire, coveting, a plan. The plan may still be vague, but it waits only to be confirmed. Elisha has read his heart. His secret thoughts do not escape God's eye.

Elisha was clearly a man who, in his day, walked with the Lord and received communications from the Lord. So he can say, in answer to the messenger, "You may certainly recover." There was nothing fatal in the disease. However, the prophet adds, "The Lord has shown me that he shall surely die." So Elisha shows that Ben-hadad is going to die, but by other means than the sickness.

There was nothing fatal in his disease, and there was no natural shrewdness in the prophet. But the Lord, before whom all things are open and exposed, told him that he should surely die.

Elisha has read his heart. His secret thoughts do not escape God's eye. Elisha's answer would be ambiguous to anyone else. To Hazael it has a meaning that hastens his decision. His desire brings forth sin… He will certainly recover! This was exactly what Hazael feared. If the king were healed, what would become of his own plans and secret desires? "But Jehovah has shown me that he shall certainly die." Yes indeed, he tells himself, my only chance is to get rid of my master. And since God knows it and does not stop me, that justifies me.

The prophet had said, "You may surely recover." That meant there was nothing in the disease itself that was fatal. Then he added, "the Lord has shown me that he shall surely die." That meant Ben-hadad was to die by some means other than the disease. Hazael, however, now tells the king that the prophet had said he should surely recover. Here was the misstatement, the lie of this hypocrite. But the end strikingly shows the full, unmixed truth of the prophet's words. The disease does not kill the king. Other means do — the hand of this murderous Hazael. And so he might have recovered, but he surely dies, just as the prophet had said.

This puzzling style in the answers or oracles of the Spirit is worth our admiration… So here — the event makes the words "may recover" and "surely die" both true, though they sound strange to the ear… In this history we have an awful picture of human selfishness and hypocrisy. It warns us all. A look can be deep hypocrisy, just as a word can be. Our watching and prayer should be that the searching Spirit finds truth in our inward parts — truth about us everywhere, in every look, in every word, and every movement.

The elements that make up this darkened soul are now complete. All the obscure desires and ambitions of his spirit are settled. The king may recover, but he will die. I will be king in his place and will torment Israel. From the thought to carrying it out there is only one step. So God prepares the rod that will chasten His people, until the moment when He will break the rod itself.

But God's rebellious people could have avoided all this anguish and ruin, if they had humbled themselves before Him.

On hearing this, we read that Hazael "fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed." This was hypocrisy. Under the eye of the prophet, before the truthful mind of the man of God, the look on his face testified against him. He pretended sorrow at this prophecy of Benhadad's death.

This deeply affected the prophet, and gave his face, so to speak, a look that Hazael could neither understand nor endure. "And he (Elisha) fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he (Hazael) was embarrassed. And the man of God wept."

But in the depths of his being something is already stirring — hidden desire, coveting, a plan, perhaps vague, but which waits only to be confirmed. Elisha has read his heart. His secret thoughts do not escape God's eye. Elisha's answer would be unclear to anyone else. To Hazael it has a meaning that speeds up his decision. His desire gives birth to sin… Under that intense gaze, which searched the hidden corners of his conscience, Hazael felt stripped bare and ill at ease… Searched to the depths of his heart, ashamed under God's gaze, he still does not give up his twisted will. He excuses it because God knows about it.

Hazael, contemplating the murder of his master, feels uneasy in the presence of the man of God. His conscience makes him ashamed.

Elisha's answer makes clear what moves him to tears. It is not the illness of the king, or the wickedness of Hazael. It is the suffering that God's people will endure at Hazael's hands. Elisha closes his public ministry by weeping over a people who were unmoved by all his miracles of grace. So he foreshadows his far greater Master. In the closing days of His ministry of grace, He wept over the city that had rejected His grace and scorned His love.

Here is the light of God shining through Elisha, making plain everything at work in a heart God has not renewed. Man in the presence of that light is as uncomfortable as he can possibly be. Hazael put on a show of grief. Elisha, with a heart overflowing with real sorrow, let his feelings out in a way no one could mistake. The servant of the Lord felt how serious the message was that he had to deliver. So it is today with every true servant of Christ. God stirs such sympathies in him, and they show themselves in a way the cold-hearted pretender cannot copy.

Elisha's commission required him to anoint Hazael and Jehu, who were to carry out judgment. Yet in the passage that tells of his meeting with Hazael, Hazael's anointing is passed over in silence. In fact, through the prophetic word God placed His rod in Hazael's hands. But the anointing could not be mentioned while the man of God, who had come in grace, was weeping bitterly over the evil that Hazael would do to the children of his people.

Hazael protests that he is not a dog to act with such cold brutality. His protest is probably completely sincere. Such deeds may have been foreign to his thoughts, and even disgusting to his feelings at the time. He did not know his own heart... He little realised the depth of wickedness and cruelty in a heart that is held in check by many safeguards. Then circumstances stir it, give it the occasion, and it blazes out in all its horror... Far better for Hazael, as for us, to take the place of the woman who owned that she was indeed a dog, only to discover that there is grace in the heart of God even for a dog (Mark 7:24-30).

Hazael protested — was he a dog, to act so wickedly? But a dog would not do those things: he was much worse than a dog.

You can sense, more than prove, that the destruction of Israel is an important thing to Hazael. It is easy for him to call himself a dog about such a deed, but he still has the ambition to accomplish it.

But it was very different with Hazael. First came a hypocritical show of grief — "the look on their faces bears witness against them." Then came an outburst of indignation that he should be thought capable of such crimes... He failed to deceive the man of God. So he returns to his master, gives him a false version of the prophet's message, and at once, in the most heartless way, fulfils Elisha's prediction.

He was ignorant both of the deceitfulness and the desperate wickedness of the heart. He did not know how many checks there are in the things around us, and in the position we hold, to stop that wickedness breaking out. It goes unsuspected, because it lies dormant until circumstances rouse it. Hazael, as prime minister, had tasted power. His master's illness now offered him the step from the responsible power of a minister to the unaccountable power of a usurper... Does the slave, groaning under his oppressor's yoke, suspect that oppression is in his own heart? If he changed places with his oppressor, would it not break out in action?

One day Peter confessed his Master as "the Christ, the Son of the living God." Suppose someone had then told him that he would one day disown Him with oaths and curses. He would have been inclined to reply in another man's words: "What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?" But he did it all the same.

Perhaps some of our readers have not yet learned the hopeless evil of the flesh — their own flesh. To such it may be shocking to find the offensive things named in Colossians 3:5 described as "your members."

Finally Elisha reveals to him why he has been sent to Damascus... The elements that make up this darkened soul are now complete. All the vague desires and ambitions of his mind settle. The king may recover, but he will die. I will be king in his place and will torment Israel. From the thought to carrying it out is only one step. This is how God prepares the rod that will chasten His people, until the moment He breaks the rod itself.

Elisha tells Hazael, in answer to the request of the king of Syria, that his master was to die, but that there was no need for him to die. Sadly, he was to die by the treacherous hand of man; and the man was there. It was none other than this Hazael. Elisha said to him, "Go, say to him, 'You shall certainly recover,' but the LORD has shown me that he shall certainly die." This was a riddle.

Without another word, Hazael "departed from Elisha and came to his master." He plays the hypocrite before the king. He gives part of Elisha's message, but he keeps back the news that the king would surely die. The opportunity has come for this murderer. As prime minister he has access to the king. The illness offered a convenient opening to an unscrupulous man who wanted to seize the throne. The idea of holding great power as the reigning king pulled at Hazael so strongly that he was ready to consider even murder to get it.

Hazael returned to Ben Hadad with the message that he would recover. Of course Hazael knew he was acting in gross wickedness when he smothered Ben Hadad to death in secret with a thick cloth soaked in water (v.15). But we can easily imagine how he would excuse his action to himself. He would feel safe in doing what he did. Had the prophet not said that Ben Hadad would die and that Hazael would reign in his place? Also the king was sick, and who would suspect he had not died of his sickness?

Hazael is not the only person who seems unable to grasp all the evil that human nature is capable of. It is likely that he had never committed such horrors before. So he shrank back from the terrible suggestions. But the outcome tells another story. Once he found himself in a position of power, he committed every one of the savage deeds Elisha warned him about. As others have truly said, many of us are harmless only because our position in society does not allow us to be anything else.

Perhaps his protest was completely sincere. Such deeds may have been foreign to his thoughts, and even hateful to his feelings at that moment. He did not know his own heart. He was not aware that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Instead of asking, "Is your servant a dog?" it would have been far better for Hazael, and for us, to take the same position as the Syrophoenician woman. She admitted that she was indeed a dog. And she found that there is grace in the heart of God even for a dog (Mark 7:24-30).

Hazael may have been startled by the prophet's announcement. In the end, though, he did everything the prophet said he would do. First, on his return to Damascus he murdered his master in his bed and seized his throne. Then for many years he waged merciless war on both Israel and Judah, and brought terrible suffering on the people. But God's rebellious people could have escaped all the anguish and ruin by humbling themselves before Him.

Hazael returns to Ben-hadad and misreports the prophet's answer to his question. The prophet had said, "You may certainly recover." He meant there was nothing in the disease itself that was fatal. Then he added, "the Lord has shown me that he shall surely die." He meant that Ben-hadad was to die by some other means than the disease. But Hazael now tells the king that the prophet had said "he should surely recover." That was the misstatement, the lie of this hypocrite. But the end strikingly shows the full, unmixed truth of the prophet's words. The disease does not kill the king. Other means do — the hand of this murderous Hazael. And so he might have recovered, yet he surely dies, as the prophet had spoken.

As prime minister he has access to the king. The illness gave an unscrupulous man a good chance to seize the throne. The thought of ruling as king drew Hazael so strongly that he would even consider murder to get it. The sickness and weakness of the king made murder appear so easy. Everyone would know that the king was ill. They knew he feared he might not recover, and so had sent his prime minister to the prophet to ask whether he would die. No one need know what Elisha had said to Hazael. What could be easier? He could take a thick damp cloth and suffocate the helpless king, already weak with sickness. Then he could tell the world that the sickness had proved fatal.

Of course Hazael knew he was acting in gross wickedness when he smothered Ben Hadad to death in private with a thick cloth soaked in water (v.15). But we can easily imagine how he would excuse it to himself. He would feel safe in doing what he did. Had the prophet not said that Ben Hadad would die, and that Hazael would reign in his place? Also the king was sick, and who would suspect that he had not died of his sickness?

He did not know his own heart. He was not aware that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. As with ourselves too often, he little realised the depth of wickedness and cruelty in the human heart. Many a safeguard holds that heart in check. Then circumstances stir it and give it the occasion, and it blazes out in all its horror. He asked, "Is your servant a dog?" Far better for Hazael, as for us, to take the ground of the Syrophoenician woman, who admitted she was indeed a dog. She then discovered that there is grace in the heart of God even for a dog (Mark 7:24-30).

He had likely never committed such atrocities before. So he recoiled from the terrible suggestion. But the outcome proves otherwise. In the place of power, he did every one of the savage deeds Elisha warned him about. As someone has truly said, many of us are harmless only because our position in society does not allow us to be otherwise.

Elisha's ministry of grace was practically fruitless. Israel sinned more and more. The time had come, then, for the sword to be unsheathed. So we have the ministers of wrath appointed — Hazael, in 2 Kings 8:7-15; and Jehu, in 2 Kings 9:1-10.

So it came to pass: the prime minister becomes a murderer, and the murderer seizes the throne. The man who reaches a throne by murder will not hesitate to try to keep that throne by violence and cruelty. As Elisha foresees, Hazael will carry fire and sword among God's people.

There was, therefore, a Jehoram, king over Judah, as well as a king of Israel by the same name. Both also go by the name Joram, and the two forms mean the same thing. 2 Kings 1:17 and 2 Chronicles 22:6 call both kings Jehoram. 2 Kings 9:15 and 17 call the king of Israel Joram. 2 Kings 8:21, and other places, call the king of Judah Joram. Compare 2 Kings 8:16 with verse 29, and you find the two names swapped. We mention this to clear up a possible difficulty some may find here.

In 2 Kings 1, Jehoram of Israel takes his brother Ahaziah's place in the second year of Jehoram of Judah. The explanation is simple. Jehoshaphat of Judah had made his son Jehoram co-ruler. Seven years later, while Jehoshaphat was still alive, he handed him the whole kingdom, perhaps because of the trouble he might have had with his brothers... The simple Christian has received these accounts from the hand of God, so to him they are never real contradictions. He cannot always answer the objections, for he is a limited creature who does not know everything. But as he waits on the Lord, he will get the answer sooner or later — when God judges the time is right.

Of the seven sons of Jehoshaphat, Jehoram was the eldest, and his father gave him the kingdom "because he was the firstborn." It seems, from 2 Kings 8:16, that he shared the throne with Jehoram during his own lifetime. He probably saw what was likely to happen after his death, and feared it. So he tried, if he could, to prevent any such disaster by making the throne secure for Jehoram while he still lived. To keep his other six sons content, he "gave them great gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, together with fortified cities in Judah."

Joram, the son of Ahab, had reigned in Israel five years when Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat took the throne of Judah. Instead of following his father's faith, he followed his father's bad example in identifying himself with evil men. He reigned only 8 years. His father had been friendly with Ahab. Jehoram married Ahab's daughter Athaliah, a woman as wicked as her mother Jezebel.

These unholy alliances led Jehoram and his son alike into the ways of the kings of Israel. The same holds true at all times. A Christian tied to a person of the world is bound to lose his testimony, and even the appearance of his Christianity. The Christian's alliance with the world never improves the world.

The Spirit of God takes notice of the consequences of Judah's alliance with Israel; but with this exception, Judah for the time is out of sight.

Here we are told that Jehoram of Judah began to reign over Judah during the lifetime of his father, in the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel. Now in 2 Kings 1, Jehoram of Israel succeeds his brother Ahaziah in the second year of Jehoram of Judah. The explanation is simple. Jehoshaphat of Judah had given his son Jehoram the regency. Then, at the end of seven years, while Jehoshaphat was still alive, he handed the kingdom over to him fully. He may have done this in view of difficulties he might have had with his brothers. … To the simple Christian, who has received these accounts from the hand of God, these so-called contradictions are never contradictions at all. He cannot always answer the objections, since he is a limited and ignorant creature. But if he waits on the Lord, he will receive the answer sooner or later, when God sees the time is right.

Joram, the son of Ahab, had reigned in Israel five years when Jehoram, son of Jehoshaphat, took the throne of Judah. Instead of following his father's faith, he followed his father's bad example in identifying himself with evil men. He reigned only 8 years. His father had shown friendship with Ahab, and Jehoram married Ahab's daughter Athaliah, a woman as wicked as her mother Jezebel.

It was all the result of Jehoshaphat's ill-advised alliance with the ungodly house of Ahab, and what he sowed he reaped, at least in dreadful anticipation. And his descendants had to reap it in reality, in a most terrible way. "When Jehoram had ascended the throne of his father and was established, he killed all his brothers with the sword and also some of the princes of Israel." He had married the daughter of a "murderer," and as a natural result he soon stained his own hands with blood.

These unholy alliances led both Jehoram and his son into the ways of the kings of Israel. The same holds true at all times. A Christian yoked together with a child of the world is bound to lose his testimony, and even the appearance of his Christianity. The world is never improved by the Christian's alliance with it. Rather, the opposite: bad company corrupts good manners.

He is one of the least attractive of all the kings of Judah. "Exalted by Jehovah," he was for his wickedness pushed down to a dishonoured grave. He took the kingdom at its highest glory since the days of Solomon. After a reign of eight short years he left it with "Ichabod" — the glory has departed — written large upon it.

He reigned from the age of 32 until he was 40, a brief eight years, and died with no one to mourn for him. Though he was buried in Jerusalem, his grave was not with the kings. How sad an end for the son of the faithful King Jehoshaphat!

After the death of Jehoshaphat, his son Jehoram became sole ruler over Judah. He walked in the evil ways of the kings of Israel and the record tells the reason, "for the daughter of Ahab was his wife."

Instead of following his father's faith, he followed his father's bad example in identifying himself with evil men. He reigned only 8 years. His father had shown friendship with Ahab. Jehoram married Ahab's daughter Athaliah, a woman as wicked as her mother Jezebel (v.18).

The relationship arose from this: Jehoshaphat had "allied himself with Ahab by marriage" — not personally, but Jehoram his son had taken a daughter of Ahab as wife (2 Chr. 18:1; 2 Chr. 21:6). This alliance was a great evil, and the king of Judah had to prove its serious consequences. Later Jehu the son of Hanani saw this and said to him, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?" … Alliance with the world — and this cannot be said too often — makes us responsible for its evil.

When Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, he allied himself with Ahab by marriage. How often, when outward circumstances are prosperous, worldliness and forgetting God mark the condition of the heart! … When a godly household makes friendship with an ungodly one, the consequences are very terrible. God resents the unholy intimacy, and allows the evil of the ungodly to appear in the once godly household. The nation followed in the steps of evil, and Judah became like Israel, in a way that Jehoshaphat did not mean (2 Chron. 18:3), but which was retributive judgment from God.

Daughter of Jezebel and Ahab, and granddaughter of Omri (compare 2 Kings 8:26 with verse 18), wife of Jehoram king of Judah. It can be said that she brought the worship of Baal into Judah. She also brought up her son to follow her evil ways… This history is a solemn example of the danger of an unholy alliance.

These profane alliances led the one and the other into the ways of the kings of Israel. The same holds true at all times. A Christian yoked together with a child of the world is bound to lose his testimony, and even the appearance of his Christianity. The world is never improved by the Christian's alliance with it. On the contrary, it is bad company that corrupts good manners.

He had married the daughter of a "murderer" (2 Kings 6:32), and as a natural consequence he soon soaked his own hands in blood.

Three kings are left out after Joram. The reason seems clear: Ahaziah's mother was Athaliah, the wicked daughter of Ahab, and God removes her seed from the genealogy to the third generation (2 Kings 8:16-24).

These unholy alliances led both kings into the ways of the kings of Israel. The same holds true at all times. A Christian tied to a child of the world is bound to lose his testimony, and even the appearance of his Christianity. The world is never improved by the Christian's alliance with it. Rather, the opposite: bad company corrupts good manners. True, the Lord is faithful to the promises made to David, so He does not destroy Jehoram of Judah. But Jehoram finds no rest in the world. His corrupted religion cannot give him that rest, and God's discipline and chastening do not leave him any.

Jehoshaphat, good man that he was, made a fatal alliance with the house of Ahab. His son Jehoram followed his father's bad example. He married Ahab's daughter and did evil before the LORD, as Ahab his father-in-law did. But the LORD would not wipe out the house of David. His covenant with David held back His righteous wrath from Judah. That covenant was a powerful influence for mercy in dark days of unbelief and evil.

In the Old Testament, anointing and the lamp appear together: "There I will make a horn to sprout for David; I have prepared a lamp for my anointed" (Ps. 132:17); "that David my servant may always have a lamp before me" (1 Kings 11:36). David himself was spoken of as "the lamp of Israel" (2 Sam. 21:17); and, in a far higher sense, our Lord Jesus declares Himself "the light of the world" (John 8:12). We see, then, that oil is a type of the Holy Spirit, and that anointing was by Him, as well as the power for light or testimony.

God always comes back to the grace He had shown to David. Grace is more in God's eyes than all glory. Or rather, grace is the most precious part of glory, for it stands at the head of all divine perfections.

The royal house of Israel is destroyed, and not a single man is left. God begins the trial of His patience again with a new dynasty, that of Jehu. But it is not so with the house of Judah. The faithful God keeps His word, for He had said He would always give David a lamp for his sons (2 Kings 8:19). In Joash He keeps alive for Himself a feeble candle stub, and He does not put it out. Through him an era of blessing and of the fear of the Lord would begin for the kingdom of Judah.

Today there is no king reigning in the house of David. But when the times of the Gentiles are completed this will change. In Christ there will be a successor and a testimony — a lamp — for the house of David. This will last as long as sun and earth exist.

These ungodly marriages led both kings into the ways of the kings of Israel. The same holds true at all times. A Christian tied to a child of the world loses his testimony, and even the appearance of his Christianity. The world is never improved by the Christian's alliance with it... Until now Edom had a governor who depended on the throne of Judah. Now it revolts and chooses a king for itself. The result is war. Jehoram has the advantage, but the revolt is not crushed, and this enemy is never subdued. It goes on "to this day."

His power decayed at once, and the neighboring nations were quick to see it and take advantage of it... The spirit of rebellion spread: "At the same time Libnah also revolted from his rule, because he had forsaken the LORD, the God of his fathers."

Isaac said of Esau, "By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother: and when you have the dominion, you shall break his yoke from your neck." This prediction was fulfilled. The kings of Israel defeated them again and again, yet in the end they were able to declare their freedom.

So the leading trait of Edom was envious dislike of the people of God. We do not find it so strong in any other nation. Babylon was Israel's greatest scourge except one: Rome, which punished the Jew even more terribly. Yet neither in Babylon nor in Rome was there the personal, unrelenting spite that seemed to be concentrated in Edom.

Edom is the same name as Adam, only slightly disguised. So the nation stands for the flesh, and "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

Jehoshaphat had at least kept Edom under control, but not so Jehoram. If we walk faithfully with God, we will be able to keep the flesh under control. But when faith wavers, the flesh will soon show itself in deliberate evil.

Edom was too strong, just as the flesh is too strong for mere human energy... Libnah also revolted at that time. Libnah means "whiteness." This teaches us that Judah lost control of moral purity at the same time as they lost control of the flesh. This will always be true.

It is His government which we see here; for He rules over those who are in covenant with Him, those who are His house.

Yet despite Jehoram's wickedness, the Lord would not destroy the house of David, because of His promise to David and to David's descendants (v. 7). So the grace of God stands out as greater than judgment, even though in righteous government God would bring serious suffering on Israel.

There was, therefore, a Jehoram, king over Judah, as well as a king of Israel by the same name. They are also known by the name Joram. The two names swap freely. In 2 Kings 9:15 and 17 the king of Israel is called Joram; in 2 Kings 8:21 the king of Judah is called Joram.

His power decayed at once, and the neighbouring nations were quick to see it and take advantage… This happened at Zair, in Idumea, south of the Dead Sea. The enemy had him surrounded, and he only just escaped death or capture. He got himself out by a night surprise, but the expedition was a failure.

The Lord, faithful to the promises made to David, does not destroy Jehoram of Judah. But Jehoram finds no rest in the world. His corrupted religion cannot give it, and the discipline and chastening of God do not leave him with it. Edom, which until now had a governor dependent on the throne of Judah, revolts and chooses a king for itself. The result is war. Jehoram has the advantage, but the revolt is not crushed, and this unsubdued enemy continues on "to this day."

The blessing of Esau was: "By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; but when you grow restless you shall break his yoke from your neck" (Genesis 27:40)… David put garrisons throughout all Edom, and all the Edomites became his servants (2 Samuel 8:14). But later, in the days of Joram, Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah. Joram was able to punish them, yet Judah was growing weaker.

This will be made good in its season, for the elder shall serve the younger — the promise is yes and amen. But from the days of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, of the house of David and the line of Jacob, Esau or Edom has been in revolt. So the promise is delayed, tangled and weighed down in ways the grace of God and the gift by grace had never designed. Jacob would never have gone through any of it, had his faith been simpler.

It was all the result of his unwise alliance with the ungodly house of Ahab. He reaped what he sowed — at least as a dreadful foretaste of it. And his descendants had to reap it in full, in a most terrible way… He had married the daughter of a murderer, and as a natural result his own hands were soon stained with blood.

Jehoram (also called Joram) tried again to bring Edom under control. He took all his chariots with him and attacked by night, but his own troops fled. Edom was too strong, just as the flesh is too strong for mere human energy.

Decline of power set in at once, and the neighbouring nations were quick to notice it and take advantage. The Edomites revolted from the rule of Judah and made themselves a king. Then Jehoram went out with his princes and all his chariots. He rose up by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him. This happened at Zair, in Idumea, south of the Dead Sea. The enemy surrounded him, and he barely escaped destruction or capture. He got himself out by a night surprise, but the expedition was a failure. The spirit of rebellion spread.

The words of Isaac were fulfilled. David put garrisons throughout all Edom, where the descendants of Esau lived, and all the people of Edom became his servants, 2 Samuel 8:14. Later, in the days of Joram, Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah. Joram was able to punish them, but Judah was growing weaker: "So Edom revolted from the rule of Judah to this day." Obadiah announces Edom's final judgement: no remnant is restored.

In Jehoram's days Edom revolted from the authority of Judah and made a king over themselves. Jehoshaphat had at least kept Edom under control, but not so Jehoram. By faithfully walking with God we shall be able to keep the flesh under control, but when faith wavers, the flesh will soon assert itself in wilful evil.

You cannot turn this enmity into friendship. It is exactly the same with the flesh: "For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law, indeed, it cannot." So the barrier is there. And it stands even though many refuse to believe in any irredeemable old nature like this inside the Christian. They claim kinship, and would gladly make a brother out of Edom. It cannot be.

Edom was too strong, just as the flesh is too strong for mere human energy. So Judah regained no authority over Edom, right up to the day this account was written. Libnah also revolted at that time. Libnah means "whiteness." This teaches us that Judah lost control of moral purity at the same time as they lost control of the flesh. This will always be true. If we do not keep the flesh in subjection, we shall not have moral purity.

Libnah was a city of Judah, a priestly city belonging to the sons of Aaron. What a shame for Jehoram! In his own kingdom one of the morally most important cities detached itself from him.

A Christian yoked together with a child of the world is bound to lose his testimony, and even the appearance of his Christianity. The world is never improved by the Christian's alliance with it. Instead, it is bad company that corrupts good manners.

He went even further than his father in alliance with evil, "for Ahab's daughter was his wife, and he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD." Yet "the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David." So when the Edomites revolted and Jehoram went out, he struck them. Still, God chastised him: "At the same time Libnah revolted from his rule, because he had forsaken the LORD, the God of his fathers."

These books often refer to the chronicles of the kings of Israel or to those of the kings of Judah. Men drew up these chronicles during the reigns of all the rulers of those times, whether Jewish or Gentile. They have nothing to do with the Word of God. What the Lord has not been pleased to record or explain is recorded there. These chronicles have been lost. The believer has no need for any of them; he has God's Word. In God's account he finds all that he needs, and God's own estimate of people, events, and things.

If the chronicles of the kings of Israel were ever found, they would contain the acts and all the might of Jehu. They would not contain what he was before God, or God's judgment on his conduct as king.

"Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?" Yes — and they, together with the wicked acts recorded here, are written in God's books above. Those books are not records of the kings of Israel only. They hold the deeds and doings of every man's life, whether good or evil. Solemn facts for us all!

"Now when Jehoram had ascended to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself and killed all his brothers with the sword, and some of the princes of Israel also." He had married the daughter of a murderer, and as a natural consequence he soon stained his own hands with blood.

These ungodly alliances led both kings into the ways of the kings of Israel. The same holds true at all times. A Christian yoked together with a child of the world is bound to lose his testimony, and even the appearance of his Christianity. The world is never improved by the Christian's alliance with it.

Jehoram (also called Joram) tried to subdue Edom again. He took all his chariots and attacked by night, but his own troops fled. Edom was too strong, just as the flesh is too strong for mere human energy. So Judah regained no authority over Edom, down to the day this report was written. Libnah also revolted at that time. Libnah means "whiteness," and this teaches us that Judah lost control of moral purity at the time they lost control of the flesh. This will always be true. If we do not keep the flesh in subjection, we shall not have moral purity.

In judgment his end was miserable, dishonoured and unmourned. No reign had been so disastrous so far, unless we count Rehoboam's, when the ten tribes revolted… And again we may ask: is he a descendant of the house of David? Yes — and therefore he and his are not beyond repair. "The Lord would not destroy the house of David because of the covenant that He had made with David."

"He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem, and he departed with no one's regret. And they buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings." He is one of the most unlovely of all the kings of Judah. "Exalted by Jehovah" was his name, yet for his wickedness he was thrust down to a dishonoured grave. He took the kingdom at its highest glory since the days of Solomon. After a reign of eight short years he left it with "Ichabod" — the glory is departed — written large upon it.

Joram (or Jehoram) died without regaining what he had lost, though he was buried among the kings in Jerusalem (v.24).

And so he was to die, and outward troubles came upon him. "The LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and of the Arabians." In the end, "the LORD struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease." So he died. "And his people made no fire in his honour, like the fires made for his fathers." He had gone on in sin, and he died in sorrow and shame. Such was the end of a son of David, really and literally the son of Jehoshaphat, whose name means "Jehovah is judge."

Jehoshaphat's son Jehoram followed his father's bad example. He married Ahab's daughter and did evil before Jehovah, as Ahab his father-in-law did. But Jehovah would not wipe out the house of David. His covenant with David held back His righteous wrath from Judah. That covenant was a powerful influence for mercy in dark days of unbelief and evil.

Ahaziah must have reigned as his father's deputy during the last year of his father's sickness... He was the youngest and only remaining son of Jehoram... His mother somehow escaped the fate of the rest of Jehoram's wives. The Philistines and Arabians carried them away captive when they invaded. She "was his counsellor in doing wickedly." 2 Chronicles 22:4 seems to hint that his father Jehoram repented during his last sufferings, and had broken away somewhat from the house of Ahab: "for they were his (Ahaziah's) counsellors after the death of his father, to his undoing." His father's death removed the check, and he at once joined his mother's relatives in their sins and their wars.

One of the sad features of Jehoshaphat's association with the house of Ahab was that his son Jehoram married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab. This had dreadful consequences for the line of David, because she carried the murderous spirit of Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, who was probably her mother. Association with the world can bring very disastrous results for the families of the saints of God, as Scripture shows here and elsewhere.

Verse 8 leaves out three kings after Joram. This is evidently because Ahaziah's mother was Athaliah, the wicked daughter of Ahab, and God removes her descendants from the genealogy to the third generation (2 Kings 8:16-24).

Ahaziah must have reigned as his father's deputy during the last year of his father's sickness. This is clear from comparing 2 Kings 8:25 with 9:29. He was the youngest and only remaining son of Jehoram (2 Chron. 21:17)... Somehow his mother escaped the fate of Jehoram's other wives, who were carried off captive during the Philistine-Arabian invasion. She "was his counsellor to do wickedly." 2 Chron. 22:4 seems to hint that his father Jehoram repented during his last sufferings, and had pulled away a little from the house of Ahab. This is because it says they "were his (Ahaziah's) counsellors after the death of his father, to his destruction." His father's death removed the check, and he at once joined himself to his mother's relatives in their sins and their wars.

The record makes his connection with Ahab prominent. He too did evil in the sight of the Lord. He made an alliance with Ahab's son Joram (or Jehoram), who was still king in Israel... Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, made an unholy alliance with the wicked murderer Ahab, King of Israel (1 Kings 22). It had resulted in the marriage of his son with Athaliah, the wicked daughter of a wicked father. And Jehoram, Jehoshaphat's son, was dragged down by her and she became the ruination of her son Ahaziah. A dreadful harvest!

The pious Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab was the origin of all this, for evil bears fruit which continues long to reproduce itself.

The short history of King Jehoram and King Ahaziah of Judah is woven in here to link the order of events together. It still presents serious and instructive features. The daughter of Ahab (the husband of Jezebel) was the wife of Jehoram of Judah. Ahaziah, Jehoram's son, was also "the son-in-law of the house of Ahab." These profane alliances led both of them into the ways of the kings of Israel. The same holds true at all times. A Christian yoked together with a child of the world is bound to lose his testimony and even the appearance of his Christianity. The world is never improved by the Christian's alliance with it.

The first evil begun by a pious king continues. His son's practice is far from pious. This is because a good man's bad example has immense influence, above all with those who are not good. It hardens them, and so works deep and lasting mischief. We are told that "the destruction of Ahaziah was of God, by coming to Joram: for when he came, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu." And so he came under the same judgment.

The royal house of Israel is destroyed, and not a single man is left. God begins the trial of His patience again with a new dynasty, that of Jehu. But it is not so with the house of Judah. The faithful God keeps His word, for He had said that He would give David "always a lamp for his sons" (2 Kings 8:19). In the person of Joash He keeps for Himself a feeble candle stub, and He does not put it out. Through Joash an era of blessing and of the fear of the Lord would begin for the kingdom of Judah.

His mother was Athaliah, called the daughter of Omri. That was a common way of speaking among the Jews. She was in fact the granddaughter of Omri, the head of this royal line. She was also the daughter of Ahab and the wife of Jehoram of Judah (v. 18). So she was the sister of Jehoram of Israel. Ahaziah himself was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab.

The kings of Israel had set the deadly example of a path that led Judah and all Israel to ruin (see 2 Kings 16:3). The godly Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab was where all this began, for evil bears fruit that goes on reproducing itself for a long time.

Sadly, the Lord's judgment on his father did not move him to turn to the Lord. Instead he followed the ways of the house of Ahab. His mother was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and he accepted his mother's wicked advice (v. 3). How different from Asa! Asa removed his own mother from her place as queen mother, because she had made an idol, an image of Asherah (2 Chron. 15:16). Anyone who chooses to ignore the Lord leaves himself open to being led into every kind of evil.

2 Kings 8:26 says he was 22 years old when he began to reign, but 2 Chr. 22:2 says he was 42. The second figure is surely a copyist's mistake, since his father was only 40 years old when he died. 2 Chr. 21:5, 20. The Syriac and Arabic copies read 22 in both passages.

Since all Jehoram's sons had been killed except Ahaziah, the youngest, the people made him king.

He formed an alliance with Joram king of Israel and went with him against Hazael king of Syria. Joram was wounded and went to Jezreel to be healed. Ahaziah later went to visit Joram, and God brought about his death by Jehu, when Jehu cut off the house of Ahab.

The wife of Jehoram of Judah was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab (2 Kings 8:18); Ahaziah was the son of Athaliah (2 Kings 8:26). This should make Christian mothers realize their responsibility. It should stir them to bring up their children in the fear of the Lord. On the other hand, it shows that when the head of a Christian family marries a woman of the world, the result is morally disastrous for the children born from that marriage.

His son Jehoram followed his father's bad example. He married Ahab's daughter and did evil before the LORD, just as his father-in-law Ahab did. But the LORD would not wipe out the house of David. His covenant with David held back His righteous anger from falling on Judah. That covenant was a powerful influence for mercy in dark days of unbelief and evil.

His mother was Athaliah, called the daughter of Omri. That was a common way of speaking among the Jews. She was in fact the granddaughter of Omri, the head of this dynasty. She was the daughter of Ahab and the wife of Jehoram of Judah. She was thus the sister of Jehoram of Israel. Ahaziah himself was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. His grandfather Jehoshaphat had made an alliance with Ahab to retake Ramoth-Gilead, which had fallen under the power of the king of Syria. Ahaziah did the same. He made an alliance with Jehoram of Israel, son of Ahab, to make war against Hazael, the king of Syria, at Ramoth-Gilead.

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, made an unholy alliance with Ahab, king of Israel, a wicked murderer. It led to the marriage of Jehoshaphat's son to Athaliah, the wicked daughter of a wicked father. She dragged Jehoram, Jehoshaphat's son, down with her, and she ruined her own son Ahaziah. A dreadful harvest!

The pious Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab was the origin of all this, for evil bears fruit which continues long to reproduce itself.

His mother was his counselor in doing wickedly. 2 Chronicles 22:4 seems to hint that his father Jehoram repented during his last sufferings, and had pulled away a little from the house of Ahab: "For after the death of his father they were his [Ahaziah's] counselors, to his undoing." His father's death removed the check, and he at once united himself with his mother's relatives in their sins and warfare.

These profane alliances led the one and the other into the ways of the kings of Israel. The same holds true at all times. A Christian tied to a child of the world is bound to lose his testimony, and even the appearance of his Christianity. The world is never improved by the Christian's alliance with it. Just the opposite: bad company corrupts good manners.

Ahaziah, king of Judah, went to his wounded ally to express his sympathy. By the world's standards this was an act of simple courtesy. But he had opposed Hazael, God's rod against Israel, and now he put himself under the blows of Jehu, the second of God's rods against his ally. These judgments on Israel did not move him or hold him back on his path — and now they would reach his very own person!

He was the seventh from Solomon, and the first king of Judah to die a violent death. His name is the first of the royal line left out of the genealogy in Matthew 1... Jehu's commission did not include killing the king of Judah. But Ahaziah was among those doomed to destruction, so he shared their fate. In that system of wickedness the spiritual Jezebel teaches and seduces God's servants. And God's call to His own is this: "Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues" (Revelation 18:4).

His mother somehow escaped what happened to Jehoram's other wives, whom the Philistines and Arabians carried away captive when they invaded. She advised him to do evil. 2 Chronicles 22:4 seems to hint that his father Jehoram repented during his last sufferings, and had broken away a little from the house of Ahab, for it says that Ahab's family became Ahaziah's counsellors after his father's death, to his ruin. His father's death removed the check on him, and he at once joined his mother's relatives in their sins and their wars.

His grandfather Jehoshaphat had made an alliance with Ahab to take back Ramoth-Gilead, which had fallen under the power of the king of Syria. In the same way Ahaziah made an alliance with Jehoram of Israel, Ahab's son, to fight Hazael, the king of Syria, at Ramoth-Gilead, a city of refuge (Deut. 4:43)... This alliance with the kings of Israel was detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Jehoram of Israel met the same fate at Ramoth as Ahab, whom the Syrians had wounded in that same place earlier (1 Kings 22:34).

The kings of Israel set the fatal example of a course that led Judah and all Israel to ruin. The godly Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab was the origin of it all, for evil bears fruit that goes on reproducing itself for a long time.

Still, the judgments of God are being carried out. Elisha goes to Damascus, and Hazael, the rod of Jehovah to chastise His people, is placed on the throne of Syria.

His brother Jehoram was not nearly so bad, for he removed Baal. But he did not remove Jeroboam's calves. No doubt he kept them for the same political reason that made Jeroboam set them up (1 Kings 12:26-30). In his day the sword of Hazael begins (2 Kings 8:28), and the sword of Jehu fulfils the prediction.

King Joram was now returning to Jezreel to be healed of the wounds the Syrians had given him, and Jehu at once offered to pay a visit to his master... At that very time, sad to say, the king of Judah was there too. Here we find a very solemn fact about God's government. If a man who ought to be on the side of righteousness turns aside into a sinful alliance with evil, he suffers according to the evil he joins, and not according to the righteousness he may once have had... A sin is a sin whoever commits it, but whose sin is the greatest? Sin in a Christian is surely worse than sin in an ordinary man who has no Christianity. Sin is always measured by the privilege of the one who commits it.

If we join with the world in its schemes, we must expect to be identified with it in its convulsions.

Each time Israel gained an advantage through the friendship of the king of Judah, what did it give in exchange? The loss was always on the side of those who, in some feeble measure, still bore the testimony of the true God.

His grandfather Jehoshaphat had made an alliance with Ahab to retake Ramoth-Gilead, which had fallen under the power of the king of Syria. In the same way Ahaziah the son of Jehoram of Judah made an alliance with Jehoram of Israel, son of Ahab. Together they went to war against Hazael, the king of Syria, at Ramoth-Gilead, a city of refuge (Deut. 4:43)… This alliance with the kings of Israel was an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. Jehoram of Israel suffered the same fate at Ramoth as Ahab. The Syrians had wounded Ahab earlier at that same place (1 Kings 22:34). He retired to Jezreel to be healed of his wounds. It was there that his ally Ahaziah, king of Judah, came to him to express his sympathy.

Still, God's judgments are being carried out. Elisha goes to Damascus, and Hazael, the rod of Jehovah to discipline His people, is placed on the throne of Syria.

The Spirit of God takes notice of the consequences of Judah's alliance with Israel; but with this exception, Judah for the time is out of sight.

All these signs of patience and grace, these loud calls to repentance, met with no response from Israel, and God prepares His instruments of vengeance. Hazael, now the king of Syria, begins to carry out the sentence of God. The king of Israel is wounded in battle, and the king of Judah visits him. What is this but the professing world going to comfort the profane world? Judgment does not delay, and the next instrument of God is anointed. Jehu is called to the throne, and draws the sword of God.

The pious Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab was the origin of all this, for evil bears fruit which continues long to reproduce itself. Alas, alas! What is man when he turns aside from Jehovah's ways? He leaves the narrow, straight path of God's word and will. He leaves the path of faith — the true path of an obedient spirit.

That is, the first evil begun by a pious king continues. The practice of his son is far from pious, for the bad example of a good man has immense influence, especially with those who are not good. It hardens them, and so works deep harm that cannot be rooted out.

Ahaziah's association and close friendship with the king of Israel proved his undoing. He visited the wounded king of Israel just as Jehu, at God's bidding, carried out His vengeance on the idolatrous and wicked house of Ahab. Jehu killed the king in Samaria, along with the princes of Judah and the sons of Ahaziah's brothers. The divine commentary on this is, "And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by coming to Joram."

Ahaziah was so friendly with him that he went down to visit him. But Chapter 9 shows us that God was intervening with some serious results for these two kings.