BEN-HADAD 2 - All The Bible Teaches About
Contents:
Ben-hadad engaged later in a war with Ahab and unsuccessfully besieged Samaria I Kings xx. The campaign resulted happily for Israel, as the Syrian was over-whelmed at Aphek, in spite of his numerous allies. On his attacking Samaria again, his army fled without giving battle, owing to a rumor that the king of Israel had entered into an alliance with the Hittites and Egyptians II Kings vii. The Syrian forces were utterly defeated at Karkar on the Orontes in B.
The inscriptions of Shalmaneser in one passage give the number of the slain as 20, With , men in B. Shalmaneser again entered Syria and overthrew Ben-hadad and a large army of allies. According to II Kings viii. Let me see if I can illustrate how revealing too much of the truth ahead of time can have an adverse effect. I stop my car and get out to help change the tire.
2 Kings 6:8-23 : Elisha's Triumph over Ben-Hadad
Out of the back seat emerges a distinguished looking gentleman who introduces himself as Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. As I am changing the tire, he confides in me that he is in a hurry to get to the airport to catch a plane to Washington, D.
Do you not think that what Alan Greenspan told me in confidence would affect the way I chose to invest that money? Of course it would! At the very least, I would not invest my funds in a way that I knew would result in great losses, because of the higher interest rates.
And then again, if Hazael realized that Elisha knew what he planned to do, he might fear that his wicked deeds would be exposed, either before or after he killed Ben Hadad. In this case, Hazael might decide not to go ahead with his plans.
Elisha planted no sinful ideas in the heart of Hazael—they were already there. If Elisha had told Hazael that Ben Hadad would have died from his illness, all Ben Hadad would have had to do is to wait for the king to die. Then Hazael replaced him as king. Hazael returns to the ailing Ben Hadad, who eagerly asks his servant what response the prophet gave to his question. Hazael assures the king that he will recover from his illness, and then he departs.
It is interesting to me that Hazael waits until the next day to kill the king. The explanation may be as simple as the fact Hazael could not arrange to be alone with the king until the following day. In my opinion, it makes him all the more culpable, as the murder of the king must be a premeditated act. My friend, Bruce Beaty, reminded me of the contrast between David and Hazael.
Samuel the prophet anointed David, and told him he would replace Saul as king of Israel see 1 Samuel David was the loyal servant of his master, even after his death. Hazael, on the other hand, immediately returns to take the life of Ben Hadad. He does not wait for God to remove Ben Hadad. The man who would do violence to the Israelites does not hesitate to do violence to his master. The following day, the terrible deed is done. And with the death of Ben Hadad and the rise of Hazael to power, a new era begins:. Hazael rules from about to B.
Israel is forced to yield to him throughout his reign. Our text is loaded with lessons for contemporary readers. Let me conclude by suggesting a few of them. God knows everything that will happen, but in addition to this, He knows everything that would happen given any set of circumstances. When king Saul was pursuing David, he sought refuge in the city of Keilah. David realized that Saul would seek to capture and kill him there, so he inquired of the Lord. If he remained at Keilah and Saul pressured the people to turn him over to the king, would they hand him over to Saul?
The question David asked of God was hypothetical, but God told him what would have happened, had David remained in Keilah. What a great God we serve!
He knows everything that will happen in the future. In addition, He knows precisely what would happen in any given circumstance.
1 Kings - Chapter 20
God is never caught off guard. Whenever I find myself wishing that things had turned out differently, I must remember that God knows exactly what would have resulted if they had. Second, we are reminded of one of the terrifying truths of the Word of God: In the final chapters of the Book of Deuteronomy chapters , Moses warned the Israelites of the judgments that would come upon them if they disregarded God and disobeyed His commandments. During the days of Elijah and Elisha, God brought various forms of adversity upon the northern kingdom of Israel, to get their attention, and to turn them from their sins.
He brought various droughts and famines as well as attacks and sieges from the armies of surrounding nations. In spite of all these judgments, and the warnings issued by the prophets, Israel persisted in her sin. Though God had patiently persisted to warn His people of the consequences of their sin, they ignored His rebuke.
Bible Living
Finally, payday has arrived. As I recall, it was Robert G. In a way, I wish that it all stopped there in those ancient times, but it does not. This ancient judgment also serves as a prototype of future times of judgment for Israel. Just yesterday, I received an e-mail from someone asking me to explain the meaning of this text in Hosea:. Samaria will be held guilty, because she was rebellious against her God.
They will fall by the sword; Their infants will be dashed to the ground , Their pregnant women will be ripped open Hosea Would you not agree with me that the wording of this text in Hosea is strikingly similar to that in our own text? Thus, we can expect the horrors of the days of Hazael will be repeated in the future, because Israel will continue in her unbelief and disobedience. Here is where the really difficult part comes.
The holocaust of our text in 2 Kings 8 helps us to interpret other similar holocausts in later times. I would not for one moment seek to justify or minimize the horrible injustices and unthinkable acts of cruelty that took place in those death camps. But as horrible as they were, and as wicked as those who performed such atrocities were, I must interpret this holocaust in the light of Scripture. What insight does the Bible and, more specifically our text give us into these atrocities? The answer of Moses in the final chapters of Deuteronomy, and of the prophets who come after him, is consistent: But now they are hidden from your eyes.
Those who are inside the city must depart. Those who are out in the country must not enter it; 22 because these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people. It is certainly not politically correct to say that Jewish unbelief was in any way related to the atrocities of the holocaust.
But let us learn from our text that God has promised to bring judgment upon those who refuse to obey His Word. The Bible speaks of the Great Tribulation on a number of occasions. I must say one more thing about human suffering. I do not wish anyone to conclude that I believe all suffering is the direct result of sin. It was a point of view that Jesus corrected see John 9: I agree with Dr. Dobson, and I do not wish anyone to think that I believe all suffering is the punishment of God for sin. In such cases, we dare not ignore the cause of such suffering, whether this is politically correct or not.
By the way, we read in the Scriptures about children being smashed and pregnant women being ripped open, and we recoil in horror. Is this not happening daily in the abortion clinics of our land? Where is the horror? Where is the indignation? Where is the repentance? Elisha must proclaim the bad news to Israel, as he has been doing all along.
Now, he must announce that an even greater judgment is coming upon Israel, and for a longer period. But we must carefully note his spirit in all of this. He is not angry or bitter with Israel, or with God. It is an essential part of the gospel, and a truth to which the Holy Spirit bears witness:. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. For ever since our ancestors fell asleep, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.
Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
BEN-HADAD 2 - All The Bible Teaches About - Kindle edition by Jerome Goodwin. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ www.farmersmarketmusic.com In the Bible, Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, is mentioned in 1 Kings –22; help from foreign nations, all of Ben-Hadad's men fled, leaving everything behind . to Ben-Hadad II, who was ill: “Go and say to him, 'You will certainly recover.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. The gospel that we proclaim is the good news of salvation. Only one who is lost needs to be saved. Every human being is a sinner by nature, from the moment of birth, and the sins we commit condemn us. The bad news is that we are all sinners, deserving an eternity in hell. The good news is that Jesus bore our punishment, and He offers His righteousness to us, so that we may spend eternity with Him in heaven.
Will you receive this gift of salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ as the One who died in your place? If so, He has borne your judgment. If not, you must bear the guilt and judgment for your sins for all eternity.
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This text teaches me another very important lesson: God has many instruments available, with which He can bring judgment upon sinful men, and thus He does not need us to execute retribution. Do you remember this text in Romans, where Paul quotes from Proverbs? Although unsuccessful, he also sought to take Jerusalem 2 Kings Hazael's death is mentioned in 2 Kings A monumental Aramaic inscription discovered at Tel Dan is seen by most scholars as having been erected by Hazael, after he defeated the Kings of Israel and Judah.
The destruction of the settlement at Tell Zeitah during the ninth century may also be the result of Hazael's campaign. King Joash of Judah forestalled Hazael's invasion by bribing him with treasure from the royal palace and temple. Decorated bronze plaques from chariot horse-harness taken from Hazael, identified by their inscriptions, have been found as re-gifted votive objects at two Greek sites, the Heraion of Samos and in the temple of Apollo at Eretria on Euboea. The inscriptions read "that which Hadad gave to our lord Hazael from 'Umq in the year that our lord crossed the River".
The triangular front pieces show a " Master of the animals " [11] gripping inverted sphinxes or lions in either hand, and with deep-bosomed goddesses who cup their breasts and stand on the heads of lions. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A Dictionary of the Bible: