2 Kings 8:5-62
5 As he was relating to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead , behold , the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her field . And Gehazi said , "My lord , O king , this is the woman and this is her son , whom Elisha restored to life ." 6 When the king asked the woman , she related it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer , saying , "Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now ."
Hazael Becomes King of Syria
7 Then Elisha came to Damascus . Now Ben-hadad king of Aram was sick , and it was told him, saying , " The man of God has come here e ." 8 The king said to Hazael , " Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God , and inquire of the Lord by him, saying , 'Will I recover from this sickness ?' " 9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand , even every kind of good thing of Damascus , forty camels' loads ; and he came and stood before him and said , " Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying , 'Will I recover from this sickness ?' " 10 Then Elisha said to him, " Go , say to him, 'You will surely recover ,' but the Lord has shown me that he will certainly die ." 11 He fixed his gaze steadily on him until he was ashamed , and the man of God wept . 12 Hazael said , "Why does my lord weep ?" Then he answered , "Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel : their strongholds you will set on fire , and their young men you will kill with the sword , and their little ones you will dash in pieces , and their women with child you will rip up." 13 Then Hazael said , "But what is your servant , who is but a dog , that he should do this great thing ?" And Elisha answered , " The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram ." 14 So he departed from Elisha and returned to his master , who said to him, "What did Elisha say to you?" And he answered , "He told me that you would surely recover ." 15 On the following day , he took the cover and dipped it in water and spread it on his face , so that he died . And Hazael became king in his place .
The Reign of Jehoram of Judah
16 Now in the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel , Jehoshaphat being then the king of Judah , Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah became king . 17 He was thirty-two e years old when he became king , and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem . 18 He walked in the way of the kings of Israel , just as the house of Ahab had done , for the daughter of Ahab became his wife ; and he did evil in the sight of the Lord . 19 However, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah , for the sake of David His servant , since He had promised him to give a lamp to him through his sons always e . 20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah , and made a king over themselves. 21 Then Joram crossed over to Zair , and all his chariots with him. And he arose by night and struck the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots ; but his army fled to their tents . 22 So Edom revolted against e e Judah to this day . Then Libnah revolted at the same time . 23 The rest of the acts of Joram and all that he did , are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles e of the Kings of Judah ? 24 So Joram slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David ; and Ahaziah his son became king in his place .
The Reign of Ahaziah of Judah
25 In the twelfth e year of Joram the son of Ahab king of Israel , Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah began to reign . 26 Ahaziah was twenty-two e years old when he became king , and he reigned one year in Jerusalem . And his mother's name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri king of Israel . 27 He walked in the way of the house of Ahab and did evil in the sight of the Lord , like the house of Ahab had done, because he was a son-in-law of the house of Ahab . 28 Then he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead , and the Arameans wounded Joram . 29 So King Joram returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram . Then Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel because he was sick .
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Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Kings 8:5-62
Commentary on 2 Kings 8:1-6
(Read 2 Kings 8:1-6)
The kindness of the good Shunammite to Elisha, was rewarded by the care taken of her in famine. It is well to foresee an evil, and wisdom, when we foresee it, to hide ourselves if we lawfully may do so. When the famine was over, she returned out of the land of the Philistines; that was no proper place for an Israelite, any longer than there was necessity for it. Time was when she dwelt so securely among her own people, that she had no occasion to be spoken for to the king; but there is much uncertainty in this life, so that things or persons may fail us which we most depend upon, and those befriend us which we think we shall never need. Sometimes events, small in themselves, prove of consequence, as here; for they made the king ready to believe Gehazi's narrative, when thus confirmed. It made him ready to grant her request, and to support a life which was given once and again by miracle.
Commentary on 2 Kings 8:7-15
(Read 2 Kings 8:7-15)
Among other changes of men's minds by affliction, it often gives other thoughts of God's ministers, and teaches to value the counsels and prayers of those whom they have hated and despised. It was not in Hazael's countenance that Elisha read what he would do, but God revealed it to him, and it fetched tears from his eyes: the more foresight men have, the more grief they are liable to. It is possible for a man, under the convictions and restraints of natural conscience, to express great abhorrence of a sin, yet afterwards to be reconciled to it. Those that are little and low in the world, cannot imagine how strong the temptations of power and prosperity are, which, if ever they arrive at, they will find how deceitful their hearts are, how much worse than they suspected. The devil ruins men, by saying they shall certainly recover and do well, so rocking them asleep in security. Hazael's false account was an injury to the king, who lost the benefit of the prophet's warning to prepare for death, and an injury to Elisha, who would be counted a false prophet. It is not certain that Hazael murdered his master, or if he caused his death it may have been without any design. But he was a dissembler, and afterwards proved a persecutor to Israel.
Commentary on 2 Kings 8:16-24
(Read 2 Kings 8:16-24)
A general idea is given of Jehoram's badness. His father, no doubt, had him taught the true knowledge of the Lord, but did ill to marry him to the daughter of Ahab; no good could come of union with an idolatrous family.
Commentary on 2 Kings 8:25-29
(Read 2 Kings 8:25-29)
Names do not make natures, but it was bad for Jehoshaphat's family to borrow names from Ahab's. Ahaziah's relation to Ahab's family was the occasion of his wickedness and of his fall. When men choose wives for themselves, let them remember they are choosing mothers for their children. Providence so ordered it, that Ahaziah might be cut off with the house of Ahab, when the measure of their iniquity was full. Those who partake with sinners in their sin, must expect to partake with them in their plagues. May all the changes, troubles, and wickedness of the world, make us more earnest to obtain an interest in the salvation of Christ.