“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.”
~ 2 Kings 8:12
Hi James and Ellen,
How do you feel or what are your thoughts about wars? How do you feel or what are your thoughts about guys, gals and kids being killed in wars? How do you feel or what are your thoughts about despotic, tyrannical, dictatorial bad guys or gals becoming leaders of people groups and nations of guys, gals and kids? The historian who scribed the Kings Books recorded in 2 Kings 8 the life of a really despotic, tyrannical, dictatorial bad guy. This despotic, tyrannical, dictatorial bad guy was just a nobody when he usurped in the country of Aram the role of king. This really bad guy’s name was Hazael. When Aram’s king – Ben Hadad, became sick, Hazael had already found a way to weasel himself into Ben Hadad’s inner circle of gofers. When Ben Hadad found out that Elisha was in Damascus – which is the city where he lived, Ben Hadad asked Hazael to find Elisha to ask Elisha if he was ever going to be well again. God had Elijah mentor Elisha to be His spokesman for this period of time. Elisha was always letting himself be directed by God to be in the right place at the right time to do what God wanted him to do – which invariably was something miraculous. Elisha had become well-known by now as a guy who God used in ways that belied being able to explain. As an example – about seven years before Elisha and Hazael had their encounter in Damascus, Elisha after being told about the death of a young boy went to the house where the boy’s body was and miraculously brought the young boy back to life by lying directly on top of him and breathing into the kid’s mouth.
Ben Hadad thought that if he sent to Elisha forty camels loaded with the very best stuff that he had, that Elisha would pull strings with God and that God would then heal him. Damascus had become a trade center for the land area that had been settled on planet Earth. When Ben Hadad was Aram’s king – which was over 2838 years ago – or 2855 years ago at the time of this editing, Ben Hadad ruled over Mesopotamia, Asia Minor and Egypt land areas. When Hazael found Elisha to ask him what Ben Hadad’s health diagnosis was, Elisha could see right into Hazael’s heart. When Hazael asked Elisha whether or not Ben Hadad would recover from his illness, Elisha told Hazael that Ben Hadad would not recover from his illness. Elisha also told Hazael that he – Hazael, would tell Ben Hadad that he would recover from his illness. Elisha knew what kind of a really bad guy that Hazael was. Verse 12 states that Hazael realized that Elisha knew what kind of an evil, awful heart that he had when Elisha responded to a question that he had asked him, ““Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites,” he answered. “You will set fire to their fortified places, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women.” Elisha really did know how atrociously bad that Hazael would be. Hazael – whose name means ‘the son of a nobody’, would the next day put a thick, wet cloth over the face of Ben Hadad to kill him. Hazael would be Aram’s – or Lebanon’s, king for the next thirty-six years.
Why do you think that some guys grow up to be despots, tyrants or dictators? There are other bad guys and a bad gal written about in this chapter of the Kings Book. Athaliah’s family lineage was through Ahab’s family. Ahab was Athaliah’s dad. Athaliah grew up in a home where her ma – Jezebel, worshipped Baal. A Baal was a false, inanimate idol god. Hazael may have been just a street kid before he ended up in Ben Hadad’s court. Athaliah had a dad and ma who did not raise their daughter to be a follower of the One True God. Despotic, tyrannical, dictatorial guys and gals seem to either come from an inhospitable environment – such as the one that Hazael may have had to survive in, or from a messed up home – like the one that Athaliah came from. A kid’s life can get really torqued or twisted if he or she has to grow up in an insecure environ where there is no dad and ma. A kid may compensate for an abnormal growing up conditioning environment by developing personal norms or mores that end up controlling his or her own lifestyle decisions. A despotic, tyrannical, dictatorial guy or gal will use torturing and killing other guys and gals who may be perceived as a threat as a control over every other guy and gal who lives where he or she rules. There have been some horrendously evil despotic, tyrannical and dictatorial bad guys who have ruled people groups and nations of guys, gals and kids through the generations that planet Earth has existed. Very few despotic, tyrannical and dictatorial guys have been as bad as a guy by the name of Hitler. After he became Germany’s leader, Hitler saw to it the killing of around six million Jews. Jews are God’s specially chosen guys, gals and kids. The news has been filled in more recent years with stories of another really bad guy – Saddam Hussein. Saddam Hussein would kill guys who he perceived to be a threat to his leadership of Iraq. Your grandpaa is sure that you are going to encounter control freaks – despotic, tyrannical or dictatorial kinds of guys and gals, all the time. A control freak may be a boss, a coach, a playmate or any guy, gal or kid who has baggage and issues in his or her life. A control freak believes that he or she has to dominate the guys, gals and kids who are around him or her. A control freak is always suspiciously looking over his or her shoulders thinking that a guy or gal is out there who is trying to get him or her. A control freak will verbally and physically abuse and devastate guys, gals and kids who he or she cannot control. A control freak’s life is like that of a despot, tyrant or dictator. Your growing up conditioning environs is a home where there is a dad, a ma, a school and a church where the One True God is taught. You have every reason in the world to always want to thank the One True God that He will not have you grow up to be a Hazael or an Athaliah.
2 Kings 8 (449)