Friday after the Twelfth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on September 13, 2019 by under
Scripture: 2 Kings 8:1-15 (NKJV)
8:1 Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the Lord has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land. 4 Then the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing to the king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him.
So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.”
7 Then Elisha went to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, “The man of God has come here.” 8 And the king said to Hazael, “Take a present in your hand, and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’” 9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel-loads; and he came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-Hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this disease?’ ”
10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover.’ However the Lord has shown me that he will really die.” 11 Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?”
He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.”
13 So Hazael said, “But what is your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?”
And Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will become king over Syria.”
14 Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me you would surely recover.” 15 But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place.
Devotion
In this chapter we are given a glimpse into God’s omniscience. He knows that Ben-Hadad will recover from illness. But God also knows (and so does Elisha) that Hazael will murder Ben-Hadad. He knows it before Hazael knows it. God knows how all the players will act out their roles.
Our Lord God holds all things in His hands. He knows all that will happen, and His will is accomplished. The future is not uncertain or chaotic. God has an end that He is driving all history towards. All things and all men serve His purposes. Unlike others in the world, the Christian knows that his life is part of God’s plan and that he will join God in His eternal kingdom. This gives the Christian purpose and hope.
There is intelligence and design in the world. This is one aspect of the Christian worldview that made it easier to convert the pagans. The world and, more importantly our existence in it, is not just random and meaningless. It is purposeful. We don’t have to be victims of fate. We are sons of the King of Kings. Not only is this easier to cope with psychologically, but it makes better sense of the world around us. The one true God’s design can be seen in His creation. And history has a direction. It is not random or circular.
We pray: Lord, give us eyes to see You in Your creation and in history. May we recognize that all of history works toward Your ends, and may we be servants for You in that history. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
