TEXT: II Kings 8:7-15

SUBJECT: Elisha #15: Enough is Enough!

There once was a prophet in Israel whose name was Elisha. One day the Lord told him to leave his country and go to Damascus where the Syrian king was lying in a sick bed.

When the news of his arrival reached the palace, the ailing king sent a trusted officer to inquire of the Lord. The officer’s name was Hazael, and he wanted to know if his king, Benhadad, would recover. Elisha said he would, but added, the Lord has shown me that he will really die.

On saying this, the man of God fixed his gaze on Hazael and held it for what must have seemed like hours. Then he burst into tears, crying as men used to when they were stronger than they are now.

The Syrian was confounded by what he saw and wanted to know why Elisha was acting this way. ‘It’s because you’re going to destroy my people—burn our forts, kill our men, rip open our expecting mothers, and bash out the brains of our babies’.

Hazael wonders how he should all this. ‘You’re going to be the next king of Syria—that’s how you’re going to do it’. And so the interview ends.

The man goes back to his king carrying good news: ‘The Lord has said you’re going to recover!’ But the next day, he comes into the king’s bedroom with a wet towel. He puts it over the sick man’s face, smothers him, and takes the throne.

There’s a moral to this story, and for Israel, it was not a pleasant one. Before we get to that, however, some of the details are worth thinking about.

THE DETAILS

The opening words of our story must have hit the Israelites like a punch in the mouth—Then Elisha went to Damascus. At the time, Damascus was to Israel what Moscow was to America at the height of the Cold War. All cunning and malice were attributed to its leaders and as long as they had power, Israel would have no peace.

Had he gone there on his own, he would have been a traitor to his people and fit to be hanged. But he hadn’t gone on his own--he was sent. This means Elisha wasn’t changing sides, but something far worse: God had gone over to the Syrians!

For the prophet hadn’t come to Damascus with a warning, but with a promise. The stalemate was over! With the rise of a new king, Syria would have its way with Israel.

Elisha’s message to the king is quite perplexing. He says to tell him he will recover, while in fact, he knows very well he won’t live past the next day.

How do we take this? Is the prophet lying or being subtle? Did the scribes make a mistake in copying the manuscript or is this a real contradiction in the Word of God?

I say none of the above! A discrepancy is not a contradiction, and just because you can’t reconcile two things doesn’t mean they can’t be reconciled. Let me tell you what I think about it, and if you don’t like it—do better yourself!

I take the words for sarcasm.

Proverbs 26:5 says, Answer a fool according to his folly. This is what Hazael is—a fool. He doesn’t care about his king and long has he been plotting to kill him. ‘Since you’re going to murder him anyway—the prophet says, in effect—‘you might as well ease his mind for today by telling him he’ll be fine, just fine’.

The facts proved the prophecy right. The king doesn’t recover from his illness, and Hazael takes his place. Over the next fifty years, the king’s false friend will be Israel’s true enemy. If the former was the stick of God’s chastisement, the latter will be the sword of His vengeance.

The story spoke first to Israel, and what it said was bad news. Elisha’s trip to Syria and Hazael’s rise to its throne mean God’s patience with Israel has run out.

A hundred years before, Israel had quit the God they couldn’t see in favor of the gods they could see. Golden Calves were set up in Dan and Bethel, and the people turned to these wicked idols. But the Lord did not turn from His people. Every day, rising early and sending them, He sent His prophets to warn His people of their danger and to promise them mercy if only they would seek it in Him.

The people did not fear their danger or want God’s mercy. If they wouldn’t hear His soft words, let them feel His hard discipline! Famine was sent to Israel along with a series of military and political disasters. But as things got worse, so did the people.

If fear will not drive them, maybe love will draw them. Elisha is sent to perform miracles of grace, both big and small. If a man loses a borrowed axe head, he gets it back for him. If three armies are about to die of thirst, he fetches water for them. If a city is mad with hunger, he gives them more food than they can eat. If a boy dies, he raises the dead.

God has spoken, long and loud, but the people did not listen. This means there’s nothing left but Judgment. And it’s coming, right now.

This is what Elisha’s errand to Damascus meant. By sending him to Syria, God was taking His word away from Israel. And this was a heavy judgment, for without the Word, there is no salvation! As long as the prophets pleaded with Israel, they might mend their ways and have God’s favor. But what will become of them if the prophets quit pleading?

We don’t have to wonder. Amos spells it out for us, 8:11-14,

What no food and water do to the body, no Word does to the soul. The people are frantic, running every which way to find a scrap of the Word, but none can be found. Even the pretty girls and the strapping young men cannot survive the loss of God’s Word.

The loss of God’s Word was half the judgment pronounced that day. The other half was the new king of Syria. The old king was Benhadad, and he was not a good neighbor. Several times he attacked the Jewish people, but his plans never worked out because the Lord was backing the armies of Israel.

But not any more. From now on, Syria will be free to conquer and oppress the Lord’s People. Because they’re no longer His people.

God’s patience with Israel has run out.

This is what the story said to the men who first read it.

What does it say to us?

In the first place, it does say something to us. The Old Testament is not only history, it is also prophecy. It not only tells us what happened way back then, but it also points to the future.

What is that future? It would be easy to identify Israel with the Church, and to say ‘If we don’t start behaving ourselves, God will run out of patience with us too’.

There is some truth in this. We must not try the patience of God or think we can live any old way and still belong to Him. All these things were written for our example—Paul said--that we might not lust as they did, and fell in the wilderness.

But this is on the side. The central issue is something else altogether. What does ‘Israel’ chiefly point to? Not the Church, but Christ.

What do the Prophets call Israel?

We think of terms like God’s People, His Flock, His Wife, His Children, and so on. But these are not the only words they use to identify Israel. Here are some others: God’s Servant, God’s Elect, His Son, God’s Heir, and even His Firstborn (cf. Isaiah 42:1-2, Exodus 4:2, Psalm 94:5).

Who is God’s Servant? Who is His Chosen One? Who is His Son? His Heir? And His Firstborn? Jesus Christ.

If God takes His Word and People away from Israel, He also took them away from His Son. Where were the thousands who said they loved Him? Where were the Twelve who had lived with Him for three years? They were off hiding in fear or shame.

And what of the Word? That, too, left Him at the cross. The promises that once sustained Him were not there for Him any more. That’s why the appalling cry means,

If God sends merciless men against Israel, He pits the same kind of men against His Son. Think of Annas and Caiaphas, stung by envy, and striking back with all the hate they could muster. Think of the soldiers crowning Him with thorns and throwing dice for His coat. Think of the mob, demanding His crucifixion. Think of the thief mocking and cursing Him as both of them died.

If God sets His own justice against Israel, He fixes the same wrath on His Son. Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree means God is against him and is paying him back in full for his sins.

But our Lord didn’t sin, did He?

No He didn’t. But we did. And, on the cross, He took our sins upon Himself and suffered all the things we deserved.

This is what the Story says to us: God punishes His Son. For us.

If Christ is judged then we are saved. For His death ratified the New Covenant which results in our pardon and our renewal. Israel—as a nation—could not be saved because its Covenant was not good enough.

Its sacrifices were not good enough—It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin.

Its law wasn’t good enough. Its content was all right but its placement was all wrong. For that Law was written on tables of stone and could not effect obedience.

But our sacrifice is good enough. For it is not the blood of bulls and goats shed for us, but the blood of God’s own Son. And our Law is good enough, for it is written in our hearts, enabling us to believe in Christ and persevere in that holiness without which no man will see the Lord.

God’s patience with Israel has run out. Three thousand years ago, that was a message of Judgment. But today, it’s a message of grace. For the Israel on whom God’s patience ran out is our Lord Jesus Christ. And the venting of God’s wrath on Him means the pouring out of His mercy on us.