2Ki 8:1 Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven years.
2Ki 8:2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
2Ki 8:3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.
2Ki 8:4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done.
2Ki 8:5 And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried 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.
2Ki 8:6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.
Sermon Transcript
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We're going to 2 Kings 8. I'm not going to read the whole chapter, but I think we'll read a portion of this chapter, maybe down to 15. And we're going to be speaking about the Shunammite again, and also a man called Hazel. And these are quite separate passages, really, but I thought we might link two together, and that'll just suffice for what we have to say today. So this is the word of the Lord once again. We're in 2 Kings chapter 8 and reading from verse 1.
And the woman arose and did after the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. And it came to pass at the seven years' end that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines, and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.
And the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. And it came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried 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. And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.
And Elisha came to Damascus, and Ben-Hadad the king of Syria was sick, and it was told to him, saying, The man of God is come hither. And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine hand, and go meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came, and stood before him, and said, Thy son Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? And Elisha said unto him, Go say unto him, Thou mayst certainly recover, Howbeit the Lord hath shewed me that he shall surely die.
And he settled his countenance steadfastly, Until he was ashamed, and the man of God wept. And Hazael said, Why weepest, my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel. Their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children, and rip up their women with child. And Hazael said, But what?
Is thy servant a dog that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD has showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. So he departed from Elisha, and came to his master, who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldst surely recover. And it came to pass on the morrow that he took a thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died, and Hazael reigned in his stead.
Amen. May the Lord bless to us this reading from his word. Here we return to names and people that we may not have expected to hear about again. We're going to be speaking today about Gehazi, and we're going to be speaking about the Shunammite. Gehazi, you will remember, was Elisha's devious servant who was infected with Ne'eman's leprosy after he lied to the Syrian general. And the woman of Shunem, or the Shunemite, was the lady who provided a little house for Elisha and was repaid by being given a son from the Lord. She was childless, but she was given a son from the Lord. And when afterwards the child took ill and died, he was restored to life by Elisha's prayers.
And I suspect that this narrative that we have read together today, at least this former part, is out of sequence in the Book of Kings. I have tried to read this and think about it in the context in which it is placed, and I find it difficult just to locate it properly here. So I suspect, as I say, that this occurred some time before. And the writer of the Book of Kings is only now, as it were, finding space to locate it in the book. He has followed the flow of another narrative. And then at the end, as it were, kind of as a little addendum, thought, well, let's put it in here before it gets missed out altogether. So that's my thought, that this little passage is somewhat out of sequence.
And that actually, this conversation, certainly between Gehazi and the king, probably took place before Naaman's cure. Possibly, and if you want, you can look this up a little bit later, possibly at the time of 2 Kings 5, verse 8. when the king of Syria sent Naaman to the king of Israel saying, cure my servant of his leprosy. And the king was so distressed that he didn't know what to do. And we're told then that Elisha sent and said to the king, why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel. And I just wonder whether when Elisha sent perhaps his servant Gehazi to the king to say, send Naaman to me that the king may have at that time said to Gehazi, tell me about some of the things that Elisha has done. And that would also be a time when this woman came into the presence, coincidentally, of the king looking for the restoration of her property. Be that as it may, it seems to me that it is a possible way to interpret the timing of this passage.
We're told that the Shunammite had been living amongst the Philistines for seven years after being warned by Elisha to leave the region, to leave the country with her son, with her household, because of an impending famine. There had been a famine in Israel for three and a half years in the time of Elijah. This was a seven-year famine, so it really took its toll on the local country. And yet it does appear as if there was food to be had in other relatively close areas, certainly along the Mediterranean coast, in the land that we call Palestine now, but was then known as the land of the Philistines. Those two words are probably connected. During the absence of this lady from Israel, her house and her land were taken over, appropriated by other owners. They may even have been forfeited to the crown so that it was the king that was the owner now.
But certainly it was the king who was the only one, the only source of justice, the only one who could show her mercy and restore her lands to her. So she went to lay her claim, lay her case before the king and ask him to return her property. by a providential circumstance. She came exactly at the most favourable time. I think the Lord was behind this and he set this up exactly as it unfolded. She came at the most favourable time because Jehoram, who I think was the king at this time, was at that very moment speaking to Gehazi who was previously Elisha's servant, about the great works of Elisha. And Gehazi pointed to the woman and told the king what had happened to her.
When she confirmed Gehazi's account, the king was so impressed by her story that he ordered the restitution of her land and even the return of the value of its produce during the seven year absence. Now that may not have been very much if it had been a period of famine. Nevertheless, it was to be given to her and likely that was more than she had even hoped.
I think the spiritual lesson for us today is surely that like this Shunammite lady, We all have lost our inheritance because of a famine, because of not a famine of food, but a famine of spirituality, a famine of understanding the things of God, and because of sin in our lives, and because of Adam's fall. We have lost our inheritance with God. We have been living amongst the idolatrous Philistines as we have been living in this world without any knowledge of the true Lord. We have no rights like this woman had lost her rights, no possessions, no grounds for hope of their restoration until we hear the gospel.
And we hear that in the gospel is a way of forgiveness and a way of salvation, a means of recovery and of restoration because of the Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice and because of his death. And we appeal to the King and we discover that he is favorably disposed to us. not because of any good in us ourselves, but because of his own mercy and because of his love towards us. And graciously, the King rules in our favour.
And he says, as the King Jehoram said of this woman, restore all that was hers and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now. How Blessed we are when the Lord reveals to us that we have an inheritance with Him, that He is ready to bless us with all the gifts of His mercy and goodness and salvation. How happy this woman was that an earthly king freely restored her inheritance and possessions. How much more happy ought we to be that the Lord Jesus Christ gives his people all his riches, his own riches, and he shares his inheritance, his own inheritance with us as joint heirs together with him. What a wonderful blessing we have from our King, the Lord Jesus Christ. This woman returned to her home rejoicing, and she no doubt stayed there for the rest of her life. In Jesus Christ, all who trust the Lord have riches from God. We have grace in this life, and we have the promise of His glory for eternity.
The second part of the chapter that we read together today speaks of a man called Haziel. Now Haziel appears to be another Syrian general. We have spoken before of this man called Naaman, but here is another called Haziel, and he seems to be in charge now. So again, just when this little account was to be placed as far as timing is concerned is not certain. But he seems to be the main man now under the King Ben-Hadad in Syria. So it's possible that he has replaced Naaman, perhaps because Naaman being a believer in the God of Israel might not be so dependable to the King of Syria.
Again, Neither the timing nor the reason for Elisha's visit to Damascus is given to us. What was Elisha doing going to Damascus? I don't know. But here's something for you to think about. I would like to think that Elisha intended and indeed did visit Damascus in order to speak to that little servant maid and to Naaman in his home and to teach them more about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was yet to come. I don't know that I've got any biblical reason for saying that, any scriptural reason, but it is a lovely thought that Elisha went all the way to Damascus, a foreign capital where he was not welcome, where people sought his life, and he would only do so in order to minister the gospel, the good news, to those who were in need. Years before, Elijah, the prophet that preceded Elisha, had been told of God that this man called Hazael would be king of Syria. But it fell to Elisha to actually convey the message to him, and as it were, anoint him by this communication.
Hazel was a wicked and a cruel man. He certainly was not a worshipper of the true God of Israel. He did not worship the one true God. He was an idolater, and yet he would be used by God in order to accomplish God's purposes. He was wicked, he was cruel, and Elisha knew that he would do great harm to the people of Israel. Hazael pretended to serve Ben-Hadad but he was a man of great ambition and when Elisha told him that he would one day be king he murdered his sick master by suffocation the very next day and seized the crown for himself During the conversation that Elisha had with Hazael, the old prophet looked intently into the face of this Syrian general, into Hazael's face, until Hazael was ashamed. And Elisha began to weep, because he knew all the horrors that this man would inflict on Israel. Hazael, when he heard the reason why Elisha was weeping, protested that he would never do the kind of things that Elisha was talking about. He would never do these things that Elisha mentioned. But over the next 46 years, that is the length of time that Hazael reigned. It was a long reign in Syria. Over the next 46 years, he did all that Elisha foresaw. And I think there's a spiritual lesson here for us as well. We often think better of ourselves than we ought to.
We don't imagine we'd be the kind of people who would do a particular thing or say a particular thing or act in a particular way. The truth is, we all have the potential in our heart to do the most hideous things. And it is only that God withholds us that we do not sin as grievously as we want or as grievously as we could. The scriptures are full of men and women whose personal weaknesses, arising from the depravity of our heart, led them to commit terrible crimes against God and against their brethren. Have you ever thought to yourself, I don't understand how a true believer could do such a thing. I don't understand how a true believer could say such a thing. What you're really saying is, I would never do that.
Now, doctrinally, we all believe in total depravity and that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. And yet the truth is that by some proud, foolish idea, we all think that we are the exception to that rule. We all think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. And pride is a great blindness. It makes us blind to our own sin. It makes us blind to our own potentials.
Hazael swore that he would never act as Elisha said he would. He said, what, is thy servant a dog that he should do this great thing? But time proved Elisha right and Hazael to be such a dog. The only safeguard we have against the power of sin is not our own willpower, but God's preserving power and his sovereign grace. It is God's grace that saves us and keeps us from being a slave to sin. So may the Lord be merciful and may he teach us not to be proud in our own strength, but to rely upon the strength of Christ to withstand the deception of our fleshy heart and its temptations to sin.
We didn't read the final part of the chapter today. The final part is about the reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah, and several are mentioned. You'll remember the kingdoms of Israel and Judah was now the divided kingdom of David. But time after time, we read about these kings, these men, and sometimes their queens as well. walking in the ways of sin, following the evil of their fathers, turning their back upon the Lord and serving false gods. This is the character of the leaders of these lands of Judah and Israel. They were a wicked lot in general, and while there were a few exceptions, most of these men walked in the ways of sin.
Time after time, the Lord sends judgment upon them. However, I just want to draw your attention to one little verse in that last part of the chapter. I didn't read it, but let me read it to you now. I think it's very interesting. It says this, for all the wickedness of these kings, This is the verse.
Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake as he promised him to give him always a light and to his children. And that is reminding us of the promise that the Lord gave to David. It was a wonderful promise. And we might think that we are speaking of David, King of Israel here. But I am sure that it is better to understand this as being a promise given to the Lord Jesus Christ by his father.
The Lord did not destroy Judah. because he promised Christ a people. He promised his son a church. God made a covenant with his son to give him a bride, holy, spotless, and pure. And that bride would come through the coming of the Messiah, through the promise that was given to David, King of Israel.
Scriptures tell us in Lamentations 3, verse 22, it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. In Malachi 3, verse 6, for I am the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Let us thank the Lord that despite the wickedness of these kings of Israel and Judah, let us thank the Lord for his faithfulness and for his great salvation. And let us trust the Saviour, Jesus Christ, who carried our sin in his own body on the cross. Amen.
About Peter L. Meney
Peter L. Meney is Pastor of New Focus Church Online (http://www.newfocus.church); Editor of New Focus Magazine (http://www.go-newfocus.co.uk); and Publisher of Go Publications which includes titles by Don Fortner and George M. Ella. You may reach Peter via email at peter@go-newfocus.co.uk or from the New Focus Church website. Complete church services are broadcast weekly on YouTube @NewFocusChurchOnline.
Pristine Grace functions as a digital library of preaching and teaching from many different men and ministries. I maintain a broad collection for research, study, and listening, and the presence of any preacher or message here should not be taken as a blanket endorsement of every doctrinal position expressed.
I publish my own convictions openly and without hesitation throughout this site and in my own preaching and writing. This archive is not a denominational clearinghouse. My aim in maintaining it is to preserve historic and contemporary preaching, encourage careful study, and above all direct readers and listeners to the person and work of Christ.
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I spent the majority of my adult life building something I didn't know had a name. It started with the Scriptures and a lot of late nights. It ended with one sentence that generates every theological position I hold, from the nature of God to the nature of heaven and hell, without contradiction. One sentence. Thirty chapters. Sixteen appendices. And if you accept the sentence, everything else follows.
Most systematic theologies start with a list of doctrines and work through them one by one. This book starts with an ontological claim - that everything that exists is a thought in the mind of God - and derives everything from that single proposition. This is not a rearrangement of existing theology. This is a paradigm shift. Since Augustine imported Plato's metaphysics into the church in the fourth century, every major system of Christian theology has been built on a foundation the Scriptures never laid. This book identifies that foundation, names it, traces its influence across sixteen centuries, and replaces it with an ontology derived from Scripture alone. If the claim holds, this is the most significant shift in the theological starting point since Augustine. And I believe it holds.
This is not a devotional. This is not a commentary. This is a systematic theology built from the ground up by a computer programmer with no seminary degree, no denominational backing, and no one's permission. It uses the vocabulary of information theory, computer science, and quantum physics to describe realities that traditional theological language has never been able to reach. If you are a scientist who suspects that information is fundamental to reality but can't bring yourself to call it God, this book speaks your language. If you are a sovereign grace believer looking for a system that follows the logic all the way, this book does that. And if you have been told that the sharpest doctrine produces the coldest heart, this book ends with the widest arms you have ever seen in a Reformed theology.
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Where this book stands in the tradition
4th century BC
Plato
Idealism — forms over particulars
The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
“Everything that exists is a thought in the mind of God, sustained by His will, authored by His purpose, and held together by personal covenants of love.”
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