It’s hard to read about the times God disciplined his people. He did everything possible to help people choose what was best; and if they chose righteousness, they got the blessings of righteousness. But if they chose sin and rebellion, they got sin’s consequences.

In today’s reading God dealt with sin and rebellion in both Israel and Judah and he used Hazael, the pagan King of Aram, to punish them.

Sin and Rebellion in Israel

Israel’s great sin of idolatry began when King Jeroboam installed golden calves at Bethel and Dan. He wanted to provide the ten northern tribes with places to worship Jehovah without going up to the temple in Jerusalem. He was afraid he would lose his power over them if they traveled to Judah three times a year for festivals and worship.

The golden calves represented footstools for God to stand astride over Israel. Jeroboam told Israel the the golden calf was symbolic of the God who brought their ancestors up out of Egypt. But before long worshiping away from the temple opened the door to pagan religious practices.

When King Ahab married the Sidonian princess Jezebel, she brought Baal worship to Israel. Baal and Asherah worship rituals were degrading and sinful and they stole the hearts of God’s people away from him.

“So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son.” 2 Kings 13:3

Hazael

God identified Hazael long before he became king in Aram.

In 1 Kings 19, the prophet Elijah fled to the desert of Sinai after he defeated the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel. He met God there on Mount Horeb and when God sent Elijah back home, he sent him all the way to Damascus to find Hazael and anoint him the next king of Aram. Hazael was going to be king, but it took a while for it to happen.

Some time later Elisha met Hazael and foresaw that Hazael was going to kill King Ben-Hadad and become the king of Aram in his place. Then King Hazael was going to punish Israel terribly.

“[Elisha] stared at him with a fixed gaze until Hazael was embarrassed. Then the man of God began to weep.

‘Why is my lord weeping?’ asked Hazel.

‘Because I know the harm you will do to the Israelites,’ he answered.’” 2 Kings 8:11-12

When Jehoahaz became king in Israel Hazael went to war against him and by the time he was done, “Nothing was left of the army of [King] Jehoahaz except fifty horsemen, ten chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers, for the king of Aram had destroyed the rest and made them like dust at threshing time.” 2 Kings 13:7

King Jehoahaz and King Jehoash

King Jehoahaz’s only claim to fame was that King Hazael beat him down. He died after seventeen years as king and his son Jehoash succeeded him.

King Jehoash reigned for sixteen years in Samaria. As his father Jehoahaz had done before him, “he did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he caused Israel to commit; he continued in them.” 2 Kings 13:11

Despite the fact that his father had nearly lost the kingdom of Israel by displeasing God, Jehoash continued to commit the idolatrous sins of his ancestors.

The End of King Joash’s Reign

It’s hard to keep all of these kings and kingdoms straight, but now we are back in Judah with King Joash, the boy king raised by the priest Jehoiada.  As long as Jehoiada was alive King Joash honored God, but as soon as Jehoiada was gone, Joash was influenced by his officials to revive Baal worship. So God used King Hazael to punish Judah as he had Israel.

Hazael attacked the Judean town of Gath and then turned toward Jerusalem. King Joash appeased him by looting the temple, the treasury and the palace and sending the wealth to Hazael. Satisfied that he had plundered Jerusalem without a fight, Hazael withdrew.

“Because Judah had forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, judgment was executed on Joash. When the Arameans withdrew, they left Joash severely wounded. His officials conspired against him for murdering the son of Jehoiada the priest, and they killed him in his bed. So he died and was buried in the City of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.” 2 Chronicles 24:24-25

King Joash had such a promising start. The great priest Jehoiada raised him in the temple and made sure he knew the Law before he was crowned king. Joash collected money to repair and refurnish the temple.

Then Jehoiada died and King Joash turned to idolatry. He ordered the death of Jehoiada’s son Zechariah when he prophesied against Joash’s sins.

“Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest . . . ‘This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” 2 Chronicles 24:20

Joash stoned the prophet but it didn’t stop the prophecy from coming true. In the end Joash was impoverished and forsaken by God. His son Amaziah succeeded him as king.

Elisha, Prophet of Miracles to the End

Elisha’s remarkable gifts as a prophet stayed with him to the end. As he lay dying from an illness, King Jehoash of Israel went to see him and together they mourned over what had become of Israel.

The kingdom was decimated. God had allowed the Arameans to capture more and more land east of the Jordan River and then he sent King Hazael to grind the armies of Israel to dust. Jehoash had only a handful of horsemen, a few chariots and ten thousand foot soldiers left to try and defend his nation when he became king.

“Jehoash king of Israel went down to see [Elisha] and wept over him. ‘My father! My father!’ he cried. ‘The chariots and horsemen of Israel!’” 2 Kings 13:14

God gave Elisha one more prophecy for the king of Israel. Elisha told Jehoash to hold a bow and some arrows, then he put his hands on the king’s hands. He told Jehoash to shoot an arrow through the eastern window. When the shot went through the window, Elisha prophesied that Jehoash would defeat the Arameans at the nearby stronghold of Aphek.

He asked Jehoash to strike the ground with the remaining arrows in his hand and when he struck it three times, Elisha told him he would have three victories against Aram. If he had struck more times he could have completely destroyed them.

After this Elisha died and was buried. But the miracles didn’t stop with his death.

Sometime later a party of Moabite raiders interrupted an Israelite funeral and the body of the dead man was hurriedly deposited into Elisha’s burial niche. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came back to life and stood on his feet.

The Death of Hazael

God let King Hazael go on oppressing Israel as long as he lived, but God didn’t forsake his people. He loved the Israelites and he couldn’t bear to see them completely destroyed.

“The Lord was gracious to them and had compassion and showed concern for them because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To this day he has been unwilling to destroy them or banish them from his presence.” 2 Kings 13:23

King Hazael finally died and his son Ben-Hadad succeeded him as king. At that point Elisha’s last prophecies were fulfilled. King Jehoash recaptured some of the towns the Arameans had taken in battle.

“Three times Jehoash defeated [Ben-Hadad], and so he recovered the Israelite towns.” 2 Kings 13:25

God Cannot Forget His People

A parent can never forget his children, no matter how difficult they may be. A good parent is always ready to forgive and start again when the children repent of their bad behavior and come home. God was very much the good parent to his people. His favorite metaphors for his relationship with them had to do with family relationships.

When we get to Isaiah we will hear God say this to his people:

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” Isaiah 49:15

God disciplined his children, but as soon as they turned to him he drew them in again with compassion and love.