“Knowledge, Power, Purpose, and Perfection”
2 Kings 8
7 Elisha went to Damascus, the capital of Aram, where King Ben-hadad lay sick. When someone told the king that the man of God had come,
8 the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift to the man of God. Then tell him to ask the Lord, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
9 So Hazael loaded down forty camels with the finest products of Damascus as a gift for Elisha. He went to him and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, has sent me to ask, ‘Will I recover from this illness?’”
10 And Elisha replied, “Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But actually the Lord has shown me that he will surely die!”
11 Elisha stared at Hazael with a fixed gaze until Hazael became uneasy.[b] Then the man of God started weeping.
12 “What’s the matter, my lord?” Hazael asked him.
Elisha replied, “I know the terrible things you will do to the people of Israel. You will burn their fortified cities, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little children to the ground, and rip open their pregnant women!”
13 Hazael responded, “How could a nobody like me ever accomplish such great things?”
Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you are going to be the king of Aram.”
14 When Hazael left Elisha and went back, the king asked him, “What did Elisha tell you?”
And Hazael replied, “He told me that you will surely recover.”
15 But the next day Hazael took a blanket, soaked it in water, and held it over the king’s face until he died. Then Hazael became the next king of Aram.
- The commentators have varying explanations for this passage, all seem to address what appears to be controversy.
It’s upsetting to read this account and see that previously, God had rebuked King Ahaziah of Israel for seeking out foreign gods and false prophets for answers about his health in 2 Kings 1, yet here, Ben-hadad seeks out the foreign God - the real one - and though he appears to seek God, he doesn’t get “the whole truth” from God’s man, Elisha. - What do we do with this?
Why does God allow this evil plan to go un-announced?
- It is a question that has worked since Adam and Eve were proffered the question by Satan in the Garden:
- Is God really good?
- Is God holding something back?
- Every consideration of the described events in the Bible must acknowledge three vital truths:
1.) God is perfectly holy and he does not delight in nor cause evil.
1 John 1.5
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.
Psalm 92
“The Lord is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!”
James 1
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
13 And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else.
14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.
15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
Ezekiel 33
11 As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live.
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17 “Your people are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right,’ but it is they who are not doing what’s right.
18 For again I say, when righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and turn to evil, they will die.
19 But if wicked people turn from their wickedness and do what is just and right, they will live.
20 O people of Israel, you are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right.’ But I judge each of you according to your deeds.”
2.) God’s way is perfect.
Psalm 18
25 To the faithful you show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity.
26 To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
27 You rescue the humble, but you humiliate the proud.
28 You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
29 In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall.
30 God’s way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.
31 For who is God except the Lord? Who but our God is a solid rock?
Psalm 119
137 O Lord, you are righteous, and your regulations are fair.
138 Your laws are perfect and completely trustworthy.
139 I am overwhelmed with indignation,
for my enemies have disregarded your words.
140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much.
141 I am insignificant and despised, but I don’t forget your commandments.
142 Your justice is eternal, and your instructions are perfectly true.
143 As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find joy in your commands.
144 Your laws are always right; help me to understand them so I may live.
3.) We are limited in our understanding. If we’re going to know truth about God, it will come from God, not from our logic or our experience or our proofs.
Isaiah 45
9 “What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
‘How clumsy can you be?’
10 How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,
‘Why was I born?’
or if it said to its mother, ‘Why did you make me this way?’”
11 This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens.
All the stars are at my command.
18 For the Lord is God, and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in, not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” he says, “and there is no other.
19 I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel to seek me if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true and declare only what is right.
1 Corinthians 2
13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.
14 But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.
15 Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others.
16 For,
“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?”
But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.
Romans 9
14 What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!
15 For he tells Moses, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then, it does not depend on human will or effort but on God who shows mercy.
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19 Well then, you might say, “Why does God blame people for not responding? Haven’t they simply done what he makes them do?”
20 No, don’t say that. Who are you, a mere human being, to argue with God? Should the thing that was created say to the one who created it, “Why have you made me like this?”
21 When a potter makes jars out of clay, doesn’t he have a right to use the same lump of clay to make one jar for decoration and another to throw garbage into?
22 In the same way, even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction.
23 He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory.
