You will Certainly Recover...Bu...

You Will Certainly Recover...But..

II Kings 8:7-8, 10 NKJV

[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?’ ” 

[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.”

   Its very easy to read these verses looking for a single unit of understanding about the sick King. The truth is that there are actually two statements here. The first is that the king will recover, and the second is that the King will die. The real message is not the recovery but on the violent execution by the very servant that was sent. Before we separate these statements, lets point out the tradition of seeing men of God with a gift. The people understood that consulting a man of God required preparations by way of a token of appreciation. Today, some men of God require consultation fees as if they sre involved in a commercial business. Who can blame them? The world has forgotten its virtues. 

   The first statement is that the King will recover. In essence, this sickness was not unto death. It's the second statement that concerns Hazael. " 

[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.” what a revelation. Elisha wept. The king of Syria had sent a mam to get his personal prophecy. 

   In v.14, that crafty servant told one part of the revelation to Ben-Hadad. Then killed him the following day. May you not send a servant whose job will be to return to your death. The beauty of the New Testament is that Ben- Hadad could have consulted God directly. He probably would have heard God telling him that his time is over. Good morning.