The God Who Restores & Reproves

We are in the books of Kings. If you're new with us today, if it's your first time or it's your hundredth time or thousandth time, we're in 2nd Kings and we are up ready for chapter 8.

So if you want to turn there with me, we've also got scripture journals in the back. Those are nice for taking notes. Feel free to grab one of those now or after church today. We'd love for you to take one with you.

And this morning we're going to read the first 15 verses together. 2nd Kings chapter 8. We've been walking through the story of the kingdom of Israel, God's people in the Old Testament.

And we have come to a point where things are really beginning to kind of come apart. And so we pick up our story in the ministry of the prophet Elisha.

And we're going to hear what God is doing at this time in Israel's life. So I'm going to begin reading in verse 1. You can follow along with me. Verse 1.

Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, Arise and depart with your household and sojourn wherever you can. For the Lord has called for a famine and it will come upon the land for seven years.

So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land.

Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done. And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life,

Behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, here is the woman and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.

And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields, from the day that she left the land until now.

Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, was sick. And when it was told him, The man of God has come here, The king said to Hazael, Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God and inquire of the Lord through him, saying,

Shall I recover from this sickness? So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels loads.

When he came and stood before him, he said, Your son Ben-Hadad, king of Syria, has sent me to you, saying, Shall I recover from this sickness?

And Elisha said to him, Go say to him, You shall certainly recover. But the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die. And he fixed his gaze and stared at him until he was embarrassed.

And the man of God wept. And Hazael said, Why does my Lord weep? He answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel.

You will set on fire their fortresses and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.

And Hazael said, What is your servant who is but a dog that he should do this great thing? Elisha answered, The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.

Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master who said to him, What did Elisha say to you? And he answered, He told me that you would certainly recover.

But the next day he took the bedcloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face till he died. And Hazael became king in his place. Let's pray once more, shall we?

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. And Father, we are just aware of different places, different situations that each of us come from this morning.

Lord, whatever it is, whether it be a burden on our hearts, whether it be Father's sickness and we're listening at home, Father, whether it be some concern that we have, we want to come this morning, lay our burdens at your feet and humbly listen to your word.

We want to see your work. We want to understand what you're doing. And most of all, Lord, we want to see how the good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel, is present in the scriptures.

And so, Lord, open the eyes of our heart to see that today. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. Well, it's been a full 12 years since the great prophet Elijah, with a J, prophesied the end of Ahab's family. And this is, the king here is Jehoram, who, of course, is the son of Ahab.

So the family of Ahab, the prophecy about their doom has been announced. But while that end is coming, and it is very much imminent, as far as our narrator today is concerned today, there are a couple of loose ends to tie up.

And that's really what these two separate accounts that we've read together are. They are loose ends to tie things up. It all starts off with our Shunammite woman from 2 Kings chapter 4.

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

She appears, or more like reappears, in our story. You may or may not remember from 2 Kings chapter 4 how this woman was a godly woman and how she showed this incredible hospitality for God's servant Elisha.

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

She actually built a spare room for him on the roof of her house. This was an established woman, married, but at the time childless. And for her kindness, you might recall that Elisha had prophesied that she was going to have a son, and she did.

But then that son suddenly died, and then there was an incredible miracle as Elisha came and restored her son to life. So our narrator begins by taking us back to that time, and actually, so it's 7 years earlier, actually, he brings us to the point just after he's resurrected the son where we learn

that Elisha had then given her some life-saving instructions. And the instructions were basically, leave. Leave the land because God has shown me that there's going to be a famine.

So take your household, verse 1, depart, and go sojourn, go live wherever you can. Because things are going to get real bad here in Israel. The Lord has shown me there is a famine coming, and it's going to last 7 full years.

So she gets what you might call a prophetic tip, right? She's tipped off, and she doesn't have to be told twice. The man of God has spoken. She does exactly what Elisha has suggested, and she goes and sojourns in Philistia, the land of the Philistines.

Now, if we were to back up a few generations to David's day, that would not be a safe place because the Philistines were enemies of Israel, but by now, they've been reduced to vassal status.

And so that means it is a safe place for them to go. And not only that, but their land is right next to the Mediterranean Sea, meaning that there is going to be adequate rainfall, and that they, the Philistines, are not going to experience the famine.

So she and her family will live. Or at least she and her son will, because by the time she shows up today, it appears that her husband, who may have been quite a bit older, has passed.

And she's been watching her watch, her clock, watching the clock, and counting down the seven years. And it could also be that she's heard the news of what's just happened in Samaria, how there was, at the end of this famine, a siege, and how God miraculously delivered the capital of Samaria.

So maybe that's also prompting her. She comes back home to Israel. Only problem is, someone has requisitioned her land. What would that be like?

You go away on vacation for a few weeks, you come back home and somebody else is living in your house. Somebody else is driving your extra car.

Somebody else's kids are on the swing set in the back. So she walks into this situation and we can only reason that either someone has taken her land or more likely, more likely, the land has reverted to the crown.

Which would mean that King Jehoram here has taken possession of her land. And that's not a good look because if we know anything about the family of Ahab, we know that his father grew fond of a certain parcel of land owned by a man named Naboth and took it for himself and eliminated the owner.

So it's maybe not a great situation that she's walking into. So she comes up to Samaria along with her son who is, by the way, a male heir. If she didn't have her son, she may not be able to reclaim this land.

So again, God's provision for her in having a son and she comes right to the king's court to appeal to the king. And this is the appropriate place to come.

This is the court of appeals of the day. All matters of dispute, including land tenure, would be settled by the king's court. And to be clear, in Israel's history, by God's design, it was the king who was tasked by God with the primary responsibility to maintain

order and justice in the land. In fact, Solomon, the great king of Israel, once prayed this prayer in the Psalms. Here it is, Psalm 72, verse 2.

Psalms 72:2

He says about the king, May he judge your people with righteousness and your poor with justice. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor.

Crush the oppressor, not be the oppressor, right? Well, in verse 4, the narrator takes us inside the palace now. The scene kind of shifts. And now we learn that there's been some conversation happening between our king and a certain servant

named Gehazi. You say, Gehazi? Wait, is that the servant of Elisha who was dismissed for his greed? Yes, it is. The same Gehazi who once served before Elisha.

And we're not entirely sure, but most scholars think this is post-dismissal. Which leads us to speculate, has Gehazi now found some new line of work?

Some place to serve in the king's court? Is he perhaps here, at least on this day, for entertainment purposes? Because that's what we discover our king wants to hear.

He wants to be regaled with the tales of Elisha. He wants to hear all the stories from Gehazi about the wondrous works that this man of God has done.

Apparently, there is widespread interest in Elisha. Probably, no doubt, heightened after the prophetic word that saved the city that Elisha gave.

Sitting there calmly in his house while people were starving outside. Probably only enhanced his reputation. And so, while King Jehoram knows about all these big-scale national events, he knows all about the stories where Elisha rescues armies from doomed campaigns.

He knows about the wondrous works of Elisha healing a great general like Naaman who showed up in the king's court. And he certainly knows about the siege and the prophetic word there.

But what he doesn't know are all those smaller-scale stories that have been happening throughout the land. Stories that you and I know from 2 Kings chapter 4.

2 Kings 4 · chapter mention

Smaller-scale stories where miraculously oil flowed for a widow who didn't have any money and was going to starve with their son. Or the story about an axe head that fell off an axe and was rescued from the river by a stick floating in the water and then the axe head came up.

Or even the story about this woman. A woman who didn't have a son and then was given a son and then the son died and Elisha miraculously raised this boy from the dead.

So they're literally right on this story about the Shunammite. Gehazi is right now telling the king about how Elisha came into the house and how he stretched his body over the corpse and prayed to the Lord for life to return to her son.

And that's exactly what happened. And right at this very instant there's a knock on the door so to speak. A visitor has come to the palace. I'd imagine his attendants come to him to the king Jehoram and they're whispering to him that there's a woman here to see him.

Some Shunammite woman. And can you imagine the surprise as the dots are connected? The serendipitous delight in verse 5. Gehazi hears and he's like my king oh lord this is the woman.

This is what I've just been talking about. Here she is. And here's her son. He's a little bit older. Seven years older. This is the family I was telling you about.

The boy whom Elisha restored to life. Think about this. This is more than just a major coincidence isn't it? This is what you might call an ordinary miracle.

An ordinary means miracle because it's a case of perfect timing. Supernaturally perfect timing. So the king asks the woman all about it and she recounts the very same story.

I'm sure replete with more details. And at some point they finally get to the reason for why she's here for her visit. And why is it the king asks her?

Why are you seeking an audience with me today? She goes on to tell him of how Elisha had advised her seven years ago to leave the land to go sojourn elsewhere.

And now that the famine's over she's back and she's here to claim her land. now what's our king going to do? Again this royal family is not exactly known for justice or benevolence but King Jehoram is pretty

high on Elisha right now. And it's you know it's been Elisha's story hour he's been listening to. And so he's impressed by both the stories of Elisha's great deeds and he's very impressed by the timing of this woman's visit.

And so what he does is he immediately designates an official and orders him to see to her case. He says in verse 6 I want you to restore all that was hers.

Together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now. Yes the official sees that she not only gets her land restored.

He is also instructed to calculate all that income that has been accruing from the use of her land over the years of her absence and seven years worth of income is a pretty good amount of money.

And if we needed any more evidence of what kind of an impact this story and especially the story about Elisha himself was having on our king.

Think about the amount of money seven years worth of wages that he is now putting into the hands of this woman. And Elisha's not even present.

He's not even here.

Where is he? Well verse seven as we move on. Speaking of Elisha's absence we now understand why. He has decided to make a trip all the way up to Damascus which would be the capital of Syria.

Syria as in enemy of Israel that just besieged the city. One hundred and twenty miles to the northwest probably about a week's journey. And once he once he's in the vicinity and people are reporting Elisha is here we know who this prophet is Elisha is here the king Ben-Hadad gets word of it.

And things have not been going well for him lately we learn that he is sick probably deathly sick. He's not sure he's going to make it. And this king Ben-Hadad no doubt remembers the stories of the one-time general Naaman who went into Israel loaded with goods and treasures to try to

get a positive oracle from the man of God.

It's amazing how we recall in the very first chapter of this book if you can remember back then it was King Ahaziah Jehoram's brother another son of Ahab and how he had a great fall and he was deathly ill and he sought an oracle of healing only he didn't seek it from Elisha the man of God he sought

Elijah he sought it from the Philistine God and yet here look at this we have an outsider a Syrian king seeking a healing from Israel's God I think scholar Peter Lightheart gets it right he says that this is a painful reflection of Israel's state that here we

have a Syrian king who knows better where to seek divine help than do most of Israel's kings so he calls his servant a man named Hazael and as before when it was Naaman he loads up camels full of gifts and sends them

with Hazael to go seek out the man of God there in Damascus Hazael finds him and gives him a very diplomatic very humble greetings very deferential and of course the king's message shall I recover from this sickness please understand this is not like is it going to happen this is more of a

request will you help me recover from this sickness and yet as he poses this question on behalf of his king to the prophet an interesting thing happens as Hazael now stands in front of the prophet in verse 9 asking his question this otherwise

forgettable unimportant servant all of a sudden becomes the focus Elisha gives him a simple response in verse 10 he says go back and say to your king you shall certainly recover but the Lord has actually shown me that he's going to die you imagine

what's going on in Hazael's mind he's probably thinking like wait what that's kind of a contradictory message Elisha why are you being so enigmatic either give me a yes or a no you're giving me both but the truth of it is that the answer is yes if left to normal circumstances

Elisha speaks truthfully when he says that this illness that king Ben-Hadad has is not going to be fatal it's not a fatal illness it is recoverable you should certainly recover but then again the answer is no because Elisha can foresee what's

actually going to happen that the king would die just not from the illness that he's inquiring about in fact he won't die from any illness at all and as Elisha now plays I guess the staring game with Hazael in verse 11 what do we read that he fixed his

gaze and stared at him until Hazael was embarrassed Hazael blinks first right he both blinks and he blushes and he basically says why am I on the spot what's the deal here why are you looking at me like this and before Hazael even knows what's happening

we're told that Elisha bursts out in tears he weeps Hazael asks him in verse 12 what's going on what's the matter why are you weeping and clearing his throat as he wipes his eyes a very somber Elisha delivers another prophetic word for Hazael

he says it's because I know I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel incinerating their homes and villages killing everybody young and old capable and helpless and these barbaric casualties of war are literally breaking our prophets

heart well if hearing all that wasn't disturbing enough and I don't know about you it's pretty disturbing for me to read what's even more disturbing is Hazael's response in verse 13 look at what he says he says what is your

servant who is but a dog that he should do this great thing great thing this is a terrible thing these are horrible things but somehow in the warped ambitious mind of Hazael it would be totally awesome to do these war crimes

Elisha spells it out for our ruthless Hazael at the end of verse 13 he says the Lord has shown me that you're the instrument of justice for Israel you are to be the king of Syria right about now it might be helpful for us to back up a few years for

context again before Elisha's time we have to remember that back in the time of his predecessor Elijah you may recall that after Elijah defeated all the prophets of Baal and a very wicked queen Jezebel put a bounty on his head there's a story about how the Lord took him away to Mount Horeb and spoke

to his very downcast prophet through a small whisper and after that God went on to give three specific commissions to Elijah three specific commissions to basically anoint three agents of judgment

the first was Elisha himself his successor the second to be anointed is a man named Jehu whom we have not met yet who will completely purge the house of Ahab and here's the third in first Kings 19 verse 15 listen to this and the

1 Kings 19:15

Lord said to him to Elijah go return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus and when you arrive you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria now we don't actually have any record that Elijah actually did this himself but we know he's

also passed on his prophetic mantle to Elisha meaning that Elisha is completely empowered to carry out the commissions given to his master so we look at what's happening here and what seems initially like a very awkward conversation actually turns out to be an anointing

you say well I didn't read anything about any oil here and there's not but we should understand that that is very much what is happening here this is an anointing Elisha painful as it is for him to say it he is actually commissioning Hazael

Elisha is fulfilling the God ordained task given to his master and Hazael is surprised because he knows he really is kind of a nobody in fact the Assyrians keep records and they chisel things into pillars and there actually is a

record of this Hazael who is an enemy Syria is an enemy of Assyria and on one of these pillars they literally refer to Hazael as the son of nobody meaning he is not in the royal line he is not in succession he is a nobody but his

ambitious heart is about to become a somebody because as he now departs from the prophet's presence in verse 14 I would imagine that the wheels in his mind are turning faster than the wheels of his chariot he knows what is to be done he is not in the royal line

and that can mean the only way for him to break into that is by means of eliminating the king and that's what he's planning to do to assassinate the king he understands the prophetic word given to him that no the king's not going to die by illness but that he is going to die in fact

sounds to him like he's sanctioned to die and if Hazael is to become king he might as well take matters into his own hands and it doesn't take him very long does it he returns to the anxious king who's been waiting and he gives him a brief if not misleading answer

king says what did Elisha say Hazael delivers only the first part of his message he says he told me that you would certainly recover oh good king is off to sleep remember he's sick he's probably exhausted but verse 15 the next

day Hazael took the bed cloth and dipped it in water and spread it over his face until he died and Hazael became king in his place here's the thing by suffocating the king which is what he does they don't do autopsies in the ancient world they have no idea why the king dies

they will presume he died of the illness and apparently he doesn't have a son or something Hazael seizes the throne emboldened by Elisha's prophetic words it's as if he says to himself now's the time and thus

just like that for what will be the next 40 years this deceptive usurper named Hazael will serve as one of Israel's most bitter enemies he will terrorize them constantly until of course another bigger bully comes along and puts an end

to him this morning I want to take a step back from these events like we do and I want us to think for a minute about why the Lord has seen fit to record these two stories why did he see fit to inspire his

narrator to record these two stories right here like this I have a few thoughts for you I believe there are some points for us to take away and so in the moments that remain I would like to offer you three thoughts here's the first one the first one is to see number one

that God honors his word to bring justice if we were to kind of step back a bit and look at not just the events of this chapter but what's coming in the next few chapters up ahead God is honoring his word to bring justice

this is what second Kings eight is building toward the fact that our chapter here is tying up some loose ends and there are a few more coming in the next week or so that will further set the stage understand it's all because God is about to honor his word

as he brings justice because remember 12 years prior God through Elijah had decreed justice for this wicked household this doomed royal household that had corrupted the whole country

1 Kings 21 verses 21 and 22 Ahab said to Elijah have you found me oh my enemy Elijah answered I have found you because you have sold yourself to do what is evil in the sight of the Lord behold I will bring

1 Kings 21:21

disaster upon you I will utterly burn you up and will cut off from Ahab every male bond or free in Israel that was 12 years ago that God gave that prophetic word and ye will honor his word to bring justice

was there a delay? Perhaps there are often what appeared to us to be delays in God fulfilling his word but God has his reasons his timing is perfect !

But no one should mistake a delay as a failure to keep let me say that again don't ever mistake a delay as a failure for God to keep his word he keeps his word he gave three commissions to Elijah and Elijah

himself fulfilled the first one by anointing Elisha as his successor and today we are now seeing the fulfillment of a second commission as this second anointing happens as for all intents and purposes Elisha anoints Hazael because

sadly Israel and specifically the house of Ahab they had earned what's coming so that even if it was painful for our prophet to have to see it and speak these words and perform this ceremonial anointing

he knew he had to be faithful to God's word because he knew that God's word would be honored in the bringing of justice this is a sobering point to think about here because we're about to see a whole nation of Israel that suffers but I

want you to think about this point for a minute as you think about our own time as you think about your own life right now God when he speaks honors his word what might seem to be delays to you and I at least to our finite minds doesn't change

the fact that all of his promises will come true and you know when we really step back and think about what his biggest promise is what is his biggest promise to us in his word isn't that he would that he would send his own son our perfect lamb

that we sang about whom God honored his word by bringing justice upon him in our place isn't that what he promised that he would pour out justice and wrath on his own son in our place

the writer to the Hebrews says it this way Hebrews chapter 10 verses 5 6 and 7 consequently when Christ came into the world he said sacrifices and offerings you have not desired he's talking to his father sacrifices and offerings

Hebrews 10:5

you have not desired but a body you have prepared for me in burnt offerings and sin offerings you have taken no pleasure then I said behold I have come to do your will oh God as it is written about me in the scroll you know this is actually a quote

in Hebrews it's a quote from Psalm chapter 40 a psalm of David originally a messianic psalm and so what this means is that God's word spoken in the Old Testament and now repeated again and attributed to Christ in the New Testament in both Testaments God has given you

Psalms 40 · chapter mention

his word about how justice has been dealt with for those who believe in him and he honors his word so what that means is that if you're here this morning and you are someone who has received Christ the justice you deserve has been

brought and satisfied because of Christ in Christ and it also means that if you have not received Christ that you will one day see that justice brought upon yourself because God honors his word to bring justice

that's one thought let me give you a second thought number two number two in his justice God restores those who honor his word and reproves those who don't in his justice God

restores those who honor his word and reproves those who don't isn't that what we see happening here look first at our Shunammite woman her story why is it here because God is restoring those who honor his word

you say well how did she honor his word she honored his word by honoring the man of God by her hospitality and care for God's prophet this had not gone unnoticed what she was doing when she was caring for Elisha meeting his physical needs was she

was honoring God's word remember Elisha is God's vessel his ministry was simply to speak forth the word of God and so when she honored Elisha she was honoring God's word and today look at what God does for her he sees that she receives what is

just and right by having her lands restored to her yes but then there's something else isn't there bountiful blessings of seven years worth of earnings from that land God's restoring work has met her need and

even provided for her future but by the same token God's justice also means that he reproves those who don't honor his word consider first and foremost Ahab no he's not in our story directly today but his

image is looming out there Ahab who considered God's word to be what he called it trouble he called the person that brought it the troubler of Israel called it his enemy literally and based upon the way that Ahab throughout the majority of his

life lived and behaved and ruled Israel he very much did put himself set himself up as an enemy of God's word and in doing so he brought great trouble upon Israel since most of them followed in his ways and thus God's reproval of Ahab and his entire

household including King Jehoram would have rippling devastating effects on the kingdom maybe you say but what about Jehoram today he looks okay he did a good thing isn't this good that he restores this woman's land and I would say ask

yourself what's his motivation is he doing what he's doing because he really and truly honors the Lord's word or is he just doing it because he's impressed at the moment awed by the tales of the great Elisha

and very impressed as one of them walks right in while Gehazi is still telling the tale you know I think there are a lot of people like this even in our world today I'm talking about folks who are impressed and maybe momentarily awed by the things of God they find the

work of God maybe even find a church captivating and entertaining for a season maybe for a holiday season do you know people that say all the holidays are coming and I just love the bells and the choirs and the decorations and the

performances I might find a church get a little sentimental on Christmas Eve maybe I know people you know people that don't go to church throughout the year have nothing to do with God but they want to go to a Christmas Eve service and that can be a good opportunity to present the word of God but

simply being interested in something because it's

there's no heart commitment these kinds of people just like exciting things sentimental things cool things but are their hearts really repentant are they really seeking Christ's forgiveness or do they just like to be

entertained for a bit oh tell me the tales about the baby in the manger right as one scholar puts it there's a difference between being charmed by the truth and actually converted by it and then there's someone like Ben Hadad

this poor old sick king is he really interested in giving his life to Yahweh is that why he seeks Elisha out because he wants to follow and serve Yahweh I think he just needs a quick fix I

think he's just desperate for healing he's in a jam and apparently isn't panning out with any other God might as well try Israel's God he just kicked our tail when we besieged the city of Samaria maybe he can heal me again do you know folks like that

only showing interest in the things of God when they're in a jam when they're in some kind of a crisis a health crisis maybe a failing relationship maybe a crisis with their kids or a problem at work whatever it is

these are the people who simply run to the Lord for help save me out of this that's not the same thing as real surrender that's not the same thing as coming to Jesus to be your Savior and your Lord so Jehoram

might have done a good thing here caught up in the sentiment I'm sure Ben Hadad was quite sincere in seeking his need for help but please understand that neither of these two kings had experienced any real heart change and remember God restores those who honor his word

and he reproves those who don't one last thought and we'll close with this one number three number three is to know that sometimes God will use startling means in the process God will sometimes use startling

means in his process isn't that what we find here today some very startling things startling isn't always good sometimes it's upsetting I think starting off it's startling to see Jehoram I mean he is the son of the

land grabber right Ahab dealing so benevolently with this Shunammite woman that's pretty surprising in a pleasant way quite startling that the Lord would use him as his means given that he's been otherwise a pretty bad king and then there's the guy he's talking to right

Gehazi making his surprise reappearance that's pretty startling last time we saw him he was kind of cursed by Elisha for his greed for wanting to pull one over on the prophet and get rich which he did actually he also got leprosy it's pretty startling to see

him here in the king's court talking with the king telling stories about Elisha playing such a pivotal role with perfect timing telling his story about the Shunammite woman and in she walks right at that very instant that's a pretty startling means

and of course last but not least what about Hazael what are we to make of this guy this anonymous guy we would never have thought much about him if maybe we hadn't remembered his name spoken before twelve years earlier by the Lord to Elijah

and here he is ambitious Hazael monstrous Hazael who will decimate Israel he'll be an assassin to one and an affliction to many no but but the rise of favor is he'll be into

under his throne will make him the instrument God uses as promised in the curses back in Deuteronomy when the people were told that if they are unfaithful and idolatrous, the Lord would allow these curses to come.

And here He is. Because here's what we're going to read about Hazael just up ahead. 2 Kings 10, verse 32. We'll read that in those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel.

2 Kings 10:32

Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel. No doubt doing the things that Elisha saw. Or even a couple chapters after that, 2 Kings 13, verse 3.

2 Kings 13:3

And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and He gave them continually into the hand of Hazael, king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad, the son of Hazael.

That's kind of interesting. He named His son after the guy He assassinated. That's the Bible for you. But God will use startling means in His process of honoring His Word.

So, I don't know, maybe here, what are we, a couple of weeks past a pretty big election? Pretty big moment in our country. They say everyone is the biggest, and they keep getting bigger, and they keep coming every four years.

I'm sure the next one will be the most important of our lifetime. And maybe you're here this morning, and you have feelings. Maybe some of your feelings are hopeful.

And maybe some are not. Maybe you feel startled and alarmed by the turn of events in our country. If you don't, just wait another week. There will be something to be startled and alarmed about.

But I want you to know that God can use startling means in the process of seeing His Word honored. God can use startling means in the process of working out His plan in our world.

And I think this is why the Lord, through His Apostle, calls for us as believers to pray for our leaders. Right? Whoever they are, let me read it in 1 Timothy 2.

It's as good a time as any to read this. 1 Timothy 2, 1-4. First of all, through Paul the Lord says, First of all then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions,

that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Maybe there's some other more personal situation in your life where God may choose to work by a means that may startle you. If He does, just keep your eyes on the Lord.

And not so attached to His means, guard your heart and be mindful of your steps and keep your focus on your Savior. and honor Him by honoring His word at every turn in every decision that you make

because you can know that He will honor His word.

Because if you do that, you can have the assurance that one day, hopefully in this life, but I can promise you certainly in the next, you will see His restorative work on your behalf.

Can we pray together? Let me ask you if you would stand as the team comes. Let's pray. Let's join together in unity and pray.

Father, sometimes we read these things in Your word and we are perplexed. We are a bit startled by the means that You might use. And so, Lord, when it seems like there's a lot going on and we don't understand it, let us fix our eyes on You, the author and perfecter of our faith, Jesus.

Heavenly Father, Your plan, a good plan that You had from before the foundation of the world to save us through Your Son, it should be our refuge and not any development in our lives, not any ruler and authority.

And yet, even so, Lord, we do want to pray for our leaders and so we pray for them. We pray for the new administration. We pray for the current administration.

We pray for decisions being made and individuals coming into possible roles in this new government. And we pray for those who are currently in these roles.

Father, we ask that You would let us live peaceful and quiet lives. Not so that we can sit back and just enjoy the peace, but so that we can use it, Lord, for the spread of the gospel because You want all people to be saved.

And so, Lord, let Your church flourish. Let us as Your people mobilize and be forces for the gospel in this world that so desperately needs it.

And ultimately, Lord, we know there is really only one King on the throne who is permanent. It's You. We know there's only one risen Savior on the throne at Your right hand and that's Your Son, Jesus.

and so we pray confident in Your power, not in our own. And we thank You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen.