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II Kings 5-8    Listen

Elisha practices more unconventional medicine (II Kings 5:1-18)

1 Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper.
2 And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife.
3 Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.”
4 And Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus said the girl who is from the land of Israel.”
5 ¶ Then the king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” ¶ So he departed and took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing.
6 Then he brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now be advised, when this letter comes to you, that I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may heal him of his leprosy.
7 And it happened, when the king of Israel read the letter, that he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and make alive, that this man sends a man to me to heal him of his leprosy? Therefore please consider, and see how he seeks a quarrel with me.”
8 ¶ So it was, when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Please let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.”
9 ¶ Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house.
10 And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.”
11 But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’
12 Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage.
13 And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”
14 So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.
15 ¶ And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.”
16 ¶ But he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.
17 ¶ So Naaman said, “Then, if not, please let your servant be given two mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD.
18 Yet in this thing may the LORD pardon your servant: when my master goes into the temple of Rimmon to worship there, and he leans on my hand, and I bow down in the temple of Rimmon—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the LORD please pardon your servant in this thing.”

Syria's military commander, Naaman, has leprosy. In the course of battle, Naaman had captured a gal out of the Northern Kingdom who had been serving as a maid in in his household. She comments one day (verse 3), "If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy." When the King of Syria sends his commander, Naaman, to Israel with 7,500 pounds of silver and 2,400 pounds of gold in exchange for healing him from leprosy, the King of Israel (Jehoram) thinks that the King of Syria is trying to pick a fight. By today's standards (2006), that's around $2 million or so in gold and silver. Elisha to the rescue! After hearing of King Jehoram's distress, Elisha sends word to direct Naaman his way.

Things just aren't simple with Elisha; he doesn't even come out to greet Naaman. Instead of a celebrity welcome, Elisha sends a messenger to meet him who requires him to go wash seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman leaves in a rage, but his servant convinces him to take the plunge; it works; he's healed. Elisha declines to take compensation for the healing. Naaman, however, convinced now that Elisha serves the only true God, asks for two mule loads of dirt to take back to Syria with him. Now that's a strange request. It seems that he wants to spread it out back on Syrian soil and kneel there when the Syrian king requires him to bow down to their false gods. Obviously, somewhere along the way, Naaman missed the point. However, Elisha agrees to give up the dirt. Incidentally, that Syrian god, Rimmon, is only mentioned here in this passage.

Whoa! What a price to pay for greed (II Kings 5:19-27)

19 ¶ Then he said to him, “Go in peace.” So he departed from him a short distance.
20 ¶ But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.”
21 So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?”
22 ¶ And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’ ”
23 ¶ So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him.
24 When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed.
25 Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” ¶ And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.”
26 ¶ Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants?
27 Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow.

Gehazi was Elisha's main man, but he got greedy. More than greedy, actually - he was a conniving thief. He ran after Naaman and said that Elisha had changed his mind about not taking compensation for his healing. Gehazi's lying tale continues: "Two prophets showed up and need some silver and changes of clothing." Considering what Naaman had originally offered, he doesn't take much from Naaman (about $25,000 in silver), but when he returns, Elisha is waiting for him. Hint: Never try to fool a real prophet; they'll generally see it coming. When Elisha confronts him over his dishonest actions, does he fire him? No! He gives him leprosy - right there on the spot. In chapter 8 (see below), though, we'll see that Gehazi doesn't seem to hold any grudges.

An axe head that floats? (II Kings 6:1-7)

1 And the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “See now, the place where we dwell with you is too small for us.
2 Please, let us go to the Jordan, and let every man take a beam from there, and let us make there a place where we may dwell.” ¶ So he answered, “Go.”
3 ¶ Then one said, “Please consent to go with your servants.” ¶ And he answered, “I will go.”
4 So he went with them. And when they came to the Jordan, they cut down trees.
5 But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”
6 ¶ So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So he cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.
7 Therefore he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.

No miracle was too small for Elisha. When the local group of prophets decide that their communal housing is too limited, they ask for Elisha's permission to build a larger quarters for themselves. In the process of gathering the lumber next to the Jordan River, one of the prophets loses his axe head in the water; the axe was borrowed. Elisha comes to the rescue and makes the axe head swim. Isn't it interesting that a miracle such as that gets shared with us. However, miracles just like this one served to multiply Elisha's reputation as a man of God in Israel - the ol' wicked Northern Kingdom.

Here come the Syrians again. Where's Elisha? (II Kings 6:8-23)

8 ¶ Now the king of Syria was making war against Israel; and he consulted with his servants, saying, “My camp will be in such and such a place.”
9 And the man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are coming down there.”
10 Then the king of Israel sent someone to the place of which the man of God had told him. Thus he warned him, and he was watchful there, not just once or twice.
11 ¶ Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was greatly troubled by this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?”
12 ¶ And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.”
13 ¶ So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” ¶ And it was told him, saying, “Surely he is in Dothan.”
14 ¶ Therefore he sent horses and chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?”
16 ¶ So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
17 And Elisha prayed, and said, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
18 So when the Syrians came down to him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, and said, “Strike this people, I pray, with blindness.” And He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.
19 ¶ Now Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, nor is this the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” But he led them to Samaria.
20 ¶ So it was, when they had come to Samaria, that Elisha said, “LORD, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” And the LORD opened their eyes, and they saw; and there they were, inside Samaria!
21 ¶ Now when the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I kill them? Shall I kill them?”
22 ¶ But he answered, “You shall not kill them. Would you kill those whom you have taken captive with your sword and your bow? Set food and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.”
23 Then he prepared a great feast for them; and after they ate and drank, he sent them away and they went to their master. So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel.

Elisha was a protector of Israel (the Northern Kingdom) - as wicked as Israel was. Remember? They never served God, but God gave them the wise counsel of Elisha anyway. Israel shared a border with the Syrians. (I wonder if Naaman had anything to do with this attack.) So, the Syrians plan an attack and set up an ambush. God tells Elisha about the ambush; Elisha tells the King of Israel, Jehoram - ambush diverted.

Disturbed at their failure, the King of Syria wants to find out who the spy is. There is no spy, just Elisha with supernatural ears he is told. While visiting Dothan, about a dozen miles north of Samaria, the Syrian king surrounds the city hoping to catch Elisha. They meet Elisha who convinces them (with a lie) that they had come to the wrong place looking for Elisha (some sort of blindness happened to them - partial blindness to reality, I think), and he led them right to the army of Samaria in their search for Elisha. Now, instead of having Elisha surrounded in Dothan, the Syrian army is surrounded in Samaria by Israel's army.

When the King of Israel asks Elisha what to do, he directs Jehoram to feed them and send them home. What a day! One clarification is in order. Verse 23 speaks of a form of attack when it says, "So the bands of Syrian raiders came no more into the land of Israel." While the strategy of raids into Israel with these small bands of soldiers ceased, the following account makes it clear that war between Syria and Israel did not cease.

Now that's hungry! (II Kings 6:24-7:2)

24 ¶ And it happened after this that Ben-hadad king of Syria gathered all his army, and went up and besieged Samaria.
25 And there was a great famine in Samaria; and indeed they besieged it until a donkey’s head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and one-fourth of a kab of dove droppings for five shekels of silver.
26 ¶ Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, “Help, my lord, O king!”
27 ¶ And he said, “If the LORD does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?”
28 Then the king said to her, “What is troubling you?” ¶ And she answered, “This woman said to me, ‘Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.’
29 So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, “Give your son, that we may eat him’; but she has hidden her son.”
30 ¶ Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he tore his clothes; and as he passed by on the wall, the people looked, and there underneath he had sackcloth on his body.
31 Then he said, “God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on him today!”
32 ¶ But Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead of him, but before the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, “Do you see how this son of a murderer has sent someone to take away my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door. Is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?”
33 And while he was still talking with them, there was the messenger, coming down to him; and then the king said, “Surely this calamity is from the LORD; why should I wait for the LORD any longer?”

7:1 Then Elisha said, “Hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the LORD: ‘Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.’ ”
2 ¶ So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, “Look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” ¶ And he said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

Samaria is surrounded by the Syrian army - can't get food into the city. The city-wide famine was so bad, they paid incredible amounts of money for a donkey head. That would be the worst serving portion of an unclean animal. Wait! There's more. They bought dove excrement to eat for 2 pounds of silver. How hungry is that? Then...the unthinkable. A mom hollers at the King for intercession regarding a failed deal with another mom - "we'll eat my son today and yours tomorrow." Except, after they feasted on this woman's son, the other woman hid her son. Israel...cannibalism - incredible! However, it was a fulfillment of God's words to Israel back in Leviticus 26:29 (see notes).

So, whose fault is all this famine anyway. After a little mourning, the King of Israel goes into a temporary rage blaming Elisha - threatens to take off his head. When the King's man shows up to take off his head, Elisha gives him some good news and bad news. Tomorrow there will be lots of nice food to eat, but not for you. Why? Because you said it couldn't be done. Rule of thumb: Never taunt Elisha! Elisha's prophecy regarding this messenger's death is fulfilled in II Kings 7:17-20 (see below).

Four unsuspecting lepers beat the Syrian army back (II Kings 7:3-20)

3 ¶ Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, “Why are we sitting here until we die?
4 If we say, “We will enter the city,’ the famine is in the city, and we shall die there. And if we sit here, we die also. Now therefore, come, let us surrender to the army of the Syrians. If they keep us alive, we shall live; and if they kill us, we shall only die.”
5 And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there.
6 For the LORD had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, “Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!”
7 Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact—their tents, their horses, and their donkeys—and they fled for their lives.
8 And when these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp, they went into one tent and ate and drank, and carried from it silver and gold and clothing, and went and hid them; then they came back and entered another tent, and carried some from there also, and went and hid it.
9 ¶ Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, and we remain silent. If we wait until morning light, some punishment will come upon us. Now therefore, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”
10 So they went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and told them, saying, “We went to the Syrian camp, and surprisingly no one was there, not a human sound—only horses and donkeys tied, and the tents intact.”
11 And the gatekeepers called out, and they told it to the king’s household inside.
12 ¶ So the king arose in the night and said to his servants, “Let me now tell you what the Syrians have done to us. They know that we are hungry; therefore they have gone out of the camp to hide themselves in the field, saying, ‘When they come out of the city, we shall catch them alive, and get into the city.’ ”
13 ¶ And one of his servants answered and said, “Please, let several men take five of the remaining horses which are left in the city. Look, they may either become like all the multitude of Israel that are left in it; or indeed, I say, they may become like all the multitude of Israel left from those who are consumed; so let us send them and see.”
14 Therefore they took two chariots with horses; and the king sent them in the direction of the Syrian army, saying, “Go and see.”
15 And they went after them to the Jordan; and indeed all the road was full of garments and weapons which the Syrians had thrown away in their haste. So the messengers returned and told the king.
16 Then the people went out and plundered the tents of the Syrians. So a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, according to the word of the LORD.
17 ¶ Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.
18 So it happened just as the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, “Two seahs of barley for a shekel, and a seah of fine flour for a shekel, shall be sold tomorrow about this time in the gate of Samaria.”
19 ¶ Then that officer had answered the man of God, and said, “Now look, if the LORD would make windows in heaven, could such a thing be?” ¶ And he had said, “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”
20 And so it happened to him, for the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.

Four starving lepers outside Samaria decide they have nothing to lose - "let's go get food from the Syrians." Die here, die there - what's the difference? So these four lepers head for the Syrian army outside Samaria, except the Syrian army mistakenly thinks these four lepers might be leading a large mercenary army of Hittites and Egyptians. Why? Verse 6 says, "For the LORD had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses—the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, 'Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!'" That was divine intervention from Elisha. The army flees their camp, horses, food and everything, and heads for the hills. At first the lepers think only of themselves, but then decide to share this find with the King of Israel. Subsequently, the King of Israel, after determining that it was not a Syrian trick, sends the people of Samaria out to take the plunder of the Syrian army. So, here we are on the next day after Elisha's prophecy; everybody has plenty of food just as he had prophesied in II Kings 7:1 (see above). Oh, by the way, remember the captain back in verse 2 (see above) who would see the food, but not partake of it? He's trampled by all the hungry people and dies - hungry.

Gehazi gets an audience before the king (II Kings 8:1-6)

1 Then Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go, you and your household, and stay wherever you can; for the LORD has called for a famine, and furthermore, it will come upon the land for seven years.”
2 So the woman arose and did according to the saying of the man of God, and she went with her household and dwelt in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 ¶ It came to pass, at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went to make an appeal to the king for her house and for her land.
4 Then the king talked with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me, please, all the great things Elisha has done.”
5 Now it happened, as he was telling the king how he had restored the dead to life, that there was the woman whose son he had restored to life, appealing 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.”
6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. ¶ So the king appointed a certain officer for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, and all the proceeds of the field from the day that she left the land until now.”

Elisha's servant, Gehazi, just can't say enough good things about Elisha to the king. Remember the Shunammite woman whose son had been brought back from the dead by Elisha (II King 4:8-37, see notes)? She lost her property. Elisha had warned her to leave, and she had done so. It just so happens that she has returned from the land of the Philistines after the famine was over to find that her property was no longer her property. The woman, coincidentally, is making her appeal to the King of Israel while Gehazi is bragging on Elisha. When the King makes the association between the woman and Elisha, he restores her property.

The fast track to the throne (II Kings 8:7-15)

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?’ ”
9 So Hazael went to meet him and took a present with him, of every good thing of Damascus, forty camel-loads; and he came and stood before him, and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, 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.”
11 Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept.
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.”
13 ¶ So Hazael said, “But what is your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?” ¶ And Elisha answered, “The LORD has shown me that you will become king over Syria.”
14 ¶ 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 you would surely recover.”
15 But it happened on the next day that he took a thick cloth and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face so that he died; and Hazael reigned in his place.

The king of Syria, Benhadad, sends Hazael to Elisha to get some words from God regarding the Syrian king's recovery from illness. When Hazael arrives with 40 camels loaded down with gifts for Elisha, he gets the good news regarding the King of Syria - he'll recover. But there's more news; you, Hazael, will become a ruthless man who will ravage and torture the people of Israel. How? The inquiring mind of Hazael wants to know. Elisha tells Hazael that he will kill the King of Syria and become the King himself. So, Hazael gives the King of Syria the good news, and then the next day smothers him with a wet bed sheet. Now, it's King Hazael of Syria.

There's a little more to this story that is found elsewhere in I Kings 19:15 (see notes). God had commanded Elijah at that time to anoint Hazael as the King of Syria before his departure. So, Elisha's prophecy here is simply a continuation of that which had begun through Elijah.

Judah gets an evil king, Jehoram (II Kings 8:16-24)
This account is paralleled in II Chronicles 21 (see notes).

The two Jehorams (Judah and Israel) are differentiated in the summary of II Chronicles 21 (see notes),which parallels this account. The fuller account of Jehoram's reign is to be found in that passage, along with the treachery of his wife, Athaliah, after his death. While Jehoram only gets eight verses here in II Kings 8, he gets a whole chapter in II Chronicles 21 (see notes). Judah's new king is Jehoram (another Jehoram was king of Israel). Jehoram (son of Jehoshaphat) of Judah was married to Ahab's (deceased evil king of Israel) daughter, Athaliah. Jezebel was Athaliah's mother. In this brief account, we see that Jehoram fought against Edom, but he was an evil king. However, because of God's promise to David, God did not destroy Judah (verse 19). The Edomites continued for centuries being a problem for Judah and Israel. For more information on the Edomites, click here.

Jehoram out, Ahaziah in (II Kings 8:25-29)
The account of Ahaziah's reign is also found in the parallel passage, II Chronicles 22:1-6 (see notes).

This Ahaziah is not to be mistaken with the Ahaziah who was Ahab's son and had been King of Israel. However, this Ahaziah, King of Judah, didn't serve the one true God either - "did evil in the sight of the LORD." His mother was the wicked Athaliah (daughter of Ahab and Jezebel). Verse 26 reports that Ahaziah was actually 22 years old when he began to reign. Given the fact that his father, Jehoram, was only 40 years old when he died, it is certain that Ahaziah was 22 years old when his reign began. He does do a cooperative battle effort with King Jehoram (aka Joram) of Israel against King Hazael and his Syians. Jehoram was Ahaziah's uncle (brother to his mother, Athaliah). Uncle Jehoram is wounded in the battle, and Ahaziah subsequently goes to visit his injured Uncle Jehoram in Jezreel.