HAZAEL Part II - THE SUPPLANTER
In the last issue, I began to tell the story of Hazael the supplanter, but was diverted into discussing the role of the Hazaels we encounter in our lives. What might seem to be unchecked evil railing against us may in fact be a useful means of purging elements of our character that shouldn't stay with us if we are to progress in our quest to know God. Perhaps we can now conclude the story.
We meet Hazael years later, when Elijah is gone, and Elisha is now prophet in his stead. Hazael, the future king, has been serving Ben-Hadad, then king of Syria. Ben-Hadad, also known historically as Ben-Hadad II, had lived a tenure of violence against Israel, and was known far and wide for his wickedness. Then he became ill.
There’s no place like a sickbed for facing up to some of the unreconciled events in our past. For some, we have no choice but to look at ourselves in the mirror of our own conscience as we while away the hours. For others, fear of death or an untimely end, whether it be physical or spiritual, will often be the catalyst that causes us to examine ourselves and our ways. Hopefully, if that's what it takes, we will make changes.
Whatever the urging in his case, Ben-Hadad did some soul-searching and decided to call on the God of those he had persecuted all his life. So, he sent a messenger to Elisha with elaborate gifts and a request to know from the Lord whether he would recover from his illness.
Elisha had an answer for the king, but it was not one that would be easy to speak. He also had a word for Hazael.
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?"
And Elisha replied, "Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover.’ But actually the Lord has shown me that he will surely die!"
2 Kings 8: 9-10 (NLT).
Did Elisha really tell Hazael to lie? According to one Bible translation, the original Hebrew text of Elisha's words could also be interpreted to read, "You shall certainly not recover." The language Elisha used therefore seems to have been ambivalent and not strong in any direction, and perhaps more of an evasive answer - sort of a non-answer. I don't have any special insights on this aspect of the prophet's response, but perhaps it would be reasonable to think that this choice of gentle words was a kindness to the dying man.
Will I live or will I die? Many rich people would give their fortunes to know the answer to this question. Many who await succession to the assets and power held by these rich people would be eager to learn the same secret. I'm going to choose to believe that our Father had mercy on the once ruthless king Ben-Hadad and rewarded his search for God's word.
Some don't really want to hear the word of the Lord, though. I know for myself, I have sometimes begged, pleaded with God to tell me something different, and I've yelled and quarreled with Him (before you criticize this statement, let me say that He is my Father in every respect. I love Him and fear Him, and we communicate with each other in any way we can). But at the bottom of it all, I wouldn't want Him to pass me over for the work He has called me to do because I'm too stubborn or too unwilling to bow the knee. It's a love thing between us, and He waits for me when I fall behind, and I run to catch up with Him, falling, crying, the works. And He's not an abuser who would refuse to turn around and let me approach.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm really making the grade - my flaws, like David said, are ever before me. And sometimes the Lord reassures me that I am just where I'm supposed to be. The other day, I attended a conference and "just happened" to stop to talk to a couple who were selling worship flags and banners. The husband came up to me and he asked if he might pray for me. I said. "Sure." As He prayed, the Lord spoke encouragement to me. At the end, that man filled with the Holy Spirit (who I had never met before) anointed my head with oil, and spoke to me the word of the Lord, "It's going to be alright." Right where I am in the process of my development. Everything's not right or perfect, but God is so able, and I really want Him to have His way in me. To me I think, better this way than Hazael's way.
There's nothing in the scriptures to indicate Hazael had a heart after God. Hazael had a heart after Hazael. He'd had a promise from a foreign prophet years before (Elijah), he'd spent years building his aspirations and playing the role of understudy to the king. And now, the king was dying.
But out of the ashes of one kingdom was already rising the phoenix of another of the same character. Hazael, the general in the wings, heard the news, and had every plan to deliver the message, but in his heart the resentment, jealousy and lust for power that had been lying hidden began to bear fruit. Here was his opportunity, the king was on his way out! After all, had it not been prophesied to him that he would be king of Syria? That was so many years ago, when was it going to happen anyway?
What is hidden from man is not hidden from God. Elisha looked into Hazael's eyes and saw all that was in his heart.
Elisha stared at Hazael with a fixed gaze until Hazael became uneasy. Then the man of God started weeping.
"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!"
2 Kings 8: 11-12.
In other words, "You, Hazael, will rip the life and vitality from Israel - its young men, its children, and those not even born." To us, who are leaders, the challenge is this: as we wait for the fulfillment of what God has promised us, would we destroy that fulfillment for others? Will we trample and crush what we don't understand? As gatekeepers to the future of the Church (not the buildings but the people of God), will we slay and destroy newcomers to the Vineyard? When we fellowship with less mature believers, are we the ones who will crush the precious enthusiasm within them for the real presence of God in their lives? Or do we try to knock them down to the place of misery we ourselves have come to know?
What is hidden from man is not hidden from God. 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."
This false, simpering humility had nothing to do with godliness at all. It reminds me so much of Jacob. To all intents and purposes he was a successful man, but he was trained to be a cheater by his mother. In his discussions with Laban, with his brother Esau, he always appeared willing and humble, but there was always a clever plan behind the innocent conversation. As he passed through adversities, he remained a man who was not strong in truth, and who always had a slick solution to every situation. He always had a well-executed plan, but one night God met him in the middle of one of those plans. Even as he was all alone in his camp, God came to him, and the scripture says Jacob fought with Him until daybreak. Genesis 32:22-30.
Finally, God said, "Enough, it is daybreak. By then Jacob had finally learned that he did not have it all, but he now knew Who did. He replied and told the Lord, "I'm not letting go of You until You bless me." In other words, the way You bless, God, is not something I can duplicate, nor is it something I can cajole out of others. I can't make You do anything for me. I need you, because I cannot do.
And I can imagine our Father saying, "Finally. It took you long enough to get here..." It was daybreak and He was ready to bless. At daybreak, Jacob got a new name. God outfitted him that day, in the spirit, to become a father and leader after His heart, and his children became the nation of Israel. Jacob told others, I have seen God face to face, and my life has been spared. He may not have looked or felt glamorous in the end, because he was left with a permanent limp, but his inner transformation was beautiful.
The other supplanter, Hazael, took a different course. He plotted murder and his own ascension.
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."
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.
2 Kings 8: 14-15.
What a difference from the way Jacob confronted the wickedness in his flesh. And make no mistake, folks, we all have some inner wickedness, a little bit of the supplanter that would shock those around us, if only they knew what we considered in our hearts. Yes, every one of us does. Hazael just yielded to it and went in for the kill. Why wait for the old man to die naturally, or worse, give what I've been working so hard to earn to someone else? Why should someone else inherit it? I'll just ensure that it's mine right now. No-one will ever know. Interesting, the contrast here between power transitioned rightly, and power taken by assassination.
To my mind, Jacob and Hazael were like reptiles who had an opportunity to shed their old skins. Actually, shedding is an interesting phenomenon that you might want to study, since it seems to correlate so well with the spiritual shedding we're discussing. When these animals shed their skins, the first thing that happens is that their color grows dull, and sometimes changes. They need to be near a source or water or moisture,so even if they are in arid, dry deserts, they will burrow into the clefts of rocks looking for just a little moisture to help them along. The process does not last forever, but it could take longer than usual if the reptile is stressed, or if its diet is not right. And if the conditions are bad (no moisture), no shedding will occur at all. We see from scripture that Jacob got near the Water and wrestled with God, and he came through a new man and parent to a nation. But Hazael never got close, and became a murderer instead. I don't want to be Hazael, I want to overcome like Jacob. How about you?
I pray that we will all be able to wrestle our way out of the old man (woman) and into the new. God has much better for us, and it's daybreak already.
(OK, so we may continue this.)
Next issue: Part III: Sons of Ben-Hadad
