Four Types of Hearts

In response the king is distressed. He apparently renders no verdict. In anguish he tears his clothes. When he does, everyone sees that he is wearing sackcloth, a symbol of repentance, underneath. His father Ahab wore sackcloth in “repentance” previously (1 Kgs 21:27). Elisha may have called Joram to repentance. Yahweh told Israel they would experience such curses if they were unfaithful to Him (Lev 26:27-29; Deut 28:52-57; Lam 2:20; 4:10). Thus, this is a story of divine judgment. It was right for the king to repent. However, Joram doesn’t have a real heart for repentance. He doesn’t patiently trust in and wait on God for deliverance. He acts like his mother, seeking to kill the prophet. He may have worn sackcloth, but it doesn’t cover up his unrepentant heart.

His impatience is clearly revealed in the next scene. God gave Elisha wisdom to know that Joram wanted to kill him. Before Joram’s assassin (or captain, 7:2) arrived, Elisha already told the elders about the king’s plan and told them to block him. The captain says, “This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” (v. 33; emphasis added). The unrepentant, impatient, superficial heart of Joram is exposed. Why wait on the Lord? Why trust in the Lord? Why seek Him any longer? Joram is turning from his only source of help.

Joram embraced a utilitarian view of religion: “I tried it for a little while, but it didn’t work.” He thinks politics will solve this problem instead. But how wrong he is (Ps 146:3-4). He doesn’t demonstrate the heart of a believer. This is the heart of a believer: “No one who waits for You will be disgraced” (Ps 25:3). “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help” (Ps 40:1). “Like a servant’s eyes on his master’s hand, like a servant girl’s eyes on her mistress’s hand, so our eyes are on the Lord our God until He shows us favor” (Ps 123:2; emphasis added). This song of ascent beautifully captures the soft, repentant heart of a believer:

Out of the depths I call to You, Yahweh!

Lord, listen to my voice;

let Your ears be attentive

to my cry for help.

Yahweh, if You considered sins,

Lord, who could stand?

But with You there is forgiveness,

so that You may be revered.

I wait for Yahweh; I wait

and put my hope in His word.

I wait for the Lord

more than watchmen for the morning—

more than watchmen for the morning.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord.

For there is faithful love with the Lord,

and with Him is redemption in abundance.

And He will redeem Israel

from all its sins. (Ps 130; emphasis added)

This is a soft, repentant heart—crying for forgiveness; waiting on God; hoping in God. My friend, beware of a superficial heart. Beware of having an outward show of religion but not having a truly repentant, worshiping heart on the inside. Jesus called out the Pharisees for such masquerades: “In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt 23:28).

Have you felt that God has been working too slowly recently? Have you been tempted to doubt God’s Word because you have not seen Him remove a particular problem? Keep seeking Him and His Word, and wait on Him.

The Cynicism of a Skeptical Heart

2 Kings 7:1-20

Deliverance Promised (vv. 1-2)

Now we turn to our third illustration of how not to respond to God. Israel’s King Joram and his assassin illustrate an unbelieving, skeptical heart.

In the previous passage Joram sent his captain to assassinate Elisha. Astonishingly, Elisha actually proclaims good news of deliverance to the king. God promises some relief in 24 hours. Things would slowly improve. Six quarts of flour would still cost about one month’s wage. That was still outrageous. But relative relief was promised. Barley instead of dove’s dung is an improvement.

In response to the good news, the captain sarcastically says, “Look, even if the Lord were to make windows in heaven, could this really happen?” (v. 2). His cynicism expresses his skeptical, unbelieving heart. He wonders where this abundance of food will come from. It would take an exodus-like miracle. In his skepticism he mocks the prophet, which is to mock the Lord himself (see 2 Kgs 2:23-25). Elisha tells the mocker, “You will in fact see it with your own eyes, but you won’t eat any of it.” This is a word of judgment. The people will eat, but this unbelieving captain will not taste it; he will be killed. What this skeptic cannot fathom is precisely what God does. This is vintage Yahweh.

We often fail to believe predictions. My family just returned from the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Many years ago, before the Outer Banks were developed into what it is today, someone told Kimberly’s grandmother that she should purchase some land there. She responded, “Why would I want to pay $500 for a bucket of sand!?” Kimberly’s dad says, “She wasn’t a woman of great vision.”

Of course this prediction in Kings was much more important, and it was coming from a more reliable source. Elisha was God’s representative. He had a perfect track record. But the cynical skeptic is never satisfied.

What kind of faith does God require? He doesn’t tell us to believe just anything. He tells us to believe His promises. We are to believe promises like these:

The one who believes in Me, even if he dies, will live. (John 11:25)

The one who has the Son has life. (1 John 5:12)

No one will snatch [My sheep] out of My hand. (John 10:28)

I will raise [believers] up on the last day. (John 6:40)

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (Rom 10:13)

Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus. (Rom 8:1)

God calls us to believe what He says, even though it may sound unlikely at times. But remember: God has a flawless record of faithfulness. Not one word has ever failed! The psalmist said, “God—His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him” (Ps 18:30).

Deliverance Provided (vv. 3-7)

How would God deliver His people? Four men with a “skin disease,” traditionally called “lepers,” are sitting outside the city gate, unable to enter because of their condition (cf. Lev 13:45-46). These unnamed lepers use some logic. They realize that if they enter the city, then they will face death or famine. If they remain outside the gate, they will also die. If they head to the Arameans, they will probably be executed, but they may find refuge. The only glimmer of hope was found in deserting to the Arameans. They choose that option.

But when they get there, they find no Arameans. Notice how this happens. We read that the lepers “got up at twilight” to go to the Aramean camp (v. 5), but the Lord made the Arameans hear the sound of a great army (v. 6), so that they “fled at twilight” (v. 7; emphasis added). Who’s responsible for this mighty deliverance? God Himself. Salvation involves receiving what God has done. “Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses, but we take pride in the name of Yahweh our God” (Ps 20:7).

Deliverance Proclaimed (vv. 8-15)

As a result, the lepers find a treasure trove of food, silver, gold, and clothing. In tent after tent they find treasures. But then the lepers have a moral crisis. Their conscience provokes them as they say, “We’re not doing what is right. Today is a day of good news. If we are silent and wait until morning light, our sin will catch up with us. Let’s go tell the king’s household” (v. 9). Does this not sound like a missionary text? How can we keep the good news to ourselves? Evangelism has been described as one beggar telling another beggar where to find food. That’s the picture here. Off the finders of food go to the gatekeepers of the city and report the good news. People who know of God’s deliverance should proclaim it (Ps 40:9-10).

When the king hears the report, he doesn’t believe. He thinks it’s a trap. Though Elisha promised deliverance and though Elisha had never failed in his predictions, Joram still refuses to believe.

Are you believing the good news? Perhaps you think you could believe if you saw a miracle? That logic may make sense at one level. But Jesus said it isn’t true. In a parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus said,

They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them. . . . If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead. (Luke 16:29,31)

In other words, the problem isn’t insufficient reason to believe. You have something sufficient, called God’s Word. The book of Kings was in the “Prophets” category Jesus mentioned. God’s miracles and promises are contained here. In Scripture we read of the hero of the story, Jesus, crucified and risen, who says, “Believe.” The problem isn’t with a lack of proof but with a skeptical, unbelieving heart.

The lepers aren’t the only unnamed instruments of deliverance. One of the king’s servants proposes a reasonable solution. Take five men and check it out. The king sends them off on what he probably considered a suicide mission. However, they find the lepers’ story to be true and come back and report the good news to the king. We don’t know the names of these five men either.

God often uses nameless missionaries to bring salvation to the nations (1 Cor 1:26-29). We have greater news to pass on to the world than deliverance from any military invasion. We tell the world how death has been defeated and victory is ours through Christ.

Mercy and Judgment Experienced (vv. 16-20)

The people hear the news, and they are ready to go. They head off and plunder the camp of the Arameans. Elisha’s word comes to pass regarding the flour and barley. What about his word to the skeptical assassin? It comes true as well. The rushing mob “trampled him in the gateway” and he dies. It’s stated twice in case we miss it (vv. 17,20). It happened according to God’s word through Elisha, whom he previously mocked.

God takes unbelief seriously. Do you think you can look in unbelief at the evidences of God’s grace and not provoke Him? Think again. The author of Hebrews says it well: “Watch out, brothers, so that there won’t be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God” (Heb 3:12). And later, “Make sure that you do not reject the One who speaks” (Heb 12:25). To mock God’s prophet was to mock God because he was speaking God’s word. This assassin’s death serves as a warning to everyone.

Because of our soft, tolerant culture, we don’t like to hear that God punishes those who reject Him. Even in a church culture tempted to believe that the only attribute of God is love, we ignore His holiness, truth, and wrath. But the fact remains, you will be judged if you don’t respond in faith to God’s Word. Jesus said that at the end of the age, angels will gather up evil people “and throw them into the blazing furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 13:50). Paul told the Galatians, “Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap” (Gal 6:7). In Kings we see that God gives people opportunities to repent, but they refuse. They want God to leave them alone. They essentially get what they want.

The Obedience of a Soft Heart

2 Kings 8:1-6

Elisha was God’s special agent who brought salvation not only to Israel in general but also to individuals in Israel and other nations. One of those individuals was this Shunammite woman who showed him hospitality, as we noticed in 2 Kings 4:8-37.

Elisha’s Word (v. 1)

Elisha tells her that a seven-year famine is coming and that she should stay somewhere temporarily until it’s over. Provan tries to place the timing of this famine:

We are presumably to understand, therefore, that this warning cited here was given to the woman around the same time that Elisha restored her son to life. We should distinguish this general state of famine from the famine in the city of Samaria (6:25 and 7:4), which seems to be a result of, rather than a circumstance preceding, the siege. The implication is that before the siege the city itself had not been suffering hunger to the same extent as the rest of the country. (1 and 2 Kings, 207)

If this famine and Elisha’s instructions occurred around the time of his raising her son (4:18-37), then Elisha’s words to the woman back in 4:13 are particularly relevant. Elisha had asked her, “Can we speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?” to which she responded at first, “I am living among my own people.” She didn’t need such help at the time; she had friends and family. However, now, because of a famine, she will be instructed to live away from her people and will be in need of a word spoken to the king on her behalf. That is exactly what happens in 8:4-5. Once again we see this woman being rewarded for caring for God’s prophet (cf. Matt 10:40-42).

Her Obedience (vv. 2-3)

She did exactly as Elisha said, demonstrating a soft heart. She believed he was God’s messenger. While others in the land would not believe Elisha (like Joram and his assassin), she believed him and obeyed. She illustrates Jesus’ fourth type of heart in the parable of the four soils, “who hear[s] the word, welcome[s] it, and produce[s] a crop: 30, 60, and 100 times what was sown” (Mark 4:20).

She lived in the land of the Philistines for seven years. In contrast to Joram, she patiently waits on the Lord. During that time God protects her. Unfortunately she loses her house and land during her sojourn. Joram may have acted like his land-grabbing father and taken it (cf. 1 Kgs 21). She is in need of help and a defender. She possibly lost her husband as well, making her more desperate.

God’s Providence (vv. 4-6)

Providentially, when she arrives at the royal court to beg for her property, Gehazi is telling the king about this lady at the same time. (What is Gehazi doing here? Was he not struck with leprosy in 5:27? Yes, but those events seem to have happened after this event.) The king is curious about the work of Yahweh and His prophet but certainly not committed to Yahweh. As Gehazi is telling the king all about how her son was raised from the dead, she walks into the room (perhaps even with her child). Gehazi advocated for the defenseless in this story, and it proved successful, as God providently used this encounter to move the king to restore not only all that was hers but also all the income from her land that she would have received if she had not left the country.

This lady received a simple word and she obeyed. Many, like King Joram, received more messages from Elisha than her yet refused to believe. Joram was charmed by the truth at times but never changed by the truth. Davis says it well: “The men of Nineveh will likely stand up at the judgment and condemn Joram and his heirs, for [the Ninevites] repented when they had only a simple word of judgment but no catalogue of grace” (2 Kings, 135). Who are you like: the king, hearing gospel truths regularly but not responding, or this simple lady who takes God’s word as truth, obeying it?

The Brokenhearted Prophet and the Decline of Judah

2 Kings 8:7-29

The rest of chapter 8 fills in some important details for us. We learn about the fulfillment of God’s instructions to Elijah. If you remember, he was to anoint Elisha, Hazael, and Jehu (1 Kgs 19:15-17). He did anoint Elisha (1 Kgs 19:19-21), but we never heard of him anointing the other two men. The writer seems to intend for us to see that this is now going to happen through Elisha (Davis, 2 Kings, 136). Elisha will set apart Hazael as God’s instrument of judgment on Israel (8:12). Also, the kingdom of Judah is beginning to look more and more like the kingdom of Israel. After some decent kings—Asa and Jehoshaphat—we read of Jehoram and Ahaziah, who lead the country downward. All the while, we are still waiting for the house of Omri/Ahab to be eliminated. We have had a king from Omri’s family since 1 Kings 16:23, despite Elijah’s prophecy in 1 Kings 21:21-24. We can feel the tension as we wait. We are just one chapter away from the coronation of Jehu (2 Kgs 9:6), who will execute judgment on that house.

A New Aramean King: Hazael (vv. 7-15)

Ben-hadad is ill, and he sends Hazael to find Elisha, who is residing in Damascus (cf. 1 Kgs 19:15). The king wants to know whether he will live. The foreign king sends for Elisha’s prognosis, unlike Ahaziah of Israel who inquired of Baal-zebub in his sickness (2 Kgs 1:2). In an attempt to persuade Elisha to grant a favorable prophecy, a humongous gift is given to him—40 camel loads. Imagine that scene! The sad reality is that the king only inquires as to whether or not he will recover. His vision is shortsighted.

If I may use another beach illustration, my youngest son Joshua and I were out in the ocean. I was holding him as these big waves were coming at us. He said, “Oh Papa, don’t drop me. Don’t let me drown. I want to eat supper.” I laughed because he obviously missed the bigger issue of drowning. If you drown, you have something more significant to think about than supper. Ben-hadad was worried about “supper” when he should have been thinking about eternal life.

Elisha tells Hazael more than he wants to know. He gives him a bit of a riddle. He says, “Go say to him, ‘You are sure to recover.’ But the Lord has shown me that he is sure to die” (v. 10). This puzzle basically means that Ben-hadad is in fact going to die. However, it isn’t going to be from his illness but from something else (for more on this, see Provan, 1 and 2 Kings, 207).

Jeremiah is called “the weeping prophet,” but here we read of another weeping prophet: Elisha. He stares down Hazael and then breaks down in tears. Hazael asks Elisha why the tears. He answers, “Because I know the evil you will do to the people of Israel” (v. 12). When Hazael questions this, Elisha tells him, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram” (v. 13). This prediction takes place: Hazael brutally inflicts great suffering on Israel (Amos 1:13; Hos 13:16; 2 Kgs 9:14-15; 12:17-18; 13:3-7; 15:16). He rises to power by killing Ben-hadad. We read that he relays the message, “You are sure to recover” (v. 14), but then he apparently proceeds to smother Ben-hadad to death.

Elisha’s brokenheartedness reminds us of God’s other compassionate messengers. Ezekiel says on behalf of Yahweh, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked” (33:11). Jeremiah said, “My eyes will overflow with tears, for the Lord’s flock has been taken captive” (13:17). Paul said, “For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction” (Phil 3:18-19; emphasis added; see also Rom 9:1-5). Jesus Himself wept over the city of Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). God must judge sinners, but He is slow to anger and full of mercy. When judgment comes, there is an element of divine sadness in it. Tears fall with the fire and brimstone. Elisha knew judgment was necessary, but it was sad (Davis, 2 Kings, 137). He was a brokenhearted prophet.

If people are going to refuse to believe and head off into destruction, then let them do so by walking through a puddle of our prayerful tears. Are you broken for those who don’t know the King? Let us learn from Elisha to weep over the unrepentant and to remember, “God seldom blesses a tearless ministry” (Quarles, “Paul: A Model for Ministry”).

Kings in Judah (vv. 16-29)

It has been a while since we have read of Judah. In 2 Kings 3 King Jehoshaphat was part of an unsuccessful attack on Moab. Now we learn of his son, Jehoram. (The HCSB consistently spells Israel’s king “Joram” and Judah’s king “Jehoram.” In Hebrew, the two names are spelled the same way.) King Jehoram of Judah was first mentioned in 1 Kings 22:50 and again in 2 Kings 1:17.

Judah begins to look more and more like Israel. Not only do their kings have the same name (in Hebrew), but they also begin practicing the same idolatry. Jehoram “walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for Ahab’s daughter was his wife. He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight” (8:18). He apparently was given to the worship of golden calves, like Jeroboam, and also to the worship of Baal. This would mean he was “worse” than the King Joram of Israel (2 Kgs 3:2-3). He has intermarried with Ahab’s daughter (Athaliah, v. 26), and the idolatrous practices of that family have now infected Judah. They are all “one big evil family” (Davis, 2 Kings, 140). Because of His promise to David, God doesn’t eliminate them (v. 19; cf. 2 Sam 7:12-16; 21:17; 1 Kgs 11:36; 15:4). By God’s grace a lamp remains in Judah. It would shine, ever so dimly, until the coming of King Jesus. “The Lord was unwilling to destroy Judah.” These kings will fall, but God will keep His kingdom.

Edom fails to submit to King Jehoram. Gone are the days of Solomon, who could rule over the nations. Jehoram faces the same kind of problem his northern counterpart faced when they failed to subdue Moab (2 Kgs 3). Judah is forced to flee from the battlefield. Even cities in Judah, like Libnah, are experiencing unrest. The picture is of great decline in Judah. We are told of Jehoram’s death in verses 23-24, and we read that Ahaziah is the new king of Judah.

Judah’s King Ahaziah (not to be confused with Israel’s King Ahaziah in 1 Kgs 22:51–2 Kgs 1) follows in the sins of his father Jehoram and the sins of the family of Ahab/Omri. He reigns a whole year! He went to war with Israel against Hazael (probably sending troops, not going himself). In the battle Israel’s King Joram gets wounded. Ahaziah went down to visit Joram, but that was the last visit he would make, for now the stage is set for judgment. King Joram of Israel is in Jezreel, and King Ahaziah of Judah is visiting him. They didn’t know what was coming (peek ahead to 2 Kgs 9:14-16).

We are left to marvel at the nature of God. From these accounts it’s clear that God is

a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished. (Exod 34:6-7)

For all who call on Him, from Aram to Israel to Bangladesh to Omaha, there is salvation. “You are a forgiving God,” Nehemiah prayed (Neh 9:17). But for those who refuse to embrace Christ as Savior and Lord, judgment will come. A day of grace is here now, so respond before the day of judgment comes. You can have a stubborn heart like Ben-hadad, a superficial heart like Joram, or a skeptical heart like his assassin. But you will wish you had believed like the Shunammite woman.

God’s divine mercy and justice have been most gloriously displayed in the cross of Jesus. There the sinless One bore our judgment so that we may experience everlasting mercy and grace. Look to Him, and flee the wrath to come—a wrath worse than anything we read of in Kings. In Christ you are safe. In Christ you are free from condemnation.

Reflect and Discuss