Useful Bible Studies > 2 Kings Commentary > chapter 8
For a second time, Elisha had an opportunity to use his relationship with God wrongly, to become a rich man. The first time was when he refused Naaman’s gifts (2 Kings 5:5 and 5:15-16). Naaman was the army commander from Aram (also called Syria), who had chosen to serve Israel’s God.
On this second occasion, it was Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, who offered a much greater gift to Elisha. Ben-Hadad was such a wicked man that, about 20 years earlier, God ordered Ahab to kill Ben-Hadad (1 Kings 20:30-42). However, Ahab refused to punish Ben-Hadad for his crimes.
Ben-Hadad sent this gift as a payment to Elisha. He wanted Elisha to use his power in the spirit world to cure him (Ben-Hadad) from an illness. He expressed this request, as Ahaziah did in 2 Kings 1:2, in the form of a question: would he recover from the illness? However, it seems clear that he really wanted Elisha to cure him.
The Bible does not tell us how Elisha replied to the offer of this gift. That is probably because Elisha’s attention was on a much more important matter. Elisha’s complete attention was on Hazael, the official who brought the gift on behalf of Ben-Hadad. Hazael was the man whom, perhaps 15 years earlier, God told Elijah to appoint as the new king of Aram (1 Kings 19:15-17). When Elijah went up to heaven, God gave to Elisha the responsibility to continue his work (2:13-15). Now, at last, God showed Elisha that the proper time had come for Hazael to be king.
Next part: Hazael's great cruelty (2 Kings 8:10-12)
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