Do we trust that God will provide even under evil world leaders? Let’s look at 2 Kings 8.
How did the king restore a Shunammite woman’s family farm to her?
Now Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had restored to life, saying, “Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn; for Yahweh has called for a famine, and it will even come on the land for seven years.” So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God, and she went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. Now it happened at the end of seven years, that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines; and she went out to cry out to the king for her house and for her field. Now the king was speaking with Gehazi, the young man of the man of God, saying, “Please recount to me all the great things that Elisha has done.” Now it happened as he was recounting to the king how he had restored to life the one who was dead, that behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life was crying out to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” Then the king asked the woman, and she recounted it to him. So the king appointed for her a certain officer, saying, “Restore all that was hers and all the produce of the field from the day that she left the land even until now.” (2 Kings 8:1-6 LSB)
Did Elisha predict that Hazael would be king of Aram? Did Hazael assassinate his former king Ben-hadad by suffocation?
Then Elisha came to Damascus. Now Ben-hadad, the king of Aram, was sick, and it was told to him, saying, “The man of God has come here.” And the king said to Hazael, “Take a gift in your hand and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lord by him, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” So Hazael went to meet him and took a gift in his hand, even every kind of good thing of Damascus, forty camels’ loads; and he came and stood before him and said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Aram has sent me to you, saying, ‘Will I recover from this sickness?’” Then Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You will certainly recover’; but the Lord has shown me that he will certainly die.” And he stared steadily at him until Hazael was embarrassed, and then the man of God wept. And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” And he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: you will set their fortified cities on fire, you will kill their young men with the sword, their little ones you will smash to pieces, and you will rip up their pregnant women.” Then Hazael said, “But what is your servant—a lowly dog—that he could do this great thing?” And Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you will be king over Aram.” So he left 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 on the following day, he took the cover and dipped it in water, and spread it over his face, so that he died. And Hazael became king in his place. (2 Kings 8:7-15 NASB)
Was Jehoram King of Judah an evil king in the manner of the evil kings of Israel?
In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. He followed the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever. In the time of Jehoram, Edom rebelled against Judah and set up its own king. So Jehoram went to Zair with all his chariots. The Edomites surrounded him and his chariot commanders, but he rose up and broke through by night; his army, however, fled back home. To this day Edom has been in rebellion against Judah. Libnah revolted at the same time. As for the other events of Jehoram’s reign, and all he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah? Jehoram rested with his ancestors and was buried with them in the City of David. And Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king. (2 Kings 8:16-24 NIV)
Was Ahaziah of Judah also an evil king in the manner of the evil kings of Israel?
In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, began to reign. Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Athaliah the granddaughter of Omri, king of Israel. And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab, and did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab, for he was the son-in-law of the house of Ahab. Now he went with Joram the son of Ahab to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth Gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram. Then King Joram went back to Jezreel to recover from the wounds which the Syrians had inflicted on him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria. And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram, king of Judah, went down to see Joram the son of Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick. (2 Kings 8:25-29 NKJV)
Though we still live in an evil world with evil leaders, where can we put our trust?
Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. (John 16:33b NLT)
Do we trust that God will provide even under evil world leaders? You decide!
