CROWNED | 2 Kings Chapter 8
- Jul 17
- 6 min read
Week 6 / Day 30
Written by Pastor Ron Barnard
READ
Clearly there are a LOT of stories to unpack in this exciting book of the Bible, but today, our focus will be on 2 Kings 8. So, if you haven’t done so already, pause here, read 2 Kings 8, and then come back here for a time of discussion and reflection.
INTRODUCTION
Everyone likes a good story. Especially when the story has a good ending. The multibillion-dollar entertainment industry is a testimony to people’s love for stories. Jesus told many stories that were called parables.
There is a good story in the first part of our study in chapter 8. But before we begin, if you would, grab your Bible and glance through the first thirteen chapters of the book of 2 Kings. What do you see? STORIES.
Stories about nations, kings, and military conquests. But most of the stories focus on two men, two prophets of God. Elijah and Elisha.
The Book of 2 Kings begins with the final stories about Elijah. Chapter 2 tells the story of the transfer of God’s Spirit from Elijah to Elisha. For the next ten chapters, story after story is told about Elisha, as it also tells the stories of the kings who reigned during his lifetime
REFLECT
Our chapter today begins with another part of the story that was started all the way back in chapter four. If you remember…there was a woman from the town of Shunem who was so impacted by the ministry of Elisha that she built an efficiency apartment in the wall surrounding her home. When Elisha was told that the woman was childless and had little possibility of having a child, he called her and told her that the next year she would be holding a newborn son. Her response was classic, and Elisha’s promise to her became a reality.
Now, here in chapter 8, the amazing story continues, picking up several years later with Elisha telling the woman to take her son and move because of a seven-year famine that will soon affect the region. Because her elderly husband is not mentioned, it is easy to assume that she is now a widow and so carries the full weight of the financial responsibility for her household.
Though I’m sure a move would have been difficult, she heeds the warning, accepts the advice given, and moves. However, when she returns seven years later, she discovers that the land and everything she had left behind had been taken. So, what does this determined woman of God do? She takes her son and goes to ask the king for legal assistance in recovering what was legally hers...and here’s where the story gets really, really interesting.
As she enters the king’s chamber, he is listening intently to another man telling him stories about Elisha, and he is telling HER STORY. It’s great! Gehazi, the man who was telling the story, sees her and exclaims…” “My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.” The king asks her to retell the story, and when she is finished, he not only assigns an officer to restore her property to her but also commands that she be given the income it had earned for the previous seven years.
Talk about an incredible story with a happy ending!
But if all we do is walk away from that story with a warm fuzzy feeling inside, then we’ve missed the mark! Because this story doesn't just give us an opportunity to celebrate God’s goodness. It also serves as a reminder of the power of DIVINE APPOINTMENTS.
This story is a reminder that God is actively involved in the lives of the people who follow him. Proverbs 3:6 tells us that if we acknowledge God in all areas of our lives, He will direct our paths. That means that God will help us navigate through the challenges that we face in life. The inability to conceive, the gut-wrenching thought of losing an only child, the loss of a spouse, being directed to leave familiar surroundings and being forced to start over in a strange place, as well as facing the possibility of having lost everything, were challenges this woman experienced. And yet, in each of these experiences, her faith remained fixed in God, regardless of the outcomes.
Now, as she faces the reality that without the king’s intervention, she will lose everything, God steps in! We see God directing her path from divine appointment to divine appointment – taking her all the way to the presence of the king.
Talk about timing! She’s been gone for SEVEN YEARS, and yet she walks in to see the king as her story is being told. The odds of that happening by “chance” are astronomical. But odds don’t matter when the Lord is working and moving in the mix! And that divine appointment led to the restoration of everything she had lost. That is Divine Favor.
Now I kind of wish the chapter ended there on such a high note! However, that’s not where it ends. In the verses that follow, we read about another divine appointment with a completely different outcome.
Verse seven tells us that Elisha makes a trip to Damascus, the capital of Syria. What is he doing there? He is completing a command that God had given to Elijah in 1 Kings 19, to anoint Hazael as king over Syria. The result will be the murder of the king of Syria and the rise of a successful king who will carry out barbaric military campaigns against Israel and Judah for 46 years.
This account doesn’t give us quite the same warm fuzzies, does it? It’s important that we see both sides of the coin. It’s important that we know that divine appointments don’t always lead to positive results. It all depends on the heart of the individual!
And finally, where the first two stories in this chapter shared the theme of divine appointment and favor, the final two stories share a common theme of their own - BE CAREFUL OF THE COMPANY YOU KEEP.
Where the beginning of the chapter left us feeling elated, these are the opposite, as they are sad STORIES that families of every generation can relate to. Let’s recap them real quick:
Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, was a godly man. He obeyed God’s law, sought God’s direction and experienced God’s intervention. The problem? His friend, Ahab, was the neighboring king to the North who “did evil in the sight of the Lord.”
Because of their friendship, Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, meets and marries the daughter of Ahab. He is influenced by his wife and her family to follow evil instead of good. When Jehoshaphat died, Ahaziah, his son, became king. Verse 27 says that he also “did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the house of Ahab”. Sadly, Ahaziah was influenced to follow the evil influences of his mother’s family.
This story should remind us that the relationships we have with others have the potential to affect not only our lives but the lives of our family. Jehoshaphat almost lost his life because of the relationship he had with Ahab. Ultimately, the relationship would have tragic results for his children and grandchildren.
Today, we will all write another chapter in the story of our lives. Even if some of the chapters are filled with failures or difficulty, we can be confident of a good ending as we daily follow Jesus, obey His Word, and trust Him to direct our steps.
RESPOND
Ask yourself:
1. Can you identify the Divine appointments in your life? Can you tell stories of how God directed your path through difficult places, or how He divinely helped you avoid a famine or another potential disaster, sending someone to give you godly counsel? Take a minute to thank Him for His direction in your life.
2. What story of God’s goodness or mercy in your life could you share with others? Have you “recalled” the events and taken the time to thank God again? What about sharing that story with someone this week so they can be encouraged or have their faith strengthened?
3. Are there relationships in your life that are spiritually unhealthy? How is your family impacted by these relationships?
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