The power of temptation is. Impossible to overcome. without intervention from God. Mark it down, you cannot handle temptation alone. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians, whatever's facing you is not uncommon.
The mankind. But, implication, if you submit to God, He will provide a way of escape that you may be able to overbear. That is, if you reach that intersection in your life where you have to make a decision and you say, Lord, I want to do your will, He will mark a door. There's nothing very spiritual-looking about hurling yourself toward it. Maybe saving your life.
What happens when obedience makes life harder, not easier? In this message, Stephen Davey walks you through two intertwined stories from 2 Kings 8. A widow who obeys God without any guarantees, and a would-be king whose secret ambition leads to violence. One story shows the rewards of trusting God with the unknown. The other reveals how small compromises can destroy a life.
If you're facing a difficult decision, or battling unseen temptation, this message is for you. It's a call to trust and to obey no matter the cost. May I turn your attention, please, to the book of 2 Kings in chapter 8. Right. To the story of a widow and a would-be king.
Two stories, actually. The story here in chapter 8 is really a sequel to. Chapter four. where Elisha You may remember if you were with us, was invited to stay with the Shunammite couple. where they received what we called Shunammite hospitality.
A couple who love the Lord God of Israel. And they wanted to extend hospitality to Elisha whenever he came through town. And so eventually, as we study, they even built a room for him on their roof. that was plush accommodations with any and every cultural advantage. uh that they could afford.
Now, evidently, according to this sequel, this woman's husband has died. She is alone with her son and and household. And Elisha, knowing that a famine was coming, Coming her way. commanded that she and her son and family uh leave. Go to the area of the Philistines.
in order to survive the famine. And so, where the author picks up that story, he's picking up that conversation in reviews.
So, let's start at verse one of. this chapter. Pick it up there.
Now Elisha literally had spoken to the woman in the past. whose son he had restored to life, saying, Arise and go with your household, and sojourn wherever you can sojourn. For the LORD has called for a famine, and it shall 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. And it came about at the end of seven years that the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, and she went out to appeal to the king for her house. and for her field.
Now the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God, saying, Please relate to me all the great things that Elisha As done.
Now we have to stop there because it's You've been with us in this study, that verse probably raises some questions in your mind as it did mine. You remember the story of Gehazai? Who in chapter five is stricken with the leprosy of Naaman? And he ceases to be the servant of the man of God. The question is now: how can he be referred to years later as Elisha's servant?
It's a good question. It mired me down for some time as I read more opinions than I care to share with you. But of all of the things that I researched, two thoughts or possibilities seemed to make the most sense. Opinion number one says that basically this is not occurring in chronological order. And certainly, Jeremiah and Ezra later in 1 and 2 Chronicles did not put things in strict chronological order, much like if you've ever read the Gospels, maybe you've been somewhat confused.
as the synoptics never really in strict chronological order gave us the stories of Christ's own life.
So here, this was occurring earlier than the incident with Nahemeth. The problem that still raises to my mind is This is occurring seven years after the raising of the Shunammite son, and so that poses some problem. Of all the other opinions, I think this second opinion made the most sense. I'm voting for it. You can.
Choose to disagree and be wrong. But it's. It's based on the fact that Gaze eyes roll. Um was one of the most prominent roles in in Israel's time. The servant of the man of God Could inherit the role as the man of God.
In fact, it happened already with Elisha. He had been the servant of the man of God and he. He now became the leading prophet. And so Gehazi was in step, I believe, to inherit the role once Elisha went home. uh to be with his king.
In heaven.
So I happen to believe that this title. Is as much a title as it is a role. A title that would stick with Gehazi in the eyes of the people and in their memories as long as he lived. There are other titles that have stuck as well. I'll give you illustrations, such as Rahab the Harlot.
Long after she left that profession, she was still referred to as the harlot. And centuries later, in the New Testament, we hear her referred to as Rahab the harlot. much to her chagrin, I'm sure. Um we have in our own culture the idea of one particular role, and that is the President. Long after that man has left his office, whether we believe he is deserving or not, we still refer to him as Mr.
President. It sticks. I happen to believe that Gehazi was known as being the servant of the man of God, even though it was in the past tense. As long as he lived.
So here in the king's court, he's still referred to as that title, even though he has long since left. A position. Verse 5: And it came about as he was relating to the king how he had restored to life, that is Elisha, the one who was dead, that behold, The woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazai said, My lord, O king, this is the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life. The king asked the woman, she related 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. That's interesting. not only give her back the land, But give her all the wages of the produce from her property over the previous seven years. Give that to her. And one loves some as well.
Now at at first review It's easy to overlook the tough Times that this woman endured. We're given the silver lining in full view, and it's easy to forget the storm that has just Swept through her life. And I fear that if we don't take some time to look at the storm, we really can't appreciate. God's solution.
Well, I want to suggest to you that the sequel to her biography really gives us some modern day challenges. Let me give you two truths about tough times, and I'll relate it to her life as we work through this. If you have notes and you care to follow along, here's the first truth. Number one, God most clearly works in the lives of those who are willing to accept. The penalties of obedience.
Now, I know the word penalty doesn't sound really spiritual, and preachers aren't supposed to use words like penalties for obedience, but that's where we happen to live. Don't overlook the fact that her obedience to the prophet brought. The penalty of obedience. That is, it brought the storm, it brought tough, difficult times. Uh don't overlook the fact that uh Obedience to the prophet would thrust her into the unknown.
Would you look again at verse 1 as Elisha speaks to her? Arise and go with your household. and sojourn, notice this, wherever you can. Thanks a lot. That's a big help.
He never gives her a forwarding address. He never says, Now, listen, ma'am, I want you to leave here. I want you to go five miles and turn left, and four more, turn right. There's somebody there waiting for you. No, he says, I want you to leave here with your son and go wherever you can.
Wherever you can find a place to survive, live there. And so by obeying that It means Stepping into the unknown. It means leaving her home. It means leaving her families. It means leaving her network.
It means turning her back perhaps for ever on the estate that she and her husband, who is now dead, had enjoyed, had built with their own hands. It meant going to a strange land that would never be inviting to this God-fearer. She will eventually land in the area of the Philistines' rule. In their fertile regions, she will survive, but it would be an inhospitable place for her to survive. How do you raise this question in my mind as I studied?
How do you determine the providence of God in your life? What is it in your life That has to occur before you say, wow, God is really at work in my life. It's triumphant time. Not tough, Darth. And yet this woman Had God at work in her life even though her times were now.
Tough. Difficult. Let me give you another truth that really rephrases the first one. This says it a different way. And it's this.
The solutions of God are most often experienced. by those willing to trust him with a difficult future. The truth was, when when this widow obeyed the prophet, She abandoned any and all hope of a secure future. Go out and live wherever you can, and there was never a promise, and then seven years later you can come back, and I'll restore your home, and seven years' wages of all that your land produced.
Well, who wouldn't go? It's a seven-year vacation. She had no guarantee. She was then in effect, as it were, by obedience to the prophet, giving God the permission to make her life difficult. Have you ever done that?
Have you ever been right in the middle of it? struggling with how God is at work in your life. Or maybe it seems that he's not at work at all, but you're surrounded by difficult, tough, challenging, oppressive times where you've had to reach the conclusion either I am going to say, Lord, forget this, or Lord, you have, from a human standpoint, my permission to make my life Tough. And now, seven years later, here comes this woman with nothing but a thin. Prayer.
To every hope of having her home returned, her estate given back to her. Again. Here's a woman whose home that she cherished All the memories. Her husband built it. I imagine maybe she went back.
She undoubtedly saw it, knew it was standing, knew it was there. But when she drove back, she wasn't invited. In fact, I'm sure the people in there were rather intimidated that she had arrived back in the land and Afraid she'd stake her claim. Or perhaps there were squatters on the property and And they didn't know her, but I I doubt she was able to go in and rummage through things and walk through. But maybe from a distance she looked at the the estate and and the home and And she could see outlining that estate, that upper room that she and her husband had made for the prophet of God.
And maybe her mind was filled with the memories of dinner conversations and happy times. The room where her son was restored to life. And all of that. And now, there isn't a prayer that she'd ever get it back. You see Um She had been willing to to entrust a difficult future.
To God. And the only hope that she had was to personally talk to the king, the highest judge in the land. And maybe he would be unique. Maybe he would give rather than grasp this youngest son of Ahab and Jezebel. He had seen his father rip from Naboth the vineyard that he coveted.
Why would this son ever give away? Property. She had only the remotest hope. But did you notice the timing of God as you moved to the solution that we came to so quickly? Just as she's walking past the palace guards, Into the courtroom of the king to stake her claim.
To tell her story, he Yehazi is in the middle of telling the story of this woman. Look back at verse 5 again. And it came about as As Gehazi was relating to the king how Elisha had restored to life the one who was dead, that behold, look! The woman, whose son he had restored to life, appealed to the king for her house and for her field. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king.
This is the woman. This is the son whom Elisha restored to life. implied, we were just talking about you. Uh I was just telling the king your story. Good night, what a coincidence.
Not on your life. Did it just so happen? That this wayward Israelite king who cared little about God and less for the prophet of God was suddenly struck with a desire to hear the life story of Elisha? I'd like to hear about my enemy. Come in and tell me his whole story.
Is that a coincidence? Was it a coincidence that Gehazai, the man who knew more about Elisha? Was the one invited into the king's courtroom that day to tell the story? Did it just so happen on the day that Gehazi arrives that this woman comes to make her plea before the king? Did it just so happen that she came in just after Gehazi was finishing the story about her and her son?
And look, here she is! Did it just so happen that she arrived without a court representative, which was the custom of that day? And the only man aside from Elisha who could be her representative and validate her claim to the estate and tell the king she's saying the truth. was there. At that moment.
For those who are willing to wait on the Lord, there is no such thing. As a coincidence.
Well, the the chapter moves on. And um I don't mean to twist our thoughts, but I want to take these two stories together. This is a story of temptation, and it's hidden, it's secret. It goes well with the story we've just finished. There was a woman who succeeded, now a man who failed.
Would you look at verse 7? It gives us some insight into the power of temptation. that we need today. Verse 7. Then Elisha came to Damascus.
Now Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, was sick. And it was told 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? Always fascinates me, by the way, to see people who have denied God throughout their whole lives upon their sick bed call for the man of God. still happens today.
So Hazael, verse 9, went to meet him and took a gift in his hand. And even every good thing of Damascus, forty camels' loads. They're loaded down. And he came and stood before him and said. Your son Ben-Hadad I imagine Elisha chuckled.
My son, okay, 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 shall surely recover, but the Lord has shown me that he will certainly die. Mm-hmm.
Now, it's one thing to have one problem passage to deal with in a sermon. It's another thing to have two. Here's the second. At first glance, the verse is troublesome to me and to you probably as you've read it. It seems that Elisha told Hazael to report a lie.
Um You're going to get well, O king. When in fact the king was going to die. is Elisha telling him to lie.
Well, as we work through this, I think you'll find the answer, as I did. Verse 11. And he You need to write in the margin of your Bible here the word Elisha. With he, and he that is Elisha. fixed his gaze steadily on him until he, that is, Haziel, was ashamed.
That is quite a clue. Elisha delivers his prophecy about the king's recovery. He will recover from this illness. He's not going to die from it, but he will die. unexpectedly.
He never says how the king will die. But after saying that to Haziel, he stares at him. He just looks at him. His eyes lock on with hazials. And it's as if the prophet is reading the soul of this man and reading the intentions of his heart.
And after a long space of time, where the prophet of God is simply looking at Haziel. The Bible tells us that Haziel was a shame. May maybe he had to look away. Uh maybe he shuffled his feet and And he was distracted by the birds or whistled or something. He could not keep looking at the prophet of God.
That tells you that he was hiding something. He had a secret. That no one knew. Then suddenly in verse 11 Of all things, Elisha begins to weep. What a scene.
Hmm. Elisha just breaks down crying in front of this man. What's going on? Verse 12, and Haziel said. Why does my Lord weep?
Then he answered, Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel. Their stronghold you will set on fire. Their young men you will kill with the sword. and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up. Then Hasiel said, But what is your servant who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?
And Elijah answered, And here's the key. to understanding. The Lord has shown me that you will be king. Over a rock. Elisha never said, Haziel, you're going to murder the king.
and take his throne. But he did say, Haziel, the king is going to recover from his illness, but he is going to die. And then he stares at him until Haziel becomes ashamed. Elijah, or Elisha, was reading the heart of this man who was at that very moment feigning loyalty to the king, but in his heart he was planning a coup attempt. He was feigning love and concern over the king who was sick.
And yet he was thinking in his heart, now is the time to take the throne from this weak man.
Now is the time to kill him, be rid of him.
Now is the time for me to grasp the throne. And Elisha had read the intentions of his heart. Notice verse 15. And it came about on the morrow. That is, he couldn't hardly wait 24 hours.
that he, Haziel, took the cover and dipped it in water, and spread it on the king's face so that he died. and Hasiel became king. in his place.
Now, this is a clever assassination. The word cover. In my translation? Is literally the word mach bear, which means. to intertwine It means Woven.
Many that I read believed it was a reference to the mosquito net that was held in place around the the bed of a sick person to keep away the distracting mosquitoes and flies and Other bugs. According to historians that I read, it was a common practice in that day to dip the net just before retiring in water and then hang it, and that would cool the air around the person who was lying. upon their sick bed. What unbelievable treachery. Consider the steps downward for this man, who was at one point in time loyal.
He had risen through the ranks as the confidant of the king. He was faithful. He was trustworthy. And now, His life intersected with a man who could read his heart.
Now, his steps would not just be one or two gradually, but now he will go down that slippery slope into dishonesty and terrible immorality. If you look at the steps, once he meets the prophet, instead of repenting when the prophet pulls the mask off his heart, he. He defends it. He says, Who in the world do you think I am? A dog that I would take the lives of innocent people?
He goes back to the king and delivers half a message. Then with his own bare hands, He takes the life of the king. And he steals the throne. And through the rest of 2 Kings, we will discover Elisha's prophecy come true as Haziel becomes the most brutal enemy. of Israel.
Today. There is a progression toward ungodliness. There is a progression toward godliness. I have given you in your notes five steps that have been adapted From Mayer's Commentary on James. You ought to carefully study through them sometime, but I want you to notice the right-hand side: the steps to making the godly choice.
When facing temptation, step number one: actively resist under divine influence. Step number two. The impulse that has been tempted visualizes the aspects of. Sin, where if you fail and sin, you will begin visualizing whatever that sin will do for you, whatever you will be able to get, touch, taste, or feel. Step number three, if you would be godly.
The will identifies with the conscience. That's still small voice. and refuses to proceed. Step number four. The virtuous choice.
is committed. There are two truths that I want to share with you. Truth number one: the presence of temptation is inevitable. In spite of fellowship with God. Mm maybe that's the surprising part.
But it's never a matter of if. It's a matter of when. Doesn't matter if you have had your quiet time, if you are sharing your faith, if you are a testimony at work. You do not, you cannot ever avoid the presence. of temptation.
Haziel recoiled with horror at the thought that he would fall to the temptation of doing brutal things. He said, Who do you think I am?
Some dog that I would do that?
Well, he had not been that way. But he became that way. It started with a thought, I'd like to be king. And then it involved deceit, and then a life of deception. And ultimately Murder.
True for Unbelievers. It's also true for believers. That's why Paul wrote. That we are to beware We are to be careful. We are to take heed.
while we stand, lest we fall. The point of that is, at the very point where you believe you are the strongest, beware. At the point where you are standing, be careful. Because that is the point of attack. and what you think you would never be uh capable of doing at that point.
That's where you will be attacked. Truth number two, the power of temptation is Impossible to overcome. without intervention from God. Mark it down, you cannot handle temptation alone. It demands intervention from God.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians: whatever's facing you is not uncommon. to mankind. It's not unique to you. But, implication, if you submit to God, He will provide a way of escape that you may be able to embarrass. That is, if you reach that intersection in your life where you have to make a decision between your will and your conscience and the impulse, and you say, Lord, I want to do your will, He will mark a door.
With emergency escape, and it's there, and there's nothing really dignified about running for it. There's nothing very spiritual looking about just hurling yourself toward it. You may be saving your life. Cry out. For the grace and the power and the intervention.
of God. And you will discover At those times When you recognize, like the hymn writer. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave. The God I love.
Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above. At moments like that, when you recognize your weakness and you lean entirely upon God, you will find him to be a shield. to those who trust her. You will find him to be a strong tower. For those who are willing.
to run. They're in. Thanks for joining us today here on Wisdom for the Heart. This is the Bible teaching ministry of Stephen Davy. As we close today's broadcast, I want to tell you about a free resource we'd love to send your way.
It's our monthly devotional magazine called Heart to Heart. Each issue is designed to help you go deeper into God's Word and apply it to your everyday life. Every month, Stephen explores a different topic. You'll also find a daily devotional guide in every issue to help you stay grounded in Scripture throughout the month. Whether you're looking to grow in wisdom, better understand theology, or apply truth in practical ways, Heart to Heart is a valuable resource.
We send it to all of our wisdom partners, but we'd also love to send three free issues to anyone who asks. To request your free copies, just visit wisdomonline.org and look for the sign-up link on the home page or give us a call at 866-48-BIBLE. That's 866-482-4253. We'd love to hear from you and send you this encouraging resource. Thanks for tuning in today.
Join us back here next time for more Wisdom for the Heart with Stephen Davey.
