A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

follow after the false gods of the other nations. “And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel,
just as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife; and he did evil in the
sight of the Lord” (8:18; 2 Chron. 21:6). In order to secure his place on the throne, Jehoram
killed his obvious competition, his six brothers.
Because the king of Judah departed from following the Lord, the Lord withdrew His hand
of blessing from the nation. Suddenly Jehoram found himself facing various insurrections which
he could not adequately handle. First, there was a revolt in Edom. Though he responded
promptly with a night raid and won the battle, he failed to stop the revolt. Then Libnah revolted
from the domination of Judah also. Some commentators believe the revolt of Libnah is the same
as the invasion of the Philistines and Arabians (vv. 16-17). During that invasion Jehoram lost
everything except the youngest of his sons. In the midst of these problems, Jehoram was the
object of the prophecy of Elijah. True to that promise, Jehoram was plagued with an incurable
disease in his intestines. “It happened in the course of time, after the end of two years, that his
intestines came out because of his sickness; so he died in severe pain” (v. 19). Though his body
was buried in Jerusalem, no one mourned his death and he was not buried with the other kings.
On his death, his son Ahaziah assumed the throne for a year. Beginning with this king, the next
several rulers over Judah are not acknowledged in Matthew’s genealogy of Christ.
ELISHA AND THE SYRIANS
(2 Kings 6:24-7:20)
While godly Judah of the south was entering a dark hour in her history, ungodly Israel
seemed to be getting a break in her problems. The king of Syria planned a secret raid against
Israel, but God informed Elisha of the plan who in turn warned the king. When the plans of Syria
had been frustrated several times in this way, the king of Syria began suspecting that one of his
trusted advisors was a spy for the king of Israel. By this time, some of the advisors had learned
what had been happening and informed their king that Elisha was predicting their attack.
The miracle-working ability of Elisha was well known in the kingdom of Syria. A
respected leader in the Syrian army had contracted leprosy some time previously. Unable to find
help in Syria, Naaman had taken the advice of an Israelite maid and sought out Elisha.
Eventually Naaman was convinced to follow Elisha’s advice to bathe seven times in the Jordan
River. When he had done so, he was completely healed. The miracle of Elisha had been so
dramatic that Naaman himself voluntarily abandoned the worship of his gods to worship Jehovah
(2 Kings 5:1-19). Because Naaman was close to the king, it is reasonable to assume word of the
power of this prophet spread widely in the court of Damascus.
The king of Syria decided to capture Elisha before attacking Israel and “sent horses and
chariots and a great army there, and they came by night and surrounded the city” (6:14). When
the servant of Elisha saw the vast army the next morning, he expressed his concern to the
prophet. But Elisha was confident of the Lord’s protection. He prayed for his servant until the
servant was able to see a host of angels present to defend the prophet. On Elisha’s request, the
Lord blinded the army of Syria, enabling Elisha to lead the army into the presence of the king of
Israel.
When Elisha had marched the army of Syria to Samaria, he then prayed again that the
army might receive its sight. No one was more surprised to see the captured army of Syria than
the king of Israel. Unsure how to respond, Jehoram turned to the prophet for advice. Elisha
advised the king not to kill his prisoners but rather to feed them and send them home to Syria.
The king did so, and for a time there were no more Syrian raids into Israel.