ARCHIVES
DIVISION
Aram District
| Name | HAZAEL |
| Aliases | KING OF ARAM / THE ROD OF JUDGMENT / WHO SMOTHERED HIS MASTER |
| Status | DECEASED / KING OF SYRIA / A SCOURGE UPON ISRAEL |
| Birth | UNRECORDED | Marks & Identifiers | THE SERVANT WHO SEIZED HIS MASTER'S THRONE |
| Place of Birth | ARAM (SYRIA) | Hair | UNRECORDED |
| Tribe | NONE (AN ARAMEAN) | Eyes | UNRECORDED |
| Parentage | UNRECORDED (A SERVANT OF BEN-HADAD) | People | THE ARAMEANS |
| Occupation | OFFICIAL / THEN KING OF ARAM | Species | HUMAN |
| Affiliation | THE KINGDOM OF ARAM | Calling | A GENTILE KING RAISED AS A ROD AGAINST ISRAEL |
| Primary Mission | RULE ARAM AND WAR AGAINST ISRAEL | Known Signs | THE PROPHECY OF ELISHA'S TEARS / THE SMOTHERING OF BEN-HADAD |
| Covenant Role | INSTRUMENT OF JUDGMENT ON A WAYWARD ISRAEL | Divine Access | INDIRECT / HIS RISE FORETOLD TO ELIJAH AND ELISHA |
| Divine Encounter Level | INDIRECT | Imperial Classification | THE ARAMEAN OPPRESSOR |
| Covenant Status | OUTSIDE THE COVENANT | Known Miracles | NONE RECORDED |
| Divine Commission | PERMITTED | Threat Assessment | HIS OWN AMBITION / WAR ON ISRAEL |
| Mission Status | OPPRESSOR / A ROD IN GOD'S HAND | Archive Category | KINGS / JUDGMENT ON ISRAEL |
Why Elisha wept as he looked at him: THE EVIL HE WOULD DO TO ISRAEL
How he took the throne of Damascus: SMOTHERED BEN-HADAD WITH A WET CLOTH
The LORD had told Elijah at Horeb to anoint the subject king over Aram, one of the instruments by which He would judge the idolatry of Israel. In time the word came to pass through Elisha.
When Ben-hadad king of Syria fell sick, he sent the subject to ask Elisha whether he would recover. The prophet said he would surely have recovered, yet would die, and then fixed his gaze on the subject and wept.
Asked why he wept, Elisha spoke of the evil the subject would do to Israel, burning their strongholds, killing their young men, and dashing their children. The subject protested that he was but a dog, yet the prophet said he would be king of Syria.
Returning to his master, the subject reported that he would recover; but the next day he took a thick cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over the king's face until he died, and reigned in his place.
As king the subject warred against Israel through the reigns of Jehu and his sons, oppressing them and cutting short their borders, a scourge the LORD permitted because of the nation's persistent sin.
EYES ONLYRestricted // Sacred Record
- The evil a heart is capable of should drive us to weep and watch.
- God can use even a pagan king as a rod to discipline His people.
- Ambition that murders to gain a throne reveals what was hidden within.
