2 Kings 8:16-29
At the beginning of ch. 8 re-appear certain persons we have met before: the Shunamite woman, whom the LORD cared for during the famine; then Gehazi who appears to have prospered despite his leprosy (on the subject of which he maintains a discreet silence). We find him, in fact, at the royal court where God uses him to obtain justice for the Shunamite. Elisha’s visit to Damascus and his encounter with Hazael are then related. The latter commits murder and thereby takes the throne of Syria in place of Benhadad. This man, a former witness of the cleansing of Naaman, dies a miserable death.
Finally, in vv. 16-29, we see the course of the kings of Israel and Judah going on together. Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, is far from following the good example of his father. And we are given the reason for this: "for the daughter of Ahab was his wife" (v. 18). Notice yet once more how great is the influence of a wife or a husband on their spouse. Jehoram, king of Judah, is the brother of Joram, king of Israel, whom we know well. And in his turn his son Ahaziah becomes "son in law of the house of Ahab" (v. 27). These are fine alliances from the worldly angle, but in the eyes of the LORD they are serious infidelities. We shall see the tragic consequences of these unions.