2 Kings 8:13
And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, The LORD hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria.
Elisha spoke the words to Hazael when Ben-hadad king of Syria sent to ask whether his sickness would end in death, telling him the Lord had shown that he would become king over Syria. Hazael's reply about being a dog was astonished disbelief, protesting that as a mere servant he could not do so great a thing as both seizing the throne and committing the brutal deeds laid open before him. His rise to power became a scourge by which apostate Israel suffered under judgment. He imagined himself better than he was and felt secure and indignant because he did not know the evil of his own unconsecrated, unsubdued natural heart, a memorable instance that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked and shows the depths reached under satanic control. Indignation at warning does not prove safety, for sinful principles grow by repetition until conscience is put to rest and the descent becomes rapid, and though forewarned Hazael followed his corrupt heart and did the very things he had said he could not do. The prediction did not force the act but laid the evil openly before him as a decisive test of life and death, leaving him to choose whether to commit crime and betrayal for advantage, and the same test meets everyone tempted to barter his soul for gain, who must halt and humble himself before God rather than take one step farther.
Setting and Prophecy
Elisha was visited by messengers sent by Ben-hadad, king of Syria, to ask whether his illness would end in death. In that interview Elisha told Hazael that the Lord had shown him that Hazael would become king over Syria. Hazael answered by asking whether he was a dog that he should do such a great thing, expressing disbelief that this could be so.
His question protested that he was only a servant and could not do the great deed set before him. It expressed astonishment and disbelief both at becoming king and at the brutal acts laid open in the surrounding exchange. He reacted with disbelief that he could commit the great evil foretold, asking whether he was a dog who would do such a thing. His rise to power stood in the setting of judgment against apostate Israel, for as king of Syria he became a scourge through whom Israel suffered.
Deceitful Heart and Warning
Hazael imagined himself better than he was, felt indignant at the suggestion that he could do such a fearful, revolting crime, and believed himself incapable of the cruel course foretold because he did not know the evil of his own unconsecrated, unsubdued natural heart. Protesting that he was only a servant, as a dog, who could not do the great deed described, he thought himself secure while habits of character already formed were leading him on. His history is a memorable instance of the solemn truth that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, showing the depths of evil to which men sink when under the control of satanic agencies.
Indignation at being warned of a possible wrong course does not prove one is safe from it, for people may wrongly feel secure about what they would do while their choices are shaping their character. Sinful principles and practices grow into habits by repetition of the same acts until conscience is put to rest, the path to evil becomes easier and the descent more rapid, restraints lose power, and without conversion the course will continue for life. Though forewarned by the prophet, Hazael followed the workings of his own corrupt heart and did the very things he had been warned he would do.
He had already formed habits of character that led him on until they developed into deeds of satanic cruelty he never supposed he could commit. Continuing in scheming dishonesty in business and in intemperance that robs calm reason and gives Satan control will increase dishonest practices, waste the life, and make a person become in character what he did not suppose he would be. Taking advantage of circumstances, Satan arouses all the evil tendencies of the natural heart and sets on fire every evil propensity, until a spark is enough to turn unsanctified temper into an uncontrollable seething cauldron. The man is then not master of himself but becomes the dupe of the father of deception and falsehood, a channel through whom Satan speaks for the power of darkness, and after long molding control has no power to escape the snare.
The prediction did not force the act but proved that a decisive life-and-death test had come, laying the great evil open before him while he protested and leaving him to choose whether to commit crime, betrayal, and robbery to gain advantage and ward off pressure. The same test meets anyone tempted to barter his soul for advantage as for a mess of pottage, to become a traitor and betrayer and rob God's cause for money and revenge. He must halt and humble himself before God rather than take one step further on that precipice.
People may be shocked to learn what they will do in the future and can fail to recognize what they may become, for those who once judged and tried to correct others can later fall into a similar spiritual condition when trial and temptation come. Like Hazael, men who reject truths in God's word because human judgment cannot grasp God's work will become a scourge to God's people. Herod before the feast would have used Hazael's words, thinking himself incapable of killing John, but under feasting, dancing, and wine he made a rash oath and did what he would once have rejected, showing how intemperance weakens reason and can lead to a deed regretted for life.
Hazael is the pattern of a man arrayed against God whose character is molded by satanic agencies; to become as Hazael is to dishonor God, refuse to work on right principles, arraign the Lord for warning and reproving a wrong course, and refuse to return, repent, and humble the proud heart. Such a course displays ever more clearly to heaven and unfallen worlds a character under satanic control whose soul is in danger of death unless he brings forth fruit meet for repentance. Brethren must pray for mercy for such a man and remove any wrong done toward him, but must do him no good by harsh treatment or by conceding to demands and buying his silence with money, for that would sustain a covetous spirit and dishonor God.