2 Kings 8:7
And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. And Elisha came to Damascus; and Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither.
Elisha had come to Damascus at the time when Ben-hadad, king of Syria, was sick, and Ben-hadad sent to learn through him whether he would recover from his sickness or die. His presence there was a continuance of faithful work in giving counsel and bearing witness to truth, carried on even among rulers and at a time when many were rebelling against God.
The coming of the man of God to Damascus brought Hazael to a life-and-death test of character. His encounter with Elisha beginning at that point stands as a memorable example of how deeply evil a person controlled by satanic influence can become, for an unsubdued heart may be stirred by circumstances until he becomes an instrument of evil. The same kind of test comes to anyone tempted to do wrong for money, so that this moment becomes decisive when one is pressed to cover financial embarrassment by crime, to barter the soul for momentary advantage as for a mess of pottage, to turn traitor and betrayer, to rob God's cause out of revenge, and to take another step on a path that fixes eternal destiny and separates forever from God and from His people. The lesson is to call a halt before it is everlastingly too late, to draw back from the precipice, to humble the heart like a little child before God, and to walk in safe paths instead of continuing a course whose effect on eternal welfare will be fearful and fatal.