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Small Group Guide:
Open with prayer.
Go around and give everyone a chance to share about how the past week has been. What’s one highlight? What’s one lowlight?
If your small group has talked about it before, feel free to use this time to hold people accountable to what they’ve asked to be held accountable for previously, and go through the “missional” part of this discussion guide.
Hazael Murders Ben-hadad
7 Now Elisha came to Damascus. Ben-hadad the king of Syria was sick. And when it was told him, “The man of God has come here,” 8 the king said to Hazael, “Take a present with you and go to meet the man of God, and inquire of the Lordthrough him, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” 9 So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, all kinds of goods of Damascus, forty camels’ loads. When he came and stood before him, he said, “Your son Ben-hadad king of Syria has sent me to you, saying, ‘Shall I recover from this sickness?’” 10 And Elisha said to him, “Go, say to him, ‘You shall certainly recover,’ but[a] the Lord has shown me that he shall certainly die.” 11 And he fixed his gaze and stared at him, until he was embarrassed. And the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the people of Israel. You will set on fire their fortresses, and you will kill their young men with the sword and dash in pieces their little ones and rip open their pregnant women.”13 And Hazael said, “What is your servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing?” Elisha answered, “The Lord has shown me that you are to be king over Syria.” 14 Then he departed from Elisha and came to his master, who said to him, “What did Elisha say to you?” And he answered, “He told me that you would certainly recover.” 15 But the next day he took the bed cloth[b] and dipped it in water and spread it over his face, till he died. And Hazael became king in his place.
- Don’t be deceived.
(2 Kings 8:7-9, 13, 1 Pet. 5:8, 1 John 4:1, Rom. 16:17-18, Col. 2:8, 2 Tim. 3:13, Rev. 12:9)
- Take it seriously.
(2 Kings 8:11, James 1:22, Heb. 4:16, Prov. 16:20, 1 Thess. 5:6-8, Eph. 5:4, 12-14)
- Stay truthful.
(2 Kings 8:10, 13, Prov. 11:3, Ex. 20:16, Prov. 12:22, 2 Cor. 8:21, Prov. 19:1)
- Lean on god.
(2 Kings 8:14-15, Nahum 1:7, 2 Cor. 12:9, Is. 26:4, 41:13, John 10:10, Jer. 17:7)
Reflection Questions:
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- Have you ever heard this passage of Scripture or topic taught on before? What stood out to you?
- How have you been confronted by sin in your life before? How did you respond? Knowing what you know today, would you have responded differently?
- What are some common ways that people are deceived when they are confronted by sin? How have you been deceived by sin before, either by your own or someone else’s?
- Read Ephesians 6:10-20. Looking at your answers from question #3, how can you “put on the whole armor of God,” and by doing so, protect yourself from being deceived by sin?
- When there is sin around us, It’s tempting to just shrug it off, and not take it seriously. How can you be sure to take your own sin, and the sin around you seriously, just like Elisha did in this passage of Scripture?
- Certainly, it would have been tempting for Elisha to have not told Hazael about the future, and instead just moved on from the situation. However, Elisha the whole time stayed truthful, unlike Hazael. When you are confronted with sin, how can you best stay truthful?
- It’s interesting that Elisha knew the evil that Hazael would do, yet he didn’t try to stop him. Why do you think that was?
- Elisha told Hazael that his king would die, and he would be the next king. However, Elisha didn’t tell Hazael that he would be the one to kill the king. Hazael chose to take matters into his own hands and commit murder.
- Looking at your answers from question #6, did you consider that Elisha may have been putting the whole situation in God’s hands, instead of taking matters into his own hands? Looking at your answers from question #8, how can you prayerfully avoid the same mistake Hazael made, and leave things in God’s hands instead of taking matters into your own hands?
- When humanity chose to sin, God chose to confront sin face to face, through love by sacrificing His Son on the cross. Read Galatians 6:1-2. How can you confront others when they sin with love and sacrifice, and by doing so, show them the love that God has so graciously shown you?
- How can you help other believers when they are confronted by sin?
- What is your biggest take away about how this passage affects your life? What do you need to work on? Who can you share this with and ask you to keep you accountable to accomplishing this?
Prayer Time:
Pray for each other in your small group to be faithful take the step(s) that you shared above. Pray for each other and the interactions that they have with those who don’t know Jesus. Pray that God would soften the people’s hearts to what He has for them. Pray that God would give everyone opportunities to share the Gospel.
Staying Missional:
Share spiritual/missional conversations you’ve had where you live, work, and play:
Who did you have a conversation with that took a spiritual/missional turn this week?
What questions did you ask to discover where God is at work in their life, even if they are not aware?
How were you able to share your story of life change or how you have experienced Jesus?
How can you be intentional this week with people where you live, work, and play to have spiritual/missional conversations if the opportunity arises?
Who in your life do you think could be discipleable or open to spiritual/missional conversations?
What’s next?
Discuss the next step for your small group. When will we gather again and what purpose will it fulfill?