Matthew Henry Commentary 2 Kings 8:7-15

"And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come hither. And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man of God, and inquire of Jehovah by him, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness? So Hazael went to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of Damascus, forty camels` burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of this sickness? And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou shalt surely recover; howbeit Jehovah hath showed me that he shall surely die. And he settled his countenance stedfastly [upon him], until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. And Hazael said, Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strongholds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash in pieces their little ones, and rip up their women with child. And Hazael said, But what is thy servant, who is but a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered, Jehovah hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. Then he departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou wouldest surely recover. And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took the coverlet, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face, so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead." — 2 Kings 8:7-15 (ASV)

Among other changes in people's minds brought about by affliction, it often leads to different thoughts about God's ministers and teaches people to value the counsel and prayers of those whom they have previously hated and despised. It was not from Hazael's facial expression that Elisha discerned what he would do; rather, God revealed it to him, and this brought tears to Elisha's eyes. The more foresight people have, the more grief they are prone to. It is possible for a person, under the convictions and restraints of natural conscience, to express great abhorrence of a sin, yet later be reconciled to it.

Those who are humble and obscure in the world cannot imagine how strong the temptations of power and prosperity are. Should they ever attain these, they will discover how deceitful their hearts are, and how much worse than they suspected. The devil ruins people by telling them they will certainly recover and prosper, thereby lulling them into a false sense of security. Hazael's false report harmed the king, who lost the benefit of the prophet's warning to prepare for death. It also harmed Elisha, who would then be considered a false prophet.

It is not certain that Hazael murdered his master. If he did cause his death, it may have been unintentional. However, he was a deceiver and later proved to be a persecutor of Israel.