Middle knowledge? God’s awareness of what would happen in any possible set of circumstances.
“Then Elisha went to Damascus” (2 Ki 8:7). Damascus? The city from which the army came to kill him? Wasn’t it Ben-Hadad’s forces that besieged Samaria until they were driven to cannibalism? Exactly. What was he doing there? The answer will be found 400 miles south. When Elijah made his long detour to Horeb, the Lord commissioned him to anoint three people: “Anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha…you shall anoint as prophet in your place” (1 Ki 19:15-16). But he only “anointed” Elisha with his mantle. Now, after many years, Elisha is overseeing the transition of power from Ben-Hadad to Hazael. When Elisha arrives, Ben-Hadad, who is sick, hears the man of God is in town. He sends Hazael, his courtier, to bring a present to Elisha and get a prognosis on the king’s health. The framing of the question is vital: “Shall I recover from this disease?” (2 Ki 8:8). Here is an example of what is called “middle knowledge.” Elisha knows two facts. If left alone, the king “shall certainly recover” (v 10). God knows all the possibilities of what could happen. But He also knows, in the final analysis, what would happen. As far as the disease was concerned, Ben-Hadad could recover. “However,” adds the prophet, “the Lord has shown me that he will really die” (v 10). Then Elisha breaks into a fit of weeping. Why, wonders Hazael. Because you will become king, and “I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel” (v 11). So Hazael returns to the king with good news of his recovery, then turns it into bad news by suffocating the king in his bed. Thus both predictions came true. The disease wouldn’t kill him, but Hazael would. God knows everything.