2 Kings Chapter 1
1 After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.”
3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” So Elijah went.
The great king Ahaziah (well, not so great) is the son of Ahab (now deceased), and lives at the palace in Samaria and only reigns for two years. He follows in the ways of his father and mother (Ahab and Jezebel), and not only follows Baal but also follows the ways of Jeroboam. Jeroboam was promised of God that his kingdom would be as great as David’s (1Kings 11:33) if only he was obedient. But Jeroboam chooses another route. Instead of allowing his people in the northern kingdom to worship at the temple (located in Judah, in Jerusalem), he sets up a few spots in Israel for them to worship God instead. He not only perverts the proper worship of God, but allows anyone to be priests, appoints his own holidays, and leads Israel on a path of spiritual destruction for the next 200+ years.
Ahaziah is one of the many kings that fall into Jeroboam’s sin. In fact, Ahaziah is famous for falling. He falls through the lattice in his upper room and to the ground, injuring himself substantially. When this happens, he doesn’t consult God, but instead consults Baal Ze Bub (Lord of the Flies), the Philistine god of Ekron.
This irks God, so he speaks through Elijah his concern. Elijah intercepts the king’s messengers, on their way to Ekron, and says “Is there no God in Israel that you need to go to Ekron to consult Baalzebub?” And for this, God’s wrath is apparent. The prognosis for Ahaziah is grim: he will not recover from his injuries.
5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?”
6 “A man came to meet us,” they replied. “And he said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”’”
7 The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?”
8 They replied, “He had a garment of hair[a] and had a leather belt around his waist.”
The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”
When the messengers return and tell Ahaziah that they were intercepted by a prophet, Ahaziah asks what the prophet looked like. He is described as a prophet who wears a garment of hair. Ahaziah immediately knows this is Elijah, his father’s old nemesis.
This is telling. is Ahaziah ignorant of God or avoiding Him? By the time we get here, we understand that Ahaziah knows about Elijah, and therefore must have some knowledge of God. Like his father, Ahaziah doesn’t want to hear the true verdict from God, but instead wants to hear his own version of truth.
9 Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”
10 Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.
11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”
12 “If I am a man of God,” Elijah replied, “may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”
Since Ahaziah now knows that Elijah is on his tail, he does something remarkable: he sends soldiers out to presumably capture him. There is a two-fold reason for this. In the culture of the time, it was believed that if someone levied a curse against you, you could avoid the curse by either having him retract it or by killing him. Although Ahaziah’s intentions are unclear, it is safe to say that he wanted Elijah brought before him. So he sends 50 men.
The captain cries out, “Man of God, come down!” Elijah replies “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from the heavens and consume you.” Sure enough, fire comes down and destroys the company.
This is an interesting interlude, because it almost seems that Elijah is using his power in a very irresponsible way. But if we look at the story a little deeper, we see that Elijah is doing something very special.
First of all, the captain shouting “Man of God” immediately puts both parties into contrast. They self-identify in opposition to Elijah. But the big takeaway is what Elijah does. He says “If I am a man of God.” This is the clue that reminds us that it is not Elijah’s power but God’s judgment at play here. God has the ultimate power to display his power or not. He chooses to justify Elijah in this way as a true man of God.
The next batch of soldiers come and they too are reduced to ashes for the same reasons. But the third collection of fifty soldiers react differently to Elijah. They come before the man of God humbly. It is then that Elijah is told to go with them.
15 The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.
16 He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” 17 So he died, according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.
Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram[b] succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Elijah confronts the king and relays the same message he has from the beginning. Ahaziah, despite all of his mechanisms could not avert or change the outcome of God’s judgment.
1 After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.”
3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ 4 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” So Elijah went.
The great king Ahaziah (well, not so great) is the son of Ahab (now deceased), and lives at the palace in Samaria and only reigns for two years. He follows in the ways of his father and mother (Ahab and Jezebel), and not only follows Baal but also follows the ways of Jeroboam. Jeroboam was promised of God that his kingdom would be as great as David’s (1Kings 11:33) if only he was obedient. But Jeroboam chooses another route. Instead of allowing his people in the northern kingdom to worship at the temple (located in Judah, in Jerusalem), he sets up a few spots in Israel for them to worship God instead. He not only perverts the proper worship of God, but allows anyone to be priests, appoints his own holidays, and leads Israel on a path of spiritual destruction for the next 200+ years.
Ahaziah is one of the many kings that fall into Jeroboam’s sin. In fact, Ahaziah is famous for falling. He falls through the lattice in his upper room and to the ground, injuring himself substantially. When this happens, he doesn’t consult God, but instead consults Baal Ze Bub (Lord of the Flies), the Philistine god of Ekron.
This irks God, so he speaks through Elijah his concern. Elijah intercepts the king’s messengers, on their way to Ekron, and says “Is there no God in Israel that you need to go to Ekron to consult Baalzebub?” And for this, God’s wrath is apparent. The prognosis for Ahaziah is grim: he will not recover from his injuries.
5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?”
6 “A man came to meet us,” they replied. “And he said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”’”
7 The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?”
8 They replied, “He had a garment of hair[a] and had a leather belt around his waist.”
The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”
When the messengers return and tell Ahaziah that they were intercepted by a prophet, Ahaziah asks what the prophet looked like. He is described as a prophet who wears a garment of hair. Ahaziah immediately knows this is Elijah, his father’s old nemesis.
This is telling. is Ahaziah ignorant of God or avoiding Him? By the time we get here, we understand that Ahaziah knows about Elijah, and therefore must have some knowledge of God. Like his father, Ahaziah doesn’t want to hear the true verdict from God, but instead wants to hear his own version of truth.
9 Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”
10 Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.
11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”
12 “If I am a man of God,” Elijah replied, “may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”
Since Ahaziah now knows that Elijah is on his tail, he does something remarkable: he sends soldiers out to presumably capture him. There is a two-fold reason for this. In the culture of the time, it was believed that if someone levied a curse against you, you could avoid the curse by either having him retract it or by killing him. Although Ahaziah’s intentions are unclear, it is safe to say that he wanted Elijah brought before him. So he sends 50 men.
The captain cries out, “Man of God, come down!” Elijah replies “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from the heavens and consume you.” Sure enough, fire comes down and destroys the company.
This is an interesting interlude, because it almost seems that Elijah is using his power in a very irresponsible way. But if we look at the story a little deeper, we see that Elijah is doing something very special.
First of all, the captain shouting “Man of God” immediately puts both parties into contrast. They self-identify in opposition to Elijah. But the big takeaway is what Elijah does. He says “If I am a man of God.” This is the clue that reminds us that it is not Elijah’s power but God’s judgment at play here. God has the ultimate power to display his power or not. He chooses to justify Elijah in this way as a true man of God.
The next batch of soldiers come and they too are reduced to ashes for the same reasons. But the third collection of fifty soldiers react differently to Elijah. They come before the man of God humbly. It is then that Elijah is told to go with them.
15 The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.
16 He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” 17 So he died, according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.
Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram[b] succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
Elijah confronts the king and relays the same message he has from the beginning. Ahaziah, despite all of his mechanisms could not avert or change the outcome of God’s judgment.