2 Kings 1
Pastor Mark Hudson
In Kings, a big theme is the power of the word of the Lord. The Bible is the word of the Lord, and that same Bible tells us of how that word changes lives, punishes evil doers, is always fulfilled, and should always be respected, listened carefully to, and obeyed. As a Bible reader, you know that many people who are within the believing community outwardly, are inwardly rejecting the word of God. We see this with many of the Kings of both Israel and even Judah.
I pray for this county many times a day. I love this country, but we are in a terrible condition spiritually. We are diseased, lethargic, and on life support, if not dead, spiritually. I cannot understand what our culture promotes or why our culture endorses such sinful, degrading, and shameful behavior. There is no end in sight. Our government and culture is becoming more intolerant and fanatical by the day. If this keeps moving at such a rapid rate, we are in for confrontation.
But when has there been a time when believers do not confront the world? In our text, God, through the prophet Elijah, confronts a king of Israel. A king who is in a theocracy (!) and yet when he is sick, he turns not to Yahweh but Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. This is a serious, serious mistake. So, Elijah tells the king’s messengers to tell Ahaziah that he is going to die. This is not what King Ahaziah expected to hear. Suspecting Elijah might be involved, Ahaziah’s messengers confirmed his suspicion.
Ahaziah hates Elijah and won’t stand for Elijah’s interference. Elijah will pay for this. The King send 50 men with their captain to bring Elijah back to the palace to punish if not kill Elijah. The first two captains and their regiment of 50 soldiers experience their own Mt. Carmel redo.
One would think after the fire of Mt. Carmel (I Kings 18), one would not pick a fight with Elijah, but this shows the distortion and deceit of sin. Both of the first two captains have no regard for God nor Elijah. That fire both protects Elijah and punishes the ungodly soldiers. But in 13ff, the third captain is full of fear. This ought to remind us; we ought always to fear God. Yes, that means reverential respect, but there is an element of plain fear because His holiness is untamed. Due to the respect and pleas of this third captain, Elijah went to King Ahaziah and told him the same news face to face. The narrator makes this simple but weighty statement: “So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken” (v. 17).
God is offended by the King and the King is offended by Elijah. God is offended by the King’s messengers to grab Elijah and the King is offended by Elijah (though it was God who sent the fire). Come to arrest God’s prophet in pride and you meet God’s wrath. Come to meet God’s prophet in humility and you stand a chance.
The king had such contempt for Elijah, a hatred he inherited from his father. What a different story we would be reading if Ahab or his son Ahaziah would have repented or at least shown some regard for Yahweh. But to Ahaziah, God couldn’t help him, or he didn’t even think of God helping him. He was thinking about a god that was useful or could help. Not Yahweh. What could he do? Remember, this is after the fire of Mt. Carmel. Oh, how slow sinners are to understand the holiness, majesty, and wrath of God.
This is another example of how wicked the nation of Israel had become. As Israel is turning into the Canaanites – they very people they were to destroy or remove from the land, God is treating them like Canaanites and will soon remove them from the land. One of the reasons for this prophetic book of 2 Kings is for the nation of Israel to understand why they went into exile and how to respond to God’s punishment. For instance, looking at the third captain, those reading this book in exile could learn to approach God with humility, repentance while honoring God. This approach in 2 Kings saved the captain’s life.
We can also learn that God wants us to ask him for help. God wants to be bothered (in a sense). He wants us to look to Him for help. He is a God that can do anything for His people. That doesn’t mean He always protects or always comes through the way we want. He comes through the way HE wants. God is to be praised when a spouse dies or when a child dies AND He is to be praised when no cancer is found, and a baby is born. His will does not revolve around my personal happiness.
Father, thank You that there are millions of believers who, even though they feel fear, push through that fear to speak up for the truth or refuse to give in to the world’s idolatry. These believers are in China, Russia, Africa, and other ‘Babylon’s’ of our day. We find such courage in our wicked nation as well. Remind us to always approach You with reverence and awe. Grant us courage to be faithful, no matter the cost. In the name of the Risen Christ. Amen.