1 & 2 Kings

2 Kings Chapter 1

Elijah Denounces Ahaziah

• 2Kings 1:1  Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 

David had Moab under control but Ahab oppressed the Moabites. After Judah and Israel divided, Moab was under the control of Israel, the northern kingdom. After Ahab died, they rebelled. Moab was one of the sons of Lot the nephew of Abraham. God did not give their land to the children of Israel because of being related to Abraham and were not as wicked as the Canaanites. Yet we see in the book of Judges that Moab was a thorn in the side of Israel and sought to oppress them. Moab served the false god of Chemosh. Ruth came from Moab but chose the God of Israel and came to Israel to live with her mother in law, Naomi. This was a preview of Gentile believers being saved by grace. Gentiles were those not of Israel and the original covenant between God and Israel.

• 2Kings 1:2  And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. 
• 3  But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? 
• 4  Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.
• 5  And when the messengers turned back unto him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back? 
• 6  And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. 

No matter what happened previously when any king of Israel served false idols and gods, the children of the kings never seem to "Get it". They do the same things over and over again. We are the example to our children and when we sin, they will too unless somehow they miraculously encounter the real God and make a decision to follow Him instead. Many times children who decide to turn to Jesus when they are from a family that has another religion or a family that does not believe in God at all, the children are persecuted and sometimes even disowned by their family. Yet to stay the course and follow Jesus may in time save the family that is lost. Ruth choose the God of her husband and her mother inlaw, Naomi instead of the false god of Chemosh that her relatives in Moab followed.

• 2Kings 1:7  And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? 
• 8  And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite. 

So we see then that Ahaziah knew who Elijah was so he would have known better than to seek out a false deity for answers. The kings that chose to follow false gods were those that should have known better. Perhaps they wanted a god that would allow them to feel religious in worship without convicting them of sin.

• 2Kings 1:9  Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. 
• 10  And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. 
• 11  Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. 
• 12  And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. 
• 13  And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. 
• 14  Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. 

The two companies previously did not come in peace but to kill Elijah so that is why this happened to them, but here is one who believed and did not want to die as the others did. Still Elijah waits until the Lord assures him of his safety. Over and over God proves to the rebellious that He is God and the false gods are helpless nothings. It is strange that instead of repenting when shown the right way, some just decide to get rid of the one that warns them of their sin. In preaching the gospel; some believe and receive Jesus by repenting of sin and turning to Him for salvation but some reject the gospel and think by getting rid of the preacher that will stop the final consequences of their rejection of Jesus. Getting rid of any messenger of God will not stop anyone from being lost if they reject the message. God is still alive and well.

• 2Kings 1:15  And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. 
• 16  And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. 

So Elijah comes to the king in person after the angel of the Lord assures him of safety. The last 50 men were spared death also. Elijah repeated the judgment of God upon Ahaziah for enquiring after the false gods of other nations. He could have repented and changed. God seems to always give them warning after warning.

• 2Kings 1:17  So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. 
• 18  Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? 

Jehoram was Ahab's brother. Ahaziah had no sons. Two similar names here. One named Jehoram was king of Judah as well. The son of Jehoshaphat was named Jehoram.

Sometimes it is hard to read about these things but we do see God is merciful and gives people time to repent. He sends judgment eventually but as a last resort. God has to send it though or evil will continue forever. Banning the bible, persecuting believers in Christ, or passing laws against the preaching of the gospel, will not stop any judgment that comes from God. Many continue to ban, censor and stop God's word from being preached but it will be for nothing in the long run. Woe is upon any that try to stop the word of God from being taught and preached. The good news is that if we are still alive, we have time to repent and undo our evil deeds. We have time to come to Jesus Christ and be forgiven and cleansed from all our past sins. Gone forever. DC

2 Kings Chapter 2