seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Kings 1:The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”
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!”
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?
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!”
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?
b. 2 Kings 1:17 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram
I need a refresher.... The Promised Land has been divided in two. Judah, to the south, is God fearing. Israel, to the north, is willing to worship anything rather than God. Ahaziah, the king in Israel was the son of Ahab and Jezebel. They were cruel, so much so that God sent Elijah, the prophet, to bring a devastating drought to the area. Ahaziah and his parents had their own churches set up so the people wouldn't have to travel to the temple at Jerusalem in Judah to worship. There were golden calves to worship in their churches.... and when they needed a boost [as when dealing with a real prophet like Elijah]they would send for their other made up little gods... like the "god of the flies" or "god of the dirt".
Lousy king Ahaziah had suffered a horrible fall. He was stuck in bed. Now Elijah, the prophet, had already spoken on the subject. Ahaziah didn't want to hear what Elijah had to say... because Elijah would tell the truth and the truth was not good for Ahaziah. His father made God angry and Ahaziah had followed in his father's footsteps. Ahaziah wanted to arrest Elijah. He sent three parties of 50 soldiers to arrest Elijah and Elijah just called down a firebomb that destroyed both of the first two squads. The leader of the third squad was smarter than the first two... he knew he would soon become a matchstick if he didn't come up with an idea.... and he threw himself at Elijah's mercy.... and that was enough for God. Elijah would now go with this squad.
The story didn't change.... Ahaziah was already a walking dead man once he turned his back on God and lusted after Baal-Zebub, the "god of flies".
This is from enduringword.com.
Is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word: This was the same message Elijah gave to the men Ahaziah sent to inquire of Baal-Zebub. The message from God did not change just because Ahaziah didn’t want to hear it the first time.
The proof was in the result. Elijah was demonstrated to be a man of God because his prophecy was fulfilled just as spoken. Ahaziah did not recover from his fall through the lattice.
“Everything he did was weak, faithless, and miserable; he achieved nothing but ruin and failure. He let Moab rebel. He hurt himself in a clumsy accident. He foolishly attempted to use military force against Elijah. And worse, he sought help in the wrong place – in Philistia at the altar of a pagan god.” (Dilday)
Because he had no son, Jehoram became king: This Jehoram was also the son of Ahab (2 Kings 3:1) and therefore the brother of Ahaziah. Ahaziah had no descendant to pass the kingdom to, so the throne went to his brother after the brief reign of Ahaziah.
The account becomes a little confusing here, because the king of Judah at that time was also named Jehoram (the son of Jehoshaphat).
