Pastor Andy Davis preaches a verse-by-verse expository sermon on 2 Kings 1. The main subject of the sermon is Elijah’s interactions with the king’s men and his response to Ahaziah’s inquiry.
Pastor Andy Davis preaches a verse-by-verse expository sermon on 2 Kings 1. The main subject of the sermon is Elijah’s interactions with the king’s men and his response to Ahaziah’s inquiry.
– SERMON TRANSCRIPT –
We’re going to move ahead in our account to follow the ministry of Elijah to what was Elijah’s final mission, his last work. It’s not the last account of Elijah, but it’s the last time God sent him to do something. And that is in second King’s chapter one, the Lord’s Judgment on Ahaziah. And as we turn there, I was thinking about the contrast of the morning’s message and this evening message. In the morning, we see Christ’s incredible compassion for the lost. We see his yearning for them that they would repent and turn, that they would be harvested into the Father’s harvest barn, that they come to faith in Christ. And so he is concerned for them. It’s the same spirit in which he weeps over Jerusalem, in which he shows compassion for the lost. And we see the mercy and love of God through Christ there.
But here in this story we see the severity and the judgment of God as well. And it’s occurred to me that those two themes are so completely interwoven in scripture that it would be impossible to understand the one without the other. And it’s impossible, I think, to understand the cross of Jesus Christ without both of those. As it says in Roman’s chapter 11, “Consider therefore the goodness and severity of God.” Both the goodness and the severity of God go hand in hand in the scriptures, do they not? And so we see the shocking judgments of God in certain cases, like a worldwide flood just erasing all life that breathed through the nostrils, everything that breathed. Everything that wasn’t on the ark erased, killed through the judgment of God, or Sodom and Gomorrah reigning fire and brimstone down, or signal judgments throughout the Old Testament and on into the New. We see all of that. That is the severity of God. But we also see the mercy of God again and again, don’t we? We see the kindness of God and the compassion of God. And both of those really do come together in the cross perfectly really. We see the wrath of God and the love of God meeting perfectly in the death of Jesus Christ, don’t we? God is so holy that he would rather that his Son die than that any of us get into heaven unatoned for. And he’s so loving that he’d rather pour out the judgment on his own Son than on you who have faith in him. And so we see both of those themes coming together in the cross.
There was a time in the ministry of Jesus, I’m thinking about the account we’re going to read tonight in which Elijah is sitting on a hill and 50 men come to take him in and he says, “If I’m a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and burn you up.” And it does. I think about that, but then I contrast it to what happened in Luke chapter nine, in which Jesus sets his face to go to Jerusalem and he goes through Samaria and wants to stop and minister on the way, and a Samaritan village would not accept him because he was going to Jerusalem. They refused to take him in. Now you know that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were called the Sons of Thunder, right? And you wonder because, how could it be that this apostle of love, especially John of the two, we know much more about John, how could he be called the Son of Thunder? Well, he shows himself here in Luke nine. Because James and John say, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and burn that city up?” And it’s not surprising those of us who love the meekness and the mildness and the mercy of Jesus Christ, his response, where he rebukes them, and an extended version says, “You don’t understand or you don’t know the kind of spirit you are, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And so we see the perfect mercy of God in Jesus in that he refrains from calling down fire from heaven.
But James and John weren’t really that far off in one sense because one greater than Elijah was there and he’d been affronted, you see? And yet it was not time for the fire to fall in judgment on that Samaritan village, not at that point. And so we see the kindness, the mercy, the love of God, but also the wrath and the judgment and the holiness of God. And we’re going to see them coming together, I think, in our story tonight in second Kings chapter one. Now, just in order to get a little bit of a background, we know that King Ahaziah has taken the throne at this point because Ahab has died. Look at second King’s chapter one verse one. It says, “After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. Now, Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice.” Now we already have learned at the end of first Kings, if you go back one page to see the end of the account in first King’s 22, Ahab is killed at Ramoth Gilead.
Now we talked about that last time. You remember that the prediction of judgment has gone out against Ahab, not through Elijah’s mouth at this point, but through Micaiah has come and predicted that Ahab would die. And so Ahab takes it seriously enough at least to go into battle disguised like a common foot soldier. And you remember Jehoshaphat went in all of his kingly robes. And at one point, one of the archers of Moab, or of who were they fighting at that point, maybe Moab, I don’t remember, anyway, was ready to draw his bow and fire and Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord and the Lord delivered him, the Lord rescued him. But then toward the end of the battle, it says in first Kings chapter 22 verse 34, I love this, “Someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor.”
Now this is an incredible thing, isn’t it? First of all, we have no idea who this individual is. He’s just someone. Now it’s a good thing when you make it in the Bible that your name would be there as well. But we have no idea who this individual is. He’s just an archer, a random archer, and he pulls his bow back and he lets an arrow fly. And as I mentioned last time, that arrow was a guided missile, right for Ahab’s vitals. And it manages somehow to go pierce the costume, the disguise he’s wearing as a common foot soldier, and more than that, to pierce between the sections of his armor and to slay him. And he dies in direct fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken against him by Elijah. Someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, “’Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.’ All day long, the battle raged. And the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans [There it is, the Arameans, sorry about that]. The blood from his wound ran out under the floor of his chariot. And that evening he died.” Verse 36, “As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army, ‘every man to his own town, everyone to his land.’ And so the king died and was brought to Samaria and they buried him there. They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria where the prostitutes bathed, and the dogs licked up his blood as the word of the Lord had declared.”
So that’s the end of Ahab. And it says in verse 40, “Ahab rested with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.” Now, Ahaziah is a fulfillment of that common proverb of the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, okay? Because he’s every bit as wicked as his father Ahab had been. Look at verses 51 through 53, the end of the chapter. “Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. And he reigned over Israel two years,” very significant, very brief reign. Verse 52, “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord because he walked in the ways of his father and mother and in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had caused Israel to sin.” Verse 53, “He served and worshiped Baal and provoked the Lord the God of Israel to anger, just as his father had done.” And so that’s the very end of first Kings. That’s the last word of first Kings.
Now I’ve talked before about the difficulty that comes in the separation from chapter to chapter, and in this case even worse, from book to book. I think there’s an intimate connection between the very last verse of first Kings and the very first verse of second Kings. Look again at the last verse of first Kings, chapter 22 verse 53, “He Ahaziah served and worshiped Baal and provoked the Lord the God of Israel to anger just as his father had done.” And then chapter one verse one of second Kings says, “After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel.” Now explain why that’s significant, but I think the first thing we need to look at is how shocking is Ahaziah’s rebellion against God. What more could God have done to wean his people and to protect really Ahaziah against Baal worship than he did through Elijah? There were the three and a half years of drought and famine brought miraculously to an end after the contest between the prophets of Baal and Elijah at Mount Carmel, and then the sevenfold prayer, and on the seventh prayer, Elijah’s prayer’s answered and rain comes again at the direct word of Elijah. And then you remember that Elijah amazingly runs on ahead of the chariot of Ahab to Jezreel and is there to give a warning about continued worship of Baal. There’s nothing more that he could have done. And then we have an ongoing ministry, not just with Elijah, but with the other sons of the prophets to Ahab. And yet here his son continues in the tradition of Baal worship, probably under the influence of his mother. It’s a fearsome thing. And I think it’s a direct correlation between his determination to worship Baal and the brevity of his reign, two years.
So I think that God is bringing judgment in what I call a threefold external judgment from God. If you look over at second Kings, first of all, there’s a political judgment. Politically, God is judging Israel and specifically judging Ahaziah. Moab rebels. If you look at verse one, “After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel.” That means specifically he rebelled against Ahaziah’s reign. Now politically, Moab had been in subjection to Israel and paying tribute to Israel since David conquered them. David had conquered them in second Samuel chapter eight, you read the story there, and David in his power and going out in the name of the Lord and for his glory subjected Moab to tribute. And so Moab had been in tribute like a vassal state to Israel all of this time. When the kingdom split, the vassalage and the paying of tribute went to the northern kingdom. And so it continued right up through Ahab’s reign. But at this point they choose to break away. And it’s significant that Ahaziah is so weak that he will not respond militarily. He will not go out and bring them back in and under subjection. Significant that two chapters later in second Kings three, they do get brought back under subjection. So it’s just a very brief time that politically Moab is permitted to break off and not pay tribute any longer to Israel. It’s a direct judgment on Ahaziah, no question about it. So politically he’s got judgment.
Secondly, economically. By the way, I think that Ahaziah did nothing militarily because he didn’t want to put on armor and go out and fight. I mean those guided arrows can have an effect on the son as well as on the father who died. And so I think he knew that his conscience was testifying against him, that if he ever put on his armor and went out and fight it would do him no good because he was under the judgment of God. And so his conscience was uneasy. And so he doesn’t want to go take on Moab. He just lets them go. He’s going to stay home. It’s safe in your home, isn’t it? Is it? Well, he slipped and fell through the lattice. We’ll get to that in a minute. But if God wants to judge you, it doesn’t matter where you are. I spoke earlier about Jezebel. I said if I had been her, I would’ve stayed away from Jezreel. Look, if God says you’re going to die in Jezreel, it doesn’t matter what you say, you’re going to be in Jezreel. And you might determine not to be in Jezreel ever again the rest of your life. But if God wants you there, you’re going to get there somehow. And so the word of the Lord stands and cannot be broken.
But at any rate, I think he’s weak and he’s afraid, and I’m speculating that. It’s probably because of what happened to his father Ahab. And so he will not take on Moab, he will not go out and fight them. He will not go out in battle. But secondly, economically, there was an external judgment. For this one, you have to go back once more one page to first Kings 22. Now first Kings 22 speaks about Jehoshaphat king of Judah as well. And so Jehoshaphat becomes king of Judah. And Jehoshaphat, it says in verse 48, “built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail. They were wrecked at Ezion Geber.” And verse 49, “At that time Ahaziah, son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Let my men sail with your men.’ But Jehoshaphat refused.” He wanted nothing to do with Ahaziah the evil king of Israel. And so this was an economic judgment on Israel and on Ahaziah in particular. So we see a political judgment in that Moab breaks off and won’t pay tribute anymore. We see an economic judgment in that this whole venture with the southern kingdom of Judah falls apart and Jehoshaphat will not do any business with him at all.
But then most directly we see a personal judgment on Ahaziah. Go back to second Kings chapter one verse two. “Now, Ahaziah,” it says, “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.'” So he’s fallen in his house, he thinks perhaps that he’s going to be safe and that he’s not taking the battlefield against Moab. But instead the judgment of God reaches him in his inner chamber, reaches right into his home and judges him. He falls through a lattice, a decorative woodwork, and falls a story or two and damages himself. And so he’s lying on a sick bed. Little does he realize that he’s lying on a death bed, literally. But he’s very concerned about the extent of his injuries.
Now I think it’s interesting, despite the threefold external judgment of God, politically, economically and personally, yet we see the mercy of God too, don’t we? Because he doesn’t die instantaneously. He’s given a little more time. And that time is a very significant time, isn’t it? When you’re laying on your bed and you think there’s a good chance you’re going to die, doesn’t that clarify some things for you? It really is a gift from God to have an opportunity to think about eternal matters, matters of judgment day, matters of God and of the way you’ve been living your life. It really is a gift from God to give you an opportunity to repent. And so God is merciful and he is gracious. But does he use the time well? Does Ahaziah make the most of that time? No, he doesn’t at all. And we’re going to see that. The very first way we see that he rejects God even at this point is by sending messengers to Ekron to consult with Baal-zebub.
See what he says here. “He sent messengers saying to them, ‘Go and consult Baal-zebub the god of Ekron to see if I will recover from this injury.'” Now the word Baal, or Ba-al is the better pronunciation in Hebrews, it’s just harder to say. So we say Baal. It means lord or master, that’s all. And so there are actually many Baals. They could serve many different masters or Baals, many different gods. This one was Baal-zebub which I think was a slang term that the Israelites used meaning specifically Lord of the Flies I think is what it means. And that comes over into Luke 12 when they said that it was because of, and Matthew also, they say it’s because of the Beelzebub that the king or prince of demons that Jesus drives out demons. So it’s the exact same words, just a Greek spelling of the same word. So basically the Pharisees there are ascribing to Jesus that he is casting out demons by Satan himself. So this god, the god of Ekron really represented Satan or the devil, but probably a demon. And I believe behind all false worship, all false religious systems, there is demonic influence, perhaps even supernatural power. And so I believe that these demons that were impersonating Baal-zebub the god of Ekron somehow had some ability to predict the future.
You’ve heard perhaps of the oracle of Delphi in Greece. And so it could be that God permitted the demons to orchestrate a few minor future predicting miracles. And by the way, who is the only one who really knows the future? Think about that. The one who knows the future is the one who rules the future, right? Because anybody else has got to go through him. And who is it that rules the future? It’s God and God alone. So no one can know the future except they go through God and find out. But it could be that God permitted these demons somehow to impersonate fortune tellers successfully enough that they felt that the answer was there up in Ekron. And so this man Ahaziah sends off messengers up to consult Baal-zebub the god of Ekron. Now I see the hand of Jezebel in all of this, I don’t know if you do, but to always pushing and shoving toward Baal worship and said, “You ought to go up to that oracle up there at Ekron to find out if you’re going to recover.”
Now I think as I probe in Ahaziah’s mind, I see insecurity and fear. He’s afraid to die, isn’t he? Should he be afraid to die? Oh, you better believe it. We should fear death if we’re unbelievers, if we’ve been living like this and we’ve had this kind of judgment on us politically, economically, and now personally, that’s a time to be concerned. And he’s worried about death. He’s afraid of death. He’s insecure. And so he sends off these messengers. But now Elijah gets his final mission. He gets his final work to do. In verse three, “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? Therefore, this is what the Lord says. ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die.’”’ So Elijah went.” So this is the last mission, the last message, and what a message it was. It’s remarkable to me the number of times that God tests his servants by giving them this kind of a message. It’s really no matter of difficulty to go out and proclaim that God is love, to tell them that God loves you and that God wants to bless you and that God is there for you and that God is a God who answers prayer takes, in my opinion, no courage at all. But to be able to go out and confront these messengers as they’re en route to this pagan deity and say, “You want an answer to your question? Okay, I’ll give you an answer. You will die. Most certainly you will die.” Now that takes incredible courage and only a man of God with this kind of God focus, utterly unconcerned what people think, he’s just going to go and tell the truth, is going to obey and do this kind of message.
And so Elijah went, and that is really the story of Elijah’s life, isn’t it? Elijah was so faithful. When God gave him a message, when he gave him a mission, it didn’t matter how difficult or how harsh or unpleasant, he obeyed and went. And so Elijah went. Now I think it’s interesting. God’s honor is at stake here, isn’t it? Is it because there’s no God in Israel that you’re going outside the borders of Israel? Is there not a God with somewhat of a reputation in Israel? Was not Israel set up like a lamp and put up on a lampstand for the whole world to see with miraculous powers, with a mighty hand and outstretched arm? Did God bring Israel out of Egypt so that Rahab’s heart melted and the hearts of all those in Jericho melted because they still remembered the power of God? And had not God done many other miracles since then? Had he not even in his own lifetime, in Ahaziah’s own lifetime, answered Elijah with fire from heaven and burned up the sacrifice? Is it because there’s no God in Israel that you’re going outside the borders to get an answer to your question? That is an insult to the God of Israel. It is an insult to our Lord. And so for zeal, for the name of God, does Elijah move out with this message.
There is a God. And by the way, the Hebrews, double negatives very strong. Is it because there’s absolutely no God? Could it be there might be a God in Israel? That’s almost the sense. Have you forgotten that there is in fact a God in Israel? So the Hebrew’s actually very strong on the negative. Is it because there’s absolutely no God in Israel that you’re going outside the borders to get an answer to this question? And so Elijah went. Verse five, “When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, ‘Why have you come back?'” Now this is very interesting. Why did the messagengers come back? They were sent out by the king to go to Ekron. They did not complete their mission. They did not go all the way to Ekron. They came back. Why? Because of the authority of Elijah. Do you see that? Elijah just comes out in the power of God and speaks and says, “You don’t need to go that far. I’ll tell you the answer. We’ll cut right through this thing. You don’t need Baal-zebub. I’ll tell you the answer. You will die, oh king.” And so the messengers obey rather the voice of Elijah than the king Ahaziah. And so the messengers returned and the king having timed out the message or the mission knows very clearly that there’s no way they could have made it to Ekron. He says, Why have you come back?
Verse six, “‘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 men to consult Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die.”” Now this is very striking, isn’t it? First of all, how many times does that message get into this account verbatim? The answer is three. Three times in 17 versus we get the entire message from God. It’s almost like he’s rubbing Ahaziah’s face in it. And as we look at it’s just so prominent. “Is it because there’s no God in Israel that you’re consulting Baal-zebub in Ekron? Therefore, I will tell you, you will certainly not leave the bed you are lying on. You will die.” He says it three times.
I also think it’s striking in that these pagan probably messengers, or perhaps they were Israelites, we don’t know, but at any rate, the messengers of King Ahaziah are very faithful with the message, aren’t they? They don’t pull anything back. They boldly told King Ahaziah what Elijah had told them to say. Now you could say, “Well, there’s really not much boldness. They were just saying what Elijah said.” But isn’t that the very same thing when God sends us with a message? It’s not our message. It’s not our gospel. It’s not our scripture. Then why do we fudge on it? It isn’t our message. We just need to say, “Thus says the Lord.” And then in the Word of God, there it is. There’s an incredible boldness and freedom to that. It’s not me. It’s the word of God. But these messengers came back and verbatim they repeated a very distressing and unpopular message. “Oh king, you’re anxious about your future. You’re worried about what will happen to you. You need worry no longer. I’ll tell you exactly what will happen to you. You will die.” That’s a tough message. But the messengers come back and are very clear on this.
The king in verse seven asked a very interesting question. The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?” Verse eight, “They replied, ‘He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist.’ The king said, ‘Now that was Elijah the Tishbite.'” Now I think it’s interesting because in verse seven, I would be concerned with the message, wouldn’t you? If you had been Ahaziah, would you really care what the postman wore who brought you the letter? What was he wearing? What’s in style these days for prophets? He would be more concerned with the message, wouldn’t he? And so it is so often these days that we’re more concerned with outward trappings from pastors and others that teach and preach the Word. We’re more concerned with how they look or carry themselves or are they good socially and all that? None of that matters. What matters is are they teaching and preaching the Word of God or not? And so in verse seven, we see this predisposition to concern about externals.
But I think you could say he also wants to know who it was that gave the message. And he might have had suspicions that it was Elijah. And it brought with it a certain kind of authority when Elijah says it. I think it also gives us a key insight into some New Testament theology. Because of this description of Elijah, it’s the only one we have by the way, of what he wore, a garment of hair and a leather belt around his waist, we were able to link him up with what very significant New Testament figure? John the Baptist, because John wore the exact same clothing. And why is that important? Well, we’ll talk about that another time, but specifically because it says in the book of Malachi that Elijah would come before the coming of the great day of the Lord. And Jesus said on the Mount of Transfiguration, as they’re coming back down, the disciples are very distressed to see Elijah still up in heaven. And here’s Jesus supposedly the Messiah. And he said, “If he’s still up there and you’re here, why do the teachers say that Elijah must come first?” And Jesus answered and said, “Elijah must come first and restore all things, but to be sure, Elijah has come and they did not accept him but did him anything they want.” And then they realized that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
And so John, I think, identifies himself with Elijah by wearing the same clothing, the garment of hair and the leather belt around his waist. And so there’s a direct connection because of this question. What did he look like? What was he wearing? And so the king says, “‘That was Elijah the Tishbite.’ Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of 50 men. The captain went up to Elijah who was sitting on top of a hill.” Now stop there for a moment. I find it very interesting how many significant things happen in Elijah’s life up on hills or mountains. He was a mountain man, I guess. I don’t really know. But he felt most comfortable there. We have him on Mount Carmel taking on the prophets of Baal with tremendous effect, calling down fire from heaven on the sacrifice. We also have him at Mount Horeb in that cave when God passed by in a still small voice and spoke to him up on that mountain. And now we have him again sitting up on a mountain looking over the countryside, perhaps praying and fellowshipping with God. And along comes this arrogant, and there’s no other way to put it, arrogant captain with 50 men. Now what is Ahaziah’s intention? “Bring him in here. The thing that Ahab couldn’t do, I’m going to finish. I’m going to put this man to death.”
What did he need 50 soldiers to arrest an old prophet for? Did you ever wonder about that? Did you ever wonder about the 600 men who went to arrest Jesus? Well, what are they there for? If he wants to come, he’ll come. And if Jesus doesn’t want to come, he’s not going to come. I don’t care if you bring 600,000 men. If he hadn’t willed to go, he wouldn’t have been able to be brought in that night. And so it is with these 50 men along with this captain. And he says this, I think it’s clear that Ahaziah wants to do damage to Elijah and put him to death. So he sends to Elijah a captain with 50 men. And the captain goes up to Elijah who is sitting on top of a hill and says to him, “Man of God, [it’s almost a sassiness here] the king says, ‘Come down.'” Now, that’s how I know that there’s an attitude here. If you’re a man of God, let me tell you who’s really in charge here. The king says, come down. This is a direct affront to God, isn’t it? Man of God, the king says such and such. “Elijah answered the captain, ‘If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men.’ Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.”
Now, it’s remarkable to me how the commentators get on Elijah for this. They blame Elijah for a vindictive spirit. Do you think that Elijah had the power to bring down fire from heaven? Elijah it says in the book of James was a man just like us. Who sent the fire? God himself sent the fire. It was not Elijah who sent the fire, just like he didn’t send fire on Mount Carmel. It was not Elijah who did that. Not one of us in this room tonight has power to do this. God alone. And so it was God who sent that fire down to kill those 51 men. So if you have a problem with this passage and with the seeming harshness of the judgment, you have a problem with God and not with Elijah. You needn’t therefore take Elijah into your arm when you go to heaven and see him and say, “You know Elijah, I loved your ministry. But that thing with the fire from heaven? That was a little harsh. I mean I think you really should have gone and tried to talk to them and minister to them a little bit.” It was God who intended to vindicate his name. Man of God, the king says such and such. All right, if I’m a man of God, let’s see what God will do to vindicate his name against your king. And the 51 of them perished.
Now realize that we are using up Ahaziah’s time for repentance, aren’t we? We’re using it up. Ahaziah is on his deathbed. He hasn’t died yet. He already has the prophecy, doesn’t he? It’s already in his ears because the messenger’s brought it back. You will not get up from that bed. You will die. Like God said through Isaiah the prophet, Hezekiah, “Put your house in order because you will not recover. You will die.” “So might I suggest, Ahaziah, put your heart in order. Prepare to meet your God because it’s coming soon.” He’s wasting his time, isn’t he, with a vindictive mission sending out these 51 men to arrest the messenger. He should have been on his face before God begging for forgiveness and repentance.
If today you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. “As servants of God,” Second Corinthians 6:1, “We urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, ‘In the time of my favor, I heard you, and in the day of salvation, I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor. Today is the day of salvation.’” He’s wasting his time. He should have been repenting. Instead, he’s going to shoot the messenger. And verse 11, “At this, the king sent to Elijah another captain with his 50 men. This captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says. ‘Come down at once.’” Now how far do you think this man’s going to get? He’s even worse than the first one. “Apparently you didn’t understand, man of God, the king wants you down here immediately.” Clearly intending to do him harm. Now realize, once the humble captain comes in a minute, God says to him, “Go with him and don’t be afraid.” So clearly there’s a threat on Elijah here. They say that the mark of insanity is to do the same thing again and again and expect a different result. All right? There’s no different result. You come arrogantly to God when he’s in the frame of mind to vindicate his holy name and you’re going to get the same result. And so this man also is judged by God. “’If I am a man of God,’ Elijah replied, ‘May fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men.’ Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his 50 men.” Now realize both times the fire is ascribed to heaven the first time and to God this time. Clearly this is God’s fire, not Elijah’s fire. It is not Elijah’s fault if fault there is. But realize that God reserves the wicked for a day of judgment and he is able to do that. He doesn’t owe these 51 men a thing. And so the fire comes down. And I think what I want you to do is realize that you deserve the same thing. Unless you all repent, you will likewise perish, Jesus said. All of us are in this boat. Are any one of us able to say to God, “By virtue of my own merit and righteousness, I come and stand before you?”
“He doesn’t owe these 51 men a thing. And so the fire comes down. And I think what I want you to do is realize that you deserve the same thing. Unless you all repent, you will likewise perish, Jesus said. All of us are in this boat.”
Do you realize the kind of boldness it takes to come into the throne room of God, to be able to come into the presence of God and address him as Father? Do you realize the kind of boldness that takes? The answer is no, not properly. Neither do I. I’m telling you, we don’t. But if we could see God or see what the seraphim and cherubim see and the elders in heaven, if we could see for just an instant, for the rest of your life, your prayer would never be the same. And you would be thanking God again and again for that new and living way, opened through the body of Christ and through his blood into the very Holy of Holies. Only through the blood of Christ are we able to come into the presence of God. Our God is a consuming fire. And we are like stubble apart from Christ. And so the fire comes down the second time. And again, if you have problems with this or with Sodom and Gomorrah or with Noah’s ark or with the outbreak against Uzzah or any of these other judgments, you have a problem with God. But our God is a consuming fire.
“So the king sent a third captain with his 50 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 50 men, your servants. See fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now, have respect for my life.'” He’s trembling, isn’t he? He’s afraid. And I feel like if he was like this coming into Elijah presence, what should we be like coming into the very presence of God? You say we should come in boldly. I think we should. I think to come at all is to come boldly. You see, that’s what I’m saying. We come at all, but we come realizing who we’re speaking to, with a sense of humility and brokenness, a sense of the weight and value of the blood of Jesus Christ. A sense of the awesome holiness of God, and on our faces before him. And so this man comes. “And then 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. And Elijah 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?'”
By the way, the hearing of those words is different now than it was before the first two messengers were sent because those things have already happened, haven’t they? Fire has already fallen from heaven twice. And now this man who has called fire down from heaven in the name of the Lord is standing in front of him. Is it because there is no God? He’s still here. He’s still alive. He’s still powerful. He’s still holy, Ahaziah, and it’s time to repent. But the time is almost up. It’s almost over. “’Is it because there’s 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.’ So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.”
When the time for judgment comes, it’s over. And God didn’t owe Ahaziah another moment of breath. We don’t know if it happened as soon as the words were out of Elijah. We don’t know if he gave him a little more time. We have absolutely no idea. All I know is that there’s no space between verse 16 and verse 17. It just goes right on into the judgment of God. The time has come. And so Ahaziah died and he went to judgment. Because he did not repent openly in scripture, we have to assume that he went to Hell. And so the time came for him to be judged. He squandered his opportunities to repent. Now, what should this do to us? I think it should give us a sense of the value of the blood of Jesus Christ and the mercy he’s had to us. Doesn’t it? Doesn’t it give you a sense of, oh, but for the grace of God that’s me. I deserve that. I deserve to be judged, but God has been gracious to me in Christ. And so therefore, I approach God with brokenness, with humility, with trembling, and with a sense of the awe and the grandeur of the majesty and the holiness of God. Thank you Jesus for my salvation. And if that’s what this story does for you, it’s done the right thing. It’s done the right thing. If on the other hand, you’ve never trusted in Christ, if this story jars you and moves you to realize that each day is meant for an opportunity to repent, then take that opportunity. And if on the other hand, it jars you as an evangelist or a witness to get out and share the gospel this week, you don’t know that the people you’re sharing with, you don’t know how much longer God’s going to give them so that they should make the most of their days and trust in Christ.
Pastor Andy Davis preaches a verse-by-verse expository sermon on 2 Kings 1. The main subject of the sermon is Elijah’s interactions with the king’s men and his response to Ahaziah’s inquiry.
– SERMON TRANSCRIPT –
We’re going to move ahead in our account to follow the ministry of Elijah to what was Elijah’s final mission, his last work. It’s not the last account of Elijah, but it’s the last time God sent him to do something. And that is in second King’s chapter one, the Lord’s Judgment on Ahaziah. And as we turn there, I was thinking about the contrast of the morning’s message and this evening message. In the morning, we see Christ’s incredible compassion for the lost. We see his yearning for them that they would repent and turn, that they would be harvested into the Father’s harvest barn, that they come to faith in Christ. And so he is concerned for them. It’s the same spirit in which he weeps over Jerusalem, in which he shows compassion for the lost. And we see the mercy and love of God through Christ there.
But here in this story we see the severity and the judgment of God as well. And it’s occurred to me that those two themes are so completely interwoven in scripture that it would be impossible to understand the one without the other. And it’s impossible, I think, to understand the cross of Jesus Christ without both of those. As it says in Roman’s chapter 11, “Consider therefore the goodness and severity of God.” Both the goodness and the severity of God go hand in hand in the scriptures, do they not? And so we see the shocking judgments of God in certain cases, like a worldwide flood just erasing all life that breathed through the nostrils, everything that breathed. Everything that wasn’t on the ark erased, killed through the judgment of God, or Sodom and Gomorrah reigning fire and brimstone down, or signal judgments throughout the Old Testament and on into the New. We see all of that. That is the severity of God. But we also see the mercy of God again and again, don’t we? We see the kindness of God and the compassion of God. And both of those really do come together in the cross perfectly really. We see the wrath of God and the love of God meeting perfectly in the death of Jesus Christ, don’t we? God is so holy that he would rather that his Son die than that any of us get into heaven unatoned for. And he’s so loving that he’d rather pour out the judgment on his own Son than on you who have faith in him. And so we see both of those themes coming together in the cross.
There was a time in the ministry of Jesus, I’m thinking about the account we’re going to read tonight in which Elijah is sitting on a hill and 50 men come to take him in and he says, “If I’m a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and burn you up.” And it does. I think about that, but then I contrast it to what happened in Luke chapter nine, in which Jesus sets his face to go to Jerusalem and he goes through Samaria and wants to stop and minister on the way, and a Samaritan village would not accept him because he was going to Jerusalem. They refused to take him in. Now you know that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were called the Sons of Thunder, right? And you wonder because, how could it be that this apostle of love, especially John of the two, we know much more about John, how could he be called the Son of Thunder? Well, he shows himself here in Luke nine. Because James and John say, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven and burn that city up?” And it’s not surprising those of us who love the meekness and the mildness and the mercy of Jesus Christ, his response, where he rebukes them, and an extended version says, “You don’t understand or you don’t know the kind of spirit you are, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And so we see the perfect mercy of God in Jesus in that he refrains from calling down fire from heaven.
But James and John weren’t really that far off in one sense because one greater than Elijah was there and he’d been affronted, you see? And yet it was not time for the fire to fall in judgment on that Samaritan village, not at that point. And so we see the kindness, the mercy, the love of God, but also the wrath and the judgment and the holiness of God. And we’re going to see them coming together, I think, in our story tonight in second Kings chapter one. Now, just in order to get a little bit of a background, we know that King Ahaziah has taken the throne at this point because Ahab has died. Look at second King’s chapter one verse one. It says, “After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. Now, Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice.” Now we already have learned at the end of first Kings, if you go back one page to see the end of the account in first King’s 22, Ahab is killed at Ramoth Gilead.
Now we talked about that last time. You remember that the prediction of judgment has gone out against Ahab, not through Elijah’s mouth at this point, but through Micaiah has come and predicted that Ahab would die. And so Ahab takes it seriously enough at least to go into battle disguised like a common foot soldier. And you remember Jehoshaphat went in all of his kingly robes. And at one point, one of the archers of Moab, or of who were they fighting at that point, maybe Moab, I don’t remember, anyway, was ready to draw his bow and fire and Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord and the Lord delivered him, the Lord rescued him. But then toward the end of the battle, it says in first Kings chapter 22 verse 34, I love this, “Someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor.”
Now this is an incredible thing, isn’t it? First of all, we have no idea who this individual is. He’s just someone. Now it’s a good thing when you make it in the Bible that your name would be there as well. But we have no idea who this individual is. He’s just an archer, a random archer, and he pulls his bow back and he lets an arrow fly. And as I mentioned last time, that arrow was a guided missile, right for Ahab’s vitals. And it manages somehow to go pierce the costume, the disguise he’s wearing as a common foot soldier, and more than that, to pierce between the sections of his armor and to slay him. And he dies in direct fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken against him by Elijah. Someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the sections of his armor. The king told his chariot driver, “’Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.’ All day long, the battle raged. And the king was propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans [There it is, the Arameans, sorry about that]. The blood from his wound ran out under the floor of his chariot. And that evening he died.” Verse 36, “As the sun was setting, a cry spread through the army, ‘every man to his own town, everyone to his land.’ And so the king died and was brought to Samaria and they buried him there. They washed the chariot at a pool in Samaria where the prostitutes bathed, and the dogs licked up his blood as the word of the Lord had declared.”
So that’s the end of Ahab. And it says in verse 40, “Ahab rested with his fathers, and Ahaziah his son succeeded him as king.” Now, Ahaziah is a fulfillment of that common proverb of the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, okay? Because he’s every bit as wicked as his father Ahab had been. Look at verses 51 through 53, the end of the chapter. “Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. And he reigned over Israel two years,” very significant, very brief reign. Verse 52, “He did evil in the eyes of the Lord because he walked in the ways of his father and mother and in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat who had caused Israel to sin.” Verse 53, “He served and worshiped Baal and provoked the Lord the God of Israel to anger, just as his father had done.” And so that’s the very end of first Kings. That’s the last word of first Kings.
Now I’ve talked before about the difficulty that comes in the separation from chapter to chapter, and in this case even worse, from book to book. I think there’s an intimate connection between the very last verse of first Kings and the very first verse of second Kings. Look again at the last verse of first Kings, chapter 22 verse 53, “He Ahaziah served and worshiped Baal and provoked the Lord the God of Israel to anger just as his father had done.” And then chapter one verse one of second Kings says, “After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel.” Now explain why that’s significant, but I think the first thing we need to look at is how shocking is Ahaziah’s rebellion against God. What more could God have done to wean his people and to protect really Ahaziah against Baal worship than he did through Elijah? There were the three and a half years of drought and famine brought miraculously to an end after the contest between the prophets of Baal and Elijah at Mount Carmel, and then the sevenfold prayer, and on the seventh prayer, Elijah’s prayer’s answered and rain comes again at the direct word of Elijah. And then you remember that Elijah amazingly runs on ahead of the chariot of Ahab to Jezreel and is there to give a warning about continued worship of Baal. There’s nothing more that he could have done. And then we have an ongoing ministry, not just with Elijah, but with the other sons of the prophets to Ahab. And yet here his son continues in the tradition of Baal worship, probably under the influence of his mother. It’s a fearsome thing. And I think it’s a direct correlation between his determination to worship Baal and the brevity of his reign, two years.
So I think that God is bringing judgment in what I call a threefold external judgment from God. If you look over at second Kings, first of all, there’s a political judgment. Politically, God is judging Israel and specifically judging Ahaziah. Moab rebels. If you look at verse one, “After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel.” That means specifically he rebelled against Ahaziah’s reign. Now politically, Moab had been in subjection to Israel and paying tribute to Israel since David conquered them. David had conquered them in second Samuel chapter eight, you read the story there, and David in his power and going out in the name of the Lord and for his glory subjected Moab to tribute. And so Moab had been in tribute like a vassal state to Israel all of this time. When the kingdom split, the vassalage and the paying of tribute went to the northern kingdom. And so it continued right up through Ahab’s reign. But at this point they choose to break away. And it’s significant that Ahaziah is so weak that he will not respond militarily. He will not go out and bring them back in and under subjection. Significant that two chapters later in second Kings three, they do get brought back under subjection. So it’s just a very brief time that politically Moab is permitted to break off and not pay tribute any longer to Israel. It’s a direct judgment on Ahaziah, no question about it. So politically he’s got judgment.
Secondly, economically. By the way, I think that Ahaziah did nothing militarily because he didn’t want to put on armor and go out and fight. I mean those guided arrows can have an effect on the son as well as on the father who died. And so I think he knew that his conscience was testifying against him, that if he ever put on his armor and went out and fight it would do him no good because he was under the judgment of God. And so his conscience was uneasy. And so he doesn’t want to go take on Moab. He just lets them go. He’s going to stay home. It’s safe in your home, isn’t it? Is it? Well, he slipped and fell through the lattice. We’ll get to that in a minute. But if God wants to judge you, it doesn’t matter where you are. I spoke earlier about Jezebel. I said if I had been her, I would’ve stayed away from Jezreel. Look, if God says you’re going to die in Jezreel, it doesn’t matter what you say, you’re going to be in Jezreel. And you might determine not to be in Jezreel ever again the rest of your life. But if God wants you there, you’re going to get there somehow. And so the word of the Lord stands and cannot be broken.
But at any rate, I think he’s weak and he’s afraid, and I’m speculating that. It’s probably because of what happened to his father Ahab. And so he will not take on Moab, he will not go out and fight them. He will not go out in battle. But secondly, economically, there was an external judgment. For this one, you have to go back once more one page to first Kings 22. Now first Kings 22 speaks about Jehoshaphat king of Judah as well. And so Jehoshaphat becomes king of Judah. And Jehoshaphat, it says in verse 48, “built a fleet of trading ships to go to Ophir for gold, but they never set sail. They were wrecked at Ezion Geber.” And verse 49, “At that time Ahaziah, son of Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, ‘Let my men sail with your men.’ But Jehoshaphat refused.” He wanted nothing to do with Ahaziah the evil king of Israel. And so this was an economic judgment on Israel and on Ahaziah in particular. So we see a political judgment in that Moab breaks off and won’t pay tribute anymore. We see an economic judgment in that this whole venture with the southern kingdom of Judah falls apart and Jehoshaphat will not do any business with him at all.
But then most directly we see a personal judgment on Ahaziah. Go back to second Kings chapter one verse two. “Now, Ahaziah,” it says, “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.'” So he’s fallen in his house, he thinks perhaps that he’s going to be safe and that he’s not taking the battlefield against Moab. But instead the judgment of God reaches him in his inner chamber, reaches right into his home and judges him. He falls through a lattice, a decorative woodwork, and falls a story or two and damages himself. And so he’s lying on a sick bed. Little does he realize that he’s lying on a death bed, literally. But he’s very concerned about the extent of his injuries.
Now I think it’s interesting, despite the threefold external judgment of God, politically, economically and personally, yet we see the mercy of God too, don’t we? Because he doesn’t die instantaneously. He’s given a little more time. And that time is a very significant time, isn’t it? When you’re laying on your bed and you think there’s a good chance you’re going to die, doesn’t that clarify some things for you? It really is a gift from God to have an opportunity to think about eternal matters, matters of judgment day, matters of God and of the way you’ve been living your life. It really is a gift from God to give you an opportunity to repent. And so God is merciful and he is gracious. But does he use the time well? Does Ahaziah make the most of that time? No, he doesn’t at all. And we’re going to see that. The very first way we see that he rejects God even at this point is by sending messengers to Ekron to consult with Baal-zebub.
See what he says here. “He sent messengers saying to them, ‘Go and consult Baal-zebub the god of Ekron to see if I will recover from this injury.'” Now the word Baal, or Ba-al is the better pronunciation in Hebrews, it’s just harder to say. So we say Baal. It means lord or master, that’s all. And so there are actually many Baals. They could serve many different masters or Baals, many different gods. This one was Baal-zebub which I think was a slang term that the Israelites used meaning specifically Lord of the Flies I think is what it means. And that comes over into Luke 12 when they said that it was because of, and Matthew also, they say it’s because of the Beelzebub that the king or prince of demons that Jesus drives out demons. So it’s the exact same words, just a Greek spelling of the same word. So basically the Pharisees there are ascribing to Jesus that he is casting out demons by Satan himself. So this god, the god of Ekron really represented Satan or the devil, but probably a demon. And I believe behind all false worship, all false religious systems, there is demonic influence, perhaps even supernatural power. And so I believe that these demons that were impersonating Baal-zebub the god of Ekron somehow had some ability to predict the future.
You’ve heard perhaps of the oracle of Delphi in Greece. And so it could be that God permitted the demons to orchestrate a few minor future predicting miracles. And by the way, who is the only one who really knows the future? Think about that. The one who knows the future is the one who rules the future, right? Because anybody else has got to go through him. And who is it that rules the future? It’s God and God alone. So no one can know the future except they go through God and find out. But it could be that God permitted these demons somehow to impersonate fortune tellers successfully enough that they felt that the answer was there up in Ekron. And so this man Ahaziah sends off messengers up to consult Baal-zebub the god of Ekron. Now I see the hand of Jezebel in all of this, I don’t know if you do, but to always pushing and shoving toward Baal worship and said, “You ought to go up to that oracle up there at Ekron to find out if you’re going to recover.”
Now I think as I probe in Ahaziah’s mind, I see insecurity and fear. He’s afraid to die, isn’t he? Should he be afraid to die? Oh, you better believe it. We should fear death if we’re unbelievers, if we’ve been living like this and we’ve had this kind of judgment on us politically, economically, and now personally, that’s a time to be concerned. And he’s worried about death. He’s afraid of death. He’s insecure. And so he sends off these messengers. But now Elijah gets his final mission. He gets his final work to do. In verse three, “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? Therefore, this is what the Lord says. ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die.’”’ So Elijah went.” So this is the last mission, the last message, and what a message it was. It’s remarkable to me the number of times that God tests his servants by giving them this kind of a message. It’s really no matter of difficulty to go out and proclaim that God is love, to tell them that God loves you and that God wants to bless you and that God is there for you and that God is a God who answers prayer takes, in my opinion, no courage at all. But to be able to go out and confront these messengers as they’re en route to this pagan deity and say, “You want an answer to your question? Okay, I’ll give you an answer. You will die. Most certainly you will die.” Now that takes incredible courage and only a man of God with this kind of God focus, utterly unconcerned what people think, he’s just going to go and tell the truth, is going to obey and do this kind of message.
And so Elijah went, and that is really the story of Elijah’s life, isn’t it? Elijah was so faithful. When God gave him a message, when he gave him a mission, it didn’t matter how difficult or how harsh or unpleasant, he obeyed and went. And so Elijah went. Now I think it’s interesting. God’s honor is at stake here, isn’t it? Is it because there’s no God in Israel that you’re going outside the borders of Israel? Is there not a God with somewhat of a reputation in Israel? Was not Israel set up like a lamp and put up on a lampstand for the whole world to see with miraculous powers, with a mighty hand and outstretched arm? Did God bring Israel out of Egypt so that Rahab’s heart melted and the hearts of all those in Jericho melted because they still remembered the power of God? And had not God done many other miracles since then? Had he not even in his own lifetime, in Ahaziah’s own lifetime, answered Elijah with fire from heaven and burned up the sacrifice? Is it because there’s no God in Israel that you’re going outside the borders to get an answer to your question? That is an insult to the God of Israel. It is an insult to our Lord. And so for zeal, for the name of God, does Elijah move out with this message.
There is a God. And by the way, the Hebrews, double negatives very strong. Is it because there’s absolutely no God? Could it be there might be a God in Israel? That’s almost the sense. Have you forgotten that there is in fact a God in Israel? So the Hebrew’s actually very strong on the negative. Is it because there’s absolutely no God in Israel that you’re going outside the borders to get an answer to this question? And so Elijah went. Verse five, “When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, ‘Why have you come back?'” Now this is very interesting. Why did the messagengers come back? They were sent out by the king to go to Ekron. They did not complete their mission. They did not go all the way to Ekron. They came back. Why? Because of the authority of Elijah. Do you see that? Elijah just comes out in the power of God and speaks and says, “You don’t need to go that far. I’ll tell you the answer. We’ll cut right through this thing. You don’t need Baal-zebub. I’ll tell you the answer. You will die, oh king.” And so the messengers obey rather the voice of Elijah than the king Ahaziah. And so the messengers returned and the king having timed out the message or the mission knows very clearly that there’s no way they could have made it to Ekron. He says, Why have you come back?
Verse six, “‘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 men to consult Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die.”” Now this is very striking, isn’t it? First of all, how many times does that message get into this account verbatim? The answer is three. Three times in 17 versus we get the entire message from God. It’s almost like he’s rubbing Ahaziah’s face in it. And as we look at it’s just so prominent. “Is it because there’s no God in Israel that you’re consulting Baal-zebub in Ekron? Therefore, I will tell you, you will certainly not leave the bed you are lying on. You will die.” He says it three times.
I also think it’s striking in that these pagan probably messengers, or perhaps they were Israelites, we don’t know, but at any rate, the messengers of King Ahaziah are very faithful with the message, aren’t they? They don’t pull anything back. They boldly told King Ahaziah what Elijah had told them to say. Now you could say, “Well, there’s really not much boldness. They were just saying what Elijah said.” But isn’t that the very same thing when God sends us with a message? It’s not our message. It’s not our gospel. It’s not our scripture. Then why do we fudge on it? It isn’t our message. We just need to say, “Thus says the Lord.” And then in the Word of God, there it is. There’s an incredible boldness and freedom to that. It’s not me. It’s the word of God. But these messengers came back and verbatim they repeated a very distressing and unpopular message. “Oh king, you’re anxious about your future. You’re worried about what will happen to you. You need worry no longer. I’ll tell you exactly what will happen to you. You will die.” That’s a tough message. But the messengers come back and are very clear on this.
The king in verse seven asked a very interesting question. The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?” Verse eight, “They replied, ‘He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist.’ The king said, ‘Now that was Elijah the Tishbite.'” Now I think it’s interesting because in verse seven, I would be concerned with the message, wouldn’t you? If you had been Ahaziah, would you really care what the postman wore who brought you the letter? What was he wearing? What’s in style these days for prophets? He would be more concerned with the message, wouldn’t he? And so it is so often these days that we’re more concerned with outward trappings from pastors and others that teach and preach the Word. We’re more concerned with how they look or carry themselves or are they good socially and all that? None of that matters. What matters is are they teaching and preaching the Word of God or not? And so in verse seven, we see this predisposition to concern about externals.
But I think you could say he also wants to know who it was that gave the message. And he might have had suspicions that it was Elijah. And it brought with it a certain kind of authority when Elijah says it. I think it also gives us a key insight into some New Testament theology. Because of this description of Elijah, it’s the only one we have by the way, of what he wore, a garment of hair and a leather belt around his waist, we were able to link him up with what very significant New Testament figure? John the Baptist, because John wore the exact same clothing. And why is that important? Well, we’ll talk about that another time, but specifically because it says in the book of Malachi that Elijah would come before the coming of the great day of the Lord. And Jesus said on the Mount of Transfiguration, as they’re coming back down, the disciples are very distressed to see Elijah still up in heaven. And here’s Jesus supposedly the Messiah. And he said, “If he’s still up there and you’re here, why do the teachers say that Elijah must come first?” And Jesus answered and said, “Elijah must come first and restore all things, but to be sure, Elijah has come and they did not accept him but did him anything they want.” And then they realized that he was talking to them about John the Baptist.
And so John, I think, identifies himself with Elijah by wearing the same clothing, the garment of hair and the leather belt around his waist. And so there’s a direct connection because of this question. What did he look like? What was he wearing? And so the king says, “‘That was Elijah the Tishbite.’ Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of 50 men. The captain went up to Elijah who was sitting on top of a hill.” Now stop there for a moment. I find it very interesting how many significant things happen in Elijah’s life up on hills or mountains. He was a mountain man, I guess. I don’t really know. But he felt most comfortable there. We have him on Mount Carmel taking on the prophets of Baal with tremendous effect, calling down fire from heaven on the sacrifice. We also have him at Mount Horeb in that cave when God passed by in a still small voice and spoke to him up on that mountain. And now we have him again sitting up on a mountain looking over the countryside, perhaps praying and fellowshipping with God. And along comes this arrogant, and there’s no other way to put it, arrogant captain with 50 men. Now what is Ahaziah’s intention? “Bring him in here. The thing that Ahab couldn’t do, I’m going to finish. I’m going to put this man to death.”
What did he need 50 soldiers to arrest an old prophet for? Did you ever wonder about that? Did you ever wonder about the 600 men who went to arrest Jesus? Well, what are they there for? If he wants to come, he’ll come. And if Jesus doesn’t want to come, he’s not going to come. I don’t care if you bring 600,000 men. If he hadn’t willed to go, he wouldn’t have been able to be brought in that night. And so it is with these 50 men along with this captain. And he says this, I think it’s clear that Ahaziah wants to do damage to Elijah and put him to death. So he sends to Elijah a captain with 50 men. And the captain goes up to Elijah who is sitting on top of a hill and says to him, “Man of God, [it’s almost a sassiness here] the king says, ‘Come down.'” Now, that’s how I know that there’s an attitude here. If you’re a man of God, let me tell you who’s really in charge here. The king says, come down. This is a direct affront to God, isn’t it? Man of God, the king says such and such. “Elijah answered the captain, ‘If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men.’ Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.”
Now, it’s remarkable to me how the commentators get on Elijah for this. They blame Elijah for a vindictive spirit. Do you think that Elijah had the power to bring down fire from heaven? Elijah it says in the book of James was a man just like us. Who sent the fire? God himself sent the fire. It was not Elijah who sent the fire, just like he didn’t send fire on Mount Carmel. It was not Elijah who did that. Not one of us in this room tonight has power to do this. God alone. And so it was God who sent that fire down to kill those 51 men. So if you have a problem with this passage and with the seeming harshness of the judgment, you have a problem with God and not with Elijah. You needn’t therefore take Elijah into your arm when you go to heaven and see him and say, “You know Elijah, I loved your ministry. But that thing with the fire from heaven? That was a little harsh. I mean I think you really should have gone and tried to talk to them and minister to them a little bit.” It was God who intended to vindicate his name. Man of God, the king says such and such. All right, if I’m a man of God, let’s see what God will do to vindicate his name against your king. And the 51 of them perished.
Now realize that we are using up Ahaziah’s time for repentance, aren’t we? We’re using it up. Ahaziah is on his deathbed. He hasn’t died yet. He already has the prophecy, doesn’t he? It’s already in his ears because the messenger’s brought it back. You will not get up from that bed. You will die. Like God said through Isaiah the prophet, Hezekiah, “Put your house in order because you will not recover. You will die.” “So might I suggest, Ahaziah, put your heart in order. Prepare to meet your God because it’s coming soon.” He’s wasting his time, isn’t he, with a vindictive mission sending out these 51 men to arrest the messenger. He should have been on his face before God begging for forgiveness and repentance.
If today you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts. “As servants of God,” Second Corinthians 6:1, “We urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, ‘In the time of my favor, I heard you, and in the day of salvation, I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor. Today is the day of salvation.’” He’s wasting his time. He should have been repenting. Instead, he’s going to shoot the messenger. And verse 11, “At this, the king sent to Elijah another captain with his 50 men. This captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says. ‘Come down at once.’” Now how far do you think this man’s going to get? He’s even worse than the first one. “Apparently you didn’t understand, man of God, the king wants you down here immediately.” Clearly intending to do him harm. Now realize, once the humble captain comes in a minute, God says to him, “Go with him and don’t be afraid.” So clearly there’s a threat on Elijah here. They say that the mark of insanity is to do the same thing again and again and expect a different result. All right? There’s no different result. You come arrogantly to God when he’s in the frame of mind to vindicate his holy name and you’re going to get the same result. And so this man also is judged by God. “’If I am a man of God,’ Elijah replied, ‘May fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men.’ Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his 50 men.” Now realize both times the fire is ascribed to heaven the first time and to God this time. Clearly this is God’s fire, not Elijah’s fire. It is not Elijah’s fault if fault there is. But realize that God reserves the wicked for a day of judgment and he is able to do that. He doesn’t owe these 51 men a thing. And so the fire comes down. And I think what I want you to do is realize that you deserve the same thing. Unless you all repent, you will likewise perish, Jesus said. All of us are in this boat. Are any one of us able to say to God, “By virtue of my own merit and righteousness, I come and stand before you?”
“He doesn’t owe these 51 men a thing. And so the fire comes down. And I think what I want you to do is realize that you deserve the same thing. Unless you all repent, you will likewise perish, Jesus said. All of us are in this boat.”
Do you realize the kind of boldness it takes to come into the throne room of God, to be able to come into the presence of God and address him as Father? Do you realize the kind of boldness that takes? The answer is no, not properly. Neither do I. I’m telling you, we don’t. But if we could see God or see what the seraphim and cherubim see and the elders in heaven, if we could see for just an instant, for the rest of your life, your prayer would never be the same. And you would be thanking God again and again for that new and living way, opened through the body of Christ and through his blood into the very Holy of Holies. Only through the blood of Christ are we able to come into the presence of God. Our God is a consuming fire. And we are like stubble apart from Christ. And so the fire comes down the second time. And again, if you have problems with this or with Sodom and Gomorrah or with Noah’s ark or with the outbreak against Uzzah or any of these other judgments, you have a problem with God. But our God is a consuming fire.
“So the king sent a third captain with his 50 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 50 men, your servants. See fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now, have respect for my life.'” He’s trembling, isn’t he? He’s afraid. And I feel like if he was like this coming into Elijah presence, what should we be like coming into the very presence of God? You say we should come in boldly. I think we should. I think to come at all is to come boldly. You see, that’s what I’m saying. We come at all, but we come realizing who we’re speaking to, with a sense of humility and brokenness, a sense of the weight and value of the blood of Jesus Christ. A sense of the awesome holiness of God, and on our faces before him. And so this man comes. “And then 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. And Elijah 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?'”
By the way, the hearing of those words is different now than it was before the first two messengers were sent because those things have already happened, haven’t they? Fire has already fallen from heaven twice. And now this man who has called fire down from heaven in the name of the Lord is standing in front of him. Is it because there is no God? He’s still here. He’s still alive. He’s still powerful. He’s still holy, Ahaziah, and it’s time to repent. But the time is almost up. It’s almost over. “’Is it because there’s 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.’ So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.”
When the time for judgment comes, it’s over. And God didn’t owe Ahaziah another moment of breath. We don’t know if it happened as soon as the words were out of Elijah. We don’t know if he gave him a little more time. We have absolutely no idea. All I know is that there’s no space between verse 16 and verse 17. It just goes right on into the judgment of God. The time has come. And so Ahaziah died and he went to judgment. Because he did not repent openly in scripture, we have to assume that he went to Hell. And so the time came for him to be judged. He squandered his opportunities to repent. Now, what should this do to us? I think it should give us a sense of the value of the blood of Jesus Christ and the mercy he’s had to us. Doesn’t it? Doesn’t it give you a sense of, oh, but for the grace of God that’s me. I deserve that. I deserve to be judged, but God has been gracious to me in Christ. And so therefore, I approach God with brokenness, with humility, with trembling, and with a sense of the awe and the grandeur of the majesty and the holiness of God. Thank you Jesus for my salvation. And if that’s what this story does for you, it’s done the right thing. It’s done the right thing. If on the other hand, you’ve never trusted in Christ, if this story jars you and moves you to realize that each day is meant for an opportunity to repent, then take that opportunity. And if on the other hand, it jars you as an evangelist or a witness to get out and share the gospel this week, you don’t know that the people you’re sharing with, you don’t know how much longer God’s going to give them so that they should make the most of their days and trust in Christ.
