2 Kings 1
-Elijah comes back on the scene with Ahab’s son, Ahaziah,
taking ill after an accident and seeking the counsel from Baal-zebub, the god
of Ekron (2 Kings 1:1-2). Elijah, guided by God, intercepts the messengers who
went to seek counsel from the false god of Ekron by the will of Ahaziah and pronounces
the LORD’s wrath and judgment through the death of Ahaziah upon his sick bed (2
Kings 1:3-4). The king questioned his messengers upon their hasty return and realized
Elijah had been the prophet who gave the word. A series of miraculous events
occur showing the power of God through His prophet as fire consumes those who
come to him on more than one occasion. The constant theme is this: “Thus says
the LORD, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god
of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word?—Therefore
you (Ahaziah) shall no come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall
surely die (2 Kings 1:5-16).’” So Ahaziah died according the the accurate word
of the LORD, which His prophet Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son,
Jehoram (or Joram) became king of Israel in his place during the reign of
Jehoram in Judah (2 Kings 17-18).
-*Application* Who do you seek counsel from in your life? It
may be easy for us to think to ourselves, “I always trust in God over anything
else.” But, is that really accurate? When you are diagnosed with an ailment, do
you put more trust in earthly doctors or the Heavenly Father? I’m not saying
that doctors are evil and can’t be trusted, nor that we should not go to them.
But, I am saying this biblically: You had better seek the counsel of the Lord first
and foremost in all decisions or it could turn out really bad. Asa, king of Judah,
is another biblical example of this reliance upon man rather than seeking God first
(2 Chronicles 16:12). Here is the modern way of doing things if we are really honest.
Rather than trusting the LORD and seeking His counsel through prayer initially,
we go to a doctor in complete trust whose name we often cannot pronounce, take a
pill that we have no idea where it came from, mixed together by who knows in a pharmacy
we know nothing about sanctioned by our government. Who do we really put our reliance
in? Think about it.
Verse to Memorize: 2
Kings 1:16
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