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2 Kings 1 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Same story, different chapter.
After reading about all of Ahab’s disastrous choices, we now move into the reign of Ahaziah. The gist of the story is that Ahaziah has experienced a severe fall and wishes to seek divine wisdom on his prognosis. He summons for an answer from the god of Ekron.
“Literally, the fly-god, or master of flies. The Septuagint has Baal the fly. He was the tutelary god of Ekron, and probably was used at first as a kind of telesm, to drive away flies. He became afterwards a very respectable devil, and was supposed to have great power and influence. In the New Testament Beelzebub is a common name for Satan himself, or the prince of devils.”
-Adam Clarke
But before he could receive his answer, God would beckon Elijah to step in. His prognosis is that the king will surely die because of his lack of faith in the One True God. Elijah’s answer angered the king, and Ahaziah decided to send a captain with 50 of his men to capture Elijah.
We now see that Elijah has matured from his previous experiences with God. Instead of running away, he leaves the fate of these men in the hands of God.
So King Ahaziah sent a captain of 50 with his 50 men to Elijah. When the captain went up to him, he was sitting on top of the hill. He announced, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!'” 10 Elijah responded to the captain of the 50, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your 50 men.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his 50 men.
2 Kings 1:9-10 HCSB
“Man of God” was not a title Elijah had ascribed to himself like so many of the modern-day “prophets” today. In fact, he demonstrated an attitude of both humility and trust – the exact opposite of Ahaziah. Elijah was content to stay there on that hill and not make one move until God told him to. I believe this trust was formed all the way back in 1 Kings when Elijah responded to the still, small voice.
It’s a fine line when determining when you should go and when you should stand firm. But, we will know exactly what to do in those moments if we know the heart of Jesus and the voice of His Spirit. Discernment does not come from sensational statements or self-appointed titles. It comes when we humble ourselves and come to Jesus with an open heart and mind.