2 Kings Chapter 1
Lessons from 2 Kings 1
(1-8) King Ahaziah did not know that there was a God in Israel, so he went to ask Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron.
1 Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room and was injured.
This accident allowed people to see that the safety measures were inadequate thus leading to such an accident; but this accident also caused people to see that Ahaziah’s spirituality was not good and had fallen.
He sent messengers to ask Baal-Zebub, god of Ekron, whether he would recover from the injury. He was asking the Philistines’ god of the flies, but he did not ask the true God of Israel, the God who is the Lord of heaven and earth!
2 It is inevitable that accidents will happen in our lives.
The question is, with what attitude do we face these incidents?
There is a saying that goes: “True sentiments are seen in hard times.” And indeed, a person’s true faith is also seen in adversity.
A person’s reaction during adversity can show what kind of faith he has in God. Does he strengthen his faith and rely on the true God, or change his faith and rely on other gods?
Some believers, when sick, pray but are not healed, so they turn to idols, fortune-telling, or to change their fortunes, etc. It is pitiful for the world to rely on false gods as if they were true gods, but it is even more pitiful for believers to deem the true God as false gods and not rely on Him!
3 God sent Elijah to meet the messengers sent by King Ahaziah to rebuke them, saying: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Now therefore, thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”
Faced with death, Ahaziah tried to inquire of the false gods again, which resulted in the deaths of himself and the 102 soldiers he had sent.
In the face of death, the captain who was sent the third time pleaded for the mercy of the true God, and thus saved himself and the fifty men who were with him. We will face death. So in life, will we inquire of the false gods or the true God?
(9-18) King Ahaziah did not respect the prophet of God and even sent people to capture the prophet Elijah.
1 Ahaziah knew that God had sent the prophet Elijah to stop his messengers, so he sent people to capture Elijah.
He was certainly respectful to idols, sending messengers to ask questions, yet disrespectful to the people of God, sending soldiers to capture them.
These two contrasting attitudes show how Ahaziah really had no God in his heart.
2 Three times Ahaziah sent captains with fifty men to capture Elijah.
The first two times, Elijah called for fire to consume them. Why did Elijah not pray for fire to destroy them the third time, and even went with them to meet the king?
The third group of men were not like the previous men who had disrespected the prophet and had wanted to capture the prophet – instead, they fell on their knees before the prophet and begged him to regard their lives as precious.
If the men in the first two times had likewise not sought to capture Elijah, they would also have not died. Whatever choice a man makes between good and evil determines his life. He will not be judged by God if he abandons evil and does good with a heart that fears God.
3 God made fire come down to consume the people who were disrespectful to the prophet, which shows that God not only wants men to fear God, but also to have a humble and respectful attitude towards God’s servants because of their fear of God.
How do we treat God’s servants today? Do we accept the teachings of God’s servants with humility and respect?