2 Kings 1:1-18


The Word of the Lord is sure and His power is amazing.  Despite the fact that He has proven this over and over again, the leaders of the nation of Israel refuse to trust Him and show no fear of Him.  When King Ahaziah, the son of Ahab has an accident and is in bed he sends messengers to inquire of a foreign god as to what his plight would be.  He has obviously turned his back on the Lord and has no relationship with God whatsoever.  It is scary to consider how quickly the nation got to this point after having seen the power and hand of God at work in the past.  God had shown Himself so powerful to this man’s father and killed the prophets of Baal but still the king does not seek the Lord.  We need to make sure that we are learning from the past and living in the fear of the Lord in the present.

ELIJAH INTERCEPTS THE MESSENGERS: When the king sent messengers to seek information from an idol; Elijah meets them and tells them that the king will not recover and instructs them to confront him on having ignored the God of Israel.  What is king of lost in the details here is that the Lord had revealed to Elijah just exactly what had happened to the king, what the king was doing and what God would do to the king.  There truly is an all knowing God in Israel but the king has chosen to ignore this God and go after gods that are made and controlled by men.  We must be careful not to follow after the false idols of our own making and thereby reject the all-knowing and all-powerful God who is over us all.

ELIJAH INCINERATES THE SOLDIERS: When the king gets the message from Elijah, he does not repent and humble himself as his father had done.  Instead, he sends a group of 50 soldiers to confront Elijah and bring him by force to see the king.  Elijah calls down fire from heaven to incinerate the first two groups of soldiers that come.  The third commander shows much more fear of the Lord and wisdom in that he does not make any threats or demands, he simply begs for Elijah’s mercy and promises to protect him if he will simply come.  He was doing his job, but did so in a way that allowed him to obey the king while at the same time demonstrate his recognition of the King of Kings and his servant Elijah.  We never have reason to fear any circumstance that we face no matter how dangerous it may seem.  God always has the power to protect us if that is His will to do so.

ELIJAH INTIMIDATES THE KING: When Elijah stands before the king; he is not fearful or intimidated in the least.  He simply repeats his original message, confronting the king on seeking false gods and promising him that he would die.  The king has shown no fear of God and now Elijah is showing no fear of the king.  When we serve the Lord and are committed to following His Word, we can do so with confidence.  God is able to protect us with His power and it is an honor to serve Him.  The message of God may not be a popular one, but we must boldly proclaim it because only in the truth can men be truly set free.

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