After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah 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.” 3 But 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?’ 4 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” So Elijah went. 5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?” 6 “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 messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!" The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?” 8 They replied, “He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist.” The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.” 9 Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’” 10 Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men. (II KIngs 1)
What a way to start the second half of the discussion of the times of the kings. Elijah is about to transition off the scene and pass the baton to Elisha, but he's not going out without a splash or a raging fire. God is making a point: "Why are you seeking wisdom from the idols of this world instead of men who speak for God?" We could very well ask that same question today in our society. So many are turning away from the Church to media and politicians and movie and sports stars for what to believe. By the time we get two-thirds of the way through this book, Israel, the northern kingdom of which Ahazia was king, had reached the end of God's patience and were exiled, and the attention is turned onto the downhill slide in Judah, the southern kingdom. Though there were small spurts of revival, by the end of the account we find Judah also reaps the rewards of placing their trust in all the places, with most people either killed or exiled to Babylon, while Jeremiah and a small remnant escape to, of all places, Egypt, from where this whole journey began. We are left with the question: How will God's people fare there? Interestingly, that's what our Ladies Bible study on Thursday Evenings is studying: how to survive in Babylon, a cutlure totally alien and opposed to God's pattern. Look inside this book of Second Kings. There are some exciting accounts here, and some good news despite the downward slide. Look around. Where do you see misplaced trust in our culture, in your own life? Take a picture of something or someone you are encouraged by, or leery of as a place of false hope. Post it or send it. Let's remember today: There is a God here and now - the Everlasting God of all Truth and Hope.
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