2 Kings 1

Ahaziah seeks pagan god

After Ahab died, Moab rebelled against Israel. Ahaziah had fallen down from his loft in Samaria and was sick, so he told his messengers,

“Go, ask about Baal-zebub, Ekron’s God if I’ll get better or not.”

But the Existing One’s angel told Elijah the Tishbite,

“Go and meet the king of Samaria’s messengers and ask them, ‘Is there no God in Israel that you are going to seek Baal-zebub, Ekron’s god? Here’s what the Existing One says: Instead of being able to return to your bed, you will definitely die.’”

So Elijah went.

The messengers returned to the king and he asked,

“Why are you back so soon?”

They told him they got intercepted by a man and relayed Elijah’s message. The king asked,

“Can you describe the man who told you that?”

They answered,

“He wore clothes made of hair with a leather belt around his waist.”

And he said,

“That was Elijah the Tishbite.”

King confronts Elijah, Elijah fries messengers

Then the king sent fifty soldiers and their captain to arrest him. He went up to Elijah who was sitting on top of a hill, and said,

“Hey, man of God, the king orders you to come down.’”

But Elijah responded,

“If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume your fifty men.”

Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

Again, the king sent another fifty soldiers with their captain to Elijah. He said to Elijah,

“Hey! Man of God, the king orders you to come down down here quickly!”

But Elijah answered them,

“If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume your fifty.”

Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

A third time, the king sent a commander with his fifty. This third captain climbed up the hill, fell on his knees in front of Elijah and begged him,

“Oh man of God, please spare my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours. Fire came down from heaven and consumed the two regiments before me, but please spare our lives.”

Then the Existing One’s angel instructed Elijah,

“Go down with him; you have no reason to be scared of him.”

So he went down with him to the king and told him,

“This is what the Existing One says, 'Is there no God in Israel? Because you sent messengers to inquire of Ekron’s god, Baal-zebub, you will make it up off your bed, but you will definitely die.’”

So Ahaziah died according to the Existing One’s message that Elijah had delivered. Since he didn’t have a son to succeed him, his brother Joram became the next king. This took place during the second year of Jehoram’s (Jehoshaphat’s son) reign over Judah. The rest of Ahaziah’s history and everything he did is recorded in the book The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.