IS THERE NO GOD IN ISRAEL?

Passage: 2 Kings 1:1-18

Key verse: 3

NIV

The Lord’s Judgment on Ahaziah

1 After Ahab’s death, Moab(A) rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers,(B) saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub,(C) the god of Ekron,(D) to see if I will recover(E) from this injury.”

3 But the angel(F) of the Lord said to Elijah(G) 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(H) 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(I) 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(J) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”’”

7 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[a](K) and had a leather belt around his waist.”

The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”

9 Then he sent(L) to Elijah a captain(M) 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(N) fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.

11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”

12 “If I am a man of God,” Elijah replied, “may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life(O) and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”

15 The angel(P) of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid(Q) of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.

16 He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers(R) to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave(S) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” 17 So he died,(T) according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.

Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram[b](U) succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

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Footnotes
  1. 2 Kings 1:8 Or He was a hairy man
  2. 2 Kings 1:17 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram
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Source: BibleGateway

ESV

Elijah Denounces Ahaziah

1 (A)After the death of Ahab, Moab (B)rebelled against Israel.

2 Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of (C)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, (D)whether I shall recover from this sickness.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah (E)the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of (F)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus says the Lord, (G)You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went.

5 The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” 6 And they said to him, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the Lord, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of (H)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” 7 He said to them, “What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?” 8 They answered him, (I)“He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty men with his fifty. He went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, (J)“O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’” 10 But Elijah answered the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, (K)let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

11 Again the king sent to him another captain of fifty men with his fifty. And he answered and said to him, “O man of God, this is the king's order, ‘Come down quickly!’” 12 But Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, (L)let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

13 Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, (M)be precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.” 15 Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king 16 and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of (N)Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”

17 So he died according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken. Jehoram became king in his place (O)in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, because Ahaziah had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel?

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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
INTRODUCTION TO 2 KINGS 2 Kings continues the history of the period of the monarchy. In chapter 2, Elijah is taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire and his mantle falls on Elisha, his assistant. Elisha was a man of both spiritual and political influence in Israel. In chapters 2-9, we learn of his ministry. In chapters 9 and 1 , Jehu purges Baal worship from Israel in a bloodbath. But this did not cure the deep-rooted idolatry planted in Israel by Jeroboam, the king who made Israel to sin. The history of Northern Israel became progressively more violent, and idolatry persisted, until, in 722 BC, the Assyrians conquered Samaria. Following their regular colonial policy, they removed the Israelites from their land and brought in many people from other Assyrian colonies. The Israelites were scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire, and Northern Israel came to an end. The lamp of David continued to burn in Judah, and David's descendants sat on the throne in Jerusalem until the Babylonian conquest in 586 BC. The book of Kings and the period of the monarchy ends with the fall of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon. After 7 years, the Babylonians were themselves conquered by the Persians, and the Jews were allowed to return and rebuild Jerusalem, but that's another story. We can see here God's faithfulness in spite of man's unfaithfulness. IS THERE NO GOD IN ISRAEL? 1. Is there no God in Israel? (1-8) After Ahab's death, Ahaziah was not as strong as his father. Moab rebelled against him; his kingdom was getting weak. Then he fell and injured himself. At this interval, he consulted Baal instead of God. So, God sent Elijah to intercept the messengers. Elijah gave God's message to them. "Is there no God in Israel?...You will certainly die!" (3,4) Because he did not seek God, ask God, and pray to God, God could not help him. When we encounter difficulties, we should remember God and present our requests to God with thanksgiving (Phil 4:6). 2. There is a God in Israel! (9-18) Instead of repenting, Ahaziah tried to arrest Elijah, and Elijah was afraid. So twice he called down fire from heaven to consume the detachment of 5 soldiers who tried to arrest him. The captain of the third detachment feared God and humbly begged Elijah to respect his life and the lives of his men. God assured Elijah that he had nothing to fear, and he went with them to warn the king. According to God's word, the king died.

Prayer: Lord, help us to seek God, pray to God first.

One Word: Act as if there is a God!