2 Kings 1

CHAPTER 1THEME: Fire from heaven protects Elijah from AhaziahFirst Kings 1Ki_22:51 tells us that “Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria….” We pick up the story in 2 Kings at this point. In fact, there does not seem to be a proper division between 1 and 2 Kings. Ahaziah’s reign in Israel is begun in 1 Kings and concluded in 2 Kings. The king and the prophet take the place of the priest as God’s instruments of communication. In 2 Kings, the first chapter, Ahaziah, king of Israel and son of Ahab and Jezebel, fell down through a lattice and seriously injured himself.

2 Kings 1:1

I would be inclined to say he fell because he was drunk. This is only a guess. Then instead of going to the Lord God for help, Ahaziahgreatly influenced by his mother Jezebelwent to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. Ahaziah’s request for an oracle was a direct challenge to the Lord God of Israel. He wanted to know if he would recover from the effects of the accident.

2 Kings 1:3

This was one of Elijah’s last missions. He went to meet the messengers and gave them this challenge. “Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the God of Ekron?” Then he gave them God’s unwelcome prognosis: Ahaziah would not recover, he would die. The messengers went back and reported to the king what Elijah had said.

2 Kings 1:7

ELIJAH IS PROTECTED BY GODThis furnishes us an interesting description of the physical appearance of Elijah.

2 Kings 1:9

Remember that Ahaziah the king was the son of Jezebel, the woman who had tried to kill Elijah. Apparently there was still a price on his head. Elijah is quite a man, is he not? He simply did not fit in with the compromises of court life in that day. There is much talk today about the fact that we should learn to communicate and learn to get along with everybody. May I say to you that this is not God’s method. The compromise of the church and its leaders has not caused the world to listen to the church. As a matter of fact, the world is not listening at all. They pass the church right by. Why? The world will not listen until the church declares the Word of God. If the church preached God’s Word, there would be communication. Elijah managed to communicate. He was heard. People listened to him. He was a pretty rough type of an individual. The king sent another captain with fifty men, and he also ordered Elijah to come down from the top of the hill. What came down was fire from heaven which consumed the captain and his men.

2 Kings 1:13

This man asks for mercy, and God will extend mercy to him.

2 Kings 1:15

Elijah boldly repeated God’s pronouncement.

2 Kings 1:17

This ends the line of Omri and Ahab.