2 Kings 1

See the Book Comments for First Kings.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

FAITHLESS KINGS AND FEARLESS PROPHETS

1 Kings 22:1 to 2 Kings 1:18

With the exception of only ten verses, this unit of the text is concerned about two faithless kingsfather and sonAhab and Ahaziah. Both of these monarchs met their death in fulfillment of the prophetic word spoken to them by the fearless prophets Micaiah and Elijah. The material here may be discussed under two major headings: (1) faithless Ahab and fearless Micaiah (1 Kings 22:1-40); and (2) faithless Ahaziah and fearless Elijah (1 Kings 22:51 -2Ki 1:18). Sandwiched in between these major blocks of material is a paragraph summarizing the reign of good King Jehoshaphat of Judah (1 Kings 22:41-50).

REVIEW OF CHAPTER FIFTEEN

I. FACTS TO MASTER

A. Important persons to identify in relation to this chapter:

1. Benhadad

2. Jehoshaphat

3. Ahab

4. Micaiah

5. Elijah

6. Zedekiah

7. Amon

8. Ahaziah

9. Joash

10. Baal-zebub

11. Azubah

B. Important places to be identified in relation to this chap ter:

1. Samaria

2. Moab

3. Ramoth-gilead

4. Ophir

5. Edom

6. Ezion-geber

C. Important numbers to remember:

Number of prophets serving in Ahab’s court

Number of chariot captains in Benhadad’s army

D. Words and phrases which should bring back to remem brance important events in this chapter:

1. horns of iron

2. broken ships

3. thrones

4. girdle of leather

5. scattered sheep

6. heavenly fire

7. deceiving spirit

8. an angel

II. QUESTIONS TO PONDER

What two contrasting attitudes toward prophetism are illustrated by Ahab and Jehoshaphat?

What motivated the four hundred court prophets to encourage Ahab to undertake the campaign against Ramoth-gilead? By what means did these prophets attempt to convince Jehoshaphat that the campaign was the will of God?

What qualities in the life of Micaiah would a preacher do well to imitate today? What about his use of sarcasm?

What theological problems are raised by Micaiah’s second vision?

By what means did God convince Ahab to go up to Ramoth-gilead to meet his death? How is it that a holy God can employ such devious means?

Who was the deceiving spirit who filled the mouths of Ahab’s prophets?

What mistakes characterized the reign of Jehoshaphat? In what way are many modern religious leaders like Jehoshaphat?

Why did Jehoshaphat make his trip to Samaria? Why was Ahab so determined to make the campaign against Ramoth-gilead? Why did Jehoshaphat go along with him even after the fateful predictions of Micaiah?

An Aramean soldier shot an arrow by chance, and that arrow became the instrument of divine judgment against Ahab. Do things just happen by chance? How is it that God works through what appears to be mere happen stance to accomplish His will?

What were the political and what were the personal consequences of King Ahaziah’s sin?

How could Ahaziah be so sure that his messengers had actually confronted Elijah?

Why did God consume the two companies of soldiers with fire? Why spare the third company?

Why did Ahaziah send messengers to Baal-zebub? What kind of god was this?

The Alter of Burnt Offerings

2 Kings 1:1-8

B. THE ILLNESS OF AHAZIAH (2 Kings 1:1-8)

**TRANSLATION

(1) Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. (2) And Ahaziah fell through a lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and he was sick. And he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover from this sickness. (3) But the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and speak unto them, Is it because there is no God at all in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? (4) Now therefore thus says the LORD, You shall not go down from the bed to which you have gone up because you shall surely die. And Elijah departed. (5) When the messengers returned unto him, he said unto them, Why have you returned? (6) And they said unto him, A man came up to meet us, and he said unto us, Go, return unto the king who sent you, and speak unto him, Thus says the LORD: Is it because there is no God at all in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not go down from the bed to which you have gone up because you shall surely die. (7) And he said unto them, What was the manner of the man who went up to meet you, and spoke unto you these words? (8) And they said unto him, He was a hairy man, and girt about with a leather girdle. And he said, He was Elijah the Tishbite.

COMMENTS**

The division of the Book of Kings in the middle of the reign of Ahaziah is most unfortunate. The history of Ahaziah’s reign began in 1 Kings 22:51 and is carried forward without any real break in the sense to 2 Kings 1:18. The division into two books at this point separates what the author obviously intended to be connected, viz., the crimes of this monarch and the consequent punishment which fell upon him. Because of his sins, calamity befell Ahaziah almost from the outset of his reign. A political calamitythe revolt of Moabis only briefly narrated, but the author has amplified the personal calamity which also befell this king.

After the death of Ahab the vassal state of Moab rebelled against Israel. The Moabites had been brought under subjection by the warlike Omri some forty years earlier. Under Ahab, they had been forced to pay to Israel exorbitant taxes. When Ahab was slain in the battle of Ramoth-gilead, Mesha king of Moab was encouraged to revolt. The clause then Moab revolted suggests that this rebellion came subsequent to and in consequence of the sinful disposition of Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:1).

A second calamity also befell the new king of Israel. Ahaziah accidentally fell through the lattice which enclosed his upper chamber. This shutter of interlaced woodwork would have been easily broken. As a result of this fall, the king was so injured that he lingered upon his bed hovering between life and death. In this desperate condition, the king sent messengers to Baalzebub, the god of the Philistine city of Ekron, to inquire as to whether or not he would recover. The king, of course, wanted more than just information; a favorable oracle from a deity would mean that the god would intervene on his behalf and raise him up. While it is no surprise to find the son of Jezebel preferring to consult Baal rather than Yahweh, it is somewhat surprising to find him sending to Ekron to consult this particular Baal god. Just why he chose Baal-zebub is unclear. Perhaps Baalzebub had a reputation for granting favorable oracular verdicts. On the other hand, perhaps Ekron was the nearest of the ancient Baal shrines. The name Baal-zebub means lord of flies. Apparently this particular Baal was thought to prevent plagues of flies, or else was thought to send such plagues against his enemies.[513]

[513] Gray (OTL, p. 463) feels that the proper name of the deity was Baal-zebulBaal the Princeand that the orthodox Jewish author deliberately changed the spelling to ridicule this deity.

For the second time (cf. 1 Kings 19:5; 1 Kings 19:7) an angel of God visited Elijah the prophet, instructing him to intercept the delegation which had been dispatched to Ekron. It is not clear where Elijah was at the time these instructions came to him, but from the fact he was told to go up, it has been inferred that he was probably down in the plain of Sharon, or perhaps the plateau between those plains and the mountains of Samaria. The actions of Ahaziah were a complete and absolute denial of the lordship of Yahweh. To consult a foreign oracle was tantamount to saying that the voice of God was wholly silent. By means of a penetrating rhetorical question, Elijah was to reflect the gravity of the royal apostasy to the messengers and ultimately to the king himself (2 Kings 1:3). The God of Israel did have a word for Ahaziah, albeit an unsolicited one. Because he had so grievously apostatized, God sentenced this king to die from the effects of his fall. Having received these divine instructions, Elijah departed to carry them out (2 Kings 1:4).

When the messengers returned so soon to the chamber of the sick king, Ahaziah knew that they had not completed their mission to Ekron. He therefore inquired of them as to the reason for their hasty return (2 Kings 1:5). Whether the messengers did not actually recognize Elijah or were merely withholding his name to be diplomatic cannot be ascertained. In either case the messengers reported to their master the message which the prophet had delivered to them (2 Kings 1:6). Ahaziah may have suspected already that this one who had been so bold as to announce the impending death of the king was that same man of God who had predicted the doom of his father (cf. 1 Kings 21:20-22). Fearing the worst, he inquired further concerning the man (2 Kings 1:7).

The messengers described the man of God as a hairy man (lit., a lord of hair). Some take this to mean that he was rough and unkempt with his hair and beard long. Others picture him as wearing a shaggy coat of untanned skin with the hair outward. The second unusual thing noted by the messengers was that this man of God wore a leather girdle as opposed to the more customary girdle of soft material. This brief description was enough for the king. The dreaded adversary of his father had suddenly reappeared (2 Kings 1:8).

Just why Elijah dressed the way he did has been the subject of no little discussion. Perhaps he was attempting to show contempt for earthly things. On the other hand, this garb may have been indicative of the sorrow of the prophet over the deplorable condition of his nation.

2 Kings 1:9-15

C. AHAZIAH’S EFFORTS TO ARREST ELIJAH 1:9-15

**TRANSLATION

(9) And he sent unto him a captain of fifty and his fifty, and he went op unto him, and behold he was sitting upon the top of a hill. And he spoke unto him, O man of God, The king has spoken, Come down. (10) And Elijah answered and spoke onto the captain of the fifty, And if I am a man of God, let fire from heaven come down and consume you and your fifty. And fire came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. (11) And again he sent unto him another captain of fifty and his fifty. And he answered and spoke unto him, O man of God, thus says the king: Come down quickly. (12) And Elijah answered and spoke unto them, If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. And the captain of the third fifty went up, and came, and bowed down upon his knees before Elijah, and besought him and said, O man of God, let my life, and the life of these fifty your servants, be precious in your eyes. (14) Behold fire came down from heaven, and consumed the first two captains of fifty and their fifties, and now let my life be precious in your eyes. (15) And the angel of the LORD spoke unto Elijah, Go down with him; do not be afraid of him. And he arose and went down with him unto the king.

COMMENTS**

No doubt Ahaziah had been instructed by his wicked mother to take strong and immediate action against Elijah should this religious radical reappear. This may well have been the first public appearance of Elijah during the reign of Ahaziah, and the king seems to have felt this was his opportunity to arrest and imprison this troublemaker. Though lying on his bed of affliction under the divine sentence of death, Ahaziah was so hardened, unrepentant and defiant that he ordered a unit of fifty soldiers to hasten immediately to arrest Elijah. The size of this armed body suggests that Ahaziah was directly challenging the power of the prophet his God. Meanwhile, Elijah had positioned himself on a hill on or right near the spot where he had encountered the messengers. The prophet was ready for a showdown with the king, and so made no attempt to conceal himself. He sat there calmly awaiting the next move that Ahaziah might make.

The captain of fifty approached the prophet, addressed him by his customary title, and ordered him by the authority of the king to come down from the hilltop and surrender (2 Kings 1:9). Elijah then prayed that God would vindicate his prophetic power and authority by destroying this band of soldiers who had come to arrest him. God heard that prayer, and fire came down from heaven (lightning?) to consume the captain and his fifty (2 Kings 1:10). Still defiant, Ahaziah sent another fifty to demand that Elijah come down quickly. The king had apparently grown impatient (2 Kings 1:11). Again the prophet prayed, and again the fire from heaven consumed his adversaries (2 Kings 1:12). A third captain dispatched by the king escaped with his life because he humbled himself before the prophet. He ascended the hill on which Elijah was still seated, and bowed himself before the prophet to beseech his compassion. Having heard of the fate of the previous captains, he acknowledged that this man of God held his life and the lives of his fifty men in his hands. He begged that Elijah would spare these men (2 Kings 1:13-14). The battle was now won. The honor of Elijah and the God he represented had been vindicated. An angel of God intervened at this point, directing the prophet go with this captain and not to fear for his life. Elijah instantly obeyed (2 Kings 1:15).

D. ELIJAH’S PROPHECY CONCERNING AHAZIAH 1:16-18

**TRANSLATION

(16) And he spoke unto him, Thus says the LORD: Because you sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God at all in Israel that you may inquire of His word? Therefore you will not come down from upon the bed upon which you have gone up, because you will surely die. (17) And he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram ruled in his stead in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, because he did not have a son. (18) And the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

COMMENTS**

Whether Elijah was fettered and chained when he went before the king cannot be ascertained. This much is certain: Elijah did not change his tune once he came face to face with this bitter antagonist. Boldly in the name of his God he repeated the message which he had originally sent to the king by his messengers. Because of his gross apostasy which in effect denied the power and divinity of Yahweh, Ahaziah would die from his injuries (2 Kings 1:16). Shortly thereafter the king expired, never having left that sickbed, just as Elijah had predicted. Because he had no son, his brother Jehoram ruled in his stead. Thus a Jehoram ruled in Israel simultaneously with a Jehoram in Judah, for the Southern Jehoram was in his second year when the Northern one commenced his reign (2 Kings 1:17). The rest of the acts of Ahaziah, few though they must have been, were recorded in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel (2 Kings 1:18). These may have included some months of warfare against Mesha of Moab in an attempt to put down the rebellion in that quarter.