And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice
in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers,
and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall
recover of this disease. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the
Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say
unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to
enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? 2 Kings 1:2-3
Imagine
you know you have a good old drill at home, say a DeWalt or a Makita, and it
works just as it is supposed to and the batteries are charged. Yet because you
do not have it in your hand, you go out and buy an inferior brand with less
power. Sure it is new, but it is truly not even capable of getting the job that
your superior drill can do.
On
this occasion, we find an injured King Ahaziah (Israel) who was dealing with a related
sickness. We do not know any other details about his situation; we do know that
he made a very foolish decision. He sent messengers to go and inquire of the
false god of Ekron, Baalzebub on his potential for recovery. The prophet Elijah
confronted these messengers at the bidding of the angel of the Lord. He asked is
it not because there is a God in Israel that you have to go enquire of
Baalzebub the god of Ekron? After receiving this message, Ahaziah is
evidently mad that Elijah sent his men back from seeking answers from a god
that is carved and formed of human hands. So he proceeds to send three
companies of 50 to try and capture Elijah. ( 2 Kings 1:7-18). The first two are
consumed by fire which Elijah calls down from heaven. On the third occasion,
the commander humbles himself, and Elijah is instructed to go with them by the
angel of the Lord. We must note that just because Elijah went with them does
not mean that the message would change. In fact, Elijah told it directly to the
King, you went to the god of Ekron, you are going to die, and he died.
We
can learn some vital lessons here. First, the Lord is never happy when His
people seek the gods of the nations. This includes teachers from outside of the
Lord's body for matters of our faith and practice. I am abhorred to hear denominational doctrine
that is being taught by some. Is there not a God in Israel was the question
asked of Ahaziah and his messengers. We must ask the same. Is there not a God
in the church of Christ? Is there not the Bible that we can properly understand?
Are there not sound teachers within our brotherhood that work countless hours
preparing materials, often for no change, to help Christians mature?
Second,
when we proclaim that message of truth, it does not change. Elisha was given
the message of God from the angel of the Lord, and he gave it to the messengers
of Ahaziah. When pursued by the companies of fifty, Elijah said, “If I be a man
of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty.” When he
went before the king, the message of God remained the same. Sadly brethren are
tempted to change the message to fit what is popular in our politically correct
society. We must speak truth, and consistent truth. We must not speak “truth”
that is consistent with culture or our perceived condition. The only truth is
consistent with the Word of Truth.
Grace and Peace,
Ryan
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