Grasp the Gospel — Bible Comprehension Quizzes

2 Kings 1 Devotional

Asking the Wrong God

“But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are on your way to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?’”2 Kings 1:3 (BSB)

Injured in a fall, King Ahaziah sends messengers to ask Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he will recover (1:2). The LORD intercepts them through Elijah with a question that echoes through the chapter: has the king forgotten that there is a God in Israel (1:3, 1:6, 1:16)? The living God was near, and Ahaziah looked elsewhere.

When the king sends soldiers to order the prophet down, fire falls on two captains and their men (1:10-12). The severe scene shows that the LORD will not be summoned by a king who has turned from him. Yet the third captain kneels and pleads for his life, and the angel of the LORD tells Elijah to go down with him (1:13-15). James says God sets himself against the proud but shows favor to the humble (James 4:6). And when James and John later wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan village, Jesus rebuked them (Luke 9:54-55). The God who is near receives the humble.

To think about: Where do you tend to look first for answers or help, and what would it mean to bring that need to God instead?

About 2 Kings 1: Elijah Confronts King Ahaziah

Injured in a fall, King Ahaziah of Israel asks a Philistine idol whether he will recover, and Elijah turns his messengers back with the LORD’s sentence of death. Two companies sent to seize the prophet are destroyed by fire from heaven, a humble third captain is spared, and Ahaziah dies as foretold.

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