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.