2 Kings 1:1-18

The Last Kings of *Israel and *Judah

Book of 2 Kings

Philip Smith

About the Books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings

The Books of 1 Kings and 2 Kings used to be one book. That book continued the account of the events that happened to *Israel. The events happened after those in the Books of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. Some people translated 1 Kings and 2 Kings into Greek (the language that people spoke in Greece). They divided it into two books. They probably did that so that the text would fit into the scrolls. (Scrolls were very long pieces of paper. People wrote on them. Then they rolled them up.)

We do not know who wrote 1 Kings and 2 Kings. Many people think that the author was an unknown *prophet from Babylon. The author (or authors) used a lot of information from Isaiah, Jeremiah, 1 Chronicles and 2 Chronicles. (Chronicles are lists of events. The events are in the order in which they happened. The Books of Chronicles in the Bible are also about *Israel’s and *Judah’s kings.) The author refers to some other books too, which are unknown today. He refers to the ‘book about Solomon’s acts’. The author also refers to the official records about *Israel’s kings and *Judah’s kings. And he uses collections of stories about the *prophets Elisha, Micaiah and Isaiah.

Contents and purpose

The Book of 2 Kings is a history of *Israel’s and *Judah’s kings. Until Solomon died, there was one nation called *Israel. But after his death, the nation divided into two *kingdoms. The southern *kingdom was called *Judah. The northern *kingdom was usually called *Israel.

The author of 2 Kings writes about the events in both of these *kingdoms in turn. The author writes much about the kings that affected the religion in each *kingdom. In 1 Kings, the author said a lot about the *prophet called Elijah. In 2 Kings, he says a lot about another *prophet called Elisha.

The author of 2 Kings believes that the people should obey the laws in the Book of Deuteronomy. The important question is whether they did so or not. His opinion about them depends on that.

• In the northern *kingdom called *Israel, all the kings refused to obey God’s law. They did not give honour to God at Jerusalem. They *worshipped false gods. These kings were evil men; and most people in that *kingdom imitated their behaviour.

• In the southern *kingdom called *Judah, the behaviour of the kings and the people varied. Some of them obeyed God’s law; but many did not.

In the end, the rulers of both *kingdoms became very evil. So God allowed their enemies to attack them and to defeat them. This happened because the kings and the people refused to obey God.

The author records all these events. His purpose is to remind people in future centuries about the importance of God’s law.

(The notes at the start of our Commentary on 1 Kings explain more about the books.)

Chapter 1

The end of Ahaziah’s rule as king of *Israel

v1 After Ahab’s death, the nation called Moab *rebelled against *Israel. v2 King Ahaziah fell through a window of a room. That room was on the roof of his palace. The palace was in Samaria. Ahaziah had serious injuries. He wanted to discover what would happen. So he sent some people with a message. He said this to them. ‘Ask Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from these injuries.’

v3 But the *angel of the *Lord said this to Elijah. (Elijah was from Tishbe.) ‘Go. Meet the people that are taking the message on behalf of Samaria’s king. Tell them this: “You should not go to ask Baalzebub, the god of Ekron, what will happen. You are behaving as if there is no God in *Israel.” v4 So this is what the *Lord says: “You will not get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will certainly die.” ’ So Elijah went.

v5 The people who were taking the message returned to the king. Then he asked them, ‘Why have you come back?’

v6 ‘A man met us,’ they said. ‘He told us to go back. And he told us that we must tell you this. “The *Lord says this: You should not be sending men to Baalzebub, the god of Ekron. You should not ask a false god what will happen to you. You are behaving as if there is no God in *Israel. So you will not get up from your bed. You will certainly die.” ’

v7 The king asked them to describe the man that they saw. v8 This is how they replied. ‘He was wearing a coat that someone had made from the hair of animals. He was wearing a belt that someone had made from leather.’

‘That was Elijah from Tishbe,’ replied the king.

While Ahab was king of *Israel, he also had control over Moab. After Ahab’s death, his son Ahaziah became king. It seems that the people in Moab considered this to be a good opportunity to *rebel against *Israel.

Soon after this happened, Ahaziah had a serious accident. He fell through a window in his palace.

The god of Ekron was a god of the people called Philistines. Ekron was a city in the region where they lived. Ahaziah asked this god whether he (Ahaziah) would recover. The god’s name, Baalzebub, means ‘ruler of the flies’ or ‘ruler of the dirt’. However, some Bible teachers think that it may mean ‘the great ruler’.

So Ahaziah wanted to contact a false god. Like his parents, Ahab and Jezebel, Ahaziah preferred false gods instead of the real God. This was a terrible *sin against the *Lord. He is the only real God. And he was especially the God of *Israel, because of the promises that he had made to *Israel’s people.

God told Elijah what was happening. So Elijah sent back the people who were going to Ekron. He told them to tell the king about his (the king’s) *sin. The king had made a clear decision to *rebel against the real God. And the king would not avoid his punishment. Elijah explained that the king would die.

Those people went back to the king. The king asked them who sent that message to him. They described what the man was wearing. Their description was of a man who wore simple, rough clothes. Such clothes were the usual choice of a *prophet. So the king realised that it was Elijah.

Even Ahab, Ahaziah’s wicked father, had been humble when Elijah *prophesied his (Ahab’s) death (1 Kings 21:17-29). But Ahaziah was not humble. He wanted to arrest Elijah.

v9 Then the king sent an officer with 50 men to *capture Elijah. Elijah was sitting on top of a hill. The officer went up to him. The officer said, ‘Man of God, the king orders you to come down.’

v10 Elijah replied to the officer, ‘If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky. Let the fire kill you and your 50 men.’ At once fire came down from the sky. It killed the officer and his men.

v11 The king sent another officer with his 50 men. That officer said to Elijah, ‘Man of God, the king orders you to come down at once.’

v12 Elijah said this. ‘If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky. Let it kill you and your 50 men.’ Then the fire of God came down from the sky. It killed the officer and his 50 men.

v13 Then the king sent a third officer with his 50 men. This officer went up the hill. And he went down quickly onto his knees in front of Elijah. The officer said, ‘Man of God, please show kindness to me and my 50 men. Please let us live. We are your servants. v14 Look, fire has come down from the sky. It killed the first two officers and it killed all their men. But now, please show kindness to me.’

v15 The *angel of the *Lord said this to Elijah. ‘Go down with him. Do not be afraid.’ So Elijah went with the officer to the king.

v16 Elijah told the king, ‘The *Lord says this to you. “You wanted to discover what would happen. So you sent people with messages to ask Baalzebub, the god of Ekron. You did not ask the God of *Israel. Therefore, you will never get up from the bed on which you are lying. You will certainly die.” ’ v17 So the king died, as the *Lord had said by means of Elijah.

Ahaziah had no son, so Joram became the king after him. That happened in the second year of Jehoram’s rule. Jehoram was the son of Jehoshaphat, king of *Judah. v18 You can read about the other events that happened during Ahaziah’s rule. They are in the history of *Israel’s kings.

The king sent soldiers to arrest Elijah. Elijah sat on top of a hill. In the past, Elijah had to escape from Ahaziah’s mother (1 Kings 19:3). But he did not try to escape now. He did not hide from Ahaziah’s soldiers. Instead, Elijah trusted God and he (Elijah) was bold.

Earlier, too, Elijah had called for fire from the sky. In that case, he called the fire to burn his *sacrifice (1 Kings 18:36-38). Now he called for fire to kill these *sinners. He was confident that God was on his side.

All three officers called Elijah ‘man of God’. They all knew who Elijah was. But their attitudes to him were very different.

The first two officers were very proud. If Elijah really was a ‘man of God’, then he was God’s servant. And only God has the right to give orders to his servants. So these army officers had no right to try to control Elijah. They were trying to claim a right that belongs only to God. They were not just opposing Elijah. They were opposing God. That is why their punishment was so severe.

The first officer was guilty of this *sin. Fire from the sky killed him and his men.

The second officer was worse than the first one. The second one told Elijah to come at once. Fire from the sky killed him and his men.

But the third officer was genuinely humble. He urged Elijah to be merciful to him. (In other words, the officer did not think that he deserved any kindness from Elijah. But still, the officer asked for kindness.) The officer gave attention to what had happened. He did not try to order Elijah to do anything. Instead, this officer asked Elijah to save the lives of himself and his men. An *angel spoke to Elijah. And the *angel told Elijah not to be afraid of this officer. So Elijah went with the officer to the king.

Elijah repeated to the king the message that he had already told the king’s servants. The king would certainly die.

King Ahaziah was a proud man who opposed God’s rule in his life. In the end, the king could not avoid his punishment. And his proud officers also opposed God when they tried to arrest Elijah. The result of their wrong attitudes was the deaths of themselves and their men. But we can learn much from the behaviour of the third officer. He was humble. That is the right attitude for a person to have in front of God. This officer respected God’s servant. And by that means, the officer respected God.

Even in the *New Testament, proud people who lied to God suffered a terrible punishment (Acts 5:1-11). So we must always respect God. He deserves the greatest honour. But God is not cruel. He wants to show kindness to people. Once, some people in Samaria would not allow Jesus into their town. James and John were very angry. They wanted to ask God to sent fire from the sky to kill those people. But Jesus told James and John that their attitude was wrong. We can read about that in Luke 9:54. And in John 12:47, we learn this. ‘The Son of Man did not come to punish people, but he came to rescue them from *sin.’

So we should not try to punish people who oppose us. Instead, we should pray for them (Matthew 5:44). Sometimes we may have to warn people about their *sin. But we should always try to help people. God wants them to confess their *sins to him. He wants them to invite him into their lives. Then he will forgive them.

Ahaziah died. His brother Joram became the king. Here the writer mentions a date when that happened. But it seems not to be the same date as the one in 2 Kings 3:1. Sometimes two kings ruled a country at the same time. They shared the royal authority until one of them died. Then the other king ruled alone. If that happened here, it may explain the different dates.

Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
Judah ~ one of the tribes in the nation called Israel; the southern part of that kingdom after it divided.
tribe ~ a group of people that share the same ancestors, language, and customs.
Israel ~ the nation of people that are Jacob’s descendants; the country where those people belong; the northern part of their kingdom after it divided.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
ancestor ~ a previous member of a family, especially someone who was important during a past century.
descendants ~ future members of a family or a nation; people who belong to the same family during later centuries.
prophet ~ a person that gives a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God (or from a false god) that someone speaks; what someone says will happen in the future.
kingdom ~ a country or nation that a king or queen rules.
worship ~ to praise God (or a false god); to give honour to God (or a false god) by sacrifice, prayer, song or action.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).
angel ~ God’s servant who takes messages from God to people on the earth. Angels live with God in heaven.
Lord ~ the name of God. We use this word to translate two different words in the original language. One word means ‘He is always God.’ The other word means ‘master’.
rebel ~ to fight against authority; to oppose authority.
sin ~ an action that is wrong or wicked, which is against God’s moral law; something that is against a law in a religion.
prophesy ~ to declare a prophecy.
prophecy ~ a message from God (or from a false god) that someone speaks; what someone says will happen in the future.
capture ~ to seize (arrest) someone and to keep that person as a prisoner; to take something by force and to keep it under your control.
sacrifice ~ something valuable that someone offers to God (or to a false god); to offer something valuable to God (or to a false god).'New Testament ~ the second part of the Bible. It tells us about Jesus and his disciples (students).