It was Holy Week. It was a week of preparation for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. After the triumphal entry on Sunday and the cleansing of the temple on Monday, Tuesday was a day for learning. Jesus spent the day in the temple teaching His disciples, speaking to them in parables. The topics were many and varied, culminating in the second comiing of Christ.
The day began with a second encouter with a fig tree as Jesus and His disciples made their way from Bethany to Jerusalem first thing in the mornning. The first encounter was on that same road the day before. Let's begin there.
On Monday morning, as Jesus and the disciples made their way from Bethany to Jerusalem, Jesus "was hungry" (Mark 11:12b). "And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. In response Jesus said to it, 'Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.' And His disciples heard it" (vs. 13-14).
This is a difficult story to understand. Why would Jesus use His incredible power to cause a fruit bearing tree to whither because it did not bear fruit two or three months before its time? A clue is found in the position this story holds in the text. The story is actually divided into two parts and is sandwiched around the cleansing of the temple, which we considered yesterday because it was the big event that occured on Monday. Like the cleansing of the temple, the story of the unfruitful fig tree has to do with judgment.
Jesus was hungry, and seeing the fig tree He went to see if it had any figs on it (v. 13a). Of course it did not because, though fig trees around Jerusalem usually leafed out in March or April, they did not produce figs until June. This tree was no exception. Though it had leafed out it had no figs as Mark said because "it was not the season for figs" (v. 13b).
This is the only miracle of destruction performed by Jesus. But why? Perhaps it is best to view this miracle as an acted-out parable. Just as the cleansing of the temple denounced Israel's worship, the withering of the fig tree denounced Israel as a nation for walking away from God.
You would expect to find fruit on a tree that is fully leafed out, but that is not the case. It is the same with Israel. Mark describes the hypocrisy of the people in Mark 7:6, where he quotes Isaiah 29:13, "The people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me." They are like a tree with an abundance of leaves but no fruit.
Skip ahead to Teusday morning when Jesus and the disciples come across that same fig tree. "Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter, remembering, said to Him, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tre which You cursed has withered away'" (Mark 11:20-21).
Jesus in reply gave no commentary about the coming judgment on the temple and on Israel. That was obvious. Instead He turned it into a lesson on faith and prayer. He said, "Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them" (vs. 22-24).
God is the source of the power and He must be the object of our faith. And faith here is a faith that prays. The power of faith is found in prayer. When by the power of prayer, faith is joined to the purpose and will of God, amazing things can happen, because that is when you see the great and awesome powers of God at work. Pray believing and you will be bleesed. Amen.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Monday, March 30, 2015
A Day of Cleansing
Yesterday we all celebrated Palm Sunday, a day of triumph, a day of celebrating Jesus, “the author and of finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). But all is not as it seems. Jesus knew exactly what was happening. He is in complete control! He came for a purpose and that purpose would be fulfilled at the end of week. On Monday Jesus walked into the temple with one thing on His mind—to cleanse it and consecrate it unto God once again.
This solitary act got the week started off in great fashion—certainly in a way that no one would forget, especially His enemies. For them it was more fuel for the fire. For Jesus it was a symbol of what He would accomplish in all who would believe on Him. His death and resurrection would mean everything. We experience three things through faith—to be cleansed, changed, consecrated.
“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” but you have made it a “den of thieves”’” (Matt. 21:12-13).
It was a scandal of epic proportions! This Jesus who had the whole city in a huge uproar with His arrival, now stormed into the temple and created chaos. I can almost see it! Doves flapping their wings as they fly out of the courtyard, men shouting, women beside themselves, and children scrambling after the rolling coins. This fellow from Galilee was once again stirring up trouble!
But stirring things up is always what Jesus does when He enters the scene. The cleansing of the temple has its parallel in our lives. When Jesus comes, priorities are overturned, old sins are swept aside. The first thing He did when He entered Jerusalem is the first thing He does when He enters a life—He goes straight to the temple, to the place where we worship, and cleans out whatever is not part of God’s design.
Your body is a holy temple. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?” (1 Cor. 6:19). Ephesians 2:21 speaks of our life as a building that “grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” When you trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you and your body is now “a holy temple.” And Jesus comes to stir things up—to cleanse that temple. He casts out anything that does not honor God.
“Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them” (Matt. 21:14). In an instant these people’s lives had changed. All of a sudden they could see or they could walk. They had been made whole. And that is what Jesus does for us when we receive Him. He cleanses us from all sin and He changes us. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
There are two actions here—the cleansing of the temple and healing miracles. Together they declare what Jesus was all about. He came to save sinners. He came to cleanse us from our sin and to change us and make us holy. We were designed to be holy. His work on the cross, along with His resurrection, makes us holy.
“But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ they were indignant and said to Him, ‘Do You hear what these are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes. Have you never read, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise”?’” (Matt. 21:15-16)
“The chief priests and scribes…were indignant” (v. 15) because they simply did not like Jesus. But everyone else was simply surprised. Jesus knew what stood between the people in those days and God. “Astonished” is how Mark describes the people’s reaction to that original cleansing (Mark 11:18), and astonished is how we feel when God cleanses us. It is an amazing experience.
Prejudice, old hurts, all our sins, whatever is blocking our relationship with Him must go! God is at work making us holy, making us like Jesus. By faith we are cleansed; by faith we are changed; by faith we are consecrated. To be consecrated is to be declared holy or to be set apart as sacred. That is what Jesus did for the temple in Jerusalem, and that is what He is doing in us.
“Out of the mouths of babes” praise is “perfected” (Matt. 21:16). Like the children, we should respond with praise to what Jesus did for us. As Hebrews 12:1-2a says, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Amen.
This solitary act got the week started off in great fashion—certainly in a way that no one would forget, especially His enemies. For them it was more fuel for the fire. For Jesus it was a symbol of what He would accomplish in all who would believe on Him. His death and resurrection would mean everything. We experience three things through faith—to be cleansed, changed, consecrated.
“Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, ‘It is written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer,” but you have made it a “den of thieves”’” (Matt. 21:12-13).
It was a scandal of epic proportions! This Jesus who had the whole city in a huge uproar with His arrival, now stormed into the temple and created chaos. I can almost see it! Doves flapping their wings as they fly out of the courtyard, men shouting, women beside themselves, and children scrambling after the rolling coins. This fellow from Galilee was once again stirring up trouble!
But stirring things up is always what Jesus does when He enters the scene. The cleansing of the temple has its parallel in our lives. When Jesus comes, priorities are overturned, old sins are swept aside. The first thing He did when He entered Jerusalem is the first thing He does when He enters a life—He goes straight to the temple, to the place where we worship, and cleans out whatever is not part of God’s design.
Your body is a holy temple. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?” (1 Cor. 6:19). Ephesians 2:21 speaks of our life as a building that “grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” When you trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you and your body is now “a holy temple.” And Jesus comes to stir things up—to cleanse that temple. He casts out anything that does not honor God.
“Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them” (Matt. 21:14). In an instant these people’s lives had changed. All of a sudden they could see or they could walk. They had been made whole. And that is what Jesus does for us when we receive Him. He cleanses us from all sin and He changes us. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
There are two actions here—the cleansing of the temple and healing miracles. Together they declare what Jesus was all about. He came to save sinners. He came to cleanse us from our sin and to change us and make us holy. We were designed to be holy. His work on the cross, along with His resurrection, makes us holy.
“But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ they were indignant and said to Him, ‘Do You hear what these are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes. Have you never read, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise”?’” (Matt. 21:15-16)
“The chief priests and scribes…were indignant” (v. 15) because they simply did not like Jesus. But everyone else was simply surprised. Jesus knew what stood between the people in those days and God. “Astonished” is how Mark describes the people’s reaction to that original cleansing (Mark 11:18), and astonished is how we feel when God cleanses us. It is an amazing experience.
Prejudice, old hurts, all our sins, whatever is blocking our relationship with Him must go! God is at work making us holy, making us like Jesus. By faith we are cleansed; by faith we are changed; by faith we are consecrated. To be consecrated is to be declared holy or to be set apart as sacred. That is what Jesus did for the temple in Jerusalem, and that is what He is doing in us.
“Out of the mouths of babes” praise is “perfected” (Matt. 21:16). Like the children, we should respond with praise to what Jesus did for us. As Hebrews 12:1-2a says, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” Amen.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
This Is Jesus
The palm branch was a symbol of triumph and victory in pre-Christian times. The Romans rewarded champions of the games and celebrated military successes with palm branches. The Jews followed a similar tradition of carrying palm branches during festive times. Early on in the history of the Christian church Palm Sunday celebrations have involved the waving of palm branches.
Matthew 21:8-9 says that as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, “a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Hosanna in the highest!’”
Matthew 21:8-9 says that as Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, “a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” Hosanna in the highest!’”
Early Christians used the palm branch to symbolize the victory of the faithful over enemies of the soul. In Christian art, martyrs were usually shown holding a palm branch, representing the victory of spirit over flesh. It was widely believed that a picture of a palm on a tomb meant that a martyr was buried there.
With this in mind note Revelation 7:9-10. “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” The palm branch being held by the Christians in heaven is the sign of spiritual victory in the presence of Christ.
As the people covered the road before Jesus with palm branches in Matthew 21:8-9, note the direction this celebration turns in verses 10-11: “And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, ‘Who is this?’ So the multitudes said, ‘This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.’” Notice the question: “Who is this?” And the answer: “This is Jesus.”
This is precisely the question Jesus proposed to His disciples in Matthew 16:13-16. “Who do men say that…I am?” (v. 13). The answers are varied and interesting: “John the Baptist…Elijah…Jeremiah…one of the prophets” (v. 14). Then He asked again, “But who do you say that I am?” (v. 15). And Peter confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16).
Following the transfiguration, Luke tells us, “Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). From this time on Jesus headed straight for Jerusalem to fulfill His mission. He headed straight toward calvary to die for our sin and rise again. As He did so, the people began to wonder if perhaps now was the time He would set Himself up as King? So the people were excited as He came again to Jerusalem.
In Matthew 21, as He approached the city He sent a couple of His disciples ahead to secure a colt for Him to ride, along with a donkey (vs. 1-3). The two disciples did as Jesus requested (v. 6) and the owners of the donkey and colt did just as Jesus said they would (v. 3). It seems that people were ready and willing to help. Then Jesus road the colt into Jerusalem, weeping as He saw the city: “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it” (Luke 19:41).
The multitude cried and sang, “Hosanna!” (Matt. 21:9), which means “save now!” They spread their garments on the road before Him (v. 8a), as if receiving a king home. They used palm branches as well (v. 8b). It is a picture of a conquering king returning home in victory. And this is how we are introduced to Jesus. "This is Jesus." He is our king and our Lord. He is our conquering Savior. He came for this purpose. He came to die on the cross and to rise again. He came to be our Savior. Amen.
Friday, March 6, 2015
Sinner in the Hands of the Living God
It has been awhile since my last post. Sorry for the delay. I have been busy fillling pulpits and sending out resumes. I have been in communication with two churches in particular concerning their pastoral opening. One nearby in Oklahoma; the other far away in northwestern South Dakota. It is an exciting time as we wait on God to find the church He has for me to serve.
Picking up where we left off in the life and times of Elijah, prophet of fire, we find that there are times when God gives us what we think we want, especially when it is not His will, but only our will in defiance of Him. It is His way of disciplining us in order to get our attention and call us back to Himself.
God judges those who rebel against Him and persist in defying Him. Ahaziah (Ahab’s son) had a brief rule (1 Kings 22:51-53) and his death (2 Kings 1:17) illustrates this principle. He died as a part of the prophesied destruction and death of all of Ahab’s household (1 Kings 21:17-29).
Ahab repented (1 Kings 21:27), but it was only a partial repentance. It was only on the outside, yet God delayed His judgment, though He did not eliminate it. The message for us is that God judges all who persist in defying Him, and while partial repentance for the wrong reasons may delay God’s judgment, it does not totally vindicate God’s wrath. True repentance, on the other hand, will result in salvation.
The Bible says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). And that is exactly what happens here in 2 Kings 1:1-18. Sinners who ultimately refuse God, who refuse to trust in Jesus the Messiah, are judged by fire—ultimately the judgment of eternal hell-fire.
The Lord is in charge. When He is not allowed to rule in our lives, He overrules. The sins of idolatry, pride, and disobedience caused God to take action against the unrepentant sinners in our text. After much longsuffering, the Lord brings judgment. But God’s people, those who walk with the Lord Jesus, experience things the unrepentant sinner never knows and never sees.
First of all, God directs the paths of His people, those who love Him. Unbelievers, on the other hand, do not experience this godly guidance because they do not love God and they do not follow Him or seek His face. They do not turn to God.
Note Ahaziah's character: “He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; for he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.” (1 Kings 22:52-53)
He was an evil man—an evil king. Moab rebelled and Ahaziah could not care less! His attitude was to let Moab rebel. It mattered not to him! The text simply says, “Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab,” (2 Kings 1:1). It makes no mention of any reaction from the king. He concerns himself only with himself: “Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury’” (v. 2).
Ahaziah worshiped Baal, and that fed his bent toward all things evil. He persisted in rebelling against God. Meanwhile Moab took advantage of this week, self-centered king and broke the bonds that had chained them to Israel since David first conquered them (2 Sam. 8:2). Under Ahaziah the tribute went away.
About ten years or so before Ahaziah “fell through the lattice” (v. 2a) and injured himself, Elijah had won a great victory. He defeated Baal on Mount Carmel when he called down fire from heaven (1 Kings 18). Neither Ahab nor Jezebel were convinced or converted. So Ahaziah, in following suit, turned not to the Lord God of Israel, but to the false god Baal for guidance concerning his injury.
“Baal” means “lord” (small “l”) and “Baal-Zebul” means “Baal is prince.” But the devout remnant in Israel, who worshiped the true God, changed the name and ridiculed the false god of their neighbors. “Baal-Zebel” (one such name) means “lord of the dung,” and “Baal-Zebub” (the name used here) means “lord of the flies.” It was one of the names Jesus’ enemies used to insult Him. (Matt. 10:25).
Leave God out and He overrules in your life. Ahaziah was persistent in rebelling against the Lord by ignoring the God of Israel, so the Lord overruled in his life. He intervened by sending His servant Elijah. “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 to them, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?” Now therefore, thus says the LORD: “You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.”’ So Elijah departed.” (vs. 3-4) and did as instructed.
When you ignore God and leave Him out of your life, He will overrule at some point and you may not like what happens. When you persist in rebelling against God and refusing to believe on the Lord Jesus for your salvation, eventually judgment will fall, as it did with Ahaziah. He persisted in rebelling against Christ. He refused to believe. Only judgment remained. God overruled in his life.
Follow God and He will direct your path. The Lord wants to direct your path much like he did Elijah’s. Look at how He directs Elijah in this passage: “the angel of the LORD said to Elijah” (v. 3a). He spoke to his heart and brought the king’s name to his mind. The Lord even laid on his heart the words to speak. Elijah followed God and He directed Elijah’s path.
When God lays someone on your heart, He likely wants you to pray for them and talk with them about Jesus. That is how God led Elijah, and He does the same with us. And what did Elijah do? “So Elijah departed” (v. 4b). He went and spoke with Ahaziah. We are quick to talk with people about all sorts of things that are dear to us, but what about Jesus? God wants us to tell others what Jesus means to us. When He leads, He will direct you and give you the words to speak.
Second, God protects His people. King Ahaziah tries to arrest Elijah and have him killed. But God protects him from such evil. Elijah gave God’s message to the king’s messengers and they relayed it to Ahaziah: “And when the messengers returned to him, he said to them, ‘Why have you come back?’ So they said to him, ‘A man came up to meet us, and said to us, “Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.”’”’ Then he said to them, ‘What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?’ So they answered him, ‘A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.’ And he said, ‘It is Elijah the Tishbite.’” (vs. 5-8)
Ahaziah knew immediately it was God’s man, God’s servant Elijah. It wasn’t rocket science. Evil men, unbelievers, recognize God’s people. They see the difference God makes in our lives. When you live for Christ, it does not escape notice. People know when you have been with Jesus. Luke reported: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
Ahaziah sought to arrest and likely even kill Elijah: “Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: ‘Man of God, the king has said, “Come down!”’ So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.’ And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty." (2 Kings 1:9-10).
Then the king sent a second "captain of fifty" (v. 11) with his men and the same fate awaited them (vs. 11-12). These two displays of God’s judgment by fire were dramatic messages that the people had better repent or they would all taste the judgment of God’s wrath. And notice how, even with fire from heaven crashing down on these men, the Lord protected his servant Elijah, who was standing nearby. God’s people, those who trust in Jesus, may be persecuted by ungodly men, but God fully protects His own.
Third, God saves His people. A third “captain of fifty” (v. 13) was sent by the king. However, this time things are different. This third captain proved to be both wise and humble. He showed true respect for Elijah, the “man of God.” This man submitted himself to the Lord and to His servant. He pleaded with Elijah in such a way as to endear himself to Elijah and to God as he acknowledged the full authority of God’s servant.
“The third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: ‘Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight” (v. 13). He pleaded for his own life and the lives of his men. He understood both who Elijah was and who God is. He humbled himself, kneeling down before God’s man as a way of bowing before the Lord Himself.
He pleaded for mercy as he added, “Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight” (v. 14). Humbled before Elijah and God, his request was granted. His life was spared, along with the lives of his men.
It is interesting to note the Lord’s response as He again directs His servant Elijah. Verse 15 reads, “And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, ‘Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.’ So he arose and went down with him to the king.” It was the captains who were to be feared as much as the king. It may be that they were not only instructed to arrest Elijah, but on the way to the palace, to kill him! But God said there was nothing to fear. God had his backside!
Ahaziah was anything but a godly man. He had everything to fear. While the godly knows God’s grace, the ungodly will know God’s wrath. The king was in bed when Elijah confronted him with the words, “you shall surely die” (v. 16). All hope was gone! He was on his death bed! Still, he refused to obey the Word of God.
“So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Now 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?” (vs. 17-18).Thus the Word of the Lord to the ungodly king was fulfilled.
An ungodly and unrepentant world awaits the fire of God’s wrath. It will come upon them suddenly “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thess. 1:7-9).
God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Those who do will know God’s grace, not his wrath. It is by faith in Jesus that the godly escape the wrath that is to come. God saves His people. The gospel is both a message to believe and a mandate to obey. Amen.
Picking up where we left off in the life and times of Elijah, prophet of fire, we find that there are times when God gives us what we think we want, especially when it is not His will, but only our will in defiance of Him. It is His way of disciplining us in order to get our attention and call us back to Himself.
God judges those who rebel against Him and persist in defying Him. Ahaziah (Ahab’s son) had a brief rule (1 Kings 22:51-53) and his death (2 Kings 1:17) illustrates this principle. He died as a part of the prophesied destruction and death of all of Ahab’s household (1 Kings 21:17-29).
Ahab repented (1 Kings 21:27), but it was only a partial repentance. It was only on the outside, yet God delayed His judgment, though He did not eliminate it. The message for us is that God judges all who persist in defying Him, and while partial repentance for the wrong reasons may delay God’s judgment, it does not totally vindicate God’s wrath. True repentance, on the other hand, will result in salvation.
The Bible says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). And that is exactly what happens here in 2 Kings 1:1-18. Sinners who ultimately refuse God, who refuse to trust in Jesus the Messiah, are judged by fire—ultimately the judgment of eternal hell-fire.
The Lord is in charge. When He is not allowed to rule in our lives, He overrules. The sins of idolatry, pride, and disobedience caused God to take action against the unrepentant sinners in our text. After much longsuffering, the Lord brings judgment. But God’s people, those who walk with the Lord Jesus, experience things the unrepentant sinner never knows and never sees.
First of all, God directs the paths of His people, those who love Him. Unbelievers, on the other hand, do not experience this godly guidance because they do not love God and they do not follow Him or seek His face. They do not turn to God.
Note Ahaziah's character: “He did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father and in the way of his mother and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin; for he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.” (1 Kings 22:52-53)
He was an evil man—an evil king. Moab rebelled and Ahaziah could not care less! His attitude was to let Moab rebel. It mattered not to him! The text simply says, “Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab,” (2 Kings 1:1). It makes no mention of any reaction from the king. He concerns himself only with himself: “Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury’” (v. 2).
Ahaziah worshiped Baal, and that fed his bent toward all things evil. He persisted in rebelling against God. Meanwhile Moab took advantage of this week, self-centered king and broke the bonds that had chained them to Israel since David first conquered them (2 Sam. 8:2). Under Ahaziah the tribute went away.
About ten years or so before Ahaziah “fell through the lattice” (v. 2a) and injured himself, Elijah had won a great victory. He defeated Baal on Mount Carmel when he called down fire from heaven (1 Kings 18). Neither Ahab nor Jezebel were convinced or converted. So Ahaziah, in following suit, turned not to the Lord God of Israel, but to the false god Baal for guidance concerning his injury.
“Baal” means “lord” (small “l”) and “Baal-Zebul” means “Baal is prince.” But the devout remnant in Israel, who worshiped the true God, changed the name and ridiculed the false god of their neighbors. “Baal-Zebel” (one such name) means “lord of the dung,” and “Baal-Zebub” (the name used here) means “lord of the flies.” It was one of the names Jesus’ enemies used to insult Him. (Matt. 10:25).
Leave God out and He overrules in your life. Ahaziah was persistent in rebelling against the Lord by ignoring the God of Israel, so the Lord overruled in his life. He intervened by sending His servant Elijah. “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 to them, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?” Now therefore, thus says the LORD: “You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.”’ So Elijah departed.” (vs. 3-4) and did as instructed.
When you ignore God and leave Him out of your life, He will overrule at some point and you may not like what happens. When you persist in rebelling against God and refusing to believe on the Lord Jesus for your salvation, eventually judgment will fall, as it did with Ahaziah. He persisted in rebelling against Christ. He refused to believe. Only judgment remained. God overruled in his life.
Follow God and He will direct your path. The Lord wants to direct your path much like he did Elijah’s. Look at how He directs Elijah in this passage: “the angel of the LORD said to Elijah” (v. 3a). He spoke to his heart and brought the king’s name to his mind. The Lord even laid on his heart the words to speak. Elijah followed God and He directed Elijah’s path.
When God lays someone on your heart, He likely wants you to pray for them and talk with them about Jesus. That is how God led Elijah, and He does the same with us. And what did Elijah do? “So Elijah departed” (v. 4b). He went and spoke with Ahaziah. We are quick to talk with people about all sorts of things that are dear to us, but what about Jesus? God wants us to tell others what Jesus means to us. When He leads, He will direct you and give you the words to speak.
Second, God protects His people. King Ahaziah tries to arrest Elijah and have him killed. But God protects him from such evil. Elijah gave God’s message to the king’s messengers and they relayed it to Ahaziah: “And when the messengers returned to him, he said to them, ‘Why have you come back?’ So they said to him, ‘A man came up to meet us, and said to us, “Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.”’”’ Then he said to them, ‘What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?’ So they answered him, ‘A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.’ And he said, ‘It is Elijah the Tishbite.’” (vs. 5-8)
Ahaziah knew immediately it was God’s man, God’s servant Elijah. It wasn’t rocket science. Evil men, unbelievers, recognize God’s people. They see the difference God makes in our lives. When you live for Christ, it does not escape notice. People know when you have been with Jesus. Luke reported: “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).
Ahaziah sought to arrest and likely even kill Elijah: “Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: ‘Man of God, the king has said, “Come down!”’ So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.’ And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty." (2 Kings 1:9-10).
Then the king sent a second "captain of fifty" (v. 11) with his men and the same fate awaited them (vs. 11-12). These two displays of God’s judgment by fire were dramatic messages that the people had better repent or they would all taste the judgment of God’s wrath. And notice how, even with fire from heaven crashing down on these men, the Lord protected his servant Elijah, who was standing nearby. God’s people, those who trust in Jesus, may be persecuted by ungodly men, but God fully protects His own.
Third, God saves His people. A third “captain of fifty” (v. 13) was sent by the king. However, this time things are different. This third captain proved to be both wise and humble. He showed true respect for Elijah, the “man of God.” This man submitted himself to the Lord and to His servant. He pleaded with Elijah in such a way as to endear himself to Elijah and to God as he acknowledged the full authority of God’s servant.
“The third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: ‘Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight” (v. 13). He pleaded for his own life and the lives of his men. He understood both who Elijah was and who God is. He humbled himself, kneeling down before God’s man as a way of bowing before the Lord Himself.
He pleaded for mercy as he added, “Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight” (v. 14). Humbled before Elijah and God, his request was granted. His life was spared, along with the lives of his men.
It is interesting to note the Lord’s response as He again directs His servant Elijah. Verse 15 reads, “And the angel of the LORD said to Elijah, ‘Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.’ So he arose and went down with him to the king.” It was the captains who were to be feared as much as the king. It may be that they were not only instructed to arrest Elijah, but on the way to the palace, to kill him! But God said there was nothing to fear. God had his backside!
Ahaziah was anything but a godly man. He had everything to fear. While the godly knows God’s grace, the ungodly will know God’s wrath. The king was in bed when Elijah confronted him with the words, “you shall surely die” (v. 16). All hope was gone! He was on his death bed! Still, he refused to obey the Word of God.
“So Ahaziah died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Now 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?” (vs. 17-18).Thus the Word of the Lord to the ungodly king was fulfilled.
An ungodly and unrepentant world awaits the fire of God’s wrath. It will come upon them suddenly “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power” (2 Thess. 1:7-9).
God “commands all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Those who do will know God’s grace, not his wrath. It is by faith in Jesus that the godly escape the wrath that is to come. God saves His people. The gospel is both a message to believe and a mandate to obey. Amen.
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