Fire from Heaven (Part Two)

2 Kings 1:1-18

So King Ahaziah sent a captain with his fifty men to Elijah. When the captain went up to him, he was sitting on top of the hill. He announced, “Man of God, the king declares, ‘Come down!’” Elijah responded to the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men. So the king sent another captain with his fifty men to Elijah. He took in the situation and announced, “Man of God, this is what the king says: ‘Come down immediately!’” Elijah responded, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” So a divine fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men (2 Kings 1:9-12 CSB)

Ahaziah, king of the northern kingdom of Israel, had been severely injured by a fall in his house. We usually assume that our homes are places of safety, but how many have been critically injured there by falling! Ahaziah’s injuries were severe enough to make him wonder if he would survive. While naturally concerned (who wouldn’t be?), he walked further away from the Lord. How much better, to think and act like the psalmist. It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees (Psalm 119:71 NIV).

So then, let’s focus on the attitude of the transgressor. It was utter rebellion (1:9,11). Ahaziah should have cried out to the Lord for forgiveness and mercy. While the sinner lives, there is still opportunity for repentance. God delights in mercy, and when he sends a message of judgment, he is giving those who hear an occasion to turn from their evil ways. But the threat of death did not soften Ahaziah’s heart.

Instead, he became more obstinate and struck out against God’s message in the only way he could: by attacking the messenger. “When a true servant of God is sent and delivers a searching word, people seek to evade it by occupying themselves with his personality, his style of delivery, his denominational affiliation—anything secondary as long as it serves to crowd out that which is of supreme moment. Yet when the postman hands them an important business letter they are not concerned about his appearance” (Pink).

The great idols of America are money, greed, and pleasure. The burning question is “Am I having a good time right now?” People expect the same lust for pleasure to be satisfied in church on their terms. Church after church have abandoned the Lord Christ and his gospel and have prostituted themselves to attract the pleasure seeking masses (cf. Jeremiah 2:20-25). Elijah was not concerned about Ahaziah’s approval of the message or whether Ahaziah would want to join his church. Elijah was faithful to God’s word, and we must be faithful today!

How do you react when confronted by the word of God? Too many professing Christians have reacted violently in an emotional sense: “He’s preaching against me!” or “I don’t like what he said; I’m not coming back!”

The result was judgment. As we read in Isaiah 45:9, Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker, to him who is but a potsherd among the potsherds on the ground. Does the clay say to the potter, “What are you making?” Does your work say, “He has no hands”? (NIV) The basis of the judgment was written in the Torah (cf. Deuteronomy 6:13-15; 8:19-20; 13:6-11). Who were the recipients of God’s judgment? The first two groups of Ahaziah’s officers and their men (1:10,12) that were rather daring and arrogant when they approached Elijah. The third group demonstrates that death did not have to take them. Elijah’s credentials as God’s prophet had been proved many times. Ahaziah himself was judged by God, though not by fire from heaven (1:16-17). The Lord does not always act the same way, as we have observed many times. Ahaziah’s soldiers met a violent, supernatural end, while God lets the king die of natural causes. Strangely, the wicked king is not summarily executed like his soldiers, but the judge of all the earth does what is right (Genesis 18:25). Many times the underlings of wicked people die more terribly and tragically than their cruel leaders! Let us not assume that we can escape by “passing the buck” to our superiors, because “we acted on their orders”. Everyone is responsible for their own sin. There are many lessons to learn from this incident. We plan to look at them in our next post in this series.

Grace and peace, David

Fire from Heaven (Part One)

2 Kings 1:1-18

Ahaziah had fallen through the latticed window of his upstairs room in Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers, instructing them, “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this injury” (1:2 CSB).

In order to understand this chapter, it is necessary to have a Biblical view of God. To have such a view in the culture of our time is rare, even among those who regularly attend a church that preaches God’s word. Why is this so? The Biblical view of God requires an acceptance of both the goodness and grace of God and the holiness and justice of God, even when we don’t grasp how they can be reconciled. The apostle Paul sums it up well. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off (Romans 11:22 NIV).

The setting of the chapter is two years after the death of the wicked king Ahab. He tried to escape the doom prophesied for him by Elijah, but while in battle, someone shot an arrow at random, but God directed its flight, and it struck Ahab between the joints of his armor, and he bled to death. Then dogs licked up his blood just as Elijah had prophesied. Now Ahab’s wicked son Ahaziah ruled over the northern kingdom of Israel. He walked in the ways of his evil parents.

Think for a moment of the power of sin over the human heart. You might assume that Ahaziah would have learned from the death of his father, which happened just as God had said. But no, something more than a terrible judgment is needed to change a sinner’s heart. Ahaziah dares God to carry out judgment on him. When he falls and seriously injures himself, he brazenly sends messengers to the false god Baal-Zebub to find out if he will recover. Will Ahaziah succeed in mocking God?

All that happens in this chapter is a demonstration of the kindness and severity of God. The Lord was kind toward Elijah and protected him, but acted severely against all who provoked him to anger. In this chapter, we must not blame Elijah for what happened. He was no more able in himself to bring down fire from heaven than you and I are. Instead, let us think of something else. The living God demands that his people honor him as the only true God.

The issue at stake was the honor of the God of the covenant (1:3, 6, 16). Remember the demand of the law covenant. Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Israel, listen to the statutes and ordinances I am proclaiming as you hear them today. Learn and follow them carefully. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. He did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with all of us who are alive here today. The Lord spoke to you face to face from the fire on the mountain. At that time I was standing between the Lord and you to report the word of the Lord to you, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain. And he said: I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery. Do not have other gods besides me (Deuteronomy 5:1-7 CSB). The living God spoke plainly to his people, Israel. Notice three matters about this word.

  • Human responsibility was clearly stressed.
  • The God of the covenant was clearly identified.
  • A transgression was clearly prohibited.

Though the law covenant has been fulfilled and set aside, this command is still in force today. We’ll consider this in another post.

The first commandment of the law covenant was clearly transgressed (1:1). This was not an isolated incident in Ahaziah’s life (cf. 1 Kings 22:51-53). Ahaziah did not learn from the mistakes of others. His act was similar to what Saul had done when he consulted the medium at Endor (cf. 1 Samuel 28). What happens to Ahaziah and his men is an example of the consequences of daring to challenge the true and living God.

Grace and peace, David

A Frowning Providence (Part Two)

Genesis 37:12-36

In part one, we saw how the life of Joseph and his family was about to change through a seemingly insignificant and harmless event: his trip that his father Jacob sent him on out of concern for Joseph’s older brothers. In Genesis 37:18-28, we see how an act of malice started them all on the path to lasting change.

They were intent on venting their wrath wrath against Joseph. But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other. “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams” (Genesis 37:18-20 NIV).

Their hatred had brewed for so long that the mere sight of Joseph brought them to the verge of murder. Sin long nurtured in the heart waits only for an appropriate moment to wreak destruction. Sin causes hardening of heart. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Hebrews 3:13 NIV). Hatred and jealousy made them want to murder, but sin did not stop there. For they planned to lie to cover their murder, and pride made them dream of boasting they had defeated Joseph’s dreams.

No person is strong enough to hold the reins of sin. That lusty stallion can drag any presumptuous man or woman off to certain ruin. The wise course of action is to flee from sin, seek cleansing from its guilt and influence by the blood of Christ, and to put it death with the help of the Holy Spirit.

However, while Joseph’s brothers plotted evil against him, the living God was also at work. He acted behind the scenes to restrain their wrath (37:21-28). There are three clear ways that the Lord did this.

  • God worked through Reuben’s intervention. Reuben was an unlikely deliverer (see Genesis 35:22), but for some reason (perhaps fear of further offense against his father or qualms of conscience), he schemed to prevent the murder of his brother.
  • God worked through the appearance of the merchants. In this way, God permitted the hatred of Joseph’s brothers to go unchecked, but refused to allow Joseph to be killed. The Lord allows people to act freely, unless when he intervenes to accomplish his will. He lets people act as free agents, while maintaining his sovereign rule. Wise parents allow their children freedom to act and to fail many times, while stepping in at important times for godly discipline, instruction, and protection. If you were Joseph being handed over to the traders, you would be thinking that it’s better to be a living dog than a dead lion. Yes, he had reason to be thankful. Remember also that he did not have the rest of his life story to read at this point. It seemed that his life was ruined and his dreams vanished. The Lord does not consult us about the details of his plan, nor does he make sure that all will tend toward a life of ease for his children. Sometimes it is impossible to discern how a course of events will be for our good (Romans 8:28).
  • God worked through the greed of Judah. Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed (Genesis 37:26-27). There are alternatives in a course of sin. It does not always take the worst path. After all, if you can make a few shekels and still have your malice vented, what’s the problem. I seriously doubt anyone wants to award Judah a medal for his suggestion. However, let’s not deceive ourselves if we do the same thing; namely, leave one path of sin only to pursue a less offensive sin.

The Lord God acts in many ways to accomplish his will. As has been said, God uses crooked sticks to draw straight lines. Our responsibility by grace through faith in Christ is to be “straight sticks” ready for God’s use.  As we read in the New Testament Scriptures, Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work (2 Timothy 2:21 NIV).

Grace and peace, David