Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” 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 went.

2 Kings 1:2-4

The second book of Kings from the Old Testament introduces us to a new King of Israel, but the story repeats itself. King Ahaziah was bedridden after a bad fall, but instead of turning to the LORD, once again the king reached out to a false god {Baal-zebub) and so Elijah delivered the message of judgement.

The message was short and direct. Throughout his public life, we see that Elijah is a distinctive man. From his appearance – “He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.” His rugged appearance was matched by his direct message to the King – ” You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’”

But, the story doesn’t end there. The king was angry with Elijah’s message and sent a captain of the army along with 50 soldiers to arrest the prophet. The first and the second met their demise as God sent fire from heaven to destroy them. The third was spared after “the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight”(2 Kings 1:13).

What can we learn from this last encounter recorder?

Seeking help from someone or something other than the one true God is a bad idea and in the instance above God makes an example of the leader of Israel. It is the first commandment given to the people -“You shall have no other gods before Me” (Exodus 20:3). 

Second, we can again see that Elijah was a prophet who was consistent in his commitment to follow God’s commands and deliver God’s message even when it is difficult to hear.