As the book of 1Kings ended, we saw that King Ahab died, and his son Akh-az-YAW took his place. The narrative continues on uninterrupted, for the 2 books were written as one.
When King Ahab of Israel died, the Moabites rebelled against Israel. Remember that the Moabites were descendants of that terrible union of Lot and his daughters he they made him drunk (Genesis 19). The Moabites had hired Balaam to curse the Israelites, and during the days of the book of Judges, the Israelites were in subjection to the Moabites for 18 years. When the left-handed judge Ay-HOOD killed fat King Eg-LAWN, Israel rose up and subdued the Moabites (Judges 3:30). Then they were brought into complete subjection under King David (2Sam 8:2).
But now that Moab sees that Israel's King Ahab is dead, they once again rebel. Many ancient cultures would attack their enemies immediately upon the death of their leader, for they hoped that the new leader would not be in as strong of a position, and that he would not have the experience to lead his people to victory.
There is a principle here that our enemy the devil follows. He attacks when there is no leader, or where there is weak leadership. Paul the apostle warned the Ephesian elders,
Acts 20:28-29 "Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock"
The devil will often be victorious when a church's leadership is not on guard for themselves and the flock. He also attempts to kill the shepherd, knowing that if you "strike down the shepherd, the sheep of the flock shall be scattered" (Zech 13:7; Matt 26:31).
And as soon as you scatter the sheep, it is a simple matter of picking them off one by one. This is what the Amalekites did when Israel was heading into the wilderness, leaving Egypt. They attacked the stragglers at the rear when they were faint and weary (Deut 25:18).
The lesson for the leaders in the church is to be on guard. The lesson for all of us in the church is not to stray away, but to stay protected in the flock.
We were told in 1Kings 22 that Akh-az-YAW...
1Kgs. 22:52 ...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 caused Israel to sin. So he served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger according to all that his father had done.
Yet another wicked king in a line of wicked kings. In addition, God had promised to judge the house of Ahab after Ahab's death. Consequently, Akh-az-YAW falls through the lattice covering his bedroom window.
Now I can only imagine that this was the same palace that Ahab had lived in, the same one that was next door to Naw-BOTH's vineyard, which Ahab had desired to turn into a vegetable garden.
By this time, there were probably ripe tomatoes growing there under the porch, and when Akh-az-YAW fell through the lattice and down to the ground where the vegetable garden was, with broken pieces following him down and falling on him, he probably laid there looking like a broken lattice and tomato sandwich!
The fall was serious, and it looked like he might not recover. Like so many people do, he desired to know what the future had in store for him. Would he die from this injury? He sent messengers to the priests of the temple of BA-al Zeb-OB in Ek-RONE to find out.
The angel of the Lord spoke to Elijah. It is interesting that sometimes the Scriptures make reference to "an angel," but other places a specific angel is mentioned - "the angel of the Lord." This might not otherwise be much of an issue, except that often it is made clear to us that this angel is Jesus Christ. Now remember, the word "angel" simply means "messenger," and God has no problem being His own messenger. Look at some of these Scriptures where "the angel of the Lord: appears:
When Hagar ran away into the wilderness, the angel of the Lord (Gen 16:7) spoke to her, and...
Gen. 16:13 Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, "Thou art a God who sees"; for she said, "Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?"
In Genesis 22, Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Gen. 22:11-12 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am." And he said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."
When Moses went up the mountain to investigate the burning bush,
Exod. 3:2 ...the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.
Exod. 3:6 He said also, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Then Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
In Judges 2, the Lord rebuked Israel for their disobedience.
Judg. 2:1 Now the angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, "I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land which I have sworn to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,
Later, in Judges 6, when Gideon was threshing wheat in hiding,
Judg. 6:12-14 And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, "The LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." Then Gideon said to him, "O my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian." And the LORD looked at him and said, "Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?"
In Judges 13, the angel of the Lord met with the soon-to-be parents of Samson, He said that His name is "Wonderful." There is only one person I know of in Scripture whose name is Wonderful:
Isa. 9:6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
The angel of the Lord is none other than Jesus Christ, the Son of God, appearing to people on earth before being born on earth from the virgin Mary.
The angel of the Lord told Elijah to confront the messengers, sending a word back to Akh-az-YAW regarding his inquiry of the false god BA-al Zeb-OB.
There is interesting history behind that name, because that false god's worshippers didn't call him BA-al Zeb-OB. They called him "BA-al Ze-BOOL," which means, "the Lord of the House." But the Israelites who were faithful to the Lord called him "BA-al Zeb-OB," which means "the Lord of the Flies."
Later, as the Israelites began to speak Greek, they made the insult even worse, calling him "Beh-el-zeb-OOL," meaning "the Lord of the dung."
So the Lord's message here is "Am I not God, that you need to go inquire of the Lord of the Flies?" Because of Akh-az-YAW's sin, he will surely die.
King Akh-az-YAW recognized the description of a hairy man with a leather girdle - it was Elijah. Who else would dare to prophesy the death of the king of Israel?
A captain with fifty men was dispatched to arrest Elijah. Certainly that many wouldn't be needed, but why take chances, right? After all, he had been know to have miraculous powers. But 51 men would certainly be sufficient.
When men were sent to arrest Jesus Christ, they weren't taking any chances there either. The priests sent a cohort, which is 600 men, into the garden of Gethsemane. That wouldn't have been enough either, if Jesus hadn't allowed it. He told Peter,
Matt. 26:53-54 "Or do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels? How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way?"
But certainly, Elijah wasn't Jesus, so 51 men would be plenty - or would it?
Elijah called down fire from heaven and consumed the captain and fifty, and the next captain and his fifty, for that matter.
If you think about it, Elijah took a huge chance saying,
2Kgs. 1:12 ..."If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven..."
After all, he wasn't doing this in his own power. He was trusting that the Lord would validate it. It is really something to be so sure that God is speaking to you that you will make a great leap of faith, putting your very reputation on the line.
Are you someone who says with confidence, "this is directed by the Lord, and you will absolutely see it completed"?
You recall the story of Jesus teaching in a house. Sitting and listening to Jesus were some Pharisees, teachers of the law, and other doubters, as well as a ton of people that had come from all around to hear him.
The place was so crowded that when some guys showed up with a friend of theirs who was paralyzed, there was no way to even get close to Jesus to ask Him to heal their friend. And so, they carried him up onto the roof, and dug a hole in it.
From there, they lowered their paralytic friend down through the roof on his stretcher, and set him down right in front of Jesus.
When Jesus saw their faith, He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you."
Luke 5:21-22 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this {man} who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" But Jesus, aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts?
And then Jesus stepped out on a limb. It's one thing to say, "Your sins are forgiven." No one can see whether or not you really have the authority to do that. But He was about to give them visible proof. He said,
Luke 5:23-25 "Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,' or to say, ‘Rise and walk'? But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins ," - He said to the paralytic —"I say to you, rise, and take up your stretcher and go home." And at once he rose up before them, and took up what he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God.
Jesus had complete confidence that the Father would validate His authority.
Elijah had complete confidence that he was a man of God and that the Lord would follow through.
But often times, I don't have that kind of faith. Many times, I am afraid to say, "This is what the Lord is doing," until after it's done. I believe that God wants us to step out in faith - not in presumption, telling Him what to do, but in complete trust that He will provide, that He will supply, that He will do the miraculous.
Now, there is of course a balance to this teaching. Because many in the name it and claim it arena have taken this to the other extreme, presuming upon God and acting in His name without His leading. This sin is nothing new. As a matter of fact, near this very same spot, two of Jesus' disciples acted in a spiritual sounding way, yet completely out of the will of God.
Luke 9:51-56 And it came about, when the days were approaching for His ascension, that He resolutely set His face to go to Jerusalem; and He sent messengers on ahead of Him. And they went, and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make arrangements for Him. And they did not receive Him, because He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw {this,} they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But He turned and rebuked them, [and said, "You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."] And they went on to another village.
The moral of the story is, don't try to be Elijah unless the Lord is calling you to be Elijah.
Although Elijah had great faith in the Lord, he was still a man. And being a man, he needed reassurance from the Lord not to be afraid. After all, he was about to appear before a king who considered him his enemy and wanted him dead.
Akh-az-YAW would die for not inquiring of the Word of the Lord. How many people do you know whose lives have been ruined by the same sin? We must inquire of the Word of the Lord for all decisions, for all directions. If every believer inquired of the Word of the Lord regarding who to marry, then there would never again be a marriage of two people unequally yoked together. If each of us sought the Word of the Lord for our future, for our direction, for our lives, we would do well.
Jesus taught us,
Matt. 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.