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Introduction
- Overview of the book of II Kings…
- 1st – The 4th of the 6 books of the Kings of Israel – I Samuel through II Chronicles…
- I Samuel followed the anointing / reign / and fall of King Saul…
- II Samuel is focused on the life of King David – from his coronation to his death…
- I Kings focused on the reign of Solomon in the first 11 chapters…
- The rest of the book and II Kings – follows the divided Kingdom…
- I and II Chronicles – retells the history of only Judah (the southern Kingdom)
- 2nd – Who wrote the book of II Kings…
- Author unknown – but it has been traditionally accredited to Jeremiah or Ezra…
- It was written while the Temple was still standing – I Kings 8:8…
- 3rd – The Divided Kingdom…
- After the death of Solomon the Kingdom of Israel was split into two nations…
- The Northern 10 tribes – called Israel – ruled at first by Jeroboam…
- Judah and Benjamin – called Judah – ruled at first by Rehoboam…
- Israel would never again be reunited as one nation until 1948 – Ezekiel 37:21-22
- 40 Kings would rule over the two kingdoms – 20 in Israel / 20 in Judah…
- It is one of the most important / yet unknown parts of the history of Israel…
- All of the prophets from Isaiah to Malachi prophesied during the Divided Kingdom!
- This period of the Kings was dark one in the history of Israel…
- Israel used to be a theocracy – ruled by God – but they wanted to have a King…
- I Samuel 8:5 – “Give us a king like all the other nations have.”
- The problem is men are sinful – and kings are no exception…
- And anytime we follow men rather than God – things are going to get ugly!
- We need to be careful whose example choose to follow after…
- When we follow the example of the world around us – we might think we are ok…
- The problem is the world is getting worse and worse every day…
- Meaning if we are comparing ourselves to them – we are also getting worse!
- After the death of Solomon the Kingdom of Israel was split into two nations…
- 3rd – There are 25 chapters in the book of II Kings…
- We will cover 1 chapter a week (6 months) – highlighting key sections…
- The book of II Kings picks up immediately after the end of I Kings…
- After the death of Ahab – the 8th King of Israel – the most wicked King of them all…
- And King Jehoshaphat – the 4th King of Judah – who was a Godly King…
- 1st – The 4th of the 6 books of the Kings of Israel – I Samuel through II Chronicles…
The god of dung… (3 things)
Or do we humble ourselves – do we put our faith in the God of Grace!
1st – After the death of Ahab – Moab rebelled against Israel… vs. 1-8 Read: II Kings 1:1-8
1st – Moab had been conquered by King David years earlier – II Samuel 8:2… vs. 1-2
But with the untimely death of Ahab – the Moabites saw a chance to rebel…
Ahaziah – the son of Ahab – was a new and untested King…
But before Ahaziah even had a chance to do something – he had an accident…
He was leaning against a railing on his balcony – and it broke causing him to fall!
Ahaziah sent messengers to ask Beelzebub – the god of Ekron – if he would recover…
Baal – zebub – literally interpreted as ‘the Lord of the flies’…
Beelzebub is one of the names Jesus gives to satan…
Luke 11:15 – “Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”
Worshiping other ‘gods’ – no matter what the religion – is worshiping satan!
All other gods – all 6 million Hindu deities / Buddha / Allah – names for satan!
There are only two options – you are either worshiping the One True God…
Or you are worshiping the god of this world – no matter what name you give him!
There are two thoughts behind the meaning of the name Beelzebub …
The first though is Beelzebub was worshiped as a god of healing…
People who had open sores and wounds – would attract flies / disease…
Beelzebub could command the flies to leave – ‘taking away the sickness’…
Which is why Ahaziah sent messengers to him hoping he would get better!
The second interpretation comes from the Jewish Rabbis…
God gave the name Beelzebub to the gods of the Philistines as an insult ….
Flies are synonymous with manure / dung – they hang around piles of it…
Beelzebub was a pile of a manure – his worshipers the flies that stuck to him..
A vivid picture showing how foolish to put your trust in anything but God!
Funny how people still tend to put their faith in things that are unreliable…
We think once we harvest the sugar cane field – we will be ok…
Or if once so-and-so sends us the money – we will have enough…
But who is to say the sugar prices will be high – or the crop bountiful…
Who is to say the person we are trust to send the money – has enough to send!
Our faith is only as effective – as the person we putting our faith in!
The Jews had it right – if we put our faith/trust in anything other than God…
We mind as well be trusting in dung – because only God has the power to help!
2nd – God told Elijah to go and meet the messengers… vs. 3-4
Elijah was to tell them to take this message back to Ahaziah…
‘Why would the king go to Beelzebub to find out if he would recover’…
‘Was it because there was no God in Israel to give him the answer’!
Maybe Ahaziah did try to pray to God – but did not get an answer…
Because he was a wicked king who followed the example of his father Ahab!
Sin keeps us from hearing from the Lord – leaves prayers unanswered…
Our prayers hit the ceiling of our sin – and we end up talking to ourselves!
Psalm 66:18 – “If I had… sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened.”
Even when God does answer – it is not always right away…
Often we give up praying because we do not get a quick answer…
So often we miss God’s answer simply because we stop asking!
The Lord is listening – we just need to be patient and wait for his answer!
God has a book where He records every time we talk about Him – Malachi 1:16
We are not to simply pray once – we are to be praying – I Thessalonians 5:17
I Peter 3:12 – “The Lords… ears are open to the prayers of those who do right.”
Ahaziah would never recover – he would die from his injuries…
I am sure Ahaziah thought – what harm can come from going to Beelzebub…
But it was because he went to Beelzebub – that God did not heal him and he died!
I have heard a lot of people say it is ok to go to the ‘faith healers’…
They argue that other people have been ‘healed’ by them…
And they point out that it ‘cannot hurt’ – so why not try…
It turns out that is NOT AT ALL the case – it does a LOT of harm!
Faith healers do not heal by the power of God – no egg offerings in the Bible…
So if they are not healing by the power of God – there is only one other option…
People are still running to Beelzebub / satan to get well – rather than the Lord!
It devastates lives because people put their faith in something other than Jesus…
So not only does God not heal them – they also end up wandering away from God!
3rd – Ahaziah was surprised the messengers returned so quickly… vs. 5-8
He expected them to have to travel all the way to Ekron for an answer…
The messengers told him about the man that met them along the way…
They also gave the king the bad news – the message from the Lord…
Ahaziah demanded to know what the man who gave the message looked like…
The messengers told him he had a goat hair coat – and wore a leather belt…
Immediately Ahaziah recognized him – it was Elijah the Tishbite!
The prophets of God were easily recognized for their simple attire…
Even John the Baptist was famous for his camel skin wardrobe – Mark 1:6
These men of God did not focus on external beauty – they focused on God!
Hebrews 11:37 – “Some went about in skins of sheep and goats, hungry and oppressed and mistreated… of whom the world was not worthy…”
If people had to describe us – what would they say…
Would they focus on our outward appearance – fancy clothes / nice hair…
Or would they describe our lives – would they talk about our good works!
Better to be dressed in rags – with a life overflowing with the Grace of God…
Then to have all the wealth of a King – but be empty on the inside!
2nd – Calling down fire… vs. 9-14 Read: II Kings 1:9-14
1st – Ahaziah sent 50 men to go and capture Elijah… vs. 9-12
They approached Elijah alone on a hill – ‘Man of God, the King says, ‘Come down!’…
Elijah – ‘If I am a man of God let fire come down from heaven and consume you!’
Immediately fire came down from heaven and burnt up all 50 men!
So the king sent a 2nd group of men – they met the same fate – fire from heaven…
When read about fire coming down from heaven – we get the idea God is angry…
In Luke 9:54 – Jesus wanted to go through Samaria – but they would not let Him…
James and John thinking back on this very story – wanted to call down fire on the people!
Jesus corrected them – He had not come to destroy – He had come to save lives!
God does not want anyone to perish – He wants us all to go to heaven – II Peter 3:9…
God created us with a desire to have a relationship with Him – John 17:3
There is a hole in every man’s heart – left there by God – which only He can fill…
Many spend their whole lives in vain trying to fill that hole with worldly things…
But only Jesus satisfies the desire of our heart – we will only be content in Him!
Yet many people never ‘find’ Jesus in life – simply because they are not looking…
God opened up the way for anyone to have this relationship with Him…
But God will not force us to accept Him – we have to choose to seek after God!
Ahaziah and his men were not seeking God…
Instead they were looking to silence the prophet of God for correcting them…
The result was instead of salvation – they ended up in the fire!
Proverbs 16:18 – “Pride goes before destruction, and arrogance before a fall.”
If you saw someone stuck in a pit – unable to get out – but they refused your help…
There is not much you can do for them – they 1st have to realize they need help!
God will not force us to accept His help – He only offers it to us…
If we are too proud to see our great need for God – then we will miss His help…
And if we do not repent and turn from our sin – we will end up in the fire!
2nd – A 3rd group was sent – but the leader fell on his face before Elijah… vs. 13-15
‘Please let my life – and the life of my 50 men – be precious to you’…
He knew God had sent down fire and consumed the first two groups…
He did not demand Elijah come with him – he asked Elijah to spare him!
Having seen the destruction of the proud – he humbled himself…
We are all sinners – we all deserve to be judged – we deserve the fire…
But when we confess our sin – when we turn in humility and look to God…
Out humility unlocks the riches of God’s grace for our lives!
James 4:6 – “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
3rd – The death of Ahaziah… vs. 15-18 Read: II Kings 1:15-18
1st – The Lord told Elijah to go with the men… vs. 15
Ahaziah was certainly not happy with Elijah because of his prophecy…
All the more he would be furious after the death of 100 of his soldiers…
Yet when God told Elijah to go – he did not even hesitate…
When the Lord calls to do something – do we obey – or do we hesitate…
We can always find a reason not to obey – we can find excuses…
But it is ONLY when we follow the Lord that great things happen!
2nd – Elijah delivered the message of God again to the King… vs. 16-18
Because he had asked for help from Beelzebub – he would die in his bed…
So Ahaziah died – and had no son to succeed him on the throne…
So his brother Jehoram became the next king of Israel…
Ahaziah had an ‘accident’ – but in truth it was God testing him…
Would he call out to the Lord – or would he follow in the example of his father Ahab…
Often when we are faced with ‘accidents’ in life – they are in truth tests…
They reveal who we are – who do we trust in our time of crisis…
Do we follow the example of our neighbors – do we do what the world does…
Do we run to the faith healer – do we put our trust in Beelzebub – the god of dung…
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