What happensPermalink
King Ahaziah falls from an upper room of his palace and sends messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he will recover. But an angel sends Elijah to intercept them and declare that because Ahaziah sought Baal instead of Yahweh, he will die. Ahaziah sends soldiers to seize Elijah, but two companies of fifty are consumed by fire from heaven. The captain of a third approaches humbly, and Elijah goes with him to deliver the prophecy in person. Ahaziah soon dies, and Jehoram becomes king in his place.
Why it mattersPermalink
Elijah is involved in yet another contest between Yahweh and Baal-zebub, again asking the question, “Who is God in Israel?” Where Ahaziah sends messengers to Baal-zebub, God sends an angel to His own messenger. Where the king sends soldiers, God answers with fire from heaven. Ahaziah’s death shows again that rejecting God’s word and opposing His prophet cannot overturn the Lord’s decree.
Key versePermalink
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?’”