2 Kings

Philip Graham Ryken

• Publisher: P Publishing
• Year: 2019
• ISBN:
  9781629954479
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

Second Kings shows God's concern for suffering people and the consequences of idolatry. Ryken shows how the book's themes connect with Christ's story of redemption and with Christians today.

PART 1

Elisha: The Prophet Who Followed the Forerunner

1

NO CHANCE OF RECOVERY

2 Kings 1:1–18

Thus says the LORD, “Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron—is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?—therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.” So he died according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. (2 Kings 1:16–17)

D uring the summer of 1995, Mickey Mantle lay in his hospital bed with severe cancer of the liver. A lifetime of the drinking that had begun during his days as a center fielder for the New York Yankees had finally caught up with him. Mickey was having chemo, but really there was no chance of recovery.

Things that matter when you are a big baseball star do not seem to matter very much when you are just another cancer patient. A career total of 536 home runs, a lifetime batting average of .298, seven World Series Championships, three Most Valuable Player awards, and a Triple Crown will get you into the Hall of Fame. But they will not get you into heaven. Everything a man has done with his life amounts to nothing when he is lying on his deathbed.

Just ask Ahaziah, who came into power “after the death of Ahab,” in the days when “Moab rebelled against Israel” (2 Kings 1:1). Second Kings opens with Ahaziah lying on his deathbed. The next king in the troubled kingdom of Israel has had an unfortunate little accident at home. Whether because he was drunk, clumsy, or simply attempting dangerous repairs around the palace, Ahaziah had fallen “through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick” (v. 2). The Hebrew word for lattice means “window” or “balcony.” Perhaps the king was cleaning the windows when he fell from the second story. Or maybe the balustrade he was leaning against gave way. In any case, his injuries turned out to be serious. So as the story opens, Ahaziah’s life hangs in the balance. He is lying on his couch in the royal apartment, afraid that he might not recover.

What would you do if you were badly hurt? What if you thought you might be lying on your deathbed? Ahaziah did two things, and they were both the wrong things to do: he consulted the devil and confronted God.

DANCING WITH THE DEVIL

Given where he stands in Israel’s continuing story, as told in the unified narrative of 1 and 2 Kings, it is not surprising to see the son of King Ahab—the epitome of evil—do the wrong thing. Ahaziah “sent messengers, telling them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness’” (2 Kings 1:2). The name Baal-zebub means “lord of the flies.” Perhaps he was a god who was supposed to protect his worshipers from flies and other insects. Or perhaps the name Baal-zebub is a Hebrew insult. It sounds almost like the title Baal-zebul, which means “prince of Baal.” Maybe his real name was Baal-zebul but the Israelites called him Baal-zebub just to make fun of him. Whoever he was, he was one of the false gods of the Canaanites.

In the New Testament, the same deity is called Beelzebub, or Beelzebul. When Jesus cast out demons, some people said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons” (Luke 11:15). Jesus answered by acknowledging the spiritual reality of such demons: “If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?” (vv. 18–19). These questions indicate that Beelzebub is another name for Satan, for the master of the house of demons (Matt. 10:25). So when King Ahaziah tried to consult Baal-zebub, he was consulting the devil himself.

Of course, there was no good reason for Ahaziah to send for Baal-zebub. The king could (and should) have called upon the God of Israel instead. As his messengers were traveling toward Ekron, they met one of God’s true prophets on the road. Elijah had been sent to tell them that their king had no chance of recovery. For “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 1:3–4). How typical of Elijah to catch the house of Ahab unawares! Whether it was to announce God’s judgment on Israel’s idolatry (1 Kings 17:1) or to pronounce disaster against Ahab himself for his murderous greed (21:20–22), the prophet was always turning up where he was least welcome, and with bad news, too.

The king was shocked to see his messengers back at the palace so soon. “Why have you returned?” Ahaziah demanded (2 Kings 1:5). They replied, “There came a man to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you, and say to him, Thus says the LORD, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die’” (v. 6). Unfortunately, Ahaziah was more concerned about the man than his message. “He said to them, ‘What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?’ They answered him, ‘He wore a garment of hair, with a belt of leather about his waist.’” The king recognized him at once: “It is Elijah the Tishbite” (vv. 7–8).

If he really wanted to know the truth, Ahaziah could have found out what God’s prophet had to say about his chances of recovery. Like godly King Jehoshaphat, Ahaziah could have sought the counsel of the Lord (see 1 Kings 22:5). He could have sent for Elijah instead of going to Ekron. He knew very well where to get hold of God’s prophet, but he chose to talk to the devil instead. He was looking for healing in all the wrong places. This is why God condemned him three times with this rhetorical question: “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?” (2 Kings 1:3, 6, 16).

Is there no God in Israel? Of course there is! He is the God who sent three years of drought on the land (1 Kings 17:1). He is the God who fed Elijah with ravens, gave bread to the widow of Zarephath, and raised her son from the dead (vv. 8–24). He is the God who sent fire on the mountain and destroyed the prophets of Baal (18:20–40). He is the God who spoke to Elijah in the still, small voice (1 Kings 19:9–18). He is the God who met Ahab in the vineyard and judged him for his sins by striking him down in battle (1 Kings 21; 22:29–40). Yes, there is a God in Israel! The burden of Elijah’s ministry had been to demonstrate the reality and the sovereignty of almighty God. But Ahaziah would have nothing to do with him. By consulting with evil powers, he was denying the sovereign reality of God. He chose to dance with the devil rather than to walk with God.

Ahaziah’s bad example teaches us not to go to the devil for help, which may be more tempting in our culture than we sometimes realize. Witchcraft, astrology, and the occult are alive and well in postmodern America. When I lived and served in the city of Philadelphia, I could walk out the doors of Tenth Presbyterian Church, take a short stroll in any direction, and consult a medium: up 17th Street to the north, over to Walnut Street to the west, across Spruce Street to the east, or down to South Street. Crystal balls, tarot cards, palm readings—you name it, I could get it—to say nothing of the psychic hotlines advertised on television and the horoscopes in the newspapers and magazines.

The devil would be happy to set up an appointment with you, too, but if you follow Christ you must not consult him. To know God’s will, do what King Jehoshaphat did: seek the counsel of the Lord (see 1 Kings 22:5). Read the Bible and pray for the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. But do not send for Beelzebub.

Most people—including some Christians—have too little respect for the power of Satan. They consider horoscopes relatively harmless. They may even check them from time to time, just for fun. When they walk by a spiritist shop, they feel a little spooky, but do not sense the spiritual danger and stop to pray against it. Yet these are the kinds of spiritual powers—astrology, witchcraft, spiritism, and consulting with Beelzebub—that are condemned everywhere in Scripture. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,” the Bible teaches, “but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).

One way to tell whether we have enough respect for demonic powers is to notice how often we pray against them. Jesus instructs his disciples to pray every day for spiritual protection. Remember the words of the Lord’s Prayer: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13). Read literally, this is not a general prayer about evil but a specific prayer for deliverance from the evil one, Satan himself. Christians should pray daily that their churches and pastors will not stumble into his traps. We should pray daily that our friends and families will be delivered from his temptations. And we should pray daily that God would protect our own hearts from satanic powers.

Not that Christians are afraid of Satan. The devil may be stronger than the Christian, but he is not stronger than Christ, “for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). By his death on the cross and his return from the grave, Jesus destroyed “the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14). Satan cannot destroy anyone who has the Spirit of the risen Christ living in his or her heart. The Bible gives us this command, with a promise: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

TRUSTING GOD THROUGH MEDICAL CARE

Admittedly, most Christians are not tempted to send for Beelzebub when they get sick. Yet there is a false god that many Christians are tempted to trust. Calling a doctor can be a way of going to Ekron. It is possible to get so wrapped up in medical concerns, so preoccupied with medical coverage, so absorbed in treatment schedules, so fascinated by the latest cures, and so reliant on traditional or alternative medication that one forgets to trust in God. Faith in modern medicine—or in folk medicine, for that matter—can become a form of idolatry.

So what is the right way to approach medical treatment? Good medical care is one of the ways in which God can take care of us. Although he sometimes heals in miraculous ways, and is always free to do so, his usual practice is to heal people through the ordinary means of his providence. Thus, there is nothing wrong with getting the best medical advice and most advanced treatment. But we are called to place our ultimate confidence not in our medical doctor but in our divine Lord. For this reason, prayer is indispensable to every Christian’s health plan. The only safe place to put our trust—for life and for death—is in the Lord God himself. Someone who says, “I am at peace about this operation because there is a 95 percent chance of success,” is not trusting in God. It is much better to say: “I hope this operation will be successful. But whether it is or not, I am at peace because my trust is in God and in his Son, Jesus Christ.”

Jesus Christ is the Lord of the body. As he walked this earth, Jesus was always touching people to heal them. He gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, healthy skin to the leper, and legs to the crippled. The Gospels tell how Jesus “went throughout all Galilee, . . . healing every disease and every affliction among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, those having seizures, and paralytics, and he healed them” (Matt. 4:23–24). Jesus even brought the dead back to life. He did all these things to show that he is Lord of the body.

Sooner or later, we will all get sick. Many of us will end up lying on a deathbed. When we do, it will not help to consult with Baal-zebub to see whether we will recover. Nor will it be of any use to send for a new team of doctors, if there is no chance of recovery. The only thing we can do then is to trust in the Savior, who holds power over death and can save us to eternal life.

FIGHTING WITH GOD

King Ahaziah did not trust in the Lord, and sadly, a man who consults the devil or any other false god is doomed. Ahaziah’s death sentence is pronounced three times in this chapter. Elijah insists on writing the same prognosis on his medical charts over and over again: “You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die” (2 Kings 1:4, 6, 16).

At this point, Ahaziah did what a lot of other people do when they get a di...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Series Introduction
• Preface
• Part 1: Elisha: The Prophet Who Followed the Forerunner
• Part 2: Rush to Judgment: A Tragedy of Two Kingdoms
• Bibliography
• Index of Scripture
• Index of Subjects and Names