Close to the end of his life, Elijah was called upon to meet another crisis, this one involving the son of Ahab, King Ahaziah, who had succeeded his father on the throne of Israel. Ahaziah was sick and had sought to inquire of Baalzebub regarding his recovery. Elijah’s message to him was:
2 Kings 1:3-4 Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die
The king then sent a squadron of 50 soldiers to bring Elijah to him.
There is no indication that Elijah’s life was in danger. When Elijah finally appeared before the king he simply delivered his message. We are not even told the king’s reaction. There was no indication of an arrest attempt.
Then the captain of the 50 men who said, it seems almost respectfully:
2 Kings 1:9 Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.
As an answer we see something strange happened.
Fire From Heaven
2 Kings 1:10 And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.
There is a debate about this miracle. Elijah may have been saying essentially: “You dare to doubt me! Let me show you. I can prove that I am a man of God.
Jesus and this incident
At one point, when Jesus was not welcomed at a Samaritan village, his disciples reacted by saying:
Luke 9:54 Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
The disciples were referring to the event under discussion. In their understanding, the fire was sent by God. Jesus’ response was revealing:
Luke 9:54-56 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
They expected that Jesus would approve of their wanting to act like Elijah. However, Jesus reprimanded the spirit behind their response. It was one of revenge not of forgiveness.
Apparently Jesus did not agree with doing a same type of miracle, Nevertheless Elijah did things that are hard to understand.
A love message
Matthew 5:39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
The Character of Christ is forgiveness. In the days of Elijah we see a belligerent type of actions and this is a miracle that is hard to understand. This story is similar to that of Ananias and Sapphira who ended up dying because they lied to the Lord.
The life and character of Jesus should instruct us in such situations that we are confronted by threats. Many times our flesh wants to bring fire from heaven but God wants to give a chance to people for repentance.
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord does not delay [as though He were unable to act] and is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is [extraordinarily] patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
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