Following in His Father's Steps
Notes
Transcript
The days of Elijah continue today with a look at Ahab’s son Ahaziah.
Remember that in the 9th century during the reign of Ahab, Elijah suddenly appears.
He never has good news for Ahab:
Drought for three years
Ahab is the troubler of Israel
Elijah challenges 850 prophets and wins
Slaughters the 850 prophets
Never is there good news when these two meet face to face
Elijah’s life is threatened by Jezebel and so Elijah runs away to Mt. Horeb, the Mt. of God
Elijah meets with God there
Not in the wind, earthquake or fire, but in the gentle quiet breeze
Six years after he returns to Israel, he goes to Ahab with more bad news.
For taking Naboth’s vineyard he will see disaster and so will Jezebel a horrible death
But Ahab humbles himself in sackcloth
God will not bring disaster on Ahab, but on his sons instead
This is where we pick up the days of Elijah today about three or four years later
Chair Bible page 248
51 Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel for two years.
52 He 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 misled Israel into sin.
53 So he served Baal and worshiped him, and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger, according to all that his father had done.
Are you ready for the message God has for us?
Cool, let’s begin
Ahaziah was a wicked king too...
Ahaziah was a wicked king too...
Ahaziah followed his father’s and mother’s steps in serving and worshipping baal, instead of the Lord God of Israel.
We see how bad he was when one day something happened...
Chair Bible page 249
2 And Ahaziah fell through the window lattice in his upper chamber which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness.”
See rather than seeking the Lord God of Israel his first thought is to seek a message from Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron, a Philistine city.
A couple of bad things here
Baal-Zebub or Lord of Flies. This name may seem familiar mentioned in the New Testament
A name used in the New Testament for Satan
22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and could see.
23 And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
2. He was not to be looking in sorcery or divination
31 ‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God.
The oracle he is seeking is nearer than Ahaziah thinks.
His men go and are met by someone on the way.
He appears to the men suddenly, we know this to be Elijah, but the men do not.
Here is the message God has for Ahaziah
3 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?’
4 Now therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’ ” Then Elijah departed.
The men were not gone long enough to have gone all the way to Ekron. Ahaziah asks, Why have you returned?
So the rely their meeting a man on the way and the message for the king.
You know, I wonder, was he thinking, “This is bad news could it be they met Elijah, he always brought bad news to my father.”
What did this man look like he asks them
8 And they said to him, “He was a hairy man with a leather belt worn around his waist.” And he said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”
This made me think of one who came in the Spirit of Elijah, the description of John the baptist - Matthew 3:4
4 Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
Some scholars think the Elijah wore camels hair. This would tie into Jesus mentioning Elijah has come and people missed it.
Ahaziah’s fears are verified. It was none other than his father’s old enemy Elijah!
And the king wastes no time in seizing the opportunity to capture this old family enemy!
To Catch Elijah
To Catch Elijah
9 Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. And he said to him, “You man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’ ”
10 But Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty.” Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
Two times a captain of fifty is sent with 50 men and two times they are consumed with fire from above.
Perhaps it was their words to him...”You man of God, the king says, come down.”
This event calls to mind the event recorded in Luke 9 of James and John in a village of the Samaritans
51 When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem;
52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him.
53 And they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem.
54 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?”
55 But He turned and rebuked them.
56 And they went on to another village.
We should note the village was in Samaria the same country as Ahaziah’s palace
The third captain takes a different more humble approach with Elijah
13 So the king again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty men. When the third captain of fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah, and begged him and said to him, “You man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.
14 Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties; but now let my life be precious in your sight.”
It is to this captain that the Lord tells Elijah to go down and go with him, don’t be afraid of him.
Clearly this man’s words were humble and genuine.
God knew his heart and knew he was true.
So Elijah goes with this captain
Elijah’s last appearance to the house of Ahab
Elijah’s last appearance to the house of Ahab
What we read next is Elijah’s last appearance to the house of Ahab
To relay to Ahaziah God’s judgment upon this wicked king.
16 Then he said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Since 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 will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die.’ ”
Never again to get up and walk around the palace or the Kingdom
No more to rise form his bed.
On his bed he lays, on his bed he will die
This punishment, came upon him. This was the punishment told to his father Ahab, but promised to Ahab’s sons.
Remember Ahab had turned his heart back to God at the last moment.
In what would be Ahaziah’s last moment he seeks a message of healing not from the Lord God of Israel, but from Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron!
We also see the beginning of what God told Elijah - 1 Kings 21:29
29 “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before Me? Because he has humbled himself before Me, I will not bring the disaster in his days; I will bring the disaster upon his house in his son’s days.”
So the disaster starts with the death of Ahaziah.
At his death his brother Jehoram succeeds as king.
He will die also not long from fulling what God told Elijah.
At the death of Jehoram, Jehu becomes king as God told Elijah on Mt. Horeb,
16 You shall also anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel; and you shall anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.
God was telling Elijah he had rejected the house of Ahab.
It would be a servant of Elisha who would go to Ramath-Gilead and look for Jehu a commander in the Kings Army.
There he would be anointed King of Israel
6 He then got up and went into the house, and the prophet’s servant poured the oil on his head and said to him, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel.
7 And you shall strike the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord, at the hand of Jezebel.
8 For the entire house of Ahab shall perish, and I will eliminate from Ahab every male person both slave and free in Israel.
9 I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah.
10 The dogs will eat Jezebel in the territory of Jezreel, and no one will bury her.’ ” Then he opened the door and fled.
Jehu will succeed in accomplishing his God given task.
God saw in Jehu a God fearing man, who would be His chosen king.
God finds His people
God finds His people
It can seem as we read the days of Elijah, would God ever find a good king.
The house of Ahab had done so much evil in their days in leading the people away from God.
A queen who held captive the hearts of God’s people through her prophets of Baal.
Yet we have learned God had Elijah and 7,000 others who refused to worship Baal.
Even on the fear of death, yet people of God ignored the laws of the King and remember Obadiah had save 100 prophets of God.
Today is no different God needs his people to take astand.
Things in society are terrible.
Our society is being lost in a philosophy that is all about self.
This is nothing more that idolatry.
We may often wonder how so many things that happen and that people do make no sense.
I remember what God said through Isaiah about people in idolatry, having taken a piece of wood and divided it
16 Half of it he burns in the fire; over this half he eats meat, he roasts a roast, and is satisfied. He also warms himself and says, “Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire.”
17 Yet the rest of it he makes into a god, his carved image. He bows down before it and worships; he also prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
18 They do not know, nor do they understand, for He has smeared over their eyes so that they cannot see, and their hearts so that they cannot comprehend.
19 No one remembers, nor is there knowledge or understanding to say, “I have burned half of it in the fire and also have baked bread over its coals. I roast meat and eat it. Then I make the rest of it into an abomination, I bow down before a block of wood!”
20 He feeds on ashes; a deceived heart has misled him. And he cannot save himself, nor say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
In idolatry anything goes, I can do what is right in my own eyes even if it doesn’t make sense.
That is what the world is like.
God needs us to stand out and be different than the world and not hide it, let it shine brightly!
We are given the message of hope and forgiveness the world needs!
Conclusion
As bad as things are in society, God still has those who are faithful to Him.
We are not in this alone! Look around!
I am reminded of the words of Billy Graham
“Jesus ate with publicans and sinners (Mark 2:16). Nearly everyone He associated with was an outcast. But His relationship with them was not purely social; it was redemptive. So we as Christians are in the world. We come in contact with the world, and yet we retain our distinctive kingdom character and refuse to let the world press us into its mold.
The world is keenly aware of its emptiness, of its unfulfilled dreams, of its failure to cope with life. The world system is inadequate to meet the deeper needs of the human heart. This is ideal soil for implanting the Gospel. ” Billy Graham (1968 BGEA)
THE ALTARS ARE OPEN
Maybe you are here and realize how the world has influenced you. You are hearing God calling to you to come out from the world and give yourself to him. The Altars are open come.
Maybe you have seen how the world as influenced you as you try to walk with God through life. Overcoming the world does not come by human effort or works of righteousness. It is through Christ alone, for without Him we can do nothing.
Lay you life on the altar, ask today for the strength He can provide! Come to the altar!
Maybe you are hearing God calling you to ministry, you have been inspired by the study of Elijah, come to the altars in obedience to His call.
Maybe it is just the necessity to pray to your father in heaven that you feel drawn to the altar today, come to the altar!
