2 Kings 1

2 Kings 1

As we start to look at 2 Kings we must remember that when these two books were written there was no distinction made between 1 and 2 Kings. Although we now have this division, we need to read the story as if it does not exist. The story itself picks up where it left off at the end of “1 Kings” with the reign of Ahaziah in Israel. Think back to the reign of Ahab for a moment. Due to his disobedience, God had promised that He would strip the kingdom away from Ahab’s family. As was the case with many of the kings in Israel, new families took the throne quite frequently. In Judah, they were still being ruled by the sons of David, but the kingship was transferred from family to family every so often in Israel. God wanted to take it away from Ahab during his reign, but when Ahab turned back to God for a brief moment in his life, God promised that He would wait until his son had the throne.


That day had now come, and Ahaziah had chosen not to follow God. Not only did he do what was evil in the sight of God, but he also turned to other gods for advice. When Moab came against Israel, Ahaziah found himself sick in bed. He instructed his men to consult the god of Ekron, Baal-zebub, for advice. He wanted to know whether or not he would recover from his sickness. Elijah was told by a messenger from God the situation in Israel and the mistake that Ahaziah had made. He was instructed to tell Ahaziah that he would surely die. He would not recover from his illness because he had chosen to follow after other gods rather than the true God of Israel.

Ahaziah did not want to accept the facts. His death would be his punishment for choosing to follow after these other false gods. Ahaziah sent a group of 50 men to seek counsel from Elijah. He wanted Elijah to come down from his resting place so that he could speak with him. He wanted to see if he could have his punishment wavered or changed. Elijah, however, did not budge. He proved that he was truly a man of God by calling fire down on the group of men Ahaziah had sent. Unsatisfied with the results, Ahaziah sent another group who met the same fate. When the third group of men was sent, the angel of the Lord told Elijah to go back to the king with them, and Elijah found out that the reason Ahaziah had been sending these men was to have his punishment changed. But God had already determined that Ahaziah would die of that illness, and since Ahaziah had not chosen to return to God, that was his fate.

With no male heir to take the throne, the line of Ahab had come to an end as God had promised. Jehoram became the next king in Israel. As a side note, be careful not to confuse Jehoram king of Israel with Jehoram king of Judah. The end of 2 Kings 1 shows how these two men reigned in Israel and Judah simultaneously. The Jehoram in Judah was the son of Jehoshaphat from the line of David. The Jehoram in Israel was a new line of kings that replaced the line of Ahab.

Matt