The protagonist of this chapter is Ahaziah, the son of King Ahab. After Ahab's death, Ahaziah succeeded him as the king of Israel. What lessons does God want to reveal to us through the figure of Ahaziah? In this chapter, the teacher unveils what God considers foolish through an analysis of Ahaziah!

Questions for reflection:

Where was Ahaziah foolish? What was his end?

What are the characteristics of a foolish person?

What enlightenment have you gained from Ahaziah?

Chapter 1 of 2 Kings, if it were to have a title, would be: Foolish people all die. Not only do they die, but they die miserably, and no one remembers them. Ahaziah was a very foolish person. He knew what his father Ahab had experienced. Ahab disguised himself as an ordinary person on the battlefield to avoid being discovered by the enemy, but in the end, he was shot dead by an arrow fired casually by the enemy. The prophetic predictions that Elijah declared regarding Ahab were clear, but Ahaziah forgot them all. It is truly lamentable how foolish Ahaziah was. In our lives, we often see such foolish people.

Do Not Be a Foolish Person

Foolish people are certain to die. We are not qualified to ask God why He would create a foolish person. The Bible shows us one thing: even if you are a king, if you are foolish, you will die miserably. This foolishness is not worldly foolishness, not like requiring you to be as clever as a politician, but spiritual intelligence. Spiritual foolishness surely brings death! Ahaziah reigned for two years. He probably felt good about being king for the first year or so, and then he became complacent and forgot God. If we carefully read the characters in the Bible, those who died inexplicably basically had sin growing from within their hearts. Therefore, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death (James 1:15). When sin has fully grown, it attracts the spirit of death. Having attracted the spirit of death, the evil spirit also enters. It was like Ahaziah leaning against the railing; a railing that others couldn't push down, he leaned on it and fell.

This is the first folly of man, not knowing who they are. Not knowing that their lifespan is limited, so in Psalms, Moses cried out, “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Moses knew that his life was not long and that he was very limited and desperately needed God. We come into contact with many people in life. Many do not know that they need God and, as a result, behave very arrogantly. So, foolish people are unwilling to think. Even when death is imminent, they do not know how long their lives will last. This is man's second folly. God created some people foolish and some wise. Ahaziah, as recorded in the Bible, makes one know upon reading that this is foolishness. If we encounter similar situations or experience an accident, we know that there is a problem within ourselves that needs to be dealt with. If we know that there is pride within us, we deal with it, then confess our sins and repent, and we recover quickly. In fact, God gave Ahaziah a total of five opportunities to repent.

Ahaziah's First Opportunity to Repent

When Ahaziah fell from the railing, God was already warning him that there was a problem within him, telling him to repent. When disaster strikes, people in distress should reflect on what problems they still have. As a result, after he fell, he became even more foolish: he knew that there was the greatest prophet in the world, Elijah, in Israel; there had never been a prophet like him; yet he did not go to Elijah but sent people to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron.

Although what God does among us is not comparable to Elijah, there are also many miracles and wonders. The mother of a brother in our church had cancer, and we prayed for her two years ago and she was healed. If she had continued to pray with us at that time, how well would she have lived these two years! However, she chose to leave at that time, but thank God she was not as foolish as Ahaziah to the end; she still returned to us. Ahaziah was the epitome of foolishness. He knew that there was the greatest prophet Elijah in Israel but did not seek him out.

Second Chance: Keep death in mind

A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day one dies than the day one is born. It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart. (Ecclesiastes 7:1-2)

The Bible often asks people to think about what death is all about. The words of Ecclesiastes are especially good. If a living person does not keep death in mind, they are basically living in a very foolish state. If people want to escape foolishness, they must know that their lives are not long, they must know that they are like grass, grass will wither, and we must also fall. If you know this, you will cherish life and seek the God in this world who can give us eternal life and the wonderful ways that can give us everything in life. Since we can experience these things, we will share these beautiful things with those who are willing to think and willing to keep death in mind. We meet many people who do not keep death in mind and panic when death comes. So people should keep death in mind. If Ahaziah knew that he was about to die, there was still an opportunity to repent, but he did not repent even before he breathed his last. He did not seize this second opportunity either.

Third Chance: The Death of the First Captain of Fifty

For the third opportunity, Ahaziah sent a captain of fifty to find Elijah. In fact, God does not want people to die but wants them to live. Elijah told Ahaziah that he would surely die, hoping that Ahaziah would keep death in mind and know to turn back and seek God. His father experienced an event: Ahab put on sackcloth and humbled himself to seek Jehovah God. As a result, God said, Because Ahab has humbled himself before me, I will not bring this disaster in his day (See 1 Kings 21:27-29). God does not want people to die but wants them to live, using the message that Ahaziah would die to stimulate Ahaziah to wake up, but he still did not know to wake up.

We often encounter such things, telling someone that they are about to die, but that person still does not take it to heart. The first captain of fifty was sent. Ahaziah was already lying in bed but still arrogantly ordered them to arrest Elijah. He felt that if Elijah was killed, there might still be a chance to survive. How could killing Elijah lead to a chance to survive? What killed him was his foolishness. As a result, after the first captain of fifty went, he was very arrogant, and then fire came down and burned them to death. They all knew that Elijah was a man of God but still treated him so rudely. This captain of fifty directly inherited Ahaziah's foolishness and died in foolishness.

The Fourth Opportunity: The Death of the Second Captain of Fifty

The most foolish was Ahaziah, the second most foolish was Ahaziah's first captain of fifty, and the third most foolish was this second captain of fifty. The second captain of fifty went again, and after going, said, Man of God, come down. They had no respect! They knew that the previous captain of fifty had been burned to death, yet they still did this. How foolish were such people! If it were us, what would we do? We must ask ourselves, what happened to the previous captain of fifty who was burned to death. The second captain of fifty's fate was similar to the first. Fire fell from heaven, and all fifty people died.

If there was one smart person among these fifty, they might have saved all of them. The smart person should have told their leader: We cannot do this. This is a man of God. The previous fifty people died. We cannot die like them! But those fifty people didn't take it seriously, thinking they could return home alive, thinking the previous event was a coincidence. This time, the coincidence befell them, and they could not return home. Smart people don't die; people often die in foolishness. God gave Ahaziah five opportunities. After the first captain of fifty died, if Ahaziah had known to repent, he could have gone to see the man of God, put on sackcloth and ashes before him, and asked for God's mercy, then the problem could have been solved, and he would not have died. But Ahaziah did not seize this opportunity.

The Fifth Opportunity: Elijah Was Brought Out

The death of the second captain of fifty was the fourth opportunity. When the second captain of fifty died, Ahaziah still had a chance if he was willing to repent. In fact, God burned the second captain of fifty in the hope that Ahaziah would wake up, but he still did not wake up. After the third captain of fifty brought out Elijah, if Ahaziah could seize the last opportunity at this time, repent properly, and ask Elijah to seek the God of Israel for him, hoping that he could live, God would also spare Ahaziah.

Conclusion: Do Not Be a Stiff-Necked People

In God, there is abundant mercy, rich grace, and love. Therefore, let our hearts not be so hard today. People die because of their own stiff hearts. Ahaziah did not seize a single opportunity and finally died in his own foolishness. If some of us reading this passage of the Bible feel that God is cruel, how could He burn these fifty people to death like this? In fact, these fifty people would have died in other ways even if they were not burned to death. Our观念 must begin to change. Dying after living for ten or twenty years, or dying after thirty or fifty years, or dying after seventy or eighty years, and finally ending up in hell, is the same to God. This is in accordance with the Bible. So I encourage everyone to keep death in mind:

I applied my heart to all this and examined it closely: The righteous, the wise, and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them. (Ecclesiastes 9:1)

I hope that all our deeds are in God's hands. Be a wise person, examine carefully, what is death? Why did Ahaziah suddenly fall from the railing? What is the matter with this person being sick? What is cancer? What is the matter with the body being weak and unable to do housework? We must examine carefully. If one person cannot examine, then we will examine together, and we will all become wise people. Our 观念 really needs to change. Our faith is not a spiritual sustenance, but our lives, breath, and existence all depend on our God!

Scripture

2Ki 1:1 After Ahab's death, Moab rebelled against Israel.
2Ki 1:2 Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.
2Ki 1:3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?'
2Ki 1:4 Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'You will not leave the bed you are lying on; you will certainly die!' So Elijah went.
2Ki 1:5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, Why have you come back?
2Ki 1:6 A man met us, they told him, and said to us, 'Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on; you will certainly die!'
2Ki 1:7 The king asked them, What kind of man was it who met you and told you this?
2Ki 1:8 They replied, He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist. The king said, That is Elijah the Tishbite.
2Ki 1:9 Then the king sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, Man of God, the king says, 'Come down!'
2Ki 1:10 Elijah answered the captain, If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men! Then fire fell from heaven and consumed him and his men.
2Ki 1:11 At this, the king sent to Elijah another captain with his company of fifty men. The captain said to him, Man of God, this is what the king says, 'Come down at once!'
2Ki 1:12 If I am a man of God, Elijah replied, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men! Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his men.
2Ki 1:13 So the king sent a third captain with his company of fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. Man of God, he begged, please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants!
2Ki 1:14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!
2Ki 1:15 The angel of the LORD said to Elijah, Go down with him; do not be afraid of him. So Elijah got up, went down with him, and appeared before the king.
2Ki 1:16 He told him, This is what the LORD says: Is it because there is no God in Israel to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on; you will certainly die!
2Ki 1:17 So he died, according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken. Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram succeeded him as king in the second year of Joram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah.
2Ki 1:18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah's reign, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?