I am amazed every time I hear the stories of Elijah. He surely has the Lord God with him at all times. Therefore, he was able to do some things that were extraordinary, of which normal people could never do. These things I speak of is calling the fire of God to come down from heavens in order to consume an altar that was full of water, and wicked men also. The altar that was consumed was when he went up against the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. This happened in 1 Kings 18. Where the evil men that were consumed by the fire of God were after groups of fifty men came to take him to the king of Samaria, after his father Ahab died. This is in 2 Kings 1. As for this message, we will focus on that chapter. Now, to give you a summary of the events before this happened, we have Ahaziah who fell through the lattice in his upper chamber. He was then very much hurt and fell deathly sick. However, did he come to God about it? Nope. That was his big mistake. Because he said, 1“go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease,” (2 Kings 1:2) he was not going to be healed, but die in his sins. Even an angel brought this to the attention of Elijah and said, 1“arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, 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. And Elijah departed.” (2 Kings 1:3-4) And this did happen just as the angel instructed Elijah to tell the king about his death. It was then that two groups of one hundred men came to find Elijah, in order to bring him back to the king, but it didn’t matter because Ahaziah put his trust in idols. No matter if Elijah came or not, he would not get well. Now, what happened after that, we will go over next. It is sad that people cannot listen when a man of God says something important.
If the king would have listened to Elijah, then his men of war would not try to force Elijah to return to him. However, this happened and they had to face God’ wrath. It is written, 1“the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. 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. Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.” (2 Kings 1:9-12) So every one of them tasted death by the fire that came down from the heavens. Wow, what a way to die. Now, another group of one hundred men came to Elijah, but the outcome was different. It is said that the king 1“sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.” (2 Kings 1:13-15) This man’s humility saved him from God’s wrath. However, the fate of the king was the same. Now, if you do not wish to be consumed by fire in hell, then humble yourself like this man did. Do this before it is too late.
Let us pray:
Oh Lord, I pray that people will wake up to their sins. That people will no longer put off the day of their repentance. Surely, every person that is into idolatry will one day experience the wrath to come, come death. We cannot trust in anything or anybody else, but you, Lord, for salvation. There is only one Name under heaven that we can be saved, and it is Christ Jesus. So please help people that are living in a state of idolatry to wake up. I do not wish anyone else to die and open their eyes in the fiery depths of hell. This is so terrible just to imagine, so I know that experiencing hell first hand must be absolutely terrifying in every fashion of the word. This is the place that was prepared for the devil and his angels, but has been opened up to wicked people as well. It just kills me to think of all the people that are now in this dark place, where there is no water to quench their thirst. Lord, while people are alive now, help them know what their idols are. I am not just talking about carved idols and statues, which are absolutely wrong, but the idols people make for themselves outside of that. God, people do not realize that serving their smartphones, their TVs, gaming consoles, and other things, while only saying they believe in You. This is not true faith. Surely, if people are caught up in what they have accumulated because of money, it will be their downfall come death. Lord, awaken people like this. Help them know that giving their attention over to things that go against you is so wrong. Also, help them know that who they give their time to is their god or idol instead of You. What I wish is that people would understand the need to give You time instead of other things. This I pray that they may live in Your love and one day go to heaven. Every idol that is in a person’s life can be loosed from them, but they must be willing to give things up. A humble person, who wishes to live for You and not the world, is what is required. I love You, Lord. You are my greatest joy. Amen.
Let us read the Bible:
Note: Any Numbered References, found above, are listed below.
