“They replied, “He had a garment of hair and had a leather belt around his waist.” The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”
2 Kings 1:8 (NIV)
Was Ahaziah with his father Ahab during Ahab’s confrontations with Elijah?
Ahaziah’s men were sent to find out from a false god as to whether Ahaziah would live or die, but they came back with a report that they were stopped by a man who told them to return and tell the king that he would die. Upon hearing their description of the appearance of this man, to immediately know that this was Elijah - Ahaziah surely must have seen him before.
The gospel of Matthew records this same appearance of John the Baptist so that all would know that he was the man of God, the second Elijah, sent before the Messiah would come.
I marvel at the wisdom of the third captain, in his approach to Elijah. The first two captains tried to use the king’s authority to order Elijah around. The fire from heaven that killed them made it very clear whose authority Elijah answered to, the living God of Israel. There is no mercy in Elijah’s message for Ahaziah, no expectation of repentance, no hope for his future, just the expectation of death from injury. For the king’s heart was turned so far away from God, that even when faced with painful injury and imminent death the king turned to a false god instead of turning to the true God. We see this lack of mercy again when John the Baptist confronted the Pharisees and Sadducees, as the Elijah to come before the Messiah’s appearing.
May we never find ourselves in the state where repentance is impossible!
May we even today turn to the living God for forgiveness and help, in our time of need, so that when our last need arises, and the death dew is on our brow, we turn towards the God who is coming to take us home.
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