2 Kings 1

“Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?” (2 Kings 1:3, NKJV)

King Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, fell through the lattice of his upper room and was seriously injured. Would he survive or would he die? Rather than inquiring of the LORD, he sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, a Philistine god whose name literally means “lord of the flies”. A relentless buzzing fly can drive an otherwise sane person close to madness! So why would anyone want to seek counsel from the commander of flies?

Ahaziah had more than sufficient evidence to know that Yahweh was God. Yet he wanted nothing to do with Him. He let go of what he knew to embrace what he didn’t know, and that is always dangerous. But even though Ahaziah was not seeking the LORD, the LORD was seeking Ahaziah. God revealed to Elijah what Ahaziah had done and sent him to intercept the messengers going to Ekron. Elijah gave them this word from the LORD for their king:

“‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Now therefore, thus says the LORD: ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” (2 Kings 1:3–4, NKJV)

In life, bad stuff happens. Jesus told us that in this world we will have tribulation. But what do we do when our world is turned upside down? Do we freak out? Do we run to our family and friends? Do we rant on social media? Do we seek worldly advice? Or do we take it to Jesus?

As a father, whenever our children were playing outside and would fall and hurt themselves, I didn’t want them running to the dad down the street (unless I was unavailable). I wanted them to come to me! I would bandage their wounds, comfort them, and encourage them to get out there and play again. Likewise, God wants to be the One whom we seek. He is able to heal our wounds and comfort us. He is willing to remove our fears, strengthen us in Him, and give us His wisdom.

Because Ahaziah consulted a foreign god rather than the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he died. How much different might things have been if he had gone to the right Source?