2 Kings 1-2

2 Kings 1-2

Scripture Thought (What I Learned):

Chapter 1: "John the Baptist" - Elijah Prophesies the Death of Ahaziah

                Moab rebelled against Israel, because of the death of Ahab. Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and sustained injuries because of the fall. He sends messengers to Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron to find out wether or not he would recover from his injuries.

                An angel of the Lord speaks with Elijah the Tishbite and tells him to arise and go to meet the messengers of the King of Samaria and ask them if it is because they have no God in Israel that they are reaching out to a fake god of Ekron "Baal-Zebub" to find out wether or not he will recover. So Elijah tells them that he shall no recover, but shall surely die.

                After meeting with Elijah the messengers return to Ahaziah; and Ahaziah asks them why they have returned and not done as he had asked. So the messengers explained to him that a man met them and told them what would happen. So he asks the messengers to describe the man and after hearing "a hairy man with a leather belt around his waist, he knew that it was Elijah the Tishbite.

                The king then sends a captain of fifty with his fifty men to go and find Elijah. When they find him, he is sitting on the top of a hill and they speak to him, commanding the "Man of God" to come down and Elijah responds by saying that he is indeed a man of God and if he truly is, let fire come down from heaven and consume your fifty men... and FIRE came down from heaven and killed his fifty men.

                So the king sends another fifty and they ask for the man of God and the same thing happens, he responds and fire consumes them from heaven.

                So the king sends another fifty, except this time the captain comes to Elijah and humbly kneels before him and pleads with him to not kill him or his men. An angel of the Lord tells Elijah that it is safe for him to come down and he does, sparing this group of fifty men.

                Elijah delivers the exact same message he delivered to the first group of men that he had met on their journey to see Baal-Zebub, telling Ahaziah that it is because their is no God in Israel that they are going after false gods and because of this he will surely die of his injuries.

                Ahaziah dies and leaves no successor to the throne. Because he had no son, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah becomes king.

Chapter 2: Elijah and Elisha

                The Lord was about to take Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, but Elijah said to Elisha to stay there, but Elisha tells Elijah that he will not leave him. So they both go down to Bethel and there they are met by other sons of the Prophets who tell Elisha that the Lord will take away his master (Elijah) today and Elisha responds by knowing, but asking them to keep silent about the matter.

                Elijah tells Elisha to stay as he travels to Jericho, but again Elisha refuses and goes with him to Jericho. Then the sons of the prophets tell Elisha the same thing, and he asks them to be quiet. Elijah then tells Elisha to stay, because the Lord had called him onto Jordan, but again Elisha refuses and goes to Jordan and again they tell him and he asks them to be silent.

                As they cross the river, Elijah takes his mantle, rolled it up and struck the water... causing it to be divded, so they could cross on dry ground. After crossing over, Elijah asks Elisha to ask him anything before he departs. Elisha asks for a double portion of his spirit to be upon him... Elijah thinks that he has asked for a hard thing, but tells him that if he sees him when he is taken away then it shall happen, but if he does not see him as he is being taken away... that it wouldn't happen.

                Elijah and Elisha are walking along talking when suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, that seperated the two of them and Elijah went up in a whirlwind of heaven. Elisha took hold of his own clothes and rent them into two pieces and took the mantel of Elijah and stood by the bank of Jordan.

                Elisha begins his ministry as the prophet. He takes the mantle of Elijah and stuck the water causing the river to be divided. Once the people from Jericho saw this, they came to meet him and bowed before him saying that the spirit of Elijah rested upon him.

                The sons of the prophets come out and ask for a search party to find Elijah thinking that the chariots of fire might have taken him to some other part of Israel. Elisha knew that this mission would be futile and when they come back without finding their master, he tells them... did I not say to "not go".

                The men of the city go to Elisha and ask him to heal the water source. He asks for a bowl of salt, which he pours into the river and tells them that the water source would be healed.

                Elisha then left and went to Bethel, and as he was walking along the road, the youths from the city came out an mocked him, calling him "baldhead", he turned around and pronoucned a curse upon them in the name of the Lord which caused to female bears of the forest to come out and mauled forty two of the youths. Then he went to Mount Carmel and from there he returned to Samaria.