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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangi, and today we're in Second King's chapter one,
Speaker 1: and this is what we read. After King Ahab's death,
Speaker 1: the land of Moab rebelled against Israel. One day, Israel's
Speaker 1: new king, Ahaziah, fell through the lattice work of an
Speaker 1: upper room at his palace in Samaria and was seriously injured.
Speaker 1: So he sent messengers to the temple of bales Abob,
Speaker 1: the God of Ekron, to ask whether he would recover.
Speaker 1: But the Angel of the Lord told Elijah, who is
Speaker 1: from Tishby, go and confront the messengers of the King
Speaker 1: of Samaria and ask them, is there no god in Israel?
Speaker 1: Why are you going to Bale's above the God of Ekron,
Speaker 1: to ask whether the king will recover? Now, therefore, this
Speaker 1: is what the Lord says. You will never leave the
Speaker 1: bed you are lying on, you will surely die. So
Speaker 1: Elijah went to deliver the message. When the messengers returned
Speaker 1: to the king, he asked them, why have you returned
Speaker 1: so soon? They replied a man came up to us
Speaker 1: and told us to go back to the king and
Speaker 1: give him this message. This is what the Lord says.
Speaker 1: Is there no God in Israel? Why are you sending
Speaker 1: men to bales above the God of Ekron to ask
Speaker 1: whether you will recover? Therefore, because you have done this,
Speaker 1: you will never leave the bed you are lying on.
Speaker 1: You will surely die. What sort of man was he,
Speaker 1: the king demanded, What did he look like? They replied,
Speaker 1: he was a hairy man, and he wore a leather
Speaker 1: belt around his waist. Elijah from tish Be, the king exclaimed.
Speaker 1: Then he sent an army captain with fifty soldiers to
Speaker 1: arrest him. They found him sitting on top of a hill.
Speaker 1: The captain said to him, man of God, the King
Speaker 1: has commanded you to come down with us. But Elijah
Speaker 1: replied to the captain, if I am a man of God,
Speaker 1: let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and
Speaker 1: your fifty men. Then fire fell from heaven and killed
Speaker 1: them all. So the king sent another captain with fifty men.
Speaker 1: The captain said to him, man of God, the King
Speaker 1: demands that you come down at once. Elijah replied, if
Speaker 1: I am a man of God, let fire come down
Speaker 1: from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men. And
Speaker 1: again the fire of God fell from heaven and killed
Speaker 1: them all. Once more, the king sent a third captain
Speaker 1: with fifty men, But this time the captain went up
Speaker 1: the hill and fell to his knees before Elijah. He
Speaker 1: pleaded with him, O, Man of God, please spare my
Speaker 1: life and the lives of these your fifty servants. See
Speaker 1: how the fire from heaven came down and destroyed the
Speaker 1: first two groups. But now please spare my life. Then
Speaker 1: the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, go down
Speaker 1: with him, and don't be afraid of him. So Elijah
Speaker 1: got up and went with him to the king. And
Speaker 1: Elijah said to the king, this is what the Lord says.
Speaker 1: Why did you send messengers to bales above the God
Speaker 1: of Ekron to ask whether you will recover? Is there
Speaker 1: no god in Israel to answer your question. Therefore, because
Speaker 1: you have done this, you will never leave the bed
Speaker 1: you are lying on. You will surely die. So Ahziah
Speaker 1: died just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. Since
Speaker 1: Ahaziah did not have a son to succeed him, his
Speaker 1: brother Joram became the next king. This took place in
Speaker 1: the second year of the reign of Jehoram, son of Jehosaphat,
Speaker 1: king of Judah. The rest of the events in Ahaziah's
Speaker 1: reign and everything he did are recorded in the book
Speaker 1: of the History of the Kings of Israel. Let's pray. Lord,
Speaker 1: we thank you for your word, and we thank you
Speaker 1: for the privilege of being able to look at it today.
Speaker 1: And Lord, as we look at this portion of scripture,
Speaker 1: we can see that when you promise something, it comes
Speaker 1: to pass. And just as you had assured Ahaziah through
Speaker 1: the prophet Elijah, that he was going to die, he died,
Speaker 1: and he died as a man who worshiped idols. He
Speaker 1: died as a man who ultimately worshiped Satan. And Lord,
Speaker 1: we know that there are so many people in this
Speaker 1: world who choose that same route, and sadly, that's the
Speaker 1: state that they enter eternity in. But Lord, you send witnesses,
Speaker 1: You send people to testify about you. You sent Elijah
Speaker 1: to the king, and yet the king rejected the message
Speaker 1: of Elijah. Lord, ministering in the spirit and in the
Speaker 1: power of Elijah, you also sent John the Baptist years later,
Speaker 1: who testified to our need to trust in your son
Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. And Lord, there were many during that generation
Speaker 1: that rejected that council, and there are many in our
Speaker 1: generation who reject that council. But Lord, by your grace,
Speaker 1: we pray that we would recognize that you and your
Speaker 1: son Jesus Christ are one, and that the only way
Speaker 1: to you, the Father, is through the son Jesus Christ.
Speaker 1: So we pray, Lord, that we would listen to your counsel,
Speaker 1: that we would worship your son, that we would bow
Speaker 1: our knee to our Savior Messiah and Lord Jesus Christ,
Speaker 1: and that that would bring you glory each and every day.
Speaker 1: We love you, Lord, and we thank you for your
Speaker 1: presence with us today, and we commit this day to
Speaker 1: your care and thank you for this all in Jesus' name, Amen,