2 Kings 1:9 - Meaning and Application

Here, the king sends out a warrant for Elijah’s arrest. If the god of Ekron had told him he would die, he would likely have accepted it quietly. But when a prophet of the Lord says it, rebuking his sin and reminding him of the God of Israel, he cannot bear it. He gains nothing from the warning except anger toward the prophet. His sickness and thoughts of death do not soften him or awaken any fear of God. External troubles do not usually humble secure sinners, they often make them more bitter.

Did the king think Elijah was a true prophet? Then why dare to persecute him? Did he think Elijah was only an ordinary man? Then why send such a force to seize him? In the same way, a band of men was sent to take our Lord Jesus.

The captain and his fifty soldiers found Elijah on top of a hill, some think Mount Carmel, and ordered him, in the king’s name, to come down, (2 Kings 1:9). Elijah is no longer hiding in a cave, as he once did, but stands boldly on the hill. Experience of God’s protection made him bolder. The captain calls him a man of God, not because he truly believed it or honored him as one, but because that was the common name for him. If he had really believed Elijah was a prophet, he would not have tried to arrest him. If he had believed Elijah carried God’s word, he would not have tried to command him with the king’s word.

Elijah then calls for fire from heaven to destroy this proud and daring sinner. He does this not to protect himself, since he could have done that another way, and not to avenge a private wrong, since he was not acting for himself. He does it to prove his mission and to show God’s anger from heaven against human sin. The captain had mocked him by calling him a man of God. Elijah answers, in effect, “If I am, then you will pay for mocking it.” The captain trusted the king’s order, “Come down,” but Elijah shows him that the God of Israel is greater than the king of Israel and has more power to enforce his commands.

Not long before, Elijah had called fire down from heaven to consume the sacrifice (1 Kings 18:38), showing God’s approval of that sacrifice as payment for the people’s sin. But since they had ignored that mercy, the fire now falls, not on the sacrifice, but on the sinners themselves, (2 Kings 1:10). Here we see how much power the prophets had with heaven. The Spirit of God in them called for it, and the power of God carried it out. Elijah only spoke, and it was done. The one who had once called water from heaven now calls fire.

We also see how much heaven cared for the prophets. God was always ready to defend them and punish wrong done to them. Kings were still to be rebuked for their sake and warned not to harm God’s prophets. One Elijah meant more to God than ten thousand captains and their fifties. Elijah surely did this by a divine leading, yet our Savior would not let the disciples turn it into an example to follow, (Luke 9:54). They were near the place where Elijah had done this act of justice against provoking Israelites, and they wanted to call down fire on the provoking Samaritans in the same way. Christ said no, because they did not understand what spirit they were of.

That means, first, they did not see what kind of spirit disciples are called to have, and how different it is from the Old Testament time. That earlier time was fitting for Elijah to call for fire, since it was a time of terror and strict law. But the time of the Spirit and grace does not allow that. Second, they did not see what spirit was driving them in that moment, and how unlike Elijah they were. He acted in holy zeal, but they were driven by anger. He cared about God’s honor, but they cared about their own honor. God judges people’s actions by their motives, and his judgment is true.

This is repeated a second time, and it is hard to believe. Ahaziah sends again to arrest Elijah, (2 Kings 1:11), as if he meant to defy omnipotence itself. Stubborn sinners will at last be conquered by the fire of hell, since fire from heaven, it seems, will not humble them. Another captain comes with his fifty. In blind rage against the prophet and blind obedience to the king, he dares to do the very service that killed the first group. He is just as proud and demanding as the first, and even more rushed. He does not merely say, “Come down quietly,” but says in effect, “Come down quickly. Do not waste time. The king’s business is urgent. Come down, or I will bring you down.”

Elijah does not yield. He calls for another flash of lightning, and it instantly kills this captain and his fifty, (2 Kings 1:12). Those who keep sinning in the same way must expect the same judgment. God is perfectly just.

The third captain humbles himself and throws himself on God’s mercy and Elijah’s mercy. There is no sign that Ahaziah ordered him to do this. His stubborn heart seems just as hard as before. He is still untouched by the fear of the Lord, still unmoved by these displays of wrath, and still careless with his subjects’ lives. He sends a third group with the same provoking message. But this captain learned wisdom from the fate of the others, perhaps with their bodies still before his eyes. Instead of commanding the prophet to come down, he falls before him and begs for his life and the lives of his soldiers, admitting their guilt and the prophet’s power, (2 Kings 1:13, 2 Kings 1:14): “Let my life be precious in your sight.”

There is nothing gained by fighting against God. If we want to prevail with him, we must come in humility and prayer. If we do not want to fall before God, we must bow before him. Those are wise who learn submission from the ruin that comes on stubbornness in others.

Elijah gives this third captain more than he asked for. God is not so harsh toward those who resist him that he is unwilling to show mercy to those who repent and submit. No one has ever cast himself on God’s mercy and found it useless. The captain not only keeps his life, but gets what he asked for. By the angel’s command, Elijah goes down with him to the king, (2 Kings 1:15). This shows that Elijah had refused before, not because he feared the king or his court, but because he would not be forced in a way that dishonored his Master. He makes his office known and honored.

He comes boldly to the king and tells him plainly, face to face, what he had already sent by message, (2 Kings 1:16): the king will surely and soon die. He does not soften the sentence out of fear of the king’s anger or pity for his suffering.

The God of Israel has already condemned Ahaziah. Let him go and ask whether the god of Ekron can save him. That message struck Ahaziah so hard, when it came from the prophet’s own mouth, that neither he nor anyone around him dared lay a hand on the prophet or even insult him. He came safely out of that den of lions, like Daniel. Who can harm those whom God chooses to protect?

The prediction was fulfilled within a few days. Ahaziah died, and since he had no children, his brother Jehoram received the kingdom. Ahaziah’s father reigned in wickedness for twenty-two years, but Ahaziah himself reigned less than two. The wicked sometimes live long, grow old, and become powerful. Yet those who count on prosperity while they keep sinning may find they are wrong.

As Bishop Hall says, some sinners live longer to make their judgment heavier, and others die sooner to bring it on more quickly. But one thing is sure, evil follows sinners, and sooner or later it catches them. Nothing brings that judgment faster than Ahaziah’s mixed guilt, honoring the devil’s messages and hating God’s message.