Jealous God (2 Kings 1)
What do we have here in the opening paragraphs of 2 Kings? Ahab’s son is as evil as his dad and so when he is faced with a personal crisis he sends for a prophetic utterance not from one of God’s prophets but rather enquires after Baal-zebub or the ‘lord of the flies’!
God’s is a jealous God and won’t tolerate this offence. So, God sends Elijah to meet the messengers who were on their way to seek the false god Baal-zebub, as they meet Elijah rebukes Ahaziah for his sinfulness. God’s true words can offend! This is especially true when we find ourselves in a place of sin and compromise.
Ahaziah reacts by wanting to silence Elijah and so he sends a company of 50 soldiers to threaten Elijah. God’s word, however, cannot be brought under human control, and the God of Mount Carmel sends fire from heaven which consumes Elijah’s captures twice over (cf. 1 Kings 18:10&12).
One hundred and two men are dead. Families are in mourning, children are now without their dads, women without husbands, parent’s have lost children! What’s happening here?
Ahaziah is faced with a choice, serve the One true God – Yahweh or Baal-zebub. Yahweh is the God who consumed the offering by fire just years earlier on Mount Carmel, exposing the futility of Baal worship and exposing all the 450 prophets of Baal on that day and resulting in their judgement and death.
This whole situation has come about because Ahaziah has acted as though ‘there is no God in Israel to enquire of His word’ (2 Kings 1:3&16) and because God is rightfully jealous and intolerant of the worship or trust in any other.
Ahaziah is bent on his rejection of Yahweh! After the first 51 soldiers died in fiery judgement, you would have thought Ahaziah would have relented at sending more. But he doesn’t, rather this wicked god-forsaken king sends another 51 to the same fate. More than this, his heart is so hardened that after 102 men have lost their lives and countless families have suffered he sends another 51 men!
Fortunately the carnage is stopped when the captain humbly approaches Elijah and pleads for mercy from Elijah (2 Kings 1:13-14) and he and his men are spared but king Ahaziah dies because of his sin.
Consider: Is God right to be a jealous God?
Jealousy is something that is almost always frowned upon and yet in certain circumstances it’s appropriate – like the jealous love of a husband or wife… Ten times God is described in Scripture as being jealous of our wholehearted worship, trust and love for Him – and there is nothing sinful in God (Ex 20:5, Ex 34:14, Deut 4:24 & 5:9..…)
God is jealous for your wholehearted and devoted love for Him. This is not some needy lack in God but rather an outworking of God’s holiness and God’s love for us. God knows that for us to serve, enquire after, trust in or worship anything or anyone else is entirely futile and will bring nothing but pain and bondage to us.
The jealous love of God sent Jesus to the cross to rescue you from satan and to rescue you from yourself so that He could save you for relationship with Himself. So love Yahweh, trust and worship, enquire of Yahweh alone.
Two words that matter 