(1) What kind of a king was Ahaziah? (1 Ki. 22:52-53)
(2) Why did he seek out Baal-Zebub instead of the Lord? (Baal-Zebub—the fly-god of Ekron, the northernmost city of the Philistines) What was it an indication of?
a. That he truly believed in the power of this fly-god
b. That he was too afraid of the Lord
c. He was too hard-hearted in his rebellion against the Lord
(3) Why was God so angry at Ahaziah that He would pronounce his sure death? (v. 4)
(4) Although God now pronounced his certain death, but not immediate death, how then should Ahaziah have responded to this?
(5) Recognizing that it was the prophet Elijah, why did Ahaziah send a contingent of 50 soldiers to see Elijah, and not just messengers?
(6) Although the captain addressed Elijah as “man of God”, was what he said an invitation or an order? (v. 9)
(7) Why did Elijah choose to have fire fall from heaven to consume them? (v. 10)
(8) Did the second captain show more respect to Elijah than the first captain? (v. 11)
(9) After the death of his two captains and soldiers, what should Ahaziah have done?
(10) While Ahaziah appeared not to have changed his attitude, was the 3rd captain any different from the previous two captains? (vv. 13-14)
(11) In your opinion, why didn’t Ahaziah repent or at least show signs of remorse (like his father in 1 Ki. 21:27)?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“So he died, according to the word of the LORD that Elijah had spoken.” (2 Ki. 1:17)
One wonders why Ahaziah would choose to worship Baal-Zebub, the “fly-god” of the Philistines, instead of the Lord. Even if he had not been able to witness God’s victory over Baal on Mount Carmel because he was too young, he would definitely have heard of this incident, not to mention the God-granted victory of Aram with 7,000 Israelites over more than 127,000 Aramean solders (1 Ki. 19:29-30).
Towards the end of Ahab’s life, as much as he might not have fully turned back to the Lord, it appears that he no longer worshipped Baal (all Baal’s prophets in Israel had been slain on Mount Carmel) as he showed remorse at Elijah’s rebuke (1 Ki. 21:27).
Once Ahab died, Ahaziah followed the ways of his mother, no doubt, and brought back the worship of Baal right away even within his short reign of two years (1 Ki. 22:52). This was indication that it was his deliberate act to choose evil over good. The worship of Yahweh was too restrictive for him, while the worship of other gods—Baal and Asherah—allowed him to engage in all kinds of immorality. Freedom from God was what he wanted, without knowing that the alternative was really being enslaved not so much by these false gods, but by Satan!
The three attempts to send soldiers to order (and capture) Elijah to go and see him fully demonstrated his hard-heartedness towards the Lord. By the time of the final pronouncement of his death right in front of him by Elijah, he was so deep into his rebellion that he was beyond repentance.
(1) It is obvious that Elijah knew that God was to take him home and in a special way. (v. 10)
a. Why did he not want Elisha to accompany him?
b. Why did he not even make it plain to Elisha whom he knew would be his successor? (1 Ki. 19:16)
c. If no one saw him depart, would people not simply be searching for him and should he not pass on some parting words to the successor of his important ministry?
(2) Why did Elisha ask the prophets at Bethel and Jericho to be quiet? Shouldn’t there be a farewell by them?
(3) We previously read about Elijah using his cloak to cover his head (1 Ki. 19:13).
a. What did Elijah use it for now?
b. What symbol does this cloak bear, especially in comparison to the staff of Moses? (Exod. 14:16, 21)
(4) What did Elijah think he could do for Elisha before his departure? What might he expect Elisha to ask for?
(5) Why did Elisha ask for “a double portion” of Elijah’s spirit?
(6) In what sense might his request be similar to that of Solomon? (1 Ki. 3:9)
(7) Why was it a “difficult thing” that Elijah could not give by himself?
(8) Why did Elijah not have to go through death (like Enoch in Gen. 5:24) but be transported in such a fashion, i.e. in a whirlwind by a chariot of fire and horses of fire?
(9) Upon seeing how Elijah was transported up into heaven, Elisha cried out, “The chariots and horsemen of Israel”. How might it point to the ministry of Elijah?
(10) Elisha tore his own garment apart and took up Elijah’s cloak instead:
a. What does this signify?
b. How did he test if his request was granted?
(11) What might be the meaning of having a “double portion” of Elijah’s spirit?
(12) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, 'Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?'.” (2 Ki. 2:9)
We have no idea why Elijah tried to shake Elisha off when he knew it was time for him to depart. Some opine that it reflected the humility of Elijah, because he knew that his transport into heaven would be very spectacular (implied in his words to Elisha in v. 10).
Whatever his motive might be, if he was
determined not to have Elisha present at his departure, the following would result:
- No one would know what happened to him and they would keep on searching for him.
- These prophets might assume that Elijah had died and would mourn for him.
- More importantly, Elisha would not be able to receive a double portion of his spirit and the prophets would not know for sure that God had chosen Elisha to succeed him.
In other words, as much as Elijah had been greatly used by God (as when chariots and horsemen of Israel protected Israel not so much from destruction by other nations, but from self-destruction in straying too far from God), this ministry needed to continue on, and God had chosen Elisha to succeed him. Therefore, as spectacular as his transport into heaven was, it was not just for his sake, but for the sake of Elisha and the other prophets.
Had Elijah succeeded in shaking Elisha off, Elisha would not have the opportunity to ask for a double portion of his spirit which was not for his own sake, but for the accomplishment of his God-given calling. As it turned out, all scholars agree (even though they may have varying opinions on the meaning of the “double portion”), that “Elisha performed a greater number of miracles than Elijah” (K&D, 208).
In my reading of the life of Elijah, I cannot help but feel that ever since the victory at Mount Carmel, Elijah appeared to have forgotten that as much as he was still needed and used by God, it was never about him, but about God and His purposes.
(1) We have no idea how far toward the east they went beyond the Jordan and whether the company of prophets from Jericho saw the transport of Elijah into heaven, but at least what did they bear witness to?
(2) What would result if Elijah denied Elisha the chance to see him taken up by God?
(3) Why did the prophets insist on searching for Elijah? Did they find him? Why not?
(4) While the prophets witnessed the miracle of the parting of the Jordan by Elisha, the Bible gives us two public displays of the power of the Spirit through him:
a. We know that the city of Jericho was cursed in the sense that it should never be rebuilt into a fortified city (Jos. 6:26; 1 Ki. 16:34):
- In what other way was it cursed?
- How did Elisha reverse it?
- What might be the messages of this miracle?
b. The miracle at Bethel was a rather strange one:
- Since there was a school of prophets at Bethel, do you think they and the city would have heard of Elisha as the successor of Elijah by now?
- How many boys were there mocking Elisha?
- In what ways were these boys wicked?
- How did their behavior reflect the condition of the city?
- Why did Elisha call down a curse “in the name of the Lord”?
- As harsh as this punishment was, what were the messages to the people of the city?
(5) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
“From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’ they said. ‘Get out of here, baldy!’.” (2 Ki. 2:23)
At first sight, it appears that Elisha was a prophet without compassion: How could he curse and kill 42 young boys?
However, if we analyze the situation deeper, these young boys in fact reflected the perverted spiritual condition of the city.
We know that there was a school of prophets in Bethel, and they all knew about the impending departure of Elijah. Therefore, they would have heard of the succession of Elisha and would be looking forward to his coming. Elisha did come and logically the whole city would know of his coming.
These young boys would have known they were prophets and especially who Elisha was, yet he was the object of their bullying — they did not welcome Elisha, because they obviously had been raised not to fear God and they had no respect for prophets either. We should not underestimate what this gang of over 42 boys could do to Elisha. But more importantly, they reflected the spiritual condition of the adults who might even rejoice over the disappearance of Elijah and look forward to their uninterrupted worship of Baal and other gods.
Therefore, this punishment was not directed merely to the boys, but to the entire city! Perhaps, it may not be an exaggeration to say that the spiritual condition of the children is a fairly accurate reflection of the adults!