Rēad to Read …Again
Daily Reading: II Kings 1-3
II Kings 1:3
But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?
Congratulations, you have read 28% of the Old Testament, and about 17% of the entire Bible. The past eleven books (Genesis through I Kings) have been a whirlwind. The Bible started with Adam and Eve, then to Noah and his ark, to the patriarchs ruling the land, to kings, and now the spotlight seems to be on the prophets of God. Human leadership may have changed, altered, and adjusted but one thing has remained constant. That one constant is still constant today. God is there.
Just behind the veil of the unseen, God is there. He was there on the day of creation, He was there when Adam and Eve sinned, He was there during Noah’s day, He was there with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Saul, David, and Solomon. He still is there in II Kings, behind the scenes speaking through His prophets, dispensing justice, and controlling nations. He is still there today.
Elijah asked the question. Is it not because there is not a God in Israel… You see, Ahaziah was sick, instead of seeking a man of God, like Elijah, he sought direction and hope from the god of Ekron. That false god was Baalzebub, also known in antiquity as the “lord of the flies.” Thus, Ahaziah’s total and complete rejection of the true God of Israel was complete.
Perhaps, if Ahaziah had sought the Lord God of Heaven, he may have recovered from the sickness from which he died. After all, in the pronouncement of his death in 1:16 Elijah said …Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron… That seemed to be his error. He believed this false god to have more power and knowledge than the true God. That was his fatal flaw. Not the fall through the lattice, but the fall from faith in God.
But God was there. He has always been there. He will always be there. Wherever “there” is, He is there. Example? On the walls of an insane asylum some words were scribbled by an unnamed soul. They read like this:
Could we with ink the oceans fill,
And were the skies of parchment made
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade:
To write the Love of God above
Would drain the oceans dry
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky.
In the most improbable place came a poem so well composed that it inspired F.M. Lehman to write two additional stanzas, a chorus, and add a simple melody thereby giving the world the hymn “The Love of God.”
Yes, God is there!
Dr. William T. Howe