Based on 2 Kings 1 (New King James Version)
“Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, ‘Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.’ 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 to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Now therefore, thus says the Lord: ‘You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’’ So Elijah departed. And when the messengers returned to him, he said to them, ‘Why have you come back?’ So they said to him, ‘A man came up to meet us, and said to us, ‘Go, return to the king who sent you, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’’’’ Then he said to them, ‘What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words?’ So they answered him, ‘A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist.’ And he said, ‘It is Elijah the Tishbite.’ Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: ‘Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’’ So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.’ And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men. And he answered and said to him: ‘Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly!’’ So Elijah answered and said to them, ‘If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.’ And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: ‘Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight.’ And the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, ‘Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.’ So he arose and went down with him to the king. Then he said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord: ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of His word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’’ So Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. Because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place, in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?”
The problem that we read with Ahaziah exists and is very present now in so-called God’s people, possibly now more than ever. And the problem is looking for help in other things than in the Lord. And the problem circles around the issue that if someone really believes in the Lord or not. Although many may say that they believe in the Lord, do they really believe? To start, have they dedicated themselves to know the God of the Bible? And, have they been able to understand that for things to work as they should, that He has to be the Lord of your life, not just a title? These are the problems that reveal cases like the ones with Ahaziah, that people don’t believe in the Lord as who He is, and even far less, He is not the Lord of their lives. Many walk through life as if though God didn’t exist, and that is why the Name of God is blasphemed. The world, the ones that do not know the Lord cannot come to believe, and even blaspheme thanks to those that say they are God’s people. For these reasons is that when someone speaks of God to them, they think they are being exposed to a Being that is a fable, like Santa Claus.
How is it that we can detect this issue in our own lives? Ask yourself these questions: “Who do you turn to for direction in your life?” And, “where do you go first when something happens? Let’s see the issue even more clearly. Even though you might you believe in the Lord, if both Him and His Word are not where you turn first to be able to do what you need to do with your life, then that’s a big problem. And well, if when difficult circumstances arise in your life, you go first to human or earthly things, there is also a problem. And these are the reasons for why the great power of God is not manifested, not because God has changed (because He never changes), but rather, because there is a severe problem. So then, how can God manifest Himself in a person’s life if a person doesn’t even look for Him, nor follows what He teaches? They can say they believe in God all they want, but if they don’t look for Him nor do as He commands, then what do they really believe? The big problem is that the majority that are a part of God’s people do as they please. Like the Word says: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” If we made it fit as things happen today, it would be something like this: in these days the people live like there is no God, and everyone does what is right in their own eyes. And well, together with the problem of not looking for the Lord’s direction, even far less will they run to Him for when needs arise, because everyone tries to fix things as they please.
This is what the Word teaches us: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33. The majority of times, the world and the things of world become the god of supposed believers. Baal-zebub has different faces and appearances nowadays, but it’s the same thing. Let’s truly define Baal-zebub: everything that is either not of the Lord, or of the devil, or that is being used by the devil (because we can turn God’s blessings into the tools of the enemy if they take God’s place). So then, in order to fix their problems, the majority either turn to money, or to their family, or to their friends, or to the church, or to human intellect, etc. There are times that Baal-zebub presents himself as fear, and that is what directs a person. The Word says this: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18. Our faith should only be in the Lord, as it is written: “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6. We should always look first to the Lord for our guidance, to fix our issues. When we do these things, then we are demonstrating that there is a God in our life, and there is where God wants to work and do incredible things. God can even use difficult things to demonstrate that He does exist, and so that others can come to believe, like He did with the Apostle Paul. Even though he was the apostle with the most difficult human life, he is the one that God has used to inspire the greatest faith in the entire world. Many through the centuries, and today, believe in the Lord in part because of the testimony and fervent work of this great man of God. And well, we even see Elijah, that he made fire fall from the sky because he believed and had God in his life.
So then, is God in your life? And if you are not sure, fix that problem today. Make a decision for Him! Lord bless! John