God’s hand in government upon Israel became more and more pronounced as time went on, because of their evil ways. The Moabites rebelled against them. Too often we take circumstances like this as though they happened by chance, but this was clearly and definitely the hand of God. And so if war should break out now, it is not merely the aggression of some country, but the ways of God; or if, like Ahaziah who fell out of a window, we have an accident, let us take it from the Lord.
But Ahaziah did not do this. Instead of turning to the Lord in his sickness, he sent messengers to inquire of an idol, if he would recover. The Lord therefore sent Elijah to meet these messengers whom Ahaziah had sent, and to ask them why they were going to a false god instead of to Him. Elijah then told them that Ahaziah would not recover from his sickness but would surely die. When the messengers returned and told Ahaziah what the prophet had said, he sent a captain with fifty men to Elijah as though he would force him to come and see him. When they found Elijah and told him to come, Elijah said, “If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty.” It appears that Ahaziah did not like being reminded of his sin in turning to false gods, nor did he wish to acknowledge the rights of Jehovah, the true God of Israel, and so God dealt with him in this way. Ahaziah, still proud in his heart, sent another captain with fifty men, and the same judgment fell upon them. They were all consumed by fire from heaven. Still not humbled by all this, Ahaziah sent another captain with his fifty men to bring Elijah, but this captain took the low place. He asked Elijah to be gracious to them and to spare their lives, and the Lord told Elijah to do so and to go with them to the king. Elijah therefore went and faithfully delivered his message, telling Ahaziah that he would surely die. He did die too, just as the Lord had said, and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. Thus we see that the dispensation of law, typified by Elijah, ended in judgment. (Malachi 4:5, 65Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: 6And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (Malachi 4:5‑6).)
We now come to the interesting and instructive chapter telling us of the translation of Elijah to heaven, without going through death. As far as Elijah personally was concerned it is touching to see the Lord taking away His faithful servant in such a wonderful way, in spite of his previous failure at Horeb. How marvelous are the ways of God, and in spite of our weakness, for which He may and does have to rebuke us, yet He delights to display His tender grace toward us. May we know more of His heart, and be constrained by His love to walk devotedly for Him here.
We would like, however, to consider more particularly the typical teaching of this chapter, with its application to ourselves in a practical way. Elijah is a figure of the Lord Jesus as the rejected One here. He had sought to recall Israel to the worship of the true God, but they would not have his testimony. And so the Lord Jesus fully glorified God His Father here upon earth, that men might know “the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:33And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. (John 17:3). He presented Himself to Israel as their king, but they would not have Him. They would not acknowledge who He was—the sent One of the Father. They had no heart for God revealed in Christ.
ML 09/16/1956