Ahaziah and His Sickness

INTRODUCTION: Ahaziah gives us a powerful type of the sinful condition of man and the wrong ways to seek deliverance from the sickness unto death. There is a good salvation message in this lesson.

1. ELIJAH PROPHESIED THE DEATH OF AHAZIAH (2 Kings 1:1-4)
1. The Rebellion of Moab (2 Kings 1:1)
1. After the death of Ahab, Ahab humbled himself and God deferred some judgment until after his death (1 Kings 21:27-29).
2. This became a recurring problem.
1. Under Jehoram (2 Kings 3:5)
2. After the death of Elisha (2 Kings 13:20)
3. In the latter years of the kingdom of Judah (2 Kings 24:1-2)
2. The Troubles of Ahaziah (2 Kings 1:2)
1. His sickness
1. As the result of a fall
2. Through the lattice of his upper chamber
2. His inquiry
1. He sent to Baalzebub the god of Ekron.
1. Ekron was one of the five cities of the Philistines (Joshua 13:3).
2. Baalzebub is the prince of the devils (Matthew 12:24).
2. He inquired whether he should recover of his disease; notice the progression; compare James 1:14-15.
1. He fell.
2. He was sick.
3. He had a disease.
4. He died.
3. The Prophecy of Elijah (2 Kings 1:3-4)
1. He questioned their actions (2 Kings 1:3). Why go to Baalzebub?
1. To a god far away
2. To a god who cannot help them (Isaiah 44:9-20)
3. When the true God is near (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)
2. He provided their answer (2 Kings 1:4).
1. Ahaziah will not come down from his bed.
2. Ahaziah will surely die.
2. THE MESSENGERS REPORTED BACK TO AHAZIAH (2 Kings 1:5-8)
1. The Return of the Messengers (2 Kings 1:5)
1. The messengers turned back.
2. Ahaziah questioned their actions.
1. They could not have been to Ekron and back.
2. They could not have gotten an answer from Baalzebub.
3. He understood the limits of his god; contrast this with the unlimited powers of God (Isaiah 40:28-31; Jeremiah 32:27).
2. The Report of the Messengers (2 Kings 1:6)
1. There came a man up to meet us.
2. He sent us back to the king with a message.
1. Is there not a God in Israel?
2. You will surely die.
3. The Identity of the Prophet (2 Kings 1:7-8)
1. What manner of man was he? (2 Kings 1:7; Matthew 8:27)
1. Who would interrupt the messengers of the king
2. Who would send such a message to the king
2. The description of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8)
1. A hairy man
2. With a girdle of leather about his loins (compare John the Baptist in Matthew 3:4)
3. The identity of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8)
3. AHAZIAH SENT SOLDIERS TO FETCH ELIJAH (2 Kings 1:9-15)
1. The First Captain and His Fifty (2 Kings 1:9-10)
1. The captain and his fifty (2 Kings 1:9)
1. Sent with the command: Come down.
2. Acknowledged Elijah as a man of God
2. The fire of the Lord (2 Kings 1:10)
1. Sent down from heaven
2. Proving Elijah to be a man of God
3. Consumed the captain and his fifty
2. The Second Captain and His Fifty (2 Kings 1:11-12)
1. The captain and his fifty (2 Kings 1:11); Sent with the command: Come down quickly.
2. The fire of the Lord (2 Kings 1:12)
1. This time Elijah addressed them (not just the captain) showing us that men are responsible for whom they follow.
2. This time the fire from heaven was called the fire of God.
3. The Third Captain and His Fifty (2 Kings 1:13-15)
1. The captain and his fifty (2 Kings 1:13-14)
1. He fell on his knees before Elijah (2 Kings 1:13); evidently, this was not commanded by the king. A man cannot find Gods mercy until he refuses to blindly obey the prince of this world.
2. He acknowledged the sentence of death on him (2 Kings 1:14; John 3:18, 36).
2. The mercy of the Lord (2 Kings 1:15)
1. According to Gods word
2. By the angel of the Lord a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ
3. With the obedience of the man of God
1. He arose.
2. He went down with him unto the king.
4. AHAZIAH DIED ACCORDING TO THE PROPHECY (2 Kings 1:16-18)
1. Elijah Repeated the Prophecy (2 Kings 1:16).
1. By sending messengers to Ekron, Ahaziah was declaring that there was no God in Israel.
2. As the result of seeking after false gods, Ahaziah will die (therefore).
2. Ahaziah Died as Prophesied (2 Kings 1:17-18).
1. He died according to the word (2 Kings 1:17).
2. Jehoram reigned in his stead (2 Kings 1:17).
1. Beginning in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat in Judah
2. Jehoram was the brother of Ahaziah and he reigned because Ahaziah had no son.
3. The remaining acts of Ahaziah are to be found in the chronicles of the kings of Israel.

CONCLUSION: Jehoram recognized his sickness but he did not go to the right source for healing. When he was forced to look to the right source, he approached it in the wrong way. Have you recognized your need for healing? Have you gone to the true God for healing? Have you approached Him in humility and faith?