S221P3 – In his hands: fire
2 Kgs. 1:13-14
Again the king sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up and came and fell on his knees before Elijah and entreated him, “O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your sight.”
Elijah had rebuked the sick king of Israel because of his unfaithfulness in seeking false gods instead of the Lord. After receiving this message, the king sent men after Elijah. Undoubtedly, this was a battle of authority. It would have been expected that no one in Israel would oppose their king. He was the authority in the land, although the Lord should have been the one recognized as ruler. When the king sent his men after Elijah, it was like asking what man would dare rebuke him. Elijah recognized that this was not a friendly visit, and he called upon his God to defend him. That defense came in a manner so great that the authority behind Elijah’s words brought the captain to his knees as the king should have done.
It is one thing to control fire, to be able to manipulate it for your own purpose. Even men can do that to some extent with the right skill and equipment. It is quite another thing to create fire from thin air and send it raining down from the heavens. This was not the first time that God did this, and it would not be the last. In this instance, it was a battle for authority that moved God to this miracle. The Lord had appointed judges as leadership over Israel for a reason, and we see in Ahaziah a reason why kings should not have been. Unchecked and unchallenged, he sought a demon god for direction, not only abusing his authority over God’s chosen people but also disregarding God’s authority in the process.
Elijah would appear before the king and again prophesy his death, and the king would die after hearing those words from this prophet. He would not die by fire, but his disobedience caused many of his men to suffer such a terrible death. The king did not recognize from whom his authority had come. He was a man unto himself despite the history of the people he led and of his own father. In a moment that should have brought him to cry out to the Lord for answers, he still could not, and it would bring so many to a bad end. Father, show your sovereignty over those to whom You have granted authority, that they would recognize You as the source and use their offices to serve You.