2 Kings 1:3 - But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Go and meet the messengers of the king
of Samaria and ask them, Is it
because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub,
the god of Ekron?
King Ahaziah had been injured in an
accident and was afraid he would die. Instead of seeking help from God, he sent
a messenger to a foreign land to inquire of their false god if he would recover
from his injury. Elijah, the prophet of God, met the messenger on the journey
and asked, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to
inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?”
Time and again throughout the history of
God’s people, God had proven Himself to them. God had worked miracles on their
behalf. It was inconceivable to Elijah, in light of all that God had done for
His people, that they would seek advice from a false god. Yet, that is what
King Ahaziah did.
As we think about our own lives, we have
also witnessed God’s power time and again. How many times have we had some
close call in our lives and knew someone must have been watching out for us?
How many times have we prayed in a time of crisis and God came through for us?
God has been there for us in both big and small ways our entire lives. It is
inconceivable that we would seek help from any other source but God. Yet, like
King Ahaziah of old, we often do that very thing. We call psychic hotlines. We
read fortune cookies. We watch shows on television in which pop-psychologists
give us the latest fad in human thinking, even if it goes completely against
God’s Word. We dabble in New Age philosophies and Eastern religions seeking
truth. We ask friends who do not know the Lord for advice instead of seeking it
from the Bible or from trustworthy pastors.
In the biblical story, King Ahaziah died
because he sought help from the wrong source. It may sound cruel for God not to
help him in his situation, but remember, King Ahaziah did not ask God for help.
He asked a false god for help and received exactly the kind of help that false
god could provide: nothing. Essentially, God decided to give King Ahaziah what
he asked for, and it did not end well. As we consider our own relationship with
God, why do we think God will help us when we have called upon everyone but Him
in our distress? What if God let all the false hope and bad advice we sought
come to fruition in our lives? It would be a disaster.
Thankfully, our God is a God of grace
who often helps us even when we do not deserve it. But I do think from time to
time He withholds His help while we seek all those other deadends. He wants us
to see that those deadends lead nowhere, so that when we finally come back to
Him, we will be more faithful than we were before. If we tarry too long in
turning back to Him, all we have left is the false hope, false comfort, and
false help this world offers. It only leads to disaster. Let’s commit ourselves
to turning back to the true God of the universe today and serve Him with all of
our hearts.
Lord,
remind us to seek help from You in times of need instead of looking to the
false hope this world offers. Amen.
This post is an excerpt from the book, The Heavenly Mundane: Daily
Devotions from Ordinary Experienceshttp://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E. Filled with stories of how God spoke
in big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for
God in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a
gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased
at this link:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E
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