2 Kings 1:7

"He said to them, 'What kind of man was he who came to meet you and told you these things?'" (2 Kings 1:7 RSV)

 

Question:

Someone told me to read it because it pertained to my life.

 

Comment:

This short verse is part of a much longer story. The "He" being quoted here is King Ahaziah, the son of King Ahab (now dead) and his notorious wife Jezebel (also now dead). He has fallen "through the lattice in his upper chamber" and is in bed and gravely ill as a result. Although king over Israel, he is also his mother's son; so he sends a messenger to ask the priests of  Baal if he will recover. The prophet Elijah is inspired by the Lord, the god of Israel, to intercept the messengers and challenge them. "Is it because there is no God in Israel" that the king is turning to Baal? the prophet asks. He then sends them back to the king to tell him, "You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone, but you shall surely die." The king replies to his messengers with the question cited in this passage.

There seems to be a couple of possible lessons in this story, and in 2:5 specifically. First, don't turn to false gods when you're in distress. A 'false god' today doesn't refer to another religion, but to misplaced faith. If we put our faith in our own limited human abilities instead of turning to the ever-present Christ that is our true spiritual identity, for example, we are placing our faith in a false god. Second, it seems to me that however misplaced his faith may be, King Ahaziah is wise in asking this question. We are not to trust every message, every guidance we receive about an issue, or about our life in general. It is essential to know the source. Very often other people, using their own ego minds, can have strong opinions about us and our choices. But the Truth does not come from ego mind. So the king is asking whether this gloomy report came from some charlatan, or from a believable spiritual Source. It's a good lesson for us today: always consider the source before deciding to believe an outside opinion.

I don't know how this pertains to your life, or whether it does at all. Consider the source, consider this passage, and trust your own Christ guidance. And you might want to read more of chapter one in 2 Kings—what the king does, what Elijah does, how it all comes out. It's an entertaining and powerful story about whether we trust or try to manipulate our spiritual guidance.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed