Elijah Squares off with Ahab's Son

Pray with me, would you please? Father, thank you for tonight. Thank you for a chance to study the life of Elijah. Thank you for the things that you've taught us over these last 11 weeks. We pray that you would continue to enlighten our hearts and minds to the truth of your word that we might be obedient in following our great God and Savior Jesus Christ our Lord. We pray in your name. Amen. 2nd Kings chapter 1 is where we are tonight. 2nd Kings chapter 1. Elijah's life and ministry is about to come to an end.

Not yet, though. We've looked at 13 and a half years of his life. That's right. Thirteen and a half years. We have looked at his life in 11 weeks. Beginning in 1st Kings chapter 17 verse number 1. Now in 2nd Kings chapter 1. We will conclude next week with him going up into glory. Then the final week we will look at a summation of his life and the lessons that God has for us to learn from this great prophet that God had used in the life of the nation of Israel.

But Elijah is about to go home. Before he does, he has one more task. It's been 10 years since Mount Carmel. 10 years since he called fire down from heaven and prayed for rain after a three and a half year drought. It's been 10 years since that time and there has been one thing that has happened in those 10 years up until 2nd Kings chapter 1 and that was his confrontation with Ahab to prophesy his death as well as Jezebel's death. Ahab is now dead. He died because he lived in rebellion against God.

He died exactly as Elijah predicted he would die and the dogs licked up his blood just like Elijah prophesied, just like the dogs licked up Naboth's blood because Ahab was instrumental in the death of Naboth. And so the prophecy of Elijah has been fulfilled. Jezebel's prophecy won't happen till 2nd Kings chapter 9. Nevertheless, that was the first time it took place and this is the second time in 10 years that Elijah now is on the scene and God is going to use him once again in the son of Ahab.

Now that Ahab has died, his son takes over the reins and you would think that his son would want to turn things around. After all, I mean he has seen the prophecy, heard the prophecy, his dad has died and he knows that Elijah prophesied that. He knows also that Elijah was instrumental in the drought as well as calling fire down from heaven. So he knows all about those stories. He probably was there when it all took place. You would think that he would change. You would think that he would reverse the legacy of his family.

You would think he would learn from that and things would be turned around. But that's not the case. The Bible tells us back in 1st Kings, 1st Kings chapter 22, verse 51, Ahaziah the son of Ahab became king over Israel in Samaria in the 17th year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah and he reigned two years over Israel. He did evil in the sight of the Lord and walked in the way of his father in the way of his mother in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat who caused Israel to sin. So he served Baal and worshiped him and provoked the Lord God of Israel to anger according to all that his father had done.

Again we see in scripture like father like son. The son seems to follow the direction of his family of his father and that's exactly what Ahaziah did. He had the opportunity to turn the course of his family to repent, turn the nation back to God, but he didn't do that. After seeing all that he saw and knowing that his mother and his father remained unconvinced and unconverted when it came to the Lord God of Israel, he could have changed things, but he did not. He stayed the course, the course of rebellion, the course of iniquity, the course of immorality.

You know, it's a good warning to all of us that you know what we do in moderation our children will always do in excess, right? That's what happens. And yet you can change the course of your family's legacy. Remember my father when he was in his 20s decided to change the course of his family legacy. His father was an alcoholic, his mother was an alcoholic, and he grew up in that environment. He did not want that for his family. He saw the effects of alcohol upon him and his brother. He saw the effects of alcohol upon his family and friends.

He realized that's not what he wanted. God saved my dad and when he was born again, he changed the course of his family. His mantra was 3 John 4. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. That was his favorite verse. That's the verse he always reminded me of. That's the verse he always signed whenever he wrote a letter to me or to his one of his grandchildren or to one of his friends. It was always Maranatha, dad, 3 John 4. That's the way my dad closed every letter. Maranatha meaning our Lord come.

And he was anticipating the coming of the Lord, but he changed the course of his family. He decided to turn the legacy in a different direction. One away from alcohol, one away from abuse to one of honoring and adoring the King of Israel. And the Lord God used him in my mother's life, in my life, my sister's life, and now his grandchildren's life. No greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. There is hope. No matter where you've been raised or been born, there's hope for those who commit their life to Christ.

There's hope for those to change the course of their family's legacy, that they might turn things around, that they might follow the truth of God's holy word. Isaiah didn't do that. No, he continued in rebellion. He just reigned for two very short years. And yet he has a confrontation with the same man his father had a confrontation with, Elijah. So Elijah comes on the scene in 2nd Kings chapter 1. Let's read the narrative down through verse number 18. Now Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab.

And Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber, which was in Samaria, and became ill. So he sent messengers and said to them, go inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness. But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, the Tishbite, arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, is it because there is no god in Israel that you are going to inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore, thus says the Lord, you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but you shall surely die.

Then Elijah departed. When the messengers returned to him, he said to them, why have you returned? They said to him, a man came up to meet us and said to us, go return to the king who sent you and say to him, thus says the Lord, is it because there is no god in Israel that you are sending to inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die. He said to them, what kind of man was he who came up to meet you and spoke these words to you?

They answered him, he was a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins. And he said, it is Elijah, the Tishbite. Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him, and behold, he was sitting on top of the hill, and he said to him, O man of God, the king says, come down. Elijah replied to the captain of fifty, if I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.

So again, he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty, and he said to him, O man of God, thus says the king, come down quickly. Elijah replied to them, if I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty. Then the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. So he again sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty.

When the third captain of the fifty went up, he came and bowed down on his knees before Elijah and begged him and said to him, O man of God, please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.

Behold, fire came down from heaven and consumed the first two captains of fifty with their fifties. But now let my life be precious in your sight. The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, go down with him, do not be afraid of him. So he rose and went down with him to the king. Then he said to him, thus says the Lord, because you have sent messengers to inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no god in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.

So Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord, which Elijah had spoken. And because he had no son, Jehoram became king in his place. In the second year of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah.

We'll stop right there. Three things I want you to see. Three things to help you understand this situation between Elijah and Ahaziah. The first is God's providence.

God's providence. You understand God's providence, don't you? God's providence is simply defined as the hand of God that fits neatly and securely within the glove of every event in life. That's the modern definition of the providence of God. How the hand of God fits securely and specifically in the glove of every event in human life. In other words, God's providence is how it is God directs the course of this age to bring about his great and precious purposes. And what happens in Ahaziah's life is that the providence of God is working over time.

Why is it this man would slip and fall through the lattice, injure himself so that he could not walk again and become ill? Was it because he didn't know where he was going? Is it because it was dark? What was it? It was the providence of God orchestrating the events of everything in his life, so he would come to a place of repentance, which he did not, but that he would have an encounter with Elijah the prophet and know that he was never going to get off that bed. He was going to die right there.

I would hope you understand the providence of God. It's at work every day in your life. You might not understand it. You might not see it. But every time you get into your car, every time you go to work, every time you come home, every time you eat a meal, the providence of God is at work because God is sovereign. He rules over all. Let me show you just a couple of verses that accentuate that.

You know them. Romans 11 verse 33. Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and unfathomable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord or who became his counselor or who has first given to him that it might be paid back to him again for from him and through him and to him are all things to him be the glory forever.

Amen. What a marvelous verse. Because it tells us that everything that happens in life comes from God. Not only does it come from God, it must pass through God. So that it eventually comes back to God to him be the glory forever and ever and ever. I'm not sure we we grasp that. I'm not sure we completely understand that. But the Bible speaks over and over again about the providence of God. Solomon said these words. Ecclesiastes 7 verse 13. Consider the work of God. For who is able to straighten what he has bent.

If God makes something crooked, you cannot straighten it out. If God makes something straight, you can't bend it. He says this. In the days of prosperity be happy. Well, of course you're happy in the days of prosperity. But in the day of adversity consider God has made the one as well as the other. So that man will not discover anything that will be after him. What an amazing passage of scripture to help you understand that the day of prosperity and the day of adversity have been ordained by the Lord God of the universe.

And in the day of prosperity you can be happy and you usually are. But in the day of adversity, you need to consider what God is doing. God does what he does so man will not be in control of anything. So that man will learn to fear him and so man will come to understand that God is in complete control of everything. Earlier Solomon says these words. Ecclesiastes chapter 3. Ecclesiastes 3 verse number 14. I know that everything God does will remain forever. In other words what God does he does it cannot be changed.

It's absolutely concrete. There is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it. Not only is what God does concrete what God does is complete. You can't add to what God does or take away from what God does to make it any more complete or incomplete than it is. Because God is sovereign. He rules over all. Then he says, For God has so worked that men should fear him. God is doing what he does so man will come to a place where he learns to fear the true and living God. If you go on and you read over in 1 Samuel chapter 2.

This is Hannah's song of thanksgiving. She says in verse 6, the Lord kills and makes alive. He brings down to Sheol and raises up. The Lord makes poor and rich. He brings low. He also exalts. He raises the poor from the dust. He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with nobles and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and he set the world on them. He keeps the feet of his godly ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness for not by might shall a man prevail.

Those who contend with the Lord will be shattered against them. He will thunder in the heavens. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth and he will give strength to his king and will exalt the horn of his anointed. Hannah understood the providence of God. Solomon understood the providence of God. Paul understood the providence of God. In the Psalms, in the Psalms, it says in Psalm 33, the Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations and frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the Lord stands forever.

The plans of his heart from generation to generation. Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance. God loves to frustrate the plans of people. He wants to make sure that you have no control of anything, but that you know he controls everything. So the next time you have a plan and it falls apart, the next time you organize something and it falls apart, just remember Psalm 33 verse number 10 that the Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations and frustrates the plans of the people because God has a better plan.

It's his plan. The Bible says these words, book of Proverbs 16 chapter verse number nine, the mind of a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

You can plan your way, but God is the one directing your steps. Verse 33 of Proverbs 16, the lot is cast into the lap, but it's every decision is from the Lord. Proverbs 19 verse number 21 says this, man's steps are ordained by the Lord. How then can man understand his way? In other words, every step that you take has been ordained by the Lord God of Israel. Psalm 139 says every day that you are you are alive has already been mapped out for you by the Lord God of the universe. God is in absolute control.

Proverbs 21 verse number one, the king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord. He turns it wherever he wishes. God turns the heart of the king in whatever direction he wants to turn it. God's in charge. And God providentially rules in the affairs of man. And so when you come to second kings chapter one, the first thing you need to understand is the providence of God.

God is working out his plan in Elijah in the king of Israel Ahaziah. He's already worked it out in Ahab's life. He's going to work it out in Jezebel's life. God is in complete and utter control. In other words, nothing happens by accident. Ahaziah did not have an accident and fall through the lattice become crippled and become ill. It was a divine appointment by the living God of the universe. It wasn't happenstance. It wasn't luck. It wasn't coincidence. It was the divine sovereign God of the universe orchestrating the events in his life to bring about a confrontation with Elijah the Tishbite.

God was in charge. Ahaziah did not understand that. He did not grasp that. He thought that he, the king, was in charge. But he wasn't. God was going to vindicate his righteousness and bring about judgment on the wickedness of king Ahaziah. No matter what you think about the providence of God, if you despise his precepts, then you will discover God's providence negatively. If you delight in God's precepts, you'll discover God's providence positively, in a positive sense. But if you despise his precepts as Ahaziah did, then he would face the negative aspects of the providence of God.

Proverbs chapter 13. Proverbs chapter 13, verse number 13 says this, The one who despises the word will be in debt to it. Or other words, will be judged by it. If you despise the word of the Lord, you will be judged by it. John chapter 12, verse number 48. The Lord God says that it's his words that will judge man.

Proverbs 12, I'm sorry, John 12, verse number 48. He rejects me and does not receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word I spoke is what will judge him at that last day. So if you despise God's words, it's his words that you are in debt to. It's his words that you will be judged by. Then it says in Proverbs 13, the latter half of the verse, but the one who fears the commandment will be rewarded. That's why over in Proverbs chapter 1, that warning is given. It says, How long, O naive ones, will you love being simple-minded and scoffers delight themselves in scoffing and fools hate knowledge?

Turn to my reproof. Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you. I will make my words known to you. But because I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention. And you neglected all my counsel and did not want my reproof. I will also laugh at your calamity. I will mock when your dread comes. Here was Ahaziah who mocked the word of the Lord, who despised the word of the Lord. And so the Lord says that when your dread comes, I will laugh at you. I will mock you because you would not respond to my word.

It says when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you, then they will call upon me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord. Because you hate my word, because you will not fear me, I will laugh at your calamity when your dread comes. They would not accept my counsel. They spurned all my reproof. So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satiated with their own devices.

For the waywardness of the naive will kill them and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil. God says listen to this.

This is the way it's going to run. This way it's going to happen. You despise knowledge. You hate my word. You will not fear me. Your dread is going to come. Your calamity is going to come. It's going to come great. And when it does I will mock you and I will laugh at you. And when you call on me, I will not answer. When you cry for me, I will not respond because you hated me. You despise the fear of the Lord. But if you listen to me, if you listen to me, you will be at ease from the dread of evil.

You will see the providence of God working in a unique and special way. But if you hate me and turn away from me then you have every reason to fear because I will mock you and laugh at your calamity. Those are the words of the Lord. That's exactly what's happening to Ahaziah. He just doesn't see it. He doesn't understand that. And that's why he's given a warning three times. Three times he's given a warning. An opportunity to turn from his evil way. An opportunity once again to turn the legacy of his family.

An opportunity once again to change the course of a nation. But he refuses because he will not repent. He will not turn in spite of what Elijah the prophet says to him. And so because because of his accident that he would see it as we would see it as divine providence a divine appointment he decides to seek counsel from a pagan deity. The deity of medicine Beelzebub the lord of the flies in Ekron in Philistia 40 miles away from Samaria where he is located. And so he decides not to ask the Lord God of Israel what was happening.

He decides to ask a pagan deity if he will be made well. If he will get any better. Is this the end? What's going to happen from here on out? He seeks counsel from the world instead of counsel from the word. So this is a warning to everyone in the room. Receive counsel from his word and not from the world. Because the lord of the flies the deity of medicine cannot help you. And God is angered when you go outside of his word to find solutions to your problems. God is angered at that. And that's exactly what happens with Isaiah.

He goes and seeks out a pagan deity. Because he lives as if there is no God in Israel. Isaiah is a practical atheist. He lives as if God doesn't exist. He lives as if there is no God to rule over his affairs. So he seeks a pagan God that dishonors God. It displeases God. It defames the name of God. And God will not stand for that. And God will give him the opportunity to repent but he will not. He will turn away. And so he goes and sends out some messengers. And they travel and come across a man they have no idea who he is.

Elijah the Tisbite. They go out. And the angel of the Lord said, Elijah, the Tisbite arise. Go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say to them, Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Beelzebub, the god of Ekron? Are you really going to say that there is no God in Israel that you will forgo his counsel and go another direction? Are you really going to do that? When your marriage is falling apart, are you really going to forsake the God of Israel and go and seek the worldly wisdom of pagan people?

Are you really going to do that? When you have problems, where do you go for help? Do you go outside of God or do you go to God? That's the story of 2 Kings chapter 1. Who do you go to? Who do you talk to? God wants you to come to him. Isaiah wasn't about to. So God sends Elijah. Go meet the messengers. Go talk to them. They hear his word. They had no idea it's Elijah. Remember, Elijah has only been on the scene 2 times in 10 years. It's been 10 years since Mount Carmel. And I'm sure they all know about Mount Carmel.

But Elijah, he's getting older. He's not getting any younger. So when they see him, they have no idea who he is. They just know what he says. So he sends them back. And they obey. They follow. They go back to the king. And the king says, what are you doing here? How come you're back? We came across this guy. He told us, are you really going to seek counsel outside of the Lord God of Israel? Is there really no God in Israel? And he tells us, you're going to die on your bed. And the king says, who told you that?

They had no idea. Some hairy guy. Wrapped in a loin cloth. We had no idea who he is. There he sat with a beard. We had no idea who this guy is. And Ahaziah knows immediately who he is. Oh yeah. That's Elijah the Tishbite. I know who he is. We're done with him once and for all. I want you to go. Send a captain of 50 with his 50 men. You go tell him to come down and come here. I am going to destroy that man. This is point number two.

Ahaziah's pride. Instead of listening and realizing it's Elijah the Tishbite and realizing that Elijah prophesied his father's death. He's prophesied his mother's death. His dead is already dead. It happened exactly as he said. The dogs did lick up the blood of his father. Just like Elijah said. He called fire down from heaven. He called rain down from heaven. He stopped the rain for three and a half years. That's the guy. When he speaks you better listen to what he has to say. But Ahaziah says I'm not listening.

You go get him. Tell him to come here. So a captain of 50 goes. He says oh man of God. Come down. And of course Elijah says if I'm a man of God let fire come down from heaven and consume you. Whack. Boom. They're gone. What a scene. So Ahaziah again not recognizing the power of God sends another group of 50. And this time they say man of God come down quickly. Get your tail down here now.

He says if I'm a man of God may fire come down and consume you. Whack. They're gone. Just like that. 100 men dead. Just like that. Calls fire down from heaven. So what's Ahaziah do? He sends another guy. With a group of 50. But this guy's smart. He goes and bows down before Elijah. He's scared to death. He knows the power of this prophet. And he sits down and he bows down before him and he says I know what you've done. I know that the other guys came and you called fire down from heaven and they were consumed.

I know that. Would you please spare our lives. Would you please come with us. Please. Pretty please. But just don't kill us. And the angel of the Lord steps in. The Lord God himself says Elijah go with him. Go with that man. And so he does. I bet you that ruler of 50 was a happy man. But you know there's a similar story to this in the gospels. You know about this right? In Luke chapter 9. It happens in the same region. In Samaria. Go back to Luke chapter 9 with me for a second.

Luke chapter 9. Verse 51. When the days were approaching for his ascension he was determined to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead of him and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for him. Now remember this is the same location that Elijah was in in Samaria. But they did not receive him because he was traveling toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw this they said Lord do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?

You see they knew the story. They knew the story of Elijah. And they knew that in that same region Elijah called down fire and consumed those who would not bow in subjection to the word of God. And so they're saying hey you know what Lord? It's happened before. Let's have it happen again. Do you want us to call down fire and consume these people and destroy them? And the Lord responds. He turned and rebuked them and said you do not know what kind of spirit you are of for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.

Remember Elijah was under the direction of Almighty God. And when he called fire down from heaven fire came down because this was God's judgment upon a nation. But James and John the sons of thunder they had a different kind of motive. Their motive was a selfish motive. But they knew the story of Elijah. They knew what had taken place in that region. And they thought a quick way to get people to respond was to have fire come down from heaven so that fear would sweep the land and realize you better accept the Messiah you better not turn the Messiah away.

That wasn't God's plan. God came to seek and to save that which was lost not to destroy. There's coming a time that when he comes again he will destroy. But that wasn't that time. So you move from God's providence to Isaiah's pride to Elijah's pronouncement. God says you go.

You go with this man do not be afraid. So Elijah is going to the king's palace in Samaria. Unafraid. No fear. He said thus says the Lord because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal's above the God of Ekron. Is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? You see three times it's repeated. Three times. And three times Isaiah has heard it. Three times he's heard it. And yet he will not respond to the king of Israel and listen to his word. Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up but shall surely die.

Three times he hears he's going to die. He's not coming off the bed. He's going to die. You think he'd say hey wait a minute. Elijah you know what? You're right. I gotta get my life right. What do I have to do to repent? What do I have to do to make things right Elijah? I know I'm in the wrong here. I gotta turn things around Elijah. He doesn't. He doesn't. Like father like son he's unconverted. He's unconvinced. He will not turn from the rebellious ways of his life. So he will die in his sin. He will die in his sin.

Verse 17 he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken to him. This was a serious pronouncement of judgment upon Isaiah because he would forsake the true word of the God of Israel to pursue a false word from a false deity. This has major ramifications for your life and for mine. I love to study Old Testament characters. I love to be able to understand the dynamic of their lifestyle. The dynamic of what God does. How he works in and through their lives. But these Old Testament characters as we study them on Wednesday nights come alive to us as we begin to understand exactly what it is God's doing.

And God has something he wants us to learn. Wants us to understand. Wants us to grasp. Isaiah would not inquire from the Lord. He would not seek the Lord. He would not ask the Lord. He would not search for the Lord. Instead he would go a worldly direction and maintain that course and suffer a humiliating death. What are some things that God wants us to learn? Let me give you three of them.

Number one is this. God is always displeased. Always. With any occult involvement. Any psychic involvement. Any mystic involvement in our lives. God set this out in order way back in the Old Testament. In the book of Leviticus the 19th chapter the 31st verse. Do not turn to medium or spiritists. Do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. Then over in in chapter 20 verse number 6. As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists to play the harlot after them. I will also set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.

Moses said this to the nation of Israel. Verse number 9 of Deuteronomy chapter 18. When you enter the land which the Lord your God gives you. You shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire. One who uses divination. One who practices witchcraft. Or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer. Or one who casts a spell or a medium or a spiritist or one who calls up the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you.

You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For those nations which you shall dispossess listen to those practices listen to those who practice witchcraft and diviners but as for you the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so. Then verse 15. The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you from your countrymen you shall listen to him. That's a prophecy of the Messiah. And God is saying to Moses listen when you go into this land don't follow their practices don't go after their mediums and their spiritists.

Don't go after their sorcerers don't seek counsel from the worldly way. Instead there's going to come a prophet. He's going to speak the word of God. You've got to listen to those words because those are the words that matter. They are the words that have life those are the words that give life you must listen to those words and those words only. Isaiah did not listen to that. He would seek the false gods of his land bales above the Lord of the flies the deity of medicine to ask will I live or will I die?

What will happen to me next? God is always displeased whenever we engage in any kind of occultic mystic spiritist action that turns us away from the truth of God's word. Number two God is dishonored by any pursuit of the future outside of his word.

God is dishonored whenever we pursue avenues to understand the future outside of his word. There are many Christians who love to read their horoscope when they get up in the morning as if somehow that's going to give them the news they need for the day or for the week. They love to read about the stars in the sky and how they're going to dictate the way they live their lives. They love to open those Chinese fortune cookies so they can kind of know the event of the day and hope that it comes true some way somehow.

God is always dishonored when we seek to understand the future without ever looking into his word. Listen to what the Bible says in Psalm 119 Your testimonies also are our delight.

They are my counselor. Do you know that God's word is your counselor? They give you the words of wisdom. That's why the Bible says that God's word is a lamp unto my feet and a light into my path.

That's why the Bible says that through the commandment is light and through the truth is the way. Do you know the Bible says in Isaiah chapter 9 verse number 6 that the child that's born, the son that's given has a name?

He's called counselor. Counselor. Do you know there's something unique about him as your counselor that no earthly counselor can ever provide for you? Do you know that? I'm afraid that we miss this. He is the counselor. And the Bible tells us that he is the counselor that's always close by. You can't go to any counselor and have them with you all the time. For Jesus said I will never leave you nor will I ever forsake you. It would be a little weird if you went to some counselor and he started following you around everywhere you went and stayed in your house and went to meals with you and went to work with you.

They don't do that. But God as the counselor is close by at any moment. He's always there because he never leaves, he never forsakes you. Not only that, not only is he close, he's absolutely confidential. In other words, he's never going to share with anybody else what you say to him. Because he is your faithful and merciful high priest. And so when you go to your ultimate counselor, the Lord God of Israel, and share with him what's on your heart, he is completely completely trustworthy. So not only is he close, not only is he confidential, but he is compassionate.

Because he was in all points like you and me tempted yet without sin. And there is no earthly counselor who can be compassionate enough with you to take you through whatever turmoil you are facing. There's only one and it is called the counselor. And that is the mighty God of the universe. Not only that, he is the only counselor that is absolutely cognizant of everything going on in your life. In other words, he knows everything. You can go to a counselor and you can hold things back, right? You have to say everything, not tell the whole truth, just partial truth, but God is cognizant.

John 2.25 says that he knew what was in the heart of man before he ever spoke because he knows the mind of a man. He knows everything. He's omniscient. You can't go to any earthly counselor and he or she know everything that's happening in your life, but God does. He knows everything. That's why he is the best counselor available. Not only that, he is the only counselor that's capable of meeting every need that you have and giving you a solution to every problem you face. He's the one. God wants you to come to him about your future.

He wants you to come to him with your problems. He wants you to come to him when you're in turmoil. He wants you to cry out to him. He wants you to wrap yourself around him. That's what he wants you to do. He wants you all to himself. Isaiah could have changed. Could have repented. Could have fallen down before Elijah and said, you know what, Elijah, you're right. What does the Lord God of Israel have for me? Am I going to die? Is that it? Do I have a chance to repent? Do I have a chance to turn?

What can I do? But he didn't want to listen to the Lord God of Israel. His heart was cold. His heart was hard. One last thing. Not only is God displeased when we pursue any occultic practice, any mystic practice, any buddy that takes us away from the truth of the word of God, whether it be a psychiatrist or a psychologist who does not use the word of God as the base of their authority, you need to run from. God is dishonored by any pursuit of knowing the future outside of his word. And lastly, God is delighted when we trust him and take him at his word.

God is delighted when we do those things. Psalm 37 says this. Psalm 37. Do not fret because of evildoers. Be not envious toward wrongdoers for they will wither quickly like the grass and fade like the green herb. Trust in the Lord. Do good. Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him. He will do it. God wants you to trust him. He wants you to believe in him. He wants you to come to him and say, Lord, what do I do next?

Where do I go from here? What's my next move, God? And trust him and believe what he's going to say. Listen to what Isaiah the prophet said. Isaiah 26 verse number 3. The steadfast of mind you will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever. God will keep you in perfect peace. Those of you who trust in him. Those of you who wrap your trust around him. That's why the psalmist said in Psalm 20 verse number 7. Some trust in chariots. Some trust in horses. But we will trust in the name of the Lord our God.

They shall fall down and be broken but we shall stand up and we will survive. Because they trusted in the name of the Lord God himself. Abandon all your crutches. Abandon all those things you trust in and wrap your life around the Lord God of Israel. Listen to what it says in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah chapter 17 verse number 5. Thus says the Lord. Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes.

But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness. A land of salt without inhabitants. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes. But its leaves will be green and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit. Listen.

God says you trust me and you will not fear in the day of your calamity. You trust me. You believe in me and when your anxious thoughts rise up you will still flourish because you have trusted in me. 2 Kings chapter 1 is all about Elijah warning Ahaziah. Are you going to live as if there is no God in Israel? That you will not seek his word and what he has to say? Ahaziah's response I'm not going to do that. And the word for us is what do you do? Who do you go to for counsel? Who do you go to for help?

When it comes to understanding God's plan for your life when it comes to understanding your predicament what do you do? Do you go to the word of the Lord? Do you trust in the name of the Lord? Do you wrap yourself around him and say Lord direct me. Lord guide me. The Bible says trust in the Lord with all your heart and never lean on your own understanding.

Never do that. Because it will always take you in the wrong direction. In all your ways acknowledge him. He will direct your path. He will make your path smooth. But don't lean on your own understanding. Don't think that you have a better idea than God has. Trust in what God says.

Even though it might be painful. Even though it might be difficult. Even though it might be lonely. Even though it might be a long time before that plan ever comes to fruition. Trust in the Lord God. Lean not on your own understanding. You acknowledge him in every one of your ways. He will make your path smooth. Ahaziah not a smooth path. A deathly path. But Elijah warned him. He told him. He made sure he heard it. And he even killed those who came to bring the message. To reinforce the judgment of God.

To make sure Ahaziah knew you better look to the word of the Lord. May God give us the grace to trust him all the more. Let's pray together. Father we thank you for today. We thank you for your word. We thank you for Elijah the Tishbite. We thank you for how you used him in Ahaziah's life. We just ask Lord that we would be a people who learn to trust the living God. To depend upon you for everything. To live in the light of your glorious word. May we come to you as our counselor. May we come before you and cry out to you.

May we pour our hearts out to the one who is compassionate. Who is kind. Who cares. Who knows everything we're going through. There isn't one human being that knows what another human being is going through. But only the God of the universe. When we come to you and trust in you Lord. You will do mighty things. May every one of us learn to trust you all the more. In Jesus name. Amen.