#44. Looking for Help in All the Wrong Places

Published by Ben Stahl on May 27, 2020May 27, 2020

Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria, and was injured; so he sent messengers and said to them, Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this injury.

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 Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore, thus says the LORD: You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.

So Elijah departed. And when the messengers returned to him, he said to them, Why have you come back? So 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 Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die. Then he said to them, What kind of man was it who came up to meet you and told you these words? So they answered him, A hairy man wearing a leather belt around his waist. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.

II Kings 1:1-8 NKJV

I have not read the book “Lord of the flies” but I do know its title was not original. The original Lord of the Flies was one of the idols of the Philistine city of Ekron and the same false god Ahaziah desired to consult after he was injured falling through a door or window in an upper room. The name in Scripture is Baal-Zebub, literally translated, “Lord of the Flies.”

Ahaziah witnessed much in his youth. He saw all the wickedness of his parents, Ahab and Jezebel. He saw the mockery the Lord made of them through Elijah and the other prophets. He saw Baal unable to answer the 450 prophets on Mt. Carmel. After he ascended the throne of his father, he served and worshipped Baal who let down his father before him (I Kings 22:53). It is often the case that children grow up to fall into the same sins of their parents before them.

The Lord of truth, Jehovah, has proved Himself to be the only God of truth all of the days of Ahaziah and yet in his hour of need, Ahaziah looked to the god of the Philistines for help.

Ahaziah’s messengers were en route to Ekron when the messenger of the Lord called Elijah to intercept them (vs. 3). Elijah challenged the messengers as to the reason for their journey. Was it because there was no God in Israel that they went to inquire of the Lord of the Flies, the god of Ekron? Clearly there is a God in Israel, only His people have rejected Him.

Elijah gave a prophecy to the messengers from the Lord to Ahaziah: You will not get better from your injuries but will surely die. The messengers delivered the message to Ahaziah. A similar message was given to King Hezekiah many years later in Isaiah 37:2. He took the news and cried unto the Lord for mercy, which the Lord showed to him and he was healed. Ahaziah did no such thing. Instead he wanted to know who the prophet was since Ahaziah had previous encounters with messengers of the Lord. The king’s messengers reported the man was hairy and wearing a leather belt. That was enough for Ahaziah to know it was Elijah the Tishbite.

What darkness of the soul seeks for help in the hour of need from a dumb god who cannot speak, walk, see, hear, or act? Where will you seek for help in your hour of need? The world seeks for it in all the wrong places, but there is one place where help can be found. The psalmist says, “My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). This is the constant message of the prophets: The Lord, He is God. Turn to the Lord Jesus Christ today and find help in Him for all sickness, disease, and distress.

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Postscript: In the Greek, this Baal-Zebub is changed to “Beelzebub” a name for Satan himself (Matthew 10:25; 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15,18,19). It has the same meaning as the Hebrew name but with a focus more in the Greek on the prince of flies or perhaps more appropriately, ‘prince of the demonic flies.’ Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance translates Beelzebub as ‘dung-god,’ highlighting the folly of following idolatry. It is no different from worshipping dung as your god.

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