2 Kings 1:3, commentary and pictures

Injured by a fall, Ahaziah sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub at Ekron whether he would recover, and the Lord sent Elijah to meet them with the rebuke that there is a God in Israel to inquire of. The angel who commanded Elijah was Christ Himself, displeased at such impiety from a people favored alone with knowledge of the true God. To go to Ekron was to act as if there were no God in Israel, turning in rebellion and distrust from the living God to an idol and onto the enemy's ground. That oracle spoke not from God but from the prince of darkness, who still sustains idol worship and continues the same deception in refined form through spiritualism, mediums, clairvoyants and fortune-tellers. Therefore help in trouble and sickness must be sought from God and Christ alone, not from sorcerers and healers, unbelieving counselors and lawyers, or worldly wisdom and education.

Historical Setting and Speakers

The verse belongs to the record of the fall of the house of Ahab, showing the shameful and violent fruit of the evil influence Jezebel exercised over Ahab through the later years of his life. Ahaziah had been badly injured in a fall and, anxious about whether he would recover, sent messengers to ask Baal-zebub for an answer. His inquiry of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, was a rejection of the God who was present in Israel.

The Lord commanded Elijah the Tishbite to arise, go up, and meet and confront the king of Samaria's messengers with a rebuke. God directed Elijah to intercept them because the king had sought an answer from Baal-zebub instead of the God of Israel. Elijah protested when Ahaziah turned from the living God to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, seeking an answer from a foreign idol instead of God.

The angel of the Lord who spoke to Elijah was Christ himself, Jehovah Immanuel, greatly displeased at the apostate king's impiety. For ages from the time of the patriarchs He had visited His people with condescending kindness, unexampled love, present help to all who sincerely sought Him, sympathy in affliction, and redeeming love and pity. Turning to a pagan oracle dishonors God and declares confidence in idols over the Creator, despite God's long record of kindness, care, and help to those who seek Him.

The Hebrews alone were favored with knowledge of the true God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Baal-zebub of Ekron was a heathen oracle believed to reveal future events through its priests and consulted by many people. Its predictions and information came from the prince of darkness, not from God.

Meaning of the Rebuke

The pointed question carries its own answer: there is a God in Israel to be inquired of, and therefore going to inquire of Baal-zebub is wrong and brings God into controversy with His people when they walk in sparks of their own kindling and turn to outside powers for help, counsel and support instead of Him. To seek guidance from Ekron instead of from God is to deny that Israel has a God, yielding to the deceiving power of the enemy to tear away the foundations of faith. Applied to workers, this condemns leaning on the arm of the law, making unbelievers a stay and support, and carrying matters between brethren to law before the unjust instead of settling them before the saints, doing what even a worldling would never do. Those persisting in that course are called to come into line, to rather take wrong and suffer to be defrauded than to do wrong and defraud brethren, for the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God, and should be relieved of responsibilities in connection with the work.

To inquire of Ekron is to act as if there is not a God in Israel, dishonoring God by turning aside from the only true God to a strange altar. For those who claim to believe the truth to take the interests of God's cause to lawyers and to carry out plans by human counsel, linking arm in arm with lawyers and with men in and out of the church whose counsel is misleading, is to go to the god of Ekron. Committing the interests of God's cause to men who have no connection with heaven proves God is not in their company and they are not moving under the inspiration of His Spirit, showing they need a higher experience, clearer discernment and spiritual eyesight before they can be fitted for connection with the family above. The same sin is committed when God's people distrust God as Counselor and seek decisions from men who do not make God their trust and do not love and obey His commandments, for God is to be acknowledged in all counsels as infinite in wisdom and what is asked of Him believed as received. Those not connected with God are connected with His enemy, who works with them to lead into false paths and retard the work, so dependence on disloyal sinners brings difficult places, misleading, entanglement and ruin, and those who inquire at strange altars are answered according to their works. Seeking healing from Ekron today in the same spirit means going eagerly to sorcerers and healers whose power comes through witchcraft, spending time and money in hope of cure, becoming deceived and infatuated, praising the sorcerer's power and influencing others to seek his aid, a temptation even for those given great light. Such a course is especially tempting to the sick who avow contempt for the laws of health and life, indulge morbid cravings and perverted appetite without restraint, refuse wholesome food, patronize restaurants, profess temperance while disregarding its foundation principles, and want relief without self-denial, which is worship at the shrine of appetite and idolatry that weakens sanctified powers and produces irritable temper, confused brain, unstrung nerves, inefficiency, unreliability, and resentment toward faithful warning. The path to Ekron, like the path to Endor, is forbidden ground where venturing feet stumble and fall, while God lives as the source of deliverance for all who are oppressed.

Ahaziah's errand was rebellion, revolt, rejection, unfaithfulness and manifest distrust, turning from the living God present in Israel to a foreign idol and going onto the enemy's ground. Badly injured in a fall and anxious whether he would recover, the king sought an oracle from Baal-zebub instead of asking God, and God's messenger confronted his servants with why they consulted a foreign god. That consultation rejected the God who was present in Israel and brought stern judgment that the king would die from his illness without coming down from his bed or recovering. The predictions and information attributed to Baal-zebub came from the prince of darkness, not from God, who uses idol worship to divert people from God. The same warning reaches to turning from God to spiritualistic mediums, clairvoyants, fortune-tellers and other Satanic practices, whose deceptive claims mislead and obscure the truth of Scripture.

Turning from the Source of strength and wisdom to ask help or counsel from idols and the powers of darkness dishonors God, publicly proclaims greater confidence in idols than in the God of His people, and kindles His wrath and displeasure. The Hebrews alone were favored with knowledge of the true God, the Creator of heaven and earth, so for Israel's king to send to a pagan oracle proclaimed to the heathen that he trusted idols more than his own God. God had long shown Israel condescending kindness and been a present help to sincere seekers, giving cause for displeasure when the king turned away. The command sent Elijah to intercept and confront the messengers, presenting the consultation as turning to Satanic agencies and provoking divine displeasure. That dishonor is still greater when done by those professing knowledge of His word, greater light, and service to Him, and it applies to people in responsible positions who join with misleading counselors and speak evil of what God approves, showing they need clearer discernment and higher experience. Seeking counsel from people who do not trust or obey God rather than acknowledging God is like inquiring of Baal-zebub, displaying distrust and risking false paths.

Idol Oracle Exposed

The information and predictions credited to Baal-zebub did not come from God but from the prince of darkness, from Satan himself. That idol of Ekron was regarded as an oracle that disclosed future events through its priests, and many people resorted to it for answers. Satan originated idol worship and keeps it alive in order to turn men away from God and divert them from Him, to obscure the truth of Scripture, and to uphold his own kingdom of darkness and falsehood.

The inquiry at Ekron is of the same character as the inquiry at Endor, and it is continued in refined form in superstition and spiritualism, in spiritualistic mediums, clairvoyants, fortune-tellers, and other Satanic practices. Their professed revelations are deceptive, obscuring the truth of Scripture and leading men away from the light of God's word and Spirit. The same spirit is shown when people trust mediums or healers who claim supernatural power rather than asking God for help, and turning to such agents dishonors God and brings those who seek them under Satan's power.

Those who do not test their aims by Scripture and seek God's will in prayer are left vulnerable to that deception. Those who distrust God and turn to sources unconnected with Him place themselves on the enemy's ground, where Satan can use even apparent relief to turn trust toward human ability and away from obedience to God.

The path to Ekron and the path to Endor are cursed, forbidden ground, and feet that venture upon it will stumble and fall. Against that false resort stands the living God who acts for Israel, with deliverance for all who are oppressed, and righteousness is the habitation of His throne. To seek Baal-zebub at Ekron instead of seeking God is to deny that there is a God in Israel, and it warns against putting trust in witchcraft and occult powers instead of the living God.

Divine Judgment and Controversy

Instead of an answer from the idol, Elijah met the messengers with God's denunciation and stern judgment that Ahaziah would surely die from his illness without coming down from his bed or recovering. The king had been badly injured in a fall and, anxious about whether he would recover, had sent messengers to ask Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, a heathen oracle, for an answer. That errand was a rejection of the God who was present in Israel, turning to a foreign god instead of inquiring of Him, and the Lord confronted the choice and warned of its fatal consequence.

God has a controversy with His people and workers when they walk in the light of sparks of their own kindling, kindled not by the Lord, and turn to outside unbelieving worldly powers for help, counsel, and support instead of Him. The question means there is a God in Israel to inquire of, so going to inquire of Baal-zebub is yielding to the deceiving power of the enemy to tear away the foundations of faith and dishonors Him. Applied, it rebukes ministers and medical missionary workers who lean on the arm of the law, make unbelievers their stay and support, and carry matters between brethren to law before the unjust instead of settling them before the saints, doing what even a worldling would never do. God calls such ones to come into line, to rather take wrong and suffer to be defrauded than to do wrong and defraud brethren, for the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God, and those persisting in this course should be relieved of responsibilities in connection with His work.

The hand of God is upon for good all who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all who forsake Him to trust in the help and friendship of the world and heed not the counsel of the living God. Going to the god of Ekron to inquire is going onto the enemy's ground, a course God regards with disapproval, and He will not let His blessing rest upon those who take it, so harmful results follow. Rejecting the light God has given about how to live, including health reform, to follow physicians who teach a different way of living and eating is the same as Ahaziah's inquiry, leading away from the path God has led His people all the way through. The light on going to Ekron when there is a God in Israel is plain and distinct so that any soul who loves and fears God has no question about its wrongness, and the same rebuke applies to the work now purposed as setting oneself against God and not against men.

Trust God Alone

In times of trouble, trial, affliction, and sickness, help and relief are to be sought from God and from Jesus, not from false gods, for to go to the god of Ekron to obtain relief is misplaced and wrong. Both small and great concerns are to be taken directly to God, who is ready to impart strength, rather than seeking strength and guidance from human beings as if God were not present and able to help. Christ is present among His churches to help, comfort, support, and give spiritual power, so believers are to bring their needs to Him and rely fully on Him instead of seeking help from Baal-zebub. The same turning appears when in sickness a mother pleads with an unbelieving physician to save her child yet turns impatiently away from the Great Physician, who is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him in faith.

God is to be acknowledged in all counsels as infinite in wisdom, and what is asked of Him is to be believed as received. Dependence is to be placed wholly upon the true God and credit given to Him, rather than putting credit and dependence where they do not belong by inquiring of Baal-zebub instead of the Lord God of Israel. His people are to stand as a distinct, sanctified, holy, commandment-keeping people separated from the world, with Sabbath observance as the great distinguishing line. The same dishonor is done when distrust of God as Counselor leads to seeking decisions and counsel from men who do not make God their trust and do not love and obey His commandments, for those not connected with God are connected with His enemy, who works through them to lead into false paths, retard the work, bring difficult places, misleading, entanglement and ruin, and cause inquirers at strange altars to be answered according to their works. For physicians and medical students this forbids beginning training among God's people but seeking the finishing touches of education from worldly institutions and acknowledging dependence on men who transgress God's law in order to gain influence, since it is God who gives influence and advantages far beyond what can be received from unbelievers who do not recognize His law.

The path to Ekron and the path to Endor are cursed, forbidden ground on which venturing feet will stumble and fall, while God lives to act for Israel with deliverance for all who are oppressed, and righteousness is the habitation of His throne. Going to Ekron for help means putting trust in witchcraft instead of the living God. Professed followers of Christ must therefore abide in the faith received from the beginning, shun profane and vain babblings, and have faith in the living God rather than in witchcraft.

Present-Day Forms of Ekron

Going to Ekron today is going eagerly to sorcerers and healers, to spiritualist or witchcraft practitioners and mediums claiming supernatural power for healing or guidance, putting trust in witchcraft instead of the living God. It dishonors the God of Israel while revering and exalting Satan's power, freely spending time and money in hope of the proffered cure, becoming deceived and infatuated, making the sorcerer's power the theme of praise, influencing others to seek his aid, and coming under Satan's power. The path to Ekron and the path to Endor are cursed, forbidden ground, and feet that venture on it will stumble and fall, while God lives to act for Israel with deliverance for all who are oppressed, and righteousness is the habitation of His throne. Professed followers must therefore abide in the faith received from the beginning, shun profane and vain babblings, and have faith in the living God rather than in witchcraft.

This is a temptation even for those given great light, including Seventh-day Adventists, especially for the sick. Such are those who avow contempt for the laws of health and life, indulge morbid cravings and perverted appetite without restraint, refuse wholesome food and self-denial, patronize restaurants to indulge appetite, profess temperance while disregarding its foundation principles, and want relief without its price. Such indulgence is worship at the shrine of appetite and idolatry, weakening the powers that sanctified might honor God and producing irritable temper, confused brain, unstrung nerves, inefficiency and unreliability, with resentment and combative opposition toward anyone who honestly warns of danger. Disregarding health principles and refusing self-denial thus weakens a person and leaves him eager for such help, but seeking it is idolatry, not trust in the living God.

The same spirit appears when a mother pleads with an infidel physician to save her child yet impatiently turns away from seeking the Great Physician who is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him in faith. Rejecting the light God has given about how to live, including health reform about how to live and eat, to follow physicians who teach a different way of living and eating is the same as Ahaziah's inquiry, going onto the enemy's ground. God regards such a course with disapproval and will not let His blessing rest upon those who take it, and harmful results follow, leading away from the path God has led His people in all the way through.

The same sin is committed when God's people show distrust of God as Counselor and seek decisions and counsel from men who do not make God their trust and do not love and obey His commandments, from lawyers and human devising. God is to be acknowledged in all counsels as infinite in wisdom, and what is asked of Him is to be believed as received. Those not connected with God are connected with God's enemy, and the enemy works with them to lead into false paths and retard the work, so dependence on disloyal sinners brings difficult places, misleading, entanglement and ruin, and those who inquire at strange altars are answered according to their works. Going to the god of Ekron to inquire means leaning on lawyers and human devising for strength, despising the law of God given from Sinai, following the way of transgression whenever will and way are opposed without realizing the seriousness of the course, and becoming linked up with the tempter who tried in the wilderness to gain control of the mind of Christ, opposite to Christ who would not enter into controversy with Satan but answered only with His Father's words, It is written, speaking not one word of which Satan could take advantage.

To take the interests of God's cause, differences, and matters between brethren to lawyers, to branch out and lean on the arm of the law, to make unbelievers a stay and support, and to go to law before the unjust instead of settling matters before the saints and harmonizing in the church, is to act as if there is not a God in Israel and to go to the god of Ekron. It greatly dishonors God, brings reproach on His cause and His displeasure, proves God is not in their company and they are not moving under the inspiration of His Spirit, and shows spiritual blindness, backsliding, and need for higher experience, clearer discernment and spiritual eyesight before fitness for connection with the family above. God has a controversy with His people and workers when they walk in the light of sparks of their own kindling and turn to outside unbelieving worldly powers for help, counsel, and support instead of Him, yielding to the deceiving power of the enemy to tear away the foundations of faith. Doing what even a worldling would never do, they fail to harmonize and link arm in arm with lawyers and with men in and out of the church whose counsel is misleading, and the interests of God's cause are not to be committed to men who have no connection with heaven.

Those persisting in that course should come into line, wake up before it is everlastingly too late, put away contention and differences, be converted, humble the heart before the Lord, crucify self, and take hold of Him, and when that is done He is able to help. They should rather take wrong and suffer to be defrauded than do wrong and defraud brethren, for the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God, and those persisting should be relieved of responsibilities in connection with the work of God.

Seeking to the god of Ekron now tests commandment-keeping people over wisdom and education, meaning seeking wisdom from the world instead of from Christ the greatest Teacher. It means compromising to meet the world's standards, uniting with the world, and carrying work by worldly plans and worldly wisdom, holding that physicians must follow the pattern of the world and be taught by worldly men in worldly schools and colleges to succeed. It means leaning on the arm of the law and trusting the influence of worldly powers and popularity from lack of faith in God's power, and being tied by even a thread to the educational policies of those who do not discern God's voice and will not obey His commandments. Looking to a worldly institution for the finishing touches and influence would give it credit that belongs to God and suggest unbelievers have greater power than God's people, whereas God gives influence and advantages and can be His people's educator, strength, and righteousness. For physicians and medical students this forbids beginning training among God's people but seeking finishing education from worldly institutions and acknowledging dependence on men who transgress God's law in order to gain influence, for God's people must depend wholly upon the true God and give credit to Him, standing as a distinct, sanctified, holy, commandment-keeping people separated from the world, with Sabbath observance as the great distinguishing line.

For those God has made repositories and depositaries of sacred truth to inquire of Ekron, the Lord is not pleased and His name is not honored or glorified. To inquire of Ekron means to divert minds from God to man, exalting men and worldly wise men, directing students to study disloyal men as a pattern and books written by men disloyal to heaven who do not know God and keep His commandments, instead of directing them to God and His Word. Instead they are to honor God and glorify His name and educate workers to carry the light of truth and prepare a people for the second appearing of Christ. Binding up with worldlings in secret societies is the same act of inquiring of and depending on Baal-zebub, turning away from trust in God and from the mercies and blessings He has prepared for all who put their trust in Him to a false dependence in manifest distrust of God.