And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?
The question belongs to the account of Ahab's later years, when the evil influence exercised over him led to shameful and violent deeds. It stands in the history of the fall of the house of Ahab while Elijah was still a prophet in Israel, revealing Ahab's controlling covetous and selfish spirit that disastrously shaped the fortunes of the kingdom under his successors. It belongs to Elijah's protest when Ahaziah turned from the living God to Baal-zebub.
The verse records the king asking his messengers what the man who came up to meet them and told them those words looked like, seeking to identify the one who had delivered the message of judgment. Their description of a hairy man wearing a leather belt enabled the king to recognize him as Elijah the Tishbite. The king knew that if the messenger was Elijah, the announced judgment would surely come to pass. He therefore tried to summon the prophet to himself.
The surrounding history of Ahaziah's sin and punishment warns that seeking supernatural guidance apart from God is idolatry that brings people under deceptive power. That same danger can take refined forms to captivate those who reject Scripture. Safety is found in searching the Scriptures, testing the life by them, and praying to know God's will.
The question belongs to the account of Ahab's later years, when the evil influence exercised over him led to shameful and violent deeds. It stands in the history of the fall of the house of Ahab while Elijah was still a prophet in Israel, revealing Ahab's controlling covetous and selfish spirit that disastrously shaped the fortunes of the kingdom under his successors. It belongs to Elijah's protest when Ahaziah turned from the living God to Baal-zebub.
The verse records the king asking his messengers what the man who came up to meet them and told them those words looked like, seeking to identify the one who had delivered the message of judgment. Their description of a hairy man wearing a leather belt enabled the king to recognize him as Elijah the Tishbite. The king knew that if the messenger was Elijah, the announced judgment would surely come to pass. He therefore tried to summon the prophet to himself.
The surrounding history of Ahaziah's sin and punishment warns that seeking supernatural guidance apart from God is idolatry that brings people under deceptive power. That same danger can take refined forms to captivate those who reject Scripture. Safety is found in searching the Scriptures, testing the life by them, and praying to know God's will.