So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”
2 Kings 1:13-14 (NIV)

How many times a day do you open the refrigerator? It’s one of the reasons that the fridge makes a great place for reminders. When Wendy puts something on the refrigerator, I’ve learned to pay attention. It’s typically something I need to be reminded of perpetually. Like this one she recently place smack dab in the middle of the fridge door: “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is there anything too hard for me?”

Along this life journey, I have known and observed many individuals struggle when life throws them a wicked curve ball. Job loss. Tragedy. Life-changing injury. Divorce. Death of a child. Terminal diagnosis. Infertility. There are any number of ways that a person may find their lives turned upside-down. Likewise, there are any number of ways that a person may handle such a sudden calamatous shift in life.

That’s really the question at the core of today’s chapter.

Ahab’s son, Ahaziah, succeeds his father. His father and grandfather before him had given themselves over to loyaly worship the false god Baal. Ahaziah, follows the family tradition. When he literally falls and is badly injured, he sends servants to the Philistine town of Ekron to inquire of that town’s version of Baal – to find out if he’s going to recover. So, not only is Ahaziah not interested going to YHWH, the God of his people – but he sends his messengers into enemy territory to inquire of their version of his favorite pagan deity.

Enter Elijah. As usual, he simply appears before the messenger, sends them back to Ahab saying, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”

When Ahaziah hears this, he sends a captain and fifty men to capture Elijah and bring him to the King. They find Elijah and demand he go with them. Elijah calls down fire from heaven and they all perish. Ahaziah sends another captain with another fifty men. Another demand. More heavenly pyrotechnics. They all perish. When a third captain is sent, he approaches Elijah differently. No puffed up chests and Level Three power-down authority. Rather, he kneels and addresses Elijah with humility and respect: “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants!

The obvious application of today’s chapter when you glance at the surface of things is “Don’t consult false gods.” And, it’s true enough. But God always layers things with meaning, and as I meditated on the episode this morning the question that rose in my heart was, “Where do I instinctively turn when life throws that wicked curve and suddenly I’m afraid?”

That’s what exposes Ahaziah. He has fallen. He’s injured. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen, and he may even be dying. Fear reveals his functional theology. He sends messengers to the god he actually trusts to give him the answer.

I find that an extremely relevent question today.

21st century Baals don’t usually have temples. They have apps, accounts, experts, the science, metrics, markets, algorithms, and now they even have AI.

None of these things is inherently wrong. Wisdom seeks good information. I’ve made a career out of gathering data and information so businesses can make wiser decisions. The issue isn’t using resources.

It’s where my heart ultimately places its trust.

And that makes Elijah’s question almost painfully contemporary: “Is it because there is no God in Israel?”

“Why am I refreshing the numbers again?”
“Why am I checking the account again?”
“Why am I searching for another opinion?”
“Why do I need somebody else to tell me everything is going to be okay?”
“At what point is my obsessive gathering of information less about lack of information and more about my lack of trust?”

Ahaziah wants certainty about tomorrow. God offers His presence today. And, in the quiet this morning, that is where today’s chapter connects with the rest of this chapter-a-day journey we’ve been trekking through Kings.

Solomon wanted wisdom. Ahab wanted control. Jezebel wanted power. Ahaziah wants certainty. But beneath all of them lies essentially the same very human question that’s as relevant today as it was in theirs: “Can I secure what I need without trusting God?”

And then there’s that unnamed third captain. I find him the quiet spiritual hero of the chapter. The first captain stands. The second captain stands. The third kneels. He has exactly the same problem as the others. He’s been given exactly the same orders. He’s standing before exactly the same frightening prophet. But he recognizes reality and changes his posture. And he lives.

Fear sends Ahaziah searching for certainty.
Pride sends two captains demanding control.
Wisdom sends the third captain to his knees.

Sometimes the most faithful response to uncertainty isn’t finding one more answer. It’s changing my posture before the One I already know.

Next time life throws a wicked curve, I think I’ll go to the fridge for a snack, where I’ll be reminded of my God for whom nothing – not even my present circumstances – is too hard to handle.

Wendy and I are headed our for a few days of R&R. I’ll be returning to our chapter-a-day trek on Monday, Oct 5th.

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