Ahaziah Consults Ekron and Meets Elijah

Following the death of Ahab, the nation of Moab revolts against Israelite control in 852 b.c. King Ahaziah suffers a severe fall through a wooden lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria. Bedridden and injured, he seeks a medical prognosis from a foreign deity. He dispatches envoys to the Philistine city of Ekron to consult Baal-zebub.

Samaria sits on a high limestone hill in the central highlands of Israel. The coastal city of Ekron lies about 45 miles to the southwest. The terrain between them consists of rugged hills dropping into broad coastal plains. Elijah intercepts the royal messengers along this route before they leave Israelite territory.

The prophet Elijah wears a rough garment of hair and a wide leather belt. He intercepts the returning envoys and delivers a blunt message regarding the king. Ahaziah has insulted the God of Israel and will never leave his sickbed. The king then sends detachments of fifty soldiers to arrest the prophet on a local hilltop.

Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?

Fire descends from the sky and consumes the first two military companies. A third captain approaches Elijah with deep respect and pleads for the lives of his men. The prophet travels back to Samaria to pronounce the death sentence directly to Ahaziah. The king dies shortly after, passing the throne to his brother Jehoram.