FEAR NOT: 2 Kings 1:15

And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.

BACKGROUND/COMMENTARY from the Isidro Annotated Old Testament:  This chapter is the account of the death of the successor of Ahab whose name was Ahaziah. This also continues the account of Elijah before his translation into heaven.  Vs 1-8 -- Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, fell down from the second story of his house and was very sick. First, he sent messengers to Ekron, about 15 miles south of Joppa, to inquire from BaalZebub, the god of Ekron, whether he would recover from his sickness. Baal-Zebub means “god of the flies,” but, he was also known for his supposed healing abilities. Second, the messengers could not proceed to Ekron because Elijah met them and told them that this act of Ahaziah inquiring from a false god was an insult to Jehovah (v. 3). So, Elijah prophesied that Ahaziah will not get well; instead he will die (v. 4).  Vs 9-12 -- The king then sent two groups of soldiers to demand that Elijah come to the king so that the king could punish him for his prediction of death. Instead, these two groups were killed with fire from God. Fire was still the manifestation of the true God (see 1Ki 18).  Vs 13-18 -- The third group of fifty soldiers were not killed because the captain pleaded with Elijah to spare his life and his men. So, Elijah went with them upon order of the Lord (v. 15) and he again made the prediction of the death of Ahaziah. Thus, the king died and his brother Jehoram reigned in his stead (v. 17). He had the same name, son and co-regent of the king of Judah.

PERSONAL APPLICATION:  This story is not as spectacular or well-known as the one when Elijah battled the 450 priests of Ahab & Jezebel, but from this account, we see the hand of God still heavy upon Elijah so that anyone who tried to stop Elijah from doing God's work was destroyed. In this case, it was by fire from heaven.

I think that if God were to send fire down from heaven TODAY when his saints would pray for it, the whole world would pay attention and give their lives to Him. Of course, He doesn't do that anymore because we have the Bible to show us the way to God, but those of us who name the name of Christ should be the ones actively sharing to those who haven't yet given their lives to God, so that our loved ones will not suffer the eternal fires of Hell when they leave this earth.

We need to be more like Elijah who stood up to the armies of King Ahaziah and, without fear because he knew God was with him, spoke God's truth to them and to the king himself.