Life and death are controlled by God

Life and death are controlled by God

2 Kings 1:1~12

□ Praise and Sharing

 Hymn #488 This body's hope is something

 He will come and save you

 How did you spend last week?

 

The theme for September is ‘To believers meeting life’s problems.’ (Week 1 ‘Life and death are controlled by God’, Week 2 ‘War is controlled by God’, Week 3 ‘Life is healed by God’, Week 4 ‘God opens the way to escape’, Week 5 ‘The Recovery of faith is the key to solving the problem’). Just as the shadow does not separate the good and the bad, life's problems come to both the good and the bad. A person of faith is not a person who does not have problems in life, but a person who has the ability to interpret problems and solve them through faith.

 

□ Words and Sharing

1. Ahaziah, the king of Israel, falls from the railing and is seriously injured (verses 1-6).

1) Whom did King Ahaziah want to ask whether his illness would be cured? (verse 2)

2 Ahaziah fell from the lattice of his upper chamber in Samaria and became sick. So he sent messengers and said to them, “Go and ask Baelzebub the god of Ekron whether I will recover from my illness.”

King Ahaziah sends his messenger to Baelzebub, the god of Ekron, to ask if his illness will be cured.

 

2) What words did God call Elijah to tell the king? (verse 4)

4 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from the bed on which thou hast gone up, for thou shalt surely die. So Elijah went.

 

The words that God called Elijah to tell the king were, “You will not come down from the bed you are on, for you will surely die.”

 

<Sharing 1> When King Ahaziah was faced with the problem of life and death, the first thing he did was look for an idol. When you face a problem, the first thing you turn to may be the thing you rely on the most. What are my main thoughts and actions when faced with life's problems?

 

When pastors and believers in Pakistan face difficult problems, they sometimes ask me for help first. We must rely on God before we rely on people.

 

<Sharing 2> The Bible clearly states that a person’s life, death, fortune, and misfortune depend on God. Have you ever deeply realized this fact? What changes did that realization bring to my life?

 

I realize that I must live in reverence and dependence on God, who controls life, death, happiness, and unhappiness more than anything else in the world.

 

2. King Ahaziah sends the army to arrest Elijah (verses 7-12).

1) What did Elijah look like when the king’s messengers met him? (verse 8)

8 They answered him, “He is a hairy man, and he has a leather belt around his waist.” The king said, “He is Elijah the Tishbite.”

 

Elijah was a hairy man and had a leather belt around his waist.

 

2) What did the commander of the army say to Elijah? (verse 9)

9 Then he sent the commander of fifty and fifty of his soldiers to Elijah. He went up to Elijah, and found him sitting on the top of the mountain. He said to Elijah, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’”

 

The commander of the army said to Elijah, “O man of God, the king says, ‘Come down.’”

 

3) What happened to the king’s army the first time and the next time? (verses 10~12)

10 Elijah answered the commander of fifty, “If I am God’s man, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” Immediately fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

11 Then the king sent another captain of fifty and fifty of his men to Elijah. He said to Elijah, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down quickly.’”

12 Elijah answered them, “If I am God’s man, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And immediately the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

 

Fire came down from heaven and consumed the first and second fifty commanders and all the soldiers.

 

<Sharing 3> God ‘spoke’ to King Ahaziah through Elijah, and King Ahaziah ‘spoke’ to Elijah through the commander of fifty. It's clear who had to listen to whom. Let’s share the experience of hearing the conflicting ‘words’ of people and the ‘words’ of God at the same time. In that case, let's talk about what we need to do to obey God's word.

 

I had the experience of simultaneously hearing the ‘word’ of God telling me to spread the word of God and the ‘word’ of someone telling me not to spread the word of God. It takes wisdom and courage to obey the word of God.

 

□ Let's pray together

 

God, let us entrust our life, death, fortune and misfortune to You and have faith that relies only on You!

Give us the wisdom and courage to obey God's word more than people's words!

Let us become a community where the Word of God, not the words of people, is the center!

 

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