Time to Repent

A Compassionate God

From this passage we learn that God gives us many opportunities to repent. Throughout the Bible we read that the God of Israel is gracious and long-suffering. When God revealed himself to Moses he said this: “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished. He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation” (Ex. 34:6-7). And in Psalm 103:10-12 David tells us that God “does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is the love, his love, for those who fear him.” Our God is a compassionate God.

Ahaziah Chooses Baal

When we study the history of Israel, we see that God in his mercy delivered his people from Egypt and established them in Canaan. God’s people rebelled against him again and again, but God showed them mercy again and again. Eventually the kingdom was divided but even then God continued to show his mercy.

In 1 Kings 18 we see how God sent his prophet Elijah to Israel during the reign of the wicked king Ahab. God wanted to demonstrate through Elijah that the true God of Israel was not Baal. In 1 Kings 18:21 Elijah asked the people, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.” In this great demonstration Baal was proven to be impotent and a lie. But Jehovah was shown to be powerful and true when he sent fire from heaven which consumed Elijah’s sacrifice. This was a sign that Israel should abandon Baal worship and serve the true God of the covenant. It was a warning to submit to Jehovah the great king and listen to the words of his prophets. But Ahab, Jezebel and their children refused to serve God, and God killed them all.

When Ahab died, his son Ahaziah became king. I have no doubt that King Ahaziah knew Jehovah is the true God. I am sure he was present on Mount Carmel when Elijah challenged the false god Baal and demonstrated the power of the true God. Yet when Ahaziah became king in 853 B.C., he refused to submit to the great Jehovah. He was stubborn and rebellious.

The way of Baal worship seemed good to Ahaziah. Why? He hated Jehovah, the God of justice, the God of holiness. He knew that Jehovah hates sin, but Baal loves it. Ahaziah knew that Jehovah requires repentance, but Baal allows man to be arrogant and lets him do what he pleases. But the truth is, only Jehovah is true God and all idol worship is demon worship, as the Scripture plainly teaches.

Ahaziah chose to serve Baal, which is really serving the devil, because he loved sin. Thus, Ahaziah provoked the God of Israel as we read in 1 Kings 22:51-53: “Ahaziah son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned over Israel two years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, because he walked in the ways of his father and mother and in the ways of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who caused Israel to sin. He served and worshiped Baal and provoked the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger, just as his father had done.”

Every time when we sin, we are challenging God and provoking him to anger. We are saying, in essence, “Come on, God. If you are God, why don’t you act? I will violate your law; let me see whether you have power to do anything against me.” This is what Ahaziah did.

Do you know what Ahaziah’s name means? It means “Jehovah has grasped,” or “Jehovah has chosen.” There is no reference to Baal in Ahaziah’s name. He was claiming to be a disciple of Jehovah, just like some people profess to be disciples of Jesus, yet he chose to serve the devil and provoke God and his prophets. But the truth is, the God of Israel was patient with this king. God gave Ahaziah many opportunities to humble himself and return to the true worship of the great king, the covenant God, Jehovah.

Opportunities to Repent

God gives us troubles, one after another, so that we might become sober, repent and call upon the name of the Lord. Let us, then, examine some of the opportunities God gave Ahaziah.

When Ahaziah became king, Moab rebelled against Israel, as we read in 2 Kings 1:1. This meant political trouble for Ahaziah. Since the days of David, Moab had been subject to Israel, but now the people of Moab realized that Ahaziah was a weak king. So they rebelled against Israel, causing great political humiliation for King Ahaziah. But who was behind this humiliation? God. This was God’s plan to help Ahaziah humble himself and call upon the name of God to help him.

Did political humiliation cause Ahaziah repent and call upon Jehovah? No. So God dealt with Ahaziah in a different way. This time he gave him economic trouble. In 2 Chronicles 20 we read that Ahaziah entered into a shipbuilding venture with Jehoshaphat. Both kings wanted to trade and make a lot of money with this great business venture that joined Judah with Israel.

But, as we said before, Ahaziah was not serving God and so God was against him. God used this occasion to put economic pressure on Ahaziah. In 2 Chronicles 20:35-36 we read: “Later, Jehoshaphat king of Judah made an alliance with Ahaziah king of Israel, who was guilty of wickedness. He agreed with him to construct a fleet of trading ships. After these were built at Ezion Geber, Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, ‘Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord will destroy what you have made.’ The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade.” Ahaziah and Jehoshaphat had expended money to build these ships. No doubt they were counting on a great return on their investment. But they lost everything.

Have we done this? Like Ahaziah, we may have invested all our money and dreamed of a thirty percent return or more for many years. But God touched your investment and made it to be nothing. If this has happened to you, you may think it is a demonstration of God’s anger against you, but, no, it shows God’s love. Even though you provoked him to anger, he is dealing with you and bringing you down to the dust so that you can call upon him from there and say, “God, have mercy upon me! I have sinned and acted arrogantly. I have treated you with contempt and thrown your word away. I have treated your prophets with contempt in spite of your supreme demonstration in my life that you are the true God.”

Ahaziah lost his investment, his equipment, his profits–everything. This was great economic trouble. But did Ahaziah repent? No. So God dealt with Ahaziah in a third way, a personal way, by touching his health. In 2 Kings 1:2 we read, “Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself.” Was this an accident? Yes, but God caused it.

In Acts 20 we read of a young man named Eutychus who fell from the third story and died. Paul came down and prayed for Eutychus, and the young man revived. But Ahaziah was an arrogant man. God had already humiliated him politically and economically, and now God was dealing with him in his health. This was a serious fall and, in truth, Ahaziah was dying. Someone said only one step stands between us and death. Ahaziah had taken that one step, fell down, and was seriously injured. And even though it was an accident, God caused it.

I hope we will apply these things to our own lives. God will not tolerate our treating him or his word with contempt. If we do, he has a way of touching us, just as he touched Ahaziah.

Ahaziah Shows His Heart

Now, at this point Ahaziah was still alive. He could still call upon the name of the Lord. He could still send messengers to find Elijah. If he had done so, God would have responded and helped and healed him. But did Ahaziah do any of these things? No. He refused to repent and call on God.

In this time of serious physical pain, as he was facing death, Ahaziah showed his heart’s ultimate commitment. You see, when we are faced with serious trouble, we will demonstrate wherein our trust really lies. And we discover in this passage that Ahaziah did not trust in the God of Israel. He was an atheist, really, and his actions proved that he did not think there was any God in Israel.

When we are at our wit’s end, we will reveal in which god we are trusting. Ahaziah refused to trust in the God of Israel. He would rather trust in the devil, meaning the false god Baal-Zebub, the god of the Philistines, and send messengers forty miles south to Ekron to hear from him rather than to seek the God of Israel. What was Ahaziah doing? He was, in essence, saying, “There is no God in Israel. But I understand that in Philistia there are gods, especially one named Baal-Zebub. Messengers, would you please go all the way to Ekron and get a revelation from Baal-Zebub as to whether I will recover or not?”

Ahaziah would not consult the true and living God, the infinite, eternal, unchanging God–the God of the covenant, the God of mercy and the God of grace, the God who created the heavens and the earth, and the God who alone is able to redeem us from our sins. He refused to consult the true God or his prophet Elijah, even though this is the God who revealed himself and said, “I am Jehovah who healeth you–Jehovah Rophekah .”

God Responds to Ahaziah

Ahaziah did not seek the God of Israel, but in 2 Kings 1:3 we see that the angel of the Lord responded to him. The angel of the Lord here is the second person of the Trinity, the pre-incarnate Christ, as we also see in Genesis 22:15-16.

Ahaziah had treated Jehovah with contempt. In fact, he did not call upon him in his trouble. Yet it is Jehovah who responded to Ahaziah. So in verse 3 we read that the angel of the Lord told Elijah, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?'”

Ahaziah had no desire to seek the God of Israel. Don’t we do the same thing? With great passion we will seek everyone and everything but the God of Israel, the one who alone is competent to help us, redeem us and save us. Why do you think we won’t seek God? Because before him we must truly repent, humble ourselves, and confess our sins. We don’t have to repent before Baal-Zebub, and that is why we prefer him.

What Does God Say?

So Jehovah himself responded to Ahaziah, who was not seeking him. But God’s response was only one of judgment on Ahaziah. What did the angel of the Lord say? “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’ ” The messengers wanted a revelation from Baal-Zebub, but there would be no revelation from him. Why? An idol has no revelation. Our God alone is the God of revelation. He alone knows what the future is, and he can declare the future from the beginning. So God told Elijah to intercept the messengers and tell them their master would never recover from his injuries.

No doubt Ahaziah was surprised at how quickly the messengers returned. “Why did you come back?” he asked. And the messengers responded: “A man came to meet us.” “What kind of man was it who came to meet you?” Ahaziah asked. “He was a man with a garment of hair and with a leather belt around his waist.” And what do you think Ahaziah said? “That was Elijah the Tishbite.” In other words, Ahaziah was saying, “Yes, I know this man. He is the prophet of the true and living God. I hate him, and I hate his God!”

Notice, when we read this chapter we find this phrase used three times: “Is there no God in Israel?” There was a God in Israel–he who is the God of Israel and the God of the whole world. But Ahaziah had become an atheist.

Ahaziah knew Elijah, and he knew who Elijah’s God was. And he knew by the very way Elijah dressed himself what message Elijah was communicating. What was it? Repent! Elijah the prophet was calling all the people of Israel, including Ahaziah, to repent and place their faith in the true God of Israel.

The Nature of Impenitence

So Ahaziah correctly identified Elijah. He understood Elijah’s message, but Ahaziah was a stubborn rebel who hated God. Even though he was dying, he hardened his heart, determined to his last breath to hate and oppose God.

Let me tell you, that is the nature of impenitence. I have great respect for any person who humbles himself and weeps before God. But when I see someone who is brazen, arrogant, arguing, and self-justifying, I see great stubbornness in that person, and I grieve. Here Ahaziah was given opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to repent. He himself said, “I know that man. He is Elijah the Tishbite, the prophet of Yahweh. But I hate him, and I hate his God.” Ahaziah hardened his heart and refused to repent.

Do you remember the Egyptian Pharaoh who met with Moses several times? He was given several opportunities to change, but he also hardened his heart. What happened to him? He was destroyed.

In Psalm 107 we read several times, “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them from their distress,” but we must realize that this does not always happen. (PGM) Like Ahaziah, many people will not call upon the true and living God in their distress. And if anyone does call on God, it is only because God in his great mercy poured out upon that person a spirit of love, grace, and supplication. Repentance is a gift from God.

More Opportunities to Repent

Ahaziah was dying, but he was determined to oppose God. He wanted to punish Elijah, so he called a captain and told him to take fifty soldiers and arrest Elijah. The captain took his fifty men to the hill where Elijah was and called out, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!'” How did Elijah respond? “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” In effect, Elijah was saying, “Captain, the almighty God tells me that he is going to send fire upon you and your fifty. Why? To demonstrate once again that the Sovereign Lord of Israel is not Ahaziah but the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Ahaziah can never summon me, God’s prophet, by his own puny authority because he is a rebel against God. And like your master Ahaziah, you are a rebel. What authority do you have to summon the prophet who represents the true and living God? Therefore, let the fire come down!” And we read that fire came from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.

Well, I am sure news of this came to Ahaziah. Fifty-one people were killed instantly by a flash of lightning. But this was not just lightning. God caused this to happen, and it was really another opportunity for Ahaziah to repent. He should have humbled himself and said, “Oh, God, now I understand. I humble myself before you. Have mercy on me, a sinner!”

Did Ahaziah humble himself? No. He sent another captain with fifty more soldiers to Elijah. What did this captain say? “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!'” How did Elijah respond? “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men,” and, again, fire came down and consumed the captain and his men. What was the message to Ahaziah? “Ahaziah, you are not winning the war. There is a sovereign Lord of the universe who has declared war against you and he is winning. But you haven’t died yet, so you still have opportunity to repent.”

There was a later king in Judah named Hezekiah who was told he was going to die. What did Hezekiah do? He repented and prayed, and God showed mercy to him. In the same way, God was willing to save Ahaziah, had he repented and trusted in the God of Israel.

Did Ahaziah repent? No. Again, he sent another captain and fifty men. But this captain humbled himself and pleaded with Elijah, “Man of God, please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants!” In other words, the man was saying, “Have mercy on me. I am just doing my duty.” And the angel of the Lord told Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.”

So Elijah went to see Ahaziah. This was Ahaziah’s final opportunity to hear the message of the Lord and repent. Ahaziah had not sought the Lord, but the Lord had responded to his trouble and sent his prophet to Ahaziah. This was an opportunity for Ahaziah to receive mercy, because whenever a man of God comes to you, if you repent and humble yourself, you will receive mercy. But did Ahaziah repent and say to Elijah, “Please, I understand all this. I am a wicked man. Have mercy upon me”? Oh, no.

The End of Ahaziah

In verse 15 we read, “So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.” And in verse 16 Elijah told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel to consult that you have sent messengers to consult Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” And verse 17 tells us Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

As a minister I am able to discern whether the spirit of grace is resting upon a person or not. So I am always grieved when I see people self-justifying, arguing, and opposing God’s word. Why? Our problem is sin, and Jesus Christ is the only solution to our problem. But Jesus only saves sinners, and only on the basis of repentance. A person who argues and refuses to repent will be judged.

“Is there no God in Israel?” Ahaziah was asked. And what did he say, in essence? “I know there is a God in Israel, but I hate him because he will not let me sin. I know God wants me to submit to him, worship him, and obey him, but I want to sin. I want to be arrogant and do what I want. I want to be great and feel great and have everyone appreciate and glorify me. So I am choosing to serve Baal-Zebub, the idol. Why? He will allow me to sin. With Baal-Zebub I need not repent and I can do what I want. Baal-Zebub has no holy laws that I must obey.”

Ahaziah had declared war against the God of Israel, who is really the God of the whole world–the infinite, eternal, unchanging God. But when you declare war against the eternal God, he also declares war against you. Who won this war? Jehovah. He always wins.

Refusing to Repent

In the book of Revelation we see God pouring out his judgment and wrath upon the inhabitants of the earth. Did they repent? No. In Revelation 9:20 we read, “The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons,” and here again we see that all idol worship is the worship of demons, “and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood–idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.”

In Revelation 16 we see more wrath of God poured out. Did anyone repent? In verses 10-11 we read, “The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.”

In 2 Chronicles 14-16 we read the story of King Asa. In chapter 14 we read that Asa trusted in God, but by chapter 16 he had become arrogant. Asa felt he was politically astute and quite competent to handle anything. In essence he was saying, “I don’t need God; I can do it all,” and when God sent a prophet to rebuke him, he became angry and put the prophet in prison.

In 2 Chronicles 16:12 we read, “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet.” Now, not every disease is correction for sin, but this was. And then we read, “Though his disease was severe. . .” God not only afflicted Asa, but he made the affliction severe. What was God’s purpose? To bring Asa to repentance that he might call upon the name of the Lord and ask for mercy. But as we read further we see that “Even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord.” This reminds us of Ahaziah’s attitude: “I hate God!” Asa sought help from the pagan physicians, but they could not help him. And in verse 13 we read, “In the forty-first year of his reign Asa died.” Asa had two years to repent, but, amazingly, he would not do so. Like Ahaziah, Asa refused to repent.

There Is Balm in Gilead

If the Spirit of God is speaking to you through this, I hope you will stop arguing. I have heard your arguments and reasonings. And you can be assured that if your ears are open to the words of the Spirit of the living God, God heard your argument also, and today he is showing you mercy and giving you an opportunity to repent.

In Jeremiah 8:20-22 we read, “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved. Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me.” And then there is a question: “Is there no balm in Gilead?” When God says, “The harvest is past” and “the summer has ended,” it means that opportunity after opportunity has come and gone, but we did not avail ourselves of these gracious opportunities God granted to us to repent, trust in him and believe in his promise.

In 2 Kings 1 we read, “Is there no God in Israel?” and here we read, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” What is the answer? Yes, there is a God, the true and living God, in Israel! Yes, there is balm in Gilead! Never say there is no God to help you. Then Jeremiah asks, “Is there no physician there?” Again, the answer is, there is. There is a physician whose name is Jesus, and he is a present help in our trouble.

In 2 Kings 5 we read about Naaman the Syrian. He was a great general but he had leprosy. While in Syria he heard about the God of Israel, and came all the way to Samaria to be healed by him. When the man of God said to wash in the Jordan River, Naaman became very angry and he was not going to humble and repent. But God showed mercy and Naaman repented. He was saved and healed and he went back to Syria as an Israelite. Naaman, the pagan Gentile, went to Israel and found God, found balm, and found a physician. He was cured and restored.

We Can Still Repent

What about you? Let me tell you, your opportunities are not yet exhausted. There is a God here, a balm here, and a physician here. The balm of Gilead is the message of the cross, that Christ died for our sins. And as we said, the physician is Jesus. In Matthew 1:21 we read that his name is Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins.” The word of the cross is the gospel, and it alone is the prescription, the medicine, the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.

By God’s mercy our opportunities have not been exhausted; therefore, we must hear what God is speaking to us. In Jeremiah 2:13 we read, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” And in Jeremiah 3:12-13 we read, “Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, faithless Israel’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt. . . .'”

In Jeremiah 6:16 we read, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.'” What is the good way? The good way is Jesus. But Jeremiah continues, “But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.'”

In Jeremiah 17:5-6 we read, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.'” And in 2 Chronicles 7:14 we read, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

May God help us to humble ourselves. Perhaps you are like Ahaziah. You stepped on a lattice, it gave way and you were brought down. Yet you are not dead, and God has given you another opportunity to repent. Will you do so today? Will you acknowledge that you have dug cisterns for yourself that hold no water and have forsaken God, the spring of living water? Will you pray as the publican did, “God have mercy upon me, a sinner”? If so, you shall find mercy. We just read 2 Chronicles 7:14 in which God said, “I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” God is faithful and compassionate to those who repent.

God is the balm of Gilead and our physician. May he, therefore, help us to repent and turn to him this day. May he forgive us our sins, deliver us from trials and help and deliver us. And may we forsake all idols and turn to God in all sincerity of heart and true faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. Amen.