“But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “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?’”

2 Kings 1:3

Three times we hear the question, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel …?’ (vs 3, 6, 16). The first time is when the angel tells Elijah what he is to say, the second when the king’s messengers tell Ahaziah what Elijah said to them, and on the third occasion the words come directly from Elijah to the king. By that point, God has made it quite clear that there is a God in Israel. The consuming fire verifies Elijah as a man of God – Elijah had prayed, ‘If I am a man of God, may fire come down’ (v. 10).

CLOSING PRAYER

Father God, it is your voice that I want to hear—keep from me those voices that would take me from you and the path to which you have called me.

(Edited from Encounter with God)