Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Second Kings opens by recounting Moab's rebellion against God and the people of Judah,

and we'll come back to this when we get to Chapter 3 in a few minutes.

Meanwhile, in the

northern kingdom of Israel, their king falls through a roof and is injured. He wants to know if he's

going to recover. So he asks his people to seek answers from a false god, Baalzab. You may recognize

that name, but maybe you didn't know this is where it came from. And you may also recognize

the name's meaning. It translates to

Lord of the Flies. But the one true God is privy to all that's happening, so he sends the angel of the

Lord to give Elijah an assignment. Elijah needs to rebuke the king's servant for seeking out guidance

from a false God and let them know their king Ahaziah will die. Ahaziah is not happy with Elijah's message,

of course, so he sends 50 people to threaten him. But when they get there, Elijah pulls out his

trademark moves of calling down fire from heaven and consumes them. Ahaziah must think it's a fluke

because he sends a second and then a third set of people to confront Elijah.

By the third set, the captain is nervous because now 100 people are toast.

The first two captains were pretty demanding of Elijah, but the third captain is more cautious and respectful, and he tries to talk reasonably with Elijah.

Elijah lets him know that God's word is firm. Ahaziah will die.

After Ahaziah dies, his younger brother Jehoram becomes the new king of Israel. And this is

worth noting, the king of Judah at this time is also named Jehoram. Some Bible translations

try to help with this confusion by referring to the king of Israel as Joram instead.

So you may not have to deal with this confusion at all, depending which translation you're using.

Speaking of potentially confusing names, chapter two recounts how Elisha takes over as Elijah's successor.

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