1:1 亞哈死後,摩押背叛以色列。
1:2 亞哈謝在撒馬利亞,一日從樓上的欄杆裡掉下來,就病了;於是差遣使者說:「你們去問以革倫的神巴力.西卜,我這病能好不能好。」
1:3 但耶和華的使者對提斯比人以利亞說:「你起來,去迎著撒馬利亞王的使者,對他們說:『你們去問以革倫神巴力.西卜,豈因以色列中沒有上帝嗎?』
1:4 所以耶和華如此說:『你必不下你所上的床,必定要死!』」以利亞就去了。
1:5 使者回來見王,王問他們說:「你們為甚麼回來呢?」
1:6 使者回答說:「有一個人迎著我們來,對我們說:『你們回去見差你們來的王,對他說:耶和華如此說,你差人去問以革倫神巴力.西卜,豈因以色列中沒有上帝嗎?所以你必不下所上的床,必定要死。』」
1:7 王問他們說:「迎著你們來告訴你們這話的,是怎樣的人?」
1:8 回答說:「他身穿毛衣,腰束皮帶。」王說:「這必是提斯比人以利亞。」
1:9 於是,王差遣五十夫長,帶領五十人去見以利亞,他就上到以利亞那裡;以利亞正坐在山頂上。五十夫長對他說:「神人哪,王吩咐你下來!」
1:10 以利亞回答說:「我若是神人,願火從天上降下來,燒滅你和你那五十人!」於是有火從天上降下來,燒滅五十夫長和他那五十人。
1:11 王第二次差遣一個五十夫長,帶領五十人去見以利亞。五十夫長對以利亞說:「神人哪,王吩咐你快快下來!」
1:12 以利亞回答說:「我若是神人,願火從天上降下來,燒滅你和你那五十人!」於是上帝的火從天上降下來,燒滅五十夫長和他那五十人。
1:13 王第三次差遣一個五十夫長,帶領五十人去。這五十夫長上去,雙膝跪在以利亞面前,哀求他說:「神人哪,願我的性命和你這五十個僕人的性命在你眼前看為寶貴!
1:14 已經有火從天上降下來,燒滅前兩次來的五十夫長和他們各自帶的五十人;現在願我的性命在你眼前看為寶貴!」
1:15 耶和華的使者對以利亞說:「你同著他下去,不要怕他!」以利亞就起來,同著他下去見王,
1:16 對王說:「耶和華如此說:『你差人去問以革倫神巴力.西卜,豈因以色列中沒有上帝可以求問嗎?所以你必不下所上的床,必定要死!』」
1:17 亞哈謝果然死了,正如耶和華藉以利亞所說的話。因他沒有兒子,他兄弟約蘭接續他作王,正在猶大王約沙法的兒子約蘭第二年。
1:18 亞哈謝其餘所行的事都寫在以色列諸王記上。
After Ahab’s death, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers, saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury.”
3 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?’ 4 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” So Elijah went.
5 When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?”
6 “A man came to meet us,” they replied. “And he said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”’”
7 The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?”
8 They replied, “He had a garment of hair[a] and had a leather belt around his waist.”
The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”
9 Then he sent to Elijah a captain with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”
10 Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.
11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”
12 “If I am a man of God,” Elijah replied, “may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.
13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”
15 The angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.
16 He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you 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!” 17 So he died, according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.
Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram[b] succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?
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上帝是靈明的上帝,是掌握一切的上帝,連王的心思意念都清楚!正如亞哈謝要派使者去問以革倫的神,有關於他的病會不會好的事情,上帝都知道!上帝就差遣以利亞來阻正如聖經所說:
「但耶和華的使者對提斯比人以利亞說:「你起來,去迎著撒馬利亞王的使者,對他們說:『你們去問以革倫神巴力.西卜,豈因以色列中沒有上帝嗎?』所以耶和華如此說:『你必不下你所上的床,必定要死!』」以利亞就去了。
這不是先知主動去宣告,而是上帝差遣天使告訴以利亞,以利亞就照著去做!可見上帝的做為高過人的作為,先知只不過是上帝的器皿!因此我們不要推崇先知,先知也是上帝的僕人,他理該做上帝要他做的事,當然上帝若願意也可以讓我們宣告祂的話語如同先知!當然今日上帝的話語就是聖經,就是宣告上帝的道!
而在新約時代唯一的先知就是耶穌基督,沒再有別的先知,我們都是先知的學生或稱門徒,所以我們稱為基督徒,而先知性也是整體性的就是教會!教會不可以忘記自己是先知的角色,要向世界宣告上帝的話語,要世人悔改歸向上帝,因為主耶穌再來的日子近了!這是我們唯一的預言!