Playing with Fire

King Ahaziah broke through the lattice of his toilet and fell down a 40 foot shaft into feces and urine. He sought help from a demon god from the resulting infection and God tapped Elijah to tell Ahaziah he would die of his affliction. The king didn’t appreciate the message and ordered Elijah’s death.

Unlike before, Elijah showed no evidence of fear and the wicked son of Ahab was humiliated when God sent fire from heaven and torched two detachments of soldiers. Later on, God revealed to Elijah that his time on earth was rapidly coming to an end. Elisha was aware of this fact and he was determined to get an anointing from the Lord.

A chariot of fire took Elijah to heaven and he joined a short list of people who never died. The only thing left behind was his mantle and Elisha used it to establish himself as Elijah’s successor when he smote and parted the waters of Jordan.

God wasn’t done with Elijah and he came back to earth some 880 years later as a messenger and comforter to Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. Elijah made an impact with the people of Israel and his faith in God is example of what can happen when a man trusts the Lord.