2 Kings 1 Bible study: No God in Israel?

The book opens in one line: "Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab" (1:1). 2 Kings comes back to it in chapter 3 (3:4-5). Then: "Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper room that was in Samaria, and was sick" (1:2) (tap lattice). 1 Kings ended with him: he "did that which was evil in the LORD’s sight" (1 Kings 22:52) and "served Baal and worshiped him" (1 Kings 22:53). Now he sends messengers: "Go, inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I will recover from this sickness" (1:2) (tap inquire, recover). The chapter calls Baal Zebub "the god of Ekron" and tells nothing more of him (tap Baal Zebub). Joshua names "the Ekronites" among "the five lords of the Philistines" (Joshua 13:3). The law given at Sinai had said, "You shall have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3).

2 Kings 1:8→leads toMatthew 11:14

The king asks, "What kind of man was he who came up to meet you and told you these words?" (1:7). "He was a hairy man, and wearing a leather belt around his waist", and the king says, "It’s Elijah the Tishbite" (1:8). Malachi had said, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes" (Malachi 4:5). Matthew says John "wore clothing made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist" (Matthew 3:4), and Jesus, speaking to the crowds "concerning John" (Matthew 11:7), said, "If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come" (Matthew 11:14). Neither Matthew nor Jesus names 2 Kings, so setting 1:8 beside them is a reading. Some see John's clothing as marking him out as the Elijah Jesus speaks of, known as Elijah was known in 1:8. Others read Jesus' words as resting on Malachi's promise and on John coming "in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17), and draw no line from John's clothing to 1:8.

יָרַדyaradsay ya-RAD

Brown-Driver-Briggs: "come or go down, descend". Strong's: "to descend". The Hebrew of this chapter uses it twelve times: the bed Ahaziah "will not come down from" (1:4, 1:6, 1:16); the captains' "Come down!" (1:9) and "Come down quickly!" (1:11); the fire Elijah calls to "come down from the sky", which "came down" (1:10, 1:12, 1:14); and the angel's "Go down with him", after which Elijah "went down with him to the king" (1:15). In 1 Kings 17 it is the verb of Elijah's "brought him down out of the room" (1 Kings 17:23), when he gave the widow's son back to her alive.