9 Then the king sent a captain of fifty with his fifty to him. He went up to him; and behold, he was sitting on the top of the hill. He said to him, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’” 10 Elijah answered to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty!” Fire came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Again he sent to him another captain of fifty and his fifty. He answered him, “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down quickly!’” 12 Elijah answered them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from the sky, and consume you and your fifty!” The fire of God came down from the sky, and consumed him and his fifty. 13 Again he sent the captain of a third fifty with his fifty. The third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and begged him, and said to him, “Man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty your servants, be precious in your sight. 14 Behold, fire came down from the sky, and consumed the two former captains of fifty with their fifties. But now let my life be precious in your sight.” 15 The angel of Yahweh said to Elijah, “Go down with him. Don’t be afraid of him.”
He arose, and went down with him to the king. 16 He said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron, is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? Therefore you shall not come down from the bed where you have gone up, but shall surely die.” 17 So he died according to the word of Yahweh which Elijah had spoken. Jehoram began to reign in his place in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, aren’t they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Kings 1:9-18
Commentary on 2 Kings 1:9-18
(Read 2 Kings 1:9-18)
Elijah called for fire from heaven, to consume the haughty, daring sinners; not to secure himself, but to prove his mission, and to reveal the wrath of God from heaven, against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Elijah did this by a Divine impulse, yet our Saviour would not allow the disciples to do the like, Luke 9:54. The dispensation of the Spirit and of grace by no means allowed it. Elijah was concerned for God's glory, those for their own reputation. The Lord judges men's practices by their principles, and his judgment is according to truth. The third captain humbled himself, and cast himself upon the mercy of God and Elijah. There is nothing to be got by contending with God; and those are wise for themselves, who learn submission from the fatal end of obstinacy in others. The courage of faith has often struck terror into the heart of the proudest sinner. So thunderstruck is Ahaziah with the prophet's words, that neither he, nor any about him, offer him violence. Who can harm those whom God shelters? Many who think to prosper in sin, are called hence like Ahaziah, when they do not expect it. All warns us to seek the Lord while he may be found.