Nestled in the historical section of the Old Testament is the sad story of Ahaziah the king of Israel.  The son of infamous ruling parents Ahab and Jezebel who were best known for their idol worship of Baal and their unfortunate confrontation with the prophet Elijah on Mount Carmel, Ahaziah could have reversed course by deciding to revere the LORD, heeding his commands.  But he did not.  Ahaziah openly served Baal, publicly worshiped Baal and provoked the LORD. (1 Kings 22:53)   One  afternoon in Samaria, Ahaziah fell through some lattice in the upper chamber of his palace.  Severely injured, he dispatched messengers to inquire of the local cult of Baal – Zebub as to whether he would recover.  In the meantime, the Angel of the LORD gave a heads up to Elijah by reporting the incident and Ahaziah’s messengers.  Elijah’s instructions were to intercept the king’s messengers by delivering a counter message from the LORD.  It was one of those quite direct, “Thus says the LORD …” type of memos that prophets like Elijah were well known to deliver.  The word from the LORD simply began, “Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal – Zebub, the god of Ekron?” (2 Kings 1:3)  The prophetic revelation continued with the word that there was not to be any recovery, only death, for their boss man.  When the messengers returned quickly to Ahaziah, delivering the divine proclamation plus figuring out, via wardrobe analysis, that the prophet of the doomsday message was Elijah the king immediately sends troops to bring in the man of God himself.  That did not work out too well for the king nor his first two platoons of fifty soldiers, but eventually Elijah reported to the palace to deliver the message in person: “Thus says the Lord, ‘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 to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” (2 Kings 1:16)  Of course, Ahaziah died. 

What gives this story a bridge to the 21st century is the haunting question asked by the LORD via the prophet Elijah: “Is it because there is no God _____________________________?”  (fill in the blank).   Any number of faulty attitudes, shaky values and distorted priorities (as well their subsequent actions) can be inserted into the blank as an indication of the modern idolatry and false gods creeping into our lifestyles.  “Is it because there is no God that I partied all weekend in Las Vegas?”  Or even, “Is it because there is no God that I took out all those student loans?” There are any number of human activities that can be illuminated under the scrutiny of this poignant question.  Is God really there and do I trust him or not?  Certainly the moral decline of American culture is a product of a failure to answer this question adequately.  For instance, one blank could be filled in “Is it because there is no God that we have legalized marijuana?”  Or,  “Is it because there is no God that we have issues of gender confusion?” Or,  “Is it because there is no God that abortion continues at such an alarming rate?”   Historian Jacques Barzun has noted, “When people accept futility and the absurd as normal, the culture is decadent.” (From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 11)  Decline of individuals and culture is eminent when God is ignored.  The second time the question is mentioned the LORD adds, “… is it because there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word?”  When God is really there and when God has spoken, everything changes.  There is a personal and cultural due north on the moral compass. This is about getting first things first.  It’s not about religion, it is about reality: God is really there and has clearly spoken in creation, in Jesus Christ and in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.  We ignore this truth with the greatest of peril, but we can embrace this truth with the greatest of joy, purpose and meaning.