TODAY'S BIBLE TWEET

BIBLE TEXT: “…and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.” (2 Kings 1:2b KJV)

BIBLE TWEET: Ahaziah’s idolatry is illustrated by his inquiry, as to whether or not he would recover from his injuries, to the idol Baal-zebub, the false god of Ekron, rather than to the one and only true God, Jehovah, the God of Israel.

BIBLE TAKEAWAY: The name “Baal-zebub” literally meant “lord of the flies,” suggesting some nonexistent deity prayed to by pagans to drive flies away. Perhaps, to poke fun at so profane and pitiful a pagan deity, the Jews changed the name to “Beelzeboul,” which means “lord of dung” or “lord of filth.” It appears that the name had further devolved as a pejorative by the time of the New Testament, for it appears seven times in the Synoptic Gospels as “Beelzebub,” an epithet for Satan or “the prince of demons.” Herein a much darker and deeper truth is divulged; namely, that hiding behind ever worthless idol is the devil, who is the real recipient of all of the worship of all idolaters. (Deuteronomy 32:17; Psalm 106:36-37; 1 Corinthians 10:19-20)