through Elijah and are repeatedly consumed by fire. In the end the king’s messengers finally get their way (vv. 15–16), but it has nothing to do with their power. The messenger (angel) of Yahweh comes to Elijah again, instructing him to go down to the king, so that Elijah may personally deliver the same oracle to the king. Ahaziah is portrayed as someone relentlessly driven to his own destruction. The king intends to solicit the power of foreknowledge and healing from the god of Ekron, but when frustrated