Ahazya (Part 9)

The structure of the story sheds an additional light on the story. The subject of our story is the victory of God's word and the victory of its bearer over the king who has sinned.  However, the real message of the story is the failure of the attempts to harm Eliyahu.  Those who attempt to sabotage the fulfillment of God's word by harming Eliyahu are punished.  In contrast, those who submit to the prophet are not harmed, even though the act of submission would seem to endanger them.  This is true of Ahazya's first set of messengers, as well as applying to the third captain of fifty and his men.