the third captain

I can remember a handful of occasions in my military days when I was given orders I didn’t want to carry out, but I don’t think I’ve ever gotten orders as bad as the ones I read about this morning, in 2 Kings 1:13-14: “So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. ‘Man of God,’ he begged, ‘please have respect for my life and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!’”

It’s hard to imagine that feeling when your commander says, “Captain, take a reinforced platoon and go get Elijah. But be advised, he doesn’t want to come and God is backing him up. The last two patrols I sent got burned to a crisp. But I need to to try anyway.”

The third captain used the only tactic that would work; he pleaded with Elijah. He recognized that this prophet of God, alone as he was, was the one dealing from a position of strength. Two captains tried to exert power and force; the third entreated Elijah and, through him, God.

It’s a reminder to me that God cannot be forced or commanded or coerced; he can only be asked. Anyone who thinks otherwise is in for a rude awakening at some point.

It’s interesting that, like so much of the world today, the king recognized that God had power over his future, and knew what would happen. But the king thought God would recognize and be impressed by his worldly position; Elijah taught him otherwise.

I think sometimes I want God to see what I’ve done, how I’ve contributed, what I’ve accomplished, and maybe treat me a little better. When I think that way, I forget that God is already giving me exactly what I would want if I knew everything he knows. That’s why the third captain got it right; the only thing I can do before God is kneel and ask.