“Why are ye now turned back?”
The full verse · 2 Kings 1:5 · KJV
And when the turned unto him, he unto them, Why are ye turned ?
Asked by
Asked to
The royal messengers dispatched to inquire of Baal-zebub at Ekron, now returning prematurely to the king.
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionAhaziah asks to understand why his messengers returned so quickly, expressing surprise at their premature arrival before they could have completed the journey to Ekron. The question form invites explanation and reveals the king’s expectation that they should still be traveling.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe messengers explained that a man met them and commanded them to return with a message: Ahaziah would die because he sought Baal-zebub instead of inquiring of the Lord (2 Kings 1:6).
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyAhaziah’s question reveals his assumption that the messengers should still be en route to Ekron. The Hebrew construction emphasizes the unexpected nature of their return, maddua zeh shabtem, literally ‘why this returning?’ The demonstrative zeh (this) intensifies the king’s surprise. He frames the inquiry neutrally, seeking information rather than expressing anger, though the context suggests displeasure at the failed mission. The question form is necessary because Ahaziah cannot perceive the divine intervention that halted his messengers. His inquiry unwittingly opens the door to hear God’s judgment pronounced through Elijah. The theological weight rests in the irony: Ahaziah seeks an answer from his messengers while refusing to seek answers from the Lord, and the very question he asks becomes the vehicle for God’s prophetic word reaching him.
When your plans get interrupted, do you assume something went wrong or ask what God might be saying? Ahaziah’s surprise at his messengers’ return reveals how firmly he’d committed to his plan, consulting a pagan god rather than the Lord. We make the same mistake when we pursue our own solutions without first seeking God’s direction. James 4:13-15 warns against presuming on tomorrow without acknowledging God’s sovereignty. The interruption itself was God’s mercy, offering Ahaziah one last chance to recognize his idolatry. When your carefully laid plans unravel, pause and ask whether God is redirecting you toward Himself rather than away from Him.
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Keep questioning
“What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words?”
“Go and consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, to see if I will recover from this injury?”
“Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?”
“There came a man up to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron?”