ESOCS Devotional 25 June 2026 – Wisdom For Preservation
MEMORY VERSE: “And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him” 2nd Kings. 1:13 (KJV).
TEXT: 2ND KINGS 1:9-15
Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men. So he went up to him; and there he was, sitting on the top of a hill. And he spoke to him: “Man of God, the king has said, ‘Come down!’ ”
10 So Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, “If I am a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. 11 Then he sent to him another captain of fifty with his fifty men.
And he answered and said to him: “Man of God, thus has the king said, ‘Come down quickly!’ ”
12 So Elijah answered and said to them, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men.” And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty.
13 Again, he sent a third captain of fifty with his fifty men. And the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and pleaded with him, and said to him: “Man of God, please let my life and the life of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight. 14 Look, fire has come down from heaven and burned up the first two captains of fifties with their fifties. But let my life now be precious in your sight.”
15 And the [b]angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid of him.” So he arose and went down with him to the king.
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Prov. 4:7 says, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.” Proverbs 3:18 says,“Length of days is in her right hand…” Again, Proverbs 8:35-36 says, “For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all that hate me love death” The above Bible verses express the virtues of wisdom. They are indicators that point to the expediency of acquiring wisdom, and its benefits.
Frankly speaking, no matter the circumstance one finds him or herself, there is always wisdom to guarantee escape. Unfortunately, many persons are blinded to this while others deliberately refuse to pay heed but prefer to wallow in ignorance and foolishness.
This was the case in our text where King Ahaziah sent fifty hefty men with their captain to go and bring down Prophet Elijah. Acting on the instructions without applying wisdom, they all got consumed by fire from heaven at the request of Elijah. Ironically, the second fifty were sent on the same mission and became victims like the first fifty and their captain.
On their arrival, the captain of the third fifty decided to apply wisdom for the preservation of his life and those of his fifty while executing the directives of the king. It takes a man who is alive to get the job done. Below are some of the wisdom that secured his preservation:
Humility: “…and came and fell on his knees before Elijah…” Anywhere true humility is confirmed, preservation is guaranteed. Whether it is the preservation of status, position in organization or religious setting, humility plays a major role. No one keeps the proud and arrogant for too long. It will take nothing out of you to be humble before your parents, authorities, elders and spiritual fathers. If you love life, then imbibe the wisdom of humility.
Communication: “…and besought him, and said unto him…” While the first two fifties came with a commanding tune, the third came with a well-mannered approach. He had good communication skill. If there is any challenge with many persons who run errands for leaders, it is the issue of communication. They have good message, but are bad communicators. We must learn the wisdom of communication. There are troubles we would have escaped if only we communicated properly.
Reflections
- Deal with every trace of pride and be humble.
- Consciously develop a good communication skill and have good manner of approach.
Prayer
- Father, grant us the grace to apply the wisdom needed for our preservation.
Further Reading: Exodus 16:22-end; 2 Kings 10:18-28; John 8:48-end; Revelation 19:11-end
ESOCS Devotional 25 June 2026
