King Ahaziah gets hurt and bedridden. He sends to the god of Ekron to get word whether he would live or die.
Elijah is prompted by an angel to intercept the messengers and tell them God says he will die because he did not consult his own God, Elohim, the God of Israel.
So God is saying his unfaithfulness was punished by death.
Deuteronomy promises that God will reward faithfulness with life and unfaithfulness with death. God does punish sin with death a lot in the Old Testament.
Does God still punish like this today? Since Jesus has saved us all from our sins, we all have the right to choose forgiveness is it different now?
Jesus comments that those killed by the falling Tower of Siloam and those killed by Herod while sacrificing were no more sinful than others. They did not die because of a special judgment of God.
I think we see things as having consequences. We can still be forgiven but consequences remain. A man who kills another can be forgiven but he must still pay society's price for his deed. If I become an alcoholic I can be forgiven and perhaps healed but the destruction to my body will still remain.
I don't think we can easily judge when God punishes sin in this world. We just cannot understand the mind of God. I can say in general God judges today but I can never be confident of specific instances.
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