Choice Notes On Joshua Through 2 Kings
by F B Meyer
Introduction
1 Kings 1 Solomon Anointed King
1 Kings 2 The Death of David
1 Kings 3 Solomon's Wisdom
1 Kings 4 A Glorious Kingdom
1 Kings 5 Hiram, King Of Tyre
1 Kings 6 The Erected Temple
1 Kings 7 Solomon's Palace
1 Kings 8 The Temple Dedication
1 Kings 9 God's Covenant With Solomon
1 Kings 10 The Queen Of Sheba
1 Kings 11 Death Of Solomon
1 Kings 12 Rehoboam
1 Kings 13 Jeroboam
1 Kings 14 Judgements Predicted
1 Kings 15 Asa's Good Reign
1 Kings 16 Dark Days In Israel
1 Kings 17 Elijah, The Tishbite
1 Kings 18 The Triumph At Carmel
1 Kings 19 The Still, Small Voice
1 Kings 20 Ben-hadad's Discomfiture
1 Kings 21 Naboth's Vineyard
1 Kings 22 Death Of Ahab
Introduction
The Books of Kings were originally one book in the Hebrew Bible. They cover the whole time of the Israelitish monarchy,
exclusive of the reigns of Saul and David. The Jewish tradition ascribes them to Jeremiah, and this is corroborated
by internal evidence. But of course, Jeremiah, if he were the compiler, availed himself of the state records, and
of all the documentary or oral sources of information within his reach. The Spirit of God was continually prompting
his prophets to preserve a continuous record of the history of the chosen people; and thus abundant materials would
be waiting for the author's use.
The First Book of Kings carries the story of Israel from the death of David to that of Ahab, while the record of
the kingdom of Judah is carried to the death of Jehoshaphat. It is a wonderful story of the fulfilment of God's
gracious promise to David, side by side with the chastisement of the people for their sins. The story of Solomon's
greatness; the building of his temple; the breaking away of the ten tribes; the ministry of Elijah -- are told
at considerable length. This book is often quoted in the New Testament; and our Lord especially derived from it
many a searching lesson, as when He spoke of the Queen of Sheba, and the widow woman of Sarepta.
1 KINGS 1
SOLOMON ANOINTED KING
1 Kings 1:1-10 Adonijah's revolt. -- Adonijah was the fourth son of David (2Sa 3:4), and perhaps the oldest then
surviving. He was born after Absalom (1 Kings 1:6); and, like him, was goodly in appearance, ambitious in spirit,
and spoiled by his father's indulgence (1 Kings 1:5-6). This attempt on his part to usurp the kingdom was a fulfilment
of Nathan's prediction in 2Sa 12:10-11. To the end of his life the effects of David's sin followed him. And as
Bathsheba and he met, for perhaps the last time on this dark day, each of them must have remembered the announcement
which had broken in on their guilty attachment so long before. How carefully we should walk before God, trusting
Him to keep us moment by moment, since one glance of the eye may lead to such disastrous results!
The revolt was abetted by Joab and Abiathar (1 Kings 1:7). The former had more than once crossed David's purpose,
and might reasonably fear that Solomon would not favor him, while the latter was perhaps jealous of Zadok. It was
a compliment to the fidelity of the others that they were not invited.
1 Kings 1:11-27 Bathsheba's and Nathan's appeal. -- Any jealousy that might have stirred in the heart of the royal
consort at seeing her place taken by another, was hushed in the presence of the supreme danger which threatened
not only to engulf her hopes that Solomon should succeed to the throne, but to involve both her and him in a common
death. What a noble part Nathan had played in David's life! How much we owe to a true and wise friend!
1 Kings 1:28-38 David's decisive action. -- Though weakened in body, his mind was clear and his spirit strong and
resolute. He did not forget, in those closing days of his life, the bitter adversity of his earlier years, or the
redeeming mercy of God. He was equally mindful of his own solemn words of promise made in the presence of the living
God: "As I sware unto thee.., so will I do this day" His action was as prudent as it was prompt, and
left no doubt as to his successor. Solomon must ride on David's own mule (1 Kings 1:33; Gen 41:43; Est 6:8), attended
by the royal body-guard (1 Kings 1:38), and anointed by Priest and Prophet.
1 Kings 1:39-53 Solomon's coronation. -- The tidings of this glad event carried comfort and joy into the hearts
of all loyal citizens, but dismay into the hearts of traitors. To the one a savor of life unto life, to others
of death unto death. Those shouts that made the earth ring anticipated the acclamation that shall accompany the
exaltation of Jesus to be King of men. Ah, happy day for His Church; but woe to them that plot against His rule!
The nations rage and the peoples take counsel together; yet God will set His Son upon His holy hill. Let the Adonijahs
and Joabs make haste to kiss Him, lest they perish from His presence.
1 KINGS 2
THE DEATH OF DAVID
1 Kings 2:1-11 David's charge and death. -- With all its faults it had been a great life. The clouds had passed
away and the sun shone out as it westered. There was no faltering in the tones of the voice that gave its farewell
charge. Though he was in the valley of the shadow, he feared no evil -- God was with him. The dying man spoke,
not only by the inspiration of God's Spirit, but as epitomizing his own experiences; and it is good to ponder these
strong and noble words. To be strong in God's might; to quit oneself as a man; to keep God's charge; to walk in
His ways; to keep His statutes and commandments -- such is the pathway of prosperity and peace. When once God has
passed His word, years may intervene; but it shall be even as He has said if only we, on our part, fulfil the conditions
on which His promise is based.
At first it might appear is if David carried to the grave, feelings of bitter hatred to the men whom he named to
Solomon. But we must not forget that he spoke as much as a politician as a man. He saw that they constituted a
grave source of danger to the public peace, and therefore warned Solomon against them. Nor were his prognostications
mistaken; for as this chapter shows, each of them was discovered in acts of treachery, for which, rather than because
of David's injunctions, they suffered death, What a comment on Psa 55:23!
1 Kings 2:12-46 The fate of traitors. -- Adonijah, when David was dead, revived his attempt to gain the throne.
To have received one of David's wives would have given him a claim for something more. The request was probably
the first of a series of moves, concocted by himself and his accomplices. They made a tool of Bathsheba, who, as
the king's mother, would have special weight with him. She apparently did not see through the plot; but Solomon
did. And though he paid her exemplary respect (1 Kings 2:19-20), he steadfastly refused her request, and proceeded
to take the life of Adonijah, who had prompted it.
Abiathar's deposition, in fulfilment of an ancient prediction (1Sa 2:31), and the death of Joab, who had been guilty
of atrocious murders, still further weakened the party of disaffection (1 Kings 2:26-36). Notice Joab's vain attempt
to find safety at the altar (1 Kings 2:28-31). He reminds us of those who, notwithstanding their unconfessed sins,
think to gain exemption from punishment by external rites. The cross itself will not save if we have not the spirit
of the cross within, contrite and penitent, believing and forgiving. Shimei broke the condition on which his life
depended, and died by the hand of Benaiah (1 Kings 2:36 -48). (See Pro 25:5.)
1 KINGS 3
SOLOMON'S WISDOM
1 Kings 3:1-4 Solomon's marriage. -- More than a year before he had married Naamah, an Ammonitess, the mother of
Rehoboam (2Ch 12:13). Shadows soon began to gather on the fair dawn. The marriage with Pharoah's daughter was not
absolutely forbidden, as alliances with the Canaanites were; but it was very inopportune. Was this the theme of
Psalm 45? There are two significant onlys in the second and third verses. But these reservations may have been
due to the want of a proper temple, in which the people might observe their religious rites. Solomon's love to
God, and his appropriate conduct, are delightful gleams of promise.
1 Kings 3:5-15 Solomon's choice. -- Solomon had deeply pondered the lessons of David's life. He had seen that God's
great kindness had been shown on the conditions of David's truth, righteousness, and uprightness of heart; and
that God had kept His great kindness for His servant. And it was on this that he founded his own requests and trust.
So may the religious life of the parent become a priceless legacy to the child. It is to those who count themselves
as little children that God reveals things hidden from the wise and prudent, and shows Himself strong. Happy is
the man, who, in the presence of a great responsibility, can say, "1 am but a little child; I know not"
(1 Kings 3:7).
To each of us, as we abide in Jesus, the gracious words come, "Ask what I shall give thee:' (See 1Jo 5:15).
The only limitations are those imposed by our faith or our capacity to receive. Happy are we if we seek not our
own, but Christ's! When we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, all things else are added. When
we are set on doing God's work, we may claim with confidence the special gifts needed for its effective doing;
and God will bestow, not these alone, but all else we require, exceeding abundantly above all we ask or think.
"No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly:'
1 Kings 3:16-28 Solomon's wisdom, m How could so difficult a case as this be decided, when no witnesses could be
called on either side? The proposal to divide the child revealed the mother's heart. Better lose her babe than
that it should die. It appealed to the great instincts of the human heart, and struck a responsive chord throughout
all Israel, as the story of the incident spread from lip to lip. "The people feared the king, for they saw
that the wisdom of God was in him" (1 Kings 3:28). Bishop Hall, commenting on the incident, says, "Satan,
that hath no right to the heart, would be content with a piece of it; God, that made it all, will have either the
whole or none."
1 KINGS 4
A GLORIOUS KINGDOM
In the previous chapter an incident was given to show how Solomon was endowed with special wisdom; here further
proof is given of his unparalleled riches and honor.
1 Kings 4:1-21 His internal administration. -- The scribes or secretaries; the recorder or annalist; the commander-in-chief;
the chief of the officers; the confidential minister, adviser, or friend of the king -- all are carefully enumerated.
The twelve officers seem to have been charged to collect the revenues for the royal treasury, which in the East
are generally paid in the produce of the soil. Each provided maintenance for the king from his district for one
month in the year. It was evidently a time of great prosperity and joy (1 Kings 4:20).
But from Solomon we turn to a greater than he. Who can measure the unsearchable riches of Christ! What roll-call
can contain the names of those who have served Him faithfully, and are now gathered around His throne! How happy
and safe are they who own Him as their King! "Eating and drinking and making merry" (1 Kings 4:20). (See
Eph 5:19.)
1 Kings 4:22-28 His provision and magnificence. -- From the river Euphrates to the Philistines were the borders
of the Kingdom, which at this time realized the extent predicted to Abraham (Gen 15:18). Tiphsah was on the western
bank of the Euphrates, and Azzah was Gaza on the Philistines' border. Thirty measures of fine flour would be equal
to two hundred and forty bushels. Instead of forty thousand stalls (probably an error in transcription), read four
thousand, as in 2Ch 9:25.
So Christ shall have dominion from the river to the uttermost ends of the earth. All kings shall fall down before
Him: and the uttermost parts all contribute to the magnificence of His reign (Isa. 60). All things are ours, because
we are His.
1 Kings 4:29-34 His marvellous endowments. -- What is here said of Solomon has its abundant counterpart in our
blessed Lord. There is nothing in our lives, small as a hyssop, that escapes His notice. And there is no problem
so perplexing that He cannot solve it. He not only speaks of all the abundant animal creation; but He speaks to
each, and they serve His will. And as we read Psalm 72, we feel that its marvellous portraiture is only perfectly
realized in the Prince of the kings of the earth.
1 KINGS 5
HIRAM, KING OF TYRE
Before his death David made great preparations for the building of the Temple (1Ch 29:1-5). The time for commencing
the work had at last arrived.
1 Kings 5:1-3 Times of peace. -- David had been prevented from executing his purpose, because he was a man of war
and blood (1Ch 22:8). But, as God had promised, "a man of rest" was now on his throne. The name Solomon
means peaceful God had given him rest. It is only in times of peace that the Temple of God can be built, whether
in man's heart or in the world (Act 9:31). It is the still heart that becomes the habitation of God. "This
is my rest for ever, here will I dwell:' Times of temptation and difficulty are needed to brace us to endure hardship;
but we grow most in days of calm and loving meditation.
1 Kings 5:4-12 Hiram. -- A lover of David; and through that love probably possessed of a faith in David's God.
He was a Gentile, but he had an important function in the building of the Temple: indeed, much of its beauty and
magnificence was due to him. Isaiah alludes to this as foreshadowing events still future (Isa 60:10-13). And our
Lord Himself, of whom Solomon was a type, permits them that are "far off" to come and build in the Temple
of the Lord (Zec 6:12-15). Every believer is a living stone in the Temple, and is called to fellowship with the
Lord in its erection. How careful the historian is to fall back reverently and repeatedly on the Divine promise
(1 Kings 5:12). Amid all the splendor of Solomon's realm, we can never forget the Divine purpose and promise to
which all must be counted back. My soul, boast not of aught which thou hast; thou hast nothing which thou hast
not received.
"lyre gave skill and labor; Israel supplied food for the workmen as well as for Hiram's household. For twenty
measures of pure oil (1 Kings 5:11), read twenty-thousand baths, as in 2Ch 2:10.
1 Kings 5:13-18 Solomon's levy. -- These were not Israelites, but tributary or conquered nations (1 Kings 9:20-22;
2Ch 2:17-18). This enforced service was extremely heavy and bitterly resented, as appeared afterwards (1 Kings
12:14-18). According to Josephus, Solomon enlarged the area of the top of the mount by raising a wall from the
valley beneath, and filling the intervening space with earth. Immense stones still attest these mighty works. Be
content to hew on the mountains, or shape in the valleys; so long as thou shalt do something for the building of
the Church, which is the true Temple of God, and thy work shall abide for ever.
1 KINGS 6
THE ERECTED TEMPLE
1 Kings 6:1 The time. -- Here is a chronological difficulty; there is some doubt as to the exact date (see Act
13:20). The early years of Solomon's reign were spent in preparation. The kingdom needed to be settled, and the
materials prepared. There must be times of subsoil work before there can be a harvest of results. Time is not wasted
which is spent in preparation.
1 Kings 6:2-14 The house. -- The Temple was twice the size of the Tabernacle, ninety feet long by thirty feet broad,
and forty-five feet high; the porch fifteen feet forward along the breadth. "The walls narrowed as they ascended,
by sets-off of about eleven inches on each side, which received the flooring-joists, as no cutting was permitted
on the sacred building:' It was built on the plan given by God to David (1Ch 28:11-19); and was a type, first,
of the body of the believer (1Co 3:16), and, lastly, of the whole Church of God (Eph 2:21, Eph 2:22). Each of these
is God's dwelling-place. There is no need to seek for God in any material structure, or even in heaven -- He is
within.
The silence in which the Temple was reared was very significant. Like some tall palm, growing amid the silence
of the desert, that wonderful building rose on the summit of Zion. The stone was made ready at the quarry. Thus
all true work in the world is being done still. But how reassuring the promise which broke in on the heart of Solomon,
that God would dwell there, and not forsake His people Israel.
1 Kings 6:15-38 The furniture. -- The stone walls were lined with cedar, and this was covered with gold. The Holy
of Holies called (1 Kings 6:16) the oracle -- was a perfect cube of thirty-five feet. The cherubim that stood erect
within were seventeen feet high, made of olive wood, and covered with gold. The house was for God, and so demanded
the best of everything. It took seven years to finish. Can we wonder therefore that the Church has taken so many
centuries for its erection, and is not yet complete?
1 KINGS 7
SOLOMON'S PALACE
1 Kings 7:1-12 Solomon's palace. -- This building was probably called "the house of the forest of Lebanon,'
because of the immense amount of cedar used in its construction. It, with the house for Pharaoh's daughter, was
probably one vast pile of buildings. Note the porch of pillars (1 Kings 7:6), the porch of judgment (1 Kings 7:7),
his own house, with its inner porch (1 Kings 7:8). It may be remarked that the stonework was equally excellent
on the inside, though covered with cedar, as on the outside (1 Kings 7:9); and in the formation, though out of
sight, as in the superstructure, God sees, and our most hidden work should be done in His sight, as to Him.
1 Kings 7:13-14 Hiram. -- His mother probably belonged to Dan (2Ch 2:14), and her first husband to Naphtali (1
Kings 7:14). "The head of a Tyrian, and the heart of an Israelite"; God uses all.
1 Kings 7:15-22 The brazen pillars. -- Each was twenty-seven feet high, and eighteen feet in circumference, and
the capitals seven and a half feet high. Here and in Jer 52:21, the height of the pillars alone is given; in 2Ch
3:15, that of the pedestals on which they stood is included. They were elaborately ornamented, and stood in the
temple porch. Their names spoke to every priest, as he entered on his ministry. Jachin, "He shall establish
or prepare." Boaz, "In Him is strength;' In worship and warfare, amid all life's changes, we need the
prepared and the strong heart.
1 Kings 7:23-26 The molten sea was substituted for the laver. It was called a sea because of its immense size.
Its contents would be equal to fourteen thousand gallons. We need not only the blood of the Altar, but the water
of the Word: not only the sacrifice of the cross, but the washing of the feet -- as in John 13 -- from the daily
defilement of the way. The same lesson is taught in the ten/avers used for washing the burnt-offerings (1 Kings
7:27-40). Our acts of consecration need cleansing; our prayers, the sweet incense of Christ's merit.
Elaborate details are given of the workmanship of the bases on which the lavers stood. They were on wheels, so
as to be easily moved from one part of the ample court to the other, as required (2Ch 4:6). Christ comes to where
we are in need of Him.
1 Kings 7:41-51 The immeasurable weight of material. -- "The weight was not searched out" (47, R.V.).
So is it with the unsearchable riches of Christ. Even the hinges and snuffers in Christian service should be of
gold, derived from Him. You cannot weigh up God's grace; nor our hope and joy. They are unspeakable. They pass
knowledge. As you leave the outer courts and go ever deeper, you find that brass is left for gold. Always from
grace to grace; from strength to strength; from glory to glory.
1 KINGS 8
THE TEMPLE DEDICATION
1 Kings 8:1-13 The Temple dedicated. -- The Feast of Tabernacles, which was held in the seventh month (Lev 23:34),
was blended with this solemn festival: or perhaps the one feast immediately followed the other (1 Kings 8:65).
All Israel in festive attire welcomed the ark to its abiding place, with sacrifices that could not be numbered.
The Priests bare it; for the Levites, by whom this duty had been performed, were not permitted to enter the Holy
of Holies.
There is rare joy in the heart, when He, of whom the ark was a type, with its blood-stained propitiatory, takes
up His abode there. Then the glory-cloud fills the whole being, and there is no longer any part dark; but the spirit,
soul, and body -- the Holy of Holies, and the outer court -- are all infilled. This is to be sanctified wholly.
Thus the whole nature may be preserved blameless (1Th 5:23).
The budding rod and the pot of manna had disappeared. They were the symbols of a life that had passed away. But
the Holy Law was there. In our most rapturous experiences we shall never be able to get away from the need of loving
meditation on God's Word.
1 Kings 8:14-21 The people blessed. -- Solomon recited the chain of incidents that had conducted to that august
moment. Each link is worthy of notice, especially the clause which declares that though David was not permitted
to carry his pious intention into effect, it was yet accepted. "Thou didst well that it was in thine heart"
There are many who desire to devote their lives to God as missionaries or ministers, but are hindered by death,
or home-ties, or other considerations. But they are credited before God, not only with the desire, but with the
fact. In the seed He beholds the perfected plant.
1 Kings 8:22-54 The prayer of intercession and consecration. -- He began by standing (1 Kings 8:22), but in the
eager pursuit of his entreaties, he found his way to his knees (1 Kings 8:54). Familiarity with God begets reverence
(Heb 12:28). All prayer should contain a large proportion of adoration. What scope we have for this as we meditate
on God's faithfulness (1 Kings 8:24), and His promises (1 Kings 8:25)! In prayer, God's children should quote and
claim the promises. Let us also be minute in prayer, passing step by step through the needs of our life, and asking
appropriate help. The vindication of righteousness (1 Kings 8:31); defeat (1 Kings 8:33); drought (1 Kings 8:35);
pestilence (1 Kings 8:37); the case of the stranger (1 Kings 8:41); captivity in a strange land (1 Kings 8:46)
-- these will suggest counterparts in all lives. But in each case there had to be confession, directed towards
that place where the blood was shed and the priesthood burnt sweet incense -- so in our case there is no forgiveness,
save through the sacrifice and intercession of Jesus Christ. There are some notable expressions in this prayer:
"The plague of the heart" (1 Kings 8:38), "The furnace of iron" (1 Kings 8:51), and so on.
1 Kings 8:55-66 Thanksgiving and sacrifice. -- As God had not failed, so they might reckon on His being true. This
reckoning God to be faithful to do what He has promised is the after-glow of true prayer; and then there is the
obvious condition on our side of the perfect heart. In considering the great numbers of victims sacrificed, let
us not forget, that though all was offered to God, only a small part was burnt on the altar; the rest was eaten.
It was needful to make provision for the immense multitudes of guests.
1 KINGS 9
GOD'S COVENANT WITH SOLOMON
1 Kings 9:1-9 God's second appearance. -- It is suggested that the dedication of the Temple did not take place
until Solomon had finished his own house. There was nothing then to distract his mind, and no unfinished works
on the great Temple-site. This second vision was intended to assure Solomon that his prayer was heard and the new
Temple hallowed; and to declare the conditions on which both king and people might be assured of permanent prosperity.
As soon as we yield ourselves to God to be only His, He enters upon a possession, guaranteeing our security. Obedience
to the least prompting of the Divine Spirit is an essential condition of blessedness and prosperity. Let us watch
against indolence in the self-watch. It is true that we are not under the law, but under grace; but we are under
the law to Christ.
1 Kings 9:10-14 Hiram's discontent. -- "Cabul" in the Phoenician tongue, signified unpleasing. It was
a pity, after all their cooperation, that there was any grievance between the two. But there is no security for
human friendship unless it is based on the love of God.
1 Kings 9:15-28 Solomon's growing power. -- All great kings have been great builders. Baalath (1 Kings 9:18) is
supposed by some to have been Baalbek, in the extreme north of Canaan; but more likely it was a town on the southern
frontier. Tadma, or Tamar, is supposed to have been Palmyra, midway between Damascus and the Euphrates, forming
an oasis. The remnants of the Hittites that still lived among the Israelites were reduced to bondage; but the chosen
people furnished the soldiers and officers of state.
It is significant to have this mention of mercantile marine at Ezion-geber. It was a strange outburst of national
life which made the Jew a sailor, willing to undertake journeys to Ophir (India). But what visions of new worlds
must those voyages to the barbaric splendor of India have excited! In 2Ch 8:18 the weight of gold is fixed at four-hundred
and fifty talents; perhaps the thirty talents went to defray the expenses of the voyage, the balance alone being
paid into the royal treasury.
In these early years Solomon's piety seemed to keep pace with his success, and we learn of his public appearance
three times yearly for the purposes of sacrifice (1 Kings 9:25).
1 KINGS 10
THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
1 Kings 10:1-13 The Queen of Sheba. -- Mat 12:42 gives the spiritual lessons of this memorable visit. She heeded
the report. She came to verify it. She had many questions --questions for heart as well as head. We, too, are troubled
with these; but for each of them there is a solution in Jesus, the "greater than Solomon:' Too often men seem
to suppose that we must stay away from Him till these questions are all answered, and only afterwards go to His
feet. But at this rate we shall never go at all. We must travel to Him from the uttermost parts, and in the light
of His face all mists and clouds will vanish.
This Eastern queen found that the half had not been told of Solomon's wisdom and prosperity. So when we come to
Christ, His wisdom and goodness far surpass the power of men and angels to utter. The soul exults in the golden
radiance of His love and grace, which are inexpressible. We sink in our own esteem, there is no spirit left in
us; while we have ever enlarging conceptions of Christ. There, however, the likeness ends. She had to leave the
magnificent monarch, congratulating those who ever stood in his presence; we, on the other hand, need never pass
out of the presence-chamber of our King. Fed on His provision; living on His royal bounty; and satisfied with His
goodness. He also gives all our desire, and "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think:'
1 Kings 10:14-29 The glory of Solomon. -- The "ascent" (1 Kings 10:5) may have been a splendid aqueduct
between Mount Zion and Mount Moriah. Almug trees, probably sandal-wood, brought from India (2Ch 9:10, 2Ch 9:11).
Tarshish is supposed to have been situated on the coast of Spain. The horses came up from Egypt in droves (1 Kings
10:28), in violation of Deu 17:16. There was a great temptation to trust in these as a means of defense rather
than in Jehovah (Isa 31:1). This magnificence furnishes materials on which the prophet constructs his conceptions
of the latter-day glory of the coming King (Isa. 60).
1 KINGS 11
DEATH OF SOLOMON
1 Kings 11:1-13 Declension and sentence. -- Solomon's fall was attributable to the influence of his wives, whom,
in direct defiance of God's command, he had married from surrounding nations (Deu 7:3-4). Strange women caused
him to sin (Neh 13:26). A wife will make or mar. How many of the greatest men have been ruined through their passions.
Temples rose in the holy city to heathen deities; and the sin was greatly aggravated in Solomon's case by the great
privileges he had enjoyed. There was no help for it, but that he should be severely chastised. He had been specially
pre-warned that such would be the case (2Sa 7:14); and the more privileged and honored we are, the more disastrous
our fall, the more inevitable our sufferings. If God loved us less, He might spare us more. Because we are capable
of such heights, He makes it impossible for us to rest contented in the bed of luxurious self-indulgence. He punishes
us with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men. All the while, however, His mercy does not
depart from us; but lingers over us, as a father will listen at the closed door of his child's chamber to detect
the first symptoms of broken-hearted sorrow.
1 Kings 11:14-43 Adversaries and death. -- Hadad was first stirred up. He was prosperous and comfortable in Egypt;
but he felt that mysterious prompting to go, he knew not why or where. We know not from where these strange movings
come, or where they go; but we do well to follow them. "Let me go in any wise:' Then Rezon came (1 Kings 11:23);
and lastly and most disastrously, Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:26). It would appear that the latter, a young man of great
promise, was at the head of a large body of men, principally belonging to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and
engaged on the royal works in Jerusalem.
It was thus at Ahijah, a native of Shiloh and a prophet, met him. The prophet had clothed himself with a new mantle,
to give a more effective presentation of his message (1 Kings 11:29, R.V.). The taking away of ten tribes would
.leave two (1 Kings 11:32); but Simeon had by this time so lost his identity that it was practically absorbed into
Judah. Solomon's attempt to murder Jeroboam (1 Kings 11:40) is in bitter contrast with the opening of his reign.
He is said to have written the Book of Ecclesiastes after this; if this be so, we may trust that he became a penitent.
But, in any case, it was a sad overcasting of a brilliant dawn.
1 KINGS 12
REHOBOAM
1 Kings 12:1-15 Rehoboam's accession. -- Solomon's reign had been splendid, but very oppressive; it was reasonable
to ask for some relief. And there was much wisdom in the counsel of the old men: "Serve them, and they will
be thy servants for ever" That is a true principle. It underlay the sacrifice of Calvary. "Thou art worthy
to take the best, for Thou wast slain" It is because Jesus has girded Himself and washed our feet that we
gladly bear the brand marks of His service for ever. But Rehoboam chose the counsel of the young men, who advised
a more spirited policy. These young men had been educated with him, and were probably about the same age. He was
forty. "The scorpion was a long and heavy scourge, weighted with spikes of metal"
1 Kings 12:16-24 The revolt of the ten tribes. -- Jeroboam suddenly found himself possessor of four-fifths of the
land of Canaan, together with the sovereignty of Moab (2Ki 1:1; 2Ki 3:4). A resort to arms was forbidden. The Divine
purpose was being performed, though the chief agents in executing it were probably unconscious of anything more
than their own ambitions and plans. God makes the wrath of man praise Him, and the remainder He restrains (see
also Act 2:23).
1 Kings 12:25-33 The two calves. -- Jeroboam knew better than to attempt, by the setting up of the golden calves,
to seduce the people from the spirituality of their worship. It was rather the worship of Jehovah under a material
form as under the brow of Sinai (comp. 1 Kings 12:28 and Exo 32:4). The introduction of new and false deities was
left for Ahab's reign. But this worship of the golden calves was a distinct violation of the second commandment.
Jeroboam was prompted in this matter, by distrust. Ahijah had clearly told him that, if he would be obedient, God
would build him a sure house; but, not content with this, he attempted to make his position surer, and resorted
to mere expediency to gain his ends. His endeavor was to make it needless for the people to go to worship at Jerusalem,
by making shrines within his own territory.
Bethel was at the extreme south, Dan at the extreme north, of the new Kingdom. The Levites remained true to God
(comp. 1 Kings 12:31 and 2Ch 11:13-14). Jeroboam even constituted himself a priest, and changed the sacred month
(1 Kings 12:33). These expedients to consolidate his kingdom led to its overthrow, as we shall see.
1 KINGS 13
JEROBOAM
1 Kings 13:1-10 A startling prediction. -- "A man of God"; there is no higher designation than this!
He came "by the word of the Lord" to utter the Divine disapproval at Jeroboam's inauguration of the new
sacred month, and of his self-consecration as priest.
This prophecy (1 Kings 13:2) was given three-hundred and sixty years before it was fulfilled; it indicated that
the kings of Judah should be faithful to the law of God, even at that then remote date. It was literally realized
(2Ki 23:15). The withering of Jeroboam's arm was a token of God's preserving care over His messenger; and the rending
of the altar, marked the Divine confirmation of the prophet's words. And how significant! Our strength must wither,
and our religious rites be flung to the earth as contemptible, unless our hearts are right with God.
What a noble answer was that which the prophet gave, when he told the king that a bribe of half the royal house
could not induce him to eat a meal therein. This faithful obedience to God's commands stood in striking contrast
to the time-serving conduct of Jeroboam. It taught that there could be no fellowship between God and His erring
people.
1 Kings 13:11-19 A disastrous failure. -- This old prophet seems, like Balaam, to have had the gift of foretelling
the future; but he was not a holy man. It is not easy to give reasons for his great desire to get his brother beneath
his roof. Perhaps he had a vague longing for contact with one who enjoyed a fellowship with God which he had lost.
But the unnamed prophet had no right to substitute the word of another, or even the voice of an angel, for the
direct and authoritative message from God which had started him on his errand. When once we have heard the voice
of God, we must not turn aside at the call of men who profess to be speaking under Divine influence. Each must
be guided by his own revelation, and not another's.
1 Kings 13:20-34 A terrible death. -- God does not say "yea" and "nay:' In Him there is neither
variableness nor shadow of turning. And they who act on the supposition that He is changeable will suffer inevitable
and terrible results. The doom of the prophet must have spoken to Jeroboam's heart. For if God punished so immediately
the man, who a little before had been such a resolute instrument of His will, how much more certainly would judgment
descend on His people and their king!
It may be that this incident was similar to matters which are not directly told us, but which had transpired in
Jeroboam's recent experience. He may have been deflected from the path of obedience by visions or voices through
prophets who professed to speak by the voice of God. Hence the minuteness with which this story is told.
1 KINGS 14
JUDGMENTS PREDICTED
1 Kings 14:1-6 The sickness of Abijah was co-incident with his father's sins (1 Kings 13:33). When sorrow or death
invades our homes, we do well to see if the Lord may not have a controversy with us (Hos 5:13). Trouble will often
remind us of our real friends and of God's servants. Jeroboam could do well enough with Ahijah in his prosperity;
but in trial he passes by the priests he had made, and goes to the man of God, to whom he owed so much (1 Kings
11:31). How strange was the conception which expected that the prophet could look into the future, but could not
look behind the disguise assumed by a visitor! Hypocrites are stripped of their garb in the sight of God, and receive
their doom: "heavy tidings:'
This chapter is full of those results which disobedience and rebellion bring not to kingdoms only, but to hearts
and homes. We veil ourselves under many disguises, but we do not deceive God; often we fail to deceive man. We
are senseless enough to suppose that God can answer our questions and not read ourselves; can solve our problems
and not understand us. But God is never mocked, and we reap as we have sown.
1 Kings 14:7-20 The prediction of coming disaster. -- The king had thrown away marvellous opportunities. He had
not only not followed in David's steps, but had misled the people by setting up the golden calves. This was intended
as a clever artifice to establish his government, but it was the cause of its ruin. Vaunting ambition often over-reaches
itself. To do right is the surest way to establishment (2Ch 16:9).
In the worst of families there is often one of God's children. Such are sometimes taken away from the evil to come.
But it is a terrible thing for a home when God removes its salt and light.
It is an awful phrase which is indivisibly associated with Jeroboam's name, "He made Israel to sin" (1
Kings 14:16). Does it adhere to him on the other side the vail, which parts time and eternity? For certainly if
Baxter was right when he expected another heaven for himself in the case of each of those who reached heaven through
his means, so there will be another hell for each that has brought another toward that place. May we be preserved
from laying stumbling-blocks or being such in others' ways!
1 Kings 14:21-23 Rehoboam's reign and death. -- His mother was "Naamah" (sweetness or beauty), but she
was an Ammonitess. Twice we are told this (1 Kings 14:21-31), as if to emphasize and explain the disastrous influence
she wielded over her son. What an awful and rapid descent from the purity and glory of the first days of Solomon!
Wherefore "God gave them up" to Shishak. Sin ever weakens us, and causes God to withdraw His encircling
presence.
How was the fine gold dimmed! Brass was but a poor substitute (1 Kings 14:27); and served as the outward evidence
of the sad change for the worse in the spiritual condition of Israel. Mere traditional goodness, like that of David,
cannot save us from the strong set of the current away from God; we need the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, in
answer to the prayer, "Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not" (Psa 17:5).
1 KINGS 15
ASA'S GOOD REIGN
1 Kings 15:1-8 Abijam, King of Judah. -- We have a fuller account of this reign in 2 Chronicles 13. He was not
wholehearted with God; but he was maintained in his kingdom for David's sake (Psa 132:10, Psa 132:11).
How long after David's sun had set did the light of his life glimmer over his house! (1 Kings 15:4) God keeps His
covenant and mercy unto thousands of generations. We are probably all inheriting more than we know from the prayers
and tears of those who have gone before us.
What a pathetic sigh of regret that mention of Uriah is! One moment of indulged passion may cast a shadow over
long years. God forgives sin, yet it grieves Him to the heart. Oh, that there may be no need for God to make such
an exception in the case of any of us! And that we might never turn aside from anything He commands all the days
of our life!
1 Kings 15:9-24 Asa's good reign. -- This reign was not only good but it was also long (Psa 91:16). A bad father
may have a good son. Let no one feel that a noble life is impossible because of the difficulties of his birth or
home surroundings. Through all drawbacks the true life emerges into the light; as a water lily from the muddy sediment
of the pond. There were some things which might have been better even in Asa's reign (1 Kings 15:14), yet Asa's
heart was perfect with God; from which we may infer that the perfect heart is that which lives up to the limit
of its light.
He began, where we must all begin the work of reformation, by putting away evil. He first struck at immorality,
then at idolatry. There must be a slaying of the members on the earth, before we put on the new nature (Col 3:5-10).
His grandmother -- for such Maachah evidently was (comp. 1 Kings 15:2 and 1 Kings 15:10) -- was not tolerated,
because she persisted in idolatry. He removed her from the court (Deu 33:9). He brought into God's house the appointed
portion from the spoils of the Ethiopians (2Ch 14:13). But he surely made a great mistake in seeking the help of
a heathen monarch. How subtle is unbelief! How prone we are to depart from the living God!
The Book of Chronicles gives some further interesting details of Asa's life, which show the war of good and evil,
and how at last he succumbed to mistrust.
1 Kings 15:25-34 Nadab and Baasha in Israel. -- The term of Asa's reign saw six or seven different monarchs in
the northern kingdom. Anarchy and misrule rode rough-shod through the land. Already the description of Isaiah's
first chapter could be applied to that unhappy realm. It was a shaken reed, indeed (1 Kings 14:15). Men execute
God's judgments on each other, as they follow their own wild will, and fall into the sins which they are raised-up
to punish. But God's plan moves on.
1 KINGS 16
DARK DAYS IN ISRAEL
Baasha was a soldier, strong, active, daring. He waded to his throne through blood (1 Kings 15:29), and reigned
for twenty-four years. Of Jehu we know little. The son of a prophet (2Ch 16:7), he continued in his office for
at least thirty years (2Ch 19:2; 2Ch 20:34); and shone as a star amid the darkness of the times.
No age has been without its prophets; no life, however abandoned, without some remonstrating voice; no soul goes
over the cataract without a warning cry. And these things, answering to the voice of conscience within, reveal
the merciful, pitying love of the Father, not willing that any should perish.
Baasha died in peace, and was buried in state. Men do not in this life receive the just recompense of their deeds;
and herein is a strong argument for another life (Psa 17:14).
Elah and the remainder of the royal house were cut off by Zimri (1 Kings 16:9). We are told explicitly that the
extermination was so complete that none of his avengers were left (1 Kings 16:11, marg.). In this, God's word was
literally vindicated and fulfilled; but Zimri trod in his master's footsteps, and was unwarned by his master's
end. By his own hand he met a similar fate in consequence of Omri's treachery (2Ki 9:31). In his brief reign of
seven days Zimri had found time to walk in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin. Seven days are long enough to test
a man; and in that period he made manifest so great obstinacy and sin as to make longer probation needless, and
all thought of reformation hopeless.
Omri (1 Kings 16:16)treated Zimri as he had treated Elah. For the first four years of his reign the throne was
shared by Tibni (1 Kings 16:21), but at the death of his rival, Omri reigned alone. He built Samaria as the metropolis
of his kingdom; and seems to have embodied his idolatrous statutes in a code (Mic 6:16).
Ahab succeeded him (1 Kings 16:29-34). He not only set aside the second commandment, but the first; and thus realized
the terrible statements of 1 Kings 16:30 and 1 Kings 16:33. His wife led him on -- the beautiful, captivating,
young idolatress, who was taught by the wily priesthood to use all her influence to bring in the idolatries of
her home in Sidon.
The calf-worship at Bethel had a bad effect on its inhabitants, one of whom dared to defy the curse which Joshua
had pronounced five hundred years before, and he suffered the terrible penalty of his presumption.
The inspired artist does not hesitate to paint the darkness of the times with Rembrandt colors, and that the background
may show up the illustrious glory of Elijah. The darkest hour is that before the dawn; desperation before the step
of the Saviour over the wave; Ahab and Jezebel precede Elijah.
1 KINGS 17
ELIJAH, THE TISHBITE
1 Kings 17:1-7 A failing brook. -- God rears and trains His noblest servants in unexpected places. Gilead was far
from Court and Temple. But what do they need of human help or education who bear a name like this! -- "My
strength is Jehovah" Elijah's nature was cast in a strong mold, suited to his great work.
The R.V. suggests that Elijah was of a pilgrim race; and certainly he learned to stand by himself in fellowship
with the living God. He was ever standing in His presence-chamber; like the archangel Gabriel, who uses the same
words of himself in his address to Zacharias (Luk 1:19). Oh, that we might always stand in the presence of the
living God! The God of an undivided Israel -- the ideal Israel.
This drought was the result of prayer (Jam 5:17). It was as if Elijah felt that nothing else would arrest the king
and people. The man who stands before God is not afraid to stand before Ahab.
How often does God bid His servants hide themselves!
(1 Kings 17:3). There are lessons learned in seclusion which elude us in the crowd. And, while we are in hiding,
God will supply all our need by most unexpected means (Job 38:41; Psa 147:9). But even then we must not be without
trial, and it is hard to sit by a dwindling brook.
1 Kings 17:8-16 An exhausted cruse. -- Not to Jordan, but to Zarephath (Luk 4:25-26). God uses the weak and foolish
things of the world, and those which are despised, as outside the visible Church. Yet there were noble qualities
in this woman. She did not complain; she went at once to get some water, without so much as mentioning its scarceness;
she was very hospitable and generous; she was willing to hear mention of Jehovah's name without resentment; and
she believed unfalteringly in the Divine promise of the replenish-merit of her stores. "There is that scattereth,
and yet increaseth." We get by giving.
1 Kings 17:17-24 A dying child. -- Sorrow never proves that we are off the path of duty. Indeed, the way of obedience
is often paved with flints; but our one aim must be to know God's plan and live on it, then no good thing can fail.
Elijah found it so; but none of these things shook the heroic fortitude and courage of that noble spirit, who took
each new trial as an opportunity for deriving additional grace and strength from his Almighty Friend.
1 KINGS 18
THE TRIUMPH AT CARMEL
1 Kings 18:1-16 Obadiah was a good man, and did what he could to keep the true light from utter extinguishment
(compare 2Ch 11:13, 2Ch 11:14).
He was in a very abnormal position; but we must not judge him too harshly for being in Ahab's house, unless he
was there at the expense of his testimony. Our loyalty to God does not involve leaving the service of men like
Ahab, unless we are called upon to violate our conscience. The apostle said distinctly that we were to abide in
the calling in which we were when we became Christians (1Co 7:20). Still, Obadiah was doing what he could, and
used his position as a means of sheltering the prophets.
1 Kings 18:17-20 Ahab. -- How blind we are to our true interests! A sinner is strangely oblivious to the real cause
of his troubles, attributing them to any other source than to his own sin. When a man forsakes God, he brings drought
upon his life. Evil things multiply as noisome insects amid decay, and as false prophets did in Israel.
1 Kings 18:21-29 The conflict with the priests. -- Baal was the sun-god; they could not resist the challenge to
rely only on him. The people wavered, as they do still; they fluttered as a bird between two sprays. But a man
cannot walk firmly with one foot on the curb and the other in the gutter.
1 Kings 18:30-39 The answer by fire. -- The repaired altar was emblem of the united people; the water typified
those influences which were prejudicial to the interests of vital Godliness; the fire was emblematical of the descending
Spirit. Oh, to be known as God's servant, only obeying Him! (1Th 2:4). Elijah had learned to reckon on God, and
he could not be disappointed.
1 Kings 18:40-46 The prayer for rain. -- The prophets must be slain before the rain can come. When God occupies
His right place again, and His altar is built, the blood of Baal's priests encrimsons the brook, but the clouds
cover the sky.
Our lives must be free from evil, before we can expect the showers. What a contrast between the employments of
the king and the prophet! This prayer was humble, earnest, persevering. Six times the boy came back to say there
was nothing. The little cloud is often detected by the servant of God before the clouds cover the heavens.
1 KINGS 19
THE STILL SMALL VOICE
1 Kings 19:1-4 Elijah's flight. -- Many causes lay at the root of his hurried departure. Perhaps the reaction from
long overstrain; but especially a lapse of faith.
As long as Elijah looked at God, he was strong; but when he looked at Jezebel's threat, it seemed as if the communication
of Divine strength was cut off: "when he saw that (when he was afraid, R.V., marg.) he arose and went for
his life" (1 Kings 19:3).
It was a fatal mistake, as the movement which had been inaugurated collapsed in his absence. O man of like passions
with us! We would not excuse ourselves by thy fall; but we are glad to know that your strength was not your own,
for you were naturally as weak as we are, and we may be as strong as you. Let those who long to die, leave God
to choose the day; else they may miss the horses and chariots of fire.
1 Kings 19:5-8 The Divine provision. -- God might have allowed him to suffer the results of his terrible lapse.
But "He knows our frame:' On the desert sand the meal was lovingly spread, as afterwards on the shores of
the lake (John 21). To every erring child God sends merciful help. In the wilderness the feast is spread; and instead
of remonstrance, angel hands soothe the weary and despondent prophet. Our fits of depression and apparent desertion
as often arise from physical as spiritual causes, and God remembers our weaknesses. In His pity the Father pays
a surprise visit to His lonely and sorrowful child.
1 Kings 19:9-14 The lesson of Horeb. -- Nature is often the vehicle of God's voice. Its storm and passion relieve
us by expressing our emotion; its calm melts and soothes us. There is much of God's presence when "sounds
of gentle stillness" (R.V., marg.) steal around. Not the storm of Sinai, but the whispers of Calvary touch
and open hearts. We all need to get alone with God; our Carmels must be followed by our Horebs. There we receive
fresh commissions; and there God teaches us to inspire others with the purposes with which He has filled our own
hearts.
It is very beautiful to see the prophet's passionate desire for the glory of God. He had, however, thought that
God's work could only be done vehemently, suddenly, and ostensibly. He was taught that God loves also to work in
the still, small voice, heard only by the individual heart; and, Io, seven thousand were the result of these gentle
influences stealing abroad among men. For each professing servant of God who is known, there may be thousands of
secret disciples.
1 Kings 19:15-18 Return to duty. --This summons to anoint three successors is a little ominous. It would seem that
others were to be called in to the work the prophet had left. Still there was comfort in being bidden to return.
Backsliders may be encouraged by the words, "Go, return:'
1 Kings 19:19-21 The call of Elisha. -- We may expect to hear the Divine call when we are patiently plodding along
the furrow of daily duty. Elisha evidently resolved to give his life to God's service. He burned his bridges behind
him by sacrificing his cattle. He left all to follow, but he received more than he renounced (2 Kings 5, 6; Mar
10:30).
1 KINGS 20
BEN-HADAD'S DISCOMFITURE
1 Kings 20:1-11 Ben-hadad beseiges Samaria. -- The demand was very insolent, and the making of it proves how low
Israel had sunk. Ben-hadad presumed on the cowardice which moral decrepitude always induces. There are no hours
when we are tempted to such vile and abject sin as those which follow a great appeal which we have refused to heed.
Ben-hadad's boastfulness (1 Kings 20:10) was the forerunner of his downfall (Pro 16:18). We always fall when we
are self-confident; and our only safeguard is implicit faith in the promises and protection of God (Psa 119:117).
We could hardly have expected that such a man as Ahab could have spoken so wisely (1 Kings 20:11).
1 Kings 20:12-21 Ben-hadad's defeat. -- As in the case of Belshazzar, so here, drunkenness was predecessor of defeat.
Through Obadiah's care some prophets were still left to remonstrate with Ahab, and to speak God's word even though
Elijah had gone. God is not shut up to one great voice speaking like a trumpet; if that fails Him, He will call
in another. His work must go on. If not by an Elijah, then by an unknown prophet.
God always chooses the weakest and most unlikely tools, as these princes (1 Kings 20:15) were; that the excellency
of the power may be of Him, and that no flesh may glory in His presence. It seems as if God sometimes interposes,
not so much for our sake as for His holy name, which had been blasphemed among the heathen (1 Kings 20:28; Eze
36:32).
1 Kings 20:22-30 The second campaign. -- Thinking that he could succeed better in the valley, Ben-hadad, at the
suggestion of his servants (1 Kings 20:23), in the next dry season returned to Samaria. Disaster again came upon
them, the remnant of the fugitives from the battle being killed by a falling wall.
1 Kings 20:31-34 Ben-hadad's deliverance. -- The servants who were the instigators of the expedition tendered the
king some useful advice in his trouble. How often those who have led us into error forsake when counsel is most
needed as to the way out! The mercy of the kings of Israel was proverbial, and the plea for Ahab's clemency, even
after the double invasion, was not made in vain. Is it not so that the rebel sinner is encouraged by the thought
of the mercy of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord? From the throne, the Saviour stoops to call him "Brother"
even after repeated transgression, so soon as he sues for pardon, girded with sackcloth and with the rope around
his neck, as one who confesses that he deserves the extreme penalty of the law.
1 Kings 20:35-43 The prophet's parable. -- The "smiting" (1 Kings 20:35) was against human inclination;
and yet, for refusing, the man was slain by a lion. When our nature would turn us aside from "the word of
the Lord" let us be careful to obey God's voice rather than our own inclinations. One point in the parable
is worthy of note, "as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone" (1 Kings 20:40). We may all
question whether, in being busy about many petty details, we may not be missing Divinely-given opportunities. The
king was self-condemned in his judgment of the prophet; so now we often find that in deciding the cases of others,
we are pronouncing sentence on ourselves. May we watch each day for our Master's will, redeeming the time, because
the days are few and evil.
1 KINGS 21
NABOTH'S VINEYARD
1 Kings 21:1-4 Ahab coveting Naboth's vineyard. -- The more we have the more we desire. He who possesses a kingdom
is heavy at heart because he cannot have a plot of land for a kitchen garden. Naboth's refusal was probably rested
upon religious grounds. He said, "The Lord forbid it me" He emphasized the fact that it had come from
his fathers, according to the Divine institution. And when the king learned that it was not based on degraded and
selfish reasons, he might have given way with good grace. Canaan was, in a special sense, God's land; and no Israelite
might alienate his portion of it, except under very special circumstances (Lev 25:28).
1 Kings 21:5-16 The murder of Naboth. -- Jezebel was the king's evil genius, and Ahab must have known that she
could only give him the vineyard by foul means; therefore he was as guilty as she was in her use of the power which
he delegated to her. We cannot invest others with our power without being responsible for their use of it. We cannot
shut our eyes to what is being done by our employees and at the same time open our hands for the gains of their
misdeeds.
There could hardly be imagined a more horrible crime than this. The sanctions of religion were invoked, and a fast
was instituted as if to avert some terrible judgment, caused through the special ungodliness of one of the citizens.
Suspicion was directed towards Naboth, who was then assailed by bribed witnesses, and without opportunity for defense
hurried away to execution. He and his whole family seem to have been involved in a common fate (2Ki 9:26).
1 Kings 21:17-29 Elijah's protest and prediction. -- Like an incarnate conscience he reproached the king in words
remembered long after (2Ki 9:25).
Men are blind enough, however, to count conscience their enemy, and God's prophets their foes. Yet these only tell
us the natural outworking of our sins, not adding anything of their own, but indicating their inevitable result.
Sold unto sin; stirred up to do evil; doing very abominably in following idols -- these are the successive records
of Ahab's sin; and yet because he humbled himself for a little, the love of God held back the judgment which was
nevertheless certain (1 Kings 21:29). "Let the wicked forsake his way," and our God will "abundantly
pardon."
1 KINGS 22
DEATH OF AHAB
1 Kings 22:1-4 The compact between Jehoshaphat and Ahab. m It seems strange that so good a man as the king of Judah
should have entered into such an alliance; but he paid dearly for it, both at this time and afterwards (2Ch 20:37).
We must not be "yoked together with unbelievers," lest we suffer their fate (Rev 18:4). God's children
will pierce themselves through with many sorrows, if they ally themselves with His foes.
1 Kings 22:5-28 The conflict of the prophets. -- Ramoth was one of the cities of refuge in the land of Gad, across
the Jordan; and the effort to regain the city from the Syrians was a natural one. It is a good thing to ask counsel
of God before entering upon a new expedition; but it is not always easy or naturally pleasant to submit one's judgment
and behavior absolutely to His reply. The false prophets fell in with Ahab's inclination, and advised the war,
doing so in the name of Jehovah. But Jehoshaphat was not satisfied. There was something deficient in the solemn
declaration of these false teachers and their object lessons (1 Kings 22:11).
The address of Micaiah is not a representation of things done in the heavens; but a parable, or figurative mode
of expression. God cannot be tempted of evil, nor does He tempt any man (Jam 1:13). But He permits men to be tempted,
and He overrules the working of Satan for the execution of His own purposes. Micaiah adopted an ironical method
of speech, which at least suggested to the king how his prophets might claim to be God-inspired, and yet be deceiving
him.
Micaiah's message was unwelcome, and was punished by imprisonment (1 Kings 22:27); but better a thousand times
to be Micaiah, in prison and hated, yet bearing uncompromising witness against stiff-necked iniquity, than to sit
beside it without rebuking it as Jehoshaphat did. In the judgment of the ages and of God, the prophets who dare
to stand alone, and to endure any suffering rather than yield their countenance to the sin of high places, are
they who shine like stars. The ivory house of Ahab and the cities that he built have perished, but this simple
noble protest is a fountain of life and blessing. O my soul, dare to stand and live alone with God!
1 Kings 22:29-40 The bathe, and Ahab's death. -- The predictions of Micaiah had shaken Ahab, and he thought to
evade their fulfilment by disguise, exposing his friend to danger. Jehoshaphat cried to God (1 Kings 22:32, and
2Ch 18:31). The at-row's flight was directed by God to execute His purpose. Our disguises cannot evade God's eye.
And all our wealth will not avail to ransom our soul from death (1 Kings 22:39).
Do not hide from a true knowledge of yourself. Judge yourself; no, ask God to judge you, that you be not judged.
Even though you can hear nothing good of yourself, but only evil, it is better so. You may yet be saved from the
chariot-washing at the pool of Samaria.
1 Kings 22:41-50 Jehoshaphat's good reign. -- Further details are given in 2 Chronicles 18, 20. There was an evident
effort to rid the land of the more obvious evils which had disgraced it. And God gave him rest, and victory, and
prosperity. There seemed almost a gleam of the prosperity of Solomon in the revival of naval projects. The great
defect of his character was the ease with which he associated himself with the kings of Israel, who wrought evil
in his house (2 Kings 11).
1 Kings 22:51-53 Ahaziah. -- This record is very terrible. The sins of the parents repeat themselves in the child,
and the genealogy of his crime is traced back even to Jeroboam. The evil that men do lives after them to the third
and the fourth generation. Children walk in the way of their father and mother. How great the contrast in Isa 59:21!