1. Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he got no heat. Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and cherish him; and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And the damsel was very fair; and she cherished the king, and ministered to him; but the king knew her not. Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he was also a very goodly man; and he was born after Absalom. And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him. But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fatlings by the stone of Zoheleth, which is beside En-rogel; and he called all his brethren the king's sons, and all the men of Judah the king's servants: but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not. Then Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not? Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign? Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words. And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king. And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wouldest thou? And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and thou, my lord the king, knowest it not: and he hath slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath he not called. And thou, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. And they told the king, saying, Behold, Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fatlings and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king's sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah. But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called. Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed unto thy servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king. And the king swore, and said, As the LORD liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity, verily as I swore unto thee by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; verily so will I do this day. Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did obeisance to the king, and said, Let my lord king David live forever. And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. And the king said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. Then ye shall come up after him, and he shall come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be prince over Israel and over Judah. And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD, the God of my lord the king, say so too. As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of my lord king David. So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David's mule, and brought him to Gihon. And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon. And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them. And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar? While he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said, Come in; for thou art a worthy man, and bringest good tidings. And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king: and the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king's mule: and Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard. And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom. And moreover the king's servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, Thy God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne: and the king bowed himself upon the bed. And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my throne this day, mine eyes even seeing it. And all the guests of Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way. And Adonijah feared because of Solomon; and he arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath laid hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me this day that he will not slay his servant with the sword. And Solomon said, If he shall shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness be found in him, he shall die. So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and did obeisance to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house. 1-4. David was older at seventy than Moses at a hundred and twenty; older than many persons are now at eighty. As the vital heat departed from his blood, it became manifest that his eventful life was drawing to its close. Kit.—The expedient recommended by David's physicians is the regimen prescribed in similar cases still in the East, particularly among the Arab population, not simply to give heat, but "to cherish," as they are aware that the inhalation of young breath will give new life and vigor to the worn-out frame. The fact of the health of the young and healthier person being, as it were, stolen to support that of the more aged and sickly, is well established among the medical faculty. And hence the prescription for the aged king was made in a hygienic point of view for the prolongation of his valuable life, and not merely for the comfort to be derived from the natural warmth imparted to his withered frame. Jamieson. 5,6. Adonijah was at least thirty-three years old, for he was one of the six sons born in Hebron; more likely he was thirty-five or thirty-six years old, while Solomon could hardly have been more than twenty years of age. Adonijah was born shortly after Absalom, was beautiful, like his beautiful brother; like him had been indulged by a busy and lenient father, and by his wilfulness and self-ambition was as little fit to reign. Knox.—Like his elder brother Amnon, Adonijah had been born in Hebron; like Absalom, he was distinguished by personal attractions. But he, also, as Amnon and Absalom, had all his life been fatally indulged by David. In the expressive language of Holy Scripture: "his father had not displeased him all his days." A. E. As Adonijah was next to Absalom both in the beauty of his body and the time of his birth, so was he, too, like him in practice. He, also, taking advantage of his father's infirmity, will be possessing himself of the kingdom of Israel. These two, Absalom and Adonijah, were the darlings of their father. Their father had not displeased them from their childhood; therefore they both displeased him in his age. Those children had need to be very gracious that are not marred with pampering. It is more than God owes us, if we receive comfort in those children whom we have over-loved. The indulgence of parents at last pays them home in crosses. Bp. H.—David had nobody to blame but himself for this misconduct of his son. It was his own excessive indulgence which led to this extravagance. Strange weakness in parents and cruelty to their children, to suffer them to become incorrigible in error or inveterate in vice, rather than restrain them while correction is kindness! Delaney. 7. The rebellion of Absalom had failed because David was in full vigor at the time and so ably supported by Abiathar the priest and Joab the captain of the host. But Adonijah had attached these two to his interests. It is not difficult to understand the motives of Joab in trying to secure the succession for one who would owe to him his elevation, not to speak of the fact that the rival candidate for the throne was Solomon, the "man of peace," the pupil of Nathan, and the representative of the "religious party" in the land. It is not so easy to account for the conduct of Abiathar, unless it was prompted by jealousy of Zadok, who officiated at Gibeon. A. E. The facts that David was seemingly at the point of death, and that Solomon was scarcely out of his nonage, seem to have encouraged his hope that by prompt and decisive measures he might secure the crown for himself. He felt strong in his riper years, in his right of primogeniture, in the absence of any evil design against his father, in the supposed good feeling of the people toward his claim, and in the support it had from many old servants of the State, who had been faithful to David in all his troubles. Among these were persons of no less weight than Joab, the commander of the army, and Abiathar, one of the high-priests, who, indeed, are named as his chief abettors. His policy was to anticipate Solomon, by causing himself to be proclaimed king before his father's death. It was probably calculated that David was too far gone to interfere to any purpose, and that, when the thing was done, and in favor of a son he loved so well, he would acquiesce in it as a fact accomplished. So Adonijah made a great sacrificial feast in the gardens outside Mount Zion, in which lay the fountain of En-regel, and invited to it all the king's sons except Solomon, and all the king's servants and officers except those known to be in the interests of his young rival. Among the latter are particularly named Zadok the high-priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the captain of the guard, and the "mighty men," or select band of "worthies," of whom we have had repeated mention. The necessity for such exceptions, of which he was himself aware, was ominous for the cause of Adonijah. Not to speak of the "worthies," the influence of Zadok in the Church was at least equal to that of Abiathar: and although the name of Joab seems more than a counterbalance for that of Benaiah, yet its immediate value was probably less, as the body-guard which the latter commanded constituted the main part of the army constantly under arms and doubtless the only part then present at the capital. Kit. Had not Adonijah known that Solomon was designed to the kingdom both by God and David, he would not have invited all the rest of the king's sons and left out Solomon, who was otherwise the most unlikely to have been his competitor for the throne, since all the rest were older and might have had more pretence for their competition. Bp. II. 11,12. Nathan was the man by whom God had sent that errand of grace to David concerning Solomon, assuring him both to reign and prosper; and now, when Adonijah's plot was thus on foot, he doth not sit still and depend upon the issue of God's decree, but consults with Bathsheba how at once to save their lives, and to advance Solomon and defeat Adonijah. God's pre determination includes the means as well as the end. The same providence that had ordained a crown to Solomon, a repulse to Adonijah, preservation to Bathsheba and Nathan, had fore-appointed the wise and industrious endeavors of the prophet to bring about His just and holy purposes; if we would not have God wanting to us we must not be wanting to ourselves; even when we know what God hath meant to us we may not be negligent. No more than other men did the prophets of God look for revelation in all their affairs; in some things they were left to the counsel of their own hearts. The policy of Nathan was of use as well as his prophecy. Bp. II. 13-43. Nathan induced Bathsheba to go and break to David a matter that so nearly concerned the interests and even safety of her son. She accordingly went to the chamber of David, and "bowed, and did obeisance unto the king." Knowing that she had not come unbidden without some important cause, he inquired her errand. The manner of the thing was much the same as when Esther appeared before the king of "a hundred and seven and twenty provinces." Thus permitted to speak, Bathsheba performed a mother's part well. She repeated what she had learned, and reminded the king of his promise that Solomon should be king after himself. When she had finished, and before David could answer, the prophet Nathan was announced, as had been arranged between him and Bathsheba, and the latter then withdrew, but remained within call. Nathan confirmed Bathsheba's statement by a more particular recital of what was going on outside the city, and asked if this was done by his authority and with his concurrence. The greatness of the exigency roused the king to clear-minded and decisive action. His body was bowed down by age and feebleness; but his mind could go forth freely and vigorously into all the circumstances, and apprehend all that so great an occasion rerequired. He desired Bathsheba to be called in; and at once, without any question or circumlocution, pledged himself by oath to see his original intentions carried out. His words were solemn and impressive,—"As Jehovah liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, even as I sware unto thee, by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead, even so will I certainly do this day." Accordingly, she had no sooner departed, gladdened by the assurance, than he sent for Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah, and directed them at once to mount Solomon upon his own mule of state, and to escort him, with all the royal servants and the guards, down to Gihon, which lay in the valley on the west side of the city, Adonijah's party being in the valley on the northeast. There Zadok was to anoint him king, with the sacred oil from the tabernacle, and with a royal flourish of trumpets they were to proclaim, "Long live King Solomon." This was a sagacious and most effective movement, exactly suited to the circumstances, and shows, that while the king's natural strength was prostrated, his intellect remained quick and unclouded to the last. All was done as the king had directed. The open march of so stately a procession, with the official sanction which the presence of the royal guards, and the king's own mule, conferred, together with the engaging youth of the prince, drew a large and popular concourse with the train to Gihon, where the inauguration took place, as David had directed. The operation was so sudden, that the city had scarcely been aware of it till the procession returned, with Solomon as king. He was then hailed by the citizens with intense acclamation. "The people piped with pipes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rung with the sound of them." The joyful uproar in the city even reached the ears of the banqueters at En-regel. They were not left long in doubt as to the purport of this joyous clamor; for Abiathar's son, Jonathan, came with a full account of the proceedings in the city and at Gihon. His first words must have filled them with dismay,—"Our lord king David hath made Solomon king." Kit. 29. As the Lord liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, even so will I certainly do this day, without dispute, without delay. His form of swearing carries in it a grateful acknowledgment of the goodness of God to him in bringing him safe through the many difficulties and hardships which had lain in his way, and which he now makes mention of to the glory of God; thus setting to his seal, from his own experience, that that was true which the Lord spake by him (Ps. 34: 22), The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants. H. —Well might David, on the retrospect of a history so full as his was of trials and reverses, speak of God as He who had redeemed his soul out of all distress. It is well to mark the evangelical term here employed by him, as if affixing thereby the proper designation to that which had been done for a soul so guilty as in his Psalms he confesses himself to be. 39. We learn directly and distinctly from his own mouth in what he said to Bathsheba, that the promise had been made to her under the sanction of an oath, in behalf of Solomon's succession to the throne—an appointment this which lay at the disposal of the reigning monarch. T. C. 32-35. David gives wise and full directions for the inauguration of Solomon; Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the captain, receive his grave and princely charge, for the carriage of that so weighty a business. They are commanded to take with them the royal guard, to set Solomon upon his father's mule, to carry him down in state to Gihon, to anoint him with the holy oil of the tabernacle, to sound the trumpets and proclaim him in the streets, to bring him back with triumph and magnificence to the court, and to set him in the royal throne with all the due ceremonies of coronation. Bp. H. —Gihon was probably on the west side of the city near the head of the valley of Hinnom. Adonijah was at the foot of this valley, from a mile to a mile and a half away. The two places were thoroughly concealed from each other by the bend of the valley and its high, rocky sides. Gihon was quite near the Bethlehem gate. Knox. With whatever weakness David may have been chargeable, he always rose to the requirements of the situation in hours of decisive importance, when either the known will of God or else the interests of his kingdom were in question. In this instance his measures were immediate and decisive. He sent for Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah, and gave them his royal command for the immediate anointing of Solomon as king over Judah and Israel. 38-53. The scene is vividly portrayed in Scripture. The king's body-guard—the Cherethi and Pelethi—under the command of Benaiah, was drawn up in front of the royal palace. Soon a vast concourse of people gathered. And now the king's state-mule, richly caparisoned, was brought out. It was an unwonted sight, which betokened some great state event. Presently, the great news became known, and rapidly spread through the streets and up the bazaars—Solomon was about to be anointed king! The people crowded together, in hundreds and thousands, from all parts of the city. And now Solomon appeared, attended by Zadok the high-priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the chief of the royal guard. The procession formed and moved forward. To avoid collision with the party of Adonijah, it took an opposite or western direction to the valley of Gihon. Here, by authority and express command of David, Solomon was anointed king with the sacred oil by the joint ministry of the high-priest and the prophet. The ceremony ended, the blast of the trumpets proclaimed the accession of the new monarch, and the people burst into a ringing shout: "God save King Solomon!" As the procession returned, the city rang with the jubilee, till it reached the royal palace, where King Solomon seated himself in solemn state on his father's throne, and received the homage of the court, while David gave public thanks that he had lived to see that day. Meanwhile, out in the king's gardens, the strange shouts from the city had reached Adonijah and his guests. Joab had grown uneasy as he heard the well-known sound of the trumpet. The tidings travelled quickly, and already one was in waiting to explain its meaning. But it was not as Adonijah had hoped against hope. The son of Abiathar had come to inform the conspirators of what had just taken place in Gihon and in the royal palace. And now sudden terror seized those who had but lately been so confident in their feasting. Every one of the conspirators fled, foremost among them Adonijah; nor did he deem himself safe till he had reached the sacred precincts and laid hold on the horns of the altar. This asylum he refused to quit until Solomon had assured him by oath that his life would be spared—though on condition that his future conduct should give the king no cause for complaint. The events just recorded, which are only briefly indicated in 1 Chron. 23: 1, were followed by a great assembly of the chief dignitaries in Church and State (1 Chron., chs. 28, 29), when the accession of Solomon to the throne was formally confirmed, and he was anointed a second time. A. E. The dethronement of the false by the enthronement of the true. When Bathsheba and Nathan brought David news of Adonijah's revolt, and told him that Joab and Abiathar were at the coronation feast at En-rogel, it is noteworthy that the king made no direct attack on the conspirators. He merely commanded that Solomon should be seated on the royal mule, that he should ride in state to Gihon, and that there Zadok should anoint him king, and proclaim by the sound of trumpet that he was appointed ruler. It was this which paralyzed the traitorous assembly. The sound of the trumpet was to their scheme what the blast of the rams' horns was to the walls of Jericho when they fell in irreparable ruin. David's method was the wisest, the surest; for it not only removed a present evil, but provided a future good. The lesson is obvious, and is susceptible of wide application; that the false is most surely dethroned by the enthronement of the true. Rowland. DAVID'S PREPARATIONS FOR THE FUTURE TEMPLE. HIS CHARGES TO SOLOMON: TO BUILD THE LORD'S HOUSE; TO KNOW AND SERVE JEHOVAH; TO DEAL WITH JOAB AND SHIMEI. David's Farewell Address to the Assembled Representatives of the Nation. He Urges Obedience to God's Commandments, and a Hearty Co-operation with Solomon in the Building of the Lord's House. Solomon is Formally Acknowledged and again Anointed King. 1 Chron. 22:17-19; 28:1-10; 29:1-22. 1. Chron. 23 :** 1 Now David was old and full of days; and he made Solomon his son king over Israel. 1. Chron. 22 :** 2 And David (had) commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God. 3 And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the 4 couplings; and brass in abundance without weight; and cedar trees without number: for 5 the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought cedar trees in abundance to David. And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the LORD must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death. 6 Then he called for Solomon his son, and charged him to build an house for the LORD, the 7 God of Israel. And David said to Solomon his son, As for me, it was in my heart to build an 8 house unto the name of the LORD my God. But the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house 9 unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight: behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto 10 Israel in his days: he shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will 11 be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever. Now, my son, the LORD be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the LORD thy God, as 12 he hath spoken concerning thee. Only the LORD give thee discretion and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel; that so thou mayest keep the law of the LORD thy God. 13 Then shalt thou prosper, if thou observe to do the statutes and the judgments which the LORD charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; fear not, neither be 14 dismayed. Now, behold, in my affliction I have prepared for the house of the LORD an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou 15 mayest add thereto. Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and work- 16 ers of stone and timber, and all men that are cunning in any manner of work; of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number; arise and be doing, and the LORD be with thee. 1. Chron. 28 :** 11 Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of the porch of the temple, and of the houses thereof, and of the treasuries thereof, and of the upper rooms thereof, 12 and of the inner chambers thereof, and of the place of the mercy-seat: and the pattern of all that he had by the spirit, for the courts of the house of the LORD, and for all the chambers round about, for the treasuries of the house of God, and for the treasuries of the dedicated 13 things : also for the courses of the priests and the Levites, and for all the work of the service 14 of the house of the LORD, and for all the vessels of service in the house of the LORD : of gold by weight for the vessels of gold, for all vessels of every kind of service ; of silver for all the 15 vessels of silver by weight, for all vessels of every kind of service : by weight also for the candlesticks of gold, and for the lamps thereof, of gold, by weight for every candlestick and for the lamps thereof : and for the candlesticks of silver, silver by weight for every candlestick 16 and for the lamps thereof, according to the use of every candlestick : and the gold by weight 17 for the tables of shewbread, for every table ; and silver for the tables of silver ; and the flesh- hooks, and the basons, and the cups, of pure gold : and for the golden bowls by weight for 18 every bowl ; and for the silver bowls by weight for every bowl : and for the altar of incense refined gold by weight : and gold for the pattern of the chariot, even the cherubim, that spread 19 out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD. All this, said David, have I been made to understand in writing from the hand of the LORD, even all the works of this 20 pattern. And David said to Solomon his son, Be strong and of good courage, and do it : fear not, nor be dismayed : for the LORD God, even my God, is with thee ; he will not fail thee, 21 nor forsake thee, until all the work for the service of the house of the LORD be finished. And, behold, there are the courses of the priests and the Levites, for all the service of the house of God : and there shall be with thee in all manner of work every willing man that hath skill, for any manner of service : also the captains and all the people will be wholly at thy commandment. I K. 2 : 1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die ; and he charged Solomon 2 his son, saying, I go the way of all the earth : be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a 3 man ; and keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, according to that which is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou 4 turnest thyself : that the LORD may establish his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with 5 all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did unto me, even what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was 6 about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do therefore according to thy wisdom, 7 and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzilai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table : for so they came to me 8 when I fled from Absalom thy brother. And, behold, there is with thee Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, of Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim : but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I swore to him by the LORD, 9 saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. Now therefore hold him not guiltless, for thou art a wise man ; and thou wilt know what thou oughtest to do unto him, and thou shalt bring his hoar head down to the grave with blood. For long years David had been accumulating materials for the temple. From that day—about the fourteenth year of his reign—when he knew that his son would build a temple, he had kept the future building in mind. From Zobah and Syria and Ammon and Moab, from Philistines and Amalekites, had he selected precious stones out of gathered spoils. What Saul himself had dedicated to the throne and kingdom, David had rededicated to the future house. And now, in a vigorous old age, he takes up these accumula- tions, and the whole order of the service also, to put them into a worthy form for the temple and for future ages. Knox. Since in His Providence, Jehovah pointed out the place where the Sanctuary was to be reared, David, with characteristic energy, began immediate preparations for a work, the greatness of which the king measured by his estimate of Him for whose service it was designed. It al- most seems as if in these arrangements all David's former vigor had come back, showing where, despite his weaknesses and failings, the king's heart really was. Besides, the youth of his son and successor Solomon, and the consid- eration that probably no other monarch would wield such influence in the land as he had pos- sessed, determined David not to neglect nor de- fer anything that he might be able to do. A. E. I Chron. 22 : 1-5. The few years that re- mained of David's life were spent mainly in pre- paring for building this palace of Jehovah. A work of such magnitude and magnificence was slow of growth. Quarries had to be opened close to the site of the building; for there were neither roads nor rivers to transport blocks of stone in the rugged country round Jerusalem. Builders and stone-hewers, goldsmiths, joiners, and tool-makers could not easily be got, either in sufficient number or with the needful skill, in a kingdom then only rising from poverty and weakness into wealth and strength. Of timber there was plenty in the land, though the neighborhood of Jerusalem has always been bare of trees. But as the cedars and cypresses of Lebanon were alone deemed fit for the palace of Jehovah, great bodies of workmen were required to cut down the trees and convey them to Moriah. Sime. 5. The house must be exceeding magnificent, very stately and sumptuous, strong and beautiful, everything about it the best in its kind; for a good reason, it was intended for the honor of the great God, the Lord of the whole earth, and was to be a type of Christ, in whom all fulness dwells and in whom are hid all treasures. Men were then to be taught by sensible methods; the grandeur of the house would help to affect the worshippers with a holy awe and reverence of God, and would invite strangers to come to see it, as the wonder of the world, who thereby would be brought acquainted with the true God; therefore it is here designed to be of fame and glory throughout all countries. David foretold this good effect of its being magnificent (Ps. 65: 29). Because of thy temple at Jerusalem, shall kings bring presents unto thee. H. 13. That David and Solomon had well-known sacred writings of Moses is affirmed in 1 K. 2: 3; 1 Chron. 22: 13; 16: 40. If these statements are historical, it follows that these writings existed in the times before David. W. J. B. — 14. Although, as has been often explained, clerical errors occur in the numerals in the historical books, it may be well to give the real equivalent of the silver and gold mentioned here. Bearing in mind the distinction between the sacred and the common shekel, it would amount to under four million pounds. Immense as this sum is, Keil has shown that it is by no means out of proportion with the treasures taken as booty in antiquity. A. E. 1. Chron. 28: 11-21. As Jehovah had given to Moses by the Spirit the pattern of the Tabernacle and its furniture, so had He intimated to David “the pattern of the Temple,” in all its details of structure, contents, and service. These details he now furnishes to Solomon, with the statement (verse 19), “All this have I been made to understand in writing from the hand of the Lord, even all the works of this pattern.” And he adds (verse 20) words of strong encouragement, based upon the sure promise of God’s presence and help until the work of building should be completed. B. 1. K. 2: 1-4. A royal father’s last words. David’s eventful life is drawing to a close. He has proved himself to be “a man after God’s own heart.” Not a perfect man, for he had grievous defects. But, in the main, he recognized the grandeur of his position as “the Lord’s anointed.” He lived by the inspiration of a Divine purpose. He “served his own generation by the will of God” (Acts 13: 36). His very faults bore witness to the native force of his character. The height of the precipice measures the depth that frowns beneath it. Great natures are most capable of great temptations, great sorrows, and great sins. Waite. He is not afraid to hear or speak of dying: I go the way of all the earth, (Heb.) I am walking in it. Death is a way; not only a period of this life, but a passage to a better. It is the way of all the earth, of all mankind who dwell on earth, are themselves earth and therefore must return to their earth. Even the sons and heirs of heaven must go the way of all the earth; they must needs die; but they walk with pleasure in this way, through the valley of the shadow of death (Ps. 23: 4). Prophets, and even kings, must go this way to brighter light and honor than prophecy or sovereignty. David is going this way, and therefore gives Solomon directions what to do. He charges him, in general, to keep God’s commandments, and to make conscience of his duty. He prescribes to him a good rule to act by—the Divine will. “Govern thyself by that.” David’s charge to him is, to keep the charge of the Lord his God. The authority of a dying father is much, but nothing to that of a living God. There are great trusts which we are charged with by the Lord our God, let us keep them carefully as those that must give account; and excellent statutes which we must be ruled by, let us also keep them. The written Word is our rule; Solomon must himself do as was written in the law of Moses. Be strong, and show thyself a man, though in years but a child. Those that would keep the charge of the Lord their God, must put on resolution. The keeping of this charge would effectually conduce, First, To the prosperity of his kingdom; it is the way to prosper in all thou doest, and to succeed with honor and satisfaction in every undertaking. Secondly, To the perpetuity of it; that the Lord may continue, and so confirm his word, which he spake concerning me. Those that rightly value the treasure of the promise, cannot but be solicitous to preserve the entail of it, and very desirous that those who come after them may do nothing to cut it off. Let each, in his own age, keep God's charge, and then God will be sure to continue his word. We never let fall the promise till we let fall the precept. The promise, that there should not fail him a man on the throne of Israel, was conditional; if his seed behave themselves as they should. If Solomon in his day fulfil the condition, he does his part toward the perpetuating of the promise. The condition is that he walk before God in all his institutions, in sincerity, with zeal and resolution; and in order hereunto, that he take heed to his way. H. 2. The necessity of personal resolution. "Be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man." This sounds like an echo of God's own words to Joshua (1 : 7). The occasions were similar. Joshua was entering on his leadership, and Solomon was on the steps of his throne. David would evoke the manly resolution of his son. In David's sense, to show yourself a man is to prove yourself wise, valorous, virtuous, and, above all, loyal of heart to God. This exhortation, then, implies the manifestation of moral courage and strength. These are required in order to obedience, for obedience implies struggle. There is conflict with self. We have to check the uprising of passion, to fight against the pride which would make us refuse to submit to the revelation and to the righteousness of God. There is resistance to the evil influences of others. When Solomon was misled by his wives, and began to worship their gods, he was forgetting the command, "Be strong, and show thyself a man." There is antagonism to popular customs. In school, in business, in national policy, in Church routine, it is easier to float with the stream than to contend against it. He must needs "be strong, and show himself a man," who would say, "We must obey God rather than man!" Rowland. 3. Take heed to the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes. The best legacy that David bequeaths to his heir is the care of piety. Himself had found the sweetness of a good conscience, and now he commends it to his successor. If there be anything, that in our desires of the prosperous condition of our children, takes place of goodness, our hearts are not upright. Here was the father of a king, charging the king his son to keep the statutes of the King of kings; as one that knew greatness could neither exempt from obedience nor privilege sin; as one that knew the least deviation in the greatest and highest orb is both most sensible and most dangerous. Neither would he have his son to look for any prosperity save only from well-doing; that happiness is built upon sand or ice which is raised upon any foundation besides virtue. If Solomon were wise, David was good; and if old Solomon had well remembered the counsel of old David, he had not so foully miscarried. Bp. H. The assurance of resulting blessedness. "That thou mayest prosper." As an historical fact, this promise was fulfilled. The kingdom of Solomon prospered as long as he was faithful to the God of his father. His apostasy sowed the seeds of its decay. God's promises are contingent, not absolute. They have attached to them implied conditions. This, which was shown in material blessings under the covenant of the old economy, is abidingly true. It is not that man merits the blessings of God by his obedience, but that he unfit himself to receive them by disobedience. This is yet more clearly seen under the light of the new dispensation. God gives a man that which he is fit for on earth and in heaven. In and through Jesus Christ He has broadened our views of recompense. Beyond death the fulfilment of this promise extends, and he who is faithful with the few things shall be at last a ruler over many. In a spirit of humble obedience and prayerful dependence, let us seek to keep the charge and win the blessedness revealed in these dying words of the sweet singer of Israel. Rowland. 5. The bloodiness of Joab had lain long upon David's heart. The hideous noise of those treacherous murders, as it had pierced heaven, so it still filled the ears of David. He could abhor the villainy, though he could not revenge it. What he cannot pay, he will owe; and approve himself at last a faithful debtor: now he will defray it by the hand of Solomon. The slaughter was of Abner and Amasa. David appropriates it; "Thou knowest what Joab did to me." Bp. H. Put the blood of war upon his girdle. The plain meaning is, that he stained his clothes and armor with the blood of Abner and Amasa, his own countrymen and fellow-soldiers. Pyle.—It aggravated Joab's crime, that he was neither ashamed of the sin, nor afraid of the punishment, but daringly wore the girdle and shoes, that were stained with innocent blood, in defiance of the justice both of God and the king H. Joab had most deeply offended David by the twofold act of assassination perpetrated on Abner and Amasa, when he put to death the rebellious Absalom in defiance of the express command of David before the whole host, and, finally, by the conspiracy with Adonijah, so that duty enjoined the king to warn his son and successor against a man who was dangerous on account of the great consideration he enjoyed with the army. Even after the murder of Abner, David prayed for the Divine vengeance on Joab, but was himself unable to punish the crime, because the sons of Zeruiah (Joab and Abishai) were too mighty for him. But that he had only deferred the punishment and intended to remove Joab on the first opportunity from the office of commander-in-chief, is evident from the promise he gave to Amasa, the fulfilment of which Joab had frustrated by his murder. Now, as the king felt himself unable to punish this crime, he commits its punishment to his successor. This commission, therefore, for which scoffers, such as Bayle and Tindal, not merely abused David, but attacked the Bible itself, is completely justified at the bar of the strictest morals. Keil. David has been censured for betraying a vindictive spirit in his dying advice to Solomon respecting Joab and Shimei, but his conduct appears to be perfectly justifiable. In regard to Joab, he does not advise Solomon absolutely and unconditionally to put him to death, but tells him to "do according to his wisdom;" he says to him, "Though you have now pardoned Joab through policy, as I was compelled to do myself by the exigency of the times, and the predominant influence of the sons of Zeruiah; yet, should he offend again, act according to your discretion, and then punish him, as a hoary-headed murderer and a confirmed traitor, with death." Hales. The advice now given by David cannot be deemed inconsistent with true piety, or unworthy of a just and religious prince on his death-bed. It is true that forgiveness of enemies is a duty; but no man is obliged, by any law that we know of, so to forgive an enemy, continuing such, as not to take the proper methods to guard against the effects of his enmity, and to bring him to justice, if no other method will prove effectual. Much less is a prince obliged so to forgive an implacable enemy to his crown and government, and one who is likely to disturb the settlement of the crown in his successor, as not to advise his successor to be on his guard against him, and to punish him, when guilty, according to his demerits. Such precaution as this he owes to his people; and he may die, as a private person, in charity with all mankind, and forgive every private injury against himself; and yet, as a prince he may advise what is necessary for the public good, and even the execution of particular persons, in case they should, by abusing the lenity of government, and the respite they once obtained, become guilty of new and capital offences. Chandler. The sentiment continually set forth in the Old Testament is, that innocent blood cries to God from the ground for vengeance; and that, if suffered to go unpunished, it brings down a curse and judgment upon the land. Let us look at some texts enforcing the view which both David and Solomon were bound to take of this matter. "If a man come presumptuously on his neighbor, to slay him with guile; thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die" (Ex. 21:14). This exactly met the case of both murders by Joab; and the neglect of a rule so plain, and so stringently stated, might well appear as a perilous neglect of public duty. Again: "Ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer which is guilty of death: but he shall surely be put to death" (Nu. 35:31). After a similar injunction in De. 19:13, it is added, "Thine eye shall not pity him: but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee." Look, also, to the case of Manasseh, whose punishment and captivity is mainly ascribed to "the innocent blood which he shed (for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood), which the Lord would not pardon" (2 K. 24:4). That this point of view was present to the mind of David, and influenced his conduct, is very clear; for, at the very time of Abner's murder, he publicly implored that the judgment of this innocent blood might be averted from his house and kingdom, and that it might rest upon Joab and upon his house. This, in fact, was formally reserving Joab for the future judgment which he then felt powerless to execute. Besides this, it must not be overlooked that the recent terrible judgment upon the land, on account of the long-past destruction of the Gibeonites by Saul, was well calculated to enforce these views, and give great intensity to David's apprehensions of the consequences to the realm of these crimson sins of Joab being much longer suffered to pass unpunished. If this state of the case be correct, and we are persuaded that it is, no excuse for David's conduct in this matter is required; but he was rather—under the views he was bound to entertain—not only blameless, but laudable, and entirely in accordance with his duty as a king and a father. Kit. How would David have been acquitted of the charge of injustice if he had suffered such public and crying offences to pass wholly unpunished? He discharges his conscience by the advice which he gives to Solomon. Not having been able in his lifetime to complete all that justice required of him, he charged his son to execute what remained. He spoke as a king and as a judge, whose duty it was to punish crime, not as a private individual following the dictates of revenge. Joab had been so powerful a man with the army, that David, during his lifetime, durst not call him to account; but, when Solomon began to reign, the continuance of profound peace had impaired Joab's power, by rendering his services useless. Solomon, therefore, had no reason to dread his influence, and was enabled to bring him to that punishment which justice demanded. Calmet. In regard to matters Divine and spiritual, only one plain advice need he give to Solomon. Spiritual decidedness, faithfulness, and obedience to God: such simply were the means by which the promises given to David and his house would be inherited. But all the greater were the political dangers which beset the path of the youthful kin: an unscrupulous military party, headed by Joab; a dissatisfied priestly faction, ready to plot and join any rebellious movement; and ill-suppressed tribal jealousies, of whose existence Shimei had, at a critical period, given such painful evidence. The leaders of two of these parties had long forfeited their lives; indeed, only the necessities of the time could have excused either the impunity with which Joab's treachery and his murder of Abner and Amasa had been passed over, or the indulgence extended to such conduct as that of Shimei. It was not, as some would have us believe, that on his death-bed David gave utterance to those feelings of revenge which he was unable to gratify in his lifetime, but that, in his most intimate converse with his son and successor, he looked at the dangers to a young and inexperienced monarch from such powerful and unscrupulous partisans. In these circumstances it was only natural that, before dying, he should have given to his son and successor such advice for his future guidance as his long experience would suggest; and similarly that, in so doing, he should have reviewed the chief dangers and difficulties which had beset his own path, and have referred to the great public crimes which, during his reign, had necessarily been left unpunished. The fact that, even before his death, an attempt had been made to elevate Adonijah to the throne, contrary alike to the known will of God and the appointment of David, and that the chief actors in this had been Joab and Abiathar, must have recalled the past to his mind, and shown him that the fire had been smouldering these many years, and might at any time burst into flame. A. E. Adonijah alone was harmless, and might be left to Solomon in his youth. Only when supported by designing and wily men would he be strong. Abiathar was already removed from his position of power. Joab only was a strong, bold man, confirmed through a long life in a vindictive habit of mind, whose very defeat now would provoke resentment against the new king. He that slew Abner in treachery, he that slew Absalom in defiance of the king's command, he that slew Amasa in malicious jealousy, deserved before to die for his crimes, but he had now added to all these the direct treason of stimulating and supporting Adonijah. If he had done this in revenge upon David for displacing him from the army, he certainly would attempt some traitorous counter-check to Solomon's succession. Had not his impious will driven often headlong over his kind-hearted king, at times when Joab could plausibly justify his deeds by political necessity, long since would he have been brought to justice. It was right that he should die. It was not only right, it was necessary. Holiness and truth demanded it. Such riot over right government, such examples of rash and murderous impatience, by a bold will, set the example of lawlessness everywhere, to bold, unscrupulous men, on the accession of a new king. Knox. David knew Joab's ability and determination to accomplish any purpose on which his heart was set; and that foul means came to his hand as readily as fair. Benaiah might any day share Amasa's fate, and Solomon meet Absalom's. To us, who know that these things did not happen, Joab may seem to have got scant justice from David. But to David such an upturning of his own arrangements, especially when he was dead, seemed both possible and likely. In the meridian of David's life Joab paid no attention to the sovereign's wishes when they crossed his own; the death of David would render him more unscrupulous than ever. Benaiah, long his own inferior, had been raised over his head. Solomon, a boy-king at the best, had dared to cast on him a disgrace which the wise and cautious David had been twice baffled in attempting. An affront so galling Joab would resent, to the ruin of his adversaries, as soon as he got the chance. And as he had the will, it was hard to tell whether he had not also the power. Abiathar, the high-priest, was a good right-hand man to parade before the army and the nation. Adonijah was not stained with blood as Absalom had been; and, among a people who were taught by long-established law and custom to respect the birthright of the eldest son, could plead a better title to the crown than Solomon. Shimei, the known enemy of David, was a man of great influence in Benjamin. Were these enemies of Solomon to join in united action, or were any slip in policy to put the young king in the wrong before the nation, he might have to maintain his position by arms; perhaps he might suddenly meet the fate of Amnon or Absalom. It is no injustice to Joab, and it is but fair to David, to consider that Adonijah's party had not lost hope of redressing their wrongs. These fears, imparted to David and justified by events after his death, explain his dying charge, and fully account for the cruelty that it seems to breathe. An appearance of cruelty toward Joab and Shimei may rather have been truest kindness toward Nathan, Benaiah, Zadok, and Solomon. To order a man's death is in itself a cruel thing; but it is infinitely less cruel, and it is vastly more wise, to order an intriguer's death than to leave it in his power, by murder or assassination, to throw a kingdom into disorder, to pervert the course of justice, and perhaps to plunge the people in civil war. Sime. 7. Charge respecting the sons of Barzillai. Generous natures cannot be unthankful: Barzillai had showed David great kindness in his extremity; and now the good man will have posterity to inherit the thanks. How much more bountiful is the Father of Mercies, in the remuneration of our poor unworthy services! Even successions of generations shall fare the better for one good parent. Bp. II. —Remembering the injuries that had been done, he could not forget the kindnesses that had been shown, but leaves it as a charge upon his son to return them. The kindnesses we have received from our friends must not be buried either in their graves or ours, but our children must return them to theirs. Hence, perhaps, Solomon fetched that rule (Prov. 27: 10), Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not. H. Charge Respecting Shimei. Verses 8, 9. The mention of Absalom, and those terrible days of revolt and anarchy when he was constrained to flee for his life, seems to have reminded the dying king of one of the bitterest ingredients of that bitter cup of shame and suffering—the cruel curses of Shimei. He remembers that the sin of Shimei, which was nothing else than treason and blasphemy, has so far escaped punishment. In a moment of generous enthusiasm he had included Shimei in the general amnesty which he proclaimed on his return. He had thought, no doubt, at the time, only of the offence against himself; he had forgotten his sacred and representative character as "the Lord's anointed;" or, if he had remembered it, the emotions of that memorable day had obscured or perverted his sense of justice and duty. But he has since realized—and the thought weighs upon his conscience in the chamber of death—that he then pardoned what he had no power to pardon—viz., a sin to which the Mosaic law attached the penalty of death. For blasphemy, as for murder, there was no expiation short of the death of the blasphemer (Lev. 24: 14–16; cf. 1 K. 21: 10, 13); and blasphemy, like murder, though not perhaps to the same extent, involved those who heard it in its guilt, until they had discharged themselves of their sin upon the head of the guilty (Lev. 14: 14; cf. Lev. 5: 1). But Shimei, so far from having suffered the penalty of the law, had been twice protected against it; twice preserved alive, in defiance of law, by the supreme magistrate, the executor of law. And David, who has been charging his son to keep the law, now realizes that he himself has been a law-breaker. He has kept his oath, sworn to his own or his people's hurt, and he will keep it to the end. But Solomon is under no such obligation. He can demand the long arrears of justice, none the less due because of the time that has elapsed, and this David charges him to do. Hammond. As it stands, the sense appears to be this: David intends to warn Solomon against Shimei, as a dangerous subject prone to break out into disaffection, and whose power of doing harm required that he should be carefully watched. He himself had, for reasons of policy, and in consideration of his meeting him, with a large body of Benjamites, at the Jordan, pardoned him for his gross and treasonable insults at Bahurim. Solomon, however, was not bound to regard him as altogether expurgated from that crime; and, should he be detected in any new offence against himself, he was advised not to excuse and pardon him, as his father had done. And we think that a prudential regard for the safety of that son's reign, in warning him against dangerous persons, was the predominant motive of his counsel, and the only motive of which he was himself conscious. Kit. When David here says (verse 8), "I swore to him by the Lord, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword," he means by the sword of Abishai, who wanted immediately to kill him. The oath, in strictness, was nothing more than a respite from death that day, and did not preclude his future punishment if he should deserve it by a fresh offence, as he probably did in Adonijah's rebellion; for it was not till after the execution of Adonijah and Joab, that Solomon sent for Shimei, and ordered him to reside in Jerusalem, and not to quit the city under pain of death on the day that he should pass over the brook Kidron. A condition which Shimei thankfully accepted: "The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do." And this measure was evidently dictated by David's advice; on the meaning of which, therefore, it forms the best comment: "Anā, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei, now therefore hold him not guiltless;" but guard him as a disaffected and dangerous Benjamite, and confine him to Jerusalem, lest he kindle rebellion among the tribes, by stirring up their minds, like Sheba: "for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him," in order to prevent his cabals; and if he offend again, "bring down his hoar head to the grave with blood," for your own security, and the peace of your kingdom; for his crimes deserve death. Hales.—His case is left with Solomon, as one that knew what was fit to be done, and would do as he found occasion. David intimates to him, that his pardon was not designed to be perpetual, but only a reprieve for David's life; "Hold him not guiltless: do not think him any true friend to thee or thy government, or fit to be trusted; he has no less malice than he had then, though he has more wit to conceal it. He is still a debtor to the public justice for what he did then; and though I promised him that I would not put him to death, I never promised that my successor should not. His turbulent spirit will soon give thee an occasion, which thou shouldst not fail to take, for bringing of his hoary head to the grave with blood." This proceeded not from personal revenge, but a prudent zeal for the honor of the government, and the covenant God had made with his family, the contempt of which ought not to go unpunished. Even a hoary head, if a guilty and forfeited head, ought not to be any man's protection from justice. The sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed (Is. 65 : 20). H. Although David had forgiven Shimei the personal wrong, yet as king and representative of the Divine right in the theocracy, he had not forgiven the crime of high treason of which Shimei had become guilty by reviling the Lord's anointed, and according to theocratic right could not forgive it, because the Lord himself was insulted in his anointed. But the following words, "for thou art a wise man," as well as Solomon's treatment of Shimei, indicate very emphatically that David and Solomon had no confidence in the disposition of Shimei. Accordingly, in this charge David is to be acquitted, not only of personal vindictiveness, but of every injustice. The punishment of Shimei was the duty of the theocratic ruler, for "Shimei was a blasphemer against the chosen of God, and his repentance was not genuine." Keil.—Shimei is and remains a proof rather of David's magnanimity than of his vindictiveness. To endure the miscreant all his life in his neighborhood (there was nothing even said of banishment) was no small thing. To suffer him to close his days unmolested under another reign also (which was never promised him) would have been a boon which would have given a very injurious example of unpunished transgression. Hess. That the man who, in his opening words (verse 3), enjoined upon his son, in the most emphatic manner, a strict and literal obedience to the law of Heaven, should in these subsequent words, delivered almost in the same breath, require him to satiate a long-cherished and cruel revenge upon Joab and Shimei (the latter of whom he had twice delivered from death), is an instance of self-contradiction which is almost, if not quite, without parallel. But it is a superficial and entirely erroneous view of David's last words, which supposes them to have been inspired by malice or cruelty. His absorbing idea was clearly this, that he had not "kept the charge of the Lord;" that he, the chief magistrate, the "revenge to execute wrath," by sparing Joab and Shimei, the murderer and the blasphemer, both of whose lives were forfeited to justice, had failed in his duty, had weakened the sanctions of law, and compromised the honor of the Most High. He is too old and too weak to execute the sentence of the law now, but for the safety of his people, for the security of his throne, it must be done, and therefore Solomon, who was under no obligation to spare the criminals his father had spared, must be required to do it. Of the Jewish king it might be said with a special propriety, "Rex est lex loquens," and seldom has the voice of law spoken with greater dignity and fidelity than by David in this dying charge. Hammond. DAVID'S FAREWELL ADDRESS TO THE ASSEMBLED REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NATION. HE URGES OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S COMMANDMENTS, AND A HEARTY COOPERATION WITH SOLOMON IN THE BUILDING OF THE LORD'S HOUSE. AFTER WORSHIP AND SACRIFICE SOLOMON IS FORMALLY ACKNOWLEDGED, AND AGAIN ANOINTED KING. 1. K. 2 : 10** AND David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. 1. Chron. 29 : 26, 27** Now David the son of Jesse reigned over all Israel. And the time that he reigned over Israel was forty years : seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor : and Solomon his son reigned in his stead. Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Samuel the seer, and in the history of Nathan the prophet, and in the history of Gad the seer ; with all his reign and his might, and the times that went over him, and over Israel, and over all the kingdoms of the countries. David now passed away. After seventy years of intensely active life, "he died in a good old age, full of days, riches, and honor." Born in a rude age, when the tribes of Israel had in a measure degenerated toward the old Egyptian barbarism, God had gifted him with a fine spiritual fibre, and by the severe processes of Providence, even to the passing through the fires of a long-anguished conscience, had strengthened and refined his soul. By this training it was that the Spirit of God enabled him to achieve a work so vast, so permanent and grand in its effects, such as none has ever done, before or since. Not in his conquests only, though these well-nigh covered the breadth of the promise to Abraham, "from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates ;" nor in his systematic organization and ordering of the nation's internal affairs, though this helped to give it strength, stability, and pre-eminence among the nations of the world. But the grand achievement of David was wrought upon the souls of the people through the moral and spiritual forces bestowed upon him, and Divinely nurtured and guided. By this Divine indwelling and inworking, partly as the result of the double discipline of adversity and sore transgression, David impressively commended the law and illustrated the truth and grace of Jehovah. In his life he effectually preached righteousness and exemplified faith and obedience toward God. In his broken strains and triumphant songs he magnified the Fatherhood and the compassionate, forgiving love of Jehovah ; and, like Abraham, rejoicingly looked forward to Messiah's day, nay more, beheld the coming Christ in the line of royal succession, and "in spirit called him Lord." Thus, through the distinguishing grace of God vouchsafed to him in these respects above all other men, David left upon the mind and heart of the Jewish people an indelible impress, which was deepened by the transfer to the Messiah, as His peculiar title, of the name, THE SON OF DAVID. Let us bear these facts in mind, as we advance to study the outwardly brilliant and seemingly successful career of Solomon—a career whose bright promise was shaded at the last to sadness and gloom, and whose early successes and later indulgences terminated at length almost in wreck of life and hope. No Bible history carries with it so much and such needed practical teaching for youth, and middle life, and old age. None exhibits so plainly and forcibly the great moral of right living. None treats so fully the uses and the misuses or wastes of life. And none meets and answers so accurately every problem, question, and longing pertaining to the every-day experience of all. B. In the varied elements of his life and character there is no one in the whole of the Bible like David. A life teeming with vicissitudes, with romance, with pathos, and those startling changes of fortune which make history so much stranger than fiction. What drama is equal to it for tragic and romantic interest alone, to say nothing of instruction? His character is as varied as his life. It reminds to no small extent of him whose writings in the New Testament hold somewhat the same place as the Psalms in the Old, the Apostle John. In both there is all the strength of man with all the tenderness of woman. In both there is the same intensity—intensity of action, intensity of thought and word, intensity of love and hate. With the exception of his dastardly conduct to Uriah there is no meanness about him. There is nobility even in his faults ; and certainly his repentance is noble. Is there any one in the whole of the Old Testament of whom we know so much, and yet find so much to admire, and praise, and love? With his chivalry and generosity, with his passionate love for his friend and for his son, with his sweetness and delicacy, his energy and courage, do we not feel him to be a man after man's own heart as well as after God's? Whether we take the world's rough measure and judge him by what he did, or look deeper and judge him by what he was, we must admit that in him we have a king who was at once a true hero and a true saint. Whether we regard the influence of David himself upon the people he ruled, or the growth and development of the people under his guidance, or the instruction which his life supplies for each individual soul, or the deep analogies which lie between the history of Israel at this its most glorious period and the history of the Christian Church, the age and reign of David stand alone in Israel's history. Plummer. 1. K. 2 : 10.** Now, when he has finished his great work in the organization and establishment of the kingdom, and when he has closed all with a zealous blessing of his Solomon and his people, David sleeps with his fathers. O blessed soul, how quiet a possession hast thou now taken, after so many tumults, of a better crown! Thou, that hast prepared all things for the house of thy God, how happily art thou now welcomed to that house of his, "not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!" Bp. H. He was buried in the city of David; not in the burying-place of his father, as Saul was, but in his own city, which he was the founder of. There were set the thrones and there the tombs, of the house of David. His epitaph may be taken from 2 S. 23 : 1. Here lies David the son of Jesse, the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel; adding his own words (Ps. 16 : 9). My flesh also shall rest in hope. H. — After the return from the Captivity, "the sepulchres of David" were still pointed out between Siloah and "the house of the mighty men," or "the guard-house" (Neh. 3 : 16). "His sepulchre is with us unto this day," said Peter at Pentecost. P. S. 1. Chron. 29 : 29, 30.** For a fuller account of David's life and reign, the reader is referred to the histories or records of those times, which were written by Samuel while he lived, and continued, after his death, by Nathan and Gad (verse 29). There was related what was observable in his government at home, and his wars abroad, the times—that is, the events of the times, that went over him (verses 29, 30). These registers were then in being, but are now lost. Good use may be made of those histories of the church, which are authentic, though not sacred, or of Divine inspiration. H. — The canon of Scripture seems at or after the close of David's reign to be added to by the prophets Nathan and Gad. It appears probable by the Scriptures that they carried on the history of the two Books of Samuel from the place where Samuel left it, and finished it. These two Books of Samuel seem to be the book that is here called the Book of Samuel the seer, and Nathan the prophet, and Gad the seer. Edwards.* Having provided for the security of the succession, the maintenance of the law, and the lasting dignity of the national religion, David breathed his last, having reigned forty years over the flourishing and powerful monarchy of which he may be considered the founder. He had succeeded to a kingdom distracted with civil dissension, environed on every side by powerful and victorious enemies, without a capital, almost without an army, without any bond of union between the tribes. He left a compact and united State, stretching from the frontier of Egypt to the foot of Lebanon, from the Euphrates to the sea. He had crushed the power of the Philistines, subdued or curbed all the adjacent kingdoms: he had formed a lasting and important alliance with the great city of Tyre. He had organized an immense disposable force: every month twenty-four thousand men, furnished in rotation by the tribes, appeared in arms, and were trained as the standing militia of the country. At the head of his army were officers of consummate experience, and, what was more highly esteemed in the warfare of the time, extraordinary personal activity, strength, and valor. His heroes remind us of those of Arthur or Charlemagne, excepting that the armor of the feudal chieftains constituted the superiority; here main strength of body and dauntless fortitude of mind. The Hebrew nation owed the long peace of the son's reign to the bravery and wisdom of the father. If the rapidity with which a kingdom rises to unexampled prosperity, and the permanence, as far as human wisdom can provide, of that prosperity, be a fair criterion of the abilities and character of a sovereign, few kings in history can compete with David. His one great crime violated the immutable and universal laws of morality, and therefore admits of no excuse. On the other hand, his consummate personal bravery and military talent—his generosity to his enemies— his fidelity to his friends—his knowledge of, and steadfast attention to, the true interests of his country—his exalted piety and gratitude toward his God, justify the zealous and fervent attachment of the Jewish people to the memory of their great monarch. Milman. At David's death, the people were victorious, their kingdom enlarged, dreaded by all their neighbors, the ablest men conduct the wisely-organized administration, and a genuine son of the illustrious father is upon the firmly-established throne. The ark and places of sacrifice now await their immediate union in a gorgeous temple already decided upon, the Divine service is organized, and heart and spirit stirring prophets and priests reveal God's will, and watch over the doctrine and the instruction of the people; and Israel possesses the legacy of the very noble songs of a talented king, which not only celebrate the joys of the altar and house of the Lord, the favor of Jehovah to his people, but for men of spiritual discernment the hope of Him who should come, whose throne endures forever and ever, whom God, his own God, has anointed with the oil of gladness. Yea, the genuine Israelite might, with adoration, and the most joyful hope, say, at the grave of this king, "Happy is the people that is in such a case; yea, happy the people whose God is the Lord" (Ps. 144 : 15). C. G. B. # Mutual Relations of the Hebrews to other known Historic Nations. Before we take our leave of David, let our attention be turned a moment to the connection of the Hebrew people with other nations known to history. With their Exodus from Egypt, the Hebrews severed themselves for a long time from all historic connection with Egypt. Amalek, Midian, Edom, Moab, Ammon, and the Amorites of great Arabia; the Canaanites, Hittites, and Philistines of Palestine; have none of them sent down to our time any historic records of date anterior to Solomon? Whatever records (if any) they may have had have long since perished. Egypt, during most or all of this period—from the Exodus to Solomon—was comparatively inactive; Assyria was yet undeveloped. That the Hebrew people came into no collision of arms with either Egypt or Egypt's old enemies of Western Asia, peopling the valleys of the Orontes and the Euphrates, may perhaps be due to the fact that they did not hold the coast line of the Mediterranean—the well-known thoroughfare of armies, Egyptian or Asiatic—in their hostile demonstrations. May it not have been of God's wise providence to leave this coast line through so many centuries in the hands of the Philistines, and thus exempt the Hebrews from all contact with the movements of hostile armies threading that great route of travel from Egypt to Western Asia? Remembering how it befell King Josiah (2 Chron. 35 : 20-24) when he came into collision with Pharaoh Necho, hurling his chariots and horsemen upon the rising empire of Chaldea, we may readily apprehend the possibilities of this danger. Until the reign of David they did not practically occupy that coast line—the western margin belt of Palestine. Thus it came to pass that during the entire period from Moses to David, including the administrations of Joshua, the Judges, Samuel, and Saul, all the foreign powers with whom the Hebrews came into contact have passed into oblivion, leaving no historic records behind them. With David a new era in this respect opened. When he pushed his victorious armies into the valley of the Euphrates and smote the king of Zobah (2 S. 8 : 3-8) and also the Syrians of Damascus who were called in to their help, he came politically into contact with nations of whose history some fragments have survived to our times. Are those fragments in harmony with the history which appears in our sacred books? This war is mentioned by Eupolemus in a fragment preserved to us by Eusebius, thus: "David discomfited the Syrians who dwelt by the river Euphrates, and subdued Commagene, and the Assyrians and Phœnicians of Gadalene. He also made expeditions against the Idumeans, and Ammonites, and Moabites, and Itureans, and Nabateans, and Nabdeans." Nicolas of Damascus (of the age of Augustus Cæsar) is believed to have drawn his information from the records or traditions of his own country. He wrote: "After this there was a certain Hadad, a native Syrian, who had great power. He ruled over Damascus and all Syria except Phœnicia. He likewise undertook a war with David, the king of Judea, and contended with him in many battles. In the last of them all, which was by the river Euphrates, and in which he suffered defeat, he yet showed himself a prince of the greatest courage and prowess." That Nicolas speaks of David as "king of Judea" is due to the date of his writing (within the century before the Christian era) when that country was known under no other name. That he eulogizes Hadad, though recording his signal defeat before David, may be ascribed to merit or to national feeling. The salient points in this fragment indicate its authenticity. According to the sacred narrative, David came into special relations with Tyre and her King Hiram. (See 2 S. 5 : 11, and 1 K. 5 : 1, and 1 Chron. 14 : 1.) These points are made historically probable by the following considerations : That Tyre, Sidon, and Phœnicia, in general, led the civilized world in the line of commerce and architecture ; that after David obtained control of the great commercial thoroughfare from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates, it became vital to their commerce to be on friendly terms with him ; that the natural trade with David's country was of priceless value to those cities—they giving cedars and skilled mechanical labor, and getting bread-stuffs in exchange. Hence, most naturally, "Hiram became ever a lover of David" (1 K. 5 : 1). Direct confirmation of the sacred history appears in the fact that the name of Hiram as the king of Tyre at this period comes to us certified upon an Assyrian inscription ; also in the testimony of Menander preserved by Josephus, of Herodotus, and also of Dius. Dius and Menander were Phœnician historians. Special confirmation appears also in the nicely accurate references in Scripture to Sidon and to Tyre—the former in most ancient times the leading city ; but the latter taking the lead in the time of David and ever after. Testimonies from the oldest profane records are remarkably in accord with this change in the relative importance of these cities. While Sidon occurs in Scripture even before Abraham (Gen. 10 : 15, 19) ; in the benedictions of Jacob (Gen. 49 : 13) ; and as "great Zidon" (Josh. 11 : 8 and 19 : 28), Tyre comes first to view (Josh. 19 : 29). So, in profane authorities, Homer speaks of Sidon often ; but of Tyre never. Thus our scriptural history of David receives all the confirmation from profane sources which the present state of those records allows us to expect. As we come down to later periods and as profane records multiply, the points of confirmation will be correspondingly more numerous. H. C. Every man's life, it has been remarked, is a plan of God ; in the obscurest history there is some Divine purpose ; what God said of Cyrus, He may say of the most commonplace man that ever passed unnoticed through life—"I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me." But in the case of such a life as that of David, God's plan, from its conspicuous and commanding grandeur, is fitted to arrest the attention of all. Exalted though he was in station, the lessons of his life are in the main applicable to all. W. G. B.—Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, and Paul stand out in lonely and individual grandeur amid the story of their time. The histories of those men are pictures, on a grand scale, of the common sorrows and battles of the human soul. The whole tendency of God's record is to bring them near to us. It never omits their weaknesses and failures ; it never depicts them as powerful saints, but as men subject to the temptations and liable to the passions that beset ourselves ; and could we realize this brotherhood, we should gain from them new light on life's story ; new power for its battles ; new life amid the defects and failures of this perplexed and careless world. E. L. Hal. The history of his time is crowded with characters. But the great lessons come to us from David himself, around whom, as a centre, all these characters revolved,—David, one of the rarest men in history, prophet, poet, warrior, ruler, saint and sinner, a man of sorrows, and yet a man of the brightest qualities, and of the most devout joy in God. D. F.—His life begins amid the peaceful scenes of a shepherd's life. The calmness of its morning time is suddenly broken by the din of arms, though there is heard amid the pauses of battle the sweet strains of a poet's harp. Men and women are seen uniting in their homage to the harper-hero, the young lion-heart of the nation. From the obscurity of a wilderness, the shepherd stepped at once into the full blaze of public life, as the champion of his people. But his heart was not uplifted, nor his sound sense impaired, by a change as sudden as it was great. When the throne was at length reached, and the kingdom consolidated, luxury and ease began to undermine a heart that had withstood danger in the field, danger in the house, and danger in the wilderness. But underneath the baser part of his nature lay a greatness of soul that earned for him the honor of being called "the servant of God." When the evil that was in him mastered the good, its outbreaks seemed shocking at the time, and are counted equally shocking in our day. But these surprises were not habitual. They did not occur so often from month to month, and from year to year, that all around the king looked for them as ordinary unfoldings of his life. They were falls from a loftier to a lower state, bitterly regretted and speedily turned from with loathing. Such is the view of David's character given by the sacred writer. While knowing much better than we do what was truly good in the king, he does not hide from us what was really bad. In our eyes, the evil that was wrought by David bulks more largely than the good ; because, living in an age of high professions, we see it in its naked vileness: in the inspired writer's view, the good that David did held its rightful place, because he knew fully, what we only know in part, the worth which adorned that prince's life. The evil that David did lives after him, never losing aught of blackness as time rolls on, and the obligations of conscience are more recognized. But the good he did, and the worthy name he enjoyed, may shine with a feebler light, as we travel farther from his days of comparative darkness into those of clearer light and loftier morals. Knowing this, we are bound to take the character of the Hebrew king, drawn by the sacred writer, as a true picture of what the man really was. That David was a brave soldier, and as good as he was brave, is proved both by the testimony of those who knew him, and by his actions. To bravery and goodness of heart combined was due the restraint he put on himself and his men, when Saul, an unwearied seeker after his life, fell into his power, not once but twice. No generous mind can read the story of David's twofold forbearance without feeling how brave and great-hearted he must have been who could thrust aside the wish for vengeance, or chide others for giving it room in their thoughts. Or can any one read the lament over Saul and Jonathan, and not recognize in the words the overflowing of a true mourner's heart? Or could greater bravery have been shown than David showed in forbidding Abishai to take the life of the wretched Shimei, who was insulting a king and his captains when they were driven to bay? If we judge the king by the modern standard of Western civilization, we shall find much to admire in the scanty records of his life. But if we take for a standard the morality found in the courts of Eastern despots, whether in ancient or in modern times, we shall see in David a brightness of moral worth which marks him out as one of the noblest of our race. Perhaps the best proof of David's worth, apart from the direct statements of history, is the regard in which he was held by those who came much in contact with him. To have knit together the band of six hundred men amid danger and trouble, implies a power to command respect and even affection by no means common among men. To have retained their unswerving allegiance for years, notwithstanding many inducements to betray him to his enemies, is a more singular testimony to this controlling power over their rude natures. Treason did not exist in their ranks. Men, whose flocks and property he protected, were not only ungrateful for his kindness, but repaid his care with insult and treachery. None of the six hundred were traitors. They were devoted friends, held by an attachment that may well be called romantic. Sime. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/ 1. K. 7 : 1** And Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. For he built the house of the forest of Lebanon ; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. And it was covered with cedar above over the forty and five beams, that were upon the pillars ; fifteen in a row. And there were prospects in three rows, and light was over against light in three ranks. And all the doors and posts were square in prospect : and light was over against light in three ranks. And he made the porch of pillars ; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits ; and a porch before them ; and pillars and thick beams before them. And he made the porch of the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment : and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor. And his house where he might dwell, the other court within the porch, was of the like work. He made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter, (whom Solomon had taken to wife,) like unto this porch. All these were of costly stones, even of hewn stone, according to measure, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside unto the great court. And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. And above were costly stones, even hewn stone, according to measure, and cedar wood. And the great court round about had three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar beams ; like as the inner court of the house of the LORD, and the porch of the house. 1. K. 3 : 1** And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days. And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father : only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. 2. Chron. 8 : 11** And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her : for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come. Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch, even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. And he appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise, and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required : the doorkeepers also by their courses at every gate : for so had David the man of God commanded. And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures. Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected. 1. K. 9 : 25** Then did he build Millo. And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, burning incense therewith, upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house. The order in Solomon's buildings is observable : God's house first, for religion ; then his own, for his own convenience ; then a house for his wife, to which she removed, as soon as it was ready for her (verse 24) ; then Millo, the Townhouse, or Guildhall ; then the wall of Jerusalem, the royal city ; then some cities of note and strength in the country, which were decayed and unfortified, Hazor, Megiddo, etc. H. Building of Solomon's House. 1. K. 7 : 1. The thirteen years, according to 9 : 10, are to be reckoned from the completion of the temple. With verse 2 begins the description of this building. In what follows several buildings, as the house of the forest of Lebanon (2-5), the portico of pillars with a porch (6), the porch of the throne and of judgment (7), the dwelling-house of the king, and the house of the daughter of Pharaoh, were erected one after another. The question arises, whether all these buildings were different parts of one royal palace, or different buildings from it. The forest house of Lebanon cannot be a building different from the royal palace mentioned (verse 1), for this reason, that afterward (9 : 1, 10, 15 ; comp. 10 : 12) only one palace is always named among the buildings executed by Solomon, and here so large an account is given of this Lebanon house, while it has no further mention in the following chapters. Still more decisive, however, is the relation of the first verse of the chapter to the following. Verse 1 is a mere superscription ; with verse 2 begins the account of the erection of the building mentioned in verse 1 ; to be rendered, "he built, namely." It necessarily follows from this that the collective buildings mentioned in verses 2-8 formed only the one royal palace, the several departments of which are described in succession, whereupon the section is concluded with a statement of the materials employed in the building (verses 9-12). But even after the unity of the building has been agreed upon, it is extremely difficult to draw an outline of the entire palace that will be intelligible and in conformity with the statements of the text. Keil. Location of the Palace. Without referring to the various buildings which Solomon reared, it may be safely asserted that the city must have rapidly increased in population. Indeed, during the prosperous reign of Solomon it probably attained as large, if not larger, proportions than at any time before the Exile. The wealthier part of the population occupied the western terraces of the west hill—the Upper City—the streets running north and south. The eastern slopes of the west hill were covered by "the middle city" (2 K. 20 : 4, marginal rendering). It will have been noticed, that as yet only the southern parts of both the eastern and western hills of Jerusalem had been built over. King Solomon reared the Temple on Mount Moriah, which formed the northern slope of the eastern hill, while the increase of the population soon led to building operations on the side of the western hill opposite to it. Here the city extended beyond the old wall, north of "the middle city," occupying the northern part of the Tyropœon. This was "the other" or "second part of the city" (2 K. 22 : 14 ; 2 Chron. 34 : 22 ; Neh. 11 : 9, the "maktesh" or "mortar" of Zeph. 1 : 11). Here was the real business quarter, with its markets, "fishgate," "sheepgate," and bazaars, such as the "Baker Street" (Jer. 37 : 21), the quarters of the goldsmiths and other merchants (Neh. 3 : 8, 32), the "valley of the cheesemongers," etc. This suburb must have been soon enclosed by a wall. We do not know when or by whom the latter was commenced, but we have notices of its partial destruction (2 K. 14 : 13 ; 2 Chron. 25 : 23), and of its repair (2 Chron. 32 : 5). The particulars thus described will sufficiently explain the location of the great palace which Solomon built during the thirteen years after the completion of the Temple. Its site was the eastern terrace of the western hill, probably the same as that afterward occupied by the palace of the Asmonæans (Maccabees) and of Agrippa II. The area covered by this magnificent building was four times that of the Holy House (not including its courts). It stood right over against the Temple. A descent led from the Palace into the Tyropœon, and thence a special magnificent "ascent" (2 Chron. 9 : 4) to the royal entrance (2 K. 16 : 18), probably at the southwestern angle of the Temple. The site was happily chosen—protected by Fort Milo, and looking out upon the Temple-Mount, while south of it stretched the wealthy quarter of the city. Ascending from the Tyropœon, one would pass through a kind of ante-building into a porch, and thence into a splendid colonnade. This colonnade connected "the house of the forest of Lebanon," so called from the costly cedars used in its construction, with "the porch for the throne," where Solomon pronounced judgment (1 K. 7 : 6, 7). Finally, there was in the inner court, still further west, "the house where Solomon dwelt," and "the house for Pharaoh's daughter," with, of course, the necessary side and outbuildings (1 K. 7 : 8). Thus, the royal palace really consisted of three separate buildings. Externally it was simply of "costly stones" (verse 9), the beauty of its design only appearing in its interior. Here the building extended along three sides. The ground-floor consisted of colonnades of costly cedar, the beams being fastened into the outer walls. These colonnades would be hung with tapestry, so as to be capable of being formed into apartments. Above these rose, on each side of the court, three tiers or chambers, fifteen on each tier, with large windows looking out upon each other. Here were the State apartments for court feasts, and in them were kept, among other precious things, the golden targets and shields (1 K. 10 : 16, 17). Passing through another colonnade, one would next reach the grand Judgment and Audience-halls, with the magnificent throne of ivory, described in 1 K. 10 : 18-20; 2 Chron. 9 : 17-19. And, lastly, the innermost court contained the royal dwellings themselves. A. E. 1. K. 7 : 1-12. The description is conformable to the arrangement of Eastern palaces. The building stood in the middle of a great oblong square, which was surrounded by an enclosing wall, against which the houses and offices of those attached to the court were built. The building itself was oblong, consisting of two square courts, flanking a large oblong hall which formed the centre, and which, being 100 cubits long, by 50 broad, was properly the house of the forest of Lebanon, being the part where were the cedar pillars of this hall. In front was the porch of judgment, which was appropriated to the transaction of public business. On the one side of this great hall was the king's house; and on the other the harem or royal apartments for Pharaoh's daughter (Esther 2 : 3, 9). This arrangement of the palace accords with the Oriental style of building, according to which a great mansion always consists of three divisions, or separate houses—all connected by doors and passages—the men dwelling at one extremity, the female portion of the family at the other, while public rooms occupy the central part of the building. Jamieson. The principal building situated within the Palace was, as in all Eastern palaces, the great hall of state and audience, here called the "House of the Forest of Lebanon." Its dimensions were 100 cubits, or 150 feet long, by half that, or 75 feet in width. Next in importance is the hall or porch of judgment, which Josephus distinctly tells us was situated opposite to the centre of the longer side of the great hall. Its dimensions were 50 cubits, or 75 feet square (Josephus says 30 in one direction, at least), and its disposition can easily be understood by comparing the descriptions we have with the remains of the Assyrian and Persian examples. It must have been supported by four pillars in the centre, and had three entrances—the principal opening from the street and facing the judgment-seat; a second from the court-yard of the Palace, by which the councillors and officers of state might come in; and a third from the Palace, reserved for the sole entrance of the king and his household. The third edifice is merely called "the Porch." Its dimensions were 50 by 30 cubits, or 75 feet by 45. It was an indispensable adjunct to an Eastern palace. It was the ordinary place of business of the palace, and the reception-room where the king received ordinary visitors, and sat, except on great state occasions, to transact the business of the kingdom. Behind this, we are told, was the inner court, adorned with gardens and fountains, and surrounded by cloisters for shade; and besides this were other courts for the residence of the attendants and guards, and in Solomon's case, for the three hundred women of his harem. Apart from this palace, but attached, as Josephus tells us, to the Hall of Judgment, was the palace of Pharaoh's daughter. The recent discoveries at Nineveh have enabled us to understand many of the architectural details of this palace, which were before almost wholly inexplicable. We are told—e.g., that the walls of the halls of the palace were wainscoted with three tiers of stone, apparently versicolored marbles, hewn and polished, and surmounted by a fourth course, elaborately carved with representations of leafage and flowers. Above this the walls were plastered and ornamented with colored arabesques. At Nineveh the walls were, like these, wainscoted to a height of about eight feet, but with alabaster, a peculiar product of the country, and these were separated from the painted space above by an architectural band; the real difference being that the Assyrians revelled in sculptural representations of men and animals. These modes of decoration were forbidden to the Jews by the Second Commandment. Dic. B. The new Palace was built on massive substructions of enormous stones, carefully hewn, and was enclosed within a large court. It included several edifices within itself. The chief was a long hall, which, like the Temple, was encased in cedar; whence, probably, its name, "the House of the Forest of Lebanon." In front of it ran a pillared portico. Between this portico and the palace itself was a cedar porch,—sometimes called the Tower of David. In this tower, apparently hung over the walls outside, were a thousand golden shields, which gave the whole palace the name of the Armory. With a splendor that outshone any like fortress, the tower with these golden targets glittered far off in the sunshine like the tall neck, as it was thought, of a beautiful bride, decked out after the manner of the East, with strings of golden coins. Five hundred of them were made by Solomon's orders for the royal guard, but the most interesting were the older five hundred, which David had carried off in his Syrian wars from the guard of Hadadezer, as trophies of arms and ornaments, in which the Syrians specially excelled. It was these which, being regarded as spoils won in a sacred cause, gave, in all probability, occasion to the expression: "The shields of the earth belong unto God" (Ps. 47 : 9). This porch was the gem and centre of the whole Empire; and was so much thought of that a smaller likeness to it was erected in another part of the royal precinct for the Queen. Within the porch itself was to be seen the King in state. On a throne of ivory, brought from Africa or India, the throne of many an Arabian legend, the Kings of Judah were solemnly seated on the day of their accession. From its lofty seat, and under that high gateway, Solomon and his successors after him delivered their solemn judgments. That "porch" or "gate of justice" still kept alive the likeness of the old patriarchal custom of sitting in judgment at the gate; exactly as the Gate of Justice still recalls it to us at Granada and the Sublime Porte—"the Lofty Gate" at Constantinople. He sat on the back of a golden bull, its head turned over its shoulder, probably the ox or bull of Ephraim; under his feet, on each side of the steps, were six golden lions, probably the lions of Judah. This was "the seat of judgment." This was "the throne of the House of David." Stanley. The appearance of this grand hall and of the Porch of the Throne, when the king dispensed justice or received ambassadors from his gold and ivory chair of state, must have been imposing. His 500 guards, standing round with their golden shields, inspired respect and awe, if litigants brought their suits before him, or tributary states presented their tokens of homage. Between two and three centuries after Solomon, Isaiah the prophet refers to the House of the Forest of Lebanon as the arsenal of the kingdom of Judah (Is. 22 : 8). Sime.—Even the imaginations of the Oriental romancers and poets have scarcely conceived a more splendid pageant than Solomon, seated on his throne of ivory, receiving the homage of distant princes who came to admire his magnificence, and put to the test his noted wisdom. This throne was of pure ivory, covered with gold; six steps led up to the seat, and on each side of the steps were twelve lions carved. All the vessels of his palace were of pure gold, silver was thought too mean: his armory was furnished with gold; 200 targets and 300 shields of beaten gold were suspended in the house of Lebanon. Milman. 1. K. 3 : 1. Pharaoh king of Egypt. This is the first notice since the Exodus of any connection of Israel with Egypt. It is impossible to decide with certainty which Pharaoh it was whose daughter Solomon took to wife. The twenty-second Egyptian dynasty commenced with Sheshonk I. (the Shishak of the Bible), about n.c. 990. This monarch did much to advance the Egyptian power, which under the previous Tanite sovereigns of the twenty-first dynasty had sunk very low. We shall find Shishak (1 K. 11 : 40) receiving Jeroboam when he fled from Solomon. The wife of Solomon must therefore have been a daughter of a king in the previous dynasty, the kings of which would be likely to welcome an alliance with so powerful a monarch. Pharaoh is used in the Bible as the royal title of the Egyptian kings, and not as the proper name of any single person. This wife of Solomon probably embraced Judaism, as we find no reproach against him for this marriage, nor is any Egyptian deity mentioned among those for whom Solomon at a later time built high places when strange women turned away his heart after other gods. Lumby.—This marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh—to which, from its frequent mention, so much political importance seems to have been attached—took place in the first years of his reign, although some time after the building of the Temple and of his own palace had commenced. Such a union was not forbidden by the law, nor was the daughter of Pharaoh apparently implicated in the charge brought against Solomon's other foreign wives of having led him into idolatry (1 K. 11 : 1-7). In fact, according to Jewish tradition, the daughter of Pharaoh actually became a Jewish proselyte. Still, Solomon seems to have felt the incongruity of bringing her into the palace of David, within the bounds of which "the Ark of the Lord" appears to have been located (2 Chron. 8 : 11), and she occupied a temporary abode "in the City of David," till the new palace of Solomon was ready for her reception. A. E. 1. K. 3 : 3. Solomon began well. He "loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father," and almost his first care is to accomplish the desire, inherited from his father, of building "the house of the Lord," for which David had long since been collecting materials. But even at this early date, when all seems so fair, the germs of evil are not wanting. There is something astounding in finding that one of his first acts was to seek a wife out of Egypt, the house of bondage. Since the Israelites "spoiled the Egyptians" there had been no intercourse between the two nations. Solomon's marriage was probably a diplomatic one, to gain the aid of Pharaoh against Edom, or at least to withhold him from helping Edom. It was the beginning of those many unions with strange wives who in the end led him into abominable idolatries. But he is nowhere said to have built altars to any Egyptian god, so that we may conclude that Pharaoh's daughter became a proselyte, and that for this reason the marriage was not specially condemned. But the connection with Egypt, if it did not lead to idolatry, led to another violation of the law. In direct contravention of De. 17 : 17, Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt (1 K. 10 : 28). Plummer. 2. Chron. 8 : 12-15. After the building of the temple and of his own house, Solomon continued for a time faithful to the worship and legislation of his people. For the first twenty-four years of his reign there was no change in the principles with which he set out in public life. Sime. 1. K. 9 : 25. Three times in a year he offered burnt-offerings extraordinary : namely, at the three yearly feasts, the Passover, Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles, in honor of the Divine institution ; beside what he offered at other times, both statedly, and upon special occasions. With his sacrifices he burned incense, not himself (that was King Uzziah's crime), but the priest for him, at his charge, and for his particular use. It is said, he offered on the altar which he himself built. He took care to build it, and then himself made use of it. Many will assist the devotions of others that neglect their own. H. CITIES BUILT BY SOLOMON. HIS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS, ECCLESIASTICAL, MILITARY, AND CIVIL. HIS CHARIOTS, HORSEMEN, AND HORSES. 1. K. 9 : 10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king's house, (now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him ; and they pleased him not. And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother ? And he called them the Land of Cabul, unto this day. And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold. 2. Chron. 8 : 1 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house, that the cities which Hiram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. 3, 4 And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it. And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath. Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars ; and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 1. K. 9 : 15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised ; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a portion unto his daughter, 17, 18 Solomon's wife. And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, and Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. As for all the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and 21 the Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel; their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, of them did 22 Solomon raise a levy of bondservants, unto this day. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondservants: but they were the men of war, and his servants, and his princes, 23 and his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen. These were the chief officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work. 1. K. 4: 1, 2 And king Solomon was king over all Israel. And these were the princes 3 which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of 4 Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; and Benaiah the son of Je- 5 hoiada was over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was priest, and the king's friend; 6 and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the levy. 7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his 8 household: each man had to make provision for a month in the year. And these are their 9 names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim: Ben-deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and 10 Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan: Ben-hesed, in Arubboth; to him pertained Sooch, and 11 all the land of Hepher: Ben-abinadab, in all the height of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter 12 of Solomon to wife: Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as beyond 13 Jokmeam: Ben-geber, in Ramoth gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Man- asseh, which are in Gilead; even to him pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, 14 threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars: Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim: 15, 16 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon to wife: Baana the 17, 18 son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth: Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: Shimei 19 the son of Ela, in Benjamin: Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the 22 land. And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore 23 measures of meal; ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fatted fowl. 2. Chron. 1: 14 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. 1. K. 4: 26, 27 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots. And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's 28 table, every man in his month: they let nothing be lacking. Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge. 2 Chron. 1: 16 And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; the 17 king's merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. And they fetched up, and brought out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means. Solomon's buildings and undertakings. So far the historian has spoken exclusively of the two greatest works of Solomon's reign, the Temple and the Palace, and principally of the former. Even the message just related was, as we have seen, the response to the prayer offered when the temple was consecrated. But he now proceeds to mention other proofs of Solomon's greatness, and of the prosperity of his reign—doubtless because the glory of Israel then reached its climax, and the author would be tempted to linger over these details because of the dark contrast which his own time supplied —and this leads him to speak of the means by which all these enterprises were accomplished. The particulars here given are but fragmentary, and are grouped together in a somewhat irregular manner. It would seem as if both this account and that of the chronicler had been compiled from much more copious histories, each writer having cited those particulars which appeared to him to be the most interesting and important. But the design of the historian in either case is evident—viz., to recount the principal undertakings of this illustrious king, and to indicate the resources which enabled him to accomplish such extensive designs. Hammond. 1. K. 9 : 10-13.** The great works connected with the establishment of God's house, and of his own royal state at Jerusalem, to which city they added an entirely new quarter, occupied the first half of Solomon's reign, a period of twenty years, 1015-996 B.C. The services of the King of Tyre were acknowledged by the cession of twenty cities along the sea-coast of Galilee, a gift at which Hiram expressed his discontent by a play upon the name of one of them, C-bul, a word signifying dirt in the Phœnician dialect. P. 8.—It appears that, besides furnishing him with wood, Hiram had also advanced gold to Solomon (verse 11), amounting, if we may connect with this the notice in verse 14, to 120 talents of gold. We suppose it was in repayment of this sum that Solomon ceded to Hiram twenty cities in Northern Galilee, adjoining the possessions of Tyre. With these he might the more readily part, since the district was partially "Gentile." But Hiram, who probably coveted a strip of land along the coast, was dissatisfied with his new acquisition, and gave it the contemptuous designation of "the land of Cabul." The district seems, however, to have been afterward restored to Solomon, no doubt on repayment of the loan and other compensation. (See next paragraph of text, 2 Chron. 8 : 1, 2.) 2. Chron. 8 : 3-6 ; 1 K. 9 : 15-26.** The great Palace, the Temple, and the enlargement of Millo and of the city wall, were not the only architectural undertakings of King Solomon. Remembering that there were watchful foes on all sides, he either built or repaired a number of strong places. In the north, as defence against Syria, rose the ancient stronghold of Hazor. The plain of Jezreel, the traditional battle-field of, as well as the highway into Palestine from the west and the north, was protected by Megiddo ; while the southern approach from Egypt and the Philistine plain was guarded by Gezer, which Pharaoh had before this taken from the Canaanites and burned, but afterward given to his daughter as dowry on her marriage with Solomon. Not far from Gezer, and serving a similar defensive purpose, rose the fortress of Baalath, in the possession of Dan. The eastern and northeastern parts of Solomon's dominions were protected by Tamar or Tadmor, probably the Palmyra of the ancients, and by Hamath-Zobah, while access to Jerusalem and irruptions from the northwestern plain were barred by the fortification of Upper and Nether Bethhoron. Besides these fortresses, the king provided magazine-cities, and others where his chariots and cavalry were stationed—most of them, probably, toward the north. In all such undertakings Solomon employed the forced labor of the descendants of the ancient Canaanite inhabitants of Palestine, his Jewish subjects being chiefly engaged as overseers and officers in various departments. But even thus, the diversion of so much labor and the taxation which his undertakings must have involved were felt as a "grievous service" and "heavy yoke" (1 K. 12 : 4), all the more that Solomon's love of building and of Oriental splendor seems to have rapidly grown upon him. Thus, once more by a natural process of causation, the inner decay marked by luxury led to the weakening of the kingdom of Solomon, and scattered the seeds of that disaffection which, in the days of his degenerate son, ripened into open rebellion. So true is it, that in the history of Israel the inner and the outer always keep pace. A. E. 16. The mention of Gezer leads to a parenthesis of considerable length (verses 16-19). The question of the levy is put aside for the time, while the historian explains how it was that the king came to build Gezer. He then proceeds to mention the other towns built during the same reign. Hammond. In the north and northeast, Hamath, which apparently had thrown off the yoke on David's death, was recovered. Fortresses were established along the heights of Lebanon, and stations along the desert toward the Euphrates. Of these establishments two remain, which, partly by tradition, partly by resemblance of name, are connected with Solomon. One is Baalbec or Baalath (verse 17) ; the great sanctuary, which commanded the valley of Coolesyria, on the way to Hamath, and of which the enormous substructions appear to date from an age far anterior to the Syro-Greek or Syro-Roman temples built upon them. Eastward his dominion extended to Thapsacus, and on the way to this is the other probable memorial of his greatness, "Tadmor in the wilderness ;" if we may trust the native name which has clung to the famous city of Zenobia, in spite of its Roman appellation, by which it has been translated. Its situation, in what must then have been a palm-grove, at the point where the wide, barren valley, enclosed between two parallel ranges of hills, opens on the still wider desert, and where the abundant springs gather round it a circle of vegetation, would naturally have pointed it out to Solomon as a site for a city, and a halting-place for caravans half-way between Damascus and Babylon. Stanley. 2. Chron. 8 : 4. Tadmor in the wil-** derness. There is no reasonable doubt that this city, said to have been built by Solomon, is the same as Palmyra. The identity of the two cities is thus established: Josephus mentions the same city as bearing in his time the name of Tadmor among the Syrians, and Palmyra among the Greeks; and Jerome translates Tadmor by Palmyra. The modern Arabic name of Palmyra is substantially the same as the Hebrew word, being Tadmor or Tathmor. The word Tadmor has nearly the same meaning as Palmyra, signifying probably the City of Palms, from Heb. tāmār = a palm. The name Tadmor or Tadmōr actually occurs as the name of the city in Aramaic and Greek inscriptions found there. In 2 Chron. 8, the city is mentioned as built by Solomon after his conquest of Hamath-Zobah, and is named with "all the store-cities which he built in Hamath." This accords fully with the situation of Palmyra; and there is no other known city, either in the desert or not in the desert, which can lay claim to the name of Tadmor. Dic. B. As Solomon held the fortress of Thapsacus at the place where the caravans crossed the Euphrates, he could afford an escort of troops thence to Tadmor, and thence again to the western coast, if required; and for this, as well as for the aid and assistance at Tadmor, and for the advantages of its stores and khans, a toll might reasonably be required; and this would cheerfully be paid, as a return for actual benefits, and as a most gratifying exchange for the harassing, irregular, inordinate, and greedy exactions of the Arab tribes. But we apprehend that Tadmor was more than a watering and resting station; that it became under Solomon what we know it was in later times, an actual emporium for the products of the East, where the caravans terminated their journey, deposited their ladings, transacted their sales with the factors from the West, who then took charge of the commodities, and bore them away thence to the western markets at their leisure, or whither the dealers repaired to purchase such of those commodities as they required from the consignees. This is the usual mode in which the goods brought by distant caravans are disposed of in the East, almost always at some border town, and rarely at the ultimate market. More than this, we see little room to doubt that Solomon himself took up, by his agents, the greater part, if not the whole, of the goods thus brought into his territories, and kept them in his stores, eventually selling them at a profit to such of the western merchants as required them. This would, in fact, amount to a monopoly of the Eastern trade. But such is the custom of Eastern kings when they take any interest in commercial undertakings. And not only so, but such royal merchants are very much in the habit of taking such commodities from the caravans at their own price, which the merchant dare not refuse to accept. This, however, has a practical limit, and must especially have had such in the case of Solomon, for the result might have been to direct the traffic into some other channel, which might have been found by crossing the Euphrates more to the north, and so proceeding westward. But this expensive and fatiguing course would not be adopted without more serious cause than so prudent a king as Solomon would be likely to give. That this, in substance, was the course taken by Solomon, seems to us to be proved by the fact, that it was really the policy on which he conducted his trade with Egypt; and from the fact that we read of "store cities" which he built, and as this is mentioned in connection with his building of Tadmor, it is obviously suggested that these towns were intended to be places for the deposit and sale of the products of this great eastern land trade—so ancient, so important—and which now seems to have been chiefly in the hands of Solomon. Kit. Tadmor was a very famous city, known among the Greeks by the name of Palmyra, situated in the wilderness of Syria, on the borders of Arabia Deserta, inclining toward the Euphrates. Josephus places it two days' journey from Upper Syria, one day's journey from the Euphrates, and six days' journey from Babylon. If we may guess by the ruins which later travellers describe of this city, it was one of the finest and most magnificent in the East; and it is somewhat surprising that history should give us so little account when or by whom it was reduced to the sad condition in which it now appears. The reason of Solomon's building this city in so desolate a place, was probably the commodiousness of its situation, to cut off all commerce between the Syrians and Mesopotamians, and to prevent their caballing and conspiring against him, as they had done against his father David. Stackhouse. From the earliest times there seems to have been some communication between Mesopotamia and other provinces on the banks of the Euphrates, and those parts of Syria and Palestine which lay near the Mediterranean. The migration of Abram from Ur of the Chaldees to Sichem in the land of Canaan, is an instance of this. The journey through the desert which separated these countries, was much facilitated by its affording one station abounding with water and capable of cultivation. As the intercourse increased, the possession of this station became an object of so much importance, that Solomon, when he turned his attention toward the extension of commerce among his subjects, built a fenced city there. Its Syrian name of "Tadmor in the wilderness," and its Greek name of Palmyra, are both descriptive of its situation, in a spot adorned with palm-trees. This is not only plentifully supplied with water, but surrounded by a portion of fertile land which, though of no great extent, renders it a delightful habitation in the midst of barren sands and an inhospitable desert. Its happy position, at the distance, according to Major Rennell, of 85 miles from the Euphrates, and about 117 from the nearest coast of the Mediterranean, induced its inhabitants to enter with ardor into the trade of conveying commodities from one of these to the other. Its opulence and power increased rapidly; and, from the peculiar advantages of its situation, as well as the spirit of its inhabitants, it long maintained its independence, though surrounded by powerful and ambitious neighbors. Toward the close of the seventeenth century, some gentlemen of the English factory at Aleppo, incited by what they heard in the East concerning the wonderful ruins of Palmyra, ventured, notwithstanding the danger and fatigue of a journey through the desert, to visit them. To their astonishment they beheld a fertile spot of some miles in extent, arising like an island out of a vast plain of sand, covered with the remains of temples, porticoes, aqueducts, and other public works, which in magnificence and splendor, and some of them in elegance, were not unworthy of Athens or of Rome, in their most prosperous state. Palmyra owed its aggrandizement to the opulence acquired by extensive commerce. After its conquest by Aurelian trade never revived there. At present a few miserable huts of Arabs are scattered in the courts of its stately temples, or deform its elegant porticoes. Dr. Robertson. It became a Roman colony under Caracalla (A.D. 211-217). Subsequently, in the reign of Gallienus, the Roman senate invested Odenathus, a senator of Palmyra, with the regal dignity, on account of his services in defeating Sāpor, king of Persia. On the assassination of Odenathus, his celebrated wife Zenobia seems to have conceived the design of erecting Palmyra into an independent monarchy; and, in prosecution of this object, she, for a while, successfully resisted the Roman arms. She was at length defeated and taken captive by the Emperor Aurelian (A.D. 273). In 1172 Benjamin of Tudela found 4000 Jews there, and at a later period Abulfeda mentioned it as full of splendid ruins. The long lines of Corinthian columns at Palmyra, as seen at a distance, are peculiarly imposing; and in their general effect and apparent vastness they seem to surpass all other ruins of the same kind. The principal ruin is the great temple of the sun, the great colonnade supposed to have consisted of 1500 columns, and the tombs, which are tower-like buildings, two, three, or four stories high. Dic. B. Neither Greece nor Italy could exhibit antiquities which in point of splendor could rival those of Palmyra. The examinations of travellers show that the ruins are of two kinds. The one class must have originated in very remote times, and consists of rude, unshapen hillocks of ruin and rubbish, covered with soil and herbage, such as now alone mark the site of the most ancient cities of Mesopotamia and Babylonia, and among which it would be reasonable to seek any traces of the more ancient city of Solomon. The other, to which the most gorgeous monuments belong, bears the impress of later ages. It is clear from the style of architecture that the later buildings belong to the three centuries preceding Diocletian, in which the Corinthian order of pillars was preferred to any other. Kit. Enc. 1. K. 9 : 19. There was another class of public works, which Solomon found it necessary to undertake. "Cities of store, cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen." The phrase, "store cities" or "temple cities," is borrowed from the Book of Exodus. What Pithom and Raamses were to Pharaoh, these store cities were to Solomon—at once magazines for the garrisons which held the fortresses of the empire; and warehouses, in which goods were stored, when they were purchased by the king's merchants, or received in consignment from abroad. Both ideas are involved in the words. And both meanings may be specially applicable to "all the store cities which he built in Hamath." Sime. 23. Five hundred and fifty. At 2 Chron. 8 : 10, the number is stated at 250. The most probable solution is, that there were 250 set over those who wrought in the temple; and the rest had the superintendence of public works in other places. Bp. Patrick. 1. K. 4 : 1-19. That this list belongs not to the beginning but to the later period of Solomon's reign, appears certain from the fact that two of the twelve officers were married to daughters of Solomon. The list appears accordingly to contain a collection of the most distinguished officers of the kingdom during the whole of Solomon's reign, which is inserted here for substantial reasons to give an idea of the power and glory of the kingdom of Israel under Solomon. To this both the commencement and close of the chapter point. Keil. The prosperity of Solomon's reign was commensurate with the fact that it was based upon the Divine promises, and typical of far greater blessings to come. The notices in 1 K. 4 and 5 are strung together to indicate that prosperity by presenting to our view the condition of the Israelitish monarchy in the high-day of its glory. Wise and respected councillors surrounded the king. The administration of the country was orderly, and the taxation not arbitrary but regulated. The land was divided, not according to the geographical boundaries of the "tribes," but according to population and resources, into twelve provinces, over each of which a governor was appointed. Among their number we find two sons-in-law of the king (verses 11, 15), and other names well known in the land. Had this policy of rearranging the country into provinces been sufficiently consolidated, many of the tribal jealousies would have ceased. On the other hand, the financial administration, intrusted to these governors, was of the simplest kind. Apparently, no direct taxes were levied, but all that was requisite for the royal court and government had to be provided, each province supplying in turn what was required for one month. Such a system could not, indeed, press heavily so long as the country continued prosperous; but with a luxurious court, in hard times, or under harsh governors, it might easily become an instrument of oppression and a source of discontent. From 1 K. 12 : 4 we gather that such was ultimately the case. It need scarcely be added, that in each province the supreme civil government was in the hands of these royal officials; and such was the general quiet prevailing, that even in the extensive district east of the Jordan, which bordered on so many turbulent tributary nations, "one sole officer" (verse 19) was sufficient to preserve the peace of the country. Quite in accordance with these notices are the references both to the prosperity of Israel and to the extent of Solomon's dominions. They almost read like an initial fulfilment of that promise to Abraham: "Multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." And if, compared with the simplicity of Saul's and even of David's court, that of Solomon seems luxurious in its appointments, we must remember that it was intended to show the altered state of the Israelitish monarchy, and that even so the daily consumption was far smaller than at the court of the Persian monarchs in the high-day of their power and glory. A. E. 22,23. The daily consumption of the royal household is now related to show the grandeur and luxury of the court. And it agreed well with the greatness of the kingdom. The lavish provision of Oriental palaces was evidently a subject of wonder and of boasting to the ancients, as the inscriptions and monuments show. Hammond. 2. Chron. 1 : 14.** He established a new species of military force, strongly discouraged by the law of Moses, and from which all previous rulers of this people had abstained—that of chariots and horses. Of the former he had 1400, and of the latter 12,000. Apart even from the prohibition, this was an extreme and perilous extravagance for such a country as that over which this king reigned. The country was mountainous and unsuited for cavalry. It was also a time of peace; and all the great victories of his father and other conquerors had been won in reliance upon the strength of the Lord's arm, without any such force, and over those who possessed it. However proper, such a number of horses and chariots was wholly disproportionated to so small a country; and it is likely that no act of royal extravagance was so unpopular among the people, under whose eyes it was continually present. This kind of expenditure, in the keeping of animals not for manifest use, is always more offensive to a people, and especially to an agricultural people, than any other form of expenditure, because it is a living expense. The people soon fail to reckoning that each horse consumes the food of so many persons, the produce of so much land; and when, to support such extravagance, they are oppressed with special burdens, the grievance becomes intolerable. We do not call to mind any deep popular complaint against the extravagance of a sovereign which had not its origin in some such form of living expenditure,—that is, in the really or apparently unprofitable maintenance of persons or animals—horses, servants, functionaries, soldiers, women. Indeed, a popular complaint against even a war will, when examined, generally resolve itself into a discontent at the cost of maintaining the army—of so many consumers of food not employed in reproductive labor. Kit. 1. K. 4 : 26.** The numeral "forty" rests on an old error in transcription for four, as the older expositors have observed. These chariots and saddle horses Solomon kept partly in Jerusalem, partly in several towns, which he pitched upon for this purpose. Kell. From the coming out of Egypt to the end of David's reign, the people of Israel never suffered for want of force and strength in war. Troops, few in number, and seemingly unfit for action, supported neither by chariots nor by horsemen, proved an overmatch for royal armies. This may be verified in the instances of Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and of all others called forth by God to save his people. During this period, also, the kingdom of Israel was carried to its utmost height by David. He held the kings about him, how gallantly soever they and their troops were mounted, under tribute and subjection, though he himself rode on a mule, and provided no better equipage for his son on his coronation day. When David looked back and meditated on this state of things, he might well say, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God" (Ps. 20 : 7). In the reign of Solomon things quickly changed. He married the daughter of the king of Egypt, and opened a commerce between that country and his own: and the next news we hear of him is, that he "had four thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen." They who succeeded him followed his example; and from his time the kings of Judah and Israel had, whenever they were able to keep them, a strength of chariots and horsemen. Let us now see what they got by this change: Solomon came to a kingdom firmly established, the princes round him were tributary to him, and those at a distance feared and admired him: but troubles soon overtook him: the Edomite on one side, the king of Damascus on the other, insulted him; nor was he able, with all his new forces, to quell these upstart enemies. But the most remarkable event, and that which seems designed by Providence to humble the pride of Israel, was the division of the kingdom upon the death of Solomon, which produced a war of many years' continuance between Israel and Judah, wherein their forces were employed, with various success, in weakening and destroying one another. During this time the king of Egypt, the country which had furnished Solomon with all his horses, came up against Jerusalem, and took it, and carried away all the treasures of the temple, and of the royal palace, which had been long gathering by David and Solomon: and Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, became servant to the king of Egypt (2 Chron. 12 : 8, 9). Thus did Solomon and his house prosper with their great strength of chariots and horses. Indeed, we may from this time date the ruin of Israel. Bp. Sherlock. 2. Chron. 1 : 16.** Friendly intercourse began to be held under Solomon with Egypt. Nearly five hundred years had now elapsed from the Exodus, and during that long period there had been no intercourse between the two countries. Many memorable events had happened in Egypt during the interval. There had been revolutions in the throne,—"stranger kings," who had forcibly introduced the worship of the sun, and expelled the old Egyptian deities, but had not long maintained their dominion; there had been times of grand conquests, when Egyptian arms subdued the greater part of Asia, and victorious Pharaohs—the Sethis and Rameses of their history—blazoned their great exploits in the glorious temples of Karnak and Luxor; the arts had risen, some two hundred years after the Exodus, to the highest degree of excellence of which they were there capable, but had now begun somewhat to decline. Not only did Solomon marry a daughter of Pharaoh, but "he had horses brought out of Egypt. And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for one hundred and fifty." But this introduction of chariots and horses was in disobedience of the Divine command (De. 17 : 16). W. G. B. 2. Chron. 1 : 17.** We are informed of the articles which Solomon imported from Egypt through his factors, but not of the commodities he gave in exchange. This, however, it is not difficult to discover, seeing that there are certain products of Palestine which were not produced, or not adequately produced, in Egypt, and which must in all times have found a welcome in the markets there. Of the staple productions of Palestine, corn was one that Egypt did not want; but in regard to oil and wine the case was different. Of all oils, that of the olive is most valued, and the tree that afforded it did not flourish in Egypt, but was native to Palestine, and grew there to its utmost perfection, shooting even from the crevices of the rocks, where scarcely any soil appears. Hence "oil out of the flinty rock" (De. 32 : 13) was among the blessings of the land promised to the chosen people. So of wine. It is not true that the vine did not grow in Egypt, or that wine was not made there. This old notion is overset by the evidence of the mural paintings. Yet the nature of the climate—as unfavorable to the vine from heat as our own climate is from cold—shows that it must there have been rather an object of amateur culture, than a natural and extensive production. The wine also, although made in some limited degree, was probably of inferior quality, and not greatly prized. But in Palestine the vine attained its perfection, affording excellent grapes, which yielded the finest wine. This wine was prized even by the Phœnicians, who had access to the vines of Lebanon. Much more, therefore, must it have been valued by the Egyptians; and these two commodities, olive oil and wine, alone, must have afforded Solomon ample means of return for whatever he required. Kit. IMMENSE REVENUE OF GOLD FROM COMMERCE WITH OPHIR AND TARSHISH FROM MERCHANTS AND FROM TRIBUTARY KINGS AND GOVERNORS. THE MAGNIFICENCE OF SOLOMON'S COURT. HIS GREAT IVORY THRONE. 1. K. 4 : 21 AND Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt : they brought presents, and served Solomon all the 24 days of his life. For he had dominion over all the region on this side the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side the River : and he had peace on all sides round 25 about him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig- 20 tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. This is a most alluring picture of the state of Israel in these days. It might be called the Augustan age of their nation—the age of greatest prosperity and peace, yet with all the efflorescence of that most brilliant period in their annals, the age, like that of Augustus in Rome, of commencing degeneracy. David and Samuel were to Solomon what the older Romans were even to the best of Rome's imperial sovereigns; and in respect even to sacred literature, the Psalms occupy a far higher and more prominent place in the Bible than do the Proverbs and other works of Solomon. It is not said that Solomon's kingdom reached to the Euphrates; but all the kingdoms between his own and the Euphrates were tributary and subservient to him. The daily consumption here recorded indicates a prodigious court and immense household establishment. But far the most interesting feature in this description is the peace and plenty and safety enjoyed by the general population—each man under his own vine and his own fig-tree. T. C. Much of the prosperity of Solomon's reign was owing to the extraordinary glory of the reign of David. Such a rule as David's sowed seeds of blessing in the land, which it was Solomon's privilege to reap. David united the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and Solomon came into quiet possession of the completed commonwealth. David laid the foundation, Solomon developed the fabric and adorned it. Rowland. The empire ascribed to David and Solomon is an empire of exactly that kind which alone Western Asia was capable of producing, and did produce, about the period in question. The modern system of centralized organization, by which the various provinces of a vast empire are cemented into a compact mass, was unknown to the ancient world, and has never been practised by Asiatics. The satrapial system of government, or that in which the provinces retain their individuality, but are administered on a common plan by officers appointed by the crown—which has prevailed generally through the East since the time of its first introduction—was the invention of Darius Hystaspis. Before his time the greatest monarchies had a slighter and weaker organization. They were in all cases composed of a number of separate kingdoms, each under its own native king; and the sole link uniting them together and constituting them an empire, was the subjection of these petty monarchs to a single suzerain. The Babylonian, Assyrian, Median, and Lydian, were all empires of this type—monarchies wherein a sovereign prince at the head of a powerful kingdom was acknowledged as suzerain by a number of inferior princes, each in his own right sole ruler of his own country. And the subjection of the inferior princes consisted chiefly, if not solely, in two points; they were bound to render homage to their suzerain, and to pay him annually a certain stated tribute. Thus, when we hear that "Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the river (Euphrates) unto the land of the Philistines and unto the border of Egypt"—or, again, that "he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah (or Thapsacus on the Euphrates) to Azzah (or Gaza, the most southern of the Philistine towns), over all the kings on this side the river" (verse 24)—and that "they brought presents" (verse 21)—"a rate year by year"—and "served Solomon all the days of his life" (verse 21), we recognize at once a condition of things with which we are perfectly familiar from profane sources; and we feel that at any rate this account is in entire harmony with the political notions and practices of the day. G. R. 21. From the river unto the land of the Philistines.** The boundaries of Solomon's kingdom were, the Euphrates to the east (that river being here, as in other places of Scripture, called the river, by way of eminence, without any addition); the country of the Philistines which bordered on the Mediterranean Sea to the west and Egypt to the south; so that he had tributary to him the kingdoms of Syria, Damascus, Moab, and Ammon, which lay between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea. Stackhouse. 25. Every man under his vine and fig-tree.** This is a common and beautiful metaphor for peace and security (Mic. 4 : 4 ; Zech. 3 : 10), founded on the practice, still common in modern Syria, of training these fruit-trees up the walls and stairs of houses, so as to make a shady arbor, beneath which the people sit and recreate themselves. Jamieson.—It suggests the quiet enjoyment of the good of life, the fruit of honest labor, under the protection of impartial law, which is the result of peace. It is the reign of peace that fosters the industries that enrich the life of a people, and the beneficent activities that beautify it. And in the happy condition here described, we have a prophecy of the reign of David's "greater Son." Ps. 72 has its partial fulfilment in the days of Solomon; but the grandeur of its prophetic meaning is realized only in the surpassing glory of His kingdom who is the true "Prince of righteousness and peace." Waite. Now the Church of Israel was in its highest external glory. Now Israel was multiplied exceedingly, so that they seemed to have become like the sand on the sea-shore. Now the kingdom of Israel was firmly established in the right family, the family of which Christ was to come. Now God had chosen the city where he would place his name. Now God had fully given his people the possession of the promised land; and they now possessed the dominion of it all in quietness and peace, even from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates; all those nations that had formerly been their enemies, quietly submitted to them; none pretended to rebel against them. Now the Jewish worship in all its ordinances was fully settled. Now, instead of a movable tent and tabernacle, they had a glorious temple; the most magnificent, beautiful, and costly structure that there was then, ever had been, or ever has been since. Now the people enjoyed peace and plenty, and sat every man under his vine and fig-tree, eating and drinking, and making merry. Now they were in the highest pitch of earthly prosperity, silver being as plenty as stones, and the land full of gold and precious stones, and other precious foreign commodities, which were brought by Solomon's ships from Ophir, and which came from other parts of the world. Now they had a king reigning over them that was the wisest of men, and probably the greatest earthly prince that ever was. Now their fame went abroad into all the earth, so that they came from the utmost parts of the earth to see their glory and their happiness. Thus God was pleased, in one of the ancestors of Christ, remarkably to shadow forth the kingdom of Christ reigning in his glory. David, that was a man of war, a man who had shed much blood, and whose life was full of troubles and conflicts, was more of a representation of Christ in his state of humiliation, his militant state, wherein he was conflicting with his enemies. But Solomon, that was a man of peace, was a representation more especially of Christ exalted, triumphing, and reigning in his kingdom of peace. And the happy, glorious state of the Jewish Church at that time, did remarkably represent two things: (1) That glorious state of the Church on earth, that shall be in the latter ages of the world; those days of peace, when nation shall not lift sword against nation, nor learn war any more. (2) The future glorified state of the Church in heaven. The earthly Canaan never was so lively a type of the heavenly Canaan, as it was then, when the happy people of Israel did indeed enjoy it as a land flowing with milk and honey. Elwards. Jerusalem in her Glory under David and Solomon. And now, like the modern city of Berlin under the hands of the Great Frederick, Jerusalem bloomed into sudden glory. All the successes of the new monarch, and all the extending prosperity of the nation, were reflected in the rising splendors of the capital. Especially was Jerusalem dignified, nay consecrated, by being made the abode of the Ark of the Covenant, the chief though not exclusive seat of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the great resort for national worship. On Mount Zion a place was prepared for the shrine of the sanctuary, which for a long time had been in exile, and with high rejoicings it was set therein; Mount Zion becoming henceforth, even after the building of the Temple on Moriah and the transference of the ark thither, the symbol of God's kingdom in His Church. Yet conspicuous and mighty as Jerusalem became, under the thirty-three years of David's residence in it as his capital, the full height of its glory was not attained until King Solomon had endowed it with the imperial magnificence characteristic of his reign. The reign of Solomon is much celebrated in the Scriptures, yet perhaps we seldom attain to a just conception of its grandeur. Solomon inherited the fruits of David's vast conquests. He came into receipt of untold accumulated resources. And it was for him to realize and exhibit the glory which had been prepared for him. N. C. B. After this the glory of the Jewish Church gradually declined more and more till Christ came; yet not so but that the work of redemption still went on. Whatever failed or declined, God still carried on this work from age to age; this building was still advancing higher and higher. Things still went on, during the decline of the Jewish Church, toward a further preparation of things for the coming of Christ, as well as during its increase; for so wonderfully were things ordered by the infinitely wise Governor of the world, that whatever happened was ordered for good to this general design, and made a means of promoting it. When the people of the Jews flourished, and were in prosperity, he made that to contribute to the promoting this design; and when they were in adversity, God made that also to contribute to the carrying on of the same design. While the Jewish Church was in its increasing state, the work of redemption was carried on by their increase; and when they came to their declining state, which they were in from Solomon's time till Christ, God carried on the work of redemption by the decline itself, which was one thing that God made use of as a further preparation for Christ's coming. Edwards. Brief, indeed, was the period of Israel's glory; but for the moment it seemed that there were but three empires to divide the old civilized world—Egypt, Assyria, and Israel, for Israel and Phœnicia were practically one. Solomon reigned over all lands from the Euphrates to the Nile, from the mountains of Armenia to the Arabian Desert; and he ruled them in peace. Yet it was but a fleeting gleam of splendor. The central land of Israel was girdled round with tributaries, not colonists; fear was the only bond of union. There was no germ of any sentiment which might develop into a common sympathy. There was no missionary spirit in the garrisons of Solomon. The very last idea to cross the mind of the Jew was to include the Gentile tributary in the religious or civil privileges of his people. Meantime, Hebrew life, private and public, was becoming leavened with foreign influences, Assyrian, Egyptian, and especially Phœnician. The sudden accumulation of riches developed luxury; palaces, horses, harems, were not of Abraham or of Moses. No. The casket and shrine in which truth was to be conserved until the fulness of time should come, could never be kept safely in charge of a wealthy and a conquering empire. For God's purposes, as a symbol and a lesson, that empire was won by David, and held by his typical son. In God's providence it passed away, "till the Ancient of days shall come," and "his kingdom shall not be destroyed." H. B. T. # Jerusalem To-day. It is tantalizing for the traveller who wishes to recognize in his walks the site of particular buildings, or the scenes of memorable events, that the greater part of the objects mentioned in the description, both of the inspired and of the Jewish historian, are entirely razed from their foundation, without leaving a single trace or name behind to point out where they stood. Not an ancient tower, or gate, or wall, or hardly even a stone remains. The foundations are not only broken up, but every fragment of which they were composed is swept away, and the spectator looks upon the bare rock with hardly a sprinkling of earth to point out her gardens of pleasure, or groves of idolatrous devotion. A few gardens still remain on the sloping base of Mount Zion, watered from the pool of Siloam: the gardens of Gethsemane are still in a sort of ruined cultivation; the fences are broken down and the olive-trees decaying, as if the hand which dressed and fed them were withdrawn: the Mount of Olives still retains a languishing verdure, and nourishes a few of those trees from which it derives its name; but all round about Jerusalem the general aspect is blighted and barren; the grass is withered; the bare rock looks through the scanty sward, and the grain itself, like the starving progeny of famine, seems in doubt whether to come to maturity or die in the ear. Jerusalem has heard the voice of David and Solomon, of prophets and apostles; and He who spake as man never spake has taught in her synagogues and in her streets. Before her legislators, her poets, and her apostles, those of all other countries became dumb, and cast down their crowns, as unworthy to stand in their presence. Once she was very rich in every blessing, victorious over all her enemies, and resting in peace, with every man sitting under his own vine, and under his own fig tree, with none to disturb or to make him afraid. Jerusalem was the brightest of all the cities of the east, and fortified above all other towns; so strong that the Roman conqueror thereof, and the master of the whole world besides, exclaimed, on entering the city of David, and looking up at the towers which the Jews had abandoned, "Surely, we have had God for our assistance in the war; for what could human hands or human machines do against these towers? It is no other than God who has expelled the Jews from their fortifications." It is impossible for the Christian traveller to look upon Jerusalem with the same feelings with which he would set himself to contemplate the ruins of Thebes, of Athens, or of Rome, or of any other city which the world ever saw. There is in all the doings of the Jews, their virtues and their vices, their wisdom and their folly, a height and a depth, a breadth and a length that angels cannot fathom; their whole history is a history of miracles; the precepts of their sacred book are the most profound, and the best adapted to every station in which man can be placed; they moderate him in prosperity, sustain him in adversity, guide him in health, console him in sickness, support him at the close of life, travel on with him through death, live with him throughout endless ages of eternity, and Jerusalem lends its name to the eternal mansions of the blessed in heaven which man is admitted to enjoy through the atonement of Christ Jesus, who was born of a descendant of Judah. Richardson's Travels. It is evident that, during the period of Solomon, the state of social life among the Jewish people underwent a very great change. An immense flow of wealth into the country took place. Through intercourse with other countries, many new habits and fashions were undoubtedly introduced. The people must have lost not a little of their early simplicity of character and life. A splendid court had been set up and a splendid capital built. Commercial relations had been established with remote parts of the world. A great stride had been taken in the direction of luxury and refinement. There was now a standing army, a large staff of civil officers, and a vast number of menial servants in the country. Besides the ass the horse and the mule were now introduced as beasts of burden; chariots and splendid equipages were set up; and many persons assumed the style and bearing of princes. Private dwellings must have undergone a corresponding change, and all the luxuries of Egypt and Nineveh would bebecome familiar to the Hebrews. But was all this for good? It appears as if the nation, or its leaders, now struck out a new path for themselves, in which God rather followed than preceded them, giving them, indeed, at first, a large measure of prosperity, but leaving them more to their own ways and to the fruits of these ways than before. This, at least, was plainly the case under Solomon. The vast wealth circulated in his time over the country, did not bring any proportional addition, either to the material comfort, or to the moral beauty, or to the spiritual riches of the nation. There can be no doubt that "haste to be rich" brought all the evils and sins which always flow from it in an age of progress toward worldly show and magnificence. It appears from the Proverbs that many new vices were introduced. Many of the counsels of that book would have been quite inapplicable to a simple, patriarchal, agricultural people; but they were eminently adapted to a people surrounded by the snares of wealth and the temptations of commerce, and very liable to forget or despise the good old ways and counsels of their fathers. The Proverbs will be read with far greater interest, if it be borne in mind that this change had just taken place among the Hebrews, and that, as Solomon had been instrumental in giving the nation its wealth, so, perhaps, he was led by the Spirit to write this book, and that of Ecclesiastes, to guard against the fatal abuse of his own gift. In literary and scientific culture the nation must have made a great advance during this period. In a merely literary point of view, the Psalms of David and the writings of Solomon possess extraordinary merits; and we cannot doubt that two literary kings, whose reigns embraced eighty years, or nearly three generations, would exercise a very great influence, and have their example very largely followed among their people. David's talents as a musician, and the extraordinary pains he took to improve the musical services of the sanctuary, must have greatly stimulated the cultivation of that delightful art. What David did for music, Solomon did for natural history. It need not surprise us that all the uninspired literary compositions of that period have perished. If Homer flourished (according to the account of Herodotus) 884 years before Christ, Solomon must have been a century in his tomb before the "Iliad" was written. And if it be considered what difficulty there was in preserving the "Iliad," and how uncertain it is whether we have it as Homer wrote it, it cannot be surprising that all the Hebrew poems and writings of this period have been lost, except such as were contained in the inspired canon of Scripture. There were, also, great religious changes during this period of the history. Evidently, under Samuel, a great revival of true religion took place; and the schools of the prophets which he established seem to have been attended with a marked blessing from Heaven. Under David the change was confirmed. In the first place, the coming Messiah was more clearly revealed. It was expressly announced to David, as has been already remarked, that the great Deliverer was to be a member of his race. David, too, as a type of Christ, conveyed a more full and clear idea of the person and character of Christ than any typical person that had gone before him. Further, the Psalms of David must have served very wonderfully to give precision, and force, and richness to devotional feelings among godly people. Then, too, the distribution of the Levites and the remodelling of the temple service must have secured at least much more attention to the ordinary services of religion. The writings of Solomon show how much more clear, full, and rich views prevailed now than formerly, regarding Christ's person and qualities, and his relation to his people. The lyrical compositions of the two royal authors corresponded to the typical character of each. As David's reign was a warlike reign, and Solomon's a reign of peace, so David was the psalmist of storms and struggles, Solomon of tranquillity and rest. The great preponderance in number of David's inspired songs over Solomon's, shows how much more frequently in this world Christians need to be directed and encouraged to struggle with enemies than to enjoy and improve the sweets of repose. It is interesting to inquire how far a religious spirit pervaded the people at large. The question cannot receive a satisfactory answer. It is plain that even in David's time the mass of the people were not truly godly. The success of Absalom's movement is a proof of this. Had there been a large number of really godly persons in the tribe of Judah, they would not only not have joined the insurrection, but their influence would have had a great effect in hindering its success. The real state of matters seems to have been, that both in good times and in bad there were some persons, more or less numerous, of earnest piety and spiritual feeling, who worshipped God in spirit, not only because it was their duty, but also because it was their delight; while the mass of the people either worshipped idols, or worshipped God according to the will, example, or command of their rulers. But the constant tendency was to idolatry; and the intercourse with foreign nations which Solomon maintained, as well as his own example, greatly increased the tendency. Under Solomon, indeed, idolatry struck its roots so deep, that all the zeal of the reforming kings that followed him failed to eradicate them. It was not till the seventy years' captivity of Babylon that the soil of Palestine was thoroughly purged of the roots of that noxious weed. W. G. B. 1. K. 4 : 29 AND God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and 30 largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled 31 the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol : 32 and his fame was in all the nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs : 33 and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall : he spake also of beasts, and of 34 fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom. 1. K. 10 : 1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the 2 name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones : and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 3 And Solomon told her all her questions : there was not anything hid from the king which he 4 told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the 5 house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the at- tendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he 6 went up unto the house of the LORD : there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom. 7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it : and, behold, the 8 half was not told me : thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear 9 thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel to be king for the LORD thy God : because the LORD loved Israel to establish them 10 forever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones : there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solo- 13 mon. And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, be- side that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants. 1. K. 4 : 29-34.** Wisdom he asked of God, and obtained a wise and understanding heart. He seems to have had a singularly comprehensive mind, that could take pleasure in many studies, a very wide power of observation and reflection, a strong grasp of all the great problems of human life, and "largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore." He was the first man of science in his nation, and though his works on natural history have not been preserved, because they were foreign to the purposes of the Bible, yet all wise and reverent astronomers, botanists, and zoologists may fairly be reckoned as followers of Solomon. On the gravest themes that occupy the mind, "he was wiser than all men," even the famous Idumeans of the East, and the equally famed scholars of Egypt. Like all men of a full mind, he delighted to communicate, and poured himself out in three thousand proverbs, and songs a thousand and five. He also excelled in witty and piercing conversation, and such was the reputation of the royal sage, that "there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom." D. F. The wonderful impression which he made upon all who came near him may well lead us to believe that with him as with Saul and David, Absalom and Adonijah, as with most other favorite princes of Eastern peoples, there must have been the fascination and the grace of a noble presence. Add to this, all gifts of a noble, far-reaching intellect, large and ready sympathies, a playful and genial humor, the lips "full of grace," the soul "anointed" as "with the oil of gladness," and we may form some notion of what the king was like in his golden prime. He used these gifts not only for the government of his people, but for the acquisition and the embodiment in writing of all the learning of the age. P. S. 29-31. Solomon's wisdom was more his glory than his wealth ; a general account of that we have here. The fountain of his wisdom. God gave it him (verse 29). He owns it himself (Prov. 2 : 6). The Lord giveth wisdom. He gives the powers of reason, preserves and improves them. The ordinary advances of them are owing to his providence, and sanctification of them, to his grace ; and this extraordinary pitch at which they arrived in Solomon, to a special grant of his favor to him, in answer to prayer. The fulness of it. He had wisdom and understanding, exceeding much ; great knowledge of distant countries, and the histories of former times ; a quickness of thought, strength of memory, and clearness of judgment, such as never any man had. It is called largeness of heart, for the heart is put for the intellectual powers. He had a vast compass of knowledge, could take things entire, and had an admirable faculty of laying things together. He was very free and communicative of his knowledge ; had the gift of utterance, as well as wisdom ; was as free of his learning as he was of his meat ; and grudged neither to any that were about him. Those who have large gifts of any kind should have large hearts to use them for the good of others ; and this is from the hand of God (Ec. 3 : 24). He shall enlarge the heart (Ps. 119 : 32). The greatness of Solomon's wisdom is illustrated by comparison. Chaldea and Egypt were nations famous for learning ; thence the Greeks borrowed theirs; but the greatest scholars of these nations came short of Solomon (verse 30). If nature excels art, much more does grace. The knowledge which God gives by special favor, goes beyond that which man gets by his own labor. Some wise men there were in Solomon's time who were in great repute; particularly, Heman, and others who were Levites, and employed by David in the temple music (1 Chron. 15: 19). Heman was his seer in the Word of God (1 Chron. 25: 5). Chalcol and Darda were own brothers, and they also were noted for learning and wisdom, but Solomon excelled them all; his counsel was much more valuable. The fame of it. It was talked of in all nations round about (verse 31). His great wealth and glory made his wisdom much more illustrious, and gave him those opportunities of showing it, which they cannot have, that live in poverty and obscurity. The jewel of wisdom may receive great advantage by the setting of it. H. 30. The wisdom of all the children of the East.** The nations east of Canaan were famous for wisdom and erudition; the Chaldeans beyond the Euphrates, the Persians beyond the Tigris, and the Arabians on the nearer side of the Euphrates, a little toward the south. Which of these nations was most celebrated for learning in Solomon's time is much doubted by commentators: the Book of Job, however, sufficiently shows that the Arabians were famous for their learning in ancient times. And all the wisdom of Egypt. It appears from Acts 7: 22 that Egypt was celebrated for wisdom in the time of Moses. This country has been called "the mother of the arts." There have been great disputes respecting the claims of the Egyptians and Chaldeans to the earliest advances in learning. Bp. Patrick. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/ 1. K. 5: 1** AND Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house for the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary, nor evil or current. And, behold, I purpose to build an house for the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build the house for my name. Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy ser- 2. Chron. 2: 1** Now Solomon purposed to build an house for the name of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom. And Solomon sent to Hiram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, even so deal with me. Behold, I build an house for the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him incense of sweet spices, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance forever to Israel. And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods. But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, vants; and I will give thee hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt say: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Zidonians. And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have heard the message which thou hast sent unto me: I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will make them into rafts to go by sea unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. So Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and timber of fir according to all his desire. And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains; besides Solomon's chief officers that were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work. And the king commanded, and they hewed out great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with wrought stone. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites did fashion them, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house. 7 save only to burn incense before him? Now therefore send me a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave all manner of gravings, to be with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide. Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and algum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great. And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths of oil. Then Hiram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD loveth his people, he hath made thee king over them. Hiram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with discretion and understanding, that should build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom. And now I have sent a cunning man, endued with understanding, of Hiram my father's, the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to devise any device: that there may be a place appointed unto him with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father. Now therefore the wheat and the barley, the oil and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: and we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem. And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and three thousand and six hundred. And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand that were hewers in the mountains, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work. The correspondence between Solomon and Hiram of Tyre (given in 1 K. 5; but more fully 2 Chron. 2) sets forth, with delightful recognition of the true God, the plans of Solomon and his propositions to the king of Tyre; the occasion for a temple; the uses it should subserve; and his reasons for making it supremely magnificent. "The house which I build is great, for great is our God above all gods. But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain him? Who am I that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him?" Hiram's answer has some remarkable words for an idol-worshipping king. This is said to have been sent in writing: "Because the Lord [Jehovah] hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who made heaven and earth, who hath given unto David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, who might build an house for the Lord and an house for his kingdom." H. C. The friendship of this monarch was of the highest value in contributing to the great royal and national work, the building of the temple. The cedar timber could only be obtained from the forests of Lebanon: the Sidonian artisans, celebrated in the Homeric poems, were the most skilful workmen in every kind of manufacture, particularly in the precious metals. Solomon entered into a regular treaty, by which he bound himself to supply the Tyrians with large quantities of corn; receiving in return their timber, which was floated down to Joppa, and a large body of artificers. The timber was cut by his own subjects, of whom he raised a body of 30,000; 10,000 employed at a time, and relieving each other every month; so that to one month of labor they had two of rest. He raised two other corps, one of 70,000 porters of burdens; the other of 80,000 hewers of stone, who were employed in the quarries among the mountains. All these labors were thrown, not on the Israelites, but on the strangers, who, chiefly of Canaanitish descent, had been permitted to inhabit the country. Milman. The various works in brass executed for the Temple (1 K. 7: 13-45) imply a considerable advancement in art; and we also gather that the men of Tyre were skilled as wood-carvers and stone-masons, and were bold adventurous seamen. The wood for the Temple was floated down in great rafts to Jaffa (Joppa), and thence carried up to Jerusalem; this, of course, necessitated constant and close intercourse between the Tyrians and the Jews, and the relations at this period between Hiram and Solomon, and their respective peoples, appear to have been very intimate. Between four and five miles from Tyre there is a remarkable monument shown as the tomb of Hiram, which consists of a huge sarcophagus twelve feet long, eight feet wide, and six feet high, hewn out of a single block of limestone, with a lid of the same material five feet thick, the whole resting on a massive platform, ten feet high, built up of three courses of large stones. There is one point of contact between the Jews and Phœnicians which should not remain unnoticed—the similarity, perhaps identity, of the language used by the two peoples, and also by the surrounding tribes: this is perhaps indicated by the absence of any mention in the Bible of the employment of interpreters by the Jews in their intercourse with the original inhabitants, and by the special mention of Egypt in Ps. 81: 5 as being a country "where I heard a language that I understood not." The similarity between Hebrew and Phœnician was noticed by Jerome and Augustine, when the latter language was still spoken; and there are, besides, many Phœnician and Carthaginian names which are devoid of meaning except in Hebrew. The discovery of the celebrated Moabite stone proves the use of the Phœnician language in Moab in the time of King Mesha, and a small inscription found by Monsieur Ganneau, near Jerusalem, seems to point to its use in that city during the period of the kings. Wilson. The agreement between the character of the Phœnicians as drawn in Kings and Chronicles, and that which we know from other sources to have attached to them, is worthy of remark. The wealth, the enterprise, the maritime skill, and the eminence in the arts, which were the leading characteristics of the Phœnicians in Homer's time, are abundantly noted by the writers of Kings and Chronicles; who contrast the comparative ignorance and rudeness of their own nation with the science and "cunning" of their neighbors. It has been well remarked that "we discover the greatness of Tyre in this age, not so much from its own annals as from those of the Israelites, its neighbors." The scanty fragments of the Phœnician history which alone remain to us are filled out and illustrated by the more copious records of the Jews, with a simplicity and truthfulness that we rarely meet with in profane writers. G. R. 2. Chron. 2: 3-12.** The correspondence between Hiram and Solomon is given in the Chronicles with added points we are thankful to have preserved. The correspondence is very important and interesting. One point must not pass unnoticed. It is said that "Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,"—thus implying that the message was orally conveyed; but of Hiram's reply, it is remarked—doubtless with designed emphasis—that he "answered in writing"—being certainly the first recorded instance of this application of writing, in which it would seem the Phoenicians were beforehand with the Hebrews. Solomon's message was in every way creditable to him. He bore testimony to the truth he knew, apprehending that it became him to uphold the Lord's honor under all circumstances,—not wishing to displease Hiram, who was an idolater, but determined to pay no timid deference to heathen prejudices. He boldly asserted the very positions which a heathen was least of all likely to receive—the infinity of Jehovah, and his supreme dominion. "The house which I build is great; for great is our God above all gods. But who is able to build Him a house, seeing the heaven of heavens cannot contain Him?" The effect of this conscientious boldness in bearing testimony to the truth was such as invariably follows the same line of conduct. Hiram was not displeased, but spoke reverently of this high God, and expressed his earnest desire to co-operate in so good a work. Indeed, his language is stronger than that of Solomon himself, and may suggest that this declaration had made a serious impression upon his mind, or at least had strengthened some convictions made during his former intercourse with David, in whose mind the glory of God was so active a principle of thought, speech, and action, that it seems impossible for one to have been a "lover of David," without being also, in some measure, a lover of David's God. In Hiram's answer there remarkable words occur—"Because Jehovah hath loved his people, He hath made thee king over them." And again: "Blessed be Jehovah, God of Israel, that made heaven and earth." Here is a clear acknowledgment of Jehovah as the creator of the universe, of his government of the world, of his providence, and that by Him kings reign. As in the case of David, what Solomon requires is assistance in art, and certain kinds of wood for building from the mountains of Lebanon. The payment was also, in like manner, to be in agricultural produce,—corn, wine, and oil. Solomon does not want, as David did, carpenters and masons; so that there can be little doubt that David had retained in his employment, on various works, the men who had previously come to him from Tyre, and these had doubtless taught others. Indeed, there was probably great activity in building, particularly at Jerusalem, throughout the reign of David. In that city, the rapid increase of population, from its being made the metropolis of the kingdom, must have created a constant demand for new buildings. 2. Chron., verse 7.** What Solomon wanted most was a master of the works, able to carry out the plans left by David; and it was for such a man that Solomon applied to Hiram. The account of the attainments required is curious, as showing the very diverse qualifications sought in one man, in an age wherein labor and skill was much less subdivided than it afterward became. The qualifications, however, had respect to the furniture of the temple, and not to the construction of it, which leaves open the question whether Solomon had otherwise provided for this part of the undertaking—say by obtaining an architect from Egypt—or that the qualifications required for this purpose are to be regarded as included among those of the skilful person sought from the king of Tyre. The latter seems probable, as the qualifications enumerated are nearly the same found in Bezaleel, who, however, not only excelled in the matters specified, but superintended the whole construction of the tabernacle. The selection of Hiram fell in this instance on a person who bore the same name with himself, and who had the advantage of being the son of a Hebrew woman of the tribe of Naphtali, though his father was a man of Tyre. What Solomon demanded was, "a man cunning (skilful) to work in gold, in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave," etc. Josephus understood that Hiram was skilful in "all kinds of works," but in these particularly. And this is probable; for in the case of Bezaleel, after the enumeration of the like qualifications, it is added, that he was skilled "in all manner of workmanship." To skill in dyes, in colors, in textile fabrics, in brassfounding, in smithery, in gold and silver work, Hiram added the knowledge of "carving," probably wood-carving and modelling. Kit. In profane history, Phoenician civilization is represented as consisting especially in the possession of nautical skill, of extensive commerce, and of excellence in mechanical and ornamental arts and employments. None "can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians" (1 K. 5 : 6). They are "cunning to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and in blue, and in crimson;" they "can skill to grave gravings." Hiram of Tyre casts for Solomon all his vessels for the Temple service, and especially the two huge pillars, Jachin and Boaz, which stood in front of the porch, and the great laver called "the molten sea." Closely in accordance with this is the character of Phoenician civilization, which we derive from the Greeks. Their early nautical skill and extensive trade are mentioned by Homer and Herodotus, the former of whom speaks especially of their beautifully embroidered robes and their bowls of silver. Their "skill to hew timber," even at this remote time, was attested by their own historians, as also was their practice of making large metal pillars. G. R. 2. Chron., verse 8. Timber of various kinds was what Solomon chiefly required of King Hiram. That it was needful to procure timber from so distant a quarter, and that through the intervention of foreigners, shows that, although trees of various kinds, and especially such as bear fruit, may have been abundant in Palestine, such as afforded wood suited for building purposes were not much more common in the country than they are at present. The cedar of Lebanon is a widespread tree, generally from fifty to eighty feet high, and where standing singly, often covering, with its branches, a space the diameter of which is much greater than its height. The horizontal branches, when the tree is exposed on all sides, are very large in proportion to the trunk, being often equal in bulk to the stem of the fir or the chestnut—a circumstance alluded to by the prophet Ezekiel, in his magnificent description of this noble tree (31 : 3-6). The cedar grove, which is regarded as the remnant of the forest which supplied the cedar-wood to Solomon, or rather as the principal existing site of these trees, lies far up among the higher mountains, at a spot which it takes above a day to reach from the coast at Tripoli. The grove is here found at the foot of a lofty mountain, in what may be regarded as the arena of a vast amphitheatre, shut in on all sides by high mountains, which form part of the upper ridge of Lebanon. Although it is imagined that this is the very grove from which the king obtained his cedars, there can be no question that the supply was drawn from parts of the mountain more accessible to the coast, and from which all traces of the cedar have long since disappeared. 2. Chron., verses 16-18. Since Solomon's people were not skilful to cut timber, "like the Zidonians," it was arranged that Hiram was to supply a certain number of workmen to direct the proceedings, and perform the more difficult parts of the work; for it is to be remembered, that all the timber was to be fully prepared and fitted for its final use on the spot, not only to facilitate the work at Jerusalem, but that no labor might be wasted in the transport of the superfluous parts. So small and busy a state as that of Tyre could not, however, supply the numerous hands required for the ruder labor, such as trimming the wood and dragging it down through the defiles of the mountains to the coast. For this Solomon undertook to find laborers among the remnants of the Canaanitish tribes whom David had spared on the condition of their being liable to be called out for service on any public works that might need their aid. They were now therefore numbered, and the adult males were found to amount to 153,600. Of these 70,000 were made hewers of wood, 80,000 bearers of burdens, and 3600 overseers of the others. A levy of 30,000 Israelites was also made for this service, and there were 550 Israelites as overseers of the whole work. They were not all employed at once, but in relays of one third at a time, so that every man spent four months at home and two in the mountains. This, and the great numbers employed, must have rendered the obligation less onerous than has been represented. These arrangements were continued for several years on a well-organized plan. The wood prepared by these multitudes was taken down to the sea, there made up into large rafts, and floated down along the shore to Joppa, whereby the land-carriage was reduced to about twenty-five miles to Jerusalem. To support these laborers, and to remunerate Hiram for the aid of his people, Solomon agreed to supply the king, year by year, with 20,000 measures of wheat, 20,000 baths of wine, and 20,000 baths of oil (verse 10). 1. K. 5 : 17, 18. Although the operations for the procurement of timber are chiefly described, great hewn stones for the foundation of the temple were also to be procured. It is stated that "The king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stone-squarters; so they prepared timber and stones to build the house." As to the descriptive epithets, we may combine them into "great costly hewn stones." The previous squaring of the stones in the quarry not only facilitated their removal to the place of building, but produced the remarkable result that the house being "built of stone made ready before it was brought thither, there was neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building" (1 K. 7 : 7). The terms employed by the sacred historian will scarcely strike us in all their force, unless we bear in mind that stones of enormous size are known to have been employed in the ancient buildings of Syria. Thus, in the sub-basement of the great temple of Baalbek, which is probably much more ancient than the now ruined Roman structure which rests upon it, there is one stone sixty-six feet in length by twelve in breadth and thickness, with others of not greatly inferior size; while in a neighboring quarry, which tradition declares to be that from which Solomon obtained his "great stones," are stones of equal and greater dimensions, cut and ready for use, one of them being no less than seventy feet in length by fourteen feet five inches in thickness. This stone, therefore, contains 14,128 cubic feet, and would, if of Portland stone, weigh no less than 1135 tons. At Jerusalem, the immense size and obvious antiquity of much of the stone-work around the area which contains the mosque of Omar, and formerly contained the temple of the Lord, have led many to ascribe it to the age of Jewish magnificence,—some carrying it back to the time of Solomon, and others being content to refer it to the time of Herod the Great. This is found in the lower courses of masonry, and at the angles, the superstructure of the enclosing wall being of smaller and inferior masonry, comparatively modern, and doubtless of Saracenic workmanship. To these remains we incline to assign the higher antiquity, and to regard them as remains—the only remains—of the original work of Solomon. Along nearly the whole of the eastern side, upon the brow of the steep valley of Jehoshaphat, courses of ancient masonry may be traced in almost a continuous line. In some places the courses scarcely appear above the soil, while in others they rise nearly to the height of the modern walls, especially at the angles and projecting towers, which were built to a greater height with great stones, and of such firm masonry as could not easily be destroyed. The inequality may be in part accounted for by the irregularities of the ground, and the unequal accumulation of débris. At the northeast angle, for instance, several courses of ancient masonry form a corner tower, projecting slightly from the general face of the wall, along a length of eighty-one feet. Many of the stones here measure from seventeen to nineteen feet in length, while a few exceed twenty-four feet. They vary from three to four feet in depth, and from five to eight in width. But the southeast angle of the enclosing wall is perhaps the most imposing object in or near Jerusalem, consisting of enormous blocks of stone rising at the corner to the height of seventy feet. In the upper portions, however, the stones are so irregularly interlocated as to show that they belong to the restorations from old materials, upon the basis of the more ancient lower courses. At this place, and in the wall upon each face of this corner, in the three lower courses, stones are found measuring nearly thirty feet long, and of proportionate thickness and depth; and wherever such stones occur, at this and other spots, there is always observable more regularity than is found higher up—more of uniform intention—more indication of adequate means and leisurely construction. At the western wall, about thirty-nine feet from the southwest corner, several huge stones jut out,—as if, one is apt to think at the first sight, from the bursting of the wall by an earthquake. On closer inspection, it is seen that the three courses of these immense stones retain their original places. Their external surface is hewn to a regular curve; and being fitted one upon another, form the commencement or foot of an enormous arch, which once sprung from the western wall in a direction toward Mount Zion, across the valley which separated that mount from Mount Moriah. About a hundred yards northward of the arch we come to what is called the Jews' Wailing Place, where occur some of the finest and best-preserved masonry in this wall of enclosure. It derives its name from the fact that the Jews have purchased permission to assemble here every Friday, in the precincts of these ancients stones, to recite a set form of prayers, and to bewail the ruin of "the holy and beautiful house in which their fathers worshipped." At this spot we find five courses of bevelled stones, and over them three courses of smooth-faced stones, little, if at all, inferior in size. The lower courses of the masonry are beautifully fresh and polished in surface,—others, either by time, or more probably by external injury, are much decayed. Kit. 2. K., verse 18. Southward from Tripoli, along the sea-coast, is Batrun (Botrys), and Jebeil, the Gebal of the Bible, whose inhabitants were employed as stone-cutters in preparing the material for Solomon's Temple (1 K. 5 : 18), and are mentioned by Ezekiel as the "calkers" of the Tyrian ships (27 : 9). Wilson.—Gebal, as its ancient and extensive ruins prove, was a place of much importance, and lying as it did on the coast, and near the cedar forests, would naturally have an important share in the cutting and shipping of the timber. Indeed, it is not improbable that it was at this port that the land transport ended, and the rafts were made. A road ran anciently from Gebal to Baalbek, so that the transport was not impracticable. But as the forests were probably of great extent, there may have been two or three depots at which the timber was floated. Hammond. Relations of Tyre and Israel. Twice in the history of Israel were its relations with the neighboring kingdom of Tyre close and intimate. Twice did the Phœnician race exercise an important influence on the Hebrew people. In the days of Solomon the subjects of Hiram furnished men and materials to build a house to the name of the Lord. The Phœnicians were not only idolaters, but they belonged to the accursed races of Canaan; yet we see them here assisting the holy people, and furthering the interests of the true religion. But in the days of Ahab these relations were reversed. Then the kingdom of Ethbaal furnished Israel with a princess who destroyed the prophets of the Lord and sought to exterminate the religion of which the temple was the shrine and centre. In the first case, that is to say, we see Israel influencing Tyre for good; we hear from the lips of the Tyrian king an acknowledgment of the goodness of the Hebrew God; we see the two races combining to bring glory to God and to diffuse the blessings of peace and civilization among men. In the second case, we see Tyre influencing Israel for evil. No longer do the skilled artificers of Sidon prepare timber and stones for the Lord's house, but the prophets and votaries of Phœnician deities would fain break down the carved work thereof with axes and hammers. So far from rearing a sanctuary to Jehovah, they would root up His worship and enthrone a foul idol in the place of the Divine Presence. Such have been at different times the relations of Tyre and Sidon to the chosen race and the true religion. Hammond. Confirmation by Profane Historians and by Monumental Inscriptions. The fact of Solomon's rule over the Jews at the time which Scripture assigns to him, and the friendly relations in which he stood toward the Tyrian monarch, Hiram, were attested by the Tyrian historians, on whose works Dius and Menander based their histories. The Tyrian histories witnessed, moreover, to the construction of the Temple by Solomon, an event which they placed in the one hundred and forty fourth year before the foundation of Carthage, or B.C. 1007. They stated that several letters which had passed between Hiram and Solomon were preserved in the Tyrian archives; and they further related, as we learn from Menander, that Solomon took to wife one of Hiram's daughters. This last fact, though not distinctly mentioned in Scripture, is probably glanced at in the statement 1 K. 9 : 1. The Jewish history of even this obscure time has been found to present points of direct agreement with the Egyptian records (scanty as they are for it), with the Phœnician annals, with the traditions of the Syrians of Damascus, and with those of the early inhabitants of Northern Africa. The Hebrew account of the time is in complete harmony with all that we otherwise know of Western Asia at the period in question, of its political condition, its civilization, its arts and sciences, its manners and customs, its inhabitants. Illustrations of these points have been furnished by the Assyrian inscriptions, the Assyrian and Persian palaces, the Phœnician coins and histories, and the earliest Greek poetry. Nor is it possible to produce from authentic history any contradiction of this or any other portion of the Hebrew records. When such a contradiction has seemed to be found, it has invariably happened that in the progress of historical inquiry, the author from whom it proceeds has lost credit, and finally come to be regarded as an utterly untrustworthy authority. Internally consistent, externally resting upon contemporary or nearly contemporary documents, and both directly and indirectly confirmed by the records of neighboring nations, the Hebrew account of this time is entitled to be received as a true and authentic history on almost every ground upon which such a claim can be rested. It was then justly and with sufficient reason that the Proto-martyr in his last speech, and the great Apostle of the Gentiles, in his first public preaching as an Apostle, assumed as certain the simple, literal, and historic truth of this portion of the sacred narrative. Through God's good providence, there is no break in that historic chain which binds the present with the past, the new covenant with the old, Christ with Moses, the true Israel with Abraham. G. R. To Israel was specially entrusted the guardianship of that spiritual truth, which in the course of ages would develop in all its proportions, till finally it became the common property of the whole Gentile world. On the other hand, it was the task assigned to that world, to develop knowledge and thought so as to prepare a fitting reception for the truth, that thus it might be presented in all its aspects, and carried from land to land in a form adapted to every nation, meeting every want and aspiration. This was symbolically indicated even in the building of Solomon's Temple. For if that Temple had been exclusively the workmanship of Jewish hands, both the materials for it and their artistic preparation would have been sadly defective, as compared with what it actually became. But it was not so; and while in the co-operation of Gentiles with Israel in the rearing of the Temple we see a symbol of their higher union in the glorious architecture of that "spiritual house built up" of "lively stones," we also recognize the gracious Providence of God, which rendered it possible to employ in that work the best materials and the best artificers of the ancient world. A. E. The cedar is most useful when dead. There is no timber like it. Firm in the grain, and capable of the finest polish, the tooth of no insect will touch it, and Time himself can hardly destroy it. Diffusing a perpetual fragrance through the chamber which it coils, the worm will not corrode the book which it protects, nor the moth corrupt the garment which it guards. All but immortal itself it transfuses its amaranthine qualities to the objects around it; and however stately in the forest, or brave on the mountain's brow, it is more serviceable in Solomon's palace, and it receives an illustrious consecration when set up as pillars in the temple, and carved into doorposts and lintels for the house of the Lord. Every Christian is useful in his life, but the goodly cedars are most useful afterward. Joseph, while he lived, saved much people alive, and his own lofty goodness was an impressive and elevating pattern to his rerelenting and admiring brethren. But as an instance of special providence and an example of untarnished excellence amid terrible temptations, Joseph dead has spoken to more than Joseph living. The sweet singer of Israel, while he lived, taught many to handle the harp and infected not a few with his thankful adoring spirit. But David being dead yet singeth, and you can hardly name the psalm, or hymn, or spiritual song, of which the lesson was not learned from the son of Jesse. Paul, in his living day, preached many a sermon, and made many a convert to the faith of Jesus. But Paul being dead yet preacheth, and they were sermons from his sepulchre which converted Luther, and Zwingle, and most of our modern evangelists. And Luther is dead, but the Reformation lives. Calvin is dead, but his vindication of God's free and sovereign grace will never die. Knox, Melville, and Henderson are dead, but Scotland still retains a Sabbath and a Christian peasantry, a Bible in every house, and a school in every parish. Bunyan is dead, but his bright spirit still walks the earth in its "Pilgrim's Progress." Baxter is dead, but souls are still quickened by the "Saints' Rest" and the "Call to the Unconverted." Cowper is dead, but the "golden apples" are still as fresh as when newly gathered in the "silver basket" of the Olney Hymns. Eliot is dead, but the missionary enterprise is young. Henry Martyn is dead, but who can count the apostolic spirits, who, phœnix-wise, have started from his funeral pile? Howard is dead, but modern philanthropy is only commencing its career. Raikes is dead, but the Sabbath-schools go on. Wilberforce is dead, but the negro will find for ages a protector in his memory. Hamilton. 2. Chron. 3 : 1** THEN Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, which he made ready in the 2 place that David had appointed, in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. 1. K. 6 : 1** And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. 2. And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore 3 cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house. 2. Chron. 3: 4 And the height an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with 5 pure gold. And the greater house he ceiled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, 6 and wrought thereon palm trees and chains. And he garnished the house with precious stones 7 for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. He overlaid also the house, the beams, the thresholds, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubim of 8 the walls. And he made the most holy house; the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house, was twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it 9 with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. 1. K. 6: 4, 5 And for the house he made windows of fixed lattice-work. And against the wall of the house he built stories round about, against the walls of the house round about, both 6 of the temple and of the oracle: and he made side-chambers round about: the nethermost story was five cubits broad; and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for on the outside he made rebatements in the wall of the house round about, 7 that the beams should not have hold in the walls of the house. And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready at the quarry: and there was neither hammer nor axe 8 nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. The door for the middle side-chambers was in the right side of the house: and they went up by winding stairs into the 9 middle chambers, and out of the middle into the third. So he built the house, and finished it; 10 and he covered the house with beams and planks of cedar. And he built the stories against all the house, each five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar. 11,12. And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my com- mandments to walk in them; then will I establish my word with thee, which I spake unto David 13 thy father. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. 14,15. So Solomon built the house, and finished it. And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar; from the floor of the house unto the walls of the ceiling, he covered 16 them on the inside with wood: and he covered the floor of the house with boards of fir. And he built twenty cubits on the hinder part of the house with boards of cedar from the floor unto 17 the walls: he even built them for it within, for an oracle, even for the most holy place. And 18 the house, that is, the temple before the oracle, was forty cubits long. And there was cedar on the house within, carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. 19 And he prepared an oracle in the midst of the house within, to set there the ark of the cov- 20 enant of the LORD. And within the oracle was a space of twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof; and he overlaid it with pure gold: 21 and he covered the altar with cedar. So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: 22 and he drew chains of gold across before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until all the house was finished: also the whole altar that 23 belonged to the oracle he overlaid with gold. And in the oracle he made two cherubim of 24 olive wood, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the utter- 25 most part of the other were ten cubits. And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cher- 26 ubim were of one measure and one form. The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and 27 so was it of the other cherub. And he set the cherubim within the inner house: and the wings of the cherubim were stretched forth, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another 28 in the midst of the house. And he overlaid the cherubim with gold. 2. Chron. 3: 14 And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubim thereon. 1. K. 6: 29 And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of 30 cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. And the floor of the house 31 he overlaid with gold, within and without. And for the entering of the oracle he made doors 32 of olive wood : the lintel and door posts were a fifth part of the wall. So he made two doors of olive wood ; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubim and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold ; and he spread the gold upon the cherubim, and upon the palm trees. So also made he for the entering of the temple door posts of olive wood, out of a fourth part of the wall ; and two doors of fir wood ; the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. And he carved thereon cherubim and palm trees and open flowers : and he overlaid them with gold fitted upon the graven work. And he built the inner court with three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar beams. 1. K. 7 : 13, 14 And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. He was the son of a widow woman of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass ; and he was filled with wisdom and understanding and cunning, to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work. For he fashioned the two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece : and a line of twelve cubits compassed either of them about. And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars : the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits. There were nets of checker work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars ; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter. So he made the pillars ; and there were two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars : and so did he for the other chapiter. And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars in the porch were of lily work, four cubits. And there were chapiters above also upon the two pillars, close by the belly which was beside the network : and the pomegranates were two hundred, in rows round about upon the other chapiter. And he set up the pillars at the porch of the temple : and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin : and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz. And upon the top of the pillars was lily work : so was the work of the pillars finished. 2. Chron. 4 : 1 Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. 1. K. 7 : 23 And he made the molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, round in compass, and the height thereof was five cubits : and a line of thirty cubits compassed it round about. And he made the ten bases of brass ; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it. After this manner he made the ten bases : all of them had one casting, one measure, and one form. And he made ten lavers of brass : one laver contained forty baths : and every laver was four cubits : and upon every one of the ten bases one laver. And he set the bases, five on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house : and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward, toward the south. And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he wrought for king Solomon in the house of the LORD : the two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars ; and the two networks to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the pillars ; and the four hundred pomegranates for the two networks ; two rows of pomegranates for each network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars ; and the ten bases, and the ten lavers on the bases ; and the one sea, and the twelve oxen under the sea ; and the pots, and the shovels, and the basons : even all these vessels, which Hiram made for king Solomon, in the house of the LORD, were of burnished brass. In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarethan. And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many : the weight of the brass could not be found out. And Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the LORD : the golden altar, and the table whereupon the shewbread was, of gold ; and the candlesticks, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, of pure gold ; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold ; and the cups, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the firepans, of pure gold ; and the hinges, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple, of gold. 2. Chron. 4 : 8 He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold. Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. I K. 7: 51 Thus all the work that king Solomon wrought in the house of the LORD was finished. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated, even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, and put them in the treasuries of the house of the LORD. I K. 6: 37 In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the 38 month Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it. [Some details omitted, vs. 24-26, 28-36.]  Rock Plan of Jerusalem. (Capt. Warren.) THE geographical position of Jerusalem may be indicated by saying that its latitude is that of the northern end of the Dead Sea, its distance from the Mediterranean thirty-one miles, and its distance from the Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea fifteen miles. N. C. B.—It is exactly on the water-shed of the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea, 2,650 feet above the level of the former. Built on the very backbone of the country—the summit of that long ridge which traverses the Holy Land from north to south, and only approachable by wild mountain roads—the position of the city was one of great natural strength. H. B. T.—The history of its many sieges and its capture by Titus confirm this statement. B.  PROFILE SECTION (EAST AND WEST) THROUGH JERUSALEM, TO THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE MOUNT OF OLIVES. Showing the comparative elevations of Zion, Moriah, and the Temple Platform, and the Mount of Olives; and the Rock-bed of the Brook Cedron, where the water is still flowing. (See page 512.) The breadthwise distances are indicated (also in feet) on the bottom line. To the spectator down about the confluence of the valleys of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat is admirably revealed the elevated position of the city. From the depths of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat, Moriah appears truly a mountain, and Zion the acropolis and citadel of David. N. C. B. The great depth of the valleys on the west of Zion and the east of Moriah, the relative elevation of the northern and southern portions of the city, and the superior altitude of the Mount of Olives, will be better understood by the following statement of of these several points above the junction of the valleys of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat: To the summit of Moriah, 370 feet. To the summit of Zion, 520 feet. To the summit of the Mount of Olives, 670 feet. To the northeast corner of city, 470 feet. To the northwest corner of city, 570 feet. J. G. B. ONE city literally lies heaped upon another. For Jerusalem stood no fewer than twenty-seven sieges—from Jebusites and Israelites, Egyptians and Assyrians, Greeks and Romans, Mohammedans and Christians. The last and twenty-seventh siege took place in 1244 by the wild Kharzemian hordes. The Jerusalem of our day may be considered the eighth; for even before the time of David there was a city there. The second was the city of Solomon, from B. C. 1000 to B. C. 597, four hundred years; the third that of Nehemiah, three hundred years; at length came the magnificent city of Herod; then that Roman city on the ruin Titus had made; followed by the Mohammedan, and that by a Christian; and now, for six hundred years, the modern city has stood on the ruins of those that preceded it. If we examine the  South Wall, East Angle. Mount of Olives in the Distance. rubbish and débris, we have to determine, at every step, among the ruins of which city we are standing—Solomon, Nehemiah, Herod, Hadrian, Constantine, Omar, Godfrey, Saladin, Suleiman, each in turn represents a city. E. C. Gray. By the repeated sinking of shafts on the sloping face of Ophel, it is established that the south wall is buried for more than half its depth, and that, if bared to its foundation, this wall would present an unbroken front of solid masonry of nearly 1,000 feet long and 150 feet in height. The wall, as it now stands, with less than half that height emerging from the ground, has always been regarded as a marvel. What must it have been when entirely exposed to view, and the tall erections of the Temple towering over it! No wonder that prophets and psalmists should have rejoiced in the walls and bulwarks of the Temple, and that Tacitus should have described it as "built after the fashion of a citadel" (Ps. 48 : 13). H. B. T. All these buildings, porticos, columns, pinnacles, altar, and temple, have perished. The area alone remains, and the massive substructures that for 3,000 years have been sleeping in their courses. The preservation has been due to the ruin. Buildings so vast have been toppled down the slopes of the Moriah that the original defiles and valleys have been almost obliterated. What had been regarded as the original surface has been found to be débris from 70 to 90 feet deep. At the southwest corner of the area, débris has accumulated to a depth of not less than 125 feet—the accumulation of ages, made up of the ruins of successive Jerusalems; and here some of the most interesting discoveries have been made. Here is the famous arch of Robinson. It is inferred to be the remains of a bridge which crossed the valley on arches, and connected Mount Moriah with the mountain opposite—the modern Zion. It is the skewback or abutment that slopes to receive the end of the arch. Three courses remain. The stones are five or six feet thick, and 20 or 25 feet long. The valley here is 350 feet wide, and this must have been the length of the bridge, connecting the Temple with the royal palace on the other side. At a depth of 30 feet a worn pavement was found, worn by feet that passed over it in our Lord's time. Lying on this pavement were the voussoirs, or wedge-like stones, belonging to the arch. Breaking through this pavement, and through 24 feet of débris beneath, they found a still more ancient roadway, and resting upon this, the key-stones of a still more ancient bridge. The explanation is probably reached; Robinson's arch is the remains of the bridge that was standing at the siege of Jerusalem, upon which, at the eastern end of it, stood the Roman general Titus, holding a parley with the Jews, occupying the other end of the bridge. The older bridge, the remains of which were found beneath the pavement, belonged to the palmy days of Solomon. W. I. B.  Vicinity of Jerusalem. OUT of the valley of Jehoshaphat, or Cedron of the Bible, eastwardly rises the MOUNT OF OLIVES, three hundred feet higher than Moriah. N. C. B.—It is not so much a mount as a somewhat elevated mass, having three rounded eminences, the whole running north and south for more than a mile, on a line with the eastern wall of the city. Of these three eminences, the central one is the Mount of Olives. The eminence on the south is called the Mount of Offence, from its being the seat of Solomon's idol-worship. From the city to the summit of Olivet, approached by three paths, the distance is about half a mile. Across the valley of Hinnom, and directly south of Zion, is the Hill of Evil Counsel. J. G. B. The building of the temple forms a great epoch in the history of the theocracy. With it not only does the Mosaic worship gain an important accession in solidity and splendor, and the people itself a fixed central sanctuary, inasmuch as the Lord sanctions the temple on its consecration in the most solemn manner as the place chosen by him for his name; but also with it an end is first made to the provisional state of Israel in the promised land, and the Divine assurance that he will "appoint a place for his people Israel, that they might dwell in a place of their own and move no more" (2 S. 7 : 10), is completely fulfilled. The importance of this epoch is indicated by this, that the time of building is determined not only by the year of Solomon's reign, but also by the departure from Egypt. Four hundred and thirty years was Israel in Egypt (Ex. 12 : 40); four hundred and eighty years elapsed from the departure out of this land of bondage to the foundation of the temple. These two numbers form two fixed resting points for the chronology of the history of Israel in ancient times, for which the historical books of the Old Testament contain no uninterrupted era, while there is no solid ground either for shortening the four hundred and thirty years' residence of Israel in Egypt with some critics to two hundred and fifteen years, or for lengthening the four hundred and eighty years from the departure out of Egypt to the building of the temple. Keil. (See pp. 32, 33.) The erection of this splendid sanctuary was no doubt the greatest event, both in Jewish and Gentile eyes, in the history of the Holy City. It made Jerusalem what it had not been till then, the religious capital. The stronghold of the Jebusites now became the shrine and centre of the Jewish system. We find a sufficient indication of the profound importance which this undertaking assumed in Jewish eyes in the fact that four chapters of our history—and three of them of considerable length—are occupied with an account of the materials, proportions, arrangements, and consecration of this great sanctuary. To the historiographers of Israel it seemed meet that every measurement of the holy and beautiful house should be recorded with the greatest exactness, while the very vessels of service, "the pots and the shovels and the basins," were judged worthy of a place in the sacred page. But these careful and detailed dimensions are not only proofs of the tender veneration with which the Jew regarded the Temple and its appointments; they are also (as Bahr has well shown) indications and expressions of the belief that this house, so "exceeding magnifical," was for the Lord, and not for man. These exact measurements, these precise and symbolic numbers, all point to a place for the Divine Presence. At the same time it must be added here that, exact and detailed as is the description of this edifice, it is nevertheless so partial, and the account is, perhaps necessarily, so obscure as to leave us in considerable doubt as to what Solomon's Temple was really like. In fact, though "more has been written regarding the temple at Jerusalem than in respect to any other building in the known world" (Fergusson), the authorities are not agreed as to its broad features, while as to matters of detail they are hopelessly divided. And the difficulty is enhanced by the fact that the temple was purely Jewish, so that no information as to its structure and arrangements can be derived from the contemporary architecture of Egyptians or Assyrians. In the absence of all analogies restoration is hopeless. Hammond. #### Site of the Temple. Of all the buildings of the Jerusalem of the Bible, scarce a recognizable trace remains above ground outside of the Temple platform. Eleven sieges and destructions have utterly erased all that was visible of the city of the Maccabees and Nehemiah, still more of the city of the Jewish monarchy, of David and Solomon. The platform, now called Haram esh Sherif, is a vast artificial work, raising the area nearly to a level with the central rock, which we suppose to have been the site of Araunah's threshing floor and of the altar of burnt sacrifice in Solomon's Temple, now crowned with a magnificent dome, called the Kubbet es Sakhra, or Dome of the Rock. The platform is supported by stupendous walls, built up from the slope of the hill on three sides. The enclosure is oblong, measuring 926 feet on its south face and 1530 feet on its east side; the northern and western sides being respectively a little longer. It seems that Solomon's Palace originally stood at this south end of the platform, reaching about 600 feet from the east angle to the Double Gate; and that the tradition is right which calls this Triple Gate, consisting of three arches, each 25 feet high and 14 wide, the entrance to Solomon's Stables, the great vaulted crypts which extend from these underneath the platform. Herod appears to have added the western third of the wall toward the Tyropæon, and on the whole he erected the magnificent colonnade, called the Royal Portico, which ran the whole length, with its pinnacles, 150 feet high, so that the spectator looked down 300 feet into the valley beneath, The Temple of Solomon would appear then to have been an oblong of over 900 feet by 600, with his palace, 600 by 300 feet, to the south of it; and a square of about 300 feet was added by Herod to complete the rectangle at the southwest, when the whole platform, including the site of the palace, was thrown into the Temple area, thus making it co-extensive with the present Haram Area. H. B. T. The rugged top of the vast platform was levelled with immense labor; its sides, which to the east and south were precipitous, were faced with a wall of stone, built up perpendicular from the bottom of the valley, so as to appear to those who looked down of most terrific height; a work of prodigious skill and labor, as the immense stones were strongly mortised together and wedged into the rock. Around the whole area or esplanade, an irregular quadrangle, was a solid wall of considerable height and strength; within this was an open court, into which the Gentiles were either from the first or subsequently admitted. A second wall encompassed another quadrangle, called the court of the Israelites. Along this wall, on the inside, ran a portico or cloister, over which were chambers for different sacred purposes. Within this again another, probably a lower, wall, separated the court of the priests from that of the Israelites. To each court the ascent was by steps, so that the platform of the inner court was on a higher level than that of the outer. Milman. Among the works undertaken for the temple were also the drains and water-supply, matters of the highest importance in the elaborate ceremonial of the worship. The depths of Mount Moriah were pierced by Solomon's men, sometimes by shafts driven straight down or steeply sloping into the bowels of the mountain, sometimes by tunnels running from north to south not much above the level of the brook Kedron. One of these tunnels, leading from the Virgin's Fount to the Pool of Siloam, is 1708 feet long, and presents at its southern end an inscription in old Hebrew which is thought to be of the age of Solomon. The value of these shafts and tunnels and tanks was very great. By one set the blood of sacrifices, the refuse, and the filth could be at once hurried out of sight into the heart of the rock, whence drains conveyed the whole to the Kedron and the Dead Sea. By another a copious supply of water could be brought from a distance. So honeycombed is the mountain with cisterns, that one of them, known as the Great Sea, would contain two million gallons, while the total storage provided probably exceeded five times that quantity. Perhaps the pools of Solomon, six miles off on the hill-sides above Bethlehem, as the three great tanks in Wadi Urtas are called, were built by the king's orders for supplying the temple-hill. Although history is silent on the point, there is not known to have been any other king who had either power or wisdom sufficient to build these vast tanks; to lay a double set of pipes as far as Jerusalem, at a high level and a low level; and to tunnel the rocks, as they are found to be, even for miles in length. Sime. The general plan of the Temple was identical with that of the Tabernacle. God was the architect of both; giving "patterns" of the one to Moses in the Mount, and of the other to David by the Spirit (1 Chron. 28: 12, 19). The House surpassed the Tent in size, being of exactly double dimensions, and in richness and permanence both of material and construction. The locality of the sacred structure, and the time of its commencement. It was built upon the eminence of Moriah, northeastward of and somewhat lower than the hill of Zion. The ground had been purchased by David from Ornan the Jebusite, and was probably the identical place where Abraham would have offered Isaac as a sacrifice. The work of building was begun in the fourth year of Solomon's reign, three years having been occupied in preparation. The epoch was a remarkable one, it being the central point of human history, almost midway between the creation of man and the present time. The area, the parts, proportions, and material of the Temple and its courts. To gain needed ground for the structures and courts the original area was extended by building up walls and buttresses and filling in with earth. This necessitated the laying of deep and strong foundations for walls and buildings. The whole space enclosed by the outer walls formed an oblong of 600 feet by 900. The main building comprised four parts, of which the Temple proper included three: The Porch; the greater house or Holy Place; and the Holy of Holies. The fourth part was a three-storied appendage on either side containing chambers for the uses of the priests. The Temple proper was an oblong square 105 feet (estimating the cubit at half a yard) from east to west, and 30 feet from north to south. Of its three parts, the Porch or entrance was 15 feet in depth, the Holy Place 60 feet, and the Most Holy Place 30 feet. Each of these parts had the full breadth of the structure, or 30 feet. The height of the Holy Place was 45 feet. That of the Most Holy Place was 30 feet, so that this  inmost apartment was a perfect cube, with equal length and breadth and height. The fourth part, or remaining portion of the entire structure, consisted of three stories of chambers built against the sides, but having no communication with the Temple proper. These stories were so constructed, by the narrowing of the side walls, that the three floors and roof rested upon offsets; and thus the Temple walls were unpierced. Their entire height, too, was considerably less than that of the Temple, so as to admit of windows near the ceiling of the Holy Place from which the smoke of incense and the vapor of lamps might escape. Thus the whole structure externally resembled an ordinary-sized church, with nave and side aisles. It was distinguished, not by magnitude, but by beauty of workmanship and costliness of materials. The walls of the building were of white stone. The interior surfaces of both Holy places, sides, ceiling, and floor, were lined with cedar-wood, which was overlaid with pure gold; the side walls being enriched with chasing and with precious stones. A pair of immense folding doors, whose golden surfaces were embossed with figures of cherubim, of foliage and flowers, formed the entrance from the porch to the Holy Place. And similar doors of smaller dimensions opened into the Holy of Holies. These doors were always open, while before the opening, and wholly concealing the inner Sanctuary, hung a richly-bordered gorgeous veil. The Temple was placed on the westward side of the whole area, and on the same side of an inner Court, called the Court of the Priests, into which only servitors of the Temple were admitted. This Court was enclosed by a wall of cedar beams resting on a stone pediment. In it was the great sacrificial altar of brass, 30 feet square and 15 feet high, and the great circular laver, or "molten sea," 15 feet in diameter at the brim and 7½ feet high, standing upon twelve brazen oxen. There were also ten smaller lavers for the washing of the burnt-offerings; the sea being used "for the priests to wash in." Outside of this inner Court, covering the remainder of the enclosed area, was the "Great Court," called also the Court of the Lord's House, for all the people. One significant fact is carefully noted respecting the whole structure. The shaping, dressing, and fitting of a great part of the material, even to the setting of pins and bolts, was done in the Phœnician quarries or work shops, whence it was transported to Jerusalem by sea and land. Hence "there was neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron heard in the house while it was in building." Mainly the work of ornamentation was wrought in Jerusalem. This Temple, it may be added, was seven years in building; it remained more than four hundred years, and was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar B.C. 588. The second Temple was built under the superintendence of Zerubbabel, and completed B.C. 516. This building, having become greatly dilapidated, was almost wholly rebuilt by Herod the Great. And his magnificent structure was utterly destroyed by Titus, A.D. 70. (We reproduce the Ground-plan of Herod's Temple, and also various diagrams and statements bearing upon the topics of this and the preceding section, from New Testament, Vol. I. See pages 535-538 and 541.) B. 1. K. 6 : 5, 6, 8-10.** The temple was surrounded by three stories of chambers, each of which stories was five cubits high, so that there remained above ample space for introducing the windows, requisite more for ventilation than for the admission of light into the sanctuary. The lowest story of the chambers was five cubits, the middle six, and the third seven cubits wide. This difference of the width arose from the circumstance that the external walls of the Temple were so thick that they were made to recede one cubit after an elevation of five feet, so that the "rebatement" (or shoulder) in the wall of the temple gave a firm support to the beams which supported the second story, without being inserted into the wall of the sanctuary; which insertion was, perhaps, avoided not merely for architectural reasons, but also because it appeared to be irreverent. The third story was supported likewise by a similar rebatement, which afforded a still wider space for the chamber of the third story. These observations will render intelligible these biblical statements. Kit. Enc. 1. K. 6 : 7.** The historian here digresses for a moment to speak of the remarkable and, indeed, unprecedented way in which the temple was built. The stories were shaped and prepared beforehand in the quarry, so that there was nothing to do on their arrival in the temple area but to fit them into their place in the building. Where was this quarry? The general idea is that it was in the Lebanon. And it is not to be denied that the massive substructions and corner-stones of the temple may have been brought from the mountain, along with the wood; but the bulk of the stone, there can be no doubt, was found much nearer home. Some of it, according to the Mishna, came from Bethlehem; but we can hardly be mistaken in believing that for the most part it was quarried in Jerusalem itself, under the very temple rock, and out of the vast caverns recovered some years ago by Dr. Barclay (see his "City of the Great King"), the "Royal Caverns" of Josephus. See Quart. Journal, Pal. Explor. Fund (No. vii.), pp. 373, 374, and cf. p. 34. There are unmistakable evidences of these extensive caverns having served as a quarry. Not only are the walls cut straight, but rude masses are left here and there to support the roof, and, what is still more convincing, there are stones more or less cut out of the rock, and incisions are made where stones are to be quarried. There was no reason why the workmen should go far afield for stone when they had it, and of very excellent quality, at their own doors. Hammond. Neither hammer nor axe was heard in that holy structure. There was nothing in Sion but silence and peace. Whatever tumults are abroad, it is fit there should be all quietness and sweet concord in the Church. O God, that the axes of schism, or the hammers of furious contentions, should be heard within thy sanctuary! Thy house is not built with blows: with blows it is beaten down. Oh, knit the hearts of thy servants together "in the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace;" that we may mind and speak the same things; that thou, who art the God of peace, mayest take pleasure to dwell under the quiet roof of our hearts. Bp. II. The building up of the Church of God is a silent, hidden process. Outward visible agencies must be employed, but the real constructive forces are out of sight. Truth works secretly and silently in the souls of men. "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation." Noise and show are out of harmony with the sanctity of it. Clamor and violence only hinder the work. Let us not mistake a restless, busy, fussy zeal for the externalities of Church life for true spiritual service. This is often in inverse ratio to the amount of real edification. The best machinery works with least friction and noise. The quiet, thoughtful workers, who move on steadily by the inspiration of their holy purpose, without much public recognition, may after all be the most efficient builders of the temple of God. Waite. He may accomplish most whose useful results no man sees, who makes no noise, who resembles the silent forces of nature, and not he who will have everything finished up by a certain time or else consider nothing to be effected. The calmness and patience, the calculation on the distant future, the noiselessness, the unweariedness, which contribute largely to the success of some men's labors, are qualities in which contemplation schools the mind. The thoughtful Christian will, as far as in him lies, construct a solid, durable, substantial edifice, or nothing at all. T. D. Woolsey. 1. K. 6 : 11-13.** God's promise to Solomon and to the people of Israel. At this point the historian interrupts his description of the building to record the gracious promise made to the king during its erection. Hammond.—This word of the Lord Solomon received during the building of the temple. The Lord assures him that he will fulfil the promise made to David (2 S. 7) in regard to the building of the temple on condition that he will walk in his statutes, judgments, and commandments, which are enumerated in the law of Moses. This "word of the Lord" is a short Divine confirmation of that which his father David had impressed upon him in the transference of the kingdom with special reference to the building of the temple. Keil.—While these protracted works were progressing, the Lord in His mercy gave special encouragement alike to Solomon and to the people. The word of the Lord, which on this occasion came to the king no doubt through a prophet, not only fully confirmed the promise made to David, but also connected the "house" that was being built to the Lord with the ancient promise (Ex. 25 : 8 ; 29 : 45) that God would dwell in Israel as among His people. Thus it pointed king and people beyond that outward building which, rising in such magnificence, might have excited only national pride, to its spiritual meaning, and to the conditions under which alone it would fulfil its great purpose. A. E. God told Solomon, by the mouth of his prophet, that, notwithstanding the great splendor and magnificence wherewith he intended to adorn this temple, it was, in itself, but a mere external thing; and that the Divine presence in it, and God's acceptance of, and favor and protection bestowed upon its worshippers, should wholly depend upon the measures of their obedience to his Divine laws, agreeably to the conditional promise made to his father David. Pyle.—The temple was intended to be a solid and permanent dwelling-place for God in the midst of Israel, as distinguished from the frail and movable tent in which he had heretofore dwelt among them. If Solomon was faithful to God's service, and, as is implied, if Israel was faithful likewise, the reality should correspond with the symbol. God's dwelling in Israel should be as fixed and stable as this massive structure promised to be. W. H. G.—This was but the repetition of the ancient promise to Moses. And what are all these promises, with all the marvellous manifestations that verified them, but typical foreshadowings of the richer grace by virtue of which the Church becomes "the habitation of God through the Spirit"? "The Most High dwells not in temples made with hands;" His dwelling-place is the fellowship of redeemed souls. Waite. 19-28. The Holy of Holies ("oracle"), or inner sanctuary, was divided from the rest of the temple by a partition of cedar, in the centre of which was a pair of folding-doors of olive wood, very richly carved with palm-trees, and open flowers, and cherubim,—the whole overlaid with gold. A like pair of folding-doors, of grander dimensions, also overlaid with gold, embossed in rich patterns of cherubim, and knops, and open flowers, formed the outer entrance. The door forming the entrance to the most Holy Place was left open, and the space covered, as is usual in the East, by a magnificent veil or curtain. Kit. In the Holy of Holies were stood two colossal four winged cherubim of gold, facing each other, the twain inner wings of each meeting above the ark, and the twain outer wings of each reaching to the wall on either side. Curtained by the heavy, gorgeous veil (2 Chron. 3 : 14), this inner sanctuary, with its ark and cherubim, afterward its central refulgent glory symbolizing God's personal presence, was utterly closed against the vision even of the priests, save of the High-Priest on the great day of Atonement. B. Solomon not only preserved the original cherubim upon the ark, but the most holy place in the temple being much larger than the corresponding portion of the tabernacle, he made two colossal cherubim, which were placed, one on each side of the ark, with expanded wings, so that two wings touched each other over the ark, while the other two reached the opposite walls. Besides this, the figures of cherubim were multiplied in the golden enchasements which lined the temple. Not only so, but there were images of oxen supporting the brazen sea, and figures of lions designed upon the bases of the ten lavers in the court of the temple; while there were within, among the interior adornments of the fretted gold, figures of palm-trees, lilies, and pomegranates. Kit. 1. K. 7 : 15-22.** The Pillars before the House. The relative place and the uses of these lofty brazen shafts, with their rich capitals wreathed with adorning festoons, are not accurately determined. They seem to have been ornaments of the porch, which itself merely served as a fitting vestibule to the Temple. We may trace a significance in the names of these pillars, "Firmness" and "Stability," as applying to the entering into God's Spiritual House, since all that enter there are forever established in His strong and enduring Dwelling-place. B.—The meaning of the pillars evidently is, that God has here established His temple on a firm foundation, and that it is, therefore, to be no longer a travelling sanctuary like the tabernacle. It is just because Jehovah no longer dwells in a moving tent, but in a settled house, that the cherubim stand in the temple upon the floor of the Holy of Holies, and make the whole place the constant abode of the Divine presence. O.—Their significance is intimated in the names given them (verse 21), Jachin—He will establish; and Boaz—In him is strength. Spiritual strength and stability are to be had at the door of God's temple, where we must wait for the gifts of grace, in the use of the means of grace. It was a memorandum to them of the strength and establishment of the temple of God among them. Let them keep close to God and duty, and they should never lose their dignities and privileges, but the grant should be confirmed and perpetuated to them. The Gospel church God will establish, and he will strengthen. H. No features in Solomon's temple have given rise to so much controversy as these two famous pillars; the beauty of which Jewish writers are never tired of recounting. They were marvels of the glyptic skill for which the Phonician workmen were distinguished. That these were symbolic is evident from their names, which may be rendered, "Stability" and "Strength." The reference is not so much to the material building, but to the kingdom of God in Israel, which was embodied in the temple. They pointed then, and now, to the beauty and strength of the dwelling of God. The lilies and pomegranates adorning the pillars not only showed that there should be beauty in the worship of God, and that the noblest art should be consecrated to Him, but symbolized the truth declared in Ps. 96 : 6, "Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary." Strength needs beauty to adorn it. Beauty needs strength to support it. Emblems of stability and strength, yet exquisite in their beauty, let Jachin and Boaz, in the porch of the temple, remind us of what God would see in the Christian Church and in the Christian character. Rowland. 2. Chron. 4 : 1.** The altar of burnt-offering appears to have undergone changes in its history. That of the tabernacle, in material, size, and the provision made for approaching it, differed considerably from this one. E. C. B. 1. K. 7 : 27-40. Besides the great "molten sea" (verses 23-26), there were ten bases, or stands, of brass, on which were put ten lavers, to be filled with water for the service of the temple, because there would not be room at the molten sea for all that had occasion to wash there. The bases on which the lavers were fixed are very largely described here. They were curiously adorned, and set upon wheels, that the lavers might be removed as there was occasion; but, ordinarily, they stood in two rows, five on one side of the court and five on the other (verse 39). Each laver contained forty baths—that is, about ten barrels (verse 38). They must be very clean that bear the vessels of the Lord. Spiritual priests and spiritual sacrifices must be washed in the laver of Christ's blood, and of regeneration. We must wash often, for we daily contract pollution; cleanse our hands, and purify our hearts. Plentiful provision is made for our cleansing; so that if we have our lot forever among the unclean, it will be our own fault. H. 48,49. The outer sanctuary, where the priests ministered daily, contained the altar of incense, ten golden candlesticks, and ten tables, all richly wrought and overlaid. Thus it will be seen that, in the size and the number of the sacred utensils, as well as in the dimensions of the building and its parts, the Temple greatly surpassed the Tabernacle. B. 49. The number of candlesticks was multiplied to ten in Solomon's temple; and they seem to have remained at that number until carried away by the Babylonian conquerors (Jer. 52 : 19). E. C. B.—Whether all these lamps were fully lit up on great occasions is now unknown. But seventy lights in all—for there were seven bowls for olive oil in each lamp—would have filled the golden house with unmatched brilliance. Sime. 2. Chron. 4 : 9. Besides the table of shewbread, which was the only table in the tabernacle, there were here ten golden tables, besides others of silver, on which were laid out above a hundred golden vases of various patterns, with the different utensils—the censers, spoons, snuffers, etc.—all of gold, used in the service of the temple. Kit. 1. K. 6 : 38. So was he seven years in building it. As Bul was the eighth month, and Zif the second, the house was precisely seven and a half years in building—a short period, if we consider the magnitude of the undertaking, but long enough, if we remember the enormous number of hands employed upon it, the preparations made by David, and the modest dimensions of the edifice. Hammond. The temple itself was rather a monument of the wealth than the architectural skill and science of the people. It was a wonder of the world, from the splendor of its materials more than the grace, boldness, or majesty of its height and dimensions. It had neither the colossal magnitude of the Egyptian, the simple dignity and perfect proportional harmony of the Grecian, nor perhaps the fantastic grace and lightness of modern Oriental architecture. If the dimensions of the temple appear by no means imposing, it must be remembered that but a small part of the religious ceremonies took place within the walls. The Holy of Holies was entered only once a year, and that by the High-Priest alone. It was the secret and unapproachable shrine of the Divinity. The Holy Place, the body of the temple, admitted only the officiating priests. The open courts, called in popular language the temple, or rather the inner quadrangle, was in fact the great place of Divine worship. Here, under the open air, were celebrated the great public and national rites, the processions, the offerings, the sacrifices; here stood the great tank for ablution, and the high altar for burnt-offerings. But the costliness of the materials, the richness and variety of the details, amply compensated for the moderate dimensions of the building. It was such a sacred edifice as a traveller might have expected to find in El Dorado. The walls were of hewn stone, faced within with cedar which was richly carved with knops and flowers; the ceiling was of fir-tree. But in every part gold was lavished with the utmost profusion; within and without, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, in short, the whole house is described as overlaid with gold. The finest and purest—that of Parvaim, by some supposed to be Ceylon—was reserved for the sanctuary. Here the cherubim, which stood upon the covering of the ark, with their wings touching each wall, were entirely covered with gold. The sumptuous veil, of the richest materials and brightest colors, which divided the Holy of Holies from the holy place, was suspended on chains of gold. Cherubim, palm trees and flowers, the favorite ornaments, everywhere, covered with gilding, were wrought in almost all parts. The altar within the temple, and the table of shewbread, were likewise covered with the same precious metal. All the vessels, the ten candlesticks, five hundred basins, and all the rest of the sacrificial and other utensils, were of solid gold. M-lman. Everything connected with the building of this great temple was thus on a scale of exceeding magnificence. With unstinting hand, labor was bestowed on the costliest stones, the rarest woods, the most curious designs, the most precious oils and spices, the boldest engineering. From far and near came tribute and trade profits to be lavished on the lordly building. Of one thing, however, not a word is said. Egypt and Babylon and Northern Syria had seen grand public buildings for religious or royal use before Solomon's reign. But the builders did not scruple to inscribe on them long stories of their costly outlay, their piety, and their hopes. Or they erected pillars, on which were engraved boastful accounts of their greatness in peace and in war. Even on the great mosque built on the temple hill, and on that at Hebron, which is supposed to cover the Cave of Machpelah, inscriptions are found in abundance. But nothing of this boastfulness was allowed in the temple of Jerusalem. There were carvings of animals and flowers on the wood; there was no writing on the great, smooth stones. The silence of the historian on this head is most expressive. What the kings of other lands did in writing their names and greatness on the temples which they built, Solomon seems never to have thought of. He and his people were a book-writing, not a stone-writing people. "Memorial stones" appear at the beginning of Israel's history as a nation, engraven with the names of the tribes. But the great stones of the temple were not memorial stones, and bore no inscription. A place so holy allowed no praise of man to be written on its walls, and no carvings of priests, or symbols, or ceremonies, such as the temple faces of other nations show to illustrate their faith, even when their books are silent. Sime. THE GREAT ASSEMBLY CONVOKED. THE ARK BROUGHT FROM DAVID'S TENT. SACRIFICES OFFERED. THE ARK PLACED IN THE HOLY OF HOLIES. CONSECRATION OF THE TEMPLE BY THE GLORY CLOUD. ITS DEDICATION BY SOLOMON. HIS ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE. 1. K. 7 : 1** And Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. For he built the house of the forest of Lebanon ; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. And it was covered with cedar above over the forty and five beams, that were upon the pillars ; fifteen in a row. And there were prospects in three rows, and light was over against light in three ranks. And all the doors and posts were square in prospect : and light was over against light in three ranks. And he made the porch of pillars ; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits ; and a porch before them ; and pillars and thick beams before them. And he made the porch of the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment : and it was covered with cedar from floor to floor. And his house where he might dwell, the other court within the porch, was of the like work. He made also an house for Pharaoh's daughter, (whom Solomon had taken to wife,) like unto this porch. All these were of costly stones, even of hewn stone, according to measure, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside unto the great court. And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. And above were costly stones, even hewn stone, according to measure, and cedar wood. And the great court round about had three rows of hewn stone, and a row of cedar beams ; like as the inner court of the house of the LORD, and the porch of the house. 1. K. 3 : 1** And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. Only the people sacrificed in the high places, because there was no house built for the name of the LORD until those days. And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father : only he sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places. 2. Chron. 8 : 11** And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her : for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come. Then Solomon offered burnt-offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch, even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. And he appointed, according to the ordinance of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise, and to minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required : the doorkeepers also by their courses at every gate : for so had David the man of God commanded. And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures. Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected. 1. K. 9 : 25** Then did he build Millo. And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt-offerings and peace-offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, burning incense therewith, upon the altar that was before the LORD. So he finished the house. The order in Solomon's buildings is observable : God's house first, for religion ; then his own, for his own convenience ; then a house for his wife, to which she removed, as soon as it was ready for her (verse 24) ; then Millo, the Townhouse, or Guildhall ; then the wall of Jerusalem, the royal city ; then some cities of note and strength in the country, which were decayed and unfortified, Hazor, Megiddo, etc. H. Building of Solomon's House. 1. K. 7 : 1. The thirteen years, according to 9 : 10, are to be reckoned from the completion of the temple. With verse 2 begins the description of this building. In what follows several buildings, as the house of the forest of Lebanon (2-5), the portico of pillars with a porch (6), the porch of the throne and of judgment (7), the dwelling-house of the king, and the house of the daughter of Pharaoh, were erected one after another. The question arises, whether all these buildings were different parts of one royal palace, or different buildings from it. The forest house of Lebanon cannot be a building different from the royal palace mentioned (verse 1), for this reason, that afterward (9 : 1, 10, 15 ; comp. 10 : 12) only one palace is always named among the buildings executed by Solomon, and here so large an account is given of this Lebanon house, while it has no further mention in the following chapters. Still more decisive, however, is the relation of the first verse of the chapter to the following. Verse 1 is a mere superscription ; with verse 2 begins the account of the erection of the building mentioned in verse 1 ; to be rendered, "he built, namely." It necessarily follows from this that the collective buildings mentioned in verses 2-8 formed only the one royal palace, the several departments of which are described in succession, whereupon the section is concluded with a statement of the materials employed in the building (verses 9-12). But even after the unity of the building has been agreed upon, it is extremely difficult to draw an outline of the entire palace that will be intelligible and in conformity with the statements of the text. Keil. Location of the Palace. Without referring to the various buildings which Solomon reared, it may be safely asserted that the city must have rapidly increased in population. Indeed, during the prosperous reign of Solomon it probably attained as large, if not larger, proportions than at any time before the Exile. The wealthier part of the population occupied the western terraces of the west hill—the Upper City—the streets running north and south. The eastern slopes of the west hill were covered by "the middle city" (2 K. 20 : 4, marginal rendering). It will have been noticed, that as yet only the southern parts of both the eastern and western hills of Jerusalem had been built over. King Solomon reared the Temple on Mount Moriah, which formed the northern slope of the eastern hill, while the increase of the population soon led to building operations on the side of the western hill opposite to it. Here the city extended beyond the old wall, north of "the middle city," occupying the northern part of the Tyropœon. This was "the other" or "second part of the city" (2 K. 22 : 14 ; 2 Chron. 34 : 22 ; Neh. 11 : 9, the "maktesh" or "mortar" of Zeph. 1 : 11). Here was the real business quarter, with its markets, "fishgate," "sheepgate," and bazaars, such as the "Baker Street" (Jer. 37 : 21), the quarters of the goldsmiths and other merchants (Neh. 3 : 8, 32), the "valley of the cheesemongers," etc. This suburb must have been soon enclosed by a wall. We do not know when or by whom the latter was commenced, but we have notices of its partial destruction (2 K. 14 : 13 ; 2 Chron. 25 : 23), and of its repair (2 Chron. 32 : 5). The particulars thus described will sufficiently explain the location of the great palace which Solomon built during the thirteen years after the completion of the Temple. Its site was the eastern terrace of the western hill, probably the same as that afterward occupied by the palace of the Asmonæans (Maccabees) and of Agrippa II. The area covered by this magnificent building was four times that of the Holy House (not including its courts). It stood right over against the Temple. A descent led from the Palace into the Tyropœon, and thence a special magnificent "ascent" (2 Chron. 9 : 4) to the royal entrance (2 K. 16 : 18), probably at the southwestern angle of the Temple. The site was happily chosen—protected by Fort Milo, and looking out upon the Temple-Mount, while south of it stretched the wealthy quarter of the city. Ascending from the Tyropœon, one would pass through a kind of ante-building into a porch, and thence into a splendid colonnade. This colonnade connected "the house of the forest of Lebanon," so called from the costly cedars used in its construction, with "the porch for the throne," where Solomon pronounced judgment (1 K. 7 : 6, 7). Finally, there was in the inner court, still further west, "the house where Solomon dwelt," and "the house for Pharaoh's daughter," with, of course, the necessary side and outbuildings (1 K. 7 : 8). Thus, the royal palace really consisted of three separate buildings. Externally it was simply of "costly stones" (verse 9), the beauty of its design only appearing in its interior. Here the building extended along three sides. The ground-floor consisted of colonnades of costly cedar, the beams being fastened into the outer walls. These colonnades would be hung with tapestry, so as to be capable of being formed into apartments. Above these rose, on each side of the court, three tiers or chambers, fifteen on each tier, with large windows looking out upon each other. Here were the State apartments for court feasts, and in them were kept, among other precious things, the golden targets and shields (1 K. 10 : 16, 17). Passing through another colonnade, one would next reach the grand Judgment and Audience-halls, with the magnificent throne of ivory, described in 1 K. 10 : 18-20; 2 Chron. 9 : 17-19. And, lastly, the innermost court contained the royal dwellings themselves. A. E. 1. K. 7 : 1-12. The description is conformable to the arrangement of Eastern palaces. The building stood in the middle of a great oblong square, which was surrounded by an enclosing wall, against which the houses and offices of those attached to the court were built. The building itself was oblong, consisting of two square courts, flanking a large oblong hall which formed the centre, and which, being 100 cubits long, by 50 broad, was properly the house of the forest of Lebanon, being the part where were the cedar pillars of this hall. In front was the porch of judgment, which was appropriated to the transaction of public business. On the one side of this great hall was the king's house; and on the other the harem or royal apartments for Pharaoh's daughter (Esther 2 : 3, 9). This arrangement of the palace accords with the Oriental style of building, according to which a great mansion always consists of three divisions, or separate houses—all connected by doors and passages—the men dwelling at one extremity, the female portion of the family at the other, while public rooms occupy the central part of the building. Jamieson. The principal building situated within the Palace was, as in all Eastern palaces, the great hall of state and audience, here called the "House of the Forest of Lebanon." Its dimensions were 100 cubits, or 150 feet long, by half that, or 75 feet in width. Next in importance is the hall or porch of judgment, which Josephus distinctly tells us was situated opposite to the centre of the longer side of the great hall. Its dimensions were 50 cubits, or 75 feet square (Josephus says 30 in one direction, at least), and its disposition can easily be understood by comparing the descriptions we have with the remains of the Assyrian and Persian examples. It must have been supported by four pillars in the centre, and had three entrances—the principal opening from the street and facing the judgment-seat; a second from the court-yard of the Palace, by which the councillors and officers of state might come in; and a third from the Palace, reserved for the sole entrance of the king and his household. The third edifice is merely called "the Porch." Its dimensions were 50 by 30 cubits, or 75 feet by 45. It was an indispensable adjunct to an Eastern palace. It was the ordinary place of business of the palace, and the reception-room where the king received ordinary visitors, and sat, except on great state occasions, to transact the business of the kingdom. Behind this, we are told, was the inner court, adorned with gardens and fountains, and surrounded by cloisters for shade; and besides this were other courts for the residence of the attendants and guards, and in Solomon's case, for the three hundred women of his harem. Apart from this palace, but attached, as Josephus tells us, to the Hall of Judgment, was the palace of Pharaoh's daughter. The recent discoveries at Nineveh have enabled us to understand many of the architectural details of this palace, which were before almost wholly inexplicable. We are told—e.g., that the walls of the halls of the palace were wainscoted with three tiers of stone, apparently versicolored marbles, hewn and polished, and surmounted by a fourth course, elaborately carved with representations of leafage and flowers. Above this the walls were plastered and ornamented with colored arabesques. At Nineveh the walls were, like these, wainscoted to a height of about eight feet, but with alabaster, a peculiar product of the country, and these were separated from the painted space above by an architectural band; the real difference being that the Assyrians revelled in sculptural representations of men and animals. These modes of decoration were forbidden to the Jews by the Second Commandment. Dic. B. The new Palace was built on massive substructions of enormous stones, carefully hewn, and was enclosed within a large court. It included several edifices within itself. The chief was a long hall, which, like the Temple, was encased in cedar; whence, probably, its name, "the House of the Forest of Lebanon." In front of it ran a pillared portico. Between this portico and the palace itself was a cedar porch,—sometimes called the Tower of David. In this tower, apparently hung over the walls outside, were a thousand golden shields, which gave the whole palace the name of the Armory. With a splendor that outshone any like fortress, the tower with these golden targets glittered far off in the sunshine like the tall neck, as it was thought, of a beautiful bride, decked out after the manner of the East, with strings of golden coins. Five hundred of them were made by Solomon's orders for the royal guard, but the most interesting were the older five hundred, which David had carried off in his Syrian wars from the guard of Hadadezer, as trophies of arms and ornaments, in which the Syrians specially excelled. It was these which, being regarded as spoils won in a sacred cause, gave, in all probability, occasion to the expression: "The shields of the earth belong unto God" (Ps. 47 : 9). This porch was the gem and centre of the whole Empire; and was so much thought of that a smaller likeness to it was erected in another part of the royal precinct for the Queen. Within the porch itself was to be seen the King in state. On a throne of ivory, brought from Africa or India, the throne of many an Arabian legend, the Kings of Judah were solemnly seated on the day of their accession. From its lofty seat, and under that high gateway, Solomon and his successors after him delivered their solemn judgments. That "porch" or "gate of justice" still kept alive the likeness of the old patriarchal custom of sitting in judgment at the gate; exactly as the Gate of Justice still recalls it to us at Granada and the Sublime Porte—"the Lofty Gate" at Constantinople. He sat on the back of a golden bull, its head turned over its shoulder, probably the ox or bull of Ephraim; under his feet, on each side of the steps, were six golden lions, probably the lions of Judah. This was "the seat of judgment." This was "the throne of the House of David." Stanley. The appearance of this grand hall and of the Porch of the Throne, when the king dispensed justice or received ambassadors from his gold and ivory chair of state, must have been imposing. His 500 guards, standing round with their golden shields, inspired respect and awe, if litigants brought their suits before him, or tributary states presented their tokens of homage. Between two and three centuries after Solomon, Isaiah the prophet refers to the House of the Forest of Lebanon as the arsenal of the kingdom of Judah (Is. 22 : 8). Sime.—Even the imaginations of the Oriental romancers and poets have scarcely conceived a more splendid pageant than Solomon, seated on his throne of ivory, receiving the homage of distant princes who came to admire his magnificence, and put to the test his noted wisdom. This throne was of pure ivory, covered with gold; six steps led up to the seat, and on each side of the steps were twelve lions carved. All the vessels of his palace were of pure gold, silver was thought too mean: his armory was furnished with gold; 200 targets and 300 shields of beaten gold were suspended in the house of Lebanon. Milman. 1. K. 3 : 1. Pharaoh king of Egypt. This is the first notice since the Exodus of any connection of Israel with Egypt. It is impossible to decide with certainty which Pharaoh it was whose daughter Solomon took to wife. The twenty-second Egyptian dynasty commenced with Sheshonk I. (the Shishak of the Bible), about n.c. 990. This monarch did much to advance the Egyptian power, which under the previous Tanite sovereigns of the twenty-first dynasty had sunk very low. We shall find Shishak (1 K. 11 : 40) receiving Jeroboam when he fled from Solomon. The wife of Solomon must therefore have been a daughter of a king in the previous dynasty, the kings of which would be likely to welcome an alliance with so powerful a monarch. Pharaoh is used in the Bible as the royal title of the Egyptian kings, and not as the proper name of any single person. This wife of Solomon probably embraced Judaism, as we find no reproach against him for this marriage, nor is any Egyptian deity mentioned among those for whom Solomon at a later time built high places when strange women turned away his heart after other gods. Lumby.—This marriage of Solomon with the daughter of Pharaoh—to which, from its frequent mention, so much political importance seems to have been attached—took place in the first years of his reign, although some time after the building of the Temple and of his own palace had commenced. Such a union was not forbidden by the law, nor was the daughter of Pharaoh apparently implicated in the charge brought against Solomon's other foreign wives of having led him into idolatry (1 K. 11 : 1-7). In fact, according to Jewish tradition, the daughter of Pharaoh actually became a Jewish proselyte. Still, Solomon seems to have felt the incongruity of bringing her into the palace of David, within the bounds of which "the Ark of the Lord" appears to have been located (2 Chron. 8 : 11), and she occupied a temporary abode "in the City of David," till the new palace of Solomon was ready for her reception. A. E. 1. K. 3 : 3. Solomon began well. He "loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father," and almost his first care is to accomplish the desire, inherited from his father, of building "the house of the Lord," for which David had long since been collecting materials. But even at this early date, when all seems so fair, the germs of evil are not wanting. There is something astounding in finding that one of his first acts was to seek a wife out of Egypt, the house of bondage. Since the Israelites "spoiled the Egyptians" there had been no intercourse between the two nations. Solomon's marriage was probably a diplomatic one, to gain the aid of Pharaoh against Edom, or at least to withhold him from helping Edom. It was the beginning of those many unions with strange wives who in the end led him into abominable idolatries. But he is nowhere said to have built altars to any Egyptian god, so that we may conclude that Pharaoh's daughter became a proselyte, and that for this reason the marriage was not specially condemned. But the connection with Egypt, if it did not lead to idolatry, led to another violation of the law. In direct contravention of De. 17 : 17, Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt (1 K. 10 : 28). Plummer. 2. Chron. 8 : 12-15. After the building of the temple and of his own house, Solomon continued for a time faithful to the worship and legislation of his people. For the first twenty-four years of his reign there was no change in the principles with which he set out in public life. Sime. 1. K. 9 : 25. Three times in a year he offered burnt-offerings extraordinary : namely, at the three yearly feasts, the Passover, Pentecost, and Feast of Tabernacles, in honor of the Divine institution ; beside what he offered at other times, both statedly, and upon special occasions. With his sacrifices he burned incense, not himself (that was King Uzziah's crime), but the priest for him, at his charge, and for his particular use. It is said, he offered on the altar which he himself built. He took care to build it, and then himself made use of it. Many will assist the devotions of others that neglect their own. H. CITIES BUILT BY SOLOMON. HIS ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS, ECCLESIASTICAL, MILITARY, AND CIVIL. HIS CHARIOTS, HORSEMEN, AND HORSES. 1. K. 8 : 1** THEN Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the princes of the fathers' houses of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast, in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the Tent; even these did the priests and the Levites bring up. And king Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto its place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof above. And the staves were so long that the ends of the staves were seen from the holy place before the oracle; but they were not seen without: and there they are, unto this day. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 2. Chron. 5 : 11** And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place (for all the priests that were present had sanctified themselves, and did not keep their courses; also the Levites which were the singers, all of them, even Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and their brethren, arrayed in fine linen, with cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with 13 trumpets) : it came even to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD ; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good ; for his mercy endureth for ever : that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD, so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud : for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. 2. Chron. 6 : 1 Then spake Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. But I have built thee an house of habitation, and a place for thee to dwell in forever. And the king turned his face, and blessed all the congregation of Israel : and all the congregation of Israel stood. And he said, Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hands fulfilled it, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there ; neither chose I any man to be prince over my people Israel : but I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there ; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel. Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. But the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart : nevertheless thou shalt not build the house ; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name. And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake ; for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. And there have I set the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. Eleven months after its completion, the formal dedication of the Temple took place. The delay gave time for thought and impression concerning its purpose, and so aided the fitting preparation for an occasion so intensely solemn, instructive, and joyful. According to Usher, this was the ninth Jubilee, or period of fifty years, opening the fourth thousand of the years since man's creation, or A.M. 3001. The festival of Dedication continued seven days, and occurred in late October, just before the feast of tabernacles. The elders, heads of tribes, and chiefs of families, were specially summoned by Solomon to take part with him, as representatives of the people. And an immense multitude of the congregation of Israel also joined in the service. The transaction is preceded and closed by the offering of sacrifices. This transaction (as recorded in the eighth chapter of 1 Kings) falls into three acts. The solemn removal of the ark and the other furniture of the old sanctuary into the newly-built temple forms the first act (verses 1-21). The noble prayer of Solomon, that the Lord would connect with the temple the fulfilment of all the promises made to his people, and thereby make it the true place of the revelation of his covenant grace and truth, forms the second (verses 22-61). The act of offering makes the third, which is described in verses 62-66. The first of these three acts [included in the present section] contains two elements : the transfer of the ark into the holy of holies, and of the old sanctuary and its furniture into the new temple ; and the words in which Solomon celebrated the entrance of the Lord into the new temple. Keil. A profound religious interest gathers about the scenes of the dedication of this temple. Both our authors (i.e., of Kings and of Chronicles) give the details of this service, and with little variation and in very considerable fulness, narrating the sacrifices that preceded and that followed ; the introductory address of Solomon to the assembled people (1 K. 8 : 12-21), and then the consecrating prayer (verses 22-53), and the closing benediction upon the people (verses 54-61). The service must have been in the highest degree impressive and sublime. Every word seems to be perfect in adaptation to the great purpose and the grand occasion. H. C. The temple and its courts being completed, the solemn dedication took place, with the greatest magnificence which the king and the nation could display. All the chieftains of the different tribes, and all of every order who could be brought together, assembled. David had already organized the priesthood and the Levites ; assigned to the 38,000 of the latter tribe, each his particular office. Twenty-four thousand were appointed for the common duties, 6000 as officers, 4000 as guards and porters, 4000 as singers and musicians. On this great occasion, the dedication of the temple, all the tribe of Levi, without regard to their courses, the whole priestly order of every class, attended. Around the great brazen altar, which rose in the court of the priests before the door of the temple, stood-in front the sacrificers, all around the whole choir, arrayed in white linen. One hundred and twenty of these were trumpeters, the rest had cymbals, harps, and psalteries. Solomon himself took his place on an elevated scaffold, or raised throne of brass. The whole assembled nation crowded the spacious courts beyond. The ceremony began with the preparation of burnt-offerings, so numerous that they could not be counted. At an appointed signal commenced the more important part of the scene, the removal of the ark, the installation of the God of Israel in his new and appropriate dwelling, to the sound of all the voices and all the instruments, chanting some of those splendid odes, the 47th, 97th, 98th, and 107th Psalms. The ark advanced, borne by the Levites, to the open portals of the temple. It can scarcely be doubted that the 24th Psalm, even if composed before, was adopted and used on this occasion. Milman. The temple courts could not have contained a tithe of the crowds who claimed admittance. Then, as in previous ages, representatives of the people stood for the whole nation. But the higher slopes of Olivet, only five or eight hundred yards off, furnished room for many myriads to see and almost to hear the grand proceedings as distinctly as the spectators in the courts. The whole congregation, crowning the hill-top in dense masses, looked down on king, priests, nobles, and Levites. Moriah thus became a stage, and Olivet a most magnificent amphitheatre for one of the grandest displays known in the history of mankind. Sime. The dedication of Solomon's Temple was the grandest ceremony ever performed under the Mosaic dispensation; for the giving of the law from Sinai was too solemn to be called a ceremony. Solomon appeared in that priestly character, which we have seen borne by his father, to perform this great act on behalf of the people, leaving to the priests and Levites the care of the ark and the details of the service, especially the psalmody. The time chosen was the most joyous festival of the Jews, the Feast of Tabernacles, in the seventh month (Tisri or Ethanim = September and October) of the sacred year. Having done the labors of the field, and gathered in the vintage, the people assembled at Jerusalem from all parts of Solomon's wide territories. The full body of the priests attended, the usual courses being suspended, and they brought the ark in a grand and joyous procession from the city of David to the rest prepared for it in the Holy of Holies. There they placed it beneath the spreading wings of the cherubim, and drew out the ends of the staves, that they might be seen as in the Tabernacle, behind the veil. Amid all the new splendors of its dwelling, the ark of the covenant was the same as of old; it contained nothing but the two tables of the law, which Moses had placed in it at Sinai. As the priests retired from within the veil, the Levites and their sons, arranged in their three courses of psalmody, with all instruments of music, and clad in white linen robes, burst forth with the sacred chorus praising Jehovah, "For He is good; for His mercy endureth forever." It was at this very moment, "just as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking Jehovah," that He gave the sign of His coming to take possession of His house: "The house was filled with a cloud, even the house of Jehovah, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of Jehovah had filled the house of Jehovah." As that sacred cloud spread through the open doors over the sanctuary, the voice of Solomon was heard recognizing the presence of the God who had said that he would dwell in the thick darkness, and for whom he had now built a habitation forever. Then turning to the people from the great platform of brass, which he had erected in the midst of the court, in front of the brazen altar, the king blessed Jehovah the God of Israel, who had chosen Jerusalem as the place sacred to His name, and had performed His promises to David and fulfilled his desire to build him a house. P. S. I K. 8: 1-9. The transfer of the ark into its place in the Holy of Holies. They brought the ark from David's tent on Mount Zion. It is also added, that the priests and Levites brought up the old Tabernacle, with its holy vessels, from Gibeon. Before removing the ark, an immense sacrifice was offered before it in behalf of king and people. Then in solemn and glad procession, led by the king and followed by princes and people, the sacred symbol was reverently borne by the priests to the Temple. Entering the sacred courts, the king took his position upon an elevated brazen scaffold in the midst of the throng, while the priests bore the ark into the most holy place, and deposited it beneath the inner wings of the cherubim, in "the place of its rest." Then, as a sign that it was no more to go out, they drew forth the staves or handles on which they had borne it to and fro; leaving the ends protruding through the veil, in token that its long wanderings was over. The sacred furniture of the Holy Place, including the incense-altar, the tables, the candlesticks, and censers, were also set in their appointed position. B. The temple, though richly beautified, while without the ark was like a body without a soul, or a candlestick without a candle, or (to speak more properly) a house without an inhabitant. All the cost and pains bestowed on this stately structure are lost, if God do not accept them; and unless he please to own it as the place where he will record his name, it is, after all, but a ruinous heap; when therefore all the work is ended, the one thing needful is yet behind, and that is, the bringing in of the ark. This is the end which must crown the work, and which here we have an account of the doing of with great solemnity. Solomon presides in this service, as David did in the bringing up of the ark to Jerusalem. H. All the meaning and impressiveness of the dedication centred in the removal of the ark. "The elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, assembled unto King Solomon in Jerusalem," not to gaze upon and admire or even worship in the superb structure that he had reared, but "that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion." Before this ark on its sacred passage to its new abode "King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him were sacrificing sheep and oxen that could not be told nor numbered for multitude" (verse 5). This ark, the symbol and pledge of the Divine presence, contained "the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt" (verse 9). And when this ark had been set in its proper place, "the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord" (verses 10, 11), as it had previously filled the tabernacle of Moses on its erection. No new ark was made to take the place of the old. This was impossible. Another chest might have been made of the same pattern and dimensions, and it could have been similarly overlaid with gold. Like figures of golden cherubim could have been set above it. It might have been exactly reproduced in material and form; but this newly-framed model would not have been the ark. It not only would have lacked the antiquity, the Mosaic origin, the venerated associations, but it would have been ababsolutely divested of that which gave the Ark its real significance and value, the identical tables of the law engraved by God's own finger, and the ineffable presence of God himself which ever attended it. Hence, while Solomon built his temple after an enlarged pattern of the tabernacle, reproducing its sacred apartments and furniture on a grander scale, with new altars and lavers and candlesticks and table of shewbread and figures of cherubim, the Ark remained the same. There was but this one ark, absolutely unique, throughout the whole of Israel's history from the time of their encampment at Sinai until its final destruction in the overthrow of Jerusalem and the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. Without this Ark, there could, in the strict Mosaic sense of the term, be no sanctuary, no house of God, where he actually dwelt in the midst of his people, and met with them. The unity of the Ark necessarily carried with it the unity of the sanctuary. It was with this one hallowed article alone that the presence of Jehovah was indissolubly bound. All the allegations that there were numerous sanctuaries in Israel which were held to be equally legitimate until the reign of King Josiah, under whom the law of a single central sanctuary was for the first time enacted and enforced, are proved to be futile by this one undeniable fact. There was but the one material symbol with which Jehovah's presence was believed to be constantly associated by his own appointment. This was the Ark. No spot and no building but that which contained the Ark was reckoned the dwelling-place of God. He might on extraordinary occasions manifest himself elsewhere. In the absence of a legitimate sanctuary, he might be invoked and worshipped elsewhere. But the existence of one, and only one, house of God, is a necessary corollary from the existence of but one ark of God; and if the Ark was Mosaic, which cannot be intelligently disputed, so must the law of the unity of the sanctuary be. This law may have been temporarily in abeyance, and it may have been sinfully disregarded, but the antiquity of the law and its Mosaic origin is by this single fact triumphantly established. W. H. G. I K. 8: 4. The tabernacle of Moses, for a long time at Gibeon, was now taken down, that the temple might be made from henceforth the centre of worship, as "the place" that God had chosen. B.—The Tabernacle of the wilderness hereafter disappears from history; the new Temple became the centre of the religious life of the nation. Jehovah by oracles declared that this was His rest, and that the seed of David would be established on the throne, though the promise was conditioned on their obedience. Thus upward of four hundred years after his death the prediction of Moses was fulfilled. It was the consequence of the essential work that had been accomplished, the establishment of the nation in Canaan. It was an expression of the union of Israel, of its worship of Jehovah. Robson. 9. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone.** Nothing else was ever in the ark, the articles mentioned (Heb. 9 : 4) being not in, but by it, being laid in the most holy place before the testimony (Ex. 16 : 33 ; Nu. 17 : 10). Jamieson. —These venerable fragments of the rock of Sinai, seen then, were seen, as far as we know, for the last time. They must have perished, or at least disappeared, when the Ark itself perished or disappeared in the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. But their contents have survived the wreck, not only of the Ark and Temple, but of the whole system of worship, of which they were the basis. The Ten Commandments delivered on Mount Sinai have become embedded in the heart of the religion which has succeeded. Stanley. If anything whatever is certainly known of the Mosaic age, it is indubitably established that the Mosaic Ark contained tables of stone on which were engraved the Ten Commandments. These were treasured in the most sacred apartment of the Sanctuary. They formed the basis of the covenant between Jehovah and Israel. They were the fundamental law of the commonwealth of Israel, by which all further enactments were regulated, and to which they were supplementary. They were believed to have emanated directly and even verbally from Jehovah Himself, and to have been by Him recorded in stone to indicate their perpetual, binding force. This sacred Ark, with its precious contents, was safely guarded until the time of Solomon, when it was transferred to the Temple. It is still spoken of in the time of Jeremiah (3 : 16), and the covenant on stone, which it contained, was only to be superseded by the law written on the heart (31 : 32, 33). Under these circumstances it is impossible that these commandments should not have been carefully and accurately preserved and transmitted. W. H. G. Now all had been done that king and priests could do. Complete and beautiful stood the Temple. Complete and beautiful in its place within the veil rested the ark with the two stone tables of the Law within, and the outspread wings of the cherubim above. But while the Temple and oracle awaited its Inhabitant, king and priest and people lifted up their voice, in unison with many instruments of music, and joined in praising and thanking the Lord. Then in sight of all occurred 2. Chron. 5 : 11-14.** The solemn consecration or taking possession of His House by Jehovah. Even as they sung : For He is good ; for His mercy endureth forever ! "Then the house was filled with a cloud," "for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord." The whole congregation saw the cloud descend and enter the Temple. And the ministering priests within saw it rest above the mercy-seat covering the ark and ascend between the cherubim. There it brightened into a shining light of such concentrated glow and lustre that they were constrained to retire from the holy place. This was the symbol of God's manifest personal presence. By this presence the Temple now, as the Tabernacle before, was consecrated. Not only from the time of Israel's wanderings, when the same symbol appeared above as well as within the Tabernacle, and was extended over the journeying and camping host as a pillar of cloud and fire, but throughout the Old Testament this lighted cloud appears as the visible token of the Divine presence. And John tells us (12 : 41) that Isaiah (6) directly associates this symbol as seen in the Temple with Christ, thus distinctly affirming that He is the Jehovah of Adam, of Abraham, of Moses, and of Israel. In harmony with this are the transcendent spectacles of the Transfiguration and the Ascension, in which this ancient symbol reappears. And in further confirmation of the whole this is the symbol, with the same beholding adoring cherubim or living creatures, wherewith the apocalyptic vision discloses the "Son of Man," the "Lamb that was slain," as the centre and source of all glory, dominion, and blessedness in heaven. This, then, is the meaning of the cloud-en-folding glory which rested between the cherubim in the first Temple. It was God, Jehovah Jesus, enthroned in light upon the mercy-seat beneath which was the Law, together testifying of grace and of judgment, God dwelling among His people ! Other purposes were here fulfilled : to put fresh honor upon the long-forsaken and oft-exposed ark, to reincarnate just reverence for the law it enshrined, and awaken new trust and joy in its inviting mercy-seat ; and to signify His acceptance of their work and House. But the chief purpose, let it be emphasized, was to intimate His fixed abiding presence thenceforth —His ever-active protection, guidance, and care over His people; that so the nation and its individual members might be effectually recalled and re-bound to Himself and His service. B. 13. When the singers and musicians praised God, then the house was filled with a cloud. This is very observable; it was not when they offered sacrifices, but when they sang the praises of God, that God gave them this token of favor. It was when they were, in their praises, celebrating the everlasting mercy and goodness of God. As there is no one saying oftener repeated in Scripture than this, His mercy endureth forever (twenty-six times in one psalm, Ps. 136, and oftener elsewhere), so there is none more signally owned from heaven; for it was when the priests were singing this plain song, He is good, and his mercy endureth forever. This should endear those words to us. God's goodness is his glory, and he is pleased when we give him the glory of it. H.—The praise of God is the choicest sacrifice and worship under a dispensation of redeeming grace: it is the prime and eternal part of worship under the Gospel. Charnock. It is not poetry simply, it is the plain sober truth, that a whole assembly praising God is "like a little heaven below." A congregation of human hearts, agreeing together to sing forth their living human affections to the One object of their love, is always "the house of God and the gate of heaven." Such a congregation powerfully attracts heaven to itself, as like to like. With a Diviner love, and greater unity in the Church, it might easily occur again that the joy would be too great, the glory too great, and the God of glory too fully present, for the ordinary service. Even as a flood carries away all signposts and barriers before it, and sweeps over all distinction of path and hedge, so would an unusual descent of the joy of God into His Church set at naught and suspend the mechanical order of the service, and bear away priest and people on the tide of one resistless impulse to praise and glorify God. Or the Presence might be too overwhelming, utterance might be choked, and priest and people might have to wait in awe and silence for the passing over, or the withdrawnment of the tide of glory. So it happened in the Hebrew Temple. "It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with their trumpets, and cymbals, and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying—For He is good, for His mercy endureth forever; that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God." Make the Church full of praise, and it will also be full of God. God and His praise cannot be apart. "O Thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel!" Pulsford. Then the house was filled with a cloud. The Lord's acceptance of Solomon's temple, and of the dedication which he was now about to make of it, was shown, first, by "the glory of the Lord" filling the house, or inner temple, as here related; and, second, by the fire of the Lord coming down from heaven, as soon as Solomon had ended his prayer of dedication, and consuming the sacrifices. Hales.—Solomon, and the elders of Israel, had done what they could to grace the solemnity of the introduction of the ark; but God, by testifying his acceptance of what they did, put the greatest honor upon it. The cloud of glory that filled the house beautified it more than all the gold with which it was overlaid, or the precious stones with which it was garnished; and yet that was no glory, in comparison with the glory of the Gospel dispensation (2 Cor. 3: 8-10). H. The solemnities of the service, the procession of the sacred ark from the city of David into its resting-place, the robed priests, the rapturous multitude, the unnumbered sacrifices, the music and the songs, must have formed altogether a marvellous spectacle. But of all the incidents of the day none could be compared with that of the sudden appearance of the Shekinah—the glory-cloud. This introduced a new supernatural element. The rest was human—man's handiwork, man's worship, man's glory; this was Divine—the miraculous sign of the present and approving God. The appearance of the cloud set the seal of Divine acceptance on the temple and its service, linking it with all the glorious associations of the past—the climax and crown of a long series of miraculous Divine manifestations. Waite. 14. The priests could not stand to minister, by reason of the cloud, which, as it was an evidence that the law made men priests that had infirmity, so as (Bishop Patrick observes) it was a plain intimation that the Levitical priesthood should cease, and stand no longer to minister, when the Messiah should come, in whom the fulness of the Godhead should dwell bodily. In him the glory of God dwelt among us, but covered with a cloud. The Word was made flesh; and when he comes to his temple, like a refiner's fire, who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? (Mal. 3: 1, 2). H. 2. Chron. 6: 1.** Solomon's brief words of Dedication. The real consecration of the Temple has taken place. And now the king, turning toward the Most Holy Place, filled with the Sacred Presence, spake these words of dedication, brief as became the solemnity: "Jehovah hath said: to dwell in darkness—Building, I have built an house of habitation to Thee, and a settling-place for Thy dwelling ever!" In this reference to what Jehovah had said, it would not be any single utterance which presented itself to Solomon's mind. Rather would he think of them in their connection and totality—as it were, a golden chain of precious promises welded one to the other, of which the last link seemed riveted to the solemnity then enacting. Such sayings as Ex. 19: 9; 20: 21; Lev. 16: 2; De. 4: 11; 5: 22 would crowd upon his memory, and seem fully realized as he beheld the Cloudy Presence in the Holy House. A. E. God only can consecrate, but man may dedicate to God. One with the vast congregation, Solomon had worshipped and waited. And now he first recognizes God's entrance in the thick darkness of the cloud, and gratefully surrenders to Him the House he had prepared. Then turning his face to the people crowding the Great Outer Court, as a royal prophet, he blessed the host, and recited various occasions of special thankfulness to God which had grown out of the history of this building. The particulars of this address were designed to put the living and acting generation in fresh remembrance of events and truths connected with this juncture of the nation's history, when the Divine mercies, already culminated in number and richness, were crowned and hallowed by the return and abiding with them of God Himself. B.—If Solomon had built this temple in the pride of his heart, as Ahasuerus made his feast, only to show the riches of his kingdom, and the honor of his majesty, it would not have turned at all to his account. But he here declares upon what inducements he undertook it, and they are such as not only justify, but magnify, the undertaking. He did it for the glory and honor of God; this was his highest and ultimate end in it. It was for the name of the Lord God of Israel, to be a house of habitation for him. He has indeed, as to us, made darkness his pavilion, but let this house be the residence of that darkness; for it is in the upper world that he dwells in light, such as no eye can approach. And he did it in compliance with the choice God had been pleased to make of Jerusalem, to be the city in which he would record his name (verse 6); I have chosen Jerusalem. H. 2. Chron. 6:** 12 AND he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: (for Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven;) and he said, O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in the heaven, or in the earth; who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants, that walk before thee with all their heart: who hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou didst promise him: yea, thou spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk in my law as thou hast walked before me. Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David. But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: that thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there ; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall pray toward this place. And hearken thou to the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place : yea, hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven ; and when thou hearest, forgive. If a man sin against his neighbor, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and he come and swear before thine altar in this house : then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, requiting the wicked, to bring his way upon his own head ; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness. And if thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee ; and shall turn again and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house : then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee ; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them : then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou teachest them the good way wherein they should walk ; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locust or caterpillar ; if their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities ; whatsoever plague or whatsoever sickness there be ; what prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart and his own sorrow, and shall spread forth his hands toward this house : then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest ; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of the children of men ;) that they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. Moreover concerning the stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, when he shall come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm ; when they shall come and pray toward this house : then hear thou from heaven, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for ; that all the peoples of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. If thy people go out to battle against their enemies, by whatsoever way thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name : then hear thou from heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captive unto a land far off or near ; yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn again, and make supplication unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done perversely, and have dealt wickedly ; 1. K. 8 : 48** If they return unto thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their enemies, which carried them captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name : then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heaven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause ; and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee ; and give them compassion before those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them : for they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron : that thine eyes may be open unto the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them whensoever they cry unto thee. For thou didst separate them from among all the peoples of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord God. 2. Chron. 6 : 40** Now, O my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent, unto the prayer that is made in this place. Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength : let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed : remember the mercies of David thy servant. God would have a permanent House for various reasons. He would show that He was abiding in the midst of His people. He would give them an always visible reminder of what He had been to them, and a palpable pledge of what He had promised them. And he would impress the duty of worship while tangibly instructing them, through symbols and ceremonials, in the methods and meaning of worship. So, to assure them that the newly-constructed Temple was His Home, and to excite their fitting reverence, He had consecrated it by the visible descent of His glory, symbolized in a cloud-enfolding flame. All these considerations are expressed or implied in Solomon's prayer of Dedication. B. The prayer was of unexampled sublimity: while it implored the perpetual presence of the Almighty, as the tutelar deity and sovereign of the Israelites, it recognized his spiritual and illimitable nature. "But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee, how much less this house which I have built." It then recapitulated the principles of the Hebrew theocracy, the dependence of the natural prosperity and happiness on the national conformity to the civil and religious law. Milman. The text to this prayer is the law, especially the blessing and curse pronounced upon the people by Moses (Lev. 26 and De. 28.) Setting out from the blessing here promised, Solomon praises the Lord for its past fulfilment, after which follows the prayer for the averting of the curses alluded to. By the bestowment of the promised blessing the Lord had hitherto proved himself the only and true God in heaven and on earth, who keeps covenant and mercy with his servants who walk before him with all the heart. With this acknowledgment of God begins the prayer, for from this arises the right confidence for the petition, which is certain of being heard. Keil. At no other point of Solomon's recorded career save this, and in no other connection than this prayer, have we any clear manifestation of a genuine piety. While everywhere we trace indications of superior intellect, only here do we see evidence of heart. The prayer, as a whole, evinces greatness of conception and depth of feeling. A matchless, merciful, covenant-keeping God, who has fulfilled and will fulfil every promise; a God of infinite universal supremacy, who yet condescends to dwell manifestly among men; and one who is willing to meet every need in response to the call of a people or of every suppliant; these ideas, which comprise the spirit and substance of this prayer, show an equal grandeur of conception and justness of feeling respecting the revealed character of God and His relations to the nation and the race. Further, this prayer, in its form and particulars, is emphatically a nation's prayer. It recognizes God as the sovereign arbiter of a nation's experiences; the source alike of its prosperity and adversity. It traces the great forms of national loss and trouble—war, pestilence, famine (and, we may add, financial reverses)—to His interposition for good. And not only the prayer, but God's answering words (2 Chron. 7:14), clearly intimate the remedy for all national calamities. 2. Chron. 12:14. The attitude of Solomon and the invocation of his prayer. Upon a prepared brazen scaffold Solomon had stood while addressing the people. Now he "kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven." As a royal prophet, he had directed the offering of sacrifice, and probably himself officiated in the offering. Now, exercising the same office, and so far personating the greater Son of David, he intercedes for his people, only including his needs with theirs. The invocation of the prayer is peculiarly instructive and impressive. It is confined to two points, but these are all-comprehensive. Thou art the only God; and that which chiefly distinguishes thee as God, that which constitutes thy greatest glory, is this, that thou keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart. This is the one supreme truth of the whole Revelation, Old Testament and New. It is the one fact of every age and dispensation, upon which hangs the hope of man. God infinite, perfect, supreme, in wisdom, might, in holiness, truth, and grace; and God devising and executing a plan of mercy, whereby He might offer and carry out a covenant of eternal redemption in behalf of every one whose accepting, trusting, penitent heart responds with obedience. This is the reach and meaning of this grandly simple invocation. Had Solomon only acted upon it in his later life, as David did, his history had been without sadness and his end had been bright. B. 14. None like Him in heaven or in earth. All the creatures have their fellow-creatures, but the Creator has not his peer. He is infinitely above all, and over all, God blessed forever. He is and will be true to every word that he has spoken; and all that serve him in sincerity shall certainly find him both faithful and kind. Those that set God always before them and walk before him with all their hearts, shall find him as good as his word, and better; he will both keep covenant with them, and show mercy to them. H. 15-17. His acknowledgment of God's fulfilled promise to David, and prayer for its further fulfilment to himself. That which should go before request—viz., thankful acknowledgment for previous mercies, here precedes, and so is made the basis of the prayer. Precisely this is the New Testament rule, found in that golden "command with promise" (Philippians 4 : 6, 7). Here, then, we gather from the method of Solomon's request for himself another instructive and impressive truth. A further practical point worthy of note is the condition connected with God's promise, as cited by Solomon (verse 16). Assuredly Solomon knew that his "taking heed to his way" and walking with a true obedient heart before God, was essential to the continued favor of God. And these his words, elsewhere repeated, teach us plainly the same changeless truth respecting ourselves; while his subsequent disobediences and idolatries strongly emphasize the truth, and warn us of our weakness and peril, and need of the grace of Jehovah Jesus. B. The great burden of Solomon's impressive prayer is the faithfulness of God, as verified by the fulfilment of His promises to David his father, and on which he pleads for a like fulfilment of the promises made to himself, or rather made to David—but respecting himself. The promise does not supersede, but rather supplies ground for prayer on which the suppliant might rest, and which he might plead with God—and which if he do in faith, he will never miss the object because of any want of faithfulness in God. T. C. 17. O God of Israel, let thy word be verified. God's promises (as we have often observed) must be both the guide of our desires and the ground of our hopes and expectations in prayer. David had prayed (2 S. 7 : 25), Lord, do as thou hast said. The experiences we have of God's performing his promises should encourage us to depend upon them and plead them with God; and those who expect further mercies must be thankful for former mercies. H. 18-21. His prayer for the nation in its various needs. Thus far the prayer has been personal, and its suggested truths have applied to individuals. In the remaining verses he pleads in behalf of the nation. This general entreaty is prefaced with one of the sublimest human utterances of the Bible (verse 18). It is a conception of contrast between the illimitable universe overfilled with the presence of God and this limited fragmentary sphere which is too narrow and inconsiderable to be worthy of His personal manifestation upon it, and yet to himself and to us, this expression conveys no definite thought save this: God's infinite condescension in His personal manifestation to men. The immediate reference of Solomon's question was to the symbol, merely, of God's presence; but the reach of his thought, and the truth it brings home to us, is the blessed reality of that Divine presence in the person of Jesus Christ, "the man who is Jehovah's fellow," himself the Jehovah of the cloudy, shining symbol. Although in form a question, this is an expression of Solomon's faith that God will come, and will abide in this prepared sanctuary. For immediately follows the prayer which necessarily implies this faith, that God would hearken to him and to the supplication of Israel, when they should pray toward this place. He then proceeds to state the specific needs and calamities of the future, asking that those who should pray in the Temple or toward it (as expressive of dependence on its appointed ministries), might be supplied and relieved. Fifty and significantly pardon for the past was represented by the sacrifice and the sprinkling of blood. Fifty and beautifully grace for the future was exhibited in the incense-altar, the candlesticks and the tables of shewbread; intimating the threefold functions of the mediating Redeemer, who is the way, as the all-prevalent Intercessor, the truth, and the life. So understand we the spirit of this prayer, as the meaning of the Temple ministries is disclosed to us by Christ and in the Epistle to the Hebrews. B. 18. The first public recognition of Prayer as distinct from sacrifice—of the spiritual as distinct from the ceremonial mode of approaching God—is the Prayer of Solomon at the Dedication of the Temple. And further, in this moment of the extremest triumph of ritual and material worship, was uttered one of the most spiritual truths that the Old Testament contains. "Behold the Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded." Stanley.—We have here a striking description of the immensity and omnipresence of God. We have frequent expressions in Scripture of God being "in heaven;" the meaning of which is, not that he who is in all places can be confined to any, or that any proper habitation can be ascribed to him, whom, as Solomon declares, the "heaven of heavens cannot contain;" but they are intended to represent his amazing height and dignity, not in place, but in power. Another reason of the expression of God's being "in heaven," is to signify that, though of his real, actual presence there is no confinement, yet of his glory and majesty there is in the heavens a particular manifestation. There it is that his glory is declared, and there the righteous shall see his face, and be blessed with the peculiar manifestation of his power and majesty. In like manner here upon earth; in those places where he has been pleased more particularly to manifest his glory, to place his name, and to receive the homage of his servants, there God, in Scripture phrase, is said to be. Thus in the temple at Jerusalem, he, whom the "heaven of heavens cannot contain," did at this time deign to dwell, having appointed there to receive his tribute of worship. Dr. S. Clarke. In the whole history of revelation we have answers to this question, "Will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth?" The Incarnation of Christ, His coming to be with men, was the greatest answer. He came to dwell upon our earth, to be a man among men. He should be called Emmanuel, it was said, which is, being interpreted, "God with us," God about us, God around us. And how beautifully was God revealed in Christ! He came with all the attributes of Divinity, came with all the powers of the Godhead, and yet identified Himself so with man as to be beside the lowliest, to throw no awe over the poorest! He came to identify himself with humanity in all its forms of weakness and sorrow, that He might take humanity and raise it up with Him to the very throne of God. He came to be with us, to be of us. He passed through all forms of suffering,—reproach, agony, torture, death,—that He might show us that He had sympathy with man in all his conditions. It is with us as individuals He comes, God with us, God with you, with me, in our homes, in our families, by morning, noon, and night. God in very deed comes and dwells with men on earth, just as Christ dwelt, and Christ loved, and Christ sympathized. He reveals to us the Father. The heart of God is seen in the heart of Christ; the affection of the great Father is manifested in the love of Christ. But, again, an answer was given, not only on the manifestation of Christ, but on that great day of Pentecost, in the gift of the Holy Spirit. By Him God comes to dwell with men forever, and His dwelling place is your heart and mine. M. Simpson. 22,23. Here the special or particular supplications begin. Like those of the Lord's prayer, they are seven in number. And the first of the seven concerns oaths. The king implores the covenant-keeping God to watch over the covenants of words made in the now consecrated sanctuary, and to protect their sanctity by punishing the false swearer. There were cases in which the Mosaic law provided that an oath should be administered to suspected persons (Ex. 22:11; Lev. 5:1, 4). And there were other cases in which men of their own accord, for "an end of all strife," would make oath. God is here entreated to take cognizance of the oaths sworn before His altar (verse 31), and to be a swift witness against the false swearers (Mal. 3:5). 24,25. The second special petition contemplates the case, which was morally certain to occur, of Hebrews taken captive in war and carried to a foreign land. To be separated from the commonwealth, the rites and the blessings of Israel, was one of the greatest calamities which could befall a Jew (De. 4:27, 28; Lev. 26:33; Ps. 137), and as such Solomon gives it a prominent place in his prayer. 26,27. The third petition concerns the plague of drought. Just as rain, in the thirsty and sunburnt East, has ever been accounted one of the best gifts of God, so was drought denounced as one of His severest scourges (Lev. 26:19; De. 11:17). This petition finds an illustration in the public supplications which are still offered in the East, and by men of all creeds, for rain. Reference is made to the withholding of rain; in verse 28 to "famine, pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, and caterpillar." Such troubles were sent in vain to bring the Egyptians to repentance. In the long run the violation of God's laws do bring disasters of the very kind specified here. If the law of industry be violated, the harvests fail; if the law of mutual dependence be ignored by nations, commerce is crippled, and impoverishment comes; if the laws against self-indulgence, pride, ambition, be defied the spendthrift has the result in poverty, the proud nation in the miseries of war. Even the disasters which are accounted "natural phenomena," then, should lead the wise-hearted to prayer, the sinful to penitence; and God will hear in heaven His dwelling-place, and answer and forgive. 28-31. The fourth petition refers to the various plagues mentioned in the law (Lev. 26; De. 28), as the punishment of apostasy or infidelity. Hammond. 29. There is here the recognition of something out of one's self as the ground of hope in circumstances of need. This essential element in true prayer is suggested by the words, "And shall stretch forth his hands toward this place." The temple was intended to be a witness to the unseen, a help to faith, an incentive to all holy thought and feeling. It stood through all the changes of time, the shifting lights and shadows of the world around it, as an impressive symbol of the "everlasting covenant." It enshrined the "sure mercies of David." Within its hallowed enclosure were gathered the sacred historic records and relics, and the types and shadows of "better things to come." It told both of what God had done and what He had promised—the monument of the glorious past, the prophecy of the brighter future. There was deep meaning, then, in the suppliant "stretching forth his hands toward that house," as expressive of the attitude of his soul toward that which it symbolized. When some lonely worshipper in a distant corner of the land, some patient sufferer, some soldier in his agony on the field of battle, some captive, like Daniel, in a strange country, directed his eyes toward the holy place, it was a sort of pathetic appeal to God's own faithfulness, a silent but eloquent plea that He would not forget His covenant, would fulfil the hopes that He Himself had awakened, and not for their sakes alone, but for His own truth and mercy's sake, would hear and save. In all this the temple was a type of something nobler, Diviner than itself. The cross of Christ, in which all the promises are confirmed and sealed; the cross, which is both the altar of the Redeemer's sacrifice and the throne of His sovereignty, is the shrine of "truth and grace" to men. It stands, the connecting link between heaven and earth, the meeting-place of God and man, the key to all human history, the basis of our immortal hope. Here, then, on this central object alike of Divine and human interest, must the eye of the suppliant be fixed. It is that pledge of Divine love and faithfulness, external to ourselves, embodied in the cross of Christ, that we must plead if we would find acceptance in our prayer. When God has thoroughly taught us what the "plague of our own heart" means, and has unveiled to us the blessed mystery of His mode of curing it, it will be the sustained habit of our life to stand as suppliants before Him "in the name of Jesus." Thus alone can we so link ourselves with the sanctities of a higher world as to make our common life Divine. Waite. 30. He, and he only, knows the hearts of the children of men. All men's thoughts, aims, and affections, are naked and open before him; and, however the imaginations and intents of our hearts may be concealed from men, angels, and devils, they cannot be hid from God, who knows not only what is in the heart, but the heart itself, and all the beatings of it. H. 32,33. The fifth petition contemplates the prayers which foreigners, attracted by the fame of Jerusalem, of its religion and sanctuary could offer toward the house. "It is quite in the spirit of the Mosaic law regarding strangers that Solomon, having first prayed God on behalf of his fellow-countrymen, should next go on to intercede for the strangers." The intercourse of the Hebrews at this period with foreign nations, and the influence they exercised on the Jewish thought and manners are also to be remembered. Hammond.—This prayer breathes a spirit of catholicity to foreigners which pure and original Judaism gets too little credit for. It seeks for an open door of privilege to all men, who are invited to look toward the temple, that all the people of the earth may recognize it as the house of God, and that they may know His name and fear Him. Besides prayer after defeat, there is also particularized here the case of prayer before battle. And, finally, there is the case of prayer on the event of captivity. Solomon entreats of God that He would have respect unto all such prayers, and pleads in argument the previous deliverances which had been wrought for Israel in virtue of their relationship to God. T. C. 34,35. So far the royal suppliant has spoken of prayers offered in or at the temple. He now mentions two cases where supplications will be offered by penitents far distant from the holy city or even from the Holy Land. And first, he speaks of the armies of Israel on a campaign. 36-39. The last petition—the second of those which speak of prayers addressed toward the temple, or the Holy Presence which dwelt there, from a foreign land—contemplates as possible the captivity of the Hebrew nation. It has hence been too readily inferred that this portion of the prayer, at least, if not the preceding petition also, has been interpolated by a post-captivity writer. But there is really no solid reason for doubting its genuineness. Not only is it inwoven in the body of the prayer, but the captivity of Israel had been denounced as the punishment of persistent disobedience long before by Moses, and in the chapters to which such constant reference is made (Lev. 26 : 33, 44 ; De. 28 : 25, 36, 64 ; cf. 4 : 27), a fact which is in itself an indirect proof of genuineness, as showing that this petition is of a piece with the rest of the prayer. And when to this we add that the carrying of a conquered and refractory race into captivity was an established custom of the East, we shall be inclined to agree with Bähr, that "it would have been more remarkable if Solomon had not mentioned it." Hammond. 36. It is the "plague of the heart," the burden of want or sadness in the secret soul, coupled with some kind of faith in Divine power, that moves men to pray. But this expression, "the plague of his own heart," has a deeper meaning. It opens to us all the dark, sad mystery of personal sinfulness, the moral disease that lurks within. There are times when the most careless, reckless spirit has glimpses of the unwelcome truth that this, after all, is the deepest cause of its disquietude. Waite.—Both Christ and His forerunner, when they began to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world, uttered one sharp, piercing call: "Repent!" They did not go into minute specifications of every shade of sin, for they knew that they had for a witness a conscience in every breast, each heart knowing its own plague. They knew that there is always one comprehensive iniquity lodged farther in and spreading wider than any particular offence,—the sin of separation from God. F. D. H. 1. K. 8 : 51-53. In the three following verses we have a sort of general conclusion to the dedication prayer. It is hardly correct to say that these last words apply to all the preceding petitions—the plea "they are thy people" manifestly cannot apply in the case of verses 41-43. On the other hand, as little are they to be limited to the persons last mentioned in verses 46-50, though it is highly probable they were suggested by the thought of the captives. They are manifestly in close connection with the preceding verses. Hammond. 2. Chron. 6 : 40-42. In a fervent and beautiful conclusion Solomon invokes the entrance of Jehovah with the ark of his strength; entreats that the priests may faithfully minister, and the people gratefully receive the salvation of God; and closes with the touching appeal, Turn not away the face of thine anointed, thy Messiah! Remember the mercies of David, thy covenant mercies promised in behalf of thy covenanting people! B.—We may plead, as Solomon does here, with an eye to Christ. We deserve that God should turn away his face, that he should reject us and our prayers; but we come in the name of the Lord Jesus, thine anointed, thy Messiah, so the word is; thy Christ, so the LXX. Him thou hearest always, and wilt never turn away his face. We have no righteousness of our own to plead, but, Lord, remember the mercies of David thy servant. Christ is God's Servant (Is. 42 : 1), and is called David (Hos 3 : 5). Lord, remember his mercies, and accept of us on account of them. Remember his tender concern for his Father's honor and man's salvation, and what he did and suffered from that principle. Remember the promises of the everlasting covenant which free grace has made to us in Christ, and which are called the sure mercies of David (Is. 55 : 3, and Acts 13 : 34). This must be all our desire, and all our hope, all our prayer, and all our plea, for it is all our salvation. H. From this prayer of Solomon we learn, that all events proceed from God; that war, pestilence, famine, and other judgments, are inflicted by his hand, when men provoke him by their sins; that to have recourse to God by prayer, confession of sins, and true repentance, is the way to remedy these evils; and that he is always ready to hear and to deliver those who call upon him in their necessities, and with all their hearts turn unto him. Ostervald. This outpouring of Solomon's heart embraces all the elements of true prayer. Adoration. God is recognized as the supreme God of the universe, who keeps covenant and shows mercy. Confession. The acknowledgment of unworthiness. Supplication and intercession. For himself, for those around him, for his people, for the stranger, Solomon pleads. He implores the blessings of preservation, of justice, of forgiveness, of the fruitful rain, of fertile fields, of health, of personal good, of victory in war, and restoration from captivity. Then he rises to the glorious heights of thanksgiving. God is merciful. He is good. His tender mercies are over all His works. He does hear prayer. He does bless. He does forgive. He does help. S. Fellows. # Additional Leading Truths and Lessons. 1. The character of the dedication indicates the main purpose of the temple, as also of the Christian Church, which has succeeded to its place and office. Not for its external richness or costliness, but for its internal use, this is the chief point of a true interest respecting it. Emphatically the church or house of God, it is essentially a house of prayer, of personal communion with God, of worship by praise, by confession, by supplication and intercession. The unfolding and impression by the Holy Ghost, of the covenanting word (to us in the Old and New Covenant) is God's part in the communion. This is His response of counsel and of promise to our worship, for counsel and promise include the substance of the read or spoken word of God. 2. In harmony with this, from first to last all true religion is a religion of promise. God's covenantal relation with us lies at the basis of all others. Before everything else we need to know, to believe and to realize, that He has made and offers to us a covenant of pardon and peace on the simple condition of our penitent confession and grateful, childlike trust. On His part only it is a covenant of meritorious work, of inestimable cost and sacrifice! 3. Further, if covenant and promise be the vital element in our religion, then the great and precious promises of God should be the theme of habitual, grateful thought, they should prompt to continuous prayer, and should be the guide of desire and the basis of our hope in prayer. And further still, the truth is taught that fulfilled promises, especially if they are answered prayers, should elicit special thanks for the fulfilment, and so quicken faith and enlarge our expectation in future pleading with God. "In everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make known your requests unto God!" This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/ 1. K. 9 :** 1 AND it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do (that the LORD [or, for the LORD had] appeared to Solomon the second time, as he 2. Chron. 7 :** 11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. (And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and 3 had appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there forever; and mine eyes and mine heart 4 shall be there perpetually. And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my 5 statutes and my judgments; then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom over Israel forever; according as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a 6 man upon the throne of Israel. But if ye shall turn away from following me, ye or your children, and not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but shall go and serve other gods, 7 and worship them: then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among 8 all peoples: and though this house be so high, yet shall every one that passeth by it be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this 9 land, and to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, which brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought all this evil upon them). said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house 13 of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence 14 among my people; if my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and 15 will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent, unto the 16 prayer that is made in this place. For now have I chosen and hallowed this house, that my name may be there forever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there per- 17 petually. And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments; 18 then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee 19 a man to be ruler in Israel. But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship 20 them: then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword 21 among all peoples. And this house, which is so high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this 22 house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD, the God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.) NOTE.—The chronological order of events and the orderly sequence of topics in this and the five succeeding sections have been carefully studied and considered. The only real difficulty, however, occurs precisely at this point, and is found in the apparently specific statement (1 K. 9 : 1), that the answer of Jehovah to the prayer of Solomon was given after the building of Solomon's palace, which was not until thirteen years had elapsed from the dedication of the Temple and the utterance of the prayer. Such long delay seems to be, on every account, incredible. For the solution of the difficulty, therefore, we must look to the structure of the narrative itself. The following statements (by Keil and Edersheim) present a sufficient explanation of the peculiar form in which the text is couched, and furnish adequate relief, if not complete solution, of the difficulty. The point of these statements lies in their judgment that the passage included in 1 K. 9 : 2-9, and 2 Chron. 7 : 12-22 (that is, Jehovah's answer to Solomon's prayer) should be regarded as an historical reference to a past occurrence, interposed at this point as now suggested to the narrator's thought. The passage should, therefore, be considered as a parenthesis in the narrative. B. The second appearance which was made to Solomon, seems, according to verse 1, to have taken place at least thirteen years after the dedication of the temple. But this is inconceivable, as this manifestation contains the special answer to the prayer uttered by Solomon at the dedication. Verse 1 forms the transition from the prayer of Solomon to the answer of God, for which reason it is, in 2 Chron. 7 : 11, the closing formula to the section on the dedication of the temple; but in Kings this transition sentence is made at the same time the superscription of the following section, in which he records Solomon's gift of cities to Hiram and his completion of all his buildings. This superscription, however, is couched in such a manner, that it forms at the same time the introduction to the Divine appearance, and is, therefore, after this has been communicated, partly repeated in 1 K. 9 : 10 as introductory to that which took place after the twenty years, in which Solomon had executed the building of the temple and his palace. The error that the Divine answer to the prayer of Solomon followed thirteen years after, arose merely from misunderstanding this general determination of the first verse. The time of the Divine appearance, accordingly, is not definitely stated in our narrative, but it may be determined with tolerable certainty from the words: "The second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon" (1 K. 9 : 2). As God appeared to Solomon at Gibeon in the night following his sacrifice, so also here probably in the night (2 Chron. 7 : 12), after the prayer of dedication and the sacrifice. The Divine promise to hear his prayer adheres closely in its terms to the prayer of Solomon; the narrative in Kings gives only a summary, while it is more fully stated (2 Chron. 7 : 12-16). Keil. The sacred text (1 K. 7 : 1-12) records the building of Solomon's palace immediately after that of the Temple, and, indeed, almost intermingles the two accounts. This may partly have been due to a very natural desire on the part of the writer not to break the continuity of the account of Solomon's great buildings, the more so as they were all completed by the aid of Tyrian workmen, and under the supervision of Hiram. But another and more important consideration may also have influenced the arrangement of the narrative. For, as has been suggested, these two great undertakings of Solomon bore a close relation to each other. It was not an ordinary Sanctuary, nor was it an ordinary royal residence which Solomon reared. The building of the Temple marked that the preparatory period of Israel's unsettledness had passed, when God had walked with them "in tent and tabernacle"—or, in other words, that the Theocracy had attained not only fixedness, but its highest point, when God would set "His Name forever" in its chosen centre. But this new stage of the Theocracy was connected with the establishment of a firm and settled kingdom in Israel, when He would "establish the throne of that kingdom forever" (compare 2 S. 7 : 5-16). Thus the dwelling of God in His Temple and that of Solomon in his house were events between which there was deep internal connection, even as between the final establishment of the Theocracy and that of David's royal line in Israel. And this might well be marked, even by the conjunction of these two buildings in the Scripture narrative. A. E. The dream of Gibeon repeated: the Lord appearing to Solomon the second time. Both our histories narrate this second appearance, the author of Chronicles most fully, but only the author of Kings compares it specially with the dream at Gibeon. It followed the dedication of the temple, and was manifestly designed to deepen moral impressions, and perhaps to warn specially against spiritual dangers already foreshadowed. In substance the Lord said—I have heard thy prayer in the dedication of this temple, and have accepted it. If now thou wilt walk before me with perfect heart as thy father David did, the throne of thy kingdom over Israel shall be established forever: but if thou turn aside after other gods, then will I cut off Israel from this glorious land of promise, and this consecrated temple shall be no protection against retributive judgments, for its ruin shall be as signal as its magnificence is now glorious. Oh, had these words of warning been duly remembered and diligently regarded! H. C. We have here both the absolute and the conditional in the promises of God for Israel—the one in the terms of the Abrahamic, the other in the terms of the Sinaitic covenant. God has put his name, and that forever, on Jerusalem, and his eyes and his heart shall be there perpetually—a promise which neither the law nor the actual disobedience of the Israelites to the law can possibly disannul. Had they proved faithful to God there would have been no casting off—no expulsion of them from the inheritance which they had gotten—no desolation of their land, or destruction of their magnificent temple. But all these inflictions have come upon them because they have sinned; and for many centuries have the Jews been a hissing and a byword to all people. But the time of their repentance and restoration is coming, when they shall prove what God said to Abram —They should be a blessing to all the families of the earth. T. C. 1. K. 9 : 2. The Lord had appeared. This appearance was, like the former one at Gibeon, most probably made in a supernatural vision, and on the night immediately following the dedication of the temple (2 Chron. 7 : 12). The strain of it corresponds to this view, for it consists of direct answers to his solemn inau- gural prayer (verse 3 is in answer to ch. 8 : 29 ; verses 4, 5 are in answer to ch. 8 : 25, 26 ; verses 6-9 to ch. 8 : 33-46). Jamieson. 3. I have heard thy prayer. This could not have been the form of God's message, if thirteen years had passed away since the dedication. God's way is rather that spoken of by Is. 65 : 24, "While they are yet speaking I will hear." The LXX. adds after the first clause of this verse, "I have done for thee ac- cording to all thy prayer." Mine eyes and mine heart shall be there. As in the former vision at Gibeon, God had given more than Solomon asked, so it is here. The prayer was that God's eyes might be open toward the house; the promise is that His heart shall be there perpetually. This verse is largely expanded in 2 Chron. 7. Lamby. I have hallowed this house. God assures Solomon of his special presence in the temple he had built, in answer to the prayer he had made. Solomon had dedicated it, but it was God's prerogative to hallow it, to sanctify or consecrate it; men cannot make a place holy, yet what we, in sincerity, devote to God, we may hope he will graciously accept of, as his; and his eyes and his heart shall be upon it. Apply it to persons—the living temples; those whom God hallows or sanctifies, whom he sets apart for himself, have his eye, his heart, his love and care, and this perpetually. H. 3-5. God's faithfulness is seen (1) in the an- swering of the prayer—"I have heard thy pray- er." The vision was itself an instant and very gracious Divine response. All true prayer is heard. No pure breath of supplication, the in- tense of the heart, ever ascends to Heaven in vain. God does not disappoint the hopes and longings He has Himself awakened. Every cry of filial faith that goes up to the great Father of all comes back in due time in some form of heavenly benediction. And more, the answer is often far larger and richer than our expecta- tions. He "doeth exceeding abundantly." (2) In the repetition of the promise, "If thou wilt walk before me," etc. (verses 4, 5). The prom- ise is reiterated as a sacred and inviolable engagement which God on His part will never break. "The sure mercies of David." All Divine promises are sure. We have but to place ourselves in the line of their fulfilment and all is well with us. They are steadfast as the or- dinances of heaven and earth. Waite. 2. Chron. 7 : 12-20. He promised to own this house for a house of sacrifice to Israel, and a house of prayer for all people (Is. 56 : 7 ; verses 12, 16). My name shall be there forever—that is, "There will I make myself known, and there will I be called upon." He promised to answer the pray- ers of his people, that should at any time be made in that place (verses 13-15). National judgments are here supposed (verse 13) ; famine and pestilence. By the locusts devouring the land may be meant enemies as greedy as locusts, and laying all waste. National repentance, prayer, and reformation, are required (verse 14). God expects that his people, who are called by his name, if they have dishonored his name by their iniquity, should honor it by accepting the punishment of their iniquity. They must hum- ble themselves under his hand, must pray for the removal of the judgment, must seek the face and favor of God; and yet all this will not do, unless they turn from their wicked ways, and return to the God from whom they have revolt- ed. National mercy is then promised; that God will forgive their sin, which brought the judgment upon them, and then heal their land, redress all their grievances. Pardoning mercy makes way for healing mercy. He promised to perpetuate Solomon's kingdom, upon condition that he persevered in his duty (verses 17, 18). If he hoped for the benefit of God's covenant with David, he must imitate the example of David. But he sets before him death as well as life, the curse as well as the blessing. He sup- poses it possible that though they had this tem- ple built to the honor of God, yet they might be drawn aside to worship other gods (verse 19). He knew their proneness to backslide into that sin. He threatens it as certain, that if they did so, it would certainly be the ruin of both Church and State. It would be the ruin of their State (verse 20). "Though they have taken deep root, and taken root long, in this good land, yet I will pluck them up by the roots, extirpate the whole nation, pluck them up as men pluck up weeds out of their garden, which are thrown to the dunghill." It would be the ruin of their church. This sanctuary would be no sanctuary to them, to protect them from the judgments of God, as they imagined, saying, The temple of the Lord are we (Jer. 7 : 4). "This house which is high, not only for the magnificence of its structure, but for the designed ends and uses of it, shall be an astonishment; it shall come down wonderfully (Lam. 1 : 9), to the amazement of all the neighbors." H. Here is a solemn note of warning, the presage of that guilty apostasy by which the Jewish people became in after years the most signal example to men and nations of the waywardness of human nature and the retributive justice of God. We are reminded that the faithfulness of God has a dark as well as a bright side to it. As the cloud that guided the march of the Israelites out of Egypt was light to them, but a source of blinding confusion and miserable discomfiture to their adversaries, so this and every other attribute of God bears a different aspect toward us according to the relation in which we stand to it, the side on which we place ourselves. Be true to Him, and every perfection of His being is a joy to you, a guide, a glory, a defence; forsake Him, and they become at once ministers of vengeance. Even His love, in its infinite rectitude and purity, dooms you to the penalty from which there can be no escape. Whether in the physical or the spiritual realms, one feature of the very beneficence of God's laws is that they must avenge themselves. Learn here (1) that all human loss and misery spring from forsaking God. "If ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children," then shall all these woes come upon you. All sin is a departure from the living God. Every sinful life is a more or less intentional and deliberate renunciation of God, and its natural results are shame, and degradation, and death. (2) That according to the height of privilege so is the depth of the condemnation when that privilege is abused. The very height of the "hallowed house" shall make the ruin the more conspicuous and the more terrible. There is no heavier judgment that God pronounces upon men than when He says, "I will curse thy blessings." The best things are capable of the worst abuse. And when the highest sanctities of life are violated they become the worst grounds of reproach and sources of bitterness. The greater the elevation, the deeper and more dreadful the fall. Waite. 19-22. How literally have these words been fulfilled! What an evidence of the truth of God the history of Israel supplies! "A proverb and a byword"—eighteen centuries at least testify to the truth of these words. "Cast out of my sight;" let the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem explain to us these words. And there is not a country of Europe, there is hardly a city, in which the history of the Jew is not traced in blood, written within and without in "mourning and lamentation and woe." Claudius expelled them from Rome (Acts 18 : 2); our Edward I. drove them out of Guienne and England. What a commentary, too, is the Jews' "place of wailing" on this Scripture! The "holy and beautiful house" a desolation, the temple precincts trodden under foot of the Gentiles! Conqueror after conqueror, pilgrim after pilgrim, has asked the question, "Wherefore hath the Lord done thus?" etc., while the "ever-extending miles of gravestones and the ever-lengthening pavement of tombs and sepulchres' answer, "Because they have forsaken the Lord their God." Hammond. Quite apart from its religious significance, there is no other historical phenomenon that is to be compared for a moment in interest with this ever-growing wonder of the Jewish race. The light falls clearly and steadily on its history from first to last. To understand how strange a phenomenon is the indomitable vitality of this race, a race now without a home or a country, compare their history with that of the numberless tribes of other races who have been either migratory or settled. Excepting the Arabs, also Abraham's descendants, all the other settled contemporary races around Palestine have either died out completely, as the ancient people of Tyre, Edom, Assyria, Babylon, Egypt; or, if migratory, they have been lost and absorbed after a few centuries. The bond that has held the Jews apart from other nations, and yet together, has been their common religion, their common historical glory. When all Eastern Asia held evil to be incurable and eternal, the race of Abraham held that evil was "but for a moment," and that God's goodness and justice alone were eternal; and it is they who have taught this lesson to the nations of the modern world. But the honor of being the intellectual and spiritual leaders of the world for four thousand years, has been paid for by four thousand years of national martyrdom and humiliation. The terrific penalties announced at the beginning for failure in their national vocation amid the great nations of the ancient world, have been exacted to the letter. E. White. # BUILDING OF SOLOMON'S PALACE. VARIOUS STRUCTURES INCLUDED IN IT. SOLOMON'S REGARD TO THE ORDINANCES OF WORSHIP. 1. K. 9 : 26 And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon. 2. Chron. 9 : 10 And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. And the king made of the algum trees terraces for the house of the LORD, and for the king's house, and harps and psalteries for the singers : and there were none such seen before in the land of Judah. 13. Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold ; beside that which the chapmen and merchants brought : and all the kings of Arabia and the governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold : six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target. And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold ; three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield : and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. 17,18. Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the stays. And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps : there was not the like made in any kingdom. And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold : silver was nothing ac- 21 counted of in the days of Solomon. For the king had ships that went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram : once every three years came the ships of Tarshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear 24 his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, armor, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycamore trees that are in the lowland, for abundance. 1. K. 9 : 26. Ezion-geber. This place is mentioned first in the narrative of the journey of the Israelites from Egypt. It was the last halting-place before they entered the wilderness of Zin. It lay at the top of the gulf of Akabah. Here was also Eloth (or Elath) of which we read (2 K. 14 : 22) that, though it is here said to be in the land of Edom, it was conquered for Judah at a later time, and still later (2 K. 16 : 6) came into the possession of Rezin king of Syria. In reference to this navy, we are told (2 Chron. 8 : 18) that Hiram sent Solomon the ships. Putting that passage side by side with this, it can only mean that the wood for ship-building was brought from Tyre along the coast as far as was necessary, and then at the neatest point carried over land to the Gulf of Akabah, where the ships were built. Lumby. 27. It was probably from the exhaustion of the ample means left by his father, and the inadequacy of the ordinary sources of revenue, for his vast expenses in sacred and regal building, as well as to sustain the great expense of his magnificent court and vast household, that Solomon was led to turn his attention to commerce. His intimate connection with the Phœnicians could not but indicate to his sagacious mind that commerce was the sole foundation of the extraordinary prosperity which that small nation had attained, and the great wealth which it possessed. He saw not why similar advantages might not accrue to himself from the like sources. But his people had no knowledge of the sea, or of ship-building; therefore he still proposed to act with the co-operation of Hiram. This co-operation was readily entered upon, and presently the port of Ezion-geber resounded with the strokes and cries of the multitude of wrights, busy in building such ships as those with which they navigated the length of the Mediterranean to Tarshish. The interest which Solomon felt in the enterprise may be judged of from the fact that he went in person to Ezion-geber to hasten the preparations, and to witness the departure of the fleet—a sight at all times beautiful, and altogether new to the eyes of a Hebrew king. Kil. The chief foundation of riches to the Jews was the trade which they carried on by the Red Sea, to the coasts of Africa on the west, and also to those of Arabia, Persia, and India, on the east. King David was the first who began it; for, having conquered the kingdom of Edom, and reduced it to be a province of the empire (2 Sam. 8 : 14), he thereby became master of these seaports, Eloth and Ezion-geber, and seeing the advantage which might be made of these two places, he wisely took advantage of it, and there began the traffic. Solomon, not being perplexed with wars as his father David was, had greater leisure for commercial pursuits, and he much improved this trade, as well by his greater application to it as by his superior wisdom. For the better settling of it, he went to Eloth and Ezion-geber in person, and planted in these towns such inhabitants as might best be able to further his designs, bringing many from the sea-coasts of Palestine, and being furnished with Tyrians by Hiram, his friend and ally. Under the wise management of Solomon, this trade grew to such a pitch, that he drew to these ports, and thence to Jerusalem, all the trade of Africa, Arabia, Persia, and India, which was the chief source of the immense wealth he acquired, and in which he surpassed all the kings of his time, as much as he did by his wisdom; so that he made silver to be at Jerusalem as the stones of the street, by reason of its great abundance there during his reign. Prideaux. 2. Chron. 9 : 11. Terraces for the house of the Lord. The noun signifies "a prop," and it may be that some ornamental work like that indicated in the margin of the Revised Version "a railing" is intended. It was some later addition, not any part of the fabric, which was already completed. If we combine the two narratives it may be that what is intended is a staircase with handrail and balustrade. The former word would suit in Chronicles, where the Authorized Version has "stairs" on the margin, and the latter here. Lumby.—The text of the common English version has in the one place "pillars," and in the other "terraces." Perhaps the most probable signification is that given in the margin of the two passages—namely, here "rails" or balusters, and in Chronicles, "stairs." Harps and psalterics.** Stringed instruments, whose precise form cannot be accurately defined. They are spoken of together with, or without, additional instruments in Ps. 32 : 2 ; 71 : 22 ; Is. 5 : 12. W. H. G. # Ophir and Tarshish. 1. K. 9 : 10 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD and the king's house, (now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him ; and they pleased him not. And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother ? And he called them the Land of Cabul, unto this day. And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold. 2. Chron. 8 : 1 And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house, that the cities which Hiram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. 3, 4 And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it. And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath. Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars ; and Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. 1. K. 9 : 15 And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised ; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a portion unto his daughter, 17, 18 Solomon's wife. And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, and Baalath, and Tamar in the wilderness, in the land, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. As for all the people that were left of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and 21 the Jebusites, which were not of the children of Israel; their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel were not able utterly to destroy, of them did 22 Solomon raise a levy of bondservants, unto this day. But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondservants: but they were the men of war, and his servants, and his princes, 23 and his captains, and rulers of his chariots and of his horsemen. These were the chief officers that were over Solomon's work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work. 1. K. 4: 1, 2 And king Solomon was king over all Israel. And these were the princes 3 which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok, the priest; Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of 4 Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder; and Benaiah the son of Je- 5 hoiada was over the host; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests; and Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers; and Zabud the son of Nathan was priest, and the king's friend; 6 and Ahishar was over the household; and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the levy. 7 And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his 8 household: each man had to make provision for a month in the year. And these are their 9 names: Ben-hur, in the hill country of Ephraim: Ben-deker, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and 10 Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan: Ben-hesed, in Arubboth; to him pertained Sooch, and 11 all the land of Hepher: Ben-abinadab, in all the height of Dor; he had Taphath the daughter 12 of Solomon to wife: Baana the son of Ahilud, in Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean which is beside Zarethan, beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, as far as beyond 13 Jokmeam: Ben-geber, in Ramoth gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Man- asseh, which are in Gilead; even to him pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, 14 threescore great cities with walls and brazen bars: Ahinadab the son of Iddo, in Mahanaim: 15, 16 Ahimaaz, in Naphtali; he also took Basemath the daughter of Solomon to wife: Baana the 17, 18 son of Hushai, in Asher and Bealoth: Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: Shimei 19 the son of Ela, in Benjamin: Geber the son of Uri, in the land of Gilead, the country of Sihon king of the Amorites and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the 22 land. And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore 23 measures of meal; ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and gazelles, and roebucks, and fatted fowl. 2. Chron. 1: 14 And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. 1. K. 4: 26, 27 And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots. And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's 28 table, every man in his month: they let nothing be lacking. Barley also and straw for the horses and swift steeds brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge. 2 Chron. 1: 16 And the horses which Solomon had were brought out of Egypt; the 17 king's merchants received them in droves, each drove at a price. And they fetched up, and brought out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and the kings of Syria, did they bring them out by their means. Solomon's buildings and undertakings. So far the historian has spoken exclusively of the two greatest works of Solomon's reign, the Temple and the Palace, and principally of the former. Even the message just related was, as we have seen, the response to the prayer offered when the temple was consecrated. But he now proceeds to mention other proofs of Solomon's greatness, and of the prosperity of his reign—doubtless because the glory of Israel then reached its climax, and the author would be tempted to linger over these details because of the dark contrast which his own time supplied —and this leads him to speak of the means by which all these enterprises were accomplished. The particulars here given are but fragmentary, and are grouped together in a somewhat irregular manner. It would seem as if both this account and that of the chronicler had been compiled from much more copious histories, each writer having cited those particulars which appeared to him to be the most interesting and important. But the design of the historian in either case is evident—viz., to recount the principal undertakings of this illustrious king, and to indicate the resources which enabled him to accomplish such extensive designs. Hammond. 1. K. 9 : 10-13.** The great works connected with the establishment of God's house, and of his own royal state at Jerusalem, to which city they added an entirely new quarter, occupied the first half of Solomon's reign, a period of twenty years, 1015-996 B.C. The services of the King of Tyre were acknowledged by the cession of twenty cities along the sea-coast of Galilee, a gift at which Hiram expressed his discontent by a play upon the name of one of them, C-bul, a word signifying dirt in the Phœnician dialect. P. 8.—It appears that, besides furnishing him with wood, Hiram had also advanced gold to Solomon (verse 11), amounting, if we may connect with this the notice in verse 14, to 120 talents of gold. We suppose it was in repayment of this sum that Solomon ceded to Hiram twenty cities in Northern Galilee, adjoining the possessions of Tyre. With these he might the more readily part, since the district was partially "Gentile." But Hiram, who probably coveted a strip of land along the coast, was dissatisfied with his new acquisition, and gave it the contemptuous designation of "the land of Cabul." The district seems, however, to have been afterward restored to Solomon, no doubt on repayment of the loan and other compensation. (See next paragraph of text, 2 Chron. 8 : 1, 2.) 2. Chron. 8 : 3-6 ; 1 K. 9 : 15-26.** The great Palace, the Temple, and the enlargement of Millo and of the city wall, were not the only architectural undertakings of King Solomon. Remembering that there were watchful foes on all sides, he either built or repaired a number of strong places. In the north, as defence against Syria, rose the ancient stronghold of Hazor. The plain of Jezreel, the traditional battle-field of, as well as the highway into Palestine from the west and the north, was protected by Megiddo ; while the southern approach from Egypt and the Philistine plain was guarded by Gezer, which Pharaoh had before this taken from the Canaanites and burned, but afterward given to his daughter as dowry on her marriage with Solomon. Not far from Gezer, and serving a similar defensive purpose, rose the fortress of Baalath, in the possession of Dan. The eastern and northeastern parts of Solomon's dominions were protected by Tamar or Tadmor, probably the Palmyra of the ancients, and by Hamath-Zobah, while access to Jerusalem and irruptions from the northwestern plain were barred by the fortification of Upper and Nether Bethhoron. Besides these fortresses, the king provided magazine-cities, and others where his chariots and cavalry were stationed—most of them, probably, toward the north. In all such undertakings Solomon employed the forced labor of the descendants of the ancient Canaanite inhabitants of Palestine, his Jewish subjects being chiefly engaged as overseers and officers in various departments. But even thus, the diversion of so much labor and the taxation which his undertakings must have involved were felt as a "grievous service" and "heavy yoke" (1 K. 12 : 4), all the more that Solomon's love of building and of Oriental splendor seems to have rapidly grown upon him. Thus, once more by a natural process of causation, the inner decay marked by luxury led to the weakening of the kingdom of Solomon, and scattered the seeds of that disaffection which, in the days of his degenerate son, ripened into open rebellion. So true is it, that in the history of Israel the inner and the outer always keep pace. A. E. 16. The mention of Gezer leads to a parenthesis of considerable length (verses 16-19). The question of the levy is put aside for the time, while the historian explains how it was that the king came to build Gezer. He then proceeds to mention the other towns built during the same reign. Hammond. In the north and northeast, Hamath, which apparently had thrown off the yoke on David's death, was recovered. Fortresses were established along the heights of Lebanon, and stations along the desert toward the Euphrates. Of these establishments two remain, which, partly by tradition, partly by resemblance of name, are connected with Solomon. One is Baalbec or Baalath (verse 17) ; the great sanctuary, which commanded the valley of Coolesyria, on the way to Hamath, and of which the enormous substructions appear to date from an age far anterior to the Syro-Greek or Syro-Roman temples built upon them. Eastward his dominion extended to Thapsacus, and on the way to this is the other probable memorial of his greatness, "Tadmor in the wilderness ;" if we may trust the native name which has clung to the famous city of Zenobia, in spite of its Roman appellation, by which it has been translated. Its situation, in what must then have been a palm-grove, at the point where the wide, barren valley, enclosed between two parallel ranges of hills, opens on the still wider desert, and where the abundant springs gather round it a circle of vegetation, would naturally have pointed it out to Solomon as a site for a city, and a halting-place for caravans half-way between Damascus and Babylon. Stanley. 2. Chron. 8 : 4. Tadmor in the wil-** derness. There is no reasonable doubt that this city, said to have been built by Solomon, is the same as Palmyra. The identity of the two cities is thus established: Josephus mentions the same city as bearing in his time the name of Tadmor among the Syrians, and Palmyra among the Greeks; and Jerome translates Tadmor by Palmyra. The modern Arabic name of Palmyra is substantially the same as the Hebrew word, being Tadmor or Tathmor. The word Tadmor has nearly the same meaning as Palmyra, signifying probably the City of Palms, from Heb. tāmār = a palm. The name Tadmor or Tadmōr actually occurs as the name of the city in Aramaic and Greek inscriptions found there. In 2 Chron. 8, the city is mentioned as built by Solomon after his conquest of Hamath-Zobah, and is named with "all the store-cities which he built in Hamath." This accords fully with the situation of Palmyra; and there is no other known city, either in the desert or not in the desert, which can lay claim to the name of Tadmor. Dic. B. As Solomon held the fortress of Thapsacus at the place where the caravans crossed the Euphrates, he could afford an escort of troops thence to Tadmor, and thence again to the western coast, if required; and for this, as well as for the aid and assistance at Tadmor, and for the advantages of its stores and khans, a toll might reasonably be required; and this would cheerfully be paid, as a return for actual benefits, and as a most gratifying exchange for the harassing, irregular, inordinate, and greedy exactions of the Arab tribes. But we apprehend that Tadmor was more than a watering and resting station; that it became under Solomon what we know it was in later times, an actual emporium for the products of the East, where the caravans terminated their journey, deposited their ladings, transacted their sales with the factors from the West, who then took charge of the commodities, and bore them away thence to the western markets at their leisure, or whither the dealers repaired to purchase such of those commodities as they required from the consignees. This is the usual mode in which the goods brought by distant caravans are disposed of in the East, almost always at some border town, and rarely at the ultimate market. More than this, we see little room to doubt that Solomon himself took up, by his agents, the greater part, if not the whole, of the goods thus brought into his territories, and kept them in his stores, eventually selling them at a profit to such of the western merchants as required them. This would, in fact, amount to a monopoly of the Eastern trade. But such is the custom of Eastern kings when they take any interest in commercial undertakings. And not only so, but such royal merchants are very much in the habit of taking such commodities from the caravans at their own price, which the merchant dare not refuse to accept. This, however, has a practical limit, and must especially have had such in the case of Solomon, for the result might have been to direct the traffic into some other channel, which might have been found by crossing the Euphrates more to the north, and so proceeding westward. But this expensive and fatiguing course would not be adopted without more serious cause than so prudent a king as Solomon would be likely to give. That this, in substance, was the course taken by Solomon, seems to us to be proved by the fact, that it was really the policy on which he conducted his trade with Egypt; and from the fact that we read of "store cities" which he built, and as this is mentioned in connection with his building of Tadmor, it is obviously suggested that these towns were intended to be places for the deposit and sale of the products of this great eastern land trade—so ancient, so important—and which now seems to have been chiefly in the hands of Solomon. Kit. Tadmor was a very famous city, known among the Greeks by the name of Palmyra, situated in the wilderness of Syria, on the borders of Arabia Deserta, inclining toward the Euphrates. Josephus places it two days' journey from Upper Syria, one day's journey from the Euphrates, and six days' journey from Babylon. If we may guess by the ruins which later travellers describe of this city, it was one of the finest and most magnificent in the East; and it is somewhat surprising that history should give us so little account when or by whom it was reduced to the sad condition in which it now appears. The reason of Solomon's building this city in so desolate a place, was probably the commodiousness of its situation, to cut off all commerce between the Syrians and Mesopotamians, and to prevent their caballing and conspiring against him, as they had done against his father David. Stackhouse. From the earliest times there seems to have been some communication between Mesopotamia and other provinces on the banks of the Euphrates, and those parts of Syria and Palestine which lay near the Mediterranean. The migration of Abram from Ur of the Chaldees to Sichem in the land of Canaan, is an instance of this. The journey through the desert which separated these countries, was much facilitated by its affording one station abounding with water and capable of cultivation. As the intercourse increased, the possession of this station became an object of so much importance, that Solomon, when he turned his attention toward the extension of commerce among his subjects, built a fenced city there. Its Syrian name of "Tadmor in the wilderness," and its Greek name of Palmyra, are both descriptive of its situation, in a spot adorned with palm-trees. This is not only plentifully supplied with water, but surrounded by a portion of fertile land which, though of no great extent, renders it a delightful habitation in the midst of barren sands and an inhospitable desert. Its happy position, at the distance, according to Major Rennell, of 85 miles from the Euphrates, and about 117 from the nearest coast of the Mediterranean, induced its inhabitants to enter with ardor into the trade of conveying commodities from one of these to the other. Its opulence and power increased rapidly; and, from the peculiar advantages of its situation, as well as the spirit of its inhabitants, it long maintained its independence, though surrounded by powerful and ambitious neighbors. Toward the close of the seventeenth century, some gentlemen of the English factory at Aleppo, incited by what they heard in the East concerning the wonderful ruins of Palmyra, ventured, notwithstanding the danger and fatigue of a journey through the desert, to visit them. To their astonishment they beheld a fertile spot of some miles in extent, arising like an island out of a vast plain of sand, covered with the remains of temples, porticoes, aqueducts, and other public works, which in magnificence and splendor, and some of them in elegance, were not unworthy of Athens or of Rome, in their most prosperous state. Palmyra owed its aggrandizement to the opulence acquired by extensive commerce. After its conquest by Aurelian trade never revived there. At present a few miserable huts of Arabs are scattered in the courts of its stately temples, or deform its elegant porticoes. Dr. Robertson. It became a Roman colony under Caracalla (A.D. 211-217). Subsequently, in the reign of Gallienus, the Roman senate invested Odenathus, a senator of Palmyra, with the regal dignity, on account of his services in defeating Sāpor, king of Persia. On the assassination of Odenathus, his celebrated wife Zenobia seems to have conceived the design of erecting Palmyra into an independent monarchy; and, in prosecution of this object, she, for a while, successfully resisted the Roman arms. She was at length defeated and taken captive by the Emperor Aurelian (A.D. 273). In 1172 Benjamin of Tudela found 4000 Jews there, and at a later period Abulfeda mentioned it as full of splendid ruins. The long lines of Corinthian columns at Palmyra, as seen at a distance, are peculiarly imposing; and in their general effect and apparent vastness they seem to surpass all other ruins of the same kind. The principal ruin is the great temple of the sun, the great colonnade supposed to have consisted of 1500 columns, and the tombs, which are tower-like buildings, two, three, or four stories high. Dic. B. Neither Greece nor Italy could exhibit antiquities which in point of splendor could rival those of Palmyra. The examinations of travellers show that the ruins are of two kinds. The one class must have originated in very remote times, and consists of rude, unshapen hillocks of ruin and rubbish, covered with soil and herbage, such as now alone mark the site of the most ancient cities of Mesopotamia and Babylonia, and among which it would be reasonable to seek any traces of the more ancient city of Solomon. The other, to which the most gorgeous monuments belong, bears the impress of later ages. It is clear from the style of architecture that the later buildings belong to the three centuries preceding Diocletian, in which the Corinthian order of pillars was preferred to any other. Kit. Enc. 1. K. 9 : 19. There was another class of public works, which Solomon found it necessary to undertake. "Cities of store, cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen." The phrase, "store cities" or "temple cities," is borrowed from the Book of Exodus. What Pithom and Raamses were to Pharaoh, these store cities were to Solomon—at once magazines for the garrisons which held the fortresses of the empire; and warehouses, in which goods were stored, when they were purchased by the king's merchants, or received in consignment from abroad. Both ideas are involved in the words. And both meanings may be specially applicable to "all the store cities which he built in Hamath." Sime. 23. Five hundred and fifty. At 2 Chron. 8 : 10, the number is stated at 250. The most probable solution is, that there were 250 set over those who wrought in the temple; and the rest had the superintendence of public works in other places. Bp. Patrick. 1. K. 4 : 1-19. That this list belongs not to the beginning but to the later period of Solomon's reign, appears certain from the fact that two of the twelve officers were married to daughters of Solomon. The list appears accordingly to contain a collection of the most distinguished officers of the kingdom during the whole of Solomon's reign, which is inserted here for substantial reasons to give an idea of the power and glory of the kingdom of Israel under Solomon. To this both the commencement and close of the chapter point. Keil. The prosperity of Solomon's reign was commensurate with the fact that it was based upon the Divine promises, and typical of far greater blessings to come. The notices in 1 K. 4 and 5 are strung together to indicate that prosperity by presenting to our view the condition of the Israelitish monarchy in the high-day of its glory. Wise and respected councillors surrounded the king. The administration of the country was orderly, and the taxation not arbitrary but regulated. The land was divided, not according to the geographical boundaries of the "tribes," but according to population and resources, into twelve provinces, over each of which a governor was appointed. Among their number we find two sons-in-law of the king (verses 11, 15), and other names well known in the land. Had this policy of rearranging the country into provinces been sufficiently consolidated, many of the tribal jealousies would have ceased. On the other hand, the financial administration, intrusted to these governors, was of the simplest kind. Apparently, no direct taxes were levied, but all that was requisite for the royal court and government had to be provided, each province supplying in turn what was required for one month. Such a system could not, indeed, press heavily so long as the country continued prosperous; but with a luxurious court, in hard times, or under harsh governors, it might easily become an instrument of oppression and a source of discontent. From 1 K. 12 : 4 we gather that such was ultimately the case. It need scarcely be added, that in each province the supreme civil government was in the hands of these royal officials; and such was the general quiet prevailing, that even in the extensive district east of the Jordan, which bordered on so many turbulent tributary nations, "one sole officer" (verse 19) was sufficient to preserve the peace of the country. Quite in accordance with these notices are the references both to the prosperity of Israel and to the extent of Solomon's dominions. They almost read like an initial fulfilment of that promise to Abraham: "Multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." And if, compared with the simplicity of Saul's and even of David's court, that of Solomon seems luxurious in its appointments, we must remember that it was intended to show the altered state of the Israelitish monarchy, and that even so the daily consumption was far smaller than at the court of the Persian monarchs in the high-day of their power and glory. A. E. 22,23. The daily consumption of the royal household is now related to show the grandeur and luxury of the court. And it agreed well with the greatness of the kingdom. The lavish provision of Oriental palaces was evidently a subject of wonder and of boasting to the ancients, as the inscriptions and monuments show. Hammond. 2. Chron. 1 : 14.** He established a new species of military force, strongly discouraged by the law of Moses, and from which all previous rulers of this people had abstained—that of chariots and horses. Of the former he had 1400, and of the latter 12,000. Apart even from the prohibition, this was an extreme and perilous extravagance for such a country as that over which this king reigned. The country was mountainous and unsuited for cavalry. It was also a time of peace; and all the great victories of his father and other conquerors had been won in reliance upon the strength of the Lord's arm, without any such force, and over those who possessed it. However proper, such a number of horses and chariots was wholly disproportionated to so small a country; and it is likely that no act of royal extravagance was so unpopular among the people, under whose eyes it was continually present. This kind of expenditure, in the keeping of animals not for manifest use, is always more offensive to a people, and especially to an agricultural people, than any other form of expenditure, because it is a living expense. The people soon fail to reckoning that each horse consumes the food of so many persons, the produce of so much land; and when, to support such extravagance, they are oppressed with special burdens, the grievance becomes intolerable. We do not call to mind any deep popular complaint against the extravagance of a sovereign which had not its origin in some such form of living expenditure,—that is, in the really or apparently unprofitable maintenance of persons or animals—horses, servants, functionaries, soldiers, women. Indeed, a popular complaint against even a war will, when examined, generally resolve itself into a discontent at the cost of maintaining the army—of so many consumers of food not employed in reproductive labor. Kit. 1. K. 4 : 26.** The numeral "forty" rests on an old error in transcription for four, as the older expositors have observed. These chariots and saddle horses Solomon kept partly in Jerusalem, partly in several towns, which he pitched upon for this purpose. Kell. From the coming out of Egypt to the end of David's reign, the people of Israel never suffered for want of force and strength in war. Troops, few in number, and seemingly unfit for action, supported neither by chariots nor by horsemen, proved an overmatch for royal armies. This may be verified in the instances of Gideon, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and of all others called forth by God to save his people. During this period, also, the kingdom of Israel was carried to its utmost height by David. He held the kings about him, how gallantly soever they and their troops were mounted, under tribute and subjection, though he himself rode on a mule, and provided no better equipage for his son on his coronation day. When David looked back and meditated on this state of things, he might well say, "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God" (Ps. 20 : 7). In the reign of Solomon things quickly changed. He married the daughter of the king of Egypt, and opened a commerce between that country and his own: and the next news we hear of him is, that he "had four thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen." They who succeeded him followed his example; and from his time the kings of Judah and Israel had, whenever they were able to keep them, a strength of chariots and horsemen. Let us now see what they got by this change: Solomon came to a kingdom firmly established, the princes round him were tributary to him, and those at a distance feared and admired him: but troubles soon overtook him: the Edomite on one side, the king of Damascus on the other, insulted him; nor was he able, with all his new forces, to quell these upstart enemies. But the most remarkable event, and that which seems designed by Providence to humble the pride of Israel, was the division of the kingdom upon the death of Solomon, which produced a war of many years' continuance between Israel and Judah, wherein their forces were employed, with various success, in weakening and destroying one another. During this time the king of Egypt, the country which had furnished Solomon with all his horses, came up against Jerusalem, and took it, and carried away all the treasures of the temple, and of the royal palace, which had been long gathering by David and Solomon: and Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, became servant to the king of Egypt (2 Chron. 12 : 8, 9). Thus did Solomon and his house prosper with their great strength of chariots and horses. Indeed, we may from this time date the ruin of Israel. Bp. Sherlock. 2. Chron. 1 : 16.** Friendly intercourse began to be held under Solomon with Egypt. Nearly five hundred years had now elapsed from the Exodus, and during that long period there had been no intercourse between the two countries. Many memorable events had happened in Egypt during the interval. There had been revolutions in the throne,—"stranger kings," who had forcibly introduced the worship of the sun, and expelled the old Egyptian deities, but had not long maintained their dominion; there had been times of grand conquests, when Egyptian arms subdued the greater part of Asia, and victorious Pharaohs—the Sethis and Rameses of their history—blazoned their great exploits in the glorious temples of Karnak and Luxor; the arts had risen, some two hundred years after the Exodus, to the highest degree of excellence of which they were there capable, but had now begun somewhat to decline. Not only did Solomon marry a daughter of Pharaoh, but "he had horses brought out of Egypt. And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for one hundred and fifty." But this introduction of chariots and horses was in disobedience of the Divine command (De. 17 : 16). W. G. B. 2. Chron. 1 : 17.** We are informed of the articles which Solomon imported from Egypt through his factors, but not of the commodities he gave in exchange. This, however, it is not difficult to discover, seeing that there are certain products of Palestine which were not produced, or not adequately produced, in Egypt, and which must in all times have found a welcome in the markets there. Of the staple productions of Palestine, corn was one that Egypt did not want; but in regard to oil and wine the case was different. Of all oils, that of the olive is most valued, and the tree that afforded it did not flourish in Egypt, but was native to Palestine, and grew there to its utmost perfection, shooting even from the crevices of the rocks, where scarcely any soil appears. Hence "oil out of the flinty rock" (De. 32 : 13) was among the blessings of the land promised to the chosen people. So of wine. It is not true that the vine did not grow in Egypt, or that wine was not made there. This old notion is overset by the evidence of the mural paintings. Yet the nature of the climate—as unfavorable to the vine from heat as our own climate is from cold—shows that it must there have been rather an object of amateur culture, than a natural and extensive production. The wine also, although made in some limited degree, was probably of inferior quality, and not greatly prized. But in Palestine the vine attained its perfection, affording excellent grapes, which yielded the finest wine. This wine was prized even by the Phœnicians, who had access to the vines of Lebanon. Much more, therefore, must it have been valued by the Egyptians; and these two commodities, olive oil and wine, alone, must have afforded Solomon ample means of return for whatever he required. Kit. IMMENSE REVENUE OF GOLD FROM COMMERCE WITH OPHIR AND TARSHISH FROM MERCHANTS AND FROM TRIBUTARY KINGS AND GOVERNORS. THE MAGNIFICENCE OF SOLOMON'S COURT. HIS GREAT IVORY THRONE. 1. K. 4 : 21 AND Solomon ruled over all the kingdoms from the River unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt : they brought presents, and served Solomon all the 24 days of his life. For he had dominion over all the region on this side the River, from Tiphsah even to Gaza, over all the kings on this side the River : and he had peace on all sides round 25 about him. And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig- 20 tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. Judah and Israel were many as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking and making merry. This is a most alluring picture of the state of Israel in these days. It might be called the Augustan age of their nation—the age of greatest prosperity and peace, yet with all the efflorescence of that most brilliant period in their annals, the age, like that of Augustus in Rome, of commencing degeneracy. David and Samuel were to Solomon what the older Romans were even to the best of Rome's imperial sovereigns; and in respect even to sacred literature, the Psalms occupy a far higher and more prominent place in the Bible than do the Proverbs and other works of Solomon. It is not said that Solomon's kingdom reached to the Euphrates; but all the kingdoms between his own and the Euphrates were tributary and subservient to him. The daily consumption here recorded indicates a prodigious court and immense household establishment. But far the most interesting feature in this description is the peace and plenty and safety enjoyed by the general population—each man under his own vine and his own fig-tree. T. C. Much of the prosperity of Solomon's reign was owing to the extraordinary glory of the reign of David. Such a rule as David's sowed seeds of blessing in the land, which it was Solomon's privilege to reap. David united the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, and Solomon came into quiet possession of the completed commonwealth. David laid the foundation, Solomon developed the fabric and adorned it. Rowland. The empire ascribed to David and Solomon is an empire of exactly that kind which alone Western Asia was capable of producing, and did produce, about the period in question. The modern system of centralized organization, by which the various provinces of a vast empire are cemented into a compact mass, was unknown to the ancient world, and has never been practised by Asiatics. The satrapial system of government, or that in which the provinces retain their individuality, but are administered on a common plan by officers appointed by the crown—which has prevailed generally through the East since the time of its first introduction—was the invention of Darius Hystaspis. Before his time the greatest monarchies had a slighter and weaker organization. They were in all cases composed of a number of separate kingdoms, each under its own native king; and the sole link uniting them together and constituting them an empire, was the subjection of these petty monarchs to a single suzerain. The Babylonian, Assyrian, Median, and Lydian, were all empires of this type—monarchies wherein a sovereign prince at the head of a powerful kingdom was acknowledged as suzerain by a number of inferior princes, each in his own right sole ruler of his own country. And the subjection of the inferior princes consisted chiefly, if not solely, in two points; they were bound to render homage to their suzerain, and to pay him annually a certain stated tribute. Thus, when we hear that "Solomon reigned over all the kingdoms from the river (Euphrates) unto the land of the Philistines and unto the border of Egypt"—or, again, that "he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah (or Thapsacus on the Euphrates) to Azzah (or Gaza, the most southern of the Philistine towns), over all the kings on this side the river" (verse 24)—and that "they brought presents" (verse 21)—"a rate year by year"—and "served Solomon all the days of his life" (verse 21), we recognize at once a condition of things with which we are perfectly familiar from profane sources; and we feel that at any rate this account is in entire harmony with the political notions and practices of the day. G. R. 21. From the river unto the land of the Philistines.** The boundaries of Solomon's kingdom were, the Euphrates to the east (that river being here, as in other places of Scripture, called the river, by way of eminence, without any addition); the country of the Philistines which bordered on the Mediterranean Sea to the west and Egypt to the south; so that he had tributary to him the kingdoms of Syria, Damascus, Moab, and Ammon, which lay between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean Sea. Stackhouse. 25. Every man under his vine and fig-tree.** This is a common and beautiful metaphor for peace and security (Mic. 4 : 4 ; Zech. 3 : 10), founded on the practice, still common in modern Syria, of training these fruit-trees up the walls and stairs of houses, so as to make a shady arbor, beneath which the people sit and recreate themselves. Jamieson.—It suggests the quiet enjoyment of the good of life, the fruit of honest labor, under the protection of impartial law, which is the result of peace. It is the reign of peace that fosters the industries that enrich the life of a people, and the beneficent activities that beautify it. And in the happy condition here described, we have a prophecy of the reign of David's "greater Son." Ps. 72 has its partial fulfilment in the days of Solomon; but the grandeur of its prophetic meaning is realized only in the surpassing glory of His kingdom who is the true "Prince of righteousness and peace." Waite. Now the Church of Israel was in its highest external glory. Now Israel was multiplied exceedingly, so that they seemed to have become like the sand on the sea-shore. Now the kingdom of Israel was firmly established in the right family, the family of which Christ was to come. Now God had chosen the city where he would place his name. Now God had fully given his people the possession of the promised land; and they now possessed the dominion of it all in quietness and peace, even from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates; all those nations that had formerly been their enemies, quietly submitted to them; none pretended to rebel against them. Now the Jewish worship in all its ordinances was fully settled. Now, instead of a movable tent and tabernacle, they had a glorious temple; the most magnificent, beautiful, and costly structure that there was then, ever had been, or ever has been since. Now the people enjoyed peace and plenty, and sat every man under his vine and fig-tree, eating and drinking, and making merry. Now they were in the highest pitch of earthly prosperity, silver being as plenty as stones, and the land full of gold and precious stones, and other precious foreign commodities, which were brought by Solomon's ships from Ophir, and which came from other parts of the world. Now they had a king reigning over them that was the wisest of men, and probably the greatest earthly prince that ever was. Now their fame went abroad into all the earth, so that they came from the utmost parts of the earth to see their glory and their happiness. Thus God was pleased, in one of the ancestors of Christ, remarkably to shadow forth the kingdom of Christ reigning in his glory. David, that was a man of war, a man who had shed much blood, and whose life was full of troubles and conflicts, was more of a representation of Christ in his state of humiliation, his militant state, wherein he was conflicting with his enemies. But Solomon, that was a man of peace, was a representation more especially of Christ exalted, triumphing, and reigning in his kingdom of peace. And the happy, glorious state of the Jewish Church at that time, did remarkably represent two things: (1) That glorious state of the Church on earth, that shall be in the latter ages of the world; those days of peace, when nation shall not lift sword against nation, nor learn war any more. (2) The future glorified state of the Church in heaven. The earthly Canaan never was so lively a type of the heavenly Canaan, as it was then, when the happy people of Israel did indeed enjoy it as a land flowing with milk and honey. Elwards. Jerusalem in her Glory under David and Solomon. And now, like the modern city of Berlin under the hands of the Great Frederick, Jerusalem bloomed into sudden glory. All the successes of the new monarch, and all the extending prosperity of the nation, were reflected in the rising splendors of the capital. Especially was Jerusalem dignified, nay consecrated, by being made the abode of the Ark of the Covenant, the chief though not exclusive seat of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the great resort for national worship. On Mount Zion a place was prepared for the shrine of the sanctuary, which for a long time had been in exile, and with high rejoicings it was set therein; Mount Zion becoming henceforth, even after the building of the Temple on Moriah and the transference of the ark thither, the symbol of God's kingdom in His Church. Yet conspicuous and mighty as Jerusalem became, under the thirty-three years of David's residence in it as his capital, the full height of its glory was not attained until King Solomon had endowed it with the imperial magnificence characteristic of his reign. The reign of Solomon is much celebrated in the Scriptures, yet perhaps we seldom attain to a just conception of its grandeur. Solomon inherited the fruits of David's vast conquests. He came into receipt of untold accumulated resources. And it was for him to realize and exhibit the glory which had been prepared for him. N. C. B. After this the glory of the Jewish Church gradually declined more and more till Christ came; yet not so but that the work of redemption still went on. Whatever failed or declined, God still carried on this work from age to age; this building was still advancing higher and higher. Things still went on, during the decline of the Jewish Church, toward a further preparation of things for the coming of Christ, as well as during its increase; for so wonderfully were things ordered by the infinitely wise Governor of the world, that whatever happened was ordered for good to this general design, and made a means of promoting it. When the people of the Jews flourished, and were in prosperity, he made that to contribute to the promoting this design; and when they were in adversity, God made that also to contribute to the carrying on of the same design. While the Jewish Church was in its increasing state, the work of redemption was carried on by their increase; and when they came to their declining state, which they were in from Solomon's time till Christ, God carried on the work of redemption by the decline itself, which was one thing that God made use of as a further preparation for Christ's coming. Edwards. Brief, indeed, was the period of Israel's glory; but for the moment it seemed that there were but three empires to divide the old civilized world—Egypt, Assyria, and Israel, for Israel and Phœnicia were practically one. Solomon reigned over all lands from the Euphrates to the Nile, from the mountains of Armenia to the Arabian Desert; and he ruled them in peace. Yet it was but a fleeting gleam of splendor. The central land of Israel was girdled round with tributaries, not colonists; fear was the only bond of union. There was no germ of any sentiment which might develop into a common sympathy. There was no missionary spirit in the garrisons of Solomon. The very last idea to cross the mind of the Jew was to include the Gentile tributary in the religious or civil privileges of his people. Meantime, Hebrew life, private and public, was becoming leavened with foreign influences, Assyrian, Egyptian, and especially Phœnician. The sudden accumulation of riches developed luxury; palaces, horses, harems, were not of Abraham or of Moses. No. The casket and shrine in which truth was to be conserved until the fulness of time should come, could never be kept safely in charge of a wealthy and a conquering empire. For God's purposes, as a symbol and a lesson, that empire was won by David, and held by his typical son. In God's providence it passed away, "till the Ancient of days shall come," and "his kingdom shall not be destroyed." H. B. T. # Jerusalem To-day. It is tantalizing for the traveller who wishes to recognize in his walks the site of particular buildings, or the scenes of memorable events, that the greater part of the objects mentioned in the description, both of the inspired and of the Jewish historian, are entirely razed from their foundation, without leaving a single trace or name behind to point out where they stood. Not an ancient tower, or gate, or wall, or hardly even a stone remains. The foundations are not only broken up, but every fragment of which they were composed is swept away, and the spectator looks upon the bare rock with hardly a sprinkling of earth to point out her gardens of pleasure, or groves of idolatrous devotion. A few gardens still remain on the sloping base of Mount Zion, watered from the pool of Siloam: the gardens of Gethsemane are still in a sort of ruined cultivation; the fences are broken down and the olive-trees decaying, as if the hand which dressed and fed them were withdrawn: the Mount of Olives still retains a languishing verdure, and nourishes a few of those trees from which it derives its name; but all round about Jerusalem the general aspect is blighted and barren; the grass is withered; the bare rock looks through the scanty sward, and the grain itself, like the starving progeny of famine, seems in doubt whether to come to maturity or die in the ear. Jerusalem has heard the voice of David and Solomon, of prophets and apostles; and He who spake as man never spake has taught in her synagogues and in her streets. Before her legislators, her poets, and her apostles, those of all other countries became dumb, and cast down their crowns, as unworthy to stand in their presence. Once she was very rich in every blessing, victorious over all her enemies, and resting in peace, with every man sitting under his own vine, and under his own fig tree, with none to disturb or to make him afraid. Jerusalem was the brightest of all the cities of the east, and fortified above all other towns; so strong that the Roman conqueror thereof, and the master of the whole world besides, exclaimed, on entering the city of David, and looking up at the towers which the Jews had abandoned, "Surely, we have had God for our assistance in the war; for what could human hands or human machines do against these towers? It is no other than God who has expelled the Jews from their fortifications." It is impossible for the Christian traveller to look upon Jerusalem with the same feelings with which he would set himself to contemplate the ruins of Thebes, of Athens, or of Rome, or of any other city which the world ever saw. There is in all the doings of the Jews, their virtues and their vices, their wisdom and their folly, a height and a depth, a breadth and a length that angels cannot fathom; their whole history is a history of miracles; the precepts of their sacred book are the most profound, and the best adapted to every station in which man can be placed; they moderate him in prosperity, sustain him in adversity, guide him in health, console him in sickness, support him at the close of life, travel on with him through death, live with him throughout endless ages of eternity, and Jerusalem lends its name to the eternal mansions of the blessed in heaven which man is admitted to enjoy through the atonement of Christ Jesus, who was born of a descendant of Judah. Richardson's Travels. It is evident that, during the period of Solomon, the state of social life among the Jewish people underwent a very great change. An immense flow of wealth into the country took place. Through intercourse with other countries, many new habits and fashions were undoubtedly introduced. The people must have lost not a little of their early simplicity of character and life. A splendid court had been set up and a splendid capital built. Commercial relations had been established with remote parts of the world. A great stride had been taken in the direction of luxury and refinement. There was now a standing army, a large staff of civil officers, and a vast number of menial servants in the country. Besides the ass the horse and the mule were now introduced as beasts of burden; chariots and splendid equipages were set up; and many persons assumed the style and bearing of princes. Private dwellings must have undergone a corresponding change, and all the luxuries of Egypt and Nineveh would bebecome familiar to the Hebrews. But was all this for good? It appears as if the nation, or its leaders, now struck out a new path for themselves, in which God rather followed than preceded them, giving them, indeed, at first, a large measure of prosperity, but leaving them more to their own ways and to the fruits of these ways than before. This, at least, was plainly the case under Solomon. The vast wealth circulated in his time over the country, did not bring any proportional addition, either to the material comfort, or to the moral beauty, or to the spiritual riches of the nation. There can be no doubt that "haste to be rich" brought all the evils and sins which always flow from it in an age of progress toward worldly show and magnificence. It appears from the Proverbs that many new vices were introduced. Many of the counsels of that book would have been quite inapplicable to a simple, patriarchal, agricultural people; but they were eminently adapted to a people surrounded by the snares of wealth and the temptations of commerce, and very liable to forget or despise the good old ways and counsels of their fathers. The Proverbs will be read with far greater interest, if it be borne in mind that this change had just taken place among the Hebrews, and that, as Solomon had been instrumental in giving the nation its wealth, so, perhaps, he was led by the Spirit to write this book, and that of Ecclesiastes, to guard against the fatal abuse of his own gift. In literary and scientific culture the nation must have made a great advance during this period. In a merely literary point of view, the Psalms of David and the writings of Solomon possess extraordinary merits; and we cannot doubt that two literary kings, whose reigns embraced eighty years, or nearly three generations, would exercise a very great influence, and have their example very largely followed among their people. David's talents as a musician, and the extraordinary pains he took to improve the musical services of the sanctuary, must have greatly stimulated the cultivation of that delightful art. What David did for music, Solomon did for natural history. It need not surprise us that all the uninspired literary compositions of that period have perished. If Homer flourished (according to the account of Herodotus) 884 years before Christ, Solomon must have been a century in his tomb before the "Iliad" was written. And if it be considered what difficulty there was in preserving the "Iliad," and how uncertain it is whether we have it as Homer wrote it, it cannot be surprising that all the Hebrew poems and writings of this period have been lost, except such as were contained in the inspired canon of Scripture. There were, also, great religious changes during this period of the history. Evidently, under Samuel, a great revival of true religion took place; and the schools of the prophets which he established seem to have been attended with a marked blessing from Heaven. Under David the change was confirmed. In the first place, the coming Messiah was more clearly revealed. It was expressly announced to David, as has been already remarked, that the great Deliverer was to be a member of his race. David, too, as a type of Christ, conveyed a more full and clear idea of the person and character of Christ than any typical person that had gone before him. Further, the Psalms of David must have served very wonderfully to give precision, and force, and richness to devotional feelings among godly people. Then, too, the distribution of the Levites and the remodelling of the temple service must have secured at least much more attention to the ordinary services of religion. The writings of Solomon show how much more clear, full, and rich views prevailed now than formerly, regarding Christ's person and qualities, and his relation to his people. The lyrical compositions of the two royal authors corresponded to the typical character of each. As David's reign was a warlike reign, and Solomon's a reign of peace, so David was the psalmist of storms and struggles, Solomon of tranquillity and rest. The great preponderance in number of David's inspired songs over Solomon's, shows how much more frequently in this world Christians need to be directed and encouraged to struggle with enemies than to enjoy and improve the sweets of repose. It is interesting to inquire how far a religious spirit pervaded the people at large. The question cannot receive a satisfactory answer. It is plain that even in David's time the mass of the people were not truly godly. The success of Absalom's movement is a proof of this. Had there been a large number of really godly persons in the tribe of Judah, they would not only not have joined the insurrection, but their influence would have had a great effect in hindering its success. The real state of matters seems to have been, that both in good times and in bad there were some persons, more or less numerous, of earnest piety and spiritual feeling, who worshipped God in spirit, not only because it was their duty, but also because it was their delight; while the mass of the people either worshipped idols, or worshipped God according to the will, example, or command of their rulers. But the constant tendency was to idolatry; and the intercourse with foreign nations which Solomon maintained, as well as his own example, greatly increased the tendency. Under Solomon, indeed, idolatry struck its roots so deep, that all the zeal of the reforming kings that followed him failed to eradicate them. It was not till the seventy years' captivity of Babylon that the soil of Palestine was thoroughly purged of the roots of that noxious weed. W. G. B. 1. K. 4 : 29 AND God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and 30 largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled 31 the wisdom of all the children of the east, and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol : 32 and his fame was in all the nations round about. And he spake three thousand proverbs : 33 and his songs were a thousand and five. And he spake of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall : he spake also of beasts, and of 34 fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all peoples to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom. 1. K. 10 : 1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the 2 name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones : and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. 3 And Solomon told her all her questions : there was not anything hid from the king which he 4 told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all the wisdom of Solomon, and the 5 house that he had built, and the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the at- tendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he 6 went up unto the house of the LORD : there was no more spirit in her. And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom. 7 Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it : and, behold, the 8 half was not told me : thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear 9 thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel to be king for the LORD thy God : because the LORD loved Israel to establish them 10 forever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment and justice. And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones : there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solo- 13 mon. And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, be- side that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned, and went to her own land, she and her servants. 1. K. 4 : 29-34.** Wisdom he asked of God, and obtained a wise and understanding heart. He seems to have had a singularly comprehensive mind, that could take pleasure in many studies, a very wide power of observation and reflection, a strong grasp of all the great problems of human life, and "largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea-shore." He was the first man of science in his nation, and though his works on natural history have not been preserved, because they were foreign to the purposes of the Bible, yet all wise and reverent astronomers, botanists, and zoologists may fairly be reckoned as followers of Solomon. On the gravest themes that occupy the mind, "he was wiser than all men," even the famous Idumeans of the East, and the equally famed scholars of Egypt. Like all men of a full mind, he delighted to communicate, and poured himself out in three thousand proverbs, and songs a thousand and five. He also excelled in witty and piercing conversation, and such was the reputation of the royal sage, that "there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom." D. F. The wonderful impression which he made upon all who came near him may well lead us to believe that with him as with Saul and David, Absalom and Adonijah, as with most other favorite princes of Eastern peoples, there must have been the fascination and the grace of a noble presence. Add to this, all gifts of a noble, far-reaching intellect, large and ready sympathies, a playful and genial humor, the lips "full of grace," the soul "anointed" as "with the oil of gladness," and we may form some notion of what the king was like in his golden prime. He used these gifts not only for the government of his people, but for the acquisition and the embodiment in writing of all the learning of the age. P. S. 29-31. Solomon's wisdom was more his glory than his wealth ; a general account of that we have here. The fountain of his wisdom. God gave it him (verse 29). He owns it himself (Prov. 2 : 6). The Lord giveth wisdom. He gives the powers of reason, preserves and improves them. The ordinary advances of them are owing to his providence, and sanctification of them, to his grace ; and this extraordinary pitch at which they arrived in Solomon, to a special grant of his favor to him, in answer to prayer. The fulness of it. He had wisdom and understanding, exceeding much ; great knowledge of distant countries, and the histories of former times ; a quickness of thought, strength of memory, and clearness of judgment, such as never any man had. It is called largeness of heart, for the heart is put for the intellectual powers. He had a vast compass of knowledge, could take things entire, and had an admirable faculty of laying things together. He was very free and communicative of his knowledge ; had the gift of utterance, as well as wisdom ; was as free of his learning as he was of his meat ; and grudged neither to any that were about him. Those who have large gifts of any kind should have large hearts to use them for the good of others ; and this is from the hand of God (Ec. 3 : 24). He shall enlarge the heart (Ps. 119 : 32). The greatness of Solomon's wisdom is illustrated by comparison. Chaldea and Egypt were nations famous for learning ; thence the Greeks borrowed theirs; but the greatest scholars of these nations came short of Solomon (verse 30). If nature excels art, much more does grace. The knowledge which God gives by special favor, goes beyond that which man gets by his own labor. Some wise men there were in Solomon's time who were in great repute; particularly, Heman, and others who were Levites, and employed by David in the temple music (1 Chron. 15: 19). Heman was his seer in the Word of God (1 Chron. 25: 5). Chalcol and Darda were own brothers, and they also were noted for learning and wisdom, but Solomon excelled them all; his counsel was much more valuable. The fame of it. It was talked of in all nations round about (verse 31). His great wealth and glory made his wisdom much more illustrious, and gave him those opportunities of showing it, which they cannot have, that live in poverty and obscurity. The jewel of wisdom may receive great advantage by the setting of it. H. 30. The wisdom of all the children of the East.** The nations east of Canaan were famous for wisdom and erudition; the Chaldeans beyond the Euphrates, the Persians beyond the Tigris, and the Arabians on the nearer side of the Euphrates, a little toward the south. Which of these nations was most celebrated for learning in Solomon's time is much doubted by commentators: the Book of Job, however, sufficiently shows that the Arabians were famous for their learning in ancient times. And all the wisdom of Egypt. It appears from Acts 7: 22 that Egypt was celebrated for wisdom in the time of Moses. This country has been called "the mother of the arts." There have been great disputes respecting the claims of the Egyptians and Chaldeans to the earliest advances in learning. Bp. Patrick. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/ 1. K. 11 : 1** Now king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of 2 Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go among them, neither shall they come among you for surely they will turn away your heart after their 3 gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and 4 three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was 5 not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milom the abomination of the Am 6 monites. And Solomon did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully 7 after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, in the mount that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomi- 8 nation of the children of Ammon. And so did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. 9 And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned away from the LORD, 10 the God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods : but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely 11 rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it, for David thy father's sake : but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. 12 Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom ; but I will give one tribe to thy son, for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen. The final effects of Solomon's prosperity. With an impartial fidelity that pertains always to the inspired historians, the result is told as it affects himself, and implied as it bears upon the future of the people. Inexpressibly sad is the record of his own declension and fall. First, he became more and more secularized by the increasing absorption of mind and heart in his schemes of acquisition, of pleasure, and of aggrandizement. In the gratification of ambition and self-indulgence, his extravagance of expenditure kept pace with the excess of God's bounties. In accumulating thousands of horses and chariots out of Egypt, he not only disobeyed an express law given by Moses, but by his reliance upon these rather than upon the footmen of Israel, who had hitherto proved an overmatch for all hostile armies, he reversed the great principle that God had commanded—the principle so touchingly expressed by David, "Some trust in chariots and in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." Further, he disobeyed God's express command by multiplying wives, in foolish, rivalrous compliance with a custom by which Oriental monarchs were wont to estimate and display their grandeur. And in this he also transgressed another law in marrying women of strange nations who retained the observance of their idolatrous worship. But worse than all, under the deteriorating effect of utter selfish worldliness, and through the example and influence of his heathen wives, at last he dared openly deny and defy the God whose Temple he had built, and whose worship he had re-established among the people ; the God who had dealt so kindly and bountifully with him. Upon the hill before Jerusalem, face to face with the beautiful Temple, with its pure worship prescribed and approved of God, with its still visible symbol of God's personal presence, he built high places, altars of sacrifice, for "Moloch and Chemosh, the abominations of Ammon and Moab," himself becoming an open public idolater in sight of priests and people. And all this he did, in despite of so many solemn, tender warnings from the very mouth of God himself. So deeply self-degraded at last became this royally gifted, divinely favored king of kings ! And the effect of his misused prosperity upon the nation of Israel, God's chosen people, was a deterioration as rapid as its growth in greatness had been. Priests and people rapidly declined in religious, industrial, and social culture. The orderly rule and organized industry by which a powerful unity and a vigorous national life had been created, were speedily displaced by the old social disorders and sectional divisions, which broke the kingdom in twain, and which were never afterward healed. From thenceforth the Jewish character steadily degenerated, and the fortunes of the Jewish people gradually declined until the period of the Messiah's advent, when an utter godlessness prevailed, and the long disintegrated tribes were ground to the dust under the enslaving tyranny of Herod and the Roman power. This, in brief, is the history, these the effects of Solomon's prosperity upon himself and upon the Jewish people. Of the gradual inner change in his character we have no Scriptural record. But of three marked stages in his life we possess distinct intimations in his three Books : the Songs, written in the outset of his reign and the fervor of his youthful devotion ; the Proverbs extending through mid-life, while he was making experience, and his wisdom rightly interpreted that experience in the spirit of God's commands ; and Ecclesiastes, the confession of a wasted and miserable life, wrung out of conscience in his latest days. We know that God disquieted his latter years by raising up enemies to annoy, and by the announcement that his grand kingdom should be dismembered and the chief part taken from his son. But himself, his own power, God did not directly strike, and this for David's sake. And nowhere in the Sacred History find we such testimony to the amazing patience and forbearance of God in the holding back of judgment; such an exhibition of His fidelity to promise, even under a dispensation so necessarily rigid and severe. Only the promise of long life was withheld because utterly forfeited. He was not old in years, but prematurely so through excessive indulgence, when from his own experience he drew that graphic picture of bodily decay which completes his writings; and which is itself completed by the concentrated "conclusion" or lesson of his own mournful life: Fear God and keep his commandments! From God's love to David and his wonderful regard to his own covenant with the father, and from the son's words of confession, we may hope that Solomon was at length brought back to repentance and found forgiveness. But the hope is dim and the inference is not certain. B. I-8. The story of Solomon's defection and degeneracy. He doted on strange women, many strange women. Here his revolt began. He should have taken warning by his father David's fall. He took many women, so many, that, at last, they amounted to 700 wives and 300 concubines; 1000 in all, and not one good one among them, as he himself owns in his penitential sermon (Ec. 7: 28). God had, by his law, particularly forbidden the kings to multiply either horses or wives (De. 17: 16, 17). How he broke the former law, in multiplying horses, and having them out of Egypt, too (which was expressly prohibited in that law), we read (ch. 10: 29), and here how he broke the latter, which proved of more fatal consequence. But this was not all. They were strange women, Moabites, Ammonites, etc., of the nations which God had particularly forbidden them to intermarry with (verse 2). To complete the mischief, Solomon clave unto these in love (verse 2). He not only kept them, but set his heart upon them. He was drawn by them to the worship of strange gods; as Israel to Baal-peor, by the daughters of Moab. None of these consequences were so bad as this, His wives turned away his heart after other gods (verses 3, 4). He grew cool and indifferent in his own religion, and remiss in the service of the God of Israel. His heart was not perfect with the Lord his God (verse 4), nor did he follow him fully (verse 6), like David. His father David had many faults, but he never neglected the worship of God, nor grew remiss in that, as Solomon did, his wives using all their arts to divert him from it, and there began his apostasy. And he not only tolerated and maintained his wives in their idolatry, but made no scruple of joining with them in it. At last he reached that degree of impiety that he set up high places for the foulest heathen gods in the hill that is before Jerusalem, the mount of Olives, as if to confront the temple which he himself had built; these high places continued here, not utterly demolished, till Josiah did it (2 K. 23: 13). This is the account here given of Solomon's apostasy. H. We may infer from the repeated warnings of God that Solomon was long in danger of falling into idolatry. This danger was increased no doubt by the inclination to foreign customs. But this inclination itself was again occasioned by circumstances and relations of his reign, which must be regarded as remote concurring causes of his final fall. Among these is first to be reckoned the commerce carried on by Solomon, which on the one hand enhanced his love of splendor by the accumulation of great wealth, and produced a luxury scarcely to be reconciled with the simple manners of a theocratic king, and on the other hand, introduced a degree of tolerance toward heathen customs and religious views, which was scarcely consistent with the religion of Jehovah. Next the great wisdom of Solomon might become itself a perilous rock, because the widespread fame of this wisdom brought a multitude of men to Jerusalem, whose homage not only awakened his vanity but led him to a still greater tolerance and approximation to the heathen world. These things diminished the partition wall between the true worship of God and the heathen idolatry, and so prepared the way for the possibility of the apostasy. The proper immediate causes of his fail was his connection with many foreign heathen wives. Keil. Since the first man Adam, the world hath not yielded either so great an example of wisdom or so fearful an example of apostasy as Solomon. What human knowledge Adam had, in the perfection of nature by creation, Solomon had by infusion; both fully, both from one fountain. If Adam called all creatures by their names, Solomon "spake from the cedars of Lebanon to the moss that springs out of the wall;" and besides these vegetables, there was no beast, nor fowl, nor fish, nor creeping thing, that escaped his discourse. Both fell; both fell by one means; as Adam, so might Solomon have said, "The woman deceived me." It is true, indeed, that Adam fell as all; Solomon, as one; yet so as that this one is the pattern of the frailty of all. If knowledge could have given an immunity from sin, both had stood. Affections are those feet of the soul on which it either stands or falls. "Solomon loved many outlandish women." Every word hath bane enough for a man : women ; many women ; outlandish ; idolatrous ; and those, not only had, but doated on. Sex, multitude, nation, condition, all conspired to the ruin of a Solomon. If one woman undid all mankind, what marvel is it, if many women undid one? Yet had those many been the daughters of Israel, they had tempted him not to mis-devotion ; now they were of those nations whereof the Lord had said to the children of Israel, " Go not ye in to them, nor let them come in to you ; for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods." To them did Solomon join in love. Who can marvel if they disjoined his heart from God? Bp. II. 4. When Solomon was old.** At least half of the king's reign was over before the Temple and the king's house and the other buildings were completed. It was therefore toward the close of his reign when the influence of his wives gained undue sway over him. Lumby. It was when he was old, says the historian, when the ardor of his youthful devotion had sadly waned ; when wealth and luxury had induced effeminacy, and after unbounded admiration and high position had stealthily undermined his piety—it was upon a heart long exposed to these subtle influences that the social power of so many wives—princesses of leading influence, of high culture, and commanding social position—was brought to bear upon him to his sad fall. Many of them, we know not definitely how many, came with the prestige of royalty, representing the dignity of courts and kingdoms. Shall not the king of Israel receive them with all the honors due to the kingdoms and thrones which they represent? Shall he not respect the religions they severally profess? Politeness, complaisance, the demands of civilized society, the interests of international peace and commerce—all concur in demanding unrestricted toleration of their idolatrous worship. So it would seem ; so, but for the higher claims of God, and of truth, and of his holy covenant, it would be. When to these demands of worldly sort we add the fact that Solomon clave to these wives and concubines in love—that his sensitive nature yielded to such powerful attractions—we have no need to go further to seek the occasion of Solomon's relapse into great sin. He became an idolater. " His wives turned away his heart after other gods ; " his heart was no longer perfect with the Lord his God as the heart of David his father." Specifically it is stated (verses 5 and 7), that Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zido- Zidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites. He also built high places and furnished every facility for the worship of these gods—the abominations of Moab and Ammon. H. C. 5. Ashtoreth-Karnaim.** The word Ashtoreth is the Hebrew plural of Ashtoreth (the Greek Astarte), name of a female divinity widely worshipped among the ancient inhabitants of Canaan ; for example, by the Zidonians (1 K. 11 : 33 ; 2 K. 23 : 13), by the Philistines (1 S. 31 : 10), and also on the east side of the Jordan, as is seen in this passage. The Israelites were often seduced into this debasing worship ; see Ju. 2 : 13 ; 10 : 6 ; 1 S. 7 : 3, 4 ; 12 : 10 ; 1 K. 11 : 5, 33 ; 2 K. 23 : 13. This form of idolatry originated in the worship of the heavenly bodies (" the host of heaven," De. 4 : 19), regarded as presiding over the seasons, regulating their return, and dispensing their blessings. As Baal was the Sun-god, representing the sun's dominion over earth (and also the planet Jupiter, " the star of Jove, the guardian and giver of good fortune"), so Ashtoreth represented the moon, and also the planet Venus " the goddess of love and fortune." Under the former character, the image of the idol bore on the head the figure of a crescent moon ; and hence the name Ashtoreth-Karnaim (literally, Ashtoreth of two horns), the crescented, or moon-ed, Ashtoreth. Here it has the plural form, Ashtoreth ; either from the number of images erected as objects of worship, or indicating different modifications of the same divinity. Conant. Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. This is the same Divinity who is called below (verse 7) Molech, and in Zeph. 1 : 5 Malcham. Molech was a fire god, and was worshipped with human sacrifices. There are numerous allusions in the Old Testament to the worship of this god, the phrase most common being " to make their children to pass through the fire to Molech." 8. And likewise did he for all his strange wives.** For such of them as desired a special place for their worship. Ashtoreth, Chemosh, and Molech would suffice for the greater number, but we know of other gods among the nations round about, and the text implies that all were equally regarded. Lumby. There seems no possibility of explaining the language of the sacred historian, but as intimating that Solomon became an actual and open idolater, worshipping images of wood or stone in sight of the very temple which, in early life, he had erected to the true God. Hence that part of Olivet was called the high place of Tophet (Jer. 7 : 30-34), and the hill is still known as the Mount of Offence, or the Mount of Corruption (2 K. 23 : 13). Jamieson. Whether he forsook his own temple and the worship of the God of his own covenant is of the least possible account. If he did not in form, he certainly did in spirit, for none can serve both God and Mammon—both Jehovah and idol gods. If he attempted it, his example could scarcely be less pernicious than if he had utterly deserted his magnificent temple. In either case his moral power must have gone solid against real religion—against the true worship of the holy God. The contrast between Solomon on his knees before all the assembled thousands of Israel in his prayer consecrating the new temple, and this same Solomon, going with his scores or hundreds of heathen wives to worship their gods on the high places of the land, must have been terribly impressive—to all pious hearts sad, not to say revolting; but to the masses, we have reason to fear, seductive toward the same idol worship. So much we must infer from the well-known laws of the human mind, and from the relations of the throne to the people under the religious system of Israel. H. C. It was short-sighted policy in Solomon, as well as worldly want of faith, to seek to conciliate the foreign heathen at the expense of the devoted allegiance of God's chosen ones in Israel. He won at best a momentary good-will from Ammonites, Moabites, or Sidonians, by such an affinity, and by such an introduction of their favorite idols; he lost the heart of the prophets of Jehovah, and, as a result, he could not transmit to his son more than a fraction of his kingdom. It is no mere fiction of priestly prejudice, but an historical certainty, that David owed his rise mainly to the overruling and pervading power exerted on him by the pure and monotheistic faith of the prophets; while Solomon lost (for his posterity) the kingdom of the ten tribes, and perpetuated strife, weakness, debasement, and superstition, by preferring the attractive splendors of this world to that godliness which would in the end have been rewarded even in the present life. F. W. Newman. Disasters followed before long as the natural consequence of what was politically a blunder as well as religiously a sin. The strength of the nation rested on its unity, and its unity depended on its faith. Whatever attractions the sensuous ritual which he introduced may have had for the great body of the people, the priests and Levites must have looked on the rival worship with entire disfavor. Dic. B.—There was also an increase in the old evil of disunion in the nation itself. Its chief bond of union lay in its religion; and through the royal tolerance and support of idolatry the religious tie was being rapidly weakened. Would religious men make pilgrimages to Jerusalem for the feasts only to be scandalized when they arrived there by high places for Chemosh and for Molech, "on the hill that is before Jerusalem," within sight of the temple itself? (verse 7). And if Jerusalem was an offence to them, why should it remain their capital? And what offended religious Israelites did not attract others; for those who lapsed into idolatry could have their own impious altars at home. There was no need to go to the Mount of Olives to worship. Thus for all classes, religious and irreligious alike, the tie that bound them to the capital was fast becoming weaker, and in the next reign it snapped altogether. Plummer. The man who had been specially favored of God, who on two distinct occasions had been visited by him in dreams or visions of the night, who had built for his worship a temple which was the glory of the kingdom and the wonder of the world, and who in wisdom had excelled all the men of his age—this man was seen going into the temples of Ashtoreth, bowing before the altars of Milcom, burning incense to Chemosh, and even joining in the bloody rites of Molech. It was not the good that sanctified the evil, it was the evil that corrupted the good. An. He encouraged immorality and cruelty. It must never be forgotten what the "abominations" of these Semitic divinities were like. The idolatry of the East always involved impurity; hence its powerful hold on a nation like the Jews, for whom the worship of "silver and gold, the works of men's hands," could have had but little charm. Its "vile affections" (Rom. 1 : 26) were its chief attractions. And Solomon, who knew what the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth meant, who knew how unclean were their rites, and what painful and shameful sacrifices Molech and Chemosh demanded of their votaries, nevertheless gave the word, and presently the hills about Jerusalem were crowned with chapels of devils. He dishonored the one true God. For if "Polytheism is not exclusive," Monotheism, in the very nature of things, is and must be. Its basis, its fundamental conception, is that there are not "gods many and lords many." Its keynote is the Shema Israel (De. 6 : 4), "the Lord our God is one Lord." It proclaims a "jealous God" who will not give His glory to another, nor His praise to graven images (Is. 42 : 8). But Solomon robbed Him of His rights; of the exclusive sovereignty and the undivided authority which belonged to Him alone. By building idol altars he claimed homage for idol deities; before the eyes of the Lord's people, he thrust rivals and pretenders on to the Lord's throne, and degraded "the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man" (Rom. 1 : 23). He defied the Holy One of Israel. For these altars of lust and cruelty were not built in a corner. They rose "on the hill that is before Jerusalem;" they fronted the altar of Jehovah; their priests were visible to the priests in the temple court; their smoke ascended to the sky along with the smoke of the daily sacrifice. If insult had been designed, it could hardly have been more open or obtrusive. And these shrines of infamy were built by the wisest of men, the most enlightened and favored of men, the builder of the temple, the teacher of the Church, and a man who warned others. Furthermore, these degrading results were not occasioned by sudden or special temptation, nor after great trials and adversity, nor in the days of inexperienced and warm-blooded youth. It was when his blood was coolest, his knowledge ripest, his experience most mature, when his riches were most abundant, and his prosperity at the highest. And it was after repeated warnings, from the law of Moses, the special injunctions of David, and the three distinct, supernatural warnings of God; the perfect apprehension of all which warnings he discloses in his own repeated and emphatic admonitions addressed to others. Hammond. Who can but yearn and fear, to see the woful wreck of so rich and goodly a vessel! O Solomon, wert not thou he, whose younger years God honored with a message and style of love? to whom God twice appeared; and, in a gracious vision, renewed the covenant of his favor? whom he singled out from all the generation of men, to be the founder of that glorious temple, which was no less clearly the type of heaven, than thou wert of Christ, the Son of the ever-living God? Wert not thou that deep sea of wisdom, which God ordained to send forth rivers and fountains, of all Divine and human knowledge to all nations, to all ages? Wert not thou one of those select secretaries, whose hand it pleased the Almighty to employ, in three pieces of the Divine monuments of Sacred Scriptures? Which of us dares ever hope to aspire unto thy graces? Which of us can promise to secure ourselves from thy rains? We fall, O God, we fall to the lowest hell, if thou prevent us not, if thou sustain us not. "Up-hold thou me, according to thy word, that I may live; and let me not be ashamed of my hope. Order my steps in thy word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me." All our weakness is in ourselves; all our strength is in thee. O God, be thou strong in our weakness, that our weak knees may be ever steady in thy strength. Bp. II. The Judgment of Jehovah Announced. Verses 9-13. The Divine appearance, first at Gibeon, and then at Jerusalem, after the dedication of the temple, with the warnings given him on both occasions, had left Solomon inexcusable; and it was proper and necessary that on one who had been so signally favored with the gifts of Heaven, but who had grossly abused them, a terrible judgment should fall. The Divine sentence was announced to him probably by Ahijah; but there was mercy mingled with judgment, in the circumstance that it should not be inflicted on Solomon personally—and that a remnant of the kingdom should be spared—"for David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, which had been chosen" to put God's name there; not from a partial bias in favor of either, but that the Divine promise might stand. Jamieson. Time was when the Lord loved Solomon (2 S. 12 : 24), and delighted in him (ch. 10 : 9); but now the Lord was angry with Solomon. There was in his sin the most base ingratitude; he turned from the Lord which had appeared unto him twice, once before he began to build the temple, and once after he had dedicated it. God keeps account of the gracious visits he makes us, whether we do or no; knows how often he has appeared to us, and for us, and will remember it against us, if we turn from him. God's appearing to Solomon, was such a sensible confirmation of his faith, as should have forever prevented his worshipping of any other God; it was also such a distinguishing favor, and put such an honor upon him, as he ought never to have forgotten, especially considering what God said to him in both these appearances. There was also the most wilful disobedience: this was the very thing concerning which God had commanded him—that he should not go after other gods, yet he was not kept right by such an express admonition (verse 10). The sentence is just, that since he had revolted from God, part of his kingdom should revolt from his family; he had given God's glory to the creature, and therefore God would give his crown to his servant, "I will read the kingdom from thee, in thy posterity, and will give it to thy servant, who shall bear rule over much of that for which thou hast labored." Yet the mitigations of it are very kind, for David's sake (verses 12, 13); that is, for the sake of the promise made to David; thus all the favor God shows to man is for Christ's sake, and for the sake of the covenant made with him; the kingdom shall be rent from Solomon's house, but Solomon shall not live to see it done, but it shall be rent out of the hand of his son, a son that was born to him by one of his strange wives, for his mother was an Ammonitess. One tribe, that of Judah, the strongest and most numerous, shall remain to the house of David (verse 13), for Jerusalem's sake, which David built, and for the sake of the temple there, which Solomon built, these shall not go into other hands. H. The execution of the sentence is both delayed and modified. Not in Solomon's own reign shall the thing be done; "nor shall the kingdom be wholly torn from his house." This is partly from tender regard for the sacred memory of David his father, and partly, we may believe, in mercy to himself, that space may be given him for repentance. We have here a type and example of the general method of God's ways. "In wrath he remembers mercy." Something of gracious forbearance is seen in the severest of His judgments. His chastisements are fatherly. And beneath the darkest providences and the sternest retributions there is the steady flow of a loving-kindness that endures throughout all generations, the strength of a covenant that shall never be broken. The smile of God that rested as glad sunshine on his head, has turned to "anger." The cause of the change is in the secrecy of his own soul. The Scripture narrative is silent about the course of his inner life, the phases of thought and feeling through which he may have passed; so that this sudden note of discord in the midst of the harmony strikes us with something of sad surprise. Enough, however, is said to show that it was a moral change in the man himself. The Lord God of Israel had not changed in his purpose or method; it is Solomon whose "heart is turned from him." How far this was a fatal change, a real apostasy, we know not. We need not attempt to solve the purely speculative question as to whether he ever recovered from his fall; his later writings suggest at least the hope that it was so. Waite. The Course and Steps of Solomon's Fall. It is not difficult to conjecture what was the first beginning of declension on Solomon's part. We find it in the erection of the palaces, or rather in the carnal mind and the self-love and the desire for ostentation which led to their erection. Solomon is now no longer the "little child" he once was. Now that he has "strengthened himself," like his son after him, he begins to forget his God and to forsake His law. It has been promised him that he shall exceed all other kings in wisdom and riches and honor; but this is not enough for him, he must surpass them also in the outward tokens of wealth and power. His palaces, to begin with, must be greater than theirs. He no longer covets the best gifts. The fine gold is become dim. Still, so far, there has been no deliberate, or perhaps even conscious infraction of the law—only the worldly and selfish mind. It is impossible to say in what precise order the records of Solomon's reign are to be arranged, but it is probable that the next downward step is to be traced in the alliance in which he engaged with the Tyrians. Contact and copartnership with idolaters could hardly be for the advantage of the faith. Nor is it difficult to see that Solomon's commerce grew at the expense of his religion. Riches, proverbially a dangerous possession, were with him—wise though he was—a step toward utter ruin. All the time that his fleets were ploughing the main, that caravans of merchants were filling his store cities, that he was driving bargains with the Syrians and Hittites, leanness was spreading in his soul—he was becoming more and more a secular prince. And yet this commerce, it is easy to see, may have been in its commencement unexceptionable. Possibly it was in part undertaken to provide gold for the embellishment of the temple. But it soon engendered, if, indeed, it was not engendered by, that "love of money which is the root of all evil." As Solomon grew richer he loved riches more. Verse 23 is full of significance. "So Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and wisdom." Time was when wisdom held the first place (ch. 3 : 11). And so it came to pass that he who at first was "rich toward God," and who, like David his father, had only accumulated gold for the glory of the sanctuary, proceeded to "multiply silver and gold to himself" (De. 17 : 17). And so the years passed by. To all outward appearance his glory and magnificence increased. It is very suggestive to consider how hollow was that prosperity which was the marvel of the world, and how that wisdom which was so renowned was foolishness with God. The court became more splendid, more voluptuous, more dazzling, but the man became year by year poorer and meaner and baser. It only needed one step more—and apparently he was not long in taking that—to complete his defection. The other monarchs of his time had their seraglios. It was necessary that he, too, should have an establishment of this kind, and he must have it even greater than theirs. He knew that the law forbade the multiplication of wives, but he had violated the law already; he might just as well do it again. And so the Lord's anointed gathered round him in the holy city a thousand strange, immodest women. His fleets and merchants brought him mistresses from every land. And they brought with them their foreign rites, and the effeminate king was taken captive by their charms, and they had their way, and nothing would suffice them but he must tolerate their religion, and what he did for one he must do for all, and so the end of sin and shame is reached, and the decline becomes a fall, and "the darling of Jehovah," the wisest of men, the representative of Heaven, the builder of the temple, the type of our Lord, builds altars to the "abominations" of Moab and Ammon "in the hill that is before Jerusalem." Hammond. So fatally may the noblest personal endowments and the richest advantages of life foster the evil tendencies of the heart when once it has surrendered itself to their control. If it be true that "there is a soul of goodness in things evil," it is equally true that nothing is so good but that the spirit of evil may transform it into an instrument of moral injury. The fascinations of outward life are full of danger when that spirit lurks within. The wealth of a man's intellectual resources, the multitude of his possessions, the range of his influence, do but put into his hands the more abundant means of wrong-doing when his heart is not loyal to the good and true. Waite. #### Causes of His Fall. How came this wisest of men, without fellow before or since, whose wisdom was so profound, so real, so boundless, whose wisdom came from God and led to God, and who though dead yet speaketh, how came he of all men to go astray? Was it not— Because the heart was not kept. The intellect, i.e., was developed and cultivated at the expense or to the neglect of the spiritual life. "His wives turned away his heart." But how came one of so much wisdom to let his wives turn it away? Because the wisdom had dwarfed and overshadowed the soul; because the moral did not keep pace with the intellectual growth, and it became flaccid and yielding. It is dangerous for wisdom to increase unless piety increases with it. The higher the tower, the broader should be its foundations. If all the weight and width is at the top, it will come to the ground with a crash. Even so, if wisdom is not to destroy its possessor, the basis of love and piety must be broadened. "Knowledge bloweth up, but charity buildeth up." The head of a colossus needs the trunk of a colossus to sustain it. Because his own precepts were not kept. It was because he leaned to his own understanding that this giant form fell prostrate. It was because he forgot his warnings against the strange woman that he fell a prey to strange women. The keeper of the vineyards did not keep his own (Cant. 1: 6). He was not true to himself, and he soon proved false to his God. After preaching to others, he himself became a cast-away. A solemn warning this to every preacher and teacher. Because pride poisoned his wisdom and perverted his gifts. There was no decay of mental power; the force was unabated, but it was misdirected. Pride took her place at the helm. It is pride, not sensuality, accounts for his army of wives and concubines. But if pride brought them, pleasure kept them. Hammond. #### Its Chief Lesson. Solomon's great sin was the encouragement and the establishment of idolatry in and about Jerusalem. The great providential purpose of Israel was the maintenance of faith in, and worship of, one true God. It was to this inheritance of faith and duty, consecrated by the struggles of so many generations, that Solomon had succeeded. The building of the temple was the great work of his life, and it is this fall which throws his later apostasy into such painful relief. The temptation came to him chiefly through his affections. Solomon's wives could do what probably no one man in his empire could possibly have done—they perverted the heart of the wisest of men. Solomon's fall was not prevented by his old age, nor by his knowledge, nor by previous sincerity. We have no means of solving the question of Solomon's final salvation; but this is certain, that his sin brought its penalty in this world: "I will surely rend the kingdom from him." The practical lesson of such a fall as Solomon's is, that perseverance in God's service is not a matter of course with any one of us, but that it is a distinct gift or grace of God, to be secured by watchfulness and prayer. We who are neither kings nor sages may well take warning by this history of the wisest of kings. Let us watch the issues, we can never fully explore the depths of these hearts of ours. Let us grasp the hands that were pierced in mercy for us on the cross. Let us look constantly, humbly, to God, as the source of our strength. H. P. L. 1. K. 11 : 14** And the LORD raised up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite : 15 he was of the king's seed in Edom. For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and Joab the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, and had smitten every male in Edom ; 16 (for Joab and all Israel remained there six months, until he had cut off every male in Edom ;) that Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father's servants with him, to go into Egypt ; Hadad being yet a little child. And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran : and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unto Pharaoh king of Egypt ; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. 19 And Hadad found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh's house : and Genubath was in Pharaoh's house among the sons of Pharaoh. And when Hadad heard in Egypt that David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country. Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country? And he answered, Nothing : howbeit let me depart in any wise. 23 And God raised up another adversary unto him, Rezon the son of Eliada, which had fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah : and he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a troop, when David slew them of Zobah ; and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did : and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. 26 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite of Zeredah, a servant of Solomon, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, he also lifted up his hand against the king. And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king : Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breach of the city of David his father. And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valor : and Solomon saw the young man that he was industrious, and he gave him charge over all the labor of the house of Joseph. And it came to pass at that time, when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way ; now Ahijah had clad himself with a new garment ; and they two were alone in the field. And Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces. And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces ; for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee : (but he shall have one tribe, for my servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel ;) because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of Moab, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon ; and they have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand : but I will make him prince all the days of his life, for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept my command- 35 ments and my statutes : but I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand, and will give it 36 unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a lamp alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my 37 name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul de- 38 sireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that which is right in mine eyes, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did ; that I will be with thee, and 39 will build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. And I will 40 for this afflict the seed of David, but not forever. Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam ; but Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. Solomon's adversaries. As the historian has collected together in chaps. 6, 7, 8, all the information he can convey respecting the temple, and in chaps. 9, 10, all the scattered notices respecting Solomon's power and greatness, so here he arranges in one section the history of Solomon's adversaries. It must not be supposed that the following records stand in due chronological order. The enmities here mentioned did not date from the delivery of the message of which we have just heard ; on the contrary, the hatred and opposition of Hadad and Rezon began at an early period, though not the earliest (ch. 5 : 4), of Solomon's reign. It was only in his later life, however, that they materially affected his position and rule ; hence it is that they are brought before us at this stage of the history, and also because they are manifestly regarded as chastisements for Solomon's sin. Hammond. Solomon's sin shall not escape the rod of men. Rather than so wise an offender shall want enemies, God shall raise up three adversaries unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite, Rezon the king of Aram, Jeroboam the son of Nebat ; whereof two were foreign, one an Israelite. Nothing but love and peace sounded in the name of Solomon ; nothing else was found in his reign while he held in good terms with his God ; but when once he fell foul with his Maker all things began to be troubled. There are whips laid up against the time of Solomon's foreseen offence, which are now brought forth for his correction. On purpose was Hadad the son of the king of Edom hid in a corner of Egypt from the sword of David and Joab, that he might be reserved for a scourge to the exorbitant son of David. God would have us make account, that our peace ends with our innocence. The same sin that sets debate betwixt God and us arms the creatures against us. Bp. H. 14. Ill-suppressed enmity in Edom (far southeast) and more active opposition and intrigue at Damascus (in the northeast)—in short, the danger of a combination like that which had so severely taxed the resources of David : such, so far as concerned external politics, were the darkening prospects of Solomon's later years. But the terms in which Holy Scripture speaks of these events deserve special notice. We are told, that "Jehovah stirred up" or, rather, "raised up" these adversaries unto Solomon (verses 14, 23). The expression clearly points to Divine Causality in the matter (comp. De. 18 : 15, 18 ; Ju. 2 : 18 ; 1 S. 2 : 35 ; Jer. 29 : 15 ; Ezek. 34 : 23). Not, indeed, that the ambitious or evil passions of men's hearts are incited of God, but that while each, in the exercise of his free will, chooses his own course, the Lord overrules all, so as to serve for the chastisement of sin and the carrying out of His own purposes (comp. Ps. 2 : 1, 2 ; Is. 10 : 1-3). A. E. 15-21. Story of Hadad. In Joab's ruthless war of extermination against Edom (verses 15, 16), the king of Edom seems to have been slain, and all his immediate household, save this then infant prince, Hadad. Some faithful servants carried off their young master, and being joined by other fugitives on the road, went down into Egypt. The king of that country received the young prince with truly royal hospitality and consideration. He assigned to him and his followers a suitable provision : "he gave him a house, appointed him victuals, and gave him land ;" and when Hadad grew up, he bestowed upon him the sister of his queen Tahpenes in marriage. By her he had a son, Genubath, who as soon as he was old enough to be separated from his mother, was removed to the royal palace, where he was weaned by the queen and brought up with the royal children. When Hadad reached to riper years, the keen remembrance of his native land, his lost kingdom, and the slaughter of all his house, gathered strength within him ; and all the ease and princely honor which he enjoyed in Egypt, availed not against the claims of ambition, vengeance, and patriotism. He dreamed of recovering the throne of his fathers; he dreamed of exacting stern vengeance for the blood of his kin and country; he dreamed of making to himself a name like unto the names of the great ones that were upon the earth. These things he dreamed, and "Dreams grow realities to earnest men." And he was earnest. It was not without difficulty that he obtained leave of the Egyptian king, by whom he had been so generously entertained, to take his departure. It does not appear that he ventured fully to disclose his real objects, for which a reason may be found in the fact that this king was in amicable relations with Solomon, and the same, apparently, whose daughter had been espoused to the Hebrew king. Proceeding to Edom, the attempts which Hadad made to recover his kingdom seem to have given considerable trouble to the Hebrew government; but the strong garrisons which David had left in the land, and which Solomon maintained there, prevented them from being successful. Seeing that his case was for the time hopeless in that quarter, Hadad, instead of returning to Egypt, determined to push his fortunes in another direction. He therefore went and joined himself to Rezon, who had already given considerable disturbance to Solomon's power in Syria. This Rezon had some command under that great Hadadezer, king of Zobah, whose overthrow formed one of the most renowned military acts of David's reign. It seems that, on the defeat of the Syrian host, Rezon succeeded in drawing off the force under his command, and enlisting their service in his own interest. Subsisting them for a time in the wilderness by the then common method of predatory warfare, he gradually acquired a sort of fixed power over a portion of Syria nearest to the desert, and eventually established a kingdom, of which Damascus became the capital. All this could not have been effected without much loss and disadvantage to the Hebrew king, especially by interrupting his communication with Tadmor and the Euphrates, and by harassing, if not destroying, the important trade established on that line of route. It was to this prince that Hadad carried his sword when he found that he could not employ it with any advantage in Edom. Hadad seems to have been a very engaging or very plausible person, for he is well received and wins high favor wherever he goes. Rezon gave him and his followers a most encouraging reception, and afforded them assistance in establishing themselves in another and neighboring portion of Syria, where Hadad seems to have had ample opportunities of disturbing the peace of Solomon. Nor is this all: for when Rezon died, Hadad added his dominions to his own; and thus became the virtual founder of that important kingdom of Damascene-Syria, which we afterward find in powerful and often successful warfare with the Israelites. Hadad was, on account of his success and his royal qualities, so much honored by his successors, that Ben-Hadad, "son of Hadad," became a common name among them, if, indeed, it was not made an official title, like that of Pharaoh in Egypt. The reader will not find all this in Scripture, for the intimations respecting Hadad and Rezon, and, in particular, respecting the connection between them, are too brief; but these facts appear plainly in the succeeding history. Kit. These hostile neighbors, who had been long kept in check by the traditional fame of David's victories, took courage, and breaking out toward the latter end of Solomon's reign, must have not only disturbed his kingdom by their inroads, but greatly crippled his revenue by stopping his lucrative traffic with Tadmor and the Euphrates. Jamieson. Verses 26-40. We have here the first mention of that infamous name, Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that made Israel to sin; he is here brought upon the stage as an adversary to Solomon, whom God had expressly told, that he would give the greatest part of his kingdom to his servant, and Jeroboam was the man. H. —Jeroboam was an internal enemy of a still more formidable character. He was a young man of talent and energy, who, having been appointed by Solomon superintendent of the engineering works projected around Jerusalem, had risen into public notice, and on being informed by a very significant act of the prophet Ahijah of the royal destiny which, by Divine appointment, awaited him, his mind took a new turn. Jamieson. In order to give still more weight to this announcement, the prophet Ahijah of Shiloh discharges his commission to Jeroboam by a symbolical action, followed by an explanatory statement, as the prophets were often accustomed to do. Verses 34-36 append to verse 32 the precise determination that Solomon shall remain prince during life, and that the separation of the ten tribes from his kingdom shall take place only under his son; both of these from regard to David, who was chosen to be prince and kept the commandments of God. For his sake also Solomon's son is to retain one tribe, that David may have a light alway before the Lord in Jerusalem, the chosen city—that is, that he may never fail in a successor to the throne in Jerusalem. The promise that a light should remain to David, which is repeated four times afterward, is explained by 2 S. 21 : 17, where David is called the light of Israel, which he was only through the Lord, inasmuch as God himself was his light (2 S. 22 : 29); or, as it is in the parallel passage (Ps. 18 : 29), the Lord had made his light clear and his darkness light—that is, had raised him from a state of humility and poverty to high honor and great prosperity, for the lighting of the light is a figure of great prosperity, as the extinguishing of it is a figure of adversity (verses 37-39). The condition on which Jeroboam's prosperity is to rest is the same under which the continuance of his sovereignty was promised to Solomon also—namely, true obedience to the commandments of God and upright walking in the ways of the Lord. Jeroboam did not fulfil this condition, and therefore his house was extirpated under his son. Keil. The story, and the prediction connected with it, probably reached the king's ears, and Jeroboam became a marked man. His aspiring ambition, impatient for the death of Solomon, led him to form plots and conspiracies, in consequence of which he was compelled to flee to Egypt. Though chosen of God, he would not wait the course of God's providence, and therefore incurred the penalty of death by his criminal rebellion. The heavy exactions and compulsory labor (verse 28) which Solomon latterly imposed upon his subjects, when his foreign resources began to fail, had prepared the greater part of the kingdom for a revolt under so popular a demagogue as Jeroboam. Jamieson.—His power became shorn at the borders, and eventually shaken at home, where the discontinuance of many outer supplies of revenue, and probably the interruption of his various lines of trade—no longer in his undisputed possession—urged him, not to economy and retrenchment, but to make good the deficiency by the taxation of his subjects. Kit. The burden which the new monarch imposed on the people must, in the course of time, have weighed heavily upon them. The succession of great architectural undertakings in Jerusalem and its neighborhood, as well as the building of extensive cities and storehouses all over the land, however useful and necessary some of these might be, involved a long continuance of forced labor, wholly foreign to the spirit of a free people, and which diverted from their proper channels the industrial forces of the country. Nor was this all. The support of such a king and court must have proved a heavy demand on the resources of the nation. To have to pay enormous taxes, and for many long years to be deprived during so many months of the heads and the bread-winners of the family, that they might do what seemed slaves' labor for the glorification of a king, whose rule was every year becoming weaker, would have excited dissatisfaction even among a more enduring people than those tribes who had so long enjoyed the freedom and the privileges of a federated Republic. It only needed a leader, and once more Ephraim furnished him. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat and of a widow named Zeruah, was a native of Zereda or Zererath, within the territory of Ephraim. The sacred text describes him as a "mighty man of valor." His energy, talent, and aptitude pointed him out as a fit permanent overseer of the forced labor of his tribe. It was a dangerous post to assign to a man of such power and ambition. His tribesmen, as a matter of course, came to know him as their chief and leader, while in daily close intercourse he would learn their grievances and sentiments. In such circumstances the result which followed was natural. The bold, strong, and ambitious Ephraimite, "ruler over all the burden of the house of Joseph," became the leader of the popular movement against Solomon. It was, no doubt, in order to foment the elements of discontent already existing, as well as because his position in the city must have become untenable, that "Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem" (verse 29). When "the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way, Jeroboam had already planned, or rather commenced, his revolt against Solomon. Himself an Ephraimite (from Shiloh), the prophet would not only be acquainted with Jeroboam, but also know the sentiments of his tribesmen and the views of their new leader. It was not, therefore, Ahijah who incited Jeroboam to rebellion by the symbolical act of rending his new garment in twelve pieces, giving him ten of the pieces, while those retained were emblematic of what would be left to the house of David. Rather did he act simply as the Divine messenger to Jeroboam, after the latter had resolved on his own course. The event was, indeed, ordered of God in punishment of the sin of Solomon (verses 11-13); and the intimation of this fact, with its lessons of warning, was the principal object of Ahijah's mission and message. But the chief actor had long before chosen his own part, being prompted, as Holy Scripture puts it, by a settled ambition to usurp the throne (verse 37); while the movement of which he took advantage was not only the result of causes long at work, but might almost have been forecast by any observer acquainted with the state of matters. Thus we learn once more how, in the Providence of God, a result which, when predicted, seems miraculous, and is really such, so far as the Divine operation is concerned, is brought about, not only through the free agency of man, but by a series of natural causes while at the same time all is guided and overruled of God for His own wise and holy purposes. Indeed, closely considered, the words of the prophet, so far from inciting Jeroboam to rebellion against Solomon, should rather have deterred him from it. The scene is sketched in vivid outline: Jeroboam, in whose soul tribal pride, disgust at his work, contempt for the king, irrepressible energy, and high-reaching ambition, combined with a knowledge of the feelings of his tribesmen, have ripened into stern resolve, has left Jerusalem. The time for secret intrigue and dissimulation is past; that for action has arrived. As he leaves the hated city-walls—memorials of Ephraim's servitude—and ascends toward the heights of Benjamin and Ephraim, a strange figure meets him. It is his countryman from Shiloh, the prophet Ahijah. No salutation passes between them, but Ahijah takes hold of the new square cloth or upper mantle in which he has been wrapped, and rends it in twelve pieces. It is not, as usually, in token of mourning, though sadness must have been in the prophet's heart, but as a symbol of what is to happen—as it were, God's answer to Jeroboam's thoughts. Yet the judgment predicted is not to take effect in Solomon's lifetime (verses 34, 35); and any attempt at revolt, such as Jeroboam seems to have made (verses 26, 40), was in direct contravention of God's declared will. Unlike David, who, though anointed king, would make no attempt upon the crown during Saul's lifetime, Jeroboam, despite the express warning of God, "lifted up his hand against the king." The result was failure and flight into Egypt. Nor did Jeroboam keep the statutes and commandments of the Lord; and after a brief reign his son fell by the hand of the assassin (1 K. 15: 28). Lastly, and most important of all—the Messianic bearing of the promise to David, and the Divine choice of Jerusalem and its Temple, were fatally put aside or forgotten by Jeroboam and his successors on the throne of Israel. The schism in the kingdom became one from the Theocracy; and the rejection of the central Sanctuary resulted, as might have been expected, in the establishment of idolatry in Israel. A. E. # 1. That which he suffered in his own person. His life was shortened. Probably by the operation of natural laws. It is not suggested that he was directly smitten of God; it is quite possible that his rank voluptuousness destroyed his energies and induced premature decay. But his days were cut short. Not only was long life the principal sanction of the dispensation under which he lived, but it had been expressly promised him as the reward of piety. But his sun went down while it was yet noon. He was not sixty when the mandate went forth, "Remove the diadem, and take off the crown" (Ez. 21: 26). And if it be true, what Dr. Johnson said to David Garrick when the latter showed him his elegant house at Richmond, that great and rare earthly possessions "make deathbeds miserable," it must have cost Solomon a sharp pang to leave so soon his cedar palace and his chryselephantine throne. His life was embittered. If, as is most probable, we have in the Book of Ecclesiastes a chapter of his autobiography, it is clear that his glory brought him little satisfaction; there was a worm at the root of all his pleasures. Of what avail were his houses, his gardens, his pools of water, so long as he had not the heart to enjoy them? "It is the mind that maketh good or ill, That maketh wretch'd or happy, rich or poor, For some, that hath abundance at his will, Hath not enough, but seeks a greater store." He knew nothing of "the royalty of inward happiness." How different Paul, "Having nothing, yet possessing all things," etc. (2 Cor. 6: 10). What a commentary on the "confessions" of Solomon, as they have been called, with their everlasting refrain, their vanitas vanitatum, is that confession of a man who suffered one long martyrdom of pain—the Baptist minister, Robert Hall—"I enjoy everything." He was tortured by remorse. This surely may with good reason be inferred. For the wisest of men could not be so insensate, when he heard the message of doom, as not to reflect how different his end was to be from his beginning; how fair the flower and how bitter the fruit. Surely the cry he has put into others' lips would often rise from his own, "How have I hated instruction," etc. (Prov. 5 : 12). He was haunted by forebodings. "This great Babylon" which he had builded, how soon should it be destroyed. The empire which he had consolidated should barely last his life. "One tribe"—how those words would ring in his ears! Then he had good reason, too, to fear that his son was one of the class he had himself described (Prov. 10 : 1 ; 15 ; 20 ; 17 ; 25 ; 29 ; 13), and no match for Jeroboam, of whose designs upon the throne he cannot have been ignorant. He had the mortification of knowing that his "servant" would enter into his labors. And to the prospect of dissensions within was added the certainty of disaffection without. Hadad and Rezon were already on his border, and were only biding their time. The political horizon was, indeed, black and lowering. ## 2. The calamities which befell Solomon's house and kingdom. In the infatuation of his son. Was there ever a political crisis so wofully mismanaged as that which marked Rehoboam's accession? A few pacific words, a graceful concession, and all would have gone well. But his brutal obstinacy precipitated his downfall. It is for us to remember that "his mother's name was Naamah, an Ammonitess." And this is the result of multiplying wives. In the dismemberment of his kingdom. The vast empire which Solomon had founded with so much care and pains, how short a time sufficed to tear it asunder. What a contrast between the "one tribe," with its barren territory, and the description of ch. 4 : 20, 21. How had he spent his strength for naught, or rather for his slave Jeroboam, who inherited all the fairest and wealthiest portions of the realm. In the invasion of Shishak. For he had not long slept with his fathers when the vast treasures which he had lavished on the palace of the Lord and his own palaces were carried away to Egypt. All the precious metals which David had accumulated, all the acquisitions of Solomon's mon's fleets, all the royal offerings of the queen of Sheba and of tributary kings—gone to the sons of the stranger, to the swart children of Ham. He had amassed prodigious wealth, but it was for aliens and enemies. Not only the shields and drinking vessels, but the candlesticks, bowls, and the very laminae which had glorified the sanctuary, all fell to the invader. And this was the end of multiplying silver and gold to himself. He had put it all into a bag with holes (Hag. 1 : 6). In the demoralization of his people. For the idolatries of Judah, the images, the groves, the Sodomites (ch. 14 : 23), were but the continuation and development of the idolatries which Solomon had inaugurated. His son did but reap the crop which himself had sown. Nay, so exact is the lex talionis that we presently find a queen of Judah erecting a "horror" for the most shameful of rites (ch. 15 : 13). And this was the result of building altars for his queens and princesses "on the hill that is before Jerusalem," that within a few years the Lord's people, whose was the law and the temple, built them high places, "on every high hill and under every green tree" (ch. 14 : 23). This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/ 1. AND Rehoboam went to Shechem : for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him 2 king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, (for he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt, and they sent and called him ;) 3 that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, 4 saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous : now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will 5 serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. 6 And the people departed. And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye 7 me to return answer to this people ? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will 8 be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that 9 stood before him. And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father 10 did put upon us lighter ? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us ; thus shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger is thicker 11 than my father's loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke : my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise 12 you with scorpions. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me 13 again the third day. And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had 14 given him ; and spake to them after the 12 : 21 AND when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel : return every man to his house ; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the word of the LORD, and returned and went their way, according to the word of the LORD. 14 : 21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there : and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess, And Judah did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD ; and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherim, on every high hill, and under every green tree ; and there were also sodomites in the land : they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD drove out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass in the fifth year of king tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice unto the LORD, the 17 God of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon. And Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; and she bare him sons; Jeush, and Shemariah, and Za- 20 ham. And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines, and begat twenty and eight sons and threescore daughters.) 22 And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, even the prince among his brethren: for he was minded to make 23 him king. And he dealt wisely, and dis- Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt 26 came up against Jerusalem: and he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had 27 made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house. 28 And it was so, that as oft as the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard bare them, and brought them back into the 29 guard chamber. Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of 30 the kings of Judah? And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam contin- 31 ually. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead. persed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he sought for them many wives. 12:1 And it came to pass, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was 2 strong, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, 3 because they had trespassed against the LORD, with twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; 4 the Lubim, the Sukkim, and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced cities which pertained 5 to Judah, and came unto Jerusalem. Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you in the 6 hand of Shishak. Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they 7 said, The LORD is righteous. And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them: but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out 8 upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they 9 may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all away: he took away also the shields of gold 10 which Solomon had made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, that kept the door of the king's 11 house. And it was so, that as oft as the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard 12 came and bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him alto- 13 gether: and moreover in Judah there were good things found. So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was 14 Naamah the Ammonitess. And he did that which was evil, because he set not his heart to 15 seek the LORD. Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the manner of genealogies? And 16 there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead. Introductory. Having fully treated the separate history of Israel, we proceed to present a similar treatment of the remaining branch of the divided kingdom of Solomon. The history of the kingdom of Judah is most largely given in the Chronicles, which were probably written by Ezra soon after the return from the Captivity in Babylon. Then the newly gathered people, mainly Judahites or Jews, needed a fresh reminder of their entire history, with its many impressive lessons. In tracing the parallel progress of the two kingdoms, certain outline facts should be borne in mind from the outset. 1. They have the same starting-point—n.c. 975. 2. Israel lasts two hundred and fifty-four years and Judah three hundred and eighty-eight years. 3. Each kingdom has nineteen kings. 4. The kings of Israel came from eleven distinct families. 5. Those of Judah all belonged to the family of David, thus fulfilling God's "pledge given as if by a covenant of salt, that the house of David should never perish." B. The kingdom of Judah lasted three hundred and eighty-eight years, n.c. 975-587. The history of the kingdom of Judah is the history of a dynasty rather than of a nation—of a city rather than of a country. Its title reveals to us its strength as well as its weakness. The tribe of Judah, the city of Jerusalem, the family of David, had acquired too much fame during the preceding reigns to be easily lost. The lamp or torch of David was always burning, although it seemed at times on the verge of extinction. There was a pledge given as if by a covenant of salt, that the house of David should never perish (2 Chron. 13: 5). Stanley. | PERIODS IN JUDAH'S HISTORY. | KINGS OF JUDAH. | LENGTH OF REIGNS. | PROPHETS. | KINGS OF ISRAEL. | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | I. First Religious Decline and First Religious Revival—about 86 years... | 1 Rehoboam. 2 Abijam. 3 Asa. 4 JEHOSHAPHAT. | 17 years. 3 ... 41 ... 25 ... | Shemaiah, Iddo. Azariah, Hanam. Jehu, Jahaziel. | Jeroboam. Jeroboam. Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri Omri. Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehoram. | | II. Second Decline and Second Revival—about 207 years... | 5 Jehoram. 6 Ahaziah. (Athaliah.) | 8 ... 1 ... 6 ... | | Jehoram. Jehoram. Jehu. | | | 7 Joash. | 40 ... | Zechariah (son of Jehoiada). | Jehu, Jehoahaz. | | | 8 Amaziah. | 29 ... | Hosea, Amos | Joash, Jeroboam II. | | | 9 Uzziah (or Azariah) | 52 ... | Joel, Zechariah II. | Zechariah, Shalium, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah. | | | 10 Jotham. | 16 ... | Isaiah, Micah. | Pekah. | | | 11 Ahaz. | 16 ... | | Pekah, Hoshea. | | | 12 HEZEKIAH. | 29 ... | Nahum. | Hoshea. | | III. Third Decline and Third Revival—about 88 years. | 13 Manasseh. 14 Amon. 15 JOSIAH. | 55 ... 2 ... 31 ... | Zephaniah, Jeremiah. | | | IV. Final Decline—about 23 years... | 16 Jehoahaz. 17 Jehoiakim. 18 Jehoiachin. 19 Zedekiah. | 14 ... 11 ... 14 ... 11 ... | Habakkuk. Obadiah. | | In a religious point of view, the history of the kingdom of Judah may be divided into four periods, as indicated in the above table. It is remarkable how closely the religious character of the several periods corresponded to that of the monarchs who sat upon the throne. Under Rehoboam and Abijam, religion underwent a decline, from which it began to recover in the reign of Asa; while under Jehoshaphat the revival was decided and complete. A second decline commenced with the reign of Jehoram, the son-in-law of Ahab and Jezebel, and went on through a long succession of reigns—the spiritual thermometer falling lowest in that of Ahaz. The darkest hour of night, however, was succeeded by the dawn; under Hezekiah, the son and successor of Ahaz, the firmament brightened again. With Manasseh a new decline, more terrible than any that had preceded, began; followed, in the days of his grandson, Josiah, by a new and most interesting revival. The sons and successors of Josiah were not like-minded with himself; the old corruptions broke out afresh; and with the awful catastrophe of the Babylonian Captivity, the glory departed from the kingdom of Judah. W. G. B. The history of the kingdom of Judah has a kingdom of Israel. Though much smaller, es- character essentially different from that of the pecially after Idumea, the only one of the mountainous districts which at the disruption fell to the share of Judah, had gained its independence, it was still superior to the kingdom of Israel in internal strength. This resulted partly from its possession of the genuine sanctuary with its legitimate worship, its influential priesthood, and Levitical orders; and partly from its royal house, which, unlike most of the dynasties of the neighboring kingdom, had not been raised to the throne by revolution, but possessed the sanction of legitimacy and a settled succession, and was especially consecrated by the memory of its illustrious ancestor David, and the Divine promises vouchsafed to his race. Moreover, among the nineteen monarchs (not counting Athaliah) who occupied the throne three hundred and eighty-seven years, from Rehoboam till the fall of the State, there were at least some individuals distinguished for high administrative talents, in whom the ideal of the theocratic kingship was revived, such as Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Josiah. Thus the kingdom gained a moral strength that prevented the wild spirit of insurrection and discord, by which the other kingdom was disturbed, from attaining anything like the same proportions. The opposition, indeed, between the natural inclinations of the people and the moral strictness of Jehovah could not but lead to conflicts here also; nay, the contrast between the two was all the sharper, because a syncretistic intermingling of heathenism and Jehovah could not be so easily effected—a circumstance which explains the fact, that when the former did get the upper hand in Judah, it appeared in a still grosser form than in the kingdom of Israel. By reason, however, of the firm foundation which the continuance of the legitimate theocratic authorities afforded to Jehovah in the State, there was no need of bloody revolutions to reinstate the latter in its rights, but only of reformations, and these were effected not so much by the energetic efforts of the prophets as by the kings themselves. Besides, since the preservation of the theocratic ordinances did not devolve in Judah exclusively upon the prophets, their position was different from that which they occupied in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. At times their agency was exercised in perfect harmony with that of the two other theocratic powers; and reformations of worship being repeatedly undertaken by the kings, they were able to limit themselves to the ministry of the word. The prophets, finding in Judah the basis afforded by existing theocratic institutions, were not under the necessity of establishing new props; and there is no sort of evidence that schools of the prophets, or associations such as existed in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, were organized in Judah. In the historical notices of the kingdom of Judah we meet only with individual prophets, a succession of whom continues, with but inconsiderable gaps, down to the Captivity, and it was only around eminent prophets like Isaiah (cf. 8:16), and afterward Jeremiah, that small circles of disciples were gathered, in whom the word of God fell upon good ground, in the midst of a rebellious nation, and was transmitted to future generations. With respect to the course of events in the kingdom of Judah, a cursory glance presents a tolerably uniform alternation of apostasy from Jehovah and return to Him. Certain kings suffer idolatry to spring up; this finds support in the high places existing in different parts of the country, and such apostasy is followed by punishment in the calamities which then overtake the nation. Then arises again a pious king, who exerts himself to keep the people faithful to the legitimate sanctuary, and vindicates the authority of the legal worship, till at length, after repeated reformations, the apostasy and corruption becomes so great that judgment sets in without intermission. O. 2. Chron. 11:1-4.** Rehoboam's preparation of a great army to recover the heritage of Solomon by conquest of the revolted tribes was countermanded by the word of the Lord at the mouth of the prophet Shemaiah, and the Divine command was instantly heeded by king and people. B. 4. The words of the prophet were addressed not only to the king but to the assembled warriors, and were imperative upon the latter—"Return every man to his house;" and, we are immediately told, "They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart." There is no reason to suppose that they would have remained under arms after such a command, however much Rehoboam had wished them to do so. They obeyed the prophet, and he could not but do the same. Kitto. That portion of the tribe of Dan which dwelt in their original lot (Josh. 19:40 sqq.), between Benjamin, Judah and Ephraim, belonged to Judah. A few Danite cities are mentioned (2 Chron. 11:10; 28:18) as pertaining to the kingdom of Judah; but since this tribe dwelt partly in the north, it may nevertheless be reckoned among the ten. Thus Rehoboam's army may correctly be spoken of (1 K. 12:23) as "all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people." Among the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, mentioned (verse 17) as Rehoboam's subjects, were probably included members of other tribes also. And when to these are added the numerous emigrations from the northern kingdom into that of Judah in succeeding centuries (cf. 2 Chron. 15: 9), it may well be said that among the Jews, which name now arose in the southern kingdom, all Israel was represented. The disruption of Israel was from this time irremediable; in a short time, not reckoning the reigns of Ahab and Jehoshaphat and their immediate successors, the separated kingdoms took hostile positions with respect to each other, and at last consumed their strength in sanguinary wars. The external glory of the kingdom was at an end; but prophecy never ceased to direct the expectation of the nation to the future reunion of the twelve tribes under one head of the house of David. Oehler. 11-17. Three years of peace followed. The only notable occurrence during this tranquil interval was the gradual exodus of the Levites from the northern kingdom, where they were subject to indignities, and their concentration within the territorial limits of Judah and Benjamin, where they were respected and honored. This exodus was followed by that of many pious Israelites, who disliked Jeroboam's religious innovations, and were attached to the worship of Jehovah, as established by David and Solomon. The northern kingdom was thus continually weakened and the southern one strengthened (2 Chron. 11: 13-17). G. R. Rehoboam's policy drew almost all the priesthood into his dominions of the nation, and brought in large accessions of population from the territory of the revolted tribes; so that though his country, consisting only of the two southern tribes, was inferior in extent, and yet more in fertility and natural resources, it matched well the sister kingdom in the north, and during his reign and the reigns of his successors, he successfully warded off its enmity. "He fortified the strongholds and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine. And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong." So much he did for external defence. And to preserve internal order and tranquillity, and to prevent contention among his numerous sons—for it is recorded of him that he had twenty-eight—as well as to avert the danger of a disputed succession after his death, he separated them, "and dispersed all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance." Surely, here was some good statesmanship and political sagacity. And thus it appears that Rehoboam, through the great folly with which he started in his public career, has left on his fame an indelible blot—was not altogether a simpleton or a trifler, nor altogether unworthy of his birth as the son of the wise King Solomon. R. Hallam. 16. To his new order of priests Jeroboam probably gave the consecrated lands and the right of tithes which the Levites had previously enjoyed, thus reducing the bulk of the old sacerdotal body to absolute penury. A fresh impetus was in this way given to the exodus which had already begun; and the example of their sacerdotal guides being followed by many of the more godly among the Israelites. Jeroboam found the number of his own subjects continually diminishing, and the number of his rival's subjects increasing, through an emigration which it was almost impossible for him to stop, or even to confine within moderate limits by his own unassisted efforts. G. R. 12: 1. The effect of prosperity upon Rehoboam and his people. He occupies the first three years of his reign of seventeen in fortifying Jerusalem and fifteen walled cities; in reorganizing the government over the two tribes; and in assigning homes to the large number of priests and Levites, and of families, exiled from the Ten Tribes by Jeroboam for loyalty to the worship of Jehovah. With this establishment of his throne came a sense of power and security, shared alike by king and people. Indulgence naturally followed with the decline of religious feeling, soon reaching the point of utter disobedience to the law of the Lord. Groves, with their abominations, high places and images, with their idolatries, were the natural and speedy outcome of their apostasy. Although forty-one years old when he began to reign, Rehoboam seems to have been extremely self-ignorant and weak. His foolish response to the representatives of the Ten Tribes, by which he repelled them and divided the kingdom of Solomon, clearly shows this. So does his ready yielding to the idolatrous tendencies of all surrounding nations, though helped, doubtless, by his Ammonite mother's training; while his replacement of the golden shields with those of brass, to be used in mere personal display of kingly state and authority, also indicated a vain, weak character. B. 2. Chron. 12: 1-12. The most important event in this history is told in fullest detail in the Book of Kings (14: 22-24); its punishment at the hand of God in the Book of Chronicles (12 : 2, 12). After the first three years of Rehoboam's reign a great change seems to have come over the religious aspect of the country. Rehoboam and Judah did not, indeed, openly renounce the worship of Jehovah. On the contrary, we find that the king continued to attend the house of the Lord in royal state, and that after the incursion of Shishak there was even a partial religious revival (verses 11, 12). Still the general character of this period was, that "Rehoboam forsook the law of Jehovah, and all Israel with him;" that "he did evil in that he did not set his heart on seeking Jehovah" (verses 1, 14), and, lastly, that "Judah did the evil in the sight of Jehovah, and provoked Him to jealousy (viewing the relation between the Lord and Israel as one of marriage, Num. 5 : 14—more than anything which their fathers had done by their sins which they sinned" (1 K. 14 : 22). These sins consisted in building Bamoth, or "high places"—i.e., altars, on every high hill, and setting up in every grove Mazeeboth, or memorial-stones and pillars dedicated to Baal, and Asherim, or trunks of trees dedicated to Astarte (with all the vileness which their service implied). The Divine punishment was not long withheld. Once more it came in the course of natural causation, through the political motives which influenced Shishak, and led him to support Jeroboam. In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign Shishak marched a large army of Egyptians, Lybians, Sukkim ("tent-dwellers"? Arabs?), and Ethiopians, with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen, into Judea, and after taking the fenced cities along his route, advanced upon Jerusalem, where Rehoboam and his army were gathered. Once more the prophet Shemaiah averted a contest, which could only have ended in disaster. On showing them that the national danger, though apparently arising from political causes, was really due to their sin against Jehovah (verse 2), and that it was needless to fight, since, as they had been God-forsaking, they were now God-forsaken (verse 5), the king and his princes humbled themselves. Thereupon the Lord intimated through His prophet that He would "grant them deliverance for a little while," on condition of their submitting to Shishak. The reason for this, "that they may know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries," as well as the terms by which the promised deliverance was qualified, contained the most solemn warning of the ultimate consequences of apostasy. Yet the Divine forbearance continued other three hundred and seventy years before the threatened judgment burst upon the nation. But at this time Jerusalem was spared. Voluntary submission having been made, Shishak entered the city, and contented himself with carrying away the treasures of the Temple and of the palace, including among the latter the famous golden shields used by Solomon's body-guard on state occasions, for which Rehoboam now substituted shields of brass. A. E. It is to be carefully noted that, so long as king and people served the Lord, Shishak was held back from attacking them. Hence we understand why Judah receives earlier and greater stripes than Israel. It was Jeroboam made Israel to sin. It was Judah made Rehoboam to sin. The guilty people, accordingly, are punished by the invasion of their land and the spoliation of their treasure; the guilty king by the destruction of his house. And here again, let us observe, how significant that the chastisement should come from Egypt! Time was when God had punished the idolatries of Egypt through the instrumentality of the Jewish people (Ex. 7-14). Now the tables are turned, and Egypt is employed to avenge the idolatries of Judah. This was the first time that an Egyptian army had crossed their border—the first time, indeed, that the land had sustained the brunt of any invasion. It was the Sodomites and the like had drawn forth those swords from their scabbards. What a contrast between Exodus 14 and 1 Kings 14! Israel, who then "saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore," now feels the grip of Pharaoh at his throat, and the iron of Pharaoh in his soul. Hammond. 2-4. God's dealing with the transgressions of king and people.** Shishak, or Sheshonk, according to the monumental records inscribed upon the walls of the great temple of Karnak, was the first king of the twenty-second dynasty of Egypt. A list of one hundred and thirty-three countries, cities, and tribes ruled by or tributary to him, includes a large number of the cities of Palestine. Some of these were within the kingdom of Jeroboam, but they were cities of the Levites or old Caananites. But the supreme motive and ultimate impelling cause of this Egyptian invasion, lay in the mind of God. Like all human actions, there was connected with this of Shishak a double thread of motive and purpose—the one, superior and overruling, because Divine; the other (the human), free indeed, but overruled in its every detail of result. No clearer, more conclusive statement, in illustration of an inexplicable fact, can we find than this: "Shishak came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord." His army was a vast one, drawn from Egypt and the great countries on the west and south. And his progress was unhindered, his triumph complete. The cities that Rehoboam had walled for defence were taken almost as soon as their walls had been built. And Jerusalem itself was occupied by the Egyptian host. B. When David founded his empire his two powerful neighbors, Egypt and Assyria, were both in a state of decline. Assyria had fallen into the hands of unwarlike kings, who were unable to retain the conquests of their predecessors, even upon their immediate frontiers; while Egypt was divided among rival dynasties and rent with civil wars. Egypt, however, was the first to recover her strength. The monarchs of the twenty-second dynasty once more united the country under one rule, and Shishak or Sheshonk I. turned his arms against the cities of Palestine. The brief account given in 1 K. 14: 25, 26, and the fuller history in these verses of his invasion of Judah and his capture of Jerusalem, are supplemented by his own record of it on the walls of the ruined temple of Karnak. Sayce. In the Scriptures Shishak appears first in 1 K. 11: 40, as then the king of Egypt to whom Jeroboam fled for protection from Solomon. This fact indicates a decisive change in the policy of the Egyptian court since Solomon took to wife the daughter of the reigning monarch. It suggests another dynasty, of other, not to say opposite sympathies and policy. In harmony with this we find that Shishak (the Sheshonk of the Egyptian monuments) was the founder of a new dynasty, the twenty-second. He was not on the best terms with Solomon, and readily took Jeroboam into his confidence and friendship. Naturally, therefore, he only waited for the favorable moment to make this formidable military campaign into Palestine in the interests of his friend Jeroboam. H. C. Shishak, called Sheshonk or Sheshonk on the monuments, and Sesonchis or Sesonchosis by Manetho, ascended the Egyptian throne about B.C. 980 or a little earlier, according to calculations based upon exclusively Egyptian data. He reigned twenty-one years, and toward the close of his reign made an expedition, which he has commemorated on the external wall of the great temple at Karnak. The mode of commemoration is by a representation of himself, and a list of the various cities, countries, and tribes conquered by him, or made tributary, during the expedition. The number of the names was originally one hundred and thirty-three; but of these thirty-two are wholly and fourteen others partly illegible. Of the remaining eighty-seven, about fifty-five had been identified with more or less of probability, while above thirty still defy the comparative geographer. From the fifty-five identifications, many of which are quite certain, it appears that the list contains three classes of names, mainly grouped together—(1) Levitical and Canaanite cities of Israel; (2) cities of Judah; (3) Arab tribes lying to the south of Palestine. According to Mr. R.S. Poole's analysis of the inscription of Sheshonk at Karnak, it appears that the expedition was directed not only against the dominions of Rehoboam, but also against a number of Levitical and Canaanite cities within the territory of Jeroboam himself, and further against certain Arab tribes of the vicinity. The inference is, that Jeroboam obtained Sheshonk's aid in reducing Israelite cities that had declined to submit to him, and also in chastising Arab tribes on his borders which had given him trouble. G. R. On the 14th of February, 1867, the writer and some friends, in one of their visits to Karnak, sought out this sculptured scene and record. Passing from the interior of the great Columnar Hall through a break in the south wall, the sculptures were found near the southwest corner. There were the colossal figures of a conqueror and of a divinity, and the Liliputian figures of a multitude of captives, sculptured in intaglio on the exterior surface of the wall. Accompanying these was an explanatory record, containing the name of the king and the names of the various countries which he had subdued. No doubt exists concerning this representation, so far as is needful to identify it with King Shishak and his Syrian expedition mentioned in the Scriptures; and, although the hour of our visit was oppressively warm, it was no hardship to stand amid the fiery reflections of the sun from the temple wall and surrounding débris, before an inscription which must be accounted one of the most suggestive ever written by the finger of man. N. C. Burt. 5, 6. God's admonitory message, and the responsive humiliation of the king and princes. By the same prophet (Shemaiah) who had five years before forbidden Rehoboam to reconquer the ten rebelling tribes, the word of Jehovah is uttered to the king and chief men of Judah. The message is brief and pointed. Their sin was the cause of their calamities, and this was their sin; that they had turned away from God —from His worship and His law. And this is the substance of all sin, the essence of transgression in every age and generation: turning away from God, disregarding His worship, disobeying His law! The charge uttered by the prophet is not denied. The conscience of the leaders and people acknowledged its truth. And the calamities which were already fallen upon them helped to make the voice of conscience clearer and its sting the sharper. So they humbled themselves in acknowledgment as brief and pointed as the charge: The Lord is righteous! As their sin relates solely to God, so their penitence refers only to Him. David's words of confession fitly express their meaning: Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned; that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest. This, too, is the substance of all true repentance in every age and generation: the return to God with self-accusation for disobedience, and full justification of God's right and merciful dealing. 7, 8. Why and how God's yet severer discipline was withheld. His wrath was not fully "poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak." By the same prophet they learned that God's mercy was interposed on account of their thus penitently humbling themselves before Him. But God would grave the lesson deeper on their souls, as we know they sadly needed. Therefore He left the nation subject to Shishak, and king and people were compelled to pay heavy tribute, even after the loss of all the treasures gathered by David and Solomon, stored in the Temple and palaces of Jerusalem. A point of special instruction is suggested in the reason assigned by the Lord for Judah's enslavement to Shishak. It is that Judah may learn by actual experience whose is the easier, most desirable service—God's or the Egyptian monarch's. It was God's way, under the old and severer Covenant, of saying to Judah, "Return unto Me and take My yoke upon you, for it is easy; and My burden, for it is light!" Through experience only, of the contrast between sore bondage to a foreign tyrant and glad service willingly given to Himself, they would learn that obedience to God was far better. And thus Christ says to all, who have had enough of the sad experience of bondage to sinful self-indulgence, "Come unto Me, and exchange the burdening, wearing yoke of reigning sin for My light burdens and easy restraints!" B. 7. They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them.** Compare the repentance of Ahab (1 K. 21: 27-29) and that of the Ninevites (Jonah 2: 5-10), which produced similar revocations of Divine decrees that had been pronounced by the mouth of a prophet. B. C. 8. May know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.** The history of life is made up of different services. Every man serves something. "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?" In the service of the world you are always dealing with uncertainties. The things of God are sure and forever. He who gives is the unchangeable Jehovah, who never recalls a gift, and all His gifts have in them eternity. In the service of the world nothing ever thoroughly satisfies; nothing meets all the aspirations of a man. In God's service a man has just what his soul wants. The Christian service of religion does not work up to get its great objects. It has them. It does not work for wages, for it has received what it wants as a gift. It works out a salvation which it has. The one service is a service of freedom, the other of bondage. It is bondage to serve where there is no affection. It is bondage to work for what you can get, and not even to be sure that you shall ever get it. But to feel that you are your Father's child, that His eye is looking at you and His hand holding you while you work—that is liberty. It is the same service with that of those servants who serve Him indeed in heaven. J. Vaughan. 9-11. What Shishak took away, and Rehoboam substituted. Five hundred shields of wood overlaid with gold, made under Solomon's direction, together with all the treasures gathered in the house of the Lord and in the king's house, were carried to Egypt. The shields were used for display on state occasions; and it would seem that the treasures were kept or used more for show than for actual advantage to the nation. So that the shame of the loss would be felt more than their deprivation of the treasure. For the shields, as they were required upon the occasional parade visitation of Rehoboam to the Lord's house, he had counterfeits made of brass, which answered the purpose quite as well. 12. The sum of this story. The outward form of humility, and the sincere though constrained confession and repentance of king and people, for the time turned away the severer visitations of God's righteous indignation. For David's sake, and His promise's sake, the Lord "would not destroy Rehoboam altogether." And also, another equally strong good reason for God's forbearance, there were good things in Judah! There remained a true spiritual seed—many loyal souls were dispersed among the two tribes. All through the history of God's ancient people we see this fact outstanding, first announced in principle to Abraham pleading for the cities of the plain. And ever since the call of the Gentiles the evidence is as marked. And this is the fact that magnifies God's personal love to men: that multitudes of the hardened and guilty receive tokens of His prolonged forbearance by reason of the few godly souls that witness for Him, and seek the coming of His kingdom upon earth. B. 13-16. The lesson seems not to have been lost on Rehoboam and his people. "There were yet good things in Judah;" but the sum of the king's character is this: "He did evil, because he fixed not his heart to seek Jehovah" (verse 14). He died after a reign of seventeen years (verse 13), and was buried in the city of David. His acts were recorded by the prophet Shemaiah, by the seer Iddo, in his book of genealogies, and in the Chronicles of the kings of Judah. P. S. Rehoboam's reign, after the retirement of Sheshonk, was uneventful. He continued to occupy the throne for twelve more years, and during this time was engaged in frequent if not in continual hostilities with Jeroboam (1 K. 14: 30; 2 Chron. 12: 15), but no important results followed, and it can only be said that the two kingdoms maintained their relative positions. In military strength they were not ill-matched, since, if Israel could bring more men into the field, the narrower limits of Judah made her able to concentrate her troops more rapidly, while the personal qualities of the men of Judah and Benjamin placed them in the front rank of Hebrew warriors. Thus, notwithstanding the invasion of Sheshonk, and the loss of strength which it must have occasioned, the southern kingdom held its ground firmly, though it can scarcely have continued to maintain any hold over the alien States upon its borders, such as Philistia and Edom, which David had subjugated, but which, probably from the date of Sheshonk's invasion, recovered their independence. Rehoboam, remembering the dreariness of his own idle youth, was careful to give his sons active employment. As they grew to manhood, he dispersed them among the various provincial towns, assigning to each a charge, and at the same time an establishment. The writer of Chronicles considers that, in so doing, he acted wisely (chap. 11: 23). The system which he adopted was certainly calculated to prevent, or minimize, jealousies among the princes, and to benefit their characters by giving them duties to perform, instead of making them idle hangers-on upon a court. Maachah survived her husband, and was queen-mother during the next two reigns. Her influence over the kingdom was altogether for evil, and we may, perhaps, ascribe much of the wrong conduct of Rehoboam to the sway which she exercised over him. Her leanings were altogether toward idolatry. Rehoboam's character was weak and irresolute. He seems to have had warm affections, and to have been capable of making good resolutions under good advice (11: 4; 12: 6); but he had no stability of purpose, and his last counsellor generally determined his actions. We are told that "he did evil, because he fixed not his heart to seek the Lord" (12: 14). G. R. # 18th to 21st of Jeroboam, of Israel. 12:25 THEN Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and dwelt therein; 26 and he went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall 27 the kingdom return to the house of David: if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they shall kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of 28 Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought 29 thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in 30. Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto 31 Dan. And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, 32 which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in 33 Beth-el the priests of the high places which he had made. And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to burn incense. 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto 2 Beth-el: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Jesiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon 3 thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. 4 And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not 5 draw it back again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, 6 according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the favour of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God intreated 7 the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give 8 thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine 9 house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: for so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink 10 water, neither return by the way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el. 11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken 12 unto the king, them also they told unto their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? Now his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from 13 Judah. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and 14 he rode thereon. And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in 16 this place: for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. And he said unto him, I also 17 am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he 18 lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. 19 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient unto the mouth of the 20 LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, but carnest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of the which he said to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy 21 fathers. And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he sad- dled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the carcase. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in 22 the city where the old prophet dwelt. And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the mouth of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain 23 him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him. And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled it. And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and he came to the city of the old prophet, to mourn, 24 and to bury him. And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, 25 saying, Alas, my brother! And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is 26 buried; lay my bones beside his bones. For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. 33. After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places. And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth. 14:1 2 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam: and get thee to Shiloh; behold, there is Abijah the prophet, which spake concerning me that I should be king over this people. And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse (or bottle) of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Abijah. Now Abijah could not see: for his eyes were set by reason of his age. And the LORD said unto Abijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to inquire of thee concerning her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman. And it was so, when Abijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why I edgnerst thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; but hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every man child, him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweepeth away dung, till it be all gone. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave: because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the River; because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he hath sinned, and wherewith he hath made Israel to sin. And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. And all Israel buried him, and mourned for him; according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Abijah the prophet. And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warned, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. The new kingdom was called "Israel;" and, with the national name, it seemed, in many respects, the true representative of the nation. It included an overwhelming majority of the tribes. It possessed the chief portion of the territory. Yet Judah possessed Jerusalem, with its Temple, its Ark of the Covenant, and its God-appointed worship. In Judah, too, was the throne of David, and the line of succession from the monarch who had received God's promises in behalf of his posterity. To Judah, moreover, clung the true priesthood of Aaron and the tribe of Levi. And thus, when the new kingdom of Israel, setting up for itself, organized an independent and idolatrous worship, and then, notwithstanding the remonstrances of God-ordained prophets, went on from bad to worse, substituting at length the unmitigated idolatry of Baal-worship for the worship of God by images, it established its character as an apostate kingdom. About two hundred and fifty years this kingdom lasted; and it is especially worthy of note that very nearly contemporaneous with it—rising to view shortly after it rose and falling just before it fell—was the kingdom of Syria, having the city of Damascus as its capital, and a succession of Benhadads as its principal kings. Syria on the northeast and Judah on the south were the rivals of Israel; and, among the three, alliances were frequently formed by some two against the third. Phoenicia, on the sea-coast to the northwest, was commonly friendly to Israel; and King Ahab obtained thence his detestable wife Jezebel, who brought with her the worship of her national gods Baal and Astarte, and well-nigh succeeded in corrupting the whole kingdom with her idolatry. The new kingdom of Israel was characterized by frequent changes of its dynasty. N. C. B.—In this kingdom there was no conservative principle. A love of novelty and change, under the specious name of reform, was the chief characteristic of the powerful house of Joseph. The kingdom, originating in rebellion, was ruled by a succession of adventurers, who built sumptuous palaces and selected pleasant residences to gratify their own tastes for luxury and show, without a thought of the public good. J. L. Porter. The history of the kingdom of Israel is mainly the history of the tribe of Ephraim; and some of the prophets call attention to this fact by calling the kingdom not "Israel," or "Jacob," or even "Joseph," but simply "Ephraim." The kingdom of Israel had a grand opportunity of justifying the secession. It might resolutely have set to work to avoid and to remedy the grievous errors which had disfigured the latter part of the reign of Solomon. The fatal mistake consisted in supposing that these could be avoided by mere severance from the house of David, and that no remedy was needed. Had Jeroboam and his successors honestly labored to abolish idolatry, to moderate taxation, and to strengthen the frontier, they would have retained the alliance of the prophets, the most powerful moral force of the age, and would have won the respect and lasting affection of the tribes. But they cared for their own dynasty much more than for the true religion, and to surpass Judah much more than to put down and thrust back the heathen. Thus even in the first period (from Jeroboam to Ahab, B.C. 975-900), which is one of hostility between the kingdoms, although Israel gains considerable advantages over Judah, yet what advance is made is wholly in the southern kingdom, while the northern simply goes back. Jeroboam, in order to make the break with the capital of Judah as decided as possible, made a clean sweep of all that could remind his subjects of the glory of David and Solomon, and with it of a large portion of the existing civilization. Thus his kingdom was at once sent back to the rudeness of the age of Saul; and before long was plunged in the anarchy and consequent weakness which had distinguished the age of the Judges. Hence in the kingdom of Israel there seems to be nothing to compensate for the evil of division. For the evil of division in an empire is by no means necessarily unmixed. Sometimes the several portions develop all the more healthily for being independent, if only they have sufficient internal force and sufficient scope for action. The kingdom of Israel was deficient in both; and the force which it possessed was misdirected, so that what scope it had was thrown away. P. C. The history of the Northern kingdom, called, as the basis of the nation, the kingdom of Israel, or, after its chief tribe, that of Ephraim, comes chiefly under the consideration of biblical theology, as exhibiting in the conflict waged against the apostate realm by the prophetic order the powerful agency of the latter, and as manifesting in the whole course of the events which befell it the serious nature of Divine retribution. Nine dynasties, including nineteen kings (not reckoning Tibni), succeeded each other in the two centuries and a half during which the kingdom existed, and only two, those of Omri and Jehu, possessed the throne for any length of time. The history is full of conspiracies, regicides, and civil wars; it is a continuous testimony to the fact that when once the divinely appointed path is forsaken sin is ever producing fresh sin, and that the punishment of one crime is inflicted by another. O. The kingdom of Israel lasted two hundred and fifty-four years, from B.C. 975 to B.C. 721, about two-thirds of the duration of its more compact neighbor, Judah. But it may be doubted whether the division into two kingdoms greatly shortened the independent existence of the Hebrew race, or interfered with the purposes which, it is thought, may be traced in the establishment of David's monarchy. The detailed history of the kingdom of Israel will be found under the names of its nineteen kings. A summary view may be taken in four periods: 1. B.C. 975-929. Jeroboam had not sufficient force of character in himself to make a lasting impression on his people. A king, but not a founder of a dynasty, he aimed at nothing beyond securing his present elevation. The army soon learned its power to dictate to the isolated monarch and disunited people. Baasha, in the midst of the army at Gibbethon, slew the son and successor of Jeroboam; Zimri, a captain of chariots, slew the son and successor of Baasha; Omri, the captain of the host, was chosen to punish Zimri; and after a civil war of four years he prevailed over Tibni, the choice of half the people. 2. B.C. 929-884. For forty-five years Israel was governed by the house of Omri. That sagacious king pitched on the strong hill of Samaria as the site of his capital. The princes of his house cultivated an alliance with the kings of Judah, which was cemented by the marriage of Jehoram and Athaliah. The adoption of Baal-worship led to a reaction in the nation, to the moral triumph of the prophets in the person of ELIJAH, and to the extinction of the house of Ahab in obedience to the bidding of ELISHA. 3. B.C. 884-772. Unparalleled triumphs, but deeper humiliation, awaited the kingdom of Israel under the dynasty of Jehu. Hazael, the ablest king of Damascus, reduced Jehoahaz to the condition of a vassal, and triumphed for a time over both the disunited Hebrew kingdoms. Almost the first sign of the restoration of their strength was a war between them; and Jehoash, the grandson of Jehu, entered Jerusalem as the conqueror of Amaziah. Jehoash also turned the tide of war against the Syrians; and Jeroboam II., the most powerful of all the kings of Israel, captured Damascus, and recovered the whole ancient frontier from Hamath to the Dead Sea. This short-lived greatness expired with the last king of Jehu's line. 4. n.c. 772-721. Military violence, it would seem, broke off the hereditary succession after the obscure and probably convulsed reign of Zachariah. An unsuccessful usurper, Shallum, is followed by the cruel Menahem, who, being unable to make head against the first attack of Assyria under Pul, became the agent of that monarch for the oppressive taxation of his subjects. Yet his power at home was sufficient to insure for himself a ten years' reign, his son and successor, Pekahiah, being cut off after two years by a bold usurper, Pekah. Abandoning the northern and trans-Jordanic regions to the encroaching power of Assyria under Tiglath-pileser, he was very near subjugating Judah, with the help of Damascus, now the coequal ally of Israel. But Assyria interposing summarily put an end to the independence of Damascus, and perhaps was the indirect cause of the assassination of the baffled Pekah. The irresolute Hoshea, the next and last usurper, became tributary to his invader, Shalmaneser, betrayed the Assyrian to the rival monarchy of Egypt, and was punished by the loss of his liberty, and by the capture, after a three years' siege, of his strong capital, Samaria. Some gleanings of the ten tribes remained in the land after so many years of religious decline, moral debasement, national degradation, anarchy, bloodshed, and deportation. Even these were gathered up by the conqueror and carried to Assyria, never again, as a distinct people, to occupy their portion of that goodly and pleasant land which their forefathers won under Joshua from the heathen. Dic. B. There were four leading periods in the history of the kingdom of Israel: in the first, the most prominent king was Jeroboam; in the second, Ahab; in the third, Jehu; and in the fourth, Pekah. During the first period, idolatry took root; during the second, it was in full blow; during the third, it was somewhat checked through the influence of the prophets; and during the fourth, it produced its natural fruit, in the utter destruction of the kingdom. | LEADING FEATURE OF PERIODS. | DYNAS-TIES. | KINGS. | LENGTH OF REIGNS. | PROPRETS. | KINGS OF JUDAH. | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | I. Idolatry taking root— about 46 years... | 1. | 1 JEROBOAM I. 2 Nadab. 3 Baasha. 4 Elah. 5 Zimri. 6 Omri. | 22 years. 2 ... 24 ... 2 ... 7 days. 12 years. | Ahijah. Jehu. | Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa and Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah. | | II. Idolatry rampant— about 45 years... | 4. | 7 AHAB. 8 Ahaziah. 9 Jehoram. | 22 ... 2 ... 12 ... | Elijah—Micaich Elisha. | Joash. Joash. Joash and Amaziah. Amaziah. Uzziah. Uzziah. Uzziah. Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz. Ahaz and Hezekiah. W. G. B. | | III. Idolatry slightly checked—about 112 years... | 5. | 10 JEHU. 11 Jehoahaz. 12 Joash. 13 Jeroboam II. 14 Zachariah. 15 Shallum. 16 Menahem. 17 Pekahiah. 18 PEKAH. 19 Hoshea. | 28 ... 17 ... 16 ... 41 ... 6 months. 1 ... 10 years. 2 ... 20 ... 9 ... | Jonah. Hosea and Amos Oded. | | | IV. Idolatry terminating in ruin, including in- terregnums—about 51 years... | 6. 7. 8. 9. | | | | | 25. Jeroboam. He was the son of Nebat, of the tribe of Ephraim. Solomon, long before, had appointed him as overseer of that tribe. An able and ambitious man, skilful and successful in the construction of various works, withal popular among his own and the other already disaffected tribes, he soon aspired to royal state. His aspirations were confirmed by the symbolic act and declaration of the prophet Ahijah, recorded in 1 K. 11:29-39. His designs being discovered by Solomon, he fled to Egypt, where he remained until the king's death. At the call of the disaffected tribes upon the death of Solomon, he came, and acted as their spokesman in their conference with Rehoboam. And now, these tribes elect and establish him as king over Israel. B. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat and Zeruah, was This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/ 1. AND Rehoboam went to Shechem : for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him 2 king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, (for he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt, and they sent and called him ;) 3 that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, 4 saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous : now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will 5 serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. 6 And the people departed. And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye 7 me to return answer to this people ? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will 8 be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that 9 stood before him. And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father 10 did put upon us lighter ? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us ; thus shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger is thicker 11 than my father's loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke : my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise 12 you with scorpions. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me 13 again the third day. And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had 14 given him ; and spake to them after the 12 : 21 AND when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel : return every man to his house ; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the word of the LORD, and returned and went their way, according to the word of the LORD. 14 : 21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there : and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess, And Judah did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD ; and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherim, on every high hill, and under every green tree ; and there were also sodomites in the land : they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD drove out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass in the fifth year of king tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice unto the LORD, the 17 God of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon. And Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; and she bare him sons; Jeush, and Shemariah, and Za- 20 ham. And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines, and begat twenty and eight sons and threescore daughters.) 22 And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, even the prince among his brethren: for he was minded to make 23 him king. And he dealt wisely, and dis- Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt 26 came up against Jerusalem: and he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had 27 made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house. 28 And it was so, that as oft as the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard bare them, and brought them back into the 29 guard chamber. Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of 30 the kings of Judah? And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam contin- 31 ually. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead. persed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he sought for them many wives. 12:1 And it came to pass, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was 2 strong, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, 3 because they had trespassed against the LORD, with twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; 4 the Lubim, the Sukkim, and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced cities which pertained 5 to Judah, and came unto Jerusalem. Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you in the 6 hand of Shishak. Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they 7 said, The LORD is righteous. And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them: but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out 8 upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they 9 may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all away: he took away also the shields of gold 10 which Solomon had made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, that kept the door of the king's 11 house. And it was so, that as oft as the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard 12 came and bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him alto- 13 gether: and moreover in Judah there were good things found. So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was 14 Naamah the Ammonitess. And he did that which was evil, because he set not his heart to 15 seek the LORD. Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the manner of genealogies? And 16 there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead. Introductory. Having fully treated the separate history of Israel, we proceed to present a similar treatment of the remaining branch of the divided kingdom of Solomon. The history of the kingdom of Judah is most largely given in the Chronicles, which were probably written by Ezra soon after the return from the Captivity in Babylon. Then the newly gathered people, mainly Judahites or Jews, needed a fresh reminder of their entire history, with its many impressive lessons. In tracing the parallel progress of the two kingdoms, certain outline facts should be borne in mind from the outset. 1. They have the same starting-point—n.c. 975. 2. Israel lasts two hundred and fifty-four years and Judah three hundred and eighty-eight years. 3. Each kingdom has nineteen kings. 4. The kings of Israel came from eleven distinct families. 5. Those of Judah all belonged to the family of David, thus fulfilling God's "pledge given as if by a covenant of salt, that the house of David should never perish." B. The kingdom of Judah lasted three hundred and eighty-eight years, n.c. 975-587. The history of the kingdom of Judah is the history of a dynasty rather than of a nation—of a city rather than of a country. Its title reveals to us its strength as well as its weakness. The tribe of Judah, the city of Jerusalem, the family of David, had acquired too much fame during the preceding reigns to be easily lost. The lamp or torch of David was always burning, although it seemed at times on the verge of extinction. There was a pledge given as if by a covenant of salt, that the house of David should never perish (2 Chron. 13: 5). Stanley. | PERIODS IN JUDAH'S HISTORY. | KINGS OF JUDAH. | LENGTH OF REIGNS. | PROPHETS. | KINGS OF ISRAEL. | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | I. First Religious Decline and First Religious Revival—about 86 years... | 1 Rehoboam. 2 Abijam. 3 Asa. 4 JEHOSHAPHAT. | 17 years. 3 ... 41 ... 25 ... | Shemaiah, Iddo. Azariah, Hanam. Jehu, Jahaziel. | Jeroboam. Jeroboam. Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri Omri. Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehoram. | | II. Second Decline and Second Revival—about 207 years... | 5 Jehoram. 6 Ahaziah. (Athaliah.) | 8 ... 1 ... 6 ... | | Jehoram. Jehoram. Jehu. | | | 7 Joash. | 40 ... | Zechariah (son of Jehoiada). | Jehu, Jehoahaz. | | | 8 Amaziah. | 29 ... | Hosea, Amos | Joash, Jeroboam II. | | | 9 Uzziah (or Azariah) | 52 ... | Joel, Zechariah II. | Zechariah, Shalium, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah. | | | 10 Jotham. | 16 ... | Isaiah, Micah. | Pekah. | | | 11 Ahaz. | 16 ... | | Pekah, Hoshea. | | | 12 HEZEKIAH. | 29 ... | Nahum. | Hoshea. | | III. Third Decline and Third Revival—about 88 years. | 13 Manasseh. 14 Amon. 15 JOSIAH. | 55 ... 2 ... 31 ... | Zephaniah, Jeremiah. | | | IV. Final Decline—about 23 years... | 16 Jehoahaz. 17 Jehoiakim. 18 Jehoiachin. 19 Zedekiah. | 14 ... 11 ... 14 ... 11 ... | Habakkuk. Obadiah. | | In a religious point of view, the history of the kingdom of Judah may be divided into four periods, as indicated in the above table. It is remarkable how closely the religious character of the several periods corresponded to that of the monarchs who sat upon the throne. Under Rehoboam and Abijam, religion underwent a decline, from which it began to recover in the reign of Asa; while under Jehoshaphat the revival was decided and complete. A second decline commenced with the reign of Jehoram, the son-in-law of Ahab and Jezebel, and went on through a long succession of reigns—the spiritual thermometer falling lowest in that of Ahaz. The darkest hour of night, however, was succeeded by the dawn; under Hezekiah, the son and successor of Ahaz, the firmament brightened again. With Manasseh a new decline, more terrible than any that had preceded, began; followed, in the days of his grandson, Josiah, by a new and most interesting revival. The sons and successors of Josiah were not like-minded with himself; the old corruptions broke out afresh; and with the awful catastrophe of the Babylonian Captivity, the glory departed from the kingdom of Judah. W. G. B. The history of the kingdom of Judah has a kingdom of Israel. Though much smaller, es- character essentially different from that of the pecially after Idumea, the only one of the mountainous districts which at the disruption fell to the share of Judah, had gained its independence, it was still superior to the kingdom of Israel in internal strength. This resulted partly from its possession of the genuine sanctuary with its legitimate worship, its influential priesthood, and Levitical orders; and partly from its royal house, which, unlike most of the dynasties of the neighboring kingdom, had not been raised to the throne by revolution, but possessed the sanction of legitimacy and a settled succession, and was especially consecrated by the memory of its illustrious ancestor David, and the Divine promises vouchsafed to his race. Moreover, among the nineteen monarchs (not counting Athaliah) who occupied the throne three hundred and eighty-seven years, from Rehoboam till the fall of the State, there were at least some individuals distinguished for high administrative talents, in whom the ideal of the theocratic kingship was revived, such as Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Josiah. Thus the kingdom gained a moral strength that prevented the wild spirit of insurrection and discord, by which the other kingdom was disturbed, from attaining anything like the same proportions. The opposition, indeed, between the natural inclinations of the people and the moral strictness of Jehovah could not but lead to conflicts here also; nay, the contrast between the two was all the sharper, because a syncretistic intermingling of heathenism and Jehovah could not be so easily effected—a circumstance which explains the fact, that when the former did get the upper hand in Judah, it appeared in a still grosser form than in the kingdom of Israel. By reason, however, of the firm foundation which the continuance of the legitimate theocratic authorities afforded to Jehovah in the State, there was no need of bloody revolutions to reinstate the latter in its rights, but only of reformations, and these were effected not so much by the energetic efforts of the prophets as by the kings themselves. Besides, since the preservation of the theocratic ordinances did not devolve in Judah exclusively upon the prophets, their position was different from that which they occupied in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. At times their agency was exercised in perfect harmony with that of the two other theocratic powers; and reformations of worship being repeatedly undertaken by the kings, they were able to limit themselves to the ministry of the word. The prophets, finding in Judah the basis afforded by existing theocratic institutions, were not under the necessity of establishing new props; and there is no sort of evidence that schools of the prophets, or associations such as existed in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, were organized in Judah. In the historical notices of the kingdom of Judah we meet only with individual prophets, a succession of whom continues, with but inconsiderable gaps, down to the Captivity, and it was only around eminent prophets like Isaiah (cf. 8:16), and afterward Jeremiah, that small circles of disciples were gathered, in whom the word of God fell upon good ground, in the midst of a rebellious nation, and was transmitted to future generations. With respect to the course of events in the kingdom of Judah, a cursory glance presents a tolerably uniform alternation of apostasy from Jehovah and return to Him. Certain kings suffer idolatry to spring up; this finds support in the high places existing in different parts of the country, and such apostasy is followed by punishment in the calamities which then overtake the nation. Then arises again a pious king, who exerts himself to keep the people faithful to the legitimate sanctuary, and vindicates the authority of the legal worship, till at length, after repeated reformations, the apostasy and corruption becomes so great that judgment sets in without intermission. O. 2. Chron. 11:1-4.** Rehoboam's preparation of a great army to recover the heritage of Solomon by conquest of the revolted tribes was countermanded by the word of the Lord at the mouth of the prophet Shemaiah, and the Divine command was instantly heeded by king and people. B. 4. The words of the prophet were addressed not only to the king but to the assembled warriors, and were imperative upon the latter—"Return every man to his house;" and, we are immediately told, "They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart." There is no reason to suppose that they would have remained under arms after such a command, however much Rehoboam had wished them to do so. They obeyed the prophet, and he could not but do the same. Kitto. That portion of the tribe of Dan which dwelt in their original lot (Josh. 19:40 sqq.), between Benjamin, Judah and Ephraim, belonged to Judah. A few Danite cities are mentioned (2 Chron. 11:10; 28:18) as pertaining to the kingdom of Judah; but since this tribe dwelt partly in the north, it may nevertheless be reckoned among the ten. Thus Rehoboam's army may correctly be spoken of (1 K. 12:23) as "all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people." Among the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, mentioned (verse 17) as Rehoboam's subjects, were probably included members of other tribes also. And when to these are added the numerous emigrations from the northern kingdom into that of Judah in succeeding centuries (cf. 2 Chron. 15: 9), it may well be said that among the Jews, which name now arose in the southern kingdom, all Israel was represented. The disruption of Israel was from this time irremediable; in a short time, not reckoning the reigns of Ahab and Jehoshaphat and their immediate successors, the separated kingdoms took hostile positions with respect to each other, and at last consumed their strength in sanguinary wars. The external glory of the kingdom was at an end; but prophecy never ceased to direct the expectation of the nation to the future reunion of the twelve tribes under one head of the house of David. Oehler. 11-17. Three years of peace followed. The only notable occurrence during this tranquil interval was the gradual exodus of the Levites from the northern kingdom, where they were subject to indignities, and their concentration within the territorial limits of Judah and Benjamin, where they were respected and honored. This exodus was followed by that of many pious Israelites, who disliked Jeroboam's religious innovations, and were attached to the worship of Jehovah, as established by David and Solomon. The northern kingdom was thus continually weakened and the southern one strengthened (2 Chron. 11: 13-17). G. R. Rehoboam's policy drew almost all the priesthood into his dominions of the nation, and brought in large accessions of population from the territory of the revolted tribes; so that though his country, consisting only of the two southern tribes, was inferior in extent, and yet more in fertility and natural resources, it matched well the sister kingdom in the north, and during his reign and the reigns of his successors, he successfully warded off its enmity. "He fortified the strongholds and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine. And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong." So much he did for external defence. And to preserve internal order and tranquillity, and to prevent contention among his numerous sons—for it is recorded of him that he had twenty-eight—as well as to avert the danger of a disputed succession after his death, he separated them, "and dispersed all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance." Surely, here was some good statesmanship and political sagacity. And thus it appears that Rehoboam, through the great folly with which he started in his public career, has left on his fame an indelible blot—was not altogether a simpleton or a trifler, nor altogether unworthy of his birth as the son of the wise King Solomon. R. Hallam. 16. To his new order of priests Jeroboam probably gave the consecrated lands and the right of tithes which the Levites had previously enjoyed, thus reducing the bulk of the old sacerdotal body to absolute penury. A fresh impetus was in this way given to the exodus which had already begun; and the example of their sacerdotal guides being followed by many of the more godly among the Israelites. Jeroboam found the number of his own subjects continually diminishing, and the number of his rival's subjects increasing, through an emigration which it was almost impossible for him to stop, or even to confine within moderate limits by his own unassisted efforts. G. R. 12: 1. The effect of prosperity upon Rehoboam and his people. He occupies the first three years of his reign of seventeen in fortifying Jerusalem and fifteen walled cities; in reorganizing the government over the two tribes; and in assigning homes to the large number of priests and Levites, and of families, exiled from the Ten Tribes by Jeroboam for loyalty to the worship of Jehovah. With this establishment of his throne came a sense of power and security, shared alike by king and people. Indulgence naturally followed with the decline of religious feeling, soon reaching the point of utter disobedience to the law of the Lord. Groves, with their abominations, high places and images, with their idolatries, were the natural and speedy outcome of their apostasy. Although forty-one years old when he began to reign, Rehoboam seems to have been extremely self-ignorant and weak. His foolish response to the representatives of the Ten Tribes, by which he repelled them and divided the kingdom of Solomon, clearly shows this. So does his ready yielding to the idolatrous tendencies of all surrounding nations, though helped, doubtless, by his Ammonite mother's training; while his replacement of the golden shields with those of brass, to be used in mere personal display of kingly state and authority, also indicated a vain, weak character. B. 2. Chron. 12: 1-12. The most important event in this history is told in fullest detail in the Book of Kings (14: 22-24); its punishment at the hand of God in the Book of Chronicles (12 : 2, 12). After the first three years of Rehoboam's reign a great change seems to have come over the religious aspect of the country. Rehoboam and Judah did not, indeed, openly renounce the worship of Jehovah. On the contrary, we find that the king continued to attend the house of the Lord in royal state, and that after the incursion of Shishak there was even a partial religious revival (verses 11, 12). Still the general character of this period was, that "Rehoboam forsook the law of Jehovah, and all Israel with him;" that "he did evil in that he did not set his heart on seeking Jehovah" (verses 1, 14), and, lastly, that "Judah did the evil in the sight of Jehovah, and provoked Him to jealousy (viewing the relation between the Lord and Israel as one of marriage, Num. 5 : 14—more than anything which their fathers had done by their sins which they sinned" (1 K. 14 : 22). These sins consisted in building Bamoth, or "high places"—i.e., altars, on every high hill, and setting up in every grove Mazeeboth, or memorial-stones and pillars dedicated to Baal, and Asherim, or trunks of trees dedicated to Astarte (with all the vileness which their service implied). The Divine punishment was not long withheld. Once more it came in the course of natural causation, through the political motives which influenced Shishak, and led him to support Jeroboam. In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign Shishak marched a large army of Egyptians, Lybians, Sukkim ("tent-dwellers"? Arabs?), and Ethiopians, with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen, into Judea, and after taking the fenced cities along his route, advanced upon Jerusalem, where Rehoboam and his army were gathered. Once more the prophet Shemaiah averted a contest, which could only have ended in disaster. On showing them that the national danger, though apparently arising from political causes, was really due to their sin against Jehovah (verse 2), and that it was needless to fight, since, as they had been God-forsaking, they were now God-forsaken (verse 5), the king and his princes humbled themselves. Thereupon the Lord intimated through His prophet that He would "grant them deliverance for a little while," on condition of their submitting to Shishak. The reason for this, "that they may know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries," as well as the terms by which the promised deliverance was qualified, contained the most solemn warning of the ultimate consequences of apostasy. Yet the Divine forbearance continued other three hundred and seventy years before the threatened judgment burst upon the nation. But at this time Jerusalem was spared. Voluntary submission having been made, Shishak entered the city, and contented himself with carrying away the treasures of the Temple and of the palace, including among the latter the famous golden shields used by Solomon's body-guard on state occasions, for which Rehoboam now substituted shields of brass. A. E. It is to be carefully noted that, so long as king and people served the Lord, Shishak was held back from attacking them. Hence we understand why Judah receives earlier and greater stripes than Israel. It was Jeroboam made Israel to sin. It was Judah made Rehoboam to sin. The guilty people, accordingly, are punished by the invasion of their land and the spoliation of their treasure; the guilty king by the destruction of his house. And here again, let us observe, how significant that the chastisement should come from Egypt! Time was when God had punished the idolatries of Egypt through the instrumentality of the Jewish people (Ex. 7-14). Now the tables are turned, and Egypt is employed to avenge the idolatries of Judah. This was the first time that an Egyptian army had crossed their border—the first time, indeed, that the land had sustained the brunt of any invasion. It was the Sodomites and the like had drawn forth those swords from their scabbards. What a contrast between Exodus 14 and 1 Kings 14! Israel, who then "saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore," now feels the grip of Pharaoh at his throat, and the iron of Pharaoh in his soul. Hammond. 2-4. God's dealing with the transgressions of king and people.** Shishak, or Sheshonk, according to the monumental records inscribed upon the walls of the great temple of Karnak, was the first king of the twenty-second dynasty of Egypt. A list of one hundred and thirty-three countries, cities, and tribes ruled by or tributary to him, includes a large number of the cities of Palestine. Some of these were within the kingdom of Jeroboam, but they were cities of the Levites or old Caananites. But the supreme motive and ultimate impelling cause of this Egyptian invasion, lay in the mind of God. Like all human actions, there was connected with this of Shishak a double thread of motive and purpose—the one, superior and overruling, because Divine; the other (the human), free indeed, but overruled in its every detail of result. No clearer, more conclusive statement, in illustration of an inexplicable fact, can we find than this: "Shishak came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord." His army was a vast one, drawn from Egypt and the great countries on the west and south. And his progress was unhindered, his triumph complete. The cities that Rehoboam had walled for defence were taken almost as soon as their walls had been built. And Jerusalem itself was occupied by the Egyptian host. B. When David founded his empire his two powerful neighbors, Egypt and Assyria, were both in a state of decline. Assyria had fallen into the hands of unwarlike kings, who were unable to retain the conquests of their predecessors, even upon their immediate frontiers; while Egypt was divided among rival dynasties and rent with civil wars. Egypt, however, was the first to recover her strength. The monarchs of the twenty-second dynasty once more united the country under one rule, and Shishak or Sheshonk I. turned his arms against the cities of Palestine. The brief account given in 1 K. 14: 25, 26, and the fuller history in these verses of his invasion of Judah and his capture of Jerusalem, are supplemented by his own record of it on the walls of the ruined temple of Karnak. Sayce. In the Scriptures Shishak appears first in 1 K. 11: 40, as then the king of Egypt to whom Jeroboam fled for protection from Solomon. This fact indicates a decisive change in the policy of the Egyptian court since Solomon took to wife the daughter of the reigning monarch. It suggests another dynasty, of other, not to say opposite sympathies and policy. In harmony with this we find that Shishak (the Sheshonk of the Egyptian monuments) was the founder of a new dynasty, the twenty-second. He was not on the best terms with Solomon, and readily took Jeroboam into his confidence and friendship. Naturally, therefore, he only waited for the favorable moment to make this formidable military campaign into Palestine in the interests of his friend Jeroboam. H. C. Shishak, called Sheshonk or Sheshonk on the monuments, and Sesonchis or Sesonchosis by Manetho, ascended the Egyptian throne about B.C. 980 or a little earlier, according to calculations based upon exclusively Egyptian data. He reigned twenty-one years, and toward the close of his reign made an expedition, which he has commemorated on the external wall of the great temple at Karnak. The mode of commemoration is by a representation of himself, and a list of the various cities, countries, and tribes conquered by him, or made tributary, during the expedition. The number of the names was originally one hundred and thirty-three; but of these thirty-two are wholly and fourteen others partly illegible. Of the remaining eighty-seven, about fifty-five had been identified with more or less of probability, while above thirty still defy the comparative geographer. From the fifty-five identifications, many of which are quite certain, it appears that the list contains three classes of names, mainly grouped together—(1) Levitical and Canaanite cities of Israel; (2) cities of Judah; (3) Arab tribes lying to the south of Palestine. According to Mr. R.S. Poole's analysis of the inscription of Sheshonk at Karnak, it appears that the expedition was directed not only against the dominions of Rehoboam, but also against a number of Levitical and Canaanite cities within the territory of Jeroboam himself, and further against certain Arab tribes of the vicinity. The inference is, that Jeroboam obtained Sheshonk's aid in reducing Israelite cities that had declined to submit to him, and also in chastising Arab tribes on his borders which had given him trouble. G. R. On the 14th of February, 1867, the writer and some friends, in one of their visits to Karnak, sought out this sculptured scene and record. Passing from the interior of the great Columnar Hall through a break in the south wall, the sculptures were found near the southwest corner. There were the colossal figures of a conqueror and of a divinity, and the Liliputian figures of a multitude of captives, sculptured in intaglio on the exterior surface of the wall. Accompanying these was an explanatory record, containing the name of the king and the names of the various countries which he had subdued. No doubt exists concerning this representation, so far as is needful to identify it with King Shishak and his Syrian expedition mentioned in the Scriptures; and, although the hour of our visit was oppressively warm, it was no hardship to stand amid the fiery reflections of the sun from the temple wall and surrounding débris, before an inscription which must be accounted one of the most suggestive ever written by the finger of man. N. C. Burt. 5, 6. God's admonitory message, and the responsive humiliation of the king and princes. By the same prophet (Shemaiah) who had five years before forbidden Rehoboam to reconquer the ten rebelling tribes, the word of Jehovah is uttered to the king and chief men of Judah. The message is brief and pointed. Their sin was the cause of their calamities, and this was their sin; that they had turned away from God —from His worship and His law. And this is the substance of all sin, the essence of transgression in every age and generation: turning away from God, disregarding His worship, disobeying His law! The charge uttered by the prophet is not denied. The conscience of the leaders and people acknowledged its truth. And the calamities which were already fallen upon them helped to make the voice of conscience clearer and its sting the sharper. So they humbled themselves in acknowledgment as brief and pointed as the charge: The Lord is righteous! As their sin relates solely to God, so their penitence refers only to Him. David's words of confession fitly express their meaning: Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned; that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest. This, too, is the substance of all true repentance in every age and generation: the return to God with self-accusation for disobedience, and full justification of God's right and merciful dealing. 7, 8. Why and how God's yet severer discipline was withheld. His wrath was not fully "poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak." By the same prophet they learned that God's mercy was interposed on account of their thus penitently humbling themselves before Him. But God would grave the lesson deeper on their souls, as we know they sadly needed. Therefore He left the nation subject to Shishak, and king and people were compelled to pay heavy tribute, even after the loss of all the treasures gathered by David and Solomon, stored in the Temple and palaces of Jerusalem. A point of special instruction is suggested in the reason assigned by the Lord for Judah's enslavement to Shishak. It is that Judah may learn by actual experience whose is the easier, most desirable service—God's or the Egyptian monarch's. It was God's way, under the old and severer Covenant, of saying to Judah, "Return unto Me and take My yoke upon you, for it is easy; and My burden, for it is light!" Through experience only, of the contrast between sore bondage to a foreign tyrant and glad service willingly given to Himself, they would learn that obedience to God was far better. And thus Christ says to all, who have had enough of the sad experience of bondage to sinful self-indulgence, "Come unto Me, and exchange the burdening, wearing yoke of reigning sin for My light burdens and easy restraints!" B. 7. They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them.** Compare the repentance of Ahab (1 K. 21: 27-29) and that of the Ninevites (Jonah 2: 5-10), which produced similar revocations of Divine decrees that had been pronounced by the mouth of a prophet. B. C. 8. May know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.** The history of life is made up of different services. Every man serves something. "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?" In the service of the world you are always dealing with uncertainties. The things of God are sure and forever. He who gives is the unchangeable Jehovah, who never recalls a gift, and all His gifts have in them eternity. In the service of the world nothing ever thoroughly satisfies; nothing meets all the aspirations of a man. In God's service a man has just what his soul wants. The Christian service of religion does not work up to get its great objects. It has them. It does not work for wages, for it has received what it wants as a gift. It works out a salvation which it has. The one service is a service of freedom, the other of bondage. It is bondage to serve where there is no affection. It is bondage to work for what you can get, and not even to be sure that you shall ever get it. But to feel that you are your Father's child, that His eye is looking at you and His hand holding you while you work—that is liberty. It is the same service with that of those servants who serve Him indeed in heaven. J. Vaughan. 9-11. What Shishak took away, and Rehoboam substituted. Five hundred shields of wood overlaid with gold, made under Solomon's direction, together with all the treasures gathered in the house of the Lord and in the king's house, were carried to Egypt. The shields were used for display on state occasions; and it would seem that the treasures were kept or used more for show than for actual advantage to the nation. So that the shame of the loss would be felt more than their deprivation of the treasure. For the shields, as they were required upon the occasional parade visitation of Rehoboam to the Lord's house, he had counterfeits made of brass, which answered the purpose quite as well. 12. The sum of this story. The outward form of humility, and the sincere though constrained confession and repentance of king and people, for the time turned away the severer visitations of God's righteous indignation. For David's sake, and His promise's sake, the Lord "would not destroy Rehoboam altogether." And also, another equally strong good reason for God's forbearance, there were good things in Judah! There remained a true spiritual seed—many loyal souls were dispersed among the two tribes. All through the history of God's ancient people we see this fact outstanding, first announced in principle to Abraham pleading for the cities of the plain. And ever since the call of the Gentiles the evidence is as marked. And this is the fact that magnifies God's personal love to men: that multitudes of the hardened and guilty receive tokens of His prolonged forbearance by reason of the few godly souls that witness for Him, and seek the coming of His kingdom upon earth. B. 13-16. The lesson seems not to have been lost on Rehoboam and his people. "There were yet good things in Judah;" but the sum of the king's character is this: "He did evil, because he fixed not his heart to seek Jehovah" (verse 14). He died after a reign of seventeen years (verse 13), and was buried in the city of David. His acts were recorded by the prophet Shemaiah, by the seer Iddo, in his book of genealogies, and in the Chronicles of the kings of Judah. P. S. Rehoboam's reign, after the retirement of Sheshonk, was uneventful. He continued to occupy the throne for twelve more years, and during this time was engaged in frequent if not in continual hostilities with Jeroboam (1 K. 14: 30; 2 Chron. 12: 15), but no important results followed, and it can only be said that the two kingdoms maintained their relative positions. In military strength they were not ill-matched, since, if Israel could bring more men into the field, the narrower limits of Judah made her able to concentrate her troops more rapidly, while the personal qualities of the men of Judah and Benjamin placed them in the front rank of Hebrew warriors. Thus, notwithstanding the invasion of Sheshonk, and the loss of strength which it must have occasioned, the southern kingdom held its ground firmly, though it can scarcely have continued to maintain any hold over the alien States upon its borders, such as Philistia and Edom, which David had subjugated, but which, probably from the date of Sheshonk's invasion, recovered their independence. Rehoboam, remembering the dreariness of his own idle youth, was careful to give his sons active employment. As they grew to manhood, he dispersed them among the various provincial towns, assigning to each a charge, and at the same time an establishment. The writer of Chronicles considers that, in so doing, he acted wisely (chap. 11: 23). The system which he adopted was certainly calculated to prevent, or minimize, jealousies among the princes, and to benefit their characters by giving them duties to perform, instead of making them idle hangers-on upon a court. Maachah survived her husband, and was queen-mother during the next two reigns. Her influence over the kingdom was altogether for evil, and we may, perhaps, ascribe much of the wrong conduct of Rehoboam to the sway which she exercised over him. Her leanings were altogether toward idolatry. Rehoboam's character was weak and irresolute. He seems to have had warm affections, and to have been capable of making good resolutions under good advice (11: 4; 12: 6); but he had no stability of purpose, and his last counsellor generally determined his actions. We are told that "he did evil, because he fixed not his heart to seek the Lord" (12: 14). G. R. # 18th to 21st of Jeroboam, of Israel. 12:25 THEN Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and dwelt therein; 26 and he went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall 27 the kingdom return to the house of David: if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they shall kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of 28 Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought 29 thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in 30. Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto 31 Dan. And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, 32 which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in 33 Beth-el the priests of the high places which he had made. And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to burn incense. 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto 2 Beth-el: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Jesiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon 3 thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. 4 And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not 5 draw it back again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, 6 according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the favour of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God intreated 7 the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give 8 thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine 9 house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: for so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink 10 water, neither return by the way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el. 11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken 12 unto the king, them also they told unto their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? Now his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from 13 Judah. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and 14 he rode thereon. And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in 16 this place: for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. And he said unto him, I also 17 am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he 18 lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. 19 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient unto the mouth of the 20 LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, but carnest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of the which he said to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy 21 fathers. And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he sad- dled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the carcase. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in 22 the city where the old prophet dwelt. And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the mouth of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain 23 him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him. And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled it. And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and he came to the city of the old prophet, to mourn, 24 and to bury him. And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, 25 saying, Alas, my brother! And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is 26 buried; lay my bones beside his bones. For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. 33. After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places. And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth. 14:1 2 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam: and get thee to Shiloh; behold, there is Abijah the prophet, which spake concerning me that I should be king over this people. And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse (or bottle) of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Abijah. Now Abijah could not see: for his eyes were set by reason of his age. And the LORD said unto Abijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to inquire of thee concerning her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman. And it was so, when Abijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why I edgnerst thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; but hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every man child, him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweepeth away dung, till it be all gone. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave: because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the River; because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he hath sinned, and wherewith he hath made Israel to sin. And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. And all Israel buried him, and mourned for him; according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Abijah the prophet. And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warned, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. The new kingdom was called "Israel;" and, with the national name, it seemed, in many respects, the true representative of the nation. It included an overwhelming majority of the tribes. It possessed the chief portion of the territory. Yet Judah possessed Jerusalem, with its Temple, its Ark of the Covenant, and its God-appointed worship. In Judah, too, was the throne of David, and the line of succession from the monarch who had received God's promises in behalf of his posterity. To Judah, moreover, clung the true priesthood of Aaron and the tribe of Levi. And thus, when the new kingdom of Israel, setting up for itself, organized an independent and idolatrous worship, and then, notwithstanding the remonstrances of God-ordained prophets, went on from bad to worse, substituting at length the unmitigated idolatry of Baal-worship for the worship of God by images, it established its character as an apostate kingdom. About two hundred and fifty years this kingdom lasted; and it is especially worthy of note that very nearly contemporaneous with it—rising to view shortly after it rose and falling just before it fell—was the kingdom of Syria, having the city of Damascus as its capital, and a succession of Benhadads as its principal kings. Syria on the northeast and Judah on the south were the rivals of Israel; and, among the three, alliances were frequently formed by some two against the third. Phoenicia, on the sea-coast to the northwest, was commonly friendly to Israel; and King Ahab obtained thence his detestable wife Jezebel, who brought with her the worship of her national gods Baal and Astarte, and well-nigh succeeded in corrupting the whole kingdom with her idolatry. The new kingdom of Israel was characterized by frequent changes of its dynasty. N. C. B.—In this kingdom there was no conservative principle. A love of novelty and change, under the specious name of reform, was the chief characteristic of the powerful house of Joseph. The kingdom, originating in rebellion, was ruled by a succession of adventurers, who built sumptuous palaces and selected pleasant residences to gratify their own tastes for luxury and show, without a thought of the public good. J. L. Porter. The history of the kingdom of Israel is mainly the history of the tribe of Ephraim; and some of the prophets call attention to this fact by calling the kingdom not "Israel," or "Jacob," or even "Joseph," but simply "Ephraim." The kingdom of Israel had a grand opportunity of justifying the secession. It might resolutely have set to work to avoid and to remedy the grievous errors which had disfigured the latter part of the reign of Solomon. The fatal mistake consisted in supposing that these could be avoided by mere severance from the house of David, and that no remedy was needed. Had Jeroboam and his successors honestly labored to abolish idolatry, to moderate taxation, and to strengthen the frontier, they would have retained the alliance of the prophets, the most powerful moral force of the age, and would have won the respect and lasting affection of the tribes. But they cared for their own dynasty much more than for the true religion, and to surpass Judah much more than to put down and thrust back the heathen. Thus even in the first period (from Jeroboam to Ahab, B.C. 975-900), which is one of hostility between the kingdoms, although Israel gains considerable advantages over Judah, yet what advance is made is wholly in the southern kingdom, while the northern simply goes back. Jeroboam, in order to make the break with the capital of Judah as decided as possible, made a clean sweep of all that could remind his subjects of the glory of David and Solomon, and with it of a large portion of the existing civilization. Thus his kingdom was at once sent back to the rudeness of the age of Saul; and before long was plunged in the anarchy and consequent weakness which had distinguished the age of the Judges. Hence in the kingdom of Israel there seems to be nothing to compensate for the evil of division. For the evil of division in an empire is by no means necessarily unmixed. Sometimes the several portions develop all the more healthily for being independent, if only they have sufficient internal force and sufficient scope for action. The kingdom of Israel was deficient in both; and the force which it possessed was misdirected, so that what scope it had was thrown away. P. C. The history of the Northern kingdom, called, as the basis of the nation, the kingdom of Israel, or, after its chief tribe, that of Ephraim, comes chiefly under the consideration of biblical theology, as exhibiting in the conflict waged against the apostate realm by the prophetic order the powerful agency of the latter, and as manifesting in the whole course of the events which befell it the serious nature of Divine retribution. Nine dynasties, including nineteen kings (not reckoning Tibni), succeeded each other in the two centuries and a half during which the kingdom existed, and only two, those of Omri and Jehu, possessed the throne for any length of time. The history is full of conspiracies, regicides, and civil wars; it is a continuous testimony to the fact that when once the divinely appointed path is forsaken sin is ever producing fresh sin, and that the punishment of one crime is inflicted by another. O. The kingdom of Israel lasted two hundred and fifty-four years, from B.C. 975 to B.C. 721, about two-thirds of the duration of its more compact neighbor, Judah. But it may be doubted whether the division into two kingdoms greatly shortened the independent existence of the Hebrew race, or interfered with the purposes which, it is thought, may be traced in the establishment of David's monarchy. The detailed history of the kingdom of Israel will be found under the names of its nineteen kings. A summary view may be taken in four periods: 1. B.C. 975-929. Jeroboam had not sufficient force of character in himself to make a lasting impression on his people. A king, but not a founder of a dynasty, he aimed at nothing beyond securing his present elevation. The army soon learned its power to dictate to the isolated monarch and disunited people. Baasha, in the midst of the army at Gibbethon, slew the son and successor of Jeroboam; Zimri, a captain of chariots, slew the son and successor of Baasha; Omri, the captain of the host, was chosen to punish Zimri; and after a civil war of four years he prevailed over Tibni, the choice of half the people. 2. B.C. 929-884. For forty-five years Israel was governed by the house of Omri. That sagacious king pitched on the strong hill of Samaria as the site of his capital. The princes of his house cultivated an alliance with the kings of Judah, which was cemented by the marriage of Jehoram and Athaliah. The adoption of Baal-worship led to a reaction in the nation, to the moral triumph of the prophets in the person of ELIJAH, and to the extinction of the house of Ahab in obedience to the bidding of ELISHA. 3. B.C. 884-772. Unparalleled triumphs, but deeper humiliation, awaited the kingdom of Israel under the dynasty of Jehu. Hazael, the ablest king of Damascus, reduced Jehoahaz to the condition of a vassal, and triumphed for a time over both the disunited Hebrew kingdoms. Almost the first sign of the restoration of their strength was a war between them; and Jehoash, the grandson of Jehu, entered Jerusalem as the conqueror of Amaziah. Jehoash also turned the tide of war against the Syrians; and Jeroboam II., the most powerful of all the kings of Israel, captured Damascus, and recovered the whole ancient frontier from Hamath to the Dead Sea. This short-lived greatness expired with the last king of Jehu's line. 4. n.c. 772-721. Military violence, it would seem, broke off the hereditary succession after the obscure and probably convulsed reign of Zachariah. An unsuccessful usurper, Shallum, is followed by the cruel Menahem, who, being unable to make head against the first attack of Assyria under Pul, became the agent of that monarch for the oppressive taxation of his subjects. Yet his power at home was sufficient to insure for himself a ten years' reign, his son and successor, Pekahiah, being cut off after two years by a bold usurper, Pekah. Abandoning the northern and trans-Jordanic regions to the encroaching power of Assyria under Tiglath-pileser, he was very near subjugating Judah, with the help of Damascus, now the coequal ally of Israel. But Assyria interposing summarily put an end to the independence of Damascus, and perhaps was the indirect cause of the assassination of the baffled Pekah. The irresolute Hoshea, the next and last usurper, became tributary to his invader, Shalmaneser, betrayed the Assyrian to the rival monarchy of Egypt, and was punished by the loss of his liberty, and by the capture, after a three years' siege, of his strong capital, Samaria. Some gleanings of the ten tribes remained in the land after so many years of religious decline, moral debasement, national degradation, anarchy, bloodshed, and deportation. Even these were gathered up by the conqueror and carried to Assyria, never again, as a distinct people, to occupy their portion of that goodly and pleasant land which their forefathers won under Joshua from the heathen. Dic. B. There were four leading periods in the history of the kingdom of Israel: in the first, the most prominent king was Jeroboam; in the second, Ahab; in the third, Jehu; and in the fourth, Pekah. During the first period, idolatry took root; during the second, it was in full blow; during the third, it was somewhat checked through the influence of the prophets; and during the fourth, it produced its natural fruit, in the utter destruction of the kingdom. | LEADING FEATURE OF PERIODS. | DYNAS-TIES. | KINGS. | LENGTH OF REIGNS. | PROPRETS. | KINGS OF JUDAH. | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | I. Idolatry taking root— about 46 years... | 1. | 1 JEROBOAM I. 2 Nadab. 3 Baasha. 4 Elah. 5 Zimri. 6 Omri. | 22 years. 2 ... 24 ... 2 ... 7 days. 12 years. | Ahijah. Jehu. | Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa and Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah. | | II. Idolatry rampant— about 45 years... | 4. | 7 AHAB. 8 Ahaziah. 9 Jehoram. | 22 ... 2 ... 12 ... | Elijah—Micaich Elisha. | Joash. Joash. Joash and Amaziah. Amaziah. Uzziah. Uzziah. Uzziah. Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz. Ahaz and Hezekiah. W. G. B. | | III. Idolatry slightly checked—about 112 years... | 5. | 10 JEHU. 11 Jehoahaz. 12 Joash. 13 Jeroboam II. 14 Zachariah. 15 Shallum. 16 Menahem. 17 Pekahiah. 18 PEKAH. 19 Hoshea. | 28 ... 17 ... 16 ... 41 ... 6 months. 1 ... 10 years. 2 ... 20 ... 9 ... | Jonah. Hosea and Amos Oded. | | | IV. Idolatry terminating in ruin, including in- terregnums—about 51 years... | 6. 7. 8. 9. | | | | | 25. Jeroboam. He was the son of Nebat, of the tribe of Ephraim. Solomon, long before, had appointed him as overseer of that tribe. An able and ambitious man, skilful and successful in the construction of various works, withal popular among his own and the other already disaffected tribes, he soon aspired to royal state. His aspirations were confirmed by the symbolic act and declaration of the prophet Ahijah, recorded in 1 K. 11:29-39. His designs being discovered by Solomon, he fled to Egypt, where he remained until the king's death. At the call of the disaffected tribes upon the death of Solomon, he came, and acted as their spokesman in their conference with Rehoboam. And now, these tribes elect and establish him as king over Israel. B. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat and Zeruah, was This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/ 1. AND Rehoboam went to Shechem : for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him 2 king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it, (for he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt, and they sent and called him ;) 3 that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, 4 saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous : now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will 5 serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. 6 And the people departed. And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye 7 me to return answer to this people ? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will 8 be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that 9 stood before him. And he said unto them, What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke that thy father 10 did put upon us lighter ? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us ; thus shalt thou speak unto them, My little finger is thicker 11 than my father's loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke : my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise 12 you with scorpions. So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come to me 13 again the third day. And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had 14 given him ; and spake to them after the 12 : 21 AND when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, and the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel : return every man to his house ; for this thing is of me. So they hearkened unto the word of the LORD, and returned and went their way, according to the word of the LORD. 14 : 21 And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there : and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess, And Judah did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD ; and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they committed, above all that their fathers had done. For they also built them high places, and pillars, and Asherim, on every high hill, and under every green tree ; and there were also sodomites in the land : they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD drove out before the children of Israel. And it came to pass in the fifth year of king tribes of Israel, such as set their hearts to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, came to Jerusalem to sacrifice unto the LORD, the 17 God of their fathers. So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for they walked three years in the way of David and Solomon. And Rehoboam took him a wife, Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David, and of Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; and she bare him sons; Jeush, and Shemariah, and Za- 20 ham. And after her he took Maacah the daughter of Absalom; and she bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. 21 And Rehoboam loved Maacah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines, and begat twenty and eight sons and threescore daughters.) 22 And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah to be chief, even the prince among his brethren: for he was minded to make 23 him king. And he dealt wisely, and dis- Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt 26 came up against Jerusalem: and he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he even took away all: and he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had 27 made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house. 28 And it was so, that as oft as the king went into the house of the LORD, the guard bare them, and brought them back into the 29 guard chamber. Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of 30 the kings of Judah? And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam contin- 31 ually. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and his mother's name was Naamah the Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead. persed of all his sons throughout all the lands of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he sought for them many wives. 12:1 And it came to pass, when the kingdom of Rehoboam was established, and he was 2 strong, that he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, 3 because they had trespassed against the LORD, with twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; 4 the Lubim, the Sukkim, and the Ethiopians. And he took the fenced cities which pertained 5 to Judah, and came unto Jerusalem. Now Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, therefore have I also left you in the 6 hand of Shishak. Then the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they 7 said, The LORD is righteous. And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them: but I will grant them some deliverance, and my wrath shall not be poured out 8 upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they 9 may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. So Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house; he took all away: he took away also the shields of gold 10 which Solomon had made. And king Rehoboam made in their stead shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the captains of the guard, that kept the door of the king's 11 house. And it was so, that as oft as the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard 12 came and bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him alto- 13 gether: and moreover in Judah there were good things found. So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was forty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there: and his mother's name was 14 Naamah the Ammonitess. And he did that which was evil, because he set not his heart to 15 seek the LORD. Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the histories of Shemaiah the prophet and of Iddo the seer, after the manner of genealogies? And 16 there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead. Introductory. Having fully treated the separate history of Israel, we proceed to present a similar treatment of the remaining branch of the divided kingdom of Solomon. The history of the kingdom of Judah is most largely given in the Chronicles, which were probably written by Ezra soon after the return from the Captivity in Babylon. Then the newly gathered people, mainly Judahites or Jews, needed a fresh reminder of their entire history, with its many impressive lessons. In tracing the parallel progress of the two kingdoms, certain outline facts should be borne in mind from the outset. 1. They have the same starting-point—n.c. 975. 2. Israel lasts two hundred and fifty-four years and Judah three hundred and eighty-eight years. 3. Each kingdom has nineteen kings. 4. The kings of Israel came from eleven distinct families. 5. Those of Judah all belonged to the family of David, thus fulfilling God's "pledge given as if by a covenant of salt, that the house of David should never perish." B. The kingdom of Judah lasted three hundred and eighty-eight years, n.c. 975-587. The history of the kingdom of Judah is the history of a dynasty rather than of a nation—of a city rather than of a country. Its title reveals to us its strength as well as its weakness. The tribe of Judah, the city of Jerusalem, the family of David, had acquired too much fame during the preceding reigns to be easily lost. The lamp or torch of David was always burning, although it seemed at times on the verge of extinction. There was a pledge given as if by a covenant of salt, that the house of David should never perish (2 Chron. 13: 5). Stanley. | PERIODS IN JUDAH'S HISTORY. | KINGS OF JUDAH. | LENGTH OF REIGNS. | PROPHETS. | KINGS OF ISRAEL. | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | I. First Religious Decline and First Religious Revival—about 86 years... | 1 Rehoboam. 2 Abijam. 3 Asa. 4 JEHOSHAPHAT. | 17 years. 3 ... 41 ... 25 ... | Shemaiah, Iddo. Azariah, Hanam. Jehu, Jahaziel. | Jeroboam. Jeroboam. Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri Omri. Ahab, Ahaziah, Jehoram. | | II. Second Decline and Second Revival—about 207 years... | 5 Jehoram. 6 Ahaziah. (Athaliah.) | 8 ... 1 ... 6 ... | | Jehoram. Jehoram. Jehu. | | | 7 Joash. | 40 ... | Zechariah (son of Jehoiada). | Jehu, Jehoahaz. | | | 8 Amaziah. | 29 ... | Hosea, Amos | Joash, Jeroboam II. | | | 9 Uzziah (or Azariah) | 52 ... | Joel, Zechariah II. | Zechariah, Shalium, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah. | | | 10 Jotham. | 16 ... | Isaiah, Micah. | Pekah. | | | 11 Ahaz. | 16 ... | | Pekah, Hoshea. | | | 12 HEZEKIAH. | 29 ... | Nahum. | Hoshea. | | III. Third Decline and Third Revival—about 88 years. | 13 Manasseh. 14 Amon. 15 JOSIAH. | 55 ... 2 ... 31 ... | Zephaniah, Jeremiah. | | | IV. Final Decline—about 23 years... | 16 Jehoahaz. 17 Jehoiakim. 18 Jehoiachin. 19 Zedekiah. | 14 ... 11 ... 14 ... 11 ... | Habakkuk. Obadiah. | | In a religious point of view, the history of the kingdom of Judah may be divided into four periods, as indicated in the above table. It is remarkable how closely the religious character of the several periods corresponded to that of the monarchs who sat upon the throne. Under Rehoboam and Abijam, religion underwent a decline, from which it began to recover in the reign of Asa; while under Jehoshaphat the revival was decided and complete. A second decline commenced with the reign of Jehoram, the son-in-law of Ahab and Jezebel, and went on through a long succession of reigns—the spiritual thermometer falling lowest in that of Ahaz. The darkest hour of night, however, was succeeded by the dawn; under Hezekiah, the son and successor of Ahaz, the firmament brightened again. With Manasseh a new decline, more terrible than any that had preceded, began; followed, in the days of his grandson, Josiah, by a new and most interesting revival. The sons and successors of Josiah were not like-minded with himself; the old corruptions broke out afresh; and with the awful catastrophe of the Babylonian Captivity, the glory departed from the kingdom of Judah. W. G. B. The history of the kingdom of Judah has a kingdom of Israel. Though much smaller, es- character essentially different from that of the pecially after Idumea, the only one of the mountainous districts which at the disruption fell to the share of Judah, had gained its independence, it was still superior to the kingdom of Israel in internal strength. This resulted partly from its possession of the genuine sanctuary with its legitimate worship, its influential priesthood, and Levitical orders; and partly from its royal house, which, unlike most of the dynasties of the neighboring kingdom, had not been raised to the throne by revolution, but possessed the sanction of legitimacy and a settled succession, and was especially consecrated by the memory of its illustrious ancestor David, and the Divine promises vouchsafed to his race. Moreover, among the nineteen monarchs (not counting Athaliah) who occupied the throne three hundred and eighty-seven years, from Rehoboam till the fall of the State, there were at least some individuals distinguished for high administrative talents, in whom the ideal of the theocratic kingship was revived, such as Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Josiah. Thus the kingdom gained a moral strength that prevented the wild spirit of insurrection and discord, by which the other kingdom was disturbed, from attaining anything like the same proportions. The opposition, indeed, between the natural inclinations of the people and the moral strictness of Jehovah could not but lead to conflicts here also; nay, the contrast between the two was all the sharper, because a syncretistic intermingling of heathenism and Jehovah could not be so easily effected—a circumstance which explains the fact, that when the former did get the upper hand in Judah, it appeared in a still grosser form than in the kingdom of Israel. By reason, however, of the firm foundation which the continuance of the legitimate theocratic authorities afforded to Jehovah in the State, there was no need of bloody revolutions to reinstate the latter in its rights, but only of reformations, and these were effected not so much by the energetic efforts of the prophets as by the kings themselves. Besides, since the preservation of the theocratic ordinances did not devolve in Judah exclusively upon the prophets, their position was different from that which they occupied in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes. At times their agency was exercised in perfect harmony with that of the two other theocratic powers; and reformations of worship being repeatedly undertaken by the kings, they were able to limit themselves to the ministry of the word. The prophets, finding in Judah the basis afforded by existing theocratic institutions, were not under the necessity of establishing new props; and there is no sort of evidence that schools of the prophets, or associations such as existed in the kingdom of the Ten Tribes, were organized in Judah. In the historical notices of the kingdom of Judah we meet only with individual prophets, a succession of whom continues, with but inconsiderable gaps, down to the Captivity, and it was only around eminent prophets like Isaiah (cf. 8:16), and afterward Jeremiah, that small circles of disciples were gathered, in whom the word of God fell upon good ground, in the midst of a rebellious nation, and was transmitted to future generations. With respect to the course of events in the kingdom of Judah, a cursory glance presents a tolerably uniform alternation of apostasy from Jehovah and return to Him. Certain kings suffer idolatry to spring up; this finds support in the high places existing in different parts of the country, and such apostasy is followed by punishment in the calamities which then overtake the nation. Then arises again a pious king, who exerts himself to keep the people faithful to the legitimate sanctuary, and vindicates the authority of the legal worship, till at length, after repeated reformations, the apostasy and corruption becomes so great that judgment sets in without intermission. O. 2. Chron. 11:1-4.** Rehoboam's preparation of a great army to recover the heritage of Solomon by conquest of the revolted tribes was countermanded by the word of the Lord at the mouth of the prophet Shemaiah, and the Divine command was instantly heeded by king and people. B. 4. The words of the prophet were addressed not only to the king but to the assembled warriors, and were imperative upon the latter—"Return every man to his house;" and, we are immediately told, "They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart." There is no reason to suppose that they would have remained under arms after such a command, however much Rehoboam had wished them to do so. They obeyed the prophet, and he could not but do the same. Kitto. That portion of the tribe of Dan which dwelt in their original lot (Josh. 19:40 sqq.), between Benjamin, Judah and Ephraim, belonged to Judah. A few Danite cities are mentioned (2 Chron. 11:10; 28:18) as pertaining to the kingdom of Judah; but since this tribe dwelt partly in the north, it may nevertheless be reckoned among the ten. Thus Rehoboam's army may correctly be spoken of (1 K. 12:23) as "all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and the rest of the people." Among the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, mentioned (verse 17) as Rehoboam's subjects, were probably included members of other tribes also. And when to these are added the numerous emigrations from the northern kingdom into that of Judah in succeeding centuries (cf. 2 Chron. 15: 9), it may well be said that among the Jews, which name now arose in the southern kingdom, all Israel was represented. The disruption of Israel was from this time irremediable; in a short time, not reckoning the reigns of Ahab and Jehoshaphat and their immediate successors, the separated kingdoms took hostile positions with respect to each other, and at last consumed their strength in sanguinary wars. The external glory of the kingdom was at an end; but prophecy never ceased to direct the expectation of the nation to the future reunion of the twelve tribes under one head of the house of David. Oehler. 11-17. Three years of peace followed. The only notable occurrence during this tranquil interval was the gradual exodus of the Levites from the northern kingdom, where they were subject to indignities, and their concentration within the territorial limits of Judah and Benjamin, where they were respected and honored. This exodus was followed by that of many pious Israelites, who disliked Jeroboam's religious innovations, and were attached to the worship of Jehovah, as established by David and Solomon. The northern kingdom was thus continually weakened and the southern one strengthened (2 Chron. 11: 13-17). G. R. Rehoboam's policy drew almost all the priesthood into his dominions of the nation, and brought in large accessions of population from the territory of the revolted tribes; so that though his country, consisting only of the two southern tribes, was inferior in extent, and yet more in fertility and natural resources, it matched well the sister kingdom in the north, and during his reign and the reigns of his successors, he successfully warded off its enmity. "He fortified the strongholds and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine. And in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong." So much he did for external defence. And to preserve internal order and tranquillity, and to prevent contention among his numerous sons—for it is recorded of him that he had twenty-eight—as well as to avert the danger of a disputed succession after his death, he separated them, "and dispersed all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance." Surely, here was some good statesmanship and political sagacity. And thus it appears that Rehoboam, through the great folly with which he started in his public career, has left on his fame an indelible blot—was not altogether a simpleton or a trifler, nor altogether unworthy of his birth as the son of the wise King Solomon. R. Hallam. 16. To his new order of priests Jeroboam probably gave the consecrated lands and the right of tithes which the Levites had previously enjoyed, thus reducing the bulk of the old sacerdotal body to absolute penury. A fresh impetus was in this way given to the exodus which had already begun; and the example of their sacerdotal guides being followed by many of the more godly among the Israelites. Jeroboam found the number of his own subjects continually diminishing, and the number of his rival's subjects increasing, through an emigration which it was almost impossible for him to stop, or even to confine within moderate limits by his own unassisted efforts. G. R. 12: 1. The effect of prosperity upon Rehoboam and his people. He occupies the first three years of his reign of seventeen in fortifying Jerusalem and fifteen walled cities; in reorganizing the government over the two tribes; and in assigning homes to the large number of priests and Levites, and of families, exiled from the Ten Tribes by Jeroboam for loyalty to the worship of Jehovah. With this establishment of his throne came a sense of power and security, shared alike by king and people. Indulgence naturally followed with the decline of religious feeling, soon reaching the point of utter disobedience to the law of the Lord. Groves, with their abominations, high places and images, with their idolatries, were the natural and speedy outcome of their apostasy. Although forty-one years old when he began to reign, Rehoboam seems to have been extremely self-ignorant and weak. His foolish response to the representatives of the Ten Tribes, by which he repelled them and divided the kingdom of Solomon, clearly shows this. So does his ready yielding to the idolatrous tendencies of all surrounding nations, though helped, doubtless, by his Ammonite mother's training; while his replacement of the golden shields with those of brass, to be used in mere personal display of kingly state and authority, also indicated a vain, weak character. B. 2. Chron. 12: 1-12. The most important event in this history is told in fullest detail in the Book of Kings (14: 22-24); its punishment at the hand of God in the Book of Chronicles (12 : 2, 12). After the first three years of Rehoboam's reign a great change seems to have come over the religious aspect of the country. Rehoboam and Judah did not, indeed, openly renounce the worship of Jehovah. On the contrary, we find that the king continued to attend the house of the Lord in royal state, and that after the incursion of Shishak there was even a partial religious revival (verses 11, 12). Still the general character of this period was, that "Rehoboam forsook the law of Jehovah, and all Israel with him;" that "he did evil in that he did not set his heart on seeking Jehovah" (verses 1, 14), and, lastly, that "Judah did the evil in the sight of Jehovah, and provoked Him to jealousy (viewing the relation between the Lord and Israel as one of marriage, Num. 5 : 14—more than anything which their fathers had done by their sins which they sinned" (1 K. 14 : 22). These sins consisted in building Bamoth, or "high places"—i.e., altars, on every high hill, and setting up in every grove Mazeeboth, or memorial-stones and pillars dedicated to Baal, and Asherim, or trunks of trees dedicated to Astarte (with all the vileness which their service implied). The Divine punishment was not long withheld. Once more it came in the course of natural causation, through the political motives which influenced Shishak, and led him to support Jeroboam. In the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign Shishak marched a large army of Egyptians, Lybians, Sukkim ("tent-dwellers"? Arabs?), and Ethiopians, with twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen, into Judea, and after taking the fenced cities along his route, advanced upon Jerusalem, where Rehoboam and his army were gathered. Once more the prophet Shemaiah averted a contest, which could only have ended in disaster. On showing them that the national danger, though apparently arising from political causes, was really due to their sin against Jehovah (verse 2), and that it was needless to fight, since, as they had been God-forsaking, they were now God-forsaken (verse 5), the king and his princes humbled themselves. Thereupon the Lord intimated through His prophet that He would "grant them deliverance for a little while," on condition of their submitting to Shishak. The reason for this, "that they may know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries," as well as the terms by which the promised deliverance was qualified, contained the most solemn warning of the ultimate consequences of apostasy. Yet the Divine forbearance continued other three hundred and seventy years before the threatened judgment burst upon the nation. But at this time Jerusalem was spared. Voluntary submission having been made, Shishak entered the city, and contented himself with carrying away the treasures of the Temple and of the palace, including among the latter the famous golden shields used by Solomon's body-guard on state occasions, for which Rehoboam now substituted shields of brass. A. E. It is to be carefully noted that, so long as king and people served the Lord, Shishak was held back from attacking them. Hence we understand why Judah receives earlier and greater stripes than Israel. It was Jeroboam made Israel to sin. It was Judah made Rehoboam to sin. The guilty people, accordingly, are punished by the invasion of their land and the spoliation of their treasure; the guilty king by the destruction of his house. And here again, let us observe, how significant that the chastisement should come from Egypt! Time was when God had punished the idolatries of Egypt through the instrumentality of the Jewish people (Ex. 7-14). Now the tables are turned, and Egypt is employed to avenge the idolatries of Judah. This was the first time that an Egyptian army had crossed their border—the first time, indeed, that the land had sustained the brunt of any invasion. It was the Sodomites and the like had drawn forth those swords from their scabbards. What a contrast between Exodus 14 and 1 Kings 14! Israel, who then "saw the Egyptians dead upon the seashore," now feels the grip of Pharaoh at his throat, and the iron of Pharaoh in his soul. Hammond. 2-4. God's dealing with the transgressions of king and people.** Shishak, or Sheshonk, according to the monumental records inscribed upon the walls of the great temple of Karnak, was the first king of the twenty-second dynasty of Egypt. A list of one hundred and thirty-three countries, cities, and tribes ruled by or tributary to him, includes a large number of the cities of Palestine. Some of these were within the kingdom of Jeroboam, but they were cities of the Levites or old Caananites. But the supreme motive and ultimate impelling cause of this Egyptian invasion, lay in the mind of God. Like all human actions, there was connected with this of Shishak a double thread of motive and purpose—the one, superior and overruling, because Divine; the other (the human), free indeed, but overruled in its every detail of result. No clearer, more conclusive statement, in illustration of an inexplicable fact, can we find than this: "Shishak came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the Lord." His army was a vast one, drawn from Egypt and the great countries on the west and south. And his progress was unhindered, his triumph complete. The cities that Rehoboam had walled for defence were taken almost as soon as their walls had been built. And Jerusalem itself was occupied by the Egyptian host. B. When David founded his empire his two powerful neighbors, Egypt and Assyria, were both in a state of decline. Assyria had fallen into the hands of unwarlike kings, who were unable to retain the conquests of their predecessors, even upon their immediate frontiers; while Egypt was divided among rival dynasties and rent with civil wars. Egypt, however, was the first to recover her strength. The monarchs of the twenty-second dynasty once more united the country under one rule, and Shishak or Sheshonk I. turned his arms against the cities of Palestine. The brief account given in 1 K. 14: 25, 26, and the fuller history in these verses of his invasion of Judah and his capture of Jerusalem, are supplemented by his own record of it on the walls of the ruined temple of Karnak. Sayce. In the Scriptures Shishak appears first in 1 K. 11: 40, as then the king of Egypt to whom Jeroboam fled for protection from Solomon. This fact indicates a decisive change in the policy of the Egyptian court since Solomon took to wife the daughter of the reigning monarch. It suggests another dynasty, of other, not to say opposite sympathies and policy. In harmony with this we find that Shishak (the Sheshonk of the Egyptian monuments) was the founder of a new dynasty, the twenty-second. He was not on the best terms with Solomon, and readily took Jeroboam into his confidence and friendship. Naturally, therefore, he only waited for the favorable moment to make this formidable military campaign into Palestine in the interests of his friend Jeroboam. H. C. Shishak, called Sheshonk or Sheshonk on the monuments, and Sesonchis or Sesonchosis by Manetho, ascended the Egyptian throne about B.C. 980 or a little earlier, according to calculations based upon exclusively Egyptian data. He reigned twenty-one years, and toward the close of his reign made an expedition, which he has commemorated on the external wall of the great temple at Karnak. The mode of commemoration is by a representation of himself, and a list of the various cities, countries, and tribes conquered by him, or made tributary, during the expedition. The number of the names was originally one hundred and thirty-three; but of these thirty-two are wholly and fourteen others partly illegible. Of the remaining eighty-seven, about fifty-five had been identified with more or less of probability, while above thirty still defy the comparative geographer. From the fifty-five identifications, many of which are quite certain, it appears that the list contains three classes of names, mainly grouped together—(1) Levitical and Canaanite cities of Israel; (2) cities of Judah; (3) Arab tribes lying to the south of Palestine. According to Mr. R.S. Poole's analysis of the inscription of Sheshonk at Karnak, it appears that the expedition was directed not only against the dominions of Rehoboam, but also against a number of Levitical and Canaanite cities within the territory of Jeroboam himself, and further against certain Arab tribes of the vicinity. The inference is, that Jeroboam obtained Sheshonk's aid in reducing Israelite cities that had declined to submit to him, and also in chastising Arab tribes on his borders which had given him trouble. G. R. On the 14th of February, 1867, the writer and some friends, in one of their visits to Karnak, sought out this sculptured scene and record. Passing from the interior of the great Columnar Hall through a break in the south wall, the sculptures were found near the southwest corner. There were the colossal figures of a conqueror and of a divinity, and the Liliputian figures of a multitude of captives, sculptured in intaglio on the exterior surface of the wall. Accompanying these was an explanatory record, containing the name of the king and the names of the various countries which he had subdued. No doubt exists concerning this representation, so far as is needful to identify it with King Shishak and his Syrian expedition mentioned in the Scriptures; and, although the hour of our visit was oppressively warm, it was no hardship to stand amid the fiery reflections of the sun from the temple wall and surrounding débris, before an inscription which must be accounted one of the most suggestive ever written by the finger of man. N. C. Burt. 5, 6. God's admonitory message, and the responsive humiliation of the king and princes. By the same prophet (Shemaiah) who had five years before forbidden Rehoboam to reconquer the ten rebelling tribes, the word of Jehovah is uttered to the king and chief men of Judah. The message is brief and pointed. Their sin was the cause of their calamities, and this was their sin; that they had turned away from God —from His worship and His law. And this is the substance of all sin, the essence of transgression in every age and generation: turning away from God, disregarding His worship, disobeying His law! The charge uttered by the prophet is not denied. The conscience of the leaders and people acknowledged its truth. And the calamities which were already fallen upon them helped to make the voice of conscience clearer and its sting the sharper. So they humbled themselves in acknowledgment as brief and pointed as the charge: The Lord is righteous! As their sin relates solely to God, so their penitence refers only to Him. David's words of confession fitly express their meaning: Against Thee, Thee only, have I sinned; that Thou mightest be justified when Thou speakest. This, too, is the substance of all true repentance in every age and generation: the return to God with self-accusation for disobedience, and full justification of God's right and merciful dealing. 7, 8. Why and how God's yet severer discipline was withheld. His wrath was not fully "poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak." By the same prophet they learned that God's mercy was interposed on account of their thus penitently humbling themselves before Him. But God would grave the lesson deeper on their souls, as we know they sadly needed. Therefore He left the nation subject to Shishak, and king and people were compelled to pay heavy tribute, even after the loss of all the treasures gathered by David and Solomon, stored in the Temple and palaces of Jerusalem. A point of special instruction is suggested in the reason assigned by the Lord for Judah's enslavement to Shishak. It is that Judah may learn by actual experience whose is the easier, most desirable service—God's or the Egyptian monarch's. It was God's way, under the old and severer Covenant, of saying to Judah, "Return unto Me and take My yoke upon you, for it is easy; and My burden, for it is light!" Through experience only, of the contrast between sore bondage to a foreign tyrant and glad service willingly given to Himself, they would learn that obedience to God was far better. And thus Christ says to all, who have had enough of the sad experience of bondage to sinful self-indulgence, "Come unto Me, and exchange the burdening, wearing yoke of reigning sin for My light burdens and easy restraints!" B. 7. They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them.** Compare the repentance of Ahab (1 K. 21: 27-29) and that of the Ninevites (Jonah 2: 5-10), which produced similar revocations of Divine decrees that had been pronounced by the mouth of a prophet. B. C. 8. May know My service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries.** The history of life is made up of different services. Every man serves something. "Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?" In the service of the world you are always dealing with uncertainties. The things of God are sure and forever. He who gives is the unchangeable Jehovah, who never recalls a gift, and all His gifts have in them eternity. In the service of the world nothing ever thoroughly satisfies; nothing meets all the aspirations of a man. In God's service a man has just what his soul wants. The Christian service of religion does not work up to get its great objects. It has them. It does not work for wages, for it has received what it wants as a gift. It works out a salvation which it has. The one service is a service of freedom, the other of bondage. It is bondage to serve where there is no affection. It is bondage to work for what you can get, and not even to be sure that you shall ever get it. But to feel that you are your Father's child, that His eye is looking at you and His hand holding you while you work—that is liberty. It is the same service with that of those servants who serve Him indeed in heaven. J. Vaughan. 9-11. What Shishak took away, and Rehoboam substituted. Five hundred shields of wood overlaid with gold, made under Solomon's direction, together with all the treasures gathered in the house of the Lord and in the king's house, were carried to Egypt. The shields were used for display on state occasions; and it would seem that the treasures were kept or used more for show than for actual advantage to the nation. So that the shame of the loss would be felt more than their deprivation of the treasure. For the shields, as they were required upon the occasional parade visitation of Rehoboam to the Lord's house, he had counterfeits made of brass, which answered the purpose quite as well. 12. The sum of this story. The outward form of humility, and the sincere though constrained confession and repentance of king and people, for the time turned away the severer visitations of God's righteous indignation. For David's sake, and His promise's sake, the Lord "would not destroy Rehoboam altogether." And also, another equally strong good reason for God's forbearance, there were good things in Judah! There remained a true spiritual seed—many loyal souls were dispersed among the two tribes. All through the history of God's ancient people we see this fact outstanding, first announced in principle to Abraham pleading for the cities of the plain. And ever since the call of the Gentiles the evidence is as marked. And this is the fact that magnifies God's personal love to men: that multitudes of the hardened and guilty receive tokens of His prolonged forbearance by reason of the few godly souls that witness for Him, and seek the coming of His kingdom upon earth. B. 13-16. The lesson seems not to have been lost on Rehoboam and his people. "There were yet good things in Judah;" but the sum of the king's character is this: "He did evil, because he fixed not his heart to seek Jehovah" (verse 14). He died after a reign of seventeen years (verse 13), and was buried in the city of David. His acts were recorded by the prophet Shemaiah, by the seer Iddo, in his book of genealogies, and in the Chronicles of the kings of Judah. P. S. Rehoboam's reign, after the retirement of Sheshonk, was uneventful. He continued to occupy the throne for twelve more years, and during this time was engaged in frequent if not in continual hostilities with Jeroboam (1 K. 14: 30; 2 Chron. 12: 15), but no important results followed, and it can only be said that the two kingdoms maintained their relative positions. In military strength they were not ill-matched, since, if Israel could bring more men into the field, the narrower limits of Judah made her able to concentrate her troops more rapidly, while the personal qualities of the men of Judah and Benjamin placed them in the front rank of Hebrew warriors. Thus, notwithstanding the invasion of Sheshonk, and the loss of strength which it must have occasioned, the southern kingdom held its ground firmly, though it can scarcely have continued to maintain any hold over the alien States upon its borders, such as Philistia and Edom, which David had subjugated, but which, probably from the date of Sheshonk's invasion, recovered their independence. Rehoboam, remembering the dreariness of his own idle youth, was careful to give his sons active employment. As they grew to manhood, he dispersed them among the various provincial towns, assigning to each a charge, and at the same time an establishment. The writer of Chronicles considers that, in so doing, he acted wisely (chap. 11: 23). The system which he adopted was certainly calculated to prevent, or minimize, jealousies among the princes, and to benefit their characters by giving them duties to perform, instead of making them idle hangers-on upon a court. Maachah survived her husband, and was queen-mother during the next two reigns. Her influence over the kingdom was altogether for evil, and we may, perhaps, ascribe much of the wrong conduct of Rehoboam to the sway which she exercised over him. Her leanings were altogether toward idolatry. Rehoboam's character was weak and irresolute. He seems to have had warm affections, and to have been capable of making good resolutions under good advice (11: 4; 12: 6); but he had no stability of purpose, and his last counsellor generally determined his actions. We are told that "he did evil, because he fixed not his heart to seek the Lord" (12: 14). G. R. # 18th to 21st of Jeroboam, of Israel. 12:25 THEN Jeroboam built Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and dwelt therein; 26 and he went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall 27 the kingdom return to the house of David: if this people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah; and they shall kill me, and return to Rehoboam king of 28 Judah. Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought 29 thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in 30. Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto 31 Dan. And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, 32 which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he went up unto the altar; so did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in 33 Beth-el the priests of the high places which he had made. And he went up unto the altar which he had made in Beth-el on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart: and he ordained a feast for the children of Israel, and went up unto the altar, to burn incense. 13:1 And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto 2 Beth-el: and Jeroboam was standing by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar by the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD: Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Jesiah by name; and upon thee shall he sacrifice the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall they burn upon 3 thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken: Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. 4 And it came to pass, when the king heard the saying of the man of God, which he cried against the altar in Beth-el, that Jeroboam put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not 5 draw it back again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, 6 according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the favour of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God intreated 7 the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give 8 thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine 9 house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: for so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Thou shalt eat no bread, nor drink 10 water, neither return by the way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el. 11 Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and one of his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spoken 12 unto the king, them also they told unto their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? Now his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from 13 Judah. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and 14 he rode thereon. And he went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. 15 Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in 16 this place: for it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. And he said unto him, I also 17 am a prophet as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he 18 lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. 19 And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: and he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast been disobedient unto the mouth of the 20 LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, but carnest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place of the which he said to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy 21 fathers. And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he sad- dled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it; the lion also stood by the carcase. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in 22 the city where the old prophet dwelt. And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the mouth of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain 23 him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him. And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled it. And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and he came to the city of the old prophet, to mourn, 24 and to bury him. And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, 25 saying, Alas, my brother! And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is 26 buried; lay my bones beside his bones. For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. 33. After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again from among all the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, that there might be priests of the high places. And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth. 14:1 2 At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam: and get thee to Shiloh; behold, there is Abijah the prophet, which spake concerning me that I should be king over this people. And take with thee ten loaves, and cracknels, and a cruse (or bottle) of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Abijah. Now Abijah could not see: for his eyes were set by reason of his age. And the LORD said unto Abijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to inquire of thee concerning her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman. And it was so, when Abijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why I edgnerst thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, and rent the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; but hast done evil above all that were before thee, and hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every man child, him that is shut up and him that is left at large in Israel, and will utterly sweep away the house of Jeroboam, as a man sweepeth away dung, till it be all gone. Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him; for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave: because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam. Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the River; because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger. And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, which he hath sinned, and wherewith he hath made Israel to sin. And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and as she came to the threshold of the house, the child died. And all Israel buried him, and mourned for him; according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Abijah the prophet. And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warned, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. The new kingdom was called "Israel;" and, with the national name, it seemed, in many respects, the true representative of the nation. It included an overwhelming majority of the tribes. It possessed the chief portion of the territory. Yet Judah possessed Jerusalem, with its Temple, its Ark of the Covenant, and its God-appointed worship. In Judah, too, was the throne of David, and the line of succession from the monarch who had received God's promises in behalf of his posterity. To Judah, moreover, clung the true priesthood of Aaron and the tribe of Levi. And thus, when the new kingdom of Israel, setting up for itself, organized an independent and idolatrous worship, and then, notwithstanding the remonstrances of God-ordained prophets, went on from bad to worse, substituting at length the unmitigated idolatry of Baal-worship for the worship of God by images, it established its character as an apostate kingdom. About two hundred and fifty years this kingdom lasted; and it is especially worthy of note that very nearly contemporaneous with it—rising to view shortly after it rose and falling just before it fell—was the kingdom of Syria, having the city of Damascus as its capital, and a succession of Benhadads as its principal kings. Syria on the northeast and Judah on the south were the rivals of Israel; and, among the three, alliances were frequently formed by some two against the third. Phoenicia, on the sea-coast to the northwest, was commonly friendly to Israel; and King Ahab obtained thence his detestable wife Jezebel, who brought with her the worship of her national gods Baal and Astarte, and well-nigh succeeded in corrupting the whole kingdom with her idolatry. The new kingdom of Israel was characterized by frequent changes of its dynasty. N. C. B.—In this kingdom there was no conservative principle. A love of novelty and change, under the specious name of reform, was the chief characteristic of the powerful house of Joseph. The kingdom, originating in rebellion, was ruled by a succession of adventurers, who built sumptuous palaces and selected pleasant residences to gratify their own tastes for luxury and show, without a thought of the public good. J. L. Porter. The history of the kingdom of Israel is mainly the history of the tribe of Ephraim; and some of the prophets call attention to this fact by calling the kingdom not "Israel," or "Jacob," or even "Joseph," but simply "Ephraim." The kingdom of Israel had a grand opportunity of justifying the secession. It might resolutely have set to work to avoid and to remedy the grievous errors which had disfigured the latter part of the reign of Solomon. The fatal mistake consisted in supposing that these could be avoided by mere severance from the house of David, and that no remedy was needed. Had Jeroboam and his successors honestly labored to abolish idolatry, to moderate taxation, and to strengthen the frontier, they would have retained the alliance of the prophets, the most powerful moral force of the age, and would have won the respect and lasting affection of the tribes. But they cared for their own dynasty much more than for the true religion, and to surpass Judah much more than to put down and thrust back the heathen. Thus even in the first period (from Jeroboam to Ahab, B.C. 975-900), which is one of hostility between the kingdoms, although Israel gains considerable advantages over Judah, yet what advance is made is wholly in the southern kingdom, while the northern simply goes back. Jeroboam, in order to make the break with the capital of Judah as decided as possible, made a clean sweep of all that could remind his subjects of the glory of David and Solomon, and with it of a large portion of the existing civilization. Thus his kingdom was at once sent back to the rudeness of the age of Saul; and before long was plunged in the anarchy and consequent weakness which had distinguished the age of the Judges. Hence in the kingdom of Israel there seems to be nothing to compensate for the evil of division. For the evil of division in an empire is by no means necessarily unmixed. Sometimes the several portions develop all the more healthily for being independent, if only they have sufficient internal force and sufficient scope for action. The kingdom of Israel was deficient in both; and the force which it possessed was misdirected, so that what scope it had was thrown away. P. C. The history of the Northern kingdom, called, as the basis of the nation, the kingdom of Israel, or, after its chief tribe, that of Ephraim, comes chiefly under the consideration of biblical theology, as exhibiting in the conflict waged against the apostate realm by the prophetic order the powerful agency of the latter, and as manifesting in the whole course of the events which befell it the serious nature of Divine retribution. Nine dynasties, including nineteen kings (not reckoning Tibni), succeeded each other in the two centuries and a half during which the kingdom existed, and only two, those of Omri and Jehu, possessed the throne for any length of time. The history is full of conspiracies, regicides, and civil wars; it is a continuous testimony to the fact that when once the divinely appointed path is forsaken sin is ever producing fresh sin, and that the punishment of one crime is inflicted by another. O. The kingdom of Israel lasted two hundred and fifty-four years, from B.C. 975 to B.C. 721, about two-thirds of the duration of its more compact neighbor, Judah. But it may be doubted whether the division into two kingdoms greatly shortened the independent existence of the Hebrew race, or interfered with the purposes which, it is thought, may be traced in the establishment of David's monarchy. The detailed history of the kingdom of Israel will be found under the names of its nineteen kings. A summary view may be taken in four periods: 1. B.C. 975-929. Jeroboam had not sufficient force of character in himself to make a lasting impression on his people. A king, but not a founder of a dynasty, he aimed at nothing beyond securing his present elevation. The army soon learned its power to dictate to the isolated monarch and disunited people. Baasha, in the midst of the army at Gibbethon, slew the son and successor of Jeroboam; Zimri, a captain of chariots, slew the son and successor of Baasha; Omri, the captain of the host, was chosen to punish Zimri; and after a civil war of four years he prevailed over Tibni, the choice of half the people. 2. B.C. 929-884. For forty-five years Israel was governed by the house of Omri. That sagacious king pitched on the strong hill of Samaria as the site of his capital. The princes of his house cultivated an alliance with the kings of Judah, which was cemented by the marriage of Jehoram and Athaliah. The adoption of Baal-worship led to a reaction in the nation, to the moral triumph of the prophets in the person of ELIJAH, and to the extinction of the house of Ahab in obedience to the bidding of ELISHA. 3. B.C. 884-772. Unparalleled triumphs, but deeper humiliation, awaited the kingdom of Israel under the dynasty of Jehu. Hazael, the ablest king of Damascus, reduced Jehoahaz to the condition of a vassal, and triumphed for a time over both the disunited Hebrew kingdoms. Almost the first sign of the restoration of their strength was a war between them; and Jehoash, the grandson of Jehu, entered Jerusalem as the conqueror of Amaziah. Jehoash also turned the tide of war against the Syrians; and Jeroboam II., the most powerful of all the kings of Israel, captured Damascus, and recovered the whole ancient frontier from Hamath to the Dead Sea. This short-lived greatness expired with the last king of Jehu's line. 4. n.c. 772-721. Military violence, it would seem, broke off the hereditary succession after the obscure and probably convulsed reign of Zachariah. An unsuccessful usurper, Shallum, is followed by the cruel Menahem, who, being unable to make head against the first attack of Assyria under Pul, became the agent of that monarch for the oppressive taxation of his subjects. Yet his power at home was sufficient to insure for himself a ten years' reign, his son and successor, Pekahiah, being cut off after two years by a bold usurper, Pekah. Abandoning the northern and trans-Jordanic regions to the encroaching power of Assyria under Tiglath-pileser, he was very near subjugating Judah, with the help of Damascus, now the coequal ally of Israel. But Assyria interposing summarily put an end to the independence of Damascus, and perhaps was the indirect cause of the assassination of the baffled Pekah. The irresolute Hoshea, the next and last usurper, became tributary to his invader, Shalmaneser, betrayed the Assyrian to the rival monarchy of Egypt, and was punished by the loss of his liberty, and by the capture, after a three years' siege, of his strong capital, Samaria. Some gleanings of the ten tribes remained in the land after so many years of religious decline, moral debasement, national degradation, anarchy, bloodshed, and deportation. Even these were gathered up by the conqueror and carried to Assyria, never again, as a distinct people, to occupy their portion of that goodly and pleasant land which their forefathers won under Joshua from the heathen. Dic. B. There were four leading periods in the history of the kingdom of Israel: in the first, the most prominent king was Jeroboam; in the second, Ahab; in the third, Jehu; and in the fourth, Pekah. During the first period, idolatry took root; during the second, it was in full blow; during the third, it was somewhat checked through the influence of the prophets; and during the fourth, it produced its natural fruit, in the utter destruction of the kingdom. | LEADING FEATURE OF PERIODS. | DYNAS-TIES. | KINGS. | LENGTH OF REIGNS. | PROPRETS. | KINGS OF JUDAH. | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | I. Idolatry taking root— about 46 years... | 1. | 1 JEROBOAM I. 2 Nadab. 3 Baasha. 4 Elah. 5 Zimri. 6 Omri. | 22 years. 2 ... 24 ... 2 ... 7 days. 12 years. | Ahijah. Jehu. | Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa. Asa and Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat. Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah. | | II. Idolatry rampant— about 45 years... | 4. | 7 AHAB. 8 Ahaziah. 9 Jehoram. | 22 ... 2 ... 12 ... | Elijah—Micaich Elisha. | Joash. Joash. Joash and Amaziah. Amaziah. Uzziah. Uzziah. Uzziah. Uzziah, Jotham, and Ahaz. Ahaz and Hezekiah. W. G. B. | | III. Idolatry slightly checked—about 112 years... | 5. | 10 JEHU. 11 Jehoahaz. 12 Joash. 13 Jeroboam II. 14 Zachariah. 15 Shallum. 16 Menahem. 17 Pekahiah. 18 PEKAH. 19 Hoshea. | 28 ... 17 ... 16 ... 41 ... 6 months. 1 ... 10 years. 2 ... 20 ... 9 ... | Jonah. Hosea and Amos Oded. | | | IV. Idolatry terminating in ruin, including in- terregnums—about 51 years... | 6. 7. 8. 9. | | | | | 25. Jeroboam. He was the son of Nebat, of the tribe of Ephraim. Solomon, long before, had appointed him as overseer of that tribe. An able and ambitious man, skilful and successful in the construction of various works, withal popular among his own and the other already disaffected tribes, he soon aspired to royal state. His aspirations were confirmed by the symbolic act and declaration of the prophet Ahijah, recorded in 1 K. 11:29-39. His designs being discovered by Solomon, he fled to Egypt, where he remained until the king's death. At the call of the disaffected tribes upon the death of Solomon, he came, and acted as their spokesman in their conference with Rehoboam. And now, these tribes elect and establish him as king over Israel. B. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat and Zeruah, was This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/ 15: 1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat began Abijam to reign over Judah. Three years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. And 3 tween Abijah and Jeroboam. And Abijah joined battle with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men; and Jeroboam set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, who were mighty men of val- 4 our. And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, and said, Hear me, O Jeroboam 5 and all Israel; ought ye not to know that the LORD, the God of Israel, gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? 6 Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, rose up, and 7 rebelled against his lord. And there were gathered unto him vain men, sons of Belial, which strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tender-hearted, and could 8 not withstand them. And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you the golden 9 calves which Jeroboam made you for gods. Have ye not driven out the priests of the LORD, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the peoples of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and 10 seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and we have priests ministering unto the LORD, the 11 sons of Aaron, and the Levites in their work: and they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening burnt offerings and sweet incense: the shew-bread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every even- 12 ing: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him. And, behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD, the God of your fathers; 13 for ye shall not prosper. But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: 14 so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them. And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind them: and they cried unto the LORD, and the 15 priests sounded with the trumpets. Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and 16 Judah. And the children of Israel fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their 17 hand. And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down 18 slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD, 19 the God of their fathers. And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof, and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephron with the 20 towns thereof. Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the 21 LORD smote him, and he died. But Abijah waxed mighty, and took unto himself fourteen 22 wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters. And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the commentary of the prophet Iddo. REHOBOAM reigned seventeen years, B.C. 975- 958. His son Abijah (whose mother was Maachah, the granddaughter of Absalom) succeeded him in a reign of three years. With four hundred thousand men he utterly defeated Jeroboam, who had twice that number on the field. But it was not God's will that the Ten Tribes should be brought back to their allegiance to the throne of David. Nor did Abijah, though reproaching the Israelites with their rejection of Jehovah's worship, himself do anything toward restoring that worship in Judah. The brief reign of Abijah, whose purpose was to reconquer Israel, may be thus accounted for in the controlling purposes of God. B. Rehoboam's affection for Maachah caused him not only to designate Abijah, her eldest son (2 Chron. 11: 20), as his successor, but to put him at a very early age in a position of authority over his brethren (verse 22), and to give him an establishment on a scale of Oriental magnificence. Abijah, we are told (verse 21), "waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters." He was probably of full age at his father's accession. G. R. Jeroboam did not only survive Rehoboam, but he witnessed the accession of two other kings of Judah, Abijah and Asa. The reign of Abijah was very brief. Both in 1 K. 15: 2 and in 2 Chron. 13: 2 it is said to have lasted three years—an expression which must be understood according to this canon laid down by the rabbis, that the commencement of a year in the reign of a king is to be reckoned as a full year. Thus, as Abijah ascended the throne in the eighteenth (1 K. 15: 1) and Asa in the twentieth (verse 9) year of Jeroboam's reign, it follows that the former actually reigned only somewhat over two years. It is stated that "he walked in all the sins of his father," and that "his heart was not perfect with Jehovah his God." These two statements are not explanatory of, but supplementary to, each other. We know that Rehoboam had not abolished the service of Jehovah, but that, by its side, a spurious worship had been tolerated, if not encouraged, which, in the view of Holy Scripture, was equal to idolatry. In this matter Rehoboam had not only followed the example of his father Solomon, during his later years, but greatly increased the evil which had then begun. A similar remark applies to the reign of Abijah, as compared with that of Rehoboam. That the idolatry of the reign of Rehoboam had grown both worse in character and more general in practice under that of Abijah, appears from the notices of the reformation instituted by his successor, Asa. The former circumstance is implied in the terms by which the idolatry of that period is described (2 Chron. 14: 3, 5), and by the circumstance that "the queen-mother" (Maachah, Abijah's mother and Asa's grandmother), who under Abijah held the official rank of Gevirah, "Queen" (the modern Sultana Valide), had made and set up "a horror for Asherah"—some horrible wooden representation, equally vile and idolatrous in its character. Again, that idolatry had become more widely spread, and that its hold was stronger, we infer from the fact that, despite Asa's example, admonitions, and exertions (2 Chron. 14: 4, 5), "the high places did not cease" (1 K. 15: 14). This progressive spiritual decline under the reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijah was so marked as to have deserved the removal of the family of David from the throne, had it not been for God's faithfulness to His covenant promises (1 K. 15: 4, 5). 2. Chron. 13: 4-12. The two armies met at the boundary of the two kingdoms, though, as we judge, within the territory of Israel. They camped in close proximity, only separated by Mount Zemaraim, a height to the east of Bethel, and some distance north of Jericho, forming part of the ridge known as "Mount Ephraim," which stretched from the plain of Esdraelon southward. From this height Abijah addressed the army of Israel just before the battle began, in the hope of securing their voluntary submission, or at least weakening their resistance. Ignoring all that told against himself, Abijah tried to impress on his opponents that right was wholly on his side. In language full of irony he set before them their weakness, as the necessary result of their apostasy from Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and of their adoption of a worship neither conformable to their ancient faith nor even respectable in the sight of men. Lastly, he loudly protested that, since Judah had gone to war under the leadership of Jehovah and in the manner appointed by Him, Israel was really fighting against Jehovah, the God of their fathers, and could not expect success. Whatever hollowness there may have been in this profession on the part of Abijah, it was at least the true war-ery of Israel which he raised. It found an echo in the hearts of his followers. A. E. Jeroboam, wholly untouched by it, made the best disposition of his troops that was possible; his troops neither deserted nor relaxed in their efforts on account of the invitation addressed to them. Such was the Israelite preponderance in numbers, that it was found possible to send a large detachment to the rear of the Jewish camp, and then to make simultaneously a double attack, from the front and from behind (verses 13, 14). The men of Judah resisted bravely, but were in great distress, when the aid of God being implored with great earnestness amid the trumpet blasts of the priests, suddenly the tide of battle turned—Judah was successful, and Israel was put to flight (verses 15, 16). A terrible carnage followed. According to the existing text, the slain on the part of the Israelites amounted to five hundred thousand men; but it is generally agreed that the original reading in this place was probably fifty thousand. Even this was an enormous loss; and we can well understand its having led on to the conquest of several Israelite towns, as Bethel, Jeshanah, and Ephraim, which passed for a time under the dominion of Judah (verse 19). G. R. 17. Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter. There is nothing in the original to indicate that this slaughter was all on one day. The writer is probably compressing into a few words the circumstances of the whole war. There fell down slain.** The word translated "slain" means strictly "pierced," and will include both the killed and the wounded. It is translated by "wounded" in Lam. 2: 12. B. C. 19. Notwithstanding this decisive success, Abijah was too well advised to pursue his original design of reducing the Ten Tribes, and was content to re-establish his authority over certain border towns and districts, which had originally belonged to Judah or Benjamin, but which Jeroboam had found means to include in his portion of the divided kingdom. Kitto. 1. K. 15: 1. Abijam.** The LXX adds "son of Rehoboam." The name is Abijah in 2 Chron., and, comparing with other names of like formation, that appears the more correct. Lumby. 5. Many sins are registered of David, as well as this matter of Uriah; yet, as if all these were nothing in comparison of this one, this one alone is put in by the Holy Ghost, and so inserted as an exception in the testimony which we find given of him in the passage before us. "He turned not aside from any thing," etc.—that is, he turned not aside so foully and so contemptuously, so presumptuously and so provokingly, in any other thing as he did in that business of Uriah. All his ignorances and negligences, inconsiderations and infirmities, are passed over in silence; only this great presumptuous sin standeth up as a pillar or monument erected to his perpetual shame in that particular, by which all succeeding generations might take warning and example. Bp. Sanderson. #### 21st of Jeroboam to 3d of Ahab, of Israel. 9. AND in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel began Asa to reign over Judah. And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was 11 Maacah the daughter of Abishalom. And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of 12 the LORD, as did David his father. And he put away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had 13 made. And also Maacah his mother he removed from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and burnt it 14 at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken away: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect with the LORD all his 15 days. And he brought into the house of the LORD the things that his father had dedicated, and the things that himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. And fore us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. And Asa had an army that bare bucklers and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour. And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an army of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and he came unto Mareshah. Then Asa went out to meet him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, there is none beside thee to help, between the mighty and him that hath no strength: help us, O LORD our God; for we rely on thee, and in thy name are we come against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. So the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much booty. And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep in abundance and camels, and returned to Jerusalem. 15:1 And the spirit of God came upon 2. Azariah the son of Oded: and he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye 3 seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Now for long seasons Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and with- 4 out law: but when in their distress they turned unto the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought 5 him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, 6 nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the lands. And they were broken in pieces, nation against nation, and city against city: for God did vex 7 them with all adversity. But be ye strong, and let not your hands be slack: for your work 8 shall be rewarded. And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominations out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from the hill country of Ephraim; and he renewed 9 the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD. And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and them that sojourned with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel, in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God 10 was with him. So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the 11 fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. And they sacrificed unto the LORD in that day, of the spoil 12 which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep. And they entered there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Benhadad, the son of Tabrimmon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and thee, between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. And Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maacah, and all Chinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. Then king Asa made a proclamation unto all Judah; none was exempted: and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built therewith Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. Now the rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? But in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead. into the covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and with all their soul; and that whosoever would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. And they swore unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about. And also Maacah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an abominable image for an Asherah; and Asa cut down her image, and made dust of it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa. 16:1 In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king's house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease. Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah. And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and hast not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim a huge host, with chariots and horsemen exceeding many? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly; for from henceforth thou shalt have wars. Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in the prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time. And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. And in the thirty and ninth year of his reign Asa was diseased in his feet; his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had hewn out for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kind of spices prepared by the apothecaries' art: and they made a very great burning for him. Forty-one Years, 21st of Jeroboam to 3d of Ahab, of Israel. KING ABIJAH reigned but three years; but his son Asa, who succeeded him, reigned forty-one years, and beheld the close of the reign of Jeroboam in Israel, and the commencement of that of Ahab—so that this one reign in the house of David covered the entire reigns of five and parts of the reigns of two kings in Israel—seven in all, including four different families or dynasties. Jeroboam was on the throne of Israel when Asa succeeded to that of Judah. His son Nadab then became king; and in the second year of his reign was put to death, with all his father's house, by Baasha of Issachar, who then mounted the throne, and reigned twenty-four years. He fixed his residence at Tirzah, and was succeeded by his son Elah, who, in the second year of his reign, was murdered, with all his family, by Zimri. On hearing this, the army elected their general, Omri, as king, and marched to Tirzah against Zimri, who had there assumed the crown. He made no resistance, but fled to the harem, which he set on fire, and perished in the flames. In the mean time, some of the people had made Tibni king; but this party was at length put down, and Omri was generally recognized as king. He built Samaria, which henceforth became the capital of Israel; and, after a reign of twelve years, left the throne to his son Ahab, whose reign fills a large portion of sacred history. There can be no doubt that Asa's long and mainly prosperous reign, while Israel was torn by internal factions and revolutions, and stained with the blood of fallen princes massacred by the successful competitors for the perilous crown, tended much to consolidate the strength of Judah, and to raise it to that equality with the rival kingdom, which might not in the first instance have appeared feasible when the great disproportion of territory is considered. Kitto. The first ten years of Asa's reign were occupied with the reformation of worship, and the strengthening of defenced cities. Then followed the invasion of Judah by Zerah and the utter overthrow of the Egyptian, through the intervention of Jehovah in response to Asa's trustful prayer. For twenty-five years king and people had the Lord's blessing of "rest round about." Then Asa was threatened by Baasha king of Israel. And then Asa's long untried faith failed utterly. Like the failures of all the good or godly in both Testaments, Asa's defection occurred at the very point of his previous excellence. He had trusted in God's power only, when his kingdom was actually thronged by foes. Now, when merely threatened by the comparatively feeble power of Baasha, he deliberately turns away from his Divine deliverer. He forsakes God, and puts his trust in that heathen king who was now the natural enemy of both Israel and Judah, and the power most to be dreaded. And though the result of his humiliating appeal to Benhadad was successful, yet that success wrought only an increasing unbelief in Asa's heart. So when God's prophet came to him with God's warning reproof, Asa dared to imprison the messenger for his fidelity. And this cloud seems to settle upon Asa's faith in the six closing years of his reign. Instead of seeking from God the healing of his disease, he resorted to heathen healers. But with all these failures and frailties of his closing years, his character and reign still stand among the wisest and best in Judah's history. 2. Chron. 14:1.** Asa succeeds Abijah. We meet for the first time the beautiful expression, slept with his fathers. The figure of sleep, as meaning death, is common to both Testaments, and is obviously suggestive of resurrection and another life. Somewhere about Mount Zion, the loftiest of three or four eminences included in Jerusalem (on the southwest), were the royal sepulchres. All the kings of Judah, save three (Ahaz, Jehoram and Joash), were buried here. Asa's reign lasted forty-one years. For ten years from its commencement peace prevailed, and the people had rest and prosperity. And the reason is assigned in verses 2-5. B. The land was quiet ten years. The great blow struck by Abijah, his alliance with Syria, and the rapid succession of sovereigns in Israel during the earlier part of Asa's reign, would naturally prevent any disturbance of the peace on the part of the northern kingdom. B. C. 2-5. Asa destroys idol-altars, and restores the law and worship of Jehovah. The scriptural expressions commonly employed respecting both good and bad kings are to be interpreted by the recorded facts of their reigns. It is said: "Asa did what was good and right," etc.; and (1 K. 15-14), "Asa's heart was perfect with the Lord." The meaning is, that, in the main, and as compared with others, he was loyal to Jehovah. Yet Asa failed in one vital matter that demanded reformation. He destroyed idol-altars, brake down idol-images of metal and stone, cut down the so-called sacred trees, and took away the high places (hill-tops) consecrated to idolatry. But he failed to take away the high places disobediently set apart for the worship of Jehovah. He did not require the people to make the Temple at Jerusalem their one place of worship, and so re-entrone Jehovah in His own dwelling-place. Yet he did everything beside; he "commanded Judah to seek the Lord, and to do the law and the commandment." And God rewarded him and his complying people with quiet and prosperity. Suggestions recurring at this point are: 1. That God only gives peace and prosperity. 2. That He notes and rewards even an imperfect service which proceeds from a heart in the main loyal. 3. That the loyal heart should honestly search out and prayerfully seek to have disclosed its own points of imperfection. B. 1. K. 15:13.** Maachah, the granddaughter of Absalom, had been the leading spirit of the court during two reigns. As his favorite wife, she had directed the religious policy of Rehoboam; and as his mother, she had exercised a complete domination over his successor, her son, Abijah. A devotee of the Syro-Phenician religion, she had established her own shrine of Astarte worship in Jerusalem, and had erected in it an idolatrous emblem, probably of a sensusistic character (1 K. 15:13). Asa "destroyed this idol and burnt it by the brook Kidron." Maachah herself he deprived of all authority, perhaps removing her from the court over which she had so long exercised a baleful influence. He in this way got rid of a centre of religious corruption which, unless removed, would have vitiated all his efforts after reform, and have afforded a rallying-point for the heathenizing party, against which it would have been most difficult to struggle. G. R. 2. Chron. 14:6-8.** Asa rebuilds the walls of fenced cities, and organizes an army. He employs the "rest that the Lord had given" in strengthening the defences of the chief cities of Judah. These cities had been taken and rendered defenceless by the occupying hosts of Shishak. They were now open to attack on the north by Israel and on the south by Egypt. Asa's act involved another attack from the latter; and the completion of his great work of defence was probably followed by the withholding of the tribute money to Egypt. This was doubtless done with the Divine approval. Besides this, while the land had rest through God's favor, and while the fortifications were being constructed around the larger cities, the king had constructed a vast military organization of the entire people. This was to constitute a living breastwork of defence, when needed, in behalf of the nation. Of spearmen there were three hundred thousand in Judah; and of bowmen, two hundred and eighty thousand in Benjamin. This military preparation also seems to have been approved of God. A fourth suggestion: That the period of health and prosperity is the fit time to prepare for sickness and adversity—emphatically the period of preparation for the end of life, and for that which follows, the fixed estate of the enduring life to come. 9, 10. The host of Zerah set in array against the army of Asa. In the tenth year of Asa's reign the expected invasion from Egypt took place. By a long career of prosperity had God prepared His people for the conflict, which He Himself had delayed. Zerah's host of a million men and three hundred chariots mainly consisted of mercenaries of adjacent nations or conscripts taken from tributary peoples—the largest collected force of which we read in Scripture. Mareshah was one of the cities fortified by Rehoboam and refortified by Asa. It lay twenty-five to thirty miles southwest from Jerusalem, in the low country of Judah. B. The Egyptian monuments enable us to picture the general disposition of Zerah's army. The chariots formed the first corps, in a single or double line; behind them, massed in phalanxes, were heavy armed troops; probably on the flanks stood archers and horsemen in lighter formations. Zerah retired from before Mareshah toward the plain, that he might use his chariots and horsemen with effect, instead of entangling them in the narrow valleys leading toward Jerusalem. From the prayer of Asa we may judge that when he came upon the invading army he saw its hugeness, and so that as he descended through a valley it lay spread out beneath him. Asa marching down a valley must have attacked in heavy column. His spearmen of Judah must have formed this column. Each bank of the valley would have been occupied by the Benjamite archers. No doubt the Ethiopian, confident in his numbers, disdained to attack the Hebrews, or clear the heights, but waited in the broad valley. R. S. Pool. 9. Zerah the Ethiopian.** Zerah the Ethiopian is probably Usarken (Osorkon) II., the third king of Egypt after Shishak, according to the Egyptian monuments. The three root letters of the Hebrew name Zerah, z, r, and ch, represent fairly enough the three main consonants of the Egyptian word Usarken. And Osorkon II. may have been by birth an Ethiopian, for he was the son-in-law, not the son, of the preceding monarch, and reigned in right of his wife. B. C. 11. The trustful prayer of Asa. This is a wonderful prayer—wonderful for its comprehensiveness and completeness, its boldness and simplicity—under the circumstances in which it was uttered. In it God is everything and man nothing. Resting implicitly upon this fact, its twofold plea shows a most absolute faith that His omnipotence is with them and for them. "Help us, for in Thy name, resting on thee, we go against this multitude!" Help us, for "Thou art our God! Let not man prevail against THEE!" Against Thee, not against us, boldly assuming that God's honor is involved. Nothing but honest, invincible faith would conceive or dare to express such an appeal. And that it was faith, and that its conclusions were authorized, is proven by the issue. The appeal was heard and answered. And the very record in its terms seems to respond to the great fact of the prayer. Not Asa's army, but "the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah." The fleeing host were pursued, and vast spoil scattered in their flight, for full twenty miles. For three centuries Egypt (the southern power of Old Testament history and prophecy) attempted no further invasion into the country of Jehovah's people. This wonderful prayer and its wonderful success supremely magnifies God's power. It exemplifies a supremely and utterly appropriating faith in God's willingness to use His power for those that, doing their utmost, still wholly rest on Him. And the result pledges God's help and a successful issue in every earnest conflict with spiritual foes to such implicit faith, to such absolute casting upon Him, as the one whose honor is chiefly involved, the actual issue. B. Asa knew he was in himself helpless, and he knew where to seek an all-sufficient Helper, and he desired to know no more. In this he rested—"We rest on Thee." This resting on God was both a cause and an effect. That he was enabled so to rest with undisturbed mind on God was one of the grounds on which he expected help—"for we rest on Thee;" and so far it was a cause. But the capacity of enjoying this rest, in leaning so entirely upon the Lord, was an inevitable effect of the previous convictions which he had reached of his own helplessness, and of the boundless sufficiency of his Helper. These things belong to the life of faith, and are essentially the same, whether they have regard to our defence against the innumerable adversaries who disturb or threaten our bodily repose, or the spiritual enemies, within us and without us, that bring danger to our souls. In either case, perfect love to God and perfect trust in Him, which trust is essential to love, gives rest—casts out all fear and doubt. Because Asa had attained to the state of "rest on God," by which all these privileges became his—he could say, "In Thy name we go against this multitude." This was his might. In this might he went, and he overcame. And it was because, feeling his own weakness, knowing where help was to be found, relying, resting upon that help and in that reliance, and in no other, going forth to oppose the Cushean host, that he was entitled and authorized to regard the cause as the Lord's own, and to say, "O Lord, Thou art our God, let not man prevail against Thee." Kitto. A model of prayer in an emergency. It is made up of four fragments, each of which teaches us a fundamental element in the spirit of prayer in such an exigency. First, prayer in emergencies should be founded on a strong faith in God's independence of human resources and methods of judgment. Hear the stricken monarch, as he kneels beneath the weight of a kingdom: "Lord, it is nothing to Thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power." This goes to the heart of the case. Nothing else equals the situation. Are there not, in the lives of us all, emergencies in which our deliverance may depend on our realizing to our faith the principle that God is independent of the resources which decide human judgment? In certain extreme hours, very much may depend on the depth of our faith in this. Our own courage may depend on it. Our power to energize others may depend on it. Our power with God may depend on it. We need to feel that prayer may command improbable results, because it commands supernatural resources. The example before us suggests, as a second element in believing prayer in emergencies, a profound sense of the inadequacy of all other sources of relief but God. We need to feel that we are shut in to God, and God only. "Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest in Thee." We are shut up to the arm of God. Help, Lord, or we perish. This familiar element in the spirit of prayer, emergencies force upon our thought. Often Divine providence seems to second the procedure of Divine grace by leaving us in a great emergency till we feel this. Deliverance is slow in coming. Prayer is not answered in a breath. The trial gathers intensity. The crisis deepens. The fire waxes hot. The object seems to be to quicken in the soul the sense of God as a reality because He is felt to be a necessity. Ruin here, ruin there, ruin everywhere except in the one thought that there is a God. Intense conceptions of the reality of God come to some minds in no other way than through this secret alliance of providence and grace in the discipline. The needed convictions have to be burned in by fiery trial. But when the end is gained, when God becomes an infinite fact, when we become content to go fearless into solitude with God, to cast everything upon God, to rest in God, then believing prayer wells up sweet and fresh from the heart, and flows out in glad assurance from the lips. Then relief, success, conquest, is not far off. Prayer in emergencies involves a third element. It is a profound identification with God. "In Thy name we go against this multitude." The battle is not ours, but God's. Our interests are lost in God's interests. This is the province of believing prayer in emergencies, to lift us up and out from our petty selves, and so unite us with God that our interests are His because His interests have become ours. Our will is His because His will has been accepted as ours. Then prayer becomes but a prophecy of His decree. Its success is a foregone conclusion. While we are speaking, the answer is on our own lips. One design, doubtless, of great and crushing emergencies, is to help us up to this summit of identification with God, by driving us up the rocky steep that leads thither. One other phase of prayer in such emergencies, suggested by the fragment of biography before us, is a hearty recognition of God's ownership of us. "O Lord, Thou art our God; let not man prevail against Thee." This conception of prayer in critical exigencies fills up the Christian idea of it to the brim. We belong to God. Whatever concerns us concerns Him. Our sorrow is His sorrow. Our joy is His joy. If it is best for us that we be delivered, it is as much to God as to us that He shall send deliverance. No wedge can be driven between, to separate Him from us, His interests from ours. The sacredness and eternity of Divine ownership are pledged to our success. By the right of creation we belong to God. By the right of faithful and undying friendship we belong to God. By the right of eternal redemption we belong to God. By the right of purchase with the blood of Christ we belong to God. Will God desert His own with such rights as these? Phelps. 12. The Ethiopians fled. The defeat of Zerah is one of the most remarkable events in the history of the Jews. On no other occasion did they meet in the field and overcome the forces of either of the two great monarchies between which they were placed. It was seldom that they ventured to resist, unless behind walls. Shishak, Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander, Ptolemy I., were either unopposed or only opposed in this way. On the one other occasion on which they took the field—which was under Josiah against Necho—their boldness issued in a most disastrous defeat. Now, however, under Asa, they appear to have gained a complete and most glorious victory over the entire force of Egypt, or of Ethiopia wielding the power of Egypt. The results which follow are most striking. The southern power cannot rally from the blow, but rapidly declines, and for above three centuries makes no further effort in this direction. Assyria grows in strength, continually pushes her arms further, and finally, under Sargon and Sennacherib, penetrates to Egypt itself. All fear of Egypt as an aggressive power ceases; and the Israelites learn instead to lean upon the Pharaohs for support (2 K. 17:4; 18:21). Friendly ties alone connect the two countries; and it is not till B.C. 609 that an Egyptian force again enters Palestine with a hostile intention. B. C. 13. Such an appeal could not be in vain. In the significant language of Holy Scripture it was "Jehovah" who "smote" the Ethiopians, and "Asa and the people that were with him" only "pursued them." Far away to Gerar, three hours southeast from the border-city, Gaza, continued the chase amid unnumbered slain, and still the destroying sword of Jehovah was before His host, and His fear fell upon all the cities round about. To wrest the hostile cities of the Philistines and to carry away much spoil was only one sequence. Henceforth Egypt ceased to be a source of terror or of danger, and full three hundred and thirty years passed before its army was again arrayed against Judah. A. E. 15:1-15. These events followed immediately upon the great victory of Asa's army over Zerah and the Ethiopian invaders. As that victory had been preceded by prayerful trust in God, so it is now followed by the obedient consecration of the people to Jehovah, who had answered their prayer with so complete a deliverance. But in order to secure their renewed consecration, God had inspired the prophet Azariah to meet the returning victorious king and army with His earnest exhortation. In Jehovah's name the prophet had recalled their neglect of His worship, and the consequent distress and calamities which He had suffered to come upon the nation. But he assures them that the Lord would return with abundant favors if they would return to Him with sincere worship and faithful service. The result of this Divine exhortation with promise is here recounted. B. Ch. 16, 1-7. The Spirit of God came upon the prophet (verse 1), both to instruct him what he should say, and to enable him to say it with clearness and boldness. The Lord is with you, while you be with Him. This is both a word of comfort, that those who keep close to God shall always have His presence with them, and also a word of caution, "He is with you, while you be with Him, but no longer; you have now a signal token of His favorable presence with you, but the continuance of it depends upon your perseverance in the way of your duty." "If ye seek Him, He will be found of you. Sincerely desire His favor and aim at it, and you shall obtain it. Pray, and you shall prevail. He never said, nor ever will, Seek ye Me in vain." But if you forsake Him and His ordinances, He will certainly forsake you. Upon this He grounded His exhortation to prosecute the work of reformation with vigor (verse 7); Be strong, for your work shall be rewarded. H. 8. Removal of idols and restoration of the Temple worship.** In the previous chapter we have an account of Asa's endeavor to take away idolatry by the removal of images and high places. Afterward, during Asa's reign, we read of idolatrous worship as still continued; while his successors also renewed from time to time this same work of endeavoring to extirpate the worship of idols. The fact is, and it needs to be remembered throughout this history, that idolatry was already so deeply rooted in the habits of the people and so strongly intrenched in an ignorant conviction and an instinctive feeling, that it kept springing up afresh all over the land, in spite of all efforts of the best of Judah's kings to extirpate it. It never was destroyed out of Israel or Judah until the captivities. But after the Return from Babylon, idolatry was never known among the Jews. That severe discipline of Jehovah, the exile and the bondage of seventy years, avowedly visited upon His people because they would have other gods beside Him, fully accomplished its design. Asa now adds to his fresh endeavor to "put away the abominable idols of Judah and Benjamin," the repair of the great altar of burnt-offering, and the renewal of worship to Jehovah by the appointed sacrifices upon it. This altar, made by Solomon sixty years before, stood before the Temple proper, immediately in front of the lofty porch. And this double act of Asa suggests a point of personal instruction—viz., that the fitting and necessary condition of return and right approach to God is the casting down of all idolatry, of self, of the world, or of the creature; and the preparation of the heart, God's altar, for every demanded sacrifice and service. But all this, in us, demands the joint-working of the Almighty Spirit, always ready to work in those who seek to work out their salvation. B. Words and prophecy. Carefully examined, verses 2-7 contain alike an address and a prophecy. For it were a mistake to suppose that the picture which Azariah drew of Israel's sin and its consequence in verses 3, 5 and 6 was only that of the far past in the time of the Judges, of the religious decline under Jeroboam and Abijah, or even of their future apostasy and its punishment. All these were included in what the prophet set before the people. And not only so, but his words extended beyond Judah and applied to all Israel, as if the whole people were viewed as still united and ideally one in their relation to the Lord. Accordingly, it deserves special notice, that neither in verse 3 nor in verse 5 any verb is used, as if to indicate the general application of the "prophecy." But its present bearing, alike as regarded Judah's sin and repentance, and God's judgment and mercy, was an earnest call to carry on and complete the good work which had already been begun (verse 7). And king and people hearkened to the voice of God through His prophet. Again and more energetically than before, the religious reformation was taken in hand. The idol "abominations" were removed, not only from Judah and Benjamin, but from the conquered cities of the north, and the great altar of burnt-offering in the Temple was repaired. The earnestness of this movement attracted the pious laity from the neighboring tribes (verse 9), and even led those of Simeon (in the far south) who, apparently, had hitherto sympathized with the northern kingdom, as they shared their idolatry (cf. Amos 4:4; 5:5; 8:14), to join the ranks of Judah. A. E. 9,10. Gathering of Judah and Benjamin at Jerusalem.** Asa had taken courage from the words of Divine promise spoken by the prophet of Jehovah, following as they did so marvelous an interposition of deliverance from the Egyptian host. He had decreed and sought to accomplish the overthrow of idol worship, and restored the great altar, worn by long disuse and neglect. Now he gathers a great assembly of the two tribes, and of many besides from the adjoining tribes of the kingdom of Israel, around the Temple of God in Jerusalem. In this massing of the people came representatives from every family and household. As the whole history informs us, these assemblages, originally commanded by Moses in connection with the three great Feasts, were specially ordered by the kings in periods of national interest or exigency. They were a means of uniting the whole people with king and nobles in any form of national expression or action that was desirable or necessary. In the mention of the "strangers out of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon" (the adjacent tribes under Jeroboam's rule), who comprised a fresh and "abundant" migration from the other kingdom, the reason of their coming is assigned. They saw that the Lord was with Asa! A second practical suggestion here: that God's manifest favor with His people has a strangely attractive power with observant, thoughtful men of the world. 11-14. The offerings of the people, and their covenant renewed with Jehovah.** The burntofferings, like all other ceremonials of worship, were symbolic. The meaning of each was declared in the law of Moses. The partial burnt-offering, where the fat only was burned and the rest used for food, represented thanksgiving on the offerer's part. The whole burnt-offering, while including the ideas of substitution and propitiation for sin, also represented complete self-consecration. In both aspects, the offerings now presented were specially appropriate. By each of its families, represented in these thousands of offerings, the nation symbolically expressed its gratitude for deliverance and its purpose of consecration; at the same time recognizing the sovereign mercy of Jehovah. Very naturally followed a formal renewal of covenant with "the Lord God of their fathers." With all the mass of ceremonial observances commanded under that old covenant, the fact ought to be always borne in mind by us that the comprehensive, sublime demand of supreme love and heart-obedience to God is declared in the simplest, clearest words, upon constantly recurring pages of the history. No candid, true-hearted Israelite could fail to understand that this personal love and obedience was the principle which underlaid all outward ordinances and ceremonies. So we read, in this renewal of covenant with God, that the people pledged themselves, not to perform required ceremonials, but to seek the Lord God with all their heart and with all their soul. Two personal suggestions are to be noted here. 1. Under the new covenant, not outward and ceremonial, but only inward and spiritual sacrifices are demanded. Yet the substance of those old symbolic offerings is identical in all particulars with the new worship. Both comprise as their essential elements thanksgiving and praise, and penitent trust in the sacrifice of the Lamb of God's appointment, as the substitute for the sinner's death, the propitiation for his sin, and the means of his purification. 2. The clear recognition of God's covenant proffered through Christ's sacrifice and intercession and the hearty acceptance of it will prompt a true response to it. This response consists in a continuous self-consecration of the whole heart and life to Christ and His service. 15. The result of a renewed covenant: gladness and prosperity.** Their oath was heartfelt and sincere, and was followed by honest and true endeavor; and God gave them rest, and enriched them by years of uninterrupted prosperity. An old lesson we here read again, yet one that is hardest to learn: that His favor and our unbroken prosperity go with the loving heart and obedient life. While there are exceptions, like the blind man of Jerusalem (John 9), where special trials are permitted in order to emphasize more manifestly the glory of God, yet the law of God's dealing is, that the outward life of the Christian is prospered in proportion to his truth, his trust, and his obedience, toward God! B. No joy is equal to that which accompanies this transaction of engaging ourselves to God. We have never any true joy, joy of a pure and elevated nature, till we know what it is to enter into covenant with God by the sacrifice of Christ. Men may have pleasure before, but not joy. They may have the satisfactions of the world, transient and unholy; but the mind is not blessed, the heart is not filled with intellectual, moral, substantial joy. Those who engage themselves to Him have a pledge of all future blessings. He is pleased to pledge Himself to them, as their protector, and rest, and peace, and portion. Asa and his people, in the case before us, had a pledge of the serene possession of their own land. "The Lord gave them rest round about," says the text. They had the secure continuance of good laws and government, and the assurance of being free from plagues and judgments. But this engagement must be sincere and hearty, cordial and affectionate. The Christian renounces all other masters, and cheerfully devotes himself to one Master, even Christ. He is a volunteer in His service, made willing in the day of Christ's power, and presented to Him in the beauty of holiness. R. Hall. 17. The heart of Asa was perfect all his days.** It is not meant that Asa was sinless, for the writer soon afterward records some grievous transgressions of this king's; but only that he was free from the sin of idolatry, and continued faithful to Jehovah all his life. 16:1-6. This passage runs parallel with 1 K. 15:17-22, and contains nothing additional, except the date in verse 1, and the mention, in verse 4, of the "store cities" of Naphtali. B. C.—This general defection to Asa of the worshippers of Jehovah throughout the kingdom of Israel must have added great strength, especially moral strength, to Judah. It alarmed Baasha, the king of Israel, who renewed the war with all his forces, and fortified Ramah, as a sort of blockading station on the frontier of Judah, to prevent his subjects from going over to Asa. It was then that the good king of Judah committed the one great error of his life. He not only resorted to the heathen king of Damascus, Benhadad I., but he took the treasures of the house of God to purchase his alliance. P. S.—Benhadad was only too ready to entertain Asa's proposals. On receiving the rich bribe, which made Judah virtually tributary to him, he broke his league with Baasha, and immediately invaded Israel, overrunning the northern territory, penetrating as far as the district of Chinneroth—which gave its name to the lake of Gennesaret—and occupying the land of Naphtali. This threatening danger in the north of his dominions obliged Baasha hastily to quit Ramah. Asa now summoned all Judah. The materials accumulated for the fortress of Ramah were removed, and used for building two new forts: Geba ("the height") and Mizpah ("the outlook") (cf. Josh. 18:24, 26; also Jer. 41:5-9). Both these cities lay within the territory of Benjamin, about three miles to the north of Ramah, in very strong positions, and commanded the two roads to Jerusalem. A. E. 2. Asa repaired Shishak's plunder of the Temple by rich offerings of gold and silver, in addition to those dedicated by his father, probably in the early part of his reign, but since transferred to the heathen shrines. It is indeed curious to observe how soon the treasures, of which the Temple was repeatedly stripped—by Shishak, by Asa himself at a later time, and by other kings—were again supplied. The commerce established by Solomon with Arabia and the East, and with the silver-producing regions of Western Europe, must have continued to flourish. P. S. 7-10. But however successful it seemed in its immediate object, the thing that Asa had done displeased the Lord. It was a want of that reliance upon the Lord, which once, in a really more urgent strait, had won him so much honor; it was the tempting of another to do a dishonorable breach of faith; and it was the bringing of a heathen destroyer into that land which was still the Lord's heritage, though it belonged not to Judah; and upon that people who were still His, although they had strayed from Him. For this—but especially for his relying upon the king of Syria more than upon the King of Heaven—a prophet was sent to rebuke and threaten him. It was intimated that for this he had not only lost a great victory over the Syrians which the Lord would have given to him, but his future reign should be troubled with wars. To be thus rebuked in the moment when his diplomatic stroke seemed to have fulfilled its purpose so well, was more than one so little used to contradiction could bear; and in his rage he sent the faithful prophet to prison—adding to his original fault the grievous sin of persecuting an inspired messenger of Jehovah. Here we have the melancholy spectacle of a prophet of God imprisoned—not by an idolatrous or notoriously wicked king, but by one who has hitherto borne a noble character and whose heart was substantially right with God. Not so did David receive Nathan's more stern rebuke. This descendant of his does that, for only attempting to do which Jeroboam had his arm palsied. But, as Bishop Hall charitably remarks: "It were a pity that the best man should be judged by each of his actions, and not by all; the course of our life must either allow or condemn us, not these sudden exceptions." Kitto. 8. The many experiences we have had of the goodness of God to us aggravate our distrust of Him. Has He not helped us in six troubles? And have we any reason to suspect Him in the seventh? But see how deceitful our hearts are! We trust in God when we have nothing else to trust to, when need drives us to Him; but when we have other things to stay on we are apt to stay too much on them, and to lean to our own understanding as long as that has anything to offer; but a believing confidence will be in God only when a smiling world courts it most. H. 9. Let this sentence be remembered, and stay by you always, even from this hour till your last—"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro, through the whole earth, to show Himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." This "perfect heart" means a right conscience, a clean, simple intent. And the substance of the declaration is, that God is on the lookout always for an honest man—Him to help, with Him and for Him to be strong; and if there be one, that God will not miss of him; for His desiring, all-searching eyes are running the world through always to find him. And when He finds him He will show Himself to him in the discovery even of His strength. Many a skeptic has He flooded with light, because He saw him willing at last to be right, and hungering for something true. This perfect heart, this soul of integrity, oh, if we had but this, what else could we fail of? Ponder then this word, put it down to be with you in your struggles with sin, your sickness, your poverty, your Christian defects and drynesses, all the mind-clouds, all the guilt-clouds, of your mortal state—"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the whole earth to show Himself strong in behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him." Bushnell. 10. Hanani had spoken as all the prophets of Jehovah, fearlessly, faithfully, and only too truly. It was probably conviction of this which, in the unhumbled state of the king, kindled his anger against "the seer." Once more it might seem to Asa as not implying rebellion against God, only a necessary precaution against disunion and dissatisfaction among his own subjects, threatening to upset his political calculations and combinations, to use measures of severity against the prophet from which he would have shrunk at a former period of his reign. All the more requisite might these appear, since his unwelcome monitor evidently commanded the sympathies of an influential part of the community. But it was an unheard-of proceeding, which happily found imitation only in the worst times of Israel, to put the prophet of the Lord "in the house of stocks" on account of his faithfulness, and by a series of persecutions to oppress, and, if possible, crush those who sympathized with him. 12. The fatal tendency which had showed itself in the Syrian alliance, and still more in the measures against Hanani and his sympathizers, continued and increased with the lapse of years. Two years before his death Asa was attacked by some disease in his feet. In this "also" "he sought not Jehovah but in (by) the physicians." He trusted not in the supernatural, but applied to the natural: and in the natural course of events his disease ended in death. It was not wrong to employ means, indeed such were used in the miraculous cure of Hezekiah (2 K. 20: 7), just as in the miraculous rescue of St. Paul's companions from shipwreck (Acts 27: 23, 24, 43, 44). And if one lesson more than another has been impressed on our minds in the course of this history, it is that of the use of natural means, in the ordinary and rational succession of events, for the accomplishment of supernatural and divinely announced purposes. But the error and sin of Asa consisted in seeking an object, however lawful and even desirable, in, by, and through secondary means, without first seeking Jehovah. Such conduct carried with it its natural result. A. E. There is a most remarkable passage in the Apocrypha, which has been much overlooked in the consideration of the question. It is in Ecclesiasticus: "Honor a physician with the honor due unto him, for the uses which ye may have of him: for the Lord hath created him. For of the Most High cometh healing, and he shall receive honor of the king. The skill of the physician shall lift up his head [i.e., raise him to honor]: and in the sight of great men he shall be in admiration. The Lord hath created medicines out of the earth: and he that is wise will not abhor them. Was not the water made sweet with wood, that the virtue thereof might be known? And he giveth men skill, that He might be honored in His marvellous works. With such doth He heal [men], and taketh away their pains. Of such doth the apothecary make a confection; and of His works there is no end; and from Him is peace over all the earth. My son, in thy sickness be not negligent: but pray unto the Lord, and He will make thee whole. Leave off from sin, and order thine hands aright, and cleanse thine heart from all wickedness. Give a sweet savor; and a memorial of fine flour; and make a fat offering, as not being. Then give place to the physician, for the Lord hath created him: let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him. There is a time when in their hands there is good success: for they shall also pray unto the Lord, that He would prosper that which they give for ease and remedy to prolong life." It appears to us that this passage very exactly defines the position of the physician. It allows him honor, and gives due weight to his skill and the real use of the means he employs, but admirably refers all to God. The skill of the physician is His; the medicaments are His; and the cure is His. Even the skill of the physician is proportioned to the faculty he possesses of rendering God honor, by his knowledge and employment of the healing properties which He has imparted to various productions of the earth. Kitto. # 4th of Ahab to 5th of Jehoram, of Israel. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/ THE figure of Elah, the son and successor of Baasha, is as shadowy in the sacred history as that of Nadab, the son and successor of Jeroboam. Of neither are we told his age at his accession, or any special trait of disposition. Both have short reigns, little if at all exceeding a year; both "continue in the way of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat," and "provoke God to anger with their vanities;" both, moreover, engage in a war against the Philistines within a short period of their accession; and in both reigns the special scene of the war is the Philistine city of Gibbethon. The only important difference between their histories is, that whereas Nadab put himself at the head of his army and proceeded to encounter the hardships of the siege in person, Elah sent against Gibbethon the captains of his host, Zimri and Omri, while he himself remained in the capital, Tirzah, drinking and revelling in the palace of the steward of his household, a certain Arza. We may assume that Zimri was kept acquainted with the king's unkindly conduct, and saw in it his own opportunity. The associations of Gibbethon suggested that kings were not unassailable, and the special circumstances of Elah's position were such as at once to provoke attack and to facilitate it. Zimri, without informing Omri or the army of his intention, withdrew himself from Gibbethon, and, returning to Tirzah, surprised the wretched monarch at his drinking-bout, and assassinated him. Elah, who began to reign in the twenty-sixth year of Asa (1 K. 16 : 8), perished in the same king's twenty-seventh year (ibid., verse 15), so that he probably did not hold the throne for more than a few months. G. R. Seven Days, 27th of Asa, of Judah. ZIMRI, the bold soldier, who, imitating Baasha, brought the second Israelite dynasty to an end by the assassination of its second monarch, proceeded to follow up his first success by a further imitation of his model by destroying all the house of Baasha, not sparing any, either of his kinsfolk or of his close friends. This extreme severity may have rendered him unpopular. At any rate, when the army which was at Gibbethon heard of his insurrection and of the bloody deeds by which he had followed it up, they were so exasperated that they broke out into revolt, refused to acknowledge Zimri as their monarch, and invested Omri, who had been left at Gibbethon in sole command, with the sovereignty. Omri did not hesitate for a moment to accept the rank conferred upon him, and at once took steps to dispossess his rival of the throne. By his orders the army broke up from before Gibbethon, raised the siege, and marching with all speed to Tirzah, besieged the pretender in his capital. Zimri did not dare to venture a battle, but remained within the walls. Within a very short time the defences were forced and the town entered. Brave, fierce, and obstinate to the last degree, Zimri took a desperate resolve, and throwing himself into the royal palace, a sort of fortress within a fortress, he stood at bay, and when further resistance was hopeless, gave orders that the palace should be set on fire and burnt it over his head. It would appear that Zimri, even in his short reign of seven days, found occasion to give formal approval to the religious system of Jeroboam, since it is declared of him (verses 18, 19) that "he died for his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the Lord, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin that he did, to make Israel to sin." G. R. 18. And died.** This word is intimately connected with the verse following. The text conveys clearly that Zimri's tragical death was a retribution for his sins. Bähr remarks that of Elah and Zimri we learn nothing, apart from the fact that they held to the sin of Jeroboam, except how they died. It is interesting to remember here the aspect these repeated revolutions and assassinations would wear to the kingdom of Judah, then enjoying quietness and prosperity under Asa. We cannot doubt for a moment that they were regarded as so many manifestations of the righteous judgment of God, and as the outcomes of that spirit of insubordination and impiety which, in their eyes, had brought about both the division of the kingdom and the schism in the church. Hammond. 27th to 38th of Asa, of Judah. 21. THEN were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni 22 the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri. But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and 23 Omri reigned. In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over 24 Israel, and reigned twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver; and he built on (or fortified) the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill, 25 Samaria. And Omri did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and dealt wickedly 26 above all that were before him. For he walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sins wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD, the God of 27 Israel, to anger with their vanities. Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of 28 Israel? So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. Summary. After a reign of twenty-two years, Jeroboam, the first king of Israel, was succeeded by his son Nadab. A conspiracy, headed by Baasha, general of the army, destroyed the entire family of Jeroboam less than two years after the accession of Nadab. Baasha reigned twenty-four years, and was succeeded by his son Elah. Within a year this son and the whole family of Baasha were in turn utterly destroyed by Zimri, captain of the palace guard. Seven days Zimri reigned. Besieged by the army under Omri, then in the field, and the capital (Tirzah) taken, Zimri burnt the palace and destroyed himself. Omri, the commanding general, was then chosen by the army to fill the throne. But "half the people" supported Tibni. Four years of struggle ensued, when "Tibni died" and Omri reigned. His entire reign extended twelve years. B. Omri was the sixth king of Israel, and the founder of the fourth dynasty, which lasted for three generations and four kings. His father's name and tribe are unknown. The twelve years of his reign are probably to be dated from the death of Elah, as his full recognition is placed in the thirty-first year of Asa, and the accession of his son Ahab in the thirty-eighth of Asa; so that his six years' reign at Tirzah would include the civil war. P. S.—Omri was the first founder of a new dynasty, who had not come to the crown by a revolt against his sovereign and the extermination of his house. It is true that he led the army against Zimri; but in so doing he appeared as the avenger of the king whom Zimri had murdered, and the usurper's reign of a week was too short to enable his family, if he had any, to establish any influence dangerous to Omri, or to render their extermination politically expedient. However, it came to pass that Omri attained to the throne with comparatively undefiled hands. He was even spared the blood of Zimri, that guilty man having burned the royal palace over his head in Tirzah, which had by this time become the capital. Kitto. 24. Omri builds Samaria and establishes it as the capital.** The hill Samaria, six miles north of Shechem, was a position of peculiar strength and beauty, in a fertile, well-watered region. It continued to be the capital of Israel until it was taken and destroyed by the Assyrian king, when the kingdom itself became forever extinct. Subsequently it was twice repeopled and destroyed. Herod the Great rebuilt it and called it Sebaste. The ruins still remain under the corrupted name Sebasteh. So great was the fame of the city Samaria that ultimately it gave name to the province lying between Judea and Galilee, and to its inhabitants, the Samaritans. B.—There were objections to Tirzah as the capital from its situation, which was neither sufficiently central nor sufficiently strong. Omri cast about for a place, near the middle of the land, which should be strong in a military point of view, capable of being fortified, productive, sufficiently watered, and accessible from the various parts of the kingdom. This he found in the "hill of Shomeron," a few miles to the northwest of the old capital, Shechem, which he accordingly purchased, and on which he built his town. G. R. The situation of this royal city, if less beautiful, is more commanding than that of its sister, Shechem. Nearly in the centre of a basin, about five miles in diameter, rises a flattish, oval-shaped hill, to the height of some three hundred feet. On the summit is a long and nearly level plateau, which breaks down at the sides one hundred feet or more to an irregular terrace or belt of level land; below this the roots of the hill spread off more gradually into the surrounding valleys. The whole is now cultivated in terraces, in the formation of which the stones of the ancient city have been freely used. Groves of luxuriant olives almost cover the southern side and fill the valley below, while single trees and little groups dot the rest. A wide circuit of picturesque mountains encompasses the basin, having only a narrow opening on the west, through which a winter torrent finds its way to the plain of Sharon. Little villages, with their green corn-fields and gray olive groves, stud the dark mountain sides or crown their summits, making the whole landscape one of the richest and most beautiful in Palestine. The modern village of Sebasteh may contain about sixty houses, with a population of four hundred. It stands upon the broad terrace midway up the eastern side of the hill. The view from the top is a noble one, embracing the glens and vales round the hill, the circuit of mountains, a section of the plain of Sharon, and the wide expanse of the Mediterranean. No better site for a capital could have been selected in the length and breadth of Palestine—a strong position, rich environs, central situation, and an elevation sufficient to catch untainted the cool, healthy breezes of the sea. Porter.—It stands some four hundred feet above the valley, the sides of the hill being steep and terraced in every direction for cultivation, or perhaps for defensive purposes; broad and open valleys stretch north and south, and the hill is thus almost isolated. Strategic reasons may be supposed to have dictated the choice of the capital of Omri, for on the north the hill commands the main road to Jezreel over a steep pass, on the west it dominates the road to the coast, and on the east that to the Jordan. Conder. In B.C. 721 Samaria was taken, after its second three years' siege, by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, and with its fall closed the history of the kingdom of Israel. It was afterward taken, and its inhabitants transplanted by Alexander the Great. Again, the Jews, under Hyrcanus, nearly destroyed it, and in turn the old inhabitants were re-established by Pompey. Augustus gave it to Herod the Great, who recolonized it, rebuilt it, and added most sumptuous palaces, theatres, temples, stadium, and colonnades, changing its name to Sebaste (i.e., Augusta), in honor of his patron, by the Arabic form of which, Sebustiyeh, it is still known. Tristram. 25-27. The character of Omri and of his reign. Of his five predecessors, the common record is that they sinned and made Israel to sin. Of this man, head of the fourth family that reigned, it is said: Omri wrought evil, and did worse than all before him. Worse did he than Jeroboam and Baasha, in compelling the people to iniquity by framing it into a law. For in Micah 6:16 we are told that the keeping of the statutes of Omri made "Israel a desolation," referring probably to idol-worship. The noted Moabite Stone contains the name of Omri, and Assyrian inscriptions designate Samaria as the "house or city of Omri." B. It must have been early in his reign that Omri, desirous of military fame, invaded the territory of Moab. The Moabites, reduced to subjection by David, and treated with extreme severity, would seem to have recovered their independence at the separation of the Israelites into two hostile kingdoms, and to have maintained it until Omri's attack upon them. Omri, as we learn from the Moabite Stone, quarrelled with Chemosh-Gad, the father of the Mesha mentioned in 2 K. 3:4. He made his first assault on Medeba, a Moabite city about seven miles to the south of Heshbon, marked by the ruins of the modern Mādeba. Having conquered this place and occupied it, he proceeded to overrun the entire Moabite country, which he subjugated and attached to his own kingdom as a dependency. The Moabite royal family was indeed maintained on the throne and continued to govern the country, but a heavy tribute was required from the nation, which was felt as a grievous "oppression." Mesha says, "Now Omri, king of Israel, he oppressed Moab many days. His son succeeded him; and he also said, I will oppress Moab." We do not know the exact amount of tribute during Omri's reign, but under his son and successor it reached the almost incredible total of one hundred thousand sheep and one hundred thousand lambs annually (2 K. 3:4). Omri appears also to have carried on a war, but an unsuccessful war, with Syria of Damascus. Its result was the cession to the Damascene kingdom of a number of cities (1 K. 20:34), among them probably Ramoth-Gilead, the most important of the trans-Jordanic towns, and the further grant to the Syrians of a right to "make streets in Samaria." Such concessions imply a very serious antecedent defeat; and we must thus, in estimating the military talents of this king, set against his Moabite victories, which were no doubt brilliant, the grave losses that he suffered on his northern and northeastern frontier, which must have seriously crippled the strength of his kingdom in that quarter. The religious policy of Omri differed little from that of his predecessor, but was, if anything, characterized by greater thoroughness. He "wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord, and did worse than all that were before him" (verse 25). We hear in later times of the "statutes of Omri" as still kept by the Israelites (Micah 6:16); and we may gather from this that he reduced the calf-worship into a regular formal system, where to all were required to render obedience. It is clear that he adhered to Jeroboam's system (verse 26), and so rigidly carried it out as to leave a worse name behind him in respect of religion than even the worst of his predecessors. He reigned twelve years, from the twenty-seventh to the thirty-eighth of Asa. During the first six of these years he resided at Tirzah, and during the last six at Samaria. During the first four he contended for the throne with Tibni; during the last eight he was sole monarch. G. R. Omri's policy was evidently directed toward obtaining peace for his kingdom, by the cultivation of friendly relations, not only with the kingdom of Judah, but also with other neighboring states. Peace seems to have been concluded, by the sacrifice of certain Israelitish towns, with Damascene Syria, which under the dynasty of the Hadads had become, as Israel had already experienced under Baasha, a formidable power. The marriage of Omri's son, the weak Ahab, with the Phoenician princess Jezebel, is to be attributed to the above-named political motive. O. The dynasties that reigned at Samaria have long been swept away; the people over whom they ruled carried into a captivity over which the veil of impenetrable mystery lies. Only the word of the Lord has stood firm and immovable. Of Nadab, of Baasha, of Elah, of Zimri, and of Omri, Scripture has only one and the same thing to say: that they walked in the way and in the sin of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, "wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke Jehovah, the God of Israel, to anger." And over each and all did the same judgment sweep. And yet there were more grievous sins to follow and more terrible judgments to come. A. E. The historic connections of Mesha, king of Moab, with Israel have received a most remarkable confirmation by the discovery in 1869 of what is generally known as "the Moabite Stone." This is a pillar or monumental stone about three feet nine inches in length, two feet four inches in breadth, and one foot two inches in thickness. It is undoubtedly an official monument commemorating the emancipation of Moab from an oppressive subjection during about forty years to the kings of Israel. The language is fundamentally Hebrew, no word occurring of which the root does not exist in the Hebrew Scriptures. "It reads (says M. de Vogue) like a page of the Hebrew Scriptures." "The form of the letters is the oldest known to any written language. The Pentateuch was no doubt written in such letters in the time of Moses; Solomon and Hiram corresponded with each other in such characters." At the time it was copied enough was still legible to show that Moab had been in subjection to Israel, and had achieved her independence, and that the reigning monarch under whom her independence was achieved bore the name Mesha. It began thus: "I, Mesha, am son of Chemosh-gad king of Moab, the Dibonite. My father reigned over Moab thirty years, and I reigned after my father. And I erected this stone to Chemosh at Karcha [a stone of] salvation, for he saved me from all despoilers and let me see my desire upon all my enemies, and Omri, king of Israel, who oppressed Moab many days, for Chemosh was angry with his land. His son succeeded him, and he also said, I will oppress Moab." Its tone throughout is remarkably religious—in the sense of recognizing the fortunes of his kingdom, good or ill, as determined by his national god Chemosh. It is chiefly occupied with his special exploits in war and in the rebuilding of cities. A large number of proper names—i.e., of great kings, and of cities—appear on this stone—names which occur also in the Hebrew Scriptures—the number supposed to be satisfactorily identified being twenty-three, and, conjecturally, some others. It is generally admitted that this Moabite Stone brings to light the oldest extant specimen of alphabetic writing. It records the military achievements of Mesha, king of Moab, for a period of forty years or more, from about B.C. 925. This would fix the date of this writing not later than B.C. 885—contemporary with the accession of Jehu, the death of Ahaziah, king of Judah, and of Jehoram, of Israel. H. C. It was from the Phœnicians that the Israelites and the nations round about them received their alphabet. This alphabet was of Egyptian origin. As far back as the monuments of Egypt carry us, we find the Egyptians using their hieroglyphics to express not only ideas and syllables, but also the letters of an alphabet. Even in the remote epoch of the second dynasty they already possessed an alphabet in which the twenty-one simple sounds of the language were represented by special hieroglyphic pictures. These pictures, however, were employed only on the public monuments; for books and letters and business transactions the Egyptians made use of a running hand, in which the original pictures had undergone great transformations. This running hand is termed "hieratic," and it was from the hieratic forms of the Egyptian letters that the Phœnician letters were derived. The Phœnician alphabet passed first from the Phœnicians to the Greeks, then from the Greeks to the Romans, and finally from the Romans to the nations of modern Europe. But before the alphabet was communicated to Greece by the Phœnician traders, it had already been adopted by their Semitic kinsmen in Western Asia. Excavations in Palestine and the country east of the Jordan would doubtless bring to light inscriptions compiled in it much older than the oldest which we at present know. Only a few years ago the gap between the time when the Phœnicians first borrowed their new alphabet and the time to which the earliest texts written in it belonged was very great indeed. But during the last fifteen years discoveries have been made which help to fill it up, and prove to us at the same time what may be found if we will only seek. One of these discoveries is that of the famous Moabite Stone. In the summer of 1869, Dr. Klein, a German missionary, while travelling in what was once the land of Moab, discovered a most curious relic of antiquity among the ruins of Dhibān, the ancient Dibon. This relic was a stone of black basalt, rounded at the top, two feet broad and nearly four feet high. Across it ran an inscription of thirty-four lines in the letters of the Phœnician alphabet. Dr. Klein unfortunately contented himself with copying a few words, and endeavoring to secure the monument for the Berlin Museum. Things always move slowly in the East, and it was not until a year later that the negotiations for the purchase of the stone were completed between the Prussian Government on the one side and the Arabs and Turkish pashas on the other. At length, however, all was arranged, and it was agreed that the stone should be handed over to the Germans for the sum of £80. At this moment M. Clermont-Ganneau, a member of the French Consulate at Jerusalem, with lamentable indiscretion, sent men to take squeezes of the inscription, and offered no less than £375 for the stone itself. At once the cupidity of both Arabs and pashas was aroused; the Governor of Nablus demanded the treasure for himself, while the Arabs, fearing it might be taken from them, put a fire under it, poured cold water over it, broke it in pieces, and distributed the fragments as charms among the different families of the tribe. Thanks to M. Clermont-Ganneau, most of these fragments have now been recovered, and the stone, once more put together, may be seen in the Museum of the Louvre at Paris. The fragments have been fitted into their proper places by the help of the imperfect squeezes taken before the monument was broken. When the inscription came to be read, it turned out to be a record of Mesha, king of Moab, of whom we are told in 2 Kings 3 that after Ahab's death he "rebelled against the king of Israel," and was vainly besieged in his capital Kirharaseth by the combined armies of Israel, Judah and Edom. The whole inscription reads like a chapter from one of the historical books of the Old Testament. Not only are the phrases the same, but the words and grammatical forms are, with one or two exceptions, all found in scriptural Hebrew. The covenant name of the God of Israel (Jehovah) occurs in the inscription, spelt in exactly the same way as in the Old Testament. Sayce. The reference to Chemosh, the national deity of Moab, is quite in harmony with the Bible allusion to Chemosh as the abomination of Moab (1 K. 11:7); and the whole inscription betokens the long subjection of Moab, and the final triumph of the Moabites. For sixty-five years there is in the Bible no further notice of the Moabites—not until after Elisha's death, when, as we are told, "the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year" (2 K. 13:20). The silence of Scripture on this subject is itself an acknowledgment of the Moabitish success and independence. The inscription further gives an account of Mesha's tritriumph, and of his reorganizing and strengthening his long-oppressed and sorely wasted kingdom. This testimony is altogether singular, and cannot be set aside or modified by any possible ingenuity of mere criticism. W. Fraser. But the inscription of Mesha does not merely confirm and illustrate Scripture. Like the monument erected by Shishak at Karnak, it gives us much additional information with respect to events only lightly touched on in the Bible, helping to fill out the very brief narrative of the writer of Kings. We learn from it that the Moabites, who were reduced to subjection by David (2 Sam. 8:2; 1 Chron. 18:2), and were no doubt among the tributaries of Solomon (1 K. 4:21, 24; 2 Chron. 9:23-26), regained their liberty before the accession of Omri; that Omri reconquered them early in his reign, and put a yoke upon them which was regarded as oppressive; that Ahab, Omri's son, who succeeded him, continued this oppression; that it lasted for a period which might be called, roundly, "forty years;" that at length Mesha, the Moabite tributary king, who had succeeded his father in the sovereignty, regarding himself as divinely commissioned by his god, Chemosh, rebelled; that a war of independence followed with varied success, but that ultimately Mesha prevailed, recovered the various strongholds which the Israelites had fortified in his territory, and established his sway over the whole Moabite country. While thus employed we find that he not only made himself master of Moab proper, but also took possession of a number of towns which, at the occupation of the Holy Land, had been seized and peopled by the Reubenites and Gadites—e.g., Baal-Meon, Medeba, Kirjathaim, Ataroth, Nebo, Dibon, and Jahaz. The result was that Moab, on its re-establishment as an independent kingdom, was very much more powerful than it had ever been before the time of David, and became one of the most dreaded enemies of the Jews and Israelites during the later period of the two monarchies. Hence the numerous denunciations of the Moabites by the prophets of the later kingdoms, as Isaiah, Amos, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, who view Moab as one of the strongest and bitterest antagonists of the chosen people. G. R. The ancient south road from Heshbon to Petra next passes Dibon, now Dhiban, about three and one half miles north of the Arnon, one of the most celebrated of the Reubenite cities, and now further remarkable for the discovery of the Moabite Stone. Originally belonging to Moab, it had been conquered by Sihon (Num. 21 : 20), and fell to Israel on his destruction. It was first rebuilt and occupied by Gad, but finally allotted to Reuben from its situation. At the period of the later prophets, like the rest of the district, it had been resumed by Moab, and is mentioned by Isaiah and Jeremiah in their denunciations of that people. Tristram. 16 : 29 AND in the thirty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel : and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and 30 two years. And Ahab the son of Omri did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD 31 above all that were before him. And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter 32 of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him. And 33 he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. And Ahab made the Asherah ; and Ahab did yet more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to 34 anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. In his days did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho : he laid the foundation thereof with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof with the loss of his youngest son Segub ; according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of Joshua the son of Nun. THE REIGN OF AHAB. With the accession of Ahab a new main section of our history begins—the section which has its close in the destruction of the house of Omri by Jehu, as related in 2 Kings 10. And this reign is recorded at unusual length ; in fact, it occupies nearly all the remaining portion of this volume, whereas the reigns of preceding kings have in several instances been dismissed in a few verses. It owes this distinction to the ministry of the great prophet Elijah by which it was marked, and, indeed, was profoundly influenced ; but this ministry, it must be remembered, was necessitated by the critical circumstances of the time. No one can fail to see that this was one of the veritable turning-points of Jewish history. One of the real “decisive battles of the world”—that between the Lord and Baal—was then fought out. No wonder that our historian felt constrained to chronicle at length the transactions of a reign so pregnant both with good and evil for the people of the Lord and for the faith with which they had been put in trust. Indeed, the same guiding principle which led him to devote so many of his pages to the reign of Solomon, when the theocratic kingdom was at its highest, impelled him to linger over the reign of Ahab when religion was at its lowest ebb. The secular historian, too often like the sun-dial which “counts no hours save those serene,” draws a veil over the time of his country’s decadence, or touches its misfortunes with a light hand. It is only in the inspired records that we have an impartial register both of the glory and shame of a commonwealth. Hammond. 29. The accession of Ahab, and the period of his reign. The son of Omri, his reign began in the thirty-eighth year of Asa’s reign over Judah. This good King Asa had governed Judah in peace, while six kings of Israel had died after troublous reigns, two of them slain by their successors. Ahab’s reign of twenty-two years is more fully recorded than any other of the kings of Israel. The incidents of his history show that he had a strong character ; that he was an able ruler, a brave and skilful commander, a kingly esthetic, inasmuch as in one of many newly founded cities he built for himself an ivory palace, and incurred the guilt of murder that his gardens in Jezreel might be enlarged and beautified. Although more daringly wicked even than Jeroboam, yet he had periods of penitence under the appeals and threatenings of Jehovah. 30-33. Ahab's extreme provocation of the God of Israel. These verses sum up the points of this provocation, far exceeding the sins of Jeroboam. The image-worship set up by Jeroboam was a breach of the Second Commandment, for it was professedly designed to retain the worship of Jehovah under the form of a golden calf, itself a counterfeit presentment of the symbolic Shekinah. But Ahab, "as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam," added the yet more heinous sin of trampling under foot the First Commandment, that foremost, central principle which lay at the foundation of all reverence and obedience, the sole worship of the one only living Jehovah. Openly and utterly he renounced all allegiance to the true God, the God of Israel, "and went and served Baal, and worshipped him." This was the master-crime of this boldest and guiltiest of Israel's monarchs. This defiant rejection of the true God he dared to carry out by displacing the remaining semblance of His worship, and by erecting in its stead an altar and temple for Baal in Samaria. B. 31. Ahab, king of Israel, is represented as having sought to strengthen himself by a marriage with a foreign princess, and as having made choice for the purpose of "Jezebel, daughter of Eth-baal, king of the Zidonians."** Here not only have we a genuine Phœnician name, but we have the name of a king who is proved by the Tyrian history of Menander to have been seated upon the throne exactly at this time. Eithobalus, the priest of Ashtaroth (or Venus), who by the murder of his predecessor, Pheles, became king of Tyre, mounted the throne just fifty years after the death of Hiram, the contemporary of Solomon. Ahab mounted the throne of Israel fifteen or twenty years later, and was thus the younger contemporary of Eithobalus, or Eth-baal, who continued to reign at Tyre during a considerable portion of Ahab's reign in Israel. G. R. Ahab had the Divine law before him (Ex. 34:16), which distinctly forbade union with the Canaanites. Such a marriage was unprecedented in the kingdom of Israel, and was the more fatal because of the character of the queen, the Lady Macbeth of Scripture. She was reckless, fanatical and cruel, with a temper as vindictive as her will was resolute. Her husband became a tool in her hands. He could not foresee all the issues of his choice, but he knew the choice was sinful. P. C. Hitherto the worship of Jehovah, though in an idolatrous form, had still been the national religion; but now the worship of Baal and Ashera was, at the instigation of the queen, set up in its stead, a temple built for Baal in Samaria itself, and (see especially 18:19) a vast number of the prophets of Baal and Ashera maintained among the people. Against the prophets of Jehovah, moreover, who must at that time have been numerous, a sanguinary persecution arose (verses 4, 13), and they were put to death whenever the queen could lay hands on them. Under these circumstances the people remained passive: they halted between two opinions, as Elijah expressed it—i.e., they thought the worship of Jehovah and Baal compatible. At this period the conflict with triumphant heathenism was waged by the individual in whom was reflected the full glory of Old Testament prophetship—viz., Elijah the Tishbite, "the Prophet of Fire, whose word burnt like a torch" (as the son of Sirach describes him, 48:1), and whose very name "Jehovah is my God" testified against the apostate and irresolute race. O. Ahab represents the culminating point of the perversity of the kingdom of Israel. At once more able and more profane than his predecessors, he fostered to an unprecedented degree the corruption of morals, private and public injustice, and idolatrous practices. Ahab, prompted by Jezebel, became the more dangerous enemy of the cause of God. At this period of the national history arose the greatest of the prophets, Elijah, who well bore out his name—the strength of God—and who was the faithful type of John the Baptist, the immediate forerunner of Christ. In the coming of Elijah at such a crisis, we have an illustration of a general and permanent rule of God's kingdom. The excess of evil calls out the strongest manifestations of good. Never was the power of Satan more rampant than at the time when the Son of God appeared upon earth. So in the end of time, the day of Antichrist will be also the day in which Christ will intervene most directly in the great drama of history. E. de P. 33. The Asherah.** This was probably a wooden image or symbol of Ashtaroth or Astarte, the chief female deity, as Baal (the Sungod) was the chief male deity of the Phœnicians. By the Assyrians they were called Bel and Ishtar. As the sun represented Baal or Bel, the Moon or the planet Venus was the emblem of Ashtaroth. Every conceivable measure and method of licentiousness and cruelty were associated with the ritual and the temple-worship of these imaginary deities. And all these revolting and infamous rites Ahab established in his own capital city, from whence the corruption was easily diffused throughout the nation of Israel. And this he did when "he took to wife Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal," the Phœnician king. Wife and worship, matched in the extreme of wickedness and infamy, he enthroned with himself; kindred sources of evil and agencies of destruction to the moral life and to the very continuance of the nation. Nor, as we read the story, was Ahab the mere weak compliant instrument of this imperious, fierce, vindictive woman, his chosen partner. Rather was Jezebel so chosen because her wilful, haughty, impious spirit so exactly responded to his own. Many other wives had he, but Jezebel alone shared his throne and his counsels to the end, because of her oneness of nature, her reckless defiance of all Divine authority, and impious disregard of all right and purity and truth. Thus it was, by his own contempt of Jehovah in setting up a system of shameless idolatry, and by infusing this spirit of idolatry by example and authority in the practice and hearts of the whole people, that "Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him." B. It was the first time that a king of Israel had allied himself by marriage with a heathen princess; and the alliance was in this case of a peculiarly disastrous kind. Jezebel has stamped her name on history as the representative of all that is designing, crafty, malicious, revengeful, and cruel. She is the first great instigator of persecution against the saints of God. Guided by no principle, restrained by no fear of either God or man, passionate in her attachment to her heathen worship, she spared no pains to maintain idolatry around her in all its splendor. Four hundred and fifty prophets ministered under her care to Baal, besides four hundred prophets of the groves which ate at her table (chap. 18 : 19). The idolatry, too, was of the most debased and sensual kind. The worship of Baal was combined with that of Ashtaroth, sometimes understood to be the moon, at other times to be the planet Venus. But whichever of the two she was, there can be no doubt as to the effect upon the people. W. Milligan. The immediate consequence of this ill-fated union was, that the religion of Jezebel became the worship of the land of Israel. Ahab built in Samaria a temple to "the Baal"—the Sungod (the producing principle in Nature)—in which he erected not only an altar, but, as we gather from 2 K. 3 : 2 ; 10 : 27, also one of those pillars which were distinctive of its vile services. As usual, where these rites were fully carried out, he also "made the Asherah"—Astarte, the Moon-goddess (the receptive principle in Nature)—so that the Phœnician worship was now established in its entirety. As we infer from later notices, there was a "vestry" attached to these temples, where special festive garments, worn on great occasions, were kept (2 K. 10 : 22). Ahab—or perhaps rather Jezebel—appointed not less than four hundred and fifty priests of Baal and four hundred of Asherah, who were supported by the bounty of the queen. The forced introduction of this new worship led to a systematic persecution of the prophets, and even of the openly professed worshippers of Jehovah, which had their complete extermination for its object. A. E. "The change from a symbolical worship of the One True God, with the innocent rites of sacrifice and prayer, to the cruel and licentious worship of the Phœnician divinities, was," as Dean Stanley observes, "a prodigious step downward, and left traces in Northern Palestine which no subsequent reformations were able to obliterate." "In earlier times," says Döllinger, "Baal had been worshipped without an image in Tyre and its colonies; but for a long time now his worship had grown into an idolatry of the most wanton character, directed by a numerous priesthood, who had their headquarters at Tyre. As the people of Asia distinguished, properly speaking, only two deities of nature, a male and a female, so Baal was of an elemental and sidereal character at once. As the former he was god of the creative power, bringing all things to life everywhere, and, in particular, god of fire; but he was Sungod besides, and, as such, to human lineaments he added the crown of rays about the head peculiar to this god. In the one quality as well as in the other, he was represented at the same time as sovereign of the heavens (Baal-samin) and of the earth by him impregnated. The Canaanitish Moloch (king) was not essentially different from Baal, but the same god in his terrible and destroying aspect, the god of consuming fire, the burning sun who smites the land with unfruitfulness and pestilence, dries up the springs, and begets poisonous winds (Jer. 32 : 35 ; 19 : 5). In the Astarte (Ashtaroth) of the Western Asiatics we recognize that great nature-goddess standing by Baal's side, who is the regent of the stars, the Queen of Heaven, and goddess of the moon, the mother of life, and deity of woman's fecundity." G. R. 34. The rebuilding of Jericho by Hiel, and its predicted consequences fulfilled. To prove that "the Lord is not slack concerning His promise," to attest to all in after time the certainty of God's threatened judgments, however long the interval between the utterance and the fulfilment, is the object of this brief record. A curse had been pronounced by Joshua four hundred and forty years before upon the man who should rebuild the walls of Jericho after they had miraculously fallen and thus given entrance to the besieging host of Israel. Hiel, a native of Bethel, under the infection of idolatry, no longer believing in the God of Israel, deliberately disregarded the Divine judgment announced by Joshua. That judgment was now fulfilled in punishment of this daring rebuilder of an accursed city. In a manner which is not related, his eldest and youngest sons perished, one at the outset, the other at the completion of the rebuilding of the walls of Jericho. And a fearful warning it was to the whole nation, not to despise the long suffering and patience of God. But the nation heeded not the warning. B. The reign of Ahab must be regarded as, on the whole, a time of material prosperity for Israel. Besides the two triumphs over Syria we find the kingdom otherwise advancing in wealth and consequence. New towns of importance arose both in the north and in the south, as Jezreel in the Esdraélon plain, and Jericho, low down in the Ghor or Jordan valley. Joshua had in the olden time laid a curse on the man who should rebuild this city (Josh. 6 : 26)—the first in Canaan to resist Israel—and the menace had been effective for centuries; but in Ahab's reign a certain Hiel, a native of Bethel, set the curse at naught, and raised Jericho from its ruins, paying, however, in the deaths of two of his sons, the penalty affixed prophetically. The site of Jericho was most favorable, and the "city of palm-trees" soon became a flourishing place, but was not for a long time of the same importance as Jezreel. Jezreel, "planted on a gentle eminence, in the very centre of the rich plain, commanding the view of Carmel on the west and of the valley of the Jordan on the east," was made a royal residence; strengthened with walls and towers; adorned with a palace, a temple, and perhaps an "ivory house;" and continued till the end of the dynasty the ordinary seat of the court and place of abode of the sovereign. Following in the footsteps of his father Omri, his aim was to increase at once the internal dignity and the external prosperity of Israel. He loved peace and the arts of peace. His fame as a builder of cities and of palaces received particular notice in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (1 K. 22 : 39). Among the latter was his new palace at Jezreel, which, with its extensive gardens, was to prove so fatal a spot in the history of his family; while either there or at Samaria he erected for himself that "ivory house" which appears to have attracted, in a greater than ordinary degree, the admiration of men. Ewald remarks that "in the time of Solomon ivory was first used for a chair of state; Ahab decorated with it an entire house." To nothing, however, does Ahab appear to have devoted himself more than to extending the commercial prosperity of Israel, and it was in connection with this that the weaker side of his character and the more evil influences of his reign appeared. He was thus led to draw closer the bonds of friendship between himself and the powerful Phœnicians in the West. His marriage with Jezebel is in no small degree to be traced to the same cause. G. R. Points of Special Instruction. The first respects the eminent fitness of the negative or prohibitory form of the Ten Commandments. They all exactly match man's case, in striking at the fact and the very forms of actual human transgression. Thou shalt have no other gods; thou shalt not make graven images! What a comment upon the necessity and fitness of these Divine commands is contained in the entire history of this kingdom of Israel! This history further shows that the first and second Commandments are the vital and essential ones. In their negative form they imply the controlling presence of that love to God which Christ affirmed to be the first and great Commandment. The worship of God in spirit and truth is the foremost simplest outflow of supreme love to Him. Neglect of such worship attends upon the want or withdrawal of love. And neglect leads, through disregard and disobedience, to positive rejection, and the enthronement of some other object of love and worship. Rejection soon transforms indifference to hate, and disobedience to revolt and defiance. And defiance is the forerunner of final destruction. So was it with Ahab. So will it be with every one who disregards and disobeys the great Commandment of love to God in Christ; with every one who allows an idolatrous affection for any being or object to displace supreme devotion to Him. Though the time of image-worship has passed, subtler forms of idolatrous affection abide as the chief sources of peril, as occasions and means of spiritual downfall and ruin. This lesson of the history always and sadly needs our pondering. Idolatry substituted a false for a true conception of the nature, the relations, and the requirements of God. Its effect was to pervert the reason, to stupefy the conscience, to nullify the force of law, and obliterate all sense of duty toward God; and thus of necessity to exclude all idea of obligation between man and man. Its natural outcome could only be a character altogether vicious, a life wholly beast-like, mastered by self-seeking and malevolence, by rapacity and strife, by lust and cruelty. Such was the outcome of Ahab's daring and defiant introduction of Baal-worship among the people of Israel. How enormous, then, his sin and guilt, and how immeasurable the abhorrence of such iniquity on the part of a God immaculately pure! B. Family life is closely linked with religious life. Unequal yoking with unbelievers is as bad for religion as it often is for domestic quiet. A Jezebel can do much mischief to a family into which she comes—to the whole circle, be it wide or narrow, which is cursed by her activity. She may be "clever," of high standing, of influential connections, of great force, very attractive, on her own lines very generous and public-spirited (see how bountifully Jezebel provided for her priests and her worship); but she is a curse, and the consequences to those submitting to her influence can only be bad. Let the young be profoundly thankful where God has given them Christian parents. And let them aim at the perpetuation of a godly family life. The violation of this principle brought Ahab and his family, including Jezebel, to desolation. J. Hall. In their successive and similar careers, Jeroboam, Omri, and Ahab strongly emphasize the inevitable and downward progress of the wicked in iniquity. Omri walked in the sin of Jeroboam, went farther in the practice of evil. He "wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord." Although he evinced judgment and taste in the building of Samaria, and the fruits of his energy and enterprise were many, yet in his own inner life as seen by the omniscient Lord, and in his defilement of the nation's worship, he wrought only evil, and that to the end. Ever accumulating guilt for himself, he transmitted, through the force of example and training, yet more fearful guilt and misery to his son after him. Jeroboam was notably wicked in that he first "made Israel to sin." Omri was "worse than all before him." And Ahab went far in advance of Omri his father. Each carried the whole nation down into deeper corruption, and involved it in final utter destruction. Thus it was in this ancient, true, and typical history. Thus it is in current history, personal and national. Sin is invariably progressive, and the progress ends inevitably in ruin. Jehovah's relations and dealings with the nation Israel are simply an illustration of his relations and dealings with every other nation. The principles directing and governing His action toward communities or peoples are always and everywhere the same. Outward national prosperity He has ever conditioned upon national morality; and true morality, personal and national, springs solely from a pure religion, a religion based upon divinely instituted laws and worship. Obedience and reverence toward God, grateful service and worshipful devotion, joined with righteous, unselfish, and helpful dealing toward men, comprise the fundamental conditions upon which depend the prospering favor of God, alike upon nations and individuals. Again and again throughout the Old Testament histories does He expressly affirm these principles to rulers and peoples, pre-eminently to the successive kings of Judah and Israel. And not only the entire record of the Israelitish people, from Moses to the latest monarch of Judah, but the whole subsequent history of nations affords an unbroken comment upon the absolute truthfulness of these principles. Let then the sense of obligation to God be habitually cherished, and let His law of righteous and truthful living, of unselfish and helpful dealing, be the rule of personal and national action. And let the practice of a pure, heartfelt scriptural worship be more and more widely extended over our vast inheritance. So shall the prospering favor of God, already so richly realized, be perpetuated and increased with our swiftly multiplying numbers. B. ELIJAH ANNOUNCES DROUGHT TO AHAB; RETIRES TO THE BROOK CHERITH, THEN TO ZAREPHATH. THE WIDOW'S TRUSTFUL FIDELITY; HER CHILD RESTORED. 1. AND Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the sojourners of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD, the God of Israel, liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, 2 but according to my word. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before 4 Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the 5 ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for 6 he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought 7 him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the 8 brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. 8, 9 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which 9 belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to 10 sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath; and when he came to the gate of the 11 city, behold, a widow woman was there gathering sticks: and he called to her, and said, 12 Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going 13 to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. 14 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in the 15 barrel, and a little oil in the cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go 16 in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, 17 Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it 18 forth unto me, and afterward make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD, the 19 God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the 20 day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the say- 21 ing of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. The barrel of meal 22 wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he 23 spake by Elijah. And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the 24 mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in 25 him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? thou art 26 come unto me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son! And he said unto her, 27 Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into the chamber, 28 where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O 29 LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying 30 her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and 31 said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the LORD 32 hearkened unto the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he 33 revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the 34 house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the 35 woman said to Elijah, Now I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the 36 LORD in thy mouth is truth. THE picture which the historian has just drawn of the shameless idolatry and the gross degeneracy of the earlier part of Ahab's reign forms a fit prelude to an account of the ministry of the great prophet Elijah, which occupies this and several succeeding chapters; for the two stand together in the closest connection. It was only the unprecedented corruption of that age which necessitated such a mission, and a mission armed with such credentials as his. It will be obvious to the most cursory reader that the narratives comprised in the remaining portion of this book and the earlier part of 2 Kings are of a very different character from those which have so far been before us. The ministry of Elijah and Elisha alike is little more than a series of miracles. Of their words comparatively few are recorded; we hear of little but the signs and wonders that they wrought. Neither Elijah nor Elisha, as Ewald has observed, "originated anything essentially new," but the task assigned them was one which needed supernatural support and attestation, no less than the promulgation of a new law or gospel. It was their work, at the very darkest hour in the spiritual history of Israel, when a determined effort was being made to stamp out the faith of God's elect, when the nation chosen of God to be the depositary of His truth was fast lapsing into heathenism and into unutterable abominations, it was their work to witness for God and truth and purity. If God's purposes of grace to our world which had been ripening from age to age were not now to be frustrated; if the one lamp which cast a ray on the world's thick darkness was not to be utterly extinguished, then, as far as we can see, God must send special messengers, and arm them, in token of their mission and authority, with superhuman powers. The age demanded the messenger; the messenger must have credentials; the credentials could only be miraculous. Hammond. This darkest night of Israel's spiritual declension was broken by the appearance of the greatest of all the prophets since Moses, and the type of that great preacher of repentance who was the forerunner of the Christ. Elijah the Tishbite has been well called "the grandest and the most romantic character that Israel ever produced. He meets us with a suddenness as startling as the first appearance of John the Baptist preaching repentance in the wilderness of Judea. There is not a word of his parentage; and of his birthplace we only know that it was in the land of Gilead east of Jordan. But this one fact accounts for the prophet's outward peculiarities. Like Jephthah among the judges, he came of a wild, uncultured, pastoral race, whose mode of life had become more and more assimilated to that of the Bedouins of the neighboring desert, and who retained great force of character and power of physical endurance. His only clothing was a girdle of skin round his loins, and the "mantle," or cape, of sheepskin, the descent of which upon Elisha has passed into a proverb. Sheltered from Jezebel's persecution in the solitudes of Mount Gilead, he had been prepared by Jehovah for his mission to the apostate king and people. P. S. Like the Baptist in a subsequent age, Elijah was a prophet of the wilderness. The conditions of his work necessitated his frequent seclusion in the desert, in some near exile, or in some secure hiding-place, whence he issued forth, whenever occasion demanded it, to deliver his lofty protest, and to offer his single-handed defiance to Ahab. Like the Baptist, too, he wore the primitive garb of a man of the desert—a mantle of skin thrown loosely over him, and secured round his waist by a leathern girdle. He was of little account in an estimate of physical forces, but among the moral forces of the world he was one of the greatest. His temperament corresponded. A man of quick, fiery impulses, extreme in his emotional fluctuations; bold as a lion in the hour of duty and conflict, and capable of intense excitement, and then giving way to corresponding depression. Allon. Ahab far outdistanced even his father's wickedness, first by entering into a matrimonial alliance with the vile dynasty of Ethbaal, and then by formally making the worship of Baal the established religion of Israel, with all of vileness and of persecution which this implied. In these circumstances, surely, we may look for extraordinary interposition on the part of Jehovah. For, with such a king and queen, and with a people, not only deprived of the Temple services and the Levitical priesthood, but among whom the infamous rites of Baal and Astarte had become the established worship, ordinary means would manifestly have been in vain. Again and again had messengers sent from God spoken His Word and announced His judgments, without producing even a passing effect. It needed more than this, if the worship of Baal was to be effectually checked. Accordingly, this period of Israel's history is also marked by a great extension of the prophetic order and mission. It was theirs to keep alive the knowledge of Jehovah in the land; theirs also to meet the gross and daring idolatry of king and people by a display of power which could neither be resisted nor gainsaid. Hence the unparalleled frequency of miracles, mostly intended to prove the vainness of idols as against the power of the living God, the reality of the prophets' mission, and of the authority which the Lord had delegated to His messengers. Only thus could any effect be produced. It was an extraordinary period—and God raised up in it an extraordinary agency. Hence the unusual accumulation of the miraculous—and that chiefly in its aspect of power—as displayed by an Elijah and an Elisha, so far from seeming strange or unaccountable, appears eminently called for. A. E. At this period the prophets act their most prominent and important part in Jewish history, particularly in that of Israel, where the Levites having been expelled, and the priesthood degraded, they remained the only defenders of the law and religion of the land. Prophecy, in its more extensive meaning, comprehended the whole course of religious education; and as the Levitical class were the sole authorized conservators and interpreters of the law, the prophets were usually of that tribe, or at least persons educated under their care. Now, however, they assume a higher character, and appear as a separate and influential class in the State. They are no longer the musicians, poets, and historians of the country, but men full of a high and solemn enthusiasm, the moral and religious teachers of the people. The most eminent are described as directly, and sometimes suddenly, designated for their office by divine inspiration, endowed with the power of working miracles, and of foretelling future events. But, setting aside their divine commission, the prophets were the great constitutional patriots of the Jewish State, the champions of virtue, liberty, justice, and the strict observance of the civil and religious law, against the iniquities of the kings and of the people. In no instance do they fall beneath, often they rise above, the lofty and humane morals of the Mosaic Institutes. They are always on the side of the oppressed; they boldly rebuke but never factiously insult their kings; they defend, but never flatter the passions of the people. In no instance does one of the acknowledged seers, like the turbulent demagogues of the Grecian or Roman republics, abuse his popular influence for his own personal aggrandizement or authority. Milman. 1. Elijah's first startling appearance and message to Ahab. In Israel, irreligion had reached the height of shameless impiety. Baalworship, or idolatry of the vilest and most blasphemous character, had been enforced upon the people by fierce and murderous persecution—the first on record for a pure faith in God. Under the sacrilegious inspiration of Ahab and Jezebel, these kindred royal rulers, the altars of Jehovah had been overthrown, His prophets and servants slain. The great mass of the people, too, were utterly given up to corrupt and horrible abominations. At this point it was, when the iniquity of king, queen and nation was at its highest, that God once more interposes, by raising up and qualifying one man for a signal mission of merciful warning. As needful, He confronts these strong-willed royal spirits with one of even greater might and sternness of soul; one whose faith and courage never once yielded to extreme personal peril; one whose name—meaning Jehovah my God—indicated the object of his trust, and the source of his dauntless courage. The story of Elijah is one of the grandest personal histories of the Old Testament. Confessedly at the head of the prophets and reformers in the sublimer aspects of character, especially in strength of faith and of endurance, he can be matched with no other than Moses, the great lawgiver and leader. As these twain mighty spirits were most eminent in work wrought for God, so they impressed themselves most deeply and abidingly upon the entire Jewish people. Most remarkable was this in the case of Elijah, for his direct work was confined to the ten tribes of Israel who soon became extinct. Yet so strong and vivid continued the memory of his character and deeds, that when the Lord of glory appeared on earth the Jews said, "It is Elias!" With Moses, too, Elijah shared the transfiguration of Jehovah Jesus on the holy mount. Of Elijah's origin nothing is told save that he came from the wild hill country of Gilead east of Jordan, lying between Moab on the south and Bashan on the north. His birth, parentage, training and history up to full age, are unrecorded. With sudden startling words he first announces his presence to Ahab, as though he were an angel from heaven instantaneously appearing and sharply uttering the rebuke of Jehovah. With the most solemn and sublime asseveration of human speech, the prophet affirms the living Jehovah still to be the only God of Israel, though Ahab had rejected him for false and impotent idol-gods. Then he proclaims to the impious monarch God's interdict upon the land of Israel. "As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand [thus likening himself to an angel of the Divine presence], there shall not be rain nor dew these years, but according to my word," or through my intercession, as his meaning is interpreted by James 5:17. Upon the early and latter rains, and during the long intervals upon the regularity and abundance of the heavy dews, the productiveness of the land depended. The withdrawal of both rain and dew was one of the punishments threatened in case of apostasy (De. 28:23, 24). And the effect of such withdrawal, even for a short period, involved the extreme of suffering from famine. No reason does Elijah assign for his coming or message. None was needed, for Ahab knew it to be the message of an offended God. Therefore with the utterance of this fearful warning, awaiting no reply, the prophet as suddenly disappears from the monarch's presence. B. He stood before the Lord God of Israel; and in the consciousness of that presence to stand before Ahab was as nothing. His word is abrupt, pithy, terrible—a bolt suddenly and unerringly shot—and it was the manner of speech of his entire ministry. And it is characteristic of Elijah that he neither fears nor falters. His word is as bold as it is momentous. His well-chosen word affirms the very heart of the theocratic faith. He stood before the Lord God the prophet of repentance, the restorer of the Covenant; he knows no reserves, he admits no compromise. It is surely one of the most audacious words ever spoken. No word of Moses to Pharaoh is bolder. With one stroke he breaks down the bridge behind him. It is one of those conjunctions of king and prophet, physical force and moral, armed power and dauntless faith, of which the religious history of the world records so many instances—Moses before Pharaoh, Christ before Pilate, the apostles before the Sanhedrim, Paul before Felix, Luther at Worms. There is no reason to doubt that this was the absolute beginning of Elijah's public career. It is in harmony with all the dramatic movements of his history, and is incompatible with any supposition of quiet preparation. It was a bold challenge to Ahab, as of an ambassador sent, not to debate a treaty, but to deliver an ultimatum. Allon. With the suddenness of a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder out of an Eastern sky Elijah the prophet bursts upon us in the narrative of the Old Testament. As he was taken away when his work was done, in a chariot of fire with horses of fire going up by a whirlwind into heaven, so it may be said he came. Everything was going on in Israel in its ordinary way. The people were at peace; and nothing seems to have disturbed their king as he pursued the evil courses on which he had embarked. All at once Elijah appears upon the scene. With the very first mention made of him he is before us in all the fulness of his mission and in all the strength of that bold, uncompromising character which he ever afterward displayed. . . . Elijah's work was very different from that of Moses, and no less different from that of Samuel. At his hands no new polity was needed. He had to frame no new laws. His work, it may be almost said, was to be summarized in one great act; in so far as it was done in the sight of men, it was to be begun and completed in a day. We do not, therefore, need to be informed as to his early training. Enough, if we know that, in communion with God and his own heart, he learned what no schools and no mere intercourse with men can teach—the greatness of the one Creator and Ruler of all; that faith in the Divine power which makes him feel, along with the deepest sense of his own weakness, that he can say to the mountain before him, "Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea;" and that superiority to the shows and fashions of a fleeting world which communion with the everlasting hills, and with Him who planted them or shakes them at His pleasure, is so well fitted to impart. W. M. Faith is the great word to be written in the forefront of Elijah's history. He was "a man of like passions as we are"—tempted as we are, open as we are to joy and pain—yet of him, of all men that had lived since "the father of the faithful," it was of him most eminently true that "he staggered not at the promises" or commands "of God through unbelief." The chapter before us is full of faith—nothing but faith. Kitto. The Lord liveth, before whom I stand. How distinct and abiding must the vision of God have been which burned before the inward eye of the man that struck out that phrase! Wherever I am, whatever I do, I am before Him. To my purged eye there is the Apocalypse of heaven, and I behold the great throne, and the solemn ranks of ministering spirits, my fellow-servants, hearkening to the voice of His word. No excitement of work, no strain of effort, no distraction of circumstances, no glitter of gold, or dazzle of earthly brightness, dimmed that vision for this prophet. A. M.—To be an instrument for the accomplishment of the Divine will, and for the glorifying of His name, was his ardent desire; he could say, with Isaiah's watchman, "Lord, I stand continually upon the watch-tower in the day-time, and I am set in my ward whole nights" (Isa. 21: 8). His life was a hearkening to God's voice; he passed his days in the presence of his Eternal King, and, "Lord, speak! for Thy servant heareth," was his watchword. Such was Elijah, by the grace of God, and thus did he stand before the Lord God of Israel. Krummacher. An habitual attitude of the soul is pointed at in Elijah's language. To hold constant intercourse with God, to become familiar with Him, to have always an open ear for His words, to be always ready to listen to and proclaim His pleasure was the spirit of the prophet's life. Hence his authority; hence his strength. Before one who could and did so live, earthly distinctions faded. W. M. There shall not be dew nor rain. Elijah here boldly predicted a long drought to Ahab, not to be removed "but according to his word"—that is, by his intercession. He apprehended that the idolatries of the nation would draw down destruction from God, and therefore prayed for a lesser chastisement to work its reformation. And when that end was accomplished, he prayed again for its remission. So it is understood by the son of Sirach, Ecelus, 48 : 10, and also in the New Testament, "Elias prayed earnestly that it might not rain: he prayed again and the heaven gave rain." Hales. It was all most startling: the sudden, strange, wild apparition; the bold confronting of king and people there in Samaria; the announcement apparently so incredible in itself, and in such contrast to the scene of wealth and fruitfulness all around; the unexpected pronunciation of the name Jehovah in such a place; the authority which he pleaded and the power which he claimed—in general, even the terms of his message: "Lives Jehovah, the God of Israel, which I stand before His face! If there be these years dew or rain, except by the mouth [the spoken means] of my word!" What answer Ahab made, what impression it produced on him or his people, Holy Scripture, in its Divine self-consciousness and sublime indifference to what may be called "effect," does not condescend even to notice. Nay, here also silence is best—and the prophet himself must withdraw as suddenly as he had come, hide himself from human ken, not be within reach of question or answer, and let God work, alone and unseen. An absolute pause with that thunder-cloud overhead—unremoved and apparently unremovable—in presence of which man and Baal shall be absolutely powerless: such was the fitting sequence to Elijah's announcement. A. E. 2-7. By God's command Elijah dwells for a year by the brook Cherith, and is fed by ravens. Eastward from Samaria, as bidden by the Lord, he goes, and conceals himself from the king's search by the brook Cherith, near the Jordan. Without question or hesitancy "he went and did according to the word of the Lord." The hiding was not of Elijah's seeking through lack of courage. It was at God's own bidding. During the long interval (three years) of drought, the prophet was to abide in seclusion. This concealment was for his personal protection from Ahab's vengeance, and for his relief from importunity by the suffering people. It was also that Elijah might have opportunity to put God's pledges of deliverance and help to actual test, and so be himself assured of His power and faithfulness; and that Jehovah might test and prove and confirm Elijah's faith during the three years' process of teaching and training him for the grand mission of his prolonged life. The prophet's first home was in one of the many caverns beneath the steep mountain-cliff, and beside the yet flowing brook. Here in solitary thought, and holding communion only with God, he waits further Divine direction. And God not only protects His servant in this hiding-place, but by means the most improbable, supernaturally provides him with bread and flesh. Morning and night, a whole year round, carrion birds, whose instinct is to snatch away meat from others, who even abandon their own young to God's care (Job 38 : 41), whose rapacity and greed are notably excessive, are constrained to deny their own natures, and bring the best of their getting for the prophet's sustenance. And this surpassing marvel, whatever else its design for those that read the story, brought sustenance to Elijah's spirit as well; for the daily visits of the ravens assured his faith of God's abiding presence, and confirmed his conviction that present inaction was his duty. So, too, in this quiet, solitary retreat God carried on a needful training process in the prophet's soul, preparing him for great achievement. B. God prepares men for great deeds by great trial, and tests His weapons severely before using. But these long years among the wild scenery of the desert were all building up character. Solitude is the mother country of the strong; and, in some form or other, every man who has done much for God and his fellows has had to be "in the deserts till the day of his shewing." A. M.—It is remarkable how God's elect messengers, each in his turn, have been sent "apart into a desert place to rest awhile." Moses must spend forty years in the great and terrible wilderness; must spend forty days and forty nights in Horeb, the Mount of God. Elijah himself only emerges from the Cherith to go to another hiding-place at Zarephath, and again he passes to the same wilderness and the same mount where Moses was. The Baptist's life was almost divided between the desert and the prison. Paul must learn his gospel in Arabia. Hammond. The desert was, from the time of Moses to the days of John the Baptist, the great school of the prophets. These men of God were trained for their work: 1. By being brought face to face with their sacred mission in all its greatness, and free from the prejudices and petty influences of human society. There they could steadfastly contemplate the Divine ideal, undistracted by the rude realities of man's fallen condition. 2. There they were also cut off from human aid, left to test their own strength, or rather to prove their own utter weakness, and, overwhelmed with the sense of it, to cast themselves wholly on Divine strength. Thus they received directly from God, as did Elijah, the supplies by which they lived, and realized the conditions of absolute and immediate trust in Him. 3. This loving converse of the prophets with their God brought them into closer fellowship, more intimate union, with Him. Thus they came forth from the desert, like Moses from the Mount of Sinai, bearing unconsciously upon them the reflection of His glory. As Paul says, "We, beholding as with open face the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. 3:18). Considerations like these have a fit application to the pastor, who ought to be much in solitary communion with God in order to be raised above the compromises of principle so common in society, and to get his whole nature permeated with Divine strength. Every Christian soul has in like manner a prophet's mission, and ought therefore often to seek the desert solitude in which the Invisible is brought near, and to frequent those sacred mountain-tops of prayer where the disciple, like the Master, renews his strength. E. de P. To Elijah it may have been of the utmost consequence to see that, in the very moment of his severest trial, nature and the God of nature were on his side; and nothing could more effectually convey that lesson to him than the service of these unclean and ravenous birds. Morning after morning, evening after evening, bread and flesh were there. Could he fail to remember the manna and the quails with which God had of old fed His people in their wanderings, or the streams of water with which in the desert He had quenched their thirst? His position was precisely analogous to theirs. In such circumstances the old histories of his nation would unquestionably come back upon him with renewed freshness and power. In like manner would the living God now deal with him. There was strength, comfort, joy, hope, in the thought. W. M. 8-16. By another Divine command, Elijah abides for two years and a half with the widow of Zarephath. His prediction to Ahab had come to pass. Moisture had ceased to fall from heaven. The earth was scorched, and its herbage withered. The flow of the rivulets was checked, and the streams were dried. And God will not open an unfailing spring to give the prophet's brook miraculous supply; for this would cross His purpose toward the people, and attract unwelcome visitors to the place of Elijah's concealment. So the word of the Lord bade him take the long journey (forty miles) to Zarephath or Sarepta, a town on the seacoast between Tyre and Sidon. There in Jezebel's heathen land he could dwell, safe alike from Ahab's violence or importunity; while the horror of the famine was deepening, and the anguish of the people becoming more intense. As before God had said of the ravens, so here He assures the prophet, "I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee." In either case He secured the fulfilment of His word by methods and influences suited to the instrument or the agent employed. So He ever chooses fitting agents, instruments, and opportunities for the bringing of His will to pass. True to His purpose, fulfilling only His will, are all conjunctions of events. Therefore at the moment of Elijah's arrival at the gate of Sarepta, behold the widow woman was there, gathering sticks for the cooking of her last meal. Weary and famished with his long foot travel, he is yet alert to discover if this be his appointed helper. The woman's instant movement in response to his simple request for water, was indication enough to induce his further request for bread. The solemn asseveration of the woman at the outset of her answer, "As the Lord thy God liveth," shows that she recognized Elijah as an Israelite, and a servant of the God of Israel; and in her whole touching reply the inspired prophet saw that this was the woman to whom he had been sent. A special inspiration directed his response—a response which sharply tested, while it stimulated and encouraged, the woman's faith. "Supply my hunger first out of the little thou hast, and afterward prepare for thyself and for thy son. For the Lord God of Israel hath said that thy meal shall not waste, nor thy cruse of oil fail, until the Lord send rain upon the earth." Taking the word of Elijah as the word of the living God, without a moment's doubt or demur, with a faith of kindred simplicity and sublimity to the faith of that other Phoenician mother who victoriously wrestled in pleading with Christ, "she went and did according to the saying of Elijah." In the utterly self-consecrating spirit of the poor widow who in Christ's presence gave her little all for the Temple service, this widowed mother willingly denied herself and her son their little remnant of food, that she might give to the man of God, in the assured trust that the Lord would make full return. And in thus doing, "she bore as nobly as Elijah all tests brought to bear on her faith. He could truly have said, 'I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.' Consequently, to none of the many widows of Israel was Elijah sent save to her." Thus signally anticipating the New Testament spirit, and proving the New Testament truth that "there is that scattereth and yet increaseth," "she and he and her house" for two and a half years were fed from the unwasting barrel of meal and the unfailing cruse of oil. So God commanded a blessing upon her ready trust and willing obedience to His word, as spoken by the mouth of His servant. And so He prepared a restful home for the lonely prophet. Through undisturbed communion with God, and long study of His ways with His people, and of the course that people had pursued and were pursuing, the prophet's training in faith and fortitude, in consecration and courage, was advanced. Thus was he girded with needful inward might for his sublime mission as the sole champion of Jehovah against the rebellious court and people of Israel. B. It is difficult to know which most to wonder at: Elijah's calmness, consistency, and readiness of faith, or the widow's almost incredible simplicity of trustfulness. Elijah did not hesitate to go on with the trial of his hostess to the end; least of all, was he afraid of the possible consequences. As in every real trial of our trust, there was first a general promise, and, on the ground of it, a specific demand, followed by an assurance to conquering faith ("the cad of meal shall not come to an end, nor the cruse of oil fail"). But, if it was as he told her, why this demand in its sharply trying severity: first, to use for Elijah part of the very little she had, and to bring it to him, and only after that to go back and prepare for herself and her son? Needless, indeed, the trial would seem, except as a test of her faith; yet not a mere test, since if she stood it and inherited the promise, it would be such confirmation of it, such help and blessing to her—alike spiritually and temporally —as to constitute the beginning of a new life. And so it ever is; and therefore does every specific demand upon our faith stand between a general promise and a special assurance, that, resting upon the one, we may climb the other; and thus every specific trial—and every trial is also one of our faith—may become a fresh starting-point in the spiritual life. And the widow of Sarepta obeyed. It requires no exercise of imagination to realize what her difficulties in so doing must have been. One thing at least is clear: that this heathen woman, whose knowledge of Jehovah could only have been rudimentary and incipient, and who yet, at the word of a stranger, could give up her own and her son's last meal, because a prophet had bidden it, and promised her miraculous supply for the future, must have had the most simple childlike trustfulness in the God of Israel. What a lesson this, and how full of comfort, to Elijah! There was faith not only in Israel, but wherever He had planted its seed. Elijah had spread the wings of the God of Israel's promise (1 K. 17:14), and this poor heathen had sought shelter under them. There, almost hourly these many "days," the promise proved true, and, day by day, as when Israel gathered the manna in the wilderness, did an unseen Hand provide—and that not only for herself and her son, but for all "her household." It was a constant miracle; but then we need, and we have a God who doeth wonders—not one of the idols of the heathen nor yet a mere abstraction, but the Living and the True God. And we need in our Bible such a history as this, to give us the pledge of personal assurance, when our hearts well-nigh sink within us in the bitter trials of life—something which to all time may serve as evidence that Jehovah reigneth, and that we can venture our all upon it. And yet as great as this miracle of daily providing seems that other of the faith of the widow of Sarepta! A. E. Elijah must learn that the God of Israel had a wider plan, and was animated by a larger and more universal love than he supposed. Such is the point of view under which we are to regard the narrative occupying the remainder of this chapter. Our Lord has Himself given us its key. When, at the close of His first sermon in Nazareth, His hearers would have demanded of Him that, whatsoever they had heard of as done at Capernaum, He should do also in His own country, He replied, "Of a truth I say unto you, There were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there came a great famine over all the land; and unto none of them was Elijah sent, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow." These words disclose the light in which we are to look at the incident as recorded here. Not the sustenance afforded by the widow to the prophet, but that afforded through the prophet to her and to her child, is intended to occupy our thoughts. Not the lesson of dependence upon God is that now taught him whom the Almighty was preparing for His coming work, but the further lesson that, however he may have thought of judgment only as his work, he had a mission of mercy to perform and one too of the widest and most comprehensive kind. W. M. The purpose of God in sending Elijah to the poor widow was to show him, before he entered on the great conflict with idolatry, that he had at his disposal a Divine power which nothing would be able to resist. Elijah was, so to speak, to prove his arms, far from human observation, BY A PASSAGE OF DEEP PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. Hence the double miracle of the barrel of meal and the cruse of oil always full. Hence, yet more distinctly, that glorious miracle of the raising of the widow's son by the prophet. This miracle had no witnesses; nor must we marvel at this. God does not perform miracles to fascinate onlookers; He does not make a spectacle of His marvellous working. His glory is sufficiently magnified in the deliverance of a humble believer, like the widow of Sarepta, and in the qualification of the prophet for his mission. Jesus Christ refused to work any miracles for show, and the sublimest manifestations of His power were reserved for humble hearts and lowly dwellings. Elijah has learned to know the strength of God which is in him; he has proved it in the secrecy of his soul. This intimate personal experience of the grace of God is of incomparable value to His servants. If we would have Divine strength to use in the great conflict with sin around us, we must prove its miraculous energy in our private life. And let us remember also that our homes may be the scene of the mightiest manifestations of the grace of God, and of the most signal providential deliverances, if only our hearts be open to Him in humility and love, like the heart of the widow of Sarepta. E. de P. 17-24. Most touching and instructive is this incident of the restoration to life of the widow's dead son. Her sore grief, wakening her conscience to a sense of past sin, leads her to expostulate earnestly with the prophet, as the one who had brought this great calamity upon her. Elijah makes her no reply, but takes that very expostulation to God and pleads in her behalf. Here is the same boldness with God that he showed with king and people. But, in both cases, it is a holy boldness that came of an invincible faith in the promise and power of God. His pleading is like that of Moses, as personal and bold. He asked for a miracle directly involving creative power; one that had never before been wrought—a life to be given back from death. He asked it without condition or limitation. And God heard and answered the prayer. He restored life to the dead child. What a basis of unsurpassed faith had this bold entreaty! How grandly it illustrates the marvellous promise of Christ concerning the uprooting of mountains in response to such full living faith! The result not only rejoiced the mother's heart, but won a fuller confession of faith, and wrought a deeper experience of trust in this Divine restorer. The true end of miracles, which is the confirmation of truth, was attained in the case of this half-taught but God-fearing woman. B. 17. Not from the thought of any particular transgression of which she had been guilty, but because the tokens of something Divine were immediately before her eyes, did the widow of Zarephath turn to Elijah with the cry, "Thou art come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son." W. M. In the agony of prayer he cast this burden upon his God. Three times—as when the name of Jehovah is laid in blessing on His people (Num. 6:24), and as when the Seraphim raise their voice of praise (Isa. 6:3)—he stretched himself in symbolic action upon the child, calling upon Jehovah as his God; laying the living upon the dead, pouring his life, as it were, into the child, with the agony of believing prayer. But it was Jehovah who restored the child to life, hearkening to the voice of His servant. A. E. Instead of chiding the Sareptan, out of the fervency of his soul he humbly expostulates with his God. His only remedy is in his prayer: that which shut heaven for rain must open it for life. Every word enforceth; first he pleads his interest in God, "O Lord my God;" then the quality of the patient, a "widow," and therefore both most distressed with the loss and most peculiar to the charge of the Almighty; then his interest, as in God, so in this patient, "With whom I sojourn," as if the stroke were given to himself; and lastly, the quality of the punishment, "By slaying her son," the only comfort of her life. Neither doth his tongue move thus only. Thrice doth he stretch himself upon the dead body, as if he could wish to infuse of his own life into the child; and so often calls to his God for the restitution of that soul. What can Elijah ask, to be denied? "The Lord heard the voice of the prophet; the soul of the child came into him again and he revived." What miracle is impossible to faithful prayers? There cannot be more difference betwixt Elijah's devotion and ours than betwixt supernatural and ordinary acts; if he therefore obtained miraculous favors by his prayers, do we doubt of those which are within the sphere of nature and use? What could we want if we did not slack to ply heaven with our prayers? Bp. H. Remember that the most marked characteristic of Elijah was the indomitable character of his faith. Our Lord says, "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the VIOLENT TAKE IT BY FORCE." Now Elijah was one of those who take the kingdom of heaven by force—who storm its crystal walls in unconquerable faith, and batter them with prayers that will not be denied. To use fitly the compulsive prayers of Elijah, it is needful to have Elijah's faith—just as only one who wrestles till break of day as Jacob did, could dare to say, "I WILL NOT let thee go, except thou bless me." Kitto. The effect was what might have been anticipated; whatever may have been the widow's doubts before, she could resist no longer. Surely the presence and power of a far greater God than any she had ever known were there. She recognized Him of whom she had often heard, the Lord God of Elijah; and, in the spirit of the Galilean nobleman whose son Jesus restored to life, she exclaimed to the prophet, "Now I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth." W. M.—Doubtless, what her meal and oil had assured her of, the death of her son made her to doubt; and now, reviving, did reascertain. Even the strongest faith sometimes staggereth, and needeth new acts of heavenly supportation. The end of miracles is confirmation of truth. It seems had this widow's son continued dead her belief had been buried in his grave; notwithstanding her meal and her oil, her soul had languished. The mercy of God is fain to provide new helps for our infirmities, and graciously condescends to our own terms, that we may work out our faith and salvation. Bp. H. The incident is valuable as exhibiting the element of deep tenderness which there was in this stern prophet of the Restoration, and which is so often found blended with great severity. It is the principal instance in which this obverse of Elijah's character is presented. Obedience, tender sympathy, terrible severity, heroic courage, deep despondency—what wonderful elements were blended into this magnificent character! Allon. The chapter is specially fruitful in distinctive suggestions. Elijah's whole story, in keeping with its beginning here, is a succession of marvels requiring a faith and courage as marvellous. The secret, alike of his boldness and fortitude, is told by James (5:17). He was only a man, but a man whose faith in God's promise was habitually exercised in the largest petitions. He literally obeyed the command, Open thy mouth wide and I will fill it. B.—Is it any wonder that Elijah was strong in the faith? He did as he was told. He found it as it was promised. And his faith grew in its exercise, as it always does. The flower in growing turns every atom of its nourishment into its own substance; bringing it forth again in its healthful growth, its fragrance and its beauty. So is it with faith in God. It must "grow by what it feeds on." It must turn the teachings of the Word and the little incidents of daily life into the elements of its growth, its strength, its fragrance and its beauty. W. Newton. God sends prophets and revelations; He disposes the events of Providence; He discloses the philosophy of history; He puts men under every sort of probation, that they may learn simply and steadfastly to confide in Him. Ahab and Jezebel, with the wealth of the world at their feet, made utter shipwreck of life for want of this faith alone. Elijah became an immortal hero because he possessed this one overwhelming power. Nor is the reason far to seek. Faith unites men to God, makes them will His will, and eventually opens to them all His infinite resources. All things belong to believers—all, because they are Christ's, and Christ is God's. McPherson. A life of activity needs, as a preparation or as a counterpoise and restorative, its times of retirement and prayerful thought. So was it with Elijah and other ancient leaders of God's people. So was it even with Christ, for His comfort and support. The still hour of quiet thought and devout communion with our heavenly Father fills the soul with light, girds it with strength, and cheers it with hope and serene, glad trust. In emergencies of duty and peril God adequately protects and delivers His servants. Yet He requires their endeavors to concur with His plans, even in their deliverances. Elijah must seek and keep his hiding-place; and change it too, when God wills. God provides for the obedient and trustful in all circumstances and under every vicissitude of experience. When He suffers the brook to fail, from other and ample resources He continues needful supplies. "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you." God's ordinary methods of provision, under the force of what we call laws of nature, are intrinsically far more wonderful than the peculiar and occasional method of miracle. In the daily production of meal and oil just sufficient for the household needs of the day, even though continued for two years, there was far less of exertion and of actual product than in the manifold complicated processes through which their supply had been wontedly provided. So that if the miraculous method reminded this little household, as it did the Israelites for forty years, of God's daily bounty, much more forcibly should His varied, wide-extended and vastly complicated natural processes recall His abundant goodness, impress the sense of our dependence, and prompt the assured expectation of full answer to our habitual petition, "Give us day by day our daily bread." Trial and suffering, whether visited upon a nation or an individual, are mercifully designed to recall a forgotten God, to impress a sense of guilt, to awaken the desire and prompt the purpose of return to an unforgetting, loving Father. B.—If we were never afflicted on account of sin, we should soon cease to feel its evil nature. God has, therefore, connected misery with sin, and the children of God, when afflicted, are reminded of sin as the cause; while they are also led to search out their own sin in particular, and to inquire why their affliction came upon them. Thus the widow asked Elijah, "Why hast thou brought my sin to remembrance?" R. Hall. Two unsurpassed illustrations are here recorded of the prevalent might of believing importunate prayer. It "turns the key of the clouds," first to close and afterward to open their treasures, and it brings back the dead to life. It is instructive to note that Christ endorses the truth of this history. He refers to the shutting of the heavens for three years and six months, and the consequent famine. He also affirms that Elijah was "sent to a woman of Sarepta, that was a widow" (Luke 4: 25, 26). B.—The reference of our Lord to this history shows these three things: that the entertainment of Elijah was a distinguishing honor conferred on the widow of Sarepta, that it proved of real spiritual benefit to her, and that it implied that God had purposes of grace beyond the narrow bounds of Israel, unbelieving as it was—in the language of St. Paul, that He was not the God of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles (Rom. 3: 29). May we not go a step farther and see in this mission of Elijah to and entertainment by a heathen widow an anticipation at least of the announcement of that "Kingdom of God," in its world-wide bearing, which formed part of the message of his antitype, John the Baptist? A. E. The mission of God is wider than we think. Children of God are to be found scattered where, left to ourselves, we should hardly seek for them. There is a covenant beyond the covenant. There are those who are "of God," who are "of the truth," in scenes where we imagine that those only are to be met with who are the children of idolatry and falsehood. No one can rightly do the work of God, even in any limited sphere in which he may have been placed, until he has learned that there is something wider than that sphere, and that to the establishment of the wider, not the narrower, all the plans of God ultimately tend. We cannot worship truly in the temple built with hands unless we recognize the fact that there is a temple built without hands. We cannot really love our neighbor unless we own a neighbor in every child of Adam. And we cannot successfully serve the Israel of God unless we feel that those as yet beyond that Israel are also the objects of our heavenly Father's love, and that He would have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. The lesson thus impressed upon Elijah by his being sent to Zarephath was one of infinite importance, and it is a part of the great truth everywhere imbedded in the Old Testament, though not clearly seen in every age, that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was also the God of the whole earth, and that His salvation was from the beginning designed to be universal. W. M. Admitting the historic occurrence of miracles, those recorded in the history of Elijah are in singular harmony with the general plan and purpose of miracles as the outward material sign and signal of prophetic character and mission; as also with the peculiar character of the crisis with which Elijah's mission was connected. The Old Testament history has naturally and necessarily its crises of miracle, as in the two great distinctive missions of Moses and Elijah. That these should be signalized by special miracle is only in harmony with the entire conception. All the miracles wrought by Elijah have a significant religious purpose. They are in harmony with their occasions, and they are incorporated in a history of remarkable simplicity, directness, and elevation. If the historic character of the miraculous be admitted at all, the miracles wrought by Elijah carry the presumption of singular congruity. Allon. In the Bible even the supernatural—we may say it without a paradox—is most natural. It is in such true keeping with the times, with the events and doctrines it attests, with all the surrounding historical circumstances as they are narrated, that we almost lose the feeling of the supernatural in the admirable harmony and consistency of the ideas and scenes presented. It seems to be just what might have been exexpected; it would be strange that it should be otherwise; the marvellous here is the presumptive, the extraordinary becomes the easy of belief. The supernatural assumes the familiar appearance of the natural, and God's coming down to us and speaking to us seem less incredible than that far-off silence which, though so unbroken for our sense, is so perplexing and unaccountable to our reason. T. L. In comparing the raisings of the dead on the part of the Saviour with those of the prophets on the one hand and those of the apostles on the other, there comes into view a remarkable distinction as well as a beautiful agreement. The Saviour's raisings of the dead are attended with an exalted composure and majesty, and an acting from His own completeness of might, before which there wholly vanishes that tension and strain of all the powers of the soul which we observe, more or less, in the prophets and apostles. What to us appears supernatural, for Him appears the highest nature. Van O 1. AND it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah, in the 2 third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. And 3 Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And the famine was sore in Samaria. And Ahab 4 called Obadiah, which was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly; 5 for it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred 6 prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab 7 said unto Obadiah, Go through the land, unto all the fountains of water, and unto all the 8 brooks: peradventure we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, that we lose 9 not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab 10 went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. And as Obadiah 11 was in the way, behold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, 12 Is it thou, my lord Elijah? And he answered him, It is I: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah 13 is here. And he said, Wherein have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into 14 the hand of Ahab, to slay me? As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, 15 whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not here, he took 16 an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell 17 thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, 18 that the spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell 19 Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me; but I thy servant fear the LORD from my 20 youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, 21 how I hid an hundred men of the LORD's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with 22 bread and water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he 23 shall slay me. And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will 16 surely shew myself unto him to-day. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and 17 Ahab went to meet Elijah. And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said 18 unto him, Is it thou, thou troubler of Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, 19 and thou hast followed the Baalim. Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the 20 Asherah four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. So Ahab sent unto all the children of 21 Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said, How long-halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow 22 him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, am left a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets 23 are four hundred and fifty men. Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no 24 fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under. And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well 25 spoken. And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under. 26 And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no 27 voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped about the altar which was made. And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must 28 be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and 29 lances, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; but there was neither voice, 30 nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me; and all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD 31 that was thrown down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be 32 thy name. And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD; and he made a 33 trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. And he put the 34 wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt offering, and on the wood. And he said, Do it the second time; and they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time; and 35 they did it the third time. And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench 36 also with water. And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening oblation, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, O LORD, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I 37 have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may 38 know that thou, LORD, art God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the 39 dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they 40 fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is God; the LORD, he is God. And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took 41 them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of 42 rain. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; 43 and he bowed himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees. And he said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, 44 There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a cloud out of the sea, as small as a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Make ready thy chariot, and get thee down, that the 45 rain stop thee not. And it came to pass in a little while, that the heaven grew black with 46 clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. Introductory. The preparatory work of the famine had now been accomplished in the hearts of king and people. Ample proof had been afforded in their fearful experience. They had abundant reason now to know that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, incontestably and absolutely controlled the clouds of heaven and all the processes of nature. They might have inferred that to Him, and not to Baal, pertained all creative, sustaining and reproductive might; that He made the sun to shine, and that as and when He would He gathered the clouds and bade them dispense the rain. In the thought of the thoughtful among the people there must have been some realization of their grave offence against this living omnipotent God; an offence of which their protracted suffering was the consequence and the punishment. Ahab, too, beside the terrible experience in which he and his court had shared, in addition to these lessons that the people had learned, had been further prepared for coming events. His search for the prophet, even through all neighboring kingdoms, had been vain. He had been utterly foiled in his murderous purpose against Elijah. Meanwhile the prophet's word had been unvaryingly fulfilled season after season and year after year. It must now have impressed even his haughty heart that Jehovah had indeed spoken by Elijah, and that Jehovah had protected his brave, true servant. So the purposed preparative work of the famine was now complete. B. History is a record of great epochs. An individual, a nation, or a church is estimated by what it is at its greatest. We judge Greece by the age of Pericles, Rome by the age of Augustus; they are not the common acts of a life, or the common lives of a nation, but their greatest acts and lives, which determine its place and power. The age of Elijah was such an epoch in the history of Israel; it was part of a manifold development of which itself was the crown. His personality is as distinct, as great, and as influential as that of any character in the history of Israel, Moses only excepted. His individuality is so marked and unique that while there is but little in common between him and Samuel and David, he claims equal rank with both, and there is no other to be named with them. The dramatic character and conditions of his appearance and work make him in some respects a more remarkable personage than either. By his individual prophetic power he arrested the idolatrous course and revolutionized the religious character of the entire nation. He found Ahab and Jezebel bent upon the establishment of idolatry, and the theistic feeling of the people so utterly decayed that he thought it extinct. By his single word, lofty, uncompromising, and authoritative, he defeated the strenuous policy of the weak king and his able, subtle, and unscrupulous wife, and turned the entire tide of national feeling, recalling the people for the time to repentance, and to the renewed acknowledgment of Jehovah. The entire conception of the man, his grandeur of character, his heroic achievements, his dauntless fidelity, and the dramatic form and romantic coloring of his history, have no parallel in literature. We have only to recall the equally detailed histories of Samuel and Elisha to realize how much deeper and more vivid the impression which Elijah makes, how much more heroic and potent his prophetic force. Allon. 1-4. Three years and a half had elapsed since the sudden appearance and startling prediction of Elijah to Ahab. God's time had come to send rain upon the dry and barren soil of Israel. We have already learned (from James 5:17) what part Elijah's intercession had in the sending, as his prayer had in the withholding. But God will put honor on the prophet by making good his word in the presence of the king and people. Therefore the command, "Go, show thyself to Ahab." Always obedient, the prophet leaves his quiet home at Sarepta, and fearlessly goes to find the king. Readily and speedily is Ahab found through another of those divinely ordered coincidences of which the Bible history and every personal life is full. B. 3. Over the household.** It is scarcely less strange to find Ahab employing Obadiah than to find Obadiah serving under Ahab. Whether he knew of Obadiah's faith may be uncertain, but we may be sure that he had proved his fidelity. It was because Obadiah was "faithful in all his house" that he was retained in this position. It was not to Ahab's interest to have a Baal-worshipper at the head of his retainers. Bad men do not care to be served by their kind. They pay piety and probity the compliment—such as it is—of encouraging it in their dependents and children. 4. Only the power of God could keep men holy in Ahab's or Nero's palace.** Coleridge has somewhere said that there are two classes of Christian evidences—Christianity and Christendom; the system in itself, its pure morality, its beneficent teachings, and its results, its conquests, and achievements in the world. For it is altogether beyond the power of human nature to work the moral changes which Christianity has wrought either to convert men or to preserve them from falling. If men could be saints in Ahab's and Nero's palace, they may be saints anywhere. How constantly do men plead the adverse circumstances in which they are placed as a reason why they cannot serve God! Sometimes it is a godless street or wicked hamlet; sometimes it is an irreligious household or infidel workshop; or their trade is such, their employers or associates are such, that they cannot live a godly life. But the example of Obadiah, the example of those saints of the Praetorium, convicts them of untruth and of cowardice. They cannot have greater temptations or fiercer persecutions than befell those Roman Christians. If they proved steadfast and lived in sweetness and purity, which of us cannot do the same wherever we may be placed? Hammond. Take history through and through, and it will be found that the men and women who have most devoutly and honestly feared God have done most to defend and save the countries in which they lived. They have made little noise, but their influence has silently penetrated the national life, and secured for the land the loving and mighty care of God. Where the spiritual life is profound and real, the social and political influence is correspondingly vital and beneficent. A hidden work is continually going on; the people in the shade are strengthening the social foundation. J. P. 5, 6. The search for grass throughout the land by Ahab and Obadiah. They had divided the land in an endeavor to "find grass to save" the remnant of the king's horses and mules. Obadiah was the chief steward in charge of the royal household, and, as his name purports, was a servant of Jehovah. Him only, it would seem, Ahab could trust to share with himself in making careful and thorough search for this greatly needed food. They had departed probably from Jezreel, where Ahab had built a palace, in which he spent much of his time. 7-16. The meeting and interview of Elijah with Obadiah. This must have occurred soon after the parting of Obadiah from Ahab, and not far from Jezreel. For on the same day Obadiah overtook Ahab, and the king returned to meet Elijah, who had awaited his coming. The meeting of the prophet with the steward was not an accident, but a prearranged providence. So is every minute conjunction of events through which the casual every-day meetings of men are brought about. This is the true idea and meaning of providence. It is God's purpose carried out in all actual events. Obadiah at once recognized Elijah; partly perhaps by his strange mantle of skins, but more by the lofty demeanor of the prophet of God. With a reverence befitting a kingly presence, he salutes him with a kingly title. "Art thou here, my lord Elijah?" In his reply the prophet transfers the title to Ahab. "Tell him who is thy lord that Elijah awaits him here." The main point of the steward's rejoinder (verses 9-14) is the fear lest Elijah might not remain there to be found of Ahab, and so the king's wrath would be turned against Obadiah, for failing to apprehend the prophet. For well he knew how intense was Ahab's desire to find Elijah. This he declares to the prophet. He tells him how Ahab has caused search for him to be made among the neighboring kingdoms of Tyre and Moab, and even in Judah. To bring Ahab there to be disappointed was to ensure his own destruction. Obadiah did not doubt Elijah's word, but simply thought that God might direct him to go elsewhere, so that Ahab would not find him. For this had been the case already, in his sudden appearance at and disappearance from the palace. But to assure Elijah that his hesitation in bearing the message to Ahab did not come from unwillingness to serve Jehovah or His prophet even at great personal risk, Obadiah affirms his life-long loyalty to the God of Israel. And he simply states how, at the hazard of his own life, he had rescued a hundred of the Lord's prophets from the murderous pursuit of the fierce, vindictive Jezebel. The prophets here referred to were men whom God had raised up in considerable numbers from time to time, as successors of those originally trained in the schools of Samuel. They did not, like Samuel, prophesy or offer sacrifice, nor were they entrusted with special messages or errands from Jehovah. Their office was of a more private nature. They read and expounded the law and the ways of the Lord to individuals and families who retained their integrity and loyalty to Him. And it was through their fidelity to this trust that even in these times of universal and aggravated wickedness there remained yet in Israel seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal. These faithful ministers Jezebel sought to destroy, and many of them she had slaughtered. A hundred of them, Obadiah, who knew them well and had been taught by them, had saved from the slaughter. Obadiah's present fear, though standing out in such marked contrast with Elijah's fearlessness, argues nothing against the reality of his faith. The crisis of peril was so great that, like Peter in the high priest's hall, his courage was for the time overcome by it. He needed only the assurance, which Elijah gave him at once, confirming it with an oath, to convince him that the prophet's direction was the Lord's will. And instantly, without another word, he went to overtake Ahab, and bear the message of Elijah. "And Ahab went to meet Elijah." The form of oath (verse 15) used by Elijah, As the Lord of Hosts liveth, frequently repeated in the subsequent Old Testament history, enfolds truths of exceeding sublimity and comfort. Transcendently incomparable with the armies of earth, the Hosts of heaven are ever in array before their King, and ever ready for the protection or deliverance of those who represent Him and His cause among men. This was the thought that inspired and sustained the soul of Elijah, the thought that may well inspire and sustain the heart of every true and faithful servitor of the Lord of the heavenly Hosts. As He liveth, said the devoted prophet, expressing an assurance that needed no evidence, that admitted no question. To our hearts, cherishing the same comforting assurance, comes in later times that more cheering and satisfying utterance of Jehovah Jesus, Because I live, ye shall live also! The further phrase, "before whom I stand," repeated in verse 15, well expresses the prophet's habitual attitude of soul. Ever consciously in Jehovah's presence, ever mindful of that presence, ever desiring and seeking to know His will, and ever ready and glad to execute that will, this was Elijah's habit of mind and heart. And this is the true abiding state of every faithful believer and trustful follower of the sustaining, faithful Jehovah Jesus, our God and Saviour. B. 10. Whatever may have been the case with the people, there is every reason to believe that no salutary result had been produced in the mind of the king. None knew so well as he why the suffering had been sent; but he closed his heart against conviction, and with the vain folly of persecutors in every age, he sought to wreak his vengeance upon those who had warned him of approaching punishment instead of repenting of the sin by which the punishment had been provoked. He made every effort to discover the hiding-place of Elijah. W. M. 12. One sentence which Ahab's chamberlain uttered to Elijah helps us in a measure to ununderstand Obadiah's constancy to the ancient religion of Israel, "I, thy servant, fear the Lord from my youth." Ahab and his fellow-idolaters had much to contend against ere Obadiah could be perverted. The earliest impressions are commonly the most lasting. Principles firmly rooted in childhood or early youth will be torn up by no ordinary tempest, and may even withstand the violence of an extraordinary storm. M. J. 15. The distinctive inspiration of Elijah was religious conviction and sentiment, and not mere patriotism. Against all the organized powers and social forces of his age he stands in the simple might of his religious convictions. Through all history no inspiration has been so mighty. The impelling and sustaining force of patriotism, of natural affection even, gives place to that of religion. The sense of Divine supremacy, the depth and sanctity of religious feeling, and the strength of religious conviction, together with the consciousness of a Divine commission, and the involuntary reverence inspired by it, have over and over again made weak and solitary men revolutionary powers in society. Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Peter, Paul, are among the instances in sacred story; Athanasius, Ambrose, Mahomet, Huss, Wycliffe, Savonarola, Luther, "the solitary monk that shook the world," Calvin, John Knox, are among those of later religious history. Among them Elijah, although not the first, is perhaps the supreme instance. No man ever fought the battle of God against greater odds or under more arduous conditions, or achieved a more signal and momentous victory. No inspiration that human experience knows is so noble and strong and irresistible as religious inspiration, and the purer the religious faith the greater is its power. 16. It is to be noted that it is Elijah who summons Ahab to the interview which follows; and that under the pressure of terrible necessity, as well as of the awe which the prophetic and religious character of Elijah produced upon him, and urged by Obadiah, he at once complies. Elijah's lofty message is, "Behold, Elijah is here." "And Ahab went to meet Elijah." Allon. 17, 18. The meeting of the false-hearted king and the true-hearted prophet. It was a meeting of two strong-willed spirits, the one hardened by his own multiplied iniquities, the other girded by the might of truth and of unswerving devotion to the will of Jehovah. Yet the guilty king dares to assume the side of right in charging evil upon God's prophet. Is it thou, he asks, thou troubler of Israel? His question shows an utterly unhumble heart, a persistent strength of rebellious will that indicates great natural force of character. Ahab was not the pliant man, the wife-ruled monarch, so often mistakenly represented. The tremendous charge involved in his bold question to the prophet was the natural utterance of a stern, haughty, thoroughly self-willed man. But Elijah's answer reveals a nature of even sterner structure—a will of even greater strength, re-enforced by a Divine power and sustained by a conscious Divine inspiration. Sharply, without any form of deference, in the name of Jehovah he hurls back the infamous charge upon the conscience of the man. As with the voice and authority of God, the King of kings, he denounces this royal blasphemer as the Achan, the real troubler of God's people, Israel. Thou and thy father's house have brought these terrible calamities upon the nation! And as distinctly he denounces the stupendous sin of sins, because of which these fearful judgments had been wrought. Ye have forsaken the Commandments of the Lord, and THOU (concentrating the whole crime upon Ahab himself) hast followed Baalim! As Samuel with Saul, Nathan with David, John with Herod, and Paul with Felix, so Elijah deals personally with the man, the royal sinner, Ahab. Thou hast overthrown the altars and worship of the Lord thy God, the God of Israel! Thou hast defiled the heart of thy people by bringing in the abominations and corruptions of Baal-worship! Conscious guilt seals the monarch's lips. No word of reply does he utter then or afterward. Admitting the truth of Elijah's burning words, and knowing that all hope of help for himself and his people must come through this prophet of Jehovah, he silently listens to the command that follows. And without word of demur, he proceeds to obey it. B. 18. Yes, here was the arch-sinner and true troubler of Israel, and not he who was the mere voice of the Divine rebuke and judgment. Elijah denounced the sin, but Ahab committed it; Elijah announced the coming drought, but Ahab provoked the scourge; Elijah pronounced the Divine curse, but Ahab's crimes deserved and compelled it. There are many who falsely conceive the source of trouble, and many more who falsely represent it. Pierson. 19-29. For sublime heroism of trust and deed, nothing in human history can match this prophet of God in this ever-memorable scene. Among the grander triumphs of faith recounted in the pean of Heb. 11 none can surpass the story of this intense, unfaltering, mighty spirit. Few can equal his entireness of consecration to Jehovah, and his complete devotion to his strange, great mission. Remember the burdening conviction resting on his heart, that he alone was left of all the Lord's ministers; and that there were none of all the people who would avow themselves on the Lord's side. Jealous, he was, for the Lord of Hosts; yet grieving over the guilt and peril of Israel. Thus alone and thus burdened, he yet quietly confronts an angry king, a hating priesthood, and an unfriendly people. Panoplied only with truth and fealty to God, he stands before the vast host with a calmness, a dignity, and an undaunted courage that evinced true royalty of soul, and the most absolute, sublime trust in Jehovah. And he stands avowedly for God. Jehovah's controversy with His people, in mercy prolonged from age to age, Elijah conducts in this eventful issue as the divinely appointed advocate and champion. 19,20. Israel convened at Carmel by Ahab, at Elijah's direction. Mount Carmel is a high ridge, running sixteen miles southeast from the sea, with an elevation of six hundred to seventeen hundred feet. It forms the principal western boundary of the great plain of Esdraelon. About four miles from the eastern extremity near its highest summit, and not far from the river Kishon flowing along its base, was the place of gathering. The conformation of the ground was suited to the purpose, and had been used for worship by the adjacent tribes before the Temple had been erected. The foundation of an altar to Jehovah still remained. The place, if not central, was convenient and easy of access to the people of the ten tribes. For all lines of travel east and west of the Jordan converged upon the great thoroughfare traversing the plain. As one having authority from the King of kings, proven to be God's vicegerent by the accomplishment of his previous prediction of long drought to Ahab, Elijah explicitly commands Ahab to gather all Israel with the idolatrous prophets to a meeting with him. And the strong heart of the angry king, being in God's hands and turned as He would, quailed before the might of truth and of God manifest in the prophet. As if Elijah were the sovereign and he the subject, Ahab obeys the command. He was so far convinced that Elijah was a Divine messenger, and so desirous that the interdict might be removed, that both fear and hope constrained his unquestioning obedience. So a vast multitude from all the land were gathered together with Ahab and the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. But not the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who were supported by Jezebel, as the priests of her own palace-worship. The Asherah refers to a pillar-shaped image upon which was concentrated the worship of Ashtaroth, the female deity, as Baal was the male. Intense abhorrence is attached in the Bible to the meaning and the rites of this most abominable worship. Jezebel suffered not these to go with Ahab; nor did she go herself. B.—Jezebel had introduced the female as well as the male divinity, so that nothing might be wanting to the complete observance of the worship to which she had been trained at home. The staff of priests, eight hundred and fifty for the two divinities, shows what an outlay was made for the perfection of the idolatrous rites. Lumby. 20. The range of Carmel is about sixteen miles long, stretching back from the Mediterranean Sea in a southeast direction. The range rises as it recedes into the interior, being only some five or six hundred feet high at the lighthouse and convent on its western extremity, and perhaps seventeen hundred feet high near its eastern extremity, where it commands a view of the sea on the one side and the plain of Esdraelon on the other. A little to the east of the loftiest point of the ridge, high on the declivity looking toward Esdraelon and commanding the view of Jezreel, seems to have been the exact place of the contest. At the Kishon, which here flows by the mountain's base, Elijah slew the discomfited prophets of Baal, and then, from the place of the contest, near the mountain's summit, he prayed for rain—his servant climbing, in the intervals of prayer, to the outlook above, from which the prospect opened on the sea. N. C. B. On the promontory running into the sea stands the convent from which the celebrated order of Carmelites sprung, but the point of chief interest is the shapeless ruin at the eastern end of the ridge called by the Arabs "El Maharrakah" (the sacrifice), where in all probability stood "the altar of the Lord that was broken down," and which was repaired by Elijah on the occasion of his memorable conflict with the priests of Baal. Not far distant is a well which may have furnished water for the trenches round the altar, and in the plains below winds the Kishon, to which Elijah "brought down" the false prophets "and slew them there." Wilson. Carmel, one of the historical mountains of Palestine, is also one of its most striking natural ral features. Not a peak, like Hermon, nor a rounded hill, as Tabor: Carmel is a long ridge branching off from the mountains of Samaria, and running for sixteen miles southeast and northwest, forming a bold headland, the one indentation of the long straight coast-line of Palestine. It forms by its projection the Bay of Acre to the north, and runs out with a bold bluff, almost as precipitous as its eastern end, into the sea itself, leaving but a narrow strip of sand at its base. It thus stands as a wall between the maritime plain of Sharon on the south, and the more inland plain of Esdraelon on the north. It is nearly eighteen hundred feet high, but gently descends toward the western front of the bluff, which is not more than six hundred feet in height, while the eastern end is sixteen hundred feet above the sea. To the summit, at the very edge of the cliff, must have come Elijah's servant, while his master prayed on the terrace a hundred feet or more below, and sometimes returned to gaze, till over the distant Cyprus the little cloud at length arose portending the coming rain, exactly as it does now. From this spot a slippery path descends three hundred feet lower down to the Mohrakah, the "burning" or "the sacrifice." There is no village, no house, only a shapeless ruin; yet here the spot has a name, and the recollection of the miracle is imbedded in the Arabic nomenclature. It is a glade overlooking the plain, somewhat in the shape of an amphitheatre, and completely shut in on the north by the well-wooded cliffs. No place can be conceived more adapted by nature to be that wondrous battle-field of truth, where Elijah appealed to Israel, "How long halt ye between two opinions?" In front of the principal actors in the scene, with the king and his courtiers by their side, the thousands of Israel might have been gathered on the lower slopes, witnesses of the whole struggle to its stupendous result. The whole view from the summit of Carmel burst grandly upon us in a moment. We were standing on the edge of a cliff, from the base of which the mountain sank steeply down one thousand feet into the plain of Esdraelon, the battle-field of Israel. We looked down on a map of Central Palestine. The hewn stones among which we stood mark the site of the altar of the Lord which Jezebel overthrew and Elijah repaired. To this spot came Elijah's servant to look for the little cloud, which at length rose to the prophet's prayer, and portended the coming rain exactly as it does now. No site in Palestine is more indisputable than that of the little hollow in the knoll below us, where the Lord God of Elijah manifested His Divinity before Ahab and assembled Israel. The plain beneath us, though slightly inclining westward, appeared a dead flat, bounded on the north by the hills of Galilee, generally bare and woodless, and on the south by those of Samaria; with Mount Tabor rising proudly behind in the east and seeming almost to span the distance across from Galilee to Gilboa. We were overlooking the sites of the old cities of Jezreel, Megiddo, Shunem, Nain, and many others. Immediately below, on the banks of the Kishon, was a small flat-topped green knoll, "the mound of the priests," marking in its name the spot where Elijah slew the prophets of Baal, when he had brought them down to the "brook Kishon." For twenty miles the eye could follow the vast expanse. Behind us, on the one side of Carmel, stretched the sea, whence rose the little cloud like a man's hand; and a long strip of Sharon; on the other side we had a peep of the plain of Acre and the sea washing its edge. Tristram. 21. Elijah's earnest expostulation with the people.** Before he utters the prayer which will bring back the long withheld blessing to the people, their minds and hearts must be wrought upon to induce a sense of guilt and feeling of repentance. They must be turned back to God, before He will turn with restored favors to them. And this expostulation is the first means to stir their sluggish souls. Plain and conclusive is this sharp question and charge. Directly it applied to their religious condition and practice. They really believed in no God, neither in Jehovah nor Baal. They would not believe in the one, and could not (against the many strong counter influences of their history) believe in the other. They were therefore utterly unsettled in their actual worship; to make sure, attempting to mix the worship of God with that of Baal. Conscience constrained them to formally recognize the true God, while their natural selfish lusts seduced them into the vile practices of Baal's temple and ritual. Assuming their guilt, Elijah breaks forth abruptly with the rebuking question, How long will ye hesitate and practice this indecision? Assuming, too, that there can be but one supreme sovereign Deity, he sharply presses the conclusive charge to follow Him who is the God. Not himself asserting, but urging them to determine for themselves which is the true God. But they are silent; and their silence is a confession of the truth of the rebuke. It also intimates their ignorance and inability to decide between Je- Jehovah and Baal. Therefore it is that Elijah proposes a method of decision, which, while appealing to their judgments, was suited to their ignorance and deadness of heart. B.—His words have the ring of authority as he rebukes indecision, and calls for a clear adhesion to Baal or Jehovah. If the people had answered, the trial by fire would have been needless. But their silence shows that they waver, and therefore he makes his proposal to them. Note that the priests are not consulted, nor is Ahab. The former would have had some excuse for shirking the sharp issue; but the people's assent forced them to accept the ordeal, reluctantly enough, no doubt. A. M. Elijah was habitually a man of the fewest words; but these few words were always full of power, and produced effect. He spoke from God, he spoke from his own heart to the hearts of others. His words here were not aimed at the apostasy, but at the hesitancy of the people—not at their idolatry, but at their indecision. Under the old dispensation, as under the new, nothing is more abhorrent to God than a profane neutrality in matters of vital moment—than the lukewarmness which admits not of decided opinions. He likes decision. He likes something real. Be hot; be cold; be something. Instead of a tirade against Baal and his worshippers, here is a simple alternative of choice. His simple cry is—"Decide!" Kitto. "If the Lord be God, follow Him; if Baal, then follow him." If this world be the only good, the fit and proper object of your affections, if this world can satisfy your immortal desires, if it can support under trials, give you peace of conscience, if it can cheer you in death and bless you through eternity, then fix your heart upon it, pursue it as your chief good, resolutely and to the end; cast off the fear of God, silence the voice of conscience, and make the most of this object of your choice. But if the Lord be God—if He is the eternal, self-existent, glorious being whose claims upon your heart no tongue can describe, if He is the only object that can fill the soul, if you are immortal, if there is a judgment to come on whose throne He will sit, if there is a heaven which His mercy hath prepared, if there is a hell kindled by His justice, if there is a God, follow Him. N. W. Taylor. 22-24. The question of Divine power to be submitted to actual test of miracle.** Elijah appeals to the ordeal of sacrifice because it was a rite common to all religions, and divinely instituted at first as the great symbol of expiation. Other nations had kept its form and something of the religious awe attached to the rite, although its true meaning had been almost universally lost. T. Lewis.—In presenting our sacrifice, Elijah said to the people, Let us who here represent Jehovah and Baal, I alone and these four hundred and fifty, try the question of power by actual appeal to these respective deities! “And the God that answereth by fire, let him be God!” In former days of their history the true God had thus testified His acceptance of the sacrifices of Moses and Gideon, of David and Solomon. And on behalf of Baal, it was claimed that he, being the Sungod, had sovereign control over all natural elements and forces. If the claim was a just one, it would be an easy thing for him to send down fire to consume the sacrifice. No other form of appeal was adequate to the case. The people were in no condition to understand or to heed the teachings of the past; either the statutes or the wonderful acts of God as revealed through Moses, Joshua, or Samuel. He therefore puts the issue of authority upon the present power of God. He rests God’s right in demanding their obedience upon the only ground they can comprehend, the only proof they will heed, the open miraculous exhibition of a Divine might. Instantly and loudly the people recognize the fitness and approve the fairness of Elijah’s proposition. Ahab is, at least, silenced. And the priests of Baal dare interpose no hindrance to the trial to which they are now to be challenged. B. The act of sacrifice was Elijah’s chosen test, as affording occasion for the most demonstrative result. The consuming of the flooded victim by fire from heaven was a miracle that could not be mistaken; and inasmuch as Baal was the sun or fire-god, the test was obviously congruous and conclusive. All that depended upon preference was somewhat scornfully conceded by Elijah. The scene described is one of the most dramatic and magnificent representations of lofty defiance, withering sarcasm, and tragic result, to be found in literature. Baal resisted not merely the entreaties but the blood-invoking power of his own priests; and as their raving was intensified into mania, the scoffing provocation of Elijah was increased, until the excitement of the entire scene becomes altogether unimaginable. The calm, sublime simplicity of the offering of Elijah which followed must have been in the highest degree impressive. Allon. On the one side were arrayed Ahab, Baal, and Israel; on the other stood Jehovah. It was a question of reality and of power; and Elijah was to be, so to speak, the embodiment of the Divine Power, the Minister of the Living and True God. We might almost say, that in his prophetic capacity Elijah was an impersonal being—the mere medium of the Divine. Throughout his history other prophets also were employed on various occasions: he only to do what none other had ever done or could do. His path was alone, such as none other had trodden nor could tread. He was the impersonation of the Old Testament in one of its aspects, that of grandeur and judgment—the living realization of the topmost height of the mount, which burned with fire, around which lightnings played and thunder rolled, and from out of whose terrible glory spake the voice of Jehovah, the God of Israel. A grander figure never stood out even against the Old Testament sky than that of Elijah. As Israel’s apostasy had reached its highest point in the time of Ahab, so the Old Testament antagonism to it in the person and mission of Elijah. The analogy and parallelism between his history and that of Moses, even to minute details, is obvious on comparison of the two; and accordingly we find him, significantly, along with Moses on the Mount of Transfiguration. A. E. 23. The Baal prophets are given every advantage in priority of action. Error is best unmasked by being allowed free opportunity to do its best; for the more favorable the circumstances of trial, the more signal the defeat. God’s servants must never be suspected of unfair tricks in their controversy with error. They can afford to let it try first. Notice the substitution of “your god,” in the Revised Version, for “your gods” in the Authorized Version. That is obviously right; for the only question was about one god—namely, Baal. A. M. 24. He that answereth by fire, let him be God.** It is no random choice of a test; but precisely the test to recall to these apostate Israelites the glorious truths of the past. “The God that answereth by fire, let him be God.” It was the ancient sign of Jehovah’s presence to accept the true worship of His saints. So had He accepted Abel’s sacrifice, so had He appeared to Abraham in his offering. So had He shot forth the fire from His throne on the Ark of the Covenant, to consume the first sacrifice at the dedication of the tabernacle, and again at the dedication of the Temple. While, therefore, the prophet seeks a sign, he will have a sign which shall hold forth the truth of God to the minds of the people as the instrument of converting them from their apostasy. S. R. Israel cannot but approve it; the prophets of Baal cannot refuse it; they had the appearance of the advantage in their number, in the favor of king and people. That God commanded Elijah this trial, who meant confusion to the authors of idolatry, victory to the truth. His terror shall be approved both by fire and by water; first by fire, then by water. There was no less terror in the fire than mercy in the rain. It was fit they should first be humbled by His terrors, that they might be made capable of His mercy; and by both might be won to repentance. Thus still, the fears of the law make way for the influences of grace; neither do those sweet and heavenly dews descend upon the soul, till way be made for them by the terrible flashes of the law. Bp. II. 25-29. Trial of the issue on the part of the prophets of Baal. As the challenging party, Elijah gives them all possible advantage. He assigns them the honor of precedency, allows them full time for their utmost efforts, and accepts the greater peril for himself in the event of their success. He simply insists that they adhere to the terms of the trial; that they appeal to their gods, and attempt no deceit by kindling their own sacrifice. Thus compelled to honest dealing, the prophets of Baal prepare their bullock for sacrifice, lay it upon the wood, and call upon the name of Baal. From morning until noon they reiterate their senseless cry—a prayer without any plea for its basis. And the result is strikingly stated in the narrative: No voice, nor any that answered! There was none to hear or answer. They addressed no being, and there could be no answer. The noon arrived. Patiently, yet with holy indignation, Elijah had borne with their repetitious blasphemy through the long morning hours. Now when the sun was hottest and their hope the strongest, with righteous irony he mocks at their vain appeal. “Perhaps your god has pleasant company, or is engaged in the chase, or journeying at a distance, or he is sleeping. Cry more loudly, if possibly he may hear and answer.” But he speaks thus in no unseemly spirit of boasting or triumph at their discomfiture. He does not seek to anger these men, but to incite them to the utmost exertion so that their failure may be the more complete. His purpose is to impress the people with the absurdity as well as wickedness of such worship. He seeks to expose the deceits and break down the power of this false priesthood by his scornful derision, and by his own open braving of their assumed divinity. For these were the men by whom the people were misled, and this the god the people worshipped. Exasperated by his sarcasm into frenzy, they shout the more vehemently. After their custom, in keeping with those of all idolatrous heathen worship in every age and country, under the strange notion of propitiating the divine favor by extreme self-torture, they wound and disfigure their bodies until the blood gushed out upon them. Thus unwittingly they deepened the impression of Elijah’s deriding words. And thus unavailingly they protracted the trial for nearly three hours longer. But, the narrative repeats, “there was neither voice, nor any answer, nor any that regarded!” The being and power of Baal had been openly tested, and the people saw both utterly disproved by the appeal. B. 28. What a scene to call worship! That is what millions of men are ready to practise today. And all the while there is no voice, no answer, no care for them, in the pitiless sky. The very genius of idolatry is set before us in that tumultuous crowd on Carmel. A. M. 29. The scene of Elijah quietly waiting, and in perfect confidence looking forward to the ultimate display of Jehovah’s power, should be one to stimulate the confidence of the disciple of the nineteenth century. We are not without our false prophets today. True, they do not bow down to Baal; but they do revere Nature as the grandest divinity in existence. Or, they enthrone humanity, whatever that may mean. They cry aloud in reviews and magazine articles, and expect the regeneration of man through their false religions. They are never done announcing the decay and downfall of the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob. The world and the Church have watched for years for the descent of fire upon the unbelievers’ altars. But there is no fire there. Meantime, some godly man or woman, working away in the Seven Dials, or the Five Points, or the North End, finds the fire of God descending in answer to his prayer, and sees the flame of Christian love springing up in human hearts and the warmth of Christian zeal awakened where before it was absolutely dead. Can there, then, be any doubt as to which call upon the true God? Schaeffler. 30-35. The natural features of the mount exactly correspond with the details of this narrative. The conspicuous summit, 1635 feet above the sea, on which the altars were placed, presents an esplanade spacious enough for the king and the priests of Baal to stand on the one side, and Elijah on the other. It is a rocky soil, on which there is abundance of loose stones, to furnish the twelve stones of which the altar was built—a bed of thick earth in which a trench could be dug; and yet the earth not so loose that the water poured into it would be absorbed. Two hundred and fifty feet beneath the altar-plateau there is a perennial fountain, which, being close to the altar of the Lord, might not have been accessible to the people, and whence, therefore, even in that season of severe drought, Elijah could procure those copious supplies of water which he poured over the altar. The distance between this spring and the site of the altar is so short as to make it perfectly possible to go thrice thither and back again. Van De Velde. The prophets of Baal were utterly discomfited. Six hours had they vainly spent in senseless supplication. Now the long-appointed time of the evening sacrifice (three o'clock) drew nigh, and Elijah proceeds to prepare the altar and sacrifice. Standing amid the ruins of the ancient altar to Jehovah, he bids the people come nearer, that the truth and depth of their impression may be increased. With twelve stones he rebuilds the altar. By this number he symbolizes the twelve tribes, whom as God's elect and favored people, he thus recognizes as still one, though now for years divided. By this act he boldly reaffirms the unity of the nation as originally established in fulfilment of the covenant with Abraham and Jacob. As boldly does he protest against the separate existence of the ten tribes, and their assumption of the name of Israel. Around the altar a broad trench is excavated. The wood he lays in order, and the prepared sacrifice he places upon the wood. Then at his command water is brought and poured upon the sacrifice, the wood, and stones of the altar, and the trench is filled to the brim. This he did that the miracle might be made the more convincing. With no excitement in act or word, but calmly and with dignity, his preparation is speedily made. 36,37. The prayer of Elijah at the hour of the evening sacrifice. His supplication is simple, appropriate, intelligent, and quietly fervent. He utters no loud cry nor vain reiteration. He addresses a personal Being, who has sustained personal covenant relations with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, the acknowledged progenitors of the nation. He thus reminds them that Jehovah is still the God of Israel. He asks something definite. "Let it be known that Thou art God!" This was the point in trial. "And that I am Thy servant, and have done these things at Thy word!" This, too, was involved in the pending issue. And he pleads with God for hearing and answer. His plea is "that this people may know that Thou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back again." He asks that God would reveal Himself by this miracle: first, that His own glory might be manifest; next, that Elijah's acts might be seen to come from His inspiration; and last, that the people might be convinced of the present power and the rightful claim of God, and so their hearts be drawn back to Him. A mediator and intercessor, pleading in the interest of this guilty people, he here joins together the two always inseparable things, God's glory and the people's welfare. B. 36. At the time of the offering of the evening oblation. This moment was selected for Elijah's sacrifice, in order to testify his loyalty to the Mosaic law, and to the Temple of God at Jerusalem. At the very time when the daily sacrifice was presented there, his offering on Carmel was made. Elijah the prophet came near: This was the technical phrase in the law for the priest's coming to the altar to offer a sacrifice (Ex. 28:43; 30:20; Lev. 21:21, 23). Elijah was not of the seed of Aaron, and was not therefore a priest. But the Levitical priests had been deposed by Jeroboam, and illegitimate priests had been substituted in their stead for the maintenance of his idolatrous worship. In the absence of a lawful priesthood, Elijah, as the immediate representative of the Most High, and acting under His direction and by His authority, offered this sacrifice. W. H. G. At Thy word. Clearly we must suppose that in all the ordering of this sublime trial by fire, Elijah had been acting "at Thy word," even though we have no other record of the fact. Therefore he could ask God to vindicate his action and to prove that he was God's servant. His last petition is beautiful, both in its consciousness of power with God and recognition of his place as a prophet, and in its lowly subordination of all personal aims to the restoration of Israel to the true worship. He asks, with reiteration which is earnestness and faith, and therefore the sharpest contrast to the mechanical repetition by Baal's priests, that God would hear him; but his sole object in that prayer is that the blinded eyes may be opened, and the hearts that have been so sadly led astray be brought back to the worship of their fathers' God. The whole brief prayer, in its calm confidence, its adoring recognition of the name and past dealings of Jehovah as the ground of trust, its throbbing of earnest desire for the manifestation of his character before men, its consciousness of personal relation to God, which humbles rather than puffs up, its beseeching for an answer, and its closing petition which comes round again to its first, that men may know God and fasten their hearts on Him, may well stand as a pattern of prayer for us. The short prayer of faith does in a moment what all the long day of crying could not do. A. M. 38. The answer by fire. Sublimely simple are the words of the sacred record. Instantly, while yet the heavens were without a cloud and while no conditions of lightning existed, the fire fell in the sight of the people. Different from all previous similar miracles was the effect of this descending fire. At the dedication of the Temple and at other times, only the sacrifice and the wood had been consumed. Here was superadded the turning of the altar stones, and even the intermixed earth itself, to ashes, and the instant exhalation of the water in the trench. Altar and sacrifice had disappeared, and their place left bare. Other altars, of Moses and David and Solomon, were consecrated by fire, but preserved for use, and in token of God's mercy. This one was utterly destroyed, because no more to be used, and as a symbol to the witnessing people of God's devouring wrath. B. The whole assembly were clearly to understand what Being it was on whom he called for the demonstrative sign, which had irradiated the cloud before the camp of Israel. The fire, if it came, was to second that which had flamed on Sinai, and which had descended on Sodom. It was to be a fire of intelligence as well as power. It was to be Elijah's prayer converted and returned in flame. The prophet's prayer was that the very TRUTH might lighten on the scene, and consume all question, doubt, and subterfuge. The Invisible Presence was there; the thunderbolt was ready; and as soon as he had ended, "it fell." And neither sacrifice, nor altar, nor water, remained! The whole materials of the testimony were consumed. J. Foster. 39. The instant unanimous verdict of the astounded and convicted people. Without word or question or appeal from Elijah, constrained by an intense and overwhelming conviction to recognize a Divine and supernatural force in the consuming fire, the people bowed themselves to the earth, and cried, Jehovah, He is the God! Convinced, terrified, and for the time humbled by the fearful demonstration, they were; but not converted. B.—The people were—for the time, at all events—swept away by the miracle, and by the force of the prophet's example and authority. Short-lived their faith may have been, as certainly it was superficial. The faith that is founded on miracle may be deepened into something better; but unless it is, it speedily dies away. The faith that is due to the influence of some strong personality may lead on to an independent faith, based on personal experience; but, unless it does, it too will perish. We may find a modern reproduction of the test of Carmel in the impotence of all other schemes and methods of social and spiritual reformation and the power of the Gospel. In it and its effects God answers by fire. Let the opposers, who are so glib in demonstrating the failure of Christianity, do the same with their enchantments, if they can. A. M. If the miracle of the answer by fire be denied, there is absolutely nothing to account for the extraordinary and undeniable effect produced by the day on Carmel. Clearly the people believed in its occurrence, as clearly deception was impossible. The whole national movement demands its recognition. Either it really occurred as the history narrates it, or in some inconceivable way Elijah achieved a supreme imposture, which is a psychological as well as a physical impossibility. Allon. 40. The execution of Baal's prophets. "I have done this thing at Thy word," the Lord's prophet might have said again. By direction of Elijah, whose Divine commission had been so manifestly vindicated, the prophets of Baal were seized by the multitude and borne down to the gorge of the Kishon at the mountain's base. There, as Phinehas and Samuel before him, Elijah participated in and directed this Divinely ordered slaying. It was Jehovah's sentence that he was commissioned to enact. Before they were permitted to behold the goodness of Jehovah, Ahab and the people were to be taught the needed lesson of His severity. The punishment of the false prophets must precede mercy to the misled suffering people. Never was doom more richly merited. For these men were Israelites, intelligent perverters of the law, teachers and exemplars of all that was corrupting and destructive to the people. Furthermore, they were knowing usurpers of an office that Jehovah had expressly instituted, which only His true worshippers could fill. They were no prophets, as Baal was no god; their worship was defilement. Conscious and wilful impostors, they knowingly blasphemed and defied the God of Israel. They virtually challenged Jehovah to a defence and deliverance of the people they had sought to make vile and to pollute. Was there not cause for use of "the sword of the Lord" in a crisis so supreme as this, when these shameless apostates sought to keep the people away from their God? Not only are they punished according to the express law of God (De. 13:1-11), but their punishment vividly suggests to the people their own desert of similar death. It sharply impresses God's warning against idolatry in the only way that they will heed. Even Ahab, who has followed and witnessed the execution of the idolatrous prophets, seems to share in the conviction and fear of the people. For he interposes no hindrance to Elijah's slaying sword. B. 40. Take the prophets of Baal.** Elijah, as an extraordinary minister of God's vengeance upon sinners, executed the sentence of death passed upon the false prophets by the Lord of life and death, as perverters of the law and teachers of idolatry, as authors of cruelty and inciters of Jezebel to murder the prophets of the Lord, and as cheats and impostors, to whose execution the people concurred, their princes gave their consent, and their king (as astonished at the late stupendous miracle) could make no opposition. Stackhouse.—Elijah's action needs no apologies. As the Lord's prophet, as the vindicator and restorer of the law, there was no other course open to him. If the Mosaic law was then written, and this very incident is one of the proofs that it was then written; if it was still binding upon Israel; and if Elijah was justified in executing its provisions, and was required to execute them, however repugnant they might be to his inclinations, then he could not have done otherwise than he did. For it was an essential part of that law, it was an obligation that was laid, not once or twice, but on three separate occasions (Ex. 22:20; De. 13:17:2-7), on the Jewish people, it was a duty they were to perform, however distressing and harrowing it might be (De. 13:6-9), to provide that the worshipper of false gods, and especially the teacher of such worship, should be put to death. The execution of this law could not be expected from the king. It must be executed, if at all, in spite of him, and in disregard of his protests. Only Elijah, therefore, could put it into force, and Elijah only in the hour of his triumph. And he held a commission, higher than the king's, as the prophet of the Most High. He had just proved that the Lord He was God. It was now for him to prove that God's law was no dead letter. It was for him to cut off the men who had corrupted his countrymen, and threatened the very existence of the true religion. It is necessary, therefore, for those who challenge his conduct in this respect, who call him sanguinary and vindictive, to settle their account with the law which he obeyed, and, indeed, with Him who has approved this deed, and has forewarned us that He too will act in like manner (Luke 19:27). For this terrible retribution is by no means an exceptional or isolated act, in contrast to the general spirit of that dispensation; on the contrary, it is in thorough accord with the system out of which it sprung. For clearly it was allowed and approved of God, who otherwise would hardly have answered the prayer which Elijah presently offered, and other similar acts have distinctly received Divine commendation (Ex. 32:25-28; Num. 25:7-13; 2 K. 1:9). Hammond. 41-44. With a final direction to Ahab, Elijah retires to pray. Turning from the fulfilled judgment of Jehovah, the prophet directs Ahab to go up from the brook and to eat and drink, with the assurance of speedy and abundant rain. While the king obeys his direction, Elijah seeks in a still higher part of the mountain a solitary place where he may plead with God. And in this act we read a most instructive lesson. If ever one might withhold prayer, it would seem that Elijah could have done so here. God had declared that He was about to send rain. By a quickened spiritual sense Elijah had already heard "a sound of abundance of rain." But he knew that God had made the actual descent of the rain to depend upon his prayer. Therefore did he plead so earnestly that "the heavens might give rain." Thus decisively he solves the so-called problems respecting the need and utility of prayer for God's proposed and promised blessings. Of these blessings, Christ assures us, there is no receiving without asking, no finding without seeking, no entrance into large possession without persistently knocking. Elijah believed God's Word. He set himself to seek its fulfilment. He expected the answer, looked and waited until it came. And in all this he is our example, to teach and prompt us to like faith and seeking and certain expectation of answer. Seven times his servant went to a view point toward the sea, while the prophet remained cast down on the earth with "his face between his knees." He who had been in the crisis of trial sternly bold before king and people, now, in the hour of success, utterly abases himself before God. But his humility stays not his importunity. And the answer is foreshadowed with the seventh return of his servant. Upon the sea-verge of the fleckless heavens a little cloud has appeared. The sign is assurance that his prayer is answered, and the prophet sends to Ahab a hastening message of instant return to Jezreel. B. 44. A cloud as small as a man's hand.** Geographers and travellers often tell us of those great storms of wind and rain which are thus indicated in the Levant, so that, while all around their ship there is calm and sunshine, that little speck in the sky near the horizon is so sure a symptom of the coming gale that, as quickly as possible, the sails are furled and every preparation made for the tempest that is at hand. W. M. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/ 1. AND Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the 2 prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the 3 gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow 4 about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer- 5 sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day's 6 journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested 7 for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for 8 I am not better than my fathers. And he lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and, 9 behold, an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, be- 10 hold, there was at his head a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water. And he did eat 11 and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, 12 and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he 13 arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty 14 nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; 15 and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What does thou here, 16 Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the chil- 17 dren of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets 18 with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And 19 he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed 20 by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the 21 LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD 22 was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the 23 fire: and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he 24 wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, 25 behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What does thou here, Elijah? And he said, I 26 have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the children of Israel have for- 27 saken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, 28 even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the LORD said unto him, 29 Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, thou shalt 16 anoint Hazael to be king over Syria : and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel : and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet 17 in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth from the sword of Hazael 18 shall Jehu slay : and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every 19 mouth which hath not kissed him. So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth : and 20 Elijah passed over unto him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will 21 follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again ; for what have I done to thee? And he returned from following him, and took the yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him. It has been often noted that the signal failures of the eminent men of Scripture (who were all “subject to like passions as we are”) occurred just in the points of their peculiar excellence. As it was the faith of Abraham, the meekness of Moses, the yearning after holiness of David, the gentle tolerance of John, and the ingenuous boldness of Peter that failed, so here it is the fearless intrepidity of Elijah that yields to the force of sharp and sudden trial. Standing among the foremost of those spiritual heroes whose sublime deeds are recounted as they were incited by the Spirit of Jehovah, in distinction ranking with Moses, a man pre-eminently mighty in word and deed and in miracle, a man who left so deep and permanent an impress of energy and great achievement upon the history and heart of the Jewish people that, nine hundred years later, when the Lord of glory appeared upon earth the Jews affirmed, It is Elias !—this man, in all other circumstances and at all other periods of his career, exemplifies more signally, perhaps, than any other the qualities of unfaltering faith in God and intrepid fearlessness of man. Of a nature bold, stern, self-reliant, of an iron strength and indomitable persistency of purpose, these elements of character signalized his whole history save the incident here recorded. At Carmel, through the intense strain to which his faith was subjected, the seemingly hopeless, helpless perils by which his courage was tested, both faith and courage held out to a successful end. As one directed and protected by Jehovah, he had commanded king and people to institute the trial, and they obeyed. Consummating his intrepidity, under the same Divine direction and protection he had ordered, and himself participated in, the slaying of the priests of Baal. And afterward we discern the same undaunted courage in entering Ahab’s presence alone and denouncing to the guilty king and the viler queen the ignominious, terrible end with which God would visit them. And at the last we see this stern, unyielding character rejecting all human companionship when about to take his heavenward departure. Thus proved, both before and after, by many severest tests superior to all ordinary human weaknesses, here—but only here—his courage of soul and his otherwise unyielding faith for the time utterly gave way. The causes of this one failure in faith and courage, and God’s kind restorative treatment, comprise the main points to be developed in this chapter. B. No passage in Elijah’s history is religiously more suggestive and comforting than this—this mood of a prophet whose achievements had been so grand and whose apotheosis was to be so triumphant, and his patient, tender treatment by Jehovah, are alike full of consolation. Allon. 1-7. Jezebel’s heart is unmoved, alike by the tokens of God’s terrible power recited to her and by the manifest sign of His returning favor to the land. She thirsts for Elijah’s blood to avenge the destruction of Baal’s priests. At her forewarning of pursuit and death, the prophet is stunned with sudden fear. Looking only at his fierce foe (when he saw that, the record says), and failing, like Peter on the waves, to look to his Lord, the interposing power of God consequently failed him for the time. He flies from the threatened peril. Hitherto he had gone when and where God had bade him. Now, without Divine direction, from Jezreel he hastens southward through the kingdom of Judah ninety miles to Beersheba. Thence going a day’s journey into the wilderness, he casts himself down under a solitary broom tree, and asks that God would take to Himself his overburdened spirit. The simple expression It is enough ! intimates the thoroughly discouraged state of his mind. But even in his discouragement the tone of his prayer is elevated and touching. He does not weakly fret or repine. With the old boldness of an honest and faithful heart he affirms his own conclusions: "My work for Thee, O Lord, is done! Take me now to Thyself! Already Thou hast fully honored me! I deserve no more than those who have gone before me!" But God will not take him in so inglorious a way and time. The Lord will not seal that shining ministry while so heavy a cloud rests upon it, nor take the strong spirit while bowed in its gloom. Radiantly and triumphantly his work and life are to close. Now, in answer to the prayer for death, God sends him bodily food in intimation that He would have him live. He sends by a higher ministry than the ravens or the poor widow—by an angel, as still more assuring. And He proceeds to deal graciously and wisely with Elijah, suiting His treatment to that strong, heroic spirit. First, with alternate sleep and food. He restores and miraculously strengthens the prophet's exhausted body and mind. The intense excitement of the day at Carmel, followed by the seventeen miles of running to Jezreel, and the added journey from Jezreel to Beersheba, were causes enough to exhaust the strongest human frame, apart from his present great distress of spirit. A special recuperating force is imparted by the rest and the angel's supply of food. So Elijah is prepared for the "great journey" which is indicated to him by the angel, about two hundred miles. B. 2. As simply a specimen of human nature painting, there is nothing equal to the Jezebel of Scripture in all the circle of literature. The strokes of the pencil are indeed very few. It is an outline, with no filling up of the details, as in the tragic poets. Yet the student who will take the pains to gather from the record and study this outline will find the Jezebel of Scripture stand out before him with more distinctness than the Medea of Euripides or the Lady Macbeth of Shakespeare. The mere outline sets her forth with a power, and vividness, and a gigantic grandeur of wickedness, yet withal a naturalness that no human genius has ever equalled. S. R.—This history may well astound us with its illustrations of the terrible influence of one bad woman. What Satanic energy of will! What bold ingenuity! What seductive power over her husband toward wickedness! We might have supposed that no mind less mighty than Satan's could throw itself into the face of such a movement as that inaugurated on Mt. Carmel and block it utterly; but apparently Jezebel was equal to it, and did it! H. C. It is worthy of note that this is the first great religious persecution that history records; and of all the subjects of religious persecution Elijah is the most dramatic and heroic. Such persecution was the necessary condition of prophetic greatness, and Elijah was great enough to become its hero. Elijah was the first to teach the world the lofty duty of resisting organized wrong, even at the cost of martyrdom. He was the first of the great roll of confessors who, against kings and national systems, have witnessed for God and truth. The three Hebrew youths, Daniel, Stephen, the Apostles of our Lord, the early Christians, Wycliffe, Savonarola, Huss, Luther, the noble army of the reformers and faithful witnesses for Christ, down to the Malagasy martyrs, must recognize him as their illustrious prototype. He first vindicated the sacred rights of the religious conscience against all its persecutors in the world or in the Church. Allon. 3. What is the solution of this paradox, that a man is running for his life and yet praying to die? It is, indeed, inconsistent enough, yet never was painting truer to the life of a saint of God in darkness and desertion. The clue to the whole mystery is that Jehovah has not said to Elijah, "Arise and flee," as before He had said, "Go show thyself to Ahab," or "Arise, get thee to Zarephath." The record simply states that, hearing Jezebel's fierce oath, Elijah "arose and went for his life." Once the communication between Elijah and Jehovah is broken, he is just as inconsistent and weak as any of us. Well did the Apostle James say, "Elijah was a man of like passions with us." S. R. 4. All day he travelled, and found no refuge; and in the evening, worn out with fatigue and consumed with hunger, he cast himself down under the shelter of one of the broom trees, which alone flourish in that wilderness. Here this lately strong-souled man lay hopeless, helpless, and despairing; and he who fled so anxiously from death prayed for himself that he might die. "It is enough; O Lord God, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers." Strange contradiction! Here the man who was destined not to taste of death flees from death on the one hand, and seeks it on the other! And who told him it was "enough"? God did not; He knew what was enough for him to do and to suffer. It was not enough. God had more to teach him, and had more work for him to do. If the Lord had taken him at his word, and had also said it was "enough," Elijah's history would have wanted its crowning glory. Kitto. If Elijah can become weak and his courage die out, who shall stand? The lessons of self-distrust, of the nearness to one another of the most opposite emotions in our weak natures, of the depth of gloom into which the boldest and brightest servant of God may fall as soon as he loses hold of God's hand, never had a more striking instance to point them than that mighty prophet, sitting in utter despondency below the solitary retem bush, praying his foolish prayer for death. A. M.—Despondency in the midst of severe contest, who has never had to wrestle with this? and he who has hitherto been preserved from it, what guarantee has he that he shall not to-morrow lie down like the stern prophet of the wilderness, under his juniper-tree? Disappointed expectation, increasing conflict and wavering faith, each of these three is in itself sufficient to deprive us of courage and strength; what, then, if they, as here in the case of Elijah, all storm at once on the weary soul? How will this end with Elijah if God does not Himself step in, but that he should become an unprofitable servant of the Most High, an indocile pupil of His providence, a murmuring rebel against His adorable sovereignty, who sins even in his prayers? Van O. 5. 6. Toil and sorrow have lulled the prophet asleep, under his juniper tree. That wholesome shade was well chosen for his repose. While death was called for, the cousin of death comes unbidden. The angel of God waits on him in that hard lodging. No wilderness is too solitary for the attendance of those blessed spirits. As he is guarded so is he awaked by that messenger of God, and stirred up from his rest to his repast. While he slept his breakfast is made ready for him by those spiritual hands; "there was a cake baked on the coals and a cruse of water at his head." Oh, the never-ceasing care and providence of the Almighty; not to be barred by any place, by any condition! When means are wanting to us, when we are wanting to ourselves, when to God, even then doth He follow us with His mercy, and cast favors upon us, beyond, against expectation. What variety of purveyance doth he make for his servant! One while the ravens, then the Sareptan, now the angel shall be his caterer; none of them without a miracle. Those other provided for him waking; this, sleeping. O God, the eye of Thy providence is not dimmer, the hand of Thy power is not shorter: only teach Thou us to serve Thee, to trust Thee. Bp. H. 7. The fatherly tenderness of God is nowhere in the Old Testament more touchingly brought out than here, where he waits, as it were, while the weary prophet sleeps again after his meal, and sends the angel a second time to remind him of the provision for his bodily wants, which he would be so likely to forget. Houghton. The meal to which an angel twice waked him was God's answer to his prayer, telling him both that his life was still needful and that God cared for him. God for the third time miraculously provides his food. The ravens, the widow of Zarephath, an angel, were his caterers; and, instead of taking away his life, God himself sends the bread and water to preserve it. The revelation of a watchful, tender providence often rebukes gloomy unbelief and shames us back to faith. A. M. The spiritual food which God gave Elijah answers to truth, the true and real in everything. It is a strange alchemy, but it is a literal fact, that the grace of God in the heart can turn stones to bread. There is an idea, a lesson, a picture, a caution, a comfort everywhere. God has enshrined all truth in Christ. He is the true and living Bread, which is the "life of the world." We must appropriate this food, and we shall go in the strength of it many days. J. Vaughan. 8. The journey to Horeb, and the forty days' fast. Horeb is one of the Sinai group of mountains central to the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, itself rising to the height of seven or eight thousand feet. From the appearances of God upon this mountain to Moses, and from the giving of the law, it is called the "Mount of God." It is not strange, then, that Elijah, the great restorer of the law, should be guided to this sacred mountain. It is natural that he, who stood with Moses beside the transfigured Christ, should tread in the steps and share in the high experience of Moses upon the original holy mount. So, under circumstances dissimilar, with like purpose of special Divine instruction and manifestation, Elijah is led to Horeb. And, like Moses, and like the incarnate Lord Himself, Elijah fasts forty days in the wilderness. Alike they all fasted thus, "perhaps to intimate the likeness of their commissions, to propose, to restore, and to perfect the law, by God's last and best gift, the Gospel; of which Moses and Elijah were witnesses with Christ at His transfiguration." In the opportunity for quiet thoughtfulness during those forty days of the prophet's journeying and resting, in his receiving and pondering afresh the lessons of the old history imprinted upon every step of the way, and especially conveyed by the sacred associations of the mountain, we may find a second particular of God's restoring treatment of His disheartened servant. B. God knows what he designs us for, though we do not, what services, what trials, and will take care for us, when we for want of foresight cannot for ourselves, that we be furnished for them with grace sufficient. He that appoints what the voyage shall be will victual the ship accordingly. See how many different ways God took to keep Elijah alive; and now, to show that man lives not by bread alone, he kept him alive forty days without meat, not resting and sleeping, which might make him the less to crave sustenance, but continually traversing the mazes of the desert, a day for a year of Israel's wanderings; yet he neither needs food, nor desires it. The place, no doubt, reminds him of the manna, and encourages him to hope that God would sustain him here, and, in due time, bring him hence, as he did Israel, though, like him, fretful and distrustful. H. Elijah, faint and exhausted, begged that he might die, but Elijah, fed and refreshed, rose and went in strength through a forty days' journey. Satan is a cowardly assailant, who loves to take us at a disadvantage, as he assailed our Lord when He was a-hungered. When the body is shattered he will shake the soul with pains. We should ask, therefore, when sad or depressed, Is it because I have been more wicked than usual or have more real trouble, or is it only because I am weak in health and so more sensitive? To be depressed because we are feeble and so fearful, would be about as sensible as to be depressed because we were hungry when food was before us. Use the remedy, and the evil will be more tolerable. Paul, after three days of gloom, received meat, and was strengthened. But the grace of God is our great help in practising upon these precepts. Sufficient to the day is the evil, and sufficient to the evil is the grace offered. W. H. Lewis. 9, 10. God's question and Elijah's answer. In this question we discern a still further step in God's treatment. The bodily invigoration, and the long restful period for reflection, have failed to bring back right thoughts and trustful feeling. Elijah has not yet realized his defection and distrust in fleeing from Jezebel's threat, when unbidden by God. Therefore the mild reproof: What doest thou here? The prophet's answer shows that he understood and felt the rebuke. But he speaks boldly in justification of his withdrawal. And God forbears, once and again, with his boldness because of his truth. The reply, in its three particulars, discloses a condition of utter, hopeless discouragement. Three things, according to his own showing, combined to break down his brave spirit. For the time they paralyzed his intrepid faith. 1. He was discouraged by an imagined want of success, a conviction of failure. At Carmel he had "been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts." He had stood alone for God, and had triumphed in His name. The idolatrous prophets had been destroyed. Israel again had openly acknowledged Jehovah, and His favor had released their land from the interdict of barrenness. Seemingly in a single day and by a single deed the prophet's life aim and work had been achieved. But on the very next day his work seemed wasted; his hope was dead. With the one shout of the people apparently ceased all their interest in a true, pure worship. Ahab, unmoved by all that had occurred, suffered Jezebel's murderous purpose to go forward. She would triumph over the cause he had championed. No sign from heaven appeared; no voice from God was heard. It seemed that God had no more for him to do. His flight was not to save his life, but to prevent its being taken by Jezebel. For he asks the Lord to take it. And, connected with this conviction of failure, 2. A sense of human desertion, loneliness from lack of all sympathy in his bold stand for God, was another source of discouragement, and cause of failure in his faith and courage. "I, even I only, am left!" He had not felt his loneliness or craved sympathy before. During the great trial he was nerved by the Divine command, and by an issue grand enough to call into full play the mighty energies of his nature. But ever since, in his ear, the voice of the fickle multitude seemed a mocking, taunting echo. Resolute and unyielding as he was, this repeated thrusting back of disagreeable memories of solitary and fruitless endeavor, stirred the heart's native craving after some sympathy, human or Divine. But no voice of comfort broke upon his desolate perturbed spirit. 3. Closely joined with this feeling of desolation was the want of any assigned aggressive work. This would have been solace enough for his strong nature; something to be resisted or grappled with, or some great peril to be encountered. Had God bidden him brave the haughty queen's wrath when her threatening message came, he would unfalteringly have done it. But no voice came to him; no call for that moral struggle he craved and for which he was fitted. Only physical force was to be set upon him; and Jezebel's triumph by his murder would obliterate all he had done, and set back the cause of God. This was the state of mind which induced Elijah's justifying answer. These were the chief causes of his single failure in faith during a long life of signal heroism for God. B. 9. Cave.** The parallel between Moses and Elijah is very real. These two names stand out above all others in the history of the theocracy, the one as the founder, the other as the restorer; both distinguished by special revelations, both endowed with exceptional force of character and power of the spirit; the one the lawgiver, the other the head of the prophetic order; both having something peculiar in their departure, and both standing together, in witness of their supremacy in the past and of their inferiority in the future, by Jesus on the mount of transfiguration. The associations of the place are marked by the use of the definite article, which is missed in the Authorized Version—"the cave," that same cleft in the rock where Moses had stood. That question, "What doest thou here?" can scarcely be freed from a tone of rebuke; but, like Christ's to the travellers to Emmaus, and many another interrogation from God, it is also put in order to allow of the loaded heart's relieving itself by pouring out all its griefs. God's questions are the assurance of His listening ear and sympathizing heart. A. M. 11, 12. Jehovah manifesting Himself in natural forces, and speaking by His Spirit. Wisely and effectually He interposes to reach and relieve the prophet's tempest-tossed, discouraged heart. Before repeating his gentle reproof, He will instruct Elijah respecting the character of the instruments by which He successfully works among men, the real conditions of failure or success. The method He employs is unusual, but exactly suited to the man and the end aimed at. In those sublime displays of superhuman might—"the great and strong wind that rent the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks," the upheaving and convulsion of Horeb itself from base to summit, and the fierce flame filling the air around and above—there was a purposed ministry of soothing. For they were in strange keeping with the mood of Elijah's stern, excited spirit. Yet in all these he was made to realize that God was not! But following these, after brief, solemnly impressive silence, there fell upon his ear and sank deep into his heart a still small voice. It was, he knew, the voice of the Lord! How plain the lesson! How admirably fitted to correct his erroneous belief! Not by miracle of might, such as had taken place on Carmel, would God work out His gracious purposes with men. Useful, needful as such astounding manifestations might occasionally be to intimidate or arouse, the real work upon the hearts of Israel would be wrought only by the silent, unseen ministries of the Spirit. Not in the bold spirit of conflict, that would measure strength continually with the powers of evil, but in the gentler spirit that speaks the truth in love, and relies upon the silent, inward efficacy of the Holy Ghost. B. There are gorges near Sinai where at times the wind rushes with such fury that neither man nor beast can stand before the blast; rocks are loosened and hurled across the path, and the mountains bellow with tempest. There are signs that the earthquake has shaken those stupendous masses of rock from base to summit, opening new chasms, and dislodging ancient cliffs. Sometimes the violence of the wind is aggravated by the roar of thunder, and lightnings seem to belch forth from the mountain-tops as from a glaring furnace. In all these grand and terrible phenomena of Nature, Jehovah had spoken from Sinai at the giving of the law; and Elijah naturally looked for Him in like manifestations. But the Lord came to him in the still small voice, rebuking the timidity that distrusted the Lord after the miracles of fire and tempest at Mt. Carmel had ceased. Not miracles alone testify to the presence of God, but equally the silent operation of moral causes, the gradual development of truth, light, and love. Our faith in Providence is distorted when we are always straining after marvels, watching for signs of tempest and earthquake, hearing no voices of the night, seeing no wonders in the dawn. In the moral world, seedtime and harvest are constant, the storm and fire the exceptions. The most potent forces in physical nature, light and heat, are silent in their coming and their working; and, in the moral world, that Coming which has wrought the greatest marvels was in the silence of the night and the lowliness of the manger; that Character which has caused the greatest revolutions in human life and society was His who said, "I am meek and lowly of heart." Oh, let us humbly, gently, learn of Him! J. P. T. God is quiet in His workings. Mighty as are His vast machineries in nature, all move quietly in the fulness of His everlasting power. His spirit is quiet as "a still small voice," though its working is wide as the world. The heavens are quiet while they declare His glory. Comets, meteors, wandering stars, rush and stagger in their courses, but the great orbs that light the steady flow of ages roll in quiet on their way. Christ, the great revelation of God to man, was quiet in the days of His flesh. He did not strive nor cry, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. We should be like Him. Anon. The Lord first passeth by him with the terrible demonstrations of His power—"A great and strong wind rent the mountains and brake the rocks in pieces." The tearing blast was from God; God was not in it: so was He in it as in His other extraordinary works; not so in it as by it to impart Himself to Elijah. It was the usher, not the carriage, of God. After the wind came an earthquake, more fearful than it. That did but move the air; this, the earth; that beat upon some prominences of earth; this shook it from the centre. After the earthquake came a fire, more fearful than either. The other affected the ear, the feeling; but this lets in horror into the soul by the eye, the quickest and most apprehensive of the senses. Elijah shall see God's mighty power in the earth, air, fire, before he hear Him in the soft voice. All these are but boisterous harbingers of a meek and still word. In that God was. Behold, in that gentle and mild breath there was omnipotency; there was but powerfulness in those fierce representations. There is not always the greatest efficacy where is the greatest noise. God loves to make way for Himself by terror; but he conveys Himself to us in sweetness. It is happy for us if, after the gusts and flashes of the law, we have heard the soft voice of evangelical mercy. Bp. H. The answer comes in wonderfully dramatic and vivid symbols, which are not only perfectly congruous with the character of the entire history, but also full of resemblance to His own vehement mood; the wind, the earthquake, the fire, in which God was not, followed by the still small voice in which God was, were manifestly designed to teach Elijah a great lesson concerning God's ways of working. Not by great manifestations of physical power, not by coercive and destructive means, does God accomplish spiritual processes, but by means which are silent, gentle, and suasive. Spiritual forces are always such; such were the characteristics of our Lord's ministry—"He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street." So it is of all ministries which achieve the greatest and profoundest spiritual processes. Achievements of miraculous vindication cation and of avenging bloodshed, such as those of Carmel, are not the true spiritual forces of God's kingdom. God might sanction them, He might be in them, as in many analogous processes in the after history of His Church, and in the experiences of individual men; but in a much higher and more transforming sense He is in agencies and processes that have the still small voice for their type. It was a lesson in the true methods of Divine working that would not only correct and instruct the prophet, but would also comfort him. It would rebuke his yearning for more palpable judgments or miracles; it would qualify his estimate of what had really been effected on Carmel; and it would encourage him by the suggestion that in thousands of hidden Israelitish hearts quiet, unrecognized spiritual processes were going on. Allon. It is the same lesson which Moses learned there, when he heard that the Lord is "a God full of compassion and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy and truth." It was exemplified in the gentle Elisha, the successor of Elijah. It reached far beyond the time then present, and is indeed a Messianic prophecy, declaring the inmost character of him in whom "the Lord is," in an altogether special sense. Elijah as a prophet brought no new knowledge, and uttered no far-reaching predictions; but he received one of the deepest and clearest prophecies of the gentleness of God's highest messenger, and on Horeb saw afar off what he saw fulfilled on the mountain of Transfiguration. Nor is his vision exhausted by its Messianic reference. It contains an eternal truth for all God's servants. Storm, earthquake, and fire may be God's precursors, and needed sometimes to prepare His way; but gentleness is "the habitation of His throne," and they serve Him best and are nearest Him whom they serve, who are meek in heart and gentle among enemies, "as a nurse cherisheth her children." Love is the victor, and the sharpest weapons of the Christian are love and lowliness. A. M. There is a quiet deepening and strengthening of the spiritual forces in the soul, which every one who seeks it finds. But it is a silent work. So noiseless, so powerful are the energizings of the gentle, persuasive, penetrating, almighty Spirit of God. Believers who live during this dispensation of the Spirit miss the profoundest part of His holy ministration if they know nothing of this sweet, potential, silent tuition. Silent communion, noiseless revelation, voiceless teaching—these are the sources of Christian power. It would encourage us could we see how to-day God is working on the hearts of men with His silent, attractive power. How bold and sure our service of Him would be if we wholly believed in the vast reserve of effectual, silent energy with which He reinforces every act or word for Him! If any heart responds to the messages of mercy which we bear, we may be sure God has been before us, with His noiseless work of preparation. H. C. T. 13-18. The question and answer repeated; subsequent directions and assurance of Jehovah. The loudest, fiercest voices of the elements Elijah could hear without any conscious appeal to heart or conscience. But the still small voice of the present God reached and bowed his soul; while reverently "he wrapped his face in his mantle." Then while he was still meditating upon the lesson, when in answer to the same question, his naturally self-willed spirit faintly repeated the reasons before assigned, God graciously proceeds to complete the treatment and the cure. He bids Elijah at once to arise, return, and fulfil the work still before him. He assigns him at the outset a specific work (15, 16), adapted to his brave, commanding spirit. And to take away all remnant of his discouragement, He assures the prophet that his ministry at Carmel and other ministries still existing among the people had not failed; that many (seven indicating an indefinite number) thousand hearts were still true to Jehovah; and these had been secretly strengthened and comforted by his manly courage and unyielding faith. So from these instructive acts and impressive lessons of Jehovah, he departed to execute his commission—a wiser and more useful man. His faith in God, his indomitable spirit, and his superiority over human weakness, held firm and unmoved until alone he was borne in the flame-chariot to heaven. A word respecting the directions given to Elijah. How the command to anoint Hazael and Jehu was fulfilled we do not know, but that in its meaning, which Elijah understood, it was obeyed, we are assured. Hazael became the enemy and oppressor of Israel; and Jehu was God's instrument in the terrible punishment of Ahab and Jezebel, of the seventy sons of Ahab, and of vast numbers of Baal's worshippers. The concluding verses (19-21) show that Elijah called Elisha to the chief prophetic office by casting his mantle upon him. He might also have subsequently anointed him. The inspired record carefully selects all and only the important facts. The unimportant and therefore vaguely reported matters furnish the main topics for sceptical question and discussion. B. 13,14. Tranquillity now reigns once more, and the solemn stillness of the sanctuary, as though Horeb, Sinai, mountain cliffs and sand-deserts, aroused from their slumber, are all lying in mute awe and adoration at the feet of Jehovah. A "still small voice" at length breaks the silence, and, though repeating the question, "What doest thou here, Elijah?" yet, somehow, now its accents seem to murmur softly in the very depths of his soul. It is a tender, gentle, complaining voice, as that which said in Gethsemane—"What, could ye not watch with me one hour?" It breaks Elijah's heart. Abashed, confused, humbled, he covers his face with his mantle; and though he too utters the same words in response, yet how changed their tone and spirit! It is in the accents of a subdued and humbled child—those wailing accents at once of penitence and confidence, which never yet father, that was not a monster, could resist. "I have been very jealous for Jehovah;" thou knowest how sincerely I grieved at the dishonor of His name. Israel—poor children of the covenant—led astray by servants of the devil, has apostatized. Thy prophets, the witnesses for the truth, have all been slain. No other voice than mine remains to be lifted up in testimony for Jehovah. And me they persecute to the death. S. R. 15,16. We must interpret the meaning of the command in accordance with the prophet's action, judging that he understood what was intended by the words. The word "anoint" is used concerning Jehu and Elisha as well as Hazael; and we know that Elijah did not anoint Elisha, though he could easily have done so, but only made known, by the act of casting his prophetic mantle upon him, that he was called to that office. In the same way then we may understand the rest of the Divine order. Elijah was to receive assurance for himself, and to make known that assurance to others, as he found occasion, that God was still ruling Israel both from without and from within, and would call to the throne of Syria one who should execute His judgments upon His rebellious people, and to the throne of Israel one who should destroy Baal and his worship out of the land. We shall not err, it seems, if we suppose that the knowledge which Elisha had (2 K. 8: 13) when he says, "The Lord hath shewed me that thou shalt be king over Syria," was derived from Elijah's communication, as also the instruction which led him, at a future day (2 K. 9: 1, 2), to send one of the sons of the prophets to Ramoth-Gilead to anoint Jehu. Hence “anoint” in the text becomes equivalent to “point them out as the anointed ones.” Lumby. The commissions given to anoint a king of Syria and one of Israel were not fulfilled by Elijah, but by his successor; and we have to suppose that further commands were given to him on that subject. The third injunction, to anoint his successor, was done at once on his journey, though Abel-meholah, on Gilboa, was dangerously near Jezreel. The designation of these future instruments of God’s purpose was at once a sign to Elijah that his own work was drawing to a close (having reached its climax on Carmel), and that God had great designs beyond him and his service. The true conception of our work is that we are only links in a chain, and that we can be done without. God removes the workers and carries on the work. Further, the commissions met Elijah’s despondency in another way; for they assured him of the Divine judgments on the house of Ahab, and of the use of the Syrian king as a rod to chastise Israel. He had thought God too slow in avenging His dishonored name, and had been taught the might of gentleness; but now he also learns the certainty of punishment, while the enigmatical promise that Elisha should “slay” those who escaped the swords of Hazael and Jehu dimly points to that merciful energy of the prophet’s word, his only sword, which shall slay but to revive, and wound to heal. “I have hewed them by the words of my mouth.” Finally (verse 18), the revelation of the seven thousand—a round number, which expresses the sacredness as well as the numerousness of the elect, hidden ones—rebukes the hasty assumption of his being left alone, faithful among the faithless. God has more servants than we know of. Let us beware of feeding either our self-righteousness or our narrowness or our faint-heartedness with the fancy that we have a monopoly of faithfulness, or are left alone to witness for God. A. M. Thus reanimated for his remaining work, he was sent to prepare for three great changes affecting the state of Israel: to anoint Hazael as the future king of Syria, in place of Benhadad; Jehu, the son of Nimshi, as king of Israel, in place of Ahab’s house; and Elisha, the son of Shaphat, to be prophet in succession to himself. These three were to follow each other in the destruction of the worshippers of Baal. Elijah only performed in person the last of the three acts, the designation of Elisha, leaving to him the other two, which he himself found no opportunity to execute. P. S. 17. Hazael, Jehu, Elisha—all the three were to be instruments of the Divine wrath, and ministers of the Divine vengeance upon degenerate Israel. The execution of judgment against sinful Israel may be clearly traced in the case of each of the three persons named. For after Hazael succeeded to the throne of Syria he was a constant thorn in the side of Israel. We read that in these days “the Lord began to cut Israel short,” and that “Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel” (2 K. 10 : 32); that a little later “the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he delivered them into the hand of Hazael, king of Syria, and into the hand of Benhadad, son of Hazael, all their days;” while it is even said in yet stronger language, that the king of Syria had “made them like the dust by threshing” (2 K. 13 : 3, 7). If Hazael thus scourged Israel as a people, still more did Jehu scourge Ahab and Jezebel and all their house. So terrible was the work of extermination upon which he entered when he took possession of the throne, that it has been justly described as one “hitherto unparalleled in the history of the Jewish monarchy.” Nor did Jehu prove himself less the scourge of those worshippers of Baal with whom Ahab’s house had been so closely identified. And Elisha was also in like manner a warning and a scourge to the idolaters of his time. 18. These words immediately follow: “Yet will I leave me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” The words, as correctly given in the Revised Version, contain more than an intimation that, though Elijah had thought himself alone, there were seven thousand in Israel still faithful to the truth. They are also a promise that, amid all the judgments that were to follow, seven thousand would be found worthy to escape them, because they would refuse to yield to the general apostasy of the people. The promise, when correctly interpreted, implies more than it is generally supposed to include—not merely that at that moment there was a remnant according to the election of grace, and that Elijah did not stand alone in his allegiance to the Almighty, but that that election would be preserved through all the judgments that were to follow. There were times of heavy trial in store for the Church of God in Israel, in the midst of which many would fall and be overwhelmed. Yet, whatever might happen to the merely outward members of the body, the Lord knew them that were His. W. M. The Lord knows them that are His, though we do not; He sees them in secret. There are more good people in the world than some wise and holy men think there are. Their jealousy of themselves, and for God, makes them think the corruption is universal; but God sees not as they do. God's love often proves larger than man's charity, and more extensive. H. So the fainting prophet is restored. A new body has the Divine Physician prepared him and a new spirit has He put within him. And with faith and courage comes hope. To the eyes of the recovered prophet there is a future for God and His kingdom. Elijah now knows that God will remain in the world-field even after he himself finally departs; so he begins to reach forth the anointing hand to marshal the forces which shall win in the coming days of the Lord. It is a great thing for a prophet—ay, a great thing for a man—to be brought beyond the power of doubting that God is in this world to stay—in this world for victory after victory until every foe is vanquished. Such a one will fall into his little grave with eye strained to catch the bursting glory and hand reached forth to grasp the banner of the coming Lord. S. S. Mitchell. 19,20. Leaving Horeb, and again traversing the great desert of the wandering, Elijah again enters Judah, probably by Beersheba and Hebron; but, avoiding Jerusalem, he descends through Engedi into the great Jordan valley; ascending it he comes to a field at Abel-meholah in the north, where he finds Elisha ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, himself with the twelfth. For three years and a half this was the first spring-time that gave promise of a harvest, and we may imagine the joyous toil of the husbandmen. The appearance of Elijah was sudden and startling. Apparently without speaking a word, Elijah throws his prophet's mantle over the shoulders of the young farmer—a well-understood symbolical act—and passes on. Whatever Elisha may have felt, he expresses no surprise, utters no remonstrance either of unwillingness or modesty; but leaving his plough, he runs after Elijah, accepts his calling, and simply requests permission to bid his family farewell. In laconic speech, strange as his abrupt action, Elijah bids him go: "Go, and return, for thou knowest what I have done unto thee." Elisha turns back for this purpose, and kills the yoke of oxen with which he had been ploughing, for a farewell feast, as well perhaps as to indicate his renunciation of his old calling, and then follows Elijah. And for the next six years, during which we hear nothing of Elijah's dodings, his solitary spirit was to find companionship in the gentle, soothing ministry of this young prophetic Timothy. The chief thought with Elijah would be that his mission was ended, and his successor appointed—"Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who poured water on the hands of Elijah." It is a strange succession: Elijah, the rough Bedouin of Mount Gilead, the prophet of fire—Elisha, the gentle son of a pastoral home, a herdsman of the valley; the one a Boanerges, the other a Barnabas. Yet such is the succession whereby God carries on His work, and whereby it is best carried on; these men represent the two elements that must enter, perhaps alternately, into all great spiritual work. Allon. Elisha's native place was at Abel-meholah (the meadow of the dance), a place in the valley of the Jordan, near its junction with the plain of Jezreel. He was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen, himself guiding the twelfth, a proof of the wealth he abandoned to "put his hand to the plough" of Jehovah, when Elijah arrived on his way up the valley toward Damascus, and, without saying a word, cast his prophet's mantle upon Elisha, as if claiming him for a son. Elisha, with a heart prepared by God, only begged to give his father and mother a parting embrace, and Elijah consented, in words implying a keen feeling of Elisha's separation from his parents and home. P. S. The act of Elijah, as, in passing by, he unfastened his mantle and threw it over Elisha, was deeply significant. It meant that the one was to appear like the other—that he was to hold the same office, and to discharge the same functions. With the quickness of a ready heart, the son of Shaphat understood the meaning of this action. It was not to a position of wealth, of ease, or of influence he now felt called. On the contrary, all this had to be relinquished. He, a man of peace, was called from home, friends, and comforts, to endure hardship, to suffer persecution, to bear scorn. Yet he offered not frivolous excuses nor unbelieving objections, but arose and followed the Master. Elijah had passed on, as if unconcerned how Elisha received the call. It had been addressed to him, and it was his part voluntarily to decide for or against its acceptance. This explains what follows in the narrative. Hastening after the prophet, Elisha requested permission to bid farewell to his family and friends; or, as Matthew Henry puts it, he would "take leave, not ask leave." The answer of Elijah, "Go back, for what have I done unto thee?" is intended not as a rebuke, but as a trial. It meant, in effect, Unless your heart fully responds, if it fondly lingers on the past, go back to your home. A. E. 21. The feast here partaken of was not an ordinary festival, but a feast after a sacrifice. It was the pledge that those who partook of it were in covenant with God, that they had surrendered themselves to His service, and that they were at peace with Him. Looked at in this light, the whole transaction now recorded assumes an aspect wholly different from that in which we commonly regard it. Instead of supplying evidence of even momentary hesitation upon Elisha's part, it indicates that the future prophet not only renounced the world, but that he was desirous to tell the world that he did so. And if it shows that he had tender affections and friendly feelings, it shows also that he had learned from the moment when Elijah cast his mantle upon him to count all things but loss for the excellency of the service to which he had then been summoned. The force and vigor of Elisha's character appear as conspicuously in this scene as they do in every other action of his life. W. M.—When that call came it was obeyed without a question. He asked not to what it would lead, or where he was to go. There was no bargaining with God. The response was immediate and unequivocal. It was, "Here am I, send me," of one of after days. It is this ready obedience that honors God. F. Whitfield. #### Suggested Truths. God's mightiest, most productive working in nature, His widest, most radical, and effective movements in providence, including all useful and permanent effects wrought in the advance of civilization and the growth of the Church, and His enlightening and transforming force within the individual soul, all alike are mainly produced by silent, invisible, and seemingly inadequate agencies. B. The silent affections, the splendors of an interior devotion, the unions of love, humility, and obedience, the daily offices of prayer and praises sung to God, the acts of faith and fear, of patience and meekness, of hope and reverence, repentance and charity, and those graces which walk in a veil and silence, make great ascents to God, and as sure progress to favor and a crown as the more ostentatious and laborious exercises of a more solemn religion. Many times God is present in the "still voice" and private retirements of a quiet religion, and the constant spiritualities of an ordinary life; when the loud and impetuous winds, and the shining fires of far more laborious and expensive actions, are profitable to others only. Bp. J. Taylor. The allegory wrought out by such terrific symbols on Horeb, taken in connection with the ultimate failure of Elijah's popular demonstration at Carmel, conveys this most instructive truth; that the means and agencies which ensure success in spiritual undertakings are not the visible and demonstrative, not those which are apparently popular and striking. They are found alone in the quiet ministry of the truth by the Spirit. The true work of God in human hearts is not carried on by the mere stimulus of popular preaching and the consequent excitement of listening throngs, or by any of the accessory methods by which sensation is produced. It is wrought by the faithful, persistent inculcation of pure truth, directed and accompanied by the unseen ministry, gentle but resistless, of the Holy Spirit. B. There are many professors of religion who are never happy except they see a revival. They only live fully in an atmosphere of sensation and excitement. They crave for electric conversions, for a ministry of signs and wonders. They are dissatisfied and unhappy when the Church of God is at its normal pulse, working quietly yet steadily, silently yet solidly, at the building of the Lord's Temple. The lesson many need in these days is, that God's best work is not done by miracles but by ordinary agencies. And the true test of religion, the proof whereby our attachment to God's work is to be evinced, lies in steady effort under commonplace conditions, in faithfulness in little things. "God," writes Mr. Ruskin in an eloquent passage in "Modern Painters"—"God is not in the earthquake nor in the lightning, but in the still small voice. They are but the blunt and low faculties of our nature, which can only be addressed through lampblack and lightning. It is in quiet and subdued passages of unobtrusive majesty; the deep, and the calm and the perpetual, that which must be sought ere it is seen, and loved ere it is understood; things which the angels work out for us daily, and yet very eternally, which are never wanting, and never repeated; which are to be found always, yet each found but once. It is through these that the lesson of devotion is chiefly taught and the blessing of beauty given." Interior. Wonderfully does Christ's way on earth confirm the teaching of this Divine manifestation on Horeb. Never did He put forth the terrible might locked up in His hand, except in ministries of gentleness, or in confirmation of His calm and loving words. Except against conscious hypocrites, destroyers of souls, His was ever the still small voice, unheard in the streets. "The bruised reed he did not break, nor quench the smoking flax." As with the "elders who obtained a good report," so now every true follower of God has points and periods of special weakness; and his chief failures and defections lie exactly in the line and at the point of his peculiar excellencies. This fact rightly interpreted (in the light of this Old Testament history) may afford comfort to the consciously self-consecrated believer in his occasional lapses from duty. And it answers the error or cavil of the unbeliever, who sees the Christian's defection, but not his after-sorrow toward God. Where there is truth in the heart, God's forbearance is very great with human weaknesses and defections, however extreme. Even more impressively is this illustrated in the cases of Abraham, Jacob, and David, and in those of Moses and Elijah. And Christ forbore with all sinners save hypocrites. The faithful laborer sometimes makes Elijah's double mistake—of thinking his labor useless, and that his work for God is done. But God's wise, kind interposition always corrects this mistake. And gladly, bravely the worker goes on, waiting until God shall intimate that his work is finished. God's remedy for a discouraged, disgusted, lonely heart, is twofold: Work and Trust! Yielding to despondency, repining or retiring before disappointment, or folding the hands in the protracted indulgence of even a desolating grief, are acts of unbelief, of selfish weakness, and moral cowardice. No believer, however sorely stricken, has here a right to a prolonged rest of inaction. No sorrowing, burdened heart may rightly say "It is enough! Let me now die!" For with life there is work to which God bids us set every energy of our nature. And in work is found the best relief and firmest support. Trust, too, with work! Trust in God's assurances that He, quietly but effectually, will bring good for us and for others out of every disheartening disappointment, out of all painful toil and suffering. B. "What does thou here?" To every human being this question must be suggested, "Why am I doing what I do, thinking what I think, seeing what I see?" Work and recreation are equally legitimate, if each is treated as part of the will of God. There may be very good reasons for spending portions of our life on Horeb as well as upon Carmel, but the essential point is, that we should be where we are, that we should be doing what we do, because, so far as we know, He who has given us the gift of life wills this, wills nothing else respecting us. Liddon.—Emphatically to the spiritually idle, world-busy, but soul-careless, God's question comes sharply home, What does thou here? All doing is worse than useless that bears not wisely and savagely upon the soul's supreme relation to God. For the end of such doing is utter failure and eternal loss. Therefore, with His question, hear also His loving command, "Son, go work to-day in My vineyard." B. Throughout the whole history of Elijah we see a striking harmony of the highest miraculous with the simplicity and truthfulness of the ordinary life. What a charm they have for us, and, at the same time, how morally impressive these life-like pictures of the ancient Israel! The prophet's sojourn "by the brook Cherith that is before Jordan," his journey to "Sarepta, a city which is near unto Sidon," the widow's unfailing cruse of oil, long since passed into a proverbial saying to denote the unfailing providence of God, that graphic scene where Elijah sends his servant to watch from the top of Carmel the signals of the coming rain, the repose under the juniper-tree, the heaven-provided sustenance, the Lord's talking with the prophet at the cave in Horeb, the familiar yet startling question, "Where art thou, Elijah?" how life-like is it all! how truth-like in the midst of the most astoundingly marvellous, how minute in circumstantial fact, and yet, with no loss of dignity, no abatement of ever-thrilling awe! And then, that pure religious teaching present in every act! it is this that gives it such a moral consistency, taking away its incredibility, and making it so unlike the unmeaning and impure wonders of a false religion. Thus, especially, does that most remarkable scene in Horeb rise to the very height of the natural as well as the sublime. It is just what we are led to expect—Deity so holding converse with His faithful servant, the ever-present One thus talking in the solitude of nature to the man who, for His sake and for His worship's sake, had fled from the world! If it is not so with us in our own personal experience, we cannot help feeling that there must be a lack of that religious intercourse, that personal nearness to God, which would make it seem as probable as it is in itself both rational and true. But how easy, we may say, are such associations of thought and feeling in connection with these striking narratives. The two departments of the world seem to blend together. In its association with the deeply and fearfully religious, the natural acquires a new dignity; it seems to rise up into the region of the supernatural. On the awful summit of Horeb nature becomes Divine; and we can hardly tell which has most to impress the soul—the “fire, the wind, the earthquake,” or the still small voice that attests the near presence of the higher power. We are lifted up to a plane of thought where much becomes credible that would altogether transcend belief if viewed from the lower horizon of the soul. It is just because the constant reading of the Scriptures produces this elevation of thought, that its miraculous retains that hold upon the Christian faith which the sceptic cannot understand. T. Lewis. AHAB'S DOUBLE VICTORY OVER BENHADAD OF SYRIA, THROUGH DIVINE COUNSEL AND HELP. HIS DISOBEDIENCE DENOUNCED AND ADJUDGED BY JEHOVAH. 1. AND Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and 2 fought against it. And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel, into the city, and said 3 unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy 4 children, even the goodliest, are mine. And the king of Israel answered and said, It is accord- 5 ing to thy saying, my lord, O king; I am thine, and all that I have. And the messengers 6 came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, I sent indeed unto thee, saying, 7 Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; but I will 8 send my servants unto thee to-morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and 9 the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they 10 shall put it in their hand, and take it away. Then the king of Israel called all the elders of 11 the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent 12 unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I de- 13 nied him not. And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken thou not, neither 14 consent. Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All 15 that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. 16 And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. And Ben-hadad sent unto him, 17 and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for 18 handfuls for all the people that follow me. And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell 19 him, Let not him that girdeth on his armour boast himself as he that putteth it off. And it 20 came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings, in 21 the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves 22 in array against the city. And, behold, a prophet came near unto Ahab king of Israel, and 23 said, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it 24 into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. And Ahab said, By 25 whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, By the young men of the princes of the provinces. 26 Then he said, Who shall begin the battle? And he answered, Thou. Then he mustered the 27 young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and 28 after them he mustered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand. 29 And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he 30 and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. And the young men of the princes 31 of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There 32 are men come out from Samaria. And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take 33 them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive. So these went out of the 34 city, the young men of the princes of the provinces, and the army which followed them. 20. And they slew every one his man; and the Syrians fled, and Israel pursued them: and Ben- 21 hadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with horsemen. And the king of Israel went 22 out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. And the prophet came near to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. 23 And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their god is a god of the hills; there- fore they were stronger than we: but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we 24 shall be stronger than they. And do this thing; take the kings away, every man out of his 25 place, and put captains in their room: and number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and 26 surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so. And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad mustered the Syrians, and went up 27 to Aphek, to fight against Israel. And the children of Israel were mustered, and were vic- tualled, and went against them: and the children of Israel encamped before them like two 28 little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. And a man of God came near and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is a god of the hills, but he is not a god of the valleys; therefore will I deliver all 29 this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. And they encamped one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined; and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand foot- 30 men in one day. But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and the wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an 31 inner chamber. And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, we pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy 32 life. So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, 33 Is he yet alive? he is my brother. Now the men observed diligently, and hastened to catch whether it were his mind; and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the 34 chariot. And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities which my father took from thy father I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Sama- ria. And I, said Ahab, will let thee go with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and let him go. 35 And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his fellow by the word of the 36 LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, 37 and slew him. Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man 38 smote him, smiting and wounding him. So the prophet departed, and waited for the king 39 by the way, and disguised himself with his headband over his eyes. And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talent of 40 silver. And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel 41 said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. And he hastened, and took the headband away from his eyes; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the 42 prophets. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand the man whom I had devoted to destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life, and 43 thy people for his people. And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria. 1-43. The invasions of Israel by the Syrians and their results. The insertion of this chap- ter, which contains an account of two invasions of Israel by the hosts of Syria and of the utter defeat of the latter, constitutes a break in the history of Elijah, which has occupied the his- torian up to the end of chap. 19, and which is resumed with chap. 21. The insertion of this twentieth chapter in this place is apparently due to the compiler of these records, who seems to have adopted this arrangement as the more chronological. Hammond. This chapter contains the history of two invasions of the kingdom of Ahab by Benhadad, king of Syria, and of his defeat on both occasions by the Israelites under the special intervention of the Lord, who, grievously as He had been offended, still has pity for the seed of Abraham, will try them longer yet, and will not yet give them over to utter misery and ruin. He, therefore, unasked, interferes by His prophets, and encourages the king and people by exhortations and promises. We hear nothing of Baal in these transactions. Their holiday god was of no use to them in time of trouble; and Ahab himself had of late seen too many proofs of the Lord's power, not to know that whatever He promised He was able to perform, and to follow in a spirit of becoming submission the instructions he received. Still there is throughout the narrative a sort of cheerlessness, arising from the want of that spontaneous reference to the Lord and thankfulness to Him, which plays like a sunbeam over the history of public transactions of equal or even lesser moment in the time of devout kings. Kitto.—This chapter proclaims that neither any people nor its rulers can forget God with impunity; that disregard of His laws is sure to bring down His judgments; that the purgatory of nations is in this life present; that while the individual awaits a judgment to come, the community is judged now, by sword and famine and pestilence; by invasion and defeat; by loss of fame and territory; by bad harvests and crippled trade. Corporate bodies and communities may "have no conscience," but they will prove sooner or later, as Assyria and Babylon, as Medes and Persians, as Greeks and Romans, as Russia and Turkey have proved, that "verily there is a reward for the righteous; verily there is a God that judgeth in the earth" (Ps. 58:11). Hammond. 13. The Israelites had their directions from an inspired prophet, one of the prophets of the Lord whom Ahab had hated and persecuted: And behold, a prophet, even one, drew near to the king of Israel; so it may be read. Behold and wonder, that God should send a prophet with a kind and gracious message to so wicked a prince as Ahab was; but he did it. 1. For his people Israel's sake, who, though wickedly degenerated, were the seed of Abraham his friend and Jacob his chosen, the children of the covenant and not yet cast off. 2. That He might magnify His mercy in doing good to one so evil and unthankful; might either bring him to repentance or leave him the more inexcusable. 3. That He might mortify the pride of Benhadad and check his insolence; Ahab's idolatry shall be punished hereafter, but Benhadad's haughtiness shall be chastised now. H. For years past the prophets have been proscribed, hunted, harried to death. Yet in his darkest hour, when other refuge fails him, Ahab finds a prophet at his side. God bears no grudges. It is sufficient to give us a claim upon His help that we are helpless. "Who can wonder enough at this unweariable mercy of God? After the fire and rain fetched miraculously from heaven, Ahab had promised much, performed nothing, yet God will again bless and solicit him with victory; one of those prophets whom he persecuted shall comfort his dejection with the news of deliverance and triumph." This act of grace should have proved that the Lord was God, and that the prophet was His messenger. It is not in man to act thus. "Thou shalt know that I am the Lord." "Not for thy righteousness or the uprightness of thine heart dost thou go in to possess their land, but for the wickedness of these nations," etc. (De. 9:4, 5). The drought, the fire, the great rain, none of these had convinced the king and queen. Will deliverance from the jaws of death move them? Will they believe in a God of battles? Will they recognize His finger in a superhuman victory? Hammond. The persevering condescension and forbearance of God toward Ahab are truly marvellous, and all for the purpose of causing him to know that the God of Israel was indeed the true God, or Jehovah. It all proved to him but the savor of death unto death; and the signal victory but aggravated the condemnation of him who still persisted in his wickedness. T. C. 16-20. The Syrian king was still at his cups, when the watchmen reported that men were coming out of the city; on which, with quiet indifference, which seems characteristic of his arrogant temper, or might be the effect of his wine, he simply directed that they should be taken alive, whether they came for peace or for war. He probably wished to learn from them the state of the city and the intentions of Ahab; but the direction, given without any questions as to their numbers, indicates the most sovereign indifference to any force that Samaria could set forth. The young men had no mind to be taken. On the contrary, they smote right and left, and presently laid prostrate those who had stood against them. This, with the sight of the seven thousand behind coming out of the gates to take part in the fray, struck the Syrian host with a sudden panic, and they fled with all their might, the arrogant king himself being not the hindmost, for he hastened away on a fleet horse. This was the Lord's doing; but we do not hear of any thanksgiving or sacrifices offered to Him in gratitude for help to which they had such little claim. Kitto. 22. I hear not of either the public thanksgiving or amendment of Ahab. Neither danger nor victory can change him from himself. Benhadad and he, though enemies, agree in unrepentance; the one is no more moved with mercy than the other with judgment. Neither is God any changeling in His proceedings toward both. His judgment shall still follow the Syrian; His mercy, Israel: mercy both in forewarning and redelivering Ahab; judgment in overthrowing Benhadad. The prophet of God comes again, and both foretells the intended rencounter of the Syrian and advises the care and preparation of Israel; "Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest; for, at the return of the year, the king of Syria will come up against thee." God purposeth the deliverance of Israel; yet may not they neglect their fortifications. The merciful intentions of God toward them may not make them careless. The industry and courage of the Israelites fall within the decree of their victory. Bp. II. 34. Benhadad, full of gratitude at this wholly unexpected leniency, suggested the terms he was willing to offer as the price of his freedom. He would restore the frontier towns taken from Omri by his father, Benhadad I., thus disabling himself from future invasion by the same route, and would grant Ahab the privilege his father had enjoyed in Samaria, of building streets and squares in his capital of Damascus, for his commercial and political convenience (verses 33, 34). Ahab, elated by this unlooked-for change of fortune, rashly accepted the terms, and permitted the departure of his royal prisoner without requiring any pledge of the fulfilment of his engagement. Such an act was a gross-political blunder no less than a heinous theoretical offence. The enemy of Jehovah had been delivered into his hand under His curse (verse 42). To let him go was to be unfaithful to the commission under which he reigned. Anon. It was not clemency, it was culpable weakness to send this overbearing despot, who had already cost Israel so dear, to send him to his home, there to renew his plots against the people of God. As well might the magistrate compassionate the burglar or the garotter, and instead of shutting him up in prison, send him into the streets to be the plague of society. The king, like the magistrate, is trustee for the commonwealth. He has no right to gratify his benevolent instincts at the expense of the community. Still less right had the theocratic king, the representative of Heaven, to liberate a tyrant whom God had manifestly given into his hands. "Charity cannot excuse disobedience." He had proved Benhadad twice, yet he asks for no material guarantees. He neither consults nor remembers his deliverer. Hammond. 35. Blasphemy hath escaped too well. Ahab hath at once peace with Benhadad, war with God. God proclaims it by His herald, one of the sons of the prophets; not yet in His own form, but disguised, both in fashion and complaint. Bp. II.—The wounding, we may be quite sure, and the tragical circumstances connected therewith, are essential parts of the parable this prophet had to act, of the lesson he had to teach. Now the great lesson he had to convey, not to the king alone, but to the prophetic order and to the whole country, the lesson most necessary in that lawless age, was that of implicit, unquestioning obedience to the Divine law. Ahab had just transgressed that law. He had "let go a man whom God had appointed to utter destruction;" he had heaped honors on the oppressor of his country, and in gratifying benevolent impulses had ignored the will and counsel of God. No doubt it seemed to him, as it has seemed to others since, that he had acted with rare magnanimity, and that his generosity in that age, an age which showed no mercy to the fallen, was unexampled. But he must be taught that he has no right to be generous at the expense of others; that God's will must be done. He is taught this by the prophetic word (verse 42), but much more effectively by the actions which preceded it. A prophet required to smite a brother prophet, and that for no apparent reason, would no doubt find it repugnant to his feelings to do so. But the prophet who refused to do this, who followed his benevolent impulses in preference to the word of the Lord, died for his sin—died by the visitation of God. What a lesson was this to king and prophets and people! Hammond. 42. Therefore thy life shall go for his.** If it be asked, Wherein lay Ahab's great offence, for which God threatens to punish him so severely? the answer is, That it consisted in suffering so horrid a blasphemer as Benhadad was to go unpunished, which was contrary to an express law (Lev. 24 : 16), that extended not to those only that were born in the land, but to strangers likewise. God had delivered him into Ahab's hands for his blasphemy, as he had promised (verse 28), and therefore this act of Providence, compared with the law, did plainly intimate that he was appointed by God for destruction; but so far was Ahab from punishing him as he deserved that he treats him like a friend and a brother, dismisses him upon easy terms, and takes his bare word for the performance, without the least care for the reparation of God's honor. Stackhouse. It corresponds to the case of Agag, whom Saul spared, but whom Samuel slew. The Lord had appointed this man to "utter destruction;" and Ahab knew it. He was to be taught to know, in avenging justice, the greatness of that God he had blasphemed; and the power of the state he ruled was to be so broken as to render it incapable of giving further trouble to Israel. All these public duties Ahab had neglected to gratify a private sentiment; and doubtless from a sympathy with idolatry, which it ill became a king of Israel to show. It was in this that he offended; and his offence was great. To view it rightly, we must look to the misery thereafter caused Israel by the very power which he threw away this opportunity of rendering harmless; and with peculiar intensity must we regard the fact that a few years after Ahab met his death in battle with the very king he thus befriended, and under the orders of that king to his soldiers to aim their weapons exclusively against the life of the man who had spared his own. Kitto. It is to be remembered, first, that Ahab was not free to do as he liked in this matter. His victories had been won, not by his prowess, by the skill of his generals or the valor of his soldiers, but by the power of God alone. The war was God's war; it was begun and continued, and should therefore have been ended, in Him. When even the details of the attack had been ordered of God (verse 14), surely He should have been consulted as to the disposal of the prisoners. But Ahab, who had himself played so craven a part (verses 21, 31), and had contributed nothing to these great and unhoped-for victories, nevertheless arrogated to himself their fruits, and thereby ignored and dishonored God. Secondly, if he had so little regard for his own private interests as to liberate such a man as Benhadad, he ought, as trustee for the peace and welfare of Israel, to have acted differently. The demand of verse 6 should have revealed to him the character of the man he had to deal with. And lastly, he was acting in defiance of all the principles and precedents of the Old Testament dispensation. The king was the authorized dispenser of rewards and punishments, not only to wicked subjects but to aggressive nations. It was his duty to mete out to them the measure they had served to Israel. And the precedents were all in favor of putting such wretches as this Benhadad to the sword (Josh. 10 : 26; Judges 7 : 25; 1 Sam. 15 : 33). If he had been the first oppressor who fell into the hands of Israel, Ahab might have had some excuse. But with the fate of Agag, of Adonibezek, of Oreb and Zeeb, in his memory, he ought at any rate to have paused and asked counsel of God before taking Benhadad into his chariot and sending him away with a covenant of peace, to reappear at no distant period on the scene as the scourge of the Lord's people. Hammond. A personal fact is not indistinctly suggested by the allegory of the prophet. The soul's life is the forfeit of its neglect of an offered salvation through life-long absorption in this and that object of desire and pursuit. That is all. Busy—busy—busy—here and there! That is the epitaph of many a lost soul! Busy here and there, and the life entrusted to me, the life upon which my life was staked, gone—gone forever! Busy, here and there, gathering, not wasting, using, not abusing mental gifts, business talents, mechanical skill, mother-love, graceful accomplishments, learning, wealth, position and influence, yet the true life, to which all these gifts and gains are designed to be subsidiary and helpful, gone, escaped forever! To this consciousness of life neglected, of Christ rejected, of an eternal future forgotten and disregarded, and to this experience, must come at length every living man, every living woman, who is busied life-long exclusively with these best concerns of earth. And when that consciousness and experience are realized at the judgment of the great day, the confirming voice of God's condemnation shall sound within the long-busy soul itself. "Thyself hast decided it," was the self-condemning sentence of Ahab when the fiat of Jehovah had gone forth for his destruction. And thus self-adjusted and self-condemned shall be every world-busy but God-rejecting man! B. 1. AND it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which 2 was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house; and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it: or, if it seem good to 3 thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid 4 it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him 5 down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread. But Jezebel his wife 6 came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and 7 he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: 8 I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. So she wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were 9 in his city, and that dwelt with Naboth. And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a 10 fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: and set two men, sons of Belial, before him, and let them bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst curse God and the king. And 11 then carry him out, and stone him, that he die. And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who dwelt in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, according as it was 12 written in the letters which she had sent unto them. They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth 13 on high among the people. And the two men, sons of Belial, came in and sat before him: and the men of Belial bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did curse God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the 14 city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth 15 is stoned, and is dead. And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. 16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. 17, 18 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which dwelleth in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, 19 whither he is gone down to take possession of it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? and thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall 20 dogs lick thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to do that 21 which is evil in the sight of the LORD. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will utterly sweep thee away, and will cut off from Ahab every man child, and him that is shut up and 22 him that is left at large in Israel; and I will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith 23 thou hast provoked me to anger, and hast made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the 24 LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel, by the rampart of Jezreel. Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air 25 eat. (But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to do that which was evil in 26 the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all that the Amorites did, whom the LORD cast out before the 27 children of Israel.) And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. 28, 29 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, "Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house. THE impressions made upon Ahab and Israel at Carmel, God confirms by twice interposing in their behalf against the Syrian king Benhadad. Twice He secures overwhelming victories by Israel's small army over the vast hosts of Syria. In this He is still seeking to "turn their heart back again;" for He expressly declares, as the reason for His interposition, "that ye may know that I am the Lord" (1 K. 20: 13, 28). (See previous Section.) But Ahab only abused the Divine forbearance and favor. In the very moment of complete success, like Saul with Agag, he openly disobeyed God's command to destroy Benhadad. He preferred and dared to gratify his royal vanity by accepting the professed submission of this Syrian king of kings with his people. So he spared Benhadad to become strong again, and a few years later to be God's instrument in his own destruction. "Because," God plainly told him then, "thou hast let go a man whom I had devoted to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life." It was during the interval of peace which followed the second victory that the incident now under review occurred. It seems to be recorded here to show how utterly hardened Ahab had become. From selfish vanity he had just spared an idolatrous king whom God had condemned. Now from a mere petty, selfish whim he suffers his wicked queen to destroy a righteous man, on account of that man's obedience to the law of God. B. 1-13. History tells of few crimes of its kind more flagitious, more cruel and cold-blooded than this. Here we see that spectacle which one of the ancients said was dear to the gods—a just man suffering shameful wrongs with dignity and patience: we see a man because of his fidelity to God and His law judicially done to death by the representative of God, by the authority appointed to execute the law. And just as the crime has few parallels, so has the history few equals in point of graphic force and quiet pathos. It is like one of those sketches by the hand of a master, which set us wondering to see how much effect can be produced, and how much meaning conveyed, by a few broad lines and touches. Hammond. 1-3. Adjoining the enclosure of Ahab's summer palace at Jezreel was a small vineyard owned by Naboth, that Ahab desired to obtain. Naboth, who had held fast his integrity with Jehovah, declined to part with it because it was his patrimony. The law of God forbade any Israelite from alienating the inheritance of his father (Lev. 25: 28). This was Naboth's only and sufficient reason—a conscientious one—for declining to gratify the king. B. Jezreel. Ahab, not content with the palaces and pleasure grounds provided by his father in Samaria, fixed upon the town of Jezreel in Esdraelon for his residence, when his presence should not be demanded at the capital. Here he built him a palace; here he appears to have instituted the worship of Astarte—the chief goddess of Jezebel's countrymen, as Baal was their chief god—and here the four hundred priests of Astarte, or "the groves," ate at Jezebel's own table. The site of Jezreel is of great beauty and of commanding character. The town occupied the summit of a small isolated ridge which rises out of the plain about six miles north from Jenin, being a mile or so to the northwest of the foot of Mount Gilboa. Westwardly it overlooks the entire length of the plain to the head of Mount Carmel; eastwardly it commands the view of the valley of Jezreel toward the Jordan, and of the massive bulk of Gilead and Bashan rising beyond. The ridge is about one hundred feet high and is several hundred yards long. On the south it slopes gradually to the level of the plain; but in every other direction it falls off abruptly. Ahab's palace seems to have been built at the eastern extremity of the ridge, overhanging the town wall, and the coveted vineyard of the murdered Naboth lay just beneath the palace adjoining the wall. N. C. B. (See vol. iii., pp. 184, 351, 353.) Of the once capital of Israel not a vestige remains, though the situation is lovely. The very ruins have crumbled from desolate heaps to flat turf-clad hillocks. Many old sarcophagi, or marble coffins, lay strewn about, some converted into horse-troughs, and several richly sculptured with the figures of the crescent moon, the symbol of Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians; but these are the only relics of the ancient beauty of Jezreel. Its situation explains why it was chosen as a royal residence. On the east side it has a defensible steep, rocky descent of at least one hundred feet, and from its tower there is a commanding view north, east, and west. For miles the route from the Jordan by Bethshean can be traced. On the other side the plain is in view past Taanach and Megiddo, as far as Carmel. The importance of Jezreel was limited to the reigns of Ahab and his son. Ahab selected it as his favorite residence, without deserting altogether Samaria as the political capital. Here he erected his palace and built his "ivory house," its inner walls, probably, panelled or vencered with ivory; and here Jezebel lived after his death. The sad story of Naboth is forcibly brought before our mind as we stand on the mounds of Jezreel. The royal grounds most probably have stretched down the hill. Then to the east is the little valley, where was the plot, the patrimony of Naboth, on the way up to the city. Tristram. 2. Ahab is lord and king of all the territories of Israel; Naboth is the owner of one poor vineyard: Ahab cannot enjoy Israel if Naboth enjoy his vineyard. Besides Samaria, Ahab was the victor of him that was attended with two and thirty kings; Naboth was a plain townsman of Jezreel, the good husband of a little vineyard. Whether is the wealthier? I do not hear Naboth wish for anything of Ahab's; I hear Ahab wishing, not without indignation for a repulse, for somewhat from Naboth. Riches and poverty are no more in the heart than in the hand. He is wealthy that is contented; he is poor that wanteth more. O rich Naboth, that carest not for all the large possessions of Ahab; so thou mayest be the lord of thine own vineyard. O miserable Ahab, that carest not for thine own possessions whilst thou mayest not be the lord of Naboth's vineyard! Bp. H. As the law was concerned for the continued existence of families, so, too, provision was made for the preservation of the property on which the subsistence of the family depended. As far as possible, the inheritance was to be preserved entire. Here the theocratic principle in its full force came in, and its application to questions of proprietorship is expressed in the declaration (Lev. 25: 23), "The land is mine; for ye are strangers and foreigners with me"—that is, God, the King of the people, is the real proprietor of the land, and He gives it to the people only as tenants. Now, inasmuch as each family forms an integral part of the theocracy, an inheritance is given to it by Jehovah for its subsistence, which forms, as it were, an hereditary feudal holding, and is therefore in itself inalienable. Hence Naboth's refusal; and hence the strong language of the prophets against the efforts of the rich to enlarge their possessions by adding to their own lands the inheritance of others (Isa. 5: 8 and other passages). O. 4-7. Ahab as a sufferer and Jezebel a comforter. We have had the one weakness of Elijah's life. Here we have the one weakness of Ahab's whole career. As is the cause so is the effect, pitifully trivial and childish. This king over Israel, possessing two luxurious palaces and all the pleasures that unlimited wealth and power could command, is actually sickened with displeasure and discontent because he cannot obtain this toy garden for his gratification. So it is that something is always wanting to those who have most. And one trivial want is stronger than the many possessions. One small cross of want or disappointment brings more of real pain than many blessings give of pleasure. Now Jezebel comes in as a comforter, faithful in her devotion to him if in nothing else. Like a child he tells her the cause of his trouble. But he conceals and misrepresents Naboth's reason for declining. He implies that the refusal came from mere obstinacy and a desire to thwart his wishes. Whereas Naboth had put it on the high ground of obedience to Jehovah's express law. And Ahab, as himself solemnly pledged to maintain this law, was bound to respect and yield to Naboth's reason. What the subject could not conscientiously concede the sovereign could not rightly require. As he acts and speaks childishly, so Jezebel soothingly answers as to a child. "Cheer up! Thou art yet king. I will get you what you are longing for!" She does not tell him her plan, for he has yet some fear of God, if not conscience, left, or he would have at once seized upon Naboth's land. She would not awaken this fear, and perhaps hinder her scheme, by acquainting him with it. And as he lies there in peevish discontent he has not fear or conscience enough to care what course she intends to pursue. B. As he lies there like a spoiled child, all because he could not get his own way, he may serve for an example of the misery of unbridled selfishness and unregulated desires. An acre or two of land was a small matter to get into such a state about, and there are few things that are worth a wise or a strong man's being so troubled. Hezekiah might "turn his face to the wall" in the extremity of sickness and earnestness of prayer; but Ahab, doing it, is only a poor, feeble creature who has weakly set his heart on what is not his, and weakly whimpers because he cannot have it. To be thus at the mercy of our own ravenous desires, and so utterly miserable when they are thwarted, is unworthy of manhood, and is sure to bring many a bitter moment; for there are more disappointments than gratifications in store for such a one. We may learn from him, too, the certainty that weakness will darken into wickedness. Such a mood as his always brings some Jezebel or other to suggest evil ways of succeeding. In this wicked world there are more temptations to sin than helps to virtue, and the weak man will soon fall into some of the abundant traps laid for him. A. M. Discontent is a sin that is its own punishment, and makes men torment themselves; it makes the spirit sad, the body sick, and all the enjoyments sour; it is the heaviness of the heart and the rottenness of the bones. It is a sin that is its own parent; it arises not from the condition but from the mind; as we find Paul contented in a prison, so Ahab discontented in a palace; he had all the delights of Canaan at command, the wealth of a kingdom, the pleasures of a court, and the honors and powers of a throne; and yet all this avails him nothing without Naboth's vineyard. Inordinate desires expose men to continual vexations, and they that are disposed to fret, be they never so happy, will always find something or other to fret at. H. 7. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth.** Ahab wanted neither wit nor wickedness; yet is he in both a very novice to this Zidonian dame. There needs no other devil than Jezebel, whether to project evil or to work it. Bp. H.—How she would give it him she did not indicate. Nor was Ahab careful to inquire, lest he should be forced either to sanction what his conscience condemned or to forbid what he would fain see done with no open complicity on his part. It presents a frightful picture of the demoralization of the people of Jezreel, caused by the residence of the idolatrous and wicked court, that her horrible plot was so readily carried into effect. Venables. 8-10. Jezebel's impious scheme to put Naboth out of the way.** The alphabet and the use of letters came from her own country of Phoenicia. She employs this, to her familiar, agency to issue in the king's name and with his seal a command to the elders and nobles of Jezreel. And never was a more impious mandate issued. It was not merely an order causelessly and remorselessly to murder a righteous man; but it proposed to commit such murder under the color of a religious service, and with the forms of justice. The rulers of Jezreel were directed to proclaim a fast, a solemn, religious observance, as if some public calamity were threatened on account of some great crime. Thus the people were prepared to expect some accusation to be made, to look for some criminal to be pointed out. And they would be ready to take instant action in judgment against such alleged criminal, that the threatened calamity might be avoided. Thus the sacred offices of religion would be perverted to serve Jezebel's murderous purpose. Further, she directs these men, who were the magistrates of Jezreel, to employ the forms of justice while directly violating its spirit and subverting its ends. She requires the men who constitute the court of God's appointment, to whom He had entrusted the administration of law and equity, themselves to suborn false witnesses. Nay, she frames the false charge, and requires these judges to put the very words of accusation into the mouths of the bribed accusers. And as the crowning feature of her unparalleled iniquity, all that she proposes to be done is based upon an assumed recognition of Jehovah as the God of Israel, and a regard for His religious ordinances and civil statutes. Because this will best subserve her cruel purpose, she makes pretence of acknowledging Him, for whose authority and laws and servants she has hitherto manifested only scorn and hate. B. Jezebel had Ahab's signet, the badge of authority. Her letter to the elders of Jezreel speaks out with cynical disregard of decency the whole ugly conspiracy. It is direct, horribly plain and imperative. There is a perfect nest of sins hissing and coiled together in it—hypocrisy calling religion in to attest a lie, subornation of evidence, contempt for the poor tools who are to perjure themselves, consciousness that such work will only be done by worthless men, cool lying, ferocity and murder—these are a pretty company to crowd into half a dozen lines. Most detestable of all is the plain speaking which shows her hardened audacity and conscious defiance of all right. To name sin by its true name, and then to do it without a quiver, is a depth of evil reached by few men, and perhaps fewer women. A. M.—Mark the atrocious use to which a bad heart puts the knowledge of God's law. Jezebel, as this record shows, was acquainted with the requirements of the Mosaic code. She knew that blasphemy was punishable with death, and that at the mouth of two or three witnesses only could any one be condemned; and she availed herself of that knowledge for bringing about falsely, yet under color of observing the law, the death of Naboth. W. M. Taylor. 11-14. The elders and nobles execute Jezebel's scheme to the letter. Without demur or hesitation, having no fear of God to counteract their fear of Jezebel, as residents of the royal city steeped in the iniquity of the court, they promptly carry out the very minute directions given them. They convene a religious assembly, and transform it into a court. They set Naboth in a conspicuous place. By the lips of false witnesses, whom they have procured and instructed how to speak, they hurl upon the righteous but defenceless man a double accusation of the highest crime—blasphemy against God and treason against the king. Then, without allowing the accused man a moment of opportunity for answer or disproof, they pronounce judgment of death. And instantly the assembled multitude carried the innocent but condemned Naboth forth out of the city, and executed sentence according to the law of Moses by stoning him to death. And the message sent to Jezebel accords with the character of the whole transaction. They said, not that Naboth was found guilty of crime against God and the king and has been punished, but simply Naboth is stoned, and is dead. Surely never were cruel, heartless orders more heartlessly obeyed. B. In the record of Jezebel not one redeeming feature anywhere appears. Her character bears the stamp of unmixed wickedness—pure and utter depravity. We should think much better of her if she had hired an assassin to waylay Naboth and hurl a javelin through his heart. It was doubly horrible to prostitute the sacred forms of justice to the purposes of such foul murder and wrong. Perhaps she thought to conceal crime under such a covering; but God abhors such concealments, and has ways to blast such schemes. All in all, the character of Jezebel is drawn—to be execrated. There could be no other worthy object in delineating such ineffable meanness and wickedness. H. C. No clause of the letter is not observed. A fast is warned; the city is assembled; Naboth is converted, accused, confronted, sentenced, stoned: his vineyard is escheated to the crown; Ahab takes speedy and quiet possession. How still doth God sit in heaven, and look upon the complots of treachery and villainies as if they did not concern Him! The success so answers their desires, as if both heaven and earth were their friends. It is the plague, which seems the felicity of sinners, to speed well in their lewd enterprises. No reckoning is brought in the midst of the meal: the end pays for all. Bp. H. 15,16. Jezebel tells Ahab to take possession of the coveted vineyard, for Naboth is dead. As Naboth's sons had also been slain (2 K. 9: 26), the king had now a legal claim to the possession. At once he goes to the vineyard, himself conscious of bloodguiltiness, although he had no direct part in the murder. But well he knew that Naboth's death had been designed and wrought by Jezebel, and that at heart he had been consenting to the deed. B. Her indecent triumph at the success of the plot and her utter callousness are expressed in her words to Ahab, in which the main point is the taking possession of the vineyard. The death of its owner is told with exultation, as nothing but the sweeping away of an obstacle. Ahab asks no questions as to how this opportune clearing away of hindrance came about. He knew, no doubt, well enough, that there had been foul play; but that does not matter to him, and such a trifle as murder does not slacken his glad haste to get his new toy. There was other red on the vines than their clustering grapes, as he soon found out, when Elijah's grim figure, like an embodied conscience, met him there. Whoever reaches out, to grasp a fancied good by breaking God's law may get his good, but he will get more than he expected along with it—even an accusing voice that prophesies evil. A. M. Ahab's entry on the possession seems to have been made the very next day after Naboth's death. We learn afterward (2 K. 9: 26) that Jehu and Bidkar rode with Ahab at the time, and so appalling was the curse which Elijah pronounced on the wretched king that it was imprinted on Jehu's memory, and he could quote it many years afterward, apparently in its very words. Lumby. 17-20. In the vineyard he encounters Elijah again, whom God had sent to meet him there. He learns from the prophet's words at what fatal cost to himself, to Jezebel, and to his children, this possession has been gained. Elijah's words are words of doom. In due time they are fulfilled: first, in his own death from a bow "drawn at a venture;" afterward, in the horrible mangling of Jezebel, and the slaughter of his seventy sons. B. While Ahab is rejoicing in his new garden plot, and promising himself contentment in this commodious enlargement, in comes Elijah—sent from God with an errand of vengeance. Little pleasure took he in his prospect while it was clogged with such a guest; yet his tongue begins first, "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" Great is the power of conscience. Upon the last meeting, for aught we know, Ahab and Elijah parted friends: the prophet had lackeyed his coach, and took a peaceable leave at this town's end; now Ahab's heart told him that God and His prophet were fallen out with him. His continuing idolatry, now seconded with blood, bids him look for nothing but frowns from heaven. A guilty heart can never be at peace. Bp. II. We see here this broad principle—pleasure won by sin is peace lost. While sin is yet tempting us it is loved; when sin is done, it is loathed. Naboth's blood stains the leaves of Naboth's garden. Elijah is always waiting at the gate of the ill-gotten possession. Sin is blind to its true friends and its real foes. Elijah was the best friend Ahab had in the kingdom. Jezebel was the worst tempter that hell could have sent him. This is one of the certainest workings of evil desires in our own spirits, that they pervert to us all the relations of things, that they make us blind to all the moral truths of God's universe. Sin is blind as to itself, blind as to its own consequences, blind as to who are its friends and who are its foes, blind as to earth, blind as to another world, blind as to God. The man that walks in the "vain show" of transgression, whose heart is set upon evil, fancies that ashes are bread and stones gold (as in the old fairy story); and, on the other hand, he thinks that the true sweet is the bitter, and turns away from God's angels and God's prophets with, "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" That is the reason of not a little of the infidelity that haunts this world—that sin, perverted and blinded, stumbles about in its darkness, and mistakes the face of the friend for the face of the foe. God sends in His mercy the discipline of life, pains and sorrows, to draw us away from the wrong, to make us believe that the right in this world and the next is life, and that holiness is happiness forevermore. And then, when, having done wrong, God's merciful messenger of a sharp sorrow finds us out, we say, "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" and begin to wonder about the mysteries of Providence, and how it comes that there is evil in the creation of a good God. Why, physical evil is the best friend of the man that is subject to moral evil. Sorrow is the truest blessing to a sinner. The best thing that can befall any of us is that God shall not let us alone in any wrong course without making us feel His rod, without hedging up our way with thorns, and sending us by His grace into a better one. There is no mystery in sorrow. There is a mystery in sin; but sorrow, following on the back of sin, is the true friend, and not the enemy of the wrong-doing spirit. A. M. Thou hast sold thyself to work evil. Because he was the king, the judge, who, instead of punishing the evil-doer, sanctioned and approved the deed, and who crowned a reign of idolatries and abominations with this shameful murder, the prophetic sentence is directed primarily against him. Hammond.—Not only had Ahab given himself entirely over to iniquity, but he had done so at the price of himself. The great German poet has elaborated this thought into that weird production wherein he represents his hero as selling his soul to the mocking Mephistopheles. And it were well that every evil-doer laid to heart the moral of his tragic tale. That which the sinner gives for his unhallowed pleasure or dishonest gain is himself. W. M. Taylor. 21-25. Elijah comes here and prophesies the fall of Ahab. The next peal, the next flash, fulfil the prediction. There, where he did the wrong, he died. In Jezreel, Ahab died. In Jezreel, Jezebel died. That plain was the battle-field for the subsequent discomfiture of Israel. Over and over again there encamped upon it the hosts of the spoilers. Over and over again its soil ran red with the blood of the children of Israel; and at last, in the destruction of the kingdom, Naboth was avenged and God's word fulfilled. The threatened evil was foretold that it might lead the king to repentance, and that thus it might never need to be more than a threat. But, though Ahab was partially penitent and partially listened to the prophet's voice, yet for all that he went on in his evil way. Therefore the merciful threatening becomes a stern prophecy, and is fulfilled to the very letter. And so, when God's message comes to us, if we listen not to it and turn not to its gentle rebuke, oh, then we gather up for ourselves an awful futurity of judgment, when threatening darkens into punishment, and the voice that rebuked swells into the voice of final condemnation. There is a resurrection of acts as well as of bodies. Think what it will be for a man to sit surrounded by that ghastly company, the ghosts of his own sins!—and as each forgotten fault and buried badness comes, silent and sheeted, into that awful society, and sits itself down there, think of him greeting each with the question, "Thou too? What! are ye all here? Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" and from each bloodless spectral lip there tolls out the answer, the knell of his life, "I have found thee, because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord." A. M. Altogether unnoticed by the world, many a man's sin meets him in that dread chamber of an awakened conscience, where so many sights and sounds of terror congregate. In solitude, in secret, in dead hours of night the sinner awakes, and the long train of his transgressions passes by before him. They mock him; they reproach him; they present themselves to him in all their hideous features, with no modest reserve, no fair sentences, no smooth names to name them by, that thus their wickedness may be concealed, but bold, brazen-faced, true to what they are. In such hours the sinner trembles. How bitterly does he reproach himself, bite his lips in the anguish of his spirit, and shut his eyes only that his sins, remembered now, may peer more closely in through the closed eyelids! It is Elijah meeting Ahab in Naboth's vineyard. It is the fulfilment of the words, "What fruit had ye in those things whereof ye are now ashamed, for the end of these things is death." The fact of this righteous judge and of this righteous judgment cannot be too deeply impressed upon us; and it is in no small degree for the sake of leaving that impression upon our minds that the story of Naboth is dwelt upon as it is. 27-29. The threatenings of the prophet so awfully announced, so powerfully brought home to Ahab on the very spot which had been the scene of his wickedness, produced its effect. Ahab himself repented, at least in part; and the last impression left upon us by the sacred writer, in bringing his terrible narrative regarding him to a close, is that even He whose judgments had followed him all his days has no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that he turn from his wickedness and live. His eye pitied the unhappy king as he "rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly;" and the final motto of his melancholy story is, that, while he who dares to meet the Almighty as a foe can only perish upon the thick bosses of His buckler, he who repents and forsakes his sins shall find mercy. W. M. Ahab put on the garb and guise of a penitent, and yet his heart was unhumbled and unchanged. After this we find he hated a faithful prophet (chap. 22: 8). It is no new thing to find the show and profession of repentance where yet the truth and substance of it are wanting. Ahab's repentance was only what might be seen of men: Sect thou (says God to Elijah) how Ahab humbles himself? It was external only—the garments rent, but not the heart. A hypocrite may go very far in the outward performances of holy duties, and yet come short. He obtained hereby a reprieve, which I may call a kind of pardon. Though it was but an outside repentance (lamenting the judgment only and not the sin), though he did not leave his idols nor restore the vineyard to Naboth's heirs, yet because he did hereby give some glory to God, God took notice of it, and bade Elijah take notice of it; Sect thou how Ahab humbles himself? (verse 29). In consideration of this the threatened ruin of his house, which had not been fixed to any time, should be adjourned to his son's days. The sentence should not be revoked, but the execution suspended. Now, 1. This discovers the great goodness of God and His readiness to show mercy, which here rejoices against judgment. Favor is showed to this wicked man, that God might magnify His goodness (says Bishop Sanderson), even to the hazard of His other Divine perfections; as if (says he) God would be thought unholy, or untrue, or unjust (though He be none of these), or anything rather than unmerciful. 2. This teaches us to take notice of that which is good, even in those who are not so good as they should be; let it be commended as far as it goes. 3. This gives a reason why wicked people sometimes prosper long; God is rewarding their external services with external mercies. 4. This encourages all those that truly repent and unfeignedly believe the holy Gospel. If a pretending partial penitent shall go to His house reprieved, doubtless a sincere penitent shall go to His house justified. H.—But why, it may be asked, if Ahab's humiliation was so little worth, was any Divine regard shown toward it? This, we answer, was to show by a living example that self-condemnation and abasement before God is the way to escape His anger and obtain His favor. The exemption which the Lord made in Ahab's favor on his repenting was calculated to encourage him to aim at something better. Self-condemnation, self-abasement, and giving God the glory are the first steps from spiritual death to spiritual life. Krummacher. If we were to seek the Scriptures through for a proof that God's "property is always to have mercy," and that judgment is His strange work, where should we find a more striking and eminent one than in this relenting toward Ahab? Hammond. # Other Suggestions of the Story. The key-note of Elijah's character is force—the force of righteousness. The New Testament, you remember, talks about the "power of Elias." The whole of his career is marked by this one thing—the strength of a righteous man. And, on the other hand, the key-note of Ahab's character is the weakness of wickedness and the wickedness of weakness. Weakly longing—as idle and weak minds in lofty places always do—after something that belongs to somebody else; with all his gardens, coveting the one little herb-plot of the poor Naboth; weak and worse than womanly, turning his face to the wall and weeping when he cannot get it; weakly desiring to have it, and yet not knowing how to set about accomplishing his wish; and then—as is always the case, for there are always tempters everywhere for weak people—that beautiful fiend by his side, like the other queen in our great drama, ready to screw the feeble man that she is wedded to, to the sticking place, and to dare anything to grasp that on which the heart was set. And so the deed is done: Naboth safe stoned out of the way; and Ahab goes down to take possession! The lesson of that is: Weak dallying with forbidden desires is sure to end in wicked clutching at them. A. M. The effect of selfish living. It so weakens proper self-respect and self-reliance, that when disappointment comes, the man has nothing to fall back upon. So he belittles himself, as Ahab did, by childish fretting. True manhood and manly action have a basis of unselfishness. Devotion to others, to God or man, is the secret of self-reliance, patient endurance, and all other elements of truly elevated character. The amazing wickedness of the human heart. To King Ahab were the words uttered: Thou hast sold thyself to work evil. Sold to Satan, only to receive the "wages of sin." In all history, sacred and secular, few parallels can be found to this utter depravity of Jezebel. Satan's power in her soul has rarely since been matched. B.—Jezebel is an instance of the fatal audacity with which a strong character may come, by long indulgence in self-willed gratification of its own desires, to trample down all obstacles and go crashing through all laws, human and Divine. The climax of sin is to see a deed to be sinful, and to do it all the same. Such a pre-eminence in evil is not reached at a bound, but it can be reached; and every indulgence in passion and every gratifying of desire against which conscience protests is a step toward it. Therefore, if we shrink from such a goal, let us turn away from the paths that lead to it. "No mortal man is supremely foul all at once." Therefore resist the beginnings of evil. A. M. Sin is not hateful to selfish repentance except that it brings self into trouble. That it offends a good God, grieves a compassionate God, that is nothing if it could be indulged without imperilling self. No wonder that selfish repentance is not saving. It might exist, does exist, to a degree now inconceivable to us, in hell. It may be very sincere on earth, but it is only another form of the sinful, selfish, corrupt nature. It is the human heart shrinking from suffering, but not yearning after God. Godly sorrow, on the other hand, eyes God mainly. That He should have been sinned against seems the terrible thing. That such love and goodness should have been despised and insulted seems intolerable. J. Hall. The moral government of God to-day is administered on the same principles as those which we find underlying this narrative. True, the dishonest man now pursuing his purposes in secret may have no Elijah sent to him; but Elijah's God is living yet, and one has only to open his eyes and mark the progress of events from year to year to be convinced that "sorrow tracketh wrong as echo follows song—on, on, on." He who holds gain by injustice will, sooner or later, come to ruin; and, if no restitution is made, they who inherit from him his blood-stained gold will be made sharers of his calamity. Let a man rudely trample upon the weak, and take by violence that to which he has no right, and it will cost him much; for the judgment of God is already on the way to him, and though it tarry long, it will fall heavily when it comes. W. M. Taylor. Evil pursues sinners, and their sin is sure to find them out. God sees the guilt. He sets the inward soul-avenger, conscience, on the track. And in His time He consummates the judgment, except the sinner has become penitent and trustful in His mercy. Save in that mercy there is no escape from ultimate and lasting doom. The principle involved in the Divine permission of Naboth's slaughter by Jezebel is the same as that in all other martyrdoms. He was only one of the many worshippers of Jehovah she had caused to be slain. To meet the difficulty in any one's thought, it is enough to say that the direct counteraction by God of the evil designs and deeds of men involves an utter change in His existing plan of government. An inspired explanation of this difficulty may be found in the seventy-third Psalm. B. 22 : 1 AND they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth-gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with me to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Inquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to-day. Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here besides a prophet of the LORD, that we might inquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the LORD, Micaiah the son of Imlah: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah. Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, arrayed in their robes, in an open place at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until they be consumed. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the 41. AND Jehoshaphat the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab 42 king of Israel. Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Azubah 43 the daughter of Shilhi. And he walked in all the way of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: howbeit the high places were not taken away; the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high 44 places. And Jehoshaphat made peace with 45 the king of Israel. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the 46 kings of Judah? And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he put away out of the land. 47 And there was no king in Edom: a deputy 48 was king. Jehoshaphat made ships of Tarshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at 49 Ezion-geber. Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehosh- 50 aphat would not. And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so 11 that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. And some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and silver for tribute; the Arabians also brought him flocks, seven thousand 12 and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he-goats. And Jehosha- 13 phat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles and cities of store. And he had many works in the cities of Judah; and men of war, mighty men of valour, in Jerusalem. 14 And this was the numbering of them according to their fathers' houses: of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the captain, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred 15 thousand: and next to him Jehohanan the captain, and with him two hundred and four- 16 score thousand: and next to him Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself 17 unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour: and of Benja- 18 min; Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him two hundred thousand armed with bow 19 and shield: and next to him Jehozabad, and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand 20 ready prepared for war. These were they that waited on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah. Chap. 18, giving the account of the union of forces between Ahab and Jehoshaphat, the disastrous battle of Ramoth-Gilead, and death of Ahab, is embodied in the latter's history, Section 15. 19:1 And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. 2 And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the wicked, and love them that hate the LORD? for this thing wrath is 3 upon thee from before the LORD. Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast put away the Asheroth out of the land, and hast set thine heart to seek God. 4 And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again among the people from Beer-sheba to the hill country of Ephraim, and brought them back unto the LORD, the God 5 of their fathers. And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, 6 city by city, and said to the judges, Consider what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but 7 for the LORD; and he is with you in the judgement. Now therefore let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor re- 8 spect of persons, nor taking of gifts. Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the Levites and the priests, and of the heads of the fathers' houses of Israel, for the judgement of 9 the LORD, and for controversies. And they returned to Jerusalem. And he charged them, 10 saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. And whensoever any controversy shall come to you from your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgements, ye shall warn them, that they be not guilty towards the LORD, and so wrath come upon you 11 and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not be guilty. And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, in all the king's matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and the LORD be with the good. 20:1 And it came to pass after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of 2 Ammon and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar (the same is En- 3 gedi). And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto the LORD; and he proclaimed 4 a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek help of the 5 LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new 6 court; and he said, O LORD, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in thine hand is power and might, 7 so that none is able to withstand thee. Didst not thou, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for 8 ever? And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, 9 If evil come upon us, the sword, judgement, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, 10 and thou wilt hear and save. And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of 11 Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them not; behold, how they reward 12 us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that 13 cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. And all 14 Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; 15 and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehosha- phat: thus saith the LORD unto you, Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this 16 great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the 17 valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set your- selves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed: to-morrow go out against them; for the LORD is with you. 18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants 19 of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God 20 of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice. And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be 21 established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto the LORD, and praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto the LORD; for his 22 mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set liers in wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against 23 Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made 24 an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, 25 they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped. And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in taking of the 26 spoil, it was so much. And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of that place was called The 27 valley of Beracah, unto this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD 28 had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries 29 and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD. And the fear of God was on all the king- doms of the countries, when they heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about. 31 And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was 32 Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and turned 33 not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD. Howbeit the high places were not taken away; neither as yet had the people set their hearts unto the God of 34 their fathers. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are writ- ten in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel. 35 And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel; 36 the same did very wickedly: and he joined himself with him to make ships to go to 37 Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath destroyed thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish. 2. Chron. 17: 1, 2.** Jehoshaphat strengthens the defences of Judah. Son of Asa, fourth king of Judah, Jehoshaphat succeeded to the throne B.C. 914, at thirty-five years of age. His reign lasted twenty-five years, to B.C. 889. Ahab was now king in Israel; Benhadad I. still reigned in Syria; and Elisha abode in Israel. There had been from the division a chronic state of hostility between the kindred king- doms. It was the cities on the frontier of Is- rael that Jehoshaphat first sought to strengthen, as his father had done the cities on the southern border. Walls were built or rebuilt; walled towns were garrisoned, and military outposts and stations established. 3-5. God's ample return for faithful service. Two points are here referred to concerning Jehoshaphat's conduct; each one in a double form, positive and comparative. It is said: 1. That he sought not unto Baalim, but sought to the Lord God of his father. Baalim, the plural form, refers to the various names, im- ages or places in which the Tyrian god Baal, already introduced widely into Israel and Judea, was worshipped. In the licentious practices and cruelties of that abominable worship Je- hoshaphat took no part; nor had he faith or respect for any such divinity. Jehovah, the true God, the God of his fathers, was the sole object of his trust, the Divine Being whom he sought to, or worshipped. 2. He walked in Je- hovah's commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. To the seeking, or the trust and worship, he added the obedient life, here called "walking in His commandments." The figure is as expressive as it is familiar. We read of the walk with God or before Him; the walk by faith, the upright and the disorderly walk; everywhere descriptive of the tenor of the life, whether true and godly, or self-seeking, false, and defiant toward God. This good king sought to do as well as to know the will of God. He re-established more thoroughly the law and worship of Jehovah throughout his kingdom. And, it is added, he did not walk "after the doings of Israel." We remember that Jezebel, Ahab's impious queen, had just enthroned the Baal worship as the supreme religion of the kingdom of Israel. And it is to this universal acceptance of that gigantic and terrible idolatry by the people of Israel that reference is here made. The practical suggestions are plain when we read that because Jehoshaphat thus sought to Jehovah and walked in His commandments, the Lord was with him. If we would secure the only desirable favor, that of God, our first and ever foremost personal duty is a trustful seeking of God, as revealed in Christ. The necessary condition and consequence of such seeking of God is the turning away from all other seeking and trust, from any and all other objects of supreme attachment and interest. And second, persistent search to know and unremitting endeavor to do the revealed will of God must accompany, and prove as genuine the trustful seeking of God. This doing of His will also implies the not doing our own will when differing from His. In other words, obedience means and includes all necessary self-denial and sacrifice. How the Lord's favor was realized and made manifest further appears in the narrative. The kingdom was more firmly established. The whole people gladly added large voluntary gifts to the ordained taxes, for use by the king in adding to the strength and splendor of the kingdom. And, it is added, "he had riches and honor in abundance." The prosperity and renown of his reign far exceeded that of any rule in either of the divided kingdoms. B. 3. He walked in the first ways of his father.** The purest blood this world has ever known is that of a Christian ancestry. It outranks all other aristocracies. Descent from kings and emperors bears no comparison with it. There is a law of Christian nurture by which, through the grace of God, every Christian family becomes a nursery of the Church of Christ. Such is God's obvious design. Character is not transferable from father to son, but the elements out of which character grows are so. Religion once rooted in a Christian family should achieve so much conservation of Christian forces. A moral dike is thus built up against the floods of depravity, behind which children may be safe, as Holland is from the inroads of the sea. There is no good reason why our children should not grow up into Christian faith, instead of being wrenched into it by moral convulsions after years of riot in depravity. Phelps. Ways of Baalim. By "Baalim" seem to be meant different forms of the god Baal, such as Baal-berith, Baal-peor, Baal-zebub, and the like. Jehoshaphat was not seduced into this worship, though in his day it overspread almost the whole kingdom of Israel. 4. The doings of Israel.** By this we are to understand not so much the worship of the calves, which, being antagonistic to Judah, could scarcely possess attractions for a Jewish king, as the special idolatrous doings of the time—the introduction and establishment of the worship of Baal and the groves. B. C. 6-9. The memorable crowning act of Jehoshaphat's reign.** Instead of a heart lifted up with pride because of prosperity, these proofs of Divine favor wrought in him a grateful lifting of heart in the ways of the Lord. Still more thoroughly he sought to root out the spirit and practice of idolatry from the entire kingdom. But his greatest work, one which gave the highest distinctive character to his reign, is narrated in verses 7-9. It consisted in an organized mission to instruct the entire people in the knowledge of the then written Word of God. The Scriptures of Moses we know were included in "the book of the law of the Lord." A copy of this law the king entrusted to a commission of five princes, nine Levites, and two priests, whose names are here recorded. This commission he sent throughout all the cities of Judah, with instructions to gather the people together and teach afresh the forgotten Divine precepts. The princes directed the work to which their presence, as the king's personal representatives, lent dignity and authority. The Levites and priests, as the appointed interpreters, read and expounded the written Word of Jehovah. It was a new and greatly needed measure, the first endeavor of a practical kind to diffuse among the people the knowledge of Jehovah Himself, of His law, and of His previous dealings with His chosen people. And it was the conception and execution of this grand work which eminently distinguished the reign of this good and gentle king. To realize how memorable and crowning an act it was we have but to recall the long, sad history of the whole nation's declension in the knowledge and service of Jehovah, from the days of Solomon onward. B. It is, in fact, the first missionary effort on record. For the first time instruction in the ways of God was brought to their homes. As Matthew Henry well writes, "He dealt with them as reasonable creatures, and would not lead them blindfold, no, not into a reformation, but endeavored to have them well taught, knowing that that was the way to have them well cured." W. Benham. 9. And had the book of the law with them. There is no reasonable doubt that this "book of the law" was the Pentateuch—nearly, if not quite, in the shape in which we now have it. Copies of the whole law were, no doubt, scarce; and therefore Jehoshaphat's commission took care to carry a copy with them. B. C. 10. The remarkable result of the king's fidelity to Jehovah and wide dissemination of His Word. It is not said that the people of Judah were prospered, but that the neighboring hostile countries were so impressed by the prevalent spirit of God's now obedient people that a fear of Him came upon those heathen nations. So Judah had peace without and tranquillity within. More than this, on the one side the Philistines, and the Arabians on the other, voluntarily brought presents of silver and of flocks to the king of Judah. A great prosperity came to king and people. The business of the cities was vastly augmented, and large treasures were accumulated. And this was the reward of even imperfect obedience and of partial knowledge and regard of the Word of Jehovah! How clear and striking the lessons to us of the latest days! God's Word, now full and complete, may be in every hand. In every hand it should be placed. It may be apprehended by every mind and received by every heart. The heart knowledge of and obedience to its truths brings inward peace and outward prosperity to the individual soul, and to the nation. Are not these thoughts worthy of profound consideration and self-application? B. 12-19. Throughout the whole country he built "cities of store," or magazines of arms and provisions. In Jerusalem he collected a large military force, under five chief captains, Adnah, Jehohanah, Amasiah the son of Zichri, Eliada, and Jehozabad, who were placed at the head of five distinct corps d'armée. Over the garrisons in the other towns he placed his own sons as commandants, or else princes chosen out of the host, supplying them in abundance with silver and gold (21:3). G. R. Chap. 18. In common with the Book of Kings, the account is given of the union of Jehoram, the son and successor of Jehoshaphat, with Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel; and also of the joint warfare of Ahab and Jehoshaphat with Benhadad of Syria, with the fatal issue of the conflict in the death of Ahab. (See Section 15.) B. Chap. 19. This chapter is entirely additional to Kings, and of great interest. It deals with three matters only, the rebuke addressed to Jehoshaphat by the prophet Jehu (verses 1-3), the personal efforts of Jehoshaphat to effect a religious reformation (verse 4), and his reform of the judicial system (verses 5-11). 1. Jehoshaphat returned to his house in peace. With the battle of Ramoth-Gilead, and the death of Ahab, the war came to an end. The combined attack of the two kings having failed, their troops had been withdrawn, and the enterprise in which they had joined relinquished. The Syrians, satisfied with their victory, did not press on the retreating foe, or carry the war into their enemies' country. B. C. 1-3. The reproof of Jehoshaphat by the prophet Jehu. The best lives recorded in the Scripture history are marred by infirmity and sin. At some time and in some of its forms, self-seeking gets the mastery, and works its evil and wretchedness. So it was with this good king. For his fidelity God gave him many years of great prosperity—as He ever gives to the truly faithful, and continues so long as they abide true and unselfish. But his "abundant riches and honor," helped by his strong natural sympathy for a great national league, if not an ultimate reunion of the two kingdoms, led him into an alliance with Ahab of Israel. After six years of conflict he confirms a treaty of peace by the marriage of his youthful son Jehoram with the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. The point of Jehoshaphat's offence was not any direct self-seeking, but it was a wrong aim in leaguing with Ahab, God's open enemy; an aim pursued, therefore, in disregard of God's will. He would rearrange matters between the two kingdoms, without making the God of both a party to the new arrangement; without even consulting him. Practically, in making so intimate an affiliation with Ahab and Jezebel, he went over from the Lord's side to the ranks of the Lord's most eminent enemies. And he did this not only in the ill-starred marriage of his son, but also in joining forces with Ahab against the invading king of Syria. Nay, further than this, when the warning of God was sent to him by Micaiah upon the battle-field, Jehoshaphat disregarded it, and went into the battle at Ahab's side. After the defeat and death of Ahab, he returned with a disarrayed army to Jerusalem. At the gate of the city the king and army were met by another prophet of Jehovah, Jehu, the son of Hanani. "Wrath is upon thee from the Lord!" Jehu openly announced. "Shouldest thou love them that hate the Lord, and help the ungodly?" Exactly this the king had done; in allying his household with that of Jezebel, and in joining his army with that of Ahab. Upon the ordinary principles governing national alliances there would be no ground of objection to this whole procedure of Jehoshaphat. Mere human politicians would count it wise. "It were far better," they would say, "that these adjoining kingdoms of the same people should be at peace and in alliance; and that both should unite their strength against their most formidable common enemy." But then God was a known and active party in all these issues. Ahab was His open and pronounced enemy; Jehoshaphat His avowed subject. Nothing but failure, loss and misery could result to any, whether foes or friends, whom God did not aid and favor. And He could not—Jehoshaphat well knew—succeed those who avowedly hated and defied Him, as Ahab and Jezebel had always done. Upon this knowledge, the good king was rightly adjudged and condemned for his alliance with and help of Ahab. The sentence of wrath seems to have been executed, as so many Divine chastisements are visited, not upon the king himself and his people, but in the way of natural result, upon his son and his people. It came in the evil and suffering consequent upon the idolatry and crime introduced into Judah through the marriage with the wicked Athaliah, daughter of the viler Jezebel. Here are practical suggestions, wide-reaching and momentous. They cover the whole vital matter of human alliances—personal, family and national. Whatever nice questions, of application to details, may remain unsolved, the essential principle is simple and clear. It is that we are not to accept as heart friends, life guides or family counsellors avowed enemies of God, positive disbelievers in the truths of His Word, even those who lack positively just, pure principles, or who have not measurably proved such principles by a settled practice. But with the very words of reproof the great mercifulness of God appears. For with rebuke he joins commendation for the good things Jehoshaphat had done. It is one of the multiplied proofs that lie upon the Scripture pages, of God's full, glad recognition of everything He can find to approve. How unlike mere human parents and friends is He in this; that He upbraideth not. Reproof, rebuke, He utters; and where wickedness is aggravated by intelligent, defiant impiety, He uses the severest denunciation. But no approach or casting back of acknowledged sin comes from Him. Rather does He rejoice in the feeblest purpose and smallest fragments of good, and own them with glad approval. And this is the cheering truth which the story further suggests. You may read it in the comforting, golden promise of 1 John 1:9. B. 2. It is wonderful at how many points the biographies of the Old Testament touch modern life. Jehoshaphat was a representative man—representative of a large class of good men in every age, who for selfish ends choose their friends from among the irreligious and the worldly. The friendship of wicked men is one of the most dangerous social temptations to which Christians are subjected. A Christian who subjects his Christian faith to worldly policy in the choice of his associates in life strikes right athwart the whole range of scriptural command and admonition and expostulation and example. No Christian can safely do that. Further, Christian alliances with the wicked do not command the respect of the very men for whose favor they are formed. Men of the world are very keen in their judgments of Christian character. They know what is consistent Christian living when they see it, as well as we do. Indeed, their theoretic ideal of a Christian life is commonly more exalted than that of men who are struggling to realize it. No other class of men are so prompt to tell us what they would do if they believed as we do as those who believe nothing. An upright and downright Christian they always revere. In heart they make obeisance to him as to no other type of man. Do you not know a godless man who professes to have lost all faith in religion, but who makes exception of some one humble Christian woman—his mother perhaps, or sister, or wife? "If ever human being gets to heaven, she will," is his testimony. That one life keeps open to his faith the celestial gates. . . . Of this trial of Christian principle, it should be further said that the Christian religion requires no narrow or ascetic seclusion from the world. The thing which Christian principle forbids is the seeking of worldly friendships and alliances for selfish ends, and to the peril of religious usefulness and religious character. Phelps. As to the sin itself with which Jehoshaphat is charged, and the probable reasons or motives of its commission, we must seek an explanation of his conduct rather in mistaken views of policy than in any considerable indifference to the honor of God, or any leaning to the defections of apostasy and idolatry. In his anxiety to pacify, to conciliate, and to reclaim he was tempted to go a little too far—even to the sacrificing of his own high integrity, and the apparent countenancing of Israel's corruptions. Here lay the error of this good prince; and here it was that he suffered the subtlety of worldly wisdom and the spurious kindness of worldly liberality to interfere with the simplicity of an upright and honorable faith in God, and a godly love toward men. To desire the restoration of his brethren of Israel to the privileges of the covenant which they had renounced was natural, just and right, in one who himself valued these privileges so highly. But with this view, and under this pretence, to make friendly advances toward them, and show a disposition to unite with them, in their present state of apostasy and idolatry—this was imprudence—this was sin. Candlish. 4. Jehoshaphat went out again through the people and brought them back. While continuing to maintain, both with Ahaziah and with his successor Jehoram, the closest and most friendly relations, Jehoshaphat was careful to show that he had no sympathy with idolatry, and was determined to keep his people, so far as he possibly could, free from it. He therefore now personally set about a second reformation. Passing through the whole land, from the extreme south to the extreme north—from Beer-sheba to the cities in Mount Ephraim which Abijah had taken from Jeroboam (chap. 13:19)—he once more put down by the strong arm of authority all idolatrous worship, and brought his people back to Jehovah, the God of their fathers. G. R. 5-7. Appointment of judges throughout the land, and charge respecting their duties. God's reproof wrought a salutary effect upon the "heart prepared to seek" Him. Through the land among all the people the king went again on a Christ-like mission: to "bring them back unto the Lord God of their fathers." The great object of all these kingly missions in Judah was the extirpation of idolatry. Now, through the recent alliance with idolatrous Israel, the evil had been disseminated with fresh power and impetus. That the king himself had received no taint is manifest, before by the prophet's commendation, and now by his own earnest, self-denying work of visitation. Not only the interests of religion, but those of righteous government were cared for in this self-imposed beneficent mission. Of two classes of tribunals then instituted, these verses refer to that which was the inferior, more numerous and widespread. In all the larger towns he appointed new judges, with new methods and powers of administering justice. The reason for this reform we can only conjecture—that it was necessitated by the existing corruption which had grown out of so long unresisted idolatry. The charge to the appointed judges is a sublime one. It has special application to all who make, expound and administer, and execute human laws—i.e., to all officials connected with human government. Yet its grand counsels, with the reasons upon which they are based, apply to every responsible human actor in every sphere of accountable human action. "Take heed what you do, for you act not for man, but for the Lord, who is with you to direct and aid you in your acting! Wherefore, knowing this, take heed to do whatever you do in the trustful, prayerful fear of the Lord. Act justly, with truth and righteousness; as God Himself acts, without iniquity in your hearts, without respect of persons, without perversion of the right in return for bribe of any sort. All human conduct, however it affects our fellow-man, has supreme respect to the known will of God. All truth and honesty, all just and kind dealing toward man, have their vital spring in the heart's homage and obedience to God. And all injustice and deceit, all unkindness and wrong toward men, have their secret source in the heart's disobedience and rejection of God. Simply recognizing this cardinal fact of human action, in the sore remembrance of his blood-guiltiness toward Uriah, David said, Against thee, thee only, have I sinned. And it is this double foundation truth that Christ asserts in the judgment allegory by the words, Ye did it, and Ye did it not—unto Me! 8,9. Establishment of a supreme court of appeal in Jerusalem, and charge to its chosen judges. Beside the inferior courts in the several cities, Jehoshaphat created a supreme tribunal with original and appellate jurisdiction, and located it in the capital. As its judges he chose the best and wisest of the priests and Levites, and of the heads of the families of Judah. This tribunal had two divisions: one presided over (verse 11) by Amariah, the chief priest; the other by Zebadiah, the ruler of the king's house. The former adjudicated upon "all matters of the Lord;" all questions pertaining to the ceremonial and ritual law prescribed by Jehovah. The latter finally determined all civil and criminal cases arising under the laws of the land. Over the doings of the supreme judicatory the king himself could exercise general oversight and control. His charge to its members was simpler and more comprehensive than that to the inferior judges in the cities; but its substance was the same. What they did he enjoined them to do faithfully, in the fear of the Lord, and with a perfect, or undivided, heart. Thus this good and wise king completed a great and needed reformation in Judah. He re-established a pure worship. He instituted a system of religious education among the people, causing them to be instructed in the knowledge of the written Scriptures. And he established these tribunals for a wise and faithful administration of justice throughout the land. B. Chap. 29. The narrative contained in this chapter, as far as verse 30, is entirely additional to Kings. The remainder, except verse 37, runs parallel with 1 K. 22: 41-49. B. C. 1-13. As we have already learned, this good and wise king had taught his people the written Word of Jehovah. He had restored a true and pure temple worship in Jerusalem. And he had established tribunals for the efficient administration of law and justice. Years of quiet and prosperity followed these wise, right measures. Then trouble arose from a new quarter. The Ammonites and Moabites, descendants of the two sons of Lot, who occupied the region eastward of the Dead Sea, and the Edomites, descendants of Esau, inhabiting the mountains extending southward to the Red Sea, combined in undertaking the subjugation of Judah, and a permanent possession of the territory. Hence the immense multitude, and the untold amount of spoil afterward gathered; for not only all the armed men, but the mass of the entire people of those three nations seem to have migrated in this hostile movement. The great combined host had passed round the southern limit of the Dead Sea, and half way up its western border, and was encamped at Engedi, only thirty miles from Jerusalem, when the intelligence of the invasion first reached the king and people. Speedily, at the king's summons, came the people together at the capital. With the fighting men were their wives and children, for the summons was to the taking part in a religious service rather than in a combat. In this Jehoshaphat exhibited his faith at the very outset. To the house of God he leads the alarmed people; to the temple where he had long before restored the highest condition of worship. There, in the great emergency, he shows how fully he understood and how deeply he sympathized with the spirit of that prayer of dedication which God had pledged Himself to answer. Himself following Solomon's example and leading the people in prayer, he makes bold and fervent appeal to Jehovah. His chief plea and reliance is upon His covenant-relation and special covenant promises to His people. But he also pleads the gross, because causeless, wrong of the invaders: for Israel had not trespassed upon their territory when entering into Canaan. Then with the declaration of utter inability to cope with the vast advancing multitude, the royal suppliant completes his prayer with sublime words of trust: Our eyes are upon Thee! And THEN, while all Judah stood before the Lord, while these trustful words still lingered upon the king's lips, came 14-17. God's answering message by Jehaziel, a prophet-psalmist. From the midst of the gathered congregation, a voice instantly responded with the words: Thus saith the Lord unto you! The message included, first, needed assurance of safety for their encouragement; and next direction for their conduct. Ye have trusted in God; He will deliver you. Go down on the morrow against them, but not to fight. Set yourselves in array, but stand still to behold the Lord's deliverance. And the inspired speaker indicated the very place where, on the next day, their enemies were smitten of God. It was at a point only twelve miles from Jerusalem, at the head of the long winding ascent from Engedi, where the ravine issued into the tableland wilderness of Judah. B. 15. The battle is God's.** The history of the Church is full of instances of this law of Divine procedure. An old saying of the German Reformers was this: "One with God on his side is a majority." Every cause which God originates starts with only Gideon's three hundred. From this law of God's working it is clear that in spiritual affairs the balance of power does not depend on numbers. Votes have very little to do with it. It depends on spiritual forces. It depends on insight into the spiritual wants of the world, on consecration to God's service, on the power of prayer, on spiritual discovery of the side on which God is, and specially on intensity of Christian character. . . . Minorities of honest and earnest men, devoted to a great cause, should never be opposed heedlessly. Let us be on the lookout for such men. Let us greet them with a "God-speed" when they make their Divine credentials clear. . . . Within the Church of Christ itself is to be found a minority of believers whom God regards with peculiar complacency. As a spiritual power, they are the vanguard of the Church. They are the spiritual aristocracy of Christ's kingdom. Phelps. 17. Stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord. The prophet used words almost identical with those which Moses had addressed to the Israelites on the shores of the Red Sea immediately before the destruction of Pharaoh's hosts (Ex. 14 : 13), thus indicating that the deliverance would, now as then, be wholly from God. B. C. 18,19. How God's response was received by king and people. It was with humble worship and with grateful praise. Jehoshaphat and all Judah reverently prostrated themselves before the Lord; while the Levite choirs, bands from the special families of the Kohathites and Korhites stood and chanted in their wonted loudly jubilant strains the high praises of the Lord God of Israel. This spontaneous unanimity, at once manifesting itself in worship and song, indicated the people's faith in the Divine assurance granted them. Some of the very words of the message they had read or heard out of the reopened, restudied book of the law and the providence of Jehovah toward Israel. The battle is not yours, but God's. Stand ye, and see the salvation of the Lord with you! And their faith was helped by the facts of the history, when these words had been made real and living. But even then they needed the reinforcement of their king's yet mightier and more absolute faith. Hence followed on the next day. 20. The grandly simple, purely evangelical exhortation of Jehoshaphat. It occurred early on the next morning, as the armed hosts of Judah and Jerusalem passed through the great gate of the capital. In the gateway stood the true-hearted monarch, and, as band after band went by, he repeated the double charge: Believe in the Lord your God! Believe His prophets! So, he assured them, shall ye be established and prosper. No scene in Judah's history is at once so picturesque, sublime and instructive as this crowned preacher standing in the archway of the lofty gate, and earnestly reiterating this simple Gospel command, "Only believe." Long years of wise, good rule and of varied experience gave increased force to his urgency with these men of Judah. They had known and trusted him; therefore they would be the more willing to trust the God he trusted—the God who had prospered him and the people of Judah. We need not pause to suggest the application of this comprehensive call to faith. We may refer to the power for good which is accumulated by a long living Christian experience; and to the effect of such exerted power in imparting or re-enforcing the spiritual strength, courage, or comfort of feeble or discouraged souls. 21. The appointment of singers to express the people's trust in praise. No preparation for fighting was to be made, though the armed men went in battle array. It was for them an utterly passive conflict, an inward fight of faith; for they never saw a living enemy of all the host that had come so nigh them. But still they made preparation for the expected victory and triumph. And the preparation was exactly suited to the call and promise of God. It was a preparation for praise—for the utterance in songful worship of the people's assured trust in God; and of their grateful acknowledgment beforehand of His promised delivering mercy. Apparelled in white linen robes, the symbols of holy beauty, bands of singers went before the army, as a vanguard of surest protection. And as they went all the way from the city to "the watch-tower in the wilderness," they ceased not their song of gratitude and trust: PRAISE JEHOVAH; for His mercy endureth forever! 22-30. The result that accompanied their trustful, praising refrain. Let the record be noted: when they BEGAN to sing and to praise, the Lord's work in their deliverance began. And as they continued, for those long miles and hours of steady march, to sing and praise, Jehovah's hand stayed not in His destruction of their enemies and His, till "they were smitten." And when the still praising vanguard reached the place of carnage, "behold the multitude were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped." Among the three nations, composing the vast horde of invaders, God had stirred up dissension. This led to jealousies and animosities, which soon broke out into deadly strife with each other; prolonged until multitudes were slain, and the remnant had fled panic-stricken to their native hills. Immense spoil and treasure covered the wide camping ground, requiring three days' work to gather and prepare for removal. So the same God, who in the New Testament characterizes Himself as rich in mercy, greatly enriched the king and people who had only asked for deliverance. And such exceeding abundance above all we ask or think is His royal wont to all that thoroughly trust and utterly repose upon His promised mercy. The history (verses 26-28) tells of their thankful recognition of both the signal deliverance and the large bounty. On the fourth day, before their homeward journey, they assembled themselves for special praise upon the field where the dead and the spoil had lain. And their service of blessing and thanksgiving thenceforward gave the name of Berachiah (or blessing) to the immediate region or valley. "Then returned every man, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront, to Jerusalem with joy." With harp and song "they came unto the house of the Lord." And to the record of their solemn yet joyful gratitude and praise, added to that of their previous prayerful trust, appropriately follows the statement: "So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet; for his God had given him rest. The Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel." The story impressively discloses the relations of faith and praise, and strongly emphasizes the high place and importance of a thankful, praising spirit among the essentials of Christian experience and living. As faith must show itself by its fruits—of obedience to direction and expectation of blessing—so faith and love and gratitude, if they exist, must manifest themselves by their natural fruit of thanksgiving and praise. So was it here. The faith of king and people implicitly obeyed the Divine direction, and anticipated the fulfilment of the Divine promise. The assured expectation of blessing wrought love and gratitude, which found their expression in song and praise. So was it in all the Old Testament worship. Always prominent as an essential element, praise expressed the adoring, grateful feeling of true worshippers. The Psalms, scattered through the history and gathered in the Psalter, were but the utterance of a natural demand for such voiced expression of gratitude and adoration. And the habitual, fervent use of these inspired lyrics has maintained and intensified the feeling in all generations since. Richly, too, does the New Testament respond to this spirit of adoring praise and practice of thankful song, which so characterizes the Old economy. Throughout, by example and by precept with promise, it fervently commends thankfulness in song and the spirit of thankful praise in the heart. When they had sung an hymn, Christ went forth to His garden-agony. And we recall the midnight psalms, in the Philippian prison, of the Lord's suffering witnesses. The Epistles abound in exhortations and thanksgiving. Study attentively Paul's inspired and inspiring counsels on this point (Eph. 5:19, 20; Col. 2:7; 3:15-17; Phil. 4:6, 7; 1 Thess. 5:18); and trace out in your Concordance the words "thankful," "thanksgiving," and their equivalents, if you would realize the vital need of more praise, more felt and expressed thankfulness, in your heart and in all Christian hearts. No defect in our practical Christianity to-day is more strange and signal, more hindering and hurtful, more deadening to faith, more paralyzing to loving obedience and effort, more enfeebling to prayer and to Christian living, than the lack of this praising spirit in the heart, and the withholding of its voiced or silent expression to God. As the emphatic teaching of this lesson, then, be it noted: That the thankful, praising spirit is at once the highest proof and effect of a living trust, and its most efficient helper. B. Never was army so unaccountably destroyed as that of the enemy; not by dint of sword, or strength of arm, but the Lord set ambushments against them, that they fell upon their own friends as if they had been enemies, and every one helped to destroy another, so that none escaped. This God did when His people began to sing and to praise (verse 22), for He delights to furnish those with matter for praise that have hearts for it. Never was spoil so cheerfully divided, for Jehoshaphat's army had nothing to do beside; the rest was done for them. When they came to the view of this vast army, instead of finding living men to fight with, they found them all dead men. Jehoshaphat and his people prayed to be delivered from being spoiled by the enemy; and God not only did that, but enriched them with the spoil of the enemy. Never was victory celebrated with more solemn and enlarged thanksgivings. They kept a day of praise in the camp before they drew their forces out of the field. They assembled in a valley, where they blessed God with so much zeal and fervency that that day's work gave a name to the place, the valley of Berachah—i.e., of blessing (verse 26). Then they came in solemn procession, Jehoshaphat at the head, to Jerusalem, that the country, as they passed along, might join in their praises, and that they might give thanks for the mercy there where they had by prayer obtained it, in the house of the Lord (verses 27, 28). H. The passage 2 Chron. 20:35-37 is manifestly out of its chronological order here. This event occurred within one, or at most two, years after Ahab's death (Ahaziah, his successor, having reigned less than two years); consequently about the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat—eight years before his death. Hence the words "after this" cannot mean, after the great victory recorded in this chapter. With this passage compare 1 K. 22: 48, 49. Ezion-geber being a port on the Elanitic branch of the Red Sea, these ships were for the Indian, not the Mediterranean trade, and were therefore called "ships of Tarshish" only in the sense of being ships of the largest size—"East Indiamen." Or possibly some place in those waters bore this name "Tarshish." The Lord wisely baffled this commercial enterprise; for it was not well for Jehoshaphat to be in intimate relations to this godless Ahaziah. H. C. Jehoshaphat was a good king—one of the best of the Jewish sovereigns. He was, too, a prosperous and successful monarch. His country flourished under his sway. He sought to do his subjects good, and he did them good. God blessed and honored him in his ways. He died in peace and in favor with God. But he leaned to his own understanding in a matter of great moment. He put policy for principle, conciliation for frank dissent, worldly advantage for manly firmness, and sowed the seeds of evil, that lived and thrived and bore fruit centuries after his decease. R. Hallam. There can be no doubt that Judea was extremely prosperous under Jehoshaphat's rule. He was certainly the ablest and most energetic king that had reigned over Judah since the time of Solomon. While it cannot be denied that the one fatal mistake which he made in joining affinity with Ahab had, in course of time, the most terribly disastrous consequences, leading as it did to the desecration of the Temple, the complete apostasy of the State during the space of six years, and the almost entire destruction of the seed of David, yet the immediate results were, in a worldly point of view, advantageous, and a most flourishing condition of affairs seems to have been temporarily established. Commerce revived; Jehoshaphat's relations with the Edomites enabled him to resume possession of the port of Ezion-geber upon the shores of the Red Sea; and, although on one occasion the fleet which he had prepared to sail to Ophir for gold was destroyed by a storm almost before it was well out of harbor (2 K. 22: 48), yet there is reason to believe that the trade was, at any rate to some extent, restored, and that in Jehoshaphat's reign Jewish fleets were once more seen upon the Red Sea and in the Indian Ocean, pursuing the peaceful occupations of traffic and commerce. Jehoshaphat built commercial cities as well as fortresses, and everywhere promoted a vigorous commercial policy. The riches which flowed in upon him (2 Chron. 17: 5; 18: 1) were the natural result of this course of action, though no doubt his resources received large accessions from various other quarters (ibid., 17: 5, 11; 20: 25). Jehoshaphat died at the age of sixty, leaving behind him seven sons of full age, the eldest of whom, Jehoram, he had designated as his successor (2 Chron. 21: 2, 3). G. R. 1. K. 22:** 51 AHAZIAH the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned two years over Israel. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, wherein he made Israel to sin. And he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD, the God of Israel, according to all that his father had done. 2. K. 1:** 1, 2 And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this sickness. But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it because there is no God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. And the messengers returned unto him, and he said unto them, Why is it that ye are returned? And they said unto him, There came up a man 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 because there is no God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from the bed whither 7 thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And he said unto them, What manner of man was he 8 which came up to meet you, and told you these words? And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the 9 Tishbite. Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of the hill. And he spake unto him, O man of God, 10 the king hath said, Come down. And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And 11 there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. And again he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O 12 man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy 13 fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. And again he sent the captain of a 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, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in 14 thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and consumed the two former cap- 15 tains of fifty with their fifties: but now let my life be precious in thy sight. And the angel of the LORD said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he 16 arose, and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, is it be- cause there is no God in Israel to inquire of his word? therefore thou shalt not come down 17 from the bed whither thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. So he died according to the word of the LORD which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram began to reign in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son. 18 Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? THE history of Ahaziah's reign begins in 1 K. 22:51, and is carried on, without any real break or pause in the sense, to 2 K. 1:18. How the two books came to be divided at this point is quite inexplicable. The division is most un- happy. Not only does it, without apparent reason, draw a strong line of demarkation in the middle of a reign, but it separates what it was evidently the intention of the writer most closely to connect—viz., the sins of the mon- arch and their punishment. Ahaziah began his reign by openly showing himself a devotee of Baal—by "walking in the way of his father and in the way of his mother," the wicked Jeze- bel: therefore calamity immediately smote him—first Moab rebelled, threw off the Israel- ite yoke, and re-established its independence; and then, within a short space, Ahaziah him- self met with an accident which produced a dan- gerous illness. The writer relates barely the former fact, quit enlarges on the latter, which gave occasion for one of the most remarkable of the miracles of Elijah. P. C. Ahaziah, the eldest son, and of like spirit, succeeded Ahab. During the second year of his reign he accidentally fell from a window. Severe sickness ensued, which led him to send messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub if he would recover. God directed Elijah to intercept the messengers, and to send them back with His reproof and warning to Ahaziah. In defiance of this Divine message Ahaziah sends three successive companies (of fifty each) forci- bly to arrest Elijah. To the sharp summons of the two captains of the first and second compa- nies, by a Divine impulse and direction, Elijah called down fire from heaven, which destroyed them all. God did this to teach king and people that He was to be reverenced in the per- son of His prophet, and to show that He would protect the faithful and destroy the disobedient. The third captain, heeding the terrible lesson, did reverence to Elijah as God's prophet, and was spared by God upon his own entreaty for mercy. Then Elijah, as bidden by the Lord, went obediently and boldly as aforetime into the presence of the king and Jezebel, and re- peated the exact words of the previous message. And no hand did this impious son and mother raise against him, notwithstanding the executed doom upon their two arresting bands, and his bold utterance of God's warning message. "So Ahaziah died, according to the word of the Lord." This was Elijah's last recorded public act. B. Nothing is related concerning him but what is unfortunate. He renewed the close alliance with Judah, which had been made by his father (1 K. 22 : 44 ; 1 Chron. 20 : 36), uniting with Jehoshaphat in the maritime enterprise on which he was bent, and engaging in the construction of the joint fleet which was intended to make voyages to Ophir for gold. The ships were constructed in the port of Ezion-geber on the Red Sea at the head of the Gulf of Akabah, and were manned (apparently) by Jewish sailors only. A disaster followed. Scarcely had the fleet set sail when it was driven back to port by a violent tempest, which greatly damaged most of the vessels. Ahaziah ascribed the calamity to the unskilfulness of the Jewish mariners, and proposed that in any future voyage the ships should be manned by mixed crews from the two nations (2 K. 22 : 49) ; but Jehoshaphat was too proud to accept such a proposal, and a coolness must have followed in the relations between the allies, though there seems to have been no actual rupture. With the Moabites on the southeastern frontier of Israel the case was different. There Ahab's death produced an immediate rupture of peaceful relations (2 K. 1 : 1 ; 3 : 5) ; and a war followed (whereof we have the Moabite account on the "Stone of Mesha") which seems to have consisted of little more than a series of Israelite reverses. Mesha recovered in succession Medeba, Baal-meon, Kirjathaim, Ataroth, Nebo and Jahaz, which had all been occupied by the Israelites. In Nebo alone he slew no fewer than seven thousand men. The entire country was recovered, and a number of ruined cities rebuilt and strongly fortified with walls, and towers, and gates, and moats. The entire tribute which Moab had previously paid (2 K. 3 : 4) was lost, and a powerful kingdom was set up on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea, which threatened both Israel and Judah. A single year sufficed for the capture or massacre of all the Israelite garrisons, and for the complete establishment of the Moabites as an independent nation in the country which they claimed as their own. G. R. 1. Then Moab rebelled.** The Moabites, who had once lorded it over Israel (Jud. 3 : 12-14), were reduced to subjection by David, and treated with extreme severity (2 S. 8 : 2). Nothing is related of them in Scripture from the date of this subjection to the time of Ahab, when they are found to be dependent on the kingdom of Israel, to which it has therefore been generally supposed that they fell at the separation of Israel from Judah. The Moabite monument, discovered in 1869, has now given reason to believe that, at the separation of the kingdoms, they recovered their independence, but were again reduced by Omri, who, with his son Ahab, is said (in round numbers) to have "oppressed" them for "forty years." The enormous tribute exacted by Ahab implies a grievous oppression. Moab rebelled as soon as Ahab was dead, and easily regained her independence. It is this war of liberation which is the principal subject of the Moabite monument above mentioned, a monument which was set up by Mesha (chap. 3 : 4) to commemorate his successes. B. C. 2. Ahaziah had been walking on the roof of his palace in Samaria, and had leaned against what seems to have been a latticed fence running round the roof. The fence gave way. The king fell either into the street or into the inner court of the palace, and was so severely injured that he became alarmed for his life. After the example of his father and mother he had been a worshipper of Baal. In particular, Ahaziah had honored him as Baal-zebub, the god of flies. This deity would appear to have been held in peculiar reverence at Ekron, the most northerly of the five great cities of the Philistines, and, therefore, nearest to Samaria. Thither, accordingly, Ahaziah sent his messengers, immediately after his fall, with the inquiry whether or not he should recover from its effects. It was a daring violation of the law of God (Lev. 20 : 6). It was a countenancing of idolatry in the worst form in which it had been supported by Ahab and Jezebel. And the offence was rendered still more heinous by the recent character of that work of reformation which had been effected by Elijah. W. M. The same hand that guided Ahab's shaft cracks Ahaziah's lattice. How infinite variety of plagues hath the just God for obstinate sinners ! Whether in the field or in the chamber, He knows to find them out. No place is safe for the man that is at variance with God. The body of Ahaziah was not more sick than his soul was graceless. Bp. H. 3. Of the whole period of ten years between the calling of Elisha and the summons to meet the messengers of Ahaziah, we known, so far as concerns Elijah, absolutely nothing. This entry is longer than a Bible module can hold. The rest is at https://www.sermonindex.net/commentary/butler/