AN
EXPOSITION,
W I T H P R A C T I C A L O B S E R V A T I O N
S,
OF THE FIRST BOOK OF
K I N G S
Many histories are books of
kings and their reigns, to which the affairs of their kingdoms are reduced;
this is a piece of honour that has commonly been paid to crowned heads. The
holy Scripture is the history of the
kingdom
of
God
among men, under the several administrations of it; but there the King is one
and his name one. The particular history now before us accounts for the
affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special regard to the
kingdom of God among them; for still it is a sacred history, much more
instructive and not less entertaining than any of the histories of the kings
of the earth, to which (those of them that are of any certainty) it is prior
in time; for though there were kings in Edom before there was any king in
Israel, Gen. xxxvi. 31 (foreigners, in that point of state, got the
precedency), yet the history of the kings of Israel lives, and will live, in
holy Writ, to the end of the world, whereas that of the kings of Edom is long
since buried in oblivion; for the honour that comes from God is durable, while
the honour of the world is like a mushroom, which comes up in a night and
perishes in a night.--The Bible began with the story of patriarchs, and
prophets, and judges, men whose converse with heaven was more immediate, the
record of which strengthens our faith, but is not so easily accommodated to
our case, now that we expect not visions, as the subsequent history of affairs
like ours under the direction of common providence; and here also we find,
though not many types and figures of the Messiah, yet great expectations of
him; for not only prophets, but kings, desired to see the great mysteries of
the gospel, Luke x. 24--The two books of Samuel are introductions to the books
of the Kings, as they relate the origin of the royal government in Saul and of
the royal family in David. These two books give us an account of David's
successor, Solomon, the division of his kingdom, and the succession of the
several kings both of
Judah
and
Israel, with an abstract of their history down to the captivity. And as from the
book of Genesis we may collect excellent rules of economics, for the good
governing of families, so from these books we may collect rules of politics,
for the directing of public affairs. There is in these books special regard
had to the house and lineage of David, from which Christ came. Some of his
sons trod in his steps, and others did not. The characters of the kings of
Judah may be thus briefly given:--David the devout, Solomon the wise, Rehoboam
the simple, Abijah the valiant, Asa the upright, Jehoshaphat the religious,
Jehoram the wicked, Ahaziah the profane, Joash the backslider, Amaziah the
rash, Uzziah the mighty, Jotham the peaceable, Ahaz the idolater, Hezekiah the
reformer, Manasseh the penitent, Amon the obscure, Josiah the tender-hearted,
Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah, all wicked, and such as brought
ruin quickly on themselves and their kingdom. The number of the good and bad
is nearly equal, but the reigns of the good were generally long and those of
the bad short, the consideration of which will make the state of Israel not
altogether so bad in this period as at first it seems. In this first book we
have, I. The death of David, ch. i. and ii. II. The glorious reign of
Solomon, and his building the temple (ch. iii.-x.), but the cloud his
sun set under, ch. xi. III. The division of the kingdoms in Rehoboam,
and his reign and Jeroboam's, ch. xii.-xiv. IV. The reigns of
Abijah and Asa over Judah, Baasha and Omri over
Israel
, ch. xv. and xvi. V. Elijah's miracles, ch. xvii.-xix. VI.
Ahab's success against Benhadad, his wickedness and fall, ch. xx.-xxii.
And in all this history it appears that kings, though gods to us, are men to
God, mortal and accountable.
Contents
|
Next
Section
