II
K I N G S
CHAP. VIII.
The
passages of story recorded in this chapter oblige us to look back. I. We read
before of a Shunammite woman that was a kind benefactor to Elisha; now here we
are told how she fared the better for it, afterwards, in the advice Elisha
gave her, and the favour the king showed her for his sake, ver. 1-6. II. We
read before of the designation of Hazael to be king of Syria (1 Kings xix.
15), and here we have an account of his elevation to that throne and the way
he forced for himself to it, by killing his master, ver. 7-15. III. We read
before of Jehoram's reigning over Judah in the room of his father Jehoshaphat
(1 Kings xxii. 50), now here we have a short and sad history of his short and
wicked reign (ver. 16-24), and the beginning of the history of the reign of
his son Ahaziah, ver. 25-29.
|
A
Famine in Israel; the Shunammite's Possessions Restored.
B. C. 886.
|
|
|
|
1 Then spake Elisha unto the woman, whose son
he had restored to life, saying, Arise, and go thou and thine household, and
sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn: for the LORD
hath called for a famine; and it shall also come upon the land seven
years. 2 And the woman arose, and did after the saying of the man
of God: and she went with her household, and sojourned in the land of the
Philistines seven years. 3 And it came to pass at the seven years'
end, that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines: and she went
forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land. 4 And
the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I
pray thee, all the great things that Elisha hath done. 5 And it
came to pass, as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to
life, that, behold, the woman, whose son he had restored to life, cried to the
king for her house and for her land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, this is
the woman, and this is her son, whom Elisha restored to life.
6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed unto
her a certain officer, saying, Restore all that was hers, and all the
fruits of the field since the day that she left the land, even until now.
Here we have,
I. The wickedness of Israel punished with a long famine, one of God's sore
judgments often threatened in the law. Canaan, that fruitful land, was
turned into barrenness, for the iniquity of those that dwelt therein.
The famine in Samaria was soon relieved by the raising of that siege, but
neither that judgment nor that mercy had a due influence upon them, and
therefore the Lord called for another famine; for when he judgeth he
will overcome. If less judgments do not prevail to bring men to repentance, he
will send greater and longer; they are at his beck, and will come when he
calls for them. He does, by his ministers, call for reformation and obedience,
and, if those calls be not regarded, we may expect he will call for some
plague or other, for he will be heard. This famine continued seven years, as
long again as that in Elijah's time; for if men will walk contrary to him, he
will heat the furnace yet hotter.
II. The kindness of the good Shunammite to the prophet rewarded by the care
that was taken of her in that famine; she was not indeed fed by miracle, as
the widow of Sarepta was, but, 1. She had notice given her of this famine
before it came, that she might provide accordingly, and was directed to remove
to some other country; any where but in Israel she would find plenty. It was a
great advantage to Egypt in Joseph's time that they had notice of the famine
before it came, so it was to this Shunammite; others would be forced to remove
at last, after they had long borne the grievances of the famine, and had
wasted their substance, and could not settle elsewhere upon such good terms as
she might that went early, before the crowd, and took her stock with her
unbroken. It is our happiness to foresee an evil, and our wisdom, when we
foresee an evil, and our wisdom, when we foresee it, to hide ourselves. 2.
Providence gave her a comfortable settlement in the land of the
Philistines, who, though subdued by David, yet were not wholly rooted out.
It seems the famine was peculiar to the land of Israel, and other countries
that joined close to them had plenty at the same time, which plainly showed
the immediate hand of God in it (as in the plagues of Egypt, when they
distinguished between the Israelites and the Egyptians) and that the sins of
Israel, against whom this judgment was directly levelled, were more provoking
to God than the sins of their neighbours, because of their profession of
relation to God. You only have I known, therefore will I punish you,
Amos iii. 2. Other countries had rain when they had none, were free from
locusts and caterpillars when they were eaten up with them; for some think
this was the famine spoken of, Joel i. 3, 4. It is strange that when there was
plenty in the neighbouring countries there were not those that made it their
business to import corn into the land of Israel, which might have prevented
the inhabitants from removing; but, as they were befooled with their
idolatries, so they were infatuated even in the matters of their civil
interest.
III. Her petition to the king at her return, favoured by the seasonableness of
her application to him. 1. When the famine was over she returned out of the
land of the Philistines; that was no proper place for an Israelite to
dwell any longer than there was a necessity for so doing, for there she could
not keep her new moons and her sabbaths as she used to do in her own country,
among the schools of the prophets, ch. iv. 23. 2. At her return she
found herself kept out of the possession of her own estate, it being either
confiscated to the exchequer, seized by the lord, or usurped in her absence by
some of the neighbours; or perhaps the person she had entrusted with the
management of it proved false, and would neither resign it to her nor come to
an account with her for the profits: so hard is it to find a person that one
can put a confidence in in a time of trouble, Prov. xxv. 19; Mic. vii.
5. 3. She made her application to the king himself for redress; for, it seems
(be it observed to his praise), he was easy of access, and did himself take
cognizance of the complaint of his injured subjects. Time was when she dwelt
so securely among her own people that she had no occasion to be spoken for
to the king, or to the captain of the host (ch. iv. 13); but now
her own familiar friends, in whom she trusted, proved so unjust and unkind
that she was glad to appeal to the king against them. Such uncertainty there
is in the creature that that may fail us which we most depend upon and that
befriend us which we think we shall never need. 4. She found the king talking
with Gehazi about Elisha's miracles, v. 4. It was his shame that he
needed now to be informed concerning them, when he might have acquainted
himself with them as they were done from Elisha himself, if he had not been
willing to shut his eyes against the convincing evidence of his mission; yet
it was his praise that he was now better disposed, and would rather talk with
a leper that was capable of giving a good account of them than continue
ignorant of them. The law did not forbid all conversation with lepers, but
only dwelling with them. There being then no priests in Israel, perhaps the
king, or some one appointed by him, had the inspection of lepers, and passed
the judgment upon them, which might bring him acquainted with Gehazi. 5. This
happy coincidence befriended both Gehazi's narrative and her petition.
Providence is to be acknowledged in ordering the circumstances of events, for
sometimes those that are minute in themselves prove of great consequence, as
this did, for, (1.) It made the king ready to believe Gehazi's narrative when
it was thus confirmed by the persons most nearly concerned: "This is
the woman, and this her son; let them speak for themselves," v.
5. Thus did God even force him to believe what he might have had some colour
to question if he had only had Gehazi's word for it, because he was branded
for a liar, witness his leprosy. (2.) It made him ready to grant her request;
for who would not be ready to favour one whom heaven had thus favoured, and to
support a life which was given once and again by miracle? In consideration of
this the king gave orders that her land should be restored to her and all the
profits that were made of it in her absence. If it was to himself that the
land and profits had escheated, it was generous and kind to make so full a
restitution; he would not (as Pharaoh did in Joseph's time) enrich the crown
by the calamities of his subjects. If it was by some other person that her
property was invaded, it was an act of justice in the king, and part of the
duty of his place, to give her redress, Ps. lxxxii. 3, 4; Prov. xxxi. 9. It is
not enough for those in authority that they do no wrong themselves, but they
must support the right of those that are wronged.
|
Hazael's
Barbarity Predicted.
|
B.
C. 885.
|
|
|
7 And Elisha came to Damascus; and Benhadad the
king of Syria was sick; and it was told him, saying, The man of God is come
hither. 8 And the king said unto Hazael, Take a present in thine
hand, and go, meet the man of God, and enquire of the LORD
by him, saying, Shall I recover of this disease? 9 So Hazael went
to meet him, and took a present with him, even of every good thing of
Damascus, forty camels' burden, and came and stood before him, and said, Thy
son Benhadad king of Syria hath sent me to thee, saying, Shall I recover of
this disease? 10 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say unto him, Thou
mayest certainly recover: howbeit the LORD hath showed me that he
shall surely die. 11 And he settled his countenance stedfastly,
until he was ashamed: and the man of God wept. 12 And Hazael said,
Why weepeth my lord? And he answered, Because I know the evil that thou wilt
do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and
their young men wilt thou slay with the sword, and wilt dash their children,
and rip up their women with child. 13 And Hazael said, But what, is
thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? And Elisha answered,
The LORD
hath showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. 14 So he
departed from Elisha, and came to his master; who said to him, What said
Elisha to thee? And he answered, He told me that thou shouldest surely
recover. 15 And it came to pass on the morrow, that he took a
thick cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it on his face,
so that he died: and Hazael reigned in his stead.
Here, I. We may enquire what brought Elisha to Damascus, the chief city of
Syria. Was he sent to any but the lost sheep of the house of Israel? It
seems he was. Perhaps he went to pay a visit to Naaman his convert, and to
confirm him in his choice of the true religion, which was the more needful now
because, it should seem, he was not out of his place (for Hazael is supposed
to be captain of that host); either he resigned it or was turned out of it,
because he would not bow, or not bow heartily, in the house of Rimmon. Some
think he went to Damascus upon account of the famine, or rather he went
thither in obedience to the orders God gave Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 15, "Go
to Damascus to anoint Hazael, thou, or thy successor."
II. We may observe that Ben-hadad, a great king, rich and mighty, lay sick. No
honour, wealth, or power, will secure men from the common diseases and
disasters of human life; palaces and thrones lie as open to the arrests of
sickness and death as the meanest cottage.
III. We may wonder that the king of Syria, in his sickness, should make Elisha
his oracle.
1. Notice was soon brought him that the man of God (for by that title
he was well known in Syria since he cured Naaman) had come to Damascus, v.
7. "Never in better time," says Ben-hadad. "Go, and enquire
of the Lord by him." In his health he bowed in the house of Rimmon,
but now that he is sick he distrusts his idol, and sends to enquire of the God
of Israel. Affliction brings those to God who in their prosperity had made
light of him; sometimes sickness opens men's eyes and rectifies their
mistakes. This is the more observable, (1.) Because it was not long since a
king of Israel had, in his sickness, sent to enquire of the god of Ekron (ch.
i. 2), as if there had been no God in Israel. Note, God sometimes fetches to
himself that honour from strangers which is denied him and alienated from him
by his own professing people. (2.) Because it was not long since this Ben-hadad
had sent a great force to treat Elisha as an enemy (ch. vi. 14), yet
now he courts him as a prophet. Note, Among other instances of the change of
men's minds by sickness and affliction, this is one, that it often gives them
other thoughts of God's ministers, and teaches them to value the counsels and
prayers of those whom they had hated and despised.
2. To put an honour upon the prophet, (1.) He sends to him, and does
not send for him, as if, with the centurion, he thought himself not
worthy that the man of God should come under his roof. (2.) He sends to him by
Hazael, his prime-minister of state, and not by a common messenger. It is no
disparagement to the greatest of men to attend the prophets of the Lord.
Hazael must go and meet him at a place where he had appointed a meeting with
his friends. (3.) He sends him a noble present, of every good thing of
Damascus, as much as loaded forty camels (v. 9), testifying hereby
his affection to the prophet, bidding him welcome to Damascus, and providing
for his sustenance while he sojourned there. It is probable that Elisha
accepted it (why should he not?), though he refused Naaman's. (4.) He orders
Hazael to call him his son Ben-hadad, conforming to the language of
Israel, who called the prophets fathers. (5.) He puts an honour upon
him as one acquainted with the secrets of heaven, when he enquires of him, Shall
I recover? It is natural to us to desire to know things to come in time,
while things to come in eternity are little thought of or enquired after.
IV. What passed between Hazael and Elisha is especially remarkable.
1. Elisha answered his enquiry concerning the king, that he might recover, the
disease was not mortal, but that he should die another way (v. 10), not
a natural but a violent death. There are many ways out of the world, and
sometimes, while men think to avoid one, they fall by another.
2. He looked Hazael in the face with an unusual concern, till he made Hazael
blush and himself weep, v. 11. The man of God could outface the man of
war. It was not in Hazael's countenance that Elisha read what he would do, but
God did, at this time, reveal it to him, and it fetched tears from his eyes.
The more foresight men have the more grief they are liable to.
3. When Hazael asked him why he wept he told him what a great deal of mischief
he foresaw he would do to the Israel of God (v. 12), what desolations
he would make of their strong-holds, and barbarous destruction of their men,
women, and children. The sins of Israel provoked God to give them up into the
hands of their cruel enemies, yet Elisha wept to think that ever Israelites
should be thus abused; for, though he foretold, he did not desire the woeful
day. See what havock war makes, what havock sin makes, and how the nature of
man is changed by the fall, and stripped even of humanity itself.
4. Hazael was greatly surprised at this prediction (v. 13): What,
says he, Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing? This
great thing he looks upon to be, (1.) An act of great power, not to be done
but by a crowned head. "It must be some mighty potentate that can think
to prevail thus against Israel, and therefore not I." Many are raised to
that dominion which they never thought of and it often proves to their own
hurt, Eccl. viii. 9. (2.) An act of great barbarity, which could not be
done but by one lost to all honour and virtue: "Therefore," says he,
"it is what I shall never find in my heart to be guilty of: Is thy
servant a dog, to rend, and tear, and devour? Unless I were a dog, I could
not do it." See here, [1.] What a bad opinion he had of the sin; he
looked upon it to be great wickedness, fitter for a brute, for a beast of
prey, to do than a man. Note, It is possible for a wicked man, under the
convictions and restraints of natural conscience, to express great abhorrence
of a sin, and yet afterwards to be well reconciled to it. [2.] What a good
opinion he had of himself, how much better than he deserved; he thought it
impossible he should do such barbarous things as the prophet foresaw. Note, We
are apt to think ourselves sufficiently armed against those sins which yet we
are afterwards overcome by, as Peter, Matt. xxvi. 35.
5. In answer to this Elisha only told him he should be king over Syria;
then he would have power to do it, and then he would find in his heart to do
it. Honours change men's tempers and manners, and seldom for the
better: "Thou knowest not what thou wilt do when thou comest to be king,
but I tell thee this thou wilt do." Those that are little and low in the
world cannot imagine how strong the temptations of power and prosperity are,
and, if ever they arrive at them, they will find how deceitful their hearts
were and how much worse than they suspected.
V. What mischief Hazael did to his master hereupon. If he took any occasion to
do it from what Elisha had said the fault was in him, not in the word. 1. He
basely cheated his master, and belied the prophet (v. 14): He told
me thou shouldst certainly recover. This was abominably false; he told him
he should die (v. 10), but he unfairly and unfaithfully concealed that,
either because he was loth to put the king out of humour with bad news or
because hereby he might the more effectually carry on that bloody design which
he conceived when he was told he should be his successor. The devil ruins men
by telling them they shall certainly recover and do well, so rocking them
asleep in security, than which nothing is more fatal. This was an injury to
the king, who lost the benefit of this warning to prepare for death, and an
injury to Elisha, who would be counted a false prophet. 2. He barbarously
murdered his master, and so made good the prophet's word, v. 15. He
dipped a thick cloth in cold water, and spread it upon his face, under
pretence of cooling and refreshing him, but so that it stopped his breath, and
stifled him presently, he being weak (and not able to help himself) or perhaps
asleep: such a bubble is the life of the greatest of men, and so much exposed
are princes to violence. Hazael, who was Ben-hadad's confidant, was his
murderer, and some think, was not suspected, nor did the truth ever come out
but by the pen of this inspired historian. We found this haughty monarch (1
Kings xx.) the terror of the mighty in the land of the living, but he goes
down slain to the pit with his iniquity upon his bones, Ezek. xxxii.
27.
|
The
Reign of Jehoram.
|
B.
C. 884.
|
|
|
16 And in the fifth year of Joram the son of
Ahab king of Israel, Jehoshaphat being then king of Judah, Jehoram the
son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah began to reign. 17 Thirty and two
years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in
Jerusalem. 18 And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as
did the house of Ahab: for the daughter of Ahab was his wife: and he did evil
in the sight of the LORD. 19 Yet the LORD
would not destroy Judah for David his servant's sake, as he promised him to
give him alway a light, and to his children. 20 In his days
Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over
themselves. 21 So Joram went over to Zair, and all the chariots
with him: and he rose by night, and smote the Edomites which compassed him
about, and the captains of the chariots: and the people fled into their
tents. 22 Yet Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this
day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time. 23 And the rest of the
acts of Joram, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of
the chronicles of the kings of Judah? 24 And Joram slept with his
fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Ahaziah his
son reigned in his stead.
We have here a brief account of the life and reign of Jehoram (or Joram), one
of the worst of the kings of Judah, but the son and successor of Jehoshaphat,
one of the best. Note, 1. Parents cannot give grace to their children. Many
that have themselves been godly have had the grief and shame of seeing those
that came forth out of their bowels wicked and vile. Let not the families that
are thus afflicted think it strange. 2. If the children of good parents prove
wicked, commonly they are worse than others. The unclean spirit brings in
seven others more wicked than himself, Luke xi. 26. 3. A nation is sometimes
justly punished with the miseries of a bad reign for not improving the
blessings and advantages of a good one.
Concerning this Jehoram observe,
I. The general idea here given of his wickedness (v. 18): He did as
the house of Ahab, and worse he could not do. His character is taken from
the bad example he followed, for men are according to the company they
converse with and the copies they write after. No mistake is more fatal to
young people than a mistake in the choice of those whom they would recommend
themselves to and take their measures from, and whose good opinion they value
themselves by. Jehoram chose the house of Ahab for his pattern rather than his
father's house, and this choice was his ruin. We have a particular account of
his wickedness (2 Chron. xxi.), murder, idolatry, persecution, everything that
was bad.
II. The occasions of his wickedness. His father was a very good man, and no
doubt took care to have him taught the good knowledge of the Lord, but, 1. It
is certain he did ill to marry him to the daughter of Ahab; no good could come
of an alliance with an idolatrous family, but all mischief with such a
daughter of such a mother as Athaliah the daughter of Jezebel. The degeneracy
of the old world took rise from the unequal yoking of professors with profane.
Those that are ill-matched are already half-ruined. 2. I doubt he did not do
well to make him king in his own life-time. It is said here (v. 16)
that he began to reign, Jehoshaphat being then king; hereby he
gratified his pride (than which nothing is more pernicious to young people),
indulged him in his ambition, in hopes to reform him by humouring him, and so
brought a curse upon his family, as Eli did, whose sons made themselves
vile and he restrained them not. Jehoshaphat had made this wicked son of
his viceroy once when he went with Ahab to Ramoth-Gilead, from which
Jehoshaphat's seventeenth year (1 Kings xxii. 51) is made Jehoram's second (2
Kings i. 17), but afterwards, in his twenty-second year, he made him partner
in his government, and thence Joram's eight years are to be dated, three years
before his father's death. It has been hurtful to many young men to come too
soon to their estates. Samuel got nothing by making his sons judges.
III. The rebukes of Providence which he was under for his wickedness. 1. The
Edomites revolted, who had been under the government of the kings of Judah
ever since David's time, about 150 years, v. 20. He attempted to reduce
them, and gave them a defeat (v. 21), but he could not improve the
advantage he had got, so as to recover his dominion over them: Yet Edom
revolted (v. 22), and the Edomites were, after this, bitter enemies
to the Jews, as appears by the prophecy of Obadiah and Ps. cxxxvii. 7. Now
Isaac's prophecy was fulfilled, that this Esau the elder should serve Jacob
the younger; yet, in process of time, he should break that yoke from off
his neck, Gen. xxvii. 40. 2. Libnah revolted. This was a city in Judah, in
the heart of his country, a priests' city; the inhabitants of this city shook
off his government because he had forsaken God, and would have
compelled them to do so too, 2 Chron. xxi. 10, 11. In order that they might
preserve their religion they set up for a free state. Perhaps other cities did
the same. 3. His reign was short. God cut him off in the midst of his days,
when he was but forty years old, and had reigned but eight years. Bloody
and deceitful men shall not live out half their days.
IV. The gracious care of Providence for the keeping up of the kingdom of
Judah, and the house of David, notwithstanding the apostasies and calamities
of Jehoram's reign (v. 19): Yet the Lord would not destroy Judah.
He could easily have done it; he might justly have done it; it would have been
no loss to him to have done it; yet he would not do it, for David's sake, not
for the sake of any merit of his which could challenge this favour to his
family as a debt, but for the sake of a promise made to him that he should
always have a lamp (that is, a succession of kings from one generation to
another, by which his name should be kept bright and illustrious, as a lamp is
kept burning by a constant fresh supply of oil), that his family should never
be extinct till it terminated in the Messiah, that Son of David on whom was to
be hung all the glory of his Father's house and in whose everlasting
kingdom that promise to David is fulfilled (Ps. cxxxii. 17), I have
ordained a lamp for my anointed.
V. The conclusion of this impious and inglorious reign, v. 23, 24.
Nothing peculiar is here said of him; but we are told (2 Chron. xxi. 19, 20)
that he died of sore diseases and died without being desired.
|
The
Reign of Ahaziah.
|
B.
C. 884.
|
|
|
25 In the twelfth year of Joram the son of Ahab
king of
Israel
did Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of
Judah
begin to reign. 26 Two and twenty
years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign; and he reigned one year
in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Athaliah, the daughter of Omri
king of Israel. 27 And he walked in the way of the house of Ahab,
and did evil in the sight of the LORD,
as did the house of Ahab: for he was the son in law of the house
of Ahab. 28 And he went with Joram the son of Ahab to the war
against Hazael king of Syria in Ramoth-gilead; and the Syrians wounded Joram.
29 And king Joram went back to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds which the
Syrians had given him at Ramah, when he fought against Hazael king of Syria.
And Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Joram the son of
Ahab in Jezreel, because he was sick.
As among common persons there are some that we call little men, who
make no figure, are little regarded, as less valued, so among kings there are
some whom, in comparison with others, we may call little kings. This
Ahaziah was one of these; he looks mean in the history, and in God's account
vile, because wicked. It is too plain an evidence of the affinity between
Jehoshaphat and Ahab that they had the same names in their families at the
same time, in which, we may suppose, they designed to compliment one another.
Ahab had two sons, Ahaziah and Jehoram, who reigned successively; Jehoshaphat
had a son and grandson names Jehoshaphat had a son and grandson names Jehoram
and Ahaziah, who, in like manner, reigned successively. Names indeed do not
make natures, but it was a bad omen to Jehoshaphat's family to borrow names
from Ahab's; or, if he lent the names to that wretched family, he could not
communicate with them the devotion of their significations, Ahaziah--Taking
hold of the Lord, and Jehoram--The Lord exalted. Ahaziah king of
Israel had reigned but two years, Ahaziah king of Judah reigned but one. We
are here told that his relation to Ahab's family was the occasion, 1. Of his
wickedness (v. 27): He walked in the way of the house of Ahab,
that idolatrous bloody house; for his mother was Ahab's daughter (v.
26), so that he sucked in wickedness with his milk. Partus sequitur ventrem--The
child may be expected to resemble the mother. When men choose wives for
themselves they must remember they are choosing mothers for their children,
and are concerned to choose accordingly. 2. Of his fall. Joram, his mother's
brother, courted him to join with him for the recovery of Ramoth-Gilead, an
attempt fatal to Ahab; so it was to Joram his son, for in that expedition he
was wounded (v. 28), and returned to Jezreel to be cured, leaving his
army there in possession of the place. Ahaziah likewise returned, but went to
Jezreel to see how Jehoram did, v. 29. Providence so ordered it, that
he who had been debauched by the house of Ahab might be cut off with them,
when the measure of their iniquity was full, as we shall find in the next
chapter. Those who partake with sinners in their sins must expect to partake
with them in their plagues.
Contents
|
Next
Section
