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THE FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS
Introduction
In the introduction to the books of Samuel we stated that the first
and second books of the Kings are called in the Greek version of the Old
Testament the third and fourth books of Kingdoms and in the Latin version
the third and fourth books of the Kings. The two books, which were
originally undivided and formed one book, contain the history of Israel
under the government of the kings. The same period of history is also
covered in the two books of the Chronicles. However there is a great
difference between the books of the Kings and the books of the Chronicles.
The books of the Kings were written before the captivity; the books of the
Chronicles after that event (1 Chron. 6:15). The books of the Kings trace
the history of the kings from the prophetic viewpoint; the books of the
Chronicles from the priestly. Kings gives the history from a human point of
view, Chronicles from the divine standpoint. After Solomon's wonderful
reign and the division of the kingdom the history of the kings of Israel is
mostly given while much less is said of the kings of Judah. The books of
the Chronicles are characterized by an almost entire absence of the history
of the kings of Israel; they are mentioned only in case of absolute
necessity. After the genealogical tracings the history of the kingdom of
David is followed in detail down to the Babylonian captivity. The blessing
and grace of God as manifested towards the house of David is beautifully
given in Chronicles. The story centers around the temple. In the
introduction to Chronicles and more so in the annotations we shall point
out more fully these interesting and striking differences, the blessed
marks of inspiration.
The Authorship of Kings
Much has been written on the possible instrument who was used in
putting these records together as we have them now. Critics have much to
say on the different compilers, redactors, editors, etc., who all had a
hand in putting these histories together. They speak of proximate sources
and primary sources and later additions and redactions. To say the least it
is bewildering and unprofitable to follow, what they term, their scientific
method. That the author of these two books had certain sources or
documents, besides traditional accounts at his disposal, cannot be denied.
But we maintain that he was chosen by the Lord to write these records of
the kings and was guided by the Holy Spirit as he wrote. The books of the
Kings have the mark in every way of being the work of one person and not a
number of persons, followed by others who edited their writings. Unity of
style can be clearly followed throughout the books; there is uniform mode
of expression which would be quite impossible with a number of authors or
compilers. See and compare 1 Kings 22:43 with 2 Kings 14:3-4; 1 Kings 12:31
with 2 Kings 17:32; 1 Kings 11:43 with 2 Kings 13:13. Jewish tradition
declares that the prophet Jeremiah was the instrument chosen to write the
two books of the Kings. While no one can say with certainty that this is
true, much is in favor of this view. There is a striking similarity of
style and idiom between the language of Kings and the language employed by
Jeremiah. Perhaps no one was better fitted to write the wonderful history
of Solomon's failure, the division of the Kingdom, the apostasy of Israel,
the chastisements of the Lord, than the prophet of tears, the man of God
whose loving messages were to a backslidden Israel.
Spiritual And Prophetic Truths
There is much spiritual and prophetic truth to be found in these
records. Solomon's wonderful reign, and the building of the house of the
Lord contains great foreshadowings of the coming kingdom of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Solomon's reign of peace marks the climax of the history of Israel.
In him the promise made unto David (2 Sam. 7) found its first fulfillment.
As head over the people, as king of righteousness ruling in righteousness,
as king of peace, exercising also priestly functions, furthermore, in
taking Pharaoh's daughter and the Gentiles seeking after him and much else
he is a type of the coming King in whom the covenant promises made to David
will be fully realized. There are many spiritual lessons to be found in the
decline among Israel. Elijah's and Elisha's ministries, their messages and
miracles, have a deeper prophetic and spiritual meaning. To write a large
volume on these two great historical books and trace in them God's way in
government as well as the prophetic foreshadowings would be a far easier
work than to condense them in brief annotations. However we hope and pray
that even these few hints we could give will be used by our Lord to help
His people into a better knowledge of His Word. The chronological table of
the kings of Judah and Israel, and of contemporary events, which follows
this introduction should be freely consulted in the study of the text.
The Division of the First Book of the Kings
The first book of the Kings contains the record of the reign of
Solomon and the glory of his great kingdom of peace. But that glory soon
passed away through the failure of Solomon and the great united kingdom
becomes a divided kingdom. In the last six chapters we read of Elijah, the
Tishbite, the great prophet of God and his activity during the reign of
wicked Ahab. We make the following division:
I. DAVID'S LAST DAYS AND THE CROWNING OF SOLOMON
1. Adonijah's Exaltation to be King (1:1-27)
2. The Anointing of Solomon and Adonijah's Submission (1:28-53)
3. David's Charge to Solomon and David's End (2:1-11)
II. SOLOMON'S GLORIOUS REIGN, HIS FAILURE AND END
1. The Righteous judgment of Solomon (2:12-46)
2. Jehovah Appears to Solomon-His Prayer and the Answer (3:1-28)
3. Solomon's Princes and Officers: The Prosperous Kingdom and the
King's Great Wisdom (4:1-34)
4. The Building of the Temple and Its Dedication (5-8)
5. Jehovah Appears unto Solomon and the Greatness of the King (9:1-28)
6. Solomon and the Queen of Sheba: His great Riches and Splendour
(10:1-29)
7. Solomon's Failure: judgment Announced and the Beginning of the
Disruption (11:1-43)
III. THE DIVIDED KINGDOM
1. Rehoboam and the Revolt of the Ten Tribes (12:1-33)
2. Jeroboam and Rehoboam and their Reign (13-14)
3. Abijam and Asa: Kings of Judah (15:1-24)
4. Kings of Israel (15:25-16)
IV. THE PROPHET ELIJAH AND KING AHAB
1. Elijah's Prediction and His Miracles (17:1-24)
2. Elijah on Mount Carmel: The Answered Prayer (18:1-46)
3. Elijah in the Wilderness and on Mount Horeb (19:1-21)
4. King Ahab, His Wicked Reign and Downfall (20-22)
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL, AND OF CONTEMPORARY EVENTS
According to Keil, Winer, Clinton, and Usher
(Moved to the APPENDIX)
Analysis and Annotations
I. DAVID'S LAST DAYS AND THE CROWNING OF SOLOMON
1. Adonijah's Exaltation to be King
CHAPTER 1:1-27
1. David's decrepitude (1:1-4)
2. Adonijah's self-exaltation (1:5-9)
3. The plot of Nathan and Bath-sheba (1:10-14)
4. Bath-sheba and Nathan before the king (1:15-27)
David was about 70 years old and extremely feeble. The strenuous life
he had led, the exposures and hardships of his youth, the cares and
anxieties of his reign, and the chastenings through which he passed on
account of his great sin, and much else were responsible for this enfeebled
condition. It is but another illustration of that rigid law, What a man
soweth that shall he reap. It was a premature decay with the complete loss
of natural heat. While the king was in this helpless condition Adonijah (My
Lord is Jehovah) exalted himself to be king and like his unhappy brother
Absalom he prepared chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run before him.
Like Absalom he also was of great physical beauty. There is a significant
sentence which reveals the weakness of David towards his favorite children,
a weakness which has borne its sad fruits in many families. "And his father
had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so?" There
had been no discipline in David's family; he had spared the rod. By right
of primogeniture he thought of claiming the throne. However, he must have
known that his younger brother Solomon had been selected by David to fill
the throne after him. But Adonijah knew not the Lord nor was he subject to
His will. In his selfish ambition he was upheld by Joab and Abiathar, the
priest. No doubt but both of these men sought their own interests; Joab to
continue in his position he held with David; Abiathar to get supremacy over
Zadok his rival in the priesthood. But Zadok the priest, who ministered at
Gibeon (1 Chron. 16:39), Benaiah, who had charge of the Cherethites and
Pelethites (2 Sam. 8:18), Nathan, the faithful prophet, Shimei (not the one
who cursed David), Rei and David's mighty men kept aloof from the revolt.
They remained true to Jehovah and to His anointed. Then Adonijah made a
sacrificial feast to give his self-exaltation a religious air. He invited
all the king's sons, his brethren, and the men of Judah; but Nathan,
Benaiah, David's mighty men and his brother Solomon were not called. It was
meant to be his coronation. In this revolt, preceding the enthronement of
God's king, Solomon, the king of peace, we have another foreshadowing of
what will precede the reign of the Prince of Peace, our Lord. It seemed as
if Adonijah might succeed. But Nathan, the prophet, begins to act. In
agreement with the mother of Solomon the plan is made to discover what
Adonijah had done to the aged King. Bath-sheba goes in first and after a
while Nathan appeared to tell the King the same story he had heard from the
lips of his wife. She reminded David of his oath, that Solomon her son was
to be the successor to the throne, and after telling him of Adonijah's act,
she appealed to him to proclaim now who was to sit upon the throne. She
speaks to him repeatedly as "My lord the King." And when Nathan appeared
before David he also said, "My lord O King." Some have gathered from this
that aged David had become filled with the pride of life. However, the
honour done to him may have been true reverence for the Lord's anointed
King.
2. The Anointing of Solomon and Adonijah's Submission
CHAPTER 1:28-53
1. The renewed promise to Bath-sheba (1:28-31)
2. The anointing of Solomon commanded (1:32-37)
3. Solomon made king (1:38-40)
4. The consternation of Adonijah (1:41-49)
5. Adonijah's fear and submission (1:50-53)
Bath-sheba had withdrawn while Nathan was before the king. She is
called back and David once more assures her that Solomon her son should
reign after him. Then David commands that Solomon be anointed king without
further delay. His instructions are at once carried out. Zadok the priest,
Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah caused Solomon to ride upon King David's
mule and brought him to Gihon. The priest anointed him king and the people
rejoiced with great joy. But what joy will come to this earth when He who
is greater than Solomon will be enthroned and receive His great kingdom,
which is only faintly foreshadowed in Solomon's glorious reign! All David
did was according to Jehovah's will and purpose. Solomon was a mere youth
when he was anointed. In 1 Chronicles 28 and 29 where the most impressive
scene is fully described which followed Solomon's anointing, we find
David's own words concerning him, "Solomon my son, whom alone God hath
chosen is yet young and tender, and the work is great" (1 Chron. 29:1). We
shall follow the remarkable utterances of King David at that occasion when
we reach the Chronicles. Like Saul and David, King Solomon was likewise
anointed a second time. "And they made Solomon the son of David king the
second time, and anointed him unto the LORD to be the chief governor, and
Zadok to be priest" (1 Chronicles 29:22). And while the people were
rejoicing in Gihon over God's true King, Adonijah's feast was about ended.
Abiathar's son Jonathan appeared on the scene. Adonijah said, "Come in; for
thou art a valiant man, and bringest good tidings." And the tidings he
brought were good tidings for God's people: "Solomon sitteth on the throne
of the Kingdom." Fear and consternation took hold on Adonijah and his
guests and while the people gathered around Solomon, Adonijah and his
company scattered. When another One, the greater Son of David, is enthroned
and the glad tidings flash forth, He has taken His throne, all His enemies
will be scattered and be made the footstool of His feet.
Adonijah took hold of the horns of the altar (Exodus 21:12-14).
Solomon promises him that his life would be spared, "but if wickedness
shall be found in him, he shall die." Mercy shown and righteousness
demanded were the first acts of King Solomon. In this he is a type of Him
who will reign in peace and execute mercy and righteousness on the earth.
Righteousness will reign in the millennial Kingdom and evil doers will be
cut off.
3. David's Charge to Solomon and David's End
CHAPTER 2:1-11
1. David's charge (2:1-9)
2. David's end (2:10-11)
We call attention again to 1 Chronicles 28 and 29 where we find the
record of the great assembly of all the princes of Israel and David's great
address to them. He then made known to all Israel that the LORD had chosen
Solomon to occupy the throne. He speaks there of the covenant promise, that
his son should build the house of the LORD and His courts. He exhorted the
people to keep the commandments and then spoke in tenderest words to young
Solomon. "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and
serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind ... take heed now;
for the LORD hath chosen thee to build an house for the sanctuary; be
strong and do it" (1 Chron. 28:1-10). Then he gave to his son Solomon the
patterns for the temple. These had been made under the guidance of the
Spirit of God. The immense treasures are mentioned which David had
dedicated for the temple worship. Of all this we find nothing in the record
of the first book of the Kings. Here only the general history of God's
government in Israel is given from the prophetic point of view. What
Chronicles represents we shall state in our annotations on those books.
The charge of David to Solomon recorded in the opening verses of this
chapter was given privately. Its main purpose was to exhort his son to
punish Joab and Shimei and to show kindness unto the sons of Barzillai.
Critics have attacked David's character on account of this charge. Renan in
his history of the people Israel goes so far as to say that the incident is
"a revelation of the black perfidy of his hypocritical soul." However, the
charge to Solomon to execute vengeance upon these two men is not a stain
upon King David. The punishment was well deserved. Joab had killed Abner
and Amasa. Shimei had in great vileness cursed God's King. Both were wicked
men. David's own guilt had no doubt compelled him to neglect the solemn
duty demanded by justice. He therefore asked Solomon to vindicate divine
justice and raise it up from the defeat it had sustained by punishing Joab
and Shimei with death, while kindness is to be bestowed upon the righteous.
From the prophetic viewpoint we get a glimpse of the coming righteous
judgment of the King, our Lord Jesus Christ, who will execute the vengeance
of God and punish the evil doers, and reward the righteous in His kingdom.
Then David passed away and was buried after his forty-year reign in the
city of David. He died in good old age, full of days, riches and honour (1
Chron. 29:28). His memory was always cherished by the nation. Peter on the
day of Pentecost spoke of his burial place: "His sepulchre is with us unto
this day" (Acts 2:29). In the coming day of the glorious manifestation of
the Son of Man, who also bears the title Son of David, when He shall
receive the throne of His father David, King David in resurrection glory
will have a great share in that Kingdom.
II. SOLOMON'S GLORIOUS REIGN. HIS FAILURE AND END
1. The Righteous judgment of Solomon
CHAPTER 2:12-46)
1. Solomon upon the throne (2:12)
2. Adonijah's request (2:13-18)
3. Bath-sheba before Solomon (2:19-21)
4. Solomon's answer and sentence upon Adonijah (2:22-24)
5. Adonijah executed (2:25)
6. Abiathar thrust out (2:26-27)
7. Joab and Shimei executed (2:28-46)
"Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom
was established greatly." Solomon and his glorious reign foreshadows the
reign of that greater Son of David, our Lord, in whom the covenant promise
made to David will be fully accomplished. The section which begins with the
statement of Solomon's enthronement is deeply interesting and full of the
richest typical and prophetic meaning. Solomon's righteous judgments, his
wisdom, his reign in peace, but especially the building of the temple
foreshadow Him who will ere long receive the throne and build the temple of
the LORD (Zech 6:13). Inasmuch as the critics reject the literal fulfilment
of the oath-bound Davidic covenant and the prophetic foreshadowing of the
recorded events, they also condemn Solomon's righteous judgment which
occupies the foreground of his reign. We quote from one of these critics:
"The reign of Solomon began with a threefold deed of blood. An eastern King
surrounded by the many princes of a polygamous family, and liable to
endless jealousies and plots, is always in a condition of unstable
equilibrium; the death of a rival is regarded as his only safe
imprisonment" (Canon Farrar). In such statements God's governmental ways in
righteousness and retribution are entirely ignored.
Adonijah the wicked rebel on probation visits Bath-sheba. He
acknowledges freely that the Lord had given the Kingdom to his brother.
Then he desired that Bath-sheba should ask her son Solomon to give Abishag
the Shunammite to him as wife (1:3). Bath-sheba was completely won by the
pathetic plea of Adonijah and did not discover the wicked plot which was
hidden beneath his request. Beautiful is the reverence which Solomon showed
to his mother. He arose from his throne, he bowed himself unto her, (the
Septuagint version reads "he kissed her") and he made her sit on his right
hand. How he honored and loved her! It may foreshadow the love of Him for
the believing remnant of Israel, His beloved people, who will have a share
in His coming Kingdom. When Bath-sheba states Adonijah's request the keen
discernment and wisdom of Solomon are at once apparent. "And why dost thou
ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for
he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and
for Joab the son of Zeruiah." Adonijah's request was a scheme to obtain the
kingdom. Most likely it was concocted by Abiathar and Joab. To many a
deceased king's wife or concubine was, according to Oriental customs,
paramount with claiming the rights of the king (2 Sam. 12:8; 16:21-22). Now
Abishag was not the wife of David in the sense of the word, yet she must
have been considered as belonging to the departed king. Had Solomon granted
the request he would have hopelessly degraded himself in the eyes of the
people (2 Sam. 2:7). Adonijah aimed by this cunning scheme at the throne of
Solomon and attempted to obtain the kingdom. Then Solomon pronounced
judgment, which Adonijah fully deserved. He was put to death that day. It
has been suggested by certain critics that Solomon had a more selfish,
carnal reason for putting his elder brother to death. "If, as seems almost
certain," declares a higher critic, "Abishag is the fair Shulamite of the
Song of Songs, there can be little doubt that Solomon himself loved her,
and that she was the jewel of his seraglio." But there is absolutely no
evidence that Abishag is identical with Shulamite; nor does Jewish
tradition sustain such a theory. It is a mere supposition.
Abiathar is next dealt with. His life is spared but Solomon thrusts
him out of the priesthood, thus fulfilling the word of the Lord concerning
the house of Eli (1 Sam. 2:31-36). Zadok becomes exclusively priest (verse
35). Joab and Shimei are both executed. Though Joab caught hold of the
horns of the altar it did not save him; he paid now by a just retribution
for the wicked deeds he had done. Shimei was commanded to remain in
Jerusalem; disobedience would mean certain death. When he disobeyed, the
sentence of death was executed upon him. And here we have another glimpse
of the government of the kingdom in the coming age. In the present age
grace reigns through righteousness; in the kingdom age, when the Lord rules
over all, righteousness reigns. Disobedience will be swiftly met by
judgment as it was with Shimei.
2. Jehovah Appears to Solomon
His Prayer and the Answer
CHAPTER 3
1. Affinity with Pharaoh and Pharaoh's daughter (3:1)
2. Solomon loved the LORD (3:2-4)
3. Jehovah appears to Solomon (3:5-15)
4. The wisdom granted and exemplified (3:16-28)
We shall now see how the Lord kept His promise He made unto David in
the establishment of his kingdom. After the execution of the demanded
judgment Solomon entered into affinity with Pharaoh King of Egypt (probably
the last King of the 21 Tanitic dynasty) and married his daughter. She was
with him in David's city until he made an end of building his own house,
the house of the LORD and the wall of Jerusalem round about." She was a
Gentile and Jewish tradition states that she became a Jewish proselyte.
This union was prophetic of the blessing Gentiles were to receive in union
with Him whom Solomon typifies. It was grace which took up Pharaoh's
daughter and made her share the riches and honors of Solomon. And Solomon
loved the LORD. At Gibeon he offered a thousand burnt offerings. Gibeon was
one of the high places where the priests performed their functions (1
Chron. 16:36-40). The tabernacle and the brazen altar were there, but not
the ark of the covenant. However, he also approached the ark and stood
before it to render thanks unto Jehovah. (Another application may be made
to the Jewish remnant of the end of the age the same way as Ruth typified
that remnant. See Annotations on Ruth. That remnant is called through
grace; the Jews through unbelief are in the same place as the Gentiles. The
grace which saved and called the Gentiles will draw and call them and bring
them into union with the King.)
A most blessed incident followed. As stated before Solomon was a youth
when he was anointed king. Eusebius states that he was only 12 years old;
Josephus gives his age as 15 years. He was probably not yet 20 years old
when he became King. He felt deeply two things, his own littleness and his
great responsibility in governing the multitude of people. It was while
still at Gibeon that Jehovah appeared unto him in a dream and said: "Ask
what I shall give you." What grace this was, but it also searched his
inner-most soul. And this offer was not made exclusively to Solomon. He who
appeared unto Solomon and put this gracious question to him, when He was on
earth clothed in the garb of a servant, yet greater than Solomon in all his
glory, said: "Ask, and it shall be given you" (Matt. 7:7). And again He
said: "Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do" (John 14:13). It
is faith's prerogative to hear Him speak thus to our hearts and to make use
of His great offer. Solomon's answer is beautiful. He acknowledged God's
great mercy and kindness. Then he confessed his own weakness and
helplessness. "I am but a little child; I know not how to go out or come
in." He speaks of his responsibility and duty towards God's people and then
utters his request: "Give therefore Thy servant an understanding heart to
judge Thy people, that I may discern between good and bad, for who is able
to judge this Thy so great a people?" It pleased the Lord as it always
pleases Him when His people confess their littleness and expect help from
Him. The request is granted. "So there was none like thee before thee,
neither shall any arise like unto thee." Wisdom from above filled his soul.
The book of Proverbs bears witness to this great understanding the Lord
gave to him. But He added much more; He gave him riches and honour. "Seek
ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness and all things shall be
added unto you" (Matthew 6:33). And the same Lord does still, to all who
put their trust in Him, exceeding abundantly above all they ask or think.
"He giveth us richly all things to enjoy" (1 Tim. 6:17). Then there was a
conditional promise. "And if thou wilt walk in My ways, to keep My
statutes, and My commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will
lengthen thy days" (verse 14). Alas! Solomon did not fulfill the condition.
He forsook the Lord and died when he was not quite 60 years of age. He
awoke and behold it was a dream. But it was more than a dream. That the
prayer had been answered and that the wisdom of God was in him to do
judgment is evidenced in the incident which follows and which needs no
further comment. In his wisdom he is a type of our Lord Jesus who is the
wisdom of God. And the justice he administered in his kingdom is typical of
the righteous judgment of our Lord when He rules as king over the earth.
"He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the
hearing of His ears, but with righteousness shall He judge the poor" (Is.
11:1-4).
3. Solomon's Princes and Officers
The Prosperous Kingdom and the King's Great Wisdom
CHAPTER 4
1. The Princes (4:1-6)
2. The Officers (4:7-19)
3. The prosperous kingdom (4:20-28)
4. Solomon's great wisdom (4:29-34)
"So King Solomon was king over all Israel." A list of the princes and
the twelve officers is given first. Their names fit in perfectly with the
character of the kingdom, foreshadowing the coming and better kingdom of
our Lord. We give the names of the princes with their meaning. Azariah,
"Jehovah is help"; Elihoreph, "my God is reward"; Ahiah, "Brother of
Jehovah"; Jehoshaphat, "Jehovah judges"; Benaiah, "Built up by Jehovah";
Zabud, "Gift bestowed"; Ahishar, "Brother of ability"; Adoniram, "Lord of
Heights."
Then we have here the record of a remarkable increase of Judah and
Israel "as the sand which is by the sea in multitude." It reminds us of the
promise made to Abraham, "in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the
stars of the heaven and as the sand which is upon the sea shore" (Gen.
22:17). Such an increase will come during the reign of God's appointed
King, the Prince of Peace. His kingdom reached from the river (Euphrates)
to the border of Egypt. Even so had Jehovah spoken to Abraham that his seed
should possess the territory from Egypt unto Euphrates. This was realized
in Solomon's kingdom. Now the Jews hold not even the little land called
Palestine. When the true King comes the promised territory will be given
once more to the seed of Abraham. It was a time of great prosperity.
Another prophetic hint we find in the fact that the great multitude were in
peace, "eating and drinking and making merry." Such will be the universal
state of the people in the coming Kingdom when "every man shall call his
neighbor under the vine and the fig tree" (Zech 3:10), as under Solomon's
reign Judah and Israel dwelt safely every man under his vine and fig tree
(verse 25). Solomon had also great stables full of horses and many
chariots. He had 4000 horses; the number 40,000 in verse 26 is evidently
the error of a copyist. (See 2 Chron. 9:25.) There was much to be supplied
for the provision of the court of the King. See the daily need; but they
lacked nothing. How great the need there is in the world during the absence
of the true King! But when He comes to reign "He will satisfy the poor with
bread" (Ps. 132:15).
And how marvellously the Lord answered the King's petition! The
greatness of Solomon's wisdom, the many-sidedness of its character as well
as the world-wide impression this wisdom made is recorded in verses 29-34.
"Happy is the man who findeth wisdom, and the man who causeth understanding
to go forth; for merchandise with it is better than merchandise of silver,
and the gain from it than the most fine gold" (Prov. 3:13-14). The King
expressed in these words his own experience. His wisdom was greater than
the wisdom of the wise men of the East and greater than Egypt. (Compare 1
Chron. 2:6. Ethan, 1 Chron. 6:44; 15:17, 19. Ps. 89 [Inscription]; Heman
see 1 Chron. 6:33; 25:5. Psalm 88 [Inscription].) He spake 3000 proverbs
and made 1005 songs. The book of Proverbs contains hundreds of his sayings.
But not all these proverbs were preserved and only a few of his songs (Song
of Solomon and a few Psalms). Creation itself was known by the great King.
(See verse 33.) According to an apocryphal book (Wisdom of Solomon) he had
knowledge of cosmogony, astronomy, the alteration of solstices, the cycles
of years, the natures of wild beasts, the forces of spirits, the thoughts
of men, the qualities of plants and roots. Jewish tradition even declares
that he could converse with the wild beasts. This knowledge of creation was
not a perfect knowledge. However, it also reminds us of the glorious time
when the secrets of nature, lost through the fall of man, will be restored
through Him, who will deliver groaning creation (Rom. 8:21).
4. The Building of the Temple and its Dedication
CHAPTER 5
Hiram King of Tyre
1. Hiram sends servants to Solomon (5:1)
2. The message of Solomon (5:2-6)
3. Hiram's answer and league with Solomon (5:7-12)
4. Solomon's workmen (5:13-18)
In connection with 1 Kings 5-8 the chapters in 2 Chronicles should be
read which give a more extensive account (2 Chronicles 2-5:11). Solomon now
begins the great work, which may be called his life work, the building of
the house of the LORD. Hiram heard of Solomon's enthronement, and sent
messengers to Solomon. This Gentile king was a lover of David. David had
made before his death abundant material for the building of the house and
Hiram had supplied much of it (1 Chron. 22:4). Solomon requested that Hiram
furnish cedar trees from Lebanon for the building of the house and Hiram
agrees to float them down the coast. According to the request of Hiram,
Solomon supplied Hiram's household with 20,000 measures of wheat and twenty
measures of oil. Hiram also sent a master-workman by name of Huram whose
mother was a Jewess (2 Chron. 2:13-14; 1 Kings 7:14). This cooperation of
the Gentiles in building the temple is also prophetic, for the riches of
the Gentiles are promised to Israel (is. 40:6; 54:3). Jews and Gentiles
will unite to manifest His glory. A large number of workmen were needed.
Two classes were employed. First there were 30,000 men out of Israel raised
by a levy; 10,000 worked by relays of 10,000 a month. The second class was
composed of strangers (1 Kings 5:15; 2 Chron. 2:17-18), 150,000 in number;
70,000 were burden bearers and 80,000 hewers in stone. Over all were 3300
officers (verse 16) with 550 chiefs (1 Kings 9:23), of whom 250 were native
Israelites (2 Chron. 8:10). The great stones and the costly (splendid)
stones and hewed stones are especially mentioned. They were for the
foundation of the house. These stones may illustrate all those who as
"living stones" are built up a spiritual house (1 Pet. 2:5). Through Grace
all those are taken out of nature's place and prepared to fit into that
marvellous temple of the Lord "fitly framed together--an holy temple in the
Lord" (Eph. 2:21).
CHAPTER 6
The Description of the Temple
1. The date of the beginning of the building (6:1)
2. The house, the porches and side chambers (6:2-10)
3. The divine charge (6:11-14)
4. The internal arrangements (6:15-22)
5. The cherubim (6:23-30)
6. The doors (6:31-35)
7. The inner court and the temple finished (6:36-38)
Three chapters are taken up with the description of the temple, its
contents, Solomon's house of the forest of Lebanon and with the dedication
of the house of the LORD. Rich foreshadowings are here which we must pass
over in greater part. Books could be written on these three chapters.
However, we hope to point out the way for a closer study of the temple. The
building of the temple commenced in the month of Zif (splendour), the
second month when nature bursts forth in all her splendour. There comes a
morning without clouds (2 Sam. 23:4) with glorious splendour, when He, for
whose coming all is waiting, will build the temple (Zech. 6:12). It took
seven years to finish the house. The temple was erected on Mount Moriah.
There was an immense foundation of great hewn and splendid stones, a
platform upon which the temple was built. This great foundation remains to
the present day, known by the name "Haram-esh-Sheref," and upon it there
stands now the Mosque of Omar. One stone alone is thirty-eight feet and
nine inches long. "This great stone is one of the most interesting stones
of the world, for it is the chief corner stone of the temple's massive
wall. Among the ancient Jews, the foundation corner stone of their great
sanctuary on Moriah was regarded as the emblem of moral and spiritual
truths. It had two functions to perform; first, like the other foundation
stones, it was a support for the masonry above, but it had also to face
both ways, and was thus a bond of union between the two walls.... The
engineers, in order to ascertain the dimensions of this foundation stone,
worked round it, and report that it is three feet eight inches high, and
fourteen feet in length. At the angle it is let down into the rock to a
depth of fourteen inches, but, as the rock rises towards the north, the
depth at four feet north of the angle is increased to thirty-two inches,
while the northern end seems entirely embedded in the rock. The block is
further described as squared and polished, with a finely dressed face....
Fixed in its abiding position three thousand years ago, it still stands
sure and steadfast" (from report, "Recent Discoveries in the Temple Hill").
Still more interesting is the fact that the men who made an
exploration of this temple wall, some 3000 years old, discovered certain
marks. We quote from the Palestine Exploration report: "I must now speak
somewhat fully on a subject which has engaged public attention for some
time, and has already given rise to many conjectures, namely, the
'writings,' either painted on or cut into the stones, discovered lately on
the bottom rows of the wall, at the south-east corner of the Haram, at a
depth of about eighty feet there, where the foundations lie on the live
rock itself. I have examined them carefully in their places--by no means an
easy task. The ventilation at that depth is unfavourable to free breathing;
nor is the pale glimmer of the taper, or the sudden glare of the magnesium
wire, calculated materially to assist epigraphical studies.... I have come
to the following conclusions:--First: The signs cut, or painted, were on
the stones when they were first laid in their present places. Secondly:
They do not represent any inscription. Thirdly: They are Phoenician. I
consider them to be partly letters, partly numerals, and partly special
mason's, or quarry, signs. Some of them were recognisable at once as
well-known Phoenician characters; others, hitherto unknown in Phoenician
epigraphy, I had the rare satisfaction of being able to identify on
absolutely undoubted antique Phoenician structures in Syria, such as the
primitive substructures of the harbour at Sidon. No less did I observe them
on the bevelled stones taken from ancient edifices and built into later
work throughout Phoenicia. For a striking and obvious instance of this, the
stones of which (old Phoenician stones to wit) immured in their present
place at subsequent periods, teem with peculiar marks identical with those
at Jerusalem." Thus the stones testify to the fact that strangers,
Phoenicians and others were employed. This rock foundation, which has
remained unshaken, is an illustration of Him, the rock of ages, upon whom
everything rests.
The dimensions of the house were twice the size of those adopted in
the tabernacle; the whole length was 60 cubits, the breadth 20 cubits, and
the height also 20 cubits. The interior was lined with boards of cedar, the
house was overlaid with gold, and a wall surrounded the whole. The upper
chambers were 10 cubits high, on which account the height of the whole
building is stated to have been 30 cubits. The porch before the entrance of
the temple was 10 cubits in length and as many in breadth, and here were
placed two massive pillars of brass, named Jachin (he shall establish, or,
steadfastness) and Boaz (in Him is strength). On the other three sides a
building was erected three stories in height, which rose to two-thirds of
the height of the house of the temple. The sanctuary, 40 cubits in length,
contained the golden altar of incense, ten candlesticks of gold, and ten
tables of gold. The holiest of all was a cube of 20 cubits; it contained
two cherubim made of the wood of the olive-tree, overlaid with gold, and 10
cubits in height, whose expanded wings touched in the middle, and, on the
opposite sides, touched the walls.
In verse 7 we find a remarkable statement: "And the house when it was
building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither, so
that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the
house, while it was in building." Thus orderly and quietly proceeds the
erection of that spiritual house, the Church, destined to be the holy
temple in eternity. However, the temple itself does not exactly prefigure
the Church. It is a type of the Father's house above where God dwells. The
chambers or dwellings round about remind us of the words of our Lord: "In
my Father's house are many mansions" (literally: abodes, dwellings). It is
a blessed hint that God will have His people dwelling with Him. But the
temple is also prophetic of another temple which will yet stand on the
earth when our Lord reigns. His glory will cover and fill that house, which
will be a house of prayer and worship for all nations.
After the description of the dimensions of the house, and after he had
built it and built the chambers, the word of the Lord came to Solomon
telling him that His dwelling among the children of Israel depended upon
Solomon's faithfulness. Soon the failure came in and Ezekiel saw later the
departure of the glory of the Lord from the temple and from Jerusalem.
And in the house gold was the prominent feature. The word "gold"
occurs eleven times in this chapter. All was overlaid with gold. Besides
this there were "glistening stones, and of divers colours" (1 Chron. 29:2).
Everything was of pure gold; the sanctuary might have been called the
golden house. The floor was overlaid with gold, the walls, the doors and
ceiling were covered with pure gold, and the walls had inlaid precious
stones (2 Chron. 3:6). Gold is the emblem of divine righteousness and
divine glory. Therefore the whole sanctuary witnessed to the glory of
righteousness which is in keeping with the prophetic foreshadowing of this
house. How much greater will be the glory and the manifestation of divine
righteousness when the true King builds the house and manifests His glory!
Another interesting feature present was the cherubim. While the
cherubim which belonged to the ark of the covenant remained unchanged, for
it was the same ark which was in the tabernacle, Solomon put on either side
of it the big figure of a cherub carved of olive wood and overlaid with
gold. Each was ten cubits high. The two with their wings met over the mercy
seat, while the wing of the one touched the wall on the south and the wing
of the other touched the wall on the north. Then instead of these cherubim,
like those on the ark, looking downwards towards the mercy seat, they
looked outwards (2 Chron. 3:13). "Inwards" really means "towards the house"
or "outwards." And this is in harmony with the reign of righteousness which
is foreshadowed in Solomon and the temple. "At that time, righteousness
reigning and being established, these symbols of God's power can look
outwards in blessing, instead of having their eyes fixed on the covenant
alone. During the time there was nothing but the covenant, they gazed upon
it; but when God has established His throne in righteousness, He can turn
towards the world to bless it according to that righteousness."
CHAPTER 7
The House of Solomon and Pharaoh's Daughter
The Furnishings of the Temple
1. The house of the forest of Lebanon (7:1-7)
2. The royal palace and the house of Pharaoh's daughter (7:8-12)
3. The master workman (7:13-14)
4. The great pillars and chapiters (7:15-22)
5. The brazen sea (7:23-26)
6. The ten lavers with their carriages (7:27-40)
7. Hiram's work (7:41-47)
8. The golden utensils for the interior (7:48-51)
The description of the palace buildings come next. These buildings are
called "Solomon's own house" (verse 1). The buildings consisted of the
following: The house of the forest of Lebanon (verses 2-5). The porch of
pillars (verse 6). The porch of judgment, where the king judged (verse 7).
The house where the king dwelt (verse 8). The house where Pharaoh's
daughter dwelt "like unto his house" (verse 8). The wall which surrounded
the great court. Seven things are mentioned in connection with the palace
buildings. While the temple was God's dwelling place the palace buildings
were the dwelling place of the king and his wife, Pharaoh's daughter. From
there the king executed judgment. Here we have prefigured the glorious
administration of the kingdom, when our Lord judges in righteousness. The
house of the forest of Lebanon is the type of His glory among the Gentiles.
And inasmuch as the house of Pharaoh's daughter was closely connected with
Solomon's house it is written "we are his house" (Hebrews 3:6), we have
here foreshadowed the association of the Church with Christ in His coming
reign of glory. Everything in the temple and in the palace buildings was
glorious and revealed the immense riches of the great king. What a day it
will be when the riches and glory of Christ will be manifested and when the
saints of God will share it all!
Then Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. This was not the
king, but a master workman. His father was a Tyrian and his mother by birth
of the tribe of Dan was a widow and had married a man of Naphtali. This
reconciles an alleged discrepancy. (See 1 Kings 7:14 and 2 Chron. 2:13.) In
Chronicles he is called Huram. (Probably Huram-abi (Abi--meaning "my
father") was his correct name.) His mother belonged to the same tribe to
which Aholiab the coworker of Bezaleel belonged. (See Exodus 31:1-6.) The
two pillars of solid brass Jachin (he will establish) and Boaz (in him is
Strength) are first described. They were a new thing for the house of the
Lord. The outward support these pillars afforded speak of Him who is the
support of everything and whose power upholdeth all things. Read Jeremiah's
words concerning these pillars (Jer. 27:19, etc.) and the fulfilment (2
Kings 25:13-17; Jer. 52:17). All the vessels mentioned were made on a much
larger scale, and greater in number, than those of the tabernacle. The
great molten sea supported by twelve oxen which looked towards the North,
South, East and West, the river wrought like a cup, like lilies, contained
two thousand baths (about 16,250 gallons of water). (2 Chron. 4:5 has 3000
baths: this must mean the actual capacity of this colossal vessel, while
the 2000 measures in 1 Kings gives the usual contents of the laver.) Here
the priests and Levites performed their ablutions. The water was drawn from
the big reservoir. There was a large supply. Living waters in abundance
will flow forth from Jerusalem in the coming kingdom ages. The oxen (the
burden bearing beast) are typical of service. Of all this we shall find
more in Chronicles. Then all the things which David had dedicated, the
silver, the gold and the vessels were put by Solomon among the treasures of
the house of the Lord.
CHAPTER 8
The Dedication of the Temple
1. The great assembly (8:1-2)
2. The transportation of the ark (8:3-9)
3. The glory of the LORD filling the house (8:10-11)
4. Solomon's opening words (8:12-21)
5. Solomon's great prayer (8:22-53)
6. Solomon's benediction (8:54-61)
7. The sacrifices and the feast (8:62-66)
The ark of the covenant is now to be transported out of David's city
to be put into the most holy place, under the wings of the great cherubim.
The ark was carried, according to the instructions in the law, by the
priests. A great sacrificial ceremony also took place; so many sheep and
oxen were sacrificed that "they could not be numbered for multitude." The
ark now had found a resting place (Ps. 132:8). The staves by which the ark
had been carried were now drawn out. They were not to be removed (Ex.
25:15); but now they were pulled out, but remained there as a memorial of
their journeys and the Lord's faithfulness in bringing them into the
promised rest. But in the ark nothing was found but the two tables of
stone; Aaron's rod and the pot of manna were missing. (Hebrews 9:4 has
reference to the ark in the Tabernacle). The rod of Aaron was the emblem of
the priestly grace which had accompanied them on their journey and the
manna was their food in the wilderness. Both Aaron's rod and the pot of
manna were provisions for the wilderness; they would not have been in
keeping with the reign of glory and peace, as well as the rest they now
enjoyed. Thus when we are brought into glory we have no more need of
priestly intercession and help, nor do we need the manna any longer. But
the law was not missing, for as regards that earthly kingdom over which our
Lord will yet reign, its foundation and administration will be the law of
righteousness.
When the ark had been placed the glory-cloud filled the house. Jehovah
had appeared in His glory to dwell in the house. And when that future
temple will be on the earth as seen by Ezekiel in his great temple-vision,
the glory will return and fill the house, and more than that, the whole
earth will be filled with His glory (Ezek. 43:1-5; Num. 14:21).
Then Solomon spoke. A great and marvellous dedicatory and intercessory
prayer follows. It must be noticed that in all, especially in the bringing
of the sacrifices, Solomon assumes the full character of priest. He acts as
the king-priest, another Melchizedek, King of Salem. And this he was, king
of righteousness in his judgments and king of peace. In all this he
foreshadows Him, who is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
"He shall be a priest upon His throne" (Zech. 6:13) is the still
unfulfilled prediction. Now He is upon the Father's throne as the priest
and advocate of His people. When He comes again He will have His own throne
and be also a priest. We have therefore in Solomon's functions in
dedicating the temple and in the bringing of the sacrifices a prophetic
type of our Lord in His future royal priesthood. First, Solomon turned
towards the Most Holy filled with the glory of the Lord and said: "I have
surely built Thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for Thee to abide
in forever." Then he blessed the congregation. He mentions once more David,
his illustrious father, and the covenant-promise. "And the LORD hath
performed His word that He spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my
father, and sit upon the throne of Israel as the LORD promised, and have
built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel" (verse 20). And yet
the covenant-promise had not seen its accomplishment; the failure of
Solomon and the passing of the glory witnesses to that. Yet Solomon, his
reign of peace and prosperity and especially his great work in the building
of the temple foreshadows the great coming fulfillment of the Davidic
covenant in the enthroned Christ upon the throne of his father David. A
closer study of the great prayer we must leave with the reader. The
different petitions are of deep interest and the kingdom characteristics
are prominent. "The prayer sets the people under the form of a righteous
government, abounding indeed in kindness and forgiveness, yet one which
will not hold the guilty innocent; and it presents God as the people's
resource, when the consequences of their sin fall upon them according to
the principles laid down by Moses in Deuteronomy and elsewhere" (Synopsis
of the Bible). And in the prayer mention is made "that all people of the
earth may know Thy name, to fear Thee, as do Thy people Israel; and that
they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by Thy name"
(verse 43). This looks forward to the ingathering of the nations into the
kingdom, when nations will be joined to a God-fearing Israel. (See Zech.
2:11; 8:23.) The feast mentioned which followed the dedication feast is the
feast of tabernacles. And this is again highly typical, for the feast of
tabernacles is as a type unfulfilled. While it pointed back to the time
when they were in the wilderness, living in tents and journeying towards
the land of promise, it also pointed to the future, when the name of
Jehovah was to be known among all the nations of the earth, when the
nations would come to worship the Lord of Hosts (Zech. 14). The conjunction
of the dedication of the temple with the feast of tabernacles was more than
significant, it was prophetic. It is only when the Lord Jesus Christ
occupies the throne and He builds the Temple of glory, that the nations
will seek after Him and be converted. (See our annotations on Leviticus
23.) And while the king prayed and blessed the people, the people full of
happiness and joy blessed the king. Heaven and earth rejoiced. It is the
climax of Israel's history in the land.
5. Jehovah Appears unto Solomon and the Greatness of the King
CHAPTER 9
1. The second appearance of the LORD to Solomon (9:1-9)
2. Transactions with Hiram (9:10-14)
3. The levy of the king (9:15-23)
4. Pharaoh's daughter occupies the house (9:24)
5. The king's offerings (9:25)
6. Solomon's navy (9:26-28)
Jehovah's righteous government in the midst of His people Israel had
now been established. This government was given and entrusted to Solomon
the son of David, so that, in a sense, Solomon occupied the throne of the
Lord. All depended upon the faithfulness of Solomon. Therefore the LORD
appeared unto him the second time, not to say once more: "Ask what I shall
give thee," but to assure him that He would keep His promise made to David
and if he would be faithful his throne would be established. Then He warns
against disobedience. If he serves other gods, Israel was to be cut off
from the land and the house would be forsaken. How all this came to pass,
Solomon's idolatry, disobedience, the subsequent shameful history of
Israel's apostasy, we shall soon have to follow. Then God used
Nebuchadnezzar to carry out the judgment upon Jerusalem and the temple.
Another son of David will receive some day the throne and the government
will rest in His hands. In Him all will be accomplished which the prophets
have spoken and which was foreshadowed in Solomon.
The transaction with Hiram is interesting. Besides furnishing Solomon
with timber he also gave him gold; this amounted to 120 talents of gold.
Solomon gave to Hiram twenty cities in Galilee. When he came to look at
them, he was displeased with them and called them Cabul, which probably
means "as nothing." These cities may have been given to King Hiram for the
gold Solomon had received from him. The cities were later restored to
Solomon by Hiram, most likely after Solomon had paid back the gold Hiram
had furnished.
The activity of the great King in building fortresses and cities is
described in this chapter. Hazor became under him a stronghold in defence
of Syria. The plain of Jezreel had for a protection Megiddo. Gezer and
Baalath were other strongholds. Tadmor is Palmyra, called so by the Greeks
and Romans, while it is called still today Tadmor. In this chapter (verse
18) the name is given in Hebrew as "Tamar"; in 2 Chron. 8:4 it is "Tadmor."
Tamor means "palm tree," the same as Palmyra. Chronicles uses Tadmor
because it was known by that name after the exile.
And Solomon had a fleet of ships, manned mostly by the experienced
shipmen of King Hiram. Another fleet is mentioned in 10:22, a navy of
Tharshish, which, with Hiram's navy, sailed every three years to fetch
gold, silver, ivory and apes and peacocks. Ophir has been variously
located. Peru, the Molucca Islands, Armenia, Arabia and parts of Africa
have been suggested. All these statements show the great prosperity of the
kingdom.
6. Solomon and the Queen of Sheba: His great Riches and Splendour
CHAPTER 10
1. The visit of the Queen (10:1-13)
2. Solomon's enormous wealth (10:14-15)
3. the targets and shields (10:16-17)
4. The ivory throne (10:18-20)
5. The abundance of gold and the depreciation of silver (10:21-22)
6. The greatest living monarch (10:23-26)
7. His chariots and horsemen (10:27-29)
The visit of the Queen of Sheba, who had heard of Solomon's wisdom, is
the next recorded event of much interest and significance. It illustrates
what was previously stated in chapter 4:34. Sheba was known to such ancient
writers as Strabo and Pliny. It was the center of a vast commercial empire
in the southwestern part of the Arabian peninsula. The mins which are still
to be seen testify of a great civilization. (See Isaiah 60:6; Psalm 72:15;
Jeremiah 6:20; Ezekiel 27:22; 38:13.) She heard and came; she communed with
Solomon and brought presents; she was filled with wonder at all she heard
and saw and declared: "Behold the half was not told me." Then she uttered
her praise: "Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand
continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. Blessed be the LORD thy
God, who delighteth in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel, because
the LORD loved Israel forever, therefore made He thee King, to do judgment
and justice." Then she gave gold, spices and precious stones of an enormous
value. In all this glory which came to Solomon we have a prophetic type of
the glory which will come to Him, who is greater than Solomon. When He
occupies the throne, the Gentiles will seek Him and praise the King as the
Queen of Sheba praised Solomon. "The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea,
all the kings shall fall down before Him, all nations shall serve Him....
And He shall live, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; prayer
also shall be made for Him continually, and daily shall He be praised" (Ps.
72:10-15). This great Kingdom Psalm will be fulfilled when our Lord comes
again. "The abundance of the sea shall be converted unto Thee, the forces
of the Gentiles shall come unto Thee. The multitude of camels shall cover
Thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come,
they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of
the LORD" (Is. 60:5-6). All these and many other prophecies will be
fulfilled in the future kingdom of our Lord. The visit of the Queen of
Sheba foreshadows all this. See also the warning of our Lord in Matt.
12:42.
And what riches and glory the king possessed! Everything was of gold.
His throne was of solid ivory overlaid with gold. Twelve wonderful lions
stood on the one side and on the other. All the drinking vessels were of
gold. Silver depreciated in his days; it was worth next to nothing. "The
King made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as
sycamore trees" (verse 27). Compare this with what will take place in the
coming kingdom of our Lord. "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir
tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree" (Is. 55:13).
"For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for
wood, brass, and for stone, iron" (Is. 60:17).
7. Solomon's Failure:
judgment Announced and the beginning of Disruption
CHAPTER 11
1. Solomon's polygamy and departure from God (11:1-13)
2. Hadad the Edomite (11:14-22)
3. Rezon the second adversary (11:23-25)
4. Jeroboam (11:26-40)
5. Solomon's reign and death (11:41-43)
"But--." An ominous word with which this chapter begins. It introduces
us to the sad picture of Solomon's great apostasy. "He shall not multiply
horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that
he should multiply horses, for as much as the Lord hath said unto you, ye
shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives
to himself, that his heart turn not away, neither shall he greatly multiply
to himself silver and gold" (Deut. 17:16-17). The Lord anticipated a royal
form of government for Israel and gave these instructions concerning the
King. The first failure is seen in the previous chapter. He multiplied
horses and brought them out of Egypt. Egypt is the type of the world. God
had answered his prayer and then added riches and everything else. But his
heart was captivated by riches and luxuries. No doubt he loved these things
and multiplied silver and gold. The Devil's crime, pride, was found in him.
His heart was lifted up (Deut. 17:20). But worse than all he multiplied
wives. The sad record is found in the opening verses of this chapter. Then
his heart was turned away by his wives and concubines after other gods.
David, though his trouble also originated in polygamy, had always, in all
his sin and failure, clung to Jehovah. In this sense David's heart was
perfect with the Lord his God. He did not turn away from the Lord, nor did
David go after strange gods. Solomon's guilt was great. The Lord had
appeared twice to him; He never appeared to David. And with all the Lord
had done for Solomon, the evidences of His grace towards him, the house he
could build, the superior wisdom he had, the great king departed from the
Lord. Such is the heart of man, desperately wicked. It becomes now evident
that the oathbound covenant concerning a man to sit upon the throne of
David with a glorious kingdom established, must be fulfilled in another son
of David. Solomon fails. The kingdom is rent from him. The glory departs.
Never again were the scenes of glory repeated in the kingdom of Israel. But
when David's Lord and David's Son appears, the King of Righteousness, the
Prince of Peace, the kingdom and the glory will be restored to Israel.
It has been stated that Solomon himself was not actually guilty of
idolatry. If he built the places of idolatrous worship for his many wives
only, he was guilty of the sin of idolatry. The abominations were then
introduced. Luxuries, wealth, self-indulgence, the lust of the eyes, the
lust of the flesh and the pride of life led into idolatry. It is the same
in the closing days of the present age. Ashtoreth, a Phoenician goddess,
was worshipped with impure rites. Milcom (Molech) was the idol-god of the
Ammonites. Chemosh was the sun-god and war-god of the Moabites.
And the Lord who had appeared twice unto Solomon, the Lord who had
commanded him not to go after other gods, was now angry with Solomon.
Judgment is announced. Two adversaries were stirred up at once against
Solomon, Hadad the Edomite and Rezon of Syria, who abhorred Israel.
Jeroboam, a servant of King Solomon (verse 11) lifted up his hand
against the king. Ahijah the prophet, attired in a new garment, meets the
future king of the ten tribe division and tore his garment into 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 the message of the Lord
through Ahijah also declared His faithfulness to David. Jehovah still
speaks of "David my servant"; he is "to have a light always before Me in
Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen to put My name there." The house of
David in the midst of all the evil is not forgotten. There will be
affliction, "but not forever" (verse 39). And Jeroboam also has the
opportunity of having a house "as I built for David" on the condition of
obedience. But ambitious Jeroboam did not keep the statutes and
commandments of the Lord.
And Solomon? Not a word of repentance! No tears like those his father
wept. No confession as it came from David's lips. Only one thing is stated.
Only one act is mentioned of apostatized Solomon. He sought to kill
Jeroboam. After a reign of 40 years, Solomon passed away not quite 60 years
old.
III. THE DIVIDED KINGDOM
1. Rehoboam and the Revolt of the Ten Tribes
CHAPTER 12
1. The revolt of the northern tribes (12:1-20)
2. The threatening war averted (12:21-24)
3. Jeroboam's wicked schemes (12:25-33)
Rehoboam (enlarger of the people) is the only son of Solomon mentioned
in the Bible (1 Chron. 3:10). Ecclesiastes 2:18-19 and 4:13-16 seem to give
a hint that his father was fearful about his reign in his stead. In 2
Chronicles 10:13 we find the history of Rehoboam more fully, which we
follow in the annotations of that book. He was the son of the Ammonitess
Naamah. During the first three years he was outwardly faithful, but after
that he drifted like his father into idolatry and its moral evils (1 Kings
14:23-24; 2 Chron. 11:13-17). He forsook the law of the Lord and the people
followed him (2 Chron. 12:1). The polygamous tendency of his father and
grandfather were also indulged by him (2 Chron. 11:21). Jeroboam who had
fled into Egypt (11:40) was recalled and the history of the revolt follows.
Jeroboam was made king over the ten tribes, while Rehoboam reigned over
Judah. What took place was from the Lord "that He might perform His saying,
which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of
Nebat" (12:15). The disruption of the kingdom had taken place. Up to the
deportation of the ten tribes under Shalmaneser (722 B.C.) covers 253
years. During that time thirteen kings reigned over Judah and twenty over
the ten tribes; there were also two periods of lawlessness. The apostasy of
the ten-tribe kingdom was complete; none of their kings served the Lord.
Under Ahab and his two sons Ahaziah and Joram the Baal worship became
universal. It was different with the kings of Judah. A number of them were
God-fearing (Asa, Jehoshaphat, Uzziah, Jotham, Hezekiah and Josiah). Others
were wicked blasphemers as we shall see from their history. It is also
noteworthy that the reign of the wicked kings was shorter than the reign of
those who feared the Lord.
After the stoning of Adoram, Rehoboam's collector, Rehoboam fled to
Jerusalem and gathered an army from Judah and Benjamin to fight against
Israel to bring back the kingdom to the son of Solomon. Shemaiah (heard of
Jehovah), a man of God, brought the message from the Lord not to fight
against Israel. They were obedient and the war was averted. Many
Israelites, who were true to Jehovah, as well as all the priests and
Levites remained in the Kingdom of Judah. (As failure had come in, prophecy
at once reappears. Shemaiah must have been a very courageous man to stand
in face of a gathered army of 180,000 men, an angry king and an angry
people and declare a message which must have been decidedly unwelcome. And
one cannot but admire the gracious submission of king and people.)
Jeroboam made Shechem his capital. He also built the ancient Penuel
(the face of God, Gen. 32:30; judges 8:8), but he did not meet the Lord
there like Jacob. Then the step was done which precipitated idolatry. To
protect his kingdom and keep the people back from the true worship of
Jehovah, he placed, with the consent of the people, in Dan and Beth-el on
the northern and southern boundaries of his kingdom, two calves of gold.
Thus with an unspeakable blasphemy he said: "It is too much for you to go
up to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of
the land of Egypt." The lowest class of the people were chosen as priests.
Then he also offered sacrifices unto the calves that he had made. All was
devised of his own heart and God's Word was completely set aside. It
corresponds to the great apostasy of Romanism with its wicked, blasphemous
rites.
2. Jeroboam and Rehoboam and their Reign
CHAPTER 13
The Man of God from Judah
1. The man of God and Jeroboam (13:1-10)
2. The temptation and lying message (13:11-19)
3. Judgment announced (13:20-22)
4. The fate of the man of Judah (13:23-32)
5. Jeroboam's impenitence (13:33-34)
A dramatic scene opens this chapter. The idolatrous King is engaged in
his religious ceremony when an unnamed man of God interrupted him. He did
not rebuke Jeroboam, but addressed himself to the altar, uttering a
remarkable prophecy: "Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of
David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high
places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burned upon
thee." More than 300 years later, and nearly a century after the ten tribes
had been carried away captive, this prophecy was fulfilled (2 Kings
23:15-18). The man of God announced the unborn king by name and also what
he would do, just as Isaiah announced the unborn King Cyrus and his work.
Higher criticism has labored in vain to destroy this great evidence of
prophecy. Then the man of God added a sign which happened literally in the
presence of the king. The angry king commanded the seizure of the prophet,
but the outstretched arm withered. The withered arm was restored in answer
to the prophet's prayer. Jehovah was seeking in mercy even Jeroboam in all
his wickedness. It was unsuccessful, for it is written: "After this King
Jeroboam returned not from his evil way." The man of God and what happened
to him occupies the greater part of the chapter. The King invited him to a
feast, probably an idol feast, and wanted to give him a reward. He refused
both because the Lord had charged him not to eat bread nor drink water, nor
return the same way he came. The man of God was to have no fellowship with
the works of darkness. The same principle is laid down for God's people in
the New Testament (2 Cor. 6:14-18; Eph. 5:11; 2 John 9-11). Then comes his
great failure, showing that while he was a messenger of God, his heart was
not altogether right with God. It was through the old prophet that a lying
spirit induced him to disobey the Word of the Lord. And when the old
prophet announced his coming judgment we read not a word that he turned to
the Lord with confession and prayer. Then the predicted fate overtook him.
It is a solemn lesson which teaches us obedience to the Word of God. "It
teaches us that, whenever God has made His will known to us, we are not to
allow any after thought whatever to call it in question, even although the
latter may take the form of the Word of God, If we were nearer to the Lord,
we would feel that the only true and right position is to follow that which
He told us at first. In every case our part is to obey what He has said."
The lion who had killed the disobedient prophet remained for a time with
the body without touching it. It was to show the divine character of the
judgment. If we look upon Jeroboam's departure from God and idolatrous
worship as typical of the corruption of Romanism, we may see in the Man of
God from Judah, who rebuked the false altar, a type of Protestantism. Like
the prophet who delivered the message faithfully but became disobedient,
Protestantism is disobedient to the Word of God and the judgment of God
will overtake it in the end.
CHAPTER 14
The Passing of Jeroboam and Rehoboam
1. Sickness and death of Jeroboam's son (14:1-18)
2. Jeroboam's reign and death (14:19-20)
3. Rehoboam's apostasy, punishment and death (14:21-31)
We come now to the passing of both kings, Jeroboam of Israel and
Rehoboam of Judah. Abijah (Jehovah is my father), the son of wicked
Jeroboam, was sick. "That child was the one green spot in Jeroboam's life
and home; the one germ of hope. And as his father loved him truly, so all
Israel had set their hopes on him. Upon the inner life of this child, its
struggles and its victories, lies the veil of Scripture silence; and best
that it should be so. But now his pulses were beating quick and weak, and
that life of love and hope seemed fast ebbing. None with the father in
those hours of darkness, neither counsellor, courtier, prophet nor priest,
save the child's mother." (A. Edersheim, Bible History) Then the unhappy
king remembered Ahijah, who had first announced his exaltation to be king
(11:31). Disguised the wife of Jeroboam proceeds to Shiloh not to ask
prayer for the sick son but to find out (as if consulting a fortune teller)
what should become of the child. Ahijah was blind. What need was there for
Jeroboam's wife to feign to be another? And the Lord saw her coming and
announced her approach to blind Ahijah. She hears from his lips not good
tidings, but a message of judgment. Judgment upon the house of Jeroboam is
announced and when the feet of the mother entered Tirzah once more the
child would die. Concerning the child, Ahijah, the prophet, said: "In him
there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house
of Jeroboam." Thus the little one was saved and removed from the evil to
come upon the house of Jeroboam. Then Jeroboam died. In 2 Chronicles 13:20
we read "the LORD struck him and he died." Nadab reigned after him for only
two years.
Then follows the passing of Rehoboam. (in 2 Chronicles 11 we find the
fuller record. He had 18 wives and 60 concubines. His family consisted of
28 sons and 60 daughters.) His reign was begun well, but he also turned
against the Lord, and Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord. Idolatry and
immorality flourished. A corrupted worship led to a corrupted life.
Departure from God and His Word leads always to moral decline. Our times
bear witness to this. Then the punishment came in the fifth year of his
reign. Shishak, King of Egypt, took Jerusalem and carried away the
treasures of the house of the LORD and of the King. He took away the golden
shields of Solomon so that Rehoboam had to substitute shields of brass.
Shishak was the founder of the twenty-second dynasty. Jeroboam had been
with him (11:40), and it is not improbable that at his instigation Shishak
made his expedition to Jerusalem. In the temple ruins of Amon at Karnak,
near Thebes, are recorded more than sixty Ephraimitic cities that paid
tribute to Shishak, also the names of many more Judean cities; there also
is a picture of Rehoboam. The detailed description of Shishak and his
invasion, the work of Shemaiah the prophet in averting a greater disaster,
we find in 2 Chronicles 12.
3. Abijam and Asa, Kings of Judah
CHAPTER 15
1. Abijam of Judah (15:1-8; 2 Chronicles 13)
2. Asa of Judah (15:9-24; 2 Chronicles 14-16)
Abijam is called in Chronicles Abijah; in 2 Chron. 13:21 he is called
Abijahu. Abijam was undoubtedly the older form. It is possible that on
account of his great address of rebuke to Jeroboam (2 Chron. 13:4-12) they
may have called him Abijah (Jehovah is my father). He ascended the throne
in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam's reign and was king for three years.
Here we find the statement that he walked in all the sins of his father and
that his heart was not perfect with the Lord as the heart of David his
father. The statement in chapter 11:36 is repeated, that for David's sake
did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem. It was a custom (and is
still so among the Fellaheen in Palestine) to keep a lamp constantly
burning in the tent. The extinction of the lamp signified the removal of
the family. The Lord remembered the house of David and his covenant and on
account of that covenant the deserved judgment was held back. The war he
fought with Jeroboam is not given in Kings but in Chronicles. We shall
follow his history with the text in Chronicles.
Then his son Asa (who will heal), a mere boy, began to reign. During
the first ten years of his reign the land had rest (2 Chron. 14:1). He is
the first King of Judah of whom it is said, he did right in the eyes of the
LORD, as did David his father. A great reformation took place. The
Sodomites with their abominations, the result of idolatry, he ended; the
idols were removed. His grandmother, Maachah, was removed by him from being
a queen because she had made an idol, which Asa destroyed and burnt. (Most
likely on account of his youth Maachah was regent during Asa's minority.)
And in Chronicles we read more of his good work. He was faithful to
Jehovah, though he also failed in the end. The war with Zerah the Ethiopian
is recorded in 2 Chronicles 14, as well as other deeply interesting events
during his reign. We do not touch those at this time. Our book here only
records the war with Baasha, King of Israel, and Asa's strange alliance
with Ben-hadad, King of Syria, to whom he presented the silver and gold
which Shishak had left in the house of the LORD, and also the treasures of
the King's house. Baasha had fortified Ramah, which meant the complete
isolation and domination of Jerusalem. Asa, forgetful of his experience
with Zerah and the manner of getting the victory (see his beautiful prayer,
2 Chron. 14:11), and that the Lord who had smitten Zerah could also smite
Baasha, feared the rival king and renewed the God-dishonoring league with
Syria which his father Abijah had made. What followed after this league,
the divine exhortation and judgment delivered through Hanani the prophet
and Asa's end, we shall follow in Chronicles. Asa's sin and failure
consisted in not trusting the Lord wholly, but using other means for
deliverance. Hanani told him "thou hast relied on the King of Syria, and
not on the LORD thy God,... For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro
throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them
whose heart is perfect toward Him. Herein thou hast done foolishly;
therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars" (2 Chron. 16:7-9). Then Asa
imprisoned the faithful messenger. Alas! how often the failure of Asa has
been repeated among God's people! Many begin well but lose the freshness of
their faith. In our own days we behold on all sides Asa-movements, no
perfect confidence in the Lord, but reliance upon all kinds of world
schemes and alliances which make it impossible for the Lord to manifest the
fullness of His power.
4. Kings of Israel
CHAPTERS 15:25-16
1. Nadab, King of Israel (15:25-32)
2. Baasha, King of Israel (15:34-16:7)
3. Elah, King of Israel (16:8-14)
4. Zimri, King of Israel (16:15-20)
5. Divisions (16:21-22)
6. Omri, King of Israel (16:23-28)
7. Ahab (16:29-34)
Six kings of Israel are now mentioned. Asa saw them all ascending the
throne of Israel. The first mentioned is Nadab, the son of Jeroboam, who
followed in his father's footsteps. His reign was cut short by an uprising
of one of the house of Issachar, Baasha. He smote Nadab at Gibbethon (Josh.
19:44; 21:23). Baasha then smote all the house of Jeroboam. Thus was the
prediction of Ahijah, the prophet of Shiloh, fulfilled. "Because of the
sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his
provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to anger." God's
predicted judgments never fail in the end. The judgments written over
against our own age, this evil age, will some day be executed by the Lord
as all other judgments which were threatened against Israel.
The new dynasty headed by Baasha began in the third year of Asa's
reign. Baasha reigned twenty-four years. He sinned as Jeroboam did, though
he had been the executer of God's judgment upon the descendants of the
wicked king. He had not heard Jehovah's voice speaking in the events of the
past. Then came the message of the Lord to Baasha through Jehu, the son of
Hanani (2 Chronicles 19:2; 20:34). He reminds him that the Lord had raised
him out of the dust (his family was unknown) and He had made him prince
over Israel. He followed Jeroboam and Rehoboam's fate, and the fate of his
house would now also be the fate of Baasha, who had executed the divine
sentence. "I will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of
Nebat." Such is divine justice.
Elah his son followed. His rule lasted not quite two years. He was in
Tirzah. While the army was away fighting the Philistines, Elah in the house
of his steward Arza ("earthliness") became drunk and was killed by his
captain, Zimri, who at once began to reign in his place. He only reigned
seven days and the only deed mentioned, besides his awful death, is the
slaying of all the house of Baasha "according to the Word of the LORD,
which He spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet." Omri was made king by
all Israel and with him began another dynasty. His first act was to besiege
Tirzah where Zimri was, who set the king's palace on fire and perished in
the flames. A division followed, but Omri prevailed. In all these sad
records the fruits of the departure from God and from His Word are seen.
They can easily be traced in the history of other nations down to our own
times, the days which have brought the most awful bloodshed in the world's
blood drenched history. It is all the result of sin. And Omri was worse
than all that were before him, and his son Ahab was the climax of all
wickedness in the Kingdom of Israel. There was no improvement, but a steady
decline till God's hand smote them in judgment. Ahab introduced
Baal-worship in Israel. This was the result of his marriage to Jezebel
(dunghill), the daughter of Ethbaal (with Baal), King of Zidonians. "Ahab
did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the Kings of
Israel that were before him." The last verse of this chapter records a
presumptuous action. Hiel (God liveth) built Jericho. He found out that the
word of God spoken 500 years before (Josh. 6:26) was true.
IV. THE PROPHET ELIJAH AND KING AHAB
1. Elijah's Prediction and Miracles
CHAPTER 17
1. Elijah's message to Ahab (17:1)
2. At the brook Cherith (17:2-7)
3. With the widow of Zarephath (17:8-16)
4. The widow's son restored to life (17:17-24)
Upon this scene of complete departure of God, when Ahab and his
heathen wife worshipped Baal and all the vileness connected with that cult
flourished in Israel, there appeared suddenly one of the greatest of God's
prophets, Elijah (my God is Jehovah) the Tishbite. "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."--"He
was the impersonation of the Old Testament in one of its aspects: that of
grandeur and judgment" (A. Edersheim). His miracles, like those of Moses,
have a judicial character. Heaven is shut in answer to his prayer and fire
falls from heaven at his word. The last promise in the Old Testament is
concerning Elijah the prophet who is to appear before the coming of the
great and dreadful day of the Lord, to turn the heart of the fathers to the
children and the heart of the children to their fathers (Mal. 4:5-6). See
also the Lord's words concerning the coming of Elijah (Matt. 17:10-13). He
appeared with Moses on the transfiguration mountain. In the book of
Revelation two witnesses are mentioned who witness among Israel before the
great day of the Lord comes. Though their names are not given, the miracles
they perform clearly show that these witnesses will be like Moses and
Elijah. "These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of
their prophecy (Elijah), and have power over waters to turn them to blood
and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will (Moses)."
"And if any man will hurt them fire proceedeth out of their mouth and
devoureth their enemies (Elijah)" Rev. 11:5-6. James speaks of Elijah also
and tells us he was a great man of prayer.
He appeared suddenly upon the scene and said to wicked Ahab, "As the
LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor
rain these years, but according to my word." He had, no doubt, like other
great servants of God, his training in secret.
The passage in James gives us the key: "Elias was a man subject to
like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain"
(James 5:17). It was in secret that he sought God's presence and wrestled
in prayer till the Lord sent him forth with the message of judgment.
Prayer, persevering prayer, is the one great need in the days of declension
and departure from God, and it is the one resource of God's faithful ones.
And how little true and continued waiting upon God there is in the days of
apostasy! When Elijah delivered the message to Ahab and said "according to
my word" he did not speak presumptuously, but as standing in the Lord's own
presence as his mouthpiece he had a perfect right to speak thus with divine
authority.
As soon as he had delivered the message the Lord told him to hide
himself by the brook Cherith. There he was miraculously fed by the ravens.
He was in the appointed place and the Lord took care of him in His own way.
Rationalistic critics have made the absurd statement that the word
"orebim"--ravens--should be arabim, which means Arabs. (Thus Canon Farrar
in the Expositor's Bible: "The word (orebim) may equally well mean people
of the city Oreb, or of the rock Oreb; or merchants as in Ezek. 27:27; or
Arabians.) But the Lord had commanded the birds, so shy in their nature, to
supply His servant with the needed food. Twice every day they ministered to
his wants. How this shows the omnipotence of the Lord. There is nothing too
hard for Him. If we are in the right place, the place He assigns to us, we
shall find that He still provides for those who trust and obey. The brook
dried up. Surely his faith was being tested. Then he was sent to a
destitute Gentile widow, who faced starvation. And concerning her the Lord
said: "I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee." The Lord who
commanded the ravens, commanded the widow. The Lord delights to take the
weak things and use them for His glory. And how did Elijah find her?
Preparing the last meal for herself and her child. Her faith was tested.
She was to make first a little cake for Elijah and bring it unto him and
afterwards to do the same for herself and her son. She obeyed and "the
barrel of meal wasted not neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to
the Word of the LORD." Here was greater faith than in Israel. See also Luke
4:26. The story foreshadows the bringing in of the Gentiles to know the
Lord. And when the widow's son fell ill and died and was restored by Elijah
and he delivered him to the mother saying: See, thy son liveth--she made
the blessed confession: "Now by this I know that thou art a man of God and
that the Word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth." The truth of resurrection
both physical and spiritual is here foreshadowed.
2. Elijah on Carmel: The Answered Prayer
CHAPTER 18
1. The command to see Ahab (18:1)
2. Elijah's response (18:2)
3. Ahab and Obadiah (18:3-6)
4. Elijah and Obadiah (18:7-15)
5. Elijah meets Ahab (18:16-18)
6. Elijah's demand (18:19-20)
7. The events on Carmel (18:20-40)
8. The answered prayer (18:41-46)
The judgment of God as announced by Elijah continued its allotted
time. A Greek historian, Menander of Ephesus, in his account of the acts of
Ethbaal (the father of Jezebel, Ahab's wife), says: "Under him there was a
want of rain from a certain month till the same month the following year."
And Josephus, the Jewish historian who quotes this, adds, "by these words
he designed the want of rain that was in the days of Ahab." It was in the
third year of the drought that Elijah is commanded to show himself to Ahab.
Elijah obeys. Great distress and famine were everywhere. Then we see Ahab
and Obadiah, the governor or steward of his house, looking for a little
pasture so that they might save the horses and mules alive. Obadiah
(servant of Jehovah), holding a high position with Ahab, feared the Lord
greatly. He belonged to the faithful remnant who did not bow the knee to
Baal (1 Kings 19:18). He must have had severe tests of faith and much
courage. It showed faith and devotion in hiding the Lord's prophets.
Jezebel, the wicked idolatrous woman, used the civil power to kill off the
true prophets. Her aim was to exterminate completely the men of God who
stood for the truth. We find her mentioned in Revelation 2:20. There she is
used to represent Rome, the harlot, and her spiritual fornication and
idolatry. Rome, like Jezebel, has persecuted the Lord's servants and killed
them (Rev. 18:24). Jezebel had evidently left the palace of Samaria and was
at Jezreel, but Ahab and Obadiah were still in Samaria making a survey of
the land. Then Obadiah met Elijah. The prophet requests Obadiah to announce
his presence to Ahab. But Obadiah feared that such a message might cost him
his life. Had not the whole country been searched for Elijah? And what if
the Spirit should carry Elijah away? Then he pleads his kindness to the
hundred prophets whom he saved when murderous Jezebel slew the prophets.
From all this we learn that Obadiah, pious and faithful, was full of fear
and trembling. He and the other faithful ones in Israel during the dark
days of Ahab and Jezebel typify that faithful remnant of Israel during the
end of the present age, suffering and persecuted during the great
tribulation.
Ahab and Elijah met, and the prophet, clothed with power, rebuked the
apostate King: "I have not troubled Israel; but thou and thy father's
house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast
followed Baalim." What would have happened if the daughter of Ethbaal,
demon-possessed Jezebel, had been present? The great gathering suggested by
Elijah would hardly have taken place. But she was in Jezreel and was
ignorant of what was taking place. Ahab gathers all Israel and the 450
prophets of Baal upon Mount Carmel as demanded by Elijah. It is said that
upon that mountain there stood two altars, one dedicated to Jehovah and
another altar of Baal. This place Elijah chose for the vindication of
Jehovah. To describe the scene, one of the grandest in the history of
Israel, would take many pages. To his solid statement demanding
decision--"How long halt ye between two opinions? If Jehovah is God, follow
Him; but if Baal, then follow him"--the people had no answer. Then follows
his great declaration as the only prophet of Jehovah, while 450 prophets of
Baal stood over against him. Then the sacrifices are suggested "and the God
that answereth by fire, let him be God." And all the people answered, it is
well spoken. Then follows the wild crying of the prophets of Baal from
early morning till noon; Elijah's sarcasm and the greater frenzy of the
Baal worshippers. A wild scene followed. Crying louder and louder, they cut
themselves with knives and lancers till the blood flowed. But there was no
answer and no voice. Then Elijah repaired the altar of Jehovah, that was
broken down. What a reminder the twelve stones were with which he built the
altar! The sacrifice had been put upon the altar with the wood. Three times
the altar had been drenched with water, so that the trench was filled with
water. And now the time for the evening sacrifice, that significant time
had come. A simple prayer follows. Jehovah's vindication is demanded and
that he is Jehovah's servant. "Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people
may know that Thou art the LORD God, and that Thou hast turned their heart
back again." Then Jehovah answered by fire and everything was consumed. The
people who witnessed the indescribable scene fell on their faces and cried:
"The LORD He is God--the LORD He is God." Thus Jehovah manifested His power
in the vindication of His name and in answer to His servant's prayer, and
the people were brought back to the confession of the name of the LORD. His
great mission to which the Lord had called him had been accomplished and
the prophets of Baal, wicked and guilty as they were, received their
deserved judgment. And here we have a foreshadowing of events to come.
Apostasy from the Lord and from His Word is increasing. Before the age
closes it will be universal, though the Lord will have a faithful remnant
even in the dark days of the age. His name is dishonored and rejected. But
that blessed name will be vindicated by a manifestation of His power in
judgment. "For behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with His chariots
like a whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames
of fires. For by fire and by His sword will the LORD plead with all flesh;
and the slain of the LORD shall be many" (Is. 66:15-16).
Higher criticism has not left these records unattacked. They speak of
"the legendary narratives in which Elijah's history is enshrined." All is
done to discredit these records and to make them appear doubtful. But the
verdict given by these men who sit in judgment upon the Word of God, that
the scene on Carmel is unhistorical, is a false verdict which shows lack of
real research. Nothing whatever can be brought forward to question the
historicity of this great scene, while much confirms it.
Then follows Elijah's word to Ahab: "Get thee up, eat and drink, for
there is a sound of abundance of rain." It was spoken in faith. The Lord
had said to him: "I will send rain upon the earth" (18:1). And then came
his prayer. He knew the Lord's will and the Lord's promise, and then
persevered in prayer, and when the answer was in sight then he exercised
faith once more by sending a message to Ahab. Then the heaven was black
with clouds and wind and there was a great rain. The hand of the Lord was
also upon Elijah and he ran before Ahab's chariot to the entrance of
Jezreel. It was supernatural power which sustained him (is. 60:31).
3. Elijah in the Wilderness and upon Mount Horeb
CHAPTER 19
1. Elijah's flight and despondency (19:1-8)
2. Upon Mount Horeb (19:9-18)
3. Elisha called (19:10-21)
Elijah perhaps stopped at the very door of the palace where wicked
Jezebel dwelt. He would remain with Ahab to the very last before he went in
to face the queen. Should not Elijah have remained and gone even before
Jezebel to bear his testimony? Instead he becomes terrified of wicked
Jezebel. Had he hoped that what had taken place on Carmel would result in
bringing not alone Ahab back to Jehovah, but also influence Jezebel? If
such was his expectation he must have been bitterly disappointed. Jezebel
seeks to kill him and he flees for his life. All what follows is the result
of unbelief. This verifies James' statement in his Epistle: "Elias was a
man subject to like passions as we are." Then in despair and unbelief he
requested to die. He is altogether occupied with himself and did not look
to God. Instead of seeking the wilderness, his training school, to pour out
his heart before God, to get new strength in communion with the Lord, "he
requested for himself that he might die."
"The heart of Elijah and the hand of God led the prophet into the
wilderness, where, overwhelmed perhaps, yet precious in Jehovah's sight, he
will be alone with God. Elijah's forty days journey in the wilderness has
only a partial resemblance to the forty days which Moses spent with God, in
the same Horeb to which the prophet was going, or to those which Jesus
spent in the wilderness for conflict with the enemy of God and man. In the
two latter cases nature was set aside. Neither Moses nor the Lord ate or
drank. As for Elijah, the goodness of God sustains the weakness of tried
nature, makes manifest that He considers it with all tenderness and
thoughtfulness, and gives the strength needed for such a journey. This
should have touched him, and made him feel what he ought to be in the midst
of the people, since he had to do with such a God. His heart was far from
such a state. Impossible, when we think of ourselves, to be witnesses to
others of what God is! Our poor hearts are too far from such a position"
(Synopsis of the Bible).
In Mount Horeb the Lord spoke to him: "What doest thou here, Elijah?"
It was the gentle rebuke of a loving God. He was not in the place where the
Lord wanted him as His servant. It is a great contrast--Elijah on Mount
Carmel and Elijah on Mount Horeb in a cave. On Carmel he stands the man of
faith, filled with a holy zeal for Jehovah. On Horeb hidden in the cave
because he fled from Jezebel. And how many children of God may learn
something from this question: "What doest thou here?" They are drifting
into the world while others have left the sphere of service into which the
Lord called them. And Elijah's answer shows his self occupation. It is what
he had done; what he was and the threatening danger to lose his life. But
that danger was far greater when they searched countrywide for him and when
the Lord preserved his life by the ministry of the ravens and by the
widow-woman.
His answer has in it the spirit of bitterness and accusation. Then the
Lord passed by. The storm, the earthquake and the fire preceded His coming;
these are always connected with Jehovah's presence and manifestation. Then
came "a still small voice" Elijah knew so well. He wrapped his face in his
mantle and then he answered the question once more, but in an humbled
spirit. He receives the commission to anoint Hazael, King of Syria; Jehu
(Jehovah is he), the son of Nimshi (Jehovah reveals), he is to anoint King
of Israel and Elisha is to be his successor. All three are called as
instruments of judgment upon Israel's idolatry and the house of Ahab. Then
the Lord announced that He had a faithful remnant of 7000 in Israel who had
not bowed the knee unto Baal. (See its prophetic meaning in Romans 11:3-6.)
4. King Ahab: His Wicked Reign and End
CHAPTER 20
Ahab's War with the Syrians and His Victory
1. The siege and relief of Samaria (20:1-21)
2. The victory at Aphek (20:22-34)
3. A prophet's symbolical action and his message (20:35-43)
Two expeditions of Ben-hadad (son of the Sun) against Israel are
recorded in this chapter. When Ben-hadad forced the war and insulted the
King of Israel, Ahab prepared for the battle. Then a prophet came to Ahab,
most likely one of those who had been hidden by Obadiah. He brought a
message from the Lord. "Thus saith Jehovah, Hast thou seen all this great
multitude? behold I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou
shalt know that I am Jehovah." From this we may gather that a spiritual
revival must have taken place in Israel after the manifestation of Jehovah
on Carmel. Jezebel, after her rage on account of Elijah's deed, is not
mentioned again till after Ahab's failure. The Lord in graciousness gave to
Ahab another evidence that He is the Lord and can smite the enemies of
Israel. The Syrians were defeated. Another message came to Ahab through the
prophet. A year later Ben-hadad made another expedition against Israel.
"And there came a man of God, and spake unto the King of Israel, and said,
Thus saith Jehovah, because the Syrians have said, The LORD is the God of
the hills but not the God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this
great multitude into their hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD." A
great victory followed at Aphek. But Ahab let Ben-hadad, who had defied
Jehovah, live. More than that, he treated him like a friend and brother,
had him come into his chariot, and made a covenant with him. In showing
such clemency to the enemy of God, Ahab revealed the state of his soul. He
had no heart for the Lord and was bound to follow his wicked ways.
Then one of the sons of the prophets (Josephus saith it was Micaiah;
22:8) was commanded by the Lord to ask another prophet to smite him. The
prophet refused the unquestioning obedience demanded from a prophet and
therefore the judgment of God overtook him. The purpose of God in bringing
the judgment message home to Ahab is carried out nevertheless. Then Ahab
pronounced his own doom for showing leniency to Ben-hadad.
CHAPTER 21
Naboth's Vineyard
1. Naboth's refusal (21:1-4)
2. Jezebel's wicked deed (21:5-16)
3. Elijah pronounces divine judgment (21:17-24)
4. Ahab's wickedness and confession (21:25-27)
5. The LORD's mercy (21:28-29)
No comment is needed on the story of Naboth's vineyard. Jezebel, the
wicked, and Ahab's submission to her was his ruination. On her Satanic
suggestion one of the most wicked deeds recorded in Bible history is done.
Naboth is murdered to obtain his vineyard. The measure of Ahab's apostasy
and wickedness is now filled to overflowing. For the wicked king the
tidings of Naboth's death were welcome tidings. No inquiry follows, but in
self-satisfaction he goes to take possession of the beautified vineyard of
Naboth. But his enjoyment, as it is always with the enjoyment of sin, did
not last very long. No sooner had the innocent blood been spilt, than
Jehovah, who saw and knew the foul deed, sent Elijah with the final message
of doom and judgment for the guilty pair. Ahab was still in the vineyard.
His eyes still feasted on the beautiful scene before him. His thoughts were
occupied with the pleasures of sin when suddenly Elijah appeared. "I have
found thee," were the prophet's first utterances. "Be sure your sin will
find you out." Then follows the sentence already indicated in the words of
the disguised prophet in the previous chapter. "I will make thine house
like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha
the son of Abijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked Me to
anger, and made Israel to sin. And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying,
The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall 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 eat." How literally this sentence was carried out we shall
find in the subsequent history. But Ahab having humbled himself hears a
merciful message from Elijah's lips. "Because he humbled himself before Me,
I will not bring evil in his days, but in his son's days will I bring evil
upon his house." How merciful the Lord is to all who humble themselves!
CHAPTER 22
The Death of Ahab
1. Jehoshaphat and Ahab (22:1-12)
2. The prophet Micaiah (22:13-28)
3. The battle and Ahab's death (22:29-40)
4. Jehoshaphat of Judah (22:41-50; 2 Chron. 19-20)
5. Ahaziah, King of Israel (22:51-53)
Three years passed without war between Syria and Israel. In the third
year Jehoshaphat of Judah came down to Ahab. Jehoshaphat's son and
heir-apparent had married Athaliah the daughter of Ahab. An unholy alliance
had therefore been formed between the royal families. Jehoshaphat, who knew
better, was in this very unfaithful, and though the Lord did not forsake
him chastisements came upon him and his house. The prophet Jehu, son of
Hanani, met him after he came back from the battle of Ramoth-Gilead and
said to him: "Shouldst thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the
LORD? Therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD" (2 Chron. 19:2).
Ahab, under the predicted judgment of God, asked Jehoshaphat: "Wilt thou go
with me to battle to Ramoth-Gilead?" And gladly the good King of Judah
answers: "I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy
horses." And Ahab in all his wicked apostasy had prophets, four hundred of
them. Jehoshaphat was, no doubt, troubled in his conscience, and demanded
that Ahab inquire of the LORD. The prophets he had, used no longer the name
of Baal, but the name of Jehovah. And they all prophesied success.
Jehoshaphat, however, was suspicious and asked for a prophet of the LORD.
From this we may gather that there was something about them by which the
King of Judah knew that they were not Jehovah's prophets. Ahab then sent
for Micaiah the son of Imlah. Both kings occupied thrones and were clad in
their robes in the entrance of the gate of Samaria. All the false prophets
prophesied and one Zedekiah made horns of iron to produce a vivid
impression of the coming victory. Then Micaiah appeared. The faithful
prophet tells the kings what he had seen. It is a revelation he had.
Jehovah permitted a lying spirit to possess Ahab's false prophets and they
were prophesying lies. And Micaiah predicted the defeat of Israel. The
words of Micaiah are of much importance. What happened in Ahab's day, when
the Lord permitted a lying spirit to deceive and lead the wicked into ruin,
will happen again at the close of this present age. God will send a strong
delusion that they should believe a lie (2 Thess. 2). Unclean spirits will
then be on the earth, even as they begin already and by lying words, lying
miracles and signs, lead the Christ-rejecting masses into judgment.
Then the battle. Ahab disguised himself and Jehoshaphat wore his
robes. It was more than cowardice in Ahab; he feared the judgment which was
hovering over him and tried to avert the coming fatal stroke. Jehoshaphat
was almost miraculously saved, but Ahab was miraculously killed. A soldier
drew a bow at venture. That arrow was guided by a higher hand. It found the
disguised King of Israel. It found the small opening in the King's harness.
A little while later the dogs were licking his blood as they washed his
blood stained chariot. Thus the word of the Lord was fulfilled.
Jehoshaphat's full record we shall consider in Chronicles and Azariah's in
the beginning of the second book of the Kings.
APPENDIX
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE
OF THE KINGS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL, AND OF CONTEMPORARY EVENTS
With Estimated Dates B.C. by Keil
975 years B.C., 1 year after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Rehoboam begins 17-year reign over Judah (1st year from the accession of
Jeroboam)
Jeroboam begins 22-year reign over Israel (1st year from the accession
of Rehoboam)
Shishak is king of Egypt
971 years B.C.:
Shishak enters Jerusalem
957 years B.C., 18 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Abijam begins 3-year reign of Judah (18th year from the accession of
Jeroboam)
955 years B.C., 20 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Asa begins 41-year reign of Judah (20th year from the accession of
Jeroboam)
953 years B.C., 22 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Nadab begins 2-year reign of Israel (2nd year from the accession of Asa)
952 years B.C., 23 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Baasha begins 24-year reign of Israel (3rd year from the accession of
Asa)
940 years B.C.:
Time of Zerah the Ethiopian
939 years B.C.:
Time of Ben-Hadad the First of Syria
930 years B.C., 45 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Elah begins 2-year reign of Israel (26th year from the accession of Asa)
929 years B.C., 46 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Zimri begins 7-day reign of Israel (27th year from the accession of Asa)
Omri and Tibni begin 4-year reign of Israel (27th year from the
accession of Asa)
925 years B.C., 50 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Omri continues reign of Israel solely for eight more years (31st year
from the accession of Asa)
918 years B.C., 57 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Ahab begins 22-year reign of Israel (38th year from the accession of Asa)
Building of Samaria
Ethbaal is king of Tyre and Sidon
914 years B.C., 61 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Jehoshaphat begins 25-year reign of Judah (4th year from the accession
of Ahab)
914 years B.C.:
Time of Ben-Hadad the Second of Syria
897 years B.C., 78 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Ahaziah begins 2-year reign of Israel (17th year from the accession of
Jehoshaphat)
Battle of Ramoth-gilead
896 years B.C., 79 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Jehoram [son of Ahab] begins 12-year reign of Israel (18th year from the
accession of Jehoshaphat); [subsequent co-regency in Jerusalem disputed;
compare 1 Kings 22:50, 2 Kings 1:17 and 8:16, 21]
War of Israel and Judah against Moab (Moabite Stone)
890 years B.C., 86 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Jehoram [son of Jehoshaphat] begins 8-year reign of Judah 5th year
from the accession of Jehoram's [son of Ahab] rule in Israel) [the
original chart shows only Jehoram the son of Ahab as ruling in both
Israel and Judah and not in agreement with Scripture. See below. Ed.]
884 years B.C., 91 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Ahaziah begins 1-year reign of Judah
Lycurgus in Sparta
883 years B.C., 92 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Athaliah begins 6-year reign of Judah
Jehu begins 28-year reign of Israel
Hazael is king of Syria
Second Battle of Ramoth-gilead
Murder of Ahaziah and Jehoram [son of Ahab] by Jehu
877 years B.C., 98 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Joash begins 40-year reign of Judah (7th year from the accession of Jehu)
Athaliah slain
Pygmalion is king of Tyre
Pygmalion’s sister Dido founds Carthage, 145 years after the building of
the temple
856 years B.C., 119 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Jehoahaz begins 17-year reign of Israel (22nd year from the accession of
Joash)
Judah invaded and Jerusalem threatened by the Syrians
840 years B.C., 135 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Joash begins 16-year reign of Israel (37th year from the accession of
Joash in Judah)
Ben-Hadad the Third is king of Syria
838 years B.C., 137 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Amaziah begins 29-year reign of Judah (2nd year from the accession of
Joash in Israel)
Murder of Joash, king of Judah
War of Amaziah against Edom
Attack of Moab upon Israel
War between Judah and Israel
Jerusalem occupied by the Israelites
824 years B.C., 151 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Jeroboam the Second begins 41-year reign of Israel (15th year from the
accession of Amaziah)
Successful war of Israel against Syria
810 years B.C., 165 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Uzziah begins 52-year reign of Judah (15th year from the accession of
Jeroboam the Second)
Ammon becomes tributary to Judah; Philistines humbled
783 years B.C., 192 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Death of Jeroboam the Second
Interregnum for 11 years on Isrealite throne
776 years B.C.:
First year of the Olympiads
772 years B.C., 203 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Zechariah begins 6-month reign of Israel (38th year from the accession of
Uzziah)
771 years B.C., 204 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Shallum begins 1-month reign of Israel (39th year from the accession of
Uzziah)
Menahem begins 10-year reign of Israel (39th year from the accession of
Uzziah)
Pul is king of Assyria
Israel becomes tributary of Assyria
760 years B.C., 215 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Pekahiah begins 2-year reign of Israel (50th year from the accession of
Uzziah)
759 years B.C., 216 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Murder of Pekahiah
Pekah begins 20-year reign of Israel (52nd year from the accession of
Uzziah)
758 years B.C., 217 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Jotham begins 16-year reign of Judah (2nd year from the accession of
Pekah)
753 years B.C.:
Building of Rome
747 years B.C.:
Nabonassar is king of Babylon
Rezin is king of Syria
742 years B.C., 233 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Ahaz begins 16-year reign of Judah (17th year from the accession of Pekah)
Ahaz invokes the help of Assyria against Syria and Israel
Tiglath-pileser is king of Assyria
The Assyrians occupy the land east of the Jordan, and the north of
Palestine, and lead the people captive
The Philistines conquer the western part of Judah
739 years B.C., 236 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Pekah is murdered
8 and one-half year interregnum on the Israelite throne
So is king of Egypt
730 years B.C., 245 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Hoshea begins 9-year reign of Israel (12th year from the accession of
Ahaz)
Shalmaneser is king of Assyria (Media and Babylonia)
Growth of the Assyrian Empire in Asia
727 years B.C., 248 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Hezekiah begins 29-year reign of Judah (3rd year from the accession of
Hoshea)
Attempt of Hoshea to rebel against Assyria
Invasion of the Assyrians
Siege of Samaria
722 years B.C., 253 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Destruction of the Commonwealth of Israel
Deportation of the Ten Tribes
714 years B.C., 261 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Sargon is king of Assyria
Siege of Ashdod (Isaiah 20:1)
Alliance between Judah and Egypt
Siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib
War between Sennacherib and Tirhakah
Destruction of the Assyrians by "the Angel of the Lord"
Embassy from Merodach-baladan
698 years B.C., 277 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Menasseh begins 55-year reign of Judah
Esarhaddon is king of Assyria, sends fresh colonists to Samaria
643 years B.C., 332 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Amon begins 2-year reign of Judah
Scythian horders pass through "Palestine" (Herod the first, 104, etc.)
641 years B.C., 334 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Murder of Amon
Josiah begins 31-year reign of Judah
626 years B.C.:
Nabopolassar, founder of the Babylonian temple is father of
Nebuchadnezzar
Draco in Athens
610 years B.C., 365 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Invasion of Assyria by Egypt
Alliance of Assyria and Judah
Victory of Megiddo by Pharaoh-nechoh
Josiah slain
Jehoahaz begins 3-month reign of Judah
Jehoiakim then put on throne of Judah by the king of Egypt and begins
11-year reign
Judah subject to Egypt
606 years B.C., 369 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Commencement of the Exile
The Egyptians beaten by the Chaldees in the Battle of Carchemish
Taking of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar
599 years B.C., 376 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Jehoichin begins 3-month reign of Judah
Second conquest of Jerusalem and Deportation
Jerusalem and the Temple plundered by the Chaldees
Zedekiah made king of Judah by the Chaldees and begins 11-year reign
Zedekiah rebels against Nebuchadnezzar and turns towards Pharaoh-hophra,
king of Egypt (Jeremiah 44:30; Ezekiel 17:15)
Jerusalem beseiged
588 years B.C., 387 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Attempted relief of Jerusalem by the Egyptians (Jeremiah 37:5, etc.;
Ezekiel 17:17, etc.)
Death of Zedekiah
Gedaliah, Babylonian governor in Judea begins 2-month reign
Majority of the Jews carried to Babylon (3rd deportation)
Gedaliah murdered
Many of the Jews retire into Egypt
584 years B.C., 391 years after the separation of the Two Kingdoms:
Last Deportation of the Jews to Babylon (Josiah 10:97; Jeremiah 52:30?)