PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings
Joseph Hammond [1839-1912] · 502,085 words · 545 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 301
1. In the case of Jeroboam's house. For the family of the deceiver waa the first to suffer. As in the ca.se of the man of God, "swift retribution" followed upon sin. And wha.t retribution I Ti1e death and uestrnction of the race. He himself wns smitten of God. His seed was suddenly cut oIT. 'rhe sword of Baasha. was as…
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ment of a murder (cf. John viii. 44). "What sllall be given unto tllee, or wllat sllall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?" (Ps. cxx. 3.) Let us take care lest we destroy with our meat one for wllom Christ died (Rom. xiv. 16). Let us remember- " What guilt, what grief may be inou1Ted By one incautious, hasty wor…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 11-19.-The Old Serpent again. As the ways of the serpent a.re tortuous so 11,1'8 those of Satan. If he cannot effect his purposes by moving in one direction he will move in another, and thus by crooked ways he advances (Isa. xxvii. 1; Psa. cxxv. 5). He had already tempted the man of …
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will he withstand a prophet? (Jer. xxiii. 19; Amos ii. 11.) (3) The spirit of lies (nr. 18). Now is Satan transformed into an angel of light. Could the old prophet hn,e been himself thus deceived? He deceived the man of Go<l. Beware of the devil of hospitality. Perhaps the man of God the more readily yielded being w…
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Vere. 23-29.-The Visitation of Judgment. The man of God from Judah deceived by the old prophet of Ephraim, ate and drank in that land of apostaRy'. This was a disobedience to the word of the Lord, and a complicity in the abomina- tions he was sent to denounce. For this he heard the Divine voice of reproof, and went for…
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Vers. 80-84.-The Law of Ea:tremity. God has made us fi:ee to choose or refuse good or evil. Will cannot be coerced and yet be free ; coercion here, there- fore, would be destruction. But while God does not compel us to choose the 1-:ight, He induces by gracious promises, and admonishes by alternative penalties. Sti…
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of His own Son ; and if we finally reject Christ the extremity of mercy is spurned and we must encounter the extremity of wrath.-J. A. M. ' Vera. 18, 19.-Lcad us not into temptation, but delwer us from evil. The miraculous element in this chapter is, with many, a reason for its rejection. The same reason might lea<l u…
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to onr sonl, 11 Tnke thine ee,se; '' but always, and everywhere, must listen to the command," Watch, and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." 2. Lingering near Bcenes of temptation may imperil us fataUy. Had the prophet not rested he might not have been overtaken, but would have crossed the border line of the two k…
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(1 Sam. xv. 22, 28), T~e spirit of disobedience ~B the root of all practical iniquity. "By one man's dISobedience many were ma.do smners '' (Rom. v. 19). A seemingly trifling offence may thus, espocin.llyunder certain circumstances, have an important meaning, and enta,il fatal consequences out of all proportion to its …
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tion through compliance with its desires. As God used the lying prophet so will He use the men of the world for the humbling of those who yield before their temptations. 3. The penalty. Death in the land where he had sinned. Hie carcase, bnried in Bethel, declared the truth his obedience should have impressed. God …
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been God's messeI1ger to announce to him mission was too delicate to be entrusted to his future reign over the ten tribes, that the a stranger. "None might know it but his de11th of the youth whom he had destined own bosom, and she that lay in it" (Bp. Hall). Jeroboam evidently suspected that to sncceed him was but th…
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"mouldy" in Josh. ix. 5, 12, where Qe. form of nttt] Bhalt thou say unto her, senius would render "crumbs." Mouldy for it shall be, when she cometh in, that bread would hardly be taken as a present. she shall feign herself to be another woman These cakes, according to the LXX., Cod. [Heb. make he,·sclf strange]. Al…
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the eame thing, viz., the calves of Bethel "sweep after" (Keil). The firet rendering and Dan], to provok11 me to anger [Thie is the more literal. The "after" is ex- wns the result, not, of couree, the object of plained, not as Bii.hr (" as often as a new Jeroboam's idolatrous worehip], and hast scion arises I will take…
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found] some [Heb. a] good thing [The the calves) the Lord shall smite I~rael, aa idea is not merelv that he was an amiable a reed [it.?,~ icavva, canna, cane) is shaken yonth, but the words imply some degree of [The construction is pregnant, viz., " ehnll piety, and almost enggest that he dissented smite Israel so t…
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eubterra.nean gra.na.riee, wells, and old a token of the righteous judgment of God hewn stones, nothing of ancient Tirzah that t!,e so.me prophet who announced rema.ins in Talftse." Conder recognizes the Jeroboam's exaltation predicted his fa.II.] name iu the modem Te-i8.air-a village near Ver. 19.-And the rest of the …
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See also Longfellow's poem of " The Reaper and the Flowers." (2) Sickness BJ?a.res none. " Neither his dignity as a prince, nor his age as a young prince, nor f his interest with heaven as a ious prince could exempt him from sickness " (M. H~nry~. As to the purpose o sickness, see Homiletics, pp. 12, 13. Perhaps th…
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Witness Julian the Apostate, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Robert Owen, and man:, more. The Chinese people the air with demons and spirits of the dead. Infidel France thinks it unlucky to travel on a Friday. "There was never wicked man \hat was not infatuate" (Hall). 7. "His eyes were set" (ver. 4). Yet" having his eyes o…
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14. " And all Israel shall mourn for him" (ver, 13). The most, and tho most genuine, tears are shed over the graves of children. (Is it that many of us, as we grnw older, become less lovely and engaging, less desirable as companions l') Yet of this child it might justly have been said," Weep ye not for the dead 1 neith…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-8.-The Impenitent Beeker. The day of judgment will come at the ond of the world, when the heavens and earth shall be bnrnt up (2 Thess. ii. 7-10; 2 Peter iii. 7). But this he.s its prelude in a, sea.son of judgments which overtakes the sinner in this life. Jeroboam, havin~ sinned a…
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Vers. 4-6.-Spiritual Vision. When the season of retributions set in upon Jeroboam, and his son Abijah was smitten with sickness, he sent to the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite to inquire of the word of J ehoTah, what should become of the child. He was unwillinl? it should be publicly known that, in such au emergency, …
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that it should be here taken as indicating retributive judgments merited by one who had hardened his heart in sin. Observe- I. PRIVIT,EGEB INVOLVE REBPONBIBILITIES, Thus-I. Special favowr call, fo"I' special gratitude. (1) Jeroboam was" exalted from among the people." He was "an Ephro.thite of Zereda," an obscure p…
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water." (1) The reed is a figure of frailty. Rabshakeh, in describing the inability of the Egyptians to support Hezekiah against the Assyria.ns, compares them to a bruised reed (2 Kings xviii. 21; lea. xxxvi. 6; eee also Ezek. xxxix. 6). Contrariwise, our Lord, asserting the sta.bility and vigour of John Baptist, so.id…
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Vere. 19, 20.-The Review. The text reminds us- I. T!llT THE SEASON OF DEATH IS A TWE FOR REFLECTION. 1. In presence of a corpse the giddiest pause. (1) This is seen when an ordinary funeral passes along the streets, in the sombre countenances of the bystanders, if not in more special tokens of respect. It is more evid…
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prayers, through which the bee.rt pours out its love and longing towe.rds God. This should be more ne.ture.l to us the.n to Abijah. He knew of God's power, we know of His love. He had heard of the Shekinah; we have heard of Jesus Christ, who says," He that bath seen me he.th seen the Father." Children ran to Jesus once…
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" Little one, precio11S one, Summoned a.way, Ere life's uprising sun Dawned into day, Gone from thy mother's arms, Gone to the Saviour's breast, Safe from life's rude alarms, Blissful thy rest." A. R. Vere. 17, 18.-The Deaa Chila. Following the order of events as they appear in the Hebrew text rather than in th…
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IV. THE BLENDING OF AN ELEMENT OF MERCY WITH GoD's BEVERHBT JUDOMENTB, We see here how the innocent suffer with the guilty. The iniquit, of the fa.there is visited upon the children (Exod. xx. 5). Yet to the child himself, m this inste.noe, it was a gre.oious visitation. (1) He was emphatically "to.ken from the evil to…
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hand are smitten and removed. Slowly but sttrely the word advances to its accom- plishment. Are there no shadows of judgment on thy path? Have no words come true that make thy heart tremble because of those other words which God's lips have also epoken?-J. U. EXPOSITION. CHAPTER XIV. 21-31. is said to be made jealous…
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Asta.ne, the De(! Syria. It is clear from -which Shishak is ea.id to have conquered. Dent. ni.ii. 18 (Heb.) that mal.e prostitutes The usne.l inference is that such cities, e.1- are here spoken of, the name of the female though in Jeroboe.m's dominions, had never• being :i~.".1~- The former is described in theless h…
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[Hob. "chamber of the runners-'.' Solomon's to Jerusalem (eh. xi. 7), and that she golden shields were kept " in the house of exercised a sinister influence upon her son . the forest of Lebo.non" (eh. x. 17). These .A,J she is twice ea.lied " the Ammoniteas" it shields of brass were of so little va.luo that can hardly …
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age would ask, that it is eo soon left comparatiYely desolate? Cannot the Deity to whom it was dedicated protect it against spoliation. Or have His wor- shippers provoked Him to anger, so that He has "abhorred his sanctuary,'' and " delfrered his glory into the enemies' hand"? For we may be quite sure that there wa…
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for the wrong done to his Egyptian consort that his harem was plundered by Egyptians. There are those who connect Napoleon's fall with the repudiation of Josephine. The "judge of the widow'' (Psa. lxviii. 5) is also the avenger of the injured and dishonoured wife (Heb. xiii. 4). Human laws seldom take cognizance of the…
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HOMILms BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 21-24.-The Sin of J1,dah. Having discoursed of Jeroboam and the kingdom of Israel, the sacred historian now returns to Rehoboam and the sister kingdom of Judah. To have found a better state of things here would have been refreshing, but in this we are disappointed. How fearful was …
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wisclom and zeal for the God of Israel. The memories of his grandfather were glorious. To this must be add eel the most material circumstance that the Covenant was with his house ; for Messiah Himself was to be the Son of David. (8) These things were not without their influence. For three years after the revolution und…
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EXPOSITION. CHAPTER XV. 1-24. tion. I venture to suggest tha.t Michajahu TH.E BEIGNS 01!' AllIJill .um ASA, IIIN&S was the signi.fica.D.t form-the word means 01!' JUDill. "Who is like Jehovah? "-which the name Tiu Reign of .A.lnjam. Maa.chah, "oppression," borne by the Geshu- rite princess who married David (2 Sam…
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would be quite in accordance with Jewish the third prince of that line who had per- usages and habits of thought that the no.me mitted idolatrous worship, so that that which had been ohe.nged into Michaiah dyne.sty had richly deserved to forfeit its when the grandmother became e. proselyte, position. The stability of t…
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Ver. 8. -And Abljam slept with his Deut. xxix. 17, where it is coupled with fa.then; a.nd they buried him 1n the olty "abominations; "Ezek. xxiii. 87) ; but whe- of David [This fact a.lone should negative ther the word is to be interpreted by ,iA 11 Lightfoot's theory ns to his name; see note on oh. xiv. 31] : a.nd Asa…
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parted rwt. Yet we reo.d in 2 Chron. xiv. we.a not until the 36th year of Asa's reign 8, the.t Ase. "took away the high places (of. that it :Ii.nit broke out. But these numbers ver. 6). But it is clear, even from 2 Chron. have clearly not escaped corruption (see note xv. 17, that all of them were not re- there), aa at …
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[Sometimes "the Geba," i.e., height; in fnl supply of water in case of_ e. siege " Josh. xviii. 24, Gaba; now Jeba, only 45' (Ewe.Id), me.y yet be brought to light. north-enst of Ilamah. Thie was the northern Ver. 23.-Alld the rest of all the acts or limit of the southern kingdom (2 Kings As.a, and all his might [see 2…
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which" were "done of them in secret" (Epb. v. 12). And this among the holy people, the bride of the Lord I No wonder that Asa's first effort wo.s directed against these horrible enormities. This suppression of the Sodomites was a first step towards- (2) 1'he religiou.s reformation. He next "removed all the idols th…
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"hand" and the "eye,'' which oe.uee men to offend, and which they must cut off or pluck out and ce.et from them (Matt. v. 29 eqq.) Hence the charge of Deut. xiii. 6 1144·; of. Matt. x. 87. And the moral effect of this aot, the public deposition of the queen-mother, can hardly be over-estimated. It showed the country t…
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ness- the Lord smote the Ethiopians. This invasion resulted in the enrichment of the country. The spoil was enormous. And the victory ministered, not to pride, but t-0 piety (ib., xv. 8). (2) The only result, so far e.s we know, of the menaces of Bae.sha was that that king drew upon himself an invasion of Syrians (…
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Most of onr schisms have had their origin in pride and emulation ; most of our heresies spring out of our corrupt human nature. It is every way pleasanter to choose among doctrines than to take them as revealed by God. II. THAT THERE MUST, NEVERTIIELESS, BE NO FIGHTINGS AMONGST CHRISTIANS. The armies of Judah were s…
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to wel<'ome desert.era from Jeroboam's Church and kingdom; his action with respect to Ra,mah proves that. But neither of them ever thought of accommodn.ting the worship or polity of Jerusalem to suit the wishes or prejudices of the sohismo.ti a Isro.elites. To neither of them did it occur to allow that calf-worship …
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subjects, so should H be the great concern of the Clmrch and of every Christian to remove the barriers which separate those for whom Christ died. The national Church, for example, should be as wide and comprehensive as possible. Sects must of necessity have narrow and restricted boundaries; for their raison d'etre is a…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1--8.-The successwn of Abijam to the throne of Judah appe11.rt1 to have had one limiting principle, viz., that the successor should be of the house and lineage of David (see 2 Chron. xiii 8). Within this limit it f.'eems- I. IT WAS DETERMINED BY THE Wil.L OF TB.B REIGNING KING. 1.…
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Vere. 9-15.-Reformation. The morn.I condition of Judah was fea.rfu.l when As1, on.me to the throne. The apostasy of Solomon had inaugurated a retrogression which was aggravated in the reign~ follo'Ying, so tliat fo_r_ three generations the abominations of the heathens were mcreasmg. The condition of Israel was even wor…
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to have limited the ordinances of public worship to the temple would have been the more excellent way. (4) He encouraged the worship of Jehovah (see 2 Chron. xiv, 4). Not by precept only, but by example also. He dedicated to the Lord the things which his father had vowed, but either neglected to pay or died before h…
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Note: Aea's blunders followed upon hie prosperity. Few abide this test. Loss of spirituality and religious zeal accompanies the growing worldly prosperity of ohurchee 1-J. A. M. Vere. 1-8.-" Beloved for the father's sake." I. THE BTOB.Y OJI' A MISUSED OPPORTUNITY. Even in a three years' reign much might have been done…
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Ver. 14.-Reli_qfous sincerity. A beautiful flower often springs from tho midst of corruption. The more we realize the moral condition of Ase.'s surroundings the more we wonder at the grace which made him who.t he was. His father was Abijam (or Abijah), the second king of Judah, of whom it is said," He we.lked in all th…
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CHAPTER XV. 25-XVI. 28. wherewith he made Israel to Bin. [I.e., not the rebellion, but the schism (cha. xii. TD REIGNS OP NADAll, BilSllA, ELA.II, 30; xiv. 16; cf. vers. 30, 34; xvi 2, 13, 19, ZnlRI, AND OMBI, KINGS OP IBBAEL.-After &c.; see Homiletics, p. 274). All the succes- bringing up the history of the kings of…
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belonged to the Philistines [Blunt suggests Ver. 31.-Now the reat of the acts of ("Coincidenoes,"p, 181) that it was because Nadab, and all that he did, are they not the place had been deserted by the Levites, written 1n the book of the chronicles of the in the general exodllS to Judah, that the kings of Israel ? P…
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oareer must he.ve extended over e.t least xvii. 2, 19; xxi. 9) nee.r to Gibbethon, where be.If a century] against Baasha, saying, Bae.she. was proclaimed king.] Ver. 2. -Forasmuch as I exalted thee out Ver. 7.-And also by the hand of the of the dust [of. oh. xiv. 7; 2 Sam.vii. 8; Paa.. prophet Jehu, the aon of Banani,…
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ample of Jeroboam has clearly had its full ver. 16) that none of Baasha's children, if inflnence on the nation. "The Lord's he had other children, had gone to the war], anointed " is no longer had in reverence, as nor of his frl.ends. [Zimri went a step in the days of David (1 Sam. xxiv. 6, 10 ; farther than Be.asha…
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it in person, while the conspiracy which sensuality. And 2 Kings xv. 25 (cf. Psa.. marked the former siege may at the same cxxii. 7) seems to point to a stronghold time have suggested to Zimri and others the rather than a seraglioJ of the king's house, thought of conspiring against Elah.] and burnt the king's house [pr…
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~ays " wonld dismiss so striking an event to ver. 22, and read, "And Omri reigned in ma few sentences], a.re they not written the thirty-first," &c. But to this there a.re ln the book of the chronlclea of the kings two serious objections. First, tho.t ver. 29, of Israel? as it now stands, only follows the usual for- m…
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pregnable, nnd snrronnded by an amphi• amongst the Semitic races (as, indeed, isth& theatre of hills. " Samarin is in a position case still, see Conder, p. 301), and the form of gre11t strength ... and mnst before the in- Shomeron would at once perpetuate the vention of gunpowder have been almost im- memory of Shemer, …
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HOMILETICS. Ver. 29.-The Punishment of Jeroboam's Sin. We have alreadyconeidered the true character of J eroboam's sin (pp. 274 sqq.) It now remains for ue to observe, first, the punishment which it provoked, and secondly, its workings in later genera- tions. And its punishment was so great and so varied that it will …
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children. The o.nnals of Turkey o.nd other Eastern kingdoms would supply many illustrations of this deed. 6. His own untimely enrl. For he died by the visitation of God-by a atroke of some kind or other. He may have perished like Antiochus Epiphanes, like Sylla, like Herod, like Philip of Spain. Or, like our Henry the…
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What a picture of the hon·ors of war have we in 2 Kings viii. 12. Yet such horrorll must have been of common occm,:ence in Israel. And they culminated in the saok of Samaria and the captivity of the nation. 4. Loss of ter,·itory. Israel was "cut short" (2 Kings x. 82). In 2 Kings i. 1 (cf. iii. 5) Moab rebels. Syria, …
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to play fa.et 11,nd loose with the comma,ndmente of Heaven ; what wonder if they made ema,ll 11,ccount of their obligations to their earthly king'/ 8. He tau,qht Baasha, Zimvri, amd 01TVTi to lift up their hamds against the king. Just as David's religious venera,tion for the person of the " Lord's anointed " tended to…
1,074 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical Pulpit Commentary. Source page identifies the volume as Public Domain; text extracted from its historical PDF.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.