VOL, I. — ii
miracles, but through quiet human agencies and in the slow movements of history. E. is therefore 8ho%vn that J" has still a great work for him to do : he must shape the destinies of two great nations, and provide for the continuance of the prophetic succession. Three commands are laid upon him : to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, Jehu to be king over Israel, and Klisha to be his own suc- cessor. And he is comforted with the assurance that the work in which he has been engaged has not been a failure : J" reserves for Himself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.
With faith restored E. returns to his task (w. "'"-'). On his way to Damascus he finds Elisha at the plough, and throws his mantle over him — a symbol u; action by which he claims him as his son and invests him with the prophetic office. Elisha leaves all, and ministers unto him. From this time E. is never alone : he has a companion to whom he becomes a true spiritual father (2 K 2"), w^nning his filial allection as well as profound veneration.
Here there is a oreak in the narrative. It is nowhere stated by what means E. sought to fulfil the other two parts of the commission which he received at Horeb. The account of the actual completion of his task by Elisha in 2 K 9. 10 is apparently by another narrator. Nor is it directly recorded what means E. afterwards used for the advancement of the true religion. But there are deeply interesting hints in the memoirs. Cheync's singular statements (fi'a/toiOTn_7o/'CW(icw7?i, p. 143), that E. was weak in spiritual intuition, and that the lesson of Horeb was lost upon him, do not seem to be warranted. On the contrary, there are not wanting indications that from the day on which E. heard the still small voice there was another spirit in him. He does not again attempt to sujiprcss Ahab's idolatry by force. He leaves the apostate king alone, and waits the course of events. If he does not entirely abandon his lonely desert life, he at least becomes a familiar figure in the schools of the prophets at Gilgal, Bethel, and Jericho (2 K 2'"'). His personality, and probably his teaching, make a profound impression upon the young prophets. He kindles in their minds his own zeal for J" ; he transfuses his spirit into them ; the homage which they pay to Klisha (2 K 2'°) is entirely due to the fact that they perceive in him the spirit of the greater prophet.
When E.'s moral indignation once more flashes out against the house of Ahab (1 K 21), it is not now for the destruction of idolatry but in the cause of justice and humanity that he appears, lie has become the champion of the civil and mor.al ri"hts of the people. Ahab vioKates the ancient laws of property, which are the charter of the people's liberties, by forcibly alienating the vineyard of Naboth. He deepens his guilt by allowing his wife to compass the innocent man s ruin by peculiarly nefarious means (1 K 21"). This crime is the signal for K.'s reajipearance at Jezreel. On the day after Naboth's murder, the king is proceeding in state to take posses.sion of the coveted gardens, when he is confronted by the prophet, and quails once more before his moral indignation. His enemy has found hini (v.-"). His own sin finds him out. His con- science condemns him. He stands spcccliless wiiile the prophet's words of doom smite him like thunilerbolts : Ahab's house shall fall; dogs shall cat the carcase of Jezebel ; the king's whole pos- terity shall iierish, and their bodies be given In the dogs of the city or the fowls of tlio air (ho \y' in vv.™''"*'). In the chariot behind Ahab on that memorable day was an ofiicer named Jehu, on whoso mind the words of E. left an indelible ini- pres-sion (2 K 9^) ; and though the execution of the sentence was deferred in consideiation of the
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ELIJAH
king's penitence, this man was the instrument chosen by J" for tlie overthrow of the house of Aliab.
The episode of Naboth's vineyard produced a great cliange in the popular sentiment. It revealed the true cliaracter ot the issues in E.'s conflict a<;ainst idolatry. It showed the people, that while idolatry went hand in hand with injustice and crime, the religion of J" was the bulwark of right- eousness and liberty. At the same time, it opened their eyes to the real grandeur of the propliet in their midst, and doubtless we are to date from this event a great increase in his power as the prophet of J".
It is impossible to determine the extent and duration oi E. 's subsequent labours. There are two other narratives, one of which brings him into con- tact with Ahaziah, son of Ahab (B.C. c. 853), while the other implies that he lived on till the reign of Jehoram of Judah (c. 849-844). It is difficult to harmonize this chronology with that of 2 K 3, which makes it clear that E.'s career ended and Elisha's began before the death of Jehoshaphat (c. 874-849). It is possible, however, that Jehoram reigned for a time during the life of liis father Jehoshaphat (2 K 8" ; the text is doubtful).