The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 16

cannot keep sickness out. Abaziah had been looking through the window of his chamber, or, as some think, leaning over the frail baluster of wicker-work which re.n round the roof on the inner or courtyard side, when the lattice-work gave way, and he we.s precipitated into the court beneath and seriously injured. But there-are homes of sickness that are nevertheless happy homes. 'l'he sufferer is happy; the other members of the family are happy. Why? Because they all know that Jesus is there. They hee.r his voice saying, " It is I: be not afraid." They took Christ into ~eir house when all we.s going well with them, and they fincl that he does not leave them when sickness comes. But it wa.s not so with Ahaziab. How e. man will bear sickness depends e. good deal on what his life and character have been when he was in health. This is true physically. It is true also in a moral and spiritual sense. The bad man is generally afraid of sickness. Yes ; for be is afraid of death. What about Ahazia.h's previous history? We have it summed up in the closing verses of 1 Kings. "He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: for he served Ba.al, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel, e.ccording to all that his father had done." Oh! the tremendous influence of a bad example. Ahazlah was in alarm about this illness. He wanted to know if he was to recover. He bad forsaken God when in health; perhaps he does not think that God would hear him now. Or perhaps he has been so hardened in sin that he really believes his heathen god can help him. So he sends messengers to inquire of Ba.al-zebub at Ekron, whether he would recover of his disease. I. THE CAUSE OF SEEKING AFTER STRANGE GODS. What is the secret of that idolatry which in all ages has taken such a hold of the human heart? Why is it that such a people as the Hebrews, descended from one who lived so entirely under the power of the invisible God as Abraham did-they who in their Passover had a constant reminder of God's existence and power, and in their ten commandments a constant reminder of his mind and will,-why is it that they so far forgot God as to sink into the degrading worship of the heathen deities? Or, to bring it more home to ourselves and our own surronndings, why is it that men and women who know that Christ died for them, who therefore know the priceless worth of their immortal souls, who bear in the very name of Christian a constant reminder of the Son of God, and who have in the precepts of the gospel the highest code of morality ever taught to man,-why is it that they too forget God, reject his mercy, set at nought his counsels, and will have none of his reproof? Why is it that in our Christian land so many are living in practical heathenism? Why are they so few who read the Bible, e.nd, of those who do read it, so few who obey its teachings? Why so many thousands who never enter the house of God? Why is it that a really religious daily newspaper it is almost impossible to find, while nearly all our daily newspapers largely devote themselves to advance the interests of the tbeatre, the race-<:ourse, and the betting-ring? Truly it may be said that our nation has gone after strange gods. What is the secret of it all ? Larg~ly this, the love of what it; 68ffl, more than of what is unseen. This is at the root of all idolatry. It is this that makes mf:n such an easy prey to sin. They are absorbed in the interests and pleasures of the body only. They forget the interests of the immortal soul. They live for the present, but neglect the future. 'l'hey live for self, but neglect God. They lay up treasure on earth, but have no treasure in heaven. We see this love of what is seen-this going after strange gods-in much of the philosophy of the present day. Men deny God, the God of the Bible, the intelligent, wise, powerful, provident, holy, loving Orea tor of the universe. And what do they substitute for him? A mere necration. At best matter or force. Here plainly they are absorbed in what is seen. Thfoy make a god of matter. They forget that only mind could produce mind, only soul could produce soul, that only an intelligent Being could produce the order and control the workings of the universe. Strange gods, indeed-gods of which they have no certainty-they set up in place of the God of our Christian faith. We see this love ,:if what is seen operating also in the case of the money-lover. It is not wrong to acquire wealth, provided it is rightly won and rightly used. But there are many who make a god of money. It occupies all their thoughts while they aro awake. When they a;e asleep, they dream of it. Even the sabbath, supposed to be devoted to the worship of God, is often dernted to meditations on m-mc_y and how to get it. Yet eveu for OH, I, 1-18.] THE SECOND BOOK O.F THE KINGS. 9