The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Kings — Section 263

Vers. 1-38.-Some kssonsfrom tM history of kings. "In the twenty and seventh year of Jer?boamt etc. The mighty Governor of the universe is represented as saying to the ~ew1sh nat10n, "I ga~e thee a king in mine anger" (Hos. xiii. 2). And truly, with a ce:tam number of except10ns here and there through the ages, kings have proved mahfic scourges of the race. ln this chapter there are mentioned no less than seven of ~hose 1:13en who are called kings, but who, instMd of having one grain of moral royalty m their souls, were contemptible serfs to the last degree, slaves to their passions of sensuality and greed. How many conventional kings in all ages are moral paupers and vassals of Satan! Glance for a moment at each of the kings before us. Here is .Azariah, elsewhere called Uzziah, who was the son and successor of Amaziah. Here is Za~liariah, the son and successor of Jeroboam II. King of Israel, who reigned only six months, and then fell by the hand of Shallum. Here is Shallum the fifteenth King of Israel, and the murderer of Zachariah, and who in his turn ~as murdered. Here is Men_ahem, the so~ of Gadi, who, having slain Shallum, reigned in his stead ten years-a reign charactenzed by ruthless cruelty and tyrannic oppression. Here is Pekahiah, the son and successor of Menahem, who reigned two years over Israel and then was assassinated by Pekah. Here is Pekah, who was a general of the L!raeiitish army, and assassinated King Pekahiah in his palace, and usurped the govenment, reign- ing, according to the existing text, twenty years. Here is Jotham, the son and successor of Uzziah, the eleventh King of Judah• who reigned for sixteen years. He, perhaps, was the least wicked of all these princes. The whole chapter reminds us of several things worth note. l THE EXISTENCE OF RETRIBUTION IN THIS LIFE, Here we discover retribution in the leprosy of .A..zariah, anc1 in the fate of the other kings. Of Azariah it is said, "The Lord smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house." Of all physical afflictions, perhaps that of leprosy is the most pain- ful and revolting. It eats out the life of a man and dooms him to solitude. Disease strikes princes as well as paupers. Then see how the other wicked doers fared. The murderer is murdered, the slayer is slain; Shallum strikes down Zachariah; Menahem strikes down Shallum ; and Pu!, the King of Assyria, strikes Menahem with a terrible blow of humiliation and oppression ; Pekah smites Pekahiab, and reigns twenty years when be is himself struck down by the blow of an assassin. Truly, even in this life," with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again." Though retribu- tion here may not be complete and adequate, still it is at work everywhere in human society. It comes as a pledge and a prophecy of that realm beyond the grave, where every man shall be dealt with according to his works. II. THE MIGHTnrnss OF RELIGIOUS ERROR. In this chapter there is the record of long periods and of great changes. Battles are fought, revolutions are effected, monarch succeeds monarch, and the years come and go; but one thing remains, that is, idolatry- " The high places were not removed: the people sacrificed and burnt incense still on the high places" (vers. 4 and 34). Among the many evil tendencies of man there is none so mighty and influential as the pseudo-religious. Two facts will account for this. 1. The strength qf tM reUgious element in man. Burke and others of the wisest of the race have designated man as a religious animal. Religion with man is not a faculty, but the substratum in which all the faculties inhere; it is the core and the root of his nature. Hence, wherever man is found, if he bas no home, he has a shrine; if he has no friend, he has a god. 2. The might of selfishness in man. What man needs most presents the greatest motives to bull;a_n avarice an? ambi~i?n• Hence the creation of bodies of priests to bolster up false religions, and denve pos1t1on and wealth from them. Oorruptio optimi pessima. It is most sad wben men seek to" make a gain of godliness." III. THE CRAVEN-HEARTEDNESS OF ENSLAVED PEOPLES. Had the peoples of Judah and Israel been really men worthy of their humanity, would they have tolerated for a day such monsters as we have in this chapter? The existence of tyrants is the fault of the people.-D. T. Vere. 1-7.~Ar10tMr king beginning well, endtng ill. It is remarkable that three CH, XV, 1-38.] THE SECOND BOOK OF THE KINGS.