The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 305

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 forth to suffer accordingly, as detailed in the text. I. THE SEQUEL VERIFIED A REMARKABLE PROPHECY. 1. Review the prophecy. (1) Ver. 22. He was, therefore, doomed to die away from his home; ancl, presumably, by violence. (2) With what solemn feelings would he see his ass saddled with the prospect of such a journey I Ooght not our feelings also to be solemn to whom death is certain, though the moment ancl the manner be unknown? 2. Note the fulfilment. (1) Vera. 29, 30. He was met and slain by a lion, and his corpse was cast in the way. There was a spectacle for all passengers I What an evil thing is sin I (2) Thus suffered for disobedience a "man of God." The sanctity of his profession did not protect him from sin, neither can it protect him from punishment. So neither, the dignity of his office. So neither, the service he had rendered to God (see 1 Cor. ix. 27; 2 Cor. xiii. 5, 6). (3) Judgment begins at the house of God, but falls more terribly upon the wicked (1 Peter iv. 17, 18). They may well tremble before "Him that can destroy both soul and body in hell." (4) The man of God ea.me not to the sepulchre of his fathers, yet was mourned over by one who had been a, snare to him, but to whom he had been ma.de a, blessing. There are strange reciprocities. II. THE FULFILMENT WAS A'llTENDED BY REMARKABLE SIGNS. • 1. Miracle con- trolled the instincts of animals. (1) The lion was moved, not by thirst for prey, but by revenge. But this revenge was the Lord's. The animal had sufierecl nothing from the hand of the man of God. (2) Instinct was otherwise controlled. For here were the lion and the ass together watching the carcase. The ass did not fly from the face of the lion; neither did the lion molest the ass. (3) Nor was this strange witnessing the accident of a, momentary surprise. It was maintained while certain passengers, who :first observed it, jow-neyed to the city and reported it; and until, in consequence, the old prophet, divining its- import, came upon the scene. 2. Here let U8 admire the Divine resources. (1) He that moved upon the instincts of the lion and the ass was the same who made the representatives of the animal creation defile before Adam to receive their names; who brought them into the ark of Noah; restrained the lions from injuring Daniel; the same who, in the days of His flesh, dwelt among the wild beasts in the wilderness, and who con- trolled the movements of fishes in the depths (Mark i. 13; Matt. x:vii. 27; Luke v. 4-7). This power over the instincts of the lion and ass is but a sample of cor- responding dominion over every department of nature. And the resources of this power are the resources of justice and mercy. 3. But what is the mystical mean- ing of the signs J (1) The death of the man of God was judgment for his com- plicity with the sin of Ephraim in eating and drinking in thnt polluted place. So it was the last of the series of warnings to Jeroboam before the abandonment of his house to destruction (see ver. 33). (2) The lion that inflicted the penalty was the symbol of Judah, of its royalty, and especially of Shiloh, in whom that royalty cul- minated. Hence Messiah is described as the II Lion of the tribe of Judah" (see Gen. xlix. 9, 10; Rev. v. li). Of this glorious Lion, Josiah was to be a type. Messiah visits the sin of Ephraim in the apostasy of the son of Nebat, o.nd the sin of Juclall for_ oomplioity in its abominations (see Hosea v. 14). So in like manner will He strike down the forms of apostasy extant in these latter times. (8) The ass was the symbol of Issa.char (Gen. xlix. H, 15) ; but not of Judah; for it is difficult to justify the translation in verse 11, which is better rendered, "and him shall the peoples obey; binding up the shoots of the vine, and the branches of the choice vine." (4) As the ass stood as a witness of this judgment of God upon the sin of Jeroboam, and then carried the carcase away to be buried, so II Baasha, the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar,'' destroyed and pnt out of sight the house of Jeroboam, fulfilling the propheoy of Ahijah the Shilonite (eh. xv. 27-30). How manifold is the wisdom of .God I How deep are His judgments 1- J. A. M. 808 THE FIRST BOOK 01<' KINGS. [OH, XIII, 11--84.