The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 309

(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 outward form. It is on this principle, that every act of wilful wrong is e. violation of the spirit of obedience, that St. James sa,ys, "Whosoever sha,ll keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all'' (James ii. 10). IV. THE TEMPORAL PENALTIES THAT FOLLOW THE SIN EVEN OF GOOD MEN. The "man of God" may have been at heart a true prophet, and may have received in another world the eternal reward of the true prophet ; but bis transgression involved him in a violent death, and be was denied the privilege, so much desired by every Hebrew, of having bis body laid in the " sepulchre of bis fathers." Sin may be pardoned and yet punished. The temporal penalty may be inflicted though Divine mercy cancels the eternal. David's sin is forgiven, but his child must die (2 Sam. :xii. 13, 14). Christ is "the propitiation for our sins," and His blood " cleanseth us from all sin," but He promises us no immunity from the ill effects, the shame and loss and pnin and sorrow in which our sin may in this world involve lll!.-W. Vers. 11, 12.-The Tempter. I. THE PROPHET'S SIN AND DOOM. Evil is never wanting in emissaries. It finds them among the so-called followers of God as well as in the world. This was-1. a prophet. The possession of privileges does not ensure salvation. Balaam took the wages of unrighteousness. "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name ? " &c. ls our own life on a level with the place God has given us? If not, we may be among those whose influence and suggestions place stumbling-blocks in the path of God's children. 2. He dwelt at Bethel, without testifying against its sin, and unmoved by fear of God's judgment. How many who know God's will and have declared it to others remain in Bethel still! 3. His instant resolve. The very story of the prophet's obedience led him to tempt the mo.n of God. His own religion was not like this, and this must therefore be either hypocrisy or delusion. Had the king's request not been made publicly it might have been acceded to. There must be a weak point somewhere, and he will try to find it. Lower life is ever suspicious of a higher, and is anxious to prove that it is not higher. The prophets in Bethel are ever on the watch to break the credit of the men of God from Judah. Is thine the spirit of the learner or of the scorner? Does the higher life judge thee o.nd fill thee with desire to press upward, or only with angry sus- picion and desire to show it is no better tbe.n thine own ? They who are of the wicked prophet's spirit still do bis work. II. THE FALL OF THE MAN OF GoD, 1. How the tempte'1' found him. He sat, weary o.nd faint, resting under the shadow of the tree. The invitation to eo.t bread bad more power there than before in Bethel. The tempter knows his opportunity. In times of weakness and need we should bide 0U1·selves in the joy and strength of God. 2. The weapons he uses. When an o.ppeal to appetite foils, be professes his oneness with him and uses falsehood. " I am a prophet also as thou art, and o.n angel spake unto me,'' &c. To eat bread in Bethel with n prophet did not seem quite the snme thing ns eating with the idolatrous king; nor does fellowship with those who profess to know God, but yet remain in communion with the world, seem the sttme thing as fellowship with the world itself. It is thus that the testimony of the _Church against idolatry and iniquity has so largely ceased. And then there is S?n~~ure for every concession. "An angel spake unto me . . . but be lied unto 1nm. A worldly Church ensnares where the world itself cannot. 8. The fatal ?iegl~et. God_was as nc_ttr to him as He could be to his tempter, and be might have mquu·cd of Hrm. But m the weakness of the flesh he desired to have it so. There is only one preservative from spiritual shipwreck-a sincere desire to know what the Lord saith, o.nd a determination to follow that only. III. His DOOM. (Vors. 20-22.) 1. It was nttc red as he sat at meat. Conviction found him in his sin, und the food he had dosirecl became as wormwood nml o-a.11 to him. 2. It came from the lips of his seducer. We do not 1·ise in the worlu's e~tim&-  'l'iIE l~IRST '.BOOK OF KINGS. [en. xrv. 1-20.