The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 417

instigation that the queen " cut off the for him to cut off the men-some of them prophets of the Lord;" and, secondly, that reneg11.des from the faith of Israel, some of it is not clear that she succeeded in her them foreign emissaries introduced into the so.nguino.ry pnrpose, or tho.t me,ny lives land-who had corrupted his countrymen, were sacrificed to her fury, And Elij11h's and threatened the very existence of the action needs no such lame apologies. As true religion. It is necessary, therefore, for the Lord's prophet, as the vindicator and those who challenge his conduct in this restorer of the law, there was no oth8" respect, who call him sanguinary, vindictive, coarse open to him. If the Mosaic law &c., to settle their e.ccount with the law was then written, and this very incident is which he obeyed, and, indeed, with Him one of the proofs th11t it was then written ; who has e.pproved this deed, and has fore- i.f, however it he,d fallen into contempt or warned us that He too will act in like man- desuetude, it was still binding upon Israel ; ner (Luke xix. 27). For this terrible retri- and if Elijah was justified in executing its bution is by no mea.ns an exceptional or provisions, and was required to execute isolated act, in contrast to the general spirit them, however repugne,nt they might be to of that ilispense,tion; on the contrary, it his inclinations (Deut. xxvii. 26; Gill. iii. ·10), is in thorough accord with the system out then he could not have done otherwise than of which it sprung. We gain nothing, he did. For it was an essential part of that therefore, by repudiating this one tro.ns- law, it was-an obligation tho.t was laid, not action. For clee,rly, in the first place, it once or twice, but on three separo.te occa- was allowed 11,nd approved of God, who sions (Exod. xxii. 20; Deut. xiii. ; xvii. otherwise would he,rdly h1Lve answered the 2-7), on the Jewish people, it was a duty prayer which Elijah rresently offered, and they were to perform, however distressing (2) other similo.r acts have distinctly re- and harrowing it might be (Deut. xiii. 6-9), ceived Divina commendation (Exod. xxxii. to provide that the worshipper of fo.lse 25-28; Nam. xxv. 7-13; 2 Kings i. 9 gods, and especially the teacher of such sqq.) It is true the.t the spirit of Elias worship, should be put to death. It was was not the spirit of Christio.nity (Luke primo.rily, of course, the duty of the ix. 56), but it is forgotten how different was authorities, of the theocrntio king 11,nd his the dispeuso.tion of ElijlLh from that of the subordinntes, to execute these injunctions. New Covenu.nt. In that age idolaters must But the king of that age wns corrupt and receive their just recompense of reward, powerless-nay, wo.s himself idolo.trous. So been.use the judgment to come ho.d not then greo.t wo.s the depre,vity of the time that the been reveale,l ; because justice mu~t be fo.lse prophet enjoyed the favour and protec- meo.sured out to men in this life. We, do tion of the court, o.nd the true prophet wo.s not avenge idol11try or irreligion now wi'.h everywhere being hunted to dc!lth. The fire and sword, not because the thing is au:, execution of this l1Lw, consequently, could the less sinful, but because the duty he,s not be expected from the king. It must be been to.lcen out of our hands ; bec11use our executed, i.f 11.t e.11, in spite of him, 1Lnd in religion instructs us to lonve it to Him who disrege,rd of his protests. It was only has se,id, "Vengeance is Mine," &c. It is Elijah, therefore, could put it into force, perhaps worth remo.rking here tho.t there is and ElijlLh only in the hour of his triumph. nothing in this history half so dre11.dful a.s And thojus zelotyparum, the right cle,imed by might bo seen on a thouso.nd battle-fielcls- every faithful Jew to execute vengea.nce, 1Lfler aud those not bo.ttlc-fields for truth o.nd tlie ex1Lmple of Phineho.s (Num. xxv. 11), right - on which, nevertheless, ElijlLh's upon 11,ny gross breach of tho Divine law critics ho.veleo.med tolook"'ith complacency. co=itted in his presonoe, wa.s not his only It may, howevor, be objected to this view WILrro.nty ; he held a commission, higher that the punishment denounced by the law than the king's, e.s the prophet of the llfost was stoning (Deut. xiii. 10; xvii. 5). But High. He had just proved tho.t the Lord surely it is easy to see why, in this particu- He was God. It we.a now for him to prove lar, the law wo.s not kept. It was simply that God's law was no dce.,l lcUer. It was that tho exigency of tho occasion did not 428 THE FIRST DOOK OF KINGS. Ien. xvm. 1-46. permit of its being kept. It we.s beoe.use nor oan it he.ve beon, as Diihr supposes, the 450 traitors to God e.nd their coun- the outermost promontory towards the setL, try could not be stoned within the unless he mee.us the foot or slope of that few hours the.t reme.ined before the night ridge or promontory, for from this t!-'~1 the seti was not visible. It alBo appears from closed in e.nd the multitude dispersed, the.t a more speedy punishment, that the n~:v. of ver. 44 that this point must of the sword, we.a adopted. And it would he.ve been at a lower elevation than the have been a sacrifice of the spirit of the plateau where the altar had stood and where Ahab's tent was); e.nd he cast himself down law to the letter had some few false upon the earth [Same word 2 Kings iv. 34, prophets been stoned e.nd the rest thereby 35, of Elisha's prostration upon the dead been afforded the opportunity to escape, and, child. But if Elijah "stretched himsel£ under Jezebel's protection, to renew their full length " upon the earth, as the Ee.sterns efforts against .truth and morality and constantly do in prayer (see Thomson, i. 26, 27) it we.s but for e. moment, as we religion. presently find him kneeling], e.nd put his Ver. 41.-And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get face between his knees. [" The Oriental thee up [It is clear from the word n~P. that attitude of entire abstraction" (Stanley). the king had gone down with the crowd to The posture witnessed to the intensity of the Kishon. Curiosity had perhaps im- his supplication.] pelled him to witness the slaughter which Ver. 43.-And said to his servant [of he v.as powerless to prevent. And no doubt whom we now hear for the first time. It is he had been profonndly awed by the portent an old tradition that this was none other he had just witnessed), eat and drink [It than the son of the Sareptan, who was is hardly likely that there was au"ht of e.fterwards known as the prophet Jonah derision in these words. It is ext;emely (Jerome, Praef. in Jonam). See note on eh. xvii. 24) , Go up now, look toward [Heb. probable that the excitement of the ordeal the way of] the sea. [It is a striking con- was so intense that the king had barely firmation of the theory which identifies tasted food all day long. Elijah now bids El Murahlcah with the scene of Elijah's him eat if he can, after what he has wit- sacrifice that the sea, though not visible nessed. There is n~w, he suggests, no from the plateau itself, is from the crest of further cause for annety or alarm. The the hill, e. few feet higher. Ve.n de Velda people being repentant (vers. 39, 40), and writes, " On its west e.nd north-west sides the men who have brought a curse on the the view of the see. is quite intercepted by ln.nd being cut off, the drought can now be an adje.cent height. That height me.y be abated (cf. 2 Sam. xxi. 1, 6, 14). The next e.scended, however, in e. few minutes and a words assign the reason why he should eat full view of the sea obtained from the top." e.nd drink. It is a mistake, however (Ewald, Similarly the le.test e.uthority, Mr. Conder: Rawlinson), to suppose that he was bidden " The peak is e. semi-isolated knoll with a to '' eat of the feast which always followed cliff some forty feet high, looking south- a sacrifice," for this was a whole burnt east. . . . The see. is invisible, except. from offering and had been entirely consumed the summit, and thus it was only by (ver. 38). It is probable that the attendants climbing to the top of Carmel, from the of the king had spread a tent for him upon plateau where the e.ltar may have stood, the plateau, and had brought food for the that the prophet's servant could have seen day along with them]; for there 1s a sound the little cloud," &c.] And he went up, of abundance of rain [Heb. for a voice of a and looked, and ea.id, There 1B nothing. noise-!it:l,;t; cf. hum, anonomatopoetic word And he said, Go again seven times. [Cf. - f J f rain. Gesenius and Keil think that the Josh. vi. 15-20; 2 Kings v. 14; Matt. prophet could already hear the sound of the xviii. 21; Psa. cxix. 164. The idea here drops of rain, but if so, it was only in spirit is that of sufficiency, of oompletion, rather (cf. ver. 45). The words may refer to the the.n, e.s elsewhere, of covene.nt. And yet rise of the wind which so often precedes e. it must be remembered that Elijah was storm, but it is more probable that Elijah only praying for what God had already speaks of signs and intimations understood promised to gra.nt (ver. 1). This earnest only by himself. This we.e the " word " of prayer for re.in under these ciroumsta.nces eh. xvii. 1. J suggests the.t the former pre.yer " that it Ver. 42.-So Ahab went up to eat and to might notrain" (Jo.mes v.17) ho.d e.lso been drink. And Elljah went up to the top inspired of God. But it is worth consider- [Heb. head] of Carmel [It is clca.r from ing whether Elijah's attitude was not one ver. 43 that this was not the e.otnal summit, of revetent and assured expectation, u oe. xvm. 1-46.] THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. 429