The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 516

III. TaE EVIL wnouonT BY TIME-SERVERS (vers. 11-15). There is nothing to relieve the bo.seness of the elders and nobles of J ezreel. They were not impelled by misguided o.ffection to avenge a fancied wrong. They coulcl not even plead ignorance. They were behind the scenes and arranged for the trial. It was murder of the deepest dye-murder done under the guise of zeal for the offended majesty of God. They had one of the grandest opportunities of shielding innocence and rebuking wickedness in high places. They had only to say they could not lend themselves to such a deed. But these do not stand alone. The greatest crimes in history have been wrought in this very way. Is there no place to-day over which " J ezreel " might well be written ? Axe there no men and no causes frowned upon, not because that in themselves they deserve such treatment, but because they are not in favour, and it will not pay to befriend them? Axe there none who will use their influence in favour of a good cause when it is safe to do so, but who will be looked for in vain when it sorely needs to be befriended? There may be no crime wrought now in this land such as was then done in Israel; but should the time come, these are the men who will do as the elders and nobles did then. The spirit is the ea.me, and in the like circumstances it will bear the same fruit.-U. Vere. 15-29.-Guilt Q/11,d Mercy. I. To ENJOY TOE FRUITS OF SIN IS TO TAKE ITS GUILT, " Hast thou killed?" &c. It is not said that Ahab knew of the plot. The plain inference is that he did not. Jezebel wrote to the elders, and to her the tidings were sent that the deed was done. But if Ahab did not know before, he knew after. Knowing how it had been procured he nevertheless received it, and heard as he stood there the word of the Lord : •• Hast thou killed, and also taken possession ? " There are men, for example, who could not pass their days in the vile drink tro.ffic. They could not sleep at night for thought of the wives and mothers and children whose misery had pleaded in Gocl's sight o.gainst them and their work. The thought of the souls.they had helped to leo.d down into the eternal darkness woulcl terrify them. B!;.t they can pocket the gains of that very trade; they can receive the higher rent which their property secures because it is let to the sellers of drink, and live in quietness, and sit at the Lord's table, and die in good esteem, and go forth to meet- what? the same judgment as the publican I Your reputo.ble merchant may not lie and cheat; but if the young men that serve behind his counters do so, and if he knowingly pockets the gains of such baseness, he is equally guilty in God's sight. To take the fruit of falsehood and oppression and wrong is to stain our souls with their guilt. "Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of No.both shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." "Behold I will bring evil upon thee," &c. (vers. 21-24). II. WHAT IT MEANS WHEN A MAN FINDS THE TRUTH HATEFUL. Ahab's question, "Hast thou found me?" &c., was a self-revelation. There were many to whom Elijah'e presence would have been like that of an angel of God; but to Aho.b it is as the shadow of death. And the explo.no.tion was, "Been.use thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord." It is only to death that the truth is 11 sn.volll of death. He was sin's bond.man. For the gre.tificn.tion of evil desire he had sold himself to work Satan's will, and now in his attitude to God's servant he wn.s own- ing Satan still as master. It is easy to listen with approval, o.nd with pleasure even, when other men's sine are dealt with; but when our own are touched-when we are met with our feet standing in N aboth's vineyard, what is our attitude toward the truth? la it anger or submission? Whom do we own as master, Satan or God? III. THE RIOBES OF GoD's MERCY (vere. 25-29). 1. The greatness of Ahab', Bin. He had outstripped all who had gone before him, great as their sins had been; "but there waa none like unto Ahab," &c. 2. The inadequacy of his repentance. It was no doubt sincere, but it did not go far enough. It was fear of judgment, not loathing of sin. 8. Tho fulness of the Divine compasBion. Verses 25 anu 2G might well have been a prelude to the record of full and speedy vengeance, and especially so in view of the unsatisfactory nature of hie sorrow. But it is the introduction to the story of mercy. All that sin-sin of deepest dye-will not prevent God nmning 1 XINGB. • 2 !4 530 THE FIRST BOOK OF KINGS. [on. XXI. 1-29,