The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Kings — Section 521

Go up t~ Ramoth-Gllead, a.nd prosper we.s insincere; that he did not c1u-e to know [:i H~brmsm for " thou wilt prosper." the will of the Lord, and wanted prophets !3-esemus. _Gram. § 127. 2, cites parallels who would speo.k to him smooth things e.nd m Gen. xlu. 18; Prov. xx. IS; Ps:i. xxinii. prophesy deceits (Isa. xxx. 10).] 27; Job xrii. 21 ; Isa. viii. 9; xxix. D, and Ver. 16.-And the king said unto him, reminds us that in the Latin divide et How many times shall I adjure thee that impera we ha,e _the ~an10 idiom]: for the thou tell me nothing but that which is Lord [all speak m His name now hoping true 1n the name of the Lord 7 [Rawlinson thus to satisfy the king of Judah] shall concludes from these words tha.t "this deliver it into the king's hand. Ver. 13.-And the messenger that was mocking manner was familiar to Micaiah gone [or went] to call Micalah, spake unto who had used it in some former dealing him, saying, Behold now, the words of the with the Israelite monarch." But we must prophets declare good unto the king with remember that Ahab's words were really addressed to Jehoshaphat. He is so mani- one mouth [Heh. one mouth good t.o the king. festly playing e. part, that we need not The ~essenger may possibly have he.d in- assume t~at ~e is strictly truthful. His strnct1011s to seek to conciliate Mice.ie.h. In great desue evidently is to discredit Mice.h's e.ny case he thinks it well to tell him of predictions, which be clearly perceives from the unanimity of the prophets. His testi- the bitter and ironical tone of the latte~, will ino~y, he suggests, will surely agree with be adverse to him.] tbeus J : let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, a.nd spee.l!: that Ver. 1_7.-And he said [We may imagine which is g.:od. [Heb. speak good.] how entue was the change of tone. He now Ver.14.-And Micala.h said, As the Lord speaks with profound seriousness. Thenius liveth, what the Lord saith unto me that s~e~ in the peculiarity and originality of this will I speak. [We are forcibly reminded of v1s1on a proof of the bistorice.1 trn tb of this the answer of Bale.am, Num. mi. 18, 38. history. "We feel that we a.re gradually And we may see not only in the suggestion drawing nearer to the times of the later of this messenger, but also in Ahab's belief prophets. It is e. vision which might (ver. 8), that ~~e.ie.h could prophesy e.t rank amongst those of Isaiah or Ezekiel" plea_s11re, a stri.lnng correspondence with (Stanley)], I saw all Israel scattered upon the ideas of Balak (ib. v. 6, 17). Instead of the hllls, as sheep that have not a shep- regardin_g the prop~et as being merely the herd: and the Lord said, These have no mouthpiece of Deity, he we.s believed in master : let them return every man to his that nge to have a superne.taral influence house 1n peace. [The last words are illus- with God, and to be entrusted with mngicoJ trated by the co=and of ver. 31 ; compare powers to sliape the future, e.s well as to ver. 36. We may e.lso picture the effect foretell it. J these words would have on the assembly at Ver. 15.-So he ea.me to the king. And the city gate. For, however much they the king said unto him, Mica.1ah, shall we might be inclined to discredit Mice.ia.h's go a.ga.!nst Ra.moth-Gilead to battle, or words, and however much the reckless, JlhaJl we forbear 'I [Se.me words as in ver. unreasoning war-spirit might possess them, 6. There .iB an apparent studied fairness there were none who did not understand in this repetition. It is as if Ahab said, that this vision portended the dispersion of "Despite bis p~ejudice against me, I will the Isr11elite army and the death of its 11ot attempt to mfluence hie mind. I only leader. King e.nd people he.d been con- deal with him e.e with the rest."] And he stantly represented under the figure of e.nswered him, Go, and prosper : for the shepherd and sheep, e.nd notably by Moses Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the himself, who had used these very words, king. [As Ahab's inquiry is the echo of the ".sheep without a shepherd" (Num. xxvii. question of ver. 6, so is Micaia.h's response 17; cf. Psa.lxxviii. 70, 71; Isa. xliv. 28; Jer. identical with the answer of the prophets. xxiii. 1, 2; Ezek. xxxiv. passim. It is ob- He simply echoes their words, of which, servablo that Micaiah's vision, like Zede- perhaps, he has been informed by the kiah's parable, borrows the language of the ~unu~h. There we.~ e.n exquisite propriety Pente.teuch. Coincidences of this remote ill this. The question we.a insincere; the character a.re the most powerful proofs that reply was ironical (cf. eh. xviii. 27). Ah11b the Pente.teuch w11s then written.] is answered "according to the multitude Ver. 18.-And the king of Israel said of his idols" (Ezek. xiv. 4). He wishes to unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that lie deceived, and be is deceived. No doubt he would [Heh. say to thee, He will, &o.] Micaiall's mocking tone showed tba.t his prophesy no good concerning me but evil 'I words were ironical ; but Ahab's hollow [It is clea.r that Ahab ha.d understood per- tone bad already proved to Micaiah that he fectly the purport of Mica.ie.h's words. Ha Cl!. ![XII. 1-53.) THE FIRST noorr OF KINGS. 535