The Illness of Ahaziah and His Death. ELIJAH PROPHESIES AHAZIAH'S DEATH. V. 1. Then Moab rebelled against Israel, after having been tributary since the time of David, 2 Sam. 8, 2, after the death of Ahab. The success of the Syrians, not only in regaining their independence, but in administering a severe defeat to the forces of Israel, had probably encouraged the Moabites to take this step. V. 2. And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, through a latticed window-opening such as were common in the Orient, and was sick, being severely injured by his fall. And he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal-zebub (Fly-god), the god of Ekron, the northernmost of the five Philistine city-states, whether I shall recover of this disease. So Ahaziah, probably at the advice of his wicked mother Jezebel, turned to the heathen idol for information and help, just as people in our days reject the truth of Scripture, but eagerly believe every form of superstition. V. 3. But the Angel of the Lord, the son of God as He revealed Himself in the Old Testament, said to Elijah the Tishbite, who was still active in his prophetic office, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel that ye go to enquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? It was a sharp question of earnest reproof for this new evidence of wickedness in the king. V. 4. Now, therefore, thus saith the Lord, as a punishment upon the king for this new exhibition of idolatry, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed, namely, to carry out the command of the Lord. V. 5. And when the messengers turned back unto him, the king of Israel, he, knowing that they could not have made the trip to Ekron in this short time, said unto them, Why are ye now turned back? V. 6. And they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, a man unknown to the messengers, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel that thou sendest to enquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? The blame which was placed upon them all by the prophet they now lay upon the king alone. Therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. V. 7. And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, literally, "What was the manner," the peculiarity,

"of the man," what special mark of distinction did you note in his dress or bearing, and told you these words? V. 8. And they answered him, He was an hairy man, wearing a rough garment of camel's hair, and girt with a girdle of leather, instead of the customary one of linen or cotton, about his loins. His entire dress and appearance thus proclaimed the preacher of repentance, reproving the luxury of the people of his days. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite, he recognized him at once from the description given. The position of preachers of repentance is not a pleasant occupation, but they are needed in every age of the world's existence, especially also in these last days of sore distress.

THE PUNISHMENT OF AHAZIAH'S SERVANTS AND HIS DEATH.-V. 9. Then the king sent unto him, Elijah, a captain of fifty with his fifty, some act of violence being intended. And he, the captain, went up to him; and, behold, he sat on the top of an hill, where he lived. And he spake unto him, in a tone and form of harsh command, Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down. It was not a respectful address, but a haughty, contemptuous, and scoffing insult. V. 10. And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty. This has been transcribed as follows: "If I be a man of God, as thou sayest, but dost not think, then I am not bound to obey the king, but God, nor am I subject to his power, but to God's, who will make thee know that He judges in the earth." 2) And there came down fire from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. V. 11. Again, also, he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty, he persisted in his stubborn wilfulness. And he answered and said unto him, sharing the king's contempt for the prophet, as the first captain had, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. His command was even more peremptory than that of the first messenger. V. 12. And Elijah answered and said unto them, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty. In either case the men were guilty of a deliberate mockery of the prophetical office in the person of Elijah, and therefore of the Lord Himself, hence the quick and terrible punishment, similar to those which are occasionally meted out by the Lord in our day,

1) For introductory remarks see the Introduction to the First Book of Kings. 2) Cp. Lange-Schaff, 2 Kings, p. 5.

and which the infidels vainly try to explain away. V. 13. And he, the king, still determined to carry out his will, sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And the third captain of fifty went up, but in an entirely different spirit, so far as his own person was concerned, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, with all humility, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life and the life of these fifty, thy servants, be precious. in thy sight, namely, by not calling down God's punishment upon them. V. 14. Behold, there came fire down from heaven and burned up the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties; therefore let my life now be precious in thy sight. He acknowledged the righteous punishment of God and begged to be spared. V. 15. And the Angel of the Lord, the same who had directed him to deliver the message to the king's ambassadors, v. 3, said unto Elijah, Go down with him; be not afraid of him, that is, of the king. And he arose and went down with him unto the king. V. 16. And he, without giving Ahaziah an opportunity to heap maledictions upon him, said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to enquire of Baal

zebub, the god of Ekron, is it not because there is no God in Israel to enquire of His Word, this being the standard to which all appeals should be made at all times? Therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. V. 17. So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram, his brother, reigned in his stead, in the second year of Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, who was probably made coregent by his father at the time when the latter joined in the campaign against the Syrians with Ahab, because he had no son. V. 18. Now, the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? The story of Elijah's punishment of the blasphemous captains and their bands is referred to in the New Testament, Luke 9, 54 ff. As God had a great deal of patience with the godless kings of Israel, so He, in the New Testament, much prefers using His mercy; for it is His purpose to seek and to save lost sinners. Nevertheless, when men persist in rejecting and blaspheming Christ and His salvation, they must expect the well-earned damnation to come upon them.

Elijah's Ascension and Elisha's First
Miracles.

ELIJAH TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN. — V. 1. And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, at the time which the Lord had fixed for this important event, of which He had informed His faithful servant, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal, a town near Shiloh, on the road leading into the Jordan Valley. V. 2. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. His humility prompted him to make this request, for he did not know whether his translation to heaven was to be attended by any witness. And Elisha said unto him, with a solemn oath, As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. He was bound to his teacher, to his spiritual father, with the bonds of the most faithful affection. So they went down to Bethel, the well-known city nearer to Jerusalem, where there was also a school of prophets. V. 3. And the sons of the prophets that were at Bethel came forth to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day? They also had received the information that the Lord would take their beloved teacher from them. And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. So all the persons concerned, yielding to the will of God, were ready

for the sacrifice, but because they loved one another, they did not discuss the departure, the subject being too painful for them to think about. V. 4. And Elijah said unto him, as before, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho, near the Jordan, where there was another school of prophet disciples. And he said, as before, As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. V. 5. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho, the disciples or students of the prophets' school located there, came to Elisha and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day? And he answered, as in Bethel, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. Thus Elijah had now visited the chief prophets' schools. V. 6. And Elijah said unto him, his humility once more prompting him to make the suggestion, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan, near this river his departure was to take place. And he said, still determined to stay with his master to the end, As the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. It was probably the Spirit of God Himself who urged him to accompany his aged teacher. And they two went on. V. 7. And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went and stood to view afar off, they stood at an elevated point, following the two prophets with

their eyes as long as possible; and they two stood by Jordan. V. 8. And Elijah took his mantle, one of the signs of his prophetical office, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters; and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground, as the children of Israel had done at the time of their entrance into Canaan, Josh. 3, 16. V. 9. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee before I be taken away from thee, some last favor. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me, the reference being to the right of the firstborn, who received twice as much of his father's goods as the rest of the children, Deut. 21, 17. Elisha's request, as the spiritual son of Elijah, was that he might get a greater share of his spirit than any other prophet of his time. V. 10. And he, Elijah, said, Thou hast asked a hard thing, one which was, in fact, not in Elijah's hands to bestow, but could be granted by God alone; nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, if Elisha would be an eye-witness of his wonderful departure, it shall be so unto thee, that would be a token to him that the Lord had granted his request; but if not, it shall not be so. V. 11. And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, while they were engaged in earnest conversation, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder, in a manner hidden from mere human understanding; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. While the storm was playing about the two men, while Elisha plainly saw the chariot and the horses of fire, Elijah was taken from his side and miraculously carried upward, to be translated to the realms of bliss above. V. 12. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, for Elijah had been his spiritual father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof! For the presence of Elijah in Israel had proved a powerful protection against the enemies. And he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and rent them in two pieces, as an expression of his great grief and pain at the loss of his fatherly teacher and friend. V. 13. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, purposely dropped at the moment of his departure, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. V. 14. And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? This was not a question of doubt, but meant to say: "Thou, God of Elijah, if Thou art also mine, and if I am Thy servant according to Thy will and command as he was, then let this become evident by granting that that may take place at my word which Thou grantedst should come to

pass at his." (Menken.) And when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither; and Elisha went over. Thus Elisha received his credentials as the successor of Elijah and could go forth to carry on his prophetic work.

ELISHA'S MIRACULOUS POWERS.-V. 15. And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho, those who had stood at a distance to witness the older men crossing the Jordan on dry ground, saw him, returning in the same manner as both he and Elijah had gone over, they said, drawing their conclusion from this miracle, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him, with the same veneration which they had formerly shown to Elijah. V. 16. And they said unto him, Behold, now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master, lest peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up and cast him upon some mountain or into some valley. They had known that Elijah was to be removed from Elisha's head, v. 5. but they had no definite idea of the meaning attached to this expression, believing, apparently, that the soul of Elijah alone had been taken, and that they would be able to find his body somewhere in the neighborhood. And he said, Ye shall not send. He knew that their plan was altogether foolish, since Elijah had been translated to heaven according to body and soul. V. 17. And when they had urged him till he was ashamed, when their stubborn persistence showed him that there was no hope of dissuading them from their purpose, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not, their strenuous search proved fruitless. V. 18. And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, in a mild reproof for not heeding his advice, Did I not say unto you, Go not? V. 19. And the men of the city, probably the magistrates or the influential citizens, said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, on a beautiful oasis, noted for its splendid palms, as my lord seeth; but the water is naught, it had a bad effect, and the ground barren, miscarriages were the rule in the country round about, apparently on account of the water. V. 20. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, a receptacle, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. V. 21. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, where the brook welled up from the ground, and cast the salt in there, as a prophetical, symbolical action to indicate what the Lord was about to do, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren

land, that is, barrenness, of which they had complained. This miracle was intended to convey to the minds of the people the fact of the blessings of God in the prophetic activities of Elisha. V. 22. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake. The spring and the brook served as permanent reminders of Jehovah's goodness and power for good. V. 23. And he went up from thence unto Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city and mocked him, a band of blaspheming youngsters up to the age of young men, children of the idolaters of Bethel, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head! Go up, thou bald head! They railed on him and insulted him as an impure and expelled person. V. 24. And he turned back, and looked on them, and

cursed them in the name of the Lord; for it was as Jehovah's prophet that the mockery had been heaped upon him. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them, without, however, making any move toward eating them. It was God's punishment upon these revilers of His servant, for their number shows that they had planned this demonstration with deliberate, wicked intent. V. 25. And he went from thence to Mount Carmel, he chose solitude and concealment for a while, after the manner of the prophets, and from thence he returned to Samaria, where he afterwards had a house, chap. 6, 32. Note: It is not wrong or an injustice, but is done out of obedience to God, if His servants pronounce His curse and damnation upon persistent blasphemers.

Jehoram of Israel and His Joint Campaign with Judah against Moab.

THE CAMPAIGN UNDERTAKEN. — V. 1. Now Jehoram, the son of Ahab, began to reign over Israel in Samaria the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, who had evidently made his son Jehoram coregent the year before, chap. 1, 17, and reigned twelve years. V. 2. And he wrought evil in the sight of the Lord, but not like his father and like his mother, Jezebel, the idolater and tyrant; for he put away the image of Baal that his father had made, 1 Kings 16, 31. 32. His object was evidently to make the worship of the golden calves the only national religion. V. 3. Nevertheless he cleaved unto the sins of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, which made Israel to sin; he departed not therefrom. No matter what the original intention of the calf-statues had been, their worship had degenerated to the lowest form of idolatry. V. 4. And Mesha, king of Moab, was a sheepmaster, his well-watered country being particularly fitted for purposes of pasturage and his own wealth consisting largely of flocks, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, these probably being delivered alive for food, and an hundred thousand rams with the wool, the fleeces alone being included in the tribute in this case. The payment was a very considerable one, even for a wealthy country. V. 5. But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel, as noted above, chap. 1, 1. V. 6. And King Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time and numbered all Israel, he mustered all his forces for the purpose of overthrowing the rebellion of Moab. V. 7. And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, saying,

The king of Moab hath rebelled against me, a fact which endangered the welfare of Judah as well; wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, agreeing to the alliance, I will go up; I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses, 1 Kings 22, 4, thus pledging himself and all his resources for the assistance of Israel. V. 8. And he, Jehoram, said, Which way shall we go up? They could either cross the Jordan and move against the country from the north, or march down on the western side of the Dead Sea and attack from the east and south. And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom. On this side the Moabites had no strong fortifications, the attacking army would not be exposed to a possible assault by the Syrians, and the two kings might count on the help of the Edomites. As our Lord also advises, it is always a safe matter to count the cost before attempting any serious matter.

THE MIRACLE IN THE WILDERNESS. - V. 9. So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom, the governor under the overlordship of Judah being given the title of king by courtesy, 1 Kings 22, 48; and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey, marching down near the western shore of the Dead Sea. And there was no water for the host and for the cattle that followed them, used as provisions for the army. They had ventured too far from their water supply. V. 10. And the king of Israel, immediately abandoning himself to despair, said, Alas, that the Lord hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab! Being without faith in Jehovah, he saw nothing but death and destruction before his eyes. V. 11. But Jehoshaphat, having confidence in the Lord, said, Is there not here a prophet of

the Lord that we may enquire of the Lord by him? Cp. 1 Kings 22, 7. He wanted the advice of a true prophet, of one in the service of Jehovah. And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha, the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah, namely, in the capacity of servant and disciple. V. 12. And Jehoshaphat, who had heard of this new prophet, said, The word of the Lord is with him, he is a genuine prophet. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him, from the elevation on which their tents were placed to the valley where Elisha remained with the host. V. 13. And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, taking this opportunity to reprove him and to work a wholesome sorrow for his sins in his heart, What have I to do with thee? What business could they have together, since Jehoram was addicted to idolatry? Get thee to the prophets of thy father and to the prophets of thy mother; for he still permitted the priests of Baal to continue in his land. And the king of Israel, with at least some show of humility, said unto him, Nay; for the Lord hath called these three kings together to deliver them into the hand of Moab. So his appeal for help was based upon the fact that the lives and armies of three kings were at stake. V. 14. And Elisha said, As the Lord of hosts, Jehovah Sabaoth, the mighty Ruler of the heavenly armies, liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee nor see thee, he would have ignored both him and his request. V. 15. But now bring me a minstrel, a harp-player, his intention being by means of the soothing influence of music to withdraw his mind from the outer world and prepare for any revelation which the Lord might give him. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the Lord came upon him, he became a mouthpiece of Jehovah. V. 16. And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of ditches, with cisterns for holding an abundance of water. V. 17. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain, there would be no rainstorm in or near their camp; yet that valley shall be filled with water that ye may drink, both ye and your cattle and your beasts, the former being the animals intended for food, the latter those bearing burdens. V. 18. And this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord, it was a small matter to Jehovah to supply the army with drinking-water; He will deliver the Moabites also into your hand, granting them a glorious victory over the enemy. V. 19. And ye shall smite every fenced city, those with strong fortifications, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, even the

V. 20.

fruit-trees not being excepted in this case, Deut. 20, 19. 20, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones, by so covering it with stones that it would no longer be fit for cultivation. And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat-offering was offered, at the time of the morning sacrifice, shortly after sunrise, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water. The Lord had sent a heavy rain or a cloudburst in the hills of Edom during the night, and the water now came rushing down the canyons into the valley where the combined armies were encamped. It was a miracle of God's mercy, one of whose objects was to turn the hearts of all the men to Him.

THE DEFEAT OF MOAB. — V. 21. And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, this had taken place in the course of the seven days while the attacking army was approaching, they gathered all that were able to put on armor, summoning all those that were able to gird themselves, that is, to bear arms, and upward, not only the very young, but also all the older men, and stood in the border, drawn up in battle-line along the boundary of their country. V. 22. And they rose up early in the morning, on the day when the Lord sent down the water from the mountains of Edom, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood, from the reflection of the sun's red light; v. 23. and they said, This is blood, a conclusion by no means far-fetched, for they knew that there was no water in the desert; the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another, their well-known jealousy having reached such a height of disagreement that a bloody carnage had resulted. Now, therefore, Moab, to the spoil! They broke ranks and rushed forward as a disorganized mob. V. 24. And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and smote the Moabites, who were utterly taken by surprise when the enemy met them with arms ready for the attack, so that they fled before them. But they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country; for the Israelites and their allies pursued the fleeing Moabites across the boundary. V. 25. And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone and filled it, rendering it unfit for bearing grain; and they stopped all the wells of water, and felled all the good trees; only in Kir-haraseth left they the stones thereof, the capital city, the most important fortification of the country, they besieged last; howbeit, the slingers went about it and smote it, picking off the men of the garrison as they showed themselves upon the walls. V. 26. And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore