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1Ki_14:1
At that time [or about ( êÀ ) that time. The king is now settled at Tirzah (1Ki_14:17). In 1Ki_12:25 we left him residing at Shechem. The time referred to is that somewhat indefinite period mentioned in 1Ki_13:33, 1Ki_13:34. These opening words clearly connect the sickness with Jeroboam's impenitence. What led the king to move his Court to Tirzah, Shechem being, as we have already seen, not only the capital of Ephraim, but "the natural capital of Palestine," "its central situation, its accessibility, and its wonderfully fine water supply" giving it "advantages not enjoyed by any other city in the land" (Conder), we are not told; but it is interesting and instructive to find that it has one conspicuous disadvantage as a capital, viz; that it is "commanded by a hill on either side so close to the town, that the old geographer, Marino Sanuto, in the fourteenth century, considers the place to be untenable by any military force, because stones might be rolled clown upon the houses, from either Ebal or Gerizim". It is very probable that this consideration suggested the transfer, of which Ewald despaired of discovering the cause ("Hist. Israel," 1Ki_4:23)] Abijah [Rawlinson sees in the name, which means "Jehovah is his father," an indication that Jeroboam "did not intend to desert the worship of Jehovah." But the name was probably bestowed long before the schism possibly in Egypt. It is more likely that it connects itself, if with anything, with the message of Jehovah to him (1Ki_11:28). But the name was not uncommon—it was borne by a son of Rehoboam (1Ki_13:31; compare Ahijah, below), and inferences from names must necessarily be precarious] the son of Jeroboam fell sick. [The historian undoubtedly means us to see the finger of God in this sickness. This was one of the penalties of disobedience
. Jeroboam evidently suspected that this sickness was punitive, and he would not have others think so too], Arise, I pray thee, and disguise [lit; change. The word suggests that the disguise was to be effected by a change of garments. "She must put off her robes and put on a russet coat" (ib.) Possibly the queen was not unknown to the prophet (1Ki_14:4)] thyself, that thou [Observe the archaic form àÇúÄÌé for àÇúÀÌ , which latter the Keri would substitute, quite needlessly, here] be not known [Heb. and they (i.e; those whom she met, not the prophet only) shall not know that thou art, etc.] to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh [the modern Seilun. "There is no site in the country fixed with greater certainty than that of Shiloh". The identification, however, was only effected in 1838. Conder gives some interesting particulars which lead him to believe that we can identify the very site of the tabernacle. For its history, see Jos_16:5; Jos_18:1-10; Jdg_18:31; Jdg_21:19; 1Sa_4:3; Jer_41:5. Presuming that Tirzah is to be identified with Teiasir (see on Jer_41:17) Shiloh would be over thirty miles' distant—more than a day's journey to the queen, as the road involves some toilsome climbing]: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet [see on 1Ki_11:29. Shiloh was probably the birthplace, as well as the residence, of Ahijah. It was in the territory of Ephraim (Jos_16:6), and at no great distance from Bethel. We can only explain Ahijah's continued residence there, after the migration of the God-fearing Israelites to the southern kingdom, not by his great age, but by the supposition that, having been concerned in the transfer of the kingdom to Jeroboam, he felt it a duty to stay and watch his career. And the time has now come when he can be useful. His relations with Jeroboam had apparently so far been good. He had not protested, so far as we know, against the calf worship, but then God had sent another prophet to do that], which told me that I should be king [Heb. he spake of me for king] over this people. [So that he had already proved himself a true prophet, and so far a prophet of good.]
1Ki_14:3
And take with thee [Heb. in thine hand] ten loaves [Ten would seem to have been a usual number (1Sa_17:18). On the subject of gifts or fees to prophets, judges, etc; see on Heb_13:7], and cracknels [or cakes, as marg. The original word ðÄ÷ËÌãÄÌéí ( ðÈ÷Çã pupugit) means "pricked," or "spotted." It is the word translated "mouldy" in Jos_9:5, Jos_9:12, where Gesenius would render "crumbs." Mouldy bread would hardly be taken as a present. These cakes, according to the LXX; Cod. Alex; were for the prophet's children] and a cruse [i.e; leather bottle, áÇÌ÷ÀáËÌ÷ Bakbuk, is clearly an onomatopoetic word, suggested by the bubbling noise of liquids in emptying] of honey [Spices and other delicacies were often given as presents, and honey was a special product of the country (Exo_3:8; Deu_8:8; 2Sa_17:29. The honey sent by Jacob to Joseph was probably "honey of grapes"). The present was purposely a poor one, for the sake of maintaining the deception; i.e; it was a part of the disguise], and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of [Heb. be to] the child. [At first it strikes us as strange that Jeroboam merely asks what the result will be. He does not petition, that is to say, as in 1Ki_13:6, for a cure. But we find the same peculiarity, which some would explain by the fatalism of the East, in 2Ki_1:2, and 2Ki_8:9, In the present instance, however, no such explanation is needed. For
(1) Jeroboam could hardly ask a favour of a prophet of Jehovah, or hope that it would be granted if he did, and
(2) if, as he feared, the sickness was judicial, it would be useless to ask for healing. The infatuation which insisted on a disguise for the purpose of deceiving the prophet, who nevertheless was believed to be able to divine the issue of the sickness, is very characteristic, and has had many parallels since.
1Ki_14:4
And Jeroboam's wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came [probably on the second day] to the house of Ahijah. But [rather Now] Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set [Heb. stood. Same word as in 1Sa_4:15. Cf. Gen_27:1. In amaurosis the pupil is set, and does not contract with the light. A partial paralysis of the optic nerve is common in extreme old age] by reason of his age. [Heb. for hoariness, i.e. old age.]
1Ki_14:5
And the Lord said unto Ahijah [the attempted deceit was frustrated by a direct revelation, the same which disclosed the fate of the child. "God laughs in heaven at the frivolous fetches of crafty politicians" (Hall)]. Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son [or concerning àÆì , properly "to," ad, has the meaning of de, after verbs of speaking. Cf. Gen_20:2; 1Sa_4:19, etc.; Jer_40:16. Gesenius remarks on the similar use of εἰς in the New Testament: Act_2:25; Eph_5:32]; for he is sick: thus and thus [cf. Jdg_18:4; 2Sa_11:25. æÉä is a form of æàÉú ] shalt thou say unto her, for it shall be, when she cometh in, that she shall feign herself to be another woman [Heb. make herself strange].
1Ki_14:6
And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound [Heb. voice] of her feet as she came in [ áÈÌàÈä should strictly be plural, in agreement with øÇâÀìÆéäÈ feet. It is in the singular, probably because the writer is thinking of the woman. But see Ewald, 317 a, and cf. 1Sa_4:15] at [Heb. in] the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? [Heb. makest thyself strange, as in verse 5] for [the Heb. "and" brings out the meaning much better, which is, "Thou art cleverly playing a part, and I all the while have a message," etc.] I am sent to thee with heavy [same word as in 1Ki_12:13; there translated rough] tidings. [Heb. omits. For the construction see Ewald, 284 c.]
1Ki_14:7
Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the Lord Cod of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people [compare 2Sa_12:8; Psa_78:70; 1Ki_16:2], and made thee prince over my people Israel. [God still claims dominion over Israel, despite the schism. They are still His people, and He is still their God],
1Ki_14:8
And rent [same word as in the former prophecy of Ahijah, 1Ki_11:30, 1Ki_11:31] the kingdom away from the house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David [who had been proposed to Jeroboam as his example, 1Ki_11:38. This name, as that of a prince of the rival house, would now be almost hateful to Jeroboam], who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart [cf. 1Ki_11:33, 1Ki_11:38; 1Ki_15:5], to do that only which was right in mine eyes;
1Ki_14:9
But hast done evil above all that were before thee [perhaps preceding kings are not meant, so much as judges—judices et duces Israelis (Le Clerc). Kings, however, are not excluded. Both Saul and Solomon had sinned (1 Samuel passim; 1Ki_11:5, 1Ki_11:6), though neither had set up an organized idolism and "made Israel to sin"]: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods [in defiance of the decalogue (Exo_20:4). Jeroboam, no doubt, insisted that his calves were not idols, but cherubic symbols. But God does not recognize this distinction. Practically they were "other gods," and so they are here called derisively], and molten images [the word is used of the golden calf, Exo_32:4, Exo_32:8. See also Exo_34:17; Deu_9:12; Jdg_17:3, Jdg_17:4. The "other gods" and the "molten images" are but two names for the same thing, viz; the calves of Bethel and Dan], to provoke me to anger [This was the result, not, of course, the object of Jeroboam's idolatrous worship], and hast cast me [The order of the Hebrew stamps the "me" as emphatic, "and ME hast thou cast, etc.] behind thy back [This strong expression only occurs here and in Eze_23:35. It forcibly expresses Jeroboam's, contemptuous disregard of God's revealed will. In Psa_1:1-6 :17, Neh_9:26, we have somewhat similar phrases]:
1Ki_14:10
Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house [The punishment fell on the house (1Ki_15:29), not, however, to the exclusion of the prime offender (2Ch_13:20; cf. 1Ki_21:29). The reader will observe that the judgments denounced against Jeroboam's sin, like all those of the Old Testament, are temporal. The recompense to come is completely ignored. These severe retributions are calculated and proportioned precisely as if there were no hereafter] of Jeroboam, and win cut off from Jeroboam him that pisseth against the wall [This phrase, which Rawlinson observes is confined to the period from David to Jehu, is by him, and generally, understood to mean "every male." (It is found in 1Sa_25:22; 1Ki_16:11; 1Ki_21:21; and 2Ki_9:8.) But it is noteworthy, as Gesenius has remarked, that this is not a habit of Eastern men. Every traveller in Egypt will confirm the remark of Herodotus (1Ki_2:35) on this subject, and the same applies to Palestine; i.e; the men sit down for this purpose, covered with their garments (Jdg_3:24; 1Sa_24:3). Some, consequently, have been led to suppose that the reference is to the dog, but animals would hardly share in the destruction of the royal house. Gesenius is probably right when he interprets it of boys. Thus understood, it lends additional meaning to the passages where it occurs. It expresses extermination, root and branch, man and boy], and him that is shut up and left in Israel [A proverbial expression (Deu_32:36; 1Ki_21:21; 2Ki_9:8), and involving some play upon words. It evidently means "men of all kinds," but as to the precise signification of the terms "shut up" and "left," there has been much difference of opinion, some
(1) interpreting them to mean respectively married and single also Keil, al.); others
(2) bond and free Gesen, al.); others
(3) precious and vile; and others again
(4) minors and those of age. (so Bähr, "All the male descendants, even the minors, were threatened with destruction.") On the whole perhaps (2) is preferable], and will take away the remnant [Heb. "exterminate after" (Gesen.) or "sweep after" (Keil). The first rendering is the more literal. The "after" is explained, not as Bähr ("as often as a new scion arises I will take it away"), but by the fact that one who expels another follows after him (Gesen.)] of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung [cf. 2Ki_9:1-37 :87; Job_20:7; Jer_8:2; Jer_9:22; Jer_16:4. This word expresses the loathing and contempt with which they would be treated], till it be an gone.
1Ki_14:11
Him that dieth of Jeroboam [Heb. to Jeroboam, i.e; belonging to, of the house of. "Of Jeroboam," conveys the idea of his seed. It is possible that his wife shared in the general doom], in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air [Heb. heavens, as in Gen_1:26; Gen_2:19; Gen_7:23, etc.] eat [This was a terrible threat to a Jew—that the dead body should fall a prey to dogs and wild beasts. Cf. Psa_79:2; Jer_7:33; Jer_16:4; Jer_34:20; Eze_29:5, etc. For him it had a factitious horror, because of the threatening of Deu_28:26; cf. Rev_19:17, Rev_19:18. It was, therefore, the climax of disgrace and misfortune; the greatest dishonour that could be offered to the dust and to the memory. Hence the threat of David (1Sa_17:46; cf. 1Sa_17:44); hence the devotion of Rizpah (2Sa_21:10), and the complaint of the Psalmist (Psa_79:2). Cf. Homer, Iliad Rev_1:4, Rev_1:5.
"Whose limbs, unburied on the naked shore,
Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore."
Dogs, it is well known, are the scavengers of Eastern cities. They exist there in great numbers, and in a semi-savage state, and the carcases of animals and carrion of all sorts are left for them to consume, which they do most effectually, roaming the streets all night (Psa_59:6, Psa_59:14) in search of garbage. Vultures and other birds of prey perform a similar office in the open country (Job_39:29, Job_39:30; Mat_24:28)]: for the Lord hath spoken it.
1Ki_14:12
Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child [Heb. then the child. This is the force of the ] å shall die. [This was "the sign that the Lord hath spoken" (Heb_13:3). The death of the child at the precise moment of the return should serve as an earnest and foretaste of the doom just denounced.]
1Ki_14:13
And an Israel shall mourn for him [no doubt he was heir to the throne] and bury him [mentioned to heighten the contrast. He should be the one exception to the rule of 1Ki_14:11]: for he [Heb. this] only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found [Heb, was found] some [Heb. a] good thing [The idea is not merely that he was an amiable youth, but the words imply some degree of piety, and almost suggest that he dissented from his father's ecclesiastical policy. "The Rabbins have a fable that he disobeyed his father's command to hinder people travelling to Jerusalem to keep the feasts, and that he even removed obstructions in the road" (Bähr)] toward the Lord God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam.
1Ki_14:14
Moreover [Heb. and] the Lord shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam [for the fulfilment, see 1Ki_15:29] that day: but what? even now. [Rawlinson only expresses a general feeling when he says that "no satisfactory sense can be obtained from the Hebrew text," and suggests that it is corrupt or defective. The passage, no doubt, is one of extreme difficulty, and inasmuch as the MSS. and Versions lend us no aid to its interpretation, affords scope for conjecture. The explanation I venture to submit may, I hope, contribute—it can hardly do more—to the elucidation of the text. I observe that in 1Ki_15:13 æÆä is used of Abijah, "this one alone," etc. I assume that it has the same import here, viz; "this one today," i.e; "this one dies or is cut off today," äÇéÌåÉí being understood as constantly, adverbially,—hodie (see, e.g; Gen_4:14; Gen_22:14; 1Ki_2:24). It would be a natural reflection to the prophet who had just been speaking of the excision of the house of Jeroboam, "one perishes today, judgment is already begun," i.e. As to the rest, for òÈúÈÌä I would read àÈúÈÌä , which has practically the same sound, and for which, consequently, òÇúÈÌä is sometimes substituted by the transcriber, as in 1Ki_1:18, 1Ki_1:20, and understand "And what wilt thou also do?" i.e; what will become of thee also? It is quite possible (1Ki_1:11) that Jeroboam's wife perished in the wholesale destruction of his house, as it is clear from the severe punishment assigned to her (1Ki_1:12) that she must have shared in his sin. The readiness with which she lent herself to this deceit (1Ki_1:4) also favours the supposition that she had approved his policy. She would then have survived her husband only two years. Keil's explanation, "cut off the house of Jeroboam this day," appears contrary to actual fact, while to interpret "that day" (with the A.V.) is contrary to Hebrew grammar.]
1Ki_14:15
For [Heb. And. The prophet now proceeds to state the share of the people in the punishment. They had acquiesced in the wicked innovations of Jeroboam and had joined in the worship of the calves] the Lord shall smite Israel, as a reed [ ÷ÈðÆä κάννα , canna, cane] is shaken [The construction is pregnant, viz; "shall smite Israel so that it shall be shaken as a reed," etc. (cf. Luk_7:24). "The image is very striking, for Israel was brought so low that every political influence bore it along" (Thenius)] in the water, and he shall root up [same word as in Deu_29:28; Jer_24:6] Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river [i.e; the Euphrates; see on 1Ki_4:24. This is the first clear prophecy of the captivity foreshadowed by Moses (Deu_4:27; Deu_28:25, Deu_28:36, Deu_28:63, Deu_28:64), and by Solomon (1Ki_8:46-50). For its fulfilment, see 2Ki_17:6; 2Ki_18:11, etc.], because they have made their groves [Heb. their Asherahs, i.e; images of Astarte. The translation "grove" after the LXX. ἄλσος , Vulg. lucus, is now abandoned. It is clear some sort of idol is intended by the term. This is evident from verse 23, where it is said the Asherahs (A.V. groves) were built "under every green tree" (cf. 2Ki_17:10); from 1Ki_15:13 (where see note); from 2Ki_23:6, which tells how Josiah "brought out the Asherahs out of the house of the Lord," and from the connexion in which the word is found with "molten images, carved images," etc. (2Ki_23:23; 2Ch_33:19; 2Ch_34:3, 2Ch_34:4; cf. also Jdg_3:7; 1Ki_18:19). They were doubtless effigies of Ashtoreth, made of wood (Deu_7:5; cf. 2Ki_23:6), planted erect in the ground (Deu_16:21), and were consecrated to her impure and revolting worship. It is clear from this passage that the frightful impurities of the Canaanitish races had subsisted in the new kingdom by the side of the new sacra. They had probably revived under Jeroboam's rule, having apparently been in abeyance since the time of Gideon], provoking the Lord to anger. [1Ki_14:22; 1Ki_15:30; 1Ki_21:22; 2Ki_17:11, 2Ki_17:17; 2Ki_22:17; Deu_4:25; Deu_32:16, Deu_32:21; Jdg_2:12; Psa_78:58.
1Ki_14:16
And he shall [or, that he should] give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. [These words became almost a formula (1Ki_15:33, 1Ki_15:34; 1Ki_16:2, 1Ki_16:19, etc.)]
1Ki_14:17
And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came [possibly she lingered for some time on the road, dreading to return] to Tirzah [Identified by Robinson and Van de Velds, with Telluzah, or Taluse, a place in the mountains, six miles north of Shechem. See Jos_12:24. Both these writers admit, however, that if this is indeed Tirzah, "all traces of royalty have disappeared." "With the exception of a few sepulchral caves, subterranean granaries, wells, and old hewn stones, nothing of ancient Tirzah remains in Taluse." Condor recognizes the name in the modern Teiasir—a village near Jezreel, in the Great Plain which "contains the exact letters of the Hebrew word, though the two last radicals are interchanged in position." "The beauty of the position… the ancient remains, and the old main road from the place to Shechem seem to agree well with the idea of its having once been a capital". Some of its "numerous rock-cut sepulchres," he thinks, may be the tombs of the early kings of Israel. It was famed for its beauty (Son_6:4), and for this reason, perhaps, among others (see on Jos_12:1) was selected by Jeroboam for his residence. It is not certain that it had taken the place of Shechem as the political capital]: and when she came [the Hebrew is much more graphic. "She came to… and the child died"] to the threshold of the door [Heb. house], the child died. [This statement seems at first sight to contradict that of verse 12, which says the child should die as she entered the city. But the palace may have been on the edge of the city (Rawl.), or the "city" may have been little more than the palace.]
1Ki_14:18
And they buried him [see on 1Ki_14:13]; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by the hand [see on 1Ki_2:25] of his servant Ahijah the prophet, [it was a token of the righteous judgment of God that the same prophet who announced Jeroboam's exaltation predicted his fall.]
1Ki_14:19
And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred [see 1Ki_14:30; 2Ch_13:2], and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. [As to this work, see Introduction, Section VI. The exact title is "the book of the words (or matters) of the days," i.e; the record of daily occurrences.]
1Ki_14:20
And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years [Bähr remarks that the exploits of this long reign find no mention in Scripture; the historian dwells exclusively on the sin, the consequences of which were of so much greater moment]: and he slept with his fathers [Jeroboam's end would appear to have been untimely. After his defeat by Abijah, we are told, "the Lord struck him, and he died," which may either mean that he died by a lingering disease (2Ch_21:18, 2Ch_21:19) or more suddenly (2Sa_12:15), but which certainly implies that he died "by the visitation of God." I have suggested elsewhere that the "stroke" was not improbably his son's death, which was at once so tragical and such a bitter foretaste of judgment to come. He may have "warred and reigned" (1Ki_14:19) after this event. He may also have steadily drooped to his grave], and Nadab his son reigned in his stead.
1. "At that time (1Ki_14:1)"—the time of 1Ki_13:33. The sickness of the child distinctly connects itself with the father's persistence in sin (see Deu_7:15; Deu_28:22, Deu_28:61). The hard and impenitent heart treasures to itself wrath (Rom_2:5). Warnings (1Ki_13:1-34.) have been unheeded: it is now the time for judgment. "If we sin wilfully," etc. (Heb_10:26, Heb_10:27). Deus kabet suas horas et moras. As "the fulness of time" gave us a Redeemer, so it will give us a Judge.
2. "Abijah, the son of Jeroboam, fell sick" (ib.) Observe—
(1) The pious son sickened, and died; the impenitent father and the worthless brother lived." Then sickness is no invariable proof of God's displeasure. "Behold, he whom thou lovest is sick" (Joh_11:3; cf. Heb_12:6). "Whom the gods love, die young." The fable of Ganymede is full of significance.
"Te rapuit coelum, tales nam gaudet habere
Illustres animas degeneresque fugit."
"Tis ever thus, 'tis ever thus with all that's best below,
The dearest, noblest, loveliest are always first to go;
The bird that sings the sweetest, the pine that crowns the rock,
The glory of the garden, the flower of the flock.
"'Tis ever thus, 'tis ever thus with creatures heavenly fair,
Too finely framed to bide the brunt more earthly creatures bear;
A little while they dwell with us, blest ministers of love,
Then spread their wings we had not seen, and seek their home above."
See also Longfellow's poem of "The Reaper and the Flowers."
(2) Sickness spares none. "Neither his dignity as a prince, nor his age as a young prince, nor his interest with heaven as a pious prince could exempt him from sickness" (M. Henry). As to the purpose of sickness, see Homiletics, pp. 12, 13. Perhaps this child, in whom was some good thing, only needed the discipline of sickness to make him fruitful in every good work. "After ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect," etc. (1Pe_5:10).
(3) The sickness of his son, while it was a judgment on Jeroboam, was a warning to Israel. "A cloud and darkness" to the one; it gave light to the other (Exo_14:20).
"Let us be patient! These severe afflictions
Not from the ground arise,
But oftentimes celestial benedictions
Assume this dark disguise."
3. "Get thee to Shiloh" (1Ki_13:2). But Shiloh was not one of his sanctuaries. Why not to Bethel? There were his priests and prophets (see on 1Ki_22:6). But Jeroboam only does what many more have clone since. He has one religion for health, another for sickness. Like Joab, he turns in adversity to the altar which he scorned in prosperity. He would fain share the consolations of those to whose admonitions he never listened. This sending to Ahijah is one result of the sickness of Abijah.
"'There is no God,' the foolish saith,
But none, 'there is no sorrow;'
And nature oft, in time of need,
The cry of faith will borrow.
Eyes that the preacher could not school
By wayside graves are raised,
And lips say, 'God be pitiful,'
Which ne'er said, 'God be praised.'"
4. "There is Ahijah the prophet" (ib.) Whom he has never troubled since the day when "he spake of him for king" (1Ki_11:31). "Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him" (Gen_40:1-23 :31). The ministers of Christ may well be content if they are sent for in times of sorrow and sickness. "Lord, in trouble have they visited thee" (Isa_26:16). We think scorn of those who only come near us when they want something. But how often do we serve God thus?
5. "Disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam" (ib.) Was ever grosser infatuation than this? Jeroboam, the most astute of politicians, the Machiavelli of the Old World, thinks that a prophet who can peer into futurity cannot penetrate his flimsy disguises. It never occurs to him that "the seer" can see through a woman's veil. Ahithophel is not the only statesman whose wisdom has been turned into foolishess (2Sa_15:31). What an illustration does this history afford of that saying of the Temanite, "He taketh the wise in their own craftiness" (Job_5:13; 1Co_3:19).
6. "He shall tell thee what shall become of the child" (1Ki_13:3). A strange object for such a journey. It is not, "what to do for the child;" still less, "what to do for the sin;" but simply, what should be the issue of the sickness. But that, time would show. It needed no ghost, no prophet to declare that. Che sara sara. Probably Jeroboam despaired of obtaining more. There are petitions "which for our unworthiness we dare not ask." Despair is not uncommonly the end of presumption. "Sin makes such a strangeness between God and man, that the guilty heart either thinks not of suing to God, or fears it" (Bp. Hall). Or was it fatalism prompted this inquiry? It has often been remarked that unbelief and superstition are very near of kin. Man cannot divest himself of all belief. Head and heart alike "abhor a vacuum." Those who will not believe in one God shall be the victims of strong delusions, and shall believe a lie (2Th_2:11).
"Hear the just law, the judgment of the skies,
He that hates truth shall be the dupe of lies;
And he that will be cheated to the last,
Delusions strong as hell shall bind him fast."
Witness Julian the Apostate, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Robert Owen, and many more. The Chinese people the air with demons and spirits of the dead. Infidel France thinks it unlucky to travel on a Friday. "There was never wicked man that was not infatuate" (Hall).
7. "His eyes were set" (1Ki_13:4). Yet "having his eyes open" (Num_24:4). Reason is "the candle of the Lord." Revelation is a "light to the feet, and a lamp to the path." Inspiration is as "eyes to the blind." "Visions of the Almighty need not bodily eyes, but are rather favoured by the want of them" (Henry). The eye is but the instrument of vision. Eyes of flesh are not the organs of the spirit.
8. "I am sent to thee with heavy tidings" (verse 6). Compare Eze_14:4. "I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols." Heavy tidings for heavy transgression. The sentence should be proportionate to the sin. "Whatsoever a man soweth," etc.
9. "I exalted thee from among the people" (Eze_14:7). It was Jeroboam's abuse of the singular favours he had received, and his forgetfulness of Divine benefits, that so much enhanced his sin. Cf. 1Ki_11:9; 1Sa_15:17 ("When thou wast little in thine own sight"); 2Sa_12:8, 2Sa_12:9; Psa_73:10 ("Took him from the sheepfolds," etc.); Luk_12:48 ("Unto whomsoever much is given," etc.); Luk_10:15 ("Exalted to heaven, thrust down to hell"). It is well to remember the rock whence we were hewn, and the hole of the pit whence we were digged (Isa_51:1).
10. "Other gods and molten images" (Luk_10:9). Men often disguise their sins under specious names. "Cherubic symbols" was perhaps Jeroboam's name for his calves. He would not allow that they were images or idols. Josephus happily reproduces the language he held to his subjects: "I suppose, my countrymen, you know that every place hath God in it," etc. (Ant. 8.8. 4). But God calls things as they really are. Longfellow truly says that "things are not what they seem." But they are what they seem to the Omniscient.
11. "And rent the kingdom away from the house of David," etc. Note the contrast between this language and the discourse which Ahijah held with Jeroboam once before. That meeting was full of promises; this message is fall of upbraidings. Then God declared that He would rend the kingdom; here He complains that He has done so, and done so in vain. Then He proposed David as Jeroboam's pattern—his name is mentioned six times—here He accuses the king of contemning that example. There He speaks of a "sure house;" here, of "taking away the remnant of the house," "as a man taketh away dung." Yet "the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." It is Jeroboam's sin has made this difference.
12. "I will bring evil on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off," etc. Compare 1Ki_12:27. "And they shall kill me." So the very means which Jeroboam took to secure his throne procured its overthrow. "The engineer is hoist with his own petard." If he could but have trusted God his kingdom would have lasted. But he must needs prop it up himself, with rotten supports, and leaning on these he brought it speedily to the ground.
13. "When thy feet enter into the city the child shall die" (1Ki_12:12). For the second time does a prophet give Jeroboam a sign the same day. And the second sign was hardly less significant than the first. For the mother was, in some sense, the cause of her child's death. Her step on the threshold was the signal for the severance of his "thin-spun life." It was not only a foretaste, consequently, of the doom awaiting the entire house; it was also a shadowing forth of the cause of that destruction. The sins of the father were visited upon the children,
14. "And all Israel shall mourn for him" (1Ki_12:13). The most, and the most genuine, tears are shed over the graves of children. (Is it that many of us, as we grow older, become less lovely and engaging, less desirable as companions?) Yet of this child it might justly have been said, "Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him" (Jer_22:10). For
(1) be was taken away from the evil to come (1Ki_12:11).
(2) He escaped the butchery of Baasha.
And he escaped, too, the danger of contamination and moral ruin. His life was not unduly shortened. Life is to be measured not by the beats of the pulse, but by the life work we have accomplished. "He being made perfect in a short time fulfilled a long time."
"It may be by the calendar of years
You are the elder man; but 'tis the sun
Of knowledge on the mind's dial shining bright
And chronicling deeds and thoughts that makes true time."
(3) The "good thing toward the Lord God of Israel" was an earnest of better things to come. "Little faith can enter heaven." "A little grace goes a great way with great people." Those that are good in bad times and places shine very bright in the eyes of God. A good child in the house of Jeroboam is a miracle of Divine grace" (Henry).
15. "For the Lord shall smite Israel" (1Ki_12:15). For if Jeroboam had "made Israel to sin," Israel had loved to have it so (1Ki_12:30). He could not have had his calves and sanctuaries without priests; and calves, sanctuaries, and priests would have been useless without worshippers. But as the king, so the people. Jeroboam was but a sample of many thousands of his subjects. As the chief offender, he was the first to suffer, and suffered most. But the nation that had shared his sin must suffer in its measure and turn.
16. "Beyond the river" (ib.) The judgments of God are governed by a lex talionis. Not only "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," but, "Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours" (Jer_5:19).
17. "And Jeroboam's wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah" (1Ki_12:17). It is hardly possible to realize the horror with which the princess, still wearing her disguise, heard the doom of her house, and who shall attempt to describe the agonies of that journey home. Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah (2Sa_21:10 sqq.), has been called the Mater Dolorosa of the Old Testament, but the title equally belongs to Jeroboam's wife. But why, let us ask, does she suffer such things? Why must this sword pierce her soul? Was it not because of her share in the sin? As she is included in the sentence against the house (1Ki_12:11, Heb.), it is probable that she had aided and abetted her husband in his irreligious and schismatic policy. And now she must drink of his cup: she must be the first to taste its bitterness; she must bring death to one child and tell of disgrace worse than death to the rest.
18. "And they buried him" (1Ki_12:18). In Tirzah the beautiful (Son_6:4), great lamentation was made over him. And indeed his seemed to be a case for tears. The heir to the throne, he was never to ascend it. The possessor of singular gifts and advantages, he was never to exercise the former or enjoy the latter. Had he lived, he might have effected a reformation, and suppressed the calf worship. But now the grave closes over him, and he is no more seen. What a proof this of a life to come! Otherwise there would be injustice with God, inequality in His dealings with men. "But the righteous live forevermore, their reward also is with the Lord." "We fools counted his life madness and his end to be without honour. How is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints" (Wis. 5:4, 5, 15).
I. THAT THE SINNER MAY BE SURPRISED IN HIS SEASON OF JUDGMENTS.
1. That there are such seasons is evident.
(1) Witness the great deluge (Gen_6:11-13). Also the rain of fire on the cities of the plain (Gen_19:13). The overthrow of nations. Signal visitations upon notorious sinners (Exo_9:13-15; 1Sa_28:15-19).
(2) Such were presages of the awful judgment to come (Mat_24:37 -89; 2Pe_2:4-6; Jud_1:5-7; Rev_18:4).
2. But all afflictions are not such retributions.
(1) Some are entailed upon us through the fall, and alike affect the penitent and impenitent (Gen_3:16-18; Job_5:17; 1Co_10:13).
(2) Some come to us through the wickedness and blundering of those around us. Many suffer, irrespective of their character, as when a ship is wrecked through the drunkenness of the master.
(3) Some are appointed or permitted for disciplinary and educational purposes. These are often amongst our greatest blessings.
(4) Sometimes we suffer for the benefit of others—vicariously. When this is voluntary it is very Christ like (see Psa_22:11; Col_1:24).
(5) Under all these we have a refuge in God (Psa_9:9, Psa_9:13; Psa_46:1).
3. These may be confounded.
(1) Had Jeroboam known that the mercy of God had reached its limit, and that the season of retribution had set in, he might have spared his queen her journey to Shiloh.
(2) But what else could he have expected? Was he not obstinately wedded to his sins? Had he not before him the history of Saul? (1Sa_28:15-19.)
(3) Men still, in our day, presume upon the mercy of God to their destruction. Eminently the ease with those who defer repentance. Learn further—
II. THAT A SINNER MAY SEEK THE LORD TO NO GOOD PURPOSE. This happens—
1. When the end sought is unprofitable.
(1) Such was the case with Jeroboam. His inquiry should have been, not, "What shall become of the child?" but, "How may the anger of God be averted?" (Compare 2Sa_12:16, 2Sa_12:17.) But he was not prepared to repent of his sin.
(9) His inquiry was one of curiosity as to the future. Similar curiosity was manifested by Saul under similar circumstances. It is unseemly for a sinner to pry into Divine mysteries rather than seek the salvation of his soul
2. When the spirit of the seeker is improper.
(1) He did not, indeed, seek his calves (compare 2Ki_1:2). He rather sought Ahijah, because the spirit of prophecy was with him (1Ki_14:2). But he had no such faith in his calves.
(2) Why, then, did he not renounce them? He had reasons of worldly policy against this (see 1Ki_12:20-28). He was therefore a deceiver of the people. Hence he would have his queen disguise herself. So several of the Popes were known to have been infidels.
(3) So were he and his dupes doomed to perish together (see Mat_15:14; 2Th_2:9-12; 1Ti_4:1, 1Ti_4:2).
3. When the manner of the search is unworthy.
(1) He paid a respect to the man of God. This was the meaning of his present (see 1Sa_9:7, 1Sa_9:8). Hence such gifts are caned blessings.
(2) Even Jacob would eat of his son's venison before he proceeded to bless him (see Gen_27:4, Gen_27:19, Gen_27:25, Gen_27:31; see also 1Ki_17:11).
(3) So are God's blessings and sacrifices offered to Him commonly associated (see Gen_8:20-22; Gen_9:1-17). All His blessings come to us through the sacrifice of Christ; and especially so when we, by faith, present Christ to Him.
(4) But here was no sacrifice; and the value of the gift was small What were a few loaves, a few cakes, and a cruse of honey as a gift from a king! (Compare 2Ki_5:5; 2Ki_8:9.) The meanness of his present was another reason why he would have his queen disguised.
What an argument for early piety is here! Surrender to Christ before you are overtaken by a season of judgments. How admonitory is this subject to the effect that prayer should be true; that we should seek the right thing, in the right spirit, and in the right manner!—J.A.M.
1Ki_14:4-6
I. SIN SEEKS DISGUISES.
1. Truth needs none.
(1) It is naturally open. "He that doeth truth cometh to the light."
(2) It has nothing to be ashamed of. It is self-consistent, harmonious, lovely.
(3) It ought to be displayed; its influence is elevating (Php_2:15, Php_2:16). The saint who hides his light wrongs his race.
(4) Churches are constituted that Christians should, to the best advantage, witness for Christ. They are the candlesticks (see Mat_5:14-16; Rev_1:20). Note: Christians should discourage the eccentricity that would lead them away from the Churches.
2. It is otherwise with sin.
(1) It is naturally close. The sinner has as instinctive an aversion to the light as the owl and the bat, his types.
(2) It has everything to be ashamed of. It is self-contradictory, discordant, frightfully and monstrously ugly.
(3) It ought, by the impenitent sinner, to be concealed. For he could only desire to disclose it in order to infect and demoralize others.
(4) But the true should drag it to the light, that its deformity might be seen, abhorred, and execrated.
II. GOD SEES THROUGH ALL DISGUISES.
1. Nature itself teaches this.
(1) He that formed the eye, can He not see? (Exo_4:10-12; Psa_94:9.)
(2) He that formed the mind, can He not perceive? (1Ch_28:9; Psa_7:9; Pro_15:11; Rev_2:23.)
2. It is evinced in the visions of prophecy.
(1) How far-reaching are those visions! The end was seen from the beginning. The instalments fulfilled certify the remainder.
(2) How deep their insight into the secret workings of the heart! The secret ambition of Jeroboam, when he was yet the servant of Solomon, was read by Ahijah (1Ki_11:37). Now he sees through the disguise of the queen and reads its motives.
3. This should be considered.
(1) How foolish are disguises where God is concerned! And where is God not concerned?
(2) Those who would deceive God only deceive themselves.
(3) What disclosures will the day of judgment make! (1Co_3:13; 1Co_4:5.) What a day of trembling to the hypocrite!
III. GOD CAN OPEN THE EYES OF THE BLIND.
1. Literally.
(1) Miracles upon the sight were occasionally wrought in ancient times (Gen_19:11; 2Ki_6:18).
(2) Many such were wrought by Christ.
2. Spiritually.
(1) The prophets were gifted with spiritual vision. They were therefore called seers. Their prophecies were called visions.
(2) Such vision had Ahijah. His natural sight had now failed him (1Ki_14:4), yet he saw Jeroboam's queen before she came into his presence, saw through her disguises, and discerned the purpose of her visit.
(3) Spiritual vision is not exclusively the privilege of prophets.
(a) God gives this to the sinner when He discovers to him the exceeding sinfulness of sin. God strips him of the disguises by which he would deceive himself, and exhibits his own life likeness to his conscience.
(b) God gives it to believers, when He witnesses His pardon and their adoption, to their spirits. (See Act_26:17, Act_26:18; Eph_1:18.) Have your eyes been opened? Pray God that Satan may never succeed in throwing his dust into them.—J.A.M.
1Ki_14:7-11
I. PRIVILEGES INVOLVE RESPONSIBILITIES. Thus—
1. Special favour calls for special gratitude.
(1) Jeroboam was "exalted from among the people." He was "an Ephrathite of Zereda," an obscure place, mentioned once, and that only in connection with his birth (ch1Ki_11:26). The names of his parents also had remained in obscurity but for the figure he cut in history.
(2) He was made "prince" over the "people of God." This was a splendid distinction. A people is great, not through its number or the extent of its territories, but from its virtues (see Deu_7:6; Deu_14:2; Deu_26:18, Deu_26:19). What an influence has that people exerted upon human destinies!
(3) The kingdom rent from the house of David was given to him. Jeroboam, then, was placed in succession to that David who had led the armies of Israel to victory! Also to that Solomon who had built the temple, and who, in the earlier part of his career, fined the world with the fame of surpassing wisdom!
2. The favored are compared with their peers.
(1) Jeroboam was a compeer to David. Both were need from humble station—David from the sheep, Jeroboam from the army (1Ki_11:28). Both ascended the throne of Israel—founded dynasties.
(2) But how do they compare? "David kept the commandments of God"—followed Him "with all his heart." This did not Jeroboam. Melancholy record, he did nothing for God!
3. They are contrasted with their peers.
(1) Jeroboam "had done evil above all that were before him." More than Saul, who never worshipped idols. More than Solomon, who did not make Israel to sin.
(2) Jeroboam made "other gods; and" (or even) "molten images." Note: He intended his calves to represent the God of Israel; but the God of Israel Himself calls them "other gods." So are the images of Antichrist other gods though baptized with Christian names. This was worse than the idolatry of Solomon. The caricaturing of the true God is more offensive to Him than the worshipping of His creatures. Let the worshippers of barbarous pictures of the Holy Trinity, in which the Almighty is pourtrayed as a decrepit old man, and such like, seriously consider this.
(3) Jeroboam is described as having "cast" the God of Israel "behind his back." What a startling figure! How descriptive of the sin of those who now neglect God!
II. RESPONSIBILITIES ABUSED PROVOKE JUDGMENTS. Amongst these may he mentioned—
1. The bitter sense of wasted opportunity.
(1) Jeroboam is reminded that he once had the grand chance of making for himself a "sure house like David" (see 1Ki_11:38). What golden opportunities may we not have wasted!
(2) That though the more glorious chance was missed and lost, he had then a gracious season of warnings, which also he let slip. (See events recorded 1Ki_13:1-34.) This respite improved might have averted, and would have mitigated, the severity of the judgments impending (compare 1Ki_21:29).
2. The knowledge that the day of vengeance has set in.
(1) An admonition of such a day was implied in the earlier prophecy of Ahijah, in the judgments then denounced against the house of David for the sin of Solomon (1Ki_11:30-38).
(2) This admonition was declared explicitly in the message of the man of God from Judah, and solemnly impressed by the signs attending and following (1Ki_13:1-34.)
(3) Now Ahijah announces that these judgments are taking effect. But even now, had Jeroboam come to God in the spirit of repentance, though his sin is "unto death," yet might he save his soul. It is hard now to break a chain so riveted as that is by which he has bound himself. No repentante being evinced, the knell of doom sounds forth like the echoes of the closing door of Noah's ark, which announced mercy fled and wrath begun.
3. The severity of the sentence.
(1) The honour of the house of Jeroboam is to be brought down to ignominy.
(2) The carcases of members of this family are to be consumed by carrion feeders. Such are the swords of the wicked (compare Gen_15:11; Jer_34:18-20). Whether by the sword of Baasha, or literally, after that sword had done its part, the words of Ahijah came true (see 1Ki_15:29). "The doom of the house of Jeroboam was a figure of that of the house of this man of sin (see Rev_19:17, Rev_19:18). God knows the proud afar off. But He gives grace to the humble.—J.A.M.
1Ki_14:12-14
I. HEAVY TIDINGS RESPECTING ABIJAH.
1. As to the issue of his illness.
(1) "The child shall die." This is a direct answer to the question with which the royal messenger was charged (1Ki_14:3). Here was the withering of a limb of Jeroboam's family answering to the sign of the withering of his arm (see 1Ki_13:4).
(2) The king does not now ask for the restoration of the child as he had done for the restoration of his arm (1Ki_13:6). He did not even ask, in time, that the judgment might be averted. How could he, without repenting of his sin? Note: The descents of depravity, like those of natural gravitation, are in accelerating degrees.
(3) This judgment is the signal that the season of retributions has now fairly set in. What a horror to wake up to such a conviction! "Be sure your sin will find you out."
2. As to the near approach of his death.
(1) "When thy feet enter into the city." Every step of the queen's advance over that twelve miles from Shiloh to Tirzah measured a stride of death towards his victim. Do we sufficiently realize the fact that this is the case with us in passing through the journey of life?
(2) What must have been the conflict in the heart of the queen? Maternal affection would urge her steps with speed that she might see her son alive. Yet was it a race with death; and death was first at the palace. That monster overtakes the swiftest. If he passes one it is to strike another, and so that the recoil of his sting may wound the trembling heart.
3. As to the circumstances attending. "All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him;" but for him only of the royal family, "because in him there is found some good thing towards the Lord God of Israel." Hence learns
(1) God's punishments are discriminative. He does not overlook the good in the evil.
(2) Yet the good suffer with the evil. Abijah dies for the sin of his father. Christ dies for the sin of the world. But in His death is life to the believer.
(3) Still the good suffer for their good. They are taken away from evil to come. Had Abijah lived he might have been drawn into his father's sin. God often takes them soonest whom He loves best.
(4) The evil suffer in the good, Jeroboam had reason to mourn the loss of the best of his family. So had Israel, since the succession would now open to a wicked prince. Note: We should pray for the preservation of virtuous and useful lives. Especially so when such are found in seats of power and influence.
II. HEAVY TIDINGS RESPECTING HIS SURVIVORS.
1. They are devoted to extermination.
(1) This as a general fact was already known.
(2) It is now published with additional circumstance. The agent that shall effect it is one who shall himself mount the throne of Israel.
(3) This was fulfilled to the letter (see 1Ki_15:27-30).
2. Judgment will come speedily.
(1) Some think this exclamation of the prophet, "But what? Even now" arose from his having seen that this would be the case.
(2) So it proved. Within two years Jeroboam died. He was succeeded by Nadab, who two years later was slain by Baasha. In that time also, and by the same hand, the predicted extermination was completed.
(3) "The wicked do not live out half their days." This is true of dynasties as of individuals. The dynasty of Jeroboam lasted only four and twenty years.—J.A.M.
1Ki_14:15-16
I. HE WAS HENCEFORTH TO BE TROUBLED IN HIS OWN LAND. He is there to stagger and tremble under the stroke of God—
1. "As a r