mh_parser/vol_split/12 - 2Kings/Chapter 1.xml

<div2 id="iiKi.ii" n="ii" next="iiKi.iii" prev="iiKi.i" progress="61.94%" title="Chapter I">
<h2 id="iiKi.ii-p0.1">S E C O N D   K I N G S</h2>
<h3 id="iiKi.ii-p0.2">CHAP. I.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="iiKi.ii-p1">We here find Ahaziah, the genuine son and
successor of Ahab, on the throne of Israel. His reign continued not
two years; he died by a fall in his own house, of which, after the
mention of the revolt of Moab (<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.1" parsed="|2Kgs|1|1|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:1">ver.
1</scripRef>), we have here an account. I. The message which, on
that occasion, he sent to the god of Ekron, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.2" parsed="|2Kgs|1|2|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:2">ver. 2</scripRef>. II. The message he received from the
God of Israel, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.3-2Kgs.1.8" parsed="|2Kgs|1|3|1|8" passage="2Ki 1:3-8">ver. 3-8</scripRef>.
III. The destruction of the messengers he sent to seize the
prophet, once and again, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.9-2Kgs.1.12" parsed="|2Kgs|1|9|1|12" passage="2Ki 1:9-12">ver.
9-12</scripRef>. IV. His compassion to, and compliance with, the
third messenger, upon his submission, and the delivery of the
message to the king himself, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.13-2Kgs.1.16" parsed="|2Kgs|1|13|1|16" passage="2Ki 1:13-16">ver.
13-16</scripRef>. IV. The death of Ahaziah, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.17-2Kgs.1.18" parsed="|2Kgs|1|17|1|18" passage="2Ki 1:17,18">ver. 17, 18</scripRef>. In the story we may observe
how great the prophet looks and how little the prince.</p>
<scripCom id="iiKi.ii-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1" parsed="|2Kgs|1|0|0|0" passage="2Ki 1" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="iiKi.ii-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.1-2Kgs.1.8" parsed="|2Kgs|1|1|1|8" passage="2Ki 1:1-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Kgs.1.1-2Kgs.1.8">
<h4 id="iiKi.ii-p1.9">Ahaziah's Sickness. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iiKi.ii-p1.10">b. c.</span> 896.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iiKi.ii-p2">1 Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the
death of Ahab.   2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in
his upper chamber that <i>was</i> in Samaria, and was sick: and he
sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baal-zebub the
god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease.   3 But
the angel of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiKi.ii-p2.1">Lord</span> said to Elijah
the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of
Samaria, and say unto them, <i>Is it</i> not because <i>there
is</i> not a God in Israel, <i>that</i> ye go to enquire of
Baal-zebub the god of Ekron?   4 Now therefore thus saith the
<span class="smallcaps" id="iiKi.ii-p2.2">Lord</span>, Thou shalt not come down from
that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And
Elijah departed.   5 And when the messengers turned back unto
him, he said unto them, Why are ye now turned back?   6 And
they said unto him, There came a man up to meet us, and said unto
us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him,
Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiKi.ii-p2.3">Lord</span>, <i>Is it</i>
not because <i>there is</i> not a God in Israel, <i>that</i> thou
sendest to enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou
shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but
shalt surely die.   7 And he said unto them, What manner of
man <i>was he</i> which came up to meet you, and told you these
words?   8 And they answered him, <i>He was</i> a hairy man,
and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It
<i>is</i> Elijah the Tishbite.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p3">We have here Ahaziah, the wicked king of
Israel, under God's rebukes both by his providence and by his
prophet, by his rod and by his word.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p4">I. He is crossed in his affairs. How can
those expect to prosper that <i>do evil in the sight of the
Lord,</i> and <i>provoke him to anger?</i> When he rebelled against
God, and revolted from his allegiance to him, Moab rebelled against
Israel, and revolted from the subjection that had long paid to the
kings of Israel, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.1" parsed="|2Kgs|1|1|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:1"><i>v.</i>
1</scripRef>. The Edomites that bordered on Judah, and were
tributaries to the kings of Judah, still continued so, as we find
in the chapter before (<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p4.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.22.47" parsed="|1Kgs|22|47|0|0" passage="1Ki 22:47"><i>v.</i>
47</scripRef>), till, in the wicked reign of Joram, they broke that
yoke (<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p4.3" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.8.22" parsed="|2Kgs|8|22|0|0" passage="2Ki 8:22"><i>ch.</i> viii. 22</scripRef>)
as the Moabites did now. If men break their covenants with us, and
neglect their duty, we must reflect upon our breach of covenant
with God, and the neglect of our duty to him. Sin weakens and
impoverishes us. We shall hear of the Moabites, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p4.4" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.3.5" parsed="|2Kgs|3|5|0|0" passage="2Ki 3:5"><i>ch.</i> iii. 5</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p5">II. He is seized with sickness in body, not
from any inward cause, but by a severe accident. <i>He fell down
through a lattice,</i> and was much bruised with the fall; perhaps
it threw him into a fever, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.2" parsed="|2Kgs|1|2|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>. Whatever we go, there is but a step between us and
death. A man's house is his castle, but not to secure him against
the judgments of God. The cracked lattice is a fatal to the son,
when God pleases to make it so, as the bow drawn at a venture was
to the father. Ahaziah would not attempt to reduce the Moabites,
lest he should perish in the field of battle: but he is not safe,
though he tarry at home. Royal palaces do not always yield firm
footing. The snare is laid for the sinner in the ground where he
thinks least of it, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Job.18.9-Job.18.10" parsed="|Job|18|9|18|10" passage="Job 18:9,10">Job xviii. 9,
10</scripRef>. The whole creation, which groans under the man's
sin, will at length sink and break under the weight, like this
lattice. He is never safe that has God for his enemy.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p6">III. In his distress he sends messengers to
enquire of the god Ekron whether he should recover or no, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.2" parsed="|2Kgs|1|2|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>. And here, 1. His enquiry
was very foolish: <i>Shall I recover?</i> Even nature itself would
rather have asked, "What means may I use that I may recover?" But
as one solicitous only to know his fortune, not to know his duty,
his question is only this, <i>Shall I recover?</i> to which a
little time would give an answer. We should be more thoughtful what
will become of us after death than how, or when, or where, we shall
die, and more desirous to be told how we may conduct ourselves well
in our sickness, and get good to our souls by it, than whether we
shall recover from it. 2. His sending to Baal-zebub was very
wicked; to make a dead and dumb idol, perhaps newly erected (for
idolaters were fond of new gods), his oracle, was not less a
reproach to his reason than to his religion. Baal-zebub, which
signifies <i>the lord of a fly,</i> was one of their Baals that
perhaps gave his answers either by the power of the demons or the
craft of the priests, with a humming noise, like that of a great
fly, or that had (as they fancied) rid their country of the swarms
of flies wherewith it was infested, or of some pestilential disease
brought among them by flies. Perhaps this dunghill-deity was as
famous then as the oracle of Delphos was, long afterwards, in
Greece. In the New Testament <i>the prince of the devils</i> is
called <i>Beel-zebub</i> (<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.12.24" parsed="|Matt|12|24|0|0" passage="Mt 12:24">Matt. xii.
24</scripRef>), for the gods of the Gentiles were devils, and this
perhaps grew to be one of the most famous.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p7">IV. Elijah, by direction from God, meets
the messengers, and turns them back with an answer that shall save
them the labour of going to Ekron. Had Ahaziah sent for Elijah,
humbled himself, and begged his prayers, he might have had an
answer of peace; but if he send to the god of Ekron, instead of the
God of Israel, this, like Saul's consulting the witch, shall fill
the measure of his iniquity, and bring upon him a sentence of
death. Those that will not enquire of the word of God for their
comfort shall be made to hear it, whether they will or not, to
their amazement.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p8">1. He faithfully reproves his sin
(<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p8.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.3" parsed="|2Kgs|1|3|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>): <i>Is it not
because there is not</i> (that is, because you think there is not)
a God in Israel (<i>because there is no God, none in Israel,</i> so
it may be read), <i>that you go to enquire of Baal-zebub, the god
of Ekron,</i> a despicable town of the Philistines (<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p8.2" osisRef="Bible:Zech.9.7" parsed="|Zech|9|7|0|0" passage="Zec 9:7">Zech. ix. 7</scripRef>), long since vanquished by
Israel? Here, (1.) The sin was bad enough, giving that honour to
the devil which is due to God alone, which was done as much by
their enquiries as by their sacrifices. Note, It is a very wicked
thing, upon any occasion or pretence whatsoever, to consult with
the devil. This wickedness reigned in the heathen world (<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p8.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.47.12-Isa.47.13" parsed="|Isa|47|12|47|13" passage="Isa 47:12,13">Isa. xlvii. 12, 13</scripRef>) and remains
too much even in the Christian world, and the devil's kingdom is
supported by it. (2.) The construction which Elijah, in God's name,
puts upon it, makes it much worse: "It is because you think not
only that the God of Israel is not able to tell you, but that there
is no God at all in Israel, else you would not send so far for a
divine answer." Note, A practical and constructive atheism is the
cause and malignity of our departures from God. Surely we think
there is <i>no God in Israel</i> when we live at large, make flesh
our arm, and seek a portion in the things of this world.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p9">2. He plainly reads his doom: Go, tell him
<i>he shall surely die,</i> <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.4" parsed="|2Kgs|1|4|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:4"><i>v.</i>
4</scripRef>. "Since he is so anxious to know his fate, this is it;
let him make the best of it." The certain fearful looking for of
judgment and indignation which this message must needs cause cannot
but cut him to the heart.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p10">V. The message being delivered to him by
his servants, he enquires of them by whom it was sent to him, and
concludes, by their description of him, that it must be Elijah,
<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.7-2Kgs.1.8" parsed="|2Kgs|1|7|1|8" passage="2Ki 1:7,8"><i>v.</i> 7, 8</scripRef>. For, 1.
His dress was the same that he had seen him in, in his father's
court. He was clad in a hairy garment, and had a leathern girdle
about him, was plain and homely in his garb. John Baptist, the
Elias of the New Testament, herein resembled him, for his clothes
were made of hair cloth, and he was girt with a leathern girdle,
<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p10.2" osisRef="Bible:Matt.3.4" parsed="|Matt|3|4|0|0" passage="Mt 3:4">Matt. iii. 4</scripRef>. He that was
clothed with the Spirit despised all rich and gay clothing. 2. His
message was such as he used to deliver to his father, to whom he
never prophesied good, but evil. Elijah is one of those witnesses
that still torment the inhabitants of the earth, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p10.3" osisRef="Bible:Rev.11.10" parsed="|Rev|11|10|0|0" passage="Re 11:10">Rev. xi. 10</scripRef>. He that was a thorn in Ahab's
eyes will be so in the eyes of his son while he treads in the steps
of his father's wickedness; and he is ready to cry out, as his
father did, <i>Hast thou found me, O my enemy?</i> Let sinners
consider that the word which <i>took hold of their fathers</i> is
still as quick and powerful as ever. See <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p10.4" osisRef="Bible:Zech.1.6 Bible:Heb.4.12" parsed="|Zech|1|6|0|0;|Heb|4|12|0|0" passage="Zec 1:6,Heb 4:12">Zech. i. 6; Heb. iv. 12</scripRef>.</p>
</div><scripCom id="iiKi.ii-p0.3" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.9-2Kgs.1.18" parsed="|2Kgs|1|9|1|18" passage="2Ki 1:9-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:2Kgs.1.9-2Kgs.1.18">
<h4 id="iiKi.ii-p10.6">Fire Called from Heaven by
Elijah. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iiKi.ii-p10.7">b. c.</span> 896.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="iiKi.ii-p11">9 Then the king sent unto him a captain of fifty
with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the
top of a hill. And he spake unto him, Thou man of God, the king
hath said, Come down.   10 And Elijah answered and said to the
captain of fifty, If I <i>be</i> a man of God, then let fire come
down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came
down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.   11
Again also he sent unto him another captain of fifty with his
fifty. And he answered and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath
the king said, Come down quickly.   12 And Elijah answered and
said unto them, If I <i>be</i> 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.   13
And he sent again a captain of the third fifty with his fifty. And
the third captain of fifty went up, and came and fell on his knees
before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I
pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants,
be precious in thy sight.   14 Behold, there came fire down
from heaven, and burnt up the two captains of the former fifties
with their fifties: therefore let my life now be precious in thy
sight.   15 And the angel of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiKi.ii-p11.1">Lord</span> said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not
afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king.
  16 And he said unto him, Thus saith the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiKi.ii-p11.2">Lord</span>, Forasmuch as thou hast sent messengers to
enquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, <i>is it</i> not because
<i>there is</i> no God in Israel to enquire of his word? therefore
thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up,
but shalt surely die.   17 So he died according to the word of
the <span class="smallcaps" id="iiKi.ii-p11.3">Lord</span> which Elijah had spoken.
And Jehoram reigned in his stead in the second year of Jehoram the
son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah; because he had no son.   18
Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, <i>are</i> they
not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of
Israel?</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p12">Here, I. The king issues out a warrant for
the apprehending of Elijah. If the God of Ekron had told him he
should die, it is probable he would have taken it quietly; but now
that a prophet of the Lord tells him so, reproving him for his sin
and reminding him of the God of Israel, he cannot bear it. So far
is he from making any good improvement of the warning given him
that he is enraged against the prophet; neither his sickness, nor
the thoughts of death, made any good impressions upon him, nor
possessed him with any fear of God. No external alarms will startle
and soften secure sinners, but rather exasperate them. Did the king
think Elijah a prophet, a true prophet? Why then durst he persecute
him? Did he think him a common person? What occasion was there to
send such a force, in order to seize him? Thus a band of men must
take our Lord Jesus.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p13">II. The captain that was sent with his
fifty soldiers found Elijah on the top of a hill (some think
Carmel), and commanded him, in the king's name, to surrender
himself, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.9" parsed="|2Kgs|1|9|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. Elijah
was now so far from absconding, as formerly, into the close
recesses of a cave, that he makes a bold appearance on the top of a
hill; experience of God's protection makes him more bold. The
captain calls him <i>a man of God,</i> not that he believed him to
be so, or reverenced him a such a one, but because he was commonly
called so. Had he really looked upon him as a prophet, he would not
have attempted to make him his prisoner; and, had he thought him
entrusted with the word of God, he would not have pretended to
command him with the word of a king.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p14">III. Elijah calls for fire from heaven, to
consume this haughty daring sinner, not to secure himself (he could
have done that some other way), nor to avenge himself (for it was
not his own cause that he appeared and acted in), but to prove his
mission, and to <i>reveal the wrath of God</i> from <i>heaven
against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.</i> This
captain had, in scorn, called him <i>a man of God:</i> "If I be
so," says Elijah, "thou shalt pay dearly for making a jest of it."
He valued himself upon his commission (the king has said, <i>Come
down</i>), but Elijah will let him know that the God of Israel is
superior to the king of Israel and has a greater power to enforce
his commands. It was not long since Elijah had fetched fire from
heaven, to consume the sacrifice (<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p14.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.17.38" parsed="|1Kgs|17|38|0|0" passage="1Ki 17:38">1
Kings xvii. 38</scripRef>), in token of God's acceptance of that
sacrifice as an atonement for the sins of the people; but, they
having slighted that, now the fire falls, not on the sacrifice, but
on the sinners themselves, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p14.2" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.10" parsed="|2Kgs|1|10|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:10"><i>v.</i>
10</scripRef>. See here, 1. What an interest the prophets had in
heaven; what the Spirit of God in them demanded the power of God
effected. Elijah did but speak, and it was done. He that formerly
had fetched water from heaven now fetches fire. O the power of
prayer! <i>Concerning the work of my hands, command you me,</i>
<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p14.3" osisRef="Bible:Isa.14.11" parsed="|Isa|14|11|0|0" passage="Isa 14:11">Isa. xiv. 11</scripRef>. 2. What an
interest heaven had in the prophets! God was always ready to plead
their cause, and avenge the injuries done to them; kings shall
still be <i>rebuked for their sakes,</i> and charged to do <i>his
prophets no harm;</i> one Elijah is more to God than 10,000
captains and their fifties. Doubtless Elijah did this by a divine
impulse, and yet our Saviour would not allow the disciples to draw
it into a precedent, <scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p14.4" osisRef="Bible:Luke.9.54" parsed="|Luke|9|54|0|0" passage="Lu 9:54">Luke ix.
54</scripRef>. They were now not far from the place where Elias did
this act of justice upon provoking Israelites, and would needs, in
like manner, call for fire upon those provoking Samaritans. "No,"
says Christ, "by no means, <i>you know not what manner of spirit
you are of,</i>" that is, (1.) "You do not consider <i>what manner
of spirit,</i> as disciples, you are called to, and how different
from that of the Old-Testament dispensation; it was agreeable
enough to that dispensation of terror, and of the letter, for Elias
to call for fire, but the dispensation of the Spirit and of grace
will by no means allow it." (2.) "You are not aware what manner of
spirit you are, upon this occasion, actuated by, and how different
from that of Elias: he did it in holy zeal, you in passion; he was
concerned for God's glory, you for your own reputation only." God
judges men's practices by their principles, and his judgment is
according to truth.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p15">IV. This is repeated a second time; would
one think it? 1. Ahaziah sends, a second time, to apprehend Elijah
(<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.11" parsed="|2Kgs|1|11|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>), as if he
were resolved not to be baffled by omnipotence itself. Obstinate
sinners must be convinced and conquered, at last, by the fire of
hell, for fire from heaven, it seems, will not subdue them. 2.
Another captain is ready with his fifty, who, in his blind rage
against the prophet, and his blind obedience to the king, dares
engage in that service which had been fatal to the last
undertakers. This is as impudent and imperious as the last, and
more in haste; not only, "<i>Come down quietly,</i> and do not
struggle," but without taking any notice of what had been done, he
says, "<i>Come down quickly,</i> and do not trifle, the king's
business requires haste; come down, or I will fetch thee down." 3.
Elijah relents not, but calls for another flash of lightning, which
instantly lays this captain and his fifty dead upon the spot. Those
that will sin like others must expect to suffer like them; God is
inflexibly just.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p16">V. The third captain humbled himself and
cast himself upon the mercy of God and Elijah. It does not appear
that Ahaziah ordered him to do so (his stubborn heart is as hard as
ever; so regardless is he of the terrors of the Lord, so little
affected with the manifestations of his wrath, and withal so
prodigal of the lives of his subjects, that he sends a third with
the same provoking message to Elijah), but he took warning by the
fate of his predecessors, who, perhaps, lay dead before his eyes;
and, instead of summoning the prophet down, fell down before him,
and begged for his life and the lives of his soldiers,
acknowledging their own evil deserts and the prophet's power
(<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.13-2Kgs.1.14" parsed="|2Kgs|1|13|1|14" passage="2Ki 1:13,14"><i>v.</i> 13, 14</scripRef>):
<i>Let my life be precious in thy sight.</i> Note, There is nothing
to be got by contending with God: if we would prevail with him, it
must be by supplication; if we would not fall before God, we must
bow before him; and those are wise for themselves who learn
submission from the fatal consequences of the obstinacy of
others.</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p17">VI. Elijah does more than grant the request
of this third captain. God is not so severe with those that stand
it out against him but he is as ready to show mercy to those that
repent and submit to him; never any found it in vain to cast
themselves upon the mercy of God. This captain, not only has his
life spared, but is permitted to carry his point: Elijah, being so
commanded by the angel, <i>goes down with him to the king,</i>
<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.15" parsed="|2Kgs|1|15|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>. Thus he shows
that he before refused to come, not because he feared the king or
court, but because he would not be imperiously compelled, which
would lessen the honour of his master; he <i>magnifies his
office.</i> He comes boldly to the king, and tells him to his face
(let him take it as he may) what he had before sent to him
(<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.16" parsed="|2Kgs|1|16|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>), that he
shall surely and shortly die; he mitigates not the sentence, either
for fear of the king's displeasure or in pity to his misery. The
God of Israel has condemned him, let him send to see whether the
god of Ekron can deliver him. So thunder-struck is Ahaziah with
this message, when it comes from the prophet's own mouth, that
neither he nor any of those about him durst offer him any violence,
nor so much as give him an affront; but out of that den of lions he
comes unhurt, like Daniel. Who can harm those whom God will
shelter?</p>
<p class="indent" id="iiKi.ii-p18"><i>Lastly,</i> The prediction is
accomplished in a few days. Ahaziah died (<scripRef id="iiKi.ii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.1.17" parsed="|2Kgs|1|17|0|0" passage="2Ki 1:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>), and, dying childless, left his
kingdom to his brother Jehoram. His father reigned wickedly
twenty-two years, he not two. Sometimes the <i>wicked live, become
old, yea, are mighty in power;</i> but those who therefore promise
themselves prosperity in impiety may perhaps find themselves
deceived; for (as bishop Hall observes here), "Some sinners live
long, to aggravate their judgment, others die soon, to hasten it;"
but it is certain that evil pursues sinners, and, sooner or later,
it will overtake them; nor will any thing fill the measure sooner
than that complicated iniquity of Ahaziah—honouring the devil's
oracles and hating God's oracles.</p>
</div></div2>