74 lines
5.3 KiB
XML
74 lines
5.3 KiB
XML
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<div2 id="iKi.i" n="i" next="iKi.ii" prev="iKi" progress="50.63%" title="Introduction">
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<h2 id="iKi.i-p0.1">First Kings</h2>
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<hr/>
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<pb id="iKi.i-Page_576" n="576"/>
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<div class="Center" id="iKi.i-p0.3">
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<p id="iKi.i-p1"><b>AN</b></p>
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<h3 id="iKi.i-p1.1">EXPOSITION,</h3>
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<h4 id="iKi.i-p1.2">W I T H P R A C T I C A L O B S E
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R V A T I O N S,</h4>
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<h5 id="iKi.i-p1.3">OF THE FIRST BOOK OF</h5>
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<h2 id="iKi.i-p1.4">K I N G S.</h2>
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<hr style="width:2in"/>
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</div>
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<p class="indent" id="iKi.i-p2">Many histories are books of kings and their
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reigns, to which the affairs of their kingdoms are reduced; this is
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a piece of honour that has commonly been paid to crowned heads. The
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holy Scripture is the history of the kingdom of God among men,
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under the several administrations of it; but there the King is one
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and his name one. The particular history now before us accounts for
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the affairs of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, yet with special
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regard to the kingdom of God among them; for still it is a sacred
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history, much more instructive and not less entertaining than any
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of the histories of the kings of the earth, to which (those of them
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that are of any certainty) it is prior in time; for though there
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were kings in Edom before there was any king in Israel, <scripRef id="iKi.i-p2.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.36.31" parsed="|Gen|36|31|0|0" passage="Ge 36:31">Gen. xxxvi. 31</scripRef> (foreigners, in that
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point of state, got the precedency), yet the history of the kings
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of Israel lives, and will live, in holy Writ, to the end of the
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world, whereas that of the kings of Edom is long since buried in
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oblivion; for the honour that comes from God is durable, while the
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honour of the world is like a mushroom, which comes up in a night
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and perishes in a night.—The Bible began with the story of
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patriarchs, and prophets, and judges, men whose converse with
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heaven was more immediate, the record of which strengthens our
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faith, but is not so easily accommodated to our case, now that we
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expect not visions, as the subsequent history of affairs like ours
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under the direction of common providence; and here also we find,
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though not many types and figures of the Messiah, yet great
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expectations of him; for not only prophets, but kings, desired to
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see the great mysteries of the gospel, <scripRef id="iKi.i-p2.2" osisRef="Bible:Luke.10.24" parsed="|Luke|10|24|0|0" passage="Lu 10:24">Luke x. 24</scripRef>—The two books of Samuel are
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introductions to the books of the Kings, as they relate the origin
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of the royal government in Saul and of the royal family in David.
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These two books give us an account of David's successor, Solomon,
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the division of his kingdom, and the succession of the several
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kings both of Judah and Israel, with an abstract of their history
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down to the captivity. And as from the book of Genesis we may
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collect excellent rules of economics, for the good governing of
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families, so from these books we may collect rules of politics, for
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the directing of public affairs. There is in these books special
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regard had to the house and lineage of David, from which Christ
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came. Some of his sons trod in his steps, and others did not. The
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characters of the kings of Judah may be thus briefly given:—David
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the devout, Solomon the wise, Rehoboam the simple, Abijah the
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valiant, Asa the upright, Jehoshaphat the religious, Jehoram the
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wicked, Ahaziah the profane, Joash the backslider, Amaziah the
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rash, Uzziah the mighty, Jotham the peaceable, Ahaz the idolater,
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Hezekiah the reformer, Manasseh the penitent, Amon the obscure,
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Josiah the tender-hearted, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and
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Zedekiah, all wicked, and such as brought ruin quickly on
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themselves and their kingdom. The number of the good and bad is
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nearly equal, but the reigns of the good were generally long and
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those of the bad short, the consideration of which will make the
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state of Israel not altogether so bad in this period as at first it
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seems. In this first book we have, I. The death of David, <scripRef id="iKi.i-p2.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.1.1-1Kgs.2.46" parsed="|1Kgs|1|1|2|46" passage="1Ki 1:1-2:46"><i>ch.</i> i. and ii.</scripRef> II. The
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glorious reign of Solomon, and his building the temple (<scripRef id="iKi.i-p2.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.3.1-1Kgs.10.29" parsed="|1Kgs|3|1|10|29" passage="1Ki 3:1-10:29"><i>ch.</i> iii.-x.</scripRef>), but the
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cloud his sun set under, <scripRef id="iKi.i-p2.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.11.1-1Kgs.11.43" parsed="|1Kgs|11|1|11|43" passage="1Ki 11:1-43"><i>ch.</i>
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xi.</scripRef> III. The division of the kingdoms in Rehoboam, and
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his reign and Jeroboam's, <scripRef id="iKi.i-p2.6" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.12.1-1Kgs.14.31" parsed="|1Kgs|12|1|14|31" passage="1Ki 12:1-14:31"><i>ch.</i> xii.-xi<i>v.</i></scripRef> IV. The
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reigns of Abijah and Asa over Judah, Baasha and Omri over Israel,
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<scripRef id="iKi.i-p2.7" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.15.1-1Kgs.16.34" parsed="|1Kgs|15|1|16|34" passage="1Ki 15:1-16:34"><i>ch.</i> xv. and
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xvi.</scripRef> V. Elijah's miracles, <scripRef id="iKi.i-p2.8" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.17.1-1Kgs.19.21" parsed="|1Kgs|17|1|19|21" passage="1Ki 17:1-19:21"><i>ch.</i> xvii.-xix.</scripRef> VI. Ahab's
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success against Benhadad, his wickedness and fall, <scripRef id="iKi.i-p2.9" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.20.1-1Kgs.22.53" parsed="|1Kgs|20|1|22|53" passage="1Ki 20:1-22:53"><i>ch.</i> xx.-xxii.</scripRef> And in all
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this history it appears that kings, though gods to us, are men to
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God, mortal and accountable.</p>
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</div2>
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