567 lines
43 KiB
XML
567 lines
43 KiB
XML
<div2 id="iKi.xx" n="xx" next="iKi.xxi" prev="iKi.xix" progress="59.53%" title="Chapter XIX">
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<h2 id="iKi.xx-p0.1">F I R S T K I N G S</h2>
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<h3 id="iKi.xx-p0.2">CHAP. XIX.</h3>
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<p class="intro" id="iKi.xx-p1">We left Elijah at the entrance of Jezreel, still
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appearing publicly, and all the people's eyes upon him. In this
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chapter we have him again absconding, and driven into obscurity, at
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a time when he could ill be spared; but we are to look upon it as a
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punishment to Israel for the insincerity and inconstancy of their
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reformation. When people will not learn it is just with God to
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remove their teachers into corners. Now observe, I. How he was
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driven into banishment by the malice of Jezebel his sworn enemy,
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<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.1-1Kgs.19.3" parsed="|1Kgs|19|1|19|3" passage="1Ki 19:1-3">ver. 1-3</scripRef>. II. How he was
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met, in his banishment, by the favour of God, his covenant-friend.
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1. How God fed him, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.4-1Kgs.19.8" parsed="|1Kgs|19|4|19|8" passage="1Ki 19:4-8">ver.
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4-8</scripRef>. 2. How he conversed with him, and manifested
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himself to him (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.9 Bible:1Kgs.19.11-1Kgs.19.13" parsed="|1Kgs|19|9|0|0;|1Kgs|19|11|19|13" passage="1Ki 19:9,11-13">ver. 9,
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11-13</scripRef>), heard his complaint (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.10-1Kgs.19.14" parsed="|1Kgs|19|10|19|14" passage="1Ki 19:10-14">ver. 10-14</scripRef>), directed him what to do
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(<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.15-1Kgs.19.17" parsed="|1Kgs|19|15|19|17" passage="1Ki 19:15-17">ver. 15-17</scripRef>), and
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encouraged him, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.18" parsed="|1Kgs|19|18|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:18">ver. 18</scripRef>.
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III. How his hands were strengthened, at his return out of
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banishment, by the joining of Elisha with him, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.19-1Kgs.19.21" parsed="|1Kgs|19|19|19|21" passage="1Ki 19:19-21">ver. 19-21</scripRef>.</p>
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<scripCom id="iKi.xx-p0.1_1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19" parsed="|1Kgs|19|0|0|0" passage="1Ki 19" type="Commentary"/>
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<scripCom id="iKi.xx-p0.2_1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.1-1Kgs.19.8" parsed="|1Kgs|19|1|19|8" passage="1Ki 19:1-8" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Kgs.19.1-1Kgs.19.8">
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<h4 id="iKi.xx-p1.10">Elijah's Flight from
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Jezebel. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p1.11">b. c.</span> 906.)</h4>
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<p class="passage" id="iKi.xx-p2">1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had
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done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
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2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let
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the gods do <i>to me,</i> and more also, if I make not thy life as
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the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. 3 And
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when he saw <i>that,</i> he arose, and went for his life, and came
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to Beer-sheba, which <i>belongeth</i> to Judah, and left his
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servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into
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the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he
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requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough;
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now, <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p2.1">O Lord</span>, take away my life; for
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I <i>am</i> not better than my fathers. 5 And as he lay and
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slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and
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said unto him, Arise <i>and</i> eat. 6 And he looked, and,
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behold, <i>there was</i> a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of
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water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down
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again. 7 And the angel of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p2.2">Lord</span> came again the second time, and touched
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him, and said, Arise <i>and</i> eat; because the journey <i>is</i>
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too great for thee. 8 And he arose, and did eat and drink,
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and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights
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unto Horeb the mount of God.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p3">One would have expected, after such a
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public and sensible manifestation of the glory of God and such a
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clear decision of the controversy depending between him and Baal,
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to the honour of Elijah, the confusion of Baal's prophets, and the
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universal satisfaction of the people—after they had seen both fire
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and water come from heaven at the prayer of Elijah, and both in
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mercy to them, the one as it signified the acceptance of their
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offering, the other as it <i>refreshed their inheritance, which was
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weary</i>—that now they would all, as one man, return to the
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worship of the God of Israel and take Elijah for their guide and
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oracle, that he would thenceforward be prime-minister of state, and
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his directions would be as laws both to king and kingdom. But it is
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quite otherwise; he is neglected whom God honoured; no respect is
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paid to him, nor care taken of him, nor any use made of him, but,
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on the contrary, the land of Israel, to which he had been, and
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might have been, so great a blessing, is now made too hot for him.
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1. Ahab incensed Jezebel against him. That queen-consort, it seems,
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was in effect queen-regent, as she was afterwards when she was
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queen-dowager, an imperious woman that managed king and kingdom and
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did what she would. Ahab's conscience would not let him persecute
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Elijah (some remains he had in him of the blood and spirit of an
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Israelite, which tied his hands), but he told Jezebel all that
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Elijah had done (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.1" parsed="|1Kgs|19|1|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:1"><i>v.</i>
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1</scripRef>), not to convince, but to exasperate her. It is not
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said he told her what <i>God</i> had done, but what <i>Elijah</i>
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had done, as if he, by some spell or charm, had brought fire from
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heaven, and the hand of the Lord had not been in it. Especially he
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represented to her, as that which would make her outrageous against
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him, that he had slain the prophets; the prophets of Baal he calls
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<i>the prophets,</i> as if none but they were worthy of the name.
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His heart was set upon them, and he aggravated the slaying of them
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as Elijah's crime, without taking notice that it was a just
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reprisal upon Jezebel for killing God's prophets, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.18.4" parsed="|1Kgs|18|4|0|0" passage="1Ki 18:4"><i>ch.</i> xviii. 4</scripRef>. Those who, when
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they cannot for shame or fear do mischief themselves, yet stir up
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others to do it, will have it laid to their charge as if they had
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themselves done it. 2. Jezebel sent him a threatening message
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(<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.2" parsed="|1Kgs|19|2|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), that she had
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vowed and sworn to be the death of him within twenty-four hours.
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Something prevents her from doing it just now, but she resolves it
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shall not be long undone. Note, Carnal hearts are hardened and
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enraged against God by that which should convince and conquer them
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and bring them into subjection to him. She swears by her gods, and,
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raging like one distracted, curseth herself if she slay not him,
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without any proviso of a divine permission. Cruelty and confidence
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often meet in persecutors. <i>I will pursue, I will overtake,</i>
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<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.4" osisRef="Bible:Exod.15.9" parsed="|Exod|15|9|0|0" passage="Ex 15:9">Exod. xv. 9</scripRef>. But how came
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she to send him word of her design, and so to give him an
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opportunity of making his escape? Did she think him so daring that
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he would not flee, or herself so formidable that she could prevent
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him? Or was there a special providence in it, that she should be
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thus infatuated by her own fury? I am apt to think that though she
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desired nothing more than his blood, yet, at this time, she durst
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not meddle with him <i>for fear of the people, all counting him a
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prophet,</i> a great prophet, and therefore sent this message to
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him merely to frighten him and get him out of the way, for the
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present, that he might not carry on what he had begun. The backing
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of her threats with an oath and imprecation does not at all prove
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that she really intended to slay him, but only that she intended to
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make him believe so. The gods she swore by could do her no harm. 3.
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Elijah, hereupon, in a great fright, fled for his life, it is
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likely by night, and came to Beer-sheba, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.3" parsed="|1Kgs|19|3|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. Shall we praise him for this? We
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praise him not. Where was the courage with which he had lately
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confronted Ahab and all the prophets of Baal? Nay, which kept him
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by his sacrifice when the fire of God fell upon it? He that stood
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undaunted in the midst of the terrors both of heaven and earth
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trembles at the impotent menaces of a proud passionate woman.
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<i>Lord, what is man!</i> Great faith is not always alike strong.
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He could not but know that he might be very serviceable to Israel
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at this juncture, and had all the reason in the world to depend
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upon God's protection while he was doing God's work; yet he fled.
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In his former danger God had bidden him hide himself (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.6" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.17.3" parsed="|1Kgs|17|3|0|0" passage="1Ki 17:3"><i>ch.</i> xvii. 3</scripRef>), therefore he
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supposed he might do so now. 4. From Beer-sheba he went forward
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into the wilderness, that vast howling wilderness in which the
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Israelites wandered. Beer-sheba was so far distant from Jezreel,
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and within the dominion of so good a king as Jehoshaphat, that he
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could not but be safe there; yet, as if his fears haunted him even
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when he was out of the reach of danger, he could not rest there,
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but went a day's journey into the desert. Yet perhaps he retired
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thither not so much for his safety as that he might be wholly
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retired from the world, in order to a more free and intimate
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communion with God. <i>He left his servant at Beer-sheba</i> that
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he might be private in the wilderness, as Abraham left his servants
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at the bottom of the hill when he went up into the mount to worship
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God, and as Christ in the garden was <i>withdrawn from his
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disciples,</i> or perhaps it was because he would not expose his
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servant, who was young and tender, to the hardships of the
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wilderness, which would have been putting new wine into old
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bottles. We ought thus to consider the frame of those who are under
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our charge, for God considers ours. 5. Being wearied with his
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journey, he grew cross (like children when they are sleepy) and
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<i>wished he might die,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.7" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.4" parsed="|1Kgs|19|4|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:4"><i>v.</i>
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4</scripRef>. He <i>requested for his life</i> (so it is in the
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margin), <i>that he might die;</i> for death is life to a good man;
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the death of the body is the life of the soul. Yet that was not the
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reason why he wished to die; it was not the deliberate desire of
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grace, as Paul's, to <i>depart and be with Christ,</i> but the
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passionate wish of his corruption, as Job's. Those that are, in
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this manner, forward to die are not in the fittest frame for dying.
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Jezebel has sworn his death, and therefore he, in a fret, prays for
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it, runs from death to death, yet with this difference, he wishes
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to die by the hand of the Lord, whose tender mercies are great, and
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not to fall into the hands of man, whose tender mercies are cruel.
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He would rather die in the wilderness than as Baal's prophet died,
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according to Jezebel's threatening (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.8" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.2" parsed="|1Kgs|19|2|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:2"><i>v.</i> 2</scripRef>), lest the worshippers of Baal
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should triumph and blaspheme the God of Israel, whom they will
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think themselves too hard for, if they can run down his advocate.
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He pleads, "It is enough. I have done enough, and suffered enough.
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I am weary of living." Those that have secured a happiness in the
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other world will soon have enough of this world. He pleads, "<i>I
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am not better than my fathers,</i> not better able to bear those
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fatigues, and therefore why should I be longer burdened with them
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than they were?" But is this <i>that my lord Elijah?</i> Can that
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great and gallant spirit shrink thus? God thus left him to himself,
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to show that when he was bold and strong it was <i>in the Lord and
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the power of his might,</i> but of himself he was <i>no better than
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his fathers</i> or brethren. 6. God, by an angel, fed him in that
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wilderness, into the wants and perils of which he had wilfully
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thrown himself, and in which, if God had not graciously succoured
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him, he would have perished. How much better does God deal with his
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froward children than they deserve! Elijah, in a pet, wished to
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die; God needed him not, yet he designed further to employ and
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honour him, and therefore sent an angel to <i>keep him alive.</i>
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Our case would be bad sometimes if God should take us at our word
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and grant us our foolish passionate requests. Having prayed that he
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might die, he <i>laid down and slept</i> (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.9" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.5" parsed="|1Kgs|19|5|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>), wishing it may be to die in his
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sleep, and not to awake again; but he is awakened out of his sleep,
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and finds himself not only well provided for with bread and water
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(<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.10" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.6" parsed="|1Kgs|19|6|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>), but, which
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was more, attended by an angle, who guarded him when he slept, and
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twice called him to his food when it was ready for him, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.11" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.5 Bible:1Kgs.19.7" parsed="|1Kgs|19|5|0|0;|1Kgs|19|7|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:5,7"><i>v.</i> 5, 7</scripRef>. He needed not to
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complain of the unkindness of men when it was thus made up by the
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ministration of angels. Thus provided for, he had reason to think
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he had fared better than the <i>prophets of the groves,</i> that
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<i>did eat at Jezebel's table.</i> Wherever God's children are, as
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they are still upon their Father's ground, so they are still under
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their Father's eye and care. They may lose themselves in a
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wilderness, but God has not lost them; there they may <i>look at
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him that lives and sees them, as Hagar,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.12" osisRef="Bible:Gen.16.13" parsed="|Gen|16|13|0|0" passage="Ge 16:13">Gen. xvi. 13</scripRef>. 7. He was carried, in the
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strength of this meat, to Horeb, <i>the mount of God,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.13" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.8" parsed="|1Kgs|19|8|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:8"><i>v.</i> 8</scripRef>. Thither the Spirit of
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the Lord led him, probably beyond his own intention, that he might
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have communion with God in the same place where Moses had, the law
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that was given by Moses being revived by him. The angel bade him
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eat the second time, because of the greatness <i>of the journey</i>
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that was <i>before him,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p3.14" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.7" parsed="|1Kgs|19|7|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:7"><i>v.</i>
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7</scripRef>. Note God knows what he designs us for, though we do
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not, what service, what trials, and will take care for us when we,
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for want of foresight, cannot for ourselves, that we be furnished
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for them with <i>grace sufficient.</i> He that appoints what the
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voyage shall be will victual the ship accordingly. See how many
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different ways God took to keep Elijah alive; he fed him by ravens,
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with multiplied meals—then by an angel—and now, to show that
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<i>man lives not by bread alone,</i> he kept him alive forty days
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without meat, not resting and sleeping, which might make him the
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less to crave sustenance, but continually traversing the mazes of
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the desert, a day for a year of Israel's wanderings; yet he neither
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needs food nor desires it. The place, no doubt, reminds him of the
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manna, and encourages him to hope that God will sustain him here,
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and in due time bring him hence, as he did Israel, though, like
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him, fretful and distrustful.</p>
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</div><scripCom id="iKi.xx-p0.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.9-1Kgs.19.18" parsed="|1Kgs|19|9|19|18" passage="1Ki 19:9-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Kgs.19.9-1Kgs.19.18">
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<h4 id="iKi.xx-p3.16">Elijah's Converse with God. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p3.17">b. c.</span> 906.)</h4>
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<p class="passage" id="iKi.xx-p4">9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged
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there; and, behold, the word of the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p4.1">Lord</span> <i>came</i> to him, and he said unto him,
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What doest thou here, Elijah? 10 And he said, I have been
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very jealous for the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p4.2">Lord</span> God of
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hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant,
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thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword;
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and I, <i>even</i> I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take
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it away. 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount
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before the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p4.3">Lord</span>. And, behold, the
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<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p4.4">Lord</span> passed by, and a great and
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strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks
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before the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p4.5">Lord</span>; <i>but</i> the
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<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p4.6">Lord</span> <i>was</i> not in the wind: and
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after the wind an earthquake; <i>but</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p4.7">Lord</span> <i>was</i> not in the earthquake: 12
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And after the earthquake a fire; <i>but</i> the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p4.8">Lord</span> <i>was</i> not in the fire: and after the
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fire a still small voice. 13 And it was <i>so,</i> when
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Elijah heard <i>it</i>, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and
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went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold,
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<i>there came</i> a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here,
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Elijah? 14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the
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<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p4.9">Lord</span> God of hosts: because the
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children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine
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altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, <i>even</i> I
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only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 15
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And the <span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p4.10">Lord</span> said unto him, Go,
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return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou
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comest, anoint Hazael <i>to be</i> king over Syria: 16 And
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Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint <i>to be</i> king over
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Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou
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anoint <i>to be</i> prophet in thy room. 17 And it shall
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come to pass, <i>that</i> him that escapeth the sword of Hazael
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shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall
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Elisha slay. 18 Yet I have left <i>me</i> seven thousand in
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Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every
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mouth which hath not kissed him.</p>
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<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p5">Here is, I. Elijah housed in a cave at
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Mount Horeb, which is called <i>the mount of God,</i> because on it
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God had formerly manifested his glory. And perhaps this was the
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same cave, or cleft of a rock, in which Moses was hidden when the
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Lord <i>passed by before him and proclaimed his name,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Exod.33.22" parsed="|Exod|33|22|0|0" passage="Ex 33:22">Exod. xxxiii. 22</scripRef>. What Elijah
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proposed to himself in coming to lodge here, I cannot conceive,
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unless it was to indulge his melancholy, or to satisfy his
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curiosity and assist his faith and devotion with the sight of that
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famous place where the law was given and where so many great things
|
||
were done, and hoping to meet with God himself there, where Moses
|
||
met with him, or in token of his abandoning his people Israel, who
|
||
hated to be reformed (in the latter case, it agrees with Jeremiah's
|
||
wish, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Jer.9.2" parsed="|Jer|9|2|0|0" passage="Jer 9:2">Jer. ix. 2</scripRef>, <i>O that
|
||
I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I
|
||
might leave my people, and go from them, for they are all
|
||
adulterers</i>) and so it was a bad omen of God's forsaking them;
|
||
or it was because he thought he could not be safe any where else,
|
||
and to this instance of the hardships this good man was reduced to
|
||
the apostle refers, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Heb.11.38" parsed="|Heb|11|38|0|0" passage="Heb 11:38">Heb. xi.
|
||
38</scripRef>. <i>They wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in
|
||
dens and caves of the earth.</i></p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p6">II. The visit God paid to him there and the
|
||
enquiry he made concerning him: <i>The word of the Lord came to
|
||
him.</i> We cannot go any where to be out of the reach of God's
|
||
eye, his arm, and his word. <i>Whither can I flee from thy
|
||
Spirit?</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.139.7-Ps.139.10" parsed="|Ps|139|7|139|10" passage="Ps 139:7-10">Ps. cxxxix.
|
||
7</scripRef>, &c. God will take care of his out-casts; and
|
||
those who, for his sake, are driven out from among men, he will
|
||
find, and own, and gather with everlasting loving-kindnesses. John
|
||
saw the visions of the Almighty when he was in banishment in the
|
||
isle of Patmos, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p6.2" osisRef="Bible:Rev.1.9" parsed="|Rev|1|9|0|0" passage="Re 1:9">Rev. i. 9</scripRef>.
|
||
The question God puts to the prophet it, <i>What doest</i> thou
|
||
<i>here, Elijah?</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p6.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.9" parsed="|1Kgs|19|9|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:9"><i>v.</i>
|
||
9</scripRef>, and again <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p6.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.13" parsed="|1Kgs|19|13|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:13"><i>v.</i>
|
||
13</scripRef>. This is a reproof, 1. For his fleeing hither. "What
|
||
brings thee so far from home? Dost thou flee from Jezebel? Couldst
|
||
thou not depend upon almighty power for thy protection?" Lay the
|
||
emphasis upon the pronoun <i>thou.</i> "What <i>thou!</i> So great
|
||
a man, so great a prophet, so famed for resolution—dost thou flee
|
||
thy country, forsake thy colours thus?" This cowardice would have
|
||
been more excusable in another, and not so bad an example.
|
||
<i>Should such a man as I flee?</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p6.5" osisRef="Bible:Neh.6.11" parsed="|Neh|6|11|0|0" passage="Ne 6:11">Neh. vi. 11</scripRef>. <i>Howl, fir-trees, if the cedars
|
||
be</i> thus <i>shaken.</i> 2. For his fixing here. "What doest thou
|
||
here, in this cave? Is this a place for a prophet of the Lord to
|
||
lodge in? Is this a time for such men to retreat, when the public
|
||
has such need of them?" In the retirement to which God sent Elijah
|
||
(<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p6.6" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.17.1-1Kgs.17.24" parsed="|1Kgs|17|1|17|24" passage="1Ki 17:1-24"><i>ch.</i> xvii.</scripRef>) he
|
||
was a blessing to a poor widow at Sarepta, but here he had no
|
||
opportunity of doing good. Note, It concerns us often to enquire
|
||
whether we be in our place and in the way of our duty. "Am I where
|
||
I should be, whither God calls me, where my business lies, and
|
||
where I may be useful?"</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p7">III. The account he gives of himself, in
|
||
answer to the question put to him (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.10" parsed="|1Kgs|19|10|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>), and repeated, in answer to
|
||
the same question, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.14" parsed="|1Kgs|19|14|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:14"><i>v.</i>
|
||
14</scripRef>.</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p8">1. He excuses his retreat, and desires it
|
||
may not be imputed to his want of zeal for reformation, but to his
|
||
despair of success. For God knew, and his own conscience witnessed
|
||
for him, that as long as there was any hope of doing good he had
|
||
been <i>very jealous for the Lord God of Hosts;</i> but now that he
|
||
had <i>laboured in vain,</i> and all his endeavours were to no
|
||
purpose, he thought it was time to give up the cause, and mourn for
|
||
what he could not mend. <i>Abi in cellam, et dic, Miserere
|
||
mei—"Away to thy cell, and cry, Have compassion on me.</i>"</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p9">2. He complains of the people, their
|
||
obstinacy in sin, and the height of impiety to which they had
|
||
arrived: "<i>The children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant,</i>
|
||
and that is the reason I have forsaken them; who can stay among
|
||
them, to see every thing that is sacred ruined and run down?" This
|
||
the apostle calls his <i>making intercession against Israel,</i>
|
||
<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.2-Rom.11.3" parsed="|Rom|11|2|11|3" passage="Ro 11:2,3">Rom. xi. 2, 3</scripRef>. He had
|
||
often been, of choice, their advocate, but now he is necessitated
|
||
to be their accuser, before God. Thus <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:John.5.45" parsed="|John|5|45|0|0" passage="Joh 5:45">John v. 45</scripRef>, <i>There is one that accuseth
|
||
you, even Moses, whom you trust.</i> Those are truly miserable that
|
||
have the testimony and prayers of God's prophets against them. (1.)
|
||
He charges them with having forsaken God's covenant; though they
|
||
retained circumcision, that sign and seal of it, yet they had
|
||
quitted his worship and service, which was the intention of it.
|
||
Those who neglect God's ordinances, and let fall their communion
|
||
with him, do really forsake his covenant, and break their league
|
||
with him. (2.) With having <i>thrown down his altars,</i> not only
|
||
deserted them and suffered them to go to decay, but, in their zeal
|
||
for the worship of Baal, wilfully demolished them. This alludes to
|
||
the private altars which the prophets of the Lord had, and which
|
||
good people attended, who could not go up to Jerusalem and would
|
||
not worship the calves nor Baal. These separate altars, though
|
||
breaking in upon the unity of the church, yet, being erected and
|
||
attended by those that sincerely aimed at the glory of God and
|
||
served him faithfully, the seeming schism was excused. God owned
|
||
them for his altars, as well as that at Jerusalem, and the putting
|
||
of them down is charged upon Israel as a crying sin. But this was
|
||
not all. (3.) <i>They have slain thy prophets with the sword,</i>
|
||
who, it is probable, ministered at those altars. Jezebel, a
|
||
foreigner, slew them (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p9.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.18.4" parsed="|1Kgs|18|4|0|0" passage="1Ki 18:4"><i>ch.</i>
|
||
xviii. 4</scripRef>), but the crime is charged upon the body of the
|
||
people because the generality of them were <i>consenting to their
|
||
death,</i> and pleased with it.</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p10">3. He gives the reasons why he retired into
|
||
this desert and took up his residence in this cave. (1.) It was
|
||
because he could not appear to any purpose: "<i>I only am left,</i>
|
||
and have none to second or support me in any good design. They all
|
||
said, <i>The Lord he is God,</i> but none of them would stand by me
|
||
nor offer to shelter me. That point then gained was presently lost
|
||
again, and Jezebel can do more to debauch them than I can to reform
|
||
them. What can one do against thousands?" Despair of success
|
||
hinders many a good enterprise. No one is willing to venture alone,
|
||
forgetting that those are not alone who have God with them. (2.) It
|
||
was because he could not appear with any safety: "<i>They seek my
|
||
life to take it away;</i> and I had better spend my life in a
|
||
useless solitude than lose my life in a fruitless endeavour to
|
||
reform those that hate to be reformed."</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p11">IV. God's manifestation of himself to him.
|
||
Did he come hither to meet with God? He shall find that God will
|
||
not fail to give him the meeting. Moses was put into the cave when
|
||
God's glory passed before him; but Elijah was called out of it:
|
||
<i>Stand upon the mount before the Lord,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.11" parsed="|1Kgs|19|11|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:11"><i>v.</i> 11</scripRef>. He <i>saw no manner of
|
||
similitude,</i> any more than Israel did when God <i>talked to them
|
||
in Horeb.</i> But, 1. He heard a strong wind, and saw the terrible
|
||
effects of it, for it rent the mountains and tore the rocks. Thus
|
||
was the trumpet sounded before the Judge of heaven and earth, by
|
||
his angels, whom he makes <i>spirits,</i> or <i>winds</i>
|
||
(<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.104.4" parsed="|Ps|104|4|0|0" passage="Ps 104:4">Ps. civ. 4</scripRef>), sounded so
|
||
loud that the earth not only rang, but rent again. 2. He felt the
|
||
shock of an earthquake. 3. He saw an eruption of fire, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p11.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.12" parsed="|1Kgs|19|12|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:12"><i>v.</i> 12</scripRef>. These were to usher in
|
||
the designed manifestation of the divine glory, angels being
|
||
employed in them, whom he <i>maketh a flame of fire,</i> and who,
|
||
as his ministers, march before him, to <i>prepare in this desert a
|
||
highway for our God.</i> But, 4. At last he perceived a <i>still
|
||
small voice,</i> in which <i>the Lord was,</i> that is, by which he
|
||
spoke to him, and not out of the wind, or the earthquake, or the
|
||
fire. Those struck an awe upon him, awakened his attention, and
|
||
inspired humility and reverence; but God chose to make known his
|
||
mind to him in whispers soft, not in those dreadful sounds. When he
|
||
perceived this, (1.) <i>He wrapped hi face in his mantle,</i> as
|
||
one afraid to look upon the glory of God, and apprehensive that it
|
||
would dazzle his eyes and overcome him. The angels <i>cover their
|
||
faces</i> before God in token of reverence, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p11.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.6.2" parsed="|Isa|6|2|0|0" passage="Isa 6:2">Isa. vi. 2</scripRef>. Elijah hid his face in token of
|
||
shame for having been such a coward as to flee from his duty when
|
||
he had such a God of power to stand by him in it. The wind, and
|
||
earthquake, and fire, did not make him cover his face, but the
|
||
still voice did. Gracious souls are more affected by the tender
|
||
mercies of the Lord than by his terrors. (2.) He stood at the
|
||
entrance of the cave, ready to hear what God had to say to him.
|
||
This method of God's manifesting himself here at Mount Horeb seems
|
||
to refer to the discoveries God formerly made of himself at this
|
||
place to Moses. [1.] Then there was a tempest, an earthquake, and
|
||
fire (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p11.5" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.18" parsed="|Heb|12|18|0|0" passage="Heb 12:18">Heb. xii. 18</scripRef>); but,
|
||
when God would show Moses his glory, he <i>proclaimed his
|
||
goodness;</i> and so here: <i>He was, the Word</i> was, in the
|
||
<i>still small voice.</i> [2.] Then the law was thus given to
|
||
Israel, with the appearances of terror first and then with a voice
|
||
of words; and Elijah being now called to revive that law,
|
||
especially the first two commandments of it, is here taught how to
|
||
manage it; he must not only awaken and terrify the people with
|
||
amazing signs, like the earthquake and fire, but he must endeavour,
|
||
with a still small voice, to convince and persuade them, and not
|
||
forsake them when he should be addressing them. Faith comes by
|
||
hearing the word of God; miracles do but make way for it. [3.] Then
|
||
God spoke to his people with terror; but in the gospel of Christ,
|
||
which was to be introduced by the spirit and power of Elias, he
|
||
would speak by a still small voice, the dread of which should not
|
||
make us afraid; see <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p11.6" osisRef="Bible:Heb.12.18-Heb.12.24" parsed="|Heb|12|18|12|24" passage="Heb 12:18-24">Heb. xii.
|
||
18</scripRef>, &c.</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p12">V. The orders God gives him to execute. He
|
||
repeats the question he had put to him before, "<i>What doest thou
|
||
here?</i> This is not a place for thee now." Elijah gives the same
|
||
answer (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.14" parsed="|1Kgs|19|14|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:14"><i>v.</i> 14</scripRef>),
|
||
complaining of Israel's apostasy from God and the ruin of religion
|
||
among them. To this God gives him a reply. When he wished <i>he
|
||
might die</i> (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.4" parsed="|1Kgs|19|4|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>)
|
||
God answered him not according to his folly, but was so far from
|
||
letting him die that he not only kept him alive then but provided
|
||
that he should never die, but be translated. But when he complained
|
||
of his discouragement (and whither should God's prophets go with
|
||
their complaints of that kind but to their Master?) God gave him an
|
||
answer. He sends him back with directions to appoint Hazael king of
|
||
Syria (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.15" parsed="|1Kgs|19|15|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:15"><i>v.</i> 15</scripRef>), Jehu
|
||
king of Israel, and Elisha his successor in the eminency of the
|
||
prophetical office (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.16" parsed="|1Kgs|19|16|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:16"><i>v.</i>
|
||
16</scripRef>), which is intended as a prediction that by these God
|
||
would chastise the degenerate Israelites, plead his own cause among
|
||
them, and <i>avenge the quarrel of his covenant,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p12.5" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.17" parsed="|1Kgs|19|17|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:17"><i>v.</i> 17</scripRef>. Elijah complained that
|
||
the wickedness of Israel was unpunished. The judgment of famine was
|
||
too gentle, and had not reclaimed them; it was removed before they
|
||
were reformed: "<i>I have been jealous,</i>" says he, "for God's
|
||
name, but he himself has not appeared jealous for it." "Well," says
|
||
God, "be content; it is all in good time; <i>judgments are prepared
|
||
for those scorners,</i> though they are not yet inflicted; the
|
||
persons are pitched upon, and shall now be nominated, for they are
|
||
now in being, who shall do the business." 1. "When Hazael comes to
|
||
be king of Syria, he shall make bloody work among the people
|
||
(<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p12.6" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.8.12" parsed="|2Kgs|8|12|0|0" passage="2Ki 8:12">2 Kings viii. 12</scripRef>) and so
|
||
correct them for their idolatry." 2. "When Jehu comes to be king of
|
||
Israel he shall make bloody work with the royal family, and shall
|
||
utterly destroy the house of Ahab, that set up and maintained
|
||
idolatry." 3. "Elisha, while thou art on earth, shall strengthen
|
||
thy hands; and, when thou art gone, shall carry on thy work, and be
|
||
a remaining witness against the apostasy of Israel, and even he
|
||
shall slay the children of Bethel, that idolatrous city." Note, The
|
||
wicked are reserved to judgment. <i>Evil pursues sinners,</i> and
|
||
there is no escaping it; to attempt an escape is but to run from
|
||
one sword's point upon another. See <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p12.7" osisRef="Bible:Jer.48.44" parsed="|Jer|48|44|0|0" passage="Jer 48:44">Jer. xlviii. 44</scripRef>, <i>He that flees from the
|
||
fear shall fall into the pit; and he that gets up out of the pit
|
||
shall be taken in the snare.</i> Elisha, with the <i>sword of the
|
||
Spirit,</i> shall terrify and wound the consciences of those who
|
||
escape Hazael's sword of war and Jehu's sword of justice. <i>With
|
||
the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p12.8" osisRef="Bible:Isa.11.4 Bible:2Thess.2.8 Bible:Hos.6.5" parsed="|Isa|11|4|0|0;|2Thess|2|8|0|0;|Hos|6|5|0|0" passage="Isa 11:4,2Th 2:8,Ho 6:5">Isa. xi. 4; 2 Thess. ii. 8; Hos.
|
||
vi. 5</scripRef>. It is a great comfort to good men and good
|
||
ministers to think that God will never want instruments to do his
|
||
work in his time, but, when they are gone, others shall be raised
|
||
up to carry it on.</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p13">VI. The comfortable information God gives
|
||
him of the number of Israelites who retained their integrity,
|
||
though he thought he was left alone (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.18" parsed="|1Kgs|19|18|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>): <i>I have left 7000 in
|
||
Israel</i> (besides Judea) <i>who have not bowed the knee to
|
||
Baal.</i> Note, 1. In times of the greatest degeneracy and apostasy
|
||
God has always had, and will have, a remnant faithful to him, some
|
||
that keep their integrity and do not go down the stream. The
|
||
apostle mentions this answer of God to Elijah (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p13.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.4" parsed="|Rom|11|4|0|0" passage="Ro 11:4">Rom. xi. 4</scripRef>) and applies it to his own day,
|
||
when the Jews generally rejected the gospel. <i>Yet,</i> says he,
|
||
<i>at this time also there is a remnant,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p13.3" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.5" parsed="|Rom|11|5|0|0" passage="Ro 11:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. 2. It is God's work to preserve
|
||
that remnant, and distinguish them from the rest, for without his
|
||
grace they could not have distinguished themselves: <i>I have left
|
||
me;</i> it is therefore said to be a remnant <i>according to the
|
||
election of grace.</i> 3. It is but a little remnant, in comparison
|
||
with the degenerate race; what are 7000 to the thousands of Israel?
|
||
Yet, when those of every age come together, they will be found many
|
||
more, 12,000 <i>sealed out of each tribe,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p13.4" osisRef="Bible:Rev.7.4" parsed="|Rev|7|4|0|0" passage="Re 7:4">Rev. vii. 4</scripRef>. 4. God's faithful ones are often
|
||
his hidden ones (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p13.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.83.3" parsed="|Ps|83|3|0|0" passage="Ps 83:3">Ps. lxxxiii.
|
||
3</scripRef>), and the visible church is scarcely visible, the
|
||
wheat lost in the chaff and the gold in the dross, till the
|
||
sifting, refining, separating day comes. 5. <i>The Lord knows those
|
||
that are his,</i> though we do not; he sees in secret. 6. There are
|
||
more good people in the world than some wise and holy men think
|
||
there are. Their jealousy of themselves, and for God, makes them
|
||
think the corruption is universal; but God sees not as they do.
|
||
When we come to heaven, as we shall miss a great many whom we
|
||
thought to meet there, so we shall meet a great many whom we little
|
||
thought to find there. God's love often proves larger than man's
|
||
charity and more extensive.</p>
|
||
</div><scripCom id="iKi.xx-p0.4" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.19-1Kgs.19.21" parsed="|1Kgs|19|19|19|21" passage="1Ki 19:19-21" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:1Kgs.19.19-1Kgs.19.21">
|
||
<h4 id="iKi.xx-p13.7">The Call of Elisha. (<span class="smallcaps" id="iKi.xx-p13.8">b. c.</span> 901.)</h4>
|
||
<p class="passage" id="iKi.xx-p14">19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the
|
||
son of Shaphat, who <i>was</i> plowing <i>with</i> twelve yoke
|
||
<i>of oxen</i> before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah
|
||
passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. 20 And he left
|
||
the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss
|
||
my father and my mother, and <i>then</i> I will follow thee. And he
|
||
said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee?
|
||
21 And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew
|
||
them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and
|
||
gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went
|
||
after Elijah, and ministered unto him.</p>
|
||
<p class="indent" id="iKi.xx-p15">Elisha was named last in the orders God
|
||
gave to Elijah, but he was first called, for by him the other two
|
||
were to be called. He must come in Elijah's room; yet Elijah is
|
||
forward to raise him, and is far from being jealous of his
|
||
successor, but rejoices to think that he shall leave the work of
|
||
God in such good hands. Concerning the call of Elisha observe, 1.
|
||
That it was an unexpected surprising call. Elijah found him by
|
||
divine direction, or perhaps he was before acquainted with him and
|
||
knew where to find him. He found him, not in the schools of the
|
||
prophets, but <i>in the field,</i> not reading, nor praying, nor
|
||
sacrificing, but <i>ploughing,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.19" parsed="|1Kgs|19|19|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>. Though a great man (as appears
|
||
by his feast, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p15.2" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.21" parsed="|1Kgs|19|21|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:21"><i>v.</i>
|
||
21</scripRef>), master of the ground, and oxen, and servants, yet
|
||
he did not think it any disparagement to him to follow his business
|
||
himself, and not only to inspect his servants, but himself to lay
|
||
his hand to the plough. Idleness is no man's honour, nor is
|
||
husbandry any man's disgrace. An honest calling in the world does
|
||
not at all put us out of the way of our heavenly calling, any more
|
||
than it did Elisha, who was taken from following the plough the
|
||
feed Israel and to sow the <i>seed of the word,</i> as the apostles
|
||
were taken from fishing to catch men. Elisha enquired not after
|
||
Elijah, but was anticipated with this call. We love God, and choose
|
||
him, because he chose us, and loved us, first. 2. That it was a
|
||
powerful call. Elijah did but <i>cast his mantle upon him.</i>
|
||
(<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p15.3" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.19" parsed="|1Kgs|19|19|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:19"><i>v.</i> 19</scripRef>), in token
|
||
of friendship, that he would take him under his care and tuition as
|
||
he did under his mantle, and to be one with him in the same
|
||
clothes, or in token of his being clothed with the spirit of Elijah
|
||
(now he put some of his honour upon him, as Moses on Joshua,
|
||
<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p15.4" osisRef="Bible:Num.27.20" parsed="|Num|27|20|0|0" passage="Nu 27:20">Num. xxvii. 20</scripRef>); but, when
|
||
Elijah went to heaven, he had the mantle entire, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p15.5" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.2.13" parsed="|2Kgs|2|13|0|0" passage="2Ki 2:13">2 Kings ii. 13</scripRef>. And immediately he <i>left
|
||
the oxen</i> to go as they would, and <i>ran after Elijah,</i> and
|
||
assured him that he would follow him presently, <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p15.6" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.20" parsed="|1Kgs|19|20|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>. An invisible hand touched his
|
||
heart, and unaccountably inclined him by a secret power, without
|
||
any external persuasions, to quit his husbandry and give himself to
|
||
the ministry. It is in a day of power that Christ's subjects are
|
||
made willing (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p15.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.110.3" parsed="|Ps|110|3|0|0" passage="Ps 110:3">Ps. cx. 3</scripRef>),
|
||
nor would any come to Christ unless they were thus drawn. Elisha
|
||
came to a resolution presently, but begged a little time, not to
|
||
<i>ask</i> leave, but only to <i>take</i> leave, of his parents.
|
||
This was not an excuse for delay, like his (<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p15.8" osisRef="Bible:Luke.9.61" parsed="|Luke|9|61|0|0" passage="Lu 9:61">Luke ix. 61</scripRef>) that desired he might <i>bid
|
||
those farewell that were at home,</i> but only a reservation of the
|
||
respect and duty he owed to his father and mother. Elijah bade him
|
||
to back and do it, he would not hinder him; nay, if he would, he
|
||
might go back, and not return, for any thing he had done to him. He
|
||
will not force him, nor take him against his will; let him sit down
|
||
and count the cost, and make it his own act. The efficacy of God's
|
||
grace preserves the native liberty of man's will, so that those who
|
||
are good are good of choice and not by constraint, not pressed men,
|
||
but volunteers. 3. That it was a pleasant and acceptable call to
|
||
him, which appears by the farewell-feast he made for his family
|
||
(<scripRef id="iKi.xx-p15.9" osisRef="Bible:1Kgs.19.21" parsed="|1Kgs|19|21|0|0" passage="1Ki 19:21"><i>v.</i> 21</scripRef>), though he
|
||
not only quitted all the comforts of his father's house, but
|
||
exposed himself to the malignity of Jezebel and her party. It was a
|
||
discouraging time for prophets to set out in. A man that had
|
||
consulted with flesh and blood would not be fond of Elijah's
|
||
mantle, nor willing to wear his coat; yet Elisha cheerfully, and
|
||
with a great deal of satisfaction, leaves all to accompany him.
|
||
Thus Matthew made a great fast when he left the receipt of custom
|
||
to follow Christ. 4. That it was an effectual call. Elijah did not
|
||
stay for him, lest he should seem to compel him, but left him to
|
||
his own choice, and he soon arose, went after him, and not only
|
||
associated with him, but <i>ministered to him</i> as his servitor,
|
||
<i>poured water on his hands,</i> <scripRef id="iKi.xx-p15.10" osisRef="Bible:2Kgs.3.11" parsed="|2Kgs|3|11|0|0" passage="2Ki 3:11">2
|
||
Kings iii. 11</scripRef>. It is of great advantage to young
|
||
ministers to spend some time under the direction of those that are
|
||
aged and experienced, whose years teach wisdom, and not to think
|
||
much, if occasion be, to minister to them. Those that would be fit
|
||
to teach must have time to learn; and those that hope hereafter to
|
||
rise and rule must be willing at first to stoop and serve.</p>
|
||
</div></div2> |