Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Kings 19:18
Yet I have left [me] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
18. Yet I have left me] R.V. (and margin of A. V.) Yet will I leave me. And this is not only required by the Hebrew words, but for a true conception of the sense of the passage. Elijah had been witness of God’s might and power to execute judgement, in the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, and subsequently of the true presence of God in the still small voice which spake of mercy. He is now sent to make known who the ordained ministers of vengeance shall be, Hazael and Jehu being the embodiment of what was portrayed in the elemental fury which had passed before him. But after all came the voice which bare witness of Jehovah’s presence, and this Elijah is now told shall be made known hereafter in the multitude of those who, after all trials, shall still remain faithful. The LXX. renders ‘and thou shalt leave in Israel, &c.’
seven thousand in Israel ] Used for an indefinite number. On this use of ‘seven’ cf. above 1Ki 18:43. Also Pro 24:16; Mat 18:21-22. The total was small compared with the whole people of Israel, but they were God’s ‘holy remnant,’ the seed of a purified congregation of the future.
hath not kissed him ] That such was the nature of some part of the worship offered to false gods we can see from Hos 13:2, ‘Let the men that sacrifice kiss the calves.’ Probably the Latin adoro is etymologically connected with this. For kissing as an act of religious homage, see also Psa 2:12.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Yet I have left me … – Rather, as in the margin. Seven thousand faithful Israelites shall survive all the persecutions of Ahab and Jezebel, and carry down the worship of Yahweh to another generation. Elijah is mistaken in supposing that he only is left. The number is manifestly a round number, not an exact estimate. Perhaps it is, moreover, a mystical or symbolic number. Compare Rev 7:5-8. Of all the symbolic numbers used in Scripture, seven is the most common.
Every mouth which hath not kissed him – Idolaters sometimes kissed the hand to the object of their worship Job 31:26-27; at other times they kissed the actual image (marginal reference).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Ki 19:18
Yet I have left Me seven thousand in Israel.
The unknown quantity
We cannot know what a man is merely by what he does. He may be a painter showing to us his pictures; that sight gives no idea as to whether he is inwardly beautiful. He may be a tradesman with whom we deal; that does not tell us whether he is occupying himself with his Lords talents until He come. He may he a mechanic who executes some manual labour for us; that does not signify if he is labouring for the meat which perisheth, and also for that which endureth unto everlasting life. We need to get more than a mans doings to enable us to perceive what he is. We must learn what his real thoughts are. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. We must be able to form clear ideas of what he likes and dislikes; what he finds fault with in others, and would fain accomplish by them. In just such a condition we are as regards our knowledge of God. His works in nature do not inform us of what He is.
I. This unknown quantity is a provision made by Gods secret operations. I have left, or as we read in the Epistle to the Romans, I have reserved to Myself seven thousand. The Lord thus affirms that their existence in Israel was due to His own arrangements, that He was carrying out His purposes by other methods than that which He had consigned to Elijah, and independently of him. The secret of the Lord s operations may well put shame upon the course taken by so many who profess to be His appointed servants, setting themselves up as judges, and condemning to un-covenanted mercies–which mean too often unpitying wishes produced by the spite of bigoted hearts–those who do not agree with them.
II. This unknown quantity is an object of constant inspection by God. He knows when and where their knees are bent; when and where their lips are shaped for a kiss. He sees what resolutions they have made, and that those resolutions have not been broken. All and every one in particular are designated by His testimony as His elected people, even though never ranked with the professed upholders of His kingdom.
III. This unknown quantity encourages undefined hopes as to the wide range over which loyalty to God extends. God wants faithful servants far more than prophets, apostles, preachers can. The desire for the extension of His kingdom, which moulds their prayers and efforts, their complaints and despondency, is a desire which is only a minute output from His measureless yearning. They see Him making the Gospel His power to the salvation of men, of whom they had lost hope. Slaves, criminals, cannibals, philosophers lifted up with pride, and ignorant men dogmatic in their ignorance; men and women, over whom the fetid vapours of fleshly lusts hung darkly, and little children, scarcely able to tell that evil soils them, have each and all become known as unyielding props in the earthly house of the Lord. What ground is available for doubting that He has raised many more with His wonder-working grace than have come into our notice?
1. An impulse to continuous service of the Lord.
2. The guidance for each soul. It is found in the words of Jesus when answering the question, Lord, are there few that be saved? He made no attempt at a reply; He sent the questioners into their own consciences, with the injunction, Strive to enter in at the strait gate. (D. G. Watt, M. A.)
The seven thousand
I. We may learn from this declaration of God to Elijah, in reply to his complaint, never to take too gloomy or desponding a view of the position and prospects of the Church. However reduced in number and influence and piety the Church of God apparently may become;–however feeble the spark, it cannot be quenched;–it cannot die. The true Israel often and again have been reduced to the lowest ebb;–the bush burning with fire ready to be consumed; but the living God was in the bush, and defied the destroying flames.
II. Arising from the lesson just drawn, and suggested by it, we may further learn to beware of harsh judgments on our fellow-men and fellow-Christians. There was unwarrantable self-sufficiency in Elijah–so boldly averring, I, even I only, am left! It was not for him (the man of like passions) to make so sweeping and unqualified an assertion–repudiating the faith of others, and feeling so confident of his own. The worst phase which self-righteousness can assume, is when we constitute ourselves religious censors; and on the ground of some supposed superior sanctity say, with supercilious air, Stand back, for I am holier than thou. Elijahs feeling has developed itself in modern times in denominational exclusiveness;–sect unchurching sect. One saying, I alone am left. I alone am the Church, because of apostolic descent and sacramental efficacy. Another, I only am left, for congregations around me are asleep, and mine only has undergone revival and awakening. Nay, nay; hush these censorious thoughts and hasty party judgments. Who art thou that judgest another? Who art thou so ready to spy out the mote in thy brothers eye, and seest not the beam in thine own? There has ever been, and ever shall be, a hidden Church. The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. There is often pure gold in the coarsest-looking ore;–there is often the rarest pebble in the most rugged rock;–there are often the loveliest flowers in the most tangled brake or remotest dell.
III. Let us gather yet another lesson from this comforting assurance of God to Elijah–the influential power of a great example. Elijahs feeling was, that he was alone; that he had toiled, and witnessed, and suffered in vain; that in vain he had uttered his high behests; borne publicly his testimony to the living Jehovah; lived his life of faith, and self-denial, and prayer. His saddening thought was, that he was now going to end a useless, fruitless, purposeless existence; that, for all he had done in the cause of Divine truth, he might still have been roaming a freebooter, or pasturing his flocks as a shepherd in his native Gilead. Nay, says God, to this mighty harvest-man, seven thousand souls have been reaped mainly by thy sickle. Wherever there are brave, bold, honest, upright, God-loving hearts in this world, there is sure to emanate a silent, it may be, but yet a vast influence for good. No man liveth to himself. What may not a word do!–a solemn advice!–a needed caution! (J. R. Macduff,D. D.)
Hidden saintship
A consistent saint of God–What do we mean by the word saint? All who are set aside for the Masters use, who are sanctified and strengthened by His grace to serve Him, are His saints. What is that life?
I. It is a life of which the root is hidden, though its fruits, at least in part, may be seen.
II. Saintship is nourished most in times of depression and of affliction. It is Of such a time that God is here speaking: I have seven thousand which have not bowed the knee to Baal. (W. Denton, M. A.)
The faithful seven thousand
We learn from these words–
I. That men may be often deceived with regard to the strength of Gods Church. Many have possessed a similar feeling to that expressed by Elijah. They have looked upon the prevalence of sin, in all ranks and conditions of life; they have looked upon the widespread indifference to religion, and that too in the midst of religious privilege and effort; and at such a sight their hearts have failed them; they have thought that the people of God were very few, and they have been tempted to think that their efforts to increase the number were yam and useless, and under such temptation many have relinquished their work.
II. That God has a perfect knowledge of His own people. The children of God may be unable to recognise each other, especially in times of persecution, which may restrain men from making an open avowal of their faith. And even in ordinary times there are many who may not feel called upon to make this avowal, so that their relation to God remains unknown to those around them. But God sees and knows them.
III. That God can keep His people amid the most widespread sin and evil. It is not without reason that Christian people fear for themselves and for others when sin and evil abound, and when temptations are numerous and powerful. They know their own weakness, and they know, too, how many have fallen in the conflict with sin.
IV. That men should be faithful to their duty, and leave results with God. (T. Cain.)
Gods hidden ones
A gardener knoweth what roots are in the ground long before they appear, and what flowers they will produce. Look over the garden in winter, and you will not know that there is any preparation for spring; but the gardener sees in his minds eye–here a circle of golden cups, as if set out for a royal banquet, and there a cluster of snow-white beauties, drooping with excess of modest purity. His eye knows where the daffodils and anemones lie asleep, waiting to rise in all their loveliness; and he has learned the secret of the primroses and the violets, who wait in ambush till the first warm breath of spring shall bid them reveal themselves. Even thus doth the Lord know His hidden ones long before the day of their manifestation with Him. He sees His Church before His ministers see it, and declares concerning heathen Corinth. I have much people in this city. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Christians unknown to the world
There are stars set in the heavens by the hand of God, whose light has never reached the eye of man; gems lie deposited in the earth, that have never yet been discovered by the research of man; flowers which have grown in blushing beauty before the sun, that have never been seen by the florist; so there may be Christians made such by God, who are hidden from the knowledge and eye of the world. (R. Venting.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 18. Seven thousand in Israel] That is, many thousands; for seven is a number of perfection, as we have often seen: so, The barren has borne seven – has had a numerous off-spring; Gold seven times purified-purified till all the dross is perfectly separated from it. The court and multitudes of the people had gone after Baal; but perhaps the majority of the common people still worshipped in secret the God of their fathers.
Every mouth which hath not kissed him.] Idolaters often kissed their hand in honour of their idols; and hence the origin of adoration – bringing the hand to the mouth after touching the idol, if it were within reach; and if not, kissing the right hand in token of respect and subjection. The word is compounded of ad, to, and os, oris, the mouth. Dextera manu deum contingentes, ori admovebant: “Touching the god with their right hand, they applied it to their mouth.” So kissing the hand, and adoration, mean the same thing –
thus Pliny,
Inter adorandum, dexteram ad osculum referimus, totum corpus circumagimus: Nat. Hist. lib. xxviii., cap. 2. –
“In the act of adoration we kiss the right hand, and turn about the whole body.”
Cicero mentions a statue of Hercules, the chin and lips of which were considerably worn by the frequent kissing of his worshippers:
Ut rictus ejus, et mentum paulo sit attritius, quod in precibus et gratulationibus, non solum id venerari, sed etiam osculari solent. – Orat. in VERREM.
I have seen several instances of this, especially in the paintings of old saints: the lips and mouth of beautiful paintings literally worn away by the unmerciful osculations of devotees.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
I have left, or, I have reserved to myself; I have by my grace kept from the common contagion; therefore thou art mistaken to think that thou art left alone, or that the people are universally corrupted. Or, I will reserve, from the slaughters last mentioned, and from Jezebels rage.
Seven thousand; either definitely so many; or rather, indefinitely, for many thousands; the number of seven being oft used for a great number, as Lev 26:18; Psa 12:6; Mic 5:5; Zec 3:9; Luk 17:4. For it is altogether improbable that all the Israelites except seven thousand did worship Baal; except Baal be here synecdochically put for all their idols, and the calves among others.
All the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him, i.e. all those who have not worshipped Baal, nor professed reverence or subjection to him; which idolaters did to their idols, by bowing the knee, Rom 11:4; compare Rom 14:11; Phi 2:10, and by kissing them, or by kissing their hand with their mouth before them, and in respect to them; of which mention is made both in Scripture, as Job 31:26,27; Ho 13:2; compare Psa 2:12, and in Pliny, Apuleius, and other profane authors. And God chooseth these expressions here, to teach men that it is not sufficient to deny inward veneration of mind and heart to idols, unless they do also forbear all outward significations of worship or reverence to them; and that he will own none for his people that do otherwise.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel,…. From perishing by the sword of either of them:
all the knees which have not bowed to Baal; that is, had not worshipped him, which was signified by this gesture:
and every mouth which hath not kissed him; either the image of Baal itself, or the hand, in reverence of him; which rites, one or other, or both, were used by his worshippers; [See comments on Ho 13:2]. This either refers, as some think, to the present time, and so is an answer to Elijah, who thought he was the only worshipper left with which seems to agree Ro 11:2, or to the times to come, when destruction should be made by the above persons, and when God would have some faithful worshippers, and would take care of them; so some render the words, “I will reserve”, c. y.
y “reservabo vel servabo”, Vatablus so V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(18) I have left.It should be I leave, or will leave, through all this vengeance, the seven thousand faithful; like the faithful remnant sealed in the visions of Ezekiel and St. John in the day of Gods judgment (Eze. 9:4-6; Rev. 7:3-8).
Kissed him.(See Job. 31:26-27; Hos. 13:2.) The passage is vividly descriptive of the worshipper on the first approach bowing the knee, on nearer access kissing the image, or the altar, or the threshold of the temple.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
18. I have left me seven thousand Better, as in the margin, I will leave seven thousand in Israel. That is, in the judgments that are to come by the hand of the ministers I have named, all Israel shall not be cut off. There will be found seven thousand who have never worshipped Baal. Here Elijah learns, to his confusion, that he is not the only Israelite who remains true to God. As seven is the covenant number, the number of perfection, the seven thousand need not be pressed here to mean an exact designation of the number of true worshippers of God in Israel, but a round number ever symbolical of the elect of God. So the apostle (Rom 11:4) uses it of that “remnant according to the election of grace,” the true Israel that embraced the saving truth of Christ. So, too, in all the history of the Church in the darkest times of apostasy the Lord reserves to himself his faithful seven thousand, though for a time they be driven by persecution into the wilderness, or into caves and dens of the earth.
Kissed him It was an ancient practice to adore idols both by kissing them and kissing the hand at them. Compare Hos 13:2.
The lessons Elijah learned at Horeb were full of instruction. The symbols of wind, earthquake, and fire, followed by the still small voice, have a wide and varied significance and application.
The central lesson of these symbols is, that there are mightier influences at work in human history than physical force. Men are ever prone to think otherwise, or, at least, to disregard this fact. That which is tangible to the outer senses which blows and shakes and burns before the eyes of men, confounding and confusing, and, for the time, overwhelming and crushing all opposition that is too apt to exhaust all our ideas of mightiness. We should, therefore, be reminded that in the silent workings of mind and heart there are often developed forces stronger than the whirlwind, mightier than the earthquake shock, and fiercer in their burnings than fires which many waters cannot quench. In this we may discover just the relation of miracles to the truth which they have often served to introduce or confirm. We are in danger of esteeming the former above the latter, whereas the law and the prophets and Christ have taught a different lesson. The seven thousand devout hearts in Israel are a mightier power for good than even all the miracles of Elijah. So, too, Jesus taught his disciples that it is better to have one’s name written in heaven than to have power to work miracles, (Luk 10:20,) and that the true believer, led by the Spirit, shall do even greater works than the Messiah.
The immediate application of this lesson was to Elijah’s undue estimate of the miracles at Carmel. He seems to have supposed that the answer by fire that consumed his sacrifice, and the mighty wind and rain that came so quickly after, together with the slaughter of the false prophets, would accomplish the speedy reformation of Israel; and because they did not, he yielded to discouragement and despair. His radical error was in placing too much confidence in the outward and the marvellous. So the still small voice, as it developed itself into the sure word of prophecy, showed him how groundless was his despair, how mistaken his notions of Jehovah’s ways, and how manifold might be other agencies of judgment yet at God’s command.
At the same time the lesson might remind him that the impious Jezebel from whom he fled, and who now, after all his work against her gods, seemed to be triumphant still, was trusting in the outward appearance of power at her command. She might array against him and his fellow-prophets all the forces of government, and all the pomp and pretensions of the idolatry to which she was devoted, but these would soon exhaust themselves, for God would not be in them. The wind and fire of her presumptuous wrath would soon pass by, and after all its fury was spent, there would rise the seven thousand who had not bowed the knee to Baal; a silent force, perchance, but with God in them mightier far than all that could come against them.
But the deeper and grander lesson of these symbols is the contrast they present between the old dispensation and the new the Law and the Gospel. The miracles of the exodus, the clouds and thunders and lightnings that attended the giving of the law at this same Sinai, and all the later marvels in the sacred history of Israel, only prepared the ear of men to catch more readily and appreciate more fully the gentle voice of Him who did not cry or lift up his voice in the streets, but still spake as no other man spake. The sweetest, holiest sound that ever steals upon the soul of man is the voice of the WORD that was made flesh; and that voice, ever speaking in the Gospel, shall go forth throughout the earth, and its words unto the end of the world, until all idols fall, and all tongues confess, that Jesus is the Christ.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
1Ki 19:18. And every mouth which hath not kissed him This verse seems to be inserted to correct Elijah’s mistaken opinion, that he alone remained a worshipper of Jehovah. Kissing the image of a false god, or kissing the hand and stretching it out towards the image, was esteemed an act of adoration. See Job 31:27.
REFLECTIONS.We have here Elijah lodged in a cave, at the foot of mount Sinai, or Horeb: either taking refuge there as a place of safety, or hoping there to meet God, where he had once so eminently manifested his glory.
1. God there appears to him, to reprove and to encourage him: What dost thou here? is the Divine inquiry; (where he was buried from usefulness, and through coward fear acted so unlike the zealous Elijah.) Note; (1.) Whom God loves, he rebukes. (2.) When we step out of the way of duty, we should hear this voice of God addressing us, What dost thou here? (3.) Wherever God’s people are driven, no place can exclude his gracious manifestations.
2. He answers the inquiry by intimating the cause of his flight. His zeal for God against the prophets of Baal had exasperated Jezebel to take away his life; and the hardened impenitence of the people, who had renounced God’s covenant, had deserted his worship with insult against his altars, and slain the few faithful which remained, made him despair of success, while he had reason to fear that they would readily join their queen, in conspiring his death, who was now left alone, without so much as one to support or countenance him. Note; (1.) We are apt to be discouraged under want of success, as if the sufficiency of the power was of ourselves, and not of God. (2.) Woe to that people against whom their rejected ministers turn accusers of their obstinacy. (3.) They who would be faithful to God in evil days, must put their lives in their hand; and, as they dare speak for God, be ready to die for him.
3. God bids him come forth from the cave, and he will meet him in the mount, and make his glory pass before him. The prophet obeys, and God appears. Before him went the furious whirlwind, rending the rocks, and casting down the mountains; the trembling earth shook with reverence at his approach, and the fierce devouring flames bespoke his glorious presence. A still small voice succeeded, and now the prophet perceives the present Deity. Wrapped in his mantle, his face is hid, ashamed, afraid to look upon God, yet standing in the mouth of the cave, attentive to the words of the eternal Jehovah. Note; (1.) Though God is terrible to his enemies as a consuming fire, his voice is melody and love to his children; and to them he says, fury is not in me. (2.) When we appear before a holy God, shame may well cover our face. (3.) The law, like this tempest, breaks the stony heart of man; but it is the office of the blessed Gospel, in gentle accents, to soothe the broken heart, and softly, with kind words of peace and pardon, to bind up the wounded spirit.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 348
A REMNANT IN THE WORST OF TIMES
1Ki 19:18. Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
WE cannot always judge by outward appearances in religion. There is in some a forwardness, and display of piety; whilst in others there is a reserve and a delicate withdrawment from public notice. Amongst the former, a very great proportion turn out like the stony or thorny-ground hearers; who, if they fall not altogether from their profession, never truly honour and adorn it. Where, on the contrary, there is little of outward zeal, we are ready to imagine that the word has produced little or no effect. In the days of the Prophet Elijah, there were none to bear him in countenance, by a bold and open testimony for God; so that he conceived that he stood alone in the midst of an apostate and idolatrous people. But there were many of the class referred to, even seven thousand, who had not been carried away by the general torrent of iniquity, but had maintained in secret a faithful adherence to their God. This, in answer to Elijahs complaint, was declared by God himself: and from that declaration I shall take occasion to shew,
I.
That in the worst of times, God has an elect people in the world
In support of this very position, St. Paul quotes the words before us:
[It appeared in the Apostles days, that God had cast off his ancient people entirely. But St. Paul adduces himself as a proof to the contrary; and then, citing the answer given by Jehovah to his complaining servant Elijah, who thought that he was the only person in Israel that had remained faithful to his God, Yet have I reserved to myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal [Note: Rom 11:1-4.], or kissed it, in token of their religious veneration [Note: Hos 13:2.], he takes occasion to say, Even so at this time, also, there is a remnant according to the election of grace [Note: Rom 11:5.].]
And on these words we may ground the same observation at this time
[Through the tender mercy of God, we live in very different times from those of the Prophet Elijah. But the exercise of Gods sovereign grace is still the same; and every person who faithfully adheres to God, amidst the wickedness that abounds in the world, is indebted altogether to the distinguishing grace of God, whose power alone has quickened and upheld him.
This is a truth which many are extremely averse to hear: and, if it were really and of necessity connected with all the evils with which men load it, I should not wonder at the prejudices which are entertained against it. But indeed, when stated as it is revealed in Scripture, it is replete with godly comfort. For, who is there that would ever be saved, if he were left, like the fallen angels, without any succour from on high? Who would ever turn effectually to the Lord his God, if God did not first give him both to will and to do of his good pleasure [Note: Php 2:13.]? And I may further ask, Who is there, of whom we need despair? I will suppose him to be at this moment as bitter a persecutor as ever Saul was; yet may he, if God see fit, become a vessel of honour, like St. Paul, who was, even in the midst of all his violence, a chosen vessel, and had been so even from his mothers womb [Note: Gal 1:13-15 with Act 9:1-2; Act 9:14-15.]. If any man ever seemed beyond the reach of divine grace, it was Manasseh, who filled the temple of God itself with idols, and made the streets of Jerusalem to run down with the blood of innocents: yet even he, in consequence of Gods electing love, was converted, and sanctified, and saved [Note: 2Ch 33:3-13.]. So it may be, that some of our dear friends and relatives, who are at this moment immersed in wickedness of every kind, may yet have the eye of God fixed upon them for good, and, in despite of all their impiety, be made willing people in the day of Gods power [Note: Psa 110:3.]. We read, that whom God did foreknow, he did also predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son; and whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified [Note: Rom 8:29-30.]: and, for aught that we know, the same process may await some of whom we are ready to despair; and we may have the joy of seeing Gods purpose, which was formed before the world began, effected in the conversion of our friends, and consummated in their glorification before the throne of God. In fact, the persons who are now most eminent in the divine life were once dead in trespasses and sins, even as others: and they all, without exception, will gladly acknowledge, in their own case, the truth of our Lords declaration to his Apostles, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you [Note: Joh 15:16.]: for all of them have within themselves an unquestionable evidence, that as soon would a cannon-ball return of its own accord to the orifice from whence it has been discharged, as they, if left to themselves, would ever have returned to God, from whom they had so deeply revolted.]
But to this cheering truth I must add,
II.
That the number of these elect far exceeds all that the most sanguine of Gods saints would imagine In the days of Elijah they amounted to seven thousand men in Israel
[True, these were but few, when compared with the whole nation of Israel: but they were many, when compared with one single individual.]
And who can tell but that they may, even in this kingdom, be many times as numerous as they appear to be?
[We are apt to estimate the number of the Lords people by the numbers who make an open profession of religion: but there may be, and I doubt not are, multitudes throughout the land, who serve their God in sincerity, whilst, from a variety of circumstances, they have not been led to such displays of piety, as should attract the attention of the public. They conform not to the corrupt habits of the world around them, but bow their knee to Jesus, their Divine Saviour [Note: Rom 14:10-11.]; and kiss the Son, as the exclusive object of their homage [Note: Psa 2:12.]. They may possibly be secluded in the bosom of a family who are unfriendly to religion: or they may not be within the reach of an energetic ministry or pious associates: or they may be in a station of life where occupation and confinement preclude them from any great intercourse with their neighbours. But, whatever be the occasion of their privacy, I doubt not but the fact is as I have stated; and that God has, in this and other lands, many hidden ones, who, like plants in a wilderness, blossom unseen, and diffuse their fragrance unperceived, except by God himself.]
But to all of you I would say,
1.
Let your religion be such that God himself may bear witness to it
[God saw Nathanael under the fig-tree, and bare witness to him, as an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no guile. Let your hearts also be right with God, my beloved Brethren. Let him see that you resolutely withstand the corruptions that are in the world; and that you walk with him, even as Enoch did, in sweet communion, and in unreserved obedience ]
2.
Let your religion be such, that God may be glorified by it
[Certainly it is the duty of every man to confess Christ before men, and to glorify him by an open profession of his faith. Where an opportunity is afforded, this is absolutely indispensable: and, if we be deterred from it by any consideration under heaven, we must pay the penalty, even the loss of our immortal souls. With the heart, indeed, man believeth unto righteousness: but it is with the mouth that confession is to be made unto salvation [Note: Rom 10:10.]. Be not, then, ashamed of Christ; but take up your cross daily, and follow him: and so make your light to shine before men, that all who behold it may glorify your Father who is in heaven.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
IV
THE SCHOOLS OF THE PROPHETS
The more important passages bearing on this subject are 1Sa 3:1-4 ; 1Sa 10:5 ; 1Sa 10:9-12 ; 1Sa 18:13-24 ; 1Ki 19:18 ; 1Ki 19:20-21 ; 1Ki 20:35 ; 2Ki 2:3-5 ; 2Ki 4:38 ; 2Ki 6:1 ; 1Ch 29:29 ; 2Ch 9:29 ; 2Ch 12:15 ; 2Ch 13:22 and other chapters in that book I do not enumerate. The last one is Amo 7:14-15 . The reader will understand that I give these instead of a prescribed section in the Harmony. These constitute the basis of this discussion.
Let us distinguish between the prophetic gift and the prophetic office , and give some examples. Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, his seventy elders, Balaam, Joshua, and others before Samuel’s time had the gift, but not the office; perhaps we may except Moses as in a measure having the office. After Samuel’s time, David, many of his singers, and particularly Daniel, had the gift in a high degree, but not the office. Moreover, the high priests from Aaron to Caiphas in Christ’s time, were supposed to have officially the gift of prophecy that is, to hear and report what the Oracle said but Samuel is the first who held the office.
The distinction between a prophet and a son of a prophet is this: A son of a prophet was a candidate for the office, ministering to the prophet, a disciple instructed by him, consecrated to the work, and qualifying himself to perform the services of the office with the highest efficiency. A prophet is one who, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, speaks or writes for God. In this inspiration he is God’s mouth or pen, speaking or writing not his own words, but God’s words. This inspiration guides and superintends his speech and his silence; what is recorded and what is omitted from the record. The gift of prophecy was not one of uniform quantity nor necessarily enduring. The gifts were various in kind, and might be for one occasion only. As to variety of kinds, the revelation might come in dreams or open visions, or it might consist of an ecstatic trance expressed in praise or song or prayer. If praise, song, or prayer, its form was apt to be poetic, particularly if accompanied by instrumental music.
As to the duration of the gift, it might be for one occasion only, or a few, or many. The scriptures show that the spirit of prophecy came upon King Saul twice only, and each time in the form of an ecstatic trance. In his early life it came as a sign that God had chosen him as king. In his later life the object of it was to bar his harmful approach to David. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12-14 inclusive, explains the diversity of these gifts and their relative importance.
There are two periods of Hebrew history in which we find clearest notices of the schools of the prophets, the proofs of their persistence between the periods, and their influence on the nation. The notices are abundant in the time of Samuel, and in the time of Elijah and Elisha, but you have only to study the book of Chronicles to see that the prophetic order, as an office, continued through these periods and far beyond. Later you will learn that in the time of persecution fifty of these prophets were hidden in a cave and fed regularly. The object of the enemy was to destroy these theological seminaries, believing that they could never lead the nation astray while these schools of the prophets continued. Their object, therefore, was to destroy these seats of theological education. Elijah supposed that every one of them was killed except himself, but he was mistaken.
Samuel was the founder of the first school of the prophets, and the scripture which shows his headship 1Sa 19:20 , where Saul is sending messengers to take David, and finally goes himself and finds the school of the prophets, with Samuel as its appointed head. The reason for such a school in Samuel’s time is shown, first, by an extract from Kirkpatrick’s Commentary on 1 Samuel, page 33. He says:
Samuel was the founder of the prophetic order. Individuals in previous ages had been endowed with prophetic gifts, but with Samuel commenced the regular succession of prophets which lasted through all the period of the monarchy, and did not cease until after the captivity. The degeneracy into which the priesthood had fallen through the period of the judges demanded the establishment of a new order for the religious training of the nation.
For this purpose Samuel founded the institutions known as the schools of the prophets. The “company of prophets” at Gibeah (1Sa 10:10 ) and the scene at Ramah described in 1Sa 19:18 ff., imply a regular organization. These societies are only definitely mentioned again in connection with the history’ of Elijah and Elisha but doubtless continued to exist in the interval. By means of these the Order was maintained, students were educated, and common religious exercises nurtured and developed spiritual gifts.
Kirkpatrick’s is a fine commentary. The priests indeed were instructors of the people, but the tendency of the priesthood was to rest in external sacrifices, and to trust in a mere ritualistic form of sacrifice. That is the trouble always where you have a ritual. And after a while both priest and worshiper began to rely upon the external type, and on external conformity with the ritual. God needed better mouthpieces than those, hence while in the past there was a prophetic gift here and there, he now establishes the prophetic school, or society, in which training, bearing upon the prophetic office, should be continuous. The value of these schools of the prophets is also seen from Kirkpatrick, page 1 Samuel 34:
The value of the prophetic order to the Jewish nation was immense. The prophets were privy-counsellors of kings, the historians of the nation, the instructors of the people. It was their function to be preachers of righteousness to rich and poor alike: to condemn idolatry in the court, oppression among the nobles, injustice among the judges, formality among the priests. They were the interpreters of the law who drew out by degrees the spiritual significance which underlay ritual observance, and labored to prevent sacrifice and sabbath and festival from becoming dead and unmeaning forms. Strong in the unshaken consciousness that they were expressing the divine will, they spoke and acted with a fearless courage which no threats could daunt or silence.
Thus they proved a counterpoise to the despotism of monarchy and the formalism of priesthood. In a remarkable passage in his essay on “Representative Government,” Mr. John Stuart Mill attributes to their influence the progress which distinguished the Jews from other Oriental nations. “The Jews,” he writes, “had an absolute monarchy and hierarchy. These did for them what was done for other Oriental races by their institutions subdued them to industry and order, and gave them a national life. . . . Their religion gave existence to an inestimably precious institution, the order of prophets. Under the protection, generally though not always effectual, of their sacred character, the prophets were a power in the nation, often more than a match for kings and priests, and kept up in that little corner of the earth the antagonism of influences which is the only real security for continued progress.”
I was surprised the first time I ever saw the statement from Mill. He was a radical evolutionist and infidel, but a statesman, and in studying the development of statesmanship among the nations, he saw this singular thing in the history of the Jews, unlike anything he saw anywhere else, and saw what it was that led that nation, when it went into backsliding, to repentance; what power it was that brought about the reformation when their morals were corrupted; what power it was that was the real light of the nation and the salt of the earth, and saw that it was this order of prophets which was the conservator of national unity, purity, and perpetuity. I have the more pleasure in quoting that passage, as it comes from a witness in no way friendly to Christianity, just as when I was discussing missions I quoted the testimony of Charles Darwin to the tremendous influence for good wrought by the missionaries of South America.
Particularly in this case of the schools of the prophets we find their value, by noting very carefully the bearing on the case under Samuel. We have already noticed the corruption of the priesthood under Eli, Hophni, and Phinehas; how the ark was captured, the central place of worship desecrated; how Samuel, called to the office of prophet, needed assistance, and how he instituted this school of the prophets. He gathered around him the brightest young men of the nation and had the Spirit of God rest on them, and in order that their instruction might be regular he organized them into companies, or schools; he would go from one to another, and these young “theologs” were under the instruction of Samuel and for twenty years worked as evangelists in making sensitive the national conscience. It took twenty years to do it, and he could not have done it by himself, but with that tremendous power, the help he had, at the end of twenty years, he saw the nation repentant and once more worshiping God. I am for a theological seminary that will do that.
I give a modern example somewhat parallel: Mr. Spurgeon was called to the city of London, when about nineteen years old, to be the pastor of the old historic church of Dr. Gill, and in his evangelical preaching impressed a number of men to feel that they were also called to preach (if your preaching does not impress somebody else to preach, you may be sure that you are not called to preach), and it impressed the women and a multitude of laymen to do active Christian service. Therefore, Mr. Spurgeon organized what is called “The Pastoral College.” He wouldn’t let a drone be in it; he did not want anybody in it that was not spiritually minded. In other words, he insisted that a preacher should be religiously inclined, and should be ready to do any kind of work. He supported this institution largely through his own contributions, although the men and women all over England, when they saw what it was doing, would send money for its support. I used to read the monthly reports of the contributions and the list of donors that accompanied them.
Mr. Spurgeon determined to work a revolution, just as Samuel did, and he used this school of the prophets for that purpose. Consequently, hundreds of young preachers belonging to that school of the prophets preached in the slums of the city, in the byways, in the highways, in the hedges, in the mines, on the wharves to the sailors, and in the hospitals. Hundreds of laymen said, “Put us to work,” and he did; he had pushcarts made for them, and filled them with books and so sent out over the town literature that was not poisonous. He put the women to work, and established) or rather perpetuated in better form, a number of the almshouses for the venerable old women who were poor and helpless, following out the suggestion in 2 Timothy, and he erected a hospital. Then they got to going further afield. They went all over England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, crossed over into the Continent, crossed the seas to Australia, and the islands of the seas, and into heathen lands. I have always said that Spurgeon’s Pastoral College came nearer to the Bible idea of a seminary than any other in existence. There was not so much stress laid on mere scholarship as on spiritual efficiency.
It is important to note particularly what I am saying now, because it was burnt into my heart as one of the reasons for establishing a theological seminary. The nature of that society was that it was a school. They left their homes and came to stay at this school, with what we now call a mess hall in which all the theological students, by contributing so much, have their table in common. It was that way then; they had their meals in common. In preparing dinner one day for the sons of the prophets, somebody put a lot of wild gourds into the pot, and when they began to eat it, one of them cried out: “Ah, man of God, there’s death in the pot!” Once I preached a sermon on this theme: “Wild Gourds and Theological Seminaries,” to show that to feed the students in theological seminaries on wild gourds of heresy is to put death in the pot; they will do more harm than good, as they will become instruments of evil.
In determining what were their duties, we must consult quite a number of passages. We gather from this passage that they were thoroughly instructed in the necessity of repentance, individually and nationally, and of turning from their sins and coming back to God with faithful obedience. That lesson was ground in them. They were taught the interpretation of the spiritual meaning of the law, all its sacrifices, its feasts, its types, and therefore when you are studying a prophet in the Old Testament you will notice how different his idea of types and ceremonies from that of the priests. They will tell you that to do without eating is fasting, but the prophet will show that literal fasting is not true fasting; that there must be fasting at heart; that there must be a rending of the soul and not the garment as an expression of repentance; that to obey God w better than a formal sacrifice.
Another thing they were taught, which I wish particularly to emphasize, was music, both vocal and instrumental. In that school of the prophets started the tremendous power of music in religion so wonderfully developed by David, who got many of his ideas from associating with the schools of the prophets. And from that time unto this, every evangelical work, and all powerful religious work, has been associated with music, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament; not merely vocal, but instrumental music. The heart of a religion is expressed in its songs, and if you want to get at the heart of your Old Testament you find it in the hymnbook of the Hebrew nation the Psalter. It is indeed an interesting study to see what has been the influence of great hymns on the national life. There is an old proverb: “You may make the laws of the people, if you will let me write their ballads.” Where is there a man capable of measuring the influence of “How Firm a Foundation,” or “Come, Thou Fount,” or “Did Christ O’er Sinners Weep?” There is a rich literature on the influence of hymns on the life.
In the awful times of the struggle in England, Charles I against the Parliament, one faction of the nation held to ritualism, while the other followed spirituality, even to the extreme of not allowing any form, not even allowing any instruments of music. One of the finest stories of this period is the account of a church that observed the happy medium, using instrumental as well as vocal music, and congregational singing as well as the use of the choir; every sabbath somebody’s soul was melted in the power of that mighty singing. I can’t sing myself, but I can carry the tunes in my mind, and I can be more influenced by singing than by preaching. It was singing that convicted me of sin. It was on a waving, soaring melody of song that my soul was converted. I once knew a rugged, one-eyed, homely, old pioneer Baptist preacher, who looked like a pirate until his religion manifested itself, and then he was beautiful. I heard him one day when a telegram was put into his hand stating that his only son had just been killed by being thrown from a horse. While weeping, his face became illumined; he got up and clapped his hands and walked through that audience, singing, “O, Jesus, My Saviour, to Thee I Submit.”
John Bunyan wrote that song while in Bedford Jail. They had put him there to keep him from preaching, and looking out through the bars of the dungeon he saw his poor blind girl, Mary, begging bread, and he sat down and wrote that hymn. The effect of the old preacher’s singing John Bunyan’s song was a mighty revival.
The relation of the schools of the prophets to modern theological seminaries is this: The purpose was the same. And so in New Testament times, Jesus recognized that if he wanted to revolutionize the world by evangelism he must do it with trained men. He did not insist that they be rich, great or mighty men. He did not insist that they be scholars. He called them from among the common people, and he kept them right with him for three years and a half, and diligently instructed them in the principles and spirit of his kingdom. He taught them in a variety of forms; in parables, in proverbs, in exposition, illustrating his teachings by miracles, and in hundreds of ways in order that they might be equipped to go out and lead the world to Christ. You cannot help being impressed with this fact: That the theological seminaries in Samuel’s time and in Christ’s time were intensely practical, the object being not to make learned professors, but to fill each one with electricity until you could call him a “live wire,” so that it burnt whoever touched it.
This is why I called Samuel a great man, and why in a previous discussion, counting the men as the peaks in a mountain range, sighting back from Samuel to Abraham, only one other peak comes into line of vision, and that is Moses.
QUESTIONS
1. What are the more important passages bearing on the schools of the prophets?
2. Distinguish between the prophetic gift and the prophetic office and illustrate by examples.
3. Distinguish between a prophet and a son of a prophet.
4. What is the meaning of prophet?
5. In what two periods of Hebrew history do we find the clearest notices of the school of prophets, what are the proofs of their persistence between these periods, and what is their influence on the nation?
6. Who was the founder of the first school of the prophets?
7. What scripture shows his headship?
8. What was the reason for such school in Samuel’s time?
9. What was the value of these schools of the prophets, and particularly in this case, and what illustration from modern instances?
10. What was the nature of that society, and what was the instruction given?
11. What was the relation of the schools of the prophets to modern theological seminaries?
Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible
1Ki 19:18 Yet I have left [me] seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
Ver. 18. Yet I have left me seven thousand. ] See on 1Ki 19:14 . By this, as by a bookcase, saith one, doth the apostle prove that God had not cast off all the Israelites in his time. Rom 11:2-4 According to the fashion of the wealthy, saith another, God pleaseth himself in hidden treasures. It is enough that his own eyes behold his riches.
Which have not bowed their knees.
And every mouth which hath not kissed him.
a Sandys’s Relation.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
I have left, &c. Rom 11:4.
bowed. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct),
kissed. for worshipping. Compare Hos 3:12.
kissed him. Hebrew kissed to him. Compare Job 31:26, Job 31:27.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Yet I have left: or, Yet I will leave, Isa 1:9, Isa 10:20-22, Rom 11:4, Rom 11:5
the knees: Exo 20:5, Isa 49:23, Rom 14:10-12, Phi 2:10
every mouth: Idolaters often kissed their hand in honour of their idols; and hence the origin of adoration from ad, to and os, oris, the mouth. Cicero mentions a statue of Hercules, the chin and lips of which were considerably worn by the kissing of his worshippers. Job 31:27, Psa 2:12, Hos 13:2
Reciprocal: Num 25:2 – bowed 1Sa 10:1 – kissed him 1Ki 20:15 – seven thousand 2Ki 5:18 – and I bow 2Ki 23:4 – Baal Isa 17:6 – General Mar 15:19 – and bowing Eph 3:14 – I Rev 3:4 – even
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Ki 19:18. Yet have I left me, &c. Or, I have reserved to myself; I have by my grace kept from the common contagion: therefore thou art mistaken in thinking that thou art left alone. Seven thousand Either definitely, so many; or rather, indefinitely, for many thousands; the number seven being often used for a great number. It is, indeed, altogether improbable that all the Israelites, except seven thousand, worshipped Baal, unless Baal stand here for all their idols, and for the calves among the rest. And every mouth that hath not kissed him That is, those who have not worshipped Baal, nor professed reverence or subjection to him, which idolaters did to their idols, by bowing the knee, and by kissing them, or by kissing their hand before them and in respect to them, of which mention is made in Scripture, Job 31:26-27; Hos 13:2. Compare Psa 2:12, and in Pliny, Apuleius, and some other profane authors.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
19:18 Yet I have left [me] seven thousand in Israel, {h} all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
(h) He declares that wicked deceivers and idolaters are not his.