Ch. 1Ki 15:1-8<\/span>. Abijam, king of Judah (2Ch 13:1-2<\/span>)<\/p>\n 1<\/strong>. reigned Abijam over Judah<\/em> ] Better, with R.V. began<\/strong> Abijam<\/em> to reign<\/strong>. This is the sense of the verb here, though in the next verse it must be simply ‘reigned.’ The A.V. renders it ‘began to reign’ in 1Ki 15:25<\/span> of this chapter, and elsewhere.<\/p>\n Abijam<\/em> ] The LXX. adds ‘son of Rehoboam.’ The name is Abijah<\/em> in 2 Chron., and, comparing with other names of like formation, that appears the more correct.<\/p>\n CHAPTER XV <\/P> Abijam’s wicked reign, and death<\/I>, 1-8.<\/P> Asa succeeds him in the kingdom of Judah, and rules well<\/I>, 9-15.<\/P> He makes a league with the king of Syria against Baasha king of<\/I><\/P> Israel, who is obliged to desist in his attempts against Judah<\/I>,<\/P> 16-22.<\/P> He is diseased in his feet and dies, and is succeeded by his<\/I><\/P> son Jehoshaphat<\/I>, 23-25.<\/P> Nadab, son of Jeroboam, reigns over Israel; but is slain by<\/I><\/P> Baasha, who reigns in ha stead<\/I>, 26-28.<\/P> Baasha destroys all the house of Jeroboam, according to the<\/I><\/P> prediction of Ahijah<\/I>, 29, 30.<\/P> Baasha continues the idolatry of Jeroboam<\/I>, 31-34. <\/P> NOTES ON CHAP. XV<\/P> <\/P> Verse 1<\/span>. Reigned Abijam over Judah.<\/B><\/I>] Of this son of Rehoboam, of his brethren, and of Rehoboam’s family in general, see 2 Chron. 12<\/span>, where many particulars are added.<\/P> <\/p>\n Object.<\/B> How can this be, when he reigned three years, 1Ki 15:2<\/span>, and Asa his successor began his reign in the twentieth year of Jeroboam, 1Ki 15:9<\/span>? <\/P> Answ.<\/B> Parts of years are commonly called and accounted years, both in the Old and New Testament, and in profane writers. So his reign began with Jeroboams eighteenth year, and continued his whole nineteenth year, and ended within his twentieth year, in which also Asas reign began. And thus one and the same year may well be, as it frequently is, attributed to two several persons. <\/P> <\/p>\n 1. Abijam<\/B>His name was atfirst Abijah (2Ch 12:16<\/span>);”Jah,” the name of God, according to an ancient fashion,being conjoined with it. But afterwards, when he was found “walkingin all the sins of his father” [1Ki15:3<\/span>], that honorable addition was withdrawn, and his name insacred history changed into Abijam [LIGHTFOOT].<\/P><\/p>\n Now in the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah.<\/strong> That is, began to reign; and by this it appears that Rehoboam was in the eighteenth year of his reign when he died, for he and Jeroboam began their reign at the same time.<\/p>\n Reign of Abijam (cf., 2 Chron 13). – Abijam<\/em> reigned three years, and his mother’s name was Maacah<\/em>, daughter (i.e., grand-daughter) of Absalom. We have the same in 2Ch 11:20-21<\/span>; but in 2Ch 13:2<\/span> she is called Michajahu<\/em>, daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. If was without doubt Absalom, the well-known son of David, as we may infer from the fact that this name does not occur again in the Old Testament in connection with any other person, since Absalom had only one daughter, viz., Thamar<\/em> (2Sa 14:27<\/span>), who was fifty years old when Solomon died, Maacah must have been a daughter of this Thamar, who had married Uriel of Gibeah, and therefore a grand-daughter of Absalom. This is sustained by Josephus ( Ant<\/em>. viii. 10, 1). The form of the name is probably an error in copying for , as the name is also written in 2Ch 11:20<\/span>, 2Ch 11:21<\/span>, and not a different name, which Maacah assumed as queen, as Caspari supposes ( Micha<\/em>, p. 3, note 4).<\/p>\n Abijam’s Reign.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 958.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 1 Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. 2 Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was<\/I> Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. 3 And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD<\/B> his God, as the heart of David his father. 4 Nevertheless for David’s sake did the LORD<\/B> his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: 5 Because David did that which was<\/I> right in the eyes of the LORD<\/B>, and turned not aside from any thing<\/I> that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. 6 And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. 7 Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are<\/I> they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. 8 And Abijam slept with his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead.<\/P> We have here a short account of the short reign of Abijam the son of Rehoboam king of Judah. He makes a better figure, 2 Chron. xiii.<\/span>, where we have an account of his war with Jeroboam, the speech which he made before the armies engaged, and the wonderful victory he obtained by the help of God. There he is called Abijah–My father is the Lord,<\/I> because no wickedness is there laid to his charge. But here, where we are told of his faults, Jah,<\/I> the name of God, is, in disgrace to him, taken away from his name, and he is called Abijam.<\/I> See Jer. xxii. 24<\/span>.<\/P> I. Few particulars are related concerning him. 1. Here began his reign in the beginning of Jeroboam’s eighteenth year; for Rehoboam reigned but seventeen, ch.<\/I><\/span> xiv. 21<\/span>. Jeroboam indeed survived Rehoboam, but Rehoboam’s Abijah lived to succeed him and to be a terror to Jeroboam, while Jeroboam’s Abijah (whom we read of ch.<\/I><\/span> xiv. 1<\/span>) died before him. 2. He reigned scarcely three years, for he died before the end of Jeroboam’s twentieth year, v.<\/I><\/span> 9<\/span>. Being made proud and secure by his great victory over Jeroboam (2 Chron. xiii. 21<\/span>), God cut him off, to make way for his son Asa, who would be a better man. 3. His mother’s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom,<\/I> that is, Absalom, David’s son, as I am the rather inclined to think because two other of Rehoboam’s wives were his near relations (2 Chron. xi. 18<\/span>), one the daughter of Jerimoth, David’s son, and another the daughter of Eliab, David’s brother. He took warning by his father not to marry strangers; yet thought it below him to marry his subjects, except they were of the royal family. 4. He carried on his father’s wars with Jeroboam. As there was continual war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, not set battles (these were forbidden, ch.<\/I><\/span> xii. 24<\/span>), but frequent encounters, especially upon the borders, one making incursions and reprisals on the other, so there was between Abijam and Jeroboam (v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>), till Jeroboam, with a great army, invaded him, and then Abijam, not being forbidden to act in his own defence, routed him, and weakened him, so that he compelled him to be quiet during the rest of his reign, 2 Chron. xiii. 20<\/span>.<\/P> II. But, in general, we are told, 1. That he was not like David, had no hearty affection for the ordinances of God, though, to serve his purpose against Jeroboam, he pleaded his possession of the temple and priesthood, as that upon which he valued himself, 2 Chron. xiii. 10-12<\/span>. Many boast of their profession of godliness who are strangers to the power of it, and plead the truth of their religion who yet are not true to it. His heart was not perfect with the Lord his God.<\/I> He seemed to have zeal, but he wanted sincerity; he began pretty well, but he fell off, and walked in all the sins of his father,<\/I> followed his bad example, though he had seen the bad consequences of it. He that was all his days in war ought to have been so wise as to make and keep his peace with God, and not to make him his enemy, especially having found him so good a friend in his war with Jeroboam, 2 Chron. xiii. 18<\/span>. Let favour be shown to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness,<\/I> Isa. xxvi. 10<\/I><\/span>. 2. That yet it was for David’s sake that he was advanced, and continued upon the throne; it was for his sake<\/I> (1Ki 15:4<\/span>; 1Ki 15:5<\/span>) that God thus set up his son after him;<\/I> not for his own sake, nor for the sake of his father, in whose steps he trod, but for the sake of David,<\/I> whose example he would not follow. Note, It aggravates the sin of a degenerate seed that they fare the better for the piety of their ancestors and owe their blessings to it, and yet will not imitate it. They stand upon that ground, and yet despise it, and trample upon it, and unreasonably ridicule and oppose that which they enjoy the benefit of. The kingdom of Judah was supported, (1.) That David might have a lamp, pursuant to the divine ordination of a lamp for his anointed,<\/I> Ps. cxxxii. 17<\/I><\/span>. (2.) That Jerusalem might be established, not only that the honours put upon it in David’s and Solomon’s time might be preserved to it, but that it might be reserved to the honours designed for it in after-times. The character here given of David is very great–that he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord;<\/I> but the exception is very remarkable–save only in the matter of Uriah,<\/I> including both his murder and the debauching of his wife. That was a bad matter; it was a remaining blot upon his name, a bar in his escutcheon, and the reproach of it was not wiped away, though the guilt was. David was guilty of other faults, but they were nothing in comparison of that; yet even that being repented of, though it be mentioned for warning to others, did not prevail to throw him out of the covenant, nor to cut off the entail of the promise upon his seed.<\/P> <\/p>\n <\/strong><\/p>\n Commentary on 1 Kings Chapter 15 AND 2 Chronicles Chapter 13<\/p>\n Commentary on <\/strong>1Ki 15:1-6<\/span> AND <\/strong>2Ch 13:1-2<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Eighteen years after the death of Solomon the kingdom of Judah had another king, the grandson of David, and also the grandson of Absalom (here called Abishalom), David’s son. Absalom’s sons had died (2Sa 18:18<\/span>), so Abijah had descended through his daughter, Tamer. His mother’s name was Maachah (or Michaiah), and her father’s name was Uriel. Abijah (Abijam in Kings) appears to have had many of the charismatic qualities of his maternal grandfather. He had been groomed to succeed his father on the throne.<\/p>\n Abijah’s reign was for only three years. The reason for his short reign is not revealed. The saddest thing about Abijah is the divine record of his spiritual condition. He walked in all the sins of his father, Rehoboam, and seems not to have turned to the Lord on occasion as did his father. God’s record is clear that he was allowed to rule that the Lord’s word concerning David’s “lamp in Jerusalem” might be fulfilled, and in order that Jerusalem might be further established as the Lord’s dwelling place. David’s life was characterized as godly, except in the affair of Uriah the Hittite, for which he had repented and was forgiven, but the conduct of Abijah was not comparable. This may be why the Lord removed him from the scene as Judah’s ruler after only three years.<\/p>\n 2Ch 13:3<\/span><\/p>\n (The 1st edition Hardbound version of the commentary includes the following comments under 1 Kings 15).<\/strong><\/p>\n 1Ki 15:6<\/span> states that a state of war existed between Rehoboam and Jeroboam throughout their reigns. Though there was certainly belligerency God did not allow them to engage in open warfare. The first account of actual battle between Jeroboam and the southern kingdom occurred after the accession of Abijah, and is recorded only in Chronicles. It is in this incident that the characteristics of his grandfather, Absalom, appear in the young king. He appears as proud, boastful, and arrogant, yet having a brilliant mind. He was also a very able orator.<\/p>\n The site of this battle was Mount Zemaraim, in the tribe of Ephraim, but archaeologists today are unable to locate it. Abijah was the apparent aggressor, for he had his army inside the bounds of the northern kingdom,and Jeroboam was thus on the defensive. Abijah was outnumbered two to one, he having 400,000 chosen, valiant men in comparison to Jeroboam’s 800,000. Abijah’s army may have benefited from superior officers and training, due to the former prowess of David’s army which would have been passed on to them.<\/p>\n Abijah claimed a divine right to rule over all the tribes by the covenant of God with David. With his army situated on the mountain, from which his voice would carry well to the men of Israel in the valleys below, Abijah proceeded to deliver his oration to the men of Israel. His speech consisted of three major points: 1) the fact of God’s kingdom covenant with David; 2) rebuke of the northern tribes for their rebellion; 3) assurance that the Lord remained on the side of Judah.<\/p>\n Abah said the covenant of the Lord with David was a covenant of salt. Salt was considered a very important element to ancient men, and a covenant of salt. Salt was to be considered of vital force toward those who entered into it. This covenant had included David’ sons, and the tribes of Jeroboam’s kingdom ought to know this. Abijah ignored the apparent will of the Lord in allowing the separation of the tribes into two kingdoms.<\/p>\n The rebuke of Abijah was aimed basically at Jeroboam, to whom he referred as the rebellious servant of Solomon (which, of course, he had been). Those who had followed Jeroboam, of the tribes, Abijah characterized as vain men, worthless sons of Belial, who had taken advantage of a young and naive Rehoboam. Abijah possibly meant that his father was immature as a ruler and inexperienced in handling a crisis situation. The men of the north had come to him, even before his coronation, with demands he had insufficient time to consider. So they had made good their rebellion against the house of David, and expect to maintain themselves by the vast army they have accumulated. This they do in spite of having rejected the true God of Israel for two golden calves. They have further rejected the true priests and the Levites and have responded by making every man who can supply a sacrifice for his consecration a priest of the calves.<\/p>\n In contrast, Abijah protests, the true worship of the Lord is still being carried out in Judah and Jerusalem. The sons of Aaron continue to maintain the temple worship, and the Levites continue in their designated positions. Abijah claims that Judah has not neglected the Lord, but continues the offerings, sacrifices, incense, shewbread, and lamps as the Lord had prescribed for Israel in His law given Moses.<\/p>\n Furthermore, he claimed that the Lord was with him, and His priests to sound the war trumpet against Jeroboam’s forces. They thus cannot expect to prosper infighting against the Lord.<\/p>\n 2Ch 13:13<\/span><\/p>\n (The 1st edition Hardbound version of the commentary includes the following comments under 1 Kings 15).<\/strong><\/p>\n End of Jeroboam, Verses 13-20<\/strong><\/p>\n It appears that the men of Abijah were engrossed in his eloquent oration, so that they were unaware of what was happening among the men of Jeroboam. As their king closed his speech they suddenly realized that they had been ambushed. Jeroboam had taken the advantage of their enthrallment with their king’s great words and encircled them with his 800,000 men, and they were hemmed in on every side. God had allowed a situation which would prove the claims to divine allegiance made for them by King Abijah.<\/p>\n The men of Judah responded admirably. They immediately cried to the Lord for help when they realized their predicament. The priests bearing the trumpets also responded by sounding them in the name of the Lord. The men raised their voices in a mighty shout which reached up to God. As a result the Lord heard them and gave them victory over the mighty army of Jeroboam. In fact He is said to have smitten Jeroboam and all Israel Himself, before the eyes of Abijah and Judah. This indicates that the nature of the defeat of Israel was such that there was no denying the hand of God in the matter. They were wholly delivered into the hands of the men of Judah (cf. 2Co 2:14<\/span>).<\/p>\n Israel suffered a very disastrous defeat at the hands of Abijah and Judah. Five hundred thousand of the 800,000 men perished in the battle. The northern kingdom was so severely beaten they did not recover for many years. Abijah carried the war further into the kingdom, capturing Bethel (where the calf temple was), Jeshanah (just south of Shiloh) and its environs, and Ephraim (or Ophrah, eastward from Bethel) and its towns. Nothing is said of Abijah’s treatment of the city of Bethel and its idolatrous temple. Had he been sincere in his flowery speech about his devotion to true worship he surely would have destroyed it. This he certainly must not have done, or the Lord would have recorded it in the Scriptures. He was not a sincere and truthful worshipper (Joh 4:23<\/span>).<\/p>\n Notice has already been made in this commentary of the death of Jeroboam (see above). But it is well to emphasize again the nature of his death. This battle of Mount Zemaraim is his last notable act, though he lived about two years longer. The Scriptures say that the Lord struck him, and he died. This would accord with the prediction of the Prophet Ahijah, who said that Jeroboam and all his house would die violently and their bodies go unburied.<\/p>\n Lessons from this study: 1) God’s promises are kept and continue in spite of evil rulers; 2) fixing one’s eyes on the eloquent platitudes of the world gets them off God and His power and may lead to loss; 3) when one finds himself out of the will of God a speedy repentance should be made that the Lord’s favor may be restored; 4) the Lord cannot be made to change His will to suit the ideas of men (Isa 55:8-11<\/span>); 5) the good promises of men never are accomplished without the Lord (Pro 16:25<\/span>).<\/p>\n <\/span>THE DIVIDED KINGDOM<\/strong><\/p>\n 1 Kings 12-22.<\/p>\n IN resuming our study of I Kings, in this 12th chapter we confront a sudden turn in history. The falling of such a man as Solomon is a shock to history itself; a stop so sudden in its impetuous rush, that all society is shaken in consequence, and wonder as to what next? takes possession of the people. The text of Scripture does not always take account of time. How many days elapsed between the emptying of Davids throne by Solomons death, and the accession to the same on the part of Rehoboam, we are not told; but the pivotal points in this adjustment are made plain, and in the study of them one fact shines clearly forth, namely, that God, the true King of Israel, lived and reigned.<\/p>\n Men make their plans and attempt their executions, but history records how the Divine will overrules them all. The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord (Pro 16:33<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n Teachers have called attention to the fitness of renaming the fifth Book of the New Testament, and instead of calling it, The Acts of the Apostles, declare it, The Acts of the Holy Ghost. So in this Old Testament history we seem to be studying the acts of the kings of Judah and Israel, but they are necessarily interpreted in the light of the will of the King of kings, the Lord of Glory. Whosoever sitteth upon the throne, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.<\/em><\/p>\n Keeping that fact before us, we find these eleven chapters are as full of spiritual suggestions as they are replete with historic incidents, and in the interest of time as it relates itself to the most important truths, I ask your attention to the great opposing personalities that are herein discovered; to Jeroboam vs. Rehoboam; to Elijah vs. Ahab, and to Micaiah vs. false prophets.<\/p>\n <\/span>JEROBOAM VS. REHOBOAM<\/strong><\/p>\n Coming events cast their shadows before! We had not finished the 11th chapter when Jeroboam, the son of Neb at, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomons servant,<\/em> the son of a widow, was lifting his hand against the king, and Ahijah, the prophet, was kindling his ambitions by telling him that the God of Israel would rend the kingdom out of Solomons hands and give ten tribes to him. The path, therefore, of Rehoboam, Solomons son, was not clear. If he came to the kingdom he must both put down his opponent and placate his people. This dual task requires wisdom, and the subject of the complaint was one with which the counsellors of the old king were alone familiar. When Rehoboam consulted them, they advised moderation in speech and conduct.<\/p>\n That is a hard word for ambitious youth. It is a consent to place a leash on passionate strength. The impetuous prince straightway made appeal to young men and secured from them the counsel his inexperienced spirit craved, namely the counsel of rigor, expressed in. the threat, my little finger shall be thicker than my fathers loins (1Ki 12:10<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n Men, particularly inexperienced men, commonly accept the counsels that fit with their own plans and desires, and Rehoboam was no exception.<\/p>\n But even then, history is not made apart from the will and plan of God. The very decision of Rehoboam is a part of the prophecy of Ahijah as much so as the perfidy of Judas was prophecy converted into history. Whether God rules in all things may be a question! That God is familiar with all contingencies before they come to pass is not even debatable, and that He presides over history is a settled truth. If Judas betrayed Jesus that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled, so <\/em>also Rehoboam refused wise counsel and accepted the false, that the word which the Lord spake by Ahijah the Shilonite<\/em> should stand. Foreknowledge of human conduct does not render God morally responsible in any measure for what men may do, but it does enable Him to administer all history, and in the end to work out His own will.<\/p>\n In the remaining portion of this chapter and running through the 16th of the same book, there are at least three outstanding lessons to be learned by the observant student.<\/p>\n The Menace of mistaken counsels! <\/strong>Modern science is proving that all space is a unity, and transmission of sound by the radio is demonstrating that the speech made in America can actually be heard on every continent of the world; and yet more certain still is it that single events influence and affect history more positively and permanently than a spoken word affects the element of ether.<\/p>\n If it had been the rule of Rehoboam alone, the result of this consultation with the old men first and with the young men later must still have been important, but with limitations, both in time and effect. When it is remembered, however, that all human history, to the end of the age, would take color from the decision reached by this young king, then who can measure the importance of wise counsel?<\/p>\n The cheapest commodity is advice; that is to say, it is everywhere on exhibit and offered for nothing, but in the end it comes at the greatest conceivable cost or proves itself to have been a most invaluable contribution. In other words, counsel makes or mars. The world to this hour is suffering from Rehoboams mistake, not alone in the division of the sons of Abraham, but since that day, every Gentile nation has felt the evil influence of the same.<\/p>\n There is a philosophy, popular at this time, to the effect that it does not make much difference what you tell youth; whether you counsel them concerning the true God in heaven, or tell them that the only God there is is a one-celled animal; whether you lead them to believe that the inspired record of Genesis is true, or scoff their minds into an utter skepticism; whether you impress them with the notion that they are apesbetter developed, or the true creatures of Gods own thought, plan and power. There seems to be an impression that the counsel of youth finds no expression in the character of mature men and womena philosophy as false as the devil who fathers it.<\/p>\n I tell you that the counsels of youth determine everything! America, one hundred years from now, will be reaping the harvest of what is sown in the minds of the young men at this moment. If they are taught the truth, they will bless the world. If they are taught a lie, they will curse it! A correct counsel for the young is of too infinite moment to be banished from society through the specious plea of skeptics who cry Academic freedom. Rehoboam was not a beardless boy when they counselled him falsely. He was forty-one years of age, and yet, with even such maturity of years, he succumbed, and the nations have suffered in consequence. How vastly more deleterious is the effect of false counsel upon the ten and fifteen and twenty year old youth! To teach him falsehoods in the name of academic freedom is to flout all sound philosophy, fly in the face of all mans experience and seek to cover rotting skepticism with a wholesome sounding phrase!<\/p>\n But to pass on to another and kindred point, involving chapter 13:<\/p>\n The immorality of compromise with false ministers.<\/strong> When in the study of the week we came to a careful consideration of this 13th chapter, we felt exactly as though we were listening to an address in the Convention of the Christian Fundamentalists. Here is a true prophet of God with a Divinely given message, and a commission, and on his way. He is overtaken by a false prophet, a new theologian, a man with a social message, and is asked to sit at meat with him and prove himself a good fellow, and is even told that this is the will of the Lord. So the true prophet went back with the false prophet and did eat bread and drink water and the consequence was his repudiation by the false prophet first and a speedy judgment upon his disobedience, executed by his death at the paw of a lion (1Ki 13:11-32<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> The false prophet mourned him, buried and built a tomb to him, and requested of his own sons that he be let to lie beside him when his days are done.<\/p>\n How modern it all sounds! The greatest single plea presented by the new theologian of the present is that of good fellowship. They want us to sit at the same table with them; they want us to be silent about our differences; they want us to believe in their human and natural philosophies; that they are as true prophets of God as are the men who come with the revealed Word; and if we yield to their persuasions, compromise with them on the great matters in dispute between us. Deep in their own souls they despise us for our failure to stand for what we knew to be the inspired Word, and yet when we are dead, they will build tombs to us, and ask to be buried at our sides!<\/p>\n Meantime, every true minister of the Gospel must determine whether he will yield to such social and philosophic enticements or whether he will take his place with John and in obedience to the revelation made to that prophet, receive him not into your house, neither hid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds<\/em> (2Jn 1:10-11<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n Moving on to chapters 14 to 16, we find another fundamental truth waiting to be apprehended and emphasized, namely,<\/p>\n The folly of attempting to purchase acceptable prophecy. <\/strong>Here again the Old Testament times are being duplicated in the New Testament day. The son of Jeroboam fell sick. Ahijah the prophet was consulted by the queen mother, who came in disguise, with gifts and flatteries. The old mans vision had failed; his eyes were set by reason of age, he could not see; but age does not dim the vision of the Lord, and He revealed her personality to Ahijah and told him both her plan and purpose. So at the sound of her feet at the door, the old prophet said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings (1Ki 14:6<\/em><\/span><\/em>),<\/em> and he pronounced judgment upon the king and his house and plainly declared that God would raise up another king over Israel who should cut off the whole house of Jeroboam in justice against the kings sin; and the prophecy came to pass, and Jeroboam, who had reigned twenty-two years, slept with his fathers, and Rehoboam, son of Solomon, who reigned in Judah, went also to his grave. Singularly enough, the death of these kings is recorded in the same chapter.<\/p>\n Then follows the long list of the kings on either side, conflicts, divisions, disasters and judgments (chaps. 15;<\/em> 16).<\/em> There are plenty of people who would like to purchase acceptable prophecy. There are plenty of women who, like Jeroboams wife, do not want the truth of God. They want smooth words; they want the prophet to say there is no sickness; they want him to affirm there is no death; they want him even to deny the reality of the same. Such people are perfectly willing to pay a price. They go to the healers, with ten loaves and cracknels and a cruse of honey. False philosophy is a profitable business, but it never yet exempted anybody from peril, never saved a single scientist from sin or sickness or death. It never kept a solitary throne upon a stable foundation and it never will.<\/p>\n It is interesting to watch these thrones rock, totter and fall one after another, and to find in every instance a fulfilment of the prophetic word of the Lord. Though heaven and earth shall pass away, not one jot or tittle of all that God has spoken shall fail.<\/p>\n But to turn afresh to our text and study another subject.<\/p>\n ELIJAH VS. AHAB<\/strong><\/p>\n Read 1 Kings 17-21.<\/p>\n The histories of potentates and prophets run parallel in the Books of the Kings. Their views of life are divergent. Elijah and Ahab have little in common beyond the fact that they are contemporaneous, and dwell in the same empire. Elijahs character so far outshines that of Ahab that we consider the latter only as his conduct is seen in the light of the former. Let us learn again,<\/p>\n A pessimistic pronouncement does not disprove the prophet of God. <\/strong>When Elijah the Tishbite comes upon the scene, his first speech is, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years (1Ki 17:1<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> No! wonder he was non-acceptable! Unpalatable truths make unpopular preachers. The men who dont want to believe in the prophecies concerning the Second Coming of Christ, denounce as pessimists those who faithfully quote and believe Gods word upon that subject, and feel that by the very name they have discredited and discountenanced them. But Revelation pays little regard to what men want. It never consults public opinion that it may suit its speech to the same. It gives out the truth, knowing that in the end the knowledge of the truth is the worlds sorest need. If a famine is coming, it is foolish to shut ones ears against its prediction and be overtaken by starvation; and, if Christ is coming, it is foolish to repudiate the prophecy, to be shamed by His sudden appearance.<\/p>\n When will men learn that the prophet of God is not appointed to repeat the nonsensical platitudes of a Coue, or the filched and false aphorisms of a Mary Baker Eddy? The test of the prophets has not changed one whit in thirty centuries. To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them (Isa 8:20<\/em><\/span><\/em>). When a prophet speaketh in the Name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken (Deu 18:22<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> Only a few years ago the post millenarians of America were telling us that war was forever over; that in the evolution of the race we had developed a better wisdom and adopted a more righteous way, and they held to scorn those who believed that in the last days wars would rend the world; and that famines, and pestilences would follow in the wake of them. But the words of Jeremiah the Prophet are the test of all such opponents of the truth, The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the Lord hath truly sent him (Jer 28:9<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n The 18th chapter has a further suggestionThe Prophets faith and speech is his sufficient self-defense. <\/strong>In this chapter, Elijah suddenly appears and sends, by the mouth of the Prophet Obadiah, word to Ahab, Elijah is here! He had no fear! He dared to face Ahab, the professed king of Israel, confident in the Potentate of Heaven, Israels true King. In answer to Ahabs question, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?<\/em> he set up his defense, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy fathers house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord (1Ki 18:17-18<\/em><\/span><\/em>),<\/em> and by faith he proposed a challenge, involving the entire company of Baal prophets, The God that answereth by fire, let Him be God (1Ki 18:24<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> We know the result; Jehovah revealed Himself as a God that heareth and answereth prayer, and it was made manifest that Baal was no god at all, and the consequence is the slaughter of the false prophets and the justification of Elijah. What other defense does the true prophet need for his person than he has in the King of kings, the Lord of Glory? And what other defense for his message than that he brings the Word of the Lord?<\/p>\n It doesnt concern me that certain of my brethren write, We wont accept the article on the Second Coming of Christ to be found in the Confession of Faith of the Fundamentalists of America. My concern is in another subject. Are these articles justified by the Word, and fortified in the sacred sentences thereof? The Lord is the defense of the true minister, and the Word the one and only justification of his message.<\/p>\n The endangered prophet has the assurance of Divine care and provision.<\/strong> The execution of the false prophets stirred Jezebel to desperate decision. The life of Elijah is threatened. A womans rage holds nothing in reverence. The fury of Jezebel was a thousandfold more dangerous than the anger of Ahab, and from it Elijah fled; before it, Elijah fainted; in the face of it, Elijah requested for himself that he might die (1 Kings 19<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n And yet it is impossible to believe that Elijahs fear and discouragement were the fruits of cowardice. Instead they were the natural reactions of an overstrained spirit; doubtless in part, the result of having slain the false prophets in keeping with the customs of the day, when he had no command from the Lord, and also the protest of an overtaxed mind and body.<\/p>\n How grateful readers should be that the whole story is recorded, for with it is also written the story of Gods tenderness and the repeated instances of Gods care. Two visits from an angel, food and drink; a still, small voice; a gracious declaration of the 7,000 fraternal souls. What refreshing for body, mind and spirit! God truly cares for the whole man, and concerns Himself for him who ministers in His Word.<\/p>\n But to conclude our study with the consideration of,<\/p>\n MICAIAH VS. FALSE PROPHETS<\/strong><\/p>\n and to learn from these three remaining chapters, 20 to 22, three important lessons:<\/p>\n Ahab wages successful war when he has Gods Word for his warrant.<\/strong> In his battle against Benhadad the king of Syria, he had Gods promise against Syria, Behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord (1Ki 20:13<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em> The battle was won when that word was spoken. Ahab is no saint. His life and conduct are not acceptable to Jehovah, but he is king of Israel, the ruler over Gods people, and God cares for His own, and when they are at war with sinners, men who do not so much as name God, Jehovah is likely to be on their side.<\/p>\n Even poor leadership is not likely to doom a good cause. God does not lose His interest in right, when the evil rule. A thousandfold better to fight for a just cause with weak leadership than for an unjust cause, superbly led. The boasted scholarship of modernism fills me with no fear in trying to stand before it. Intellectual superiority, when it sets itself against God, is insanity; and even the great Gladstone of England had no objection to being found in fellowship with the plain people. He was that countrys Commoner indeed, and Americas great Commoner, William Jennings Bryan, was brainy enough to know that battles will finally be won upon the basis of right and wrong, which is only another way of saying, If God be for us, who can be against us?<\/em> Where God is, there is victory! In the last analysis, the success of an enterprise does not depend upon its human leadership but rests with the Divine favor instead.<\/p>\n But to the 21st chapter and learn another lesson The covetousness of a king may be indulged at the cost of a kingdom.<\/strong> Here we have the record of Naboths vineyard, desired by Ahab and refused by its rightful owner. People may be disposed to condemn Naboth for not selling out when his superior proffered him a fair price, but only such as are ignorant of the Word would so speak. Naboth was more anxious to be loyal to the King of kings than to this petty potentate. He could not forget the Word of the Lord written in Num 36:7<\/span>, So shall not the inheritance of the Children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the Children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers;<\/em> and if Ahab had known the Word of the Lord, he would have been reminded of Eze 46:18<\/span>, Moreover the prince shall not take of<\/em> the peoples inheritance by oppression, to thrust them out of their possession.<\/em><\/p>\n Some men have sought to justify Ahab here by saying this was not covetousness, since he offered Naboth a proper price for it, but the defense is insufficient. The man who so far covets his neighbors possessions as to secure his death in order to appropriate the same is an enemy alike of God and of man, and cannot escape the judgment of the Lord. Hence it is written, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine (1Ki 21:19<\/em><\/span><\/em>).<\/em><\/p>\n Truly, as Joseph Parker says, When Ahab went down to take possession of that vineyard, a death warrant was awaiting him. Yea, all the world does move under the hand of God and there are righteous results everywhere operative, and justice is a thousand fold more often meted out than men ever imagine.<\/p>\n A defenseless boy may be picked off a train in Florida and a purchasable judge may fine him an amount that he knows the lad does not have, and under the pretense of justice fling him into prison to die at the hands of a flogging brute in the form of a man, and months may pass; no mention of the matter reach the public, and in consequence the criminal chuckles to himself, My deeds are covered! Justice, if it sleep, is not dead, and in an unexpected moment it will arouse itself to speak in thunder tones, quickening the whole nation into a united jury that shall pass sentence and demand judgment. God lives!<\/p>\n Finally, The temporal interests of Gods Kingdom rest between true and false prophets.<\/strong> The last chapter tells the story of Micaiah, Gods true Prophet, and of a company of men who profess to be prophets, but who are possessed by a lying spirit. There were about 400 of these. Majorities do not settle questions of revelation, not even when they are 400 to 1! The more false prophets you have, the less dependable is their counsel. For the first time since Solomons death, the two kingdoms, Judah and Israel, have a prospect of being united. The lying spirit in the mouth of the false prophets did promise the project and assure the united forces of a final victory against the enemy.<\/p>\n Alas for the faith of men who follow those who have no sure word of prophecy! Micaiah, the true prophet, may be smitten on the cheek; may be thrust into prison; may be fed with the bread of affliction and the water of shame, but His word will not fail on that account. Throughout the length and breadth of the land, on this beautiful Sunday morning, there are hundreds of true prophets of God whom certain ecclesiastical potentates are seeking to silence. In the Methodist denomination, bishops are refusing them appointments. In the Baptist and Congregational denominations, State Secretaries are setting their faces against them, and are seeking to influence leading church officials to reject them, and cast them out.<\/p>\n Suffering is the true prophets experience, but better a Micaiah in prison with scant bread and unslaked thirst, than a deceived king marching forth to a battle that shall leave him dead on the field. The after-history of the prophet we do not know. God for His own reasons left that in obscurity. What matters it? If, as a free man he breathed his last as Moses did, on Nebos heights; if as a martyr he yielded up his spirit as did Stephen in Jerusalem; if as Paul he perished in prison, what matters it? An angel came to claim Moses body; Heaven opened to receive Stephens spirit; and Paul quit the earth with a triumphant shout! The kingdom is suffering; its king and subjects are still evil in the sight of the Lord; Baal, the false god of worship is an insult to the most High, but the prophets spirit is safe!<\/p>\n THE REIGNS OF ABIJAM, ASA, NADAB, AND BAASHA<\/p>\n CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n 1Ki. 15:1<\/span>. Abijam<\/strong>Original form of his name was Abijah (2Ch. 12:16<\/span>), the sacred terminal jah<\/em> being connected therewith. But, probably on account of his evil reign, his name was altered to Abijam. <\/p>\n 1Ki. 15:2<\/span>. Maachah, daughter of Abishalom<\/strong>i.e.<\/em>, Michaiah, daughter of Absalom; more properly, granddaughter<\/em> of Absalom, by Uriel and Tamar<\/em>, who was Absaloms daughter (vide<\/em> 2Ch. 13:2<\/span>). <\/p>\n 1Ki. 15:4<\/span>. Give him a lamp in Jerusalem<\/strong>An Oriental figure of speech. Having a lamp in the house indicates the continuance of the family name. <\/p>\n 1Ki. 15:6<\/span>. And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam,<\/strong> &c.i.e.<\/em>, rancorous rivalry, and consequent frequent border skirmishes. A mistake to think that Rehoboam is a scribes blunder for Abijam<\/em>, as given in end of Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n