We are now called to attend the public affairs of Israel, in which we shall find Elisha concerned. Here is, I. The general character of Jehoram, king of Israel, ver. 1-3. II. A war with Moab, in which Jehoram and his allies were engaged, ver. 4-8. III. The straits which the confederate army were reduced to in their expedition against Moab, and their consulting Elisha in that distress, with the answer of peace he gave them, ver. 9-19. IV. The glorious issue of this campaign (ver. 20-25) and the barbarous method the king of Moab took to oblige the confederate army to retire, ver. 26, 27. The house of Ahab is doomed to destruction; and, though in this chapter we have both its character and its condition better than before, yet the threatened ruin is not far off.
The Reign of Jehoram. (b. c. 895.)