1. There is the tendency to judge after the senses. The majority of men, like the servant of the prophet, see only with the physical eye. Although true philosophy shows that all things that come within the cognizance of the senses are shadows, not substances—semblance, not essence, they reversely consider the visible and tangible only as real Spirits, therefore, which lie beyond the line of sense, and which are the living creatures in all the "wheels" of human events, and in all the forms of matter, are never practically realized, and often theoretically ignored.
2. There is the habit of referring everything to secondary causes. This habit allows no room for God, nor for spiritual interpositions, but in a miracle. What is regular it calls natural; what is miraculous alone is Divine. It sees God in holding the sun over Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, but sees nothing of him in rolling these stupendous bodies, age after age, in their spheres, with an undeviating regularity, and a swiftness incalculable. I say nothing of the irrationality of this habit, nor of its prevalence, of which there can be no question. All I say is that, since God helps us by natural laws, this habit manifestly prevents men from seeing the helpers he sends.
3. There is also a gloominess of disposition. This is sometimes a cause. There are men who will not see good. They hear no music in the harp of love; they see no brightness in the unclouded sky of noon. On this earth, even when robed in its summer beauty or laden with autumnal wealth, they sing, or rather groan—
"Lord, what a wretched land is this,
That yields us no supply!"
The horses and chariots of mercy may move around them as celestial guards, yet they cry, "All these things are against me."
4. There is want of sympathy with God. Strong and earnest sympathy with a being always induces the mind to bring that Being near—near to the inner eye and heart. By this law we bring the distant near—cross oceans and continents. Yes; from worlds beyond the grave the imagination wafts the loved one home to our inmost breasts; and we see the form and hear the voice again. Had we this sympathy with God and holy spirits, we should set them always before us. Jesus had it, and he said, "Ye leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me."
IV. THAT TO SEE THESE SUPERHUMAN HELPERS ONLY REQUIRES THE OPENING OF THE EYES. "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes." The outward world is to us according to bur five senses. Had we fewer, it would be less than it is; or, if more, it would be greater. There are, probably, properties in the material system which we have at present no sense to discover; or, peradventure, there may be senses closed up within, that will one day be developed, and make this old world a new thing to us. But, likely as this may be, the existence of a sense in the soul for seeing spiritual existences is more probable. I am not disposed to pronounce all who have stated that they have seen such beings to be either fanatics or impostors. The a priori wonder is, not that they should be seen, but that they are not more generally perceived. We are related to the material world, and we have senses to discern material existences. We are, confessedly, more intimately and solemnly related to the spiritual; and is it not natural to expect that we should have a sense to see spiritual beings? Were such a sense to be opened within us, as the eye of the prophet's servant was now opened, what visions would burst upon us! The microscope gives to us a new world of wonders; but were God to open the spiritual eye, what a multitude of worlds would be revealed! Ah, my skeptic brother! deniest thou a spiritual world? Where is thy reason? Wilt thou plead the fact that thou hast never seen a spiritual existence? This, assuredly, will not serve thee. Wilt thou permit a deaf man to deny that a thunderstorm ever rent our cloudy atmosphere, because he has never heard the terrific rear; or a blind man to deny that a rainbow has ever spanned these skies, because he, forsooth, has never seen the beauteous arch? Why, then, shouldest thou deny a spiritual world? Before the eyes of the prophet's servant were opened, he might have denied the existence of these helpers. When his master spoke to him of them, he might have said within himself, "Has my master lost his reason, or is he dreaming? I see nothing on the mountain but the Syrian host." All at once, however, his eyes were opened, and what a scene burst upon him! "The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." Even so it will be with thee, my friend: ere many days shall pass, God will open thine eyes; and that spiritual world in which thou art now living, and whose existence thou deniest, will burst in awful sublimity upon thine astonished soul!—D.T.
2 Kings 6:24-33
Subjects worth considering.
"And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria," etc. These verses, brimful of the wicked and the horrible, press the following subjects on our attention.
I. THE INHUMANITY OF WAR. "And it came to pass after this, that Benhadad king of Syria gathered all his host, and went up, and besieged Samaria. And there was a great famine in Samaria: and, behold, they besieged it, until an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and the fourth part of a cab of dove's dung for five pieces of silver." The inhumanity of the Syrian king and his host in invading Samaria is [seen in the shameful disregard of the kindness which the Samaritans had previously shown them. In the preceding verses we read that the Samaritans had not only allowed them to escape entire destruction when they were at their mercy, but, at the interposition of Elisha, supplied them with abundant provisions to appease their hunger and to invigorate their frames. Notwithstanding this, they now came to work ruin on their very saviors. War has no gratitude, no sense of right, no sentiment of kindness; often it dehumanizes human nature, transforms the man into a fiend.
"How all minor cruelties of man
Are summed in war, conclusive of all crimes I"
('Festus.')
II. THE TERRIBLENESS OF HUNGER. To such absolute destitution did these ruthless warriors reduce the inhabitants of Samaria, that not only did the ravenous hunger drive them to obtain food from the "ass's head" and from "dove's dung," but from human flesh—mothers from the children of their womb. "And as the King of Israel was passing by upon the wall, there cried a woman unto him, saying, Help, my lord, O king. And he said, If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee? out of the barnfloor, or out of the winepress? And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, This woman said unto me, Give thy son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow. So we killed my son, and did eat him," etc. Here is a tragic tale, a tale that makes the heart quail, and the nerves quiver with horror. Hunger in itself is a blessing, it implies health and stimulates to action; it is in truth the mainspring that keeps the human machinery of the world in action. But when it becomes intense and unappeasable, it sets all moral commandments at defiance, it will break through stone walls, shatter thrones, and break up empires. It is among the primary duties of rulers to keep the hunger of the people appeased. Alas! everywhere in England we hear its groans; may not these groanings be the mutterings of nature before the volcanic eruption?
III. THE MISDIRECTION OF PASSION. The tale of the famishing woman, and the revolting scenes he beheld, pierced the heart of the King of Israel. His feelings at first seem to have been those of great humiliation and deep sympathy. "And it came to pass, when the king heard the words of the woman, that he rent his clothes." But they soon became those of raging wrath against Elisha. "Then he said, God do so and more also to me, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat shall stand on him this day." If Elisha had, from a malign spirit, really brought all this distress upon the Samaritan people, this wrath might have been justified. Anger against wrong is right. But it was not Elisha that brought the calamities; it was themselves—their idolatries, their sins. Elisha was their greatest friend. The misdirection of human indignation is no uncommon evil. How often men are angry with one another without a cause! Passion misdirected put to death the Son of God himself.
IV. THE CALMNESS OF GOODNESS. Whilst all these revolting scenes were taking place, and the king burning with rage against Elisha, was resolving on his destruction, where was Elisha? "But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him." With his disciples, fellow-citizens, and "elders" Elisha sat, without anxiety or alarm. Mark:
1. It was not the calmness of servile submission. Though he knew the threat of the king, he had no idea of making an apology or seeking to appease unreasonable indignation, or yield with stoicism to his fate. No. Whilst he sat calmly, the pulse of manhood throbbed stronger in every vein, and when he heard the king's messenger approach the door of his house, he said to the elders, "See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head?" It is grand to hear men give others their proper title, even though they be kings. Were all men thus honest, many of those who are now called "right honorables" would be "right abominables."
2. It was not the calmness of irresolution. It was not a state of unnerved indifference; on the contrary, there was in it a resolute power. "Look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door." For the man's own sake hold him, do not let him contract crime by committing murder. Probably at this moment Elisha saw the king himself hurrying towards him, to revoke his murderous decree. Conscious goodness is always calm. He is "kept in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on the Lord."
3. It was the calmness that conquers. The king himself, it would seem, was soon at the door. He had relented, and hurried to prevent the execution of his murderous command. "And while he yet talked with them, behold, the messenger came down unto him: and he said, Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer?" This utterance is that of the king, and it would seem it was a response to the prophet's exhortation to "wait for the Lord." And he means to say, "This evil is not from thee, Elisha, but from the Lord, and it is hopeless; 'what should I wait for the Lord any longer?'" It is not likely that such a humiliating utterance as this would have fallen from the lips of the king, had he met Elisha in a state of furious excitement. No doubt it was the moral majesty of calmness that struck the heart of the monarch.—D.T.
HOMILIES BY J. ORR
2 Kings 6:1-7
The borrowed axe.
This is another of Elisha's miracles of aid. The story belongs to the same class of acts as those related in 2 Kings 2:19-22; 2 Kings 4:1-7, 2 Kings 4:38-44.
I. THE AXE-HEAD NEEDED. The first verses present us with a picture of expansion and extension. The place where "the sons of the prophets" dwelt or "sat" before Elisha, at Jericho, had become too strait for them. Elisha's influence was evidently telling on the nation. The religious movement represented by the prophetic schools was growing in force and volume. It is encouraging to hear of growth and progress in the Church. We note:
1. The prophets faced their situation. "Behold now, the place where we dwell with thee is too strait for us." They did not stand still, and endeavor to accommodate their increased numbers to the old conditions. They showed a spirit of enterprise, of advance, in correspondence with their altered needs. This was true wisdom. The Church must adapt herself to new needs, to altered circumstances, to the conditions of progress, if she is to hold her ground. "Enlarge the place of thy tent," etc. (Isaiah 54:2).
2. They were willing to put forth needful effort. "Let us go, we pray thee, unto Jordan, and take thence every man a beam," etc. They were prepared to do what was necessary to bring about the changes required. They had the two conditions of successful work—unity of spirit, and individual willingness. They were to work together for a common end, and each man was to do his separate part. The individual wood-cutter could accomplish little. Unitedly, they could easily make a place for their common accommodation.
3. They desired Elisha to go with them. "Be content, I pray thee, and go with thy servants." Elisha was the bond of their community. They desired neither to act without his sanction nor to go where he could not accompany them. The Church, in her changes, must abide by fundamental truth, and do nothing which would exclude the Master.
II. THE AXE-HEAD LOST. Elisha's sanction given, the baud of prophets was soon busy at Jordan, cutting down trees, and preparing for the new building. Then occurred the mishap and loss which gives its name to the story. As one was felling a beam, the axe-head flew off, and fell into the deep part of the river. It was a borrowed axe, and the man's lamentations were instant and sincere. Mishaps will occur in the best undertakings.
1. He had lost what a neighbor had lent him. The property was not his own. It had been lent him, probably at his own request, and in the spirit of neighborly good will. Such neighborly acts are pleasing to think of. But the more willingly the axe had been lent him, the more did the loser now regret the mishap which had befallen it. It is well that neighbors should be ready to lend; but the incident also shows the danger of borrowing. We should seek to be as independent of others as we can; then, if misfortune does befall us, what we lose is at least only our own.
2. He could not replace the loss. Had he been able to do so, he would not have required to borrow. The "sons of the prophets" were good men, but poor men. An axe-head was a small thing, but it meant much to the user, and perhaps not less to the original owner. It is a spirit of conscientiousness which speaks in the man's lament. He held the axe as a trust, and desired earnestly to return it. It is good to see men "faithful in that which is least" (Luke 16:10).
3. He could no longer do his part of the work. The axe-head was indispensable for the cutting down of his beam. He had the handle, but it was of no use without the iron. This also grieved him. Anything that incapacitates a man for bearing his part in the building work of God's kingdom will be a sorrow to him.
III. THE AXE-HEAD RECOVERED. The indirect appeal made to Elisha in the words, "Alas, master! for it was borrowed," was not in vain. It was a case in which Elisha might be expected to help, and he did so. In the miracle we see:
1. Human agency. There is a remarkable blending of the Divine and the human in the whole transaction. Elisha asked, "Where fell it?" It might have been thought that if he had the power to bring the iron to the surface, he would also be able to tell where it fell. But the man had to show him the place. Then, when the iron swam, Elisha said, "Take it to thee." And the man put out his hand and took it.
2. Expressive symbol. The miracle, as usual, was accompanied by a symbolical action. A stick was cut down, and thrown into the water. The act was only an expressive way of saying, "Let the iron swim as this stick does." Its sole function was to direct attention to the supernatural result.
3. Almighty power. "The iron did swim." There was here, not the alteration of the properties of iron (else it would be iron no longer), but the introduction of a new cause, which counteracted the natural effect of gravity, and raised the iron to the surface. Nature is but an instrument in the hand of God, and can be bent by him to his own purposes. The lesson of the incident is to trust God for help even in what we might be tempted to call the small things of life. The loss of an axe-head may seem a trivial circumstance to call for an interference with the laws of the universe. But with God there is no great and little. We can make known all our wants to him, with assurance of being helped.—J.O.
2 Kings 6:8-23
A bootless invasion.
The chronic hostility which subsisted between the Israelitish and the Syrian kingdoms soon broke out again in war. In this, as in other instances, Syria was the aggressor. The invaded kingdom was delivered, not through "the sword and the bow" (2 Kings 6:22) of its king, but once more through the interposition of Elisha.
I. FRUSTRATED PLANS.
1. Royal strategy. The war which the King of Syria commenced was intended to be carried on, not by battle in the open field, but by a series of surprises, caused by the planting of ambuscades at convenient spots. It was cunning more than strength that the king relied on. He "took counsel with his servants' as to the best method of carrying out his plans. Men are apt to overvalue cunning. It plays a large part in the conduct of worldly, especially of political and military, affairs.
2. The failure of plans. If the plotters were "profound to make slaughter" (Hosea 5:2), God was deeper than the plotters, "a rebutter of them all ' (Hosea 5:2). This was the element Benhadad left out of his calculations. Everything that passed in the king's council-chamber was revealed by God to Elisha, who told it to the King of Israel. What was spoken "in the ear" in Damascus was proclaimed "upon the housetops" in Samaria (Luke 12:3). Thus the King of Israel saved himself "not once or twice." The wicked greatly err when they say, "How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?" (Psalms 73:11). Not one of their plans but is "naked and opened" (Hebrews 4:13) to him. With a knowledge and skill infinitely beyond theirs, he can easily bring the cunningest of their schemes to naught. This is the comfort and safety of those who trust God, and are under his special care.
3. The secret discovered. The King of Syria's chagrin at the continual frustration of his schemes was great. He could account for it in no other way than that some of his own servants habitually betrayed his counsels. They who have God to fight with must lay their account for many disappointments and troubles. At last the real state of the case was made known to him by one who had learned the facts about Elisha. It was a startling discovery to make, that the things which he spoke in his bedchamber were accurately told by Elisha to his enemy, the King of Israel. None of us would like to be thus supervised in our secret doings by our fellow-men. How little we reflect that, in sober fact, we are being thus morally supervised by the living God! Elisha's name would be well known in Syria since the healing of the famous captain.
II. INVISIBLE DEFENSE. If Elisha was the medium of discovering his plans, the only practicable course for the King of Syria to pursue was to secure the person of the prophet, and so stop further communications with the King of Israel. Benhadad might have reflected that, if all his plans were known to Elisha, this plan would be known too, and Elisha could easily escape. But wicked men do not, as a rule, reflect on the folly of their opposition to God. The king, having ascertained that Elisha was at Dothan, sent an expedition to arrest him.
1. The encompassing host. The force dispatched against Elisha was "a great host" far exceeding the captains of fifties with their fifties who were sent to arrest Elijah (2 Kings 1:1-18.). Benhadad put trust in chariots and horses (Psalms 20:7). Yet why so great a company to take one prisoner, if no supernatural arm was there to fight for him? And if God was Protector, what would even this great host avail? Another proof of the inward uncertainty with which this enterprise was entered upon is seen in the fact that the host surrounded the city "by night." Combined with the worldly man's belief that physical force is irresistible, there is the lurking fear that it may not prove irresistible after all.
2. The trembling servant. Awaking early the next morning, and going forth, the servant of Elisha saw, to his dismay, the city compassed about with both chariot and horse. His cry, as he rushed back to report the fact to his master, was, "Alas, my master! how shall we do?" Thus apt are men to judge of a situation purely by the standard of sense. The material factors are nearly the only ones looked at. Things are esteemed to go well or ill with us according as the natural situation looks favorable or the reverse. It is the constant aim of Bible-teaching to lift us above this point of view—to give us a higher one.
3. The invisible protectors. Elisha prayed that the young man's eyes might be opened, and then he saw the mistake he was committing. "The mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." No wonder that, in this moment of apparent danger, Elisha was full of calm trust. Knowing Benhadad's designs, he might have escaped had he desired, but with the forces of the invisible King interposed between him and his enemies, he did not feel even this to be necessary. Not less confidently, in seasons of danger from ungodly men, may the believer commit his way unto the Lord. It may not be given him to see the symbols of invisible protection, but not the less surely can he depend that "the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them" (Psalms 34:7). He can say with David, "I will not be afraid of ten thousand of people that have set themselves against me round about" (Psalms 3:6). They can do him no further harm than God sees meet to allow. They that are for him are more than they that be against him.
III. GOOD FOR EVIL.
1. The supernatural blindness. Descending from the neigh]souring heights, on which they had encamped during the night, the Syrians now approached to take Elisha. He, on his part, prayed the Lord, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness" The prayer was granted, though the word means rather confusion and dazedness of mind, than absolute deprivation of sight (Genesis 19:11). Their movements became aimless, and Elisha, going up to them, said, "This is not the way, neither is this the city: follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye sock." There is the appearance of falsehood in this speech only if we forget that the men were in a mental maze, and probably were actually going aside both from the way and the city in their attempted search for it. Elisha, in promising to bring them to the man whom they wanted, undertook no more than he performed. Only when the Lord opened their eyes, they found they were, not in Dothan, but in Samaria. This is one way in which God frequently discomfits wicked men, pouring confusion into their counsels. They "grope for the wall, like the blind, and grope as if (they) had no eyes: (they) stumble at noonday as in the night; (they) are in desolate places as dead men (Isaiah 59:10). They are granted the desires of their hearts, but after a fashion of God's own; and in such a way as to lead to their final discomfiture" (2 Samuel 15:31).
2. The King of Israel's proposal. It seemed at first as if this great multitude of the Syrians had been led like sheep into the slaughter-house. They were now in the King of Israel's power, and for what end could Elisha have brought them there but that the king might smite them? The king himself was nothing loath. In eager tones, he urged Elisha to be permitted to destroy them. The policy of slaughter is always an easy one. It might seem sanctioned by Old Testament precedents. Probably, however, even in the Old Testament, there is no example of the divinely sanctioned extermination of a multitude who were not captives in lawful war. This is the point Elisha urges in reply. If the king smote this multitude, would he be smiting those whom he had taken with his sword and bow? He would not. God had delivered these captives into his hands, and with other ends than that he should destroy them.
3. Elisha's magnanimous counsel. Elisha showed the King of Israel "a more excellent way" (1 Corinthians 12:31). Let him set bread and water before them, that they might eat and drink, and go to their master. Here, surely, in the Old Testament, breathes the spirit of the New. It is Christ's precept of doing good to enemies, of returning good for evil, of seeking to overcome evil with good. The King of Israel behaved more nobly in this way than if he had shed the blood of these captives. God has no pleasure in the unnecessary effusions of blood. An instance of similar clemency to captives took place in the reign of Pekah, at the instigation of the Prophet Oded (2 Chronicles 28:9-15). The King of Israel did as Elisha desired, and the captives were first entertained, then sent back. So generous a deed should have evoked a friendly spirit in Benhadad, but at most it only did so for a time. We are not, however, to be discouraged from acting rightly, because those to whom we show kindness do not appreciate our action—J.O.
2 Kings 6:24-33
The siege of Samaria.
Unwarned by the failure of previous attempts, Benhadad was soon engaged in a new war on Israel. The fresh invasion was made the occasion of a fresh deliverance, more wonderful than any of the preceding, but not before Samaria had been reduced to the most desperate straits.
I. THE HORRORS OF A SIEGE.
1. The city invested. The King of Syria advanced with his army, and struck a direct blow at the capital of the country. Samaria was the key of the situation. In it was the king, the court, the Prophet Elisha, the whole state of royalty. If it could be forced to capitulate, the entire land would be at the mercy of the invader. Benhadad, accordingly, surrounded the city, and, having cut off all supplies, waited till famine compelled it to surrender. The method of siege is common in warfare. Nothing could more awfully illustrate the helplessness of human beings when deprived of the use of the ordinary productions of nature. We depend on God for daily existence, and do not realize it.
2. The fearful famine. With no supplies coming in, the stock of food in Samaria was soon utterly exhausted. We are reminded of the terrible distress in such famous sieges as those of Londonderry in 1689, and Paris in 1870. What in ordinary circumstances would have been deemed unfit for human food, nay, loathed, was eagerly seized upon, and famine prices were gladly paid for it. "An ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver," etc. Hunger is one of the most commanding of appetites. "In every land and in every age the first and most interesting question the majority of men have to practically solve is, 'How are we to get bread?' Man's social, moral, and spiritual welfare turns to an incalculable extent on that question. Throughout all history, sacred and profane, this great want has been swaying and molding as a first power the nations of men. Hence the significance of the petition in the center of the Lord's prayer, 'Give us this day our daily bread.' It may seem at first sight a comparatively small petition, overshadowed and dwarfed by the great, spiritual petitions both before and after it; but he who knew what was in man, knew what a powerful influence the question of daily bread had upon his whole life and welfare; and when we ourselves consider what a power it is in the world, we see something of the reason for placing such a petition in the center of a model of prayer" (F. Ferguson).
3. Natural affection destroyed. The shocking episode narrated in 2 Kings 6:26-29 illustrates the previous remarks (cf. Deuteronomy 28:53-57). The king was stopped when passing by on the wall by a woman appealing to him for help. With not unnatural bitterness he replied, "If the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help thee?" Was it out of the empty barnfloor, or the dry winepress? He then inquired into her complaint, and heard from her, her revolting tale. A woman had proposed to her that she should give her son for food to them both that day, and she would give her son next day. The complainant had fulfilled her part of the bargain, and now the second woman had hidden her son. One asks—Could human nature, in its direst extremity, ever descend to such revolting deeds? Alas! the instances in history are not few. We have reason to thank God for his goodness in preserving us from such extremity and such temptation.
II. GUILT LAID AT THE WRONG DOOR.
1. The token of humiliation. The woman's dreadful story, revealing such depths of horror in the city, stung the king to the heart. His first act was to rend his clothes, and, as the people looked, they saw that secretly he had been wearing sackcloth upon his flesh. The commentators, perhaps, hardly do justice to Jehoram in this act. The next verse shows that his religion did not go very deep; but various circumstances suggest that there was a measure of sincerity in his penitence. He had evidently thus far listened to the counsels of Elisha, and tried to "wait on the Lord" for deliverance, lie does not show badly in his sympathy with the people. The very secrecy of his wearing of sackcloth distinguishes it from the act of an ostentatious formalist. He probably, like his father Ahab, really "humbled" himself for a time, "and went softly" (1 Kings 21:27, 1 Kings 21:29). If, in his outburst of passion, he uttered a threat of death against Elisha, it appears to have been no sooner spoken than it was repented of, and he hastened after his messenger to counteract it. It is good when God's chastisements lead to humiliation of the soul. We can at least make Jehoram an example in the unostentatiousness of his exercises of penitence (Matthew 6:16-18).
2. The threat and its reception. Carried away by his anger and his feeling of the intolerableness of the situation, the king swore an oath that that very day the head of Elisha should be taken from him. It was a wicked and inexcusable utterance. The reasons of it may be thus assigned:
3. Why wait longer on the Lord? Jehoram soon arrived, and his first words to Elisha were, Behold, this evil is of the Lord; what should I wait for the Lord any longer?" That he had departed from his threat may be presumed from Elisha answering him as he did. But his words show his radical misconception of religion. To wait on the Lord was not a duty to be done from regard to its own rightness and propriety. It was, he thought, a means to an end. If benefits were to be gained from it, it was to be done; if not, it was to be set aside. Service of God which springs from this principle is not true service. It is disguised self-interest. It has no real spring of love, devotion, or worship. The spirit is kindred with that of the fetish-worshipper, who prays to his gods for rain, and beats them if he does not get it. But why blame Jehoram, as if he were specially impious? Does not the same spirit show itself in multitudes among ourselves? While the sun shines on them they are willing enough to be religious. If adversity comes, there is unbelief, murmuring, impatience, rebellion at the Divine ordering. "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10). It is not enough to acknowledge that evil is from the Lord, we must humble ourselves under his hand, submit to him, own the justice of his dealings, and seek to profit by his chastisements. We must not faint, or grow unbelieving, but be assured that, in protracting the hour of deliverance, God is but waiting to make the deliverance more signal and glorious (Hebrews 12:5-11).—J.O.
2 Kings
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