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?Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary - 2 Kings?(Various Authors)

Commentator
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary, by Joseph Exell, William
Jones, George Barlow, W. Frank Scott, and others, was published in 37
volumes as a sermon preparation and study resource. It is a commentary
"written by preachers for preachers" and offers thousands of pages of:
. Detailed illustrations suitable for devotional study and preaching
. Extensive helps in application of Scripture for the listener and
reader
. Suggestive and explanatory comments on verses
. Theological outlines of passages
. Expository notes
. Sketches and relevant quotes
. Brief critical notes on chapters
Although originally purposed as a minister's preparation tool, the
Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary is also a fine personal study
supplement.

00 Introduction

See the chapter comments for First Kings.

01 Chapter 1

Verses 1-18
THE SICKNESS AND DEATH OF AHAZIAH
CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES.-
2Ki . Then Moab rebelled-Since the time of David the Moabites had been
tributary to Israel (2Sa 8:2; 2Sa 23:20) On the death of Ahab and accession
of Ahaziah (1Ki 22:51) they revolted and cast off the yoke.
2Ki . And Ahaziah fell down, &c.-This accident prevented his attempting
to suppress the revolt. Through the lattice- ???????????-Either the wooden
parapet (or fence) running round the flat roof, and which probably gave way
as Ahaziah leaned over it; or a latticed skylight in the roof itself, and
which broke under him when he heedlessly stepped upon it. The latter is
most probable (and the Rabbins so regard it), for he fell into "his upper
chamber." The "lattice" may have been the roof window of this chamber. Baal-
zebub, the god of Ekron- ?????? ?????-No other mention in the Old Testament
of Baal-zebub. The name means the fly-Baal. Sept. ???? ?v???. The fly-god,
regarded by expositors either as the "defender against flies," and also the
"fly-god," an idol in the form of a fly. Ekron-probably the present Akir,
nearest Samaria, of the five northern Philistian cities (Jos 13:3).
2Ki . But the angel of the Lord said-Such consultation of "a god"
violated a fundamental law of the theocracy (Exo 20:3; Deu 5:7), and
deliberately repudiated Jehovah.
2Ki . There came a man up to meet us-The messengers did not recognize
Elijah' yet they were so impressed by his words-"his authoritative tone,
commanding attitude, and affecting message" (Jameison)-as to return
instantly to the king.
2Ki . He was a hairy man-Not meaning that he wore long locks and a
flowing beard; nor that his whole person was, as Esau's, hairy; but that he
was robed in a coarse hair garment (of sheep or goat skin, or of camel's
hair). Elijah originated this distinctive attire, which became henceforth
the mark of the prophets as preachers of repentance. This stern, rough garb
was worn not as an act of mere asceticism, but as a symbol of sorrow over
the people's iniquities and the impending judgments of God. A girdle of
leather-This ?????? ???? was the ???? ????????? (Mat 3:4) of John the
Baptist. The leather girdle was symbolic of self-denial and contempt for
indugencies; the ordinary girdle of Hebrews being fine linen or more costly
materials elegantly embroidered.
2Ki . Captain of fifty with his fifty-The army was divided into sections
of 1,000, 100, and 50, and each had its own leader (Num 31:14; Num 31:48;
1Sa 8:12). He sat on the top of an hill-probably on Carmel (see 2Ki 2:25;
1Ki 18:42). Thou man of God!-This name was used in contemptuous irony, and
thus the captains abetted the insolence of the king towards Jehovah, whose
prophet Elijah was.
2Ki . If I be a man of God, then let fire, &c-Elijah invoked proof of his
having Divine authority for his message in the form of a judgment upon them
from the God they dared to insult. The destructive fire was both proof and
punishment in one.
2Ki . Come down quickly-Greater audacity still in this demand- ?????
??????? as if he were fortified with irresistible authority.
2Ki . A captain of the third fifty-The second captain learned no awe from
the fate of his predecessor, but showed more obstinacy and daring; but the
third, though commissioned by the still wilful and wicked king, came with a
changed attitude and tone.
2Ki . And he arose, and went down with him unto the king-He knew how
Ahaziah would greet him with malice, and that his appearance before the
king exposed him to perils, yet he fearlessly obeyed God's command.
2Ki . And Jehoram reigned-This Israel-Jehoram is here said to have
commenced his reign in the second year of the Judah-Jehoram; but in chap.
2Ki 3:1 he is said to have come to the throne in the 18th year of
Jehoshaphat. It would therefore appear that Ahaziah reigned as regent
during the seventeenth and the larger portion of the eighteenth years of
Jehoshaphat, and that Jehoram (or Joram), Ahaziah's brother, succeeded to
the throne in the end of Jehoshaphat's eighteenth year.-W. H. J.
HOMILETICS OF 2Ki
THE EXPOSURE AND PUNISHMENT OF IDOLATRY
WE have seen that Ahaziah imbibed and adopted the idolatrous principles
of his father; and we are now to learn that he also possessed the ferocious
and God-defying spirit of his mother. A whole chapter is here devoted to
the reign of Ahaziah; not because of its importance, for it was both brief
and disastrous, but to expose the utter imbecility of the idolatry in which
he trusted, and to show by what terrible judgment the honour of the
insulted and forgotten God of Israel would be vindicated. The incidents of
this chapter are also full of interest, as they are connected with the last
public exercises of Elijah's prophetic office. The stern, fearless prophet
is to the last what he has been from the beginning of his career-the
messenger of wrath, the rebuker of iniquity, the prophet of fire. Observe-
I. That idolatry is a pitiable infatuation and a great crime.
1. It is an atrocious insult to the one only true God. By Ahaziah
sending to a foreign divinity to seek help and counsel, he
transgressed not only the general and chief commandment (Exo ), but
also the special commandment (Lev 14:31; Lev 20:6; Lev 20:27; Deu
18:10-11), which threatened with extermination those who questioned
soothsayers and wizards. It was a public and practical declaration
that he esteemed the fly-god of the Philistines above the living God
of Israel, and it was a formal degradation and contempt of, and an
insult to, Jehovah. Such a crime had not previously been committed by
a king, and, if ever, then certainly now, the time was come for the
zealous defender of the name of the God of Israel to emerge from his
concealment and announce to the bold scoffer the Divine retribution.
All idolatry is an insult to the majesty of heaven, and will not be
allowed to pass unchallenged or unpunished.
2. It is powerless to help in extremity. Idolatry is purely a human
creation, and is, therefore, imperfect and limited. While all goes
well, the infatuated worshipper may be amused and satisfied with the
delusion; but when trouble comes, then does he discover the vanity and
helplessness of the imagination in which he had misplaced his
confidence. The man who has forsaken God is without refuge in his
distress.
3. It is persisted in, notwithstanding affliction and threatened
death. Even the terrible announcement of Divine vengeance was not
sufficient to humble the dying man, or to bring him to repentance; it
rather embittered and filled him with anger, and even with plans of
murder. All this he does while on his death bed, face to face with
death, so completely has all reverence for what is sacred abandoned
him, and been supplanted by a stubbornness and wilfulness which extend
even to madness. Ahab humbled himself when Elijah announced to him the
judgment of God (1Ki ). Even Jeroboam sent, when his son was sick, to
the prophet Ahijah (1Ki 14:2); but Ahaziah perseveres in his senseless
perversity, and so falls far below both of these. There is no
infatuation so hopeless and insensate as the infatuation of idolatry.
II. That the vanity of idolatry is repeatedly exposed.
1. By its own failures. The scene on Mount Carmel, and the public
failure there, could not be forgotten. In all ages and under all
circumstances idolatry has been a gigantic failure, notwithstanding
its bombastic pretensions and colossal and imposing proportions. It
fails to meet the deepest needs of man, and retards the development
and progress of the race.
2. It is exposed by Divinely commissioned messengers. Its enormities
have been confronted and denounced by an Elijah. Such work needed a
man divinely endowed with fiery strength and with a fiery tongue. His
weighty irresistible personality, and his forcible, energetic speech,
made such an impression on the messengers of the king that they did
not dare to carry out the orders of their despotic master, but turned
back without further action. As always, so here also, when they sought
to seize him and make him a prisoner, he was not to be reached: the
emissaries came to disgrace. Without fear, courageous and unterrified,
he appears before the king himself, as he had done before his father,
and announces to the proud and stubborn man his approaching death.
Elijah is the