1 Kings 14
DOYLY1 Kings 14:2
- — was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.] It is thought by some, that Abishalom here is another way of spelling Absalom, and that this Maachah was the grandaughter of Absalom by Tamar his daughter; for a grandaughter in Scripture is frequently called a daughter. Dr. Wall.
1 Kings 14:3
- — take with thee ten loaves, &c.] He seems to have desired her to carry with her these presents, that the Prophet might take her for some country woman, and not for the wife of the king. Bp. Patrick. The Eastern custom required her to bring some present on consulting the Prophet. — cracknels.] The word in the original is thought to mean a description of cake marked with small holes, or else spotted with seeds, as of sesamum, coriander,
&c. Parkhurst, Simonis. Cakes of the latter description, according to travellers, are now much in use in
these countries of the East. Harmer. — a cruse of honey.] See the note on chap. xvii. 12. — he shall tell thee what shall become of the child.] Nature wrought in Jeroboam, not grace. He is troubled by his son’s disease, but not bettered by it. I would have heard him say, “God follows me with afflictions; it is for mine impiety: what other measure can I expect from his justice?” These thoughts were too good for his obdurate heart. He is sorrowful for his sick son; but, as an amazed man seeks to go forth at the wrong door, his distraction sends him to a false help. He thinks not of God; he thinks of His Prophet: he thinks of the Prophet that had foretold him he should be a king: he thinks not of the God of that Prophet who had made him king. It is the property of a carnal heart to confine both its obligations and its hopes to the means, not regarding the Author, of all good. Vain is the respect that is given to the servant, where the master is despised. Bp. Hall.
1 Kings 14:4
- — give him a lamp in Jerusalem.] The meaning of this expression is, that He continued the kingdom in the posterity of David. Bp. Patrick. See note at chap. xi. 36, where is a similar expression.
1 Kings 14:5
- — turned not aside &c.] He was not carried into any heinous and enormous crime, by which his profession was notoriously blemished, all the days of his life, excepting into that murder of Uriah the Hittite, and the sins which flowed from it. Bp. Hall.
of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.
1 Kings 14:10
- — will cut off from Jeroboam, &c.] Bochart thus paraphrases; “I will cut off from him every male, whether he be a captive or free man, whether he live in the city or in the country.” Bp. Patrick. — him that is shut up &c.] As well him who for his more sure defence hath shut himself up within the strong walls of your cities, as him that is left at liberty in the fields and villages. Bp. Hall.
1 Kings 14:12
- — the child shall die.] What a mixture is here of
severity and favour in one act; favour to the son, severity to the father. Severity to the father, that he must
lose such a son; favour to the son, that he shall be
taken from such a father. Jeroboam is wicked; therefore he shall not enjoy an Abijah; Abijah has some good
qualities, therefore he shall be removed from the danger of the depravation of Jeroboam. Sometimes God
strikes in favour, but more often forbears out of severity. The best are fittest for heaven, the earth is fittest for the worst. This is the region of sin and misery, that of immortality. It is no argument of disfavour to be taken early from a well-spent life; as it is no proof of approbation to be permitted to live to advanced years in sin. Bp. Hall. 13. — because in him there is found some good thing &c.] It hence appears, that Abijah was a young prince of promising hopes, and it is supposed that he had shewn himself averse to his father’s idolatry. Though he is called “a child,” ver. 12, it is probable that he was now somewhat advanced in years. Stackhouse, Pyle.
1 Kings 14:14
- — the Lord shall raise him up a king] This king was Bassha, chap. xv. 27. He was to cut off Jeroboam on “that day,” namely, as soon as he was made king, Rehoboam’s wicked reign. Shishak spoileth Jerusalem. Before CHRIST 956. cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now.
1 Kings 14:15
15.—he shall root up Israel &c.] This he began to do, first, by Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, 2 Kings xv. 29, and then finished it by Shalmaneser, 2 Kings xvii. 5, 6. “And shall scatter them beyond the river;” that is, the river Euphrates, for they were carried into the country of the Medes.
1 Kings 14:17
17.—came to Tirzah.] This city is frequently mentioned in Scripture, because it appears to have been for a long time the regal city of the kings of Israel. Jeroboam, the first king, though he dwelt for some time at Shechem, yet appears, from this passage, to have fixed in his latter days his royal residence at Tirzah. The succeeding kings kept their residence in the same city, till Omri, after reigning six years at Tirzah, removed the royal seat to Samaria, chap. xvi. 24, where it afterwards continued till a final period was put to the kingdom of Israel. It appears from Cant. vi. 4, that this was a very beautiful city, and pleasant to dwell in; on which account, probably, it was selected for the royal seat. Nothing is said about this place in Scripture
from which we can determine its situation, nor is any light afforded us on the subject by any writer of authority. Thus we can rest only on conjectures; but, as Jeroboam was of the tribe of Ephraim, and might therefore be disposed to fix his residence there, it is inferred, with some probability, that Tirzah was situated somewhere within that tribe. Dr. Wells.
1 Kings 14:19
19.—in the book of the chronicles] Not the book or books of Chronicles, which we now have in our Bibles, but some other records or publick registers of the nation: and this the reader must take notice to be the meaning of the phrase in several other passages. Pyle.
1 Kings 14:20
20.—and he slept with his fathers,] This phrase seems merely to imply that he died, as all before him had done; for it is not probable that he was actually buried with his fathers, as he was a king, and they only private persons. Bp. Patrick.
1 Kings 14:27
27.—made in their stead brazen shields,] This shews to what a low condition, in point of wealth, the kingdom of Judah was now reduced; since, though these shields were immediately connected with their grandeur as well as their religion, they were unable to replace them of gold, as before, though the charge would not have been very considerable. Bedford.
Rehoboam dieth. Abijam’s wicked reign. Before CHRIST 971.
Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah?
1 Kings 14:30
- — there was war &c.] God commanded Rehoboam, at 1 Kings xii. 23, not to make war upon the Israelites: still, of course, he was permitted to defend his own people, in case they were attacked; and, as the two nations were now rivals, it was scarcely possible but that frequent acts of hostility should take place upon their borders. Bp. Patrick.
Chap. XV. This chapter is to be compared with 2 Chron. xiii, xiv, xv, and xvi.
Ver. 1. — in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam] It is here stated, that Abijam began to reign in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam, and reigned three years; which may seem to disagree with the statement at ver. 9, that in the twentieth year of Jeroboam Asa reigned over Judah. But it is usual in Scripture, as in other writings, to take a part of the year for the whole. Thus Abijam began to reign in some part of Jeroboam’s eighteenth year, and died in some part of the twentieth, and thus was reckoned to have reigned three years. Bp. Patrick.