Then Jehu said to Bidkar his captain, “Pick him up, and throw him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember how, when you and I rode together after Ahab his father, Yahweh laid this burden on him: ‘Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth, and the blood of his sons,’ says Yahweh; ‘and I will repay you in this plot of ground,’ says Yahweh. Now therefore take and cast him onto the plot of ground, according to Yahweh’s word.”
But when Ahaziah the king of Judah saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house. Jehu followed after him, and said, “Strike him also in the chariot!” They struck him at the ascent of Gur, which is by Ibleam. He fled to Megiddo, and died there. His servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his tomb with his fathers in David’s city. In the eleventh year of Joram the son of Ahab, Ahaziah began to reign over Judah.
When Jehu had come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked out at the window. As Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, “Do you come in peace, Zimri, you murderer of your master?”
He lifted up his face to the window, and said, “Who is on my side? Who?” Two or three eunuchs looked out at him.
He said, “Throw her down!” So they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses. Then he trampled her under foot.
When he had come in, he ate and drank. Then he said, “See now to this cursed woman, and bury her; for she is a king’s daughter.”
They went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull, the feet, and the palms of her hands. Therefore they came back, and told him. He said, “This is Yahweh’s word, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, ‘The dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel on the plot of Jezreel,
and the body of Jezebel will be as dung on the face of the field on Jezreel’s land, so that they won’t say, “This is Jezebel.” ’ ”
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37 Or, spake this prophecy against him.
Or, spake this prophecy against him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv25–37 2Ki 9:25 Then said [Jehu] to Bidkar his captain,…
2Ki 9:25 Then said [Jehu] to Bidkar his captain, Take up, [and] cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the LORD laid this burden upon him;
Ver. 25. Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain.] Heb., Triarium suum, his third captain, or captain of a third part of his forces.
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The Lord laid this burden.] {See Trapp on "Mal 1:1"}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37 When I and thou rode together after Ahab his…
When I and thou rode together after Ahab his father; which might be when Ahab went in his chariot, attended with his nobles or chief officers, (of which these were two,) to take a formal and solemn possession of Naboth’s land; for then the prophet Elijah met him, and denounced this judgment against him, 1Ki 21:17, &c.
This burden, i.e. this grievous prophecy; for such are oft and truly called burdens, as Isa 13:1; 15:1; Jer 23:33,34; Na 1:1.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v30 The greatest delinquent in the house of Ahab was…
The greatest delinquent in the house of Ahab was Jezebel: it was she that introduced Baal, slew the Lord's prophets, contrived the murder of Naboth, stirred up her husband first, and then her sons, to do wickedly; a cursed woman she is here called (Kg2 9:34), a curse to the country, and whom all that wished well to their country had a curse for. Three reigns her reign had lasted, but now, at length, her day had come to fall. We read of a false prophetess in the church of Thyatira that is compared to Jezebel, and called by her name (Rev 2:20), her wickedness the same, seducing God's servants to idolatry, a long space given her to repent (Kg2 9:21) as to Jezebel, and a fearful ruin brought upon her at last (Kg2 9:22, Kg2 9:23), as here upon Jezebel. So that Jezebel's destruction may be looked upon as typical of the destruction of idolaters and persecutors, especially that great whore, that mother of harlots, that hath made herself drunk with the blood of saints and the nations drunk with the wine of her fornications, when God shall put it into the heart of the kings of the earth to hate her, Rev 17:5, Rev 17:6. 16. Now here we have,
I. Jezebel daring the judgment. She heard that Jehu had slain her son, and slain him for her whoredoms and witchcrafts, and thrown his dead body into the portion of Naboth, according to the word of the Lord, and that he was now coming to Jezreel, where she could not but expect herself to fall next a sacrifice to his revenging sword. Now see how she meets her fate; she posted herself in a window at the entering of the gate, to affront Jehu and set him at defiance. 1. Instead of hiding herself, as one afraid of divine vengeance, she exposed herself to it and scorned to flee, mocked at fear and was not affrighted. See how a heart hardened against God will brave it out to the last, run upon him, even upon his neck, Job 15:26. But never did any thus harden their hearts against him and prosper. 2. Instead of humbling herself, and putting herself into close mourning for her son, she painted her face, and tired her head, that she might appear like herself, that is (as she thought), great and majestic, hoping thereby to daunt Jehu, to put him out of countenance, and to stop his career. The Lord God called to baldness and girding with sackcloth, but behold painting and dressing, walking contrary to God, Isa 22:12, Isa 22:13. There is not a surer presage of ruin than an unhumbled heart under humbling providences. Let painted faces look in Jezebel's glass, and see how they like themselves. 3. Instead of trembling before Jehu, the instrument of God's vengeance, she thought to make him tremble with that threatening question, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? Observe, (1.) She took no notice of the hand of God gone out against her family, but flew in the face of him that was only the sword in his hand. We are very apt, when we are in trouble, to break out into a passion against the instruments of our trouble, when we ought to be submissive to God and angry at ourselves only. (2.) She pleased herself with the thought that what Jehu was now doing would certainly end in his own ruin, and that he would not have peace in it. He had cut her off from all pretensions to peace (Kg2 9:22), and now she thought to cut him off likewise. Note, It is no new thing for those that are doing God's work to be looked upon as out of the way of peace. Active reformers, faithful reprovers, are threatened with trouble; but let them be in nothing terrified, Phi 1:28. (3.) She quoted a precedent, to deter him from the prosecution of this enterprise: "Had Zimri peace? No, he had not; he came to the throne by blood and treachery, and within seven days was constrained to burn the palace over his head and himself in it: and canst thou expect to fare any better?" Had the case been parallel, it would have been proper enough to give him this memorandum; for the judgments of God upon those that have gone before us in any sinful way should be warnings to us to take heed of treading in their steps. But the instance of Zimri was misapplied to Jehu. Zimri had no warrant for what he did, but was incited to it merely by his own ambition and cruelty; whereas Jehu was anointed by one of the sons of the prophets, and did this by order from heaven, which would bear him out. In comparing persons and things we must carefully distinguish between the precious and the vile, and take heed lest from the fate of sinful men we read the doom of useful men.
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II. Jehu demanding aid against her. He looked up to the window, not daunted at the menaces of her impudent but impotent rage, and cried, Who is on my side? Who? Kg2 9:32. He was called out to do God's work, in reforming the land and punishing those that had debauched it; and here he calls out for assistance in the doing of it, looked as if there were any to help, any to uphold, Isa 63:5. He lifts up a standard, and makes proclamation, as Moses (Exo 32:26), Who is on the Lord's side? And the Psalmist (Psa 94:16), Who will rise up for me against the evil-doers? Note, When reformation-work is set on foot, it is time to ask, "Who sides with it?"
III. Her own attendants delivering her up to his just revenge. Two or three chamberlains looked out to Jehu with such a countenance as encouraged him to believe they were on his side, and to them he called not to seize or secure her till further orders, but immediately to throw her down, which was one way of stoning malefactors, casting them headlong from some steep place. Thus was vengeance taken on her for the stoning of Naboth. They threw her down, Kg2 9:33. If God's command would justify Jehu, his command would justify them. Perhaps they had a secret dislike of Jezebel's wickedness, and hated her, though they served her; or, it may be, she was barbarous and injurious to those about her, and they were pleased with this opportunity of being avenged on her; or, observing Jehu's success, they hoped thus to ingratiate themselves with him, and keep their places in his court. However it was, thus she was most shamefully put to death, dashed against the wall and the pavement, and then trodden on by the horses, which were all besmeared with her blood and brains. See the end of pride and cruelty, and say, The Lord is righteous.
IV. The very dogs completing her shame and ruin, according to the prophecy. When Jehu had taken some refreshment in the palace, he bethought himself of showing so much respect to Jezebel's sex and quality as to bury her. As bad as she was, she was a daughter, a king's daughter, a king's wife, a king's mother: Go and bury her, Kg2 9:34. But, though he had forgotten what the prophet said (Kg2 9:10, Dogs shall eat Jezebel), God had not forgotten it. While he was eating and drinking, the dogs had devoured her dead body, the dogs that went about the city (Psa 59:6) and fed upon the carrion, so that there was nothing left but her bare skull (the painted face gone) and her feet and hands. The hungry dogs had no respect to the dignity of her extraction; a king's daughter was no more to them than a common person. When we pamper our bodies, and use them deliciously, let us think how vile they are, and that shortly they will be either a feast for worms under ground or beasts above ground. When notice was brought of this to Jehu, he remembered the threatening (Kg1 21:23), The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. Nothing should remain of her but the monuments of her infamy. She had been used to appear on public days in great state, and the cry was, "This is Jezebel. What a majestic port and figure! How great she looks!" But now it shall be said no more. We have often seen the wicked buried (Ecc 8:10), yet sometimes, as here, they have no burial, Ecc 6:3. Jezebel's name nowhere remained, but as stigmatized in sacred writ: they could not so much as say, "This is Jezebel's dust, This is Jezebel's grave," or "This is Jezebel's seed." Thus the name of the wicked shall rot - rot above ground.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv25–33 And his servants carried him in a chariot to…
And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem,.... With the leave of Jehu, because he was the grandson of Jehoshaphat, a sincere worshipper of God, Ch2 22:9,
and buried him in his sepulchre with his fathers in the city of David; see Kg1 22:50.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv27, 31, 34 He died - The history is briefly and imperfectly…
He died - The history is briefly and imperfectly described here, and the defects supplied in (the book of Chronicles, is great part written for that end, to supply things omitted in the book of Kings) out of both it may be thus compleated: he fled first to Megiddo, and thence to Samaria, where he was caught, and thence brought to Jehu, and by his sentence was put to death at Megiddo.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 37 Verse 25. Cast him in the portion of the…
Verse 25. Cast him in the portion of the field] This was predicted, 1 Kings 21; and what now happened to the son of Ahab is foretold in 1Kg 21:29 of that chapter.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv26, 27, 30, 31, 32, 34, 36 2Ki 9:26. And the blood of his sons —…
2Ki 9:26. And the blood of his sons — Who, many commentators have thought, were killed by their father, by Jezebel’s advice, to make the possession of the vineyard more sure to Ahab. Some however, are of opinion, as we have no account in the history of Naboth, (1 Kings 21.,) that his sons were killed with him, that Jehu does not here repeat the exact words of God by Elijah, but exaggerates the matter, and represents the sons as slain with their father, because, by their being deprived of him and of his estate, they were, in a manner, in as bad a condition as though they had been destroyed. I will requite thee in this plat — That very piece of ground, which Ahab, with so much pride and pleasure, had made himself master of, at the expense of the guilt of innocent blood, now became the theatre on which his son’s dead body lay unburied and exposed, a spectacle to the world, and a prey to the dogs or fowls, according to the prediction, 1Ki 21:19. Thus the Lord is known by the judgments which he executeth. The son justly deserved the punishment due to the father, because he gave his approbation to the deed of his father, by continuing to keep possession of Naboth’s vineyard, and taking no care to repair the injury done to Naboth and his family by the false accusation which had been preferred against him.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 34 Rode together after Ahab - The Assyrian sculptures make…
Rode together after Ahab - The Assyrian sculptures make it probable that Josephus was right in interpreting this “rode side by side behind Ahab in his chariot.” The Assyrian monarchs, when they go out to war, are frequently attended hy two guards, who stand behind them in the same chariot.
Burden - Compare the use of the same word in Isaiah (Isa 13:1; Isa 15:1, etc.), and in Lamentations Lam 2:14, for a denunciation of woe.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37 Sitting. Hebrew, "rode together after," as if they were…
Sitting. Hebrew, "rode together after," as if they were two abreast. (Calmet) --- Burden, or dreadful misfortune. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv25, 26, 27, 30, 35, 36 cast him in the portion of the field of…
cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, &c.--according to the doom pronounced by divine authority on Ahab (Kg1 21:19), but which on his repentance was deferred to be executed on his son.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 25. For remember — Jehu remembers, and in substance…
25. For remember — Jehu remembers, and in substance repeats, the word of the Lord by Elijah, (1Ki_21:19; 1Ki_21:29,) and, conscious that he himself is the minister of judgment, he fulfils the word of the Lord. “This,” says Kitto, “completes the first act of this awful tragedy, which reads like the old Greek dramas — but far less old than this — of accomplished fate. The appointed executer of the doom was himself the witness of its being imposed. All is complete.”
Laid this burden upon him — This burden of judgment; that is, pronounced upon him this doom.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv25–36 25. rode together after Ahab his father] Jehu had…
25. rode together after Ahab his father] Jehu had long experience of the doings of Ahab’s family, and had not forgotten the prophetic words of Elijah. ‘Little did he think when he heard that message that his hands would act it’ (Bp Hall). By ‘riding together after Ahab’ we are not to understand that they were both together in the same chariot or both in Ahab’s chariot, but that they were together among the king’s retinue, when he went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.
laid this burden upon him] Or (as R.V. margin) ‘uttered this oracle against him’. The noun is that which is so often used by the prophets, especially Isaiah, for the oracle spoken against any city or nation. Cf. Isa_13:1; Isa_15:1; Isa_17:1; Isa_19:1, &c. Also 2Ch_24:27. The verb also is cognate with the noun, and signifies here ‘to lift up’, i.e. the voice, in the utterance of a prophecy.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv25–37 (25) Then said Jehu.—Literally, And he said.
(25) Then said Jehu.—Literally, And he said.
Bidkar.—The Syriac gives Bar-dĕkar, “son of stabbing,” i.e., “stabber,” “slayer” a very suitable name for Jehu’s squire. The Hebrew name is, therefore, a contraction of Ben-dekar. (Comp. Bedan, “son of Dan,” i.e., Danite, 1Sa_12:11; and Bedad, “son of Hadad,” in 1Ch_1:46.)
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Captain.—Adjutant, aide-de-camp, chief (2Ki_7:2).
Remember how that, when I and thou rode together.—This gives the sense of the Hebrew correctly. Literally, remember thou me and thee riding together. The word rendered “together” probably means riding side by side on horseback in attendance on the king. The Targum, vulg., and Kimchi interpret, riding together in the same chariot; Josephus, riding together in Ahab’s chariot behind him.
The Lord laid this burden upon him.—Rather, Jehovah uttered this (prophetic) utterance upon (i.e., about) him. (Comp. the oracle uttered by Elijah against Ahab when taking possession of Naboth’s vineyard, 1Ki_21:17, seq., 1Ki_21:29.)
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv25, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain; literally, his…
Then said Jehu to Bidkar his captain; literally, his thirdsman; Keil renders "his aide-de-camp," probably one of those who was in his chariot with himTake up, and cast him in the portion of the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. "Take up the body," i.e. "and cast it into the plot of ground which once belonged to Naboth the Jezreelite, and was forfeited to the crown at his death, (1Ki_21:15) and taken possession of by Ahab". (1Ki_21:16) The reason for the order follows. For remember how that, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, the Lord laid this burden upon him. The LXX have mnhmoneuw, "I remember;" but the Hebrew text is rkz, not rkza "Remember" (imperative mood) is the correct translation. Jehu recalls his captain"s recollection to an occurrence which was deeply impressed upon his own. "When thou and I rode together after Ahab" probably means "when we two stood behind Ahab in his chariot." The Assyrian sculptures usually represent the monarch as attended by two body-guards, who ride in the same chariot with him, standing up behind him, and often interposing their shields to protect his person. In this near proximity Jehu and Bidkar would hear any speech which was addressed to Ahab. By a "burden" is meant a sentence of punishment. (comp. Isa_13:1 Isa_15:1 Isa_17:1; etc.; Nah_1:1, etc.) Surely I have seen yesterday the blood of Naboth. (comp. 1Ki_21:19, where the same idea of retribution is expressed, though in different words) Jehu, after the lapse of fourteen or fifteen years, naturally had forgotten the exact words used. And the blood of his sons. The execution of Naboth"s sons had not been mentioned previously; but, under the rude jurisprudence of the age, (2Ki_14:6) sons were usually slain with their fathers. And, unless they had been removed, Ahab could not have inherited the vineyard. Saith the Lord; and I will requite thee in this plat, saith the Lord. This was the gist of the prophecy, which ran as follows: "In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." Now therefore take and cast him into the plat of ground, according to the word of the Lord. The evil prophesied against Ahab had been formally and expressly deferred to his son"s days on Ahab"s repentance (cf. 1Ki_21:29)
Vers. 25-37. Retribution may be long in coming, but it comes at last.
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Even a heathen could say, "Raro antecedentem scelestum deseruit pede poena claudo" (Horace, "Od.," 3:2, lines 31, 32). Yet throughout all history evil-disposed men have persisted in wicked and cruel conduct, just as if it was not only possible, but probable, that retribution would be escaped. The lesson thus needs continually to be impressed on men, that, sooner or later, retribution must come that there is no escape from it, Retribution must come
I BECAUSE GOD RULES THE UNIVERSE, AND GOD IS JUST. Disbelief in retribution is essentially atheistic. It implies either that there is no God, or that God is without one or more of those attributes which make him God. A just God must have the will to punish; an omnipotent God must have the power to punish. If a so-called God did not punish sin, he must be either not just, or not omnipotent, or not either; but then he would not be God. As Bahr says, "A God without vengeance, i.e. who cannot and will not punish, is no God, but a divinity fashioned from one"s thoughts.
II BECAUSE GOD HAS DECLARED THAT IT SHALL COME, AND GOD IS TRUE. God has said to each man, through his conscience, that he will punish sin. Remorse and reset, the dissatisfaction of a guilty conscience, are such punishment begun. In his Word God has expressly declared that he "will reward every man according to his works" (Psa_62:12; Pro_24:12; Mat_16:7; Rom_2:6; 2Ti_4:14) that he "will by no means clear the guilty"; (Exo_34:7) that "indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, shall be on every soul of man that doeth evil". (Rom_2:8, Rom_2:9) Nothing is more plainly taught in the whole of Scripture, from the beginning to the end, than requital, retribution, condign punishment. Ahab"s case is singular, not in the general principle, but only in the exact correspondence between the sin and its punishment. Such correspondence is rare and abnormal; but it does occur from time to time, and, when it occurs, there is something about it that is most impressive and striking. When the author of proscription, Marius, is himself proscribed; when the dethroner of kings, Napoleon L, is himself dethroned; when the inventor of conspiracies, Titus Oates, falls a victim to an invented conspiracy; when Robespierre and Danton, who have ruled by the guillotine, perish by the guillotine; justice" as it has been called, is satisfied, and the world at large is forced to recognize and acknowledge that requital has taken place in a signal way.
III BECAUSE ANY NEGATIVE INSTANCE THAT CAN BE PRODUCED WILL ONLY SHOW A DELAY, NOT AN ABROGATION OF THE SENTENCE. Infinite time is at the disposal of the Almighty. Men are impatient, and, if retribution does not overtake the sinner speedily, are apt to conclude that it will never overtake him. But with the Almighty "one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." The important thing to be borne in mind is the end; and the end will not be reached till "the judgment is set, and the books are opened", (Dan_7:10) and men are "judged out of those things which are written in the books, according to their works". (Rev_20:12) Punishment may be long in coming the ungodly may continue during their whole lifetime in prosperity. But there remains a future. Where the heathen felt and said, "Raro," the Christian will say, Nuquam antecedentem scelestum deseruit pede poena claudo."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv31, 37 Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
2Ki_9:31
Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?
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Divine purposes and human agencies
These are not the words of the Spirit of God, but of that wicked witch Jezebel, wife of the idolatrous Ahab. Nevertheless, there is a truth implied in them which it shall be our present business to expound and illustrate. Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? What did she mean by this? The answer is in the story of Zimri told in the sixteenth chapter of the first Book of Kings. Elah, son of Baasha, has reigned over Israel but two years, when in a drunken revel, in the house of his steward, he is slain by Zimri, captain of half his chariots, and his throne usurped by the traitor who had thus shed his blood. But for Zimri there is indeed no peace; the seven days of his reign are days of terror and of blood. Tirzah is speedily besieged by the army under Omri which hastens from Gibbethon; and when Zimri sees that his usurped power is gone, he betakes himself to the palace, where, kindling a fire around him, he perishes in the midst of the flames. That Divine purposes are sometimes accomplished by wicked agents; but that this in nowise excuses the agents themselves, or shields them from merited punishment.
I. By many facts in human history.
1. Look at facts in the history of nations.
2. Look at facts in the history of individuals.
There is Jacob concerning whose relation to Esau the prophecy stands that the elder shall serve the younger; yet how utterly detestable the means;--the lies, the trickery, the fraud, by which the end is attained, for the purposes of God I have respect, and I know that they shall stand, but for the means used by Jacob and his mother, I have the utmost abhorrence and contempt.
II. In the great central fact of Christianity. I mean the Crucifixion of the Lord. Here, the divinest purpose works itself out by the most satanic agency. The noblest deed of love ever wrought by the great God of love Himself, combines with the meanest, foulest, deed of hatred, ever wrought by man, in the great agony of the Cross. Him, says Peter, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye by wicked hands have crucified and slain. And yet one step further--I wot that through ignorance ye did it. So that here the chosen channels through which Divine wisdom and Divine love pour themselves upon us are human ignorance and wickedness! O the depth of the riches, etc. And here, I merely remark, that to the sentence,which states the principle we are discussing, I might add another member:--namely, That if those wicked agents who, consciously or unconsciously carry out Divine purposes, repent of their sin, they are not excluded from participation in the good they have been instrumentally, and sinfully, accomplishing.
III. In the dissemination of the gospel. Means in themselves inconsistent with the spirit of the Gospel, are in the order of Divine providence, indirectly employed. (J. W. Lance.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v27 Death of Ahaziah and Jezebel
Death of Ahaziah and Jezebel
v. 27. But when Ahaziah, the king of Judah, saw this, he fled by the way of the garden house, some structure in or near the palace grounds. And Jehu followed after him and said, Smite him also in the chariot. And they did so at the going up to Gur, which is by Ibleam, some miles to the west. And he fled to Megiddo and died there, on the slope of Mount Carmel. It seems, from 2Ch 22:9, that Ahaziah had first succeeded in reaching Samaria, but, having been found by Jehu’s men, tried to escape to the northwest, where he was killed, as here related. He who sides with the enemies of God must expect to share the lot of such enemies.
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v. 28. And his servants carried him in a chariot to Jerusalem, and buried him in his sepulcher with his fathers in the city of David.
v. 29. And in the eleventh year of Joram, the son of Ahab, began Ahaziah to reign over Judah, the difference between this statement and that of 2Ki 8:25, being due to a difference in reckoning the first year of the reign of Joram.
v. 30. And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it; and she painted her face, applying a special preparation to her eyebrows and eyelids, and tired her head, by putting on the head-band and crown which held her elaborate head-dress in place, and looked out at a window, arrogant, self-willed, and defiant to the last, hoping that the majesty of her position would save her.
v. 31. And as Jehu entered in at the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace, who slew his master? 1 Kings 16; 1 Kings 9-20, literally, "Is it peace, thou Zimri, murderer of his lord?" She wanted to terrify the rebel by reminding him of the tragic end of Zimri, whose rule lasted only seven days.
v. 32. And he lifted up his face to the window and said, Who is on my side, who? And there looked out to him, in answer to his call, two or three eunuchs, two servants of the palace at one window and three at another, signifying their intention to do his bidding.
v. 33. And he said, Throw her down. So they threw her down, dashing her from the window to the pavement below; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on the horses; and he trode her under foot, causing the wheels of his chariot to pass over her and to extinguish the last spark of life.
v. 34. And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, he first refreshed himself after his hard trip, and said, Go, see now this cursed woman and bury her; for she is a king’s daughter, a Phenician princess, 1Ki 16:31.
v. 35. And they went to bury her; but they found no more of her than the skull and the feet and the palms of her hands, the rest having been eaten or dragged away by the savage dogs common in the Orient.
v. 36. Wherefore they came again and told him. And he, who had not intended to refuse her burial or deliberately to fulfill the prediction in regard to her, said, This Is the word of the Lord which He spake by His servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel, 1Ki 21:23;
v. 37. and the carcass of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel; there was no definite spot to keep her memory alive. Thus are the wicked punished who have seduced others to sin and worked harm to their souls.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv25, 27, 29, 30, 33, 35 This is the name of a man. (See: How…
Bidkar
This is the name of a man. (See: How to Translate Names)
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Pick him up and throw him
"Pick up his dead body and throw it" or "Take his corpse and throw it"
Think about how
"Remember"
after Ahab his father
This means that they rode in the chariot behind Ahab's chariot. AT: "behind his father Ahab's chariot" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Yahweh placed this prophecy against him
"Yahweh spoke this prophecy against Ahab"
the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons
Here the word "blood" refers to "murder" AT: "the murder of Naboth and the murder of his sons" (See: Metonymy)
I will surely make you pay for it
This means that he will punish Ahab as he deserves for the evil he has done. AT: "I will give you what you deserve for the evil you have done" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
pick him up and throw him on this field
"take Joram's dead body and throw it into the field of Naboth"
according to the word of Yahweh
"to fulfill the prophecy spoken to us"
translationWords
ancestor
prophet
blood
son
word of God
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv27, 30, 31, 32, 34 9:27-28 The road to Beth-haggan led southward along the…
9:27-28 The road to Beth-haggan led southward along the eastern edge of the Jezreel Valley, past Ibleam and on to Samaria. • Megiddo . . . he died there: King Ahaziah escaped to Samaria, where he was captured and brought to Jehu (2 Chr 22:8-9). The accounts in Chronicles and Kings might be combined to show that although Ahaziah was wounded at Gur, he managed to go on to Samaria. Later, Jehu’s men seized him and brought him to Jehu, where he was put to death. Since the Chronicler associates Ahaziah’s capture with Jehu’s slaying of Ahab’s descendants and some of Ahaziah’s relatives (see 2 Kgs 10:1-17), it appears that Ahaziah avoided his pursuers for a time. The account here is greatly compressed, with the writer recording Ahaziah’s death and burial before relating further events.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.