The ancient prophecies/histories of the nations of the Middle East provide background to the conflicts there today. The same adversarial relationships describe Israel's neighbors and herself.
Ezek 12—Ezekiel is instructed about making God’s words relevant, and no more to be postponed
1 The word of the Lord also came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house. [Compare Deut 29:4, Isa 6:10, Isa 29:10, Mark 8:14-21, Luke 8:10, Rom 11:8, Eph 4:18, 2 Thes 2:10-12]
The Lord instructs Ezekiel to communicate with the people using a sort of combination of object/symbolic/demonstration lessons . . . lessons that would SIT well, that is, they were Surprising, Interesting, and Troubling.
1. Ezekiel is to pack up during the day and move, in plain sight of all, with the hope the Israelites will take notice and consider
2. Next he is to remove his stuff in the people’s sight, as a person taken into captivity
3. He is to dig a hole in the wall and carry his stuff out through it
4. Further, he is to carry his stuff on his shoulders in the twilight, with his face covered, so he can’t see the ground; all this as a sign/symbol/representation to the Israelites
The next morning the Lord asks Ezekiel if the people didn’t ask him what he was up to. He is to explain that all this was essentially a visual parable of what is to happen to the prince/ruler, the people of Jerusalem, and the Israelites among them. They will be removed and brought into captivity. Their prince will bear his stuff on his shoulder and leave at twilight (an ignominious flight). They’ll dig through the wall for their escape, and the prince’s face will be covered so he can’t even see the ground before him. He will be taken as in a net or with snares/traps and brought to Babylon, but he’ll never see it, even though he’ll die there (Zedekiah fled when Jerusalem fell, but his pursuers caught up with him: he was blinded after they killed his sons before his eyes, and then taken captive to Babylon).
Continuing, the Lord says He will scatter all the king’s helpers to the winds, and his armies will be chased & killed by the sword. The people will acknowledge the Lord, and that He was behind all that happened to them, when they are scattered/dispersed among other nations. God will spare a few Israelite survivors of the wars, famine, and pestilence/disease, to testify of their abominations when they are carried away among the heathen. They will acknowledge their God.
Ezekiel is to eat and drink with quaking and trembling, and fear. It’s a representation of how the residents of Jerusalem and the land of Israel will do as their nation is destroyed because of their violent lifestyles.
The Lord asks, What’s this saying so prevalent in the land of Israel that Life goes on as usual, and all the dire prophecies fail to come about? He says to Ezekiel, Tell them “I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel . . .” the days are quickly coming when the prophecies will be fulfilled. There won’t be any more foolish “visions” and flattering false prophecies among the House of Israel.
“For I am the Lord: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged [delayed]: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord God.”
While people are saying Ezekiel’s prophecies are a long way off in coming, the Lord says, None of My words are to be postponed any longer. All I [God] have said will be done.
(Ezek 17 is covered in part 2, the riddle or parable of the eagles & the cedars; it touches on king Zedekiah’s hopes for an Egyptian alliance which will cause his downfall before the Babylonian king.)
Ezek 19—a parable of lions, and a parable of a vine: the strong taken captive; no rulers left
A “lamentation for the princes of Israel” . . .
What is your mother? A lioness with cubs. One cub grew to a strong young lion, catching prey and devouring people. But the nations heard of him, caught him in a pit. and he was taken in chains to Egypt.
The lioness lost hope in that cub, and took another of her cubs to grow into a strong young lion. He learned to hunt prey, and devoured people. He laid waste to the cities, the palaces, and the land. The land was full of his roaring.
But then the nations all surrounded him on every side, and took him in a net and put him in a pit in chains. They brought him to the king of Babylon to be imprisoned. His voice would no more be heard in the mountains/hills of the land of Israel.
A second parable: thy mother is like a fruitful vine full of branches, planted by the waters. This vine had strong branches that bore rule. She was exalted in her multitude of lofty branches. But then she was plucked up in fury. She was thrown down, and the east wind dried up her fruit. Her strong branches were broken and withered. They were consumed in fire. “ And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.” The fire of one of her branches has destroyed all her fruit. She is left without a strong branch to bear rule. This is the lamentation.
The first parable (of the lions) would appear to refer to the rule/leadership of Joseph who was taken into Egypt as a slave, yet he (and probably his line) essentially ruled the Children of Israel there. But the leadership/rule of the Children of Israel eventually passed to the tribe of Judah, King David’s line. Under the rule of Judah Israel prospered. But Israel’s jealous neighbors conspired to destroy him, and he was carried away to Babylon. Similarly, in the 2nd parable: Israel prospered like a well-watered (grape) vine by a stream or body of water. But she was pulled up, her branches broken and burned. She is left without an heir to her throne. (Zedekiah, the last king of Judah, saw his heirs killed before his eyes; other Jewish royalty had been imprisoned in Egypt and Babylon.)
Ezek 20—the Lord likens His future rescue of His people to what He did in the Exodus from Egypt
In the 7th year (presumably of captivity, that is, of Zedekiah’s reign—while Ezekiel and the first captives were already in Babylon), the elders of Israel come to the prophet Ezekiel to inquire of the Lord. But the Lord replies, “Are ye come to inquire of me? As I live, saith the Lord God, I will not be inquired of by you.” He then lists their history . . .
The language of this chapter is so beautiful and powerful, the following is a just poor summary:
The Lord made Himself known to Jacob/Israel’s posterity in Egypt, and brought them out of slavery. He told them to throw away the idols of Egypt, and gave them the Law of Moses (a law of Justice and Mercy) to live by, including Sabbaths as a sign of the covenant between them and God. But they rebelled against Him in the wilderness, continuing to worship Egypt’s gods (“for their heart went after their idols”), despising His laws, and polluted His Sabbaths. Nevertheless, the Lord yet cared for them (that His name would not be profaned by the heathen nations, who knew He had rescued Israel from Egypt) and brought them into a land the Lord had chosen for them, a land “flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands”. See
https://www.gotquestions.org/Israel-milk-honey.html
https://www.penn.museum/sites/canaan/Climate%26Fauna.html
The Lord admonished Israel not to follow the idolatry of their fathers in Egypt, nor follow their old traditional codes of law, but to follow/keep His laws of Justice and to keep His Sabbaths holy. Still, they rebelled against/despised His laws and polluted His Sabbaths. He warned them of His anger, yet He held back for the sake of His reputation among the heathen. He left them to their abominations (including sacrificing their children in fire to idols).
“Thus saith the Lord God; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me . . .” for when He brought them into the Promised Land (by His hand they were able to settle there), they made every hill and all the large trees places of idolatry/idol worship. The Lord asks “Are ye polluted after the manner of your fathers? and commit ye whoredom after their abominations?” Aren’t you still going on in those ways? Why should I [God] listen to/answer your inquiries [pleas for care & protection, good fortune—just as the Greeks would go to their oracles]?
And yet, the Lord promises after all that He will bring/gather His people out of captivity among the nations, as He did when He rescued them from Egypt. In the “wilderness of the people” He will plead with His people face to face to put away all their wicked ways and serve Him. In this wilderness/captivity He will purge the rebels and sinners from among them. “For in mine holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, saith the Lord God, there shall all the house of Israel, all of them in the land, serve me: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the firstfruits of your oblations, with all your holy things.” [Note the great work that Ezra and Nehemiah did among the people to bring them back to God, when He had brought them back {through Cyrus) to their land, Israel].
Then will the Lord accept their sacrifices, and they will honor Him with holiness of thought and behavior before the heathen. Israel will acknowledge and loathe themselves for the evils they [their fathers] committed. They will know the Lord is their God, and has dealt with them in mercy, despite what they as a people deserved.
Ezekiel is to prophesy against the forests south of him (as he was in Mesopotamia, Israel would be south of him), that the Lord would start a fire in those forests to devour all the trees, living or dead, Thus all people will know that the Lord was behind the destruction.
Ezekiel answers, Lord, they say I’m speaking in parables. [Implying either that he is not being direct and clear, or that his stories are like folktales.]
Ezek 36—the gathering of Israel (see also Ezek 28:24-26)
Because Israel’s neighbors considered the conquest of Israel their chance to encroach on Israel’s territory, the Lord says He will bring them to shame. Note that after the Assyrian conquest, Israel & Judah were once again one kingdom (as they had been in the days of King David), ruled by David’s lineage.
6 Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen . . .
8 But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come . . .
The Lord promises to prosper Israel. The cities will be repopulated. What had become wasteland will be rebuilt. “And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”
Before, the House of Israel defiled their own land with their iniquities and idolatries (like an unclean, separated woman), so the Lord poured out His fury on them. He scattered them among the heathen. But then the Lord had pity on them, not for their own sakes (because they profaned/disrespected God’s name among the heathen), but for His own name’s sake. He will make His name holy/reverenced again. He promises to gather them out of all the nations where they are scattered and bring them back to their own land. He will cleanse them from their filthiness and idolatries (He speaks of clean water, as if in washing away their sins, like in baptism).
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes [what is legal and what is not] and ye shall keep my judgments [establishing innocence or guilt, and sentencing Laws], and do them.
28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Ezek 25—vs Ammonites, Moab, Seir/Edom, Philistines
4 Behold, therefore I will deliver thee [Ammonites] to the men of the east for a possession, and they shall set their palaces in thee, and make their dwellings in thee: they shall eat thy fruit, and they shall drink thy milk.
5 And I will make Rabbah a stable for camels, and the Ammonites a couchingplace for flocks: and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
6 For thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast clapped thine hands, and stamped with the feet, and rejoiced in heart with all thy despite against the land of Israel . . .
11 And I will execute judgments upon Moab; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
12 ¶ Thus saith the Lord God; Because that Edom hath dealt against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and hath greatly offended, and revenged himself upon them . . .
14 . . . I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel: and they shall do in Edom according to mine anger and according to my fury; and they shall know my vengeance, saith the Lord God.
15 ¶ Thus saith the Lord God; Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart, to destroy it [the land of Israel] for the old hatred . . . [remember the stories of Samson & Delila, David & Goliath, etc]
17 And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/ancient-near-eastern-world/ammonites-moabites-edomites-in-the-bible/ Ammonites, Moabites, Edomites
https://www.gotquestions.org/mount-Seir.html Mt Seir belonged to Edom
https://bibleatlas.org/mount_seir.htm map, scriptures, & Encyclopedia entries for Mt Seir/Bozrah
Ezek 35—prophecies vs Mt Seir (Edom) & Idumea
2 Son of man, set thy face against mount Seir, and prophesy against it,
3 And say unto it, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, O mount Seir, I am against thee, and I will stretch out mine hand against thee, and I will make thee most desolate.
4 I will lay thy cities waste, and thou shalt be desolate, and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
5 Because thou hast had a perpetual hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity, in the time that their iniquity had an end . . .
The Lord chastises Edom for gleefully anticipating taking advantage of Israel’s troubles, thinking to take over the land of Israel. Edom will be destroyed and will know that God is the Lord. In the last verse of the chapter Idumea is included in the desolation. Likewise, Idumea is only hardly mentioned in Ezekiel 36 (verse 5) “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.” Idumea, like Edom, joyfully considers the conquest of Israel as a chance to take over the land.
https://www.biblestudy.org/meaning-names/idumea.html valuable info about Idumea & its history
Ezek 26-27—prophecies vs Tyre
In the 11th year (of the Jewish king Zedekiah, and the captivity of the first group carried/taken to Babylon) the Lord speaks to Ezekiel against Tyre. Tyre had a long history with Israel. The king of Tyre was friends with Kings David & Solomon of Judah. But by the time of the Babylonian conquest Tyre had an adversarial relationship to the land & people of Israel.
https://www.worldhistory.org/Tyre/ background info & history of Tyre, a wealthy Phoenician city
2 Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste:
3 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up.
4 And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.
5 It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God: and it shall become a spoil to the nations.
6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
7 ¶ For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.
Chapter 27 is a lament for Tyre . . . speaking of her rich trade among the islands of the Mediterranean, as well of Egypt, Persia, Syria, Judah, and other lands of the Middle East. “Tyrus, O thou that art situate[d] at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty. Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.” This chapter is abundant with details about the products and trade goods of various ancient lands and peoples of the Middle East.
https://bibleatlas.org/tarshish.htm Tarshish, located in what is now Spain
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/27-13.htm Javan, Tubal, and Meshech (scroll down for commentary)
https://biblehub.com/topical/t/togarmah.htm Togarmah
https://bibleatlas.org/dedan.htm Dedan, in Arabia/Persian Gulf
Ezek 28—prophecies vs Tyre & Sidon
Prophesy against & lament for Tyre (Note the mention of Daniel)
2 Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God:
3 Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:
4 With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:
5 By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:
6 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;
7 Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.
Tyre is described as a garden like Eden, with all sorts of precious stones: sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, emerald, carbuncle, gold. Finely crafted musical instruments: tabrets and pipes (tambourines or small drums, and flutes) that would be played for joyous occasions. But the prosperity of trade brought violence (no doubt robbery & theft).
Prophesy vs Zidon/Sidon (sister Phoenician city to Tyre)
22 And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be sanctified in her.
23 For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the Lord.
Ezek 29-32—prophecies vs Egypt
In the 10th year (of King Zedekiah in Judah, and the 1st group of Captives in Babylon, where Ezekiel was), the Lord gives a prophesy against Pharaoh and all Egypt:
3 Speak, and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, Pharaoh king of Egypt, the great dragon that lieth in the midst of his rivers, which hath said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself.
4 But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales.
5 And I will leave thee thrown into the wilderness, thee and all the fish of thy rivers: thou shalt fall upon the open fields; thou shalt not be brought together, nor gathered: I have given thee for meat to the beasts of the field and to the fowls of the heaven.
6 And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord, because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
7 When they took hold of thee by thy hand, thou didst break, and rend all their shoulder: and when they leaned upon thee, thou brakest, and madest all their loins to be at a stand.
The kingdom of Judah had hoped for help from Egypt against Babylon, and Pharaoh didn’t come through. “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring a sword upon thee, and cut off man and beast out of thee. And the land of Egypt shall be desolate and waste; and they shall know that I am the Lord: because he hath said, The river is mine, and I have made it.” The prophesy is that Syene to Ethiopia will be wasted & desolate for 40 years, perhaps other cities as well, but after 40 years the Lord will gather them from where they have been scattered and bring them back to their land, though they will not be so high and mighty. Pathros is a name for southern Egypt.
https://bibleatlas.org/syene.htm interesting info about Syene, including a Jewish colony there; click on the map to enlarge it.
In the 27th year the Lord tells Ezekiel that Nebuchadrezzar and his army’s wages for their service against Tyre, He will give them the land of Egypt and its spoil. All this to convince God’s people that He is Lord [when these prophecies come to pass].
Not only Egypt, but her allies to the south (Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, various mixed peoples, and Chub) will fall by the sword of the Babylonians. Zoan (in the Nile delta) and other cities will be burned and destroyed.
https://bibleatlas.org/lud.htm an explanagion of Lydia/Lud in Ezek 30:5
https://bibleatlas.org/memphis.htm about Noph (Memphis)
https://bibleatlas.org/dispersion.htm interesting info about the scattering of Israel over the centuries
https://bibleatlas.org/zoan.htm about Zoan (Tanis) in the Nile Delta
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/30-14.htm No is the city of Thebes
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/30-15.htm Sin is another city in the Nile Delta
In the 11th year the Lord says metaphorically that He has broken Pharaoh’s arm(s) and it (they) won’t be bound and healed in order to hold a sword. God will scatter the Egyptians among the nations. He will strengthen the king of Babylon and allow him to conquer Egypt. Even the Egyptians will recognize that God is Lord (Ruler, Master, the Superior Authority).
Two months later, in the 11th year, the Lord gives Ezekiel a parable about Assyria for Egypt to take heed: Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon (famous for exceptional trees). He was tall and thick with long branches. He grew in a well-watered place. The birds of the air made nests among his branches, and raised their young. In the shade of his branches all the beasts of the field gave birth to their young. The great nations lived in his shadow. The firs and the chestnut trees were nothing next to him. He was so beautiful that all the trees in the Garden of Eden envied him. But because he was so full of himself, God brought his downfall at the hand of a heathen [the Babylonian Empire], who would drive him out for his wickedness. “I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.” All of his allies will fall with him. (Compare the fall of Babylon: Rev 14:8, Rev 18, Isa 13:19, Isa 14, Isa 21:9, Isa 47:5) Egypt/Pharaoh’s egotism is like Assyria’s before his fall.
Near the end of the 12th year Ezekiel is to take up a lament/mourning for Pharaoh: You are like a young lion among the nations, a whale in the sea. You walked through their rivers and befouled them. But God will spread His net over you by the hands of many people. You’ll be brought up onto the land, tossed out in an open field where you will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. Your flesh will lay on the mountains, your blood will fill the valleys. Your blood will water the land where you used to swim, and the land and rivers will be full of you. God will blanket the heavens to darken the stars and moon, and cover the sun with a cloud [likely a description of the smoke of burning cities when Babylon conquers Egypt]. “Yea, I will make many people amazed at thee, and their kings shall be horribly afraid for thee, when I shall brandish my sword before them; and they shall tremble at every moment, every man for his own life, in the day of thy fall . . .”
A couple weeks later the Lord again tells Ezekiel to make a wailing for Egypt. Egypt will join other nations in hell, who were or would be conquered/destroyed by Babylon’s armies: Asshur (Assyria), Elam (Persia), Meshech, Tubal, Edom, and Zidon/Sidon (sister Phoenician city of Tyre).
https://biblehub.com/ezekiel/32-26.htm regarding Meshech & Tubal, click back & forward for the other nations listed.
Category: teaching
Isaiah–part 3, chapters 36-50
Isa 36—39 Hezekiah chapters; comp 2 Kings 18-20 & 2 Chron 32
“Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them.”
The Assyrian army is at the gates of Jerusalem. The Assyrian commander calls out to warn/threaten Hezekiah. Hezekiah’s cabinet officers tell him to speak his own language, rather than the Jewish language, but he wants all Hezekiah’s people to hear his words, weaken their resolve. He says, Don’t rely on Egypt for help, nor on your God. Egypt is worthlessly weak/broken, and it’s your God that has sent me against you. Have any of the gods of other nations saved them? We’ll give you 2000 horses if you can find that many riders. He tells Hezekiah’s forces that if they come and make a deal with the Assyrians they can go home and enjoy their own lands until they are taken away captive to live in a land just like their own, with plenty of resources.
About Rabshakeh, the Assyrian commander:
https://www.gotquestions.org/Rabshakeh-in-the-Bible.html
Hezekiah rips his clothes in signification of his alarm/trepidation, and goes in sackcloth to the Temple. He sends for Isaiah. He hopes that the Lord will be incensed at the blasphemous words of the Assyrian commander and come to Judah’s aid. Isaiah says, Don’t worry about him. I’ll send trouble to Assyria, and their armies will go home. The Assyrian king will be killed in his own land.
Rumors of trouble reach the Assyrian commander, and he leaves with his army, sending a threatening letter to Hezekiah, reminding him of the cruel devastation of Assyrian conquest, and that none of the gods of the other nations saved them from Assyria. Hezekiah puts the letter before the Lord in the Temple and prays for his people. He says, Yes, Assyria has wiped out all the nations with their gods, but they were handmade gods. Lord, save us, so “all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.” Isaiah replies to the Assyrian threat, and tells those left of the House of Israel that the Assyrians will not be a threat to them any longer: God will protect them. For 2 years they’ll eat volunteer crops, then plant in the 3rd year, and they will be prospered. The Lord wipes out the Assyrian army besieging Jerusalem overnight (185,000). King Sennacherib of Assyria goes back to Nineveh, and is assassinated by his sons as he worships his god.
While the Assyrians were still a threat, Hezekiah becomes deadly ill with a boil. Isaiah comes to tell him to put his house in order for his death. Hezekiah turns to God & pleads for his life. The Lord sends Isaiah back to Hezekiah answering that he will live yet another 15 years. Isaiah has them make a plaster of figs to put on Hezekiah’s boil. As a sign of His promise, the Lord causes the shadow on the sundial (king Ahaz had installed in Jerusalem) to go back 10 degrees. Hezekiah writes a poetic thanks to God.
Hezekiah is feeling blessed, feeling good. When the Babylonian king sends an ambassador to congratulate him on his recovery of health, Hezekiah shows off all he has. Isaiah tells him that was a foolish thing to do, and prophesies of the Babylonian captivity. Hezekiah accepts the Lord’s decision but is grateful it isn’t to happen until after he is gone.
Isa 40—one of the most beautiful chapters of the Bible, and part of the text for Handel’s “Messiah”:
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned”
“The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.”
“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!”
“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”
The whole chapter is so great! And here is just one of God’s promises, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isa 41—God promises His help to the House of Israel, He is their Redeemer; God calls Abraham His friend.
Verses 1-7 are challenging as written in the King James Version. They make more sense when going back to the Hebrew. God addresses the Isles/lands, inviting them to come together to testify, to seek judgment. God righteously called the conqueror from the East (Assyria) and gave him power to pound the nations into dust. From the beginning God has been in charge, first and last. The conquered lands saw this and trembled with fear, but they help and encourage one another, “Be strong!” (Alternatively, the conqueror from the east might be Babylon, that would overthrow the Assyrian Empire) See
https://biblehub.com/isaiah/41-1.htm and links for following verses.
Verses 15-19 use an agricultural motif to reassure the people of Israel that He will hear their cries for help, bring water to the dry land and reforest the wilderness. Verses 21-29 are a challenge for anyone to show that they knew ahead of time what was going to happen.
Highlights of Isa 41: the Lord calls Abraham His friend, He reminds the descendants of Jacob/Israel that He has chosen them and will not cast them off, and tells them, “Don’t be afraid!”
8 But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.
9 Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.
10 ¶ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. [comp Joshua 1:9, etc]
13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
Isa 42—God’s promise to Isaiah, His servant
In this chapter God alternately speaks positively, and negatively.
God promises to uphold His servant, whom He has chosen (elected), and in whom He delights. He has put His spirit on His servant to teach righteous judgment to the Gentiles (non-Israelites/non-Jews). His servant will not have to yell to be heard. He won’t have to be tough to bring out the truth. He won’t fail or be discouraged. The lands (see link for Isa 41:1) will await to hear him teach the law of the Lord.
God speaks directly to Isaiah, “Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Comp Matt 4:16 and Luke 4:16-19.
God tells Isaiah that what he has spoken before (through him) is now happening. God will tell Isaiah more to come before they happen. God has put up with bad behavior for a long time, but now He is going to cry out like a woman in childbirth. He will destroy the land of His people. Those who trusted in idols will be ashamed. He asks rhetorically, Who is blind, that is my servant? (In other words, God’s servants are not blind or deaf.) The Lord is pleased with the righteous, and will make His law great and honored. But His people have been despoiled and robbed, imprisoned and trapped by Him because of their sins, their refusal to walk in God’s ways and obey His law. And still, His people have not taken the consequences of their behavior to heart.
10 Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles, and the inhabitants thereof.
11 Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar doth inhabit: let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains.]
12 Let them give glory unto the Lord, and declare his praise in the islands.
16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.
Isa 43—Jacob is (his descendants are) to be redeemed
God promises that He will be with the Children of Israel as they must wade through deep waters, or walk through fire, that they will not be drowned nor burned. He saved them at the price of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sheba in their history. The Children of Israel were precious to Him, He loved them, and will pay the price of other nations for their sake in future. He will gather them from the east, the west, the north, and the south. He will bring them back from the ends of the earth—all those that were called by God’s name (His people), for He created them for His glory. Let everyone from every nation come together, and who of them could predict or believe any of this? But by these prophesies you can know God’s servant whom He has chosen, and that there was never any God before Him, nor any after Him. God says, “I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour . . . and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?” In other words, when God does something, no one can undo it.
God has taken down Assyria via the Babylonians and the Chaldeans. The Assyrian Empire is extinguished and will not rise again. You can forget the past, He says, I will renew your land. And yet, you don’t call on Me. You are weary/tired of Me. You don’t bring me offerings. I blotted out your transgressions, and will not remember your sins [recall Isa 1:18]. But your leaders and teachers have misled and mis-taught you. Thus I pronounce the priests, heirs of the Temple duties, profaned, and Jacob/Israel cursed and reproached.
Isa 44—God is the only real God, the rise and shepherding of Cyrus is foretold
This chapter begins with poetic parallelisms: Jacob = Israel, and Jacob = Jesurun. Made = formed. “Chosen” is repeated in both verses 1 & 2. Verse 3: pouring water on the thirsty = flooding dry ground. Pouring out His spirit on Jacob’s seed = blessing his offspring. And so it continues. One says he is the Lord’s = another calls himself by the name of Jacob (who was chosen by God to father the chosen people). One signs his name, so to speak, “the Lord’s”, and gives himself the surname of Israel/Jacob (who was chosen).
The Lord sets out a rhetorical challenge for anyone to claim having chosen Israel from days of old and prophesied of things to come. Don’t fear = don’t be afraid. Haven’t I said so? You know I have. “Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any.” That is, there is no other God than the Lord. All these idols made by human hands are worthless, and those that make them will be ashamed/embarrassed at their folly. Isaiah uses figures of speech from forging and carpentry (both used in making idols). The same wood that is used for heat, and cooking is used to make an idol that people worship, and with what irony the worshipper calls on this idol to deliver him! No one seems to see the ridiculousness of it.
Then the Lord calls on the Israelites to remember Him, for He certainly will not forget them. God has wiped out their transgressions and sins, paid the price for them (as someone would pay for damages in a legal suit . . . anciently that would be buying one out of slavery imposed for malfeasance). He calls on the earth itself to sing out for joy in the goodness of God in redeeming the Israelites. God is the Creator of all. He makes liars of those who profess the power to divine the future. God will establish the validity of His servants/prophets that Judah and Jerusalem will once again be inhabited and built up again. God is powerful enough to command the ocean and rivers to dry up. He will raise up Cyrus (of Persia) as a shepherd to His people, who will command the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple.
Isa 45—the Lord speaks to Cyrus, God’s anointed future ruler of Persia, reiterates that He alone is God
God will be behind the rise of Cyrus, for the sake of the Israelites, despite Cyrus not knowing Who is behind his success. “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me,” God proclaims. While the 10 commandments forbid worshipping other gods before Him, He is making clear that there aren’t any other gods beside Him. Those who deny God are as ludicrous as a pot or a piece of clay asking the potter what he’s doing/making, or claiming the potter has no hands. Can a person deny he has parents? In so many words God takes credit for Cyrus’ ascendancy. He foretells that Cyrus will let the captive Israelites return, rebuild the city, without any “payoff”. God will give Cyrus the labor of Egypt, the trade goods of Ethiopia, and Sabean soldiers: they will all acknowledge God’s power behind him. Idol makers (and worshippers) will be ashamed. God is the only God, He has been clear about that. He is Just/Righteous and offers Salvation. Eventually everyone will have to acknowledge who God is, and the right of His servants. “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”
Isa 46—to the House of Jacob: I have always been your God and taken care of you; I AM the only God
Poor animals had to carry the heavy idols of Bel and Nebo, yet those idols not only couldn’t deliver their worshippers, they themselves were taken captive.
Listen to me, o House of Israel! From the womb to old age/the grave I [God] will take care of you. Who do you think is my equal? People spend gold and silver to hire an idol maker. They set up the idol and worship it, call on it for help. But the idol can’t answer nor save its worshipper. “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring [prophesying] the end [outcome] from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure . . . I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it,” God promises.
Isa 47—prophesy of the future of Babylon
The Lord prophesies the inglorious end of Babylon. Instead of honor, Babylon/Chaldea will be considered as a woman demeaned by poverty and the necessity of prostituting herself. God says He used Babylon to punish His people for polluting their inheritance, and Babylon thought she would be a lady forever, never a widow, nor lose her children. But both these will occur in a day, because of her sorceries and enchantments. Babylon trusted in wickedness, and thought she could keep it a secret. But her downfall is coming, and she doesn’t know from where. Go ahead and try your enchantments and sorceries, if you think they will help you prevail. Let all your astrologers just try to save you, God says. They won’t be able to save themselves from the flame, nor your merchants that brought you to power through trade. They will desert you.
Isa 48—to the House of Jacob, from God, who is first & last the only true God, who will save Israel
You say you are the Holy City, and trust in God. From days of old have come the prophesies, as well as what would be soon to occur, because I [God] knew you were stubborn. I showed you what would happen far in advance, lest you would say your idol did it. I showed you new things lest you would say you already knew them. You have been a treacherous traitor to me in both.
But I’m going to put off being angry with you or destroying you. Your troubles will be a refining fire. I’m not doing it for your sake, but for Mine: so My name will be recognized and glorified. I am the Creator and the Cause/Person in Charge. Come together and listen—the Lord loves those who tell His truths. Isaiah testifies that it is God (by His Spirit) that has called him, sent him, and given him his errand, truths to tell. God will bring all he has spoken to pass. Israel will return from Babylon with joy and singing that the Lord has redeemed him, as when He brought Israel out of Egypt. And yet, “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.”
17 Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.18 O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea:19 Thy seed also had been as the sand, and the offspring of thy bowels like the gravel thereof; his name should not have been cut off nor destroyed from before me.
Isa 49—Isaiah was called as a prophet to Israel & to the world from his mother’s womb
Isaiah bids the people of the earth to realize that from his mother’s womb he was called to be a prophet, speaking as sharply as a sword, and as “on target” as an arrow. The Lord cares for him as a warrior would keep his weapons.
In discouragement Isaiah says he has labored in vain, and used up his strength for nothing. In other words, he feels like his work is uselessly unsuccessful. And yet God knows he has tried. But then the Lord comforts him, in that though Israel won’t be gathered in his time, the Lord offers him strength and honor. It’s nothing for him to serve Israel, for he will also be a light to the Gentiles and all the world.
But then the Lord promises the gathering of Israel. “Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.” Though Zion (God’s people) feel forsaken and forgotten, God would never forget her. As unlikely as it is for a woman to forget her infant, or to not love her child, yet they might forget--God will never forget. It’s as if Israel is written on His hands and walls—they are continually before Him.
When Israel is gathered she will wonder where all her children came from (since they were all destroyed & scattered). The kings and queens of the earth will bring them . . . “and thou shalt know that I am the Lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.” The Lord asks rhetorically if the prey can be taken from the strong, or the captives delivered. The Lord will deliver them, He will save them. He will give their oppressors their own medicine, “and all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.”
Isa 50—our own sins divorce us from God; God has the back of Isaiah/His people
The Lord asks, Where are your mother’s divorce papers? To whom have I sold you?, referring to the culture of the times when a man could divorce a woman and sell her children into slavery if he was unhappy with her (especially for adultery). But instead of the Lord selling them or divorcing their mother, the Israelites have sold themselves into slavery for their wickedness, and such have divorced their mother from God, so to speak. (Wickedness is slavery, see John 8:34; Rom 6:18-23)
Where was everyone when I came, and no one answered my call? the Lord asks. Do you think I can’t save/redeem you? The Lord then gives examples of His power.
Isaiah credits the Lord with his speaking and writing abilities. He says it’s the Lord that keeps waking him, giving him the words to say. Yet Isaiah was willing to listen, and to do the Lord’s bidding. He has put up with abuse, because he knows the Lord is backing him. Who wants to have a face-off with Isaiah? Bring them on! The Lord will help him, and no one can put him down. Anyone who fears the Lord and obeys the voice of His servants will not walk in darkness without a light. Let him trust in the Lord, and put his affairs in His hands. Those who think they can light their own path can walk in the sparks they kindle, but they will lie down in sorrow.
Ahab & Jezebel, Elijah, and Jehoshaphat
Ahab & Jezebel, Elijah, and Jehoshaphat lived contemporaneously. Jehoshaphat became king of Judah in the 4th year of Ahab’s reign over Israel. Jehoshaphat was 35 and reigned 25 years. Ahab was killed before Jehoshaphat died, so part of Jehoshaphat’s reign was during Ahab’s sons’ reigns. Elijah outlived them both. The link below is a chronology of the Old Testament, but Old Testament dates are by no means without differences of opinion.
https://biblehub.com/timeline/old.htm
1 Kings 17—Elijah vs Ahab & the drought/famine
Elijah the Tishbite (of Gilead, east of the Jordan River) comes to Ahab and makes a serious pronouncement to Ahab, invoking God’s authority: there will be no rain, nor even dew, until Elijah says so. This is not going to endear him to Ahab.
God tells Elijah to hide out at the brook Cherith, on the east side of the Jordan River valley. There he will have water from the brook and be fed by ravens. A documentary I saw years ago showed that ravens would drop the bones of an animal that has been killed from high in flight so that on hitting the ground they would be broken open and reveal the nutrition inside.
But eventually that brook dries up, and God sends Elijah to Zarephath, belonging to Zidon/Sidon (a Phoenician city on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea). We don’t have any background on this woman, except that she is a widow, had a son & household (of which she was mistress), and Elijah encountered her at the gate of the city gathering sticks for her kitchen fire. We might speculate whether or not she was an Israelite living in exile during the famine (as Naomi had done), whether she was some relative of Elijah’s, or whether she might have been a type of innkeeper (if her house was at the city gate, though we don’t know if that was the case, that’s just where Elijah met her). We find in this chapter that Elijah lived in her loft.
God has told Elijah that He has commanded that widow to take care of him. That doesn’t mean necessarily that God spoke to her (though He may have), she may have got the message from Elijah, and in fact the command may have been God’s decree spoken or ordained in heaven.
Elijah, by whatever means, recognizes who to call to. He asks her for a drink. No doubt he’s very thirsty from the road/travel. As she’s going for that he calls to her again and asks for a little bread. She protests that she doesn’t have any (bread was made in a flat shape similar to a modern pancake—though not with the same leavening agent). She’s got only a handful of flour and a little oil, for which she is gathering 2 sticks to make a fire for their last meal before starving to death. It may be that she was exaggerating a bit (surely she’d need more than 2 sticks for a fire to cook on) to excuse herself from taking on another mouth to feed, but because she had been willing to get him a drink, and after all agrees to Elijah’s request (believing his promise), we are inclined to believe that she and her son/household really were in dire straights due to the famine/drought.
Elijah tells her not to fear, and tests her faith with the request to feed him first. This would not go over well in today’s society, and probably wouldn’t have been popular then either. But Elijah makes a promise in God’s name that she’ll never run out of flour/meal or oil until God sends rain. She does as he says, and is rewarded in that her whole household never runs out of food. Now this could mean that a miracle similar to turning water to wine or feeding 5000 with a few fish and loaves of bread occurred, or nearly as miraculous in that they were perhaps always able to procure what they needed to live during such destitute, desperate times.
But another test comes, in that the widow’s son becomes so desperately ill that he stops breathing. She’s not shy in her reproach of both Elijah and herself. Whatever her sin was, small or great, she’s afraid she’s being punished for it. Elijah says, Give me the boy. He carries him up to his own loft room, puts him on his own bed and prays for him, and for her. Three times he stretches out on the boy, pleading for God to restore him. He may have felt that the warmth of his body, or the weight of it, would bring back the boy’s breath—God willing. And God was willing. Now the woman is sure that Elijah really is a man of God, who speaks God’s word.
1 Kings 18—Elijah vs Ahab & the priests of Baal, a showdown
Many days later (the 3rd year of drought—no small emergency at any time, but especially in an agrarian society), God sends Elijah to Ahab, with the promise of rain to come. Elijah was a man of extraordinary courage/faith. He would be persona non grata with Ahab, who was not known for gentleness.
Ahab has a steward over his house named Obadiah, a God-fearing man. He had ventured his own position and life to save 100 prophets of God from Queen Jezebel, hiding them in a couple caves and feeding them. Ahab sends this steward out searching everywhere for some place that has enough water to grow feed for Ahab’s horses & mules. Ahab goes one way, Obadiah goes the other way.
Elijah meets Obadiah, who guesses who he is. Elijah confirms his identity, and Obadiah pays him respect. But then Elijah asks an hard thing of Obadiah. It’s one thing to do something secretly, but Elijah is asking him to go face to face with Ahab. Is Elijah setting him up to be put to death? Ahab has been searching high and low for Elijah, making every kingdom/nation swear that Elijah is not among them (and the implication is that if they found him they had better turn him over). You can almost hear the man’s anxious answer: And now you’re asking me to go tell Ahab where you are? As soon as I do, the Spirit of the Lord will whisk you away somewhere, so that when I bring Ahab he’ll kill me. And yet I have been true to God since I was young! Haven’t you heard that I saved 100 of God’s prophets from Jezebel and took care of them?
Elijah promises with an oath on God that he will show himself to Ahab the very day, and Obadiah goes to get the king. “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” Elijah answers, “I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house…” Because they have led Israel astray to worship Baalim.
Elijah tells Ahab to bring the 450 prophets of Baal as well as the 400 prophets of the groves (places of worship in the woods) to Mt Carmel. All these eat at Jezebel’s table (a hefty tax burden on the people). So they all come for a showdown.
21 And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
22 Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
The challenge is set: the 450 prophets of Baal will have a bull to sacrifice, and Elijah will have a bull to sacrifice. Each bull will be cut in pieces and laid on the wood without fire. Each will call on their deities, and whichever answers with fire will be proof of who is the true God. Everybody says, Fair enough.
Elijah sits by while the prophets of Baal call on him all morning. No response. They leap on the altar, cut themselves “till the blood gushed out”. Elijah makes fun of them . . . “And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.”
Evening comes. Elijah calls the people over. He repairs God’s altar that has been broken down, either on purpose or through neglect. He takes 12 stones, for the 12 tribes of Israel, and builds an altar in God’s name. He digs (or has dug) a trench around the altar large enough to hold 2 measures of seed (what measure is not explained). He puts the wood on the altar, and the cut up beef. He has them pour 4 barrels of water over the meat and the wood. A 2nd and a third time he has them drench the meat and fuel. The trench is full of the run-off. Elijah prays that God will hear his plea, show the people that He is God, and that Elijah speaks for him. He prays that the people’s hearts will be brought back to worship the true God.
Fire falls and consumes not only the meat sacrifice, but the wood, the stones, the dust, and the trench full of water. The people fall on their faces in worship and acknowledgement that “The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God,” perhaps a well-known phrase they recite.
Elijah has the people take the prophets of Baal, nor let any escape. Elijah takes them down to the brook Kishon, and kills them (or has them killed).
Elijah tells Ahab to start feasting/celebrating because it’s going to rain in abundance. Ahab does so, and Elijah climbs to the top of Mt Carmel. He drops to the ground with his face between his knees. He sends his servant to look for clouds toward the Mediterranean, only a few miles away. Nothing. Seven times he sends him, and at last a little cloud rises from the sea, the size of a man’s hand. Elijah tells him to go tell Ahab to get down off the mountain before he is stopped by the rain. Meanwhile the sky becomes black with clouds, wind, and rain. Ahab goes to Jezreel. Elijah beats him there and meets him at the entrance.
1 Kings 19—Elijah vs Ahab & Jezebel, Elijah flees for his life, despondent in a cave
Ahab tells the whole story to Jezebel, who had not made the effort to go. Jezebel is incensed for the killing of her prophets, and sends a threat to Elijah that she means to do the same to him by the same time the next day. Elijah flees for his life all the way down to Beer-sheba, south in Judah.
Elijah is discouraged to death. He leaves his servant in Beer-sheba, and travels a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sits under a juniper tree and asks God to take his life. He says he’s no better than his ancestors. He falls asleep, and an angel wakes him with a touch, saying, “Arise and eat.” There is a cake/bread on the coals and a cruse of water. He eats and drinks and lies down again.
Again, the angel of God wakes him, saying, “Arise and eat; because the journey is too great [arduous] for thee.” Elijah gets up and eats, and it gives him enough strength for 40 days and nights until he gets to Mt Horeb, “the Mountain of God”. Forty days and nights may be an idiom meaning many, but to travel from Beer-sheba to Mt Horeb was still a considerable trek. (Mt Horeb/Sinai was where the 10 commandments were given, exact location uncertain).
https://bibleatlas.org/mount_horeb.htm
Elijah finds a cave on the mountain in which to stay. God asks, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah replies sorrowfully, “I have been so anxious for Thee, because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and killed thy prophets . . . I’m the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well." God tells Elijah to stand on the mount before Him . . .
“And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”
When Elijah hears God’s voice, he wraps his face in his cloak (lest he see God and be destroyed) and goes to the cave entrance. The Voice again asks him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah repeats himself . . . he’s done all he can, and the people just won’t listen, and they are after his life. God sends him back up to the wilderness of Damascus, where he is to anoint Hazael king over Syria, Jehu king over Israel, and Elisha as his own successor (Elijah would serve as mentor to Elisha for some while before succeeding him). God says that whoever escapes death by Hazael, will be killed by Jehu, and whoever escapes Jehu will be killed by Elisha (presumably He speaks of the heirs/armies of Ahab).
And yet, says God, I have still 7000 men in Israel who are still true to me: they have not bowed the knee, nor kissed the image of Baal. Have the people forgotten the showdown so soon? Are they so stubborn? Or are they merely trying to get along in the world, and choose the most politically correct actions/expediencies?
Elijah leaves and finds Elisha plowing with 12 pair of oxen—others are each plowing with a team, and he is plowing with the 12th. It appears that Elisha is from a wealthy family. Elijah tosses his cloak on Elisha. Elisha runs to catch up with him and asks leave to say goodbye to his parents. Elijah replies indifferently, “Go back, what have I done to you?” Elisha goes back and makes a sacrifice of his team of oxen, feeding the people as would be culturally correct. Then he gets up and follows Elijah, and becomes his servant/caregiver.
1 Kings 20—Ahab vs Ben-hadad of Syria
King Ben-hadad of Syria and 32 allied kings (perhaps city-states) besiege Samaria, the capital of Ahab’s Israelite kingdom. The Syrian king sends a message to Ahab boasting/demanding that all Ahab’s silver, gold, wives, children, and all his best goods are his. Ahab acquiesces. Hadad sends messengers again saying the next day his people will come and search Ahab’s residence and take away whatever they like. Ahab feels pushed too far, and calls the elders of Israel, saying that Hadad is looking for any excuse to keep expanding his demands. The elders tell him not to consent to Hadad’s demands. So Ahab replies that he will comply with the first demands, but no more.
Ben-hadad vows that he will beat Samaria to dust. Ahab replies, “ Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.” In other words, don’t boast as if you have already accomplished the deed. Hadad gets the message while drinking, and orders the armies to set for battle.
An unnamed prophet comes to Ahab and says that despite the huge armies set for battle against him, God will give Ahab the victory, and he will know who is truly God. Obviously Ahab is greatly influenced by his pagan wife Jezebel. Ahab inquires about how to meet the attack. He’s got 232 princes leading 7000 warriors, with himself at the head. They go out to battle at noon. Ben-hadad and his allied leaders have been drinking themselves drunk in their pavilion/tent, operational command. Word comes of the little army come out of the city for its defense. He says to take them alive (presumably the princes), whether they’ve come out as a peace embassage or for war.
Amazingly, the little Israelite army puts the Syrians to flight. Ben-hadad escapes, but it’s a great slaughter.
A prophet, probably the same unnamed man, tells Ahab to ready his forces for the next season of war, expecting Ben-hadad will return. Hadad’s counsellors say, Our defeat came because their gods are gods of the hills. We should fight them on the plain, and we’ll best them. Replace the army you’ve lost man for man, horse for horse, chariot for chariot—which would require no paltry sum.
So when the season of fighting returns, Ben-hadad numbers his men and comes against Israel again. The Israelites look like 2 little flocks of kid goats or sheep, while the Syrian army fills the country.
An unnamed man of God (perhaps the same unnamed prophet?) tells Ahab that because the Syrians think God is only a God of the hills and not of the valleys, God will deliver the Syrians to Ahab, and again, he will know that God is God of all.
For 7 days the armies face one another, and on the 7th day they meet in battle. The Israelites again beat the Syrians: 100,000 footmen killed in one day. The Syrians flee to the city of Aphek where a wall falls upon 27,000 more. Ben-hadad escapes into the inner city. His counsellors suggest that he humble himself (the king and his cabinet put on sackcloth and a rope around their heads/necks—symbolizing the submission/slavery of the vanquished) and throw themselves on the mercy of the Israelite king.
Ahab accepts Ben-hadad into his chariot, calls him a brother. Ben-hadad says he’ll return the cities his father took from Ahab’s father, and allow privileges in his capital (Damascus), as his father had done in Samaria. Ahab agrees and sends him away. As ever, wealthy and powerful leaders feel more kinship with one another than with their people—no matter what price the people have to pay for their rulers to be buddies.
One of the sons of the prophet tells his compatriot to hit him, which he refuses. So the man says that because he refused to obey the voice of the Lord, he will be killed by a lion as soon as he leaves. So it happens. The son of the prophet approaches another with the same request that he hit him. His request is granted, and he is wounded. The wounded man (disguised with ashes on his face) meets Ahab. He tells the king a little story about dereliction of duty, and Ahab quickly passes judgment. The prophet cleans his face from the ashes and Ahab recognizes that he is one of the prophets. The prophet tells Ahab that because he let Ben-hadad go, his own life and people are set for destruction. Ahab returns to Samaria “heavy and displeased”.
A note about Ben-hadad. It seems he was the same king of Syria that Jehoshaphat’s father Asa had enticed to break alliance with Israel against Judah. Ben-hadad would die during Elisha’s calling as prophet to Israel (see 2 Kings 8:7-15). Remember that in the previous chapter (1 Kings 19), God had sent Elijah to anoint Hazael king over Syria, Jehu king over Israel, and Elisha as his own successor. Just as it had been when David was anointed successor to Saul by Samuel, it didn’t happen right away, but it happened.
1 Kings 21—Ahab & Jezebel take what they want
King Ahab covets his neighbor Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel. This must be another royal residence, as it is north of Samaria, the capital city of the kings of Israel after they split from Judah under Jereboam. Ahab offers a trade or to buy it. But Naboth doesn’t want to sell his ancestral home. Ahab is despondent. Jezebel sees his distress (he’s not eating). She says, Are you king or not? Hang tight, I’ll get it for you. She writes letters in Ahab’s name and seals them with his seal, to the elders & nobles of the city demanding a fast and a charge of blasphemy against Naboth. She hires false witnesses, Naboth is found guilty of blasphemy against God and the king, and is executed (stoned). Now whether the judges didn’t know about the suborned testimonies, or whether they found it politically expedient not to know, the injustice is carried through. Jezebel tells Ahab to take Naboth’s vineyard (no heirs, or were they too afraid to object?).
https://bibleatlas.org/jezreel.htm atlas entry about Jezreel
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/22/bb/c9/22bbc9ff89c166b9a2f80c0907b0bcfc.jpg map
God sends Elijah to Ahab with this tidy message, “Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? . . . Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.” Ahab’s reply: “Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?” Elijah shoots back, “I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord,” and gives him the consequences of his badness: Ahab’s posterity will be wiped out (those that die in the city will be eaten by the dogs, those outside the city will be eaten by the birds; both carrion eaters), and Jezebel’s carcass will be eaten by the dogs of Jezreel.
25 ¶ But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.
26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
28 And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,
29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.
1 Kings 22—Ahab & Jehoshaphat vs the Syrians
Three years of peace pass between Syria & Israel. But in the 3rd year King Jehoshaphat of Judah has come to visit Ahab, obviously to effect an alliance. Ahab wants Jehoshaphat to help him recover Ramoth in Gilead from Syria. Jehoshaphat says ok, but he is not certain whether they’ll have God’s blessing in the endeavor (we will see next the kind of man/king he is). Ahab gathers 400 prophets to inquire, and they all give the go-ahead. Jehoshaphat is still uncertain, and asks if there’s not another prophet, one of God’s prophets. Perhaps he detects the character of those 400.
8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may inquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.
9 Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah.
The messenger warns Micaiah about political expediency: you’d better agree with the others. Micaiah replies that he’ll only say what God tells him. He goes with the messenger to Ahab, and says the words Ahab wants to hear, but Ahab knows he’s just saying the words . . .
16 And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the Lord?
17 And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
18 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
Micaiah says God has sent a lying spirit to Ahab’s prophets to convince him to go to Ramoth-gilead in battle where he’ll be killed. One of the false prophets, a man named Zedekiah, walks up and slaps Micaiah on the cheek, saying with a sneer, “Which way went the Spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee?” To which Micaiah replies that on the day he tries to hide (from the enemy), he’ll find the answer to his mocking question.
Ahab has Micaiah tossed in prison on a measly diet of bread and water until he returns alive. Micaiah says, if you come back alive, God hasn’t spoken by me. Where was Elijah at this time? Obviously Ahab & Jezebel would be making his life a misery, and God didn’t call on him to take the heat this time.
Ahab & Jehoshaphat decide to go to battle. Ahab disguises himself, but has Jeshoshaphat wear his royal apparel—a decoy. Syria’s king tells his 32 chariot captains not to bother with anyone but Ahab. They go after the regally dressed Jehoshaphat, who calls out, so they know he’s not Ahab. They turn away. Just by chance an arrow hits Ahab. He barely lasts the day of battle, and dies in the evening, his blood running out of his chariot. At sundown the battle is called for the night, and Ahab is taken back to his capital city Samaria and buried. When his chariot is washed out, true to the prophecy, dogs lick up his blood. For the fulfillment of Elijah’s prophecies about Ahab’s wife & posterity (1 Kings 21) see 2 Kings 9-10.
39 Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?
40 So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.
The rest of this chapter tells briefly about Jehoshaphat, as well as Ahab’s wicked son and successor (who only lasted 2 years), but Chronicles gives a more complete story about Jehoshaphat.
2 Chron 17-20 Jehoshaphat (cross reference 1 Kings 22:41-50)
2 Chron 17—Jehoshaphat succeeds his father Asa as king of Judah
Jehoshaphat succeeds his father, good/mostly good King Asa. He fortifies his land against Ahab, king of Israel.
3 And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim [plural of Baal];
4 But sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel.
5 Therefore the Lord stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance.
6 And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah.
Not only Jehoshaphat honors God, he sends out teachers with “the law of the Lord” (the Torah, the Law of Moses) to teach all the people. God honors Jehoshaphat, and gives him peace (“the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat”) and prosperity (tribute & gifts). Jehoshaphat builds castles (military defenses) and cities of store (strategic reserves of food and such). It may seem that Judah alone (plus the tribe of Benjamin, and others who had fled as refugees of Israel) was at a major disadvantage against the 10 tribes of the kingdom of Israel. But this chapter says Jehoshaphat had 1.16 million fighting men in his various walled cities (including 200,000 bowmen from the tribe of Benjamin).
2 Chron 18—reiteration of the battle in which Ahab was killed
“Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance,” but he decides to make an unholy alliance with wicked King Ahab of Israel. This chapter recounts the fatal (for Ahab) battle at Ramoth-gilead, told in 1 Kings 22 (see above).
2 Chron 19—Jehoshaphat’s righteous ways (but one fault)
When Jehoshaphat returns in peace to Jerusalem, the seer Jehu rebukes him for allying himself with Ahab, “Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord.” But he also acknowledges Jehoshaphat’s goodness: “Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God.” As mentioned above, he has also sought to bring his people back to God, by sending teachers of the Law throughout his land. He sets up judges in the cities, and admonishes them to be honest and God-fearing, not accepting bribes or favoring the powerful, but judging as God would. In Jerusalem he sets up the Levites & priests, and the tribal leaders as judges in all controversies, not only for his people, but for any religious pilgrims (for Jewish holy days): “Thus shall ye do in the fear of the Lord, faithfully, and with a perfect heart . . . Deal courageously, and the Lord shall be with the good.”
2 Chron 20 and 2 Kings 3—Jehoshaphat relies on God, leads his people to trust in God
An alliance of Moabites, Ammonites, and others come to attack Jehoshaphat’s kingdom. “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” (Wouldn’t it be interesting if our leaders called a fast before engaging in any wars?!) The people gather in Jerusalem from all the cities of the kingdom to seek God and His help. Jehoshaphat comes to the Temple and offers a public prayer (wouldn’t this also be interesting, if our leaders led us in prayer asking for God’s help?!) His prayer is worth reading, 2 Chron 20:6-12. “And all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.”
The Spirit of the Lord comes upon one of the Levites, and he speaks for God, saying, “Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” He gives them the strategy, but says they will not even have to fight—God will make them victorious. The king and all his people bow to worship God, and the Levite singers stand up to praise God “with a loud voice on high.”
Next day King Jehoshaphat encourages his men with “Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.” He sets up singers to go ahead of the army, praising God. God causes the foes to ambush one another. Jehoshaphat and his men take the booty off the dead . . . it seems at least the officers/commanders liked to dress richly for battle. There’s so much it takes 3 days to gather it all.
Jehoshaphat and his men return to Jerusalem joyous, victorious, praising God with psalteries, harps, and trumpets all the way to the Temple. All the neighboring kingdoms are in the fear of God, and Jehoshaphat’s kingdom is in peace. The king had reigned since he was 35, and reigned 25 years.
2 Chron 20:35-37 says that Jehoshaphat allied with Ahab’s son/successor Ahaziah on a trading mission to Tarshish (remember where Paul of the New Testament was from?), but God caused the ships to be wrecked. 1 Kings 22:48-49 sounds like Jehoshaphat refused the joint venture with Ahab’s son. Some accounts don’t seem to match, but differences in detail don't destroy the truths of the Bible.
2 Kings 3 also records that Jehoshaphat agreed to ally himself/his kingdom to Ahab’s other son Jehoram (who succeed his brother Ahaziah to the throne of Israel) as he tries to reclaim the vassalage of Moab. When they run out of water after 7 days, Jehoshaphat asks that they inquire of a prophet of God. They find Elisha (Elijah’s successor), and he says if it wasn’t for Jehoshaphat, he would ignore them. Elisha asks for a minstrel/musician, and then he is inspired to tell them to fill the valley with ditches, and without wind or rain, the ditches will be filled with water for their animals. He also promises them victory over the Moabites. The Moabites see the water and think it’s blood, so they come to grab the booty. The armies of Israel, Judah, and Edom rise up and win the battle, pursue them, destroy their cities, wells, and trees. When the king of Moab sees it’s useless, he offers his son as a burnt offering on the city wall, which disgusts Israel’s allies, and they all leave.
Jehoshaphat’s fault in allying with the wicked kings of Israel brought their wickedness to take over his kingdom, as his eldest son, heir to the throne, marries the wicked daughter of Ahab & Jezebel. More about that next post.
2 Kings 1—Elijah vs Ahab’s son/successor
Elijah has outlived both Ahab and Jehoshaphat. Ahab’s son/heir Ahaziah falls through the lattice of his upper room and is injured. Perhaps a disease sets in (like infection). He sends for word from the false god of Ekron, Baal-zebub (those familiar with the New Testament will recognize this name as becoming synonymous with the Devil) whether he will live or die. God sends Elijah to intercept the messengers and reprove the king for inquiring of the false god, and telling him he’ll never leave his bed alive.
And here we have a picture of Elijah. He is described as “an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins.”
The king recognizes Elijah from the description. He sends a captain with 50 men to get Elijah. The Captain calls to Elijah, “Thou man of God, the king hath said, Come down.” Elijah smartly replies, “If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.” The king sends another captain with 50, who calls on Elijah to come down quickly. He and his men suffer the same. A third captain, goes up the hill and falls to his knees before Elijah and pleads with him not to let the same fate befall him and his men.
God sends an angel to tell Elijah not to be afraid of the captain, but to go with him to the king. Elijah goes and delivers his message directly to the king, which happened.
Now a certain Jehoram becomes king in Israel, because Ahab’s son/heir didn’t have a son. Jehoshaphat’s son & heir is also named Jehoram. Jehoram of Israel begins his reign in the 2nd year of Jehoram of Judah.
2 Kings 2—the mantle of Elijah passes to Elisha
Elijah and Elisha go to Gilgal, and Elijah tells Elisha to wait there, as God has called him to go to Beth-el. Elisha insists on accompanying him. The sons of the prophets there ask Elisha if he realizes the Elijah will be taken from him that day. He says, Yes, let it be.
Elijah again tells Elisha to wait for him while he has been sent by God to Jericho. Elisha again insists on going with him. The sons of the prophet in Jericho likewise ask Elisha if he realizes Elijah will be taken from him. And Elisha answers as he did before.
Elijah says God has sent him to Jordan, and bids Elisha to wait for him. But again, Elisha continues with him. 50 of the sons of the prophets go to watch from afar. Elijah hits the water with his cloak, and it divides so the 2 men walk across on dry ground (an important motif for the children of Israel, proving the calling of these 2 prophets). Elijah then asks Elisha what favor he’d like before he leaves him. Elisha asks for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit to be on him. Elijah says that’s a hard thing to promise, but if Elisha sees him when he is taken away, it will be so. They walk on, talking as they go. A chariot and horses of fire appear between them, and Elijah is taken up into heaven in a whirlwind.
12 ¶ And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.
13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;
14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.
15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.
The sons of the prophets offer 50 strong men to go with Elisha to see if God has dropped Elijah off somewhere. He tells them not to bother, but they keep bothering him, so at last he says, OK, go ahead. They search for Elijah 3 days and return. Elisha says, What did I tell you?
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