CHAPTER VIII. THE PROPHETS AND THE KINGS OF ISRAEL A POLITICAL revolution, which was expressly sanctioned and actively supported by the prophets, was the means of extirpating Baal-worship from the northern kingdom. It will be useful at this point to enquire briefly into the precise nature and extent of the influence exercised by the prophets. The Prophets. The Nebiim. as we have already stated - first rose to prominence in connection with that national and patriotic movement which elevated Saul to the throne of Israel, and consolidated the tribes into a united people. The wild and ecstatic companies of enthusiasts, who traversed the land preaching the holy war against the Philistines, were to some extent organized and disciplined by the efforts of Samuel, the founder of the prophetic 'schools.' At the time of Ahab's accession, a great change had passed over these communities. Schools of prophets existed at certain centres such as Bethel, Gilgal, and Jericho. In these the sacred gift of prophecy was regularly cultivated by means of a system of instruction and devotion; the spirits of the prophets were thus trained to become subject to the prophets (1 Cor. xiv. 32). The Nebiim in fact gradually became a professional order, having a recognized place and function, alongside of the priesthood, in the religious life of the nation.1 Occasionally there arose among them, and sometimes outside of their communities, an individual of exceptional power (Amos for example), qualified to be the public champion of Israel's traditional faith, and claiming the right to control and judge in Jehovah's name the conduct of statesmen and kings. During the earlier period of the monarchy prophets were the most prominent supporters of the throne. On occasion, however, they did not shrink from fearlessly rebuking unrighteousness even in the person of the monarch himself. Thus, for instance, Samuel reproved the wilfulness and foretold the impending doom of Saul; Nathan and Gad rebuked David; Ahijah the Shilonite denounced the sins of Jeroboam and predicted the overthrow of his house. A prophet of this exceptional type was the great Elijah, the divinely commissioned scourge of Ahab's dynasty and the sleepless foe of Phoenician Baalworship. It is true that Elijah, in spite of his own misgivings (1 Kings xix. 14), was actually supported to some extent by the better and higher instincts of the people, who were evidently not prepared for anything like a formal apostasy from Jehovah. But as time went on the religious degeneracy of the northern kingdom became a patent fact, and the prophets found themselves placed in a position of antagonism not merely to the rulers of Israel, but also to the down-grade tendencies, beliefs, and customs of the nation at large. Indeed the truths which they proclaimed struck at the very root of certain elements in the popular religion of their countrymen. In particular they taught that the nature and requirements of Israel's God were quite other than they were popularly supposed to be. They made it their principal business to root out false conceptions of Jehovah, and to awaken the national conscience to the true moral conditions of His original covenant with Israel. It should be added that the first attempts to collect the earliest specimens of Hebrew literature, the ancient songs and ballads 1 In the earlier period the prophets themselves exercised sacerdotal functions. Such was the case with Moses, Samuel, and Elijah. of which fragments still survive in the historical books, probably originated in the schools of the prophets; and we may reasonably trace to the same source the two connected versions of Israel's past history, which are respectively styled by critics the 'Jehovistic' (J) and the 'Elohistic' (E) narratives. These two documents appear to have been compiled independently some time during the ninth or eighth century B.C. At a later period they were skilfully combined so as to form one continuous narrative, which was repeatedly revised and reedited under prophetic influence. Thus before the appearance of the earliest of the eighth-century prophets (Amos, c. 760), a mass of literary materials was already in existence ballads, prose narratives, maxims, and written ordinances — out of which some attempt had already been made to construct an authoritative national history. poems, Elisha: 2 Kings ii.viii. The purely political influence of the prophets was at certain epochs very great. Samuel had virtually established the monarchy. Ahijah had encouraged the revolt of Jeroboam. The power which they were enabled to exercise at critical turning-points of Israel's history is illustrated by the part played by Elisha in the subversion of Omri's dynasty. Elisha was originally the servant and afterwards the successor of Elijah he was the inheritor of his great master's thoughts and purposes, and was commonly believed to be endued with a double portion of his spirit. At the beginning of Jehoram's reign he already enjoyed a position of recognized eminence and authority. He was consulted by the confederate kings of Israel (Jehoram), Judah (Jehoshaphat), and Edom, respecting the conduct of the campaign directed after Ahab's death against Mesha, king of Moab. It is noteworthy however that on this occasion the prophet sternly declined to have any personal dealings with Jehoram (2 Kings iii. 14). The issue of the expedition against Moab has been already noticed. During the prolonged and desultory Elisha during the Syrian wars: 2 Kings iv.vii. warfare with Syria, Elisha's prophetic insight made him an indispensable adviser of the Israelites, and seriously thwarted the designs of the Syrians. The history of the campaign is obscure, and only a few incidents are recorded, the exact period of which can only be a matter of conjecture. We hear of a Syrian force penetrating westward across the plain of Esdraelon as far as Dothan, and being guided by Elisha himself to Samaria. The prophet, we are told, dissuaded the king of Israel (presumably Jehoram) from putting to death the captives, thus unexpectedly thrown into his power. The story of Naaman, the Syrian officer, whom Elisha healed of his leprosy by persuading him to bathe in the waters of Jordan, may also belong to Jehoram's reign.1 So far as we know however the war with Syria was barren of result. It may have been Benhadad's death that encouraged Jehoram to renew the attempt to recover Ramoth-Gilead. The city was ultimately taken, but Jehoram was compelled by an injury received in battle to return to Jezreel. At a later time we hear of Elisha as visiting Damascus, where, in pursuance of the commission originally given to Elijah, he designated Hazael as Benhadad's successor and the destined scourge of Israel. But the chief task assigned to Elisha was that of bringing about the downfall of Omri's dynasty, by the anointing of Jehu. Of this momentous act the prophet took the responsibility upon himself, but employed as his instrument one of the sons of the prophets.' In obedience to his superior's injunctions the young man sought out Jehu, an officer of the army, which was at that time engaged in operations against the Syrians at Ramoth-Gilead, and privately anointed him king. Jehu was a restless and ambitious soldier. He had been present at the memorable scene when Elijah denounced Ahab for the murder of Naboth 1 As Elisha survived Jehoram some forty years, it is possible that some other king of Israel is intended in some passages of 2 Kings, chh. iv.-vii. 2 1 Kings xix. 15; 2 Kings viii. 7 foll. Revolt of Jehu : 2 Kings ix. and predicted his coming doom. He recognized at once that the moment was favourable for open revolt, Jehoram having, as we have seen, recently withdrawn to Jezreel. Accordingly the usurper lost not a moment; he made known to his fellowofficers the nature of the prophet's communication, and was forthwith hailed as king by the army. Then, forbidding anyone to leave the camp, he mounted his chariot and rode at full speed towards Jezreel, attended only by an armed retinue. The rapid approach of the cavalcade, as it was observed mounting the ascent from the Jordan valley, aroused Jehoram's suspicions. He sent two messengers to meet Jehu with the enquiry Is it peace? but both were forcibly detained. Jehoram himself thereupon set forth in his chariot, accompanied by his nephew Ahaziah, king of Judah, who chanced to be his visitor at Jezreel. Close to the fatal plot of ground, which Ahab had acquired by the murder of Naboth, the two kings met the insurgent captain. An arrow from Jehu's bow smote Jehoram, who instantly sunk down in his chariot. Ahaziah attempted to fly, but was overtaken and mortally wounded before he could reach Megiddo. Entering Jezreel in triumph, Jehu was greeted by Jezebel, the queen mother, who, leaning from a window of the palace, taunted him with his treachery. Is it peace, thou Zimri, his master's murderer? His only reply was an order given to the queen's attendants to throw her down. Her blood sprinkled the wall of the palace and 2 Kings ix. Jehu's horses trode her under foot. He presently gave directions that Jezebel should be buried in a manner befitting a king's daughter, but it was found that her flesh had already been devoured by the dogs, as Elijah had foretold. 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 extermination of Ahab's family was completed by the elders of Samaria, who, in obedience to a grim and significant hint from Jehu, and trembling for their own safety, promptly put to death seventy Death of 30 foll. |