Kings I
Introduction
The period of the kings is the third stage in Israel’s history. It follows the period of the Patriarchs (Abraham in the year 1750 B.C.) and that of the Exodus and the Conquest (Moses in the year 1250 B.C.).
David captured Jerusalem around the year 1000 B.C. After Solomon’s death in the year 932 B.C., the kingdom of David and his son Solomon would be divided. The northern part, called the kingdom of Israel, would cease to exist as a nation two centuries later. The southern part, called the kingdom of Judah, would last until the year 587 B.C., the year of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and of the Exile to Babylon.
This period covers a total of four centuries. These four centuries of the kings are the most important in sacred history because this is the period during which God raised up prophets from among his people.
The greater part of Scripture was written during those four centuries. It was not only the major prophets who produced writings, e.g., Isaiah and Jeremiah. There were also groups of prophets of lesser importance who wrote much of Israel’s history, such as the greater part of the pages of Genesis and Exodus, the Books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings.
We can say that the period of the kings is the most important in sacred history. It is also the time which we know with the greatest precision.
These four centuries would appear to be the time of the kingdom of Israel’s decadence if we paid attention only to its wealth and power. But during these four centuries, through trials, persecutions, and difficulties of all kinds, Israel’s faith matured to the point of reaching, in the great prophets, a sublimity and clarity which only Christ would enhance.
The Book of Kings
In the beginning, the actual books of kings formed one book. This work is the fruit of the prophets’ reflection and was edited during the exile in Babylon.
It is a religious history. And the events which other historians would consider important are deliberately omitted. For instance, it hardly discusses the important reigns of Omri and of Jeroboam II in Samaria. Its judgment on the kings of Israel (kingdom of Samaria) is always negative, blaming them for the division of the ancient kingdom of David. Only a few kings of Judah are praised for their loyalty to the Lord.
We can easily note three parts:
– the grandeur of Solomon’s reign and of the temple;
– the history of the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah after their division;
– after the destruction of the kingdom of Israel, the history of Judah until Jerusalem’s destruction in the year 587 B.C.
The chapters referring to Elijah and Elisha form a unit apart: 1 Kings 17–19 and 2 Kings 2–8.
2.1 This first part of the Book of Kings straight away makes known the three institutions that are to shape the young nation: kings, prophets, and priests. The priests, in the person of Zadok, who is to supplant Abiathar, a descendant of Heli (Is 3:32-35). The priests will be the strongest support of David’s descendants (2 K 11).
The prophets, represented here by Nathan, will develop the consciousness of God’s promises to David (2 S 7:12), which consciousness was not very significant at the beginning. People would slowly discover to what lengths God’s fidelity would go.
At the end of his life, David, who had already lost two sons in the pursuit of power (see 2 S 3:2), chooses the wife whose son would be heir to the throne. Bathsheba is therefore designated (1 K 1:17) as queen-mother and her son Solomon is to reign in place of his father David. From this day onward, aware of the importance of the Davidic dynasty in the history of salvation, the Books of Kings mention for each reign the wife who will be appointed queen-mother and whose son will be enthroned in Jerusalem (this was not done for the king of Israel in the dissident kingdom). When Jesus, the true descendant of David comes, the Gospel reveals the woman chosen among all, the mother whom God, in his sovereign authority, has destined to give birth to the Son and Heir (Lk 1:31, 42; Heb 1:2).
Keep the commandments of the Lord your God (v. 3). This is the wisdom of the prophets: if the king and his people fulfill these laws, they will be prosperous.
Joab… Shimei… (vv. 5 and 8) David had pardoned them; why did he now ask Solomon to kill them? This has nothing to do with David’s holding grudges against them but rather with his being as superstitious as the people of his time. For them, the curse uttered by Shimei (2 S 16:6) (or by anyone else) remains active and can suddenly fall on David’s descendants. The most effective way to prevent the curse from harming them is to have it fall on Shimei himself and thus spare David’s descendants. In the same way, the blood shed by Joab (2S 3:28) cries to heaven, and it is better to eliminate him so that God’s justice may fall on him and not on David’s children.
3.1 The book shows Solomon in three activities which made a king famous:
– his wisdom, Chapters 3–5;
– his constructions, Chapters 6–8;
– his enterprises, Chapters 9–10.
In Chapter 11, the story concludes with God’s judgment on the kingdom: divisions and reversals are underway.
We already know that the daughter of Pharaoh was among Solomon’s wives: proof of the fame which the small country of Israel had in those years since the daughters of pharaohs were not given in marriage to just anyone.
It was said that he went to worship in the Sanctuaries called high places. This was to be prohibited later when the temple of Jerusalem would be the only one acceptable to the Lord. For the moment, there is no such rule, and Solomon goes to Gibeon where there is a very ancient Sanctuary. He himself sacrifices the victims—an act which, before long, will be the privilege only of the priests of Levi’s tribe.
4. Solomon’s “dream” is very famous. Perhaps this dream is only a parable by which the author of the book describes Solomon’s disposition when he began his reign.
Ask what you want (v. 5). This is God’s offer to the young Solomon, his beloved one. It is God’s offer to any young person who is faced with responsibilities for the first time. Life will not be a destiny imposed upon him or her; rather, one way or another, God will give people what they desire. What do you seek? (see Jn 1:38).
You have shown your servant David my father a great and steadfast love (v. 6). The young king does not start from scratch. He owes everything he has to his ancestors, and everything he has from them came from God. Solomon knows that the Lord committed himself to David forever: “I shall never reject your children.”
Give me an understanding mind in governing your people (v. 9). Solomon is concerned about carrying out his responsibilities and does not want the people to be robbed of their expectations.
Nevertheless, Solomon has in mind other forms of “wisdom” that were appreciated in those days:
– to prepare for himself a long and quiet life, not to have problems or troubles, and to be spared the sacrifices required by a noble life;
– wealth, enjoyment of life, “to be comfortable”;
– the death of his enemies, i.e., the strength that leads to victory, the satisfaction of one’s personal pride.
I now give you a wise and discerning mind; I will also give you what you have not asked for (vv. 12-13). This is the same teaching of Jesus in Matthew 6:33.
16. Here, the well-known judgment of Solomon gives evidence to the wisdom he received for the good of his people.
Let us look closer into Solomon’s conduct. He could have dismissed the two women, saying to himself, “These people are not interesting. Let them settle their own quarrel.” Solomon did not regard their condition as prostitutes, but sought a mother among them. So he invented a solution which was not provided for by law.
His action shows that justice cannot be rendered through mere juridical texts. Those with responsibility must look at the person with the same understanding with which God probes the depth of everyone’s heart.
5.1 Wise in his judgment, wise in administering his territory, wise in composing proverbs, sayings, and psalms.
Solomon brings writers together in his court to gather and write down the traditions of Israel, which until this time were scattered or transmitted merely by word of mouth. This was the time when the most ancient books of the Scriptures were written. (See Introduction to Genesis.)
From Solomon, or from his writers, comes the nucleus of the Book of Proverbs. Later, whoever would write a book on Wisdom would attribute the work to Solomon: hence, in the Scriptures, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs and Wisdom are attributed to Solomon though they were, in fact, written later.
6.1 Solomon’s first construction is the house of the Lord, that is, the temple of Jerusalem, which will be counted among the wonders of ancient times.
The tent of the Ark in the desert had been the center of worship as practiced by nomadic tribes. From now on, the temple, somewhat similar to the Canaanite temples, will be the center of urban and sedentary culture. The sacrifices and feasts celebrated there are inspired by Canaanite cults. Israel takes a new step forward in its culture, and worship is also adapted to a new situation.
Not God, but people need the temple (see 2 S 7:7).
– There is the sincere desire to honor the Lord by giving him the most beautiful house of all. Hence, the temple is always called in the Scriptures, the house of the Lord.
– On the other hand, the people want to show their prosperity and they feel proud to have a temple that can compete with those of other people.
– There is also the desire to have something beautiful which can be a visible image of the Glory of the invisible God. For the Israelites, the temple of Jerusalem was the pedestal of the invisible temple where the Lord is in his glory. He forbade them to represent him by images of creatures, but at least the house could be adorned with gold and precious wood.
– Finally, there is the concern to have God present to protect his people. Though the Lord says that he has no temple but the entire universe (8:27), he wants to be present in the midst of his people (Dt 12:5). In Jerusalem, the Lord is “in his holy dwelling” (Jer 25:30), to defend his people (Is 31:5).
Like Solomon, the Christian kings and authorities of past centuries wanted to adorn their churches with gold and silver. They believed that the house of God ought to be much more beautiful than their own. Let us respect their piety; but today we understand that the city of God is governed by criteria different from those of most people. The splendor of temples does not always help us to discover God’s greatness.
14. The most sacred part of the temple, the holiest place, contained only the Ark with the stone tablets on which the Covenant of the Lord with his people had been confirmed. Before this room was another one, the holy place, where sacred candlesticks were burned and incense kindled. Here, too, were placed the twelve loaves that were offered every week. (See 1 S 21:5.) An entrance hall completed the house and all around were wide and spacious courtyards where the people stood praying.
This arrangement of several rooms leading into the most sacred place is a common thing in many ancient religions. It teaches that we cannot approach God without the required preparation. Even though the Lord remains in the midst of his people, his mystery continues to be inaccessible.
This arrangement reflects in some way what is innermost to humans, the true Temple of God. There is, in us, a very intimate place where God is present (see Jn 14:23). When Jesus asks us to “meet the Father in secret” (Mt 6:6), it means not only to pray in a place apart but to seek within our own selves the Most Sacred Place where the Spirit communicates his way of feeling and thinking.
7.1 Solomon will build his palace on the mountain of the Temple beside the house of God. This transfer of the royal residence from the lower city to the mountain of the Temple might seem to be without interest to us. But hidden behind this is a new concept of the power that Solomon brings to Israel. David his father, this “king after God’s heart,” had built his palace in the midst of his people (2 S 5:9) and when he had raised an altar to the Lord, he built it on the hill that dominated the town in the north. Solomon abandoned his father’s palace and built his sumptuous residence on this hill beside the temple. It is a significant gesture. Henceforth, God and the king will reside on the holy mountain and the people below.
Samuel had firmly warned Saul, the first king, that the demands of the law were valid for both king and people (2 S 12:14-15). Solomon turns a deaf ear; like so many princes and dictators, he intends to give his power absolute authority equal to that of God. He distances himself from the people and installs himself beside God. This deviation from the meaning of power would be criticized by the prophets (Jer 22:13-19), and Jesus will show by his own example that power lies in service (Mk 10:41-45).
21. Yakin means: he has established. Boaz means: with strength. This refers, at the same time, to the temple and the dynasty of David. God, however, will someday cast down all this: everything he has given must someday give way to something better.
8.2 On the day of the temple’s inauguration, God makes his presence felt by means of the cloud. In Exodus, this was the visible sign of the Lord’s presence which protected the Israelites (Ex 14:19 and 40:34). Later on, the Israelites continued trusting in this presence of God accompanying them (Jer 7) from Jerusalem, wherever they were.
With time, many indecent things occurred in the courtyards of the temple; they even built up altars to idols and practiced sacred prostitution according to pagan customs (See 2 K 23:4-7). Yet it is not said that the Lord abandoned his Sanctuary where he remained out of fidelity to his Covenant.
It was only in the last years of the Kingdom that the prophet Ezekiel had a vision where the cloud left the temple: this meant that the Lord would now live among his faithful ones exiled in Babylon (Ezk 9:3).
Much later, the apostle John will see this cloud in the heavenly temple (Rev 15:8) after having seen it over the person of Jesus during his transfiguration.
22. The Lord has fulfilled his promise (vv. 20 and 25).
David had received two promises from God. The first was that his son would build the temple; the second, that his descendants would keep the throne of Israel.
It is worth noting how God, being the invisible God and Creator of the Universe, wills to be, in some way, at a definite place, Jerusalem, and among a definite people, David’s descendants. This visible center of divine presence is now the Church. The kingdom of God is universal, yet the Church relates with Christ through a well-defined series of people: the Bishops and the Pope.
This prayer of Solomon, composed probably by a prophet at the time of the kings, emphasizes both the importance and the relativity of the temple. It is there that the “Name” of God resides, there God will hear the prayers of his people (vv. 30-53). And yet this temple built by human hands “could not contain God in his Glory.” The invisible heavens “cannot contain him,” how much less this earthly dwelling.
This vision of the temple will be continually present in the teaching of the prophets. However great, the temple will never be a “magic charm” for Israel. It is the sign and reminder of the presence of the holy God.
Gradually, because of this, all theology of Israel will be centered on the temple. The earth and the heavens belong to God, but on this earth, one country belongs to him in a very special way—it is the Land of a Promise. In this Promised Land all the towns are his; but one among them is especially dear. And in this city, in the heart of this city is the holy mountain on which the Lord’s dwelling place has been built.
The temple is thus like the pivot around which the whole universe revolves. For this reason, it is understandable that its destruction in 587 was for the faith of Israel an unimaginable trial: without the temple of Jerusalem, the universe lost its center.
If the universe had by degrees been centered around the temple, with the New Testament, on the contrary, it is the Christ—the New Temple—who becomes the point of departure for the expansion of salvation: “You will be my witnesses, in Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
30. After requesting for his descendants, Solomon requests for his people. Let us underline some points:
Vindicate the righteous (v. 32). The first petition is in line with a custom of that period. (See Num 5:11.) If the truth in some crime could not be established, the accused had to swear that he was innocent and that he would accept any punishment from God if he had perjured himself. The people were convinced that God would not leave the liar unpunished.
No rain falls because they have sinned against you (v. 35). Prayer is for people who are sinners and who know themselves to be such. They fear God’s punishment but believe that God forgives; they believe that God cannot be won over by prayers and ceremonies but by repentance.
So that they may fear you (v. 40). In the Scriptures, to fear God means, oftentimes, to take him seriously and to respect him. But it is also true that at times we need to fear God and his punishments because his love is not yet strong enough in us to protect us against our weakness.
When a foreigner comes from a far country (v. 41). This prayer was written centuries later when the missionary efforts of the Jews had brought many pagans to their faith.
10.1 Solomon undertakes business. He acquires a fleet of Tarshish ships for long journeys and he sends them to get gold and perfume from Africa. He sells Egyptian chariots to the Hittites in the north, and to the Egyptians, Hittite horses. The fame of his wealth and his wisdom reaches the queen of Sheba in southern Arabia.
In reality, Israel was very small compared to the two big empires of Egypt and Babylon. It happened that during the period of David and Solomon, these empires were peaceful and were practically dormant. This was enough to allow the Israelites to think of themselves as the first country in the world, and they saw in Solomon the most magnificent king of all times.
The queen of Sheba came to test him with difficult questions (v. 1). Scripture does not give much importance to the commercial aspect of this visit which will only appear toward the end in the barter mentioned in verses 10 and 13.
Solomon’s meeting with the queen of Sheba becomes a historical scene:
– The wise Solomon and his people discover the wealth and products of other countries. “So the world is bigger than we thought!” These contacts help the Israelites gain a broader religious vision. The Lord is not only the God of a small nation, but is also sovereign over the wide universe.
– The queen of Sheba is a wealthy woman, but she is not satisfied. There is no mention of her husband. She is attracted by the divine wisdom manifested in the king, “the Beloved of the Lord” (2 S 12:29). Jesus will later recall this visit in Matthew 12:42.
23. For a while, the Israelites marveled at Solomon’s wealth and the numerous chariots and horses that made up his army. Some centuries later, they saw how little this power had benefited them and how much it had cost the country: the politics of fame and of grandiose works demanded the imposition of forced labor on the people. This was one of the reasons why the kingdom split at the death of Solomon. This is why, afterward, they ceased to recall with pride the splendor of his kingdom and showed greater appreciation for justice.
The believer who truly desires the prosperity of his nation, cannot be dazzled by illusions of grandeur. The church will always denounce the sin involved in military expenses or in expenses solely to acquire fame. Everyone knows the world’s military budget far exceeds what would suffice to industrialize all countries.
11.1 Scripture is not scandalized at Solomon’s having several wives. At that time, to have many wives was an indication of a man’s wealth. Scripture rebukes him for taking pagan wives. In this way, Solomon allied with these people who did not know God, imitating them in their materialism.
Luxury corrupts wisdom. Solomon makes a show of his manliness, unaware of the fact that his wives are ordering him around. These foreign women arrive with their priests and their pagan cults that will draw Israel into idolatry and materialism.
The people thought that the king blessed by the Lord had to be surrounded by luxury and honors. Later the prophets would recall that power, wealth and luxury numb the heart of a ruler (Dt 17:14). All people in the course of history have had the same experience. Even in the Church, for centuries the faithful thought it fitting that their bishops and popes assume the appearance of nobles, and we are still paying the consequences of that error.
You have kept neither my Covenant nor the statutes (v. 11). Solomon’s real sin consists in directing his life and his nation without seeking God’s will. He lives like any other king and works out his own ambitions, thinking it is enough to ask the Lord’s blessings.
26. Jeroboam also rebelled against the king. In the last years of Solomon, several of his opponents stir up rebellion. Now appears the man who will take most of the country from Solomon’s son and definitively divide the people.
In the poem about the Tower of Babel (Gen 11), the division of the people was presented as the consequence of and punishment for arrogant politics. It will be the same for the Kingdom of Israel.
I am… to give you ten tribes (v. 32). Israel counts twelve tribes. In reality, one could speak of two. In the south, there is Judah with its neighbor, Simeon, a very small group. In the north, there are the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin, heading the other tribes of lesser importance. After David united them, Absalom, and others after him, stimulated the desire for autonomy in the north. Solomon’s dictatorship, which weighed more heavily on the northern tribes, prepared for the separation.
The prophet Ahijah says that the Lord will divide the kingdom to punish Solomon. This is a way of speaking. Everyone prepares his own punishment and the division comes directly from the errors and the sins of the king.
12.1 Soon after Solomon’s death, what the prophet Ahijah announced comes true: the kingdom is divided. The author singles out the culpability and folly of Rehoboam. The king did not listen to the people (v. 15). Neither had Solomon listened to them, while he lived isolated in his splendor.
When the people of Israel separate, they lose the benefit of the promises that God made to David, and which he will not withdraw even from his guilty descendants. The kingdom of the north (or kingdom of Israel) will be given some great prophets: Elijah, Hosea. But there will be no stability in power, and many usurpers will become kings without their descendants being able to maintain their kingship. It would seem that God treats each of them according to his own merits.
On the contrary, during this time in Judea, the kings—descendants of David, good and bad—succeed each other without interruption for four centuries: their history is governed and dominated by God’s promise. The letter to the Hebrews says that the events of the Old Testament prefigure what happens with Jesus and the Church (Heb 9). Here we have a picture of the divisions that have torn apart the unique church of Christ.
During the fifteenth century, the Church was like an empire with more human interests than humble service of God. Its leaders, often urged by the desire to leave behind them an indestructible witness to their own greatness, crushed the faithful with taxes to finance the building of magnificent basilicas, rather than respond to the spiritual thirst of believers. These rebelled in the name of greater fidelity to the Gospel and gave rise to Protestantism.
However, while recognizing all that is good with the protestants and evangelists, it is clear that after separation from the successors of the apostles, they have had to face continual divisions, always seeking a union they have been unable to find. The Catholic Church has known many crises for which she bears full responsibility, and yet it would seem that God has treated her according to his promises, and not according to her merits, to put her again on the right path. The Church must, of course, recognize these aspects of her structures and present practice far from the spirit of the Gospel, even as she knows she may count on the promise of Christ. The Church is the center, the place of communion, around which all must one day be reunited (see Ez 16:52-59; Ps 87).
26. The twelve tribes are united by the same religion, but Jeroboam realizes that his authority will be weak as long as the Israelites go up to Jerusalem to offer their sacrifices there. He ensures political separation through a schism, that is, a religious separation. He has a calf made to represent the Lord in spite of the prohibition against making a representation of the invisible God and reducing him to the level of an animal.
In narrating the deeds of the kings of Israel in the north, Scripture constantly repeats: “They followed and committed the sin of Jeroboam.” Thus Scriptures emphasized the need to remain united to the center which God established in Jerusalem. It is not enough to think: “We serve the same God,” “We serve in our own way.”
Jeroboam is the model of other rulers who, much later, tried to establish national churches: in England, at the time of the Reformation; in France, after the Revolution; in China and socialist countries, after a communist revolution. Many Catholics were persecuted and died for remaining faithful to the only church which ought to be catholic, or universal.
13.1 Obedience is worth more than sacrifice (1 S 15:22). Such was the Lord’s word when he renounced Saul in similar circumstances.
The present text highlights various aspects of true obedience which pleases God. The prophet himself should have remained firm, knowing that God does not change his orders.
14.1 Ahijah’s words announce the first coup d’état in the history of Israel. There will be many others and, each time, the relatives and sons of the one overthrown will be killed. Following this episode is the history of the two kingdoms during their first fifty years.
16.29 Ahab, son of Omri did what displeased the Lord, even more than all those who preceded him (v. 30). Starting with this text and in the following six chapters, the story enlarges on the rule of Ahab in Israel. For this was the time when Israel’s faith was saved by the greatest of the prophets, Elijah, and his successor, Elisha.
He even married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians (v. 31). The Tyrians and Sidonians were an ancient and prosperous people living in the northern ports of Palestine; they were also called Phoenicians. Their king, Hiram, had been David’s ally but, from their cities, pagan influences reached Israel. The reign of Ahab brought to Israel years of prosperity and military glory but the crisis of faith reached its highest point as well.
By his victories, David had integrated numerous Canaanite groups into his kingdom. They held onto their pagan practices which contaminated Israel’s faith. Fervor visibly diminished. When the culture of the Tyrians, who were of the same religion as the Canaanites, strongly entered, it suddenly became clear that this religion had supplanted the people’s faith in the Lord: the Israelites allowed themselves to be dragged to the table of Baal and Asheroth.
The Baals were gods, masters of life, sex, rain and the seasons (see Introduction to Judges). Believing that these gods had control over fecundity, people made vows to them about meeting prostitutes consecrated to them. Because of this, the word prostitution in Scripture refers both to licentiousness and to abandoning the Lord by prostituting oneself to other gods. Not everything was bad in this very permissive religion: it did not err in celebrating life. Nevertheless, it kept the people at the level of their instincts.
Jezebel uses her power to bring about a bloody persecution. First to be assassinated are the Lord’s prophets. These are the fellow prophets whom we presented in 1 Samuel 19:18 and 2 Kings 2:15. They are opposed by rival communities of the prophets of Baal.
Hiel sacrificed his youngest son, Segub (v. 34). With the influence of pagan cults, the practice of sacrificing children increased.
17.1 Now Elijah appears; his name will remain the greatest among the prophets. At Jesus’ transfiguration, Elijah will be beside him (Mk 9:2).
Elijah’s name is symbolic, meaning: the Lord is my God. He is from Tishbe, a town beyond the Jordan. This poor and remote region, protected from new influences, had remained faithful to its faith.
Facing apostasy, i.e., the infidelity of all the people, Elijah stands alone. He feels responsible for God’s cause and acts without waiting for others to begin.
Neither dew shall drop nor rain fall (v. 1). Elijah, the man of faith, knows that his words come from God and will be true. With regard to this, see James 5:17 where Elijah is presented as a model of faith.
There will be neither dew nor rain: a drought is a natural event, of course. God, however, without directly intervening at every moment, arranges events. The faith of the believer is a force, like the physical laws of the universe, and when we ask of God the impossible, confident that he himself wants to give it, he is not without the means to make this happen.
The people consider the Baals as gods of rain and nature. The drought that comes will show them that the Lord, God of Hosts, is also God of creation.
Elijah begins his mission as a prophet by attacking the greatest disorder: failing to place God above all.
7. Go to Zarephath (v. 9). The drought harms everybody, including Elijah who had asked God for this sign. But for the believer, the very plague is an opportunity to experience that the heavenly Father does not abandon the believer.
I have given word to a widow there to give you food. The prophet will receive his food, and he will also get comfort from God through discovering this believing woman. The poor widow has something to give the great prophet, and this is a grace for both of them.
Bring me a little water (v. 10) is a first step. Bring me also a piece of bread (v. 11). Elijah tests her faith: “First you shall make me a little bread,” and the widow gives him this. This widow is similar to the one whom Jesus praises in Mark 12:41.
The jar of meal shall not be emptied (v. 14). God rewards this kind of faith which goes to the extent of risking everything one possesses.
17. This is the first resurrection we encounter in the Scriptures.
God usually directs the world and his church through the natural process of things, by the effect of the laws of nature which he himself established. He also reserves to himself the right to make exceptions to these laws sometimes: the water changes into wine, the bread is multiplied.
Have you come to uncover past sins and cause my son’s death? (v. 18). The death of her only son is enough to arouse in the poor woman the unfounded fears of those who see God as an accuser who spies on people to punish them. She thinks that the prophet’s presence has attracted the Lord’s attention to her house and that he is punishing her with this grief.
He stretched himself on the child three times (v. 21). In this gesture of the prophet, who communicates life with his own breath, who would fail to recognize Christ who comes to unite himself closely with humanity to communicate to it the power of resurrection?
The Lord listened to the pleading of Elijah (v. 22). Elijah is the man chosen to reverse a desperate situation and to upset all human foresight. The Lord allows him to resuscitate the widow’s son and, a little later on Mount Carmel, he will let him resuscitate the faith of his people.
18.17 The sacrifice on Mount Carmel is one of God’s great manifestations in the Old Testament. The Lord takes the initiative to stir up an indifferent people.
Baal or the Lord? The people do not see clearly the difference between the two. They consider them as two powers or persons endowed with different capabilities but equally useful. The Lord is God of the race, a sure help in combat. While Baal is at the service of the peasant: through offerings and feasts, they ask him for rain.
How long will you follow two ways at the same time? (v. 21). Elijah obliges the Israelites to make a decision. The believer should not have two masters:
– God or money (Mt 6:24);
– for Christ or against him (Mt 12:30);
– cooperating member of the church or part of a lukewarm audience whom God will one day vomit out of his mouth (Rev 3:6).
The God who answers with fire is the true one (v. 24). This will be the sign: the fire that destroys, purifies, transforms; the fire that effects the consecration of the sacrificial victims to God. Israel also needs to be transformed “by fire,” and later with Jesus, we shall be baptized, or rather purified and renewed “through fire and the Holy Spirit” (see Lk 3:16).
They called on the name of Baal… and no one answered them (v. 26). We who read about Elijah’s mockery of Baal, are we convinced that God answers and hears our prayer? God is not obliged to satisfy all our desires, but we have the obligation to ask him in such a way and with such perseverance that he will manifest proofs of his presence among us.
You are turning back their hearts to you (v. 37). The fire, the miracle, the rain have no other purpose: the Lord loves Israel and wants to awaken their love once more. He does not want to frighten them or make them marvel, but rather to make this people discover that God lives and is concerned about searching them out.
The victory at Carmel is the Lord’s victory. It is also Elijah’s victory. God needs prophets and saves through them. We are shocked at the massacre that follows; but Elijah lived in a violent world where death was a normal lot of those conquered, and his thinking was in accordance with those times.
Besides, this brutal punishment teaches us that to lose one’s life is not as serious as to lose one’s self serving false values, deceiving oneself and deceiving everyone.
19.1 Elijah was scared and fled for his life (v. 3). Thus, the miracle does not miraculously solve the problems of faith. The conversion of the people will be a long and painful work.
We can see on the map how Elijah crossed the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah from north to south. Carmel is 250 kilometers from Beer-sheba, the last town before the desert south of Judah.
The journey is too long for you (v. 7). Elijah only looks for the entrance to the desert to save himself, but God brings him much farther. He is given a mysterious bread which recalls the manna of the Hebrews in the desert and foretells the eucharistic bread which Jesus will give for our spiritual journey (Jn 6:8).
He traveled for forty days and forty nights (v. 8; see Ex 24:18). Elijah goes to encounter the Lord. Jesus himself will go to the desert as a necessary proof and we, too, at certain moments need “to go to the desert” (sometimes God himself puts us in the desert: Hos 2:16). Elijah’s solitary journey shows the itinerary which those who seek God have to undertake. However, much as we need the support of our spouse, of our companions, of the Church, each one makes his or her own journey, and God calls people personally to seek this encounter with him.
9. Thus Elijah arrives at Horeb: it is the other name of Sinai, where the Lord had revealed himself to Moses four centuries earlier.
Go up and stand on the mount, waiting for the Lord (v. 11). To him who is afire with jealous love for God, God manifests his tenderness beyond all that we can imagine. Thus, the Lord reveals himself in the gentle breeze more than in the hurricane or in the earthquake.
What are you doing here, Elijah? (v. 9). First, God asks a question and obliges the prophet to discover the depth of his heart. There is nothing in Elijah but his jealous love for the Lord. The Lord, in turn, reveals his infallible plans.
Hazael, Jehu, Elisha (vv. 15-16). The Lord tells Elijah about the future of Israel with all its tragic truth: the kingdom, gloriously begun with David and Solomon, is destined to disappear. This will be the result of the people’s disobedience.
– Hazael, king of Syria, is the enemy king who will conquer and humiliate Israel.
– Jehu will destroy Ahab’s family and annihilate the worshipers of Baal.
– Elisha will transmit the menacing words of the Lord.
Nevertheless, Israel will not totally disappear, for God reserves a Remnant, expressed in symbolic form by 7,000 Israelites who have not knelt before Baal.
This revelation clarifies the mission of the prophets of the Scriptures. The majority of them, and the greatest among them, lived during the three centuries in which Israel passed from the glory of Solomon to the Exile. So the prophets:
– tried to hold back the infidelity of the chosen people who were heading to their ruin;
– called for inner conversion, that of the heart;
– taught the marvelous future which God had reserved for the “remnant” of Israel, after the destruction of their material kingdom in the land of Palestine.
19. Elijah passed by Elisha and cast his cloak over him. He calls him in the same way as Jesus will call his apostles: “Follow me.” Perhaps Elijah interprets the answer, “Let me embrace my parents,” as a hesitation on Elisha’s part to leave everything and, for this reason, he answers him: “Go back if you want, it was nothing of importance.” But Elisha merely wanted to say goodbye to his relatives in a decent manner (see Lk 9:61). From now on, Elisha will be Elijah’s disciple and his successor in Israel.
21.1 Naboth keeps his vineyard, more out of respect for the inheritance received from his fathers than for his personal convenience.
Declare a fast (v. 9). Surely Jezebel takes advantage of a calamity of that time, a drought or a pestilence. The elders of the city must assemble all the people for a solemn fast and an assembly, where they will find out “who attracted this punishment of God.” The guilty one will have to be Naboth and, in this way, Jezebel will have him killed legally.
Have you killed and have taken possession at the same time (v. 19)? Ahab’s crime is no worse than David’s who had Uriah killed so that he could take his wife (2 S 12). Elijah goes to Ahab in the manner that Nathan had gone to rebuke David.
22.1 In those times, war was something of a routine. A people could not exist without continually fighting with others. To fight, to kill and to die were but signs of life (see 2 S 11:1).
For once, the kings of Israel and Judah are united, but the writer speaks very differently about the two.
5. This Micaiah is not to be confused with the other prophet Micah of Moresheth (see Mic 1:1). The kings were seated by the entrance gate (v. 10). In those days, the entrance to the city was very often the gate of the wall surrounding the town. It was the place where people gathered, as they do today in the plaza. There, the tribunal executed judgment and cases were heard; there, the elders spent hours conversing in their seats.
The present text aims to teach two things:
– God’s word condemning Ahab’s family is realized infallibly: the lies of the prophets, the strategy of the king and unforeseen events come together to accomplish what had been announced: the king will die and the dogs will lick up his blood;
– the contradiction between true and false prophets.
False prophets are fellows who live at the king’s expense and claim to be inspired. Actually, they only think of pleasing the king in order to retain their livelihood and their privileges. The true prophets instead are servants of the word of God whatever the trials they have to endure. This is why Micaiah will say: I will speak what the Lord tells me to (v. 14).
I saw the Lord (v. 19). The vision of Micaiah tells us clearly that one should not trust in dreams and imaginings that come from one’s own spirit.
Neither should one believe blindly those who pretend to be inspired, such as politicians, theorists, business people and all who promise to make us happy.
39. This remark referring to Ahab makes one think that he died a natural death. One notes that all previous passages spoke only about the king of Israel, and mentioned Ahab only once in 22:20. Surely, this account referred in the beginning to Joram, son of Ahab (2 K 9:14-16), and in him Elijah’s prophecy in 1 Kings 21:21 was fulfilled.