Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house ,.... With all haste, as soon as she could: and when thy feet enter the city ; the city of Tirzah, very probably the king's palace stood at the entry of it, see 1 Kings 14:17 , the child shall die ; this is an answer to the question she was to ask, and at the same time a token of the sure and certain fulfilment of all the prophet had spoken in the name of the Lord. read more
Abijah and Ahijah. Perhaps there is no single section of this book more full of lessons, and lessons of the most varied kind, than this. Let us try to gather something of what God has strawed with so liberal a hand. 1. " At that time ( 1 Kings 14:1 )"—the time of 1 Kings 13:33 . The sickness of the child distinctly connects itself with the father's persistence in sin (see Deuteronomy 7:15 ; Deuteronomy 28:22 , Deuteronomy 28:61 ). The hard and impenitent heart treasures... read more
Affliction and judgment. I. THE STRICKEN KING . Abijah seems to have been heir to the throne, and to have been alike the king's and the people's hope. The father's heart was touched: the king saw the dynasty threatened, to establish which he had ventured so much. The voice of God, against which the car was closed, will be heard again in the quietness of the sick chamber, in the silence of death. God follows us through deepening sorrows, if haply we may turn ere we are overwhelmed by... read more
Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child [Heb. then the child. This is the force of the ] ו shall die. [This was "the sign that the Lord hath spoken" ( Hebrews 13:3 ). The death of the child at the precise moment of the return should serve as an earnest and foretaste of the doom just denounced.] read more
The Reprobate's Doom. In the queen of Jeroboam we see a remarkable messenger. For she went as messenger from a king and returned as messenger from a prophet. Her message in the first instance was simple, but in her return twofold. She brings a message to the king, and with it a message also to the nation. The message to the king brings— I. HEAVY TIDINGS RESPECTING ABIJAH . 1 . As to the issue of his illness . 2 . As to the near approach of his death . 3 . As to... read more
1 Kings 14:12. When thy feet enter into the city Or, rather, when thy feet have entered: that is, presently upon thy entrance into the city; when thou art gone but a little way in it, even as far as the threshold of the king’s door, (1 Kings 14:17,) the child shall die And by this judge of the truth of the rest of my prophecy. read more
Jeroboam’s punishment (13:1-14:20)God soon showed that this new form of religion was totally unacceptable to him. A prophet from Judah came to Bethel and, by bold words and dramatic actions, condemned both the people and the king (13:1-10).However, there was another prophet, a much older man, who lived in Bethel and had apparently not spoken out against Jeroboam’s wrongdoing. The old prophet seems to have been jealous of the prophet from Judah, and decided to tempt him to disobey God’s command.... read more
12. the child shall die—The death and general lamentation felt through the country at the loss of the prince were also predicted. The reason for the profound regret shown at his death arose, according to Jewish writers, from his being decidedly opposed to the erection of the golden calves, and using his influence with his father to allow his subjects the free privilege of going to worship in Jerusalem. read more
The prophecy of judgment on Jeroboam’s dynasty 14:1-18Whereas the prophecy of the young prophet from Judah dealt with Jeroboam’s religious cult, this one predicted the fate of the king’s descendants. Compare Samuel’s prediction concerning unfaithful Saul’s descendants (1 Samuel 13).Jeroboam probably sent his wife to see Ahijah because that prophet had previously given a favorable prophecy to him (1 Kings 11:29-39). He probably hoped his gift (1 Kings 14:3) would win the prophet’s favor as... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Kings 14:7-20
When those that set up idols, and keep them up, go to enquire of the Lord, he determines to answer them, not according to the pretensions of their enquiry, but according to the multitude of their idols, Ezek. 14:4. So Jeroboam is answered here. I. The prophet anticipates the enquiry concerning the child, and foretels the ruin of Jeroboam's house for the wickedness of it. No one else durst have carried such a message: a servant would have smothered it, but his own wife cannot be suspected of... read more