But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. Who then was Ahaziah; but either through the pusillanimity of his temper, or the sickness that attended him, or the shortness of his reign, he took no steps to the reduction of him, or to oblige him to pay his tribute, which he neglected to do, and is meant by his rebellion. read more
Evil-the same in principle, though not in form. "Now Jehoram the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel," etc. Two subjects are here illustrated. I. THAT WHILST THE FORMS OF EVIL MAY CHANGE , THE PRINCIPLE MAY CONTINUE RAMPANT . "And he [that is, Jehoram] wrought evil in the sight of the Lord; but not like his father, and like his mother." His father and mother worshipped Baal, but the very "image" of the idol "that his father had made he put away." But... read more
THE GENERAL CHARACTER OF JEHORAM 'S REIGN OVER ISRAEL ; HIS WAR WITH MOAB . read more
Rebellion not to be entered upon with a light heart. We are not sufficiently acquainted with the position of Moab under Israel, or with the extent of the Moabite resources, or with the grounds of just complaint which they may have had, to determine whether this particular rebellion was justifiable or no. But we can clearly see from the narrative that rebellion is a very grave matter, one to be very carefully considered, and only to be adventured upon under a combination of circumstances that... read more
King Mesha's rebellion. The general causes of this rebellion are considered on 2 Kings 1:1 . The victories recorded on the Moabite Stone as achieved by the favor of Chemosh belong probably to the earlier stages of the revolt. They can hardly have followed the crushing destruction of verses 24, 25. Prior, also, to the expedition of this chapter, must be placed the attempt to overwhelm Jehoshaphat by the combined forces of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, etc. ( 2 Chronicles 20:1-37 .),... read more
Forgetting God, and its results. We see from these verses how very partial was Jehoram's reformation. He put away the image of Baal, but he experienced no change of heart. Outward observances of religion, outward conformity to God's Law, are of little use, if the heart is not right within. Observe how Jehoram shows his entire forgetfulness or disregard of God. I. BY HIS MUSTERING OF THE PEOPLE . The King of Moab had risen in rebellion against him. What is Jehoram's first act?... read more
THE WAR WITH MOAB . The historian goes back to the origin of the war. He had already, in 2 Kings 1:1 , mentioned the revolt of Moab at the death of Ahab; but he now recalls his readers' attention to the fact, and to some extent explains it and accounts for it. Moab had been treated oppressively—had been forced to pay an extraordinarily heavy tribute—and was in a certain sense driven into rebellion ( 2 Kings 1:4 , 2 Kings 1:5 ). Jehoram, when he came to the kingdom, determined to... read more
Elisha helps in the defeat of Moab (3:1-27)Joram (or Jehoram) succeeded his brother Ahaziah in Israel. He was not as bad as his father Ahab, and at least showed some displeasure with Baal worship by removing a sacred pillar that his father had built (3:1-3).After Ahab’s death, Moab had revolted against Israelite rule and refused to pay tribute, but Ahaziah did nothing about it (see 1:1). Joram tried to recover this valuable source of income by a military attack in which he had the support of... read more
Ahab was dead. Compare 2 Kings 1:1 . He and his son Ahaziah both died in the same year (800 B. C). See App-50 . read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Kings 3:1-5
Jehoram, the son of Ahab, and brother of Ahaziah, is here upon the throne of Israel; and, though he was but a bad man, yet two commendable things are here recorded of him:? I. That he removed his father's idols. He did evil in many things, but not like his father Ahab or his mother Jezebel, 2 Kgs. 3:2. Bad he was, but not so bad, so overmuch wicked, as Solomon speaks, Eccl. 7:17. Perhaps Jehoshaphat, though by his alliance with the house of Ahab he made his own family worse, did something... read more