_A.M. 3112. B.C. 892._ Elisha foretels plenty, and the death of the unbelieving lord, 2 Kings 7:1; 2 Kings 7:2. Four lepers discover that the Syrians are fled, and bring the news into the city, 2 Kings 7:3. The king sends messengers in order to be assured of the truth, 2 Kings 7:12. Sudden plenty,... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then_ When things were at the worst; when all help and relief were despaired of, and the king was impatient of waiting any longer; _said Elisha_ To the king, who was now come to him, (2 Kings 7:18,) and to his courtiers, who were come with him, 2 Kings 7:2. _Hear ye the word of the Lord _ Hear what... [ Continue Reading ]
_A lord on whose hand the king leaned_ When he walked; _said, Behold, if the Lord would make windows in heaven_ Through which he should rain down corn, as once he did manna; _might this thing be?_ He could not conceive, considering the prodigious famine that then reigned in Samaria, and their being... [ Continue Reading ]
_There were four leprous men at the entering in of the gate_ Namely, of the city, out of which they were shut by virtue of God's law. They had either had their dwelling-place near the gate, or had come near it for fear of the Syrian army. _They said one to another, Why sit we here till we die?_ None... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Lord had made the host of the Syrians hear a noise of chariots_, &c. The air, by the ministry of angels, doubtless, was put into such a motion about the camp of the Syrians, as to give sounds like to those it would have given if it had been agitated by the rattling of chariots, the prancing of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wherefore they arose and fled_ And that with incredible precipitation, as for their lives, leaving their camp as it was, and even their horses, which, if they had taken them, might have expedited their flight. None of them had so much sense as to send scouts to discover the supposed enemy, much les... [ Continue Reading ]
_They said We do not well_ Not well for our brethren, whom we should pity and help; nor well for ourselves, for we may suffer for this neglect; either from the Syrians, who may be lurking hereabouts, or from our king and people, or from God's immediate hand. Thus their own consciences spoke to them,... [ Continue Reading ]
_The king said, I will show you what the Syrians have done_ He was jealous of a stratagem, and feared the Syrians had only retreated to be in ambush, and draw out the besieged, that they might fall upon them to more advantage. He knew he had no reason to expect that God should appear thus wonderfull... [ Continue Reading ]
_Let some, I pray thee, take five of the horses_, &c. The sense seems to be, We may well venture these five horses, though we have no more, because both they and we are ready to perish with hunger: let us, therefore, use them while we may, for our common good, or to make the discovery. _Behold, they... [ Continue Reading ]
2 Kings 7:14. _They took therefore two chariot horses_ It is probable the king would venture no more than two horsemen, whom he thought sufficient: and these took two of his own horses to make the discovery. _They went after them unto Jordan_ Finding the camp empty, as the lepers had related, they f... [ Continue Reading ]
_The king appointed the lord to have the charge of the gate _ To prevent tumults and disorders among the people, and to take care to have the gates shut, if need were, and if the Syrians should happen to return upon them. _And that lord answered_, &c. This part of the history is repeated, because it... [ Continue Reading ]