prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets; and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the spirit of the Lord from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day, when thou shalt go from chamber to chamber to hide thyself. And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; and say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the Lord hath not spoken by me.

So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. Now the king of Syria had commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel; and they turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him.

:

And a certain man drew his bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the army; for I am sore wounded. And the battle increased that day and the king stood up in his chariot against the Syrians until even, but at even he died. And the cry went throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his country; for the king is dead. So they returned to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the

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chronicles of the kings of Israel? So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead.

The first part of the story of these campaigns against the Syrians needs hardly any explanation. The quarter' in Damascus was probably a special market-place for Israelite merchants and chapmen.

The second part is more difficult. Here we have the first instance of a great difference between the prophets of the Lord' among themselves. The 400 are the king's friends, but Micaiah is his enemy, for 'he does not prophesy good concerning me, but evil.' Prophecy, like other good things, was liable to abuse. Some men sought to give their servility the form of prophecy. Others were genuinely mistaken, and were possessed of a less illuminative and piercing insight into the laws of goodness and God. The 400 prophets might be taken as an example of either class, for their confidence on the present occasion was, according to the story, fore-ordained. They were beguiled.' Micaiah's words must, however, not be taken literally. They are allegorical. Micaiah believed that the prophets were mistaken in their confidence and advice. And as all things are done by the will of God, so too this. Therefore their error was, to Micaiah's mind, God's intention: in other words, they were 'beguiled.' We too attribute all things to God, but less directly, nor do we even attempt to understand his purposes in all earthly events. But in the fundamental belief that God is the world's Ruler and Sustainer we are at one with Micaiah.

§ 6. Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria in the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin. For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the Lord God of Israel, according to all that his father had done.

And Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. And Ahaziah fell down through the lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and

say unto them, Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus saith the Lord, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed.

And when the messengers came back to the king, he said unto them, Why is it that ye are come back? And they said unto him, There came up a man to meet us, and said unto us, Go, turn again unto the king that sent you, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Is it because there is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron? therefore thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And he said unto them, What manner of man was he who came up to meet you, and told you these words? And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And the king said, It is Elijah the Tishbite. Then he sent unto him a captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up to him: and, behold, he sat on the top of a hill. And he spake unto him, O man of God, the king hath said, Come down. And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty.

And again the king sent unto him another captain of fifty with his fifty. And he went up, and said unto him, O man of God, thus hath the king said, Come down quickly. And Elijah answered and said unto him, If I be a man of God, let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And the fire of God came down from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. And again the king sent a captain of a third fifty with his fifty. And he went up, and came and fell on his knees before Elijah, and besought him, and said unto him, O man of God, I pray thee, let my life, and the life of these fifty thy servants, be precious in thy sight. Behold, there came fire down from heaven, and consumed the two captains of the former fifties with their fifties: let my life now be precious in thy sight. And the angel of the Lord said unto Elijah, Go down with him: be not afraid of him. And he arose, and went down with him unto the king. And he said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast

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sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub the god of Ekron, therefore thou shalt not come down off that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. So he died according to the word of the Lord which Elijah had spoken. And Jehoram his brother began to reign in his stead; because he had no son. Now the rest of the acts of Ahaziah which he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

In this story we have Elijah once more represented to us in his fiercer mood. Perhaps the story is due to the imagination of his admirers rather than to himself and to fact. It strikingly illustrates the cruel carelessness of human life so characteristic of ancient times. A hairy man' means a man clad in a hairy skin.

§ 7. The last story about Elijah is the most marvellous. It tells how the prophet was reported to have mysteriously disappeared from the earth and how this disappearance had been effected.

And it came to pass, when the Lord would take up Elijah by a whirlwind into heaven, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Beth-el. And Elisha said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Beth-el. And the sons of the prophets that were at Beth-el came forth to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thee to-day? And he said, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Elisha, tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jericho. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they came to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets that were at Jericho came near to Elisha, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Lord will take away thy master from thee to-day? And he answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. And Elijah said unto him, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two

went on.

And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood over against them afar off: and they two stood by

Jordan. And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariots of Israel and the horsemen thereof! And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan. And he took the mantle of Elijah, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he had smitten the waters, they were divided hither and thither: and Elisha went over. And when the sons of the prophets saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.

And they said unto him, Behold now, there be with thy servants fifty strong men; let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy master: lest peradventure the spirit of the Lord hath taken him up, and cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley. And he said, Ye shall not send. And when they

urged him till he was ashamed, he said, Send. They sent therefore fifty men; and they sought three days, but found him not. And when they came again to him, (for he tarried at Jericho,) he said unto them, Did I not say unto you, Go not?

§ 8. We now come to a story about Jehoram, Jehoshaphat, and Elisha, parallel in some respects to our former story of Ahab, Jehoshaphat, and Micaiah. Edom, we are elsewhere told, was at this time subject or tributary to Judah, so that the king of Edom mentioned in this story must be its governor or satrap appointed by Jehoshaphat.