The Story of the Chosen People (Yesterday's Classics) (18 page)

ELIJAH APPEARS BEFORE AHAB

Thus warned that he was in great danger, Elijah managed to escape, followed only by his young servant. They fled without stopping until they had crossed the kingdom of Judah and reached the furthest southern boundary of Palestine.

Then, leaving his servant there, Elijah went on alone into the wilderness of Sinai, where he sank to the ground, fainting and ready to die. But an angel of the Lord came to him here and touched him on the shoulder. The prophet then looked up and saw a fire, with a cake of bread baked upon it, and near it stood a jar of water.

This food gave Elijah strength enough to spend forty days and forty nights in the wilderness of Sinai. Here he talked with God, whom he was very curious to see. After finding out that the Lord was neither in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, Elijah discovered that he was in the "still small voice," called conscience, which spoke to him, giving him directions as to what he should do next.

Soon after this, Ahab, the King of Israel, wanted to make his palace gardens bigger; so he asked Naboth, a poor man, to give up his vineyard. Naboth was offered a good price for this little piece of land, but he did not wish to sell it. He had inherited it from his father, and, in the eyes of a true Israelite, such a sale was considered a sin.

When Jezebel heard that this poor man had dared to refuse to sell his vineyard to Ahab, she made up her mind to take the little piece of land by fraud, since it could not be obtained by fair means.

At first the queen did not know exactly how to do this, but some one told her that, according to Israelite law, a man who spoke ill of God was punished by being stoned to death, and that his property was given to the king. Jezebel was delighted when she heard this, and she immediately hired false witnesses to say that Naboth had spoken against the Lord.

These men swore before the judges that Naboth was guilty; so Naboth was killed, and the vineyard which the king had longed for became part of the palace garden. But the story of Naboth's death soon became publicly known, and it finally came to the ears of Elijah.

Once more the tall and thin prophet appeared unexpectedly before the eyes of the king; and this time his stern voice was heard proclaiming: "Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs also lick thy blood, even thine. . . . And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel." These were awful prophecies, but you will soon see how exactly they were fulfilled.

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HAB,
terrified by the prophecy which Elijah had made about his death, now began to show signs of such deep sorrow that the Lord took pity upon him, and put off for some time the threatened punishment.

Shortly after Elijah's warning, however, Ahab received a visit from his neighbor, Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, and they two began to plan war against the King of Damascus, whom Ahab had already defeated in one war. But Jehoshaphat, who was a godly man, refused to set out until he was sure that the Lord approved of their plan. He therefore asked Ahab's prophets, who all declared that they would win the victory. Only one of these men had the courage to say, what proved to be the truth, that Ahab would lose his life in this war. Although Ahab declared that he did not believe this prediction, he tried to prevent any possible harm by going into battle in disguise. In spite of this caution, he was mortally wounded; but he bravely staid in his chariot until his army gave way, and his panic-stricken soldiers fled, crying: "Every man to his city and every man to his own country."

Before Ahab could reach home, he breathed his last, and his body was buried in his capital, Samaria. But Elijah's prophecy was none the less fulfilled; for the king's blood-stained chariot was washed on the very spot where Naboth had been stoned to death, and the dogs came and licked up his blood.

Ahab was succeeded by his son Ahaziah, who was named king while Jehoshaphat, terrified at the defeat of the forces of Judah and Israel, was hastening back to Jerusalem. During Jehoshaphat's absence from his capital, the tribes of the desert had formed an alliance with the Moabites and Ammonites, and they now soon began to make war against Judah, hoping to throw off the yoke which they had been forced to bear ever since the days of David.

To meet the coming danger in a godly way, Jehoshaphat bade his people fast; then he offered up a sacrifice, and prayed for the help of the Lord. This prayer received a speedy answer; for the spirit of the Lord fell upon one of the Levites, who bade the people go forth on the morrow, and win a victory without striking a blow, their part being merely to stand "and see the salvation of the Lord."

With loud songs of praise the people of Judah marched forth on the next day, and from afar they saw a strange sight. The various nations, confused by the traps and ambuscades which they had set for the men of Judah, had fallen upon each other with fury, and, when Jehoshaphat and his army came up, the ground was all strewn with their dead.

This great deliverance from danger filled the hearts of the Lord's people with joy, and so terrified their enemies that the peace was not again broken as long as Jehoshaphat reigned.

Meanwhile, Ahaziah, the successor of Ahab on the throne of Israel, ruled only two years; but during that short time he imitated all the evil ways of both his parents, and worshiped idols. When he became ill, therefore, his first thought was to send messengers to one of the shrines of Baal. But Elijah met the men on their way thither, and told them that Ahaziah would soon die in punishment for his sins.

When Ahaziah heard that Elijah had dared to speak so, he sent out fifty of his men with orders to seize and kill the prophet. This little troop surrounded Elijah, who was sitting on a hill, and then the captain of the men went up to him, crying: "Thou man of God, the king hath said, 'Come down.' "

In spite of this summons Elijah sat still and answered: "If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty." No sooner had he spoken these words than captain and soldiers perished; and the same fate overtook a second band of soldiers who were told to take him.

When a third troop was sent out by Ahaziah, the frightened captain fell down upon his face before Elijah, begging the prophet to spare him and his men. In obedience to God's command, Elijah then went with the soldiers into the king's presence, where he boldly repeated the words which he had already spoken. This prophecy came true; for Ahaziah, the king, soon died.

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LTHOUGH
Joram, Ahaziah's successor, was not an idolater himself, he allowed Jezebel to go on worshiping Baal, and to lead his people into evil ways. All this king's attention was taken up with wars, in the hope of recovering the land which had fallen into the hands of the King of Damascus.

The hard yoke of Jezebel weighed more and more heavily upon the people of Israel, who, encouraged by their prophets, finally revolted. By God's order one of these holy men sought Jehu, captain of the armies of Israel, anointed him king in Joram's stead, and told him that God was about to cut off the house of Ahab, and put an end to the idolatry in the land.

Jehu made known this divine message to his fellow-officers, who not only joyfully hailed him king, but offered to help him overthrow Joram. They said that the moment seemed very favorable; for the king was ill from a wound which he had received in one of his battles a short time before.

Thus encouraged, Jehu made up his mind to lose no time, and, jumping into his chariot, he drove furiously toward the palace at Jezreel. The king heard that he was coming, and sent a messenger out to meet him and ask what he wanted.

Instead of answering this man, Jehu drove on, and soon saw Joram, the king, who had risen from his bed, and was riding out to meet him. The rebel captain drew his bow, pierced the king with an arrow, and left him dead in the bottom of his chariot.

Having thus killed Joram, Jehu quickly went on to the palace, where Jezebel, who was now sixty years old, but affected the airs and appearance of a young woman, leaned out of the palace window, and taunted him, saying: "What became of Zimri, who murdered his master?"

Instead of answering her, Jehu gave some orders to the servants standing beside her, and they flung her out of the window, down into the court, where Jehu's chariot wheels passed over her body.

In the general confusion caused by this sudden change of rulers, Jezebel's remains were forgotten; so the dogs of the city came upon them and devoured all but her head, hands, and feet; and thus was fulfilled the prophecy which Elijah had made when she unjustly caused the death of poor Naboth.

Jehu now put to death Ahab's seventy sons, all the courtiers, and the priests of Baal. Then after pulling down the temples, altars, and groves which had been consecrated to idols, he restored the worship of the Lord, not only in Samaria, his capital, but throughout his whole kingdom.

In the mean while, the prophet Elijah had been commanded by God to choose Elisha as his successor. Not long after he had done so, he felt that the time was drawing near when his earthly career would be ended; so he journeyed toward Jericho, accompanied by Elisha.

When they came to the banks of the Jordan, Elijah rolled up his mantle, and struck the waters with it, which parted and allowed them both to pass over dry shod. Upon reaching the other side, Elisha asked, as a parting gift, that a double portion of his master's spirit might rest upon him.

Elijah listened to this request in silence, and then promised that it should be granted, provided his disciple were watchful and saw him taken away. The Bible now goes on to say: "And it came to pass, as they still went on and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and 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 chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof!"

In this fiery chariot, Elijah the prophet was whirled up out of sight, and as he vanished, his mantle fell down upon Elisha, as a sign that the new prophet's request had been granted. Elisha took up the mantle, and slowly retraced his steps. He tested his power by again dividing the waters of the Jordan with Elijah's cloak; and, going to the prophets at Jericho, he told them all that had occurred.

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LISHA
had become the successor of Elijah, and it soon became plain that the spirit of the Lord was with him, because he too could work miracles. Among those which we find written in the Book of Kings, we see that he not only divided the waters of the Jordan with Elijah's mantle, but that he also sweetened the waters of a bitter spring at Jericho.

On his way to Bethel, some wicked children once scoffed at him, crying: "Go up, thou bald head!" In punishment for this rude conduct, they were all torn to pieces by the bears that sprang out of the forest upon them.

Elisha next went on to Mount Carmel and to Samaria, where he was openly recognized as a prophet of the Lord. Later on, in the course of his ministry, he multiplied a widow's cruse of oil, so that it filled many jars. These she sold, and the money which she thus got was enough to supply all her needs.

To please a woman who befriended him, Elisha prayed that she might have a son. Five years after this prayer had been granted, the child was taken out into the harvest field by his father. There he was probably overcome by the hot sun, for he sickened and died. When Elisha saw the mother's grief, he felt very sorry for her, and by a miracle brought her dead child back to life.

Elisha once prevented a mess of poisoned pottage from doing any harm to those who ate of it, and at another time he multiplied twenty barley loaves and a few ears of corn so that they were food enough for a famished city. We are also told that he once made an iron ax head to rise to the surface of a stream in which it had fallen, and swim there until it was taken out.

Elisha's most famous miracle was done for the sake of Naaman, a Syrian, who came to him to be cured of his leprosy, which is a terrible disease. The prophet, instead of laying his hands upon him, as Naaman expected, merely bade the man go and wash in the Jordan if he would be clean.

This advice seemed far too simple to please Naaman, and he went off in anger, saying that the rivers in his own country were just as good as all the waters of Israel. As he was thus riding home in high dudgeon, one of his servants spoke to him, and after much persuasion induced him to try the remedy which Elisha had advised, and which he had come so far to obtain.

Naaman then stepped down into the Jordan, and when he had washed, his loathsome disease was all gone, and he was indeed clean. In his delight at being cured, he went back to thank Elisha, and offered him rich gifts, which the prophet refused to accept.

Naaman departed; but Elisha's servant secretly followed and stopped him, saying that he had been sent by his master to ask for the gifts. He received them, but instead of being made richer, he was punished for his deceit by suffering all his life from the disease of which Naaman had been cured.

The Syrians, or people of Damascus, ever since they began to wage war against Israel, had been in the habit of making sudden raids into the country to carry off cattle and spoil. Elisha, warned by God of their coming, always sent word to the king, who was thus able to drive the enemy away before they had done any damage. The King of Syria soon heard that the prophet knew all that he said, even in his bedchamber, and that his words were always repeated to the Israelites. He therefore became very anxious to capture Elisha, and sent out an armed force for that express purpose.

The Syrian army surrounded the mountain upon which Elisha had taken refuge, and seemed so large that his poor servant cried out in fear. To reassure him, Elisha fervently prayed that his eyes might be opened; and then the man, looking up, saw the heavenly host mounting guard all around them.