- Scripture
- Sermons
- Commentary
1And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead.
2And he had brethren, the sons of Jehoshaphat: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel.
3And their father gave them great gifts, of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fortified cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram, because he was the first-born.
4Now when Jehoram was risen up over the kingdom of his father, and had strengthened himself, he slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel.
5Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem.
6And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as did the house of Ahab; for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah.
7Howbeit Jehovah would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a lamp to him and to his children alway.
8In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah, and made a king over themselves.
9Then Jehoram passed over with his captains, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites that compassed him about, and the captains of the chariots.
10So Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day: then did Libnah revolt at the same time from under his hand, because he had forsaken Jehovah, the God of his fathers.
11Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and made the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot, and led Judah astray.
12And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah,
13but hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot, like as the house of Ahab did, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father’s house, who were better than thyself:
14behold, Jehovah will smite with a great plague thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy substance;
15and thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness, day by day.
16And Jehovah stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians that are beside the Ethiopians:
17and they came up against Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in the king’s house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons.
18And after all this Jehovah smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
19And it came to pass, in process of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness, and he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers.
20Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years: and he departed without being desired; and they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
The Lord Stirred Up the Spirit of Cyrus.
By F.B. Meyer0Obedience to GodDivine Calling2CH 36:22PRO 21:1ISA 45:1ISA 55:11JER 29:10DAN 9:2PHP 2:131TH 5:24JAS 5:16F.B. Meyer emphasizes that the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus to fulfill the prophecy of the return of the Jewish captives from Babylon, as foretold by Jeremiah and Isaiah. He highlights the importance of prayer, as exemplified by Daniel, in influencing leaders and initiating divine movements. Meyer notes that while God can stir hearts, obedience is essential, and sadly, only a few of the Jewish captives responded to the call to return. He encourages believers to rise up and act whenever they feel a divine stirring in their lives. Ultimately, the sermon calls for faith and responsiveness to God's leading.
The Same Time Also Did Libnah Rebuild
By F.B. Meyer0Faithfulness to GodAuthority2CH 21:10MAT 28:18ACT 1:8ROM 12:1EPH 6:1JAS 4:7F.B. Meyer emphasizes the connection between faithfulness to God and the authority one holds over others, illustrating that when the kings of Judah remained loyal to God, they maintained control over surrounding nations. He draws parallels to personal struggles, family dynamics, and influence over others, suggesting that disobedience to God leads to rebellion in various aspects of life. Meyer encourages complete surrender to Jesus, asserting that true power and grace flow from a deep relationship with God, enabling believers to lead effectively and maintain order in their lives. The sermon highlights the importance of unwavering loyalty to God as the foundation for authority and influence.
He Put Garrisons in Edom; and All the Edomites
By F.B. Meyer0Surrendering to GodVictory in Christ1CH 18:172CH 21:10PSA 137:7ISA 63:1JHN 16:33ROM 7:15EPH 6:10PHP 4:13COL 2:151JN 5:4F.B. Meyer explores the relationship between Edom and Israel, symbolizing the ongoing struggle between the flesh and the spirit. He emphasizes that, like Edom's repeated attempts to regain independence, we often battle our own sinful nature. Meyer draws parallels to Jesus as the mighty Conqueror who triumphs over our spiritual foes, urging us to surrender our conflicts to Him completely. He encourages believers to stop relying on their own efforts and instead allow Jesus to handle their struggles with sin and temptation. The sermon calls for a total resignation of the fight to Christ, who has already secured victory on our behalf.
- Adam Clarke
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
- John Gill
- Keil-Delitzsch
- Matthew Henry
- Tyndale
Introduction
Jehoram succeeds his father Jehoshaphat; and commences his reign with the murder of his brethren, and of several of the princes of Israel, Ch2 21:1-5. He walks in the way of Ahab, whose bad daughter, Athaliah, he had married, Ch2 21:6. God remembers his covenant with David, and does not destroy the nation, Ch2 21:7. The Edomites revolt, Ch2 21:8-10. Jehoram restores the high places in the mountains of Judah, and greatly corrupts the morals of the people, Ch2 21:11. A letter comes to him from Elijah, Ch2 21:12-15. The Philistines and Arabians come up against him, pillage his house, and take away his wives, with all his sons except Jehoahaz, Ch2 21:16, Ch2 21:17. He is smitten with an incurable disease in his bowels; of which, in two years, he dies miserably, after a profligate reign of eight years, Ch2 21:18-20.
Verse 2
And he had brethren - the sons of Jehoshaphat, king of Israel. - Jehoshaphat certainly was not king of Israel, but king of Judah. ישראל Yisrael must be a corruption in the text, for יהודה Yehudah; which is the reading of the Syriac, Arabic, Septuagint, and Vulgate: the Chaldee, only agrees with the Hebrew text. And the reading of the versions is supported by thirty-eight of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS. The word Judah should therefore be restored to the text.
Verse 3
The kingdom gave he to Jehoram - He made him co-partner with himself in the kingdom about three years before his death; so that he reigned only five years after the death of his father Jehoshaphat. See the notes on Kg2 8:16, etc.; and on the same, Ch2 1:17, where an attempt is made to settle this disturbed chronology.
Verse 4
Slew all his brethren - What a truly diabolic thing is the lust of power! it destroys all the charities of life, and renders those who are under its influence the truest resemblants of the arch fiend. That he might sit the more secure upon his throne, this execrable man imbrues his hands in the blood of his own brothers! There are more instances of this species of cruelty among bad Asiatic kings than among any other class of men. The history of every country abounds in proofs; even that of our own is not the least barren.
Verse 6
He had the daughter of Ahab to wife - This was Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, who was famous for her impieties and cruelty, as was her most profligate mother. It is likely that she was the principal cause of Jehoram's cruelty and profaneness.
Verse 7
To give a light to him - To give him a descendant.
Verse 8
In his days the Edomites revolted - See on Kg2 8:21 (note).
Verse 11
To commit fornication - That is, to serve idols. The Israelites were considered as joined to Jehovah as a woman is joined to her husband: when she associates with other men, this is adultery; when they served other gods, this was called by the same name, it was adultery against Jehovah. This is frequently the only meaning of the terms adultery and fornication in the Scriptures.
Verse 12
There came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet - From Kg2 2:11, it is evident that Elijah had been translated in the reign of Jehoshaphat, the father of Jehoram. How then could he send a letter to the son? Some say he sent it from heaven by an angel; others, that by the spirit of prophecy he foresaw this defection of Jehoram, and left the letter with Elisha, to be sent to him when this defection should take place; others say that Elijah is put here for Elisha; and others, that this Elijah was not the same that was translated, but another prophet of the same name. There are others who think that, as Elijah was still in the body, for he did not die, but was translated, he sent this letter from that secret place in which he was hidden by the Almighty. All the versions have Elijah, and all the MSS. the same reading. Dr. Kennicott contends that Elisha was the writer; for Elijah had been taken up to heaven thirteen years before the time of this writing. Our margin says, the letter was written before his assumption, and refers to Kg2 2:1. These are all conjectures; and I could add another to their number, but still we should be where we were. I should adopt the conjecture relative to Elisha, were not every Hebrew MS., and all the Oriental versions, against it; to which may be added, that the author of this book does not once mention Elisha in any part of his work. It is certainly a possible case that this writing might have been a prediction of Jehoram's impiety and miserable death, delivered in the time of the prophet, and which was now laid before this wicked king for the first time: and by it the prophet, though not among mortals, still continued to speak. I can see no solid reason against this opinion.
Verse 14
Will the Lord smite - "The Word of the Lord will send a great mortality." - Targum.
Verse 15
Until thy bowels fall out - This must have been occasioned by a violent inflammation: by the same death perished Antiochus Epiphanes, and Herod Agrippa.
Verse 16
The Philistines, and - the Arabians - We have no other account of this war. Though it was a predatory war, yet it appears to have been completely ruinous and destructive. What a general curse fell upon this bad king; in his body, soul, substance, family, and government!
Verse 17
Save Jehoahaz the youngest - This person had at least three names, Jehoahaz, Ahaziah, (Ch2 22:1), and Azariah, (Ch2 22:6).
Verse 18
The Lord smote him - "And after all these things the Word of the Lord smote his bowels," etc. - Targum.
Verse 19
After the end of two years, his bowels fell out - The Targum seems to intimate that he had a constipation and inflammation in his bowels; and that at last his bowels gushed out. No burning - "His people made no burning of aromatic woods for him, as they had done for his forefathers." - Targum. See on Ch2 16:14 (note).
Verse 20
Departed without being desired - He was hated while he lived, and neglected when he died; visibly cursed of God, and necessarily execrated by the people whom he had lived only to corrupt and oppress. No annalist is mentioned as having taken the pains to write any account of his vile life. This summary mention of him consigns him to the execration of posterity, and holds in the view of every prudent governor, the rock on which he split and wrecked the state.
Introduction
JEHORAM SUCCEEDS JEHOSHAPHAT. (Ch2 21:1-4) Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers . . . Jehoram . . . reigned--The late king left seven sons; two of them are in our version named Azariah; but in the Hebrew they appear considerably different, the one being spelt "Azariah," and the other "Azariahu." Though Jehoshaphat had made his family arrangements with prudent precaution, and while he divided the functions of royalty in his lifetime (compare Kg2 8:16), as well as fixed the succession to the throne in his oldest son, he appointed each of the others to the government of a fenced city, thus providing them with an honorable independence. But this good intentions were frustrated; for no sooner did Jehoram find himself in the sole possession of sovereign power than, from jealousy, or on account of their connections, he murdered all his brothers, together with some leading influential persons who, he suspected, were attached to their interest, or would avenge their deaths. Similar tragedies have been sadly frequent in Eastern courts, where the heir of the crown looks upon his brothers as his most formidable enemies, and is therefore tempted to secure his power by their death.
Verse 6
HIS WICKED REIGN. (Ch2 21:5-7) he walked . . . as did the house of Ahab, for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife--The precepts and examples of his excellent father were soon obliterated by his matrimonial alliance with a daughter of the royal house of Israel. Through the influence of Athaliah he abolished the worship of the Lord, and encouraged an introduction of all the corruptions prevalent in the sister kingdom. The divine vengeance was denounced against him, and would have utterly destroyed him and his house, had it not been for a tender regard to the promise made to David (Sa2 7:29; Kg2 8:19).
Verse 8
EDOM AND LIBNAH REVOLT. (Ch2 21:8-17) the Edomites revolted--That nation had been made dependent by David, and down to the time of Jehoshaphat was governed by a tributary ruler (Kg1 22:47; Kg2 3:9). But that king having been slain in an insurrection at home, his successor thought to ingratiate himself with his new subjects by raising the flag of independence [JOSEPHUS]. The attempt was defeated in the first instance by Jehoram, who possessed all the military establishments of his father; but being renewed unexpectedly, the Edomites succeeded in completely emancipating their country from the yoke of Judah (Gen 27:40). Libnah, which lay on the southern frontier and towards Edom, followed the example of that country.
Verse 12
there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet--That prophet's translation having taken place in the reign of Jehoshaphat [Kg2 2:11-12], we must conclude that the name of Elijah has, by the error of a transcriber, been put for that of Elisha.
Verse 13
hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem . . . like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab--that is, introduced the superstitions and vices of Phœnician idolatry (see on Deu 13:6-14). On this account, as well as for his unnatural cruelties, divine vengeance was denounced against him, which was soon after executed exactly as the prophet had foretold. A series of overwhelming calamities befell this wicked king; for in addition to the revolts already mentioned, two neighboring tribes (see Ch2 17:11) made hostile incursions on the southern and western portions of his kingdom. His country was ravaged, his capital taken, his palace plundered, his wives carried off, and all his children slain except the youngest. He himself was seized with an incurable dysentery, which, after subjecting him to the most painful suffering for the unusual period of two years, carried him off, a monument of the divine judgment. To complete his degradation, his death was unlamented, his burial unhonored by his subjects. This custom, similar to what obtained in Egypt, seems to have crept in among the Hebrews, of giving funeral honors to their kings, or withholding them, according to the good or bad characters of their reign. Next: 2 Chronicles Chapter 22
Introduction
INTRODUCTION TO 2 CHRONICLES 21 This chapter relates Jehoram's succession to the throne of Judah, and the murders and idolatries committed by him, Ch2 21:1, the revolt of the Edomites from him, and some of his own people, Ch2 21:8, a writing of Elijah to him, threatening a great plague to him and his family, Ch2 21:12, the raising up of several enemies against him, Ch2 21:16, his sickness, death, and burial, Ch2 21:18.
Verse 1
Now Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers,.... See Gill on Kg1 22:50. . 2 Chronicles 21:2 ch2 21:2 ch2 21:2 ch2 21:2And he had brethren, the sons of Jehoshaphat,.... That is, Jehoram had, who succeeded him: their names follow: Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah; two of them were of the same name; though it may be observed, that in the Hebrew text they are somewhat distinguished, the latter is called Azariah; Jehiel is said, by the Jews (x), to be the same with Hiel that rebuilt Jericho; indeed it was rebuilt in the times of Jehoshaphat, and was a city of the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:21 which was under his jurisdiction; but it can never be thought that he would ever suffer a son of his to rebuild it; besides, he is expressly said to be a Bethelite, Kg1 16:34, all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel; which generally, since the division of the kingdom, designs the ten tribes, but cannot be the meaning here, because Jehoshaphat was only king of two tribes, Judah and Benjamin; they were tribes of Israel indeed, and so he was king of a part of Israel; and besides, many out of the ten tribes came and settled in his kingdom, and were under his government; though some think he is so called, because he concerned himself so much for the kingdom of Israel, and more than for his own; but the Vulgate Latin, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, all read king of Judah; wherefore some are of opinion that Israel is a mistake of the transcriber; but this need not be supposed, since he was of right king of Israel, and was in fact king of two tribes that belonged to Israel. (x) T. Hieros. Sanhedrin, fol. 29. 4.
Verse 2
And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things,.... As jewels and precious stones; or precious garments, as the Targum, in like manner as Abraham gave to his sons, when he sent them from Isaac: with fenced cities in Judah; not as their own property, but he appointed them governors in them, to defend them against an enemy, and as a mark of honour to them: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram, because he was the firstborn; strictly observing the law in Deu 21:16, which was not always done; though it was reckoned by the Heathens contrary to the law of nations to give the kingdom to the younger (y). (y) Justin. e Trogo, l. 16. c. 2.
Verse 3
Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father,.... Succeeded him in it, and reigned alone, for he had reigned with his father some years before his death; see Gill on Kg2 8:16, he strengthened himself; in the kingdom, by some means or another closely attaching the greater part of the princes, and people of the land, unto him, when he thought himself well settled and established on the throne; though some understand it of making strong, or hardening his heart to do what is next mentioned: and slew all his brethren with the sword; either to get their riches into his hands, or lest, being religious princes, they should oppose his restoring idolatry, and for that reason the people should depose him, and set up one of them; and therefore he dispatched them out of the way to secure himself, and carry his point: and divers also of the princes of Israel; such who had removed out of the ten tribes, for the sake of religion, and therefore would never agree to the introduction of idolatry among them, for which reason Jehoram slew them; and perhaps they might express their disapprobation and abhorrence of his murder of his brethren.
Verse 4
Jehoram was thirty two years old,.... Of these verses; see Gill on Kg2 8:17, Kg2 8:18, Kg2 8:19, Kg2 8:20, Kg2 8:21, Kg2 8:22 2 Chronicles 21:11 ch2 21:11 ch2 21:11 ch2 21:11Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah,.... Temples and altars for idols, which, being built on mountains, had the name of high places; and these Jehoram made or rebuilt were those which had been pulled down by Asa and Jehoshaphat: and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication; that is, idolatry, drawing them by his own example to worship Baal, for he did what Ahab and his family did, Ch2 21:6, and compelled Judah thereto; the inhabitants of Jerusalem falling into the same idolatrous practice with him, he forced the inhabitants of the cities, and in the country, to do the same, who it seems were not so willing and ready to comply therewith.
Verse 5
And there came a writing to him from Elijah the prophet,.... Not what was written by him after his ascension to heaven, and from thence came to Jehoram, even seven years after that, as say some Jewish writers (z); nor was it a writing from another person of the same name in those times, since of such an one we nowhere read; nor from Elisha bearing the name of Elijah, having a double portion of his spirit on him, since he is never so called; but this was a writing of Elijah's before his ascension, who, foreseeing by a spirit of prophecy what Jehoram would be guilty of, wrote this, and gave it to one of the prophets, as Kimchi suggests, and most probably to Elisha, to communicate it to him at a proper time; and who might, as the above writer intimates, think it came immediately from heaven: saying, thus saith the Lord God of David thy father; and from whose God he had departed, and to which ancestor of his he was so much unlike: because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah; neither trod in the steps of his father nor grandfather. (z) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 17. Ganz. Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 12. 1. A. M. 3050.
Verse 11
And hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel,.... Worshipping the calves, and even Baal, with other idols, as they did: and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab; meaning spiritual whoredoms or idolatries: and hast also slain thy brethren of thy father's house, which were better than thyself; more religious, more humane, more prudent, and fitter for government.
Verse 12
Behold, with a great plague will the Lord smite thy people,.... They going into the same idolatry with himself willingly, at least great part of them, and therefore deserved to be smitten, and which would be a punishment to him: and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods; which should be carried captive, as the event shows.
Verse 13
And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels,.... Which was a just retaliation to him, for having no bowels of compassion on his brethren whom he slew: until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day; that continuing day after day, and even year after year, the space of two years, as appears from Ch2 21:19.
Verse 14
Moreover, the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines,.... Which had been depressed in the times of Jehoshaphat, to whom they brought their presents and tribute willingly, Ch2 17:11. and of the Arabians that were near the Ethiopians; not the Ethiopians of Africa, as the Targum, for the Arabians were not near them, but the Chusaean Arabs or Midianites, see Num 12:1. The Targum is, the Word of the Lord did this.
Verse 15
And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, &c. l In an hostile manner: and carried away all the substance that was found in the king's house, his gold, silver, and precious things, the rich furniture of his palace; no mention is made of any other plunder in the city, or the country; so that they seem to have had their principal eye to the king's palace, and the spoil of that; being so directed by the providence of God, who had stirred them up to do this as a punishment of Jehoram: and his sons also, and his wives; these they also carried away, all but Athaliah, who hid herself; he through his disease not being able to make any opposition, or to get any forces together to withstand them: so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons; the same that is called Ahaziah and Azariah, Ch2 22:1 so the prophecy in Ch2 21:14 was fulfilled.
Verse 16
After all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. What it was is not agreed upon; some take it be an "hernia", or rupture; others, the falling of the "anus", or a fistula in it; others, the colic, or iliac passion; but generally it is thought to be a dysentery, or bloody flux; the Targum is,"the Word of the Lord broke him.'' After all this the Lord smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. What it was is not agreed upon; some take it be an "hernia", or rupture; others, the falling of the "anus", or a fistula in it; others, the colic, or iliac passion; but generally it is thought to be a dysentery, or bloody flux; the Targum is,"the Word of the Lord broke him.'' 2 Chronicles 21:19 ch2 21:19 ch2 21:19 ch2 21:19And it came to pass that in process of time, after the end of two years,.... So long he was afflicted and tortured with the above disease: his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness; either in like manner as Judas's did, Act 1:18 or as in the manner the bowels of Arius are said to do, while sitting on the seat of the vault (a); or perhaps only what was contained in the bowels is meant, if it was the colic: so he died of sore diseases; he seems to have had a complication of them, and these very painful and distressing: and the people made no burning for him, like the burnings of his fathers; as they did for his grandfather Asa, Ch2 16:14, they did not burn spices or odoriferous wood, as the Targum; though his body, because of the stench of it, needed it, as Jarchi observes. (a) Sozomen. Eccl. Hist. l. 2. c. 29, 30.
Verse 17
Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years,.... See Kg2 8:17, and departed without being desired; to live, either by himself, being weary of life through the pain he endured; or by his people, he being so wicked a prince, and so ill beloved by them, that nobody wished to have him live, but were glad to hear of his death; the meaning is, he died unlamented; his death is expressed by a departing out of this world into another, a phrase more than once used for death in the New Testament, see Joh 13:1, howbeit, they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings; they showed him some respect for the sake of his father, by burying him in the city of David, but denied him the honour of lying in the royal sepulchres, see Kg2 8:24. Next: 2 Chronicles Chapter 22
Verse 1
Ch2 21:1-3 Jehoshaphat's death, and the slaughter of his sons by Joram. - Ch2 21:2, Ch2 21:3. Joram had six brothers, whom their father had plentifully supplied with means of subsistence - presents in silver, gold, and precious things - "in the fenced cities of Judah;" i.e., he had made them, as Rehoboam also had made his sons, commandants of fortresses, with ample revenues; but the kingdom he gave to Joram as the first-born. Among the six names two Azariah's occur, - the one written Azarjah, the other Azarjahu. Jehoshaphat is called king of Israel instead of king of Judah, because he as king walked in the footsteps of Israel, Jacob the wrestler with God, and was a true king of God's people. Ch2 21:4 Now when Joram ascended (raised himself to) the throne of his father, and attained to power (יתחזּק as in Ch2 1:1), he slew all his brethren with the sword, and also some of the princes of Israel, i.e., the tribal princes of his kingdom. It could hardly be from avarice that he slew his brothers, merely to get possession of their property; probably it was because they did not sympathize with the political course which he was entering upon, and disapproved of the idolatrous conduct of Joram and his wife Athaliah. This may be gathered from the fact that in Ch2 21:13 they are called better than Joram. The princes probably drew down upon themselves the wrath of Joram, or of his heathen consort, by disapproving of the slaughter of the royal princes, or by giving other signs of discontent with the spirit of their reign.
Verse 5
Duration and spirit of Joram's reign. - These verses agree with Kg2 8:17-22, with the exception of some immaterial divergences, and have been commented upon in the remarks on that passage. - In Ch2 21:7 the thought is somewhat otherwise expressed than in Kg2 8:19 : "Jahve would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that He had made with David;" instead of, "He would not destroy Judah because of David His servant, as He had said." Instead of לבניו ניר לו לתת we have in the Chronicle וּלבניו ניר לו לתת, to give him a lamp, and that in respect of his sons, w being inserted before לבניו to bring the idea more prominently forward. In regard to שׂריו עם, Ch2 21:9, instead of צעירה, Kg2 8:21, see on 2 Kings loc. cit. At the end of Ch2 21:9 the words, "and the people fled to their tents" (Kg2 8:21), whereby the notice of Joram's attempt to bring Edom again under his sway, which is in itself obscure enough, becomes yet more obscure.
Verse 10
The chronicler concludes the account of the revolt of Edom and of the city of Libnah against Judah's dominion with the reflection: "For he (Joram) had forsaken Jahve the God of the fathers," and consequently had brought this revolt upon himself, the Lord punishing him thereby for his sin. "Yea, even high places did he make." The גּם placed at the beginning may be connected with בּמות (cf. Isa 30:33), while the subject is emphasized by הוּא: The same who had forsaken the God of the fathers, made also high places, which Asa and Jehoshaphat had removed, Ch2 14:2, Ch2 14:4; Ch2 17:6. "And he caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication," i.e., seduced them into the idolatrous worship of Baal. That the Hiph. ויּזן is to be understood of the spiritual whoredom of Baal-worship we learn from Ch2 21:13 : "as the house of Ahab caused to commit fornication." וידּח, "and misled Judah," i.e., drew them away by violence from the right way. ידּח is to be interpreted in accordance with Deu 13:6, Deu 13:11.
Verse 12
The prophet Elijah's letter against Joram, and the infliction of the punishments as announced. - Ch2 21:12. There came to him a writing from the prophet Elijah to this effect: "Thus saith Jahve, the God of thy father David, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat, ... but hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, ... and also hast slain thy brethren, the house of thy father, who were better than thyself; behold, Jahve will send a great plague upon thy people, and upon thy sons, and thy wives, and upon all thy goods; and thou shalt have great sickness, by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day." מכתב, writing, is a written prophetic threatening, in which his sins are pointed out to Joram, and the divine punishment for them announced. In regard to this statement, we need not be surprised that nothing is elsewhere told us of any written prophecies of Elijah; for we have no circumstantial accounts of his prophetic activity, by which we might estimate the circumstances which may have induced him in this particular instance to commit his prophecy to writing. But, on the other hand, it is very questionable if Elijah was still alive in the reign of Joram of Judah. His translation to heaven is narrated in 2 Kings 2, between the reign of Ahaziah and Joram of Israel, but the year of the event is nowhere stated in Scripture. In the Jewish Chronicle Seder olam, 2 Chr 17:45, it is indeed placed in the second year of Ahaziah of Israel; but this statement is not founded upon historical tradition, but is a mere deduction from the fact that his translation is narrated in 2 Kings 2 immediately after Ahaziah's death; and the last act of Elijah of which we have any record (2 Kings 1) falls in the second year of that king. Lightfoot, indeed (Opp. i. p. 85), Ramb., and Dereser have concluded from Kg2 3:11 that Elijah was taken away from the earth in the reign of Jehoshaphat, because according to that passage, in the campaign against the Moabites, undertaken in company with Joram of Israel, Jehoshaphat inquired for a prophet, and received the answer that Elisha was there, who had poured water upon the hands of Elijah. But the only conclusion to be drawn from that is, that in the camp, or near it, was Elisha, Elijah's servant, not that Elijah was no longer upon earth. The perfect יצק אשׁר seems indeed to imply this; but it is questionable if we may so press the perfect, i.e., whether the speaker made use of it, or whether it was employed only by the later historian. The words are merely a periphrasis to express the relationship of master and servant in which Elijah stood to Elisha, and tell us only that the latter was Elijah's attendant. But Elisha had entered upon this relationship to Elijah long before Elijah's departure from the earth (Kg1 19:19.). Elijah may therefore have still been alive under Joram of Judah; and Berth. accordingly thinks it "antecedently probable that he spoke of Joram's sins, and threatened him with punishment. But the letter," so he further says, "is couched in quite general terms, and gives, moreover, merely a prophetic explanation of the misfortunes with which Joram was visited;" whence we may conclude that in its present form it is the work of a historian living at a later time, who describes the relation of Elijah to Joram in few words, and according to his conception of it as a whole. This judgment rests on dogmatic grounds, and flows from a principle which refuses to recognise any supernatural prediction in the prophetic utterances. The contents of the letter can be regarded as a prophetic exposition of the misfortunes which broke in, as it were, upon Joram, only by those who deny priori that there is any special prediction in the speeches of the prophets, and hold all prophecies which contain such to be vaticinia post eventum. Somewhat more weighty is the objection raised against the view that Elijah was still upon earth, to the effect that the divine threatenings would make a much deeper impression upon Joram by the very fact that the letter came from a prophet who was no longer in life, and would thus more easily bring him to the knowledge that the Lord is the living God, who had in His hand his breath and all his ways, and who knew all his acts. Thus the writing would smite the conscience of Joram like a voice from the other world (Dchsel). But this whole remark is founded only upon subjective conjectures and presumptions, for which actual analogies are wanting. For the same reason we cannot regard the remark of Menken as very much to the point, when he says: "If a man like Elias were to speak again upon earth, after he had been taken from it, he must do it from the clouds: this would harmonize with the whole splendour of his course in life; and, in my opinion, that is what actually occurred." For although we do not venture "to mark the limits to which the power and sphere of activity of the perfected saints is extended," yet we are not only justified, but also bound in duty, to judge of those facts of revelation which are susceptible of different interpretations, according to the analogy of the whole Scripture. But the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments know nothing of any communications by writings between the perfected saints in heaven and men; indeed, they rather teach the contrary in the parable of the rich man (Note: "Neque enim," says Ramb., "ulla ratione credibile est, Deum in gratiam impii regis ejusmodi quid fecisse, cujus nullum alias exemplum exstat; immo quod nec necessarium erat, quum plures aliae essent rationes, quibus Deus voluntatem suam ei manifestare poterat; coll. Luc. 16:27, 29." And, still more conclusively, Calov. declares: "Non enim triumphantium in coelis est erudire aut ad poenitentiam revocare mortales in terra. Habent Mosen et prophetas, si illos non audiant, neque si quis ex mortius resurrexerit, nedum si quis ex coelis literas perscripserit, credent Luc. 16:31.") (Luk 16:31) There are consequently no sufficient grounds for believing that the glorified Elijah either sent a letter to Joram from heaven by an angel, or commissioned any living person to write the letter. The statement of the narrative, "there came to him a writing from Elijah the prophet," cannot well be understood to mean anything else than that Elijah wrote the threatening prophecy which follows; but we have no certain proof that Elijah was then no longer alive, but had been already received into heaven. The time of his translation cannot be exactly fixed. He was still alive in the second year of Ahaziah of Israel; for he announced to this king upon his sick-bed that he would die of his fall (2 Kings 1). Most probably he was still alive also at the commencement of the reign of Joram of Israel, who ascended the throne twenty-three years after Ahab. Jehoshaphat died six or seven years later; and after his death, his successor Joram slew his brothers, the other sons of Jehoshaphat. Elijah may have lived to see the perpetration of this crime, and may consequently also have sent the threatening prophecy which is under discussion to Joram. As he first appeared under Ahab, on the above supposition, he would have filled the office of prophet for about thirty years; while his servant Elisha, whom he chose to be his successor as early as in the reign of Ahab (Kg1 19:16), died only under Joash of Israel (Kg2 13:14.), who became king fifty-seven years after Ahab's death, and must consequently have discharged the prophetic functions for at least sixty years. But even if we suppose that Elijah had been taken away from the earth before Jehoshaphat's death, we may, with Buddaeus, Ramb., and other commentators, accept this explanation: that the Lord had revealed to him Joram's wickedness before his translation, and had commissioned him to announce to Joram in writing the divine punishment which would follow, and to send this writing to him at the proper time. This would entirely harmonize with the mode of action of this great man of God. To him God had revealed the elevation of Jehu to the throne of Israel, and the extirpation of the house of Ahab by him, together with the accession of Hazael, and the great oppressions which he would inflict upon Israel, - all events which took place only after the death of Joram of Judah. Him, too, God had commissioned even under Ahab to anoint Jehu to be king over Israel (Kg1 19:16), which Elisha caused to be accomplished by a prophetic scholar fourteen years later (Kg2 9:1.); and to him the Lord may also have revealed the iniquity of Joram, Jehoshaphat's successor, even as early as the second year of Ahaziah of Israel, when he announced to this king his death seven years before Jehoshaphat's death, and may have then commissioned him to announce the divine punishment of his sin. But if Elijah committed the anointing of both Hazael and Jehu to his servant Elisha, why may he not also have committed to him the delivery of this threatening prophecy which he had drawn up in writing? Without bringing forward in support of this such hypotheses as that the contents of the letter would have all the greater effect, since it would seem as if the man of God were speaking to him from beyond the grave (O. v. Gerlach), we have yet a perfect right to suppose that a written word from the terrible man whom the Lord had accredited as His prophet by fire from heaven, in his struggle against Baal-worship under Ahab and Ahaziah, would be much better fitted to make an impression upon Joram and his consort Athaliah, who was walking in the footsteps of her mother Jezebel, than a word of Elisha, or any other prophet who was not endowed with the spirit and power of Elijah. Elijah's writing pointed out to Joram two great transgressions: (1) his forsaking the Lord for the idolatrous worship of the house of Ahab, and also his seducing the people into this sin; and (2) the murder of his brothers. For the punishment of the first transgression he announced to him a great smiting which God would inflict upon his people, his family, and his property; for the second crime he foretold heavy bodily chastisements, by a dreadful disease which would terminate fatally. ימים על ימים, Ch2 21:15, is accus. of duration: days on days, i.e., continuing for days added to days; cf. שׁנה על שׁנה ספוּ, Isa 29:1. ימים Berth. takes to mean a period of a year, so that by this statement of time a period of two years is fixed for the duration of the disease before death. But the words in themselves cannot have this signification; it can only be a deduction from Ch2 21:18. These two threats of punishment were fulfilled. The fulfilment of the first is recorded in Ch2 21:16. God stirred up the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabians (רוּח את העיר, as in Ch1 5:26), so that they came up against Judah, and broke it, i.e., violently pressed into the land as conquerors (בּקע, so split, then to conquer cities by breaking through their walls; cf. Kg2 25:4, etc.), and carried away all the goods that were found in the king's house, with the wives and sons of Joram, except Jehoahaz the youngest (Ch2 22:1). Movers (Chron. S. 122), Credner, Hitz., and others on Joe 3:5, Berth., etc., conclude from this that these enemies captured Jerusalem and plundered it. But this can hardly be the case; for although Jerusalem belonged to Judah, and might be included in בּיהוּדה, yet as a rule Jerusalem is specially named along with Judah as being the chief city; and neither the conquest of Judah, nor the carrying away of the goods from the king's house, and of the king's elder sons, with certainty involves the capture of the capital. The opinion that by the "substance which was found in the king's house" we are to understand the treasures of the royal palace, is certainly incorrect. רכוּשׁ denotes property of any sort; and what the property of the king or of the king's house might include, we may gather from the catalogue of the אוצרות of David, in the country, in the cities, villages, and castles, Ch1 27:25., where they consist in vineyards, forests, and herds of cattle, and together with the המּלך אוצרות formed the property (הרכוּשׁ) of King David. All this property the conquering Philistines and Arabians who had pressed into Judah might carry away without having captured Jerusalem. But המּלך בּית denotes here, not the royal palace, but the king's family; for המּלך לבית הנּמצא does not denote what was found in the palace, but what of the possessions of the king's house they found. נמצא with ל is not synonymous with בּ נמצא, but denotes to be attained, possessed by; cf. Jos 17:16 and Deu 21:17. Had Jerusalem been plundered, the treasures of the palace and of the temple would also have been mentioned: Ch2 25:24; Ch2 12:9; Kg2 14:13. and Kg1 14:26; cf. Kuhlmey, alttestl. Studien in der Luther. Ztschr. 1844, iii. S. 82ff. Nor does the carrying away of the wives and children of King Joram presuppose the capture of Jerusalem, as we learn from the more exact account of the matter in Ch2 22:1.
Verse 18
The second punishment fell upon the body and life of the king. The Lord smote him in his bowels to (with) disease, for which there was no healing. מרפּא לאין is in apposition to לחלי, literally, "to not being healing."
Verse 19
And it came to pass in days after days (i.e., when a number of days had passed), and that at the time (וּכעת( emit eh) of the expiration of the end in two days, then his bowels went out during his sickness, and he died in sore pains (תּחלאים, phenomena of disease, i.e., pains). The words שׁנים לימים הקּץ צאת וּכעת are generally translated as if שׁנים לימים were a mere periphrasis of the stat. constr. Vatabl. and Cler., for example, translate: et secundum tempus egrediendi finis annorum duorum, i.e., postquam advenit finis a. d., or cum exacti essent duo anni; similarly Berth.: "at the time of the approach of the end of two times." But against this we have not only the circumstance that no satisfactory reason for the use of this periphrasis for the genitive can be perceived, and that no analogies can be found for the expression שׁנים לימים הקּץ, the end of two years, instead of שׁנים היּמים קץ; but also the more decisive linguistic reason that הקּץ צאת cannot denote the approach of the end, but only the expiry, the running out of the end; and finally, that the supposition that ימים here and in Ch2 21:15 denotes a year is without foundation. Schmidt and Rabm. have already given a better explanation: quumque esset tempus, quo exiit finis s. quum exiret ac compleretur terminus ille, in epistola Eliae Ch2 21:15 praefixus; but in this case also we should expect היּמים קץ, since שׁנים לימים should point back to ימים על ימים, and contain a more exact definition of the terms employed in Ch2 21:15, which are not definite enough. We therefore take הקּץ צאת by itself, and translate: At the time of the end, i.e., when the end, sc. of life or of the disease, had come about two days, i.e., about two days before the issue of the end of the disease, then the bowels went out of the body-they flowed out from the body as devoured by the disease. חליו עם, in, during the sickness, consequently before the decease (cf. for עם in this signification, Psa 72:5, Dan. 3:33). Trusen (Sitten, Gebr. und Krankh. der alten Hebrer, S. 212f.) holds this disease to have been a violent dysentery (diarrhoea), "being an inflammation of the nervous tissue (Nervenhaut) of the whole great intestine, which causes the overlying mucous membrane to decay and peel off, which then falls out often in tube-shape, so that the intestines appear to fall from the body." His people did not make a burning for him like the burning of his fathers, cf. Ch2 16:14; that is, denied him the honours usual at burial, because of their discontent with his evil reign.
Verse 20
The repetition of his age and the length of his reign (cf. Ch2 21:6) is accounted for by the fact that the last section of this chapter is derived from a special source, wherein these notes likewise were contained. The peculiarity of the language and the want of the current expressions of our historian also favour the idea that some special authority has been used here. "And he departed, mourned by none." Luther erroneously translates, "and walked in a way which was not right" (und wandelt das nicht fein war), after the "ambulavit non recte" of the Vulg.; for חמדּה denotes, not a good walk, but desiderium, חמדּה בּלא, sine desiderio, i.e., a nemine desideratus. הלך, to depart, i.e., die, as Gen 15:2. Moreover, though he was buried in the city of David, yet he was not laid in the graves of the kings, by which act also a judgment was pronounced upon his reign; cf. Ch2 24:25 and Ch2 26:23.
Introduction
Never surely did any kingdom change its king so much for the worse as Judah did, when Jehoram, one of the vilest, succeeded Jehoshaphat, one of the best. Thus were they punished for not making a better use of Jehoshaphat's good government, and their disaffectedness (or coldness at least) to his reformation, Ch2 20:33. Those that knew not now to value a good king are justly plagued with a bad one. Here is, I. Jehoram's elevation to the throne (Ch2 21:1-3). II. The wicked course he took to establish himself in it, by the murder of his brethren (Ch2 21:4). III. The idolatries and other wickedness he was guilty of (Ch2 21:5, Ch2 21:6, Ch2 21:11). IV. The prophecy of Elijah against him (Ch2 21:12-15). V. The judgments of God upon him, in the revolt of his subjects from him (Ch2 21:8-10) and the success of his enemies against him (Ch2 21:16, Ch2 21:17). VI. His miserable sickness and inglorious exit (Ch2 21:18-20). VII. The preservation of the house of David notwithstanding (Ch2 21:7).
Verse 1
We find here, I. That Jehoshaphat was a very careful indulgent father to Jehoram. He had many sons, who are here named (Ch2 21:2), and it is said (Ch2 21:13) that they were better than Jehoram, had a great deal more wisdom and virtue, and lived up to their education, which he went counter to. They were very hopeful, and any of them more fit for the crown than he; and yet, because he was the first-born (Ch2 21:3), his father secured the kingdom to him, and portioned his brethren and disposed of them so as that they would be easy and give him no disturbance; as Abraham, when he made Isaac his heir, dismissed his other children with gifts. Herein Jehoshaphat was very kind and fair to his son, which might have obliged him to be respectful to him, and tread in the steps of so good a father. But it is no new thing for the children that have been most indulged by their parents to be least dutiful to them. Whether in doing this he acted wisely and well for his people, and was just to them, I cannot say. His birthright entitled him to a double portion of his father's estate, Deu 21:17. But if he appeared utterly unfit for government (the end of which is the good of the people), and likely to undo all that his father had done, it would have been better perhaps to have set him aside, and taken the next that was hopeful, and not inclined as he was to idolatry. Power is a sacred thing, with which men may either do much good or much hurt; and therefore Detur digniori - Let him that deserves it have it. Salus populi suprema lex - The security of the people is the first consideration. II. That Jehoram was a most barbarous brother to his father's sons. As soon as he had settled himself in the throne he slew all his brethren with the sword, either by false accusation, under colour of law, or rather by assassination. By some wicked hand or other he got them all murdered, pretending (it is likely) that he could not think himself safe in the government till they were taken out of the way. Those that mean ill themselves are commonly, without cause, jealous of those about them. The wicked fear where no fear is, or pretend to do so, in order to conceal their malice. Jehoram, it is likely, hated his brethren and slew them for the same reason that Cain hated Abel and slew him, because their piety condemned his impiety and won them that esteem with the people which he had lost. With them he slew divers of the princes of Israel, who adhered to them, or were likely to avenge their death. The princes of Judah, those who had taught the good knowledge of the Lord (Ch2 17:7), are here called princes of Israel, as before fathers of Israel (Ch2 19:8), because they were Israelites indeed, men of integrity. The sword which the good father had put into their hands this wicked son sheathed in their bowels. Woe unto him that thus foundeth a kingdom in blood (Hab 2:12); it will prove a foundation that will sink the superstructure. III. That Jehoram was a most wicked king, who corrupted and debauched his kingdom, and ruined the reformation that his good father and grandfather had carried on: He walked in the way of the house of Ahab (Ch2 21:6), made high places, which the people were of themselves too forward to make, and did his utmost to set up idolatry again, Ch2 21:11. 1. As for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, where he kept his court, he easily drew them into his spiritual whoredom: He caused them to commit fornication, seducing them to eat things sacrificed to idols, Rev 2:20. 2. The country people seem to have been brought to it with more difficulty; but those that would not be corrupted by flatteries were driven by force to partake in his abominable idolatries: He compelled Judah thereto. He used that power for the destruction of the church which was given him for the edification of it. IV. That when he forsook God and his worship his subjects withdrew from their allegiance to him. 1. Some of the provinces abroad that were tributaries to him did so. The Edomites revolted (Ch2 21:8), and, though he chastised them (Ch2 21:9), yet he could not reduce them, Ch2 21:10. 2. One of the cities of his own kingdom did so. Libnah revolted (Ch2 21:10) and set up for a free state, as of old it had a king of its own, Jos 12:15. And the reason is here given, not only why God permitted it, but why they did it; they shook off his government because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers, had become an idolater and a worshipper of false gods, and they could not continue subject to him without some danger of being themselves also drawn away from God and their duty. While he adhered to God they adhered to him; but, when he cast God off, they cast him off. Whether this reason will justify them in their revolt of no, it will justify God's providence which ordered it so. V. That yet God was tender of his covenant with the house of David, and therefore would not destroy the royal family, though it was so wretchedly corrupted and degenerated, Ch2 21:7. These things we had before, Kg2 8:19-22. The tenour of the covenant was that David's seed should be visited for their transgressions, but the covenant should never be broken, Psa 89:30, etc.
Verse 12
Here we have, I. A warning from God sent to Jehoram by a writing from Elijah the prophet. By this it appears that Jehoram came to the throne, and showed himself what he was before Elijah's translation. It is true we find Elisha attending Jehoshaphat, and described as pouring water on the hands of Elijah, after the story of Elijah's translation (Kg2 3:11); but that might be, and that description might be given of him, while Elijah was yet on earth: and it is certain that that history is put out of its proper place, for we read of Jehoshaphat's death, and Jehoram's coming to the crown, before we read of Elijah's translation, Kg1 22:50. We will suppose that the time of his departure was at hand, so that he could not go in person to Jehoram; but that, hearing of his great wickedness in murdering his brethren, he left this writing it is probable with Elisha, to be sent him by the first opportunity, that it might either be a means to reclaim him or a witness against him that he was fairly told what would be in the end hereof. The message is sent him in the name of the Lord God of David his father (Ch2 21:12), upbraiding him with his relation to David as that which, though it was his honour, was an aggravation of his degeneracy. 1. His crimes are plainly charged upon him - his departure from the good ways of God, in which he had been educated, and which he had been directed and encouraged to walk in by the example of his good father and grandfather, who lived and died in peace and honour (Ch2 21:12) - his conformity to the ways of the house of Ahab, that impious scandalous family - his setting up and enforcing idolatry in his kingdom - and his murdering his brethren because they were better than himself, Ch2 21:13. These are the heads of the indictment against him. 2. Judgment is given against him for these crimes; he is plainly told that his sin should certainly be the ruin, (1.) Of his kingdom and family (Ch2 21:14): "With a heavy stroke, even that of war and captivity, will the Lord smite thy people and thy children," etc. Bad men bring God's judgments upon all about them. His people justly suffer because they had complied with his idolatry, and his wives because they had drawn him to it. (2.) Of his health and life: "Thou shalt have great sickness, very painful and tedious, and at last mortal," Ch2 21:15. This he is warned of before, that his blood might be upon his own head, the watchman having delivered his soul; and that when these things so particularly foretold, came to pass, it might appear that they did not come by chance, but as the punishment of his sins, and were so intended. And now if, as he had learned of Ahab to do wickedly, he had but learned even of Ahab to humble himself upon the receipt of this threatening message from Elijah - if, like (Kg1 21:27), he had rent his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted - who knows but, like him, he might have obtained at least a reprieve? But it does not appear that he took any notice of it; he threw it by as waste-paper; Elijah seemed to him as one that mocked. But those that will not believe shall feel. II. The threatened judgments brought upon him because he slighted the warning. No marvel that hardened sinners are not frightened from sin and to repentance by the threatenings of misery in another world, which is future and out of sight, when the certain prospect of misery in this world, the sinking of their estates and the ruin of their healths, will not restrain them from vicious courses. 1. See Jehoram here stripped of all his comforts. God stirred up the spirit of his neighbours against him, who had loved and feared Jehoshaphat, but hated and despised him, looking upon it as a scandalous thing for a nation to change their gods. Some occasion or other they took to quarrel with him, invaded his country, but, as it should seem, fought neither against small nor great, but the king's house only; they made directly to that, and carried away all the substance that was found in it. No mention is made of their carrying any away captive but the king's wives and his sons, Ch2 21:17. Thus God made it evident that the controversy was with him and his house. Here it is only said, They carried away his sons; but we find (Ch2 22:1) that they slew them all. Blood for blood. He had slain all his brethren, to strengthen himself; and now all his sons are slain but one, and so he is weakened. If he had not been of the house of David, that one would not have escaped. When Jeroboam's house, and Baasha's, and Ahab's, were destroyed, there was none left; but David's house must not be wholly extirpated, though sometimes wretchedly degenerated, because a blessing was in it, no less a blessing than that of the Messiah. 2. See him tormented with sore diseases and of long continuance, such as were threatened in the law against those that would not fear the Lord their God, Deu 28:58, Deu 28:59. His disease was very grievous. It lay in his bowels, producing a continual griping, and with this there was a complication of other sore diseases. The affliction was moreover very tedious. Two years he continued ill, and could get no relief; for the disease was incurable, though he was in the prime of life, not forty years old. Asa, whose heart was perfect with God though in some instances he stepped aside, was diseased only in his feet; but Jehoram, whose heart was wicked, was struck in his inwards, and he that had no bowels of compassion towards his brethren was so plagued in his bowels that they fell out. Even good men, and those who are very dear to God, may be afflicted with diseases of this kind; but to them they are fatherly chastisements, and by the support of divine consolations the soul may dwell at ease even then when the body lies in pain. These sore diseases seized him just after his house was plundered and his wives and children were carried away. (1.) Perhaps his grief and anguish of mind for that calamity might occasion his sickness, or at least contribute to the heightening of it. (2.) By this sickness he was disabled to do any thing for the recovery of them or the revenge of the injury done him. (3.) It added, no doubt, very much to his grief, in his sickness, that he was deprived of the society of his wives and children and that all the substance of his house was carried away. To be sick and poor, sick and solitary, but especially to be sick and in sin, sick and under the curse of God, sick and destitute of grace to bear the affliction, and of comfort to counter-balance it - is a most deplorable case. 3. See him buried in disgrace. He reigned but eight years, and then departed without being desired, Ch2 21:20. Nobody valued him while he lived, none lamented him when he died, but all wished that no greater loss might ever come to Jerusalem. To show what little affection or respect they had for him, they would not bury him in the sepulchres of the kings, as thinking him unworthy to be numbered among them who had governed so ill. The excluding of his body from the sepulchres of his fathers might be ordered by Providence as an intimation of the everlasting separation of the souls of the wicked after death, from the spirits of just men. This further disgrace they put upon him, that they made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers, Ch2 21:19. His memory was far from being sweet and precious to them, and therefore they did not honour it with any sweet odours or precious spices, though we may suppose that his dead body, after so long and loathsome a disease, needed something to perfume it. The generality of the people, though prone to idolatry, yet had no true kindness for their idolatrous kings. Wickedness and profaneness make men despicable even in the eyes of those who have but little religion themselves, while natural conscience itself often gives honour to those who are truly pious. Those that despise God shall be lightly esteemed, as Jehoram was.
Verse 2
21:2-7 Jehoram, whose wife was Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel (18:1; 21:6; 22:2), was the first king of David’s line to receive a totally negative evaluation. His murders (21:4) seriously threatened the continuation of the dynasty, which was only preserved because of the Lord’s own loyal faithfulness to David (21:7). On three other occasions, violence was perpetrated against the royal family that all but ended the dynasty (see 21:17; 22:8-9, 10-11).
Verse 5
21:5 After a three-year co-regency with his father, Jehoram reigned from 848 to 841 BC.
Verse 8
21:8-11 Jehoram’s disobedience caused him to lose the gains that Asa and Jehoshaphat had won. • the Edomites revolted: During Solomon’s reign, control of the territory of Edom gave Israel access to the rich trade from Arabia. The Edomites had also rebelled before Solomon’s death (1 Kgs 11:14-22), and were probably not under Rehoboam’s control. They apparently came under Judah’s control again following their defeat by Jehoshaphat (2 Chr 20:1-30; cp. 1 Kgs 22:47). • The town of Libnah was at the western end of the valley of Elah, on the border of the territory of the Philistines.
Verse 12
21:12-15 The letter from Elijah the prophet to Jehoram announced judgment for his disobedience.
Verse 16
21:16-17 Jehoram’s inability to resist the initial revolts of Edom and Libnah (21:8-10) encouraged other attacks on Judah, this time by the Philistines and the Arabs. Once again, the royal line was nearly destroyed.
Verse 18
21:18-20 Jehoram died after a long and painful bowel disease. He was not given the dignity of an honorary funeral rite (see 16:14) and was buried in disgrace away from the royal cemetery.