which had borne him away, had not swept him off and cast him down into some valley or on some mountain, and insisted on making search, so earnestly, that though Elisha at first forbade the faithless quest, he at last permitted it, because he was ashamed to withstand their importunity; and, besides, it was well to let them convince themselves of the truth of the great miracle.

Then began Elisha's forty years' ministry, and his long course of miracles. The first was the cure of the waters of Jericho. Joshua had laid a curse upon the place, and therefore the water was worthless, and the land would not bring forth her fruit; but Elisha, by permission of the Lord, and the outward means of salt, healed the waters and made them pure, as Moses had healed the bitter springs of Marah. "Elisha's well" was the name long given to a beautiful clear spring outside the walls of Jericho, now called by the Arabs Ain-el-Sultan.

Next, treading in the steps of Elijah, he repaired to the school of prophets at Bethel. Now Bethel, as the shrine of one of the calves, was specially bitter against the true prophets of the Lord, and a large company of children were gathered together to hoot and revile the new prophet, and even to mock the story of the great miracle that had just taken place. "Go up," they cried, "up into heaven, as your master is said to have done, thou bald head, not with the flowing hair of the desert preacher!" It was not only vile derision of a holy man, but it was a scoffing at God's own great miracle, and showed the most obstinate hatred of the light on the part of these children and their parents. Therefore it was the prophet's part to utter against them the sentence of God's wrath. It was not an angry retort for their personal abuse, not returning railing for railing, but as God's messenger denouncing wrath on those who scoffed at His wonders. And God maintained His own honour, by sending two she-bears out of the wood to destroy forty-two of the insolent children; and there seems to have been something miraculous in this, since the bear is not in general either so swift or so ferocious an animal as to kill so large a number at one time. It was one of the judgments by which Israel was to be taught that "the Lord, He is the God; the Lord, He is the God," who hath the creatures at His disposal, and who will not see His messenger insulted or His power blasphemed. It reminds us of our Lord's

words to His Apostles, "He that despiseth you despiseth Me, and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me."

And this carries us to Elisha's place in type. When Elijah is viewed as John the Baptist's forerunner, Elisha is the type of our Lord. Elisha, "God the Salvation," is almost the same name with Joshua, "Jehovah the Salvation "-JESUS and many of Elisha's miracles foreshowed those of our Lord, as we shall trace as we go further. But when we begin from the ascent of Elijah as typical of our Lord's, then Elisha stands for the whole body of the Church, receiving the double portion of the Holy Spirit when her Master went up into heaven, and going forth to do, according to His own promise, greater works than He did on earth. The healing by the salt thus foreshows how the Church, by the salt of the earth, as our Lord called His Apostles, should heal the curse upon the world, and purify all that receive that doctrine truly. And again, the fearful punishment of the scoffing children at Bethel brings to mind that our Blessed Lord Himself warned us that blasphemy against God the Holy Ghost-Him who is specially present with the Church— is the sin that never can be forgiven, because it springs from a soul so hardened as never to be able to repent.

LESSON XXVIII.

THE WAR WITH MO A B.

B.C. 896.-2 KINGS iii. 4—27:

And Mesha king of Moab was a sheep-master, and rendered unto the king of Israel an hundred thousand lambs, and an hundred thousand rams, with the wool.

But it came to pass, when Ahab was dead, that the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel.

And king Jehoram went out of Samaria the same time, and numbered all Israel.

And he went and sent to Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, saying, The king of Moab hath rebelled against me: wilt thou go with me against Moab to battle? And he said, I will go up: I am as thou art, my people as thy people, and my horses as thy horses.

And he said, Which way shall we go up? And he answered, The way through the wilderness of Edom.

So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom and they fetched a compass* of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them.

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And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab!

But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel's servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.

And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab.

And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.

But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches.

For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.

And this is but a light thing in the sight of the LORD: he will deliver the Moabites also into your hand.

And ye shall smite every fenced city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones.

And it came to pass in the morning, when the meat-offering was offered, that, behold, there came water by the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water.

And when all the Moabites heard that the kings were come up to fight against them, they gathered all that were able to put on armour, and upward, and stood in the border.

And they rose up early in the morning, and the sun shone upon the water, and the Moabites saw the water on the other side as red as blood.

And they said, This is blood: the kings are surely slain, and they have smitten one another: now therefore, Moab, to the spoil.

And when they came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up, and smote the Moabites, so that they fled before them: but they went forward smiting the Moabites, even in their country.

And they beat down the cities, and on every good piece of land cast every man his stone, and filled it; and they stopped all the wells of water, and fe led all the good trees: only in Kir-haraseth § left they the stones thereof; howbeit the slingers went about it, and smote it.

* Went a round,

↑ Musician.

+ Ministered to.

§ The city of bricks.

And when the king of Moab saw that the battle was too sore for him, he took with him seven hundred men that drew swords, to break through even unto the king of Edom: but they could not.

Then he took his eldest son that should have reigned in his stead, and offered him for a burnt-offering upon the wall. And there was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land.

COMMENT.-Here is another alliance between Jehoshaphat and a king of Israel, but for this the king of Judah is not blamed, perhaps because at this time Jehoram showed signs of improvement, having forsaken Baal, and evidently having far more regard to the Lord and His prophets than his father had displayed. He was a younger man, whom Jehoshaphat might hope to influence, and during this his time of trial he had everything to lead him to put his whole trust in the true God of Israel. During the reign of Ahab, the Moabite king Mesha had paid tribute out of the huge flocks that roamed the fertile hills and vales to the eastward of the Dead Sea; but on Ahab's death he rebelled, and Jehoram entreated the aid of Jehoshaphat to subdue him. The two kings marched through Edom, in order to obtain the aid of the king or viceroy of that country, which was in subjection to Judah, but in the long march through the bare rocky ravines water failed, the three armies were reduced to great distress, and Jehoram began to lament in despair. Jehoshaphat, who had learnt how sure might be his trust in the Lord, inquired for a prophet, and Elisha was brought to him as the attendant and disciple of Elijah. The three kings went to the prophet, but he began by sternly lifting up his witness against the still idolatrous Jehoram, who, however, behaved very differently from his father towards Micaiah, for he threatened not, only again lamented the danger. For the sake of Jehoshaphat alone did Elisha consent to call, as it were, for inspiration by the sound of music. It came, that Spirit of Prophecy, but the command required faith. The thirsty armies were to dig ditches all along the dry, stony valley; and they were promised that without wind or rain they should have water in plenty, and, far more, the enemy be delivered into their hands.

The command was fulfilled, and in the morning at nine o'clock, the hour of the daily sacrifice at the Temple, there was "water in the wilderness, and pools in the desert." The ditches were filled with

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the clear, welcome water, so longed for. It was water to the Israelites, and cheered their thirsty camp; but as the Moabites advanced to the attack, it shone in the sun as red as blood, and the valley seemed crimson with gore. The Moabites thought it had been as with the great confederation against Jehoshaphat, that the allies had quarrelled and slaughtered one another, and that they had only to spoil the tents and carry home the plunder as Judah had then done; so they rushed unguardedly upon the camp, and were utterly routed and pursued into their own country. There a complete devastation was made, the city of Kir-haraseth on a high hill above the Dead Sea alone remaining. Mesha of Moab fought desperately, and at last, when reduced to extremity by Jehoram's savage warfare-felling the fruit-trees, stopping the wells, and making an utter destruction—he tried to win the favour of his god Chemosh, by the sacrifice of his own eldest son. There was great indignation" is always used to mean God's displeasure; and as Moab was not accursed, but, as a son of Lot, was of kin to Israel, the war ought to have been less deadly and more merciful, and therefore it seems that the dreadful sacrifice lay as a burthen on Israel. Mesha had strong belief in Chemosh. He recorded his revolt from Israel and his recovery of freedom, by favour, as he thought, of Chemosh, the cities he had built, and the battles he had fought, in ancient Hebrew, on a great tablet at his city of Dibon. In 1868 this stone was found by some travellers in perfect preservation, but it was destroyed by the Arabs as soon as they found it was valuable to Europeans. Fragments have been recovered and put together, so as to be most valuable to all who rejoice in one of these ancient witnesses to Scripture history. Almost all the cities whose names have been read are frequently mentioned by the prophets, and the inscription itself shows both the language and the manner of writing used in Palestine when Jehoshaphat was reigning in Judah.

And let us not pass from this wonderful history without remembering that if the Water of Life be not accepted, it brings on us blood-guiltiness.