Notes

CHAPTER 1

1. We aren’t able to identify with certainty Shimei and Rei (v. 8), unless they were David’s brothers Shimea and Raddai who held offices in the kingdom (1 Chron. 2:13–14 NIV). There was also a Shimei, son of Ela, who served in Solomon’s court (1 Kings 4:18). The Shimei in 1 Kings 1:8 certainly wasn’t the same Shimei who cursed David during Absalom’s rebellion (2 Sam. 16:5–12; 19:18–23).

2. David ruled over a united kingdom, so the phrase “over Israel and over Judah” seems strange to us. But this record was written many years after these events occurred and after the kingdom had been divided.

3. First Chronicles 29:23–25 records another coronation service for Solomon. Whether this is the same one described in 1 Kings 1 or a later celebration that was larger and more carefully planned, we can’t be sure. It seems unlikely that the ailing David got up from his deathbed, made the speeches recorded in 1 Chronicles 28:1—29:20, witnessed Solomon’s second anointing, and then returned to his room to die. First Chronicles 29:22 (NIV) states that Solomon was “acknowledged as king” and anointed “a second time,” so the event in 1 Kings 1 has to be his first. It’s possible that the author of Chronicles dropped this information in at this point as a summary of the last events in the life of David (29:21–30). In times of crisis, it wasn’t unusual for the new king to have a hasty coronation and then a larger and more formal one later. There are some chronological problems here, but in view of the volatile situation, it isn’t impossible that God gave David strength to participate in the great public events described in 1 Chronicles 28—29. Solomon’s second anointing was necessary to establish once and for all that he was indeed the king. David was anointed three times (1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 2:4 and 5:3).

4. Since Adonijah was the leader of the rebellion, he was the most responsible. Solomon not only pardoned Adonijah, but he also pardoned the other sons of David who were at the feast (1:9). Solomon realized that they had been duped by Adonijah and attended the feast in innocence. Once there, they discovered the reason for the celebration, but it would have been dangerous to leave, knowing that all the army officers were there. Jonathan’s news report gave them the opportunity they needed to escape.

5. Chronologists don’t find it easy to calculate Solomon’s age at his accession to the throne, nor do we know how long David lived after Solomon became coregent. David was thirty years old when he began to reign in Hebron (2 Sam. 5:1–5), and he reigned seven years there and thirty-three years in Jerusalem, making him seventy years old when he died. If he was fifty when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, and if Solomon was the son born next after the death of their baby (2 Sam. 12:24–25), then Solomon could have been eighteen or nineteen years old when he became king. However, 1 Chronicles 3:5 suggests strongly that Solomon was their fourth son, which could make him as young as fifteen when he became king. David described Solomon as “young and tender [‘inexperienced,’ NIV]” (1 Chron. 22:5 KJV), but perhaps this was the language of an aged father as he looked at his successor. Raised in the security of the palace, Solomon wasn’t the well-rounded man that his father was, but does any leader think his son is ready to take over?

6. For examples of kings obeying God’s law, see 2 Kings 14:6; 18:4, 6.

CHAPTER 2

1. Frederick Buechner, Peculiar Treasures (New York: Harper and Row, 1979), 161.

2. Solomon’s wife’s dowry from Pharaoh was the Philistine city of Gezer (1 Kings 9:16). Egypt had conquered Philistia and still held authority over it. This was not Solomon’s first wife, because his firstborn son and successor, Rehoboam, had an Ammonite mother named Naamah (14:21). Solomon must have married before he became king because Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he took the throne, and Solomon reigned forty years.

3. The Jews were not to marry the women who belonged to the pagan nations in the land of Canaan (Ex. 34:16; Deut. 7:1ff.), a law that Solomon eventually violated. There seemed to be no regulation concerning a Jew taking an Egyptian wife. Jewish tradition says that his wife did adopt the Jewish faith.

4. They were called “high places” (bamah) because they were usually located in the hills, away from the cities, in the midst of nature and “closer” to heaven. The word bamah means “elevation.” Worship at these pagan shrines usually involved unspeakable orgies. Some Jews worshipped Baal at the high places during the period of the judges (Judg. 6:25; 13:16). During the days of Samuel and Saul, sacrifices weren’t always offered at the tabernacle altar (1 Sam. 7:10; 9:11–25; 13:9; 14:35; 16:5). David built an altar on Mount Moriah (1 Chron. 21:26), no doubt anticipating the day when the temple would stand there. Worship at the high places was a constant temptation and sin during the days of the Jewish monarchy, and no sooner did one king destroy these pagan shrines than his successor would rebuild them.

5. See my book on Proverbs, Be Skillful (David C. Cook, 2009).

6. Two different Hebrew words are translated “understanding” in this passage. In verse 9, the word shama means “to hear, listen, obey.” The Hebrew daily confession of faith is called “the Shema,” and begins “Hear, O Israel …” (Deut. 6:4–5). The word used in verses 11–12 is bin and means “to distinguish, to discern, to separate.” Together, the words mean “to hear with the intention to obey, and to exercise discernment so as to understand.”

7. The Bible records four times when God spoke to Solomon: at Gibeon (3:10–15), during the building of the temple (6:11–13), after the completion of his building projects (9:3–9), and when Solomon disobeyed the Lord and worshipped idols (11:9–13). Note that in the first three instances, the emphasis was on obedience.

8. Solomon didn’t need 40,000 horses when he had only 1,400 chariots (1 Kings 10:26; 2 Chron. 1:14), so the figure 4,000 in 2 Chronicles 9:25 is no doubt the correct one. If each chariot had two horses, that would leave 1,200 horses for the fortress cities Solomon had armed and also for other state services.

9. Bible Characters from the Old and New Testaments (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 1990), 284.

CHAPTER 3

1. After the Babylonian captivity, the Jewish remnant began to rebuild the temple at the same time of the year (Ezra 3:8).

2. Second Chronicles 2:14 identifies his mother with Dan, not Naphtali, but when you remember how Solomon established new districts and borders, this is no problem. The tribes of Dan and Naphtali were united in the eighth district of Naphtali, supervised by Ahimaaz (4:15).

3. Hiram also provided Solomon with wood for his palace complex. Apparently Solomon ran up a bill he couldn’t pay immediately because Hiram also loaned him some gold. As collateral, Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities on the border of Galilee and Phoenicia, but Hiram wasn’t pleased with them (1 Kings 9:10–14). Later, Solomon was able to pay his debt and reclaim the cities (2 Chron. 8:1ff.). Of course, all these payments of food and gold came out of the pockets of the Jewish people, so it’s no wonder they protested and asked for relief after Solomon died (1 Kings 12:1–15).

4. The height of the temple was forty-five feet, which meant there was an “attic space” fifteen feet high above the Holy of Holies. We aren’t told if or how this space was used.

5. Second Chronicles 3:15 gives the height of the pillars as thirty-five cubits, which some take to mean the combined height.

6. First Kings 7:26 says the basin held 2,000 baths, or about 11,000 gallons of water, while 2 Chronicles 4:5 says 3,000 baths or over 17,000 gallons. The larger amount may have been its full capacity while the smaller amount was what was normally kept in the molten sea. Water was a precious commodity in the East, and it would take a lot of labor to fill up the huge basin.

CHAPTER 4

1. The sequence of events as recorded in 1 Kings appears to be as follows. First, the temple structure was built in seven years (6:1–38). Then, the royal palaces were built in thirteen years (7:1–12), making a total of twenty years for all this construction (9:10). During that time, Hiram was constructing the furnishings of the temple and supervising the work within the building (7:13–51). When all this work was completed, Solomon dedicated the temple (8:1–66), following which God appeared to Solomon the second time (9:1–9). The Lord’s words to Solomon in 9:3 [2 Chron. 7:12] are not as meaningful if the dedication had taken place thirteen years before.

2. The text mentions the city of David (v. 1), God’s choice of David (v. 16), and especially God’s covenant with David (vv. 15–18, 20, 24–26). The Lord kept His promise and gave David a son who built the temple that David wanted to build (v. 20). When the people left the dedication service and the feast that followed, they rejoiced at the good things the Lord had “done for David” (v. 66).

3. David’s first attempt to bring the ark to Jerusalem failed miserably, but his second attempt was successful. Solomon followed his father’s example by offering many sacrifices as the priests carried the ark from the city of David to the temple. However, unlike his father, Solomon didn’t dance in the holy procession.

4. Amos 4 describes how God did send many of these judgments to the kingdom of Israel.

5. It’s generally accepted by students that Psalm 132 was composed for use when the ark was brought to the temple and the temple was dedicated. The petitioner asked God to bless the king (Solomon) for the sake of David (vv. 1, 10), that is, because of the covenant God made with David in 2 Samuel 7. David wanted to build the temple (vv. 2–9), but God chose his son to do it. The Lord also promised to keep David’s descendants on the throne (vv. 11–12, 17) and defeat Israel’s enemies (v. 18).

CHAPTER 5

1. The timber and the stones had to be brought from a distance and the stones carefully cut to fit into the structure without any further dressing. All of this took time. Doing the delicate gold work within the temple, plus making the many pieces of furniture and utensils, would also require time. This explains why it took twenty years to finish both structures.

2. Nothing is said about Solomon’s wife Naamah, the Ammonitess, who gave birth to Rehoboam, Solomon’s firstborn son and successor (14:21).

3. Control of the cities would give Hiram whatever resources were available, including taxing the citizens or conscripting them for service. It was not a nice way for Solomon to treat his own people.

4. “The Deserted Village” by Oliver Goldsmith, lines 51 and 52.

5. It’s futile to connect the number 666 with Revelation 13:18. When you add Hiram’s loan of 120 talents of gold (1 Kings 9:14) with the 420 talents brought in by the navy (9:28) and the 120 talents given by the queen of Sheba (10:10), you have a total of 660 talents of gold. It is said that the number six in Scripture is the number of man, always short of the number seven, the perfect number that belongs only to God. If this is true, then Solomon’s 666 talents represents man’s ultimate wealth, not the true eternal wealth that comes only from God. We brought nothing into this world, and we shall take nothing out (1 Tim. 6:7; Job 1:21; Ps. 49:17).

CHAPTER 6

1. Expositions of Holy Scripture, by Alexander Maclaren, on 1 Kings 11:4–13.

2. I like F. W. Robertson’s definition of “the world.” You find it in volume 4 of his collected sermons, 165. “The world is that collection of men in every age who live only according to the maxims of their time.” In amassing wealth and multiplying wives, and in his desire to live in splendor, Solomon was imitating the eastern potentates and not following the Word of God or the example of his father, David.

3. In spite of what songwriters say, crossing the Jordan and entering the land of Canaan is not a picture of going to heaven. We certainly won’t have to fight our way into heaven! It’s a picture of turning our back on the past and entering by faith into our present inheritance in Christ, the blessings He wants us to enjoy, and the work He wants us to do. All of this is explained in the book of Hebrews.

4. For instances of prophets courageously confronting kings, see 13:1–10; 14:1–18; 16:1–4; 20:22ff.; 22:1ff.; 2 Kings 1.

5. Samuel had ripped Saul’s garment and used the event to preach a message (1 Sam. 15:27), and David had cut a piece from Saul’s garment (1 Sam. 24:4–6). The image is an obvious one.

6. Students of Old Testament history have noted that early in the nation’s history, there was rivalry between the ten northern tribes and the two southern tribes, so it wasn’t easy to divide the nation. See Judges 5:14–16; 2 Samuel 19:41–43; 20:2; 1 Kings 1:35; 4:20, 25. This rivalry will be healed when Messiah reigns (Isa. 11:13).

7. William Sanford LaSor, Great Personalities of the Old Testament (Revell, 1959), 125.

CHAPTER 7

1. Some question that a man forty-one years old could be called “young and indecisive” (2 Chron. 13:7 NIV), but age and maturity are two different things. During the latter part of Solomon’s reign, Rehoboam took eighteen wives and sixty concubines, and his family consisted of twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters (2 Chron. 11:18–21).

2. With two exceptions, when information is given about a king of Judah, the name of his mother is included. It was important that David’s line be identified accurately. The exceptions are Jehoram (2 Kings 8:17) and Ahaz (2 Kings 16:2).

3. Some students think that Jeroboam was holding a meeting for the northern kingdom, and Rehoboam saw this as an opportunity to get a hearing and build some bridges into the northern kingdom. If so, Rehoboam certainly turned a good opportunity into a terrible calamity.

4. The phrase “all Israel” can mean both kingdoms (1 Kings 12:1) or only the northern ten tribes (11:13). The reader must consider the context and be discerning.

5. Did this man have several names or were there three different men with similar names, each of whom served a different king? Adoram was over the forced labor when David was king (2 Sam. 20:24) and Adoniram when Solomon reigned (1 Kings 4:6). The man Rehoboam sent was named both Adoram and Hadoram (2 Chron. 10:18). It’s difficult to believe that one man could serve so many years, but perhaps he did. Some students believe that three men are involved: Adoram served David, Adoniram served Solomon, and the first Adoram’s son or grandson (Adoram/Hadoram) served Rehoboam. But would Rehoboam send an untried and relatively unknown officer on such an important diplomatic mission? It’s more likely that Adoram is another form of Adoniram, the man who served Solomon, because it was Solomon’s yoke that the people were opposing, not David’s.

6. In David’s last census, Joab reported 500,000 able-bodied men in Judah available to bear arms (2 Sam. 24:9), while there were 800,000 men available in the northern tribes. Those numbers were over forty years old, but perhaps the population hadn’t changed that much.

7. In 1 Kings 12:22, Shemaiah is called “a man of God,” a title often used for prophets, especially in 1 and 2 Kings (1 Kings 13:1, 26; 17:18, 24; 20:28; 2 Kings 1:9, 11; 4:7, 9, 16, 22, 25, 27, 40, 42; 5:14). Moses bore this title (Deut. 33:1; Josh. 14:6) and Paul applied it to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:11, and to all dedicated believers in 2 Timothy 3:17.

8. The Jewish people should be recognized and applauded for being the only nation in history that has left an accurate portrait of their leaders and a factual report of their history. The Bible is a Jewish book, yet it doesn’t always show Israel in a good light. Of course, the Scriptures are inspired by God, but it still took a good deal of honesty and humility to write the record and admit that it is true.

9. In both Kings and Chronicles, the message of obedience and blessing comes through loud and clear. However, we must not conclude that everybody who obeys God will escape suffering and trial, for more than one good king had personal troubles, and some were assassinated. No king was perfect, but God’s covenant with Israel assured them that He would bless the nation if they obeyed His will.

10. Abijah was also known as Abijam (1 Kings 14:31; 15:1, 7–8). This change in spelling may reflect a desire to eliminate from the name of an ungodly man (1 Kings 15:3) the syllable “Jah,” which refers to Jehovah.

11. This theme is expanded and illustrated in the book of Hosea. The prophet Hosea’s wife became a prostitute, and he had to buy her back out of the slave market.

12. This is not the Pharaoh who made a treaty with Solomon and gave him a daughter to be his wife. The new Pharaoh was not friendly toward Judah.

CHAPTER 8

1. Don’t confuse Jeroboam I with Jeroboam II, Israel’s fourteenth king, who reigned from 782–753 BC. His history is found in 2 Kings 14:23–29.

2. It’s unlikely that Aaron was trying to introduce a new god to Israel but rather was presenting Jehovah in the form of the golden calf (Ex. 32). The calf was supposed to be a “help” to the Jews in their worship of the Lord. Aaron certainly knew that Jehovah was the only true God, but he also knew that the weak people couldn’t live by faith in an invisible Jehovah, especially when their leader Moses had been absent for forty days. This fact doesn’t exonerate Aaron, but it does help us better understand the mind-set of the people. It was easier to worship the invisible Lord by means of the visible calf, and it wasn’t long before the idolatry gave birth to indecency and immorality (Ex. 32:6, 19; 1 Cor. 10:1–8). No matter what excuse Aaron gave, he had sinned in giving the people what they wanted and not what they needed. Jeroboam also gave the people what they wanted, and false teachers are doing the same thing today (2 Peter 2; Jude 1ff.).

3. According to Exodus 29, Aaron and his sons needed for their consecration one bull for a sin offering, a ram for a burnt offering, and another ram for a fellowship offering. It took seven days for the consecration service to be completed. Obviously, Jeroboam wasn’t following God’s directions.

4. People talk about “the ten lost tribes of Israel,” but this is not a biblical concept. God knows where children of Abraham are, and He will call them together when it’s time. Some nations have claimed to be the descendants of the so-called ten lost tribes, but these claims are unfounded. Jesus spoke of the “twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30), and Paul spoke of “our twelve tribes” as living entities in his day (Acts 26:7), and James wrote his epistle to “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1). In his vision of future events, John the apostle saw twelve tribes sealed by God (Rev. 7:4) and twelve gates named for the twelve tribes (21:12).

5. Nowhere in Scripture do we read of any servant of the Lord “retiring” and doing nothing for the Lord as he waited to die. Instead of relocating to Judah, or staying in Israel to oppose the false religion, the old man accepted the status quo and became comfortable. Moses and the other prophets served to the very end, and there’s no evidence that the apostles abandoned their calling when they became old. Dr. William Culbertson, for many years dean and then president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, often ended his public prayers with, “And, Lord, help us to end well.”

6. Saul disguised himself and both Samuel and the witch saw through it (1 Sam. 28). Wicked King Ahab disguised himself in battle, hoping King Jehoshaphat would be killed, but a random arrow hit him just the same (1 Kings 22:30ff.). Godly King Josiah foolishly interfered with Pharaoh Neco, disguised himself, and was killed in battle (2 Chron. 35:20–25). God can see through disguises.

7. The prophet Nathan took a similar approach in confronting King David (2 Sam. 12:7–8a).

8. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, in The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson, edited by Adrienne Koch and William Peden (New York: Modern Library, 1944), 258.

CHAPTER 9

1. This interpretation of Rehoboam’s foolish decision is that of his son and not that of the Lord. It did not come from an inspired prophet. We would expect a son to defend his father.

2. Joshua’s victory at Jericho seems to be the backdrop for this event. The Lord is called “captain” (Josh. 5:13–15), the priests blew the trumpets, and the people shouted (Josh. 6:1–21). The victory was completely from the Lord.

3. The calling of assemblies is a significant thing in the history of the Jews, both before and after the division of the kingdom. (See 1 Chron. 13:2–5; 28:8; 29:1; 2 Chron. 5:6; 20:3ff; 30:1ff.)

4. The fact that submitting to the covenant was a matter of life or death (2 Chron. 15:13) doesn’t imply that Judah had become brutal or that the sword brought about the revival. Those who refused to seek God and renew the covenant were declaring that they were practicing idolatry, and according to Deuteronomy 13:6–9, idolaters were not to be spared. The people who refused to submit knew what the covenant said, so in declaring their allegiance to a foreign god, they were taking their own lives in their hands.

5. There’s a chronological problem here since Baasha ascended the throne during Asa’s third year and reigned for twenty-four years (1 Kings 15:33). This means he died in Asa’s twenty-seventh or twenty-eighth year and therefore could not have attacked Judah in Asa’s thirty-sixth year. Dr. Gleason Archer suggests that the word translated “reign” in 2 Chronicles 16:1 (KJV, NIV) should be understood as “kingdom,” that is, “in the thirty-sixth year of the kingdom of Judah.” Therefore, the writer was dating this event from the division of the kingdom in 931–930 BC, and not from Asa’s accession to the throne in 910. The Hebrew word translated “reign” is translated “kingdom” or “realm” in 2 Chronicles 1:1, 11:17 and 20:30. Some students see these numbers as a copyist’s error, for in the Hebrew, the difference between the letters used for 36 and 16 is very slight. See Archer’s Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Zondervan), 225–226.

6. The inability of the physicians to help Asa must not be interpreted as a divine rejection of the medical profession. God can heal either with or without means (Isa. 38:21), and Paul had Luke “the beloved physician” on his missionary staff (Col. 4:14). Even Jesus said that sick people need a physician (Luke 5:27–32). To use 2 Chronicles 16:12 as an argument for “faith healing” and against going to the doctor is to misinterpret and apply a very plain statement. Asa’s sickness was a judgment from the Lord, and his going to the physicians was a rebellion against the Lord. He refused to repent, so God refused to let him be healed.

7. Asa’s body was placed in his prepared tomb. The burning had nothing to do with cremation, a practice that the Jews considered reprehensible.

8. The phrase “because he killed him” in verse 7 indicates that though Baasha fulfilled God’s will when he killed Nadab and then wiped out the house of Jeroboam, he was still responsible for his motives and his actions. Baasha didn’t enter into his grisly work as a holy servant of God but as an evil assassin who wanted the throne.

CHAPTER 10

1. “Tishbite” probably refers to the town of Tishbe in Gilead, located west of Mahanaim.

2. The six-month period from April to October is the factor that explains the seeming discrepancy between 1 Kings 18:1 (three years) and Luke 4:25 and James 5:17 (three years and six months). When the expected early rains didn’t appear in October, Elijah explained the cause. The drought was already six months old by the time Elijah visited Ahab.

3. On the schools of the prophets, see 1 Samuel 10:5 and 2 Kings 2:3–7 and 6:1–2.

4. The Hebrew word in verse 27 that is translated “pursuing” in the KJV and “busy” in the NIV can also mean “relieving himself.” Idolaters make their gods in their own image.

5. Satan is a counterfeiter of the miracles of God (2 Thess. 2:9–10) and could have sent fire from heaven (Job 1:9–12; Rev. 13:13), but the Lord restrained him.

6. Some have suggested that Ahab ate some of the sacrificial meat, but that doesn’t seem possible. Elijah’s sacrifice was completely consumed, and the sacrifice to Baal was never exposed to any fire.

CHAPTER 11

1. The Hebrew text reads “and when he saw,” as do the KJV and the NIV margin. The Septuagint reads “he was afraid,” and the NIV and the NASB both adopted this text. What did he see that made him afraid? The dangerous situation? The dangerous messenger? We aren’t told and it’s useless to speculate.

2. “Sitting under the juniper tree” is a common English phrase that describes a person who is angry at God, sick of life, embarrassed by failure, and ready to call it quits.

3. The scene reminds us of Jonah at Nineveh as he argued with the Lord (Jonah 4). Moses also wanted to die because of the impossible workload he tried to carry (Num. 11:14–15).

4. The Hebrew text of verse 9 reads “the cave” as if a well-known cave was meant. Some students believe that Elijah occupied the same part of Sinai that Moses did when he saw the glory of God (Ex. 33:12–23).

5. See Psalm 12:1, Micah 7:2, and Isaiah 57:1.

6. Robust in Faith (Moody Press), 135.

7. Elijah called Elisha (19:19–21), and Elisha anointed Hazael (2 Kings 8:7–15). By the authority of his master, Elisha’s servant anointed Jehu (2 Kings 9:1–10). From God’s point of view, it was Elijah who did all of this.

8. Once again, we see the Lord calling people who were busy. This was true of Moses, Gideon, David, Nehemiah, Amos, and the apostles.

CHAPTER 12

1. As we have noted before, deciphering the transcription of numbers in the Hebrew language has sometimes caused problems for students, since letters are used for numbers and some letters look very similar. Could that many people be killed just by walls falling on them? But the collapsing of the walls would leave the city defenseless and make it possible for Ahab’s troops to kill anybody seeking refuge in the city. The seven days of waiting, the falling of the walls, and the deception afterward all makes us think of the fall of Jericho (Josh. 6). However, Ahab was certainly no Joshua!

2. God sometimes told the prophets to use “action sermons” to get His message across to people who were spiritually blind and deaf. For example, Isaiah dressed like a prisoner of war for three years (Isa. 20); Jeremiah wore a wooden yoke and then an iron one (Jer. 27—28); and Ezekiel “played war,” ate prisoners’ rations, and cooked over a dung fire (Ezek. 4).

3. Disguises seem to play a significant role in 1 Kings. See 14:2 and 22:30.

4. The Knowledge of the Holy (Harper, 1961), 11. See Psalm 50:21.

5. When in his refusal Naboth said “The Lord forbid” (v. 3), he wasn’t taking an oath or blaspheming God’s name. But deceivers like Ahab and Jezebel know how to turn nothing into something. Exaggeration is a subtle form of lying.

6. The prophets of Baal had been slain (18:40) but could have been replaced. However, knowing Jehoshaphat’s devotion to the Lord, Ahab wasn’t likely to parade four hundred prophets of Baal before him. These men were probably attached to the shrines at Dan and Bethel where Jeroboam had put the golden calves. (See Amos 7:10–13.) It was still idolatry, but of a more refined type. These false prophets used the name of the Lord and claimed to speak by His authority (22:11–12). This is the same kind of false prophet that Jeremiah had to put up with years later.

CHAPTER 13

1. Kirk Douglas in Look, Oct. 4, 1955.

2. The Knowledge of the Holy (Harper, 1961), 118.