tree. The scene at the cave on Mt. Horeb. The three commands. The choosing of Elisha. 4. Rebuking the tyrant (XXI): Naboth's vineyard. The coveting king. Naboth's firm refusal. Ahab pouts and Jezebel plots. Naboth sacrificed to whim of Ahab. The prophet's rebuke and the king's remorse. the messengers from the murderous Ahaziah. Fate of Elijah Covert 5. A strenuous career ended (II Kings, II): seeks solitude. The bold persistence of Elisha. sneers of the prophets. But Elisha bears the test. The chariot of fire. The mantle of Elijah. ELISHA THE PROPHET OF COMMON LIFE Each age needs a prophet to fit its conditions. The passion, the intensity, fierceness and volcanic energy of Elijah were needed in the strenuous days of Ahab and Jezebel. But after the fire and the earthquake should come the still, small voice; after fierce denunciation, words of winning sympathy. Elisha was not a prophet of the desert but one who lived among the people and inspired affection wherever he went. The world needs once in a while a man strong enough to excite terror, and then one through whom goodness and sweetness may work their charm. Elisha was a prophet whose deeds were gracious and soothing, who showed deep sympathy with the small wants and misfortunes of daily life. The cycle of Elisha's deeds (I Kings, XIX: 19–21; II Kings, II-VIII: 15; XIII: 14-21): 1. The call to the prophetic office. 2. The mantle of Elijah. 3. The healing of the waters. 4. The mocking children. 5. The water trenches in Moab. 6. The widow's magic pot of oil saves her sons from bondage. 7. The hospitable Shunammite woman's son restored to life. 8. Death in the pot. 9. The miraculous feeding of the hundred men. 10. The healing of Naaman and the punishment of Gehazi. 11. The ax-head that swam. 12. Elisha reveals the secret councils of the Syrian king. The expedition to arrest him. 13. The siege of Samaria, Elisha's prophecy and its fulfillment. 14. The Shunammite woman's estate. 15. Hazael bears a message from Benhadad and is revealed to himself by Elisha. 16. Elisha's sickness, King Joash's visit, and the test of the king's determination. The death of Elisha. The man restored to life. CHAPTER II EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF THE BIBLE The purpose of the best education was well expressed by the Master Teacher when he explained the object of his coming into the world: "I came that ye might have life and that ye might have it more abundantly." This means, of course, the complete life, the life of action and of the spirit. This great book furnishes materials for the preparation of men and women for complete living. It has great educational value because: 1. It emphasizes the value of human life. 3. It is rich in the materials that nourish the life of 4. It provides for the cultivation of man's aesthetic nature. 5. It presents the highest ideals of life, individual and national. 1. It is sad to read of the low value set on human life in ancient pagan times. During the reign of a single Roman emperor, for example, ten thousand men were slain in the Coliseum to amuse the populace. Life was so miserable that suicide became popular. Read the list of the great men who killed themselves. If the general lost a battle, he fell on his own sword. The citizen carried a dagger with which he might make his quietus if the market went against him. Slaves were beaten, maimed, put to death at the pleasure of the master. But when the Bible came and taught that even a slave bore two worlds in his heart, life was reckoned more valuable. It was Christianity, the flower and fruit of this old Book, that set this proper value on the life of man. Under |