2 Chronicles 16:7-10 - Homilies By T. Whitelaw

The king and the prophet.

I. THE PROPHET 'S MESSAGE TO THE KING . ( 2 Chronicles 16:7-9 .)

1 . The prophet ' s name. Hanani, "Favourable" (Gesenius); otherwise unknown, though conjectured to be the father of "Jehu the son of Hanani," who announced to Baasha the ruin of his house ( 1 Kings 16:1 ), and afterwards appeared at the court of Jehoshaphat ( 2 Chronicles 19:2 ), having probably been obliged to flee from the northern kingdom on account of his ill-omened communication.

2 . The prophet ' s sermon .

II. THE KING 'S ANSWER TO THE PROPHET . (Verse 10.)

1 . He was angry with the prophet. Good men as well as bad may fall into danger, but in both it is sin. If Asa's "heart was perfect all his days," it is clear his life was not. He was "wroth with the seer." Anger is a work of the flesh ( Galatians 5:20 ), the passion of a foolish heart ( Ecclesiastes 7:9 ), and the foam of an unbridled tongue ( Proverbs 25:28 ; Hosea 7:16 ). Outrageous in any ( Proverbs 27:4 ), it is unbecoming in all, but especially in kings, and not allowable in Christians ( Colossians 3:8 ). Asa was angry with Hanani because Hanani told him of his fault. Even good men require large grace before they can say, "Let the righteous smite me," etc. ( Psalms 141:5 ). Yet the rebukes of the righteous should be received submissively (Le 19:17) and with grateful affection ( Proverbs 9:8 ). He who so welcomes them shall be honoured ( Proverbs 13:18 ); get understanding ( Proverbs 15:32 ); exhibit prudence ( Proverbs 15:5 ); and abide among the wise ( Proverbs 15:31 ).

2 . He put the prophet in a prison-house; literally, "in a house of stocks," the " stock " being "an instrument of torture, by which the body was forced into an unnatural, twisted position, the victim, perhaps, being bent double, with the hands and feet fastened together" (Keil). Into some such place of confinement Jeremiah was thrust Jeremiah 20:2 ; cf. Jeremiah 29:26 ), and Paul and Silas ( Acts 16:24 ). "The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion" ( Proverbs 19:12 ). If, in Hanani's case, it did not turn out "messengers of death" ( Proverbs 16:14 ), it was because Asa was at bottom a good man, whose hand as well as heart were in the keeping of the Lord ( Psalms 76:10 ).

3 . He oppressed those who took the prophet ' s side. These were, doubtless, the pious section of the people who had not approved of the Syrian alliance. It is seldom that a wicked policy can be entered on by kings or parliaments (at least in a Christian land) without some voice or voices being raised against it. Unhappily, these have often to share obloquy and oppression, as Hanani's supporters did. Yet nothing is more calamitous for a country than to see the best people in it persecuted by its rulers for protesting against their crooked ways. When a policy cannot be defended or carried through without imprisoning those who are opposed to it, that policy is wrong!

LESSONS .

1. The certainty that God sees everything that is done beneath the sun.

2. The goodness of God in reproving wrong-doers.

3. The folly of leaning upon an arm of flesh instead of upon God.

4. The source of all ca]amity among men, viz. sin.

5. The sign of an evil conscience—anger against an accuser.

6. The uselessness of force as a remedy for evils of any kind.

7. The courage required of them who would champion the cause of truth and right.—W.