1 Kings 14:6

1Ki 14:6 And it was [so], when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself [to be] another? for I [am] sent to thee [with] heavy [tidings].

Ver. 6. Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam.] How God laughs in heaven at the frivolous fetches of crafty politicians and double-minded dissemblers! Surely when they think themselves most sure, he shameth them with a defeat. What an idleness is it for foolish hypocrites to hope that they can dance: in a net unseen of Heaven!

For I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.] Heb., Hard. Jeroboam was hard-hearted and refractory: a hard and heavy message is therefore sent unto him, that a hard knot may have a hard wedge. Neither is the voice of God’s word ever any better to the guilty, if impenitent. It is as the knuckles of a man’s hand were to Belshazzar, to write them their destiny, or as Daniel was to him, to read it unto them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki_14:6

Why feignest thou thyself to be another?

A cheat exposed

I. Wickedness involves others, trying to make them its dupes, its allies, and its scapegoats. Jeroboam proposed to hoodwink the Lords prophet. Iniquity is a brag, but it is a great coward. It lays the plan, gets some one else to execute it--puts down the gunpowder train, gets some one else to touch it off--contrives mischief, gets some one else to work it--starts the lie, gets some one else to circulate it. Jeroboam plots the lie, contrives the imposition, and gets his wife to execute it. Stand off from all imposition and chicanery. Do not consent to be anybodys dupe, anybodys ally in wickedness, anybodys scapegoat.

II. Royalty sometimes passes in disguise. The frock, the veil, the hood of the peasant woman hid the queenly character of this woman of Tirzah. Nobody suspected that she was a queen or a princess as she passed by; but she was just as much a queen as though she stood in the palace, her robes encrusted with diamonds. Glory veiled. Affluence hidden. A queen in mask. A princess in disguise. When you think of a queen you do not think of Catharine of Russia, or Maria Theresa of Germany, or Mary Queen of Scots. When you think of a queen you think of a plain woman who sat opposite your father at the table, or winked with him down the path of life arm in arm--sometimes to the thanksgiving banquet, sometimes to the grave, but always side by side, soothing your little sorrows and adjusting your little quarrels. Mother, mother! Ah! she was the queen. Your father knew it. You knew it. She was the queen, but the queen in disguise. The world did not recognise it.

III. How people put on masks, and how the Lord tears them off. It was a terrible moment in the history of this woman of Tirzah when the prophet accosted her, practically saying, I know who you are; you cannot cheat me; you cannot impose upon me; why feignest thou thyself to be another? She had a right to ask for the restoration of her son: she had no right to practise that falsehood. It is never right to do wrong.

IV. How precise, and accurate, and particular, are Gods providences. Just at the moment that woman entered the city the child died. Just as it was prophesied, so it turned out, so it always turns out. The sickness comes, the death occurs; the nation is born, the despotism is overthrown at the appointed time. God drives the universe with a stiff rein. Events do not just happen so. Things do not go slipshod. In all the book of Gods providences there is not one if. Gods providences are never caught in deshabille. To God there are no surprises, no disappointments, and no accidents. The most insignificant event flung out in the ages is the connecting link between two great chains--the chain of eternity past and the chain of eternity to come. (T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)

A hearer in disguise

I. We have before us the occasional hearer. Jeroboam and his wife did not often go to hear Ahijah. They were not people who went to worship Jehovah; they neither feared God nor regarded His prophet.

1. This occasional hearer was totally destitute of all true piety. Most occasional hearers are. Those who have true religion are not occasional hearers.

2. The second remark about these occasional hearers is, that when they do come, they very generally come because they are in trouble. When Jeroboams wife came and spoke to the prophet, it was because the dear child was ill at home.

3. This woman would not have come but that her husband sent her on the ground that he had heard Ahijah preach before. It was this prophet who took Jeroboams mantle and rent it in pieces, and told him he was to be king over the ten tribes. That message proved true; therefore Jeroboam had confidence in Ahijah.

4. They had one godly member of their family, and that brought them to see the prophet. Their child was sick and ill, and it was that which led them to inquire at the hands of the Lord.

5. But there is one sad reflection which should alarm the occasional hearer. Though Jeroboams wife did come to the prophet that once, and heard tidings, yet she and her husband perished after all.

II. The useless disguise. Jeroboams wife thought to herself, If I go to see Ahijah, as he knows me to be the wife of Jeroboam, he is sure to speak angrily, and give me very bad news. Strange to tell, though the poor old gentleman was blind, she thought it necessary to put on a disguise. There was a Judas among the twelve; there was a Demas among the early disciples; and we must always expect to find chaff on Gods floor mingled with the wheat. After the most searching ministry, there are still some who will wrap themselves about with a mantle of deception.

III. The heavy tidings. Sinner, unrepenting sinner, I have heavy tidings for thee. The wrath of God abideth on thee. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ki 14:6. Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam — He called her aloud by her name before she entered the house, doubtless to her great surprise, and thus not only showed that he knew her, notwithstanding the disguise in which she had come, but discovered to all about him who she was. By which discovery he both reproved their folly, who thought to conceal themselves from God, and withal gave her assurance of the truth and certainty of that message which he was to deliver, that she might give the greater credit to his words.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For God ofttimes discloseth unto his the craft and subtlety of the wicked.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

6. For I am sent to thee with heavy tidings] The LXX. (Alex.) rendering, which gives a word for word version of the Hebrew, will explain the italics of the A. V. καὶ ἐγὼ εἰμὶ ἀπόστολος πρός σε σκληρός.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Go tell Jeroboam,.... Thy husband:

thus saith the Lord God of Israel; so he continued to be, though they had revolted from him:

forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people; the common people, from a low estate in which he was:

and made thee prince over my people Israel; so they were when he made them king over them; and there were some among them still that loved the Lord, served and feared him, of which the prophet himself, now speaking, was an instance.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

For I am sent to thee - Rather, “I also am sent to thee.” As thou hast a message to me from thy husband, so have I a message to thee from the Lord.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Tidings. Hebrew, "I am a hard messenger to thee." (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

By this discovery he both reproves their folly, who thought to conceal themselves or their designs from that God from whom they expected and desired the discovery of the most secret things; and withal gives her assurance of the truth and certainty of that message which he was to deliver.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound Heb. voice of her feet as she came in ha; B; should strictly be plural, in agreement with h; yl,gr" feet. It is in the singular, probably because the writer is thinking of the woman. (But see Ewald, 317 a, and cf. 1Sa_4:15) at Heb. in the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? Heb. makest thyself strange, as in ver. 5 for the Heb. "and" brings out the meaning much better, which is, "Thou art cleverly playing a part, and I all the while have a message," etc. I am sent to thee with heavy same word as in 1Ki_12:13; there translated rough tidings. Heb. omits. For the construction see Ewald, 284 c.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou wife - By which discovery he both reproves their folly, who thought to conceal themselves from God, and withal gives her assurance of the truth, and certainty of that message which he was to deliver. 8. David - Who though he fell into some sins, yet, first, he constantly persevered in the true worship of God; from which thou art revolted. Secondly, he heartily repented of, and turned from all his sins whereas thou art obstinate and incorrigible.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Why do you pretend to be someone you are not?

This question shows that Ahijah knew she was disguised. AT: "Stop pretending to be someone else; I know who you are." (See: Rhetorical Question)

I have been sent to you with bad news

This can be stated in active form. AT: "Yahweh told me to give you bad news" (See: Active or Passive)

I raised you

"I exalted you"

I tore the kingdom away

God forcefully removed most of the kingdom like a person tears a piece of cloth. (See: Metaphor)

followed me

"obeyed me"

with all his heart

Here the "heart" refers to a person's will and desire. AT: "with all his will" or "with complete commitment" (See: Metonymy)

what was right in my eyes

The eyes represent seeing, and seeing represents thoughts or judgment. AT: "what I judged to be right" or "what I considered to be right" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

send

God

Israel

raise

kingdom

family

David

servant

command

heart

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Sent to tell you. From the Holy One Blessed Is He, with a harsh message.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.