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The text is in the form of a prediction. The object and effect of Elijah s coming mission shall be what is set forth in the text, namely, to reform mankind and bring the world back to those elementary principles or institutes ordered of old for human improvement and salvation. The special mission of John the Baptist was that of a reformer. He come to preach repentance. Degeneracy and corruption were so deep-seated and universal that it was necessary to begin at the beginning; not with the church or the state or society, but with the family, the fountain of moral influence; and build up again the family constitution which irreligion and vice had overthrown. We have here, then, the Divine plan of reforming and saving mankind. This prophetic utterance has application to all ages and nations. Christianity is God's ordained instrument to plant and extend His kingdom on earth; and, contrary to the teachings of the schools and the expectations of the wise, it shall not do this by the power of the state, by the force of law, by ecclesiastical organisms, by the influence of fraternities, or by means of patronage, learning, and wealth, but by simply recognising and working the original elemental principles of society; by simply "turning the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers." The Gospel seeks to accomplish the mission of life by the power of family religion — by invigorating and purifying the family constitution, by drawing close and sanctifying the bonds of domestic affection and life, and if it fails to do this it fails of its end. Affection is the great family bond and the chief element of power in domestic life. And Christianity appeals powerfully to the affections of our nature. There is a mighty force in it to excite and purify, to strengthen and exalt our nature. A family not under a religious training and influence is a fountain of social corruption. Here are the sources of infidelity and vice and disorder, of social, political, and religious declension and overthrow. Is there a widespread corruption of morals pervading society? Depend upon it, the main and primary cause of it all may be traced up to the family. This fundamental, elementary justification is not honoured, but abused and perverted. There are three fundamental agencies by which Divine wisdom seeks to reform and save the world — the family, the state, and the Church. They sustain most intimate relations to each other. They underlie all goodness, all prosperity, all order. The family is more radical than the others, and they cannot exist without it. It is a wonderful arrangement, this division of the whole human family into little separate communities, each community a little government, a miniature world by itself — marriage the foundation, love the bond, and Divine authority the governing power. Such an arrangement, simple as it is, touches all the elementary and radical principles of human nature. The family power is the fountain of all moral power in the world. Without such an agency we cannot see how religion could ever have gained a footing in it. During all the patriarch ages the family alone preserved the knowledge and worship of God. We cannot estimate the full value of such an agency. We cannot tell all its vital bearings on the kingdom of Christ, on the world at large. Where the family power is neglected or perverted religion has nothing to build upon. The only way to build up Christ's kingdom is to make the family what it should be. The household must be sanctified. There is no agency that can be substituted for the family. It is a shallow and miserable philosophy which would set it aside, or endeavour to improve upon it. It belongs to all time, to universal humanity.

(J. M. Sherwood.)¥REM: —————————————— FOOTNOTES ————————————————————————————-¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 1, Deuteronomy

1  The only material difference between the injunction and the execution lies apparently in the stones. Moses enjoins for the inscription of the Law the erection and plastering of "great stones" different from those of the altar. Joshua seems to inscribe the Law on the stones of the altar.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 2, Joel

2  Note, for example, the similarity between the thought and language of Isaiah 13. and those of Joel.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 3, Amos

3  It is true that the word Noqed, by which Amos designates himself, is applied in 2 Kings 3:4. to Mesha, King of Moab, - the king so interesting to us as being the subject of the inscription on the Moabite stone - applied to him as the rich proprietor of a choice breed of sheep. But Amos tells us that he followed the flock as a simple shepherd (Amos 7:14, 15). The sheep were not his possession, they were only his care.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 4, Obadiah

4  It is suggested in The Speaker's Commentary that the word "this" in verse Obadiah 20 indicates the body of exiles to which Obadiah himself belonged, and of which he formed one.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 5, Obadiah

5  The passage in Jeremiah 49:7-22, which is full of resemblances to Obadiah. I take for granted that Jeremiah was the borrower, and not Obadiah, because his verses are so much more elaborate and beaten out than those of the shorter prophecy.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 6, Jonah

6  "It is strange that any argument should be drawn from the fact that the prophet writes of himself in the third person, Manly criticism has been ashamed to use the argument as to the Commentaries of Caesar or the Anabasis of Xenophon ... It is the exception when any sacred writer speaks of himself in the first person." - Pusey, The Minor Prophets.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 7, Jonah

7  Zarepath, "a city of Zidon," our Lord says.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 8, Micah

8  That is, between 759 and 679 B.C. But only a small part of Micah's prophetic activity may have fallen in the reign of Jotham; and he must have been called away from the earth early in the reign of Hezekiah, for in chap. Micah 1 he speaks of Sargon's capture of Samaria as still future, and that occurred before Hezekiah had been many years on the throne. A period of thirty years may cover all his labours as a prophet.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 9, Nahum

9  Nahum's date has been placed earlier by some, who regard him as a contemporary of Isaiah and belonging to the second half of the reign of Hezekiah. But on this supposition it is hard to explain the allusion to the capture and destruction of No-Amon.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 10, Nahum

10   Assur-bani-pal is probably the "great and noble" Asnapper of Ezra 4:10. We are better acquainted with him under his Greek name, Sardanapalus.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 11, Nahum

11  The last king of Nineveh was Esar-haddon II., called Sarakos by the Greeks. The fall of the city may be placed in the year 606 B.C.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 12, Nahum

12  "Rich, in 1818, conjectured that the mounds of Kouyunjik, opposite the modern town of Mosul, concealed the ruins of Nineveh beneath them; but it was not until the excavations of the Frenchman Botts, in 1842, and the Englishman Layard, in 1845, that the remains first of Dur-Sargon, and then of Nineveh itself, were revealed to the eyes of a wondering world." - Professor Sayce, Assyria: its Princes, Priests, and People.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 13, Haggai

13  The following is part of the inscription on the cylinder of Cyrus, lately discovered in Babylonia by Mr. Rassam: "The gods of Sumer and Acead, whom Nabonidos, to the anger of the lord of gods (Merodach), had brought into Babylon, I settled in peace in their sanctuaries by the command of Merodach, the great lord. In the goodness of their hearts may all the gods whom I have brought into their strong places daily intercede before Bel and Nebo, that they should grant me length of days; may they bless my projects with prosperity, and may they say to Merodach, my lord, that Cyrus the king and Cambyses his son deserve his favour."¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 14, Haggai

14  The whole company that returned with Zerubbabel consisted of 42,360 free men, or some 200,000 free persons - men, women and children, together with 7337 male and female slaves, of whom 200 were "singing men and women."¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 15, Haggai

15  That is, Darius, the son of Hystaspes.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 16, Haggai

16  Other conjectures with regard to Haggai are: that he was one of the men who were with Daniel when he saw his vision "by the side of the great river which is Hiddekel"; and that he was the author, along with Zechariah, of certain of the Psalms, notably Psalm 145-148.; which in the Septuagint and the Vulgate bear these prophets' names. "Haggai" means "festive."¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 17, Zechariah

17  With Assyria, for example, and with Egypt.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 18, Zechariah

18  "The manifest acquaintance on the part of the writer of Zechariah 9-14, with so many of the later prophets seemed so convincing to De Wette that, after having in the first three editions of his Introduction declared for two authors, he found himself compelled to change his mind, and to admit that the later chapters must belong to the age of Zechariah." - Dr. Smith, Dictionary of the Bible.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 19, Zechariah

19  Although Assyria was now merely a part of the Persian Empire, it was yet that part of it which had the most important connection with Judah. And as regards Egypt, not only had captive Jews been deported into Egypt, but the relation of Egypt as an unwilling vassal to Persia made the position of Judah precarious in the extreme during the lifetime of Zechariah." - Dr. Marcus Dods, The Post-Exilian Prophet..¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 20, Malachi

20  Stanley, The Jewish Church.¥DEFINE_FOOTNOTE: 21, Malachi

21  Calvin is disposed to identify Malachi with Ezra.¥END:——————————————————————————————————————————————-#REM: Copyright © Biblesoft, 2002-2010; All Rights Reserved.#REM:———————————— File History ——————————————————————————————————————————#REM: Summer 2002 - Initial creation of file from data provided by AGES to include in PCSB v3.3a by Steve Heil.#REM: March 2003 ? Changed copyright/title page for version 4.0 ? Steve H#REM: March 2003 ? Converted footnotes to use Footnote functionality & converted to use ταγσ – Στε´ε Η#REM: June 2005 ? Activated Commentary material for version 4.3. ? Steve H#REM: Summer 2006 ? Tagged Apocrypha references; converted formatting for v.5.#REM: 2002-2010 - Occasional clean-up/fixes by Steve Heil.#REM:——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-#REM:—————————————————————- Basic File Information —————————————————————-#SET_FULL_NAME: The Biblical Illustrator NT#SET_SHORT_NAME: Bible Illustrator NT#SET_COPYRIGHT_NOTICE: (from The Biblical Illustrator Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2006 Ages Software, Inc. and Biblesoft, Inc.)#SET_AUTHOR: Exell, Joseph S. (Editor)#SET_VERSION: 6.0.1#DEFINE_BOOKSHELF_ITEM: WINDOW_TYPE: Book CATEGORY: Sermons\The Biblical Illustrator MENU_ITEM_TEXT: New Testament#DEFINE_SMARTREFERENCE_ITEM: WINDOW_TYPE: Book CATEGORY: Sermons MENU_ITEM_TEXT: The Biblical Illustrator (New Testament)#DEFINE_CROSSREFERENCE_ITEM: WINDOW_TYPE: Book CATEGORY: Sermons MENU_ITEM_TEXT: The Biblical Illustrator (New Testament)#DEFINE_BOOKSHELF_ITEM: WINDOW_TYPE: Book CATEGORY: Book\Commentaries\The Biblical Illustrator MENU_ITEM_TEXT: New Testament#DEFINE_SMARTREFERENCE_ITEM: WINDOW_TYPE: Book CATEGORY: Book\Commentaries MENU_ITEM_TEXT: The Biblical Illustrator (New Testament)#DEFINE_CROSSREFERENCE_ITEM: WINDOW_TYPE: Book CATEGORY: Book\Commentaries MENU_ITEM_TEXT: The Biblical Illustrator (New Testament)#DEFINE_BOOKSHELF_ITEM: WINDOW_TYPE: Commentary CATEGORY: Commentary MENU_ITEM_TEXT: The Biblical Illustrator (New Testament)#DEFINE_SMARTREFERENCE_ITEM: WINDOW_TYPE: Commentary CATEGORY: Commentary MENU_ITEM_TEXT: The Biblical Illustrator (New Testament)#DEFINE_CROSSREFERENCE_ITEM: WINDOW_TYPE: Commentary CATEGORY: Commentary MENU_ITEM_TEXT: The Biblical Illustrator (New Testament)#REM:———————————————- Text information————————————————————————————%MACRO_INCLUDE: pseudepigraphalinks.txt%MACRO_INCLUDE: ecflinks1.txt%MACRO_INCLUDE: ecflinks2.txt%MACRO_INCLUDE: ecflinks3.txt%MACRO_INCLUDE: reformationlinks.txt%MACRO_INCLUDE: puritanlinks.txt%MACRO_INCLUDE: medievallinks.txt%MACRO_INCLUDE: josephuslinks.txt%DEFINE: %END_DEFINE#SET_LANGUAGE: English#SET_DEFAULT_PARAGRAPH_TYPE: Commentary Indent#REM: ———————————————— Preface material ——————————————————————————————#DEFINE_ADDITIONAL: Title Page

THE BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR
New Testament Volumes

By
JOSEPH S. EXELL

Originally Published in 1887
London#DEFINE_ADDITIONAL: Copyright

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Parallel Verses

KJV: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

WEB: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.