Exposition of the Whole Bible

4 Sicubi magna Jovis antiquo robore quercus, Ingenteis tendat ramos

™ Qua pinus ingens albaque populus,

Umbram hofpitalem confociare amant Ramis—— Horat..

y. 15. Though thou Tfrael play the harlot, yet let not Judah offend, 8c.) That is, tho’ the J/raelites, the people of the ten tribes, committed adultery, both corporal and fpiritual, in their idolatrous worfhip, as before obferved, to which they had been ufed ever fince the times of Feroboam the Firft, and were hardened therein, and from which there were little hopes of reforming them; yet let not the men of Fudab be guilty of the fame crimes, who have as yet retained the pure worfhip of God among them; where the houfe of God is, and the priefts of the Lord officiate, and facrifices are offered up to him according to his will, and all other parts of religious fervice are performed: or the whole feems to be directed to J/rael, as an exhortation to them, that tho’ they had given into fuch abominations, yet fhould be careful not to offend udah, or caufe them to ftumble and fall, and become guilty of the fame fins, and fo be expofed to the fame punifhment; and which would be an ageravation of J/rael’s fin, to draw others into it with them: and come not ye unto Gilgal, neither go ye up to Bethaven; to worfhip idols in thofe places; otherwife it might be lawful to go to them on any civil accounts: Gilgal was upon the borders of the ten tribes, between them and Judah, where Fo/bua circumcifed the J/raelites; kept the firft paffover in the land; and where the ark and tabernacle were for a time; and perhaps for thefe reafons was chofen for a place of idolatrous worfhip: Betbaven is the fame with Bethel, the name Facob gave it, fignifying the houfe of God; but when Feroboam fet up one of his calves here, the prophets, by way of contempt, called it Bethaven, the houfe of iniquity, or the houfe of an idol; though there was a place called Bethaven near Bethel, and Ai, as Kimchi obferves, and as appears from o/b. vii. 2. yet Bethel was fometimes fo called, as it feems to be here, becaufe of the idolatry in it; and fo the Ta/muaifts “fay, the place called Bethel, is now called Bethaven. Now the queftion is, whether Fudab or J/- vael are here addrefled; many interpreters carry it in the former fenfe, as if the men of Fudab were diffuaded from going to thefe places for worfhip, when the temple, the proper place of worfhip, was in their own tribe; but the fpeech feems rather to be direéted to the J/raelites, to leave off going to thefe places for worfhip; for being fo near to Fudah, they might be the means of enfnaring and drawing them into the fame idolatrous practices: or fwear the Lord liveth; or {wear by the living God, fo long as they worfhipped idols; for it was not well pleafing to God, to have his name ufed by idolaters, or joined with their idols; efpecially as they meant their idol, when they fwore by the

¥. 16. For Ifrael flideth back, as a backfliding heifer, 8cc.] A heifer or young cow I/rae is compared unto; the rather, becaufe of the object of their idolatrous worfhip, the calves at Daw and Bethel: the Septuagint calls them 4eifers; which they are hereby put in mind of, and upbraided with; as alfo to exprefs their brutifh ftupidity in worfhipping fuch idols, in which they obftinately perfifted; and fo were like a refragfory and untamed heifer, as fome ™ render it, which will not be kept within bounds, either within doors or without, but breaks through, and paffeés over, all fences and inclofures; as they did, who tranfgrefied the laws of God, and would not be reftrained by them: or like’ an heifer unaccuftomed to the yoke, which» will not fubmit to it, but wriggles its neck from’ under it; fo the J/raelites would not be fubject to the yoke of the law of God, were fons of Belial, children without a yoke; or like one tho’ yoked, yet would not draw the plough, but flip back in’ the furrows, even tho’ goaded; fo they, tho’ ftimulated by the prophets, whofe words were as goads and pricks to pufh them on, yet would not hearken to them, but pulled away the fhoulder, and flid back from the ways and worfhip of Gods is either a reafon why ‘¥udab fhould not follow their example becaufe backfliders, or why they fhould be punifhed, as follows: now or therefore*, the Lord will feed them as a lamb in a large place; not that they were like lambs for the good properties of them, innocence, harmleffhefs, meeknefs, and patience; nor fed as the Lord feeds his lambs, and gathers them in his arms; but either as an heifer in fheep-pafture, in fhort commons, for that creature can’t live where fheep and lambs can; or rather as a lamb that is alone, feparate from the flock, not under the care of any fhepherd; but expofed to every beaft of prey upon a large common, on a wild defert and uncultivated place; afraid of every thing it hears and fees; bleating after its dam, of whofe fuftenance and nourifhment it is deftitute; and fo is expreffive of the ftate and condi- ° tion of J/rael in captivity, in the large Afyrien empire; and difperfed among the nations, where they were weak and helplefs, deftitute of all good things, and expofed to all dangers, and to every enemy: Aven Ezra and Kimchi underftand the words in a good fenfe, that the Lord would have fed them as lambs in a large place, in an affluent manner, but that they rebelled and backflided: and to this fenfe the Targum feems to incline, which paraphrafes the whole verfe thus, ‘‘ for as an ox which is fattened «< and kicks, fo J/rael rebels becaufe of the mul* “< titude of good things; now the Lord will lead ** them as a choice lamb in a valley,”’ or plain: and fo Noldius, though Hrael is refractory, 8¢c. notwithftanding the Lord will feed them, 8c. and indeed the phrafe is ufed in a good fenfe in Jf xxx. 23. but there herds and flocks are fpoken of, and not a fingle lamb, as here; tho’ Kimchi thinks the fingular is put for the plural, lamb for lambs.

y¥. 17. Ephraim is joined to idcls, &cc.] That is, the ten tribes of J/rael, frequently fo called after their feparation from the reft, becaufe that Feroboam, by whom the revolt was made, was of that tribe; and becaufe that tribe was the principal of — them, and Samaria, the metropolis of their kingdom, was in it: and fo the Yargum here renders it, ** the houfe of J/rael are joined to idols;” to the calves at Dan and Bethel; to Baal, and other idols, they worfhipped: the phrafe expreffes their ftrong affection for them, their conftant worfhip of them, and their obftinate perfifting therein, and the difficulty there was of bringing them off of it; they cleaved to their idols, were glued, and as it were wedded unto them, and there was no feparating of therm; as men are, who are addicted to the lufts of the flefh, to the mammon of unrighteoufnefs, or to their own felf-righteoufnefs, or to any idol they fet up in their hearts as fuch » hence it follows, det — them alone; which are either the words of the Lord to the prophet, enjoining him to prophefy no more to them; to reprove them no more for their fins, fince it was all to no purpofe, there was no reclaiming them, fo Yarchi and Kimchi, and therefore let them alone, let them go on in their fins,” and: in their errors, and in their fuperftition and idolatry; fee Ezek. iii. 26. Matt. xv. 14. God was determined to let them alone himfelf; and therefore bids his prophet do fo likewife: and fad is the cafe with men when he lets them.alone, and will not difturb their confciences any more by jogs and convictions, but gives them up to a feared confcience, to hardnefs of heart, and to their own lufts; when he will not hedge up their way with thorns, or diftrefs them with afflictive providences, and hinder them from going on in a courfe of fin and wickednef§; nor give them reftraining grace, but fuffer them to go on in the broad road, till they drop into hell; and fays of them, Jet him that is filthy be filthy fiill, Rev. xxii. 11. or elfe they are the words of the prophet to the men of udab, to have nothing to do with [/rael, fince they were fuch backfliders and idolaters; to have no communion and converfation with them, but let them be alone, and worfhip alone for thems fin¢e what fellowfhip has righteoufnefs with ‘unrighteoufnefs, light with darknefs, Chrift with Be/ta/, a believer with an infidel, or the temple of the living God with idols and idolaters? 2 Cor. vi. 14, 15. Epb. v. 11. fome take them to be the words of the prophet to God concerning J/rael, approving of his righteous judgments, in threatening to feed them as a lamb in a large place; difmifs him thither, fuffer and leave him to feed there. The Zargum interprets it of their fin, and not their punifhment, “¢ they have left their worfhip 3” the fervice of God. y¥. £8. Their drink is four, &c.] In their ftomachs, having drank fo much that they can’t dieeft it; hence naufeous eructations, with a filthy ftench, are belched out; fo it is a charge of drunkennefs which Ephraim or the ten tribes were addicted to, and are accufed of, Jf xxviii: 1, or, their drink is gone¥; it has loft its colour, brightnefs, fmell and flavour, it is turned to vinegar; expreffive of the general corruption and depravity of manners and religion among them; fee J/. i. 22. or their drink departeth, or caufeth to depart; or is refraétory *; that is, it made them refractory, like a refractory heifer, as before; caufed them to depart from God and his worfhip, and led them into all fin and irreligion, particularly what follows: they have committed whoredom continually; corporal whoredom, which drunkennefs leads to; and fpiritual whoredom or idolatry, which they had committed, and continued in, ever fince the days of ’ Feroboam the fon of Nebat, and increafed therein: her rulers with fhame do love, give ye, or ber fhields*, thofe that fhould have been the protectors of J/rae, compared before to an heifer, and preferved them not only from their external enémies, but from all innovations in religion; and which we rightly enough render rulers, civil and ecclefiaftic, kings, princes, and priefts; fee Pf. xlvii..g. thefe loved, give ye, which was a fhame to them: the fenfe is; either chey loved gifts and bribes, and were continually faying, give, give, when caufes were to be tried, and fo perverted juftice and judgment, which was very fhameful; or they loved wine and ftrong drink, and therefore required it to be continually given them, which was very fcandalous in rulers more efpecially, Prov. xxxi. 4. or they loved whoredom, both in a corporal and fpiritual fenfe, and defired more harlots, and more idols, and added to their old ones; which was very abominable and ignominious: So the Zargum, ‘‘ they turned them- “* felves after fornication they loved, which brought ‘< fhame unto them;” and thefe may be confidered as fo many reafons why Fudab fhould have nothing to do with J/rael.

¥. 19. The wind hath bound ber up in ber wings, &c.] That is; the wind in its wings hath bound up Ephraim, Ifrael or the ten tribes, compared to an heifer; meaning, that the wind of God’s wrath and vengeance, or the enemy the Afyrian fhould come like a whirlwind, and carry them {wiftly, fuddenly,; and irrefiftibly, out of their own land, into a foreign country: the paft tenfe for the future, as is common in prophecy, becaufe of the certainty of it; fo Farcht and Fofeph Kimchi: but Aben Ezra, David Kimchi, Abarbinel, and Abendana, render it, he, that is, I/rael, hath bound up the wind in her wings, meaning, that they had laboured in vain in their idolatrous worfhip; and it was all one as if a man fhould attempt to gather the wind, and bind it up in the fkirts of his garment, and when he opens them there is nothing to be found: and to this fenfe is the Zargum, ‘* the ‘“* works of their great-men are not right, as it is “* impoffible to bind the wind in a wing;” referring to the fins of their rulers, as before: or rather the fenfe is, the wind fhall get into the loofe fkirts of the garments of the J/raelites, which fhall be as a fail to it, as Schmidt obferves, and fhall carry them into diftant lands; which falls in with the firft fenfe of the words, and is beft: and they hall be afbamed becaufe of their facrifices,; they of the ten tribes, the people of J/rae/; or their ‘thields, their rulers, «as Aben Ezra, fhall be filled with fhame, being difappointed of the help they expected from their idols, to whom they offered facrifices; and the more, inafimuch as they will find that thefe idolatrous facrifices are the cauie of their ruin and deftruction. The Targum is, ‘* becaufe ** of the altars of their idols;” and fo the Sepruasins Syriac, and Arabic verfions, becaufe of their auhars.

2 Recedere fecit merum a PND clypei ejus,, Montanus, PP POIDA MINS M7 Wy ligavit illa ventum ft defign of this chapter is to expofe the for judgment is toward you; either to know andidd fins of J/rael and of Fudab, and to declare the judgment of God upon them for them. Men _ of all ranks in J/rae/ are fummoned to attend to the charge brought againft them, and the fentence on them, ¥.1. The charge exhibited is, that they were guilty of enfharing men to the flaughter of idolatrous facrifices, tho’ they had been fufficiently rebuked and corrected, y. 1, 2. of both corporal and fpiritual adultery, whereby they were defiled, and which was well known to the Lord, y¥. 3. of obftinate perfiftence in impenitence, owing to the efficacy of an unclean fpirit in them, and their want of the knowledge of God, y¥. 4. of open pride, which ftared them in the face, and for which they fell into calamities, and Fudah with them, and fhould not be able with all their facrifices to find favour with God, who had withdrawn himfelf from them, ¥. 5, 6. alfo of treacherous dealing with the Lord by their fpiritual adultery, and begetting ftrange children, y. 7. next their punifhment is denounced, of which notice was to be given them by the found of the trumpet, as an alarm of war, or as calling -for mourning, y. 8. fince Ephraim would become defolate, of which notification had been made among the tribes, y. 9. and wrath would be poured ‘out in.great abundance on the princes of Fadah, who'were very wicked men, ¥. 10. and Ephraim would be opprefied and broken by the judgment of God, who would be as a moth unto them, and alfo rottennefs to /adab, becaufe they followed the commandments of men, y. 11, 12. and what was ftill more provoking, when they were fenfible of their calamities and diftréfles, they fought not help from the Lord, - but from:men_ that could do them no good; and therefore’ he threatens to be as a devouring lion to them, ¥. 43, 14. and yet the chapter concludes with a promife of the converfion of thefe people, after the Lord had dealt with them in ‘an angry manner, ¥. 15. Sty y¥. 1. Hear ye-this, O priefis, &ce.] Tho’ idolatrous ones, who called themfelves priefts, and were reckoned fo by others, tho’ not of the tribe of Levi; but fuch as Fercboam had made prietts, or were their -fucceffors; andthere might be fome of the family of Aaron and tribe of Levi; that might continue in the cities of J/rael, and who gave in to the idolatrous worfhip of thofe times. Some rénder it princes *, ‘and. the word fignifies both; and bearken ye houfe of Ifrael; not the kingdom of Fudah, as Kimchi, for this is manifeftly diftinguifhed from J/rae/ in this chapter; nor the fanbedrim, to which fenfe Aben Ezra feems to, incline; but the ten tribes, the whole kingdom of Hjrael, the common people in it: and give ye ear, O houfe of the king, of the king of J/rael, who at this time is thought to be Menahem, the royal family, the princes of the blood, and all that belonged to the king’s court; all of every office, prieftly or kingly, of every rank, high and low, are calledupon to hearkén to what is about to be faid, both concerning their fin and punifhment:

that which is juft and right; it belonged to the priefts to know and teach divine judgment, to in- {truét the people in the knowledge of the judgments, ftatutes and laws of God; and it belonged to the king to execute human judgment, to do juftice and judgment according to the laws of God, and of the realm; and it belonged to the people to attend to both: fo the Targum, “* does” “* it not de/ong to you to know judgments?” or rather this is to be underftood of punitive juftice and judgment, of the fentence of condemnation, or denunciation of punifhment for fin: the reafons of which follow, Zecaufe ye have been a fnare on Mizpab, and a net fpread upon Tabor; thefe were two high mountains in the land of rael; the fornier was near Hermon and Lebanon, and the fame with Gilead, Fob. xi. 3. Fudg. Xi. 29) the latter was a mountain in Galilee, between Ifachar and Zebulun, two leagues from Nazareth: it. was, according to Fofeph ben Gorion*, thirty furlongs high, had on the top of it a plain of twenty-three furlongs; the true Fofephus * fays, twenty-fix; fee the note on Jer. xlvi. 18. the ews * have a tradition, that Feroboam fet {pies upon thefe mountains at the time of the folemn feafts, to watch who went to them out of J/rae/, and to inform againft them; but thefe could not command all the roads leading to Ferufalem. It may be thefe mountains were much infefted with hawkers and hunters, to which there may be an allufion; and the fenfe be, ye priefts, people and king are like to thofe that fet {nares and nets on thofe hills, as they to en-. fnare and catch creatures, fo ye to enfnare and draw men into idolatrous practices; or rather, fince, there is no note of comparifon, the meaning is, that they fet up altars, and offered facrifices on thefe hills, and thereby enfnared not only thofe of their own tribes; but drew and enticed many of the tribes of Fudabh and Benjamin to fall in with the fame: idolatrous practices. ese’ ¥. 2. And the revolters are profound to make flaughter, 8c.) The revelters are the king, priefts, and people, who had’ revolted from the true worfhip and ways of God unto idolatry. \Thefe formed deep-laid fchemes, and took crafty methods, -like:/hawkers; who lay themfelves flat upon the ground to manage their {nares and nets, and obferve the creatures that fall into them, and take them, 2nd -whoin’ they artfully decoy, to which the allufion is; and that either to flay thofe who would net comply with their falfe worfhip; or rather to multiply the facrifices. of flain beafts, and ~ offer thern with a great fhow of devotion and re-

“< facrifice to idols abundantly;” and which; in the fight of God, was mere flaughter and butchery Le though I bave been a rebuker of them all; king, ders of men for their departure from God, ani hi worfhip,. and, for their idolatrous practices; or of the Lord himfelf, which comes to the fame fenfe, who had rebuked them by his prophets,. and corrected,them by his judgments, but to:no:purpofe; and therefore they could not, plead. ignorance; or excufe themfelves..upon that account...... |, ¥. 3. L know Ephraim, and Lfrael is not.bid from me, &c.|], Though they may, cover, their defigns from men, and {eek deep to hide their counfel from the Lord, and make plaufible. pretences for, what they do, and put on an appearance. of religion; yet God, who knows all men, and -their, hearts, cannot be deceived; he judges not according to outward appearance; all things are naked and,open to him; nor can any hide themfelves from him, he knows their perfons,. intentions and defigns, as well as actions. Kimchi interprets Ephraim of Feroboam, the fon. of Nebat, who was of that. tribes others, of the tribe itfelf, and J/rae/ of the other nine tribes, others take Ephraim for, the ten tribes, and J/rael for the two tribes; but.it is beft to.underftand Ephraim. and L/rael_ of the fame,.even, of the ten tribes; whofe works, as the Targum paraphrafes it, the Lord knew, particularly what follows: for now, O Ephraim, thou committe whoredom; both corporal and fpiritual adultery, which frequently went together, as obferved in the preceding chapter; the Lord knew their.corporal whoredom, tho’ ever fo. fecretly committed, and their {piritual adultery or idolatry, under all the {pécious pretences of worfhipping him; which was an abhorrence to him, as) well. as a. pollution. to them; and Lrael is defiled, with the fame fins: for all fin is. of a defiling nature, and efpecially thofe mentioned, which. defile body and foul, and render men loathfome and abominable in the fight of God., y. 4. They will not. frame their doings to turn unto their God, &c.],Either their. evil;doings 3 they will not leave, as the Targum.and Farchis, their evil ways and worthip, their adultery and idolatry, which was neceflary to repentance. and true converfion to. God,. whom they, yet,profeffed, to, be their God, tho’ they had fo fadly departed from him: or their.good works;: they, did not.chufe. to do them, which were leading, fteps.to repentance and converfion, or fruits and: evidences of it.;, they had no mind to repent of.their fins, and,turn,from them to the Lord; they had no thought,;care or concern.about thefe things, but) obftinately. perfifted in their fins, and in, their, impenitence,: their wills were wretchedly depraved. and corrupted. their hearts hard, perverfe and obftinate; they had no will to-that which is good: for the. fpirit of awhoredom is in,the midjt of, them; an unclean fpirit, that prompts them to, and pufhes them on to commit corpora] and {piritual whoredom;, the biafs and inclination of their minds were this way, which.put them upon fuch evil practices; the fpirit of error, which caufed them to err, as the Targum and Kimchi; the lying fpirit inthe falfe prophets, which encouraged them therein 5 and, even fatan himfelf, the fpirit that works in the children of difobedience: and they have not known the Lord; ignorance, of God, his nature and perfections, his will, word and. worfhip, was the caufe of their idolatry, and other fins; fee.ch. iv. 1. and this was wilful and affected ignorance; they knew not, nor would they underftand;. they rejeéted the knowledge of God, and the means of it; fo the Zargum, ‘* and they |