Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/4_000_t.lzh/4_031.TXT

Text File | 1994-09-02 | 7KB | 130 lines

some think, being. wearied with t'heir flight over the
Red sea; or through their wings being broken by the
vehemency of the wind that brought them, as others;
or by the moistness of the south wind, which wetted
their wings, and made them flag and fall; but, by
whatever means this was done, it was so ordered by
the Lord that they should fall, and fall just in the
place where they did: round about their habitations;
for the space of a day's journey on every side, where
they. lay in heaps, here and there, two cubits high,
Numb. xi. 31, so that they could gather them with
great ease, and had no need of arrows to shoot at them,
nor nets to spread for them; they were ready at hand,
and in great plenty.
Ver. 29. So they did eat, and were well filled, &c.].
Or exceedingly fiRed {m}, or too much, as some versions
render it; they eat to excess, not merely to satisfy
nature, but to gratify their sensual appetite: gluttony
is a sin; it is an abuse of the creatures; it hurts the
body by filling it with gross humours, and bringing
diseases on it; i-t is injurious to the mind; the heart
may be overcharged by it; it disposes it to sin; it
leads to impiety, to atheism, and disbelief of a future
Rate, which often go along with it, and ends in de-
struction, which is the case of those whose god is their
belly: for he gave them their own desire; or their lust {n},
what they lusted after, flesh; and they had as much
of it as they would, though this was given in judgment;
and a sad thing it is when God gives men a fulness of
this world's things, and leaves them to the abuse of
them, or sends leanness into their souls, and gives them
up to their own hearts' lusts.
Ver. 30. They were not estranged from their lust,
&e.] By the goodness and liberality of God unto
them, they were not brought to repentance for their
sin of lusting; nor did they abstain from their fleshly
lusts, or deny themselves of them, which the grace of
God teaches to do; or else the sense is, what they
lusted after, flesh, was not withheld from them, or
the.y restrained from eating it; they were indulged
with it for a whole month together; to which agrees
what follows: but while their meat was yet in their
mouths; the meat of the quails, while it was between
their teeth, ere it was chewed, and before it was swal-
lowed down, while they were rolling-this sweet
morsel under their tongues, and were gorging them-
selves with it, destruction came upon them, as fol-
lows ;just as Belshazzar, while he was feasting with his
nobles, in the midst of his mirth and jollity, was slain
by the Persians, Dan. v. 1.30.
Vet. 31. The wrath of God came upon them, &c.]
Either by causing fire to come down from heaven, or
by suffering them to be surfeited by excessive eating,
or by sending a plague among them ;. see Numb. xi. 33.
and slew the fattest of them; such perhaps who had
been most guilty of the sin of gluttony, and had
fed the most inordinately upon the flesh that was sent
them; or this designs the chief among their princes
and nobles, though not only them, but them as well
as the common people; so the Targum, "and slew
"their mighty ones :" or the words may be rendered,
and slew them among their fatness, or fat things°;
whilst they were feeding on their feast of fat things7the
fat quails, which were brought among them, in such
plenty; for the quail is a very fat bird, as Kimchi ob-
serves {p}: and smote down the chosen men of Israel; or
the young men, as the Targutm, who were within the
20th and both year of their age; who were chosen
and fit for war within that time, as well as were the
choicest for comeliness, strength,and service; or made
them to bow {q} to death and the grave; whose power
they could not withstand, though. in the prime and
igour of youth, and while they were freely and heartily
        upon ,the food they lusted after.
Ver. 32, For all. this they sinned still, &c.3 Those
that survived, not being brought to repentance by mer-
cies, nor by judgments; not by mercies, such as before
mentioned, though they were great and many, and
some of them continued, and of which they were very
unworthy; the goodness of God should, but it does
not always, lead persons to repentance; mercies, un-
less they aresanctified, often prove snares and tempta-
tions to sin yet more and more; nothing short of the
grace of God will bring persons to repentance for sin,
or keep them from it: nor by judgments, which were
last mentioned, and seem chiefly designed; these have
no more effect than the other, unless the power of
divine grace goes along with them; see Amos iv.
6. 11. it could not be thought, nor was it expected,
that they should, after all these mercies and judgments,
have lived without sin, which no man does, or can
do; but then they went on in a course of sin, and were
continually repeating their transgressions, and were
guilty of sins of a very heinous nature, many of which
are on record; as Aaron and Miriam, by speaking
against Moses, the faithful servant of the Lord, which
brought upon the latter the plague of leprosy; the
spies which were sent to search the land, and brought
an evil report of it, which set the people a murmuring,
and put them on thoughts of returning to Egypt;
those that were concerned in the business of Korah,
Dathan, and Abiram, who were swallowed up in the
earth, or burnt with fire from heaven; the whole con-
gregation which murmured at Kadesb, whom Moses
called rebels, and who afterwards expressed their
loathing of the manna, for which fiery serpents were
sent among them, Numb. xii. 1, 10. and xiii. 32. and
xiv. 2, 3, 4. and xvi.  1, 2, 3, 31, 35. and xx. 2, 3, 4, 5.
and xxi. 5, 6. but their prevailing sin was unbelief, as
follows: and  believed notre' his wondrous works: not in
them, though the words will bear to be so rendered;
for they did believe in them when they were wrought,
and that they were wrought by the Lord; though they
soon forgot them, and fell into distrust and unbelief;
        them {}, or by meansof them; though such won-
        things were-done for them in providence, as
before related, which should have engaged their faith
and trust in the Lord; yet, notwithstanding these,
they called in question his providence, power, and
goodness.


{m} \^dam webvyw\^ & saturati sunt valde, Pagninus, Montanus, &c.
{n} \^Mtwat\^ concupiscentiam ipsorum, Cocceius.
{o} \^Mhynmvb\^ in opimis ipsorum, Cocceius; inter pinguedines corum,
Michaelis.
{p} In Sepher Shorashim, rad. \^wlv\^.
{q} \^eyrkh\^ incurvavit, Pagninus, Montanus.
{r} \^wytalpnb\^ per miracula ejus, Schmidt; so some in Gejerus.