Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_100_p.lzh/5_178.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-09 | 7KB | 129 lines

aions render it; Sennacherib, the Assyrian monarch,
and that part of his army which escaped, though not
destroyed by it, were put into the utmost conster-
nation: this ,hews that the prophecy in the context
refers to the overthrow of the Assyrian army by the
angel, when besiegin.g Jerusalem in Hezekiah's time;
though the Assyrian is sometimes used for any enemy
of God's people at other times, particularly antichrist,
and especially the eastern antichrist, the Turk:. which
smote with a rod; other nations, particularly the Jews,
whom the Assyrian is expressly said to smite with a
rod; and because he was an instrument in God's hand
for the chastising of that people, he is called the rod
of his anger, ch. x. 5, 24. but now he that smote shall
be smitten himself; him whom God used as a rod t6
correct others, he'll smite with his rod, for his own
correction: for this may be understood of God, and
be rendered thus, with a rod, he,. that is, God, shah
smite .the Assyrian, as before; so Aben Ezra and Kim-
chi. The Targum interprets the rod of dominion.
Ver. 32. ,4nd in every place where the grounded staff
shah pass, &c.] The storm before mentioned, the
wrath and righteous judgment of God, rounded upon
his unalterable purposes and decrees; and, wherever it
came, would fall with great weight, sink deep, stick
fast, and remain fixed and sure, like a rod or staff
fastened in the earth: which the Lord shah lay upon
him; or, cause to rest upon him °; the Lord would lay
his rod upon him, the Assyrian, and let it remain
there, so that it should be a rounded rod or staff, as
before; it should continue until it had done full ex-
ecution, and utterly destroyed him. The Targum is,
"and there shall be every passage of their princes, and
"of their mighty ones, On whom the Lord shall cause
"to rest the vengeance of his power;" and so the
grounded staff may be understood of the Assyrian him-
self, that wherever he should be, this storm of venge-
ance. should follow him, and rest upon him: it shah
be with tabrets and harps; the allusion is to the use of
these in war; but, instead of these, no other music
would be used at this time than what thunder, and
rain, and hailstones made; unless this refers to the joy
of God's people, upon the destruction of their enemies;
so the Targum, "with tabtel, and harps shall the
"house of Israel praise, because of the mighty war
· ' which shall be made for them among the people :"
see Rev. xv. 2: and in battles of shaking will he fight
with it; the Assyrian camp; or as the Keri, or marginal
reading, with them: with the Assyrians, with the men
of the camp; the soldiers, as Kimchi explains it; that
is, the Lord will fight with them in battles, by shaking
his hand over them in a way ofjudgment, and thereby
shaking them to pieces, and utterly destroying them;
see Rev. xix. 11.
Ver. 33. For Topher is ordained ofold, &c.] The
place long ago appointed for the ruin of the Assyrian
army, which pitched here: this was a valley near
Jerusalem, the valley of the son of Hinnom; so called,
from the drums and tabrets beat upon here, to prevent
parents hearing the cries of their infants offered to.
Molech: into it was brought the filth and dung of the
city; here malefactors were buried, it is said; and
such as were condemned to burning were burned
here; and such as had no burial were cast here; so
that it was an image and picture of hell itself: and the
word Gehenna, used for hell, comes from Gehinnom,
or the valley of Hinnom, the name of this place; and
some think that is here meant, which from all eternity
was appointed as the place of torment for wicked men,
So the Targum, "for hell is ordained from the worlds
"(or before the worlds), because of their sins." It is
in the orignal, from yesterday: hence Jarchi interprets
it of the second day of the creation, which had a,yester-
day; on which day the Jews suppose hell was made:
and so it is interpreted in the Ta!mud {p}, where it is
said to be one of the seven things created before the
world was, and is proved from this text; and said to
be called Topbet, because whoever \^htptmh\^ is de-
ceived by his imagination (or evil concupiscence) falls
into it; see the note on Matt. xxv. 41. with this com-
pare Jude, ver. 4: for the king it is prepared; for Sen-
nacherib king of Assyria; that is, for his army, which
perished here, though he did not; or for kings, the
singular for the plural; for his princes, which, as he
boastingly said, were altogether kings, ch. x. 8. and
particularly for Rabshakeh, the general of his army,
who might be so called, and was eminently one of
these kings. Understood of hell, it may not only be
interpreted of Satan, the king and prince of devils, for
whom and his angels the everlasting fire of hell is pre-
pared, Matt. xxv. 41. but also bf antichrist, the king
of the bottomless pit, and of all antichristian kings;
see Rev. xi. 9. and xix. 20. Some render it, by the
king it is prepared; so the Vulgate Latin version; by
whom may be meant either Hezekiah, who cleared it
from idols and idolatrous worship, and so eventually
prepared it to make room for the Assyrian army; or
else the King of kings. So theTargutn," the King of
"worlds (of all worlds} prepared it ;" and he seems
manifestly designed in the next clause: he hath made
it deep and large; to hold the whole army alive, and
to bury them when dead; and so hell is large and deep
enough to hold Satan and all his angels, antichrist and
all his followers; yea, all the wicked that have been
from the beginning of the world, and will be to the
end of it: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; al-
luding to the burning of bodies in this place, and par-
ticularly of infants sacrificed toMolech; and refers to
the burning of the Assyrian army, either by lightning
from heaven, or by the Jews when they found them
dead the next morning. In hell, the fire is the wrath
of God; the wood or fuel ungodly men: the breath of
the Lord, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it; the
pile of fire and wood. The Targum is, "the word of
"the Lord, like an overflowing torrent of brimstone,
"shall kindle it ;" it shall be done by his order, at his
word of command. In hell, the wrath of God will be
like a continual stream of brimstone, keeping up the
fire of it, so that it shall ever burn, and never be
quenched; hence it is called a lake burning with fire
and brimstone; into which Satan, the beast, and false
prophet, and the worshippers of antichrist, will be


{o} \^xyny\^ requiescere faciet, Pagninus, Montanus; quiescere faciet,
Cocceius.
{p} T. Bab. Pesachim, fol. 54. 1. Nedarim, fol. 39. 2. & Erubim,
fol. 19, 1.