Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/5_500_p.lzh/5_587.TXT

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ofJudah, &c.] The former are mentioned, as well as
the latter, though they had been carried captive some
years ago, to justify the dealings of God with them;
and besides, there were some of the ten tribes that re-
mained, and were mingled with the tribes of Judah
and Benjamin: of all which it is said, that they have
'only done evil before me from their y/ouCh; from their
infancy, being conceived in sin, and shapen in iniquity;
and so being destitute of the grace of God, did nothing
else but sin all their days, as is said of the men of the
old world, Gen. vi. 5. and viii 21. Some understand
this, froth' the time of their becoming a people, a body
politic; or from the time of their coming out of Egypt,
and being in the wilderness, when their idolatry began,
they brought out of _Egypt; or froth the time of the
.judges: ./br the children of Israel have oni..,! provoked me
to anger with the work of their hands, saith the Lord;
with their idols, made by their own hands; these they
worshipped instead of their Creator and Benefactor;
which must be very provoking indeed.!
Vet. 31. For this city hath been tame as a provoca-
tion of mine anger and of my fury, &c.] Or,upon mine
anger, and upon my fury this city was to me{h}; that is,
j t was upon his heart, and in his mind and purpose,
being provoked to anger and wrath by their sins, to
have destroyed it long ago, though he had deferred it
to this time; the inhabitants of this city had been
always a provoking .people to him; and he had thought
to hiive poured out his wrath and fury upon them:
ffom the day they built it, even unto this day: when
built and inhabited by the idolatrous Canaanices;
possessed by the Jebusites; rebuilt by David; beauti-
fied with the temple and other stately buildings by
Solomon, who was drawn it,to idolatry by his wives.
It is a tradition of the jews, mentioned both byJarchiand
Kimchi, that the same day that the foundation of the
temple was laid, Solomon married Pharaoh's daughter;
and which was the foundation of his idolatry; and
which was more or less practised in every reign after-
wards, to this time; and which so provoked the Lord,
that he took up this resolution early, though he did
not put it in execution; expressed as tbllows: that I
should remooe it from before my face; as a man does
that which is nauseous and ab.ominable to him; mean-
ing the removing the inhabitants of it into other
lands, or causing them to go into captivity; so the
Targum.
Ver. 3c2.. Because of all the evil of the children of
Israel and of the chi!dren of 3udah, &c.] His anger
and fury were because of their sins, and so his carrying
them captive: which the!t have done to provoke me to
anger; which was done, as if they had done it on pur-
pose to provoke him; and which was done, not by a
few, but by them all; not by the lower people only,
but by men of every rank and order; as follows: fiey,
their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets;
that is, their false prophets, as the Targum; yea, all
the inhabitants of the land, both in city and country:
and the men of dudah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
the metropolis of the nation; the seat of the kings of
Judah; and where the temple was, the priests mi-
nistered, and the prophets taught, and the people
came up to worship.
Ver. 33. And they have turned unto me the back, and
not the face, &c.] When he rcproved them for their
sins; called them to repentance; itlstructed them in
their duty; and warned them of the dangers they ex-
posed themselvcs to; instead of turning- the rice to.
him, as scholars to their masters, and as subjects to
their prince, to listen to what was said to them; they
turned their backs or necks, the hinder part of them;
expressive of contempt, and shewing great rudeness
and irreverence: though I taught them, rising up early,
and teaching them; by his prophets, as the Targum;
whom hc sent to them early in the morning; or in the
early time of their lifc; or when they first began to
practise idolatry; so careful was the Lord of them; so
diligent to instruct them, and prcvcnt their ruin: yet
have not hearkened, to receive instruction; or cor-
{l}; so as to repent of their sins, reform and
amend; sec ch. vii. 13, o5 26.
Vcr. 34. But they set their abominations, &c.] Their
idols, which were abominable to the Lord, and ought
to have been so to them: these they placed in the
house (which is called by my name ), to defile it; in the
temple; as by Ahaz, Mariasnell, and others: see oh.
vii. 30.
Vet. 33. And they built the high places of .Baal,
which are in the valley/qf the son of Hinnom, &c.] Or
the high places of that Baal {k}, which is in the valley of
the son of Hinnom; to distinguish him from other
Baalim; and who seems to be the same With Molech
after mentioned; and the signification of their names
agree; the one is lord or master; the other king: to
cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the
fire unto Molech: the phrase, through theftre, is not in
the text; but is well enough supplied from other
places, where it is. Some think that their infants were
not burnt to death with fire, but only were held over
the flame by way of lustration; or were made to pass
between two fires, and so were purified and dedicated
to the idol: which I commanded them not, neither came
it into my mind that they/should do this abomination;
see ch. vii. 31: to cause Judah to sin; which Abarbinel
understands of the children of Israel, who first began
this practice, and seduced and drew the children of
Judah into it; but rather it seems to intend the Icings,
princes, priests, prophets, and inhabitants of Jerusa-
lem, who, by their example, led the people of the Lord
into the same practice.
Ver. 36. And now therefore thus saith the Lord, the
God of Israel, concerning this city, &c.] Here begins
the confirmation of tlle other part of the prophecy
concerning the return of the Jews to their city and
country, when they should again buy and possess
fields and vineyards; which was thought impossible,
supposing the destruction of the city; or however not
easily reconcileable with it; but this is as strongly
affirmed as the former; for though they had sinned so
heinously, and had provoked the wrath of God to such

{h} \^ytmx lew ypa le\^ super naso meo, & super ira mea fuit milhi
agivitas haec, Montanus; in furore meo, & in ira mea, Pagninus,
Vatablus.
{i} \^rowm\^ disciplinam, Cocceius; i.e. correctionem, Schmidt.
{k} \^aygb rva lebh twmb\^ quae in valle, Montanus; excelsa Baal
qui erat in valle, Calvin.