Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_200.lzh/6_267.TXT

Text File | 1994-08-18 | 7KB | 127 lines

Ver. 28. And by the border of Gad, at the south side
southward, &c.] Of the sanctuary of the Lord, of the
portion of the priests and Levites, of the city, and
what belonged .to that, and of the prince s porte n.
The description begins at the northern part of the
land, and ends in the southern: the border shall be even
from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh ; and to
the river toward the great sea; see the note on ch.
xlvii. 19.
Vet. 29. This is the land which ye shall divide by lot
unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, &c.] This is
the land, as thus described; and these the tribes of
Israel, or the Israelites indeed, who shall have their
respective shares in it, as thus allotted to them for their
inheritance; which is not of a worldly, but spiritual
nature; and a goodly heritage it is, a place and a name
better than sons and daughters; namely, a place in the
house and church of God; and a right to enjoy all the
ordinances of it: and these are their portions, saith the
Lord God; which he has appointed to them, of his
grace bestows on them, and of which they may be as-
sured, since he has said it: no mention is made of any
cities of refuge in this division of the !and, as in Joshua's
time, because now the antitype of them is come, the
Messiah, to whom all sensible sinners are directed to
"flee; and there is no other asylum for them, nor sal-
vation in any other but in him; and besides, in this
period there will be no manslayers, nor any that will
hurt and destroy in all the holy mountain; and so no
need of cities of refuge, Isa. xi. 9.
Ver. 30. And these are the goings out of the city, &c.]
The gates of it, as Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it, by
which they went out of it, and into it; and also the
sides of it. The Lord here returns to the city again,
to give an account of its circumference and name: on
the north side four thousand and five hundred measures ;
the north side of the city measured so many measures;
that is, reeds, as Jarchi explains it.
Vet. 31. And the gates of the city shall be after
names of the tribes of Israel, &c.] According to
number of them, twelve, and called by their names;
the names of the several tribes being written on them;
see Rev. xxi. 12. this shews that all true Israelites in-
deed, Israel not after the flesh, but after the spirit, have
a right of entrance into, and communion with, the
church of God; even the whole Israel of God, whom
he has chosen for himself; Christ has redeemed by his
blood, and the Spirit calls by his grace, and sanctifies;
these are all, be they Jews or Gentiles, fellow-citizens
with the saints, and of the household of God: these
gates, though twelve, with respect to the twelve tribes
that enter in at the, and the twelve apostles of the
Lamb that direct unto them, and whose doctrine they
embrace and profess that go in by them; yet are but
one in the main, which is Christ, faith in him, and a
profession of it, and a professed subjection to his Gos-
pel and ordinances, John x. 1, 9: three gates northward ;
for those that lay on that side to enter in at: one
Reuben, one gate of Judah, and one gate of Levi
tribes, and so the rest, were not placed according to
their encampment about the tabernacle in the wil-
derness, or as they were placed by Joshua in the !and
of Canaan; which shews that the tribes literally con-
sidered are not intended. Levi had a gate, though it
had not a portion in the manner the other tribes had.
Ver. 32. And at the east side four thousand and five
hundred, &c.] Measures or reeds: this side was equal
to the north, as the rest were to this; the whole city
in its circumference making an equilateral square: and
three gates; which were as follow: one gate of 3oseph,
one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan; Joseph is here
as having a gate, though he is not mentioned as having
a portion; but his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh,
who are here omitted; which made room for Levi's
name to be inserted;and Dan, who had his portion
first, is here placed in the middle, no order being ob-
served; the whole being mystical and spiritual.
Ver. 3& And at the south side four thotesand and five
hundred measures, &c.] The south side of the city
measured just the same as the north and east sides did:
and three gates; were on that side, as on the others:
one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issacbar, one gate of Ze-
bulun; at which these tribes entered, or those they
represent.
Ver. 34. At the west side four thousand and five hun-
dred, &c.] Measures or reeds; so many were the length
of this side; the same with north, south, and east, and
made a four-square; and such the city was, as the New
Jerusalem is said to be, Rev. xxi. 16: with their three
gates: one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of
Naphtali; the situation of these gates on all sides,
east, west, north, and south, shew that in the latter
day people will flock from all quarters to the church
of Christ, and that there will be an open and free access
of all persons into it; see Isa. iS. 2. and xliii. 5, 6. and
xlix. 12, 18. and Ix. 4, 5.
Ver. 35. It was round about eighteen thousand mea-
sures, &c.] Putting the numbers together which each
side made, the circumference of the city was eighteen
thousand measures; which, according to Cornelius
a Lapide, were thirty-two thousand miles; which
shews that no city literally taken can be here meant,
but mystically and spiritually the church of Christ,
which will be of great extent in the latter day; and a
large one it had need to be, to hold all nations that will
into it; it will be spread all over the world; the
world will become the church; the kingdoms of it will
become Christ's; the little stone will become a great
mountain, and fill the whole earth; the kingdom and
interest of Christ, which is his church, will be from sea
to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth;
even from the rising of the sun to the setting of the
same. Some Jewish writers{a}, not knowing what to
make of these large measures, say that they have
spect to the eighteen thousand worlds God is said {b} to
make, which these were a similitude, figure, or ex-
emplar of; but those Jews are nearer the true sense of
them, who say {c} that this is to be understood of Jeru-
salem above, or as it will be in future time, in the world
to come, the dispensation of the Messiah, Gal. iv. o.6:
and the name of the city .from that day shall be, the Lord
is there; the Gospel church has other names, as Jeru-

{a} Lipman. Tzurath Beth Hamikdash, sect. 79.
{b} T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 3. 2.
{c} Gloss. in T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 97. 2. & Succah, fol, 45. 8.