Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_400.lzh/6_434.TXT

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in his arms Baalim, the graven images and golden
calves; which is mentioned as an instance of ingrati-
tude; but very wrongly. But they Icnew not that I
healed them; of the diseases of Egypt, or 4areserved
them front them: this includes the whole of their sal-
vation and deliverance fi'om Egypt, and all the benefits
and favours accotnpanying it, which they imputed to
their idols, and not to the Lord; see Exod. xv. 26.
and xxxii. 4. Healing, in a spiritual sense, generally
signifies the forgiveness of sin, which the Lord's people
may have, and not know it; and, through want of
better light and knowledge, may.also ascribe it to their
repentance, humiliation, and tears, when it is alone
owing to the grace of God, and blood of Christ.
Ver. 4. 1 drew them with cords of a man, with bands
of love, &c.'] As Ephraim is compared to a heifer in
the preceding chapter, here he is said to be drawn;
but not with such cords and bands as cattle are, but
with such as men are; in a rational and gentle way° in
a kind, loving, tender, humane, friendly, and fatherly,
way and manner; so the Lord drew Israel on in the
wilderness, till he was brought to Canaan's land, by be-
st. owing kind fityours upon them, and by making pre-
cious promises to them. So the Lord deals with his
spiritual Israel; he draws them out of the present state
and circumstances, in which they are by nature, to
himself, and to his son, and to follow after hitn, and
run in the ways of his commandments; and which he
does not by force and compulsion against their wills,
nor by mere moral sunsion, but by the invincible
power of his grace, sweetly working upon them, and
attracting them; he does it by revealing Christ in
them, in the glories of his person. and in the riches .of
his grace, and by letting in his love into their hearts;
and by kind invitations, precious protniseso and divine
teachings, artended with his powerful and efficacious
grace; see Jer. xxxi,. 3. John vi. 44. Cant. i. 4. And 1
was to them as they that take off the yolc, e on their jaws ;
as one that is merciful to his beast; as a kind and hu-
bmane husbandman, when his cattle have been hard at
work, takes off their bridles or muzzles, or the yokes on
them, fastened with a halter about their jaws, that they
may have liberty to feed on food set before them, as
the next clause shews. So the Targum," my word
· ' was to them as a good husbandman, who lightens
"the shoulder of oxen, and looses the bridles ,on their
"jaws." This may refer to Israel's deliverance from
tlleir bondage in Egypt; and be spiritually applied
to Christ, the essential Word of .God, breaking and
taking the yoke of sin., Satan, and the law. from off
his people, and bringing them into the liberty of the
children of God. Schmidt reads and inter.prets the
words quite otherwise, and I was to them as they that
lift up the yoke upon their jaws ; not remove it from
them. but put .it on them; expressing their ignorance
and ingratitude, who, when the Lord drew them in the
kind and loving manner he,did, reckoned it as if he put
a yoke upon them., and treated them rather as beasts
titan men; but this seems not to agree with what fol-
lows: and I laid meat unto them: or declined, or
brought it down to them, to their very mouths; refer-
ring to the manna and quails he rained about their
tents. So the Targ. um," and, even when they were in
"the wilderness, I multiplied to them good things to
"eat." And thus in a spiritual sense the Lord gives
meat to them that fear him, whilst in the wilderness of
this world; he brings it near, aud sets it before them.
iu the ministry of the word and ordinances; even that
meat which endures to everlasting life, the flesh of
Christ, which is meat indeed; and the doctrines of the
Gospel, which are milk for babes, and strong ,meat for
more experienced saints.
Vet. 5. tte shall not return into the land of Egytpt,
&c.] Ephraim or Israel, the ten tribes: and the Sep-
tuagint and Arabic versions express them by name.
though they give awrong sense of the words, rendering
them, and Ephraim dwelt in Egypt; he did so indeetl
with the other tribes formerly; but here it is said he
shall not go thither again to be a captive there, but shall
go into bondage more severe than that in Egypt, .even
into captivity in Assyria: rather .the sense is, they
should not go thither for shelter, at least not as a body,
though some few of them might, as in oh. ix. 3. the far
greater part of them should he carried captive by the
Assyriaus: or they should not return to Egypt to seek
for help and succour, as they had done; either they
ought not to do it, nor would there be any need of it,
did they but return to the Lord, as Kimchi observes;
or rather they should now be so straitly shut up in Sa-
maria, besieged so closely by the enemy, or else carried
into distant lands, that, if they would, they could not
apply to Egypt for relief. But the Assyrian shah be his
king; the king of Assyria shall be king over the tea
tribes, whether they will or no; they shall be forced to
acknowledge .him as their king, and be subject to him,
being taken and carried captive into his land: because
they refused to return: to the Lord, from whom they
had backslidden, and to his pure worship, word, and
ordinances, they had departed from, setting up tho
calves at Dan and Beth-el; tbev refused to relinquish
worshipping' idols instead of the true God; thus un-
gratefully behaving to him for all the above favours be-
stowed upon them; wherefore they are righteously
threatened with captivity and bondage in Assyria.
Ver. 6. And the .,word shall abide on the cities, &c.3
Or shall fall {y}, and continue; meaning the sword of the
Assyriaus, whereby Ephraim should be brought into
subjection to them, and the king of Assyria become
king over them; his sword should be drawn, and rest
upon them, not only on their chief city Samaria, be-
sieged three years by him, but upon all their other ci-
ties, which would fall into his hands, with the inhabit-
ants of them-.. and shall consume his branches, and de-
vour them; that is, the towns and villages adjoining to
the cities; which were to them as branches are to a
tree, sprung from them, .0,nd were supported by them;
and, being near them, prospered or shffeted as. they
did: some render it, his bars {?}, as the word is some-
times used, and interpret ,,it of the great men and nobles
oft be land. So the Targum," and it shall slay his
"m'ighty men, and destroy his princes ;" with which
Jarchi agrees, Because of their own counsels; which

{y} \^hlx\^ cadet, Calvin; incidet, Schmidt; irruet, Zanchius, Drusius,
Liveleus.
{z} \^wydb\^ "vectes ejus", Schmidt. So some in Drusius.