Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_500.lzh/6_517.TXT

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done, as a token of mourning.: and I will make it as the
mourning of an only son; as when parents mourn for
an only son, which is generally carried to the greatest
height, and continued longest, as well as is most sin-
cere and passionate; the case being exceeding cutting
and afflictire, as this is hereby represented to be: and
the end thereof as a bitter day; a day of bitter calamity,
and of bitter wailing and mourning, in the bitterness of
their spirits; though the beginning of the day was bright
and clear, a fine sunshine, yet the end of it dark and
bitter, distressing and sorrowful, it being the end of the
people of Israel, as in yet. 2.
V_er. 11. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God,
&c.] Which Kimchi interprets of all the days of
the second house or temple after Malachi, when
prophecy ceased; but it rather has respect to the time
of Salmaneser's carrying captive the ten tribes, when
they had no more prophets nor prophecy among them,
or any totell how long their captivity should last, or
when it would be better times with them, Psal. lxxiv.
9: that I will send a famine in the land; which, in a
literal sense, is one of God's arrows he has in his quiver,
and sends out when he pleases; or one of his sore judg-
ments, which he sometimes orders to come upon a
people for their sins: but here is meant, not a famine
ofbread, or through want of that, which is very dread-
ful; as was the famine of Samaria, when an ass's head
was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and a certain
measure ofdove's dung for five pieces of silver, c2 Kings
vi. 25S. and as were the famines of Jerusaleni, when
taken both by the Chaldeans and Romans, when deli-
cate women boiled and ate 'their own children, Lam.
iv. 8, 9, 10: nor a tldrstfor water; which is more
distressing and tormenting than hnnger; and to be
slain with thirst is to be destroyed in the most afilic-
live manner, Hos. it. 3. Lysimachus is said to part
with his kingdom for a draught of water; and the
tor'meats of hell are set forth by a violent thirst for it,
Luke xvi. 24. hut something worse than either of these
is here threatened: but of hearing the words of the
Lord; the word of prophecy, and the preaching of
the word, or explaining the Scriptures. Of this bless-
ing the ten tribes were deprived at their captivity, and
have been ever since; and the Jews, upon their
jection of Christ, haste had the kingdom of God,
the Gospel of the kingdom, the word and ordinances
of God, taken from them, and remain so to this day;
the seven churches of Asia have had their candlestick
removed out of its place, and this famine continues in
those parts to this time; and, by the symptoms upon
us, we may.justly fear it, will be our case ere long.
The words of the Lord are the Scriptures, which cone
from him, and are concerning him; the doctrines of
grace contained in them, the wholesome words of
Christ: hearing them signifies the preaching of them,
Isa. lilt. 1. Gak iii. 2. by which hearing comes, and is
a great blessing, and should be artended to, as being
the means of conversion, regenerations, the knowledge
of Christ, faith in him, and the.joy of it. Now, to be
deprived of hearing the Gospel is a spiritual famine,
for that is tbod, bread, meat, milk, honey, yea, a feast;
it is food that is savoury, wholesome, nourishing, satis-
fying, strengthening, and .comforting; and when this
is took away a famine ensues, as when a church--state
is dissolved, ministers are ordered to preach no more
in such a place, or are scattered by persecution, or
removed by death, and none raised up in their stead;
or when error prevails, to the suppressing of truth:
all which is done, or suffered to be done, ,for indif-
ference to the word .or' God, unfruitlulness undter it,
and contempt of it, and ,opposition to it; which is
a dreadful case, when such a thmine is; for the glory,
riches, and light of a nation, are gone; bread tbr their
souls is no more; and the means of conversion, know-
ledge, comfort, 4'c. cease; and people in course must
die, tbr lack of these things; see Isa. iii. l. Hos. iv. 6.
Ver. 12. And the!! shall wander from sea to sea,
&c.] From the sea of Tiberias, or Galilee; or from
the Dead sea, the lake Asphaltires; or from the Red
sea, which was to the south of the land of Israel, to
the great sea, which is to the west, as Aben Ezra: so
the Targum," from the sea to the west ;" that is, to
the Mediterranean sea: and from the north even to the
east; proceeding from the south to the west, they
shall turn from thence to the north, and so to the
east, which describes the borders of the land of Canaan,
Numb. xxxiv. 3--12. and the sense is, that they shall
go to and fro throughout the whole land, and all over it,
to seek the word of the Lord; not the written word, but
the interpretation of it; doctrine from before the Lord,
as the Targum; the preaching of the word, or ministers
to instruct them in it;or the word of prophecy, and pro-
phets to tell them when it would be better times, and
how long their present distress should last:' and shall
not find it; there should be no ministry, no preaching,
no prophesylag; as never since among the ten tribes,
so it has been the case of the Jews, the two tribes,
npon the rejection of the Messiah; the Gospel was
taken from them; no tidings could they hear of the
Messiah, though. they ran to and fro to find him, it
being told them Lo, here, and Lo, there; see John vii.
34, 35, 36. Luke xvii.
Ver. 13. In that day shall the fair virgins and young
men faint for thirst.] After the word, tbr want of that
corn and wine, which make young men and maids
cheerful, Zech. ix. 1.7. but, being destitute of them,
should be covered with sorrow, overwhelmed with
grief, arid ready to sink and die away. These, ac-
cording to some, design the congregation of Israel;
who are like to beautiful virgins, as the Targum pa-
raphrases it; and the principal men of it, the masters
of the assemblies: or, as others, such who were trust-
ing to their own righteousness, and seeking after that
which they could never attain .justification by, and
did not hunger and thirst after the righteousness of
Christ, and so perished.
Vet. 14. Tltey that swear by the sin of Samaria, &c.]
The calf at Beth-el, which was near Samaria, and
which the Samaritans worshipped; and was set up
by their kings, and the worship of it encouraged by
their example, and which is called the calf of Samaria,
Hos. viii. 5, 6. the making of it was the effect of sin,
and the occasion of leading into it, and ought to have
been had in detestation and abhorrence, as sin should;
and yet by this the Israelites swore, as they had used
to do by the living God; so setting up. this idol on an
equality with him: and say, thy God, 0 Dan, liveth
the other calf, which was set up in Dan; and to this