Online Bible 1995 March/ROM-1025.iso/olb/gill/6_500.lzh/6_579.TXT

Text File | 1994-11-10 | 6KB | 118 lines

dwell no more there, and be no more offensive and
troublesome.
Ver. 12. And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine
hand, &c.3 Such as were formerly practised among
the Jews, though-forbidden them, and in mystical
Babylon, or the antichristian char.oh, whose sorecries
are mentioned, Rev. ix. 21. and xviii. 93. but nothing
of this kind will be foundin the Christian church, con-
sisting of Jews and Gentiles, in the latter day; all un-
lawful arts, cheating and juggling'in religious matters,
will cease, and be no more: and thou shalt have no
more soothsayers; or diviners, that cast a mist over
people's eyes, and deceived them with false appearances
of th.ings; that! pretended to know ti.mes and seasons,
when it was or was not a good day 't0 go abroad, Or
to make merchandise; that judged by the clouds, and
by the position of the heavens, what would come to
pass hereafter; and though 'such sort of men were
formerly indulged, connived at, and caressed among
the Jews, they should be so no more; nor should they
apply to such persons for advice and counsel; nor
Would they need it, nor should they. Use it; see Dent.
xviii. 10, 11.
Ver. 13. Thy graven images also will I cut off, and
thy standing images out of the midst of thee, &c.] The
former were such as were made of wood or stone; the
latter statues, such as were molten or cast, and made
of gold, silver, or brass; Such as the Jews sometimes
worshipped, and are now found in the apostate church
of Rome; but will have no place in the Christian
churches, or those so called, in the latter day. The
Jews indeed have had no idols or idolatrous worship
among them since the Babylonish captivity; and the
prophet here speaks, not of what would be found
among them, and removed at their conversion; but of
what was in his time, or had been, or would be again,
but should not be in future time, when they should
tu,rn to the Lord, and be like dew among the people;
and so we are to understand some following passages.
The Targum is, "I will cut off the images of the
"people, and their statues :" and thou shalt no more
worship the work of thine hands; as not to fall down-to
idols and worship them, so neither to 'trust in carnal
privileges, ceremonial rites, observances of the 'tra-
ditions of' the elders, or any works of righteousness
done by them, which they had been prone unto.
Ver. 14. And I will pluck up thy groves out of the
midst of thee, &c.] Planted for idolatrous worship,
and which the Jews in the reigns of some of their kings
raised, and made use of for such purposes ; see 1 Kings
xv. 13. and xvi. 33. and xviii. 19. though contrary to
the law of God, Deut. xvi. 2l. but now there should
be nothing of this kind, all idolatry being rooted out of
the world. The Targum is, "I will root out the
"plantations of the people out of the midst of thee :"
so will I destroy thy cities; which some understand of
cities givento idolatry; or rather it is to be understood
in the same sense as in ver. 11. though by reason of
that, and as something distinct from it, it is better to
render the .words with the Targum, "I will destroy
"thine enemies"."
Ver. 15. And I will execute vengeance in anger, and
.fury upon the Heathen, &c.] Or nations°; not the
Pagan nations only, but the Papal and Mahometan
ones, even all that are enemies to Christ, and his
church and people: such as they have not heard;
such terrible judgments, and dreadful expressions of
divine wrath and fury, by earthquakes, hailstones, &c.
as were never known or heard of in the world before;
see Rev. xvi. 18--el. or, which have not heard {p}; the
people that have not heard and hearkened to the word
of God, to the voice of Christ in the Gospel, but have
turned a deaf ear to it, and despised it. So the Tar-
gum, "who have not received tha doctrine of the law ;"
but it is much more agreeable to understand it of the
doctrine of the Gospel disobeyed by men, and therefore
justly punished; see 2 Thess. i. 8, 9.

THIS chapter contains reproofs of the people of
Israel for their sins, threatening them with punish-
merit for them. The prophet is bid to tell them of the
controversy the Lord had with them, which he did,
ver. 1, 2. and the Lord calls upon them to declare if
they had any thing to object to his carriage towards
them, vet. 3. and then puts them in mind of the fa-
yours they had received from him, in bringing them
out of Egypt, and giving them such useful persons to
go before them, lead and instruct them, as he had,
yet. 4. and also reminds them of what passed between
Balak, king of Moab, and Balaam the soothsayer; the
questions of the one, and the answer.of the other;
Whereby the designs of the former against them were
frustrated, yet. 5, 6, 7, 8, but since the voice of the
Lord by his prophet was disregarded by them, they
are called upon to hearken to the voice of his rod,
ver. 9. which should be laid upon them for their frau-
dulent dealings, injustice, oppression, lies, and deceit,
yet. 10, 11, lc2. and therefore are threatened with sick-
ness and desolation, and a deprivation of all good things,
the. fruit of their-labours, ver. 13, 14, 15. and that be-
cause the statutes of Omri, the works of Ahab, and their
counsels, were observed by them, vet. 16.
Ver. 1. Hear ye now what the Lord saith, &c.] Here
begins a new discourse, and with an address of the
prophet to the people of Israel, to hear what the Lord
had to say to them by way of reproof for their sins
now, as they had heard before many great and precious
promises concerning the Messiah, and the happiness of
the church in future time; to hear what the Lord now
said to them by the prophet, and what he said


{n} So Jarchi, and Marinus in Aben Ezra, and R. sol. Urbin. Ohel
Moed, fol. 102. 1.
{o} \^Mywgh ta\^ gentes, Junius & Tremellius.
{p} \^wemv al rva\^ quae non audierunt, Pagninus, Montanus; quae non
auscultaverint, Junius & Tremellius; quae non obediverunt, Burkius.