94 lines
6.1 KiB
XML
94 lines
6.1 KiB
XML
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<div2 id="Jud.i" n="i" next="Jud.ii" prev="Jud" progress="10.71%" title="Introduction">
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<h2 id="Jud.i-p0.1">Judges</h2>
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<hr/>
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<pb id="Jud.i-Page_120" n="120"/>
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<div class="Center" id="Jud.i-p0.3">
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<p id="Jud.i-p1"><b>AN</b></p>
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<h3 id="Jud.i-p1.1">EXPOSITION,</h3>
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<h4 id="Jud.i-p1.2">W I T H P R A C T I C A L O B S E
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R V A T I O N S,</h4>
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<h5 id="Jud.i-p1.3">OF THE BOOK OF</h5>
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<h2 id="Jud.i-p1.4">J U D G E S.</h2>
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<hr style="width:2in"/>
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</div>
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<p class="indent" id="Jud.i-p2">This is called the Hebrew <i>Shepher
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Shophtim,</i> the <i>Book of Judges,</i> which the Syriac and
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Arabic versions enlarge upon, and call it, <i>The Book of the
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Judges of the Children of Israel;</i> the judgments of that nation
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being peculiar, so were their judges, whose office differed vastly
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from that of the judges of other nations. The LXX. entitles it only
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<b><i>Kritai,</i></b> <i>Judges.</i> It is the history of the
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<i>commonwealth of Israel,</i> during the government of the judges
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from Othniel to Eli, so much of it as God saw fit to transmit to
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us. It contains the history (according to Dr. Lightfoot's
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computation) of 299 years, reckoning to Othniel of Judah forty
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years, to Ehud of Benjamin eighty years, to Barak of Naphtali forty
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years, to Gideon of Manasseh forty years, to Abimelech his son
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three years, to Tola of Issachar twenty-three, to Jair of Manasseh
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twenty-two, to Jephtha of Manasseh six, to Ibzan of Judah seven, to
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Elon of Zebulun ten, to Abdon of Ephraim eight, to Samson of Dan
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twenty, in all 299. As for the years of their servitude, as were
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Eglon is said to oppress them eighteen years and Jabin twenty
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years, and so some others, those must be reckoned to fall in with
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some or other of the years of the judges. The judges here appear to
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have been of eight several tribes; that honour was thus diffused,
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until at last it centred in Judah. Eli and Samuel, the two judges
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that fall not within this book, were of Levi. It seems, there was
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no judge of Reuben or Simeon, Gad or Asher. The history of these
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judges in their order we have in this book <scripRef id="Jud.i-p2.1" osisRef="Bible:Judg.1.1-Judg.16.31" parsed="|Judg|1|1|16|31" passage="Jdg 1:1-16:31">to the end of <i>ch.</i> xvi</scripRef>. And then
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in the <scripRef id="Jud.i-p2.2" osisRef="Bible:Judg.17.1-Judg.21.25" parsed="|Judg|17|1|21|25" passage="Jdg 17:1-21:25">last five
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chapters</scripRef> we have an account of some particular memorable
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events which happened, as the story of Ruth did (<scripRef id="Jud.i-p2.3" osisRef="Bible:Ruth.1.1" parsed="|Ruth|1|1|0|0" passage="Ru 1:1">Ruth i. 1</scripRef>) <i>in the days when the judges
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ruled,</i> but it is not certain in which judge's days; but they
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are put together at the end of the book, that the thread of the
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general history might not be interrupted. Now as to the state of
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the commonwealth of Israel during this period, I. They do not
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appear here either so great or so good as one might have expected
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the character of such a peculiar people would be, that were
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governed by such laws and enriched by such promises. We find them
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wretchedly corrupted, and wretchedly oppressed by their neighbours
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about them, and nowhere in all the book, either in war or council,
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do they make any figure proportionable to their glorious entry into
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Canaan. What shall we say to it? God would hereby show us the
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lamentable imperfection of all persons and things under the sun,
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that we may look for complete holiness and happiness in the other
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world, and not in this. Yet, II. We may hope that though the
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historian in this book enlarges most upon their provocations and
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grievances, yet there was a face of religion upon the land; and,
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however there were those among them that were drawn aside to
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idolatry, yet the tabernacle-service, according to the law of
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Moses, was kept up, and there were many that attended it.
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Historians record not the common course of justice and commerce in
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a nation, taking that for granted, but only the wars and
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disturbances that happen; but the reader must consider the other,
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to balance the blackness of them. III. It should seem that in these
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times each tribe had very much its government in ordinary within
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itself, and acted separately, without one common head, or council,
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which occasioned many differences among themselves, and kept them
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from being or doing any thing considerable. IV. The government of
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the judges was not constant, but occasional; when it is said that
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after Ehud's victory <i>the land rested eighty years,</i> and after
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Barak's <i>forty</i>, it is not certain that they lived, much less
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that they governed, so long; but they and the rest were raised up
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and animated by the Spirit of God to do particular service to the
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public when there was occasion, to <i>avenge Israel of their
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enemies,</i> and to purge Israel of their idolatries, which are the
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two things principally meant by their judging Israel. Yet Deborah,
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as a prophetess, was attended for judgment by all Israel, before
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there was occasion for her agency in war, <scripRef id="Jud.i-p2.4" osisRef="Bible:Judg.4.4" parsed="|Judg|4|4|0|0" passage="Jdg 4:4"><i>ch.</i> iv. 4</scripRef>. V. During the government of
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the judges, God was in a more especial manner Israel's king; so
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Samuel tells them when they were resolved to throw off this form of
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government, <scripRef id="Jud.i-p2.5" osisRef="Bible:1Sam.12.12" parsed="|1Sam|12|12|0|0" passage="1Sa 12:12">1 Sam. xii.
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12</scripRef>. God would try what his own law and the constitutions
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of that would do to keep them in order, and it proved that when
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<i>there was no king in Israel every man did that which was right
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in his own eyes;</i> he therefore, towards the latter end of this
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time, made the government of the judges more constant and universal
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that it was at first, and at length gave them David, a king after
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his own heart; then, and not till then, Israel began to flourish,
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which should make us very thankful for magistrates both supreme and
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subordinate, for they are <i>ministers of God unto us for good.</i>
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Four of the judges of Israel are canonized (<scripRef id="Jud.i-p2.6" osisRef="Bible:Heb.11.32" parsed="|Heb|11|32|0|0" passage="Heb 11:32">Heb. xi. 32</scripRef>), Gideon, Barak, Samson, and
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Jephtha. The Learned bishop Patrick thinks the prophet Samuel was
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the penman of this Book.</p>
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</div2>
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