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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC31000.HTM">Previous</A>]
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<TD ALIGN="RIGHT" VALIGN="TOP">
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1712)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>O B A D I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. I.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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This book is wholly concerning Edom, a nation nearly allied and near
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adjoining to Israel, and yet an enemy to the seed of Jacob, inheriting
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the enmity of their father Esau to Jacob. Now here we have, after the
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preface,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:1">ver. 1</A>.
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I. Threatenings against Edom,
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1. That their pride should be humbled,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:2-4">ver. 2-4</A>.
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2. That their wealth should be plundered,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:5-7">ver. 5-7</A>.
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3. That their wisdom should be infatuated,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:8,9">ver. 8, 9</A>.
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4. That their spiteful behaviour towards God's Israel should be avenged,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:10-16">ver. 10-16</A>.
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II. Gracious promises to Israel; that they shall be restored and
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reformed, and shall be victorious over the Edomites, and become masters
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of their land and the lands of others of their neighbours
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:17-20">ver. 17-20</A>),
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and that the kingdom of the Messiah shall be set up by the bringing in
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of the great salvation,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:21">ver. 21</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Ob1_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Doom of Edom.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 587.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord G<FONT SIZE=-1><B>OD</B></FONT> concerning
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Edom; We have heard a rumour from the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, and an ambassador is
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sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her
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in battle.
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2 Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen: thou art
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greatly despised.
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3 The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that
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dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation <I>is</I> high;
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that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?
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4 Though thou exalt <I>thyself</I> as the eagle, and though thou set
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thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith
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the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>.
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5 If thieves came to thee, if robbers by night, (how art thou
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cut off!) would they not have stolen till they had enough? if the
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grape-gatherers came to thee, would they not leave <I>some</I> grapes?
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6 How are <I>the things</I> of Esau searched out! <I>how</I> are his
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hidden things sought up!
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7 All the men of thy confederacy have brought thee <I>even</I> to
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the border: the men that were at peace with thee have deceived
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thee, <I>and</I> prevailed against thee; <I>they that eat</I> thy bread
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have laid a wound under thee: <I>there is</I> none understanding in
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him.
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8 Shall I not in that day, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, even destroy the
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wise <I>men</I> out of Edom, and understanding out of the mount of
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Esau?
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9 And thy mighty <I>men,</I> O Teman, shall be dismayed, to the end
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that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut off by slaughter.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Edom is the nation against which this prophecy is levelled, and which,
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some think, is put for all the enemies of Israel, that shall be brought
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down first or last. The rabbin by Edom understand Rome. Rome Christians
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they understand it of, and have an implacable enmity to it a such; but,
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if we understand it of Rome antichristian, we shall find the passages
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of it applicable enough. And though Edom was mortified in the times of
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the Maccabees, as it had been before by Jehoshaphat, yet its
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destruction seems to have been typical, as their father Esau's
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rejection, and to have had further reference to the destruction of the
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enemies of the gospel-church; for so shall all God's enemies perish;
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and we find
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+34:5">Isa. xxxiv. 5</A>)
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the <I>sword of the Lord</I> coming down <I>upon Idumea,</I> to signify
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the general day of God's recompences for the controversy of Zion,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Some have well observed that it could not but be a great temptation to
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the people of Israel, when they saw themselves, who were the children
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of beloved Jacob, in trouble, and the Edomites, not only prospering,
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but triumphing over them in their troubles; and therefore God gives
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them a prospect of the destruction of Edom, which should be total and
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final, and of a happy issue of their own correction. Now we may observe
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here,</P>
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<P>
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I. A declaration of war against Edom,
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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"<I>We have heard a rumour,</I> or rather <I>an order, from the
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Lord,</I> the God of hosts; he has given the word of command; it is his
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counsel and decree, which can neither be reversed nor resisted, that
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all who do mischief to his people shall certainly bring mischief upon
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themselves. We have heard a report that God is raised up out of his
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holy habitation, and is preparing his throne for judgment; and <I>an
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ambassador is sent among the heathen,</I>" a <I>herald</I> rather, some
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minister or messenger of Providence, to alarm the nations, or the
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Lord's prophets, who gave each nation its burden. Those whom God
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employs cry to each other, <I>Arise ye,</I> stir up yourselves and one
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another, and let <I>us rise up against Edom in battle.</I> The
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confederate forces under Nebuchadnezzar thus animate themselves and one
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another to make a descent upon that country: <I>Gather yourselves
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together, and come against her;</I> so it is in the parallel place,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+49:14">Jer. xlix. 14</A>.
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Note, When God has bloody work to do among the enemies of his church he
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will find out and fit up both hands and hearts to do it.</P>
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<P>
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II. A prediction of the success of that war. Edom shall certainly be
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subdued, and spoiled, and brought down; for all her confidences shall
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fail her and stand her in no stead, and in like manner shall all the
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enemies of God's church be disappointed in those things which they
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stayed themselves upon.</P>
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<P>
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1. Do they depend upon their grandeur, the figure they make among the
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nations, their influence upon them, and interest in them? That shall
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dwindle
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"<I>Behold, I have made thee small among the heathen,</I> so that none
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of thy neighbours will court thy friendship, or court an alliance with
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thee; <I>thou art greatly despised</I> among them, and looked upon with
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contempt, as an infatuated and unfaithful nation." And thus
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>)
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<I>the pride of thy heart has deceived thee.</I> Note,
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(1.) Those that think well of themselves are apt to fancy that others
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think well of them too; but, when they come to make trial of them, they
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will find themselves mistaken, and thus their pride deceives them and
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by it slays them.
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(2.) God can easily lay those low that have magnified and exalted
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themselves, and will find out a way to do it, for he <I>resists the
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proud;</I> and we often see those small and greatly despised who once
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looked very big and were greatly caressed and admired.</P>
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<P>
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2. Do they depend upon the fortifications of their country, both by
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nature and art, and glory in the advantages they have thereby? Those
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also shall deceive them. They <I>dwelt in the clefts of the rock,</I>
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as an eagle in her nest, and their <I>habitation</I> was <I>high,</I>
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not only exalted above their neighbours, which was the matter of their
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pride, but fortified against their enemies, which was the matter of
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their security, so high as to be out of the reach of danger. Now
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observe,
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(1.) What Edom says in the pride of his heart: <I>Who shall bring me
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down to the ground?</I> He speaks with a confidence of his own
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strength, and a contempt of God's judgments, as if almighty power
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itself could not overpower him. As for <I>all his enemies,</I> even God
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himself, he <I>puffs at them</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+10:5">Ps. x. 5</A>),
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sets them all at defiance. Their father Esau had <I>sold his
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birthright,</I> and yet they lifted up themselves, as if to them had
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still pertained the <I>excellency of dignity and power.</I> Many
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forfeit their privileges, and yet boast of them. Because Edom is high
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and lifted up, he imagines none can bring him down. Note, Carnal
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security is a sin that most easily besets men in the day of their pomp,
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power, and prosperity, and does, as much as any thing, both ripen men
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for ruin and aggravate it when it comes.
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(2.) What God says to this,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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If men will dare to challenge Omnipotence, their challenge shall be
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taken up: <I>Who shall bring me down?</I> says Edom. "<I>I will,</I>"
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says God. "<I>Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle</I> that soars
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high and builds high, nay, <I>though thou set thy nest among stars,</I>
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higher than ever any eagle flew, it is but in thy own imagination, and
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<I>thence will I bring thee down.</I>" This we had
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+49:15,16">Jer. xlix. 15, 16</A>.
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Note, Sinners will certainly be made ashamed of their pride and
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security of their pride when it has a fall and of their security when
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their confidences fail their expectation.</P>
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<P>
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3. Do they depend upon their wealth and treasure, the abundance of
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which is looked upon as the sinews of war? Is their money their
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defence? Is that their strong city? It is so only in their own conceit,
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for it shall rather expose them than protect them; it shall be made a
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prey to the enemy, and they for the sake of it,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:5,6"><I>v.</I> 5, 6</A>.
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Much to this purport we had
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+49:9,10">Jer. xlix. 9, 10</A>.
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Only here comes in, in a parenthesis, <I>How art thou cut off!</I> thou
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and all thy stores. The prophet foretels it, but laments it, that the
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thread of their prosperity was cut off. How art thou fallen, and how
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great is thy fall! <I>How art thou stupefied!</I> so the Chaldee words
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it. How senseless art thou under these desolating judgments, as if they
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were but common strokes! But he shows that it should be an utter ruin,
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not a usual calamity; for,
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(1.) It is indeed a usual calamity for those that have wealth to have
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it stolen, and to lose a little out of their great deal. <I>Thieves
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come to them</I> (for where the carcase is, there will the birds of
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prey be gathered together), <I>robbers come by night,</I> and they
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<I>steal till they have enough,</I> what they have occasion for, what
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they have a mind for; they steal no more than they think they can carry
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away, and out of a great stock it is scarcely missed. Those that rob
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orchards, or vineyards, carry off what they think fit; but they
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<I>leave some grapes,</I> some fruit for the owner, who easily bears
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his loss perhaps and soon recruits it. But,
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(2.) It shall not be so with Edom; his wealth shall all be taken away,
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and nothing shall escape the hands of the destroying army, not that
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which is most precious and valuable,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>.
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<I>How are the things of Esau,</I> the things he sets his heart upon
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and places his happiness in, his good things, his best things, how are
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these things, which were so carefully treasured up and concealed, now
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<I>searched out</I> by the enemy and seized! <I>How are the hidden
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things,</I> his hidden treasures, plundered, rifled, and <I>sought
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up!</I> His hoards, that had not see the light for many years, are now
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a spoil to the enemy. Note, Treasures on earth, though ever so fast
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locked up and ever so artfully hidden, cannot be so safely laid up but
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that thieves may break through and steal; it is therefore our wisdom to
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<I>lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.</I></P>
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<P>
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4. Do they depend upon their alliances with neighbouring states and
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potentates? Those also shall fail them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>):
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"The <I>men of thy confederacy,</I> all of them, the Ammonites and
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Moabites, and other thy high allies that were at <I>peace with
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thee,</I> that entered into a league offensive and defensive with thee,
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that solemnly engaged not only to do thee no hurt, but to do thee all
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the service the could, <I>did eat thy bread,</I> were magnificently
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treated and entertained by thee, lived upon thee; their soldiers had
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free quarter in thy country, and took pay as thy auxiliaries; they
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<I>brought thee even to the border</I> of thy land, were very
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respectful to thy ambassadors, and brought them on their way home, even
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to the utmost limits of their country; they seemed forward to serve
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thee with their forces when thou hadst occasion for them, and came
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along with thee <I>to the border,</I> till thou wast just ready to
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engage the invading enemy; but then,"
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(1.) "They had <I>deceived thee;</I> they flew back and retreated when
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thou wast in extremity, and proved as a broken reed to the traveller
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that is weary, and as the brooks in summer to the traveller that is
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thirsty; they bear no weight, yield no relief." Nay,
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(2.) "They have <I>prevailed against thee;</I> they were too hard for
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thee in the treaty imposed upon thee, and by cheating thee ruined thee,
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brought thee into danger, and there left thee an easy prey to thy
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enemy." Note, Those that make flesh their arm arm it against them. Yet
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this was not the worst.
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(3.) "They have <I>laid a wound under thee;</I> that is, they have laid
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that under thee for a stay and support, for a foundation to rely on,
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for a pillow to repose on, which will prove a wound to thee; not as
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thorns only, but as swords." If God lay under us the arms of his power
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and love, these will be firm and easy under us; the God of our covenant
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will never deceive us. But if we trust to <I>the men of our
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confederacy,</I> and what they will lay under us, it may prove to us a
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<I>wound</I> and <I>dishonour.</I> And observe the just censure here
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passed upon Edom for trusting to those who thus played tricks with him:
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"<I>There is no understanding in him,</I> or else he would never have
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put it into their power to betray him by putting such a confidence in
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them." Note, Those show they have no understanding in them who, when
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they are encouraged to trust in the Creator, put a cheat upon
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themselves by reposing a confidence in the creature.</P>
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<P>
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5. Do they depend upon the politics of their counsellors? These shall
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fail them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>.
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Edom had been famous for great statesmen, men of learning and
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experience, that sat at the help of government, and were masters of all
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the arts of management, that in all treaties used to outwit their
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neighbours; but now the <I>counsellors</I> have become <I>fools,</I>
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and the wise God makes them so: <I>Shall I not in that day destroy the
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wise men out of Edom?</I> As men they shall fall by the sword in common
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with others
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+49:10">Ps. xlix. 10</A>),
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and their wisdom shall not secure them; as wise men they shall be
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infatuated in all their counsels; their best-laid designs shall be
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baffled, their measures broken, and those very projects by which they
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thought to establish themselves and the public interests shall be the
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ruin of both. Thus <I>wisdom perishes from Teman,</I> as it is in the
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parallel place,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+49:7">Jer. xlix. 7</A>.
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This was,
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(1.) The just punishment of their folly in trusting to an arm of flesh:
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<I>There is no understanding in them,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
They have not sense to trust in a living God, and a God of truth, but
|
|
put confidence in men that are frail, fickle, and false; and therefore
|
|
God will <I>destroy their understanding.</I> Note, God will justly deny
|
|
those understanding to keep out of the way of danger that will not use
|
|
their understanding to keep out of the way of sin. He that will be
|
|
foolish, let him be foolish still.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It was the forerunner of their destruction. A nation is certainly
|
|
marked for ruin when God hides the things that belong to its peace from
|
|
the eyes of those that are entrusted with its counsels. <I>Quos Deus
|
|
vult perdere, eos dementat--God infatuates those whom he designs to
|
|
destroy.</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Job+12:17">Job xii. 17</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
6. Do they depend upon the strength and courage of their soldiers? They
|
|
are not only able-bodied, but men of spirit and courage, that can face
|
|
an enemy and stand their ground; but now
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Thy mighty men, O Teman! shall be dismayed;</I> their courage shall
|
|
fail them, <I>to the end that every one of the mount of Esau may be cut
|
|
off by slaughter,</I> and none escape. The weak, and feeble, and
|
|
unarmed must fall of course into the hand of the destroyer when the
|
|
<I>mighty men are dismayed,</I> and not only lose the day, but lose
|
|
their lives, because they have lost their spirit. <I>Howl, fir-trees,
|
|
if the cedars be shaken.</I> Note, The death or disuniting of the
|
|
mighty often proves the death and destruction of the many; and it is in
|
|
vain to depend upon mighty men for our protection if we have not an
|
|
almighty God for us, much less if we have an almighty God against
|
|
us.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Ob1_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ob1_11"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ob1_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ob1_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ob1_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ob1_15"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Ob1_16"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Guilt of Edom.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 587.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>10 For <I>thy</I> violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall
|
|
cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
|
|
11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day
|
|
that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and
|
|
foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem,
|
|
even thou <I>wast</I> as one of them.
|
|
12 But thou shouldest not have looked on the day of thy brother
|
|
in the day that he became a stranger; neither shouldest thou have
|
|
rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their
|
|
destruction; neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly in the
|
|
day of distress.
|
|
13 Thou shouldest not have entered into the gate of my people
|
|
in the day of their calamity; yea, thou shouldest not have looked
|
|
on their affliction in the day of their calamity, nor have laid
|
|
<I>hands</I> on their substance in the day of their calamity;
|
|
14 Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut
|
|
off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have
|
|
delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.
|
|
15 For the day of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> near upon all the heathen: as
|
|
thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall
|
|
return upon thine own head.
|
|
16 For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, <I>so</I> shall all
|
|
the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they
|
|
shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not
|
|
been.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
When we have read Edom's doom, no less than utter ruin, it is natural
|
|
to ask, <I>Why, what evil has he done?</I> What is the ground of God's
|
|
controversy with him? Many things, no doubt, were amiss in Edom; they
|
|
were a sinful people, and <I>a people laden with iniquity.</I> But that
|
|
one single crime which is laid to their charge, as filling their
|
|
measure and bringing this ruin upon them, that for which they here
|
|
stand indicted, of which they are convicted, and for which they are
|
|
condemned, is the injury they had done to the people of God
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:10"><I>v.</I> 10</A>):
|
|
|
|
"It is <I>for thy violence against thy brother Jacob,</I> that ancient
|
|
and hereditary grudge which thou hast borne to the people of Israel,
|
|
that all this <I>shame shall cover thee</I> and <I>thou shalt be cut
|
|
off for ever.</I>" Note, Injuries to men are affronts to God, the
|
|
righteous God, that loveth righteousness and hateth wickedness; and, as
|
|
the Judge of all the earth, he will give redress to those that suffer
|
|
wrong and take vengeance on those that do wrong. All violence, all
|
|
<I>unrighteousness, is sin;</I> but it is a great aggravation of the
|
|
violence if it be done either,
|
|
|
|
1. Against any of our own people; it is violence <I>against thy
|
|
brother,</I> thy near relation, to whom thou shouldst be a <I>goël--a
|
|
redeemer,</I> whom it is thy duty to right if others wronged him; how
|
|
wicked is it then for thee thyself to wrong him! Thou <I>slanderest</I>
|
|
and abusest <I>thy own mother's son;</I> this makes the sin
|
|
<I>exceedingly sinful,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+50:20">Ps. l. 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
Or,
|
|
|
|
2. Much more if it be done against any of God's people; "it is thy
|
|
brother Jacob that is in covenant with God, and dear to him. Thou
|
|
hatest him whom God has loved, and because God espouses and will plead
|
|
with jealousy, and in whose interests God is pleased so far to interest
|
|
himself that he takes the violence done to him as done to himself.
|
|
<I>Whoso touches Jacob touches the apple of the eye of Jacob's
|
|
God.</I>" So that it is <I>crimen læsæ majestatis--high
|
|
treason,</I> for which, as for high treason, let Edom expect an
|
|
ignominious punishment: <I>Shame shall cover thee,</I> and a ruining
|
|
one; <I>thou shalt be cut off for ever.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:12-16">following verses</A>
|
|
|
|
we are told more particularly,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. What the violence was which Edom did against his brother Jacob, and
|
|
what are the proofs of this charge. It does not appear that the
|
|
Edomites did themselves invade Israel, but that was more for want of
|
|
power than will; they had malice enough to do it, but were not a match
|
|
for them. But that which is laid to their charge is their barbarous
|
|
conduct towards Judah and Jerusalem when they were in distress, and
|
|
ready to be destroyed, probably by the Chaldeans, or upon occasion of
|
|
some other of the calamities of the Jews; for this seems to have been
|
|
always their temper towards them. See this charged upon the Edomites
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+137:7">Ps. cxxxvii. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
that <I>in the day of Jerusalem they said, Rase it, rase it,</I> and
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:12">Ezek. xxv. 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
They are here told particularly what they did, by being told what they
|
|
should not have done
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:12-14"><I>v.</I> 12-14</A>):
|
|
|
|
"Thou <I>shouldst not have looked,</I> thou <I>shouldst not have
|
|
entered;</I> but thou didst so." Note, In reflecting upon ourselves it
|
|
is good to compare what we have done with what we should have done, our
|
|
practice with the rule, that we may discover wherein we have done
|
|
amiss, have <I>done those things which we ought not to have done.</I>
|
|
We should not have been where we were at such a time, should not have
|
|
been in such and such company, should not have said what we said, nor
|
|
have taken the liberty that we took. Sin thus looked upon, in the glass
|
|
of the commandment, will appear exceedingly sinful. Let us see,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. What was the case of Judah and Jerusalem when the Edomites behaved
|
|
themselves thus basely and insulted over them.
|
|
|
|
(1.) It was a day of distress with them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>):
|
|
|
|
It was the <I>day of their calamity,</I> so it is called three times,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
With the Edomites it was a day of prosperity and peace when with the
|
|
Israelites it was a day of distress and calamity, for judgment commonly
|
|
<I>begins at the house of God.</I> Children are corrected when
|
|
strangers are let alone.
|
|
|
|
(2.) It was the day of <I>their destruction</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
when both city and country were laid waste, were laid <I>in ruins.</I>
|
|
|
|
(3.) It was a day when <I>foreigners entered into the gates of
|
|
Jerusalem,</I> when the city, after a long siege, was broken up, and
|
|
the great officers of the king of Babylon's army came, and sat in the
|
|
gates, as judges of the land; when they cast lots upon the spoils of
|
|
Jerusalem, as the soldiers on Christ's garments, what shares each of
|
|
the conquerors shall have, what shares of the lands, what shares of the
|
|
goods; or they cast lots to determine when and where they should attack
|
|
it.
|
|
|
|
(4.) It was a day when the <I>strangers carried away captive his
|
|
forces</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
took the men of war prisoners of war, and carried them off, in poverty
|
|
and shame, to their own country, or such a multitude of captives that
|
|
they were as an army.
|
|
|
|
(5.) "It was a day when thy brother himself, that had long been at
|
|
home, at rest in his own land, <I>became a stranger,</I> an exile in a
|
|
strange land." Now, when this was the woeful case of the Jews, the
|
|
Edomites, their neighbours and brethren, should have pitied them and
|
|
helped them, condoled with them and comforted them, and should have
|
|
trembled to think that their own turn would come next; for, <I>if this
|
|
was done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?</I> But,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. See what was the conduct of the Edomites towards them when they were
|
|
in this distress, for which they are here condemned.
|
|
|
|
(1.) They looked with pleasure upon the affliction of God's people;
|
|
they <I>stood on the other side</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
|
|
|
|
afar off, when they should have come in to the relief of their
|
|
distressed neighbours, and <I>looked upon them,</I> and <I>their day,
|
|
looked on their affliction</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:12,13"><I>v.</I> 12, 13</A>),
|
|
|
|
with a careless unconcerned eye, as the priest and Levite looked upon
|
|
the wounded man, and <I>passed by on the other side.</I> Those have a
|
|
great deal to answer for that are idle spectators of the troubles and
|
|
afflictions of their neighbours, when they are capable of being their
|
|
active helpers. But this was not all; they looked upon it with a
|
|
scornful eye, with an eye of complacency and satisfaction; they looked
|
|
and laughed to see Israel in distress, saying, <I>Aha! so we would have
|
|
it.</I> They fed their eyes with the rueful spectacle of Jerusalem's
|
|
ruin, and looked at it as those that had long looked for it and often
|
|
wished to see it. Note, We must take heed with what eye we look upon
|
|
the afflictions of our brethren; and, if we cannot look upon them with
|
|
a gracious eye of sympathy and tenderness, it is better not to look
|
|
upon them at all: <I>Thou shouldst not have looked</I> as thou didst
|
|
<I>upon the day of thy brother.</I>
|
|
|
|
(2.) They triumphed and insulted over them, upbraided their brethren
|
|
with their sorrows, and made themselves and their companions merry with
|
|
them. They <I>rejoiced over the children of Judah in the day of their
|
|
destruction.</I> They had not the good manners to conceal the pleasure
|
|
they took in Judah's destruction and to dissemble it, but openly
|
|
declared it, and rudely and insolently declared it <I>to them; they
|
|
rejoiced over them,</I> crowed, and hectored, and trampled upon them.
|
|
Those have the spirit of Edomites that can rejoice over any, especially
|
|
over Israelites, in the day of their calamity.
|
|
|
|
(3.) They <I>spoke proudly-magnified the mouth</I> (so the word is),
|
|
against Israel, talked with a great disdain of the suffering
|
|
Israelites, and with an air of haughtiness of the present safety and
|
|
prosperity of Edom, as it if might be inferred from their present
|
|
different state that the tables were turned, and now Esau was beloved,
|
|
and the favourite of heaven, and Jacob hated and rejected. Note, Those
|
|
must expect to be in some way or other effectually humbled and
|
|
mortified themselves that are puffed up and made proud by the
|
|
humiliations and mortifications of others.
|
|
|
|
(4.) They went further yet, for they <I>entered into the gate</I> of
|
|
God's people in the day of their calamity, and <I>laid hands on their
|
|
substance.</I> Though they did not help to conquer them, they helped to
|
|
plunder them, and put in for a share in the prey,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Jerusalem was thrown open, and then they entered in; its wealth was
|
|
thrown about, and they seized it for themselves, excusing it with this,
|
|
that they might as well take it as let it be lost; whereas it was
|
|
taking what was not their own. Babylon lays Jerusalem waste, but Edom,
|
|
by meddling with the spoil, becomes <I>particeps
|
|
criminis</I>--<I>partaker of the crime,</I> and shall be reckoned with
|
|
as an accessary <I>ex post facto</I>--<I>after the fact.</I> Note,
|
|
Those do but impoverish themselves that think to enrich themselves by
|
|
the ruins of the people of God; and those deceive themselves who think
|
|
they may call all that substance their own which they can lay their
|
|
hands on in a day of calamity.
|
|
|
|
(5.) They did yet worse things; they not only robbed their brethren,
|
|
but murdered them, in the day of their calamity; laid hands not only on
|
|
their substance, but on their persons,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:14"><I>v.</I> 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
When the victorious sword of the Chaldeans was making bloody work among
|
|
the Jews many made their escape, and were in a fair way to save
|
|
themselves by flight; but the Edomites basely intercepted them,
|
|
<I>stood in the cross-way</I> where several roads met, by each of which
|
|
the trembling Israelites were making the best of their way from the
|
|
fury of the pursuers, and there they stopped them: some they
|
|
barbarously and cowardlike cut off themselves; others they took
|
|
prisoners, and delivered up to the pursuers, only to ingratiate
|
|
themselves with them, because they were now the conquerors. They
|
|
<I>should not have been</I> thus <I>cruel</I> to those that lay at
|
|
their mercy, and never had done, nor were every likely to do, them any
|
|
hurt; they should not have betrayed those whom they had such a fair
|
|
opportunity to protect; but such are the <I>tender mercies of the
|
|
wicked.</I> One cannot read this without a high degree of compassion
|
|
towards those who were thus basely abused, who when they fled from the
|
|
sword of an open enemy, and thought they had got out of the reach of
|
|
it, fell upon and fell by the sword of a treacherous neighbour, whom
|
|
they were not apprehensive of any danger from. Nor can one read this
|
|
without a high degree of indignation towards those who were so
|
|
perfectly lost to all humanity as to exercise such cruelty upon such
|
|
proper objects of compassion.
|
|
|
|
(6.) In all this they joined with the open enemies and persecutors of
|
|
Israel: <I>Even thou wast as one of them,</I> an accessary equally
|
|
guilty with the principals. He that joins in with the evil doers, and
|
|
is aiding and abetting in their evil deeds, shall be reckoned, and
|
|
shall be reckoned with, as one of them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. What the shame is that shall cover them for this violence of
|
|
theirs.
|
|
|
|
1. They shall soon find that the cup is going round, even the cup of
|
|
trembling; and, when they come to be in the same calamitous condition
|
|
that the Israel of God is now in, they will be ashamed to remember how
|
|
they triumphed over them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen,</I> when God will
|
|
recompense tribulation to the troublers of his church. Though judgment
|
|
begin at the house of God, it shall not end there. This should
|
|
effectually restrain us from triumphing over others in their misery,
|
|
that we know not how soon it may be our own case.
|
|
|
|
2. Their enmity to the people of God, and the injuries they had done
|
|
them, shall be recompensed into their own bosoms: <I>As thou hast done,
|
|
it shall be done unto thee.</I> The righteous God will render both to
|
|
nations and to particular persons <I>according to their works;</I> and
|
|
the punishment is often made exactly to answer to the sin, and those
|
|
that have abused others come to be themselves abused in like manner.
|
|
The just and jealous God will find out a time and way to avenge the
|
|
wrongs done to his people on those that have been injurious to them.
|
|
<I>As you have drunk upon my holy mountain</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
that is, as God's professing people, who inhabit his holy mountain,
|
|
have drunk deeply of the cup of affliction (and their being of the holy
|
|
mountain would not excuse them), <I>so shall all the heathen drink,</I>
|
|
in their turn, of the same bitter cup; for, if God <I>bring evil on the
|
|
city that is called by his name, shall those be unpunished</I> that
|
|
never knew his name? See
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+25:29">Jer. xxv. 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
And it is part of the burden of Edom
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+49:12">Jer. xlix. 12</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>Those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup</I> (who had reason
|
|
to promise themselves an exemption from it) have assuredly drunken, and
|
|
<I>shall Edom</I> that is the generation of God's wrath <I>go
|
|
unpunished?</I> No, <I>thou shalt surely drink of it;</I> the <I>cup of
|
|
trembling shall be taken out of the hand</I> of God's people, and put
|
|
<I>into the hand of those that afflict them,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+51:22,23">Isa. li. 22, 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Nay, they may expect their case to be worse in the day of their
|
|
distress than that of Israel was in their day; for,
|
|
|
|
(1.) The afflictions of God's people were but for a moment, and soon
|
|
had an end, but their enemies shall <I>drink continually</I> the
|
|
<I>wine of God's wrath,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+14:10">Rev. xiv. 10</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) The dregs of the cup are reserved for the <I>wicked of the
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earth</I>
|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+75:8">Ps. lxxv. 8</A>);
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they shall <I>drink and swallow down,</I> or <I>sup up</I> (as the
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|
margin reads it), shall drink it to the bottom.
|
|
|
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(3.) The people of God, though they may be made to drink of the wine of
|
|
astonishment for a while
|
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|
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+60:3">Ps. lx. 3</A>),
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shall yet recover, and come to themselves again; but the heathen shall
|
|
drink and be <I>as though they had not been;</I> there shall be neither
|
|
any remains nor any remembrance of them, but they shall be wholly
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|
extirpated and rooted out. <I>So let all thy enemies perish, O
|
|
Lord!</I> so they shall perish, if the turn not.</P>
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<A NAME="Ob1_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="Ob1_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Promises to Israel and Judah.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 587.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>17 But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be
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holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
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18 And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of
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|
Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall
|
|
kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be <I>any</I>
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|
remaining of the house of Esau; for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> hath spoken <I>it.</I>
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19 And <I>they of</I> the south shall possess the mount of Esau; and
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|
<I>they of</I> the plain the Philistines: and they shall possess the
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|
fields of Ephraim, and the fields of Samaria: and Benjamin <I>shall
|
|
possess</I> Gilead.
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|
20 And the captivity of this host of the children of Israel
|
|
<I>shall possess</I> that of the Canaanites, <I>even</I> unto Zarephath;
|
|
and the captivity of Jerusalem, which <I>is</I> in Sepharad, shall
|
|
possess the cities of the south.
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21 And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount
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|
of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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After the destruction of the church's enemies is threatened, which will
|
|
be completely accomplished in the great day of recompence, and that
|
|
judgment for which Christ came once, and will come again, into this
|
|
world, here follow precious promises of the salvation of the church,
|
|
with which this prophecy concludes, and those of Joel and Amos did,
|
|
which, however they might be in part fulfilled in the return of the
|
|
Jews out of Babylon notwithstanding the triumphs of Edom in their
|
|
captivity, as if it were perpetual, are yet, doubtless, to have their
|
|
full accomplishment in that great salvation wrought out by Jesus
|
|
Christ, to which all the prophets bore witness. It is promised
|
|
here,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. That there shall be salvation upon Mount Zion, that holy hill where
|
|
God sets his anointed King
|
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|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+2:6">Ps. ii. 6</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Upon Mount Zion shall be deliverance,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
|
|
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|
There shall be <I>those that escape;</I> so the margin. A remnant of
|
|
Israel, <I>upon the holy mountain</I> shall be saved,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
Christ said, <I>Salvation is of the Jews,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Joh+4:22">John iv. 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
God wrought deliverances for the Jews, typical of our redemption by
|
|
Christ. But Mount Zion is the gospel-church, from which the
|
|
New-Testament law <I>went forth,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+2:3">Isa. ii. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
There salvation shall be preached and prayed for; to the gospel-church
|
|
those are added who <I>shall be saved;</I> and for those who come in
|
|
faith and hope to this Mount Zion deliverance shall be wrought from
|
|
wrath and the curse, from sin, and death, and hell, while those who
|
|
continue afar off shall be left to perish.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. That, where there is salvation, there shall be sanctification in
|
|
order to it: <I>And there shall be holiness,</I> to prepare and qualify
|
|
the children of Zion for this deliverance; for wherever God designs
|
|
glory he gives grace. Temporal deliverances are indeed wrought for us
|
|
in mercy when with them there is holiness, when there is wrought in us
|
|
a disposition to receive them with love and gratitude to God; when we
|
|
are sanctified, they are sanctified to us. Holiness is itself a great
|
|
deliverance, and an earnest of that eternal salvation which we look
|
|
for. <I>There,</I> upon Mount Zion, in the gospel-church, <I>shall be
|
|
holiness;</I> for that is it which <I>becomes God's house for ever,</I>
|
|
and the great design of the gospel, and its grace, is to plant and
|
|
promote holiness. There shall be the Holy Spirit, the holy ordinances,
|
|
the holy Jesus, and a select remnant of holy souls, in whom, and among
|
|
whom, the holy God will delight to dwell. Note, Where there is holiness
|
|
there shall be deliverance.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. That this salvation and sanctification shall spread, and prevail,
|
|
and get ground in the world: The <I>house of Jacob,</I> even this
|
|
<I>Mount Zion,</I> with the deliverance and their holiness there
|
|
wrought, shall <I>possess their possessions;</I> that is, the
|
|
gospel-church shall be set up among the heathen, and shall replenish
|
|
the earth; the apostles of Christ by their preaching shall gain
|
|
possession of the hearts of men for him whose messengers and ministers
|
|
they are, and when they possess their hearts they shall <I>possess
|
|
their possessions,</I> for those who have given up themselves to the
|
|
Lord give up all they have to him. When Lydia's heart was opened to
|
|
Christ her house was opened to his ministers. When the Gentile nations
|
|
became <I>nations of those that were saved,</I> were disciplined,
|
|
<I>walked in the light</I> of the Lord, and <I>brought their glory and
|
|
honour into the new Jerusalem</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+21:24">Rev. xxi. 24</A>),
|
|
|
|
then the <I>house of Jacob possessed their possessions.</I> This is the
|
|
part fulfilled by the planting of the Christian religion in the world,
|
|
and shall be fulfilled yet more and more by the setting up of Christ's
|
|
throne where Satan's seat is, and the erecting of trophies of his
|
|
victory upon the ruins of the devil's kingdom. Now here is
|
|
foretold,</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
1. How this possession shall be <I>gained,</I> and the opposition given
|
|
to it got over
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a
|
|
flame,</I> for their God is, and will be, a <I>consuming fire;</I> and
|
|
the house of Esau shall be for <I>stubble,</I> easily devoured and
|
|
consumed by this fire. This is fulfilled,
|
|
|
|
(1.) In the conversion of multitudes by the grace of Christ; the
|
|
gospel, preached in the house of Jacob and Joseph, and there owned and
|
|
professed, shall be as a fire and a flame to melt and to soften hard
|
|
hearts, to burn up the dross of sin and corruption, that they may be
|
|
purified and refined with the <I>spirit of judgment and</I> the
|
|
<I>spirit of burning.</I> Christ, when he comes, shall be <I>as a
|
|
refiner's fire,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+3:1,2">Mal. iii. 1, 2</A>.
|
|
|
|
(2.) In the confusion of all the impenitent implacable enemies of the
|
|
gospel of Christ, that oppose it and do all they can to hinder the
|
|
setting up of the kingdom of the Messiah by it. The gospel day is a day
|
|
that <I>burns like an oven,</I> in which <I>all the proud, and all that
|
|
do wickedly, shall be a stubble,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mal+4:1">Mal. iv. 1</A>.
|
|
|
|
Jacob and Joseph shall be as a fire and a flame; for those that meddle
|
|
with them, to do them hurt, will find that they do so at their peril;
|
|
they shall be to them as <I>a torch of fire in a sheaf,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zec+12:6">Zech. xii. 6</A>.
|
|
|
|
The word of God in the mouth of his ministers is said to be like fire,
|
|
and the people as wood to be devoured by it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+5:14">Jer. v. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
And the <I>man of sin</I> is to be <I>consumed by the breath of
|
|
Christ's mouth,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Th+2:8">2 Thess. ii. 8</A>.
|
|
|
|
Those that are not refined as gold by fire of the gospel shall be
|
|
consumed as dross by it; for it will be a savour either of life or of
|
|
death. When idols and idolatry were abolished, and the wealth and power
|
|
of nations were brought into the service of Christ and his gospel, and
|
|
the spoils of the <I>strong man armed</I> were divided by him that was
|
|
<I>stronger than he,</I> then the house of Jacob and Joseph devoured
|
|
<I>the house of Esau,</I> so that there was none of them left
|
|
remaining. This the Lord <I>spoke</I> by his prophets, and this he did
|
|
by his apostles.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
2. How far this possession shall extend,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:19,20"><I>v.</I> 19, 20</A>.
|
|
|
|
This is described in Jewish language, which speaks the accession made
|
|
to the land of Israel, after the return out of captivity into Babylon.
|
|
The <I>captivity of this host of Israel,</I> that is, this host of
|
|
Israel that have been so long in captivity and now they have come back
|
|
are still called the <I>children of the captivity,</I> these shall not
|
|
only recover their own land, but shall gain ground upon their
|
|
neighbours adjoining to them, some of whom shall become proselytes and
|
|
shall incorporate with the Jews, who, by possessing them in a holy
|
|
communion, possess their land. We must reckon ourselves truly enriched
|
|
by the conversion of our neighbours to the fear of God and the faith of
|
|
Christ, and their coming to join with us in the worship of God. Such an
|
|
accession to our Christian communion we must reckon to be more our
|
|
wealth and strength than an accession to our estates. Or, The ancient
|
|
inhabitants of those lands that were carried away into captivity being
|
|
lost, and never returning to their estates, the children of Israel
|
|
shall take possession of that which lies next them; for their numbers
|
|
shall so increase that their own land shall be too strait for them, and
|
|
their neighbours' estates shall escheat to them <I>ob defectum
|
|
sanguinis--through default of heirs.</I> They shall enter upon that
|
|
which is adjoining to them. The country of Esau shall be possessed by
|
|
those <I>of the south</I> parts of Canaan, for to them it lies
|
|
contiguous. Those <I>of the plain,</I> on the <I>west</I> of Canaan,
|
|
which was a champaign country, shall enter upon <I>the land of the
|
|
Philistines,</I> their neighbours. Those of Judah, which was the chief
|
|
of the two returning tribes, shall possess <I>the field of Ephraim and
|
|
Samaria,</I> which before belonged to the ten tribes; and Benjamin, the
|
|
other tribe, shall possess Gilead on the other side of Jordan, which
|
|
had belonged to the two tribes and a half. The kingdom of Israel shall
|
|
join with that of Judah both in civil and sacred interests, and, as
|
|
friends and brethren, shall mutually possess and enjoy one another; and
|
|
both together shall <I>possess the Canaanites,</I> even to Zarephath,
|
|
which <I>belongeth to Zidon;</I> and Jerusalem shall possess the
|
|
<I>cities of the south,</I> even to Sepharad. Thus did the Jews enlarge
|
|
their borders on all sides. The modern rabbin teach their scholars by
|
|
Zarephath and Sepharad to understand France and Spain, grounding upon
|
|
this a foolish groundless expectation that some time or other the Jews
|
|
shall be masters of those countries; and they call and count the
|
|
Christians <I>Edomites,</I> over whom they are to have dominion. But
|
|
the promise here, no doubt, has a spiritual signification, and had its
|
|
accomplishment in the setting up of the Christian church, the
|
|
gospel-Israel, in the world, and shall have its accomplishment more and
|
|
more in the enlargement of it and the additions made to it, till the
|
|
mystical body is completed. When ministers and Christians prevail with
|
|
their neighbours to come to Christ, to yield themselves to the Lord,
|
|
they possess them. The converts that Abraham had are said to be the
|
|
<I>souls that he had gotten,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+12:5">Gen. xii. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
The possession is gained, not <I>vi et armis--by force and arms;</I>
|
|
for the <I>weapons of our warfare are not carnal,</I> but
|
|
<I>spiritual;</I> it is by the preaching of the gospel, and the power
|
|
of divine grace going along with it, that this possession is got and
|
|
kept.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
IV. That the kingdom of the Redeemer shall be erected and maintained,
|
|
to the comfort of his loyal subjects and the terror and shame of all
|
|
his enemies
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ob+1:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The kingdom shall be the Lord's,</I> the Lord Christ's. God shall
|
|
give it to him, by putting all things into his hand, all power both in
|
|
heaven and in earth; men shall give it to him, by resigning themselves
|
|
to him as his willing people, and appointing him their head. Now the
|
|
work of kings is to protect their subjects and suppress their enemies;
|
|
and this Christ will do; he will both reward and punish.
|
|
|
|
1. The mountain of Zion shall be saved; on it <I>saviours</I> shall
|
|
<I>come,</I> the preachers of the gospel, who are called saviours,
|
|
because their business is to save themselves and those that hear them;
|
|
and in this they are <I>workers together with Christ,</I> but to little
|
|
purpose if he by his grace did not <I>work together with them.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. The mountain of Esau shall be judged; and the same that come as
|
|
saviours on Mount Zion shall <I>judge</I> the <I>mountain of Esau;</I>
|
|
for the word of the gospel in their mouth, that saves believers, judges
|
|
unbelievers, convinces and condemns them. Christ's ministers are
|
|
<I>saviours on Mount Zion</I> when they preach that he <I>that believes
|
|
shall be saved;</I> but they judge the mount of Esau when they preach
|
|
<I>that he that believeth not shall be damned,</I> which they are not
|
|
only commissioned, but commanded to do,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mk+16:16">Mark xvi. 16</A>.
|
|
|
|
And in the course of God's providence his scripture is fulfilled; when
|
|
God raises up friends to the church in her distress (as he <I>raised up
|
|
judges</I> to deliver Israel of old,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+2:16">Judg. ii. 16</A>),
|
|
|
|
then <I>saviours come on Mount Zion,</I> to save it from being sunk and
|
|
ruined; and when the enemies of the church are brought down, and their
|
|
power broken, then is the <I>mount of Esau judged;</I> and this shall
|
|
be done in every age in such a way as God thinks best; we may depend
|
|
upon it that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church,
|
|
but the church shall prevail against them; <I>for the kingdom shall be
|
|
the Lord's;</I> the kingdoms of the world shall become his, and he has
|
|
taken, and will take, to himself his great power and reign.</P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
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