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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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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>Z E P H A N I A H.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. II.</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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In this chapter we have,
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I. An earnest exhortation to the nation of the Jews to repent and make
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their peace with God, and so to prevent the judgments threatened before
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it was too late
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:1-3">ver. 1-3</A>),
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and this inferred from the revelation of God's wrath against them in
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the foregoing chapter. II. A denunciation of the judgments of God
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against several of the neighbouring nations that had assisted, or
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rejoiced in, the calamity of Israel.
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1. The Philistines,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:4-7">ver. 4-7</A>.
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2. The Moabites and Ammonites,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:8-11">ver. 8-11</A>.
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3. The Ethiopians and Assyrians,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:12-15">ver. 12-15</A>.
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All these shall drink of the same cup of trembling that is put into the
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hands of God's people, as was also foretold by other prophets before
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and after.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="Zep2_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zep2_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zep2_3"> </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 People Exhorted to Repent.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 612.</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 Gather yourselves together, yea, gather together, O nation
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not desired;
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2 Before the decree bring forth, <I>before</I> the day pass as the
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chaff, before the fierce anger of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> come upon you, before
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the day of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s anger come upon you.
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3 Seek ye the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>, all ye meek of the earth, which have
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wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may
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be ye shall be hid in the day of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>'s anger.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here we see what the prophet meant in that terrible description of the
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approaching judgments which we had in the foregoing chapter. From first
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to last his design was, not to drive the people to despair, but to
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drive them to God and to their duty--not to frighten them out of their
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wits, but to frighten them out of their sins. In pursuance of that he
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here calls them to repentance, national repentance, as the only way to
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prevent national ruin. Observe,</P>
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<P>
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I. The summons given them to a national assembly
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>):
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<I>Gather yourselves together.</I> He had told them, in the last words
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of the foregoing chapter, that God would make a <I>speedy riddance of
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all that dwelt in the land,</I> upon which, one would think, it should
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follow, "Disperse yourselves, and flee for shelter where you can find a
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place." When the decree had absolutely gone forth for the last
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destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, that was the advice given
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+24:16">Matt. xxiv. 16</A>),
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<I>Then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains;</I> but
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here it is otherwise. God warns, that he may not wound, threatens, that
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he may not strike, and therefore calls to the people to use means for
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the turning away of his wrath. The summons is given to a <I>nation not
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desired.</I> The word signifies either,
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1. <I>Not desiring,</I> that has not any desires towards God or the
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remembrance of his name, is not desirous of his favour or grace, but
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very indifferent to it, has no mind to repent and reform. "Yet <I>come
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together,</I> and see if you can stir up desires in one another." Thus
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God is often <I>found of those that sought him not,</I> nor <I>asked
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for him,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+65:1">Isa. lxv. 1</A>.
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Or,
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2. <I>Not desirable,</I> no ways lovely, nor having any thing in them
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amiable, or which might recommend them to God. The land of Israel had
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been a <I>pleasant land, a land of delight</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+11:41">Dan. xi. 41</A>);
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but now it is unlovely, it is a <I>nation not desired,</I> to which God
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might justly say, <I>Depart from me;</I> but he says, "<I>Gather
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together to me,</I> and let us see if any expedient can be found out
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for the preventing of the ruin. <I>Gather together,</I> that you may in
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a body humble yourselves before God, may fast, and pray, and seek his
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face. <I>Gather together,</I> to consult among yourselves what is to
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be done in this critical juncture, that every one may consider of it,
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may give and take advice, and speak his mind, and that what is done may
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be done by consent and so may be a national act." Some read it,
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"<I>Enquire into yourselves,</I> yea, <I>enquire into yourselves;</I>
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examine your consciences; look into your hearts; search and try your
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ways; <I>enquire into yourselves,</I> that you may find out the sin by
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which God has been provoked to this displeasure against you, and may
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find out the way of returning to him." Note, When God is contending
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with us it concerns us to enquire into ourselves.</P>
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<P>
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II. Arguments urged to press them to the utmost seriousness and
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expedition herein
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:2"><I>v.</I> 2</A>):
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"Do it in earnest; do it with all speed before it is too late,
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<I>before the decree bring forth, before the day pass.</I>" The manner
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of speaking here is very lively and awakening, designed to make them
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apprehensive, as all sinners are concerned to be,
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1. That their danger is very great, that their all lies at stake, that
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it is a matter of life and death, which therefore well requires and
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well deserves the closest application of mind that can be. It is not a
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trifle, and therefore is not a thing to be trifled about. It is the
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<I>fierce anger of the Lord</I> that is kindled against them, and is
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just ready to kindle upon them, that <I>devouring fire</I> which none
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can <I>dwell with,</I> which none can make head against or hold up
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their head under. "It is the <I>day of the Lord's anger,</I> the day
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set for the pouring out of the full vials of it, that you are
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threatened with, that <I>great day of the Lord</I>" spoken of,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+1:14"><I>ch.</I> i. 14</A>.
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"Are you not concerned to prepare for that day?"
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2. That it is very imminent: "Bestir yourselves now quickly, <I>before
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the decree bring forth,</I> and then it will be too late, the
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opportunity will be lost and never retrieved. The decree is as it were
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big with child, and it will <I>bring forth the day,</I> the terrible
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day, which shall <I>pass as chaff,</I> which shall hurry you away into
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captivity as chaff before the wind." <I>We know not what a day may
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bring forth</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Pr+27:1">Prov. xxvii. 1</A>),
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but we do know what the decree will bring forth against impenitent
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sinners, whom therefore it highly concerns to repent in time, in <I>the
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accepted time.</I> Note, It is the wisdom of those whom God has a
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controversy with to agree with him quickly, while they are in the way,
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before his fierce anger comes upon them, not to be turned away. In a
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case of this nature delays are highly dangerous and may be fatal; they
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will be so if by them the heart is hardened. How solicitous should we
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all be to make our peace with God before the Spirit withdraw from us,
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or cease to strive with us, before the day of grace be over or the day
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of life, before our everlasting state shall be determined on the other
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side of the great gulf fixed!</P>
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<P>
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III. Directions prescribed for the doing of this effectually. It is not
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enough to gather together in a consternation, but they must seriously
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and calmly apply to the duty of the day
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>):
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<I>Seek you the Lord.</I> That they might find mercy with God, they are
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here put upon seeking; for so is the rule--<I>Seek, and you shall
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find.</I> A general call was given to the whole nation to <I>gather
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together,</I> but little good is to be expected from the far greater
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part of them; if the land be saved, it must be by the interest and
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intercession of the pious few, and therefore to them the exhortation
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here is particularly directed. And observe,
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1. How they are described--they are <I>the meek of the earth,</I> or of
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<I>the land.</I> It is the distinguishing character of the people of
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God that they are the <I>meek ones of the earth;</I> this is their
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badge; it is their livery. They are modest, and humble, and low in
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their own eyes; they are mild, and gentle, and yielding to others, not
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soon angry, not very angry, not long angry; they are the <I>quiet in
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the land,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+35:20">Ps. xxxv. 20</A>.
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And they are subject and submissive to their God, to all his precepts
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and all his providences. Actuated by this principle and disposition,
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they have <I>wrought his judgments,</I> that is, have obeyed his laws,
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observed his institutions, have made conscience of their duty to him,
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and have laid out themselves for the advancement of his honour and
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interest in the world.
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2. What they are required to do; they must <I>seek,</I> which denotes
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both a careful enquiry and a constant endeavour, that they may know and
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do their duty.
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(1.) They must <I>seek the Lord,</I> seek his favour and grace, address
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him upon all occasions, ask of him what they need, seek him early, seek
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him diligently, and continue seeking him.
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(2.) They must <I>seek righteousness.</I> "Seek to God for the
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performance of his promises to you, and see to it that you abound yet
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more in duty to him; seek for the righteousness of Christ to be imputed
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to you, for the graces of God's Spirit to be implanted in you; hunger
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and thirst after them."
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(3.) They must <I>seek meekness.</I> This is a grace they were so
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eminent for that they were denominated <I>the meek of the land,</I> and
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yet this they must <I>seek.</I> Note, Those that are ever so good must
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still strive to be better, those that have ever so much grace must be
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still praying and labouring for more. Nay, those that excel in any
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particular grace must still seek to excel yet more in that, because in
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that most assaults will be made upon them by their enemies, in that
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most is expected from them by their friends, and in that they are most
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apt to be themselves secure. <I>Si dixisti, Sufficit, periisti--Say
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but, I am all that I ought to be, and you are undone.</I> In the
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difficult trying times approaching, the meek will find exercise for all
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the meekness they have, and all little enough, and therefore should
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seek it earnestly, and pray that when God in his providence gives them
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occasion for it he would by his grace enable them to exercise it, <I>to
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show all meekness to all men,</I> in all instances, that, <I>as the day
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is, so may the strength be.</I></P>
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<P>
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IV. Encouragements given to take these directions: <I>It may be, you
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shall be hid in the day of the Lord's anger.</I>
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1. "You particularly that are the <I>meek of the earth.</I> Though the
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day of the Lord's anger do come upon the land, yet you shall be safe,
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you shall be taken under special protection. <I>Verily it shall be well
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with thy remnant,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+15:11">Jer. xv. 11</A>.
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<I>Thy life will I give unto thee for a prey,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+45:5">Jer. xlv. 5</A>.
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<I>I will deliver thee in that day,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+39:17">Jer. xxxix. 17</A>.
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<I>It may be, you shall be hid;</I> if any be hid, you shall." Good men
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cannot be sure of temporal preservation, for <I>all things come alike
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to all,</I> but they are most likely to be hid, and stand fairest for a
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distinguishing care of Providence. It is expressed thus doubtfully to
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try if they will trust the goodness of God's nature, though they have
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but the <I>it may be</I> of a promise, and to keep up in them a holy
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fear and watchfulness lest they should seem to come short, and should
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do any thing to throw themselves out of the divine protection. Note,
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those that hold fast their integrity, in times of common iniquity, have
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reason to hope that God will find out a hiding-place for them, where
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they shall be safe and easy, in times of common calamity. They shall be
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hid (as Luther says) <I>aut in cœlo, aut sub cœlo--either
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in heaven or under heaven,</I> either in the possession of heaven or
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under the protection of heaven. Or,
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2. "You of this nation, though it be a <I>nation not desired,</I> yet,
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in the day of the Lord's anger with the neighbouring nations, when his
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judgments are abroad, <I>you shall be hid;</I> your land shall be
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preserved for the sake of those few meek ones that stand in the gap to
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<I>turn away the wrath of God.</I>" It concerns us all to make it sure
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to ourselves that we shall be hid in the great day of God's wrath; and,
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if we hide ourselves in the chambers of duty, God will hide us in
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chambers of safety,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+26:20">Isa. xxvi. 20</A>.
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If we prepare an ark, that shall be our hiding-place,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ge+7:1">Gen. vii. 1</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="Zep2_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zep2_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zep2_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="Zep2_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Punishment of the Philistines.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 612.</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>4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation: they
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shall drive out Ashdod at the noon day, and Ekron shall be rooted
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up.
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5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea coast, the nation of the
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Cherethites! the word of the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>is</I> against you; O Canaan, the
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land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there
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shall be no inhabitant.
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6 And the sea coast shall be dwellings <I>and</I> cottages for
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shepherds, and folds for flocks.
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7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah;
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they shall feed thereupon: in the houses of Ashkelon shall they
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lie down in the evening: for the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> their God shall visit them,
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and turn away their captivity.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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The prophet here comes to foretel what share the neighbouring nations
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should have in the destruction made upon those parts of the world by
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Nebuchadnezzar and his victorious Chaldees, as others of the prophets
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did at that time, which is designed,
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1. To awaken the people of the Jews, by making them sensible how
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strong, how deep, how large, the inundation of calamities should be,
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that the <I>day of the Lord,</I> which was near, might appear the more
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dreadful, and they might thereby be quickened to prepare for it as for
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a general deluge.
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2. To comfort them with this thought, that their case, though sad,
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should not be singular (<I>Solamen miseris socios habuisse
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doloris</I>--<I>The wretched find it consolatory to have companions of
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their woe</I>), and much more with this, that though God had seemed to
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be their enemy, and to fight against them, yet he was still so far
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their friend, and an enemy to their enemies, that he resented, and
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would revenge, the indignities done them.</P>
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<P>
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In these verses we have the doom of the Philistines, who were near
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neighbours, and old enemies, to the people of Israel. Five lordships
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there were in that country; only four are here named--<I>Gaza</I> and
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<I>Ashkelon, Ashdod</I> and <I>Ekron;</I> Gath, the fifth, is not
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named, some think because it was now subject to Judah. They were the
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<I>inhabitants of the sea-coasts</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
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for their country lay upon the Great Sea. The <I>nation of the
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Cherethites</I> is here joined with them, which bordered upon them
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=1Sa+30:14">1 Sam. xxx. 14</A>)
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and fell with them, as is foretold also,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:16">Ezek. xxv. 16</A>.
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The Philistines' land is here called Canaan, for it belonged to that
|
|
country which God gave to his people Israel, and was inserted in the
|
|
grant made to them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jos+13:3">Josh. xiii. 3</A>.
|
|
|
|
This land is yet to be possessed (<I>five lords of the
|
|
Philistines</I>), so that they wrongfully kept Israel out of the
|
|
possession of it
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jdg+3:3">Judg. iii. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
which is now remembered against them. For, though the rights of others
|
|
may be long detained unjustly, the righteous God will at length avenge
|
|
the wrong.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. It is here foretold that the Philistines, the usurpers, shall be
|
|
dispossessed and quite extirpated. In general, here is a woe to them
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
|
|
|
|
which, coming from God, denotes all misery: <I>The word of the Lord is
|
|
against them</I>--the word of the former prophets, which, though not
|
|
yet accomplished, will be in its season,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+14:31">Isa. xiv. 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
This word, now by this prophet, is against them. Note, Those are really
|
|
in a woeful condition that have the word of the Lord against them, for
|
|
no word of his shall fall to the ground. Those that rebel against the
|
|
precepts of God's word shall have the <I>threatenings</I> of the word
|
|
against them. The effect will be no less than their destruction,
|
|
|
|
1. God himself will be the author of it: "<I>I will even destroy
|
|
thee,</I> who can make good what I say and will."
|
|
|
|
2. It shall be a universal destruction; it shall extend itself to all
|
|
parts of the land, both city and country: <I>Gaza shall be
|
|
forsaken,</I> though now a populous city. It was foretold
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jer+47:6">Jer. xlvii. 6</A>)
|
|
|
|
that <I>baldness</I> should come upon Gaza; Alexander the Great razed
|
|
that city, and we find
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+8:26">Acts viii. 26</A>)
|
|
|
|
that Gaza was a desert. <I>Ashkelon</I> shall be <I>a desolation,</I> a
|
|
pattern of desolation. <I>Ashdod shall be driven out at noon-day;</I>
|
|
in the extremity of the scorching heat they shall have no shade, no
|
|
shelter to protect them; but then, when most incommoded by the weather,
|
|
they shall be forced away into captivity, which will be an aggravating
|
|
circumstance of it. <I>Ekron</I> likewise shall be <I>rooted up,</I>
|
|
that had been long taking root. The land of the Philistines shall be
|
|
dispeopled; there <I>shall be no inhabitant,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
God made the earth <I>to be inhabited</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+45:18">Isa. xlv. 18</A>),
|
|
|
|
otherwise he would have made it in vain; but, if men do not answer the
|
|
end of their creation in serving God, it is just with God that the
|
|
earth should not answer the end of its creation in serving them for a
|
|
habitation; man's sin has sometimes subjected it to this vanity.
|
|
|
|
3. It shall be an utter destruction. The sea-coast, which used to be a
|
|
harbour for ships and a habitation for merchants, shall now be
|
|
deserted, and be only <I>cottages for shepherds</I> and <I>folds for
|
|
flocks</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
|
|
|
|
and then perhaps put to better use than when it was possessed by the
|
|
lords of the Philistines.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. It is here foretold that the house of Judah, the rightful owners,
|
|
shall recover the possession of it,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:7"><I>v.</I> 7</A>.
|
|
|
|
The remnant of those that shall <I>return out of captivity,</I> when
|
|
God visits them, shall be made to <I>lie down</I> in safety <I>in the
|
|
houses of Ashkelon,</I> to lie down <I>in the evening,</I> when they
|
|
are weary and sleepy. There <I>they shall feed</I> themselves and their
|
|
flocks. Note, God will at length restore his people to their rights,
|
|
though they may be long kept out from them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Zep2_8"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zep2_9"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zep2_10"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zep2_11"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Punishment of Various Nations.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 612.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the
|
|
children of Ammon, whereby they have reproached my people, and
|
|
magnified <I>themselves</I> against their border.
|
|
9 Therefore <I>as</I> I live, saith the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts, the God of
|
|
Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon
|
|
as Gomorrah, <I>even</I> the breeding of nettles, and salt-pits, and a
|
|
perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall spoil them,
|
|
and the remnant of my people shall possess them.
|
|
10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have
|
|
reproached and magnified <I>themselves</I> against the people of the
|
|
L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> of hosts.
|
|
11 The L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> <I>will be</I> terrible unto them: for he will famish
|
|
all the gods of the earth; and <I>men</I> shall worship him, every one
|
|
from his place, <I>even</I> all the isles of the heathen.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The Moabites and Ammonites were both of the posterity of Lot; their
|
|
countries joined, and, both adjoining to Israel, they are here put
|
|
together in the prophecy against them.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
I. They are both charged with the same crime, and that was reproaching
|
|
and reviling the people of God and triumphing in their calamities
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>They have reproached my people;</I> while God's people kept close to
|
|
their duty it is probable that they reproached them for the
|
|
singularities of their religion; and now that they had revolted from
|
|
God, and fallen under his displeasure, they reproached them for that
|
|
too. It has been the common lot of God's people in all ages to be
|
|
reproached and reviled upon one account or other. Thus the old serpent
|
|
spits his venom; and pride is at the bottom of it; it is in their pride
|
|
that they have <I>magnified themselves against the people of the Lord
|
|
of hosts,</I> thinking themselves as good as they, as great, and every
|
|
way as happy. It is the <I>comtempt of the proud</I> that God's people
|
|
are filled with,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+123:4">Ps. cxxiii. 4</A>.
|
|
|
|
They have <I>spoken big</I> (so some read it, <I>magna locuti
|
|
sunt--they have spoken great things) against their border</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
|
|
|
|
against those of them that bordered upon their country, whom upon all
|
|
occasions they insulted, or against the property they claimed, which
|
|
they disputed, or the protection they boasted of, which they ridiculed;
|
|
they <I>spoke big against the people of the Lord of hosts</I> as
|
|
a deserted abandoned people. <I>Great swelling words of vanity</I> are
|
|
the genuine language of the church's enemies. "But <I>I have heard
|
|
them</I>" (says God), "and will let you know that I have heard them. I
|
|
have heard, and I will reckon for them,"
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Jude+1:15">Jude 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
And, if God hears the reproaches and revilings we are under, it is a
|
|
good reason why we should be as a <I>deaf man that hears not,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+38:14,15">Ps. xxxviii. 14, 15</A>.
|
|
|
|
Nay, God not only takes notice of, but interests himself in the
|
|
reproaches cast on his people, because they are his; and it is certain
|
|
that those who look with disdain upon the people of the Lord of hosts
|
|
thereby dishonour the Lord of hosts himself. See this very thing
|
|
charged on Moab and Ammon,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+25:3,8">Ezek. xxv. 3, 8</A>.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
II. They are both laid under the same doom. Associates in iniquity may
|
|
expect to be such in desolation. See with what solemnity sentence is
|
|
pronounced upon them,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:9"><I>v.</I> 9</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is <I>the Lord of hosts,</I> the sovereign Lord of all, who has
|
|
authority to pass this sentence and ability to execute it; it is <I>the
|
|
God of Israel,</I> who is jealous for their honour; it is he that has
|
|
said it, nay, he has sworn it, <I>As I live, saith the Lord.</I> The
|
|
sentence is,
|
|
|
|
1. That the Moabites and Ammonites shall be quite destroyed; they
|
|
<I>shall be as Sodom and Gomorrah,</I> the marks of whose ruins in the
|
|
Dead Sea lay near adjoining to the countries of Moab and Ammon; they
|
|
shall, though not by the same means (even fire from heaven), Yet almost
|
|
in the same manner, be laid waste; not again to be inhabited, or not of
|
|
a long time. The country shall produce nothing but <I>nettles,</I>
|
|
instead of corn; and there shall be <I>brine-pits,</I> instead of the
|
|
pleasant fountains of water with which the country had abounded.
|
|
|
|
2. That Israel shall be too hard for them, shall <I>spoil them</I> of
|
|
their goods and <I>possess</I> their country by lawful war. Note,
|
|
Proud men sometimes, by the just judgment of God, fall under the
|
|
mortification of being trampled upon themselves by those whom once they
|
|
haughtily trampled upon. And <I>this shall they have for their
|
|
pride.</I></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
III. Other nations shall in like manner be humbled, that the Lord alone
|
|
may be exalted
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>The Lord will be terrible</I> unto the Moabites and Ammonites in
|
|
particular, who have made themselves a terror to his Israel. For,
|
|
|
|
1. Heathen gods must be abolished. They have long had possession, and
|
|
their worshippers have both glorified them and gloried in them. But
|
|
<I>the Lord</I> will <I>famish all the gods of the earth,</I> will
|
|
starve them out of their strong-holds. The Pagans had a fond conceit
|
|
that their idols were regaled by their offerings, and did <I>eat the
|
|
fat of their sacrifices,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+32:38">Deut. xxxii. 38</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Omnia comesta à Belo--Bel has eaten all.</I> But it is here
|
|
promised that when the Christian religion is set up in the world men
|
|
shall be turned from the service of these dumb idols, shall forsake
|
|
their altars, and bring no more sacrifices to them, and thus they shall
|
|
be famished, or <I>made lean</I> (as the word is), their priests shall.
|
|
This intimates the vanity of those idols; it lies in the power of their
|
|
worshippers to famish them; whereas the true God says, <I>If I were
|
|
hungry, I would not tell thee.</I> It intimates also the victory of the
|
|
God of Israel over them. <I>Now know we that he is greater than all
|
|
gods.</I>
|
|
|
|
2. Heathen nations must be converted; when the gospel gets ground, by
|
|
it men shall be brought to worship him who lives for ever (for that is
|
|
the command of the everlasting gospel,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Re+14:7">Rev. xiv. 7</A>),
|
|
|
|
<I>every one from his place;</I> they shall not need to go up to
|
|
Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel, but wherever they are, they may
|
|
have access to him. <I>I will that men pray every where.</I> God shall
|
|
be worshipped, not only by all the tribes of Israel and the strangers
|
|
who join themselves to them, but by all <I>the isles of the
|
|
heathen.</I> This is a promise which looks favourably upon our native
|
|
country, for it is one of the most considerable of the isles of the
|
|
Gentiles, by which God will be glorified.</P>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Zep2_12"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zep2_13"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zep2_14"> </A>
|
|
<A NAME="Zep2_15"> </A>
|
|
|
|
<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
|
|
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
|
|
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>Ethiopia and Assyria Threatened.</I></FONT></TD>
|
|
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 612.</TD></TR>
|
|
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
|
|
</TABLE>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
<FONT SIZE=+1>12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye <I>shall be</I> slain by my sword.
|
|
13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and
|
|
destroy Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, <I>and</I> dry
|
|
like a wilderness.
|
|
14 And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, all the
|
|
beasts of the nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall
|
|
lodge in the upper lintels of it; <I>their</I> voice shall sing in the
|
|
windows; desolation <I>shall be</I> in the thresholds: for he shall
|
|
uncover the cedar work.
|
|
15 This <I>is</I> the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that
|
|
said in her heart, I <I>am,</I> and <I>there is</I> none beside me: how is
|
|
she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every
|
|
one that passeth by her shall hiss, <I>and</I> wag his hand.
|
|
</FONT></P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
The cup is <I>going round,</I> when Nebuchadnezzar is going on
|
|
conquering and to conquer; and not only Israel's near neighbours, but
|
|
those that lay more remote, must be reckoned with for the wrongs they
|
|
have done to God's people; the Ethiopians and the Assyrians are here
|
|
taken to task.
|
|
|
|
1. The Ethiopians, or Arabians, that had sometimes been a terror to
|
|
Israel (as in Asa's time,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+14:9">2 Chron. xiv. 9</A>),
|
|
|
|
must now be reckoned with: They <I>shall be slain by my sword,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
|
|
|
|
Nebuchadnezzar was God's sword, the instrument in his hand with which
|
|
these and other enemies were subdued and punished,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+17:14">Ps. xvii. 14</A>.
|
|
|
|
2. The Assyrians, and Nineveh the head city of their monarchy, are next
|
|
set to the bar, to receive their doom: <I>He</I> that is God's sword
|
|
<I>will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy
|
|
Assyria,</I> and make himself master of it. Assyria had been the rod of
|
|
God's anger against Israel, and now Babylon is the rod of God's anger
|
|
against Assyria,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Isa+10:5">Isa. x. 5</A>.
|
|
|
|
He <I>will make Nineveh a desolation,</I> as was lately and largely
|
|
foretold by the prophet Nahum. Observe,
|
|
|
|
(1.) How flourishing Nineveh's state had formerly been
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly.</I> Nineveh was so
|
|
strong that she feared no evil, and therefore dwelt carelessly and set
|
|
danger at defiance; she was so rich that she thought herself sure of
|
|
all good, and therefore was a rejoicing city, full of mirth and gaiety;
|
|
and she had such a dominion that she admitted no rival, but said in her
|
|
heart, "<I>I am, and there is none besides me</I> that can compare with
|
|
me, no city in the world that can pretend to be equal with me." God can
|
|
with his judgments frighten the most secure, humble the most haughty,
|
|
and mar the mirth of those that most laugh now.
|
|
|
|
(2.) How complete Nineveh's ruin shall now be; it shall be made <I>a
|
|
desolation,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>.
|
|
|
|
Such a heap of ruins shall this once pompous city be that it shall be,
|
|
|
|
[1.] A receptacle for beasts, such a wilderness that <I>flocks shall
|
|
lie down in it;</I> nay, such a waste, desolate, frightful place, that
|
|
wild beasts, shall take up their abode there; the melancholy birds, as
|
|
the <I>cormorant and bittern,</I> shall make their nests in what
|
|
remains of the houses, as they sometimes do in old ruinous buildings
|
|
that are uninhabited and unfrequented. The <I>lintels,</I> or chapiters
|
|
of the pillars, the <I>windows</I> and <I>thresholds,</I> and all the
|
|
fine <I>cedar-work</I> curiously engraven, shall lie exposed; and on
|
|
them these rueful ominous birds shall perch, and their <I>voice shall
|
|
sing.</I> How are the songs of mirth turned into hideous horrid noises!
|
|
What little reason have men to be proud of stately buildings, and rich
|
|
furniture, when they know not what all the pomp of them may come to at
|
|
last!
|
|
|
|
[2.] A derision to travellers. Those that had come from far, to
|
|
gratify their curiosity with the sight of Nineveh's splendour, shall
|
|
now look on her with as much contempt as ever they looked upon her with
|
|
admiration
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Zep+2:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>):
|
|
|
|
<I>Every one that passes by shall hiss</I> at her, and <I>wag his
|
|
hand,</I> making light of her desolations, nay, and making sport with
|
|
them--"There is an end of proud Nineveh." They shall not weep, and
|
|
wring their hands (the adversities of those are unpitied and unlamented
|
|
who were insolent and haughty in their prosperity), but they shall
|
|
<I>hiss and wag their hands,</I> forgetting that perhaps their own ruin
|
|
is not far off.</P>
|
|
|
|
<!-- (End Body) -->
|
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<HR>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%">
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<TR>
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<TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP">
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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[<A HREF="MHC36001.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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|
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