establish them for a people that may be His in a peculiar manner and may appertain to Him as his peculiar Treasure to serve him faithfully and to enjoy the blessings of his Covenant see Ch. 7.6 And all Nations shall see by the singular blessings that shall be heaped upon this people that God did indeed own them for his peculiar people and that they were called by his Name and so owned as his Children and thereupon called the Children of God upon which account other Nations should be afraid of them 8. They shall be blessed with rain The Lord will open to them his good Treasures the Heavens shall give them rain in due season The Heavens are called the Lords Treasure because He keepeth therein those things wherewith He causeth the Earth to be fruitful as rain to water the ground and snow to make it fertil and the heat of the Sun and influences of the Moon and Stars to make all things therein to grow and prosper 9. They shall so increase in riches that they shall lend unto many Nations and shall not borrow of them Ch. 15.6 These blessings he shews would follow and overtake them if they walked faithfully in Gods Statutes and did not turn aside from them either to the right hand or to the left nor did decline to other gods from vers 1. to 15. But if they were Disobedient then he tells them Such Judgments and Curses should pursue them and overtake them as were directly contrary to these Blessings First God would send upon them cursing vexation and rebuke in all that they set their hands unto He would send the Pestilence into their Cities and Towns and would command it to cleave to them and to continue long among them 2ly He would smite them with the Consumption Feaver Inflammation and extream burning and with Drought Blasting and Mildew 3ly The Heaven should be as Brass and the Earth as Iron and the Lord would make the rain of their Land powder and dust that is instead of rain the dust being driven by the wind in time of drought should fall upon their Grounds Trees and Plants c. 4ly They shall flee before their Enemies and shall be scattered into the several Nations of the Earth and those of them that should be slain by the Enemy their Carcasses should lie unburied and should be meat for the Fowls of the Air and Beasts of the Field none fraying them away 5ly God would smite them with the botch of Egypt that is with Boils breaking forth with Blains see Exod. 9.9 and with the Emrods or Piles with the Scab and with an incurable Itch. 6ly With madness blindness and astonishment of heart that is God would deprive them of the use of their understandings that they should stand like blind men or men amazed and astonished not knowing which way to turn themselves and should do such things which if they were not blind or mad they would never do And as an effect of this bruitish stupidity they should grope at noon-day that is should not apprehend their danger nor discern the right ways of helping themselves they should be oppressed and spoiled and none should succour them 7ly He threatens to deprive them of things very dear to them even then when they were in expectation to injoy them They should betroth wives and others should enjoy them they should build Houses but not dwell in them plant Vineyards but not gather the Grapes of them their Oxen Asses and Sheep should be violently taken away from them 8ly Their Sons and Daughters should be led into Captivity and their eyes should look earnestly and even fail with longing for their return and there should be no might or power in their hands to rescue or recover them again out of the hands of their Enemies They should be oppressed and crushed by a Nation they knew not who should eat the fruit of their Land and of their labour so that they should be even mad and distracted by reason of the dreadful Calamities which they should be constrained to behold with their eyes 9ly The Lord would smite them with a sore and incurable Botch from the crown of the Head to the sole of the Foot 10ly They and their King as it happened to Manassah Jehoiachim and Zedekiah and their Sons and their Daughters should be carried into Captivity and there they should be either inticed or forced to serve other gods viz. Wood and Stone and their Calamities should be so great that their very Enemies should be astonished at them and they should be flouted and scorned and made a laughing-stock in those places where they should be Captive 1 Kings 9.7 11ly Hurtful Vermine such as Locusts and Worms should devour the fruits of their Fields and Vineyards and their choice Trees should cast their fruit 12ly The Strangers that were left among them should prevail against them and be Lords over them and should be in a far better state than themselves And all these Curses which should overtake them should be upon them and their Seed as a sign of Gods great Indignation against them and for a wonder that a people who were once so high in his Favour should be so unwise and wicked as to provoke Him to bring such a Change upon them And because they served not the Lord with joyfulness and gladness of heart with delight and thankfulness for the abundance of all good things he gave them that therefore they should be forced to serve their Enemies in hunger and thirst nakedness and want of all things and that their Enemies should put a yoke of Iron upon their Necks and keep them in bondage till they were destroyed see Neh. 9.25 26 27. Jer. 28.13 14. 13ly God would suffer them to be invaded by a powerful foreign Enemy who should come as swift as an Eagle that is suddainly unexpectedly and with irresistible Violence viz. the Babilonians * Described Dan. 7.4 to be a Lion with Eagles wings see Ezek. 17.3 12. Forsan ad Romanos allusit aquilis suis notissimos a quibus haec passi sunt Tremel whose Language they understood not and so would be extreamly troubled how to speak to them or beg any favour of them A Nation of a fierce Countenance which should not regard the person of the Old nor shew favour to the Young who should wast their Country and eat up the fruits of their Cattel and of their Land and should besiege them in all their Cities * V. 52. In omnibus portis tuis i. e. civitatibus Synecdoche membri and batter down their high and fenced Walls wherein they trusted and then all the Evils and Calamities incident to places straitly besieged should fall upon them Parents should eat the fruits of their own Bodies the flesh of their Sons and Daughters The man that was tender among them and very delicate dainty and voluptuous should grudge †V. 54. Malignas erit oculus ejus i. e. invidebit fratri c.
by a Synecdoche for the whole City of Jerusalem and therewith for the Temple founded on Mount Moriah called the City of God in a more especial manner was in the Tribe of Judah yet the Northern part with Mount Moriah where the Temple stood was in the Tribe of Benjamin and being set upon that Hill it was conspicuously eminent as the Head placed above and between the shoulders and in that sense God may be said to dwell between his shoulders 5ly He comes now to Joseph whose two Sons Ephraim and Manasseh were Heads of two Tribes of whom he saith Blessed of the Lord be his Land and let it be blessed with the most excellent things of Heaven that is with Rains and Dews that fall from Heaven and let it be blessed with the deep that coucheth beneath that is with springs arising from the deep let it be blessed with precious Fruits brought forth by the heat and influence of the Sun and the kindly moistures of the Night and the influence of the Moon Let it be blessed with the chief things of the ancient Mountains and with the precious things of the lasting Hills that is with the choicest Trees and Fruits and Herbs that grow on Hills such as are Vines Olives Cedars Pines Cypress and other useful Trees and with Mines of Gold and Silver and other metals which are usually found in Hills †See Gen. 49.26 and Mountains And let the Posterity of Joseph be blessed not only with the good things of the Earth and with plenty of them but with the good-will of Him that dwelt in the Bush In the Bush God appeared to Moses as the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and the good-will of God thus manifested viz. as a God in Covenant with them was that which alone could make them truly happy see Psal 106.4 Let this blessing says he come on the head of Joseph that is on his Posterity whose Father was separated from his Brethren and advanced by the Lord to an high and singular degree of Honour above them His glory shall be like the firstling of his Bullock that is of a fair young Bullock in his best strength and his horns like the horns of Vnicorns that is his Power shall be great and irresistible wherewith he shall Conquer far remote Nations Now these horns of his he shews are the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh 6ly He comes to Zebulun of whom he says Rejoyce Zebulun in thy going out and Issachar in thy Tents Here he blesses two Tribes together Of Zebulun he Prophesies That they shall be happy in their going forth to Trade and in their merchandising by Ships agreeable to what Jacob prophesied of them Gen. 49.13 Zebulun shall dwell at the harbour of the Sea he shall be for an Haven of Ships And of Issachar he Prophesies That they should be happy in their Tents that is in their quiet life at home and in their Husbandry and Tillage and breeding and feeding of Cattel Both their ways of living should yield them matter of rejoycing in the goodness and bounty of God to them Issachar shoul be happy in their Husbandry Zebulun in following their Merchandise They should suck of the abundance of the Seas that is of the Riches and Wealth brought over the Seas and of the Treasures hid in the sand that is brought from such Cities as were seated upon the Sea-shore in sandy-ground They shall call the people unto the Mountain there they shall offer Sacrifices of Righteousness herein he Prophesies of their religious thankfulness to God for his great blessings to them They should duly go to Mount Sion to worship the Lord and should invite their Brethren and possibly strangers of other Nations to go along with them though they were seated by the Sea-side in the outmost parts of the Land and so far off from the Temple of Jerusalem yet at times appointed they should readily go up to the House of God and there offer the Sacrifices and Thank-Offerings which were justly due to God and agreeable to what his Law prescribed 7ly He comes to Gad of whom he says Blessed be He that inlargeth Gad namely the Lord who hath bestowed upon Gad a large and spacious Country and though it lay upon the Frontiers and therefore was liable to frequent Incursions of Enemies yet they should have heart and courage to defend themselves Therefore he Prophesies of Gad That he shall dwell as a Lion that is bold and undaunted and as a Lion teareth sometimes the Arm sometimes the Crown of the Head that is sometimes in one place sometimes in another so this Tribe should divers ways spoil their Enemies He provided the first part for himself that is the first part of the conquered Land which was the Country of Sihon and this Tribe may be said to have provided for themselves because they desired it of Moses for their Inheritance and this part of the Country of Canaan being without Jordan was that alone which God permitted Moses the Law-giver to come into and allowed him to give unto them for their Inheritance and being thus provided they went with the Heads of the people armed * Moses here speaks of a thing to come as if it had been already done foreseeing by the Spirit of Prophesie that it would be so before their Brethren and executed the justice of the Lord and his judgments upon the accursed Canaanites 8ly He comes to Dan of whom he says Dan is a Lions whelp he shall leap from Bashan Bashan was a place where were many Lions though not in Dan's possession but Manasseh's see Deut. 3.13 The Danites are therefore here compared to Lions rushing suddenly out of the Forrests and Dens of Bashan who seize upon those that pass by ere they were aware Thus the Danites should leap unexpectedly out of their Forts and fastnesses and secret places where they lay in ambush and should seize upon their Enemies when they least expected them see Gen. 49.17 Josh 19.47 Judg. 18.27 29. 9ly He comes to Naphtali of whom he says O Naphtali satisfied with favour and full with the blessing of the Lord wherein he Prophesies of the fruitfulness of the Soil wherein this Tribe should have their portion Therefore Jacob compares them to a Hind let loose that hath a large walk and so in choice Pastures finds plenty of feeding Gen. 49.21 He therefore here breaks out into an admiration of the great plenty and abundance of blessings which their Inheritance should yield them but intimates that their blessings should not consist so much in their having such plenty and fulness of outward blessings as in their being fully satisfied and contented therewith and that the thing which should yield such satisfaction to their Souls was not so much the blessings themselves as the singular love and favour of God whereof to them these Blessings were Pledges He further adds Possess thou the West and the South intimating to them thereby that their lot
she to avoid that came secretly as I have reason to believe in the dead of the night and took my Son from my bosom whilst I was fast asleep and laid her dead child in my bosom in the room of it for she had rather I suppose have a living child though anothers than her own dead and had rather nurse up my child instead of her own than have it said that by her own carelesness and negligence she had been the cause of the death of her own Son And when I arose in the morning to give my child suck behold I found it dead but when I had better considered of the matter and laid circumstances together I found it was not my Son that I did bear and I hope I shall find so much justice from the King as to return my own child to me again Then the other woman spake for her self and said Nay but my Lord O King let this woman say what she will I do peremptorily affirm that the living child is my Son and the dead is hers Thus they contested before the King both the one and the other challenging the living child for hers the case was very difficult for first both the children were almost of an age 2ly Their features in their infancy might be something alike 3ly No body was by when this fact was done that might give evidence on either side 4ly The mother that challenged the living child confessed she was asleep and so did not see when her child was stollen away 5ly The parties contending for the child were of a like reputation the one deserving no more credit than the other All these things considered the case seem'd so difficult that one would have thought the wit of man could not determine it Solomon having heard what they said on both sides according to the wisdom that God had given him presently call'd for a sword and bad one of his servants take the living child and divide him in twain and give half to the one and half to the other But the woman whose the living child really was found her bowels so yerning upon this that she cried out O my Lord give her I pray thee the child let her take him whole in no case divide him I had rather she should have him whole than that he should be slain But the other woman being of an envious disposition and not willing that her neighbour should enjoy what she wanted she cried out For my part seeing the King hath so determined the matter let the Kings sentence stand let it be neither mine nor hers but let it be divided The King by the different affection that he discerned in these two women quickly perceived which was the true mother and accordingly gave the living child unto her And all Israel heard of the judgment the King had given in this case and all sorts of persons highly honoured him for it for they saw that an extraordinary measure of the wisdom of God was in him that enabled him to give righteous judgment 1 King Ch. 3. from v. 16 to the end SECT CCXIX. HIram King of Tyre as also of Zidon for the Sidonians likewise were his subjects v. 9. had been always a great lover of David and hearing that Solomon his Son was advanc'd to the Throne of Israel he sent his Ambassadours to congratulate him Solomon receiv'd them very kindly and having entertained them for some time by them he sent a message to their Master to this effect He acquaints him that his Father David by reason of the many wars wherein he was almost continually engaged could not build an house for the Lord as he really intended and he supposed his Father had acquainted him with that his intention there being so great a friendship between them but the Lord having now advanc'd him to the Throne in his Fathers room and having given him rest on every side so that he had neither adversary nor evil occurrent to hinder him he resolv'd to fall upon the work and to build an house for the glory of the Lord his God as the Lord had promised unto his Father he should do he therefore requested this favour of him that as he had helped his Father to Timber (a) It seems most of Lebanon was in the land of Tyre though it were the Northern bound of the land of Canaan and though David in his life-time had provided many materials as Cedar-trees and many workmen yet it seems more were wanting which Solomon now takes care to provide wherewith to build his own Palace so he would please to help him also to Timber to build the house that he intended to build for the honour of God For the house says he that I intend to build must be great and magnificent the God for whose Worship I intend it being great above all Gods And indeed who is able to build an house for him seeing the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him It were a vain thing for me to think of building an house for him who is infinite except only to worship him in and that is the end I aim at Send me therefore I pray thee a man skilful to work in Gold and Silver in Brass and Iron in Purple Crimson and Blew and one that can grave that he may join with the cunning men that are here with me in Judah and Jerusalem whom my Father did provide for this purpose See 1 Chron. 22.15 And I pray thee grant me Cedar-trees Firr-trees and Algum-trees for this work and command thy servants to cut them down and hew them for me and I will send my servants to help and assist them therein and I will give thy servants twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat * That is of wheat beaten out of the ear and severed from the chaff we call it clean wheat and as many of barley and twenty thousand baths of wine and as many of oyl for their wages and provision or if this do not like thee I will give whatsoever thy self shall appoint Hiram sent an answer to Solomon and writ to him after this manner It is a great sign and evidence to me that God loves that people because he hath made thee King over them And blessed be the Lord God of Israel who made Heaven and Earth for giving to David such a wise Son and for enduing him with so great a measure of prudence and understanding that he might build an house for the honour of God and for the honour of his Kingdom As for thy request to me concerning Cedar-trees Firr-trees and Timber for that great work behold all thy desires are granted My servants shall cut down and hew out sufficient Timber for thee and I will convey it to thee by Sea in flotes to Joppa or any other place thou shalt appoint I have also sent thee a very skilful and expert artificer whose name is Hiram whose Father was of the Tribe †He is called a Tyrian because he lived there
begun in Manasseh his Son's time 2 Chron. 33.11 and further accomplished in Jehoiakims and Zedekiahs time as we shall see more afterwards and they shall be ministers and servants in the Palace of the King of Babylon 2 King 24. 25. Hezekiah was wounded to the heart with this dreadful message however he meekly replied Good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken that is it is just and righteous and no more than what I and my people had deserved Then humbling himself for his pride and vanity and the people joining with him therein 2 Chron. 32.26 it pleased the Lord by the Prophet to declare to him that the judgment denounced should not come in his days Whereupon he said that though it was a grievous thing to him to think of those judgments that should befall those who were to come after him yet he acknowledged it as a great mercy of God that there should be peace and truth in his days 2 King 20. from 12 to 20. 2 Chron. 32.31 Isa 39. wh Ch. Hezekiah three years after his recovery had his Son Manasses by Hephzibah twelve years before his death 2 King 21.1 In the days of Hezekiah as 't is thought lived NAHVM the Prophet he Prophesied of the destruction of Nineveh and the Assyrian Monarchy and comforted the Jews with a promise of deliverance from the Assyrian Tyranny He mentioneth the evil counsel of Sennacherib against the Lord and foretelleth his death in his Idol-temple Nahum 1.11 There is one come out of thee that imagineth evil against the Lord a wicked counsellor and ver 14. The Lord hath given a commandment concerning thee that no more of thy name be sown Out of the house of thy gods will I cut off the graven image and the molten image I will make thy grave for thou art vile This Prophet denounceth destruction to Nineveh in very plain terms They had repented formerly at the Preaching of Jonah but now had relapsed to their former wickedness The Israelites had been much oppressed by them First by Pul 2 King 15.19 then by Tiglath-pileser 2 King 16. at last by Salmanassar who carried away the Ten Tribes captives 2 King 17.18 After this Sennacherib invaded Judea and besieged Jerusalem and grew to be like a great cedar in Lebanon Ezek. 31.3 and now the Prophet Nahum declares Gods great power and the furious revenge he would take upon his enemies and that he would make an utter end of Nineveh Affliction should not rise up the second time and no more of the name of the Assyrian should be sown and this should be for Iudahs consolation His Prophesie contains first a general denunciation of Ninevehs destruction and consequently of the Assyrian Monarchy He shews their destruction shall be sudden total irresistible Chap. 1. and the effect of it shall be that the people of Iudah hearing these glad tidings of her destruction proclaimed openly as upon the tops of mountains shall exceedingly rejoice at them as at tidings of peace to them and shall then without disturbance keep their solemn feasts and perform their vows unto the Lord their enemies who disquieted them being cut off Chap. 1. Secondly He gives a particular description of the destruction of Nineveh and lively sets it forth by the dreadful approach of the enemy the terror of their army the taking of the City and the captivity of Huzzah the Queen and her maids and their mournful deportment under their captivity groaning and bemoaning their condition with the mournful voice of Doves and Tabering or beating upon their breasts to express their sorrow Then he describes the spoiling and plundering of the City the astonishment of the inhabitants and how their faces would gather blackness Also the insulting of the enemy at the desolation of this City which had been an habitation of Lions that is of cruel oppressors Ch. 2. Thirdly He sets forth the causes of Ninevehs ruin the Lord setting himself against her for her great sins viz. her cruelty and blood-guiltiness her falshood her robbery and oppression and her filthy Idolatries for all which she should be made a shameful spectacle And lest Nineveh presuming upon her own strength should think these calamities should not befall her he shews she was not comparable to populous No or Alexandria in Egypt which yet was ruined and so should she notwithstanding all her strong holds her numerous inhabitants strong gates repaired towers multitude of Merchants and her many Counsellors Princes and Commanders So that her bruise should be incurable and her wound mortal Chap. 3. Hezekiah now dies his acts were written by Isaiah and by those that wrote the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah He was buried in the chiefest of the Sepulchres of the Sons of David and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him all the honour they possibly could at his death he having been so pious and good a King and Manasseh his Son reigned in his stead 2 Chron. 32.32 33. 2 King 20.20 21. The 14th that reigned in Judah MANASSEH MANASSEH was twelve years old when he began to reign about twenty four years after the ruin of the Ten Tribes and he reigned fifty five years and so longer than any of the Kings of Judah He did worse than all the Kings that went before him being carried away as 't is probable by such Nobles about him as did not in their hearts approve the reformation of his good Father He again set up the high places which his Father had pulled down he reared up Altars for Baal and made a grove as Ahab had done 1 King 16.33 to the honour of Idols he built altars to all the host of heaven to the Sun Moon and the rest of the Planets in the two Courts of the Lords house where God had said that he would put his name that he alone might be there worshipped He made one of his Sons pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom sacrificing him to Molech so that it seems he continued long in his Idolatry for he could not have a Son in the beginning of his reign being but twelve years of age He observed times esteeming some days as lucky others as unlucky he used enchantments and dealt with such as had familiar spirits and with wizards he set up a graven image in the Temple containing a representation of the Idolatrous grove he had made * See 2 King 23.6 where 't is said Josiah brought out the grove from the house of the Lord unto the brook Kidron and burnt it though God had said to David and Solomon that he had chosen that house to put his name there and would have his name alone there worshipped as long as that dispensation should last and promised upon their obedience that he would not suffer them to be carried away captive to other lands But they obeyed not and Manasseh seduced them and made Judah and Jerusalem go astray and do worse than all the
by his Horns in a Thicket which he took as sent by God to supply the room and place of Isaac and accordingly offered him up for a Burnt-Offering instead of his Son (a) The main thing hereby signifi'd was this That God the Father would in the fulness of time give his only begotten Son to be a Sacrifice for the sins of Men. And till that time came he would accept of Rams and Lambs and such like Sacrifices which should prefigure and typifie this death of his Son And Abraham called the Name of that place Jehovah-jireh that is the Lord will see or provide And thence came afterwards that Speech to be used proverbially In the Mountain of the Lord it shall be seen that is in due time God will provide help for his Children though they be for the present brought into great straits and difficulties and He will help them in such a manner that they shall plainly see his Hand therein After this the Angel of the Covenant called to Abraham a second time and said By my self have I sworn because thou hast done this thing for I accept of thy Will for the Deed I will greatly bless and multiply thy Seed even as the Stars of Heaven and as the Sand upon the Sea-shore and they shall possess the Gates of their Enemies that is shall subdue them and bring both their strength and policy under their Command the Gates of Cities being the places of greatest strength and places commonly of Consultation where the Magistrates used to meet see Deut. 32.15 Math. 16.18 and in thy Seed shall all the Nations of the Earth he blessed Then Abraham and Isaac and the Servants returned to Beersheba where Abraham dwelt a good while after Gen. 22. from 1. to 20. SECT XIII AFter this Sarah (b) As Abraham is Registred for the Father of the Faithful Rom. 4.11 So is Sarah for the Mother of them 1 Pet. 2.3 upon some occasion as it seems went to Kirjath-arba afterwards called Hebron (c) A City afterwards allotted to the Tribe of Judah not far from the Okefield of Mamre where Abraham had formerly lived being 127 years of Age and there she fell sick and died She is the only Woman whose full and intire Age is recorded in Scripture Abraham hearing of it came thither to weep and mourn for her and having sat sometime as 't is like on the Earth in token of the great sorrow and affliction he was under by reason of her death he at length rose up and took order to have her honourably interr'd Accordingly he applies himself to the Governors and Elders of the Hittites the Inhabitants of Hebron of the Progeny of Cham Gen. 10.6 15. and told them that he being a Stranger among them did humbly desire this favour of them that he might be permitted to buy of them a small piece of ground Namely so much as would make a burying-place that he might bury his dead out of his sight For though he had now liv'd 62 years in Canaan yet he never went about to purchase a foot of Land in it before The Children of Heth answer That he was a mighty Prince among them and he might freely make use of any of their Sepulchres even the choicest (d) Faviliis erant sua singulis distincta seorsim Sepulchreta Ita mortem in vita meditati sunt Ethnici simile quid est Math. 27.60 Anonym in loc of them upon this occasion (e) Abraham would not by any bounty of theirs injoy one foot of that Land which God had given him intire for his possession but the time of possession according to the grant and promise being not yet come without any distrust of Gods promise or renunciation of his own Right he buys a parcel of the Land for his own present necessity But Abraham being willing rather to pay for a piece of Ground that might be his own Propriety than to hold any in Common with the Heathens though it were but by burying his dead among them he humbly bowed himself to them as acknowledging their kindness and requested them that they would intercede with Ephron a chief person among them who sat at that time in their Assembly though Abraham knew it not that he might purchase of him the Cave of Machpelah for a burying-place and he was willing to give him as much money for it as it was worth Ephron being there present (f) V. 10. sic redde And Ephron sat among the Children of Heth. told Abraham in the audience of the Inhabitants of the City that he did freely give him that Cave and the Field belonging to it Abraham bowing himself again in token of thankfulness told him (g) The like striving in kindness is between David and Araunah 2 Sam. 24 21 c. That if he were that Ephron of whom he had before spoken he would willingly pay him for it and did not desire to have it on any other Termes Ephron told him the Land was worth about 400 Shekels (h) The common Shekel was about 1 s. 3 d. of our money amounting to about 25 l. of our money and that was but a trifle between them two Abraham however resolved to pay him a just value for it and accordingly paid him by weight not by tale as is now usual the 400 Shekels and so the Field with the Trees growing thereon and the Cave was made sure to Abraham by payment of the money the Inhabitants of the City being Witnesses without Deeds or Writings which were not then as afterwards in use See Jer. 32.9 10. Abraham having thus bought this Field and Cave he therein buried (i) Afterwards he himself was buried there and Isaac and Rebecca Jacob and Leah Gen. 25.9 Ch. 49.31 50.13 They testifying thereby their Faith in Gods Promises for the Inheritance of this Land and of the heavenly Canaan figured thereby This made Joseph also give charge to have his bones carried thither the body of his beloved Sarah Gen. 23. whole Chapter SECT XIV ABraham being now 140 years old and the Lord having blessed him in all things he began to think of providing a fit Wife for Isaac his Son who was at this time 40 years of age And understanding that his second Brother Nahor whom he had left at Haran in Mesopotamia when he first came into Canaan had by Milchah his Wife eighth Sons whereof one was Bethuel Father of Rebecca and four by Reumah his Concubine I say hearing these tyding of his Brother and of his numerous Off-spring he had a mind to send his chief Servant and Steward supposed to be Eliezer who had the Charge of all his Concerns to his Kindred there to seek a Wife among them for his Son Therefore calling him to him and acquainting him with the business he required him to swear (k) A practice used by Masters of Families in taking an Oath of any of their houshold in token of homage subjection and faithfulness
and Wine have I plentifully furnished him that he shall have enough And now the chief and principal blessing viz. the Divine Covenant and the Inheritance of the Land of Canaan being setled on thy Brother Jacob what shall I do for thee my Son Alas all other blessings are comparatively nothing to this Esau answered What my Father hast thou but one blessing to bestow Then weeping bitterly he cried out O I beseech thee bless me even me also But all his crying and weeping could not move Isaac to repent of what he had done or to recall the blessing which unwittingly he had conferred on Jacob see Heb. 12.17 However Isaac tells Esau that plenty of earthly blessings should be his portion Canaan also was a Type of the heavenly Canaan Thy dwelling says he shall be the fatness of the Earth Mount Seir was such a place though much inferior to Canaan and thou shalt be blessed with the dew of Heaven from above and by thy Sword shalt thou live that is by thy valour shalt defend thy Estate and Country and shalt serve thy Brother viz. in thy Posterity For when the Children of Jacob shall inherit the Land of Canaan they shall make the Edomites Tributaries to them see 2 Sam. 8.14 and Obad. v. 18 19. but it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the Dominion thou shalt break his Yoke from off thy Neck that is after the Edomites thy Posterity shall have been a long time in subjection to the Israelites they shall at length become more mighty than they had been and shall then Cast off the Yoke of the Israelites which was accomplish'd in the days of Jehoram King of Judah 2 Kings 8.20 In his days Edom revolted from under the hand of Judah See 2 Chron. 21.8 Things thus happening between these two Brothers Esau hereupon hated Jacob (c) This hatred continued in his Posterity See Obad. v. 10.11 12 c. Herod was an Idumaean and exercised his Tyranny in Judaea for 38 years because of the blessing wherewith his Father had blessed him And at first he secretly determined in his own mind but afterwards not being able to contain himself he uttered it in so many words that the days of mourning for his Father were at hand that is his Father could not in likelihood live much longer and as soon as he was dead he was resolved to kill (d) See how wicked men do harden themselves against the known will of God as we see an instance in Saul 1 Sam. 18.28 29. Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David and yet he became Davids enemy continually his Brother Jacob. These threatning words coming to Rebeccas ears she immediately sent for her Son Jacob and told him what Esau intended against him and how he comforted himself with the thoughts of killing him not only because revenge yea the very purpose of it is sweet to inraged wicked men but because he flattered himself with hopes by this means to recover his Birth-right again Therefore she advises him to flee presently to her Brother Laban who dwelt at Haran in Mesopotamia and to tarry there a few days (e) But it proved to be above 20 years as we see Ch. 31.38 till the wrath and fury of his Brother was appeased and then she would send and fetch him home again And she further intimates to Him that she plainly foresaw that if they continued together they would in all likelihood quarrel and fight and possibly one of them might kill the other And if Esau killed him they could then account no better of Esau then as of a dead man seeing Divine Vengeance in all probability would follow him because of that Fact or the Sword of Justice would cut him off or he would withdraw himself from her presence as not daring to look her any more in the face and so she should be deprived of them both in one day And Rebecca that she might dispose Isaac to be willing that Jacob might go to Padan-Aram tells him not of what she heard of Esau's bloody intention to kill his Brother lest she should grieve him thereby in his old Age or inrage him against Esau but she tells him that she was weary of her life by reason of Esau's Wives and therefore lest Jacob should marry among the Canaanites as Esau had done to their continual grief and vexation she desires that Jacob might go and seek a Wife among her Kindred at Haran Isaac hereupon calls Jacob to him and charging him to go to Mesopotamia and to take a Wife of the Daughters of Laban he now wittingly and willingly confirms the blessing which he had before given him unknowingly He desires the Lord to bless him to make him fruitful and to multiply him see Ch. 35.11 12. Ch. 48.4 and to confer on him all those blessings both Spiritual and Temporal which were promised to Abraham and his Seed and especially the blessing of the promised Messias And that he might inherit the Land given to Abraham by promise For though he Himself should be only as a Stranger in this Land wandring here and there yet to him it should be given and to his Seed after him Jacob having thus received his Fathers blessing stole away privately lest Esau should lie in wait for him by the way and began his Journey from Beersheba towards his Uncle Laban with his Staff in his hand (f) Vacuus dimissus est ut tutius latitaret emineret divina benedictio Ch. 32.10 As he travelled on he came to a Place near Luz about 50 miles from Beersheba and about eight miles North of Jerusalem but being overtaken with the night He was fain to lie all night in the Field and he took one of the stones of the place and put it for his pillow and so lay down to sleep And he dreamed and had a vision of a Ladder the foot of which stood upon the Earth and the top of it reached to Heaven and the Angels of God ascended and descended on it By which Vision probably was represented to Him how the Providence of God reached from Heaven to Earth and governed the World by the Ministry of the holy Angels and particularly Gods provident Care over Him and that thorow the mediation of the promised Seed Christ hereby typified (g) The top of the Ladder reaching to Heaven represented Christs Deity the foot of it touching the Earth his Humanity Joh. 1.51 Christ reaches to Heaven in his Divine Naturâ— and to Earth in his humane In his two Natures personally united Heaven and Earth are as it were joyned together By him alone God is reconcil d to Man To him the Angels minister By his Merits and Intercession the Saints obtain the Gifts of the Holy Ghost the Guardianship of the holy Angels and all spiritual blessings Psal 91.11 12. Heb. 1.13 14. he should injoy the Guardianship of the holy Angels and be by them defended both in his going out
Jacob might possibly have many grounds of fear 1. Because in the like necessity Isaac was forbidden to go thither Gen. 26.2 2. Because this removal with his whole Family was a kind of forsaking the Land of Promise which must needs be the more grievous because the Land of Canaan was a Sacramental Pledge of the heavenly Canaan 3. He might remember what God had foretold to Abraham Gen. 15.13 That his Seed should be afflicted in Egypt many years 4. He might fear his Children might be infected with the Idolatry or other Sins of Egypt However Gods bids him not to fear to go down thither not to go down into Egypt I will there make of thee which I have not promised thee before a great Nation (c) This was wonderfully fulfilled in that of 70 Souls that went down in the space of 210 years there came out 600000 men Exod. 12.37 Deut. 10.22 I will go down with thee and will guide and conduct thee and will assuredly bring thee up again that is thy dead body shall be brought out of Egypt and buried in the Land of Canaan and I will afterwards bring thy Posterity out of that Land (d) Viz. By the Hand of Moses Exod. 12.37 and by Joshua shall bring them into Canaan And he further tells him That his Son Joseph should close his eyes and so he should die in peace in Joseph's life time and presence and in the presence of his other Children Jacob having received this Encouragement from the Lord with his Sons and their Wives and their Children travailed towards Egypt They taking with them their Cattel and the Goods (e) No doubt but they had some Servants with them they had got in the Land of Canaan Their Names and number are carefully set down here and elsewhere by Moses 1. That he might shew God's wonderful Power and Mercy in multiplying the Seed of Abraham as he had promised 2. To distinguish the Tribes in regard of the Royal Dignity and Priesthood 3. To shew the descent of the Messiah according to the Flesh All the Souls that came with Jacob into Egypt viz. that came out of his Loins were 66 vers 26. But if we reckon in himself and Joseph and his two Sons they were altogether when in Egypt 70 Souls as we read Deut. 10.22 Thy Father went down into Egypt with threescore and ten Persons The Septuagint have added five more 1 Chron. 7.14 Namely the five Grandchildren that were born to Joseph * Hi hic numerantur propter honorem Josephi quia nati sunt vivente Josepho avo in Egypt to wit Shutelah and Tachon the Sons of his Son Ephraim and Hadan the Son of Shutelah Numb 26.36 And Machir the Son of Manasseh and Gilead Manasseh's Grandchild 1 Chron. 7.14 Which reckoning the Evangelist Luke follows and reckons them in all seventy five Persons (f) Compare the Names in this Genealogy with the Repetitions hereof Numb 26. 1 Chron. 6.7 8. Chapt. Jacob being now come into some part of the Land of Egypt he sent his Son Judah to Joseph to give him notice thereof and to intreat Him to direct his face that is to give him directions how he should set his face and whether he should next march Joseph hearing of his being come forthwith gave Command that his Chariot should be made ready and so he hasted to meet and wait upon his Father When he was come to the place where Jacob was with a lowly Reverence he presented himself to him Jacob fell on his Neck and kissed Him and wept with tears of Joy and Ravishment to see his dear Joseph alive who he thought had been dead many years before And now says the good old man I am willing to die having seen the face of my beloved Joseph in the Land of the living When these endearing Caresses were over and Joseph had stayed a convenient time with his Father and Brethren he told them he would go and acquaint Pharaoh that they were come and would intimate to Him that their Trade had been about Cattel and that they had brought their Flocks and their Herds along with them Thus we see that Joseph in all his height and greatness was not ashamed of his Kindred nor of their mean Trade and Condition Joseph also gave Instructions to his Brethren that when they came before Pharaoh and he should inquire What their Occupation was they should say Thy Servants Trade hath been about Cattel from our Youth to this day And this he intimates would be a means to dispose and incline Pharaoh to order their dwelling in the Land of Goshen which was a fruitful Pasture-Country And further 't is like he told them that by their living there together they would be less in danger of being corrupted with the Idolatry and Superstition of the Egyptians and less offensive to them by their Trade of Shepherdy Every Shepherd (g) See Notes on Gen. 43.32 It is evident the Egyptians had Flocks of Sheep both the King and People For Chap. 47.6 Pharaoh proffers Joseph to make his Brethren Rulers over his Cattel and among the rest over their Sheep But it seems they kept them rather for their Wooll and Milk than any thing else and haply those that kept them were Strangers rather than Egyptians as the Hebrews generally were being an abomination to the Egyptians on the account before mentioned Sect. 39. Gen. 46. whole Chapter SECT XLIV JOseph being come to Pharaoh he acquaints him That his Father and his Brethren were come into Egypt that their Occupation and Trade being about Cattel they had brought their Flocks and Herds with them and for the present they were ia the Land of Goshen and whether they should stay there or how they should be disposed of he humbly desires to know his Majesties Pleasure Then he presents five of his Brethren to Pharaoh who inquiring of what Profession they were They said Thy Servants are Shepherds both we and our Fathers and the Famine being sore in Canaan we had no Pasture there for our Flocks and so have brought them hither Wherefore we humbly beseech thee Let thy Servants dwell in the Land of Goshen Pharaoh turning unto Joseph told him That the Land of Egypt was before him In the best of the Land he might place his Father and his Brethren and if they liked the Land of Goshen better than any other they might freely dwell there And understanding they were Shepherds he gives order to Joseph that if any among them were men of activity he should make them Rulers over his own Cattel Shortly after Joseph brought his Father and presented him before Pharaoh The good old man having made his lowly Reverence to the King began to bless him praying the God of Heaven to accumulate all manner of Mercies and Blessings upon him who had been so munificently bountiful to his Son Joseph and so kind and gracious to him and the rest of his Children Pharaoh then asked Jacob
Georg. Sacr. p. 342. a City thereof on which the North bound of Zebulun did confine 5ly He comes to Issachar and fore-sheweth how different the disposition of his Tribe should be from that of Zebulun For whereas Zebulun should be altogether for Trading and Traffiqueing abroad these of Issachar should be wholly for a quiet life and Country employments at home Issachar says he is a strong Ass (u) Yet some of Issachar were of a more noble and heroick Spirit see Judg. 5.15 1 Chron. 12.32 when Thola of Issachar judged Israel they had rest Judg. 10. couching down between two Burdens by which allusion of a strong lazy and ease-loving-Ass he foretelleth that the Prosperity of Issachar should be strong indeed as to the bodily labour of Husbandry and by reason of the goodness and fertility of their Soil should love Husbandry ease and a quiet life and should rather submit to any Taxes or Tribute that should be laid upon them either from the Kingdom of Phaenicia (x) Inter duo onera i. e. hinc regnum Phaeniciae illinc Samariae Lightfoot Solebant geminas sarcinas vel clitellas a finis imponere ad ferenda utrinque onera Glas or Samaria upon both which they confin'd than be driven from that quiet which at home they did enjoy See Judges 5.16 6ly He comes to Dan eldest Son of Bilhah Rachel's Hand-Maid and alluding to his Name pronounceth this blessing upon him Dan shall judge his people as one of the Tribes of Israel as if he should have said though he was the Son of an Hand-Maid yet his Posterity should be one of the Tribes of Israel and enjoy all the Priviledges of a Tribe as well as the Posterity of his free-born Sons of whom he had before spoken And as other Tribes had their Heads and Elders (y) Dan being the eldest of the Sons of the Hand-Maids by expressing that he should enjoy this Priviledge the like is implyed concerning the rest to judge and decide Causes among them so should They Numb 1.4 16. Further he declares That Dan shall be a Serpent in the way that biteth the Horses so that his Rider shall fall backward that is shall prevail more by cunning than force Thus we find that Sampson who was of this Tribe used craft as well as strength Judges ch 15. 16. So did this Tribe also deal with Laish Judges 18.27 So that 't is a Prophesie of this Tribe That what they wanted in strength they should make up in subtilty and sudden surprisal (z) Moses compares him to a Lions whelp Deut. 33.22 possibly for the suddenness of his leap when â—e sees the advantage of his Prey Dan is omitted in the sealing of the Tribes Apoc. 7. So is Simeon omitted in Moses's Benediction Deut. 33. Likely Simeon for his cruelty against the Shechemites and Dan for his notorious Idolatry Judg. 18.19 1 King 12.29 Then Jacob foreseeing by the Spirit of Prophesie the great dangers that his Posterity and this Tribe in particular would be exposed to both in regard of their Inheritance Judges 1.34 Josh 19.47 as also the true Religion and pure Worship of God which they would soon forsake and turn to Idolatry Judges 18.17 He breaks out into this pious Ejaculation (a) Lumen Propheticum est Lumen raptum O Lord I earnestly pray for and humbly expect thy gracious Deliverance of them out of all their Dangers 7ly He comes to God his eldest Son by Zilpah of whom he Prophesies That a Troop shall overcome him but he shall overcome at last where alluding to his Name which signifies a Troop see Gen. 30.11 he intimates he shall be subject to the Incursions of bordering Enemies And so indeed he was his lot falling beyond Jordan Eastward see Judg. 10.7 8. Jer. 49.1 He was sorely annoy'd with the Ammonites Moabites and Others who did by Troops make Inroads upon him But at length he foretells that the Gadites should gather their Forces together and overcome their Enemies and drive them out of their Country and then should peaceably enjoy their Possessions See Deut. 33.20 1 Chron. 5. from 18. to 23. 1 Chron. 12.8 8ly He comes to speak of Asher his youngest Son by Zilpah who carried blessedness in his Name of whom he Prophesies That out of the excellent portion allotted to him he should have plenty of Corn and of Wheat especially So that His Bread should be fat fat signifying the best of any thing Gen. 4.4 and his lot should yield Royal Dainties namely excellent Oil Deut. 33.24 25. Josh 19.24 25. and other rare and delicious Fruits Such as may grace any King's Table and please his Palat. 9ly He comes to Napthali second Son of Bilhah of whom he Prophesies That Naphtali is as an Hind let loose Wherein he foretelleth how this Tribe should be blessed with liberty and plenty and live in choice Pastures as also that they should be active and nimble in dealing with their Enemies and light-footed to pursue them and escape danger Psal 18.33 Judg. 4.10 15 16. He further adds He giveth goodly words Whereby he intimates That this Tribe should be fair-spoken courteous and of friendly behaviour and therefore greatly beloved Deut. 33.23 10ly He comes to Joseph Of whom he says He shall be like a fruitful Stock or Stem of a Vine placed by a Fountain whose Branches shall run upon the Wall and so have benefit of the reflection of the Suns heat by all which he intimates how fruitful he should be and of him should come two Tribes viz. Ephraim and Manasseh which multiplied and increased exceedingly He goes on The Archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him that is many have bent themselves against him as an Archer doth his bow to shoot at a mark viz. His Brethren that sold him his Mistriss that accused him his Master that imprison'd him and possibly some of the Courtiers of Pharaoh that did strive to do him ill Offices But his Bow abode in strength that is his Innocence Patience Faith Chastity remained inviolable and his Power and Prosperity remained intire through the help of the mighty God of Jacob. And from thence it was namely from the Power and Providence of God that Joseph became a Shepherd to Israel to feed and nourish them in a time of Famine and a Stone to Israel that is a Rock of Refuge for them to fly unto in that their great Distress And from this God even the God of his Father He tells him He shall be blessed with the blessings of Heaven from above that is with Rain and Dew to make his Land fruitful and with the blessings of the Deep * Deut. 33.13 that is with Springs of Water out of the Rock and with the blessings of the Breast and of the Womb that is with many and well nursed Children ten thousands of Ephraim and thousands of Manasseh Deut. 33.17 Lastly he tells Joseph That the blessings with which He his Father
blessed him and his Brethren did surpass the blessings wherewith his Progenitors Abraham and Isaac were blessed namely because they should be sooner accomplished and fulfilled It should not now be long ere the Promises made to Abraham Isaac and Jacob concerning the multiplying of their Seed as the Stars of Heaven should be made good He further intimates That the blessings on Joseph should be eminent and excellent in that the portion of Land in Canaan by lot fall to Ephraim and Manasseh his two Sons should be a blessed portion His blessing should extend to the desirable Fruits of the lasting hills (b) Vers 26. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ad desiderium i. e. ad desiderabiles fructus collium that is as his portion should abound with all other desirables so particularly with the chief things of the ancient Mountains and the precious things of the lasting hills As Moses afterwards prophesied to the same purpose Deut. 33.13 15. All these blessings He tells them shall fall on the head of Joseph even on the head of him whom the Lord hath separated and set apart from the rest of his Brethren advancing him to a high and singular degree of honour above them Lastly He comes to Benjamin of whom he Prophesies That He shall raven as a Wolf in the Morning he shall devour the Prey and at Night shall divide the Spoil that is this Tribe shall be like a ravening Wolf which goeth forth usually Mornings and Evenings to seek his Prey Whereby he intimates they should be a very strong couragious and warlike people and that they should with admirable celerity vanquish and destroy their Enemies and return from the battel laden with Spoils Which warlike disposition appear'd afterwards in the bloody battels they fought see Judg. 20.15 16 17. 1 Sam. 11.11 These are the Heads from whom descended the twelve Tribes of Israel Indeed there were thirteen in all counting Ephraim and Manasseh instead of Joseph but the Levites had no share among them because the Lord was their Portion Deut. 10.9 And this is that which their Father spake unto them and foretold what several blessings God had allotted for them Which prophetical Blessings were to have their accomplishment not so much in the persons of Jacob's Sons as in their Posterity Indeed what he said to Reuben Simeon and Levi might seem rather a Curse than a Blessing but the greatest part of his Speech contained blessings and the denomination is to be taken from the greater and the better part And Jacob's severe reprehension of these three might also be a great blessing to them by bringing them to Repentance Certain it is that he comprehends them within the number of the Tribes and so within the Covenant of God and gives them a right to Canaan the Type of Heaven And 't is like He dismissed them all with a general Benediction praying for them Then he told them the time was now come when he must be gathered to his People that is to the Souls of and society of the Just such as he was And as for his Body he enjoyns them to bury it in the Land of Canaan namely in the Field of Ephron the Hittite in the Cave of Macpelah see Ch. 23.16 where Abraham and Sarah Isaac and Rebecca were buried and where he had buried Leah And when he had made an end of commanding his Sons He gathered up his Feet into the Bed and quietly gave up the Ghost Gen. 49. whole Chapter SECT XLVIII JAcob thus expiring Joseph fell upon his face and wept upon him and kissed him and doubtless closed his eyes according as God had promised unto Jacob Gen. 46.4 Then he commanded the Physitians to Embalm him his Body being to be kept long and to be carried far And accordingly forty days were spent in the embalming (c) This embalming was either by putting fragrant Herbs and odoriferous Spices into the dead Body and anointing it within and without with Ointments made of the same or by putting Spices upon them and about them see Mark 14.8 of him according to the custom of the Country that those fragrant Herbs Drugs Spices and Ointments they used therein might the better diffuse themselves and penetrate into all the parts of the Body And the Egyptians mourned for him 70 days (d) The Hebrews time of mourning was 30 days Numb 20.29 Deut. 21.13 34.8 that is after 40 days had been spent in embalming him not only Joseph and his Brethren but the Court and chief men of Egypt did mourn for him 30 days more before he was carried to be buried Then Joseph not being willing as 't is probable to shew himself publickly in those days of his mourning or because it was not the manner or custom for Mourners to come into the presence of the King see Esther 4.2 desired some of the Courtiers to procure the King's Leave and Consent that he might go into Canaan to bury his Father there For his Father had long since even before he came into Egypt digged (e) So spacious was the place that they might dig themselves several Repositories or cells for their dead bodies a Grave for himself in that place where his Ancestors were buried and made him swear that he would bury him there see Ch. 47.29 Pharaoh very readily consented to it Hereupon Joseph attended with a great many of Pharaoh's Courtiers and Officers of State whom by his Prudence and sweet Disposition he had obliged and with all his own Brethren and his Fathers Family went up with many Chariots and Horsemen and a great Train into Canaan to bury his Father But the Hebrews left their Children Flocks and Herds behind them as a pawn that they intended to return When they came to the Valley of Arad in Canaan not far from Hebron or Macpelah which was beyond Jordan if we consider where Moses was * Being then in the Plains of Moab when he wrote this History see Deut. 1.1 3.25 Joseph chose this place as most convenient to perform the Funeral Solemnities for his Father and there He and his Company made a sore and great Lamentation for seven days together When the Inhabitants of the Land saw this they said This is indeed a grievous mourning to the Egyptians and in memory thereof that place was called Abel mizraim (f) Which signifies the mourning of the Egyptians Then Joseph and his Brethren honourably buried their Father in the Cave of Macpelah which Abraham bought with the Field belonging to it for a Burying-place of Ephron the Hittite Ch. 23.16 The Funeral Solemnity being over Joseph with his great Train returned into Egypt again His Brethren seeing their Father was dead began to fear so unquiet is a guilty Conscience that Joseph would now deal with them according to their Deserts for the evil usage he had formerly received from them Hereupon they send a Message to him to intreat as it seems that they might be admitted into his presence Which being
hear and rightly consider these Statutes and they will say Surely this great Nation is a wise and understanding people For what other great Nation is there which hath God so nigh unto them and always dwelling among them as these Israelites have as is evident by the miraculous signs of his Presence among them and his readiness always to hear their prayers and to defend and protect them from all evils And indeed what other Nation is there that hath Statutes and Judgments so righteous * Ex legibus de populis fit juditium as is this Law which I am to set before you this day You ought therefore to take heed lest you forget the great things God hath done for you and that they may never be forgotten I exhort you to teach them your Sons and your Sons Sons And especially remember the day when you stood †Most of those that stood then at Horeb were dead see Ch. 2.14 15 16. But many that were then young were now alive before the Lord in Horeb when God commanded me to gather the people together to hear his words that they might learn to fear Him all the days of their life and might teach them unto their Children And ye came near and stood under the Mountain and the Mountain burnt with fire unto the midst of Heaven * Per hyperbolen significat quod vehementer altissime flammas evomeret and there were great Tempests and thick darkness And the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire Ye heard the voice of his words but saw no Similitude of Him at all And he declared unto you his Covenant viz. the Condition required on your part namely Obedience and Observance of his ten Commandments which He wrote upon two Tables of stone And besides those ten Commandments which the Lord himself gave you He not long after that time gave me other Statutes and Judgments viz. the Ceremonial and Judicial Laws which he commanded me to teach you Take heed therefore unto your selves lest you corrupt your selves by Idolatry or by making any Image of God for remember you saw no manner of similitude of Him at Horeb or any figure of Man Beasts Birds creeping things or Fishes to represent Him Take heed also of worshipping the Host of Heaven the Sun Moon and Stars which are so far from being Gods that God hath created them for the common use of man and the service of all Nations And you Israelites ought above all people to be careful not to dishonour God by such gross Idolatry because He hath brought you forth by an out-stretched Arm out of the Iron-Furnace of Egypt and hath taken you to Himself as his own peculiar people and as his own Possession as you see this day Furthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes and sware that I should not go over Jordan but should die in this Land However ye shall go over and possess †Moses being sure of Heaven envies not those that should inherit the earthly Canaan it Take heed therefore lest ye forget the Covenant of the Lord your God and especially take heed of Idolatry or making any graven Image to represent God which he hath so severely forbidden For God is a jealous God jealous of having the Worship due only to Himself given to any Creature He is a consuming fire to those that provoke him by their Rebellions Furthermore I advise you that when you are setled in the Land of Canaan and are mightily increased that you be not secure nor think it a small matter to corrupt your selves by Idolatry for if you do I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you this day that I faithfully admonish'd you of your danger and told you that upon such Provocations God would destroy many of you and drive the small remnant that shall be left out of the Land he hath given you to possess and would scatter you among Heathen Nations where you shall serve their Gods * Quod in patria fecistis ultro facietis attoniti pudore atque inviti exules or at lest those that did serve them viz. such Gods as are the work of mens hands and made of Wood or Stone which neither see nor hear eat nor smell But yet even then when you have thus transgressed and are thereupon under great tribulation if ye shall humble your selves before the Lord and shall seek his Face and turn to him with all your Heart †Some think those verses from 27. to 32. to be a Prophesie of the calling of the Jews and all your Soul He is so gracious and merciful that he will have pity upon you and will not forget the Covenant which he made with your Fathers And that you may remember the extraordinary engagements the Lord hath laid upon you look back upon ancient times and consult the Histories of all things that have happened since the Creation in any part of the world from the one side of the Heavens to the other and from the rising of the Sun to the going down thereof and inquire whither there was ever such a thing in the world before That a people should hear the Voice of God speaking unto them out of the midst of the fire and yet live and escape as ye did yea further inquire whither ever God assayed at any time in such a manner to take unto Himself a Nation from the midst of another Nation by Temptations (e) God propounding his Will to the Israelites tried their Obedience whither they would trust in Him They were also temptations to Pharaoh to try whither he would be won to yield to God and let the people go Signs Wonders by War (f) Against Pharaoh whom with his Host He destroyed in the Red-Sea and by a mighty Hand and out-stretched Arm and by great Terrours as he hath done you when he brought you out of Egypt Before your eyes were those great things done that you may know that the Lord he is God and there is no other besides him Out of the Air from on high he made you to hear his Voice to instruct you and upon Mount Sinai he made you see his great fire and you heard his words out of the midst of it And because of his own free Grace and Love and not for any desert of theirs he chose and loved your Fathers and chose their Seed after them for his peculiar people therefore he brought you by his Almighty Power out of Egypt in his sight that is the eye of his Providence being still fixed upon you even as a Father causes his Child to go before him that he may preserve him from danger Exod. 14.19 * Ante se in exitu ex Aegypto retro se posuit ut eos intueretur And he brought you out of Egypt that you might drive out other Nations greater and mightier than you and take their Land to your selves for an Inheritance as you
two Cities of this Name One fell to the lot of the Ephraimities and the other to the Benjamites So that it seems there were an upper and nether Beth-horon which were afterwards rebuilt beautified and fortified by Sherah a famous woman of the stock of Ephraim 1 Chron. 7.24 and smote them unto Azehah and Makkedah And as they fled some towards the upper and some towards the nether Beth-horon the Lord cast down great and prodigious Hail-stones upon them which destroyed more of them than the Israelites had killed with the Sword This storm of Hail was miraculous not only in regard of the exceeding greatness of the stones but in that they fell only on the Canaanites and not on the Israelites who pursued after them Joshua being now with his Army in the heat of pursuit and execution of their Enemies and fearing he should want day-light to finish his Work His spirit was excited humbly to beg of God that the Sun and Moon might stand still in the Heavens and give them light till they had done their work The Lord was pleased by some special instinct of his Spirit to assure him that his Request was granted whereupon in the presence of his Souldiers and for their future Encouragement looking up to Heaven He said Sun stand thou still upon Gibeon and thou Moon in the Valley of Ajalon †This was a Plain into which men descended from Beth-horon v. 11. and in respect of the small distance between it and Gibeon it is by the Prophet who alludeth to this story call'd the Valley of Gibeon Isa 28.21 And accordingly the Sun and Moon stood still and the whole frame of the Heavens by the space of almost an whole day till they had avenged themselves on their Enemies So that both these great Lights beginning and ending their standing still together the Astronomical Account was no way confounded by this stay even as in Musick the Harmony is not in any sort broken if all the Voices rest at the same time and then begin again every man in his own part going on until the end of the Lesson as Laurentius Codomannus observes This is written in the Book of Jasher * Fuit hic liber quasi Sanctorum Catalogus de Heroum Sanctorum gestis-scriptâ—s metrico versu Bonfrerius which seems to be some continued Chronicle of the memorable Acts of Gods Worthies in those times which Book is since lost though 't is mentioned again 2 Sam. 1.18 see also Numb 21.14 And there was no day like this either before it or after it wherein God at the prayer of a man made the Sun and Moon to stand still and made the day twice as long as it should have been Indeed in Hezekiah's time the day was miraculously lengthened by the Suns going backward 2 Kings 20.11 and Isaiah the Prophet cried unto the Lord and he brought the shadow ten degrees backward by which it had gone down in the Dial of Ahaz and yet it was not lengthened so much by far then as it was now to wit not above two hours and an half Neither was that done in such a manner as this was viz. upon Joshua's prayer to God first desiring it and then commanding in his Name that it should be done see Hab. 3.11 Joshua having the day thus miraculously lengthened out for him and following the Chase those five Kings fled to a Cave in the Country belonging to Makkedah and there hid themselves Joshua being informed thereof commanded that the entrance into the Cave should be rammed up with great stones and a Guard set upon it but that the rest of the Army should pursue after their Enemies and smite the hindmost of them and not suffer them to get into their fenced Cities lest they should put them to a new trouble For says he God fights for us and hath delivered these our Enemies into our hands therefore let us not by sloth and negligence lose this opportunity of destroying them which he now affordeth us Accordingly Joshua and his Souldiers made that day a great Slaughter of their Enemies so that only a few of them escaped which got into their fenced Cities For though he at present destroyed the Enemy in the Field yet it seems he did not take their fenced Cities till some time after though they are related in this Chapter as taken presently because the Writer of this Book did resolve to give as it were one short Draught of the War Now those whom Joshua had sent forth to pursue the Enemy returned to him in peace that is sound and safe to Makkedah where his Camp was at present And now the Canaanites were very quiet and durst not offer the Israelites the least Disturbance no not so much as a Dog barked against them to allude to that proverbial Speech Exod. 11.7 Then Joshua caused the five Kings to be brought out of the Cave to him and He called for his Captains and chief Commanders and bad them put their feet upon their Necks not in a proud insulting manner but to teach them that they were to shew no mercy to this people and to intimate to them that thus they should tread all their Enemies under their feet Then Joshua commanded that these five Kings should be slain and hanged * Quia Regum stagitia plurimis exemplo nocent ideo acerbiore supplicio merito debebant Expiari Masius on five Trees where they hung till evening and then they took them down and cast them into the Cave where they had been hid and laid great stones in the Caves mouth which remained when this History was written See Josh 8.29 and Psal 91.13 and Psal 149.8 110.1 Joshua 10. from 1. to 27. SECT CIV JOshua like a prudent General pursueth his Victory while the Canaanites were under so great a terrour and consternation upon the defeat of the five Kings and their Armies And therefore now He resolves to set upon their Cities And first He took Makkedah (c) A City in the uttermost Confines of the Tribe of Judah towards the West see Ch. 15.41 and destroyed all the people therein Men Women and Children reserving the Cattel to themselves for a Prey see Ch. 11.14 And he did unto the King thereof as he had done unto the King of Jericho that is He hanged †Hoc non indicat Scriptura ex caeterorum tamen Regum exemplo colligunt eum suspensum fuisse Bonfrerius him From Makkedah he marched the whole Army that was with him to Libnah (d) A City situate in the Tribe of Judah Ch. 15.42 and given to the Priests Ch. 21.13 and the Lord delivered that City also into his hands and he put all to the Sword he found therein and did unto their King as he did unto the King of Makkedah From Libnah he marched to Lachish (e) A strong City in the Confines of Judah restor'd Ch. 15.39 whose King was one of those that made War against Gibeon and besieged it
them that led them away and God will move their hearts to let them return and come again into their own land For the Lord our God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you if you turn unto him by true repentance So the Posts passed from City to City through the Country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun but most of them it seems laughed them to scorn and mocked at them for this their message However divers of Asher Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves under the hand of God for their former sins and came to Jerusalem But in Judah the hand and power of God eminently appeared in making them unanimous and giving them as it were one heart and one mind to do the commandment of the King and of his Princes which was guided by and grounded on the word of the Lord. And there assembled at Jerusalem very many people to keep the Feast of the Passover in the second month and being there met they arose and took away the Altars that were in Jerusalem viz. those that Ahaz had made both the Altars of burnt-offerings and the Altars of incense and cast them into the brook Kidron Then they killed the Passover on the 14th day of the second month and the Priests and the Levites that had been before backward were now asham'd of their backwardness seeing the forwardness of other Levites and of the people themselves and they sanctified themselves and brought in the burnt-offerings into the house of the Lord and did what belonged to their office And they stood and officiated in their proper places wherein each order was appointed to stand as they were accustom'd to do before Ahaz's time who put them all out of order The Porters stood in their places the Singers in theirs and the Levites that assisted the Priests in theirs according to the ordinances delivered by Moses The Priests also sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice upon the Altar having received it from the hands of the Levites And then there being many of the Priests that were not sanctified the Levites that were sanctified had the charge of killing the Paschal lambs and other sacrifices that were to be offered And this was done to keep the sacrifices from being polluted as they would have been if unsanctified persons had offered them And many of the people that were of the Tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh Issachar and Zebulun had not cleansed themselves according to those rites that were enjoined to such as were to eat of the Passover and yet through ignorance did adventure to eat of the Passover whereupon God gave some visible evidence of his displeasure against them which Hezekiah observing prayed to the Lord for them saying Good Lord pardon every one that setteth his heart in truth and sincerity to seek the Lord God of his Fathers though he hath failed through ignorance in the use of those external rites of cleansing required of him and is not cleansed according to the purification of the Sanctuary nor hath used such means of purifying himself as are prescrib'd to such as come to Gods holy place And the Lord heard the prayer of Hezekiah and remov'd the judgment he had inflicted on them So they kept the Feast of the Passover seven days with great gladness and the Priests and the Levites praised the Lord day by day singing and praising the Lord on loud instruments of musick And Hezekiah encouraged and spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledg of the Lord and the people did eat joyfully every day of the Feast and offered peace-offerings and made confession of their sins to the Lord. And the King Princes and Priests and all the chief of the assembly advising together resolved to keep other seven days to the Lord which though it was besides the Law yet the case being extraordinary God accepted their holy zeal and they did accordingly keep them with great gladness And the King gave to that great assembly and congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep and the Princes gave them a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep that they might offer part to the Lord and eat the remainder themselves in those days of Feasting and that those of the Ten Tribes that were there present might be the better entertained And a great number of Priests though they were backward before yet now seeing the great need of their pains and beholding the zeal of others they sanctified themselves and put themselves on to forward the service of the Lord. And that vast congregation of all sorts there met together greatly rejoiced and there was such joy in Jerusalum at this time as since the days of Solomon and the division of the Kingdoms there had not been the like And the Priests that descended from Levi blessed the people according to Numb 6.23 c. and their voice was heard and their prayer came up to Gods holy dwelling place even to Heaven and the blessing which the Priests pronounced God was pleased to ratifie 2 Chron. 30. wh Ch. When these things were finished all the Israelites which were there present about the end of the 2d said month being incouraged by the King went forth through all the other Cities of Judah and brake down the Images and cut down the Groves and destroyed the high places and Altars throughout the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and even throughout all the Cities of Ephraim and Manasseh that were under the dominion of the King of Judah until they had finished the work they went about which being done they returned every one to his own home in their several Countries 2 Chron. 31.1 Hezekiah went yet further and brake in pieces the brazen Serpent which Moses had set up Numb 21.9 to cure such as were stung with fiery Serpents which being kepâ— as a monument of Gods grace goodnâ—ss and mercy to them many of the people were so superstitious as to yield to it Divine honour this good King therefore brake it in pieces that God might be no longer dishonoured by it For when things lawful and useful are perverted to Idolatry they may lawfully be destroyed And Hezekiah called it Nehustan that is a little piece of brass intimating to them there was no deity in it and therefore no worship to be done unto it 2 King 18.4 Then King Hezekiah took order that the Priests and Levites should serve every one of them in his office and course and should minister and do the service belonging to their places and praise the Lord in the gates of the tents of the Lord that is within the gates of the Temple which by reason of the several Courts and buildings and Chambers belonging to it were as Tents in a Camp for the several orders of Ministers that belonged to it to lodg in And whereas the morning and evening-sacrifice and the sacri ices appointed for the Sabbaths and New-Mâ—ons and other set and solemn Festivals were ordinarily to