PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — Judges
Arthur Charles Hervey [1808-1894] · 186,338 words · 202 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — Judges — Section 1
THE PULPIT COMMENTARY, EDITED BY THE VERY REV. H. D. M. SPENCE, D.D., DEAN OF GLOUCESTER; AND DY THE REY. JOSEPH S. EXELL, M.A. WITH INTRODUCTIONS DY THE VERY REV. F. W. FARRAR, D.D., F.R.S., DEAN OF CANTERiff'RY. RIGHT REV. H. COTTERILL, D.D., F.R.S.E. VERY REV. PRINCIPAL J. TULLOCH, D.D. REV. CANON G. RA…
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The first thing one looks for in a scientific history is a careful and accurate chronology. But such is entirely wanting in the Book of Judges, for the reason that it is not a scientific history, but a collection of narratives having a moral and religious purpose ; illustrative, that is, of the evil of idolatry, of Go…
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rl'qniring the addition of one or two generations to the.five indicated by David's, while not one requires a larger number. The genealogy of Saul is of the same length as David's. If m is the true number, we have a period of 198 years between the entrance into Canaan and the birth of David. If seve,i is the true nu…
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jnLlge, as eh. iii. 10; vi. 34; xi. 29, &c, In other ptt&mges whe1·e the word of God :omes to men it is not clear whether it is through prophets, through an ephod, or by direct operation of the Holy Ghost (see eh. ii. 20 ; vi. 25 ; x. 11 ; clz;c. ). It is also worthy of observation that there are in this book many d…
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the compilation to the reign of Saul, the separate contents of the book being known even earlier ; but it must be confessed that this conclusion is uncertain, and that there is much to be said in favour of a much later date. The Book of Judges has always been contained in the canon, It is referred to in Acts xiii. 20,…
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HOMILETICS. Vera. 1-1.-lnquiry of God. Three lessons stand out from the above section which we shall do well to consider in the order in which they present themselves. I. The first i~, THAT BEFORE TAKING IN HAND ANY WPORTANT BUSINESS WE OUGHT TO BEEK Goo's DIRECTION. Distrust of our own wisdom, misgivings as to our m…
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inguiry, Who sh111l go up first? h11d come. "Judah shall go up: behold, I have delivered the land into his hand." Yet none the less did Judah say to Simeon hiFI brother, "Come up with me, ... nnd I likewise will go with thee into thy lot." It is not enough then even to have the help of God : the laws under which humani…
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th{' numl'rous body, "the sons of IsrMl," or elders and tribesmen. More freq_uent deliberation, the consnltntion of competing interests, &c., had to precede any n11t1onal 11.ctio1; nga_inst the common enemy. The g:Mt Lawgiver had passed away, the Soldier-Dictator hAd also been gathered to lus fathers, And now it dev…
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purity, nnd to encourage a personal attachment to Christ as the embodirnent of thesc.-M. Ver. 1.-Spiritual initiatives. The one stem fact facing every Israelite is God's commrind to uproot the Canaanite. There must be at least one land wholly conse- crated to Jehovah nnd freed from idolatry. The warfare is an inherita…
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Ver. 7.-Correspondence of crime and requital. The crime of Adoni-bezek was against not any special national law, but humanity. It was one calculated to create and foster the most cruel disposition, the moral sense being rendered callous by habituation to a spectacle of abjectness and suffering dishonouring to our c…
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Vers. 1, 2.-Tlie death of the great. The circumstances which accompanied and followed the death of Joshua are suggestive of the common difficulties which arise on the death of great men, and the conduct of Israel is an example of the right spirit in which to £nee these difficulties. I. THE MOST USEFUL MEN ARE OFTEN CA…
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on the wh~le we i:imst feel that it is better to have the great among us. The death of Joshua 1s the signal for the decadence of the nation from its ancient heroic glory. Therdore let us pray that God will continue the race of good and great men and eeek to educnte and discover such among the young, Let us be thnnkf…
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EXPOSITION. Ver. 8.-Read Fought again.st Jerusalem, some obscurity in this verso, which seems to and_ took it, aml, smote it. It is the continu- tell us that Achsah, on her wedding-day, ation of the narrative of the exploits of when she was going to her husband's hou.se, Judah and Simeon in conquering their re- persua…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 8-20.-Faith. The principal incident in this section is the conquest of Hebron by Caleb (see note, ver. 20), and in it we have a most striking illustration (L) of the nature of faith, (2) of the triumph of faith, (3) of the faithfulness of God's promises, and (4) of the extension of God's covenant …
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Yers. 11-15.-The pnW,e spiri,t <!f Cale~. H~ offered his ~aughter to the soldier ~-ho should be suc~essful m destroymg the mhab~tants of Deb1r. It was of supreme importance that this stronghold should be taken, 1f the rest of the district was to be peaceably held. But some reward was re…
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T. A DI,Ji:RRJt'.O WITH A DRAWDACK. Of the bravery of Othniel there could be no 'luestion ; of his poverty there could be as little. It might be honourable for her to be his wife, but she would have to suffer many Racrifices in leaving the wealthy home of her father, 11ml her husband would h11ve an additional burden to…
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did not subdue the citadel, which was in Benjamin's lot. The latter, on the other hand, are too c!lreless, unwarlike, or indisposed to make good their possession.-M. Ver. 19.-T/ie presence of God in the battle of life. The most remarkable circum- Btnnce connected with the wars of ancient Israel is the religious fait…
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EXPOSITION. ''er. 21.-This verso is identical with (Josh. vi. 23). This history is not preserved JoAh. xv. 63, except thnt there we rend in the parallel place in Josh. xvi. "the children of ,Judah" instead of "the Ver. 28.-Put the Ce.nae.nites to tribute, children of Benjamin," e.e in this verse. or made them tributar…
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im·incihle, shrunk from encountering them in the valleys, and slunk away into the, hills and fastnesses out of their way. So to those of little faith the difficulties in the way of a thoroughly godly life seem insuperable. The fashions and customs of the world, the adverse opinions of men, the possible losses in tre.do…
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EXPOSITION of Ephraim, the place of the national CHAPTER II. gathering of "the host," and the tabernacle It is often extremely difficult to make out pitched there; and the same in eh. xix. 51 ; the sequence of a Hebrew narrative, the nar- xxi 2; xxii. 9, 12. Josephus tells us that rator going back and travelling ove…
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might ho patterns to nn evil world of Jove and purity and unAelfish service, was soon stayed and checked by strife and discord, by worldly ambitions, by compromises with sin, 1md by fellowship with the corruptions of heathenism. So too it is with individual Christians. Wo check God's grace by not using it to the full; …
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Yers: 1-5.-The pi·eaching of repmuance. I. THE MISSION. 1. A special mes- senger 1s sent to preach repentanc~. 1:'here are men whose p~~uliar gifts and position mark them out as called to t~1s difficult work, e. g. BhJah, John the Baptist, Savonarola, John Knox. 2. This man was sent by God. It needs a Divine call an…
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EXPOSITION. Ver. 7.-A.nd the people served, &::c. This Gibeon at the word of Joshua (Josh. x. 12, verso is the epi\ 1mo of tho religious history 13). The neighbourhood of Timnath-heres uf Isro.el from the time of the expostulation to Ajalon (eh. i. 85) may give some counten- of tho nngcl till tho dying olT of all thos…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 7-13.-lnfluence. Jo~bun holds n distinguished pince among the worthie~ of the Old Testament. As the faithful miniijter of Moses, as the servant of God, a'i the bold and believing spy, as the successor of Moses, as the captain of the hosts of Israel, as the conqueror of Canaan, as the type of the Lord…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vera. 6-13.-The force of personal testimony anuJ, influence. These verseii are an explana.tion of how the evils came about which Israel deplored at Bochim. They explain, too, the fact tha.t idolatry had not yet made much way amongst the people. "They described the whole period in which the…
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EXPOSITION. Vers. 14, 15.-The anger of the Lord, &c. tim) is, as is well known, identical with the These verses contain an awful view of the Carthagenian sujfetes. Mark the riches of wrath of God excited by wilful sin, and are God's mercy. a practical illustration of Exocl xx. 5 : "I Ver. 22.-To we.lk therein. The Heb…
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to give us such knowledge. And this is given in two ways. One is by description11 of God's character, as, e. g., that in Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7: "The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgivin~ iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will b…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Yers. 14-18.-.Afercy in the mi.dst of judgment. .As the sin of Israel continues and multiJ?lies, the :3-nger ?f the Lord ":axes hot. ~s. the_ mis~ry of his people deep~ns, his compass10Il:s ~ail not.. _There 1s no contrad1cti?n m tlus. The mercy of God 1s not a weakness, 1t 1s the mm1st…
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EXPOSITION. which was overthrown by the king <Jf Assyria CHAPTER III. (2 Kings xviii. 34 ; rix. 13), and of which Ver. 1.-Now these are the nations, &c. Hamath ,vas the capital, was for the most We are now told in detail what was stated part an independent Hamitic or Canaanite in general in cb. ii. 22, 23, after t…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-6.-Ungodly mm-rill{Ja. The distinctive lesson of this section seems to be the fatal influence o! an ungodly marriage. And this lesson is one of such daily importance to Christians in every station in life, that we shnll do well to concentrate our attention upon it. On entering upon the history o…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-4.-The provvng of Israel. The general lesson of the Book of Judges is here repeated. There is shown to have been a Divine providence prevailing through and above the defections of Isrnel. God uses the consequences of their neglect aR a means of grace. The nntions that had not been …
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EXPOSITION . This section introduces us into the actual . . . in the land of Shinar" (ibid. ver. 10). narrative of the Book of Judges, the prefatory .An earlier invasion of Palestine by con- matter being now concluded. The whole querors from Mesopotamia. i~ mentiom:d Ge~. xiv. 2, where Amraphel, kmg of Shmar, 1s book…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 7-11.-God's scourge. In a remarkable passage (Deut. xxxii. 8) Moses tells us that when the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. In like manner the sacred history teaches us how the movements of the natio…
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HOMILIES.BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 8.-ldolatrv and its Nemesis. The effects of this communion with idolatrous peoples speedily appear. It was no accident that Israel became the subject of a heathen power, nor are we to suppose it an arbitrary exercise of the right of Divine providence. I. As FAITH STRENGTHENS, SUPE…
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in the fame of tl1Rt family, perhaps, pnrtly in virtue of hereditary qunlities. But e';<'n he is described a~ owing his greatness to God .. 1. Grent men nrc sent by God. \\ hen the people "cned unto the Lord, the Lord ra1se<l up a deliverer." There nre men ''.·ho are born he_roes-men whose g-reat 9ualiti_es are ?win…
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to be lcft-hrtnded (eoe eh. xx. 16; 1 Chron. eluded that he was taking his siesta in the xii. 2). A left-handed man wearing no sword heat of the day. or dagger on his left side, and using his right Ver. 26.-The quarries.· See above, ver. hand for other purposes, would naturally 19. Seirath, or rather has-seirah, is not…
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world, by ~:hich man's _free will is re~o_nciled with the sovereignty of God. It is mani- frst that, grven the existence of evtl m the world, and g-iven the truth that the Most High doet~ according to his will i_n the army of he1tven and among the inhabitants of the earth, 1t must. be that bad act1~ns as "."ell as_g…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. VerB. 12-14.-Continued and repeated offence entails more signal punishment. Jehovah is spoken of here as if he natl become the God of heathen nations. He takes the side of the enemies of Israel, and stnngthens them for the subjugation of his own people. J. 'fHE INSTRUMENT OF CHASTISEMENT …
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Ver. 15.-A man left-handed. The left-handed] man may be regarded as a type of !he abnormal. the eccentric The existence and position of such people deserves notice. I. TrrE PRO\"TDENTIAL GOODNESS OF Gon PERMITS PECULIAR VARIATIONS FROM TRE NORMAL TYPE OF HUMANITY_ God does not form all men according to one exact p…
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EXPOSITION. vers. 6 and 12. Translate the verse. Ther, CHAPTER IV. went up ten thousand men at his feet, i. e. Ver. 2.-Sold them. See eh. ii. 14, note. following him. J'abin king of Razor. The exact site of Ver. 11.-Translate, Now Heber the Ken- Hazor has not bcdn identified with certainty, ite Juul, severed Mnnself…
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HOMILETICS. Vers. 1-22.-The vari,ety of God's instr·uments. Tlie weakn~s of God's instnt· m~ts. . Nothing is more remarkable in the history of God's _providential dealings with his people, whether under the Old or New Testament dispensations than the great ,-ariety of instruments by which he carries out bis designs. A…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vere. 1-11.-Temporary iTljf;,.iences and a permanent tendency. In this section are presented severaf influences, such as affect the life of man in every age-the personal influence of Ehud, the material or /hysical influence of Sisera, and the spiritual influence of Deborah, In judging o co…
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Vers. 12-17.-The battle of the brook Kuhon, or material force versus spiritual. The armies are a contrast in respect of resources, numbers, strategic position, pres- tige, and skilled leadership. In all these respects the army of Sisera had the advan- tage of that of Israel. But the Canaanite force was a mercenary o…
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host. And when once the huge army began to yield, its own size and bulk would malce its defea_t the m_ore disastrous. And all was ris~ed at once. There was nothing more upon winch, quickly enough, to fall back. So m the hour of the Church's peril and extremity God has found his opportunity. The Pope's bull is burnt, an…
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the evil of t~e world is the presence of the Spirit of God in light and power, to guide nnd to_ energise h~r dark and weak efforts. It is foolish to go up to our s12iritual war- fare without seekmg the presence of God to accompany us (Exod. xxx1ii. lfi}, If God go ,\;th us we shall need no specie.I order of prophets…
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EXPOSITION. the not uncommon sense of mme than mean CHAPTER V. ing here louder than. The eh ief dilferen t Ver. 1.-Then sang Deborah, &c. ·fhe senses which emerge are--(1) that of the ode which follows was doubtless the com- A. V. : "Those that can now draw water position of Deborah the prophetess, and was from the …
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HOMILETICS. This splend1a ode, so full of poetic fire and vivid dramatie effect, with its startling contrasts, its picturesque descriptions, its glowing eulogiums, its burning patriotism, its striking characters thrown into high relief by the stroke or two of genius, its passion and its pathos, is not deficient in …
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nway? As their eyes ran through the sheep-folds, and they reckoned up in thought the wealth which they contained; as they thought of the lambing, and the sheep- shenring, and the sheep-market, and told the increase which they might expect, they seemed tied to those sheep-folds by bonds which could not be broken, and…
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I. THE SPIRIT IN WHICH GREAT DEEDS ARE WROUGHT. The outburst has its source in Divine patriotism or religious enthusiasm. .A consciousness of a representative character and destiny animates the Israelites. Religious devotion binds them into complete communion. Private aims and interests are forgotten. 1. It is this spi…
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Ver. 8.-The peril of national irreligion. The conscience of Israel is here addressed. The coincidence of new idolatries with" war in the gates" was strikingly suggestive, It could not be accidental. There was nothing in which Israel had hacl more continued experience than in the connection of idolatry with national wea…
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Ver. 20.-The hopelessness of opposition to God. This verse is variously inter- preted as an astrological allusion-as descriptive of a thunder-storm, accompanied by wind, hail, and floods, producing confusion (Josephus) ; or as suggestive of the delay which lost Sisera the opportunity. The explanation of Berthau, refe…
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c-0mparnti-ely or relatively right which is not absolutely so. The fact that we ~ondemn th~ a_cti?n is not due to our superior n~tural light, but simply to the teach- ings of Chr1stJS1rnty, the o?tg:rowth and perf~ctn~g of the crude morality of the Old T<'~tnment. :2. On the princip_le that the o?ligation to tell tl…
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women who are not called to imitate the heroic career of Deborah may take example from the compnssion of Pharaoh's daughter, the nospitality of Abigail, and the charity of Dorcas. II. Tm: WC'MAN CHOSEN FOR THE DELIVERANCE OF ISRAEL WAS A MOTHER. The peculiar virtue of celibacy is a late invention which finds no basis …
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Ver. 14. - .l,,i,terary occupatwn8. Whether these men of Zebulun were poets, chroniclers, or only merchants' clerks, their occupation was distinctly different from that of their brethren, and the peculiar duties attaching to it may serve to illustrate those which belong to a corresponding class of men in our own day…
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Ver. 23.-Tlie curse of Meroz. I. THE CURSE WAS FOR INACTIVITY. Meroz had committed no offence, but is solely to blame for failing in action. Innocence of positive guilt is not enough to secure us from condemnation in the judgment of God. We shall be judged by what we have left undone as well as by what we have done. In…
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CHAPTER VI. we gather that the country lying to the east of Palestine as far as the river Euphrates Ver. 1.-Midian. In Numb. x.xii. 7 we was called the east country, and that the read of the Midianites as allied with the various tribes of Arabs and others who Moabites in their hostility to the children peopled that d…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Vers. 1-6:--!srael's ex_tr_emit_y. With repe3:ted defection a severer punishment is needed and mfhcted. M1dian Is not only a neighbour, but one who encircles Isrnel on south, south-east, and east. It was a name given to the great Arab tribes living east of the Red Sea, and south and eas…
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Vere. 7-10.-Merciful reproof. The answer to prayer begins in reproof. An anonymous messenger is sent, a prophet probably from amongst the Israelites them- selves. In such a season of distress and seclusion they would become strangers even to themselves. No biography is given of the prophet. He is raised for the occa- s…
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EXPOSITION. Ver. 11. -An angel, &c. Rather, the of the angel is introduced, as if, .it were n angel of the Lord, otherwise called •• the matter of course in the eyes of him who is angel of his presence" (Isa. !xiii. 9). In the Lord of the millions of the heavenly vers. 14, 16, 23, for the angel of the Lord host, those…
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tli.o'.'O?l[Jh tru.•t i1_1 G'od ; . the otlrnr to in.spire hiin with a pi·opei· tr11st in liimsell, spnngmg from hrn ~rust_ m God.,, And so the angel began at once with the startliRg word~, "The Lord 1s with thee. And the ans~,·er of doubt and despair from the lips of Gideon was met by a look of God-a turnmg of God'…
829 wordsSource & rights
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.