Annotations upon the Holy Bible — Volume 1 — Section 734

Four battels again the Philiſlines wherein fuur valiants of David /lay four giants, 15 22, - þ Hen @ there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year ; and David + enqui- + 13 red of the LORD b. And the LORD anſwered, 7: fog ,, is for Saul, and for his bloody houſe, becauſe he flew /**f,8. the Gibeonites c. | _ s When ? Either, Firſt, After 4bſalem's and Sheba's Rebellion,as It 1s here related. Or rather, Secondly, In ſome other time before. It is well known and confeſſed,that the Particle, then,doth nor al. | ways note that the thing was done in that order in which it is mens | rioacd ; but is oft of an indefinite fignification ; as alſo that the | SCripture in its Hiſtories and Relations,doth not always obſerve the | order of time, but the order of things, puting that after, which, was done bezore, as occaſion requires. And 1o it ſeems to be here. | The things related here and chap;24.are by the moſt and beſt Inter- ' prerers conceived to have been done long before Abſalom's Rebel- hon. And this Opinion is not without ſufficient grounds: Firſt, This Particle, then, is here explained, in the days, 7. e. during the Life and Reign of David :which general and indefinite words ſeem | to be added as an Intimation that theſe things were not done after the next foregoing Paſſages, for then the Sacred Writer would ra- ther have added, after theſs things, or ſome ſuch expreſſion, as it is 2 Chron. 32,1. and /in many other places, Secondly,Here are devers Pafſages which it ſeems very improbable to aſcribe to the laſt Years of David's Reign : Such as theſe, Firſt, That Sau!'s Sin againſt the Gibeonites ſhould ſo long remain unpuniſhed. And indeed that this was done, and Sau!'s ſeven Sons hanged by David's order before that time, ſeemsplainly to be intimated by that paſſage 2 Sam. 16-8, where he is charged with the blood of the houſe of Saul : for which there was not the leaſt colour till this time. Secondly, That David ſhould not remove the Bones of Saul and Jonathan to their proper Piace, here v» 12. 13, $4. till thar time, Thirdly, That the Ph:1:- Sines ſhould wage-War with David again and again, wv. i 5, &c. ſo long after he had fully ſubdued them,chap- 8. 1. and that David in his old Age ſhould attempc ro fight with a Phil:ft;ne Giant, or that his People ſhould ſuffer him todo fo. Fourthly, That David ſhould then have ſo vehement a deſire ro number his People,chap:24.1,&C. which being. an a& of yourhful hear and vanity,ſeems nor at all to agree with his old age,nor with that fate of deep humiliarion,and great offliction in which he then was. And the reaſon why theſe matters are put here out of their proper order, is plainly this, be- cauſe David's Sin being once related, it was very convenient that David's Puniinments inflifted for it ſhould immediatly ſucceed:this being very frequent in Scripture-ſtory, to put thoſe things toge= ther which belong ro one matter, though they happened ar ſeveral times. And this is the more conſiderable, becaule it tends to the Clearing of that great difficulry, 2 Sam. 15: 7, b Concerning the reaſon of his Dijpleaſure, and this Judgment. e Which was not only an att of Cruelty, bur alſo of Perhdiouſneſs and Perjury, be caute it was a dire@ and publick violation of that Solemn Oath gi- ven to them for their ſecurity by Jeſhua and the Princes, in the name of all the 1raelires, of that, and of ſucceeding Generations, and conſequently a great ſcandal to the true Religion,and the Proe teſſors of it, and a mean to diſcourage others from embracing it, as the Gibeonires had done. Queffs Why did not God puniſh Saul whilſt he was alive for this fault, but his innocent Children, and David and the Iſraelites of this Age ? Anſw. Firſt,God did ſeverely puniſh Saul for this and his other Sins, Secondly, As God may juitly inflict Temporal puniſhments upon' any Offender, either in his perfon or in his Poſterity, when he pleaſeth ; ſo it is meer he thould rake his own time for it; and it 1s folly and wickedneſs in us to quarrel with God for ſo doing. Thirdly, The Iraelites might ſundry ways make themſelves guilty of Saul's ſin,though it be nor particularly mentioned in Scripture, adviſing or encouraging him ro It 3 or, by afſi{tiog him in the execution of it 3 or,by conniving ar it ; or, by rejoycang in it, for ſome wordly advantage which they reccived, or expected from it; or, by not repairing the Inju- ries which Sau! had done them,as far as they might. And ſome of theſe ways David himſelf might be involved in the guilt: although indeed this evil fell principally upon the People. And whereas many of the People probably were innocent of that Crime, yet they alſo were guilty of many other Sins,for which God might pu- niſh them, though he took this occaſion for it. And it may be further obſerved, That God is pleaſed many times ſeverely to puniſh lefler Delinquents, and to ſuffer the greater for the preſent to go unpuniſhed;and that not only to maniteſt his own Soveraign Power and Liberty, but alſo to give the World thereby aſſurance of 3 future Judgment, and Puniſhments reſerved for the next lite. - 2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and faid un- to them, ( now the Gibeonites wer: not of the children of Iſrael, but * of the remnant of the Amorites, and *Tolkg3, the children of Iſrael had ſworn unto them : and Saul i6, 17. {ought to ſlay them 4, in his zeal to the Children of Ife rael and Judah e, ) | d i, e. He ſought occaſions and pretences how he might cut them off with ſome colour of Law or Juſtice, diligently ſearching out and aggravating their Faults, and puniſhing them worſe than they de- lerved ; oppreſſing them with exceflive Labours, and openly kil- ling tome of them, and intending by degrees to wear them our. e Conceiving, or rather,pretending that it was not for the honour, nor comfort, nor advantage of God's People;to nouriſh any of thar vipcrous Brood in their Boſoms;and that howſoever Joſhua and the Princes which then were, had by their Fraud been drawn into an Oath to preſerve them, Joſh, g. 15. yet in truth that Oath was contrary to God's Command, Exod: 23: 32, Deut; 7: 2. and there= fore (as he thought ) nor to be obſerved. This was his pretence : bur how little Zeal he had for God, or for the publick good of his People, is evident by the whole courſe of his life : and therefore it ; 1s more than probable he had ſome particular motive or deſign in tne caſe : cither, becauſe ſome of them had highly provoked him, ' for whoſe ſake he would be revenged of the whole Race : or be- cauſe they being cut off, their Elitates might be forfeited to the ' Crown : or, for ſome other rcaſon now unknown. oh. ; | 3 Wheretore David faid unto the Gibeonites f, ' What