x E:ther, Firſt, the King of Ezoms Son ; whom in this eruption he "ey aging: | rook, and then Sacrificed. Compare Amos 2: 1. Bur, Firſt, That _ pace Ipeaks of the king, nor of the king: jon ; and of the burning of” is bones, nor of the offering of a living man for a Burnt- Offering. zxecondly, this would not have made the beſicgers to raiſe. their liege, 2ut to have tollowed it more warmly to revcnge ſo barbarous an Action. Thirdly, The following clauſe, hat fbould have reigned in - 4:5 ftead, agrees not ſo well to the Edom:tes, whole King was only ehojhaphats Vice-Roy, and therefore his Son had no right toſucceed 11m; as1t doth to the Moabites, whoſe King was revolted from Iſrael, 1:10 intended to keep that Kingdom to himie!f and Children Or arher, Secondly, his own Son ; whom he Szcrificed ; partly, to obrain the favour of his God, according to the manner of the Phenicans and other people in grievous and publick Calamities ; whereot we have maniteſt Teſtimonies, borh in Scripture. as Pſal; 106.37 Ezek.20.31, and in Heathen Authors, as Parphyrins, Plutarch, and othe:s : and partly, to oblige the 1ſ-elites to quit the ſiege out of compaſſion ; or, as deſpairing rv Conquer ( at leait withour greater iofs of men than it was worth ) him who was reſolved to defend himſclf and City ro the utmoſt extremity. y That the beſicgers might tceit, and be moved by it. z Or, great trouble or repentance :pon Iſrael, 1. e. the 1ſraelitiſh King and people ( who was the firſt -auſe ofthe War, and had brought the reſt into confederacy with 1im ) were greatly afflicted and grieved for this barbarous ation, and relolved to proſecute the War no further, and fo withdiew their Forces, aSaito did their Allies, and returned to their ſeveral Homes. Which they were the more willing to do, b<cauſe the Kingdom and Countrcy of M:2b were fo ruinated buth as to their Men, and Cities, or Villages, and Lands, thar they were all ſecure of any grear annoyance from it. ED
GaReM SP. IVY. 4 Eliſha multiplicth the Widows Oyl, 1 7. He is lodged by a Shunamite Woman, who u barten : He promiſeth her a $12 © Whichis born, $17.
Diet, and u raiſed by Elijba, 18 37 At Gilgal h: healeth the deadly Pottage, 38 -— 41. And feed:th ;09 Men with 20 Loaves and a ©"2 J 4
ears of Corn, 42 — 44- OW there cried a ceptain woman of the wives of the ſons of che prophets a, unto Liitha, ſaying,
* | * ? ; 1Y L- +> ” £ L Pay A Thy {:rvantmy Husbaiid is dead, 29d then kaowWel, thar 3 L 4 Fly
bap. I
Fr
[| Or,
creditor e
} Heb. zhere was aay- + ticb: laid hold. on him,
ll Or, had ſaid.
V. It £& 1 thy ſervant did fear the LORD 5: and the creditor Is come to take unto him my two ſons to be bond»men c.
a Who, though they were wholly devoted to Sacred employment. were not excluded from Marriage, no more than the Prieits and Levites, b His poverty therefore was not procured by his idleneſs, or prodigaliry , or rather, wickedneſs ; but by his Piety, becauſe he would not comply with the Kings way of worſhip, and therefore loſt all worldly advantages. c Either, to uſe them as his ſlaves, or to ſell them to others, according to the Law. Of which ſee Exod; 21: 2: Lev: 25: 39: Iſa: 50: 1: Matth: 18s 25. .
2 AndEliſha ſaid unro her, What ſhall Ido for thee 4: Tell me, what haft thou in the Houſe e ? And ſhe faid, Thine hand-maid barh not any thing in the Houſe, fave a pot of oil f. | |
a How ſhall I relieve thee, who am my ſelf poor ? e Which may contribute to the Payment of thy Debts, or, ar leaf, to the
- fatisfation of thy Creditors, who may perchance deal favourably
with thee through my perſwaſion. f Which was uſcful tor divers things about the Service of God, and health, or delight, or orna- ment, and other uſes of men. See Juag, 9. ge
3 Then he ſaid, Go, borrow thee veſſels abroad of all thy neighbours, eve» empty veſſels, [|borrow not a few.
' 4 And when thou art come in. thou ſhalt ſhut the door upon thee g, and upon thy Sons, and ſhalt pour out þ into all thoſe veſſels, and thou ſhalt ſer aſide that which is full.
g Partly that none may hinder thee from minding thy, work of filling and removing the Veſſels, which will require attention and diligence - partly, that thou alone mayeſt enjoy the benefit of it ' partly, leſt any of thy Creditors ſhould break in upon thee, and {cizeupon thy borrowed Veſlels before they are filled : partly, that thy mind being freed from diſtraftion, may be wholly employed in Prayer and Praiſing of God : and partly, that it may be manifeſt that this is the. work of God alone. hþ Out of the Por, in which God multiplied the Oil from time to time.
F SO ſhe went from him, and ſhut the door upon her, and upon ber ſons : who brought the weſſels to her, and
ſhe poured out. 6 Anditcameto paſs when the veſlels werefull, that
ſhe ſaid unto her ſon 3, Bring me yet a veſſel. And he Faid unto her, There & not a veſlel more. And the oil
ſtayed &.
# To one of them ; for ſhe had two, wv. r- k To teach us, that we ſhould not waſte any of Gods good Creatures 3 and that God would not work Miracles unneceſlari'y.
-- Then ſhe came and told the man of God : and he
ſaid, Go, ſell the oil, and pay thy || debt, and live thou and thy children of the reſt /.
p het do Juſtice to others, and then take care of thy ſelf and Children? ;
1.884 And + itfell on a day, that Eliſha paſſed to Shu-
RB, where was a great woman z; and ſhef conſtrain- ed Bim o to cat bread p. And ſo it was, that as oft as he paſſed by, he turned in thither to eat bread,
m ACiry in Iſachar, near Mount Carmel. Jof: 19: 17, 18; whither the Prophet frequently went. #» For Eſtate, or Birth and Qualiry See Gen. 24: 35: i Sam: 25: 2. oBy herimportunate deſire. p To take his repaſt there.
9 And ſhe ſaid unto her husband, Behold, now 1 perceive, that this is an holy man of GOD 9, which
paſſeth by us continually. | q A Prophet, as Judges 13: 6: and that of eminent Holineſs : by our kindneſs to whom, we ſhall procure a blefling to our ſelves. io Ler us makea little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall r, and letus ſet for himtiere a bed, and atable, anc a ſtool, and a candleſtick [| ::and it ſhall be, when hc