shnll rench the term nllotted to man, end die related that when the kingdom ul Samnrin m 11 good old ngo, hnving fnlfilled their time. was depopulated by the removul of the Ten O•,dly living, persisted in for several genern- Tribes, there wns e. grent increru;e of lions, tions, might, perhnps, produce this result. which preyed upon the scanty remnant left Ver. 27.-I will aend my fear before thee. (2 Kings xvi i. 2;; ). Even in Frnnce, alter the The fee.r which fell npon the nations is seen Frnn_co-German war, it was foand that in many first in the case of Ilnlnk and the Moabites. districts wolves mcree.sed. A third reason " Moab wee sore afrnid of the people, because why the nations were not subdued all at onrc•, they were mnny" (Num. xxii. 3). Later it is not mentioned here, is touched in .Judg. ii. 21 spoken of by Rnhab BB genera.I (Josh. ii. !J, -23--" The Lord left those nations, without 11 ). A very signnl indication of the e.Jnrm driving them out he.stily, that tbrongh them felt is given in the history of the Gibeonites he might prove Israel, whether they wonlcl ( 10. ix. 3, 27). I will make all thine enemies keep the way of the Lord to walk therein, or turn their baoka unto thee. For the fulfil- not." ment of this promise see Nurn. xxi. 3, 24, 35; Ver. 31.-And I will set thy bounds from x.xxi. 7; Josh. viii. 20-24; x. 10, etc. Had the Red Bea even unto the sea of the Philis- their obedience been more complete, the power tinea. This passage by itself would be suf- of the Canaanitish nations would have been ficient to confute Dr. Brugsch·~ notion, that more thoroughly broken, e.nd the sufferings the Yam Suph (or" Red Sea" of our transla- e.ud servitudes related in the Book of Judges tors) is the Lake Serbonis, which is a part of would not have he.d to be endured. the Mediterranean or "See. of the Philistines." Ver. 28.-And I will send hornets before and cannot stand in contrast with it. The thee. This is sce.rcely to be taken literally, " See. of the Philistines " and the " Red Sea " since no e.ctue.l plague of hornets is mentioned me.rk the boundaries of the Holy Land East in the historical ne.rre.tive. " Hornets" here, and West, as the " Desert" and the " River" and in Dent. vii. 20; Josh. xxiv. 12, e.re prob- (Euphrates) do its boundaries North and ably plagues or troubles of any kind, divinely South. That Moses here lays down those wide sent to break the power of the bee.then nations, limits which were only reached 400 years and render them nn easier prey to the Israelites, later, in the time of David and Solomon, and when they me.de their invasion. Possibly, the were then speedily lost, can surprise no cne mnin "hornets" were the Egyptians, who, who believes in the prophetic gift, and regaxds under Rameses III., successfully invaded Moses e.s one of the greatest of the Prophets. Pe.lestine nbout the time of Israel's sojourn The tract me.rked out by these limits had in the wilderness, and weakened the power of been already promised to Abraham (Gen. x-<. the Hittites (Khite.). The Hivite, the Canaan- 18). Its possession by Solomon is distinctly ite, and the Hittite. By a common figure of recorded in 1 Kings iv. 21, 24; 2 Chr. ix. 26. speech, a part is put for the whole-three As Solomon we.s "a man of peace," we must nations for seven. The three names seem to ascribe the acquisition of this wide empire to be taken at random, but include the two David. (Compare 2 Sam. viii. 3--14; x. 6-- nations of most power-the Canaanites and 19.) The river (han-nahar) is in the Penta- the Hittites. tench e.lways the Euphrates. The ~ile is Ver. 29.-I will not drive them out from ha-y err. A powerful kingdom established in before thee in one year. The Divine action Syria is almost sure to extend its influence to is for the most part "slack, as men count the Euphrates. I will deliver the inhabitants slackness "-it is not hasty, spasmodic, preci- of the land into your hand. Compare Josh. pitate, as human action is too often. Men xxi. 44, for the first fulfilment of this pro- ore impatient; God is strangely, wonder- phecy. Its complete fulfilment we.s reserved fully patient. He would not drive out the for the time of David. Thou sha.lt drive them Cannanitish nations e.11 at once-I. Lest the out. The mass of the Canaanites were no land should become desolate, there being an doubt "driven out " rather than exterminated. insufficient population to keep down the weeds They retired northwards, and gave streng1h and maintain the tillage; and 2. LeHt the to the great Hittite kingdom which was for beast of the field should multiply so as to many centuries a formidable antagonist of the become II danger to the new-cowers. It is Egyptian and Assyrian empires.
HOMILETICS. Vers. 20-31.-God's pi-omises sometimes absolute, but for the most part contingent on obedience. "llehold, I send an angel before thee." Here was a positi,·e promise. An angel, a guide, a protector, would go before them throughout their wanderings in the wilderness, and lead them into the promised land-lead, at any rate, some renrnnnt L,f them, out of which God would make a great nation. Thus much wa~ certain. God's word to [:ivo his descendants the land of Ca.uaau was pledged to Abraham, and h11 :.'14 'l'llE 13OOK OF EXODUS. [cu, XXIII. 20-33.