The Pulpit Commentary — Micah — Section 6

f'vi,lence of snoh c,rnptions in the bietorioe.l being not pu.rnllel with "e.poale.ey "), the 11erio<l is not forthMming. The deeoription Septue.giut ree.da, ,\ Ap,.pTla, " the ain," J-"rnlls tll(' nwful re1·cle.tion a.t Sine.i (Exod. followed by the Syri110 nnd the T,ngum, :xix. ). She.ll be molten; either by the light- Ono Hebrew manuscript confhrue tho road- n ini:: or the showers of rnin tha.t descend i ng; but it is probably UDl\uthorizod, and from heav<:>n. The mounte.ins, the type of has been ignorantly introducod. The ~111bility and strength, fall e.we.y nt the prophet defines the sins of Snmo.rin and r~c•enoc of tho Judge. Scptne.gint, O"mX,.,. Jerusalem. 'I'he sin of tho former ie M1crerm,. "Bhnll be she.ken;" Vulge.te, con· aposte.sy; the.t of the le.ttor, unauthorized ,ume11/.ur (Judg. v. 4, 5; Pe. xviii. 7, etc.; worship. Instead of" whnt" in both plncOB h\'iii. 8; xr,·ii. 4, 5; Amos ix. 5). Be the l:lcbrow gives "who," implying thnt cleft; :'-cptnngint, TGJ<1/(1'0ll7'11'-, "she.11 mrlt." there is a personal en.use, tho two cnpitnls The 1·,.lle1·s slrnll be hollowed out into clutn- being personified. Hozokinh's pl\rtial re- lll'is by the force of the we.ter, which falls formation had not to.ken pluce when this Wl\B in torrents. As WU: (Ps. lxviii. 2; xcvii. 5). uttered. This helongs to the first clause," the ruoun- Ver. 6.-I will make. This prophecy, t:lins," de. Aa waters. Thie belongs to therefore, wus delivered before the deetruo- thl' second clause. The cloven pie.ins sbe.11 tion of Srune.rie. in tho fourth year of Heze- melt uwe.y ns we.ters disappee.r down-a pre- kiah. Aa an heap of the 1leld; or, into a cipice. The idea that underlies this descrip- heap of the field, like e. heu.p of stone& tion is that the innnime.te crea.tion sho.res in gathered off o. cultivated field (comp. Isa.. the elfccl,; of the judgment on man, e.nd is v. 2). Septuagint, .1, 01r01potJwAti1«011 o.;,pou, usc<l as an instrument in his pnniehment. " the hut of e. frnit-wl\tcher." As planting& Vers. 5-7.-§ 2. Judgment ia denouftOlld of a vineyard ; into ths plantings, etc. ; i.e. into mere terraces for vines. Such she.II be on Israd f<rr its sin. the utter ruin of the city, the.t on its site Ver. 5.-Thc prophet shows the cause of vines shall be planted. The prophet here this 1,unishment. Transgression; better, uses e. description c,f •complete destruction apostasy, which the people's trangrcssion which is e. regular formula in Assyrian really was. ;Jacob. Here the ten tribes and inscriptions, where we read of cities being J:ud~h-the whole of the covenant people. made into" e. rubbish-heap a.nd e. field." The In the la.lter part of the verse the term expression occurs, e.g., in e. monument of inclu<lea onlv the ten tribes, called often Tiglath-Pileser (see Schrader,' Keilinschr.,' Ismcl or Ephraim. All this. The manifest&• p. 449). I will pour down the stones thereof tion of God's power and wrath described into the ve.lley, Samnri11 stood on e. hilly in 'l'Crs. 3 and 4. The ho11Be of Israel. The platform (1 Kings xvi. 24), with .o. sheer ten tribes. Is it not Samaria! She is naught descent on every side, and when it was over- but sin. He names the capitals of the two thrown ita stones were hurled iµto the valley kingdoms as the source and centre of the surrounding it, e.s may be seen to this de.y. idolatry and wickedness which per'l'aded the " When we looked down," ea.ye Tristre.m whole country. Samaria was built by Omri, (' Le.nd of Iarnel,' p. 136), "e.t the gaunt a king who "wrought evil in the eyes of the columns rising out of the little terraced Lord, and did worse the.n all tlle.t were before fields, e.nd the vines olamberin~ up the sides Lim; " and in it liis son Ahab erected 11 of the hill onoe covered by tue palaces of tcu,ple to Du.al (1 Kings xvi. 32), and it proud Samaria, who could help recalling l,ecmne the chief scat of idolatry in the land. the prophecy c,f Micah? Not more literally 'Wl!Rt are the high pl.aoes l The prophet have the denunciations on Tyre or on seems to say that Jerusalem is no longer Babylon been accomplished. What though ibc Lord's sanctuary, but e. collection of Sebasto rose, undel' Herod, to o. pitch of unauthorized or idolatrous shrines. These greater splendour the.n even old Samarin, were buildings or altars erected in con- the effort we.a in vain, aud the curse hae 11picuous spots, contrary to the enactments been fully e.ccomplishod. In the whole of the l\fodll.ic Law (Deut. xii. 11-14), and range of prophetic history, I know of no used wore or less for idolatrous worsbip. fulfilment more startling to the eye-witness WitL a strange peneroi!y, the JewH mixed in its accuracy then this." Will diaoover·; ti,e pun, service of Jehovah with I.he rites will lay bare (Pe. cx..uvii. 7; Ezek. xiii. H). of hcatbeu deities. Even the best kings Ver. 7.-Graven ima.gea. The stone idols <J[ Judah were unaUc wholly to 11uppress (Isa.. x. 10). Septuagint, -ra ;,A,nnd. The tl,0sc local sanctuaries (s~e 2 Kings xii. 3; hires thereof. The word properly means, x;,._ 4, etc.). They were found even in '' tho wages of prostitution." Idolatry is ,Jcrubalcm itself (Jer. xxxii. 35), especially viewed e.s spiritual fornice.liion, and 1.he offef- ii, tLe time of A.haz (2 Kings xvi. 4). 'I'he ings made to the idol-temples 11ro reokon811 ;,, rrillelism c,f this clause with the p.reced- to bo harlot-gifts. Hosoe. speaks iu the i ,.g l,dug tl,ought defective(" high places" same we.y (ii. 5, 8, 12; ix. 1 ; comp. Isa. OD, I, 1-16,] Tll.E BOOK OF MICAH. a