A Help for the Understanding of the Holy Scriptures, Deuteronomy · Chapter 7
CHAP. VII.
Verſ. 1. WHen the Lord thy God ſhall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to poſſeſſe it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, &c.]
In Gen. 15. 19. there are ten nations mentioned whoſe land God there promiſed to Abrahams poſterity; and here Moſes ſpeaks but of ſeven nations, and one of theſe too, to wit, the Hivites, are not reckoned there: ſo that there are foure nations named there of whom there is no mention here, to wit, the Kenites, the Kenizites, the Kadmonites, and the Rephaims. But at this difference we need not ſtumble; for it was now many hundred years ſince that promiſe made to Abraham, in which time there might be great alterations amongſt the nations that inhabited this land, and ſo happely thoſe nations mentioned there and not here were at this time united in one with ſome of theſe ſeven nations, and beſides happely the nations mentioned there and not here are thoſe which in Davids and Solomons time became tributaries to the crown of Iſrael, and ſo included in that promiſe made to Abraham; which yet were never caſt out before the Iſraelites, and therefore not named here by Moſes.
Verſ. 3. Neither ſhalt thou make marriages with them, &c.]
Under this prohibition by neceſſary conſequence marrying with all other idolatrous nations is likewiſe forbidden them; and therefore we ſee that Ezra bewailed the marriages which the people of God had made with other idolatrous nations as well as theſ… here mentioned, to wit, the Ammonites, Moabites, and Egyptians, Ezra. 9. 1, 2.
Verſ. 5. Ye ſhall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, &c.]
Chap. 12. 3. there is alſo expreſſe mention made of b…rning their groves too.
Verſ. 10. And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them, &c.]
This phraſe implyes that God would as openly, as manif…ſtly oppoſe and fight againſt thoſe that hate him for their deſtruction, as they did impudently and openly oppoſe God: impudent ſinners do as it were ſeek to outface God, Pſal. 73. 9. and God is ſaid to repay them to their face, when he ſets himſelf againſt them in this their impudency, and confounds them ſo that themſelves ſhall plainly ſee that the Lord hath ſet himſelf to oppoſe and confound them. Alſo hereby may be implyed that God ſhould confound them in this life, even whileſt they were oppoſing and outfacing the Lord, whence the ſecond clauſe may ſeem to be added by way of explaining the firſt, he will not be ſlack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
Verſ. 15. And will put none of the evil diſeaſes of Egypt (which thou knoweſt) upon thee.]
That is, the Lord will not lay upon you any of thoſe dangerous and noiſome diſeaſes wherewith it is well known to you that he puniſhed the Egyptians for your ſakes, ſuch as were thoſe boyls mentioned Exod. 9. 10. and the peſtilence, verſ. 15; or wherewith you know the inhabitants of that countrey were uſually troubled, ſuch as that called the botch of Egypt, Deut. 28. 27. See alſo the note upon Exod. 15. 26.
Verſ. 16. Neither ſhalt thou ſerve their Gods, for that will be a ſnare unto thee, &c.]
That is, a cauſe of thy-ruine, it will bring judgements upon thee from which thou wilt no way be able to free …hy ſelf.
Verſ. 20. Moreover the Lord thy God will ſend the hornet among them, &c.]
Againſt whom the ſtrength and multitude of theſe nations ſhall be no defence. See the note upon Exod. 23. 28.
Verſ. 24 There ſhall no man be able to ſtand before thee, untill thou have deſtroyed them.]
All this is promiſed upon condition of their obedience to God; for when they obeyed not Gods command, we reade afterwards of many of theſe nations that were too ſtrong for them. S…e Joſh. 15. 63. and 17. 12. and Judg. 1. 34.
Verſ. 25. Thou ſhalt not deſire the ſilver or gold that is on them, &c.]
This may be meant either of the plates of ſilver and gold wherewith their idols of wood and braſſe were uſually covered over; or elſe of the chains, bracelet…, jewels, garments of ſilver or gold wherewith they were wont to deck and trimme up their idols, Eſa. …0. 32. yea and under this all other ornaments of their idols, though not of gold and ſilver, are comprehended. Becauſe the Iſraelites might out of covetouſneſſe think that ſo they deſtroyed the idols themſelves, they might reſerve the gold and ſilver that was about them, and yet be blameleſſe, the Lord, the better to ſhew how he deteſts idolatry, forbids them here the reſerving of any of the gold and ſilver that was upon the idols of the land, and to that end chargeth them not to meddle with it, no not to deſire it, but utterly to conſume that together with the idols themſelves▪ lest, ſaith …e, thou be ſnared therein, that is, leſ… by doing otherwiſe thou becomeſt guilty before God, and ſo ſhouldſt draw down judgement upon thy ſelf.
Verſ. 26. Neither ſhalt thou bring an abomination into thy houſe, leſt thou be a curſed thing like it, &c.]
That is, devoted to deſtruction as that was▪ to wit, for reſerving a polluted and accurſed thing which ſhould have been deſtroyed.
For it is a curſed thing.]
That is, a thing ſeparated from mens uſe, and devoted either to deſtruction, as the idols and ornaments thereof here mentioned; or at the Lords appointment to be carried into his treaſurie, as ſome conceive the gods of Jericho were, becauſe it is ſaid, Joſh. 6. 19, 24. that the ſilver and gold which was in that city was brought into the Lords treaſury.