Commentaries, Commentary on Judges · Chapter 2 · Verse 1
1 ANd the Angel of the Lord aſcended from Gilgal to Bochim and ſayd: I made you to go out of Egipte, and hauehave brought you vntounto the Lande whiche I ſware vntounto your Fathers: And I ſayde, I wil not breake mine appoyntmente that I made with you.
TWo things hauehave hitherto bene ſet forth vntounto vsus. Fyrſt the noble victories which the Iſraelits obteined as long as they obeyed the word of God. Secondly the tranſgreſſion, wherby contrarye to ye commaundementes of God, they both ſaued and alſo made tributaries vntounto themſelues thoſe nations, whom they ought vtterly to hauehave deſtroyed. But nowe is ſet forth vntounto vsus, how God of his goodneſſe by hys Legate reprehended the Iſraelites for the wicked acte whiche they had committed, and that not without fruite. For whē they heard the word of God, they repented.
Fyrſt the meſſenger of God maketh mencion of the benefites which god had beſtowed on his people.The principall poyntes of the Sermon. Secondly he vpbraydeth thē of their wicked actes, wherwith they being ingrate requited ſo great giftes. Laſtely are ſet forth the threatninges and puniſhementes wherewith God woulde puniſhe them excepte they repented.
But before we come to entreate of the oration of this legate, it were good to declare what he was. The Hebrew worde Melach, It is doubtful what this Legate was.and alſo the Greke worde foreign, are doubtfull, and ſometymes they ſignifie a nature without a body, I meane ſpirites the miniſtres of God, and other ſometymes they ſignifie a meſſanger, what ſoeuer he be. There are examples of theſe in many places of the ſcriptures, which ſhould be ſuperfluous now to declare. Some ſuppoſed yt ſome certayne ſpirite was ſent from God, whiche appeared vntounto the people in a viſible forme, and reproued them as he was commaunded: And they perſuade them ſelues that he was firſt ſene in Gilgal, and there commaunded the people, to aſcend from thence to a place, whiche was afterward called Bochim of weapyng. The Hebrew word Melach is not agaynſt this interpretation: and that maketh with it alſo, bycauſe he ſpeaketh as God.The aungell ſpeaketh in the perſon of God. I hauehave made you (ſayth he) to aſcend out of Egypt. With whiche ſelfe ſame kinde of ſpeache the Aungell in Geneſis ſpake to Abraham, and in Exodus to Moſes. Where it is alſo written, that God put his name in him. But it ſemed vntounto the auncient fathers,That aungell whiche ſpake vntounto ye fathers is thought to hauehave ben chriſt that that aungell which in the olde Teſtament appeared & ſpake in the name of God, was Chriſt the ſonne of God. For it is writtē in Iohn, No man hath ſene God at any tyme: the ſonne which in the boſome of the father he hath declared him. Theſe wordes declare vntounto vsus that what ſoeuer thinges are ſayd to hauehave ben ſpoken by God in the olde Teſtament, the ſame were made open by Chriſt. But other ſuppoſe that this meſſanger or legate was a miniſter of the Churche, yt is either a Prieſt or a Prophet, whoſe office was, to reprehend the ſinnes of the people. Amonge the Hebrew Rabines, Leui the ſonne of Gerſon.Leui the ſonne of Gerſon doth therfore thinke this to be very likely, bycauſe it is not conuenient, that an aungell ſhould openly ſpeake to ſo great a multitude. But his reaſon is very weake. for ſeing God whē he gaue the lawe ſpake in the mount Sina to the whole multitude of the Hebrues, what ſhould let, but that he could teache an angell to do the ſame? But this is of ſome what more ſtrength, bycauſe it is declared in the hiſtory, that this meſſanger aſcended from Gilgal to Bochim. For if he were an angell, it ſemeth that it ſhould rather hauehave ben ſayd, that he diſcended from heauen, & not aſcended from Gilgal to Bochim. And ſurely it appeareth a fayned thing, yt they fayne that he firſt appeared in Gilgal, and then called the people together to Bochim. For he mought hauehave in Gilgal expreſſed vntounto the people thoſe thinges whiche he afterward declared in Bochim. Wherfore the Hebrues affirme that this Prophet or Prieſt receaued in Gilgal the ſpirite and inſpiration of God, wherewith he was ſtirred vp and appoynted to the aſſembly of the people, whiche then for certaine cauſes were aſſembled in Bochim, Praiſes of Phineas the prieſtthere to expreſſe the commaundementes of God to the people, yea they ſay that that Prophet was Phineas the Prieſt the nephew of Aaron, I meane the ſonne of Eleazar for he was a very ſeuere man, and moſt zelous of godlyneſſe and righteouſneſſe. In the booke of Numb: it is mencioned how he ſlew Zamri a prince of the family of Simeon namely for this, bycauſe he cōmitted open fornicatiō with a Madianitiſhe harlot. And the father of ye harlot was a prince among the Madianites. And God manifeſtly allowed the zeale of Phineas. For he promiſed him the prieſthode of his nation, with an euerlaſtyng couenaunt: and ceaſſed from deſtroyeng the people, being mitigated with his noble acte. Phineas therfore was not onelyonly godly, but alſo of a ſtoute and valiaunte courage. He feared not for gods cauſe to entre into grieuous hatreds, and to put himſelfe to preſent daunger. Wherfore Dauid in the 106. Pſalme rehearſing this hiſtory commendeth him after this ſorte: Phineas ſtode vp and reuenged, and the plague ceaſſed, and it was coūted vntounto him for righteouſneſſe from generation to generation for euer. Wherfore that acte whiche by his owne nature mought hauehave ſemed cruell and horrible, did not onelyonly pleaſe God, and was of him allowed for a iuſt acte: but he alſo deliuered the people from a moſt grieuous plague, wherewith they were then vexed. The counte of the yeares if they be rightly counted is not agaynſt this opinion now alleged. Yea and it is found in this ſelfe ſame boke, that he was on lyue, when warre was made agaynſt the tribe of Beniamin to reuenge the wicked acte perpetrated in Gabaa. R. Salomoh.Rabbi Salomoh alſo declareth, that the booke which is entituled Sedar Olam, teſtifieth the ſame.Kimhi. Likewiſe Dauid Kimhi & the old Hebrues ſeme to encline to this opinion. But what ſoeuer he was, I thinke it ſkilleth not much. This ought to be moſt certain and ſure, that the thinges declared by him were the wordes of God.
Where Gilgal lyeth.Gilgal, is a citie lyeng in the playne of Iordane, not farre from the citie of Iericho. And it had that name hereof, bycauſe there Ioſuah by the commaundemēt of the Lord prouided that the people of Iſrael, whiche had wandred vncircumciſed thoroughe the wilderneſſe, celebrated a ſolēpne circumciſion. And when they had ſo done, God aunſwered, yt he had remoued from thē the reproche of Egypt. For Gal ſignifieth in Hebrew to turne away and to remoue. Moreouer in that place, but not at that tyme, but long before, was ye tabernacle, & the Arke of the couenaunt. Namely in the tyme of Ioſuah when the people paſſed ouer Iordane. And by that meanes that place was counted religious. Wherfore Saul the firſt king of the Hebrues was annoynted in Gilgal. But Bochim was ſo called of thē whiche wept as we ſhall ſtrayght waye heare. And it is called ſo now by the figure Prolepſis, bycauſe it was not yet named by that name. And as it appeareth by ye hiſtory they goyng from Gilgal aſcended to Bochim. Furthermore we muſt note that the legate ſpeaketh not in hys owne name, but in the name of God & yet he vſeth not thoſe kinde of phraſes which the other Prophetes did, namely Thus ſaith the Lord. &c. The word of the Lord came vntounto me. &c. And in rehearſing the benefites beſtowed on the people. Firſt of all he maketh mencion of the delyuery of their fathers out of Egypte, bycauſe that had newly happened vntounto the Hebrues.The benefites of God are like wordes which teſtifie of hys nature & goodneſſe. And God, to the end the knowledge of him ſhould not be blotted out, vſeth to put men in mynde of thoſe benefites that he hath beſtowed on thē, and will hauehave thē to be as certain wordes, expreſſing his nature and goodneſſe vntounto vsus. And he alwayes begynneth his rehearſall at thinges that are lateſt done, and of them he claymeth vntounto him ſelfe titles or names attributed vntounto him,God taketh ſurnames by hys benefites. by whiche he would be both called vponupon and alſo knowen, for at the beginning God was called vponupon by that that he created heauen and earth, and afterward by that that he was the God of Abraham, Iſaac, and Iacob. After that as a deliuerer out of Egypte. Then as a deliuerer out of the captiuitie of Babilon.
God beginneth the rehearſall of benefites laſt geuen.But laſtly as the father of our Lord Ieſus Chriſt. But now of the benefite lately beſtowed on them, he calleth him ſelfe the delyuerer out of Egypte. Afterward he adioyneth an other benefite. And I hauehave brought you into the lande whiche I ſware vntounto your fathers. It was not ſufficiēt yt they wer deliuered out of Egypt, but they had ample & noble places aſſigned vntounto them. Thirdly he ſaith, This hauehave I geuē you. That I would hauehave my couenant made with you to hauehave cōtinued for euer, if it mought hauehave ben by your obediēce But ye hauehave not ſuffred it. Theſe benefites whiche in this place are rehearſed are playne and manifeſt ynough.Two principal thynges to be conſidered in the couenaunt. But as touching the laſt, namely of the couenaunt, two thinges are to be conſidered in it, Firſt whiche is alſo the chief of all good thinges, is the redemption whiche ſhould be made by Chriſt. Neither could this be hindered by any ſinnes of mē. For God is faithful (as Paul teſtifieth to ye Romanes) neither departeth he from his truth, for our euill deſertes. The ſecond is, the ſucceſſe of outwarde good thinges and ciuill ornamentes. Whiche kinde of couenaunte or promeſſe, bycauſe it was conditionally it myght therefore ſometymes be altered, and vndoubtedly of this doth our preacher at this preſent ſpeake. And what conditions God required of the Iſraelites, here he declareth in this ſermon.