Commentary on Obadiah, Verse and commentary 18, 19, 20
VERSE 18.
And the Houſe of Jacob ſhall be a fire, and the houſe of Ioſeph a flame and the houſe of Eſau for ſtub…l…: and they ſhall kindle in them, and devoure them, and there ſhall not be any remaining of the houſe of Eſau, for the Lord hath ſpoken it.
19. And they of the South ſhall poſſeſſe the Mount of Eſau, and they of the plaine; The Philiſtines, and they ſhall poſſeſſe the fuldes of Ephraim, and the fulds of Samaria, and Benjamin ſhall p…ſſeſſe Gilead.
20. And the Captivity of this Hoſt of the Children of Iſrael ſhall poſſeſſe that of the Canaanites, even unto Zarephah, and the Captivity of Ieruſalem, which is in Sepharad, ſhall poſſeſſe the Cities of the South.
2. Their victories.
Theſe are expreſt two wayes:
1 In the conqueſt of their enemies:
2 In the dilatation of their kingdome, by taking in their poſſeſſions.
The Kingdome of Iſrael in Ieroboams time, was divided into two Kingdomes, Iudah and Iſrael, and the Kingdome of Iudah is here called the houſe of Iacob; the kingdome of Iſrael is called the houſe of Ioſeph, and theſe two are promiſed this victory.
There were alſo two Captivities.
The Iſraelites were carried away captives by Salmanazar: Iudah by Nebuchadnezar: God promiſeth that fire ſhall go out from thoſe, to conſume Eſau utterly, till there be none of them remaining.
He promiſeth them alſo victory over the Philiſtines their ancient enemies, ſo that Ephraines portion ſhall come againe to them, and Samaria, wherein the King of Aſſyria having removed the Inhabitants thereof, and led them Captives into his land, and ſetled Aſſyrians in the poſſeſſions of their land, that ſhall be recovered from them.
And Benjamin confining upon enemies, ſhould have quiet poſſeſſion of Gilead.
This victory, with the extent of their Kingdome here promiſed, doth ſhew, that the people after their returne ſhall have more room, more glory and power then they had before their deportation.
From whence theſe comfortable Doctrines do ariſe.
1 That the afflictions of the Church do turne to their greater good.
2 That God puniſheth the enemies of his Church even by thoſe againſt whom they have prevailed.
3 That the Church hath good warrant to ſettle their faith in this aſſurance, for the Lord hath ſpoken it.
1. The afflictions of the Church turne to their greater good.
And here a double benefit is expreſt.
1 Spirituall good, he will endue them with holineſſe
1 Of reſtitution.
2 Of Dilatation.
2 A Temporall.
1 Of the ſpirituall good So David ſaid, It is good for me that I was afflicted, for now I learne thy Statutes; afflictions have their good uſes, for though afflictions for the time ſeeme grievous in the bearing thereof; yet they ſerve,
1. To take downe the heart, and to humble men under the mighty hand of God; for the afflicted man cannot but like the Mariners in the Ship with Jonah, being in a ſtorme, ſearch for whoſe ſake the ſtorme ariſeth.
When Manaſſeth was carried Captive into Babel, and there put in chaines, he ſoone found where the fault was, and he fell to confeſſion and prayers, humiliavit ſe valde.2 Chro. 33.12.
The Church of God under the croſſe; ſaid,
Let us ſearch and try our wayes, and turne to the Lord.Lam. 3.4.
In health, liberty, plenty, eaſe, we find ſomething elſe to doe, we have no leaſure to ſearch our wayes, therefore God layeth his rod upon us; and when the ſmart of affliction doth make us weary of the world, and putteth us out of the way of our delights, then we can conſider, and try our hearts within us, and our wayes without us.
As Peter when he beginnes to ſinke, can cry for helpe: and the Diſciples in a ſtorme will awake their Maſter.
The heart muſt be firſt broken, and our ſtout ſtomack taken downe before we can enjoy the ſweet fruits of liberty.
Behold his ſoule which is lifted up is not upright in him: Hab. 2.4.Proud perſons have crooked ſoules, they do not look up, but like the woman that had the ſpirit of Infirmity, they are bent to the earth, to ſee how many they can overtake.
But ſickneſſe, diſgrace, impriſonment, will make our Buls of Baſhan as tame as Lambs, and then a poore mans tale may be heard.
We have ſeene examples of great fals in our time, and in them that ſtand now, and looke up where they did ſit, it is as eaſie a matter to behold as great a change of their hearts, as of their fortunes.
Truly, ſo do men riſe or fall indeed, as their heart riſeth or falleth; for an humble man keeps the ſame poſture alwayes, he knowes how to abound, and how to want, and no proſperity can ſoare him up higher, no adverſity can caſt him lower then his pitch, for his heart is not exalted.
2. Afflictions do ſerve to breed in us a conſcience and feare of ſinne, when we ſee what ſmart it bringeth; as here, it turned Iſrael out of houſe and home, it fired their City, and their holy Temple, and carried them away Captives to a ſtrange land, and fed them with the bitter bread of Baniſhment… it filled their ſoules with the deſpite of the wicked, and the reproach of the proud.
This affliction ſaith unto them▪ Sin no more leſt ſome worſe thing fall upon thee.
But who makes that uſe of ſickneſſe, impriſonment, diſgrace, to caſt it upon the merit of his ſin? that maketh the hand of God ſo heavie upon us, and that returneth judgement ſo often to us. But here Iſrael is brought to holineſſe by it, and let us miſtruſt our ſelves that we ſtand not in a ſtate of grace with God, except our affliction do mend us, and bring us to repentance of our ſins, and to holineſſe of life.
3. Afflictions do bring us to an awe and reverence of the worſhip of God, for they do declare God to be juſt, and not to be dallied with he is whetting his ſword, whileſt we are in our ſinnes, he is bending his bow, and preparing inſtruments of vengeance: he is ſtill turning over the Book of remembrance, wherein all our ſinnes are recorded, and peruſing the Inventory of his graces, which we have received in vaine, and of his gifts which we have abuſed, of his Talents which we have miſimployed, teaching us to feare him, and to ſeare all our wayes before him.
So David will be wiſer hereafter: Againſt thee only have I ſinned and done this evill in thy ſight.
Theſe three, humility, conſcience of ſinne, and of the Majeſty of God, will bring us to holineſſe of life, which is the way of peace, and it is good for Iſrael to be afflicted to come to his.
2 The Church here was the better for this affliction that they ſuſtained, even in their temporall eſtate.
1. In the reſtitution of their poſſeſſions; for it is a rule of truth, though it ſhew a very great imperfection in our judgement, as great corrupion in our affections.
Carendo magis quam fruendo, by waiting, rather then by enjoying, we come to know the true worth of Gods ſavours.
And that carendo by wanting, not ſo much in an ante-want, as in a poſt-want.
In an Ante-want, when we riſe from poverty to wealth, from baſeneſſe to honour, from labour to eaſe: commonly as our good, ſo our bloud ariſeth; and it is a great grace of God, if the riſing of our fortunes, be not the ſinking and falling of our faith and obedience to God; For many in low eſtate have been humble, whoſe pride in high eſtate have been importable: many in poverty have had tender hearts, who in wealth have turned great oppreſſours of their brethren; and many in labour have been content with a little, who in eaſe have growne reſty and idle.
But in a poſt-want, when men fall from wealth to poverty, from honour to the duſt, from eaſe to labour, then they can look back, and recompt the ſweetneſſe of theſe outward favours. Holy Iob hath two whole Chapters,
In one he confeſſeth his former eſtate, the fulneſſe, and the power, and the eaſe, and the glory thereof, he beginnes it with an optative.
O that I were as in monthes paſt, as in the dayes when God preſerved me.Job 29.
When his candle ſhined upon my head, when by his light I walked through darknes as I was in the dayes of my youth.
Few of us in health do feel the favour of God to us therein: few in wealth do taſte the ſweetneſſe of Gods open and giving hand: few content with their portion.
But in ſickneſſe every little mittigation of our paine, is ſweet, and we are ready to fall on our knees before God to thanke him for it.
In poverty, every almes given to us, thankfully received, and then if we were as in monthes paſt, how much better would we uſe wealth.
For Job in the next Chapter doth feel the change, and findeth bitterneſſe in it,Job 30. and he endeth that Chapter: My harpe is turned into mourning, and my Organs into the voice of them that weed.
Therefore, when we once come to want that which we formerly have poſſeſt, we whoſe ambitious deſires gave us no reſt, either to be thankfull for that we had, or content with it, would deſire no more then to be as in ſome monthes before, that God would but light that candle againe, and reſtore us to what we have loſt.
As in the ſpirituall ſtate of the ſoule, David that neglected the day of his ſalvation, which God gave him before his fall, and ſold it for a little carnall pleaſure; when he came againe to himſelfe, he only prayes,
Reſtore to me the joy of thy Salvation.Hoſ. 2.7.
And the Church revolting from God, remembreth her ſelfe, and ſaith,
I will go and returne to my firſt husband, for then was it better with me then now.
Therefore it is a great favour of God to his people, to reſtore them their owne poſſeſſions againe, that they may be as in yeares paſt: for now they having wanted them, do better know the favour of God then they did before in the uſe of them.
They would have eſteemed it a greater favour in their captivity, to have had but ſome eaſe of their burthens, ſome liber…y to have eaten the fruites of their labours, in great miſeries every little breathing of eaſe is ſweet and comfortable: but here is a full reſtitution of them to their former poſſeſſions promiſed.
2 But here is much more promiſed, even dilatation of their borders, they ſhall have more then they had, they may call their place Rehoboth, as Iſaac called the Well when he had room to dig in.Gen. 26.21.
The Lord hath an open and a filling hand, even in this alſo, Multiplicat benefacere, here is Copioſa redemptio, copioſa reſtitutio.
For as it is another degree of favour to riſe from reſtitution to dilatation: ſo it may ſtand for a degree, that he enlargeth their bounds out of the poſſeſſion of their enemies, and giveth away their Land to his people.
Let no man charge God with injuſtice herein; for The earth is the Lords, and all that therein is; he giveth it where he will.
And Jeſus Chriſt his Son, hath promiſed the meek the inheritance of the earth; for by right none but the Elect are true owners of the earth; the ungodly are but intruders and uſurpers thereof.
Thus much added to their owne to make them more territory, and thus much taken from their neighbouring enemies the Edomites and the Philiſtims, and given to them, makes them gainers by their loſſe: their baniſhment was a ſowing in teares, this is a reaping in joy.
David was ſo reaſonable, that he only deſired of God, ſaying,
Make us glad according to the dayes wherein thou haſt afflicted us, and the yeers wherein we have ſeen evill.Pſ. 90.15.
God is a more bountifull giver, for he maketh his people glad; not only with that which they loſt, but with much more; he enpoveriſheth their enemies to enrich them, that they may take the labours of the people into their poſſeſſion.
Job would have wiſht no more then to be as he was in ſome months paſt,Job v 2.10. and God not only reſtoreth him what he formerly had, but he giveth him twiſe ſo much as he had before:
So the Lord bleſſed the latter end of Job more then his beginning: which Saint Gregory doth apply to the ſtate of the Church in the laſt day, when they ſhall receive full glory, both in their ſouls and bodies in his Kingdome.
For in things temporal this doth not alwayes hold, that God repaireth thus the loſſes of his children, neither do they expect it for they have learned how to want; but what wanteth in outward things, is reſtored to them in ſpirituall graces; in the gifts of patience and contentedneſſe, in thankfulneſſe, and the ſpirit of ſupplications.
Doctr. 2 2. Doctr. God puniſheth the enemies of his Church by thoſe againſt whom they have prevailed; for the houſe of Jacob ſhall be a flame, and the houſe of Joſeph a fire.
Not …ſubſtant are into fire and flame, as a Papiſt might prove as well out of this text, as he hath the corporeal preſence of Chriſt out of Hoc eſt corpus meum, this is my body, but by way of ſimilitute, and by reaſon of the effect that ſhall follow; for they ſhall conſume the houſe of Edom, whom God will make as ſtubble for them eaſie to take fire.
It was Balaams Prophecy of the people of Iſrael then in diſtreſſe.Num. 23.24.
Behold, the People ſhall riſe up as a great Lyon, and lift up himſelf … a young Lyon; he ſhall not lye down till he eate of the prey, and drink the blood of the ſlain
Which was begun to be performed by Moſes, continued by Joſhuah, further proſecuted by David, fully accompliſhed by Chriſt,Pſ. …10.1, 2 whom God made to rule in the midſt of his enemies.
The Elect are built upon a rock in the ſea of this world; all the men of war that aſſault it, ſhall daſh themſelves in the end againſt this rock;Pro. 11.8. ſo Solomon, The righteous eſcapeth out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his ſtead.
And again he ſaith,Prov. 21.18. The wicked ſhall be a ranſome for the righteous, and the tranſgreſſor for the upright.
The reaſon of this, is the equal law of Gods juſtice before mentioned, that as it hath been done by them, ſo it may be done to them, and that their reward may fall upon them.
For he will avenge the blood of his ſervants, and yeeld vengeance to his adverſaries,Deut. 31.43. but he will be favourable to his owne Land, and be merciful to his own people.
Even this alſo muſt paſſe for a further degree of his love, to overthrow the enemies of Iſrael by Iſrael; for not only this Prophet, but Balaam foretold it; even this particular.
Seir ſhall be a poſſeſſion for his enemies, and Iſrael ſhall do valiantly.Num. 24.…8, 19.
Out of Jacob ſhall he come that ſhall have dominion, and ſhall deſtroy him that remaineth of that City.
In Amoz God ſaith, I will ſend fire upon Teman, which ſhall devoure the palaces of Bozrah;Amoz. 1.1, 2 here Obadiah ſheweth what fire Amoz meaneth; the houſe of Jacob ſhall be that fire, and the houſe of Ioſeph that flame.
Both expounded in plain terms by the Prophet Ezechiel.Ezech. 25.24.
I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Iſrael and they ſhall do in Edom according to mine anger, and according to my fury, and they ſhall know my vengeance ſaith the Lord.
And what God threatneth the temporal and carnal enemies of his Church, the ſame hath he alſo threatned to the ſpiritual enemies thereof, The God of peace ſhall tread Satan under your feet ſhortly.Rom. 16.20
It had been enough for us if God h… trodden him under his own feet, but God will cover his enemies with ſhame and grief, as well as ſmart and pain.
All the Elect have their part in this victory of the world, for he that overcometh hath this promiſe, ſuch ſhall have power ever Nations, ſo that they ſhall rule them with a rod of Iron, Rev. 2.26.and as the veſſels of a porter they ſhall be broken.
Which promiſe doth aſſure the Church, that although here her enemies prevaile againſt her, yet her Spouſe, whoſe power ſhall put down all rule and all authority and power ſhall conquer for her, and ſhe united to him by her faith, ſhall by faith overcome all.
This admoniſheth u…,
1. Not to be troubled at the power and prevailings of the enemies of Gods Church, though we ſee and hear evill news daily, that toucheth us to the quick, and all them that love the peace of this Land, and the liberty of the Goſpel; for the Church of God, and the patrones of his truth are under the banner of Gods love, and their latter end muſt be peace; let us by daily prayers command them to the tutelary protection of God, and let him hear, vocem fidei, the voyce of faith, of thoſe that fight his battels, and vocem ſanguinis, the voyce of blood, of thoſe that die in his quarrel.
2. It furniſheth us with patince to tarry the good pleaſure of God, for when he ſhall ariſe, his enemies ſhall be ſcattered, and they that hate him ſhall fall before him; he hath promiſed his Church victory, and he will not ſuffer his truth to faile: Excellently is this comfort expreſt by the Prophet Iſaiah.
And therefore will the Lord wait that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have merciemercy upon you; for the Lord is a God of judgment, Iſ. 30.18.bleſſed are all they that wait for him.
For the people ſhall dwell in Sion at Jeruſalem;Verſe 19. thou ſhalt weepe no more, he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he ſhall hear is he will anſwer thee.
And though the Lord give you the bread of adverſity, Verſe 20.and the water of affliction, yet ſhall not thy Teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes ſhall ſee thy Teachers.
3. The aſſurance which the Church of God hath in all this, The Lord hath ſpoken it.
They build ſure that build upon the word of God; for heaven and earth ſhall faile and periſh, but no word of God ſhall be unfulfilled.
Ye have a ſure word ſaith the Apoſtle, for God hath magnified his name, and his word above all things. This is my comfort in mine afflictions; Thy Word hath quickned me.
Remember thy Word unto thy ſervant upon which thou baſt cauſed me to hope.Pſ. 119.50 Verſe 49.
The beſt faith hath many fears and terrors joyned with it to ſhake it, and the faithfull do ſometimes want the feeling of the favour of God: we are directed here, like wiſe men, to let rather our underſtanding ſpiritually enlightned, then informed by ſenſe, govern us.
The naturall mans underſtanding is wholly led and inſtructed by the outward ſenſes; and as they ſuggeſt, that apprehends; when the ſenſe feeleth paine, the underſtanding apprehends cauſe of feare and grief, and ſtirreth the affections that way.
But the ſpirituall man doth not value Gods love by what the ſenſe feeleth, but by that which the Word of God ſuggeſteth.
In paine the fleſh ſmarteth, the ſenſe complaineth, and Satan ſaith, God hath forſaken thee: but the ſpirituall man ſaith no, for Gods Word ſaith, I will never leave thee nor forſake thee.
Therefore in all afflictions the ſoule of man hath no better remedy then to reſort to the Word, Thou art my hiding place and my ſhield; I hope in thy Word; this is the poole of healing waters, Gods Betheſda for all infirmities: and he hath ſent his Angels his Miniſters to ſtir theſe waters, by expoſition of the Word, exhortation and conſolation to heale the diſeaſes of his Saints.