Commentary on the Pentateuch, Commentary 4 · Chapter 31 – Chapter 32
CHAP. XXXI.
Verſ. 2. Avenge the children of Iſrael] This is called the vengeance of Iehovah, verſ. 3. The righteous Iudg will not fail to avenge our unrighteous vexations, if we commit our ſelves to him in well-doing.1 Pet. 4.19.
Verſ. 3. Arme ſome of your ſelves unto the war] Lactantius being (according to his name,) a mild and milken man, abhorred bloodſhed, thought it not lawfull for a juſt man to be a warriour; Inſtit. lib. 6. cap. 20.whoſe juſtice was his warfare. But this was his errour: Patres legendi ſunt cum venia; God bids here: Arme your ſelves, &c. Indeed it is utterly unlawfull for men, wilfully to thruſt themſelves into unneceſſary warrs: and it is reported, in the life of Saint Anguſtine, that he would never pray for ſuch. But when God ſounds the alarme, as here, Curſed is he, that doth this work of the Lord negligently: Curſed is he, that keepeth back his ſword from blood, Ier. 48.10.
Verſ. 5. Twelve thouſand] This was no great army; but they were Deo armati, with whom there is no reſtraint, to ſave by many, or by few, 1 Sam. 14.6. How wondrouſly did God work, by that handfull of Huſſites in Bohemia, when all Germany was up in armes againſt them, by the Popes inſtigation! And may it not be ſaid of that ſmall remnant, that now fighteth the Lords battels in Ireland? The Lord hath done great things for them, whereof we are glad. Have they not been helped, with a little help indeed? the more is our ſhame, Dan. 11.34.that ſend them no more.
Verſ. 6. Them and Phinehas] Not without Joſhua the Generall, (though not here mentioned) the mighty conquerour of all Iſraels enemies, that roſe up and reſiſted them: famours is he for his faithfulneſs and fortitude; in cognoſcendis rebus bellicis perſpicax, in agendo ſolers: noverat optimè inſidias facere, proelium committere, victoria uti, Dio in Domitiano.&c. as Dio ſaith of Decebalus king of the Daci, in Domitians dayes. i.e. Well-skilled in war-like buſineſſes, and diligent in diſpatching them; He knew well how to lay an ambuſh, worſt an enemy, uſe a victory, &c.
Verſ. 8. And Zur] The father of Cozbi, that noble harlot. Dignitas in indigno eſt ornamentum in luto. S…des prima, et vita ima, is but golden rubbiſh, eminent infamy, noble diſhonour.
Balaam alſo the ſon of Beor] See the Note on Chap. 24.25. O that God would cauſe the falſe …rophets, and the unclean ſpirit (for whom they act, and by whom they are acted,) to paſs out of our land, according to his promiſe, Zeph. 13.2.
Verſ. 9. Took all the women] The Iewes are a nation, Blunt voyage.to this day, noted for effeminate; and yet they hold, that women are of a lower creation, made for the propagation and pleaſure of man; Diruendi ſunt etiam ipſi cinoni arum, … ne redeant, ſaid Ziſca Lavat. in Deuter.and therefore they ſuffer them not to enter their Synagogues, but appoint them a gallery without.
Verſ. 10. And they burnt all their ci…yes] For the ſame reaſon, perhaps, that our Henry the eight demoliſhed ſo many Monaſteries, ſaying, C…rvorum nidos eſſe penitus diſturbandos, ne iterum ad cohabitandum convolent, that the crows-neſts were to be utterly deſtroyed, Sander. Schiſm. Arglie. lib. 1. See Iudg. 6.1.leſt they ſhould make further uſe of them again another time. Or rather, leſt ſloth or covetouſneſs ſhouid draw any of the Iſraelites, to hide themſelves in theſe neſts, and neglect the promiſed land.
Verſ. 13. Went forth to meet them] As Melchiſedee went forth to meet Abraham, returning with victory, Gen. 14. as Archb. Hubert met our Richard the firſt, returning from the holy land (as they called it;) both of them firſt falling to the earth, roſe again, Speed hiſt. fol. 540.ran into each others armes; comforting themſelves with mutuall imbraces, and weeping with joy.
Verſ. 14. And Moſes was wroth] For all the joy, he could not but be zealous for the Lord of Hoſts, when he ſaw the train. Zeal is the creame of all the affections.
Verſ. 15. Have ye ſaved all the women alive?] By whom ye have ſo lately ſinned, and ſo lately ſuffered? Keep thee far from an evill matter, Exod. 23.7. Circa ſerpentis antrum poſitus, non eris diu illaeſus, ſaith Iſidor. We ſhould take heed, how we play about the hole of the aſp, or neer the den of the cockatrice, Iſai. 11.8. Sin and temptation come both under our name, in the Lords prayer. To pray, lead us not into temptation, and yet to run upon the occaſion of ſin, is, to thruſt a finger into the fire, and then pray, not be burnt. Theſe Iſraelites ſhould have ſaid to thoſe Midianitiſh huswives, as thoſe in Eſay did to their Idols, Get you hence, Avaunt; they ſhould have here been as cautelous, as they were in other caſes. For being forbidden to make Covenants with the Gentiles, they alſo abſtained from drinking with them; becauſe that was a ceremony, uſed in ſtriking of covenants; and ſo it might have drawn them on thereunto. Our dallying with the occaſions of ſin, doth uſually tempt the devill to tempt us.
Verſ. 18. That have not known a man] As far as they could conjecture by their age. But the way of a man with a maid, is one of Solomons ſecrets, Prov. 30.19. Of Rebecca it is noted, that ſhe went for a maid, and ſhe was ſo, Gen. 24.16. But Quartilla the ſtrumpet in Petronius, Petron. Satyr.was not aſhamed to ſay, junonem meam iratam habeam, ſi unquam me meminerim virginem fuiſſe. That ſhe could not remember, that ever ſhe was a maid. And what a baſe ſlander was that, Rivetti Ieſuita vap ulans.caſt upon our religion by an impudent Ieſuite, Sylveſter petraſancta; Puellas plerunque corruptas nuptui dari in reformato Evangelio; that few maids amongſt us, come cleare to marriage.
Verſ. 19. Whoſoever hath killed any perſon] War, though never ſo juſt, is the ſlaughter-houſe of mankind, and the hell of this world. Homer brings in Mars the god of battle, as moſt hated of Jupiter; bellum per antiphraſin, quia minimè bellum. For every battle of the Warriour is with confuſed noiſe, and garments rolled in blood, Iſai. 9.5. What a ſtrange man then was Pyrrhus King of the Epirotes; of whom Juſtin reports, that he took more pleaſure in fighting, then in reigning? And what a hard heart had Hannibal, who when he ſaw a pit full of mans blood, which he had ſpilt, cryed out, O formoſum ſpectaculum! O brave ſight! So, O rem regiam, ſaid Valeſus, (i.e. O Kingly act!) when he had ſlain three hundred perſons. And what a ſtrange hell-hag was that Queen, who when ſhe ſaw ſome of her Proteſtant Subjects lying dead, and ſtripped upon the earth, cryed out, The goodlieſt tapeſtry that ever ſhe beheld? God, that he might teach his people not to have feet ſwift to ſhed blood, tells them here of a ceremonial uncleanneſs, contracted by killing, though an enemy, devoted by him to deſtruction.
Verſ. 23. And all that abideth not the fire] We muſt deal with every man (ſaith One from this text) according to his temper; indulge them what lawfully you may. Quod tamen accipiendum eſt cum grano ſalis.
Verſ. 49. And there lacketh not one man of us] A wonderful work of God; a whole Nation cut off with no loſs at all. This was the Lords own doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. Surely, if the Grecians ſo thankfully acknowledged to their Jupiter, that overthrow they gave to the Perſians, by Themiſtocles, and called him foreign, their Deliverer; how much more might theſe Iſraelites celebrate the unparallel'd goodneſs of their gracious God, in this ſo unbloody a victory?
Verſ. 53. For the men of war had taken ſpoil] And kept what they caught, to themſelves. The Turks, when they had taken Conſtantinople, wondered at the wealth thereof, (which the Citizens would not be drawn to part with for their own preſervation,) and were ſo enriched therewith, that it is a proverb amongſt them at this day, if any grow ſuddenly rich, to ſay, Turk. hiſt. 347.He hath been at the ſacking of Conſtantinople.
CHAP. XXXII.
Verſ. 1. A Place for cattle] Fat, and fit for the purpoſe; like thoſe paſtures in Ireland, ſo fertile and abounding with ſweet graſs, that the people are forced to drive their cattle to ſome other more barren grounds, at ſome time of the day, leſt they ſhould ſurfeit. See Mic. 7.14. Ier. 50.19.
Verſ. 5. Let this land be given unto thy ſervants] An unſavory and unſeaſonable motion this might ſeem at firſt; and did, even to Moſes himſelf; as appears in the next verſe. And ſurely, it is probable, that they were too much ſet upon that portion of earth, as Lot was upon the Plain of Sodome, Gen. 13.10. and was therefore, ſoon after, carried captive by the four Kings; as theſe in the text are noted to be the firſt that were carried captives out of their land, 1 Chron. 5.25, 26. Strong affections cauſe ſtrong afflictions: when God ſeeth people ſet upon it, to have this or that, have it they may, but with an afterclap, that ſhall diſweeten it. How was David croſſed in his Abſolom, Abſolom in his Kingdom, Amnon in his Tamar, &c. 1 Sam. 1.5? He loved her, and the Lord made her barren.
Verſ. 11. They have not] See the Note on Chap. 14.24.
Verſ. 14. An increaſe of ſinful men] A race of rebels; neither good egge, nor bird; ſin runs in a blood, many times; ye ſeed of ſerpents, ye generation of vipers, ye fill up the meaſure of your fathers ſins, Dio in vita Neron.Matth. 23.32. Domitius, the father of Nero, foretold the wickedneſs of his ſon; for it cannot be, ſaid he, that of me and my wife Agrippina, any good man ſhould be born. When One complained, that never father had ſo undutiful a child; yes, ſaid his ſon, (with leſs grace then truth) My grandfather had.
Verſ. 16. We will build ſheep-folds] This was their intent at firſt, though Moſes miſtook them. There may be groſs miſtakes (and thereupon grievous unkindneſſes) betwixt deareſt friends. Cyrill, and John, Biſhop of Antioch, objected hereſie one to another, and proceeded as far as excommunication, poſtea comperti idem ſentire; ſo did Cyrill and Theodoret.
Verſ. 23. Be ſure your ſin will find you out] The guilt will haunt you at heels, as a bloodhound; and the puniſhment will overtake you, as it did that Popiſh Prieſt in Lancaſhire, who being followed by one that found his glove, with a deſire to reſtore it him, but purſued inwardly with a guilty conſcience, leaps over a hedge, plunges into a Marle-pit behind it, unſeen, and unthought of, wherein he was drowned. Or as it did that other Prieſt, who having eſcaped the fall of Black-Friers, Anno 1623. (where two of his fellow-ſhavelings, with about a hundred more, Jac. Rev. de vit. Pontific. 312.periſhed,) and taking water, with purpoſe to ſail into Flanders, was eaſt away, with ſome others, under London-Bridg, the boat being over-turned.
Verſ. 38. Their names being changed] Out of deteſtation of thoſe idols, Baal, Nebo, &c. (See Exod. 23.13. Pſal. 16.4.) Iſai. 46.1. Abſit ut de ore Chriſtiano ſonet Jupiter omnipotens, & Mehercule, & Mecaſtor, & coetera, magis portenta quam numina, ſaith Hierom. Heatheniſh gods ſhould not be ſo far honoured, as to be heard of out of Chriſtian mouthes; nor Popiſh Idols neither. I my ſelf, ſaith Latimer, Serm. in 3. Sund. in Advent.have uſed in mine earneſt matters, to ſay, yea by the Rood, by the Maſſe, by St. Mary, which indeed is naught. Some ſimple folk ſay, they may ſwear by the maſſe, becauſe there is now no ſuch thing; and by our Lady, becauſe ſhe is gone out of the Country.