worse; from a partial disobedience to some of God's laws, they fell by degrees to a total apostacy from all of them. And worshipped all the host of heaven -The sun, moon, and stars, as Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, &c.; against which Moses had particularly cautioned them, Deut. xiv. 19. They caused their sons and daughters to pass through the fire-Thus offering or consecrating them to their idols: see on chap. xvi. 3. And used divination and enchant- || ments-Which were the abominable sins of the heathen. And sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord-Wholly addicted themselves to sin, as slaves are addicted to the service of those to whom they are sold; and, by their obstinately persisting in sin, so hardened their own hearts, that at length it was become morally impossible for them to recover themselves, as one that has sold himself has put his liberty beyond recall. Verse 18. Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel-For he is a jealous God, and highly resents the giving that honour to any created or imaginary being, which is due to himself only. And removed them out of his sight-A very strong expression, to signify, not only his casting them out of Canaan, then the only place of his solemn wor- || ship, and gracious presence, or out of his church, but his utter rejection and total removal of this apostate people from his care and providence. There was none left but Judah only-And the greatest part of the tribe of Benjamin, with those of the tribes of Simeon and Levi, who adhered to them, and were incorporated with them, and therefore are fitly denominated from them. Verse 19. Also Judah kept not, &c., but walked in the statutes of Israel-Followed the idolatrous devices of the ten tribes, which they did most notoriously in the reign of Ahaz. And though his son Hezekiah made a noble reformation, it lasted no longer than his time, so extremely corrupted was the nation. Judah's idolatry and wickedness are here remembered as an aggravation of the sin of the || the seed of Israel. 21 For he rent Israel from the A. M. 3283. B. C. 721. house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drave Israel from following the LORD, and made them sin a great sin. 22 For the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them; i 23 Until the LORD removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So was Israel carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day. n 24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from Sephar 1 Kings xi. 11, 31.xiv. 16.- k Verse 6." Chap. xviii. 24, Ivah. 1 Kings xii. 20, 28.-1 Kings Ezra iv. 2, 10.-m Verse 30. Israelites, which was not only evil in itself, but mischievous to their neighbours, who by their examples were instructed in their wicked arts, and provoked to an imitation of them: see Hos. iv. 15; Matt. xviii. 7. Those that bring sin into a country or family bring a plague into it, and will have to answer for all the mischief that follows. Verse 20. The Lord rejected all the seed of Israel-All the kingdom, or tribes of Israel, first one part of them, and now the rest: but this extends not to every individual person of these tribes, for many of them removed into the kingdom of Judah, and were associated with them: see 2 Chron. xi. 16. Verse 21. They made Jeroboam king-Which action is here ascribed to the people, because they would not tarry till God, by his providence, had invested Jeroboam with the kingdom which he had promised him, but rashly and rebelliously rose up against the house of David, to which they were under such great obligations, and set him upon the throne without God's leave or advice. Jeroboam drave, &c.-He not only dissuaded, but kept them by force from God's worship at Jerusalem, the only place appointed for it. And made them sin a great sin-So the worship of the calves is called, in opposition to that idle conceit of the Israelites, who esteemed it a small sin, especially when they were forced to it by severe penalties; which yet he shows did not excuse it from being a sin, and a great sin too. Verses 22, 23. They departed not from themBut willingly and resolutely followed the wicked examples and commands of their kings, though contrary to God's express commands. Until the Lord removed Israel-They continued to the last, obsti nate and incorrigible under all the instructions and corrections which God sent to them; and therefore were justly given up by God to this dreadful captivity, which all this foregoing discourse was designed to prove. Verse 24. The king of Assyria brought men from The king of Assyria peoples B. C. 678. B. C. 678. A. M. 3226. vaim, and placed them in the cities of || 27 Then the king of Assyria com- A. M. 3326. Samaria instead of the children of manded, saying, Carry thither one of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and dwelt || the priests whom ye brought from thence; and in the cities thereof. let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land. 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Beth-el, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. 25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they feared not the LORD: therefore the LORD sent lions among them which slew some of them. 26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, || know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions among them, and behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land. • Verse 24. Babylon-Which then was subject to the Assyrian monarch, but a few years after revolted from him, and set up another king, as appears from both sacred and profane histories. And from Cuthah, &c. Several places then in his dominion. It is probable that it was not Shalmaneser, but Esar-haddon, his son and successor, that did this, (Ezra iv. 2,) because it was a work of some time; and as his father had projected, and perhaps even begun it, so he executed and finished it, whence it is ascribed to him rather than to his father. And they possessed Samaria, &c.-That is, the whole country in which the ten tribes had dwelt. Verse 25. And so it was that they feared not the Lord-They did not acknowledge nor worship the true God in any sort. Therefore the Lord sent lions among them-For their gross neglect and contempt of God, which was contrary to the principles and practices of the heathen, who used to worship the gods of the nations where they lived, and gave that honour to their false gods which here they denied to the true. Hereby also God asserted his own sovereignty over that land, and made them to understand that neither the Israelites were cast out, nor they brought in, by their valour or strength, but by God's providence, who, as he had cast the Israelites out for their neglect of God's service, so both could and would, in his due time, turn them out also, if they were guilty of the same sins. Verse 26. Wherefore they spake to the king of Asyria, &c.-They wrote, or sent messengers to him, to acquaint him with this grievance, setting forth, it is likely, the loss which their infant colony had sustained by the lions, and the continual fear they were in of them; and that they looked upon it as a judgment sent upon them for not worshipping the God of the land, which they could not, because they knew not how. The God of Israel was the God of the whole earth, but they ignorantly call him the God of the land, imagining him to be like one of their local deities, who were supposed to preside only over particular countries or provinces; and apprehending themselves to be within his reach, as being now in the country in which he governed, and therefore concerned to be upon good terms with him. Herein they shamed the Israelites, who were not so ready to hear the voice of God's judgments as they were, and who had not served the God of that land, though he was the God of their fathers, and their great benefactor, and though they were well instructed in the manner of his worship. In short, these heathen beg to be taught that which Israelites hated to be taught! Verse 27. Then the king of Assyria commanded, Carry thither one of the priests-That is, one of the chief priests, with others under his inspection and direction, as may be gathered from the following words, where it is said of the same person or persons, Let them go, &c., and then, Let him teach, &c.—Nor is it probable that one priest could suffice for the instruction of the inhabitants of so many and distant districts. Verse 28. Then one of the priests whom they had carried away came, &c.-A prophet would have done them more good, especially as it appears this was but one of the priests of the calves, who therefore chose to dwell at Beth-el. And taught them how they should fear the Lord-That is, the manner of God's worship as it had been practised in Israel: for as to any thing further, whether respecting their duty to God or man, though he might possibly teach them to know more than they knew before, and to do better than they did, it is not likely he should teach them to know the truth, or to do well, unless he had taught his own people better. Verse 29. Howbeit, every nation made gods of their own-Or, worshipped, as the Hebrew word here used sometimes means; of which see Exod. xxxii. 35. That is, they worshipped the gods which they had served in the places from whence they came. And put them in the high places which the Samaritans-That is, which the former inhabitants of the city and kingdom had made. Verse 30. The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, &c.—In this and the following verse are the names of the gods or goddesses which each nation The idolatries of the strangers B. C. 678. B. C. 678. A. M. 3326. and the men of Hamath made Ashi- || which the LORD commanded the A. M. 3326. children of Jacob, whom he named Israel; ma, 31 And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. of these new-comers to Samaria and its vicinity set up. The learned are not agreed as to the signification of several of these names, nor is it worth while to spend time in endeavouring to determine it. The reader whose curiosity leads him to wish for information on the subject, may consult Selden, Vossius, and Jurieu. Concerning two or three of them we may observe as follows: The first name signifies, The tabernacles of the daughters, or young women, and, if it be the name of an idol, it was doubtless the same with the imaginary goddess termed Venus by the Greeks and Romans. The Jewish rabbins tell us, she was worshipped under the emblem of a hen and chickens. There is reason to believe, that in these succoth, or tents, young women exposed themselves to prostitution in honour of the Babylonish goddess Melitta. Nergal, worshipped by the Cuthites, or Persians, was probably the fire, or the sun, being derived from 73, ner, light, and 1, galal, to revolve. The Jewish doctors say his idol was represented in the shape of a cock. Adrammelech and Anammelech were only different names for Moloch, as is evident from their burning their children to these idols in the fire. See the Universal History and Calmet. Alas! how vain were these idolaters in their imaginations! It is justly observed by Henry, that our very ignorance concerning these idols teaches us the accomplishment of God's word by Jeremiah, (chap. x. 11,) that these false gods should all perish. They are all buried in oblivion, while the name of the true God shall continue for ever! Verse 34. Unto this day, &c.-That is, till the time when this book was written, and long after, about three hundred years in all, till the time of Alexander the Great, when Manasseh, brother to Jaddus the high-priest of the Jews, having married the daughter of Sanballat, governor of the Samaritans, went over to them, and, obtaining leave of Alexander to build a temple on mount Gerizim, drew over many of the Jews to him, and prevailed with the Samaritans to cast away their idols, and to worship the God of Israel only. Yet their worship was mixed with so much superstition, that our Lord tells them they knew not what they worshipped. They do after the former manners--As the Israelites, before their captivity, (verse 33,) gave these nations an ill example, in serving the Lord and Baal together; so these nations both worshipped the God of Israel, and those other gods. But, adds the historian, they feared not the Lord-Their pretended fear of him, and serving him together with their idols, was not worthy of the name of piety, or the fear of the Lord: nor would God accept such a mongrel religion and false worship as they offered to him. Neither do they after their statutes—God's law delivered to the Israelites, and to them as their inheritance, Psalm cxix. 111. This is alleged as an evidence that they did not fear the Lord, whatsoever they pretended, because they lived in the conVerse 32. So they feared the Lord-Worship- stant breach of his statutes. Which the Lord comped him externally in that way which the Israel-manded the children of Jacob, whom he named Isites had used: having and serving gods of their own besides. And made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests, &c.—See note on 1 Kings xii. 31. Which sacrificed in the high places rael-A name signifying Jacob's special interest in God, and power with him, which was given to him, not only for himself, but for his posterity also, whom God frequently honoured with that name. And by Hezekiah begins to reign. A. M. 3278. B. C. 726. you B. C. 726. bye shall not forget; neither shall they did after their former manner. A. M. 3278. ye fear other gods. 41 So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this 39 But the LORD your God ye shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your enemies. 40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but day. this great favour he aggravates the sin, both of the Namely, the nations that came in the place of the Israelites, and of those nations planted in their land,|| Israelites. They followed their example, and acted who professed to learn their way of worshipping as they had done, endeavouring to unite things perGod, and to imitate it. fectly irreconcilable, the worship of the true God Verse 41. So these nations feared the Lord, &c. Il and the worship of idols. CHAPTER XVIII. The virulent Hezekiah reforms his kingdom, 1-6. Prospers in all his undertakings, even at the time the ten tribes are led captive, 7–12. Yet is invaded, and his country put under contribution by Sennacherib, 13-16. Jerusalem is besieged, 17. speech of Rab-shakeh, 18–25. He incites the people to revolt, 26–37. A. M. 3281. B. C. 723. NOW it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that a Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign. 2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah. b 12 Chron. xxviii. 27; xxix. 1; he is called Ezekias, Matt. i. 9. b2 Chron. xxix. 1, Abijah. NOTES ON CHAPTER XVIII. Verses 1, 2. In the third year of Hoshea, Hezekah began to reign-Namely, in the third of those nine years, mentioned chap. xvii. 1; of which see the note there, and below, verse 10. Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign-To this it is objected, that Ahaz his father lived only thirty-six years, and therefore, according to this acCount, begat Hezekiah when he was but eleven years old, which seems incredible. Various explications of this difficulty have been given; but the most probable are, either, 1st, That some error in regard to the numerals has crept into the text, and that Hezekiah was not so old when he began to reign: or, 2d, That the sixteen years which Ahaz reigned are to be computed, not from the first beginning of his reign, when he reigned with his father, (as it is probable he did,) which was at the year of his age, but from the beginning of his reigning alone, in which case Ahaz would be as many years of age more than thirty-six when he died, as he had reigned with his father, before he came into the sole possession of the kingdom. Verse 4. He removed the high places-Which none of his predecessors had had the courage to attempt. twentieth " But, it is likely, the dreadful judgments of God, executed upon the ten tribes, and the carrying them away captive for their superstition and idolatry, had been the means of mightily awakening both him and all the people, for the present, (while these calamities were fresh before their eyes,) to observe the law of God very strictly. "It was a great demonstration," says Dr. Dodd, "of Hezekiah's sincere piety and zeal toward God, that he began so soon to reform the corruption of religion, and did not stay till he had established himself in his throne. He might think, however," and certainly very justly, "that the surest way to establish himself, was to establish the true worship of God; though he could not but foresee that he ran a great hazard in attempting the abolition of idolatry, which had been confirmed by so many years prescription," 2 Chron. xxix. 3-11. And brake in pieces the brazen serpent, which Moses had made-Though this serpent was made by Moses at God's command, and was of singular use to the Israelites, and a special type of Christ; yet, the primary use of it having long since ceased, and being now abused to the purposes of superstition and idolatry, it was deservedly broken to pieces. And from this example we may infer, God prospers Hezekiah A. M. 3281. e B. C. 723. 5 He trusted in the LORD God of || mandments, which the LORD com- A. M. 3281 Israel; so that after him was none manded Moses. like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. 6 For he clave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his com 3 7 And the LORD was with him: B C. 725. and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not. h2 Chron. xv. 2. i 1 Sam. xviii. 5, 14; Psa. lx. 12.- Chap. xvi. 7. Israel to be the keeper of Israel, and to establish him in his kingdom. So that after him was none like him, &c.—If it be objected that the same is said of Josiah, (chap. xxiii. 25,) it may be observed, that each of them excelled the other in several qualities or actions; Hezekiah in this, that he set upon the work of reformation with great expedition, even in the first year of his reign, (2 Chron. xxix. 3,) which Josiah did not, and with no less resolution undertook to do that which none of his predecessors durst do, even to remove the high places; wherein Josiah only followed his example, chap. xxii. 1-3. Nor any that were before him-That is, who had been kings only of Judah: for David and Solomon were kings of all Israel. For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him—In the general course of his life, and especially in the matters of God's worship. Several of his predecessors that began well, did not persevere; but he, like Caleb, followed the Lord fully, and not only abolished all idolatrous usages, but observed God's commandments, and in every thing made conscience of doing his duty. that all things which are made the occasions of superstition and idolatry, ought to be taken away. For unto those days the children of Israel did burn || incense to it-This cannot be intended to signify, that all along, from the days of Moses, this brazen serpent was used as an object of religious worship. For certainly neither David, nor Solomon in the former part of his reign, would have suffered any such thing; nor can we suppose but that Asa and Jehoshaphat, when they rooted out idolatry, would also have extirpated this, if they had perceived any species of it in their days. The commencement of this superstition, therefore, must have been of later date, and probably since the time that Ahab's family, being allied to the royal family in Judah by marriage, introduced all kinds of idolatry. As this brazen serpent had been kept from the days of Moses, merely in memory of a miracle wrought by Jehovah, just as the pot of manna and Aaron's rod that budded also were, it is likely that their burning incense or perfumes before it was at first designed in honour of the true God; but then, in the process of their superstition, they probably either worshipped the God of Israel, or, what is worse, some heathen god, under that image; imitating therein the prac-pered, &c.-He adhered to God and his service, tice of some of the neighbouring nations, as the Babylonians, Phenicians, Egyptians, who all worshipped one or more of their gods under the form of a serpent. Upon this account Hezekiah wisely chose rather to lose this memorial of God's wonderful mercy to the Israelites, than to suffer it any longer to be abused to idolatry, and therefore destroyed it. It deserves to be remarked here, that notwithstanding it is so expressly recorded that Hezekiah brake it in pieces, yet the Roman Catholics pretend to show it entire in the church of St. Ambrose in Milan. And he called it Nehushtan-Or rather, Nechushtan, as it is in the Hebrew, that is, brass; as if he had said, How much soever this serpent might be formerly regarded and used by God, as a sign of his mercy and power, yet now it is nothing but a piece of mere brass, which can do you neither good nor hurt, and therefore is no fit object of your worship. Verses 5, 6. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel -In abolishing idolatry, there was danger, as has been intimated, of disobliging his subjects, and provoking them to rebel; but he trusted in the Lord to bear him out, and defend him in what he did. When he came to the crown, he found his kingdom encompassed with enemies; but he did not apply to foreign and heathenish powers for aid or succour, as his father Ahaz had done, but trusted in the God of Verse 7. The Lord was with him, and he pros and therefore God was with him; and, having the special presence of God with him, he had wonderful success in all his enterprises, in his wars, his buildings, and especially his reformation; which good work was carried on with less difficulty than he could have expected. Thus we have in him an instructive and encouraging example, teaching us that they who do God's work with an eye to his glory, and with confidence in his strength, may expect to prosper in it: for great is the truth, and will prevail. And he rebelled against the king of Assyria-That is, he threw off that yoke of subjection to him to which his father had basely submitted, and reassumed that full and independent sovereignty which God had settled in the house of David. This, though here called rebelling against him, was really no more than asserting the just rights of his crown. For his case differed much from that of Zedekiah, who is blamed for rebellion against the king of Babylon. Zedekiah had engaged himself by a solemn oath and covenant, which we do not read that Ahaz had done, much less had Hezekiah. Zedekiah had broke the covenant which himself had made; and God had actually given the dominion of the land and people to the king of Babylon, and commanded both Zedekiah and his subjects to submit to him. But God had not given any such dominion to the king of Assyria, nor had he |