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Micah Chapter
Two
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO MICAH 2
In
this chapter complaint is made of the sins of the people of Israel, and they
are threatened with punishment for them. The sins they are charged with are
covetousness, oppression, and injustice, which were premeditated, and done
deliberately, Micah 2:1;
therefore the Lord devised evil against them, they should not escape; and which
would bring down their pride, and cause them to take up a lamentation, because
they should not enjoy the portion of land that belonged to them, Micah 2:3; they are
further charged with opposing the prophets of the Lord, the folly and
wickedness of which is exposed, Micah 2:6; and with
great inhumanity and barbarity, even to women and children, Micah 2:8; and
therefore are ordered to expect and prepare for a removal out of their land, Micah 2:10; and the
rather, since they gave encouragement and heed to false prophets, and delighted
in them, Micah 2:11; and the
chapter is concluded with words of comfort to the remnant among them, and with
precious promises of the Messiah, and the blessings of grace by him, Micah 2:12.
Micah 2:1 Woe to those who
devise iniquity, And work out evil on their beds! At morning light they
practice it, Because it is in the power of their hand.
YLT
1Wo [to] those devising
iniquity, And working evil on their beds, In the light of the morning they do
it, For their hand is -- to God.
Woe to them that devise iniquity,.... Any kind of
iniquity; idolatry, or worshipping of idols, for the word is used sometimes for
an idol; or the sin of uncleanness, on which the thoughts too often dwell in
the night season; or coveting of neighbours' goods, and oppressing the poor;
sins which are instanced in Micah 2:2; and
every thing that is vain, foolish, and wicked, and in the issue brings trouble
and distress: now a woe is denounced against such that think on such things,
and please themselves with them in their imaginations, and contrive ways and
means to commit them:
and work evil upon their beds; when, the senses being
less engaged, the thoughts are more free; but should not be employed about
evil; but either in meditating on the divine goodness, and praising the Lord
for his mercies; or in examining a man's heart, state, and case, and mourning
over his sins, and applying to God for the remission of them; but, instead of
this, the persons here threatened are said to "work evil on their
beds", when they should be asleep and at rest, or engaged in the above
things; that is, they plot and contrive how to accomplish the evil they
meditate; they determine upon doing it, and are as sure of effecting it as if
it was actually done; and do act it over in their own minds, as if it was real;
see Psalm 36:4;
when the morning is light, they practise it; they wish and
wait for the morning light, and as soon as it appears they rise; and, instead
of blessing God for the mercies of the night, and going about their lawful
business, they endeavour to put in practice with all rigour and diligence, and
as expeditiously as they can, what they have projected and schemed in the night
season;
because it is in the power of their hand; to commit it;
and they have no principle of goodness in them, nor fear of God before them, to
restrain them from it: or, "because their hand is unto power"F2כי יש לאל
ידם "quia est ad potentiam manus ipsorum",
Calvin. ; it is stretched out, and made use of in the commission of sin to the
utmost of their power, without any regard to God or man. The Vulgate Latin
version is, "because their hand is against God"; their hearts are
enmity to God, and therefore they oppose him with both their hands, and care
not what iniquity they commit; they are rebels against him, and will not be
subject to him. The Septuagint and Arabic versions are, "because they lift
not up their hands to God"; they do not pray to him, and therefore are
bold and daring to perpetrate the grossest iniquity, which a praying man dared
not do; but the Syriac version is the reverse, "they do lift up their
hands to God"; make a show of religion and devotion, when their hearts and
their hands are deeply engaged in, sinning; which shows their impudence and
hypocrisy; but the passages in Genesis 31:29
favour and confirm our version, and the sense of it; so the Targum.
Micah 2:2 2 They
covet fields and take them by violence, Also houses, and seize them. So
they oppress a man and his house, A man and his inheritance.
YLT
2And they have desired
fields, And they have taken violently, And houses, and they have taken away,
And have oppressed a man and his house, Even a man and his inheritance.
And they covet fields, and take them by violence,.... The
fields of their poor neighbours, which lie near them, and convenient for them;
they wish they were theirs, and they contrive ways and means to get them into
their possession; and if they cannot get them by fair means, if they cannot
persuade them to sell them, or at their price, they will either use some crafty
method to get them from them, or they will take them away by force and
violence; as Ahab got Naboth's vineyard from him:
and houses, and take them away; they covet
the houses of their neighbours also, and take the same course to get them out
of their hands, and add them to their own estates:
so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage; not only
dispossess him of his house to dwell in, but of his paternal inheritance, what
he received from his ancestors, and should have transmitted to his posterity,
being unalienable; and so distressed a man and his family for the present, and
his posterity after him. The Vulgate Latin version is, "they calumniate a
man and his house"; which seems to be designed to make it agree with the
story of Ahab, 1 Kings 21:13.
Micah 2:3 3 Therefore
thus says the Lord: “Behold, against this family I am devising disaster, From which
you cannot remove your necks; Nor shall you walk haughtily, For this is
an evil time.
YLT
3Therefore, thus said
Jehovah: Lo, I am devising against this family evil, From which ye do not
remove your necks, Nor walk loftily, for a time of evil it [is].
Therefore thus saith the Lord, behold, against this family do I
devise an evil,.... Because of those evils of covetousness, oppression, and
injustice, secretly devised, and deliberately committed, the Lord, who neither
slumbers nor sleeps, declares, and would have it observed, that he had devised
an evil of punishment against the whole nation of Israel, the ten tribes
particularly, among whom these sins greatly prevailed; even an invasion of
their land by the Assyrians, and the carrying of them captive from it into
foreign parts:
from which ye shall not remove your necks; that is, they
should not be able to deliver themselves from it; they would not be able to
stop the enemy in his progress, having entered their land; nor oblige him to
break up the siege of their city, before which he would sit, and there continue
till he had taken it; and being carried captive by him, they would never be
able to free themselves from the yoke of bondage put upon them, and under which
they remain unto this day. The allusion is to beasts slipping their necks out
of the collar or yoke put upon them: these sons of Belial had broke off the
yoke of God's commandments, and now he will, put another yoke upon them, they
shall never be able to cast off until the time of the restitution of all
things, when all Israel shall be saved:
neither shall ye go haughtily; as they now did, in an
erect posture, with necks stretched out, and heads lifted up high, and looking
upon others with scorn and contempt; but hereafter it should be otherwise,
their heads would hang down, their countenances be dejected, and their backs
bowed with the burdens upon them:
for this time is evil; very calamitous,
afflictive, and distressing; and so not a time for pride and haughtiness, but
for dejection and humiliation; see Ephesians 5:16.
Micah 2:4 4 In
that day one shall take up a proverb against you, And lament with a
bitter lamentation, saying: ‘We are utterly destroyed! He has changed the
heritage of my people; How He has removed it from me! To a turncoat He
has divided our fields.’”
YLT
4In that day doth [one] take
up for you a simile, And he hath wailed a wailing of wo, He hath said, We have
been utterly spoiled, The portion of my people He doth change, How doth He move
toward me! To the backslider our fields He apportioneth.
In that day shall one take up a parable against you,.... Making
use of your name, as a byword, a proverb, a taunt, and a jeer; mocking at your
calamities and miseries: or, "concerning you"F3עליכם "super vos", Pagninus, Montanus; "de
vobis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; "super vobis",
Cocceius. ; take up and deliver out a narrative of your troubles, in figurative
and parabolical expressions; which Kimchi thinks is to be understood of a false
prophet, finding his prophecies and promises come to nothing; or rather a
stranger, a bystander, a spectator of their miseries, an insulting enemy,
mimicking and representing them; or one of themselves, in the name of the rest:
and lament with a doleful lamentation; or,
"lament a lamentation of lamentation"F4ונהה
ניה נהיה "et
lamentabitur lamentum lamenti", Montanus. : a very grievous one; or,
"a lamentation that is", or "shall be", or "is
done"F5נהיה "factum est",
De Dieu; "ejulatu vero", Cocceius; "actum est", Burkius. ;
a real one, and which will continue:
and say, we be utterly
spoiled; our persons, families, and friends; our estates, fields, and
vineyards; our towns and cities, and even our whole land, all laid waste,
spoiled, and plundered:
he hath changed the portion of my people; the land of
Israel, which was the portion of the people of it, given unto them as their
portion by the Lord; but now he, or the enemy the Assyrian, or God by him, had
changed the possessors of it; had taken it away from Israel, and given it to
others:
how hath he removed it from me! the land that
was my portion, and the portion of my people; how comes it to pass that he hath
taken away that which was my property, and given it to another! how strange is
this! how suddenly was it done! and by what means!
turning away, he hath divided our fields; either God,
turning away from his people, because of their sins, divided their fields among
their enemies; "instead of restoring"F6לשובב
"pro reddendo", Castalio. , as some read it, he did so; or the enemy
the Assyrian, turning away after he had conquered the land, and about to return
to his own country, divided it among his soldiers: or, "to the
perverse", or "rebellious oneF7שובב
"aversus, refractarius", Drusius; "ingrato et rebelli", De
Dieu. , he divideth our fields"; that is, the Lord divides them to the
wicked, perverse, and blaspheming king of Assyria; so the word is used of one
that goes on frowardly, and backslides, Isaiah 57:17.
Micah 2:5 5 Therefore
you will have no one to determine boundaries[a] by lot In
the assembly of the Lord.
YLT
5Therefore, thou hast no
caster of a line by lot In the assembly of Jehovah.
Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast a cord by lot,.... This
confirms what was before delivered in a parabolical way, and as a lamentation;
and is spoken either to the false prophet, as Kimchi; who should not be, nor
have any posterity to inherit by lot the land of Israel; or to those oppressors
that took away houses and fields from others, these should have no part nor lot
in the land any more; or rather to the whole, people of Israel, who should no
more inherit their land after their captivity, as they have not to this day.
The allusion is to the distribution of the land by lot, and the dividing of it
by a cord or line, as in Joshua's time; but now there should be no land in the
possession of Israelites to be divided among them; nor any people to divide it
to, being scattered up and down in the world, and so no need of any person to
be employed in such service; nor any sanhedrim or court of judicature to apply
unto for a just and equal division and distribution, who perhaps may be meant
in the next clause:
in the congregation of the Lord; unless this is to be
understood of the body of the people, who were formerly called the congregation
of the Lord, Deuteronomy 23:1;
though now they had forfeited this character, and are only called so ironically,
as some think. Aben Ezra interprets it, when the Lord returns the captivity of
his people; and so Kimchi, who applies it to the false prophet, as before
observed, who at this time should have no part nor lot in the land.
Micah 2:6 6 “Do
not prattle,” you say to those who prophesy. So they shall not prophesy
to you;[b] They shall
not return insult for insult.[c]
YLT
6Ye do not prophesy -- they
do prophesy, They do not prophesy to these, It doth not remove shame.
Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy,.... Or
"drop not"F8אל תטיפו "ne stilletis", Pagninus, Montanus,
Cocceius, Burkius, Junius & Tremellius; "ne stillatote",
Piscator. ; such terrible words, such menacing things; let them not flow from
your lips with such profusion and abundance; cease from speaking in the name of
the Lord, if we can hear nothing else but sharp reproofs, and severe judgments:
or the first word respects the true prophets of the Lord, and forbids their
prophesying; and, according to others, the next should be rendered, "let
them prophesy", or "drop"F9יטיפון
"stallent isti", Junius & Tremellius, Cocceius;
"stillanto", Piscator. ; that is, the false prophets, that prophesy
smooth things; and so the sense is, let the one prophesy, but not the other:
they shall not prophesy to them; these are the words of
the Lord, in answer to the other, that since they did not like his prophets,
their should no more be sent to, them, nor should drop or distil the rain of
doctrine upon them; but, as a judgment upon them, should be deprived of them:
or, "they shall not prophesy according to these"F11לאלה "secundum istos", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator. ; as the false prophets do, not such things as they; or the whole may
be rendered thus, "prophesy not", or, "if they prophesy, let
them not prophesy as these"F12"Ne vaticinemini, aut si
vaticinentur ne talia vaticinentur", Castalio. ; such things as these;
namely,
that shame shall
not overtake them; that is, as the false prophets, who said that shame and
confusion should not come upon the people of Israel, or the wrath denounced
against them, but they should enjoy great peace and prosperity: but the first
sense seems best, and the meaning of this clause to be, that the true prophets
of the Lord should not prophesy any more to this people, since they did not
choose they should: "that shame might not come upon them"; that the
prophets might not be treated by them in a shameful and ignominious manner: or,
as others, "shame shall not depart from them"F13לא יסג כלמות
"non recedent ignominiae", De Dieu; "non retroageretur summa
ignominia", Cocceius; "non recederet ignominia magna", Burkius.
; though they think to escape it by forbidding the prophets prophesying
terrible things to come, yet confusion will be their portion at last.
Micah 2:7 7 You
who are named the house of Jacob: “Is the Spirit of the Lord restricted? Are these His doings? Do not My words do good To
him who walks uprightly?
YLT
7Doth the house of Jacob
say, `Hath the Spirit of Jehovah been shortened? Are these His doings?' Do not
My words benefit the people that is walking uprightly?
O thou that art named the house of Jacob,.... Called
after that great and good man, and reckoned the people of God, and have the
character of being religious persons; but, alas! have but a name, and not the
thing, and are the degenerate offspring of that famous patriarch:
is the Spirit of the Lord straitened? or
"shortened"F14הקצר
"abbreviatus est", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus, Drusius, Cocceius;
"decurtatus esset", Piscator. ; the Spirit of the Lord in his
prophets, is it to be limited and restrained according to the will of men? or,
if these prophets are forbid to prophesy, and they are silenced, is not the
residue of the Spirit with the Lord? cannot he raise up others to prophesy in
his name? or is the Spirit of the Lord confined, as a spirit of prophesy, only
to foretell good things, and not evil? may it not threaten with, punishment for
sin, as well as promise peace and prosperity?, and is it to be reckoned narrow
and strait, because it now does not? the fault is not in that, but in you, who
make it necessary, by your conduct, that not good, but evil things, should be
predicted of you:
are these his doings? either
Jacob's doings, such things as Jacob did? did he ever forbid the prophets of
the Lord from prophesying? or did he do such things as required such menaces
and threatenings as now delivered by the prophets? or are these becoming such
persons as go by his name? or are such works as are done by you pleasing to
God? were they, no such terrible messages would be sent by his prophets: or are
these the Lord's doings? are judgments the works he is continually doing and taking
delight in? are they not his acts, his strange acts? did you behave otherwise
than you do, you would hear nothing of this kind:
do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? that walks in
a right way, and according to the rule of the divine word, in the uprightness
and integrity of his heart, aiming at the honour and glory of God in all his
ways? to such a man the words of the Lord by his prophets speak good things,
promise him good things here and hereafter, and do him good, exhilarate his spirits,
cheer, refresh, and comfort his soul.
Micah 2:8 8 “Lately
My people have risen up as an enemy— You pull off the robe with the garment From
those who trust you, as they pass by, Like men returned from war.
YLT
8And yesterday My people for
an enemy doth raise himself up, From the outer garment the honourable ornament
ye strip off, From the confident passers by, Ye who are turning back from war.
Even of late my people is risen up as an enemy,.... Or
"yesterday"F15אתמול
"heri", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Cocceius, Burkius. ; meaning a very little while before this prophecy, the
people of Israel, those of the ten tribes, who were the people of God by
profession, rose up as an enemy, not only to God and true religion, worshipping
idols; but rather to their brethren, those of the two tribes of Judah and
Benjamin; as they did in the times of Pekah king of Israel, who slew a hundred
and twenty thousand of them in one day, 2 Chronicles 28:6;
and which is here mentioned as a reason why the Spirit of the Lord in his
prophets threatened them with evil, and did not promise them good things:
ye pull off the robe with the garment; the upper and
nether garment, and so stripped them naked: or, "they stripped the robe
from off the garment", as someF16ממול
שלמה "a veste togam spoliatis", Noldius;
"a veste pallium exuitis", Burkius. ; they took the upper garment or
cloak from them, and left them only the under garment:
for them that pass by securely, as men averse from war: who were
travelling from place to place about their proper business, and thought
themselves very safe; were peaceable men themselves, and suspected no harm from
others: or, "returning from war"F17שובי
מלחמה "revertentibus a bello", Piscator;
"redeunt a bello", Cocceius; "et revertuntur a bello", De
Dieu; "uti essetis reversi ex bello", Burkius. ; such who escaped in
the battle, and fled for their lives; and when they imagined they, were safe,
and out of danger, fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped them of their
garments. GussetiusF18"Redeuntes in bellum", Comment. Ebr.
p. 836. interprets it of such who were returning to the battle, and yet so
used.
Micah 2:9 9 The
women of My people you cast out From their pleasant houses; From their children
You have taken away My glory forever.
YLT
9The women of My people ye
cast out from its delightful house, From its sucklings ye take away My honour
to the age.
The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses,.... Not
content to slay their husbands, they took their wives or widows captive,
dispossessed them of their habitations, where they had lived delightfully with
their husbands and children; so we find that, at the time before referred to,
the people of Israel carried captive of their brethren two hundred thousand
women, and brought them to Samaria, 2 Chronicles 28:8.
Some understand this of divorce, which those men were the cause of, either by
committing adultery with them, which was a just reason for their husband's
divorcing them; or by frequenting their houses, which caused suspicion and
jealousy:
from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever; that which
God would have had glory from, and they would have given it to him on account
of; as their being brought up in a religious way; their liberties, both civil
and religious; their paternal estates and inheritances, and the enjoyment of
their own land; and especially the worship of God in the temple, of which they
were deprived by being carried away from their own country: or it may be
understood of the glory that accrues to God by honourable marriage, and the bed
undefiled; and the dishonour cast upon him by the contrary, as well as upon
children, who may be suspected to be illegitimate.
Micah 2:10 10 “Arise
and depart, For this is not your rest; Because it is defiled, it
shall destroy, Yes, with utter destruction.
YLT
10Rise and go, for this [is]
not the rest, Because of uncleanness it doth corrupt, And corruption is
powerful.
Arise ye, and depart,.... That is, out the
land; do not think of a continuance in it, but expect a removal from it;
prepare for captivity and exile; look for it every moment, to hear it said to
you, arise, and be gone from hence; for, since you have drove others out of
their inheritances and possessions, this shall be your case:
for this is not your rest; the land in
which the ten tribes then dwelt, and which was given to their fathers for an
inheritance, and for a resting place, and had been so for ages past, now would
be no more so, because of their sins and transgressions; they must not expect
to abide here long, and enjoy rest and ease; but to be turned out, and deprived
of all the blessings of it, and be carried into a foreign country, where,
instead of rest and case, they should be in slavery and bondage:
because it is polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a
sore destruction; because the land that was given them to dwell in was defiled by
their manifold iniquities, particularly adulteries, before hinted at: all sin
is of a defiling nature; it defiled the bodies and souls of these men; defiled
the estates they were possessed of, and the land on which they dwelt, and their
fellow inhabitants of it; therefore utter destruction, even a sore and grievous
one, should come upon them, by which their land should be laid waste, and they
consumed off of it: or; "it shall corrupt you, even with a grievous
corruption"F19תחבל וחבל נמרצ "in corrumpet et
corruptione acri", Moutanus; "et quidem corruptione
vehementissima", Cocceius. ; or you being corrupt upon it, it shall spew
you out as a corrupt thing, as it did the Canaanites, the ancient inhabitants
of it; when you will appear to be as you are, extremely corrupt: or, "it
shall be in pain, even with sore pains"F20So Aben Ezra
and Kimchi in Sepher Shorash. rad. חבל. ; such as
those of a woman in travail, not being able to bear them any longer, but ease
itself of them, through the judgments of God upon them. This may be applied to
the present state and condition of the people of God in this world, which is
not their rest; there remains one for them in another world, but they are not
yet come to it; for while here they are in trouble, through indwelling sin, the
temptations of Satan, divine desertions, and various fears that attend them, so
that they have little rest; besides, this is a warfare state, and they are
engaged with many enemies; and at best are but travellers passing through this
world to their Father's house: this is also their working time, and they are
attended with a variety of afflictions within and without; and since there are
so many corruptions and pollutions in the world, through lust, which make it
that it can be no resting place for a good man; it becomes them not to take up
their rest here, but seek after it elsewhere; and to live in an expectation of
being called out of it, and to be in a readiness to depart when the Lord shall
call for them.
Micah 2:11 11 If
a man should walk in a false spirit And speak a lie, saying, ‘I will
prophesy to you of wine and drink,’ Even he would be the prattler of this
people.
YLT
11If one is going [with] the
wind, And [with] falsehood hath lied: `I prophesy to thee of wine, and of
strong drink,' He hath been the prophet of this people!
If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie,.... Who
pretends to be a prophet, and a spiritual man, and to be under the inspiration
and influence of the Spirit of God, but utters nothing but lies and falsehoods;
or who is actuated by a spirit of falsehood and lying; or, as in the margin,
"walks with the wind, and lies falsely"F21הולך רוח ושקר
כזב "qui ambulat cum vento et falsitate
mentiatur", Piscator; "ambulantem cum vento et fasitate
mendacem", Cocceius. ; is full of wind and vanity; "after the
wind"F23So Hillerus in Burkius. ; and follows the dictates of
his vain mind, and coins lies, and speaks false things:
saying, I will
prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; or "drop a word
unto thee"F24אטיף לך
"stillabo tibi", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator, Burkius. ; that there will be good times, and nothing but good eating
and drinking; and that men need not fear such dismal things befalling them as
the prophets of the Lord spoke of; but may be cheerful and merry, and drink
wine and strong drink, and not be afraid of their evil tidings: or, for wine
and strong drinkF25ליין "pro
vino", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius. ,
so Kimchi; and the meaning is, that if they would give him a cup of wine, or a
draught of strong drink, he would prophesy good things to them; the reverse of
what is before said, as that they should continue in their land, and not depart
from it; that this should be their rest, and they should remain therein, and
not be destroyed in it, or cast out of it:
he shall even be the prophet of this people; a
"dropper"F26מטיף
"stillator", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Cocceius. to
them; see Micah 2:6; such an
one shall be acceptable to them; they will caress him, and prefer him to the
true prophets of the Lord; which is mentioned to show the temper of the people,
and how easily they were imposed upon, and their disrespect to the prophets of
the Lord, as in Micah 2:6; to which
subject the prophet here returns, as Kimchi observes.
Micah 2:12 12 “I
will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of
Israel; I will put them together like sheep of the fold,[d] Like a
flock in the midst of their pasture; They shall make a loud noise because of so
many people.
YLT
12I do surely gather thee, O
Jacob, all of thee, I surely bring together the remnant of Israel, Together I
do set it as the flock of Bozrah, As a drove in the midst of its pasture, It
maketh a noise because of man.
I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee,.... These
words are either the words of the false prophet continued, that prophesied of
wine and strong drink, as Aben Ezra; promising great plenty and prosperity, and
that the remnant of the ten tribes carried captive by Tiglathpileser should be
returned, and they should all live together in safety and plenty, and rejoice
because of their numbers: or else they are a denunciation of threatenings and
judgments, as Kimchi; that the Israelites should be gathered indeed together,
but as sheep for the slaughter, even those that remained, not as yet carried
captive; these should be shut up, and closely besieged in their cities, and
make a noise, and cry for fear of their enemies, and because of the great
number of them: or rather they are a comfortable promise of the gathering of
the people of Israel in the times of the Messiah, in the last days the Gospel
dispensation, even all of Jacob, all the then posterity of Israel; for then
"all Israel shall be saved", Romans 11:26; and
this is introduced, though abruptly, as often such promises are, for the
comfort of the Lord's people, amidst sorrowful and sad tidings brought to the
people in general: I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; the remnant
according to the election of grace, whom the Lord will reserve for himself,
those that are left of them in the latter day; these shall be gathered
effectually by the grace of God unto Jesus, the true Messiah, they shall now
seek after; and into his church, to join themselves to his people, embracing
his Gospel, and submitting to his ordinances; when there shall be "one
fold" for Jews and Gentiles, and "one Shepherd" over them, the
Lord Jesus Christ, John 10:16;
I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah; a place
famous for flocks and pastures; signifying that they should be took care of by
the great and good Shepherd, have a good fold, and good pastures provided for
them, where they should feed comfortably together, in great unity and
affection:
as the flock in the midst of their fold; lying down
safely, and resting quietly; see Ezekiel 34:13;
they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of
men: a joyful noise, because of their own numbers being increased
with men like a flock, and so numerous, that the place will be too strait for
them; and because of the number of good and faithful shepherds under Christ, to
feed and protect them, even pastors after God's own heart, given them to feed
them with knowledge and understanding, Jeremiah 3:15.
Micah 2:13 13 The
one who breaks open will come up before them; They will break out, Pass through
the gate, And go out by it; Their king will pass before them, With the Lord at their head.”
YLT
13Gone up hath the breaker
before them, They have broken through, Yea, they pass through the gate, Yea,
they go out through it, And pass on doth their king before them, And Jehovah at
their head!
The breaker up is come up before them,.... Not the
enemy, either the Assyrian or Chaldean army, or any part thereof, going up
before the rest, breaking down the walls of the city, either of Samaria or
Jerusalem, so making way for entrance therein; nor Zedekiah, as Joseph Kimchi,
who made his escape through the wall broken down; nor the Maccabees, who were
instruments of great salvation and deliverance to the Jews after the captivity,
and before the coming of Christ. Kimchi makes mention of an exposition, which
interprets "the breaker" of Elijah, that was to come before the
Messiah; "and their king", in the latter part of the text, of the
branch the son of David; that is, the Messiah; which sense Mr. Pocock thinks
may be admitted of, provided by Elijah we understand John the Baptist, the
forerunner of Christ, who is the true Elijah that was to come; who broke,
prepared, and cleared the way for Christ by his doctrine and baptism see Luke 1:16; but it
is best to interpret "the breaker" of Christ himself; and so I find
it explainedF1In Mattanot Cehunah in Bereshit Rabba, parash. 85.
fol. 75. 2. Vid. Galatia. Arcan. Cathol. Ver. l. 3. c. 30. by the Jews also, to
whom this and all the rest of the characters in the text agree; and who may be
so called with respect to his incarnation, being the firstborn that opened the
womb, and broke forth into the world in a very extraordinary manner; his birth
being of a virgin, who was so both before and after the birth; thus Pharez had
his name, which is from the same root, and is of a similar sound with Phorez
here, from his breaking forth before his brother, unawares, and contrary to
expectation, Genesis 38:29; this
agrees with Christ, with respect to his death, when he broke through and
vanquished all enemies, sin, Satan, the world, and death; broke through all the
troops of hell, and spoiled principalities and powers; and through all
difficulties that lay in the way of the salvation of his people; he broke down
the middle wall of partition, the ceremonial law which was between Jew and
Gentile; and broke off the yoke of sin, Satan, and the law, under which they
were, and set them at liberty; and at his resurrection he broke asunder the
cords of death, as Samson did his withs as a thread of tow; and at his
ascension he broke his way through the regions of the air, and legions of
devils there, leading captivity captive, and entered into heaven; and was "pandens
iter", as the Vulgate Latin version here renders it, "opening the
way" for his people into it; by the ministry of the word, he broke his way
into the Gentile world, conquering and to conquer, which was mighty, through
God, for the pulling down of strong holds, and reducing multitudes to his
obedience; at the conversion of every sinner he breaks open the everlasting
doors of their hearts, and enters in; he breaks their rocky hearts in pieces,
and then binds up what he has broken; and in the latter day he will break in
pieces all his enemies as a potter's vessel; yea, he will break in pieces and
consume all the kingdoms of the earth, which will become like the chaff of the
summer threshingfloors: and now he is ascended, or "gone up" to
heaven to his Father there, and "before them" his sheep, his people,
said to be assembled, gathered and put together; he is ascended as the
forerunner of them, to receive gifts for them, and bestow them on them, and to
prepare heaven for them, and to make intercession on their behalf; and, as sure
as he is gone up, so sure shall they also follow:
they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are
gone out by it; not either the Assyrians or Chaldeans; nor the people that fled
with Zedekiah; but the sheep of Christ following him their Shepherd; who, in
the strength of Christ, and the power of his grace, break out of their prison
houses; and break off the yokes and fetters in which they have been detained,
and all allegiance to former lords; and break through their enemies, and become
more than conquerors through him that has loved them; and "pass through him
the gate"; the strait gate, and narrow way, that leads to the Father, and
to the enjoyment of all the blessings of grace; and into the sheepfold, the
church, and the privileges of it; and even into heaven itself, eternal life and
happiness: and by which also they "go out", for he is a door of
escape unto them out of the hands of all their enemies, and from wrath to come;
and he is a door of hope of all good things unto them, and which leads to green
pastures, and by which they go in and out, and find pasture:
and their King shall pass before them, and the Lord on the head of
them; not the king of Assyria or Babylon, before their respective
armies, the Lord God himself being in a providential way at the head of them,
and succeeding them; nor Hoshea or Zedekiah, going before their people into
captivity, the Lord having forsaken them; but the King Messiah, who is King of
Zion, King of saints, that goes before his people as a king before his
subjects, and as a shepherd before his flock; and who is the true Jehovah, the
Lord our righteousness, who is at the head, and is the Head of his church; the
Captain of their salvation, that is at the head of his armies, his chosen and
faithful ones, they following and marching after him, Revelation 17:14.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)