_THE DESTROYERS OF JERUSALEM DESTROYED. THE COMING OF CHRIST, AND THE
GRACES OF HIS KINGDOM. THE PLAGUE OF JERUSALEM'S ENEMIES. A REMNANT
WILL TURN TO THE LORD, AND THEIR SPOILS SHALL BE HOLY._
_Before Christ 517._
THIS chapter goes on to foretel a siege, in which Jerusalem will be
taken and sacke... [ Continue Reading ]
THE RESIDUE OF THE PEOPLE SHALL NOT BE CUT OFF FROM THE CITY— It is
impossible to reconcile these words with the state of facts at the
time when Jerusalem was taken by the Romans; for at that time, we are
well assured by Josephus, who was an eye-witness, not only _all_ that
were in the city were eit... [ Continue Reading ]
AS WHEN HE FOUGHT— Literally, _According to the day of his
fighting;_ that is, with thunder and lightning, storms of wind and
hail, earthquakes, &c. See Psalms 18:7. Habakkuk 3:5; Habakkuk 3:19.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS FEET SHALL STAND, &C.— Calmet thinks, that by this
_cleaving_ of the mount of Olives is meant those incisions which the
Romans made in it, to carry matter thence for the siege of the city;
not observing that the simile is drawn from things which exceed
nature, not from those which happen acc... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LORD MY GOD SHALL COME, &C.— _And_ JEHOVAH _shall go, the
God of all holy ones, with thee._ This is a literal translation of the
Hebrew text, and affords a sense beyond exception or improvement. The
same Jehovah, of whom it is said Zechariah 14:3 that he would go forth
and fight against the... [ Continue Reading ]
AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, &C.— How this will be fulfilled we cannot
know till the time of its completion shall arrive; for a fact
certainly, not a simile, is here again delivered. We know that in the
Scripture, _light_ denotes _joy_ and _prosperity,_ and _darkness_
adversity. See Houbigant.... [ Continue Reading ]
ONE DAY— _An extraordinary, or very singular day._... [ Continue Reading ]
LIVING WATERS SHALL GO OUT, &C.— Here again, real waters, not the
figurative ones of baptism, or of the Christian doctrine, are meant;
for these waters go out only to the east and to the west, whereas the
evangelical waters went forth into all quarters of the world.
Houbigant; who, instead of _forme... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THE LORD SHALL BE KING, &C.— Upon this grand conversion and
restoration of the Jews, and coming-in of the fulness of the Gentiles,
God shall be glorified with one mind and one mouth over all the earth.
_There shall be one Lord, and his name shall be one._ A _name_ was so
peculiar an adjunct to a... [ Continue Reading ]
ALL THE LAND SHALL BE TURNED, &C.— _And he shall surround the whole
land as a plain, from Geba even to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem; which
shall be high, and shall stand firm,_ &c. The latter part of this
verse describes the extent of the new city of Jerusalem, which the
Jews were to rebuild and inhab... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HIS HAND SHALL RISE UP, &C.— _And the hand of one shall cleave
to the hand of another._ Houbigant.... [ Continue Reading ]
AND JUDAH ALSO SHALL FIGHT AT JERUSALEM— _And Judah also shall fight
for Jerusalem._ Not only, _the Lord shall fight,_ (see Zechariah
14:3.) but also _Judah._... [ Continue Reading ]
OF ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH— If, according to the opinion of
many learned commentators, by going up to Jerusalem to worship, and to
keep the feast of tabernacles, be only meant a conformity to the
worship of the one true God, or, which is the same thing, to the
Christian religion, there can be... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT HAVE NO RAIN; THERE, &C.— _Upon them shall be the plague
wherewith the Lord,_ &c. Houbigant. The reader will observe, that the
prophet, foretelling the blessings arising from the restoration of the
Jews, and the conversion of the Gentiles to the Christian faith, draws
his images from the old di... [ Continue Reading ]
IN THAT DAY, &C.— This and the following verse seem to imply the
promise of universal peace and holiness; blessings often mentioned in
the prophets as concomitants of the flourishing state of Christ's
kingdom. The meaning of the passage therefore is, that the _bells,_ or
furniture of war, belonging... [ Continue Reading ]