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lightning, and stiffened in the place where she stood; while the nitro-sulphureous matter which descended, or the asphaltus, which abounds in the plains, encrusted her, and being, as it were embalmed, she became a salsobituminous mass or pillar.*

(3.) The flourishing of Aaron's rod, Num. xvii. 6—8. "And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers' houses, even twelve rods: and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. And Moses laid up the rods before the Lord in the tabernacle of witness. And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds." This fact was so unquestionably miraculous, that no doubt could remain on the minds of the people, or the envious chiefs, of the divine appointment of Aaron. A sceptre or staff of office, resuming its vegetative life was considered an absolute impossibility among the ancients; and as they were accustomed to swear by their sceptres, this circumstance was added to establish and confirm the oath. A remarkable instance of this we have in Homer, (Il. i. v. 233, et seq.) where Achilles, in his rage against Agamemnon, swears, Ναι μα τοδε σκηπτρον, το μεν ούποτε φυλλα και οξους φυσει, επειδη πρωτα τομήν εν ορεσσι λελοιπεν ουδ' αναθηλήσει• • By this sceptre which shall never bud, nor boughs bring forth, nor yet grow green again, since having left its trunk on the mountains.' Virgil (Æn. I. xii. v. 206, et seq.) represents king Latinus swearing in the same way, to confirm his covenant with Æneas. Huet, bishop of Avranches is of opinion, (Quest. Alnet. 1. ii. c. 12.) that this miracle gave rise to the Greek tradition of the club of Hercules, which sprouted again when put into the earth. (Pausanias, l. ii. c. 31. § 13.)*

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(4.) The destruction of the first-born of Egypt, Exod. xii. 29, 39. "And it came to pass, that at midnight, the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead." When God miraculously destroyed all the firstborn of the Egyptians, he spared those of the Israelites; and, in commemoration of that event, he was pleased to ap point that all the firstborn males should be set apart unto himself." (Ex. xiii. 12, 16.) God was, (Num. iii. 12.) pleased to relinquish this claim, and to appoint the whole tribe of Levi to attend his immediate service in their stead. The reason generally assigned, why God should give this honour to the Levites in preference to the other tribes, is because of the extraordinary zeal they manifested against idolatry in the case of the golden calf. (Ex. xxxii. 26-28. De. xxxiii. 9.) See also pp. 57, 99, supra.*

(5.) The speaking of Balaam's ass, Num. xxii. 25. "And the Lord opened the mouth of the ass, and she said unto Balaam, What have I done unto thee, that thou hast smitten me these three times?" And where is the wonder of all this? If the ass had opened her own mouth, and reproved the rash prophet, we might well be astonished; but when God opens the mouth, an ass can speak as well as a man. It is to no purpose to speak of the construction of the ass's mouth, of the formation of the tongue and jaws being unfit for speaking; for an adequate cause is assigned for this wonderful effect-'The Lord opened the mouth of the ass;' and no one who believes in a God, can doubt of His power to do this and much more. Even the heathen did not think such things beyond the power of their deities. Of animate and inanimate things receiving for a short time the gift of speech the heathen mythology is full, Witness the ass of Silenus; the ram of Phryxus; the bull of Europa; the lamb in Egypt, in the reign of Boccaris; the elephant of Porus; and the horses of Achilles and Adrastus. See Bochart, Hieroz. P. I. l. ii. c. 14. Huet, Alnet. Quæst. I. ii. c. 12. n. 26. Universal Hist. vol. ii. b. 1. c. 3. n. 1. and Homer, ii. l. xvii. 426. xix. 405.*

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(6.) The preservation of the Israelites' raiment in the wilderness, Deut. viii. 4. "Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years." Many have supposed the meaning of this text to be, that God so amply provided for them all the necessaries of life, that they never were obliged to wear tattered garments, nor were their feet injured for lack of shoes or sandals.' Now, though the Israelites doubtless brought out of Egypt more raiment than what they had upon them; and they might manufacture the fleeces of their flocks in the wilderness, and also might be favoured by Providence with other supplies from the neighbouring nations or travelling hordes of Arabs; yet, when we consider their immense numbers, their situation and long continuance in the wilderness, and the very strong expressions made use of in the text, there seems no reason to question the extraordinary and miraculous interposition of God in this respect, as well as in others, not less stupendous in their nature, or constant in their supply.*

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(7.) The miraculous passage of the Jordan, Joshua iii. 15-17. as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) that the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan." The ordinary current of the Jor

* Comprehensive Bible, Notes in locis.

dan, near where the Israelites crossed, is said, by Maundrell, to be about 20 yards across, deeper than a man's height, and so rapid, as there is no swimming against it. It has, however, two banks; the first, or inner one, is that of the river in its natural state, and the second, or outer one, about a furlong distant, is that of its overflowings, which it does when the summer's sun has melted the snow on mount Lebanon and Hermon, in the months of March and April. And this was the time which God chose that the Israelites should pass over it; that a miraculous interposition might be necessary; and that, by the miracle, they might be convinced of his omnipotence. "There are two obvious natural causes,' says Mr. King, (Morsels of Crit. vol. iii. p. 285.), 'by which the effect here described might be produced; though most certainly the bringing either one or both of them to act, on the precise occasion, and so very powerfully, could only be the immediate command of God, the great Creator of all those powers in nature. The one might be an earthquake. The other cause might be a strong south, or south-west wind, which might drive back, and retard the flowing of the waters above Jericho; whilst those below more easily found their way to the Dead Sea, and left a fordable passage at the appointed place. Either or both these causes might operate. We are by no means without experience, of instances of such natural causes sometimes producing similar effects, in what is called the natural course of things. We find on record, that in the year 1645, there arose, in the morning, so furious a wind at Geneva, that it laid dry the bed of the impetuous Rhone above the bridge; insomuch that many crossed quite over it dry, on foot; and the son of M. D'Aubigny even picked up some ancient medals therein; the passage continuing free during an hour's time. * This, and the other miraculous events attendant on the journey of the Israelites from Egypt, the Psalmist depicts in energetic and sublime language in Ps. 114; on which Mr. Addison properly observes, (Spect. 461.) that the author of this Psalm designedly works for effect, in pointing out the miraculous effects, without mentioning an agent; till, at last, when the sea is seen rapidly retiring from the shore, Jordan retreating to its source, and the mountains and hills running away like a flock of affrighted sheep, that the passage of the Israelites might be every way uninterrupted; then the Cause of all is suddenly introduced, and the presence of God in his grandeur solves every difficulty.*

(8.) The miraculous taking of Jericho, which strictly accorded with the prediction, Josh. vi. 3—5. "And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall

of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him." (Compare ver. 12-20.) The words own miniw. shopheroth hyyovelim, should rather be rendered jubilee trumpets, i. e. such as were used on the jubilee, which were probably made of horn or silver: for the entrance of the Israelites into Canaan was indeed a jubilee to them (See Lev. 25. 11, &c. :)—instead of the dreadful trumpet of war, they were ordered to sound the trumpet of joy, as already conquerors. The words yn in ɔ, wenaphelah chomath hãîr tachteyha, are literally, and the wall of the city shall fall down under itself;' which appears simply to mean, that the wall shall fall down from its very foundation; which was probably the case in every part, though large breaches in different places might have been amply sufficient first to admit the armed men, after whom the host might enter to destroy the city. There is no ground for the supposition, that the walls sunk into the earth.*

(9.) The standing still of the sun and moon at the command of Joshua, Josh. x. 12. "Then spake Joshua to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon." Joshua doubtless acted, on this occasion, by an immediate impulse upon his mind from the Spirit of God. It would have been improper either that he should speak, or that the miracle should be recorded, according to the terms of modern astronomy. The sun appeared to the Israelites over Gibeon, and the moon over the valley of Ajalon, which is supposed to have been situated in a different direction and there they appeared to be stayed in their course for a whole day;' either for the space of about twelve or fourteen hours, or for the time of one diurnal revolution. Many enquiries have been made concerning the way in which this miracle was wrought, and many difficulties and objections have been urged against understanding it literally. But the fact is authenticated by the divine testimony; and the manner in which it was accomplished, lies entirely out of our province, because beyond our comprehension.*

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(10.) The appearance of Samuel to Saul, 1 Sam. xxviii. 11—20. There is considerable diversity of opinion, both among learned and pious men, relative to this appearance to Saul. Some say it was the devil who personated Samuel; and others maintain it was all an imposition of this cunning woman, and that there was no supernatural agency at all. But the most probable opinion seems to be, that Samuel himself did actually appear to Saul, not by the power of enchantment, but by the appointment and especial mercy of God, to warn this infatuated monarch of his approaching end, that he might make his peace with his Maker. There is not the smallest intimation of chicanery or Satanic influence given in the text; but on the contrary, from the plain and obvious meaning of the language employed, it is perfectly evident that it was Samuel himself,

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*, Shemooel hoo, as it is expressed in ver. 14. Indeed the very soul of Samuel seems to breathe in his expressions of displeasure against the disobedience and wickedness of Saul; while the awful, prophetic denunciations, which accordingly came to pass, were such as neither human nor diabolical wisdom could foresee; and which could only be known to God himself, and to those to whom he chose to reveal them.* (11.) The death of the disobedient prophet. 1 Kings xiii. 28. "And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass." All here was supernatural. The lion, though he had killed the man, yet, contrary to his nature, did not devour him, nor tear the ass, nor meddle with the travellers that passed by; while the ass stood quietly by, not fearing the lion, nor betaking himself to flight; both stood as guardians of the fallen prophet, till this extraordinary intelligence was carried into the city, which rendered the miracle more illustrious, and plainly shewed that this event did not happen by chance. This concatenation of miracles marked the death of the man of God, as a Divine rebuke for his disobedience in eating bread at idolatrous Bethel; and here we see, as in various other cases, that often judgment begins at the house of God.' The true prophet, for suffering himself to be seduced by the old prophet, and for receiving that as a revelation from God which was opposed to the revelation which himself had received, and which was confirmed by so many miracles, is slain by a lion, and his body deprived of the burial of his fathers; while the wicked king and the fallen prophet are both permitted to live.*

(12.) The feeding of Elijah by ravens. 1 Kings xvii. 2—6. “ And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook." Some have thought that the prophet Elijah, instead of being fed by ravens, was supplied by merchants, or Arabians, or the inhabitants of the city Arbo, But, 1. y, orevim, in never used singly to denote merchants; nor would God have said, generally, that he had commanded the merchants, but have specified what merchants he had commanded. 2. The word is not read orevim but aravim when it signifies Arabs; nor is it likely that they should be found in that district. 3. The inhabitants of y, Arbo or Orbo, if any city of that name then existed, must have been called, according to the genius of the Hebrew language, any, arboyim, or “y, arbonim, not pay, orevim. 4. The solemn declaration of good Obadiah, that Ahab took an oath of every people, that he was not concealed among

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