Wesley's Notes on the Bible Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:
And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel: 39:2 The sixth part - I will leave in thy country but one in six.
And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. 39:3 Thy bow - What is said of the bow rendered useless, is to be understood of all other weapons of war; this is one kind, the bow, being most in use with the Scythians, is mentioned for all the rest.
Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken. 39:8 It is come - As sure as if already come. The day - That notable day of recompences against the last great enemies of the church.
And they that dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the handstaves, and the spears, and they shall burn them with fire seven years: 39:9 The weapons - The warlike provision, instruments, engines, carriages and wagons. Shall burn - It may be wondered why they burn these weapons, which might be of use to them for defence; but it was done in testimony that God was their defence, on whom only they relied. With fire - In such a country where the need of fire is much less than with us, it will not seem incredible, that the warlike utensils of so numerous an army might be enough to furnish them with fuel for many years.
So that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall burn the weapons with fire: and they shall spoil those that spoiled them, and rob those that robbed them, saith the Lord GOD.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamongog. 39:11 Gog - And to many of those with him; but many were given to the birds and beasts to be devoured. Graves - Gog came to take possession; and so he shall, but not as he purposed and hoped. He shall possess his house of darkness in that land which he invaded. The valley of the passengers - So called from the frequent travels of passengers through it from Egypt and Arabia Felix, into the more northern parts, and from these again into Egypt and Arabia. The sea - The Dead Sea. Hamon Gog - That is, the multitude of Gog.
And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land.
Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord GOD. 39:13 Glorified - The day of my being glorified shall be a renown to Israel.
And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. 39:14 They - The rulers of Israel. Sever - Chuse out men who shall make it their work. Passing - To go up and down over the whole land; for many of Gog's wounded, flying soldiers, died in thickets, and corners into which they crept. The passengers - Whose assistance they would desire of courtesy. Remain - Unburied by the public labour of the house of Israel during the seven months.
And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the buriers have buried it in the valley of Hamongog.
And also the name of the city shall be Hamonah. Thus shall they cleanse the land. 39:16 The city - That is, the multitude: the city which is next to this common tomb of Gog.
And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh, and drink blood. 39:17 I do sacrifice - The punishment of these God calls a sacrifice, which he offers to his own justice. Upon the mountains - Where more thousands are offered at once, than ever were at any time offered; 'tis a sacrifice so great, that none ever was, or will be like it.
Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bullocks, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 39:18 Ye shall eat - In these two and the following verse s, God takes on him the person of one that makes a feast, invites his guests, and promises to satisfy them. Of the two former, the first is an Enigmatical invitation, or an invitation in a riddle; the latter is the key to this character. The mighty - Who had great authority, great courage and strength, the giant - like ones, commanders of great note in the army. Princes - Many princes came with their country men and subjects to assist in this war. Rams - These are compared to rams which lead the flock. Lambs - Lambs are the more ordinary in the army. Goats - Goats signify the more lascivious, and impetuous among them. Bullocks - Bullocks, such as though more slow, were of great strength. Fatlings - Well fed. Bashan - A mountain of most rich, and sweet soil.
And ye shall eat fat till ye be full, and drink blood till ye be drunken, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.
Thus ye shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war, saith the Lord GOD. 39:20 At my table - In the field where Gog, his princes, and army, are slain, compared to a table. Horses - Horsemen, not common foot soldiers. Chariots - The men that ride in them.
And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them. 39:21 All the heathen - In the countries to which the news shall come.
So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day and forward.
And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword.
According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;
After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid. 39:26 Their shame - Reproach for their sins.
When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;
Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.
Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible by John Wesley [1754-65] Bible Hub |
    |