Ver. 1. Woe to them that are at ease in Zion] That lie sleeping on both sides (In utramvis aurora dormiunt), and slighting the former menaces, as Leviathan doth the iron weapons, Job 41:27, that live as if ye were out of the reach of God’s rod; and as for all your enemies, ye puff at them, saying, We shall not be moved, we shall never be in adversity, Psalms 10:5,6. To these sleepers in Zion God here sends forth his summons (the word Hoi signifieth as well Heus as Vae, ho as wo, Isaiah 55:1 Zec 2:6. Ho, ho, come forth), that were quiet and still, Zechariah 1:11, lulled asleep by Satan, or rather. cast into a dead lethargy: Samson-like their enemies are upon them, and they fast asleep the while; Ishbosheth-like they stretch themselves upon their beds of ivory, till they lose, not their precious lives only, but their immortal souls. Security ushereth in destruction; those that are at ease in Zion shall be raised by a dreadful woe rung in their ears, that shall make their hearts fall down, and their hairs stand upright. In the froth of carnal security and sensual delights is bred that worm of conscience that never dieth, Mark 9:44, and here begins to grub and gnaw; like as while the crocodile sleepeth with open mouth, the Ichneumon, or Indian rat, shoots himself into his bowels; after which he never is at ease, as having his entrails daily devoured; so that one while he will be in the water, and anon after on the land, till life fails him. And trust in the mountain of Samaria] Are carnally confident and secure (πεποιθοσιν. Septuag.), as when good David also gotten upon his strong mountain, Psalms 30:6,7, but was soon confuted: “Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.” The best are apt by rest to contract rust; and being fully fed, to wax wanton, Deuteronomy 32:15. To affect more mundi delicias quam Christi divitias, as one saith, the world’s dainties than Christ’s comforts: to trust in uncertain riches than to rely upon the living God, who giveth them all things richly to enjoy, 1 Timothy 6:17. This must be looked to; for it hath a woe hanging at the heels of it, Jeremiah 17:5,6 Ps 52:7,9. Which are named chief of the nations] Heb. expressly named, declared, notified, celebrated, chief] the head, or first-fruits, the head and height, principium, id est, praecipuum gentium. So Amalek is called the first of the nations, Numbers 24:20; haply they held themselves so: as the Egyptians afterwards boasted much of their antiquity, and the Chinese at this day do of their excellence and perspicuity above other nations. Many wicked ones are of great renown in this world, Psalms 73:4,6, and stand much upon their titles and terms of honour; who yet in the next generation shall be utterly forgotten, Psalms 109:13, for that their names are not written in heaven, Revelation 17:8; and look how much they have glorified themselves, and lived deliciously, so much torment and ignominy shall be given them, Revelation 18:7. To whom the house of Israel came] The whole house of Israel, viz. the two tribes to Zion, the ten to Samaria, vel sacrorum causa, vel iudiciorum, saith Drusius, as to places of worship, and besides, courts of justice. Others sense it thus, The house of Israel came unto them, that is, the Israelites invaded those nations that once held Zion and Samaria, and succeeded them therein; not by any strength of their own, but by God’s mighty hand and outstretched arm, which they, ungrateful wretches, acknowledge not: but come in for themselves (םהל), so Ribera rendereth it, quasi sibi tantum nati, se solos esse aliquid, as if they were the only proprietaries, the sole owners of all; and owned no service to any chief lord. Such insolence grows from security. See Job 21:23.
Ver. 2. Pass ye unto Calneh and see] Take a voyage to and a view of those most famous bordering cities, Calneh, or Seleucia, in Mesopotamia on the east (whereof see Genesis 10:10, the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom), Hamath the great, or Antiochia (now Aleppo, a famous market town), on the north. Then go down southward to Gath of the Philistines, which was of all the five satrapies potissima et potentissima, most strong and powerful, and is therefore called Methegammah, 2 Samuel 8:1 cf. 1Ch 18:1, because, being a town of great strength, it was, as it were, the bridle, whereby the whole country about was kept in awe: it was afterwards known by the name of Diocaesarea. Away to these neighbouring cities, and see in them, as in so many telescopes, how much more God hath done for you than for them in every respect; the greater is your guilt, and the deeper will be your judgment in the end, for abuse of these rich mercies, of a fertile soil, a large empire, to security, oppression, and other detestable vices and villanies. Be they better than these kingdoms] sc. of Judah and Israel? which were certainly multis nominibus laudatissima, very fruitful and pleasant countries, Deuteronomy 8:7-9 Nu 14:7,8, whatsoever Strabo spitefully reporteth to the contrary, being therein worse than Rabshakeh, Isaiah 36:17. Or their border grearer than your border] sc. Till the Babylonians, Syrians, and Assyrians took part of your country from you, and cooped you up, cut you short. And now that you are so straitened for room, doth not the Lord recompense you in multitudes of people? Judea was not over two hundred miles long and fifty miles broad, say geographers; and yet what large armies brought they into the field! Observe, then, saith the prophet, the great things that God hath done for you above other nations, and walk accordingly; or else take lessons out of their losses and damages, and know that the case will be your own: Aliorum perclitio vestra sitcantio: Learn by other men’s harms to beware.