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Judges 10:14: Israel Sent Back to Her Idols

Writer: Dr. DildayDr. Dilday

Verse 14:[1] Go and (Deut. 32:37, 38; 2 Kings 3:13; Jer. 2:28) cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.


[Go and invoke the gods] It is Irony, or Sarcasm (Menochius out of Serarius, Bonfrerius). Of which sort is that in Deuteronomy 32:37, 38, where are their gods, etc.? (Bonfrerius), and that in the Æneid, …Go, mock virture with overbearing words (Serarius).


[Which ye have chosen] Emphatically stated: those that, although known by no benefits, ye have preferred to me, the author of so many good things to you. God does not remit their sins immediately, but to those acknowledging the righteousness of their punishment by patience for a time, and by casting out their contrary deeds; as it appears here in verses 10, 15, 16 (Grotius). This delay of God was conjoined with the greatest advantage to the Israelites: For they brought forth greater works of repentance, verses 15, 16 (Serarius). By right it comes to each and everyone’s gods to be worshipped; Ovid’s Pontus 1:3. Thus in successes they, being forgetful of the heavenly benefits, were supplicating idols; in adversities, God: and, when they received pardon for their error, they always went on sinning after the pardon; Severus’ History[2] 1. Agesilaus[3] said of the Asians, ἐλευθέρους μὲν κακοὺς, δούλους δὲ ἀγαθοὺς, εἶναι (that is, the slaves were good, but evil when free); Plutarch’s Apophthegmata (Gataker).


The gods which ye have chosen: You have not been forced to worship those gods by your oppressors and tyrants; but you have freely chosen these gods before me.

[1] Hebrew: לְכ֗וּ וְזַֽעֲקוּ֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֱלֹהִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּחַרְתֶּ֖ם בָּ֑ם הֵ֛מָּה יוֹשִׁ֥יעוּ לָכֶ֖ם בְּעֵ֥ת צָרַתְכֶֽם׃


[2] Sulpicius Severus (c. 360-425) was a member of the Roman senatorial aristocracy, who renounced all for the monastic life. He wrote the first biography of Martin of Tours and the Chronicorum Libri Duo (or Historia Sacra), providing a history from the creation to 400 AD. Drusius produced an annotated edition of his works.


[3] Agesilaus II was king of Sparta from 398 to about 360 BC.

2 Comments


Dr. Dilday
Dr. Dilday
Sep 11, 2018

Thomas Manton's "The Saint's Triumph over Death": 'When men hang upon the world as long as they can, and when they can hang no longer, think then to make use of God, the Lord will refuse them with disdain: "Go to the gods which you have chosen," Judges 10:14; let the world now help you and save you.'

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Dr. Dilday
Dr. Dilday
Sep 11, 2018

Matthew Henry: 'He shows them how justly he might now abandon them to ruin, by abandoning them to the gods that they had served. To awaken them to a thorough repentance and reformation, he lets them see, (1.) Their folly in serving Baalim. They had been at a vast expense to obtain the favour of such gods as could not help them when they had most need of their help: "Go, and cry unto the gods which you have chosen (Judges 10:14), try what they can do for you now. You have worshipped them as gods—try if they have now either a divine power or a divine goodness to be employed for you. You paid your homage to them a…

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ABOUT US

Dr. Steven Dilday holds a BA in Religion and Philosophy from Campbell University, a Master of Arts in Religion from Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia), and both a Master of Divinity and a  Ph.D. in Puritan History and Literature from Whitefield Theological Seminary.  He is also the translator of Matthew Poole's Synopsis of Biblical Interpreters and Bernardinus De Moor’s Didactico-Elenctic Theology.

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