obtain mercy must
then be, that Jehovah is not their God. That this contrast is implied
here, is confirmed by iii. 5: "Afterwards shall the children of Israel
return and seek the _Lord their God_, and David their king." That which
in aftertimes they shall seek, and thereby obtain salvation, they must
have lost now; and this loss must be the source of their affliction.
Calvin makes the following pertinent remark: "The antithesis between
the false gods and Jehovah must here be kept in mind. Jehovah was the
God of the house of Judah; and hence, it is just as if the prophet had
said, 'Ye [Pg 214] indeed profess the name of God, but ye worship the
devil, and not God. Ye have no part in Jehovah. He resides in His
temple, and has pledged His faithfulness to David when He commanded him
to build Him a temple on Mount Zion; but from you, the true God has
departed!'" (Compare Amos ii. 8, where the prophet speaks of the god of
the ten tribes as one who belongs to them alone, and with whom he has
nothing to do.) In contrast with Him who alone could grant help, and
whom Israel did not possess, but Judah did, the prophet enumerates, in
the remaining part of the verse under consideration, the aids which
could not afford any real help, in which Israel was, at that time, much
richer than Judah, and in which they placed a false confidence. Compare
x. 13: "Thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty
men;" Ps. xx. 8; Mic. v. 9 seqq.; and Deut. xxxiii. 29, where the Lord
is spoken of as the only true bulwark and armour: "Happy art thou,
Israel: who is like unto thee? a people saved by the Lord, the shield
of thy help, thy proud sword: thine enemies shall be liars unto thee,
and thou shalt tread upon their high places." Calvin says, "God does
not require any other aids; His own strength is quite sufficient. The
sum and substance is therefore this, that although the weakness of the
kingdom of Judah excites the contempt of all, this shall be no obstacle
to its deliverance by the grace of God, although there be no help at
all from men."--The prophet has, at the same time, before his eyes the
great events of former history, where, when all human resources failed,
the power of God had shown itself to be alone quite sufficient.--We
cannot assert with _Gesenius_, that "war" should here be quite
identical with "weapons of war;" it rather comprehends everything which
is required for war, viz., the prudence of the commanders, the valour