consequences are infinitely awful,
because, altogether unlike the natural husband, He has everything in
His possession; if He does not give anything to drink. He then slays by
thirst. If we keep in view this aggravation of the punishment, which
has its ground only in the person of the husband, it is evident that
we have here before us only a reference to the withdrawal of the
marriage-gifts which is the consequence of the divorce, and not, as
several interpreters--_e.g._, _Manger_--suppose, to a punishment of
adultery, alleged by them to have been common at that time, "that the
wife was stripped of her clothes, exposed to public mockery, and killed
by hunger and thirst." The eternal and universal truth which, in the
verse before us, is expressed with a special reference to Israel, is,
that all the gifts of God are bestowed upon individuals, as well as
upon whole nations, either in order to lead them to the communion of
life with Him, or because this communion already exists; just as our
Saviour says that to him who has successfully sought for the kingdom
of heaven, all other things shall be added, without any labour on
his part. If we overlook the truth that the gifts of God have this
object--if they be not received and enjoyed as the gifts of God--if the
spiritual marriage be refused, or if, having been already entered into,
it be broken,--sooner or later the gifts will be withdrawn.--The word
"naked" properly includes a whole clause: "I shall strip [Pg 235] her
so that she shall become naked." The verb [Hebrew: hcig], "to place,"
"to set," has the secondary signification of public exhibition; compare
Job xvii. 6. The literal translation ought to be, "I shall expose her
as _the day_ of her birth;" and we must assume that there is here the
occurrence of one of those numerous cases, in which the comparison is
merely alluded to, without being carried out; compare, _e.g._, "Like
the day of Midian," Is. ix. 3; "Their heart rejoiceth like wine," Zech.
x. 7. The _tertium comparationis_ between the day of her birth and her
future condition is only the entire nakedness; compare Job i. 21. Any
allusion to the filth, etc., is less obvious; the prophet would have
been required to give an intimation of this in some manner. The two
parts of the first hemistich of the verse correspond with each other;
just as do the three parts of the second hemistich. In the first, the
withdrawal of clothing, and nakedness; in the second, the withdraw