27 See therefore, I have stretched out my hand over you, and have diminished your ordinary (food), and delivered you to the will of those who hate you, the daughters of the Philistines, who are ashamed of your lewd way.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Here God reproves the hardness of the Jews because admonition did not render them wise. The common proverb aptly says, "fools grow wise only by the rod;" and when their obstinacy is such that the rod does no good, their faults are indeed desperate. Hence God complains, when he had chastised the Jews, that even this did not profit them, for they were so perverse that they did not apply their minds to reflect upon their sins. For God's blows ought to rouse us up, so that our faults previously hidden ought to be brought to light and knowledge; but when we champ the bit, and are not affected by the blows, then our abandoned disposition is made manifest. Now the Prophet condemns this obstinacy in the Jews: I have extended, says he, my hand over thee. He now enumerates two kinds of chastisement, first, when God deprived the Jews of the abundance of the possessions by which they were enriched; and then because he had subjected them to the lust of their enemies. Those who translate justification as Jerome does, depart from the sense of the Prophet: chq, chek, signifies, indeed, a statute and edict, and he explains it of the law. But how will this agree with the Prophet's retaining the simile already used? for he compares God to a husband. God now pronounces that he had taken away their appointed portion, when he saw himself a laughingstock through his impure wife; that is, what he had intended for both food and clothing: for husbands spend a fixed sum on their wives in food, clothing, and ornament. And God previously recounted, among other things, that what he had conferred upon the Jews they had spent in superstitions. Hence, for this reason, he now says, I have taken away their allotted portion, that is, what I had assigned to them. This was one part of the chastisement: for he compares the fruitfulness of the land and other advantages to the portion which the husband assigns to the wife. Now the other chastisement follows -- their being harassed by their enemies; for not only did the Jews find themselves encompassed by the Philistines, but they were delivered up and bound to slavery, as Moses says, (Deuteronomy 32:30,) How, then, could one vanquish ten, and ten chase a thousand, unless we had been shut up in his hand? He shows, therefore, that our enemies are never our superiors unless God enslaves us to them. But those who do not calmly subject themselves to God's command, but are refractory, are delivered into the enemy's hand, that their contumacy may be subdued by severe tyranny. Now we understand what the Prophet means by this verse: he enlarges upon the people's wickedness in not turning to God, though they felt by clear experience that they were under a curse. They ought to examine their lives, to groan before God, to acknowledge their fault, and to beg for pardon: since no feeling was awakened, the Prophet gathers that their obstinacy was desperate. This passage is worthy of our notice, that we may be attentive to God's chastisements. Whenever God even raises his finger and threatens us, let us know that he is anxious for our safety: hence in our turn let us rouse ourselves and implore his pity, and especially let us repent of our sins by which we see his anger to have been enflamed. (Jeremiah 2:30.) But if we remain slothful, we see that no excuse for us remains, since God elsewhere complains that he is trifled with, when he has chastised his children in vain. Here, nphs, nepish, the soul is used forlust or desire, as I have explained it. It follows --
Have diminished thine ordinary food - As a husband lessens the things which minister to the luxury of an unfaithful wife, so did the Lord cut Israel short in consequence of her unfaithfulness.
Daughters - The small cities. The Philistines have left a permanent record of their supremacy in the name of the holy land - Palestine. It was a special shame to be subjected to so small a power as that of Philistia (see Isaiah 14:29); but the very Philistines were ashamed of Judah's unfaithfulness, and were themselves truer to their false gods than Judah was to Yahweh.
Have diminished thine ordinary - חקך chukkech means here the household provision made for a wife - food, clothing, and money.
Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee,.... His chastising and correcting hand, to show his resentment at their sins, and bring them to a sense of them, and repentance for them:
and have diminished thine ordinary food; their stated allowances, the common mercies and blessings of life they had been indulged with, but now were lessened; and particularly a famine was brought upon them, as well as they were deprived of other favours for their sins; God dealing with them as husbands with their wanton wives, who keep them to stricter allowance, and closer confinement, in order to check and tame them:
and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines; which perhaps may refer to the times of Ahaz, when the Philistines invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and took many of their cities, and brought Judah low, 2-Chronicles 28:18;
which are ashamed of thy lewd way: of their inconstancy in changing their religion, relinquishing the worship of the true God, and embracing that of others, when they abode by their ancient religion and worship, Jeremiah 2:10. The Targum is,
"to whom if I had sent my prophets, they would have been ashamed;''
see Matthew 11:21.
The consequent judgments, which, however, proved of no avail in reforming the people (Isaiah 9:13; Jeremiah 5:3).
delivered thee unto . . . Philistines-- (2-Kings 16:6; 2-Chronicles 28:18-19).
ashamed of thy lewd way--The Philistines were less wanton in idolatry, in that they did not, like Israel, adopt the idols of every foreign country but were content with their own (Ezekiel 16:57; Jeremiah 2:11).
*More commentary available at chapter level.