3 But the chiefs of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Does it seem to you that David is honouring your father, by sending comforters to you? is it not clear that these men have only come to go through the land and to make secret observation of it so that they may overcome it?
Then the memory of his dreams about them came back to Joseph, and he said to them, You have come secretly to see how poor the land is. And they said to him, Not so, my lord: your servants have come with money to get food. We are all one man's sons, we are true men; we have not come with any secret purpose. And he said to them, No, but you have come to see how poor the land is. Then they said, We your servants are twelve brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan; the youngest of us is now with our father, and one is dead. And Joseph said, It is as I said; you have come with some secret purpose; But in this way will you be put to the test: by the life of Pharaoh, you will not go away from this place till your youngest brother comes here. Send one of your number to get your brother, and the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are true; if not, by the life of Pharaoh, your purpose is certainly secret. So he put them in prison for three days. And on the third day Joseph said to them, Do this, if you would keep your lives: for I am a god-fearing man:
Then Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from Shittim secretly, with the purpose of searching out the land, and Jericho. So they went and came to the house of a loose woman of the town, named Rahab, where they took their rest for the night. And it was said to the king of Jericho, See, some men have come here tonight from the children of Israel with the purpose of searching out the land. Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Send out the men who have come to you and are in your house; for they have come with the purpose of searching out all the land.
So they came back to their brothers in Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brothers said to them, What news have you? And they said, Up! and let us go against Laish; for we have seen the land, and it is very good: why are you doing nothing? Do not be slow to go in and take the land for your heritage. When you come there you will come to a people living without thought of danger; and the land is wide, and God has given it into your hands: a place where there is everything on earth for man's needs.
But he gave no attention to the opinion of the old men, and went to the young men of his generation who were waiting before him: And said to them, What is your opinion? What answer are we to give to this people who have said to me, Make less the weight of the yoke which your father put on us? And the young men of his generation said to him, This is the answer to give to the people who came to you saying, Your father put a hard yoke on us; will you make it less? say to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's body; If my father put a hard yoke on you, I will make it harder: my father gave you punishment with whips, but I will give you blows with snakes.
Love's ways are ever fair, it takes no thought for itself; it is not quickly made angry, it takes no account of evil; It takes no pleasure in wrongdoing, but has joy in what is true; Love has the power of undergoing all things, having faith in all things, hoping all things.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » John Gill's Exposition of the Bible » Commentary on 1 Chronicles 19
Commentary on 1 Chronicles 19 John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
INTRODUCTION TO 1 CHRONICLES 19
The eighteenth and nineteenth chapters are the same with 2 Samuel 8:1 with very little variations, which are observed in the notes on them, to which the reader is referred.
See Chapter Introduction