i. 19-20. _If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the
good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be
destroyed with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it._
Delitsch translates--_"If ye then shall willingly hear, ye shall eat
the good of the land; if ye shall obstinately rebel, ye shall be
eaten by the sword: For the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it."_
Stranchey translates--_"If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall feed
on the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, the sword shall
feed on you,"_ which brings out one of the contrasts of the verse
still more clearly. "The promise of eating, _i.e.,_ of the full
enjoyment of domestic blessings, and therefore of settled, peaceful
rest at home, is placed in contrast with the curse of being eaten
with the sword."--_Delitsch._
Note the close connection between these verses and verse 18. God
condescends to invite rebels to a conference with Himself, He is
willing to grant them the fullest forgiveness; but it is on the
condition of future obedience. On this condition He is prepared to do
more than forgive them,--He will enrich them with all needful
blessings, of which peaceful enjoyment of the fruits of the earth is
here named as a symbol; but if they will not listen to His
invitation, accept His gracious offer, and yield the obedience He
righteously demands, then the vengeance they have deserved will come
upon them. They have the matter entirely in their own hands; it rests
with them to determine whether their future shall be one of happiness
or misery. Thus we are led to the great doctrine of these verses,
that _sinners are self-destroyed._
This is a doctrine frequently insisted on in Scripture (Ezek.
xxxiii. 11; 2 Sam. xiv. 14; Hos. xiii. 9; 2 Pet. iii. 9). It is true
in a twofold sense. +1. They sin voluntarily.+ God never foreordained
any man to work iniquity.[1] Some are indeed surrounded from their
birth by evil influences, and on this account, as well as on account
of that corrupt nature which we all inherit, they do sinful acts from
their infancy, but they do not _sin_ until the dawn of moral
consciousness; and after that, every act of iniquity they perpetrate
they perpetrate voluntarily. +2. They suffer voluntarily.+ They do
not merely expose themselves to the penalty of sin, they take it upon
them voluntarily. God offers to remit it, on condition of their
repentance, but they reject the proffered boon; like a suicide who
repels the surgeon who would close his bleeding wounds.
In this fact that sinners thus destroy themselves we have--+I. A
terrible illustration of the depth of human depravity.+ Sinners not
only hate God so much as to break His laws, but so much as to harden
themselves against His love, and to reject His mercy. +II. A
sufficient vindication of the severities of the Divine justice.+
1. No sinner in hell will be able to reproach God for his misery.
2. We who contemplate the awful fact that human souls are suffering
in hell have no right to reproach God for their sufferings. These
sufferers deliberately turned their backs upon God and heaven, and
went of their own accord to perdition.
_Application._--1. Before you to-day blessing and cursing, life and
death are set; choose ye which ye will. 2. "If ye be _willing,_" God
will open to you all the treasures of His grace. But not otherwise!
He will compel no man to accept His mercy. 3. Whatever be your
choice, God will ratify it. If you choose destruction, you shall have
it, and then you will not be able to revoke your choice (Prov.
i. 22-31).