They answered, “Five golden tumors and five golden rats, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines. For the same plague was on all of you and on your lords." v.4
Read chapter 6
Golden tumors always seems so random and weird to me for an offering. How does one know what a tumor even looks like? I always pictured some random blob of gold for this offering. I read in various commentaries that the tumor was like figures of that part of the body which had the disease, which by its swelling, or some other way, represented also the disease itself. "They offered not in contempt of God, for they sought to gain his favor hereby; but in testimony of their humiliation, that by leaving this monument of their own shame and misery they might obtain pity from God, and freedom from their disease" (Matthew Poole's Commentary).
And then we have rats. Another random and gross (to me at least) offering to be made. Well just as the idea of golden tumors because of the disease inflicted on them, so the idea for rats that plagued the land. Something that was horrible given in offering to be taken away as pity.
One thing I wonder is that we don't see them ask the Lord God what offering they shall give or refer to the law for what must be done. They told them this in ignorance of God's requirements and what they thought God would want. There's a difference.
No comments:
Post a Comment