Part 65 (1/2)

322 Acts 12: 1.

323 To this interview belongs also Luke 24: 44.

324 See John xi. 47-54.

325 Matt. xxi. 33-46. Mark xxii. 1-12. Luke xx. 9-19.

326 Deut. xvii. 15.

327 Matt. xxii. 15-22. Mark xii. 13-17. Luke xx. 20-26.

328 Tappan's Jewish Ant. p. 239.

329 Matt. xxii. 23-33. Mark xii. 18-27. Luke xx. 27-39.

330 Matt. xxii. 25-40, 46. Mark xii. 28-34.

331 Exodus xx. 1-7. And G.o.d spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy G.o.d, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other G.o.ds before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness _of any thing_ that _is_ in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that _is_ in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy G.o.d am a jealous G.o.d, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth _generation_ of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy G.o.d in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

332 Lev. xxiv. 11-16. And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name _of the Lord_, and cursed; and they brought him unto Moses (and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan): And they put him in ward, that the mind of the Lord might be shewed them. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp, and let all that heard _him_ lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his G.o.d shall bear his sin. And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, _and_ all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name _of the Lord_, shall be put to death. See A. Clarke on Matt.

ix. 3.

333 Deut. xiii. 6-10. If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other G.o.ds, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers; _Namely_, of the G.o.ds of the people which _are_ round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the _one_ end of the earth even unto the _other_ end of the earth; Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with _stones_ that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy G.o.d, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage. Deut. xviii. 20. But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other G.o.ds, even that prophet shall die.

334 It is true that in the Mishna it is written-”Blasphemus non tenetur, nisi expressit Nomen.” Mishna, Pars iv. p. 242. Tractatus de Synedriis, cap. 7, -- 5. But these traditions were not written until 150 years after the time of our Saviour; and the pa.s.sage, moreover, seems properly to refer to that form of blasphemy which consists in evil speaking of the Supreme Being, in a direct manner, rather than to the other forms in which this offence, in its larger acceptation, might be committed. See Michaelis, Comm. Art. 251. Vol. 4, p. 67-70.

335 Numb. xx. 10, 12.

336 Numb. xx. 24. Deut. i. 37, and x.x.xiv. 4, 5.

337 Is. xlii. 8, and xlviii. 2.

338 Gen. xli. 16, 25, 28.

339 Exod. viii. ix. x. per tot.

340 Deut. xviii. 20.

341 ”Now, therefore, stand and see this great thing, which the LORD will do before your eyes.” 1 Sam. xii. 16-18.

342 ”And it came to pa.s.s, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord G.o.d of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that _thou art G.o.d in Israel_,” &c. 1 Kings xviii. 36-38.

343 ”And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, _Where is the Lord G.o.d of Elijah?_” &c. 2 Kings ii. 14.

344 ”_For thus saith the Lord_, they shall eat and shall leave thereof,”

&c. 2 Kings iv. 43.

345 See 2 Kings vi. 16, 17, 18, 20. In some other places, where there is no express reference to the power of G.o.d, the omission may be attributed to the brevity of the narrative; but even in those cases, such reference is plainly implied.

346 Dan. ix. 21, 23, and x. 11, 12. See further, 2 Kings xviii. 30-35, and xix. 1-3.