But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked
This is undoubtedly a name of the people of Israel; it is to be
met with only in three places more, in ( Deuteronomy
33:5 Deuteronomy
33:26 ) ( Isaiah 44:2 ) ; it is
generally thought to come from a word F4 which
signifies upright and righteous, such these people ought to have
been, and some among them were; and they generally professed
themselves, and outwardly appeared to be upright, just, and
righteous persons, and were desirous of being reckoned so; which
was their character in the times of Christ, when they rejected
him: others derive it from a word F5 which signifies to
behold, to see, and so describes them as seeing ones; and such
they had been in the times of Moses, saw extraordinary sights and
wonders in Egypt, the great salvation at the Red sea, the Lord
going before them in a pillar of cloud and life; the manna every
day falling about their tents; twice rocks smitten, and waters
flowing from them, and had often very uncommon sights of the
glory of God: and in the times of Christ, to which this song
refers, they saw him in the flesh, preaching in their synagogues,
doing miracles, riding on an ass to Jerusalem, according to one
of their prophecies, and expiring on the cross, and yet rejected
him. They are said to "wax fat", enjoy great outward prosperity,
to abound in temporal good things, as they also did in spiritual,
privileges; enjoying, or they might have enjoyed, such a ministry
of the word, as never was before or since, the ministry of John
the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, of Christ himself, and of
his apostles, yet they "kicked"; which may denote their
disobedience to the laws of God, moral and ceremonial, see (
1 Samuel
2:29 ) ( Nehemiah
9:25 Nehemiah
9:26 ) ; and particularly the introduction of idolatry among
them, which was kicking against God, and his worship; first among
the ten tribes, in the times of Jeroboam, and among the two
tribes, more especially in the times of Manasseh; and this
kicking was particularly verified in Judas's lifting up his heel
against Christ, and betraying him; which was not merely the sin
of him only, but what the whole body of the people were involved
in, see ( Psalms 41:9 ) (
Acts 7:52 ) :
thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered
[with
fatness];
which is repeated and expressed by different words, both for the
certainty of it, and to denote their great affluence of good
things, and so the more to aggravate their impiety and
ingratitude, next observed:
then he forsook God [which] made him;
the worship of God, as the Targum of Jonathan, giving into
idolatry in times past; and the written word of God, by giving
heed to the traditions of the elders, to the making void and of
none effect the word of God; or Christ, the essential Word of
God; so the Targum of Jonathan,
``and left the Word of God, who created them;''that Word of God which was in the beginning of all things, and by whom all things were made, and they also; who in the fulness of time was made flesh, and dwelt among men, ( John 1:1-3 John 1:14 ) ;
and lightly esteemed the rock of his salvation;
the same divine Person, described in ( Deuteronomy
32:4 ) ; and there called "the Rock", (See Gill on
Deuteronomy 32:4); here "the rock of salvation"; because
salvation flows from him: he is the author of it, and it is to be
had of him, and no other; and this epithet shows not only his
ability and strength to effect it, but the security of it in him,
which being wrought out is an everlasting one. He is said to be
the rock of "his" salvation, Jeshurun or Israel, he being of the
Jews, raised up among them, and sent unto them, and was the
Saviour of some of them actually, even of the lost sheep of the
house of Israel, and on account of his salvation deserving of
universal esteem. But the Jews "lightly esteemed" him, had no
value for him, set this rock and stone at nought; he was refused
and rejected by the builders, who is now the head of the corner;
they despised him, mocked at him, and treated him with the utmost
contempt and disdain, yea, with abhorrence; all which, and more,
is signified by the word here used: they traduced him as a vile
and wicked person, and charged and, treated him as such, so some
render the word F6; and, as others F7, they
made a dead carcass of him, they crucified and slew him; this is
the crime of ingratitude hinted at in ( Deuteronomy
32:6 ) ; and all between is an enumeration of instances of
divine goodness to this people, mentioned with a view to
aggravate this unheard of sin.