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children of the East, and destroyed the increase of the earth, 

 until they came to Gaza, and left no sustenance for Israel, 

 neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass."* (6. 3. 4.) This severe and 

 unprecedented oppression, continued during seven years, 

 until Israel, in its distress, " cried unto the Lord," (v. 7.); 

 and he raised up Gideon, to be their deliverer. The cir- 

 cumstances of the war are narrated with minuteness and 

 precision, and the consequence of this great deliverance, 

 " That Midian could lift up their heads no more," is amply 

 verified in the sequel of the history, in which we find no 

 further mention of hostilities between Israel and Midian, 

 " And the country was in quietness /o;-^^/ yea3^s, in the days of 

 Gideon." (c. 8. v. 2.) This is a period so unambiguous and 

 defined, that I cannot conceive on what principle the learned 

 Usher allots him but nine years, 



u 2 The 



* This was a most remarkable consummation of the prophetical denunciations, de- 

 claring the penalties of disobedience. Deut. 23. 31. 33. 38. 39. 10. 



" 31. Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and-thou shalt not eat thereof: thine 

 ass shall be violently taken away from befoie thy face, and shall not be restored to thse : 

 thy sheep shall be given umo thine enemies, and thou shait have none to rescue them. 



" 33. The fruit of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a nation, which thou knovvest 

 not, eat up ; and thou shalt be only oppressed, and crushed alway, 



" 40. Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint 

 thyself with the oil : for thine olive shall cast his fruit. 



" +2. All thy trees, and the fruit of thy land, shall the locust consume." 



And it is a further confirmation of the observations we have presented above, for here 

 certainly is no hint of opposition or resistance, although this oppression was so unusjally 

 severe ; and snrtly, as the circunistanres of punishment and oppression are nariated with 

 such exactitude and minuteness in this case, they would not have been neglected^n tlje 

 preceding, if any had occurred similar or analogous. 



