Has (the Lord) smitten him (Israel) in judgment as he smote those who smote him? That is, the godless and rebellious, who are the real foes of the godly Jewish remnant. Has the Lord punished His own people as severely as He has their foes, whom He employed to chasten Israel? By no means. The trials will call forth a godly remnant from Israel, and through them He will restore the nation by contrast, Israel's enemies have been and will be utterly destroyed, to rise no more. The text moves on to ask is he (Israel) slain according to the slaughter of those (Israel's enemies) who experienced God's wrath? God's dealing with Israel as His own is basically different from the way He deals with other nations.
He judges and punishes His people in measure (in moderation). He did contend with them by driving them away from the land several times but He did not totally extinguish them, as He did with many mighty nations. His driving them away is compared to being driven by His fierce wind, specifically, the east wind (Jeremiah 4:11; Ezekiel 19:12; Hosea 13:15), which was particularly violent. Israel's chastening is severe but they are not annihilated. The Lord punished Israel for its sins, He did not punish His people as severely as He punished the nations who He used to punish them. He could ask "you have seen that I have destroyed your enemies, why did you not repent?" He struck Egypt in a more severe way then they killed the Jewish babies. God limited the wrath He had against Israel, for whereas ancient Egypt, Assyria, and Babylonia etc. are now extinct. The Jewish people, thrive unlike the other nations, for whom the punishment was meted out. This concept has borne out through m
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