May 24

Hidden Stores in the Fields

Jeremiah 41:8

There is a very remarkable incident in the account of the proceedings of Ishmael, who, after the Babylonians, had withdrawn their forces, came up with a band of men from the land of Ammon, in which he had been sojourning, and treacherously slew the unsuspecting Gedaliah whom the Chaldeans had left governor of the remnant left in the land, and who, although warned, could not be brought to believe that Ishmael had any evil intentions against him. This too generous confidence was repaid by his destruction, with that of his adherents present at Mizpah (which had been made the seat of his government), as well as of the small band of Chaldean soldiers which had been left with him for his protection. The exact object of this atrocity does not appear—but as Ishmael was of the “seed royal,” it is probable that he was disgusted to see a person not of the royal line, governor of the impoverished land; and, moreover, regarded Gedaliah with hatred as one who had stooped to hold office under the destroyers of his country.

The deed being done, Ishmael, aware of what might be expected when it transpired, from the vengeance of the Chaldeans on the one hand, and from that of the people of Samaria, who had long been in quiet subjection to the Chaldeans, on the other, was anxious to keep it close, until he should have completed this arrangements for returning with his spoil and captives into the land of the Ammonites. He was, therefore, under some alarm at hearing, only the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, that a body of four score persons from Shechem, from Shiloh, and Samaria, were advancing towards the place, which lay on the road to Jerusalem, “having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves with offerings and incense in their hand to bring them to the house of the Lord.” Whether these were Samaritans, properly so called, that is, those colonists whom the Assyrians had formerly brought in to supply in part the place of the exiled Israelites, or were of the remnant of native Israelites whom the conquerors had left in the land, has been questioned. We shall not raise the inquiry—but the only plausible objection against their being of the former class has no real weight. It is urged that they would not worship at Jerusalem. But this was only the case in a later age, when the Jews had refused to allow them any interest in the restored temple, and after they had been induced in consequence to set up a temple of their own upon Mount Gerizim. Until then, they were always anxious to take part in the temple services, and to claim an interest in them; and the antagonism into which they were eventually thrown in this respect, was the work of the Jews themselves, who, rightly or wrongly, we say not, sternly refused to acknowledge that they had any part or lot in the matter.

But be this as it may, what was that “house of the Lord” to which they were proceeding with their oblations? seeing that the temple of Jerusalem was already destroyed by fire. Some think that Gedaliah had built an altar at Mizpah—which was one of the old covenanted places of assembly to the people—and had organized some kind of worship there. Some object to this that an altar is not called “the house of the Lord.” Note: Blayney’s Jeremiah, on this text. But on this we lay little stress, remembering that Jacob declared that the stone which he had set up at Lud should be “God’s house,” which, indeed, that place was afterwards called (Bethel), when he had at a later period made an altar and offered worship there. Nevertheless, seeing that Gedaliah was a well-instructed man, and that the prophet Jeremiah, who was present at Mizpah, and was himself a priest, would have been likely to have mentioned this fact had it occurred, and would undoubtedly have used his influence to prevent its occurrence, as a dangerous irregularity, had it been attempted, we are disinclined to accept this interpretation; and seeing that these persons evidently appear as mourners for the desolation of the temple, we conceive that they were proceeding to Jerusalem, where, probably, those priests who had not been carried away by the Chaldeans had, with the permission of the governor, set up an altar among the ruins, at which the offerings of any remaining worshippers might be presented. This is rendered the more likely by the fact, that when the Jews returned from captivity, the first thing they did was to set up an altar on the site of the old one, and celebrate the ordinary sacrificial worship thereon.

As his bloody deed was not yet known beyond the walls of Mizpah, and dreading lest these men should come to the knowledge of it, and rouse the country against him, before he had wholly completed his purpose, Ishmael resolved to cut them off. To this end it was needful to get them into the town, as such a slaughter in the open country would speedily be known. So he went out to intercept them, weeping as he went, as if under equal concern with them for the ruin of the land and the destruction of the temple. After some discourse, he invited them into the town to see Gedaliah, speaking of him as one still alive, and whom he held in high respect. This was doubtless either to ascertain whether they had heard of his murder: or else as suggesting that the governor would gladly receive and liberally entertain them. The pilgrims, unsuspicious of guile, readily accompanied him; but no sooner had he got them into the midst of the city than he fell upon them and slew them, casting their bodies into a great pit, which already held the corpses of the men slain with Gedaliah. Of this pit the curious fact, not elsewhere mentioned, is recorded, that it was the same pit which had been made by king Asa, “for fear of Baasha king of Israel.” We know that Asa fortified Mizpah—1 Kings 15:22—as a frontier stronghold against the northern kingdom, and it is reasonable to suppose, that as this pit appears to have been in the heart of the town, it was a great reservoir to contain water in case of a protracted siege.

Ten men only were spared. They had the presence of mind to urge that they had “hidden stores in the fields,” Note: Blayney. Henderson has, “Provisions hid in the field.” the secret of which was known only to themselves—consisting of wheat, barley, oil, and honey. This is an interesting indication of a custom, not elsewhere mentioned in Scripture, but frequent in the East, and still subsisting, of people burying their corn and other provisions in deep pits or caverns, which were dug and covered over so very dexterously, that none but those who made the deposit could find them out, or even detect that the earth had been moved. It happens, even at the present day, that in time of war people are often spared and receive good treatment from the soldiers, on promising to make known their hidden stores in the fields.

Perhaps this practice is seen in the most extensive operation in Morocco. Mr. Urquhart tells us, that on the spot where the corn is harvested, “it is thrashed, winnowed, and treasured up. Holes are dug in the earth and lined with straw; these are called Matamores; there the grain may be kept a hundred or a thousand years, protected from rot, mildew, and rain. By this practice they are secured against the uncertainties of the seasons and the fluctuation in price. These reservoirs, when forgotten, may be discovered by examining the verdure in spring, when it begins to lose its freshness. Over the matamore the change is first perceptible, as it is drier beneath. Twenty years ago, four or five successive harvests were destroyed by drought and locusts; famine and pestilence ensued; and but for these stores the country must have been depopulated.” Note: Pillars of Hercules, i. 409, 410. In a note this writer says: “The Lydians had the same practice. It may account for their enduring the long famine, which led to the emigration of the Tyrseni Tyrrheni and for the provisioning of their ships.” He then gives a reference (a wrong one) to Drummond’s Origines; but that learned writer says nothing of this, although he derides Herodotus for stating that they were enabled to sustain a famine of twenty-two years (according to some copies eighteen years) by fasting every other day, and amusing themselves by playing at various games in the intervals to kill time; and yet stating that although driven to this resource, at the end of this period they were able to victual the fleet that was to convey half their population to another land. That they were during this long period, supplied from such “stores in the fields;” and that the fleet was victualed from them, is certainly a more probable account of the matter. It is very clear, however, subterraneous granaries, so constructed, could only be available in dry countries.