6:1 O ye children of {a} Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in {b} Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in {c} Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.
(a) He speaks to them chiefly because they should take heed by the example of their brethren the other half of their tribe, who were now carried away prisoners.
(b) Which was a city in Judah, six miles from Bethlehem, 2Ch 11:6.
(c) Read Ne 3:14.
6:1 Benjamin - Judah, when the ten tribes fell off, the tribe of Benjamin adhered to Judah, and was incorporated into them; if it be asked why the prophet rather speaks to Benjamin than to Judah, the reason probably may be, because he being of Anathoth was of that tribe, and therefore mentions them as his own countrymen. Gather - Gather yourselves together by the sound of the trumpet at Tekoa, one of those fenced cities twelve miles from Jerusalem that Rehoboam built. A sign - Fire a beacon. Beth - haccerem - Signifies the house of the vineyard, probably some high tower built among the vineyards for the keepers of them to watch them.
6:1-8 Whatever methods are used, it is vain to contend with God's judgments. The more we indulge in the pleasures of this life, the more we unfit ourselves for the troubles of this life. The Chaldean army shall break in upon the land of Judah, and in a little time devour all. The day is coming, when those careless and secure in sinful ways will be visited. It is folly to trifle when we have eternal salvation to work out, and the enemies of that salvation to fight against. But they were thus eager, not that they might fulfil God's counsels, but that they might fill their own treasures; yet God thereby served his own purposes. The corrupt heart of man, in its natural state, casts out evil thoughts, just as a fountain casts out her waters. It is always flowing, yet always full. The God of mercy is loth to depart even from a provoking people, and is earnest with them, that by repentance and reformation, they may prevent things from coming to extremity.
