And when ye be multiplied That is, when the kingdom of the Messiah shall be set up, and there shall be a vast increase of the members of the church by the accession of the Gentiles: for that the days of the Messiah are here intended, the Jewish masters themselves acknowledge; they shall say no more, The ark, &c. The ark is here put for all the legal ceremonies, being, with the rites connected with it, the chief part thereof. The sense is, that whole worship, with all the rites and ceremonies belonging to it, shall wholly cease, Christ being come, who was the substance of what the ark and all other rites did but shadow out for a time. “Here,” says Blaney, “God comforts the Jews with an assurance that, though upon their return to him they might not find themselves in possession of exactly the same privileges as they had before, they should be no losers, but should receive ample indemnification, so as to leave them no just cause of regret. The ark of the covenant was the visible seat of God's residence among his people; it was therefore the object of their boast; but after the destruction of the first temple they had it no more. But, to compensate this loss, they are told, in the next verse, that Jerusalem should be called the throne of Jehovah, to which, not the Jews only, but all nations should resort. By Jerusalem is probably meant the Christian Church: see Galatians 4:26; Revelation 21:2-3. The greater privileges of this latter would, of course, supersede all boast on account of those which had belonged to the Jewish Church at any time.”
Neither shall it come to mind Hebrew, ולא יעלה על לב, which Blaney renders, Nor shall it be the delight of their heart; namely, as it formerly was, observing, that several passages of Scripture where the same phrase occurs show this to be the import of it. What value the Israelites set upon the ark, and how much they were attached to it, appears from many parts of their history. Neither shall they remember it They shall forget the less in contemplation of the greater benefit. Neither shall they visit it Or care for it, as Blaney translates יפקדו, which often signifies to look after a thing, which has been long lost or neglected, with a wish or design to recover or restore it. In this sense God is said to have visited his people, Exodus 3:16; Luke 1:68; that is, he again showed that he concerned himself about them. And so it is said of the people, Isaiah 26:16, O Lord, in trouble have they visited thee; that is, they, who before neglected thee, in their affliction turned their thoughts and desires toward thee. Neither shall that be done any more It shall be no more in use; neither shall men trouble their thoughts about it, or mention it. The Hebrew, ולא יעשׂה עוד, is literally rendered by the LXX., και ου ποιηθησεται ετι, Nor shall it be made any more. So also the Vulgate, nec fiet ultra. The ark, once lost, was never to be made again, or restored: and for a good reason, which immediately follows; because, instead of the ark, Jerusalem itself, that is, the Christian Church, was to become the seat of God's residence. It is probable that this great variety of expressions is used, not only to show that the ceremonies of the law of Moses should be totally and finally abolished, never to be used any more, but that it would be with difficulty that those who had been so long wedded to them would be weaned from them; and that they would not quite relinquish them till their holy city and holy house should both be levelled with the ground.