For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.
Ver. 8. For thus saith the Lord of hosts] Sanchez referreth these words to those aforegoing, q.d. "Deliver thyself," &c. for so the Lord commandeth. But herein he stands alone, the current of interpreters carrying it against him. This preface seems prefixed for procuring more authority to the ensuing promise, which to the poor Jews might seem incredible. If Jehovah speaketh it, and he that hath all power in his hand to effect what he speaketh, why should any one doubt, or despair?
After this glory] i.e. These glimmerings of glory, these outgoings of grace begun among you, and by degrees to be finished.
Hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you] Or, against the nations, for it is a sending in judgment; and perhaps against either the Chaldeans, destroyed by the Persians, See Trapp on " Zec 2:7 " or the Persians, afterwards destroyed by the Grecians and by Alexander the Great, see Isaiah 33:1. Now, whereas some object that Christ is here said to be sent by his Father, and this seems to import an inferiority; it is answered: First, that two equals by mutual consent may send one another. Mission doth not always import inequality. Secondly, one may be inferior to another, either by nature, and so Christ is not; or by condition, as he is the Mediator, and as he did voluntarily abase himself; and so he is, Philippians 2:7 .
For he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye] The little man, that is, in the eye (as pupilla of pupa), or, the black of the eye (Ishon, of Ish. It is here called Bath, the daughter of the eye; because it is as dear to a man as an only daughter). God, who at first drew light out of darkness, doth, by an admirable work, draw the light of the body out of the black apple of the eye. Philosophers call it, the crystalline humour. It is the tenderest piece of the tenderest part; to express the inexpressible tenderness of God's love, saith Salvian. The eye is kept most diligently, and strongly guarded by nature with tunicles. A man can better bear a thultch on the back than a touch on the eye. Siquis digitum meum mordent, siquis pungat brachium et crura, siquis etiam duriter vulneret, &c., saith Calvin here. If one bite my finger, prick my leg or arm, yea, slash and wound me, I can better bear it than if he thrust his finger in my eyes. Amida, son of Mulasses, King of Tunis, cruelly put out his father's eyes, by holding hot burning basins before them. Robert de Behasme, Earl of Shrewsbury, A.D. 1111, playing with his own child, for a pastime, put his thumb in the boy's eyes, and thrust out the balls thereof. We use to say, Oculus et fama non patiunfur iocos, The eye and the good name will endure no jests. Let persecutors take heed how they meddle with God's eyes. "He is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against God and prospered?" Job 9:4. Some read the text thus; He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his own eye, that is, he very grievously hurteth himself, as procuring and pulling down upon his own head the sharp wrath and vengeance of God. But the former is the better.