And set darkness upon thy land - As I did when a former king refused to let my people go to the wilderness to worship me. I will involve thee, and thy house, and thy people, and the whole land, in desolation and wo.

All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee,.... Or, "all the lights of the light" (a); the rest of the luminaries of heaven; the other five planets, as Kimchi, besides the sun and moon:

and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God; as there must needs be, the sun, moon, and stars, and all the lights of heaven, being darkened above: there seems to be an allusion to the thick darkness that was formerly over the land of Egypt; and this is a figure and representation of that darkness that shall be in the kingdom of the beast, or spiritual Egypt, yet to come; see Exodus 10:21. The Targum is,

"tribulation as darkness shall cover thy land.''

(a) "omnia luminaria lucis", Pagninus, Montanus, Cocceius.

All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set {g} darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord GOD.

(g) By this manner of speech is meant the great sorrow that will be for the slaughter of the king and his people.

bright...: Heb. lights of the light in heaven

dark: Heb. them dark

32:1-16 It becomes us to weep and tremble for those who will not weep and tremble for themselves. Great oppressors are, in God's account, no better than beasts of prey. Those who admire the pomp of this world, will wonder at the ruin of that pomp; which to those who know the vanity of all things here below, is no surprise. When others are ruined by sin, we have to fear, knowing ourselves guilty. The instruments of the desolation are formidable. And the instances of the desolation are frightful. The waters of Egypt shall run like oil, which signifies there should be universal sadness and heaviness upon the whole nation. God can soon empty those of this world's goods who have the greatest fulness of them. By enlarging the matters of our joy, we increase the occasions of our sorrow. How weak and helpless, as to God, are the most powerful of mankind! The destruction of Egypt was a type of the destruction of the enemies of Christ.