2It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.
3Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law shall go out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem.
4He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5House of Jacob, come, and let’s walk in the light of Yahweh.
2 It shall happen in the latter days, that the mountain of Yahweh’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it.
3 Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For the law shall go out of Zion, and Yahweh’s word from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations, and will decide concerning many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 House of Jacob, come, and let’s walk in the light of Yahweh.
KJVKing James Version
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
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JPSJPS Tanakh (1917)
2 And it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many peoples shall go and say: 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Micah 4:1-3(v2)But in the latter days, it will happen that the mountain of Yahweh’s temple will be established on the top of the mountains, and it will be…
Hosea 2:18(v4)In that day I will make a covenant for them with the animals of the field, and with the birds of the sky, and with the creeping things of…
Micah 4:3(v4)and he will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off. They will beat their swords into plowshares,…
Isaiah 56:7(v2)I will bring these to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be…
Jeremiah 50:4-5(v3)“In those days, and in that time,” says Yahweh, “the children of Israel will come, they and the children of Judah together; they will go on…
Show all 85 cross-references
Isaiah 11:6-9(v4)The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf, the young lion, and the fattened calf…
Zechariah 8:20-23(v3)Yahweh of Armies says: “Many peoples, and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come; and the inhabitants of one shall go to another,…
Zechariah 9:10(v4)I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow will be cut off; and he will speak peace to the…
Luke 24:47(v3)and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
Isaiah 51:4-5(v3)“Listen to me, my people; and hear me, my nation, for a law will go out from me, and I will establish my justice for a light to the…
Isaiah 60:17-18(v4)For bronze I will bring gold; for iron I will bring silver; for wood, bronze, and for stones, iron. I will also make peace your governor,…
Psalms 46:9(v4)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots in the fire.
Zechariah 8:3(v2)Yahweh says: “I have returned to Zion, and will dwell in the middle of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be called ‘The City of Truth;’ and the…
Isaiah 27:13(v2)It will happen in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and those who…
Isaiah 32:18(v4)My people will live in a peaceful habitation, in safe dwellings, and in quiet resting places,
Revelation 11:15(v2)The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and…
Psalms 25:8-9(v3)Good and upright is Yahweh, therefore he will instruct sinners in the way. He will guide the humble in justice. He will teach the humble…
Psalms 110:2(v3)Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies.
Isaiah 9:7(v4)Of the increase of his government and of peace there shall be no end, on David’s throne, and on his kingdom, to establish it, and to uphold…
Ephesians 5:8(v5)For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
Deuteronomy 6:1(v3)Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the ordinances, which Yahweh your God commanded to teach you, that you might do them in…
Joel 3:10(v4)Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears. Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’
John 7:17(v3)If anyone desires to do his will, he will know about the teaching, whether it is from God, or if I am speaking from myself.
Hebrews 1:2(v2)has at the end of these days spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds.
Numbers 24:14(v2)Now, behold, I go to my people. Come, I will inform you what this people shall do to your people in the latter days.”
Psalms 72:3-7(v4)The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people. The hills bring the fruit of righteousness. He will judge the poor of the people. He…
Psalms 82:8(v4)Arise, God, judge the earth, for you inherit all of the nations.
Isaiah 11:3-4(v4)His delight will be in the fear of Yahweh. He will not judge by the sight of his eyes, neither decide by the hearing of his ears; but he…
Isaiah 11:10(v2)It will happen in that day that the nations will seek the root of Jesse, who stands as a banner of the peoples; and his resting place will…
Isaiah 60:19-20(v5)The sun will be no more your light by day; nor will the brightness of the moon give light to you, but Yahweh will be your everlasting…
Jeremiah 31:6(v3)For there will be a day that the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim cry, ‘Arise! Let’s go up to Zion to Yahweh our God.’ ”
Jeremiah 49:39(v2)‘But it will happen in the latter days that I will reverse the captivity of Elam,’ says Yahweh.”
Daniel 2:28(v2)but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your…
Daniel 10:14(v2)Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days; for the vision is yet for many days.”
Luke 1:79(v5)to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
2 Timothy 3:1(v2)But know this: that in the last days, grievous times will come.
2 Peter 3:3(v2)knowing this first, that in the last days mockers will come, walking after their own lusts
1 John 1:7(v5)But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses…
Revelation 21:10-27(v2)He carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,…
1 Samuel 2:10(v4)Those who strive with Yahweh shall be broken to pieces. He will thunder against them in the sky. “Yahweh will judge the ends of the earth.…
Psalms 86:9(v2)All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They shall glorify your name.
Isaiah 60:11-12(v2)Your gates also shall be open continually; they shall not be shut day nor night, that men may bring to you the wealth of the nations, and…
Isaiah 66:20(v2)They shall bring all your brothers out of all the nations for an offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules, and on…
Jeremiah 3:17(v2)At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘Yahweh’s Throne;’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Yahweh’s name, to Jerusalem. They…
Jeremiah 48:47(v2)“Yet I will reverse the captivity of Moab in the latter days,” says Yahweh. Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
Ezekiel 38:16(v2)You will come up against my people Israel, as a cloud to cover the land. It will happen in the latter days, that I will bring you against…
Daniel 2:35(v2)Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer…
Daniel 2:45(v2)Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the…
Acts 2:17(v2)‘It will be in the last days, says God, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young…
Romans 10:18(v3)But I say, didn’t they hear? Yes, most certainly, “Their sound went out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
Job 19:25(v2)But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, he will stand upon the earth.
Psalms 2:8(v2)Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.
Isaiah 49:6(v2)Indeed, he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of…
Jeremiah 23:20(v2)Yahweh’s anger will not return until he has executed, and until he has performed the intents of his heart. In the latter days, you will…
Jeremiah 30:24(v2)The fierce anger of Yahweh will not return until he has accomplished, and until he has performed the intentions of his heart. In the latter…
Malachi 3:12(v2)“All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies.
Matthew 7:24(v3)“Everyone therefore who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house on a rock.
John 12:35-36(v5)Jesus therefore said to them, “Yet a little while the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, that darkness doesn’t overtake you.…
1 John 1:5(v5)This is the message which we have heard from him and announce to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Revelation 20:4(v2)I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of…
Revelation 21:23-24(v5)The city has no need for the sun or moon to shine, for the very glory of God illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will…
Psalms 22:27(v2)All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh. All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.
Psalms 72:8(v2)He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.
Psalms 72:17-19(v2)His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed. Praise be…
Psalms 89:15(v5)Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you. They walk in the light of your presence, Yahweh.
Psalms 96:13(v4)before Yahweh; for he comes, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, the peoples with his truth.
Psalms 110:6(v4)He will judge among the nations. He will heap up dead bodies. He will crush the ruler of the whole earth.
Isaiah 2:3(v5)Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his…
Isaiah 9:5(v4)For all the armor of the armed man in the noisy battle, and the garments rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
Isaiah 30:29(v2)You will have a song, as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one goes with a flute to come to Yahweh’s…
Isaiah 50:10-11(v5)Who among you fears Yahweh and obeys the voice of his servant? He who walks in darkness and has no light, let him trust in Yahweh’s name,…
Isaiah 58:1(v5)“Cry aloud! Don’t spare! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Declare to my people their disobedience, and to the house of Jacob their sins.
Luke 11:28(v3)But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”
John 16:8-11(v4)When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment; about sin, because they don’t believe in…
Acts 1:8(v3)But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and…
Acts 10:33(v3)Therefore I sent to you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now therefore we are all here present in the sight of God to hear all…
Acts 13:46-48(v3)Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, and said, “It was necessary that God’s word should be spoken to you first. Since indeed you thrust it…
Acts 17:31(v4)because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given…
1 Thessalonians 5:5-6(v5)You are all children of light and children of the day. We don’t belong to the night, nor to darkness, so then let’s not sleep, as the rest…
James 1:25(v3)But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be…
Revelation 19:11(v4)I saw the heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called Faithful and True. In righteousness he judges and makes…
Genesis 49:1(v2)Jacob called to his sons, and said: “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.
Psalms 68:15-16(v2)The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains. The mountains of Bashan are rugged. Why do you look in envy, you rugged mountains, at the…
Isaiah 60:1-2(v5)“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and Yahweh’s glory has risen on you. For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness…
Romans 13:12-14(v5)The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light. Let’s…
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (20 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Geneva Bible translators1599 · Public DomainOn vv2–5In an evident place to be seen and discerned.
In an evident place to be seen and discerned.
The decree and ordinance of God, touching the restoration of the Church, which is chiefly meant of the time of Christ.
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When the kingdom of Christ shall be enlarged by the preaching of the doctrine. Here also is declared the zeal of the children of God, when they are called.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp1656 · Public DomainOn vv2–5Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in…
Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, [that] the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Ver. 2. And it shall come to pass, &c.] {See Trapp on "Mic 4:1"} where we shall find that that prophet hath the same words with this αυτολεξει. So hath Obadiah the same with Jeremiah, St Mark with St Matthew, St Jude with St Peter, the blessed Virgin in her Magnificat with holy Hannah in her Canticle, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole1685 · Public DomainOn vv2–5And; or, now, as this particle is rendered, 1Sa…
And; or, now, as this particle is rendered, 1Sa 9:1; Ezr 1:1, &c.
In the last days; in the times of the Messias or the gospel, as the generality both of Jewish and Christian writers understand it, and as may further appear both from the use of this phrase in this sense, Jer 48:47; 49:39; Eze 38:8,16; Da 10:14; Hos 3:5; Act 2:17; Heb 1:2; 1Jo 2:18, and from the conversion of the Gentiles here promised, which was not to be till that time; and from the nature of the thing, for this really was the last time and state of the church in the world; the Jewish pedagogy was to be abolished, but Christ’s institutions were to continue to the end of the world.
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The mountain of the Lord’s house; the temple of the Lord which is upon Mount Moriah; which yet is not to be understood literally of that material temple, but mystically of the church of God, as appears from the next following words, which will not admit of a literal interpretation; and from the flowing of all nations to it, which was not to that temple, nor indeed was fulfilled till that temple was destroyed; and from the frequent use of this metaphor, the temple, or the house of the Lord, concerning the Christian church, both in the Old and the New Testament. Shall be exalted above the hills; shall be placed and settled in a most conspicuous and glorious manner, being advanced above all other churches and kingdoms in the world. All nations, those Gentiles, whom you now despise, and judge to be abhorred and quite forsaken by God, shall flow unto it, shall come in great abundance, and with great eagerness, like a river, as the word signifies.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill1763 · Public DomainOn vv2–5And it shall come to pass in the last…
And it shall come to pass in the last days,.... The days of the Messiah, as Aben Ezra rightly interprets it; and it is a rule laid down by Kimchi and Ben Melech, that wherever the last days are mentioned, the days of the Messiah are intended. The days of the Messiah commenced in the latter part of the Old Testament dispensation, or Jewish world, towards the close of their civil and church state, at the end of which he was to come, Hab 2:3 and accordingly did, which is called the end of the world, and the last days; that is, of that state, Heb 1:2 and ushered in the world to come, or Gospel dispensation, which is properly the days of the Messiah, reaching from his first to his second coming; the first of which were the times of John the Baptist, Christ and his apostles; the latter days of that dispensation take in the rise and reign of antichrist, Ti1 4:1 the last days of it are those which bring in the perilous times, the spiritual reign of Christ, and the destruction of antichrist, and which will precede the personal coming of Christ, Ti2 3:1 and these are the days here referred to.
That the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains; by "the mountain" of the Lord's house is meant, not Mount Moriah, on which the temple was built, as Kimchi interprets it; nor the temple itself, as the Targum; though in the last days of it, and at the first coming of the Messiah, that had a greater glory than ever it had before, through the personal presence of Christ in it; through the effusion of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles there, on the day of Pentecost; and through the Gospel being first preached here by Christ and his apostles, from whence it went forth into all the world, as is afterwards predicted it should; but the kingdom of Christ, which is his church, is here designed; called "the Lord's house", because of his building, and where he dwells, and which he will at this time beautify and glorify; the materials of it are lively stones, or true believers; laid on Christ the foundation, into which there is no right entrance but through faith in him, who is the door, and where is plenty of provisions; the pillars and beams of it are the ministers of the Gospel, and its windows are the ordinances: here Christ is as a Son over his own house; he is the Master of it, the High Priest and Prophet in it; and his servants are the stewards of it, to give to everyone their portion; and happy are they that have a name and a place in it: and it is called "the mountain", in allusion to Mount Zion, on which the temple stood; because of its immovableness, being secured in the everlasting and electing love of God, and in the unalterable covenant of grace, founded on the Rock Christ, and guarded by the mighty power of God. This is "established in the top of the mountains"; in Christ, who is higher than the kings of the earth, signified by mountains, Rev 17:9 who is the Head of all principality and power; not in their first head, or in themselves, is the establishment of the saints, but in Christ, Co2 1:21 he is the stability of their persons, of their grace, and of their life, spiritual and eternal. Here it seems to denote the superiority of the kingdom and interest of Christ to all civil and religious states; the settlement and security of it; its standing above them, and continuance when they shall be no more, even all antichristian states, both Papal, Pagan, and Mahometan, Rev 16:19.
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and shall be exalted above the hills; Mount Zion is above Mount Sinai, or the Gospel dispensation is preferable to the legal one. It is an observation of Jarchi, that it shall be exalted by a greater sign or miracle that shall be done in it than was done in Sinai, Carmel, and Tabor; the law was given on Sinai, and many wonders wrought; but on Zion the Messiah himself appeared, and his Gospel was published, and miracles wrought by him. And in the latter day, when Christ, and he alone, shall be exalted, as he will at the time this prophecy refers to, Isa 2:11 the church will be exalted; the glory of the Lord will be risen upon her; the interest of Christ will exceed all other interests; his religion will be the prevailing one; the kingdoms of this world will become his; and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the end of the earth. This may also denote the visibility of the kingdom and church of Christ; it will be as a city on a hill; and however obscure the church is now, being in the wilderness, it will at this time be visible to all:
and all nations shall flow unto it; that is, many out of all nations shall be converted, and come freely and willingly to join themselves to the church of Christ; they shall come in great numbers, in company together, and that continually, like flowing streams; they shall first flow to the Lord, and to his goodness, and then to his church and ordinances; see Isa 60:4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley1765 · Public DomainOn vv2–5In the last days - In the times of…
In the last days - In the times of the Messiah. For Christ's institutions were to continue to the end of the world. The mountain - The temple of the Lord which is upon mount Moriah; which yet is not to be understood literally of that material temple, but mystically of the church of God; as appears from the flowing of all nations to it, which was not to that temple, nor indeed was fulfilled 'till that temple was destroyed. Exalted - Shall be placed and settled in a most conspicuous and glorious manner, being advanced above all other churches and kingdoms.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke1810 · Public DomainOn vv2–4Verse 2. In the last days - "In the…
Verse 2. In the last days - "In the latter days"] "Wherever the latter times are mentioned in Scripture, the days of the Messiah are always meant," says Kimchi on this place: and, in regard to this place, nothing can be more clear and certain. And the mountain of the Lord's house, says the same author, is Mount Moriah, on which the temple was built. The prophet Micah, Mic 4:1-4, has repeated this prophecy of the establishment of the kingdom of Christ, and of its progress to universality and perfection, in the same words, with little and hardly any material variation: for as he did not begin to prophesy till Jotham's time, and this seems to be one of the first of Isaiah's prophecies, I suppose Micah to have taken it from hence. The variations, as I said, are of no great importance.
Isa 2:2. הוא hu, after ונשא venissa, a word of some emphasis, may be supplied from Micah, if dropped in Isaiah. An ancient MS. has it here in the margin. It has in like manner been lost in Isa 53:4, (see note on the place, See Clarke on Isa 53:4) and in Ps 22:29, where it is supplied by the Syriac, and Septuagint. Instead of כל הגוים col haggoyim, all the nations, Micah has only עמים ammim, peoples; where the Syriac has כל עמים col ammim, all peoples, as probably it ought to be.
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Isa 2:3. For the second אל el, read ואל veel, seventeen MSS., one of my own, ancient, two editions, the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, Chaldee, and so Micah, Mic 4:2.
Isa 2:4. Micah adds עד רחק ad rachok, afar off, which the Syriac also reads in this parallel place of Isaiah. It is also to be observed that Micah has improved the passage by adding a verse, or sentence, for imagery and expression worthy even of the elegance of Isaiah: -
"And they shall sit every man under his vine,
And under his fig tree, and none shall affright them:
For the mouth of JEHOVAH, God of hosts, hath spoken it."
The description of well established peace, by the image of "beating their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks," is very poetical. The Roman poets have employed the same image, Martial, xiv. 34. "Falx ex ense."
"Pax me certa ducis placidos curvavit in usus:
Agricolae nunc sum; militis ante fui."
"Sweet peace has transformed me. I was once the property of the soldier, and am now the property of the husbandman."
The prophet Joel, Joe 3:10, hath reversed it, and applied it to war prevailing over peace: -
"Beat your ploughshares into swords,
And your pruning-hooks into spears."
And so likewise the Roman poets: -
________________ Non ullus aratro
Dignus honos: squalent abductis arva colonis,
Et curvae rigidum falces conflantur in ensem.
Virg., Georg. i. 506.
"Agriculture has now no honour: the husbandmen being taken away to the wars, the fields are overgrown with weeds, and the crooked sickles are straightened into swords."
Bella diu tenuere viros: erat aptior ensis
Vomere: cedebat taurus arator equo
Sarcula cessabant; versique in pila ligones;
Factaque de rastri pondere cassis erat.
Ovid, Fast. i. 697.
"War has lasted long, and the sword is preferred to the plough. The bull has given place to the war-horse; the weeding-hooks to pikes; and the harrow-pins have been manufactured into helmets."
The prophet Ezekiel, Eze 17:22-24, has presignified the same great event with equal clearness, though in a more abstruse form, in an allegory; from an image, suggested by the former part of the prophecy, happily introduced, and well pursued: -
"Thus saith the Lord JEHOVAH:
I myself will take from the shoot of the lofty cedar,
Even a tender scion from the top of his scions will I
pluck off:
And I myself will plant it on a mountain high and
eminent.
On the lofty mountain of Israel will I plant it;
And it shall exalt its branch, and bring forth fruit,
And it shall become a majestic cedar:
And under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing;
In the shadow of its branches shall they dwell:
And all the trees of the field shall know,
That I JEHOVAH have brought low the high tree;
Have exalted the low tree;
Have dried up the green tree;
And have made the dry tree to flourish:
I JEHOVAH have spoken it, and will do it."
The word ונתתי venathatti, in this passage, Eze 17:22, as the sentence now stands, appears incapable of being reduced to any proper construction or sense. None of the ancient versions acknowledge it, except Theodotion, and the Vulgate; and all but the latter vary very much from the present reading of this clause. Houbigant's correction of the passage, by reading instead of ונתתי venathatti, ויונקת veyoneketh, and a tender scion - which is not very unlike it, perhaps better ויונק veyonek, with which the adjective רך rach will agree without alteration - is ingenious and probable; and I have adopted it in the above translation. - L.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson1811 · Public DomainOn vv2–5Isa 2:2. And — Or rather, now, it shall…
Isa 2:2. And — Or rather, now, it shall come to pass in the last days — The times of the Messiah, which are always spoken of by the prophets as the last days, because they are the last times and state of the church, Christ’s institutions being to continue to the end of the world. See Joe 2:28, compared with Act 2:17; Mic 4:1, compared with Heb 1:1; 1Pe 1:20. The Jews, it must be observed, divided the times or succession of the world into three ages or periods: the first, before the law; the second, under the law; the third, under the Messiah: which they justly considered as the last dispensation, designed of God to remain till the consummation of all things. “Accordingly St. Paul tells us, that Christ appeared επι συντελεια των αιωνων, at the consummation of the ages, or several periods of the world, Heb 9:26; and, speaking of his own times, saith, τελη των αιωνων, the ends of the world, or conclusion of the ages, are come, 1Co 10:11. The mountain of the Lord’s house — Mount Moriah, on which the Lord’s house stood, or rather, the Lord’s house upon that mount, shall be established upon the top of the mountains — Shall be raised above, be rendered more conspicuous than, and shall be preferred before, all other mountains on which houses are built, and altars erected and dedicated to any god or gods. The prophet speaks figuratively. He means, that the worship of the true God should be established on the ruins of idolatry, that the true religion should swallow up all false religions, and the church of God, typified by the temple at Jerusalem, become most eminent and conspicuous, as a city on a high mountain: and shall be exalted above the hills — Above all churches, states, and kingdoms in the world, and all that is excellent and glorious therein. The stone cut out of the mountain, without hands, shall become itself a mountain, and shall fill the whole earth, Dan 2:34-35. And all nations — Even the Gentile nations; shall flow unto it — Shall come in great abundance and with great eagerness to embrace the true religion, and become members of the true church, like broad streams, or mighty rivers, flowing swiftly and impetuously toward the ocean, as the word נהרי, here used, signifies. Now, it is well known, this was not the case with respect to the Jewish Church at Jerusalem, or the worship there established. It never happened, during the ages that intervened between the time of Isaiah and the destruction of their city and temple, and the dispersion of their nation by the Romans, that their religion was so exalted, or made such great account of, by any nations remote or near, as is here expressed: much less did whole nations flow unto them, or unite themselves with them in the service of God, and in church fellowship. But this prophecy has been in a great measure fulfilled with regard to the Christian Church, which has so drawn to it the greater part of the civilized nations, that it has far, very far, surpassed all other religious institutions, whether Jewish, heathen, or Mohammedan: and when the last of the four kingdoms, spoken of Dan 2:35; Dan 2:40-45; Dan 7:19-27, shall be destroyed, and thereby all obstructions removed, it shall be fully and perfectly accomplished, and the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the Most High. For the Messiah shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth: yea, all kings shall fall down before him, and all nations shall serve him, Psa 72:8; Psa 72:11.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes1834 · Public DomainOn vv2–5In the last days - הימים באחרית be'achărı̂yth hāyâmı̂ym.…
In the last days - הימים באחרית be'achărı̂yth hāyâmı̂ym. In the “after” days; in the “futurity” of days; that is, in the time to come. This is an expression that often occurs in the Old Testament. It does not of itself refer to any “particular” period, and especially not, as our translation would seem to indicate, to the end of the world. The expression properly denotes “only future time” in general. But the prophets were accustomed to concentrate all their hopes on the coming of the Messiah. They saw his advent as giving character, and sublimity, and happiness to all coming times. Hence, the expression came to denote, by way of eminence, the times of the Messiah, and is frequently used in the New Testament, as well as the Old, to designate those times; see Act 2:17; compare Joe 2:28; Heb 1:2; 1Pe 1:5, 1Pe 1:20; 1Jo 2:18; Gen 49:1; Mic 4:1; Deu 4:30; Jer 48:47; Dan 11:28.
The expressions which follow are figurative, and cannot well be interpreted as relating to any other events than the times of the Messiah. They refer to that future period, then remote, which would constitute the “last” dispensation of things in this world - the “last” time - the period, however long it might be, in which the affairs of the world would be closed. The patriarchal times had passed away; the dispensation under the Mosaic economy would pass away; the times of the Messiah would be the “last” times, or the last dispensation, under which the affairs of the world would be consummated. Thus the phrase is evidently used in the New Testament, as denoting the “last” time, though without implying that that time would be short. It might be longer than “all” the previous periods put together, but it would be the “last” economy, and under that economy, or “in” that time, the world would be destroyed, Christ would come to judgment, the dead would be raised, and the affairs of the world would be wound up. The apostles, by the use of this phrase, never intimate that the time would be short, or that the day of judgment was near, but only that “in” that time the great events of the world’s history would be consummated and closed; compare 2Th 2:1-5. This prophecy occurs in Micah Mic 4:1-5 with scarcely any variation. It is not known whether Isaiah made use of Micah, or Micah of Isaiah, or both of an older and well-known prophecy. Hengstenberg (“Chris.” i., pp. 289, 290) supposes that Isaiah copied from Micah, and suggests the following reasons:
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1. The prediction of Isaiah is disconnected with what goes before, and yet begins with the copulative ו (v), “and.” In Micah, on the contrary, it is connected with what precedes and follows.
2. In the discourses of the prophets, the promise usually follows the threatening. This order is observed by Micah; in Isaiah, on the contrary, the promise contained in the passage precedes the threatening, and another promise follows. Many of the older theologians supposed that the passages were communicated alike by the Holy Spirit to both writers. But there is no improbability in supposing that Isaiah may have availed himself of language used by Micah in describing the same event.
The mountain of the Lord’s house - The temple was built on mount Moriah, which was hence called the mountain of the Lord’s house. The temple, or the mountain on which it was reared, would be the object which would express the public worship of the true God. And hence, to say that that should be elevated higher than all other hills, or mountains, means, that the worship of the true God would become an object so conspicuous as to be seen by all nations; and so conspicuous that all nations would forsake other objects and places of worship, being attracted by the glory of the worship of the true God.
Shall be established - Shall be fixed, rendered permanent.
In the top of the mountains - To be in the top of the mountains, would be to be “conspicuous,” or seen from afar. In other words, the true religion would be made known to all people.
Shall flow unto it - This is a figurative expression, denoting that they would be converted to the true religion. It indicates that they would come in multitudes, like the flowing of a mighty river. The idea of the “flowing” of the nations, or of the movement of many people toward an object like a broad stream, is one that is very grand and sublime; compare Psa 65:7. This cannot be understood of any period previous to the establishment of the gospel. At no time of the Jewish history did any events occur that would be a complete fulfillment of this prophecy. The expressions evidently refer to that period elsewhere often predicted by this prophet Isa 11:10; Isa 42:1, Isa 42:6; Isa 49:22; Isa 54:3; Isa 60:3, Isa 60:5, Isa 60:10; Isa 62:2; Isa 66:12, Isa 66:19, when “the Gentiles” would be brought to the knowledge of the true religion. In Isa 66:12, there occurs a passage remarkably similar, and which may serve to explain this:
‘Behold I will extend peace to her (to Zion) as a river;
And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.’
Under the Messiah, through the preaching of the apostles and by the spread of the gospel, this prophecy was to receive its full accomplishment.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary1859 · Public DomainOn vv2–5Days. The whole time of the new law, from…
Days. The whole time of the new law, from the coming of Christ till the end of the world, is called in the Scripture the last days; because no other age, or time shall come after it, but only eternity. (Challoner) --- It is therefore styled the last hour, 1 John ii. (Worthington) --- Mountains. This shews the perpetual visibility of the Church of Christ: for a mountain upon the top of mountains cannot be hid. (Challoner) --- This evidently regards the Church, Matthew v. (Worthington) --- The Jews can never shew the fulfillment of this prophecy in any material temple. Micheas (iv. 1.) copies this text.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures1864 · Public DomainOn vv2, 5B.—The first prophetic lamp, which in the light of…
B.—The first prophetic lamp, which in the light of the divine eminence that shall finally appear, makes known the things falsely eminent of the present time
Isa_2:2 to Isa_4:1
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1. The First Prophetic Lamp
Isa_2:2-4
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days,
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established1 in the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all 2nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many 3people shall go and say,
Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
And he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations,
And shall 4rebuke many people:
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into 5pruning hooks:
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war any more.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
It is now admitted by almost all expositors that this passage is borrowed from Micah. It is old orthodox opinion that the passage may be original as well with Isaiah as with Micah. This view occurs in Abarbanel, with the additional notion that the passage is indeed older in Isaiah, but taken from Isaiah, not by Micah himself, but that it was brought to him in the way of inspiration from the older prophet. (Micha visionem suam enarravit illis verbis, quœ tunc ex Jesaia ori ipsius erant indita). That the passage is original with Isaiah and borrowed from him by Micah is maintained by Calmet, Beckhaus (Integr. d. proph. Schr. d. Alten Bundes, 1798), Umbreit. Some recent expositors (Koppe, Rosenmueller, Hitzig, Maurer. Ewald), are of the opinion that our passage is the expression of a third person, from whom Isa. and Micah have drawn in common. Hitzig and Ewald even indicate Joel as the third person, and Joel 4:10 as the source of our text. If there were an expression of essentially the same import in any older prophet, this hypothesis might have some ground. But such a passage is not to be found. Joel 4:10 contains in fact precisely the opposite. For there Israel is summoned to forge its mattocks into swords, and its pruning hooks into spears, for a war of destruction against the heathen. In as much as a third place from which both may have drawn, is actually non-existent, this hypothesis is in itself superfluous and null. The question can only be, which of the two contemporaries has drawn from the other? And there everything favors the view that Micah is original. In the first place the form of the text in both points that way. For the text of Isaiah, although in the main sounding the same, has still some modifications that characterize it as a free citation, drawn, not from the manuscript original, but from memory. “All nations shall flow unto it,” Isa_2:2, certainly comes from the harder, “people shall flow unto it,” Mic_4:1, and not the reverse. And if Isa_2:4 is compared with Mic_4:3, the unusual עֲצֻמִים, strong, and the still more unusual עַד־רָחוֹק afar off, certainly do not make the impression of being additions. Rather the language of Isaiah. “And he shall judge among the nations, and rebuke many people,” appears as an abbreviation that reproduces only what is essential. In the second place the passage in Micah stands in the closest connection with what precedes. For with the threatening prophecy that for the sake of Judah’s sins “Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places öf the forests,” Mic_3:12, the promise is connected…by way of contrast, that this desolation of the divine mount shall be superseded by a wonderful glory (comp. Caspari, Micah der Morasthite s. 444 sqq.). It is most intimately connected with this that וְהָיָה, Mic_4:1, has a motive in what goes before, whereas, Isa_51:2 it has no motive, and is without example in so abrupt a position (comp. Delitzsch). In the third place the passage in Isaiah appears, in reference to what follows, as a motto, or a torso, prefixed theme-like, whereas in Micah it forms a well-rounded whole with two following verses. Hengstenberg is wrong when he refers the words Mic_4:4 to the Israelites. The heathen, too, according to Isa_2:2-3 are Israelites, and thereby partakers of the promise given to Israel (Lev_26:5). For (such is evidently the meaning of Isa_2:5), while Israel holds to its God forever as the rightful one, the heathen shall hold to their gods, only for a season, viz., until the revolution announced, Isa_2:1, takes place. The imperfect ילכו, ver 5 a. is therefore not future, but signifies continuance in the present. At present the prophet would say, all people walk after their gods, but they will not do this forever as Israel. For, Isa_2:1-3, he had expressly announced that all heathen shall flow to the mountain of Jehovah. As, therefore, Isa_2:4 completed the all-comprehensive portrait of peace in the old theocratic sense, according to passages like Lev_26:5; 1Ki_4:25, Isa_2:5 assigns the reason for the glorious promise made in Isa_2:1-4. Israel has already now the true way, therefore it needs only to persevere on its way. But the heathen, that are now in the false way, will one time forsake this false way and turn to the right way. The same construction proceeds, and the Isa_2:1-5 appear completely as one work from one mould. In the fourth place, the characteristics of the language in several respects bear the decided impress of Micah. The expression “in the last days,” occurs in Isaiah as in Micah, only in this one place. The expression הר בית י׳ is an evident connection with הר הבית Mic_3:12, a designation that occurs only here, therefore is peculiar to Micah. 2Ch_33:15 הַר בית י׳ occurs again for a special reason, and possibly with reference to our passage. נכון only here in both Isaiah and Micah: likewise נִשָּׂא ּבראשׂ הה׳ in Micah only here: in Isaiah three times beside, evidently occasioned by our text in Isa_2:2 : see Isa_2:12-14 : beside these Isa_6:1; Isa_52:13; Isa_57:7; Isa_57:15.—נָהָר with the meaning confluere only here in Isaiah and Micah.—The expression גוים רבים does not occur in Isaiah except Isa_2:2; on the other hand in Micah twice; here and 4:11, (comp. the remark on עמים רבים at Isa_2:3). Later prophets, following Micah’s example, make use of it, especially Ezek. (Eze_3:6; Eze_27:33; Eze_32:3; Eze_32:9-10. etc.). הר יהוה only here in Micah; and also in Isaiah only once beside, Isa_30:29.—אלהי יעקב in Isaiah and Micah only here. Isa. always says אלהי ישׂראל, once מֶלֶןְ יעקב (Isa_41:21); twice אֲבִיד יעקב (Isa_49:26; Isa_60:16). יורנו מדרכיו in both prophets only here (comp. Mic_3:11; Isa_28:9; Isa_28:26). Likewise נלכה בא׳.—The pairing of Zion and Jerusalem occurs in Micah in 3, 4, relatively often;Mic_3:10; Mic_3:12; Mic_4:2; Mic_4:8. But in Isaiah, too, it occurs often; Isa_4:3-4; Isa_10:12; Isa_10:32; Isa_24:23; Isa_30:19; Isa_31:9; Isa_33:20; Isa_37:22; Isa_37:32; Isa_41:27; Isa_52:1-2; Isa_62:1; Isa_64:9.—עַמִּים רַבִּים occurs in Isaiah in only one other place, Isa_17:12. whereas it occurs in Micah four times: Mic_4:3; Mic_4:13; Mic_5:6; Micah 5:27.—The use of רַבִּים and עצומים together does not occur again in Micah; on the other hand once in Isa_53:12. The singular גוי עצום once in Isa_60:22. The words עד־רחוק are wanting in Isaiah. In fact they occur only here. כתת in Micah again Isa_1:7; in Isa_24:12; Isa_30:14. Plural of חרב in Isaiah only Isa_21:15.—אּתִּים only here and Joel 4:10. חנית nowhere in Isaiah.—מזמרות in Isaiah again Isa_18:5. The other words have no specific importance. The following expressions, therefore are decidedly peculiar to Micah: 1) הַר בֵּית י׳; 2) גוֹים רַבִּים; 3) עַמִּים רַבִּים; 4) אלהי יעקב; for Isa. constantly says, אלהי ישראל, and יעקר is generally a favorite expression of Micah, which he uses eleven times (comp. Casp. Mic. d. Mor. ss. 412, 444). Only once in Micah and Isaiah, and that in our passage, do the expressions occur; נָהַר בְּרֹאשׁ הֶהָרִים ,נָכוֹן ,באחרית הימים, confluere, נֵלְכָה בְאֹדְחֹתָיו ,יוֹרֵנוּ מִדְּרָכָיִו, At most נִשָּׂא and the use of רַבִּים and עֲצוּמִים remind us of Isaiah’s style. But it is to be considered that owing to the difference in the size of the books, a single occurrence in Micah has relatively much more weight in settling the usus loquendi.
Isa_2:2. This beginning of the discourse with וְהָיָה is unexampled. As is well known, several books begin with וַיְהִי, (Josh., Judges, 1 Sam., 2 Sam., Ezek., Jonah, Neh.). But nowhere except here does והיה stand at the beginning of a discourse without a point of support given in what precedes. We recognize in that, as shown above, a proof that Isaiah took the words, Isa_2:2-4, from Mic_4:1-4 as the basis of his discourse. Unmoved, fixed‘ Such is the meaning of נָכוֹן, comp. בַּיִת נָכוֹן ,כִּסֵּא נָכוֹן 2Sa_7:16; 2Sa_7:26; 1Ki_2:45; Psa_93:2. נָהַר is probably denom. from נָהָר, and does not occur again in Isaiah in the sense of “flowing.” For וְנָהַרְתְּ Isa_60:5, comes from another root, kindred to נוּר, comp. Psa_34:6. The word occurs in Jer_31:12; Jer_51:44, with the meaning of “flowing, streaming,” but also only in regard to nations.
Isa_2:4. שָׁפַט with בֵּין is found again in Isa. only Isa_5:3. הוֹכִיחַ is a juridical term as well as שָׁפַט. The fundamental meaning is “εὐθύνω,” “make right, straight,” and corresponds to our “richten und sclichten.” Comp. Isa_11:3-4. In the latter place we find the construction with לְ (direct causative Hiphil). Comp. Job_16:21; Job_9:33; Gen_31:37. אִתִּים, which, as already remarked, excepting here occurs only Mic_4:3 and Joel 4:10. is, doubtless, radically related to אֵתים ,אֵת, which occurs 1Sa_13:20-21. The first the LXX translate in all cases by ἄροτρα, the Vulgate by aratra (in Joel) or vomeres (in Isa. and Mich.); the latter the LXX translates σκεῦος, Vulgate, ligo. It is uncertain whether the distinction between אֵתִים and אִתִּים is only to be referred to the Masoretic pointing, or to a real etymological difference. In the latter case it is not agreed whether the roots of the words in question are עוּט–אוּת, from which עֵט, style, “engrave, draw,” thence אוֹת ,אֵת, not. acc., or אָנָה, from which on the one hand, is אֳנִי, ship=σκεῦος on the other hand את ,אֵנֶת, or still another root.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. At the end of days shall the mountain of the house of Jehovah be higher than all mountains, and all peoples shall flow to it, (Isa_2:2). They shall encourage themselves to walk thither in order to be instructed in the law of Jehovah. For the law going forth from Zion shall be acknowledged as the right lamp of truth (Isa_2:3). Then shall all strife among nations be decided by the application of this law, and therefore, so to speak, by the Lord Himself, so that there shall be no more war, but rather weapons of war, and warlike exercises, shall cease.
2. And it shall come to pass … from Jerusalem.
Isa_2:2-3. אחרית הימים, last days, which Isaiah never uses, is a relative conception, but always of eschatological significance, whence the LXX correctly translate it by “ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις,” or by “ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν,” or by “ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν.” It is therefore not = in the time following, but = in the last time. Yet it is to be remarked herewith, that, as Oehler says: “Also the nearer future is set in the light of the last development of the divine kingdom.” Comp. the admirable exposition of this by Oehler, Herzog’sR. Encycl. XVII. S. 653.—In this last time now shall the mountain of the house of Jehovah (comp. Mic_3:12) for all time stand unmoved on the top of the mountains, and be exalted above all hills. The mountains are the protuberances of the earth, in which, so to speak, is embodied its effort upwards, its longing after heaven. Hence the mountains also appear especially adapted as places for the revelation of divinity, and as places of worship for men adoring the divinity. (What is great generally, in contrast with little human works, is conceived of as divine work, compare הַרְרֵי־אֵלPsa_36:7; Psa_68:16, אַרְזֵ־אֵלPsa_80:11, עִיר גְדֹלָה לֵאלֹהִיםJon_3:3). But there are mountains of God in a narrower sense; thus Horeb is called Mount of God, Exo_3:1; Exo_18:5; and Sinai, Num_10:33. But above all the mountain of the temple, to which per synecdochen the name of Zion is given, is called the “Mount of God,” the “holy mountain of God,” Psa_2:6; Psa_3:5; Psa_24:3, etc.;Jer_31:23; Joe_2:1; Joe_3:17, etc. But the idols compete with the Holy God for possession of the mountains. For the high places of the mountains are also consecrated by preference to their worship, so that Israel is often reproached with practising fornication with the idols on every high mountain, 1Ki_14:23; 2Ki_17:10; Isa_57:7; Isa_65:7; Jer_2:20; Jer_3:6; Jer_17:2; Jer_50:6; Eze_6:2-3; Hos_4:13. But the Scripture recognizes still another rivalry between the mountains. Psa_68:16 speaks of the basalt mountains of Bashan with their many pinnacles that look down superciliously upon the lowly and inconsiderable Mount Zion. All these rivalries shall come to an end. It is debated, how does the prophet conceive of the exalting of Mount Zion over the others? Many have supposed he conceives of Mount Zion as piled up over the others, (aliis montibus veluti superimpositum,Vitr.), or thus, that “the high places run together toward it, which thus towers over them, seem to bear it on their heads” (Hofmann,Weisz. u. Erf. II. p. 101). But, comparing other passages, it seems to me probable that Isaiah would say: there will be in general no mountain on earth except Mount Zion alone. All will have become plain; only the mount of God shall be still a mountain. One God, one mountain. If, for example, we consider the words below, Isa_2:12-17 the prophet says there that divine judgment shall go forth upon all that is high in the world, and all human loftiness shall be humbled, that “the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” Just so, too, we read Isa_40:4, “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain.” When hills and vallies disappear, the land becomes even. To be sure, it seems as if 40 treats only of a level road for the approaching king. But this level road is prepared for the Lord precisely and only thereby, that in all the land, all high places shall disappear upon which idols could be worshipped. Zechariah expresses still more clearly the thought that the sole dominion of the Lord is conditioned on the restoration of a complete plain in the land. He says, Isa_14:9-10. “And the Lord shall be king over all the land; in that day shall be oneLord, and His name one. All the land shall turn to lowness from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; But this itself shall be lifted up, and shall abide in its place,” etc. It may be objected to this explanation that Isa_2:2, the presence of mountains and hills is in fact presupposed, because it says, “at the top of the mountains,” and “higher than the hills.” But must the prophets in the places cited above, have thought of the restoration of a plain in a mathematical sense? Certainly not. The notion of a plain is relative. There shall, indeed, remain therefore, mountains and hills, but in comparison with the mountain of the Lord, they shall no more deserve these names; they shall appear as plains.
From this results that בראשׁ is not=upon the head (this must be expressed by עַל רֹאשׁ, comp. Exo_34:2. 1Sa_26:13; Isa_30:17) but=at the top or head (comp. Amo_6:7; Deu_20:9; 1Sa_9:22; 1Ki_21:9; 1Ki_21:12). This latter however, cannot mean that the mountain of the Lord shall have the other mountains behind it, but under itself. Without doubt “the mountain of the house of the Lord,” and the הַר מְרוֹם יִשְׂרָאֵל and הַר גַּבֹהּ of Ezekiel are identical, (Eze_17:22 sq.; Eze_20:40, Eze_34:14; Eze_40:2).
This high mountain shall be exactly the opposite of that “tower whose top may reach unto heaven” Gen_11:4, which, being a self-willed structure by die hands of insolent men, separated mankind. For our divine mountain, a work of God, reunites mankind again. They all see it in its glory that is radiant over all things, and recognize it not only as the source of their salvation, but also as the centre of their unity. Therefore they flow from all sides to it. These “Many people,” i.e., countless nations, which are essentially the same as the “all nations” mentioned before, shall mutually encourage one another “to go up,” (the solemn word for religious journies, comp. Caspari,Micha, p. 140), for which a fourfold object is named: the mountain of Jehovah; on the mountain the house of the God of Jacob; in the house the instruction out of the ways of God (the ways of God are conceived of as the source of the instruction, comp. Isa_47:13; Psa_94:12); and, in consequence of this instruction, the walking in the paths of God. Only the words from “Come ye” to “his paths” contain the language of the nations. The following phrase “for out of Zion,” gives the reason that shall determine the nations to such discourse and conduct. תּוֹרָה, law, is neither the (Sinaitic) law, for it must then read חַתּוֹרָה, nor the law of the king ruling in Zion. For what goes forth from Zion is just what the nations seek. They do not seek a political chief, however, but one that will teach them the truth, תּוֹרָה is therefore to be taken in the sense of the preceding יֹרֵנוּ, he will teach us. It is therefore primarily doctrine, instruction in general, but which immediately is limited as דְּבָד י׳word of the Jehovah. But shall the nations, turn toward Zion only because “law” goes forth from thence? Did not then, even in the Prophet’s time and before that, law go out from Zion; and did the nations let themselves be determined by that to migrate to Zion? We shall then need to construe “law” and “word of the Lord” in a pregnant sense: that which deserves the name of divine doctrine in the highest and completest sense, therefore the absolute doctrine, which alone truly satisfies and therefore also irresistibly draws all men. This doctrine, i.e., the gospel of Jesus Christ is, true enough, gone forth out of Jerusalem, and may be called the Zionitic Tora, in contrast with the Sinaitic. (Comp. Delitzschin loc.). Therefore that “preaching repentance and remission of sins in the name of Christ to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem,” Luk_24:47, is the beginning of the fulfilment of our prophecy. Comp. Zec_8:20 sqq.
3. And he shall judge—learn war any more.
Isa_2:4. The consequences of this divine instruction, sought and received by the nations, shall be, that the nations shall order their affairs and compose their judicial processes according to the mind of him that has taught them. So shall God appear as that one who judges between the nations and awards a (judicial) sentence. The Spirit of God that lives in His word is a Spirit of love and of peace. The God of peace sanctifies, therefore, the nations through and through (1Th_5:23) so that they no more confront one another in the sense and spirit of the brute power of this world, but in the mind and spirit of the Kingdom of God. They are altogether children of God, brothers, and are become one great family. War ceases; the implements of war become superfluous; they shall be forged over into the instruments of peace. The exercises at arms, by which men in peace prepare for war, fall of themselves away. The meaning “plowshare” evidently corresponds best to the context, in which the contrast between agriculture and war is the fundamental idea; at the same time it may be remarked that a scythe, mattock, or hoe, does not need to be forged over again to serve for arms, Joe_3:10.—The מַזְמֵרָה (Isa_18:5) is the vine-dresser’s knife. A lance head may easily be made out of it. It is remarkable, that excepting this place, Isaiah, who speaks so much of war, uses, none of the words that in Hebrew mean “spear, lance.”
As regards the fulfilling of our prophecy, the Prophet himself says that it shall follow in the last time. If it now began a long time ago; if especially the appearance of the Lord in the flesh, and the founding of His kingdom and the preaching of the gospel among all nations be an element of that fulfilment, yet it is by no means a closed up transaction. What it shall yet bring about we know not. If many, especially Jewish expositors have taken the words too coarsely, and outwardly, so, on the other hand, we must guard against a one-sided spiritualizing. Certainly the prophets do not think of heaven. Plows and pruning hooks have as little to do with heaven, as swords and spears. And what has the high place of Mount Zion to do in heaven? Therefore our passage speaks for the view that one time, and that, too, here on this earth, the Lord shall appropriate the kingdom, (Isa_60:21; Mat_5:5), suppress the world kingdoms and bring about a condition of peace and glory. That then what is outward shall conform to what is inward, is certain, even though we must confess our ignorance in regard to the ways and means of the realization in particulars.
[Regarding the question of Isa_2:2-4 being original to Isa. or Micah, J. A. Alexander says: “The verbal variations may be best explained, however, by supposing that they both adopted a traditional prediction current among the people in their day, or, that both received the words directly from the Holy Spirit. So long as we have reason to regard both places as authentic and inspired, it matters little what is the literary history of either.”
Barnes says: “But there is no improbability in supposing that Isa., may have availed himself of language, used by Micah in describing the same event.”
At Isa_2:2. “Instead of saying, in modern phraseology, that the church, as a society, shall become conspicuous and attract all nations, he represents the mountain upon which the temple stood as being raised and fixed above the other mountains, so as to be visible in all directions.”—J. A. A.
Isa_2:4. “Volney states that the Syrian plow is often nothing but the branch of a tree, cut below a bifurcation, and used without wheels. The plowshare is a piece of iron, broad but not large, which tips the end of the shaft. So much does it resemble the short sword used by the ancient warriors, that it may with very little trouble, be converted into that deadly weapon; and when the work of destruction is over, reduced again to its former shape.”—Barnes.]
[So we have seen it—ploughing on Mount Zion.—M. W. J.]
Footnotes:
[1]Or, prepared.
[2]peoples.
[3]nations.
[4]award sentence.
[5]Or, scythes.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown1871 · Public DomainOn vv2–5Same as Mic 4:1. As Micah prophesied in Jotham's…
Same as Mic 4:1. As Micah prophesied in Jotham's reign, and Isaiah in Uzziah's, Micah rests on Isaiah, whom he confirms: not vice versa. HENGSTENBERG on slight grounds makes Mic 4:1 the original.
last days--that is, Messiah's: especially the days yet to come, to which all prophecy hastens, when "the house of the God of Jacob," namely, at Jerusalem, shall be the center to which the converted nations shall flock together (Mat 13:32; Luk 2:31-32; Act 1:6-7); where "the kingdom" of Israel is regarded as certain and the time alone uncertain (Psa 68:15-16; Psa 72:8, Psa 72:11).
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mountain of the Lord's house . . . in the top, &c.--the temple on Mount Moriah: type of the Gospel, beginning at Jerusalem, and, like an object set on the highest hill, made so conspicuous that all nations are attracted to it.
flow--as a broad stream (Isa 66:12).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon1874 · Public DomainOn vv2–52-4. The section begins with a consoling message respecting…
2-4. The section begins with a consoling message respecting a coming Messianic period. The language has some appearance of being a borrowed prophecy. Mic_4:1-4 has the same. As to which is the original author, or whether both quoted from an older prophet, commentators differ. It is generally agreed that Isaiah delivered these words in Uzziah’s time, consequently before 758 B.C. of our chronology. Micah began in the reign of Jotham, (Mic_1:1,) and Jeremiah, says Micah, (Jer_26:18,) gave a certain prophecy, found in Mic_3:12, (just one verse preceding this passage in question,) in the reign of Hezekiah. These facts sufficiently indicate that Isaiah was prior to Micah in the use of this passage.
2. In the last days — Literally, in the end, or latter part, of the days; the entering upon the Messianic period, including even its onward, indefinite continuance. Such is the sense of this prophetic formula of “the last days.”
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The mountain of the Lord’s house — Generally used to designate Mount Zion, though Moriah was the mount on which the temple stood. Purified Jerusalem, as a whole, was the type of the glorious Church of Christ.
Shall be established — That is, permanently settled.
In the top of the mountains — So that its view shall overlook all hills, or hitherto dominating mountains, around. The image, here, is of converted Gentile nations. Zion shall be superior.
And all nations shall flow unto it — The attractive power of the Church shall draw the nations ever upward to it.
Joh_12:20.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges1878 · Public DomainOn vv2–42. And it shall come to pass] This formula…
2. And it shall come to pass] This formula (so common in continuous discourse) nowhere else introduces a prophetic oration (Eze_38:10 is not really an exception), and shews that the passage has been detached from its original context. in the last days] Better, in the after-days (Cheyne) or “latter days” (R.V.), lit. “in the sequel of the days.” The phrase in itself denotes simply the (remote) future, and is so used in Gen_49:1; Num_24:14; Deu_4:30; Deu_31:29. An exact Assyrian parallel to this use (akhrat yumi) is given by Cheyne and Delitzsch. By the prophets the expression is often specialised in an eschatological sense, as in Hos_3:5; Eze_38:16 (cf. Isa_2:8), and probably Jer_48:47; Jer_49:39, where it means (as here) the final age of the world’s history following the establishment of the kingdom of God. In Jer_23:20; Jer_30:24, however, the vaguer sense is more probable.
the mountain of the Lord’s house] the Temple mount, which is also the seat of the Messiah’s government. The phrase occurs in the parallel passage in Micah, also in Mic_3:12 (“mount of the house”); 1Ma_16:20 (“mount of the temple”). In the next verse it is resolved into the two members of a parallelism: “mountain of Jehovah” and “house of the God of Jacob.” established in the top of …] Better as R.V. at the head of … (cf. 1Sa_9:22; Amo_6:7); although the translation “as the chief of the mountains” would also be admissible (Davidson, Synt. § 101 R, 1 a.). A miraculous physical elevation of Zion may possibly be thought of (Eze_40:2; Zec_14:10); but the idea (seriously entertained by some) that Zion is to be literally set on the top of the other hills is too grotesque to be attributed to any prophet, save under compulsion. In this passage a metaphorical exaltation, in respect of political and religious importance, seems to satisfy all the requirements both of syntax and exegesis (cf. Psa_68:15 f.).
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all (the) nations shall flow] Properly “shall stream,” a verb only used figuratively of the movement of masses of men to great centres of intercourse like Babylon (Jer_31:12; Jer_51:44). Instead of “all the nations” Micah has (in harmony with Isa_2:3 f.) simply “peoples,” which probably preserves the original text. The universality of the true religion is in either case implied; and the bare suggestion is perhaps more effective than an explicit assertion would be.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers1878 · Public DomainOn vv2–5(2) It shall come to pass in the last…
(2) It shall come to pass in the last days.—The three verses that follow are found in almost identical form in Mic_4:1-3, with the addition of a verse (Mic_4:4) which describes the prosperity of Judah—every man sitting “under his vine and his fig-tree,” as in the days of Solomon. Whether (1) Isaiah borrowed from Micah, or (2) Micah from Isaiah, or (3) both from some earlier prophet, or (4) whether each received an independent yet identical revelation, is a problem which we have no adequate data for solving. Micah prophesied, like Isaiah, under Ahaz, Jotham, and Hezekiah, and so either may have heard it from the other. On the other hand, the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, on which these verses follow, in Mic_3:12, appears from Jer_26:18 to have been spoken in the days of Hezekiah. On the whole, (3) seems to have most to commend it. (See Introduction.)
For “in the last days” read latter or after days; the idea of the Hebrew words, as in Gen_49:1; Num_24:14, being that of remoteness rather than finality. For the most part (Deu_4:30; Deu_31:29) they point to the distant future of the true King, to the time of the Messiah.
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The mountain of the Lord’s house.—The prophet’s vision of the far-off days sees, as it were, a transfigured and glorified Jerusalem. Zion, with the Temple, was to be no longer surrounded by hills as high as, or higher than, itself (Psa_125:2), scorned by other mountains (Psa_68:16-17); but was to be to Israel as a Sinai or a Lebanon, as a Mount Meru, or an Olympus, “an exceeding high mountain” (Eze_40:2), whose physical elevation should answer to its spiritual. (Comp. Zec_14:10.) So in that vision of the future, the waters of Shiloah, that went softly, were to become a broad and rushing river (Isa_33:21; Eze_47:3-12). So, when men had been taught by experience that this ideal was to be realised in no Jerusalem or earth, the seer of Patmos saw a yet more transcendent vision of the glories of the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev_21:10 to Rev_22:5), and yet even these were but types and figures of divine and ineffable realities.
All nations shall flow unto it.—Better, all the nations—i.e., the heathen as distinct from Israel. The prophet sees and welcomes the approach of pilgrims from all regions of the earth to the new sanctuary. Thus early in his work was Isaiah (half unconsciously as to the manner in which his vision was to be realised) the prophet of a universal religion, of which the truths of Judaism were the centre, and of a catholic Church. In the admission of proselytes, commemorated in Psalms 87 (probably written about this time), we may see what may either have suggested the prophecy, or have seemed as the first-fruits of its fulfilment.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary1880 · Public DomainOn vv3–4Many people; rather, many peoples. Shall go; or, set…
Many people; rather, many peoples. Shall go; or, set forth. The prophet means to represent the nations as encouraging one another on the way. There is no jealousy among them, for the "mountain" can hold them all. He will teach us. The nations feel their ignorance of God, and their need of "teaching." God alone can teach them concerning himself; (Rom_11:33, 34 1Co_2:10, 1Co_2:11) and "he will teach" them, either directly, as the Incarnate Son, or indirectly through those whom he has appointed to be "teachers". (1Co_12:28) Of his ways; i.e. "some of his ways," not "all of them;" for at present "we know in part" only, (1Co_13:9) and the greater portion of his ways are "past finding out". (Rom_11:33) The "ways" here spoken of are, no doubt, rules for the conduct of life, which are practically inexhaustible. God, however, will teach every man, who honestly seeks to learn, enough to enable him to "walk in his paths." Out of Zion shall go forth the Law; rather, instruction, or teaching. The word (torah) is without the article. The instruction intended is that of the Church of God.
HOMILIES BY W.M. STATHAM Ver. 3. Real religious revival
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"Many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob." Here is the tide of national feeling, no longer on the ebb, but on the flow. God is "to teach them his ways, and they are to walk in his paths;" for they have found out that pleasure gained by sin is peace bartered. Elevation of the truest kind is to be theirs now. This is the image of their uplifted state. They are to go up to the mountain of the Lord"s house the consecrated height of holiness and peace.
I THERE IS SPONTANEITY OF LIFE. "Come, let us go." It is no mere fashion, or custom, or compulsion of obedience. Life always says, "Come." I read delight here. For what we enjoy we invite others to see. When we ascend to the mountain-top, and see the winding river, like a streak of silver, and the village-dotted plains, we cry "Come!" to others, that they too may delight in the loveliness of the scene. So an earnest Christian not only says "Come!" because of the urgency of the salvation, but also because of the beauty and blessedness of religion. "Oh taste and see," he says, "that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
II THERE IS SACRED FELLOWSHIP. "Let us go up." For religion is intensified in its experiences by mutual faith and joy. The interaction of mind on mind and heart upon heart in a great congregation is wonderful. "Let us go up." And beautiful were those spectacles in Hebrew history, when the pilgrims went to tabernacle or temple. "Thither the tribes go up," The festal caravans met each other from distant parts, as they merged at last into one common road to time-beloved Jerusalem. At the Feasts of Pentecost and Passover, as in the days of our Savior, the interest felt in these upgoings to Jerusalem was both human and Divine. Old friends met again, whilst youths and maidens set eyes for the first time on the city and temple of their fathers. On their way they sang the songs of Zion, till in noblest worship the gathered tribes lifted up their praise to the Lord God of Israel.
III THERE IS SUBLIME PROPHECY. "Many shall go," Yes, and in these Christian days, Greek and Jew, bond and flee, have been united in one common song of deliverance. Missionary societies have founded Churches and schools on well-nigh every shore. "Many shall corns." Verily, unto Christ shall the gathering of the people be. "All nations shall call him blessed." How verified the words have been! "For out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. W.M.S.
The attractions of the gospel Church.
The earthly Jerusalem, which was thought of as a mountain surrounded by mountains, but superior to them all, is in the prophet"s mind, and it gives form to his thought of the Gospel times the setting up of the Christian Church, and the planting of the Christian religion in the world. Christianity shall then be the "mountain of the Lord"s house," or the "Lord"s mountain house," exalted above all other religions, and made the rendezvous of all the spiritual seed of Abraham. "The prophet sees the Church permanently placed in a conspicuous position, so as to be a source of attraction to surrounding nations. To express this idea, he makes use of terms which are strictly applicable only to the local habitation of the Church under the old economy. Instead of saying, in modern phraseology, that the Church, as a society, shall become conspicuous and attract all nations, he represents the mountain upon which the temple stood as being raised and fixed above the other mountains, so as to be visible in all directions" (J. A. Alexander).
T.K. Cheyne notices an "old belief in Eastern Asia that there was a mountain reaching from earth to heaven, on the summit of which was the dwelling of the gods. The prophet is, perhaps, alluding to this belief, which he recognizes as true in substance, though attached by the heathen to a wrong locality." The text may be illustrated by the custom of the Israelites to journey from all parts of the country for the yearly feasts. Keeping the figure of the prophet, we observe
I THE GOSPEL CHURCH IS LIKE A MOUNTAIN, Illustrate from the conspicuous position of Jerusalem, or of Safed. A mountain rises up out of the plain; so the gospel Church is right in the midst of the world and the people. A mountain towers up above the plain, within sight of all; and so the gospel Church is such a striking and impressive thing that all eyes must be turned to it. Men cannot be blind to it; men dare not ignore it. Like the mountain, it is an indestructible fact, of which men must take account. The buildings erected for its worship are the symbols of itself; in every village, town, and city, the church tower and cathedral spire rise above the buildings of the people, well in everybody"s sight. Show that however men may think to dispel the so-called myths that have gathered round the historic Christ, they must deal with this mountain-fact, the gospel Church exists; it must have had a source; it must have a mission at the heart of it. Surely it is the witness of the truth of Christ.
II THE GOSPEL CHURCH IS FIGURED AS ON THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAINS, Other religions, other social and philanthropic schemes for the elevation of the race, may be figured as mountains. But let them all be gathered together, and it will be found that Christianity towers high above them all. Its origin, its character, its provisions, make it the most conspicuous, the most important of them all. Comparisons may be instituted
(1) with man-made religions, paganism, Buddhism, etc.; and
(2) with previously given Divine religions, such as patriarchism, Mosaism, etc. The points of superiority are such as these:
1. Revelation of God to man under the figure of Father.
2. Manifestation of God in the person of his Son as a fellow-man.
3. Redemption of man by the intervention of Divine love.
4. Perfect provision for the needs of man, as a spiritual being.
5. Adequate and final mastery of all man"s moral foes and evils.
Show that other religions touch some of man"s needs. Christianity is at the "top of the mountains," because it reaches them all, and deals with them efficiently.
III THE GOSPEL CHURCH ATTRACTING ALL NATIONS. They will be drawn, not forced into it. One shall tell another of it. One shall invite another to journey to it. They shall flow to it as streams flow to the sea. "There is an Eastern fable of a great mountain of lodestone, out in the middle of the sea, that attracted, to their destruction, all the ships that came near it. This mountain of the Lord"s house is a great spiritual magnet, and it draws souls, not to destruction, but to everlasting life" (Dr. Edmond). Illustrate
(1) from the various nations attracted by the preaching of the early Church;
(2) from the power of the preached gospel in various heathen lands now;
(3) from its proved fitness to meet the needs of all sinners and all sufferers. Jesus said, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator1887 · Public DomainOn vv2–5And it shall come to pass in the last…
Isa_2:2-4
And it shall come to pass in the last days
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Isaiahs description of the last days
The description of the last days--which in the Hebrew begins, And it hath come to pass . . . the mountainof Jehovahs house shall be established, etc.
is an instance of the use of the perfect tense to express the certain future. Its explanation seems to be that the structure of such a passage as that before us is imaginative, not logical--a picture, not a statement. The speaker completely projects himself into the last days; he is there, he finds them come; he looks about him to see what is actually going on, and sees that the mountain of Jehovahs house is about to be--still in process of being--established at the head of the mountains; he looks again, and the nations have already arrived at the place prepared for them, yet so freshly that they are still calling one another on; and as they come up they find that the King they seek is already there, and has effected some of His judgments and decisions before they arrive for their, turn. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)
An epitome of Isaiahs vision
(verses 2-4):--Isaiah, rapt into future times, sees the throne of the Lord of Israel established in sovereignty over all the nations of the earth, and they becoming willing subjects to Him, and friendly citizens to each other. The nations attain to true liberty, for they come to submit themselves to the righteous laws and institutions, and to the wise and gracious word and direction of that King whose service is perfect freedom; and to true brotherhood, for they leave their old enmities and conflicts, and make the same Lord their Judge and Umpire and Reconciler. And all this, not by some newly invented device of the nations, some new result of their own civilisation, but by the carrying out of the old original purpose and plan of God, that His chosen people of the Jews should be the ministers of these good things, and that in them should all nations of the earth be blessed,--that out of Zion should go forth the law, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. This is the vocation of the Hebrew people. This, says the prophet, is the key to all our duties as a nation, this is the master light to guide us to right action. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)
The supremacy of Mount Zion
Transport yourselves for a moment to the foot of Mount Zion. As you stand there, you observe that it is but a very little hill. Bashan is far loftier, and Carmel and Sharon outvie it. As for Lebanon, Zion is but a little hillock compared with it. If you think for a moment of the Alps, or of the loftier Andes, or of the yet mightier Himalayas, this Mount Zion seems to be a very little hill, a mere molehill, insignificant, despicable, and obscure. Stand there for a moment, until the Spirit of God touches your eye, and you shall see this hill begin to grow. Up it mounts, with the temple on its summit, till it outreaches Tabor. Onward it grows, till Carmel, with its perpetual green, is left behind, and Salmon, with its everlasting snow sinks before it. Onward still it grows, till the snowy peaks of Lebanon are eclipsed. Still onward mounts the hill, drawing with its mighty roots other mountains and hills into its fabric; and onward it rises, till piercing the clouds it reaches above the Alps; and onwards still, till the Himalayas seem to be sucked into its bowels, and the greatest mountains of the earth appear to be but as the roots that strike out from the side of the eternal hill; and there it rises till you can scarcely see the top, as infinitely above all the higher mountains of the world as they are above the valleys Have you caught the idea, and do you see there afar off upon the lofty top, not everlasting snows, but a pure crystal table land, crowned with a gorgeous city, the metropolis of God, the royal palace of Jesus the King? The sun is eclipsed by the light which shines from the top of this mountain; the moon ceases from her brightness, for there is now no night: but this one hill, lifted up on high, illuminates the atmosphere, and the nations of them that are saved are walking in the light thereof. The hill of Zion hath now outsoared all others, and all the mountains and hills of the earth are become as nothing before her. This is the magnificent picture of the text. I do not know that in all the compass of poetry there is an idea so massive and stupendous as this--a mountain heaving, expanding, swelling, growing, till all the high hills become absorbed, and that which was but a little rising ground before, becomes a hill the top whereof teacheth to the seventh heavens. Now we have here a picture of what the Church is to be. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A vision of the latter day glories
Of old, the Church was like Mount Zion, a very little hill. What saw the nations of the earth when they looked upon it? A humble Man with twelve disciples. But that little hill grew, and some thousands were baptized in the name of Christ; it grew again and became mighty. But still, compared with the colossal systems of idolatry, she is but small. The Hindoo and the Chinese turn to our religion, and say, It is an infant of yesterday; ours is the religion of ages. The Easterns compare Christianity to some miasma that creeps along the fenny lowlands, but their systems they imagine to be like me Alps, outsoaring the heavens in height. Ah, but we reply to this, Your mountain crumbles and your hill dissolves, but our hill of Zion has been growing, and strange to say, it has life within its bowels, and grow on it shall, grow on it must, till all the systems of idolatry shall become less than nothing before it. Such is the destiny of our Church, she is to be an all-conquering Church, rising above every competitor. The Church will be like a high mountain, for she will be--
1. Preeminently conspicuous.
2. Awful and venerable in her grandeur.
3. The day is coming when the Church of God shall have absolute supremacy.
The Church of Christ now has to fight for her existence; but the day shall come when she shall be so mighty that there shall be nought left to compote with her. How is this to be done? There are three things which will ensure the growth of the Church.
1. The individual exertion of every Christian.
2. We may expect more.
The fact is, that the Church, though a mountain, is a volcano--not one that spouts fire, but that hath fire within her; and this inward fire of living truth, and living grace, expands her side, and lifts her crest, and upwards she must tower, for truth is mighty, and it must prevail--grace is mighty, and must conquer--Christ is mighty, and He must be King of kings. Thus there is something more than the individual exertions of the Church; there is a something within her that must make her grow, till she overtops the highest mountains.
3. But the great hope of the Church is the second advent of Christ. When He shall come, then shall the mountain of the Lords house be exalted above the hills. We must fight on day by day and hour by hour; and when we think the battle is almost decided against us, He shall come, the Prince of the kings of the earth. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
All nations shall flow unto it
Observe the figure. It does not say they shall come to it, but they shall flow unto it.
1. It implies, first, their number. Now it is but the pouring out of water from the bucket; then it shall be as the rolling of the cataract from the hillside.
2. Their spontaneity. They are to come willingly to Christ; not to be driven, not to be pumped up, not to be forced to it, but to be brought up by the Word of the Lord, to pay Him willing homage. Just as the river naturally flows downhill by no other force than that which is its nature, so shall the grace of God be so mightily given to the sons of men, that no acts of parliament, no state churches, no armies will be used to make a forced conversion.
3. But yet again, this represents the power of the work of conversion. They shall flow to it. Imagine an idiot endeavouring to stop the river Thames. The secularist may rise up and say, Oh, why be converted to this fanatical religion? Look to the things of time. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The mountain of the Lords house
The text calls our attention--
I. TO A PERIOD OF TIME WHEN THE EVENTS OF WHICH IT SPEAKS ARE TO OCCUR. The last days. The phrase means, generally, the age of the Messiah; and is thus understood by both Jewish and Christian commentators. The apostle has put this meaning beyond all doubt. God, who spake in times past unto the fathers, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.
1. The expression intimates, that the dispensations which the prophets of the Old Testament lived, were but preparatory to one of complete perfection. To the future all these ancient holy men were ever looking. The patriarchal was succeeded by the Mosaic age. Prophet came after prophet; but all were looking forward. All things around them, and before them, were typical shadowy.
2. The emphasis which the of last days, intimates, also, the views they had of the complete efficiency of that religious system which the Messiah was to introduce. On that age all their hopes of the recovery of a world they saw sinking around them rested; and in the contemplation of this efficient plan of redeeming love, they mitigated their sorrows. They felt that the world needed a more efficient system, and they saw it descend with Messiah from heaven.
3. The days of the Messiah were regarded by the ancient Church as the last days, because in them all the great purposes of God were to be developed and completed.
II. TO THE STATE OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF GOD IN THE LAST DAYS. The mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. Some have considered this as a prediction of the actual rebuilding of the temple, and the restoration of the political and church-state of the Jews, in the close of the latter days of the times of the Messiah. Such an interpretation, if allowed, would not at all interfere with that in which all agree, that, whatever else the prediction may signify, it sets forth, under figures taken from the Levitical institutions, the future state of the general Church of Christ. For the principle which leads to such an interpretation, we have no less authority than that of the apostle Paul, who uniformly considers the temple, its priests, and its ritual, as types of heavenly things; and in one well-known passage, makes use of them to characterise the true Church of Christ. But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. The mountain of the Lords house is no longer covered with ruins, but established in the top of the hills. We learn from it--
1. That the Church shall be restored to evangelical order and beauty: it shall be as Mount Zion.
(1) Zion was the place of sacrifice. And in the last days the true sacrifice shall be exhibited here.
(2) Mount Zion was the throne of majesty. And in coming to the evangelical Zion we come to God as the universal Sovereign and Judge. In the latter days Gospel law will shine there as brightly as Gospel grace.
(3) Zion was the mountain of holiness. And in these glorious clays holy shall all they be who name the name of Christ.
(4) Zion was the special residence of God. On the day of Pentecost He took possession of the Church; but in the latter days there shall be special manifestations of His presence in richer displays of vital power. To this state we are ever to labour to bring the Church, avoiding, ourselves, all that is inconsistent with truth in doctrine and holiness in life. For the richer effusions of grace we are earnestly to pray.
2. In this state the Church shall be distinguished by its zeal. Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. So it was in the best estate of the Jewish Church. The Gospel is to be preached in all nations; and till you send forth the law they will not say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. We thus see the connection between the best state of the Church and this holy zeal. All history proves it.
III. TO CERTAIN SPECIAL OPERATIONS OF GOD BY WHICH THE EFFORTS OF HIS RESTORED CHURCH TO BLESS AND SAVE THE WORLD SHALL BE RENDERED EFFECTUAL. Without God, not all the efforts of the Church, even in her best state, can be effectual.
1. He shall judge among the nations. The word judge is not always used in its purely judicial sense, but in that of government,--the exercise of regal power both in mercy and judgment; and in this sense we here take it. He shall so order the affairs of the world, that opportunities shall be afforded to His Church to exert herself for its benefit. And thus is He judging among the nations in our own day.
2. It is a part of the regal office to show mercy; and thus, too, shall He judge among the nations. This He shall do by taking off those judicial desertions which, as a punishment for unfaithfulness, He has inflicted. He shall judge among the nations. He shall do this judicially, yet not for destruction, but correction. Then are two sorts of judgments; judgments of wrath, and judgments of mercy. When grace is given with judgments, then do they become corrective and salutary.
3. It is, therefore, added, and shall rebuke many people; or, according to Lowths translation, work conviction among them. And may we not hope that this is approaching? Even while waiting for the glorious period described and promised in the preceding prophecy, the Church is called to walk in the light of the Lord (Isa_2:5).
1. Walk by this light of truth yourselves.
2. Set the glory of these splendid scenes before you, and let them encourage you to increasing exertions for the spread of truth, holiness, and love throughout the earth. (Richard Watson.)
The glorious exaltation and enlargement of Church
I. THE GLORY AND EXALTATION. The mountain of the Lords house shall be established, etc.
II. THE ENLARGEMENT. All nations shall flow unto it.
III. THE PROSPERITY of the Church begins to be described in Isa_2:4. (J. Mede, B. D.)
The Churchs visibility and glory
There are--
I. TIMES WHEN THE CHURCH IS VISIBLE BUT NOT GLORIOUS.
II. TIMES WHEN IT IS NEITHER VISIBLE NOR GLORIOUS.
III. TIMES WHEN IT IS TO BE BOTH VISIBLE AND GLORIOUS. (J. Mede, B. D.)
The mountain of the Lords house
I. THE PERIOD REFERRED TO. The reference is not to the Gospel era as a whole, but to an advanced period of it, even the time of the great millennial prosperity. The golden age of the Greeks and Romans was the past, but our golden age is yet to come.
II. THE CHEERING TRUTH DECLARED. The mountain, etc. Often has Zion languished, but she is to become a praise in the whole earth. In this striking figure two things are embraced--
1. Elevated position.
2. Permanent duration.
III. THE GENERAL INTEREST AWAKENED. We have here--
1. The invitation given. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.
2. The considerations by which it is enforced. And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. It is the seat of Divine instruction on the one hand, and the centre of holy influence on the other.
IV. THE HAPPY RESULTS DECLARED (verse 4). This is--
1. A consummation most devoutly to be desired.
2. Absolutely certain in its realisation. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares.
3. The means whereby it win be accomplished. By God judging or ruling among the nations, and rebuking or working conviction among them. (Anon.)
The future glory and amplitude of the Church
1. The Gospel dispensation was designed to supersede that which was given by the hand of Moses; it was to be exalted above this hill.
2. The Gospel also was destined to triumph over all those corrupt systems of religion which have ever been received among men.
3. The assertion before us is also understood as a prophecy relative to the fulness of the Church when the Jews shall be called in. This important event is foretold by the sacred writers. (S. Ramsey, M. A.)
Isaiahs wideness of view
Consider what that prediction meant in Isaiahs time. He lived within well-defined boundaries and limitations: the Jew was not a great man in the sense of including within his personal aspirations all classes, conditions, and estates of men; left to himself he could allow the Gentiles to die by thousands daily without shedding a tear upon their fallen bodies; he lived amongst his own people; it was enough for him that the Jews were happy, for the Gentiles were but dogs. Here is a new view of human nature, great enlargement of spiritual boundaries. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Church of the future--Goethe and Isaiah
It is quite the fashion in these days for those who do not believe in the Christian religion to bestow on it their patronage. The Bible is full of delusion and falsehood, but they regard it, on the whole, as a book that deserves notice; parts of it are almost as good as the Rig-Veda. The Church has been the handmaid of bigotry and superstition, yet they find in the history of the Church some passages that are inspiring. Jesus of Nazareth was a teacher in whose doctrine they find many things to set right; yet, so rich were His contributions to ethical science that they feel themselves justified in bestowing on Him a qualified approval. This fashion of patronising Christianity may have been set by Goethe. Into that temple of the future which he describes in his Tale, the little hut of the fisherman, by which he symbolises Christianity, was graciously admitted. This little hut had, indeed, been wonderfully transfigured. By virtue of the Lamp locked up in it [the light of reason] the hut had been converted from the inside to the outside into solid silver. Ere long, too, its form changed; for the noble metal shook aside the accidental shape of planks, posts and beams, and stretched itself out into a noble case of beaten, ornamented workmanship. Thus a fair little temple stood erected in the middle of the large one; or, if you will, an altar worthy of the temple. This is Goethes view of the Church of the future. He has been magnanimous enough to provide a niche for it in the perfected temple of the Great Hereafter; it is to serve as a pretty decoration of that grand structure, as a dainty bit of bric-a-brac. About twenty five centuries before Goethes day another poet, dwelling somewhere in the fastnesses of Syria, had visions of the future in form and colour quite unlike this of the German philosopher. In Isaiahs sight of the latter day, the Church of God is not merely a feature--it furnishes the outline, it fills the whole field of vision. It is not merely a trait of the picture--it is the picture. Instead of putting the Church into a niche in the templeof the future, to be kept there as a kind of heirloom--a well-preserved antique curiosity--Isaiah insists that the Church in the temple, and that all stores and forces of good are to be gathered into it, to celebrate its empire and to decorate its triumph. The mountain of the Lords house, the typical Zion on which the spiritual Church is builded, is to be exalted above all other eminences. Toward that all eyes shall turn; toward that all paths shall lead; toward that shall journey with joy all pilgrim feet. For the heralds of its progress, for the missionaries of its glad tidings it shall have many nations; it shall give to all the world the ruling law and the informing word. This is Isaiahs view of the Church of the future. When twenty-five centuries more shall have passed it will be easier to tell whether the Hebrew or the German was the better seer. (Washington Gladden, D. D.)
The Church of the future
Isaiah shows us the Church of the future only in outline; the great fact which he gives us is that in the last days the spiritual Jerusalem shall gather into itself all the kingdoms of the world and all the glory of them. It may be possible for us in some indistinct way to fill in this outline; to imagine, if we cannot prophesy, what the scope and character of the future Church shall be.
I. WILL IT HAVE A CREED? A creed is only a statement, more or less elaborate, of the facts and principles of religion accepted by those who adhere to it. Religion is not wholly an affair of the emotions; it involves the apprehension of truth. In the future, as in the past, this truth must be stated, in order to be apprehended. A mans creed is what he believes; and there must be creeds as long as there are believers. It is probable, however, that the creeds may be considerably modified as the years pass. Certainly they have been undergoing modifications, continually, through the centuries gone by. It must be remembered, however, that the changes through which theological science has been passing have been changes of spirit rather than of substance, of form more than of fact. The essential truth remains. The great changes in theology are moral changes. Theology is constantly becoming less materialistic and more ethical. This progress will continue through the future. The creed of the future will contain, I have no doubt, the same essential truth that is found in the creeds of the present; but there may be considerable difference in the phrasing of it, and in the point of view from which it is approached.
1. Men will believe in the future in an infinite personal God, the Creator, the Ruler, the Father of men. The abstract, impersonal Force to which Agnosticism leads us has no relation to that which is deepest in man, and can have none. Christ bade us love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind and soul. Can any man ever be perfectly happy until he has found some Being whom he can love in this way? Must not the Being who is worthy to be loved in this way be both perfect and infinite? And is it possible for a man to love with heart and mind and soul, any being, however vast or powerful, that has neither heart nor mind nor soul?
2. Concerning the mode of the Divine existence, men will learn in the future to speak more modestly than they have spoken in the past. It will become more and more evident that it is not possible to put the infinite into terms of the finite. There is the doctrine of the Trinity; there is truth in it, or under it; but can anyone put that truth into propositions that shall be definite and not contradictory?
3. II one may judge the future by the past there is no reason to fear that the person of Jesus Christ will be less commanding in the Church of the future than it is in the Church of the present.
4. The fact of sin will not be denied by the Church of the future. Doubtless organisation and circumstance will be taken into the account in estimating human conduct; but the power of the human will to control the natural tendencies, to release itself from entangling circumstances, and to lay hold on the Divine grace by which it may overcome sin, will also be clearly understood. The supremacy of the moral nature will be vindicated.
5. Punishment, as conceived and represented by the Church of the future, will not be an arbitrary infliction of suffering, but the natural and inevitable consequence of disobedience to law. It will be discovered that the moral law is incorporated into the natural order, and that its sanctions are found in that order; while, in the work of redemption, God interposes by His personal and supernatural grace to save men from the consequences of their own disobedience and folly. Law is natural; grace is supernatural Transgressors will be made to see, what they now so dimly apprehend, that no effect can be more closely joined to its cause than penalty to sin.
6. Whatever the creed of the future may be, however, it will not be put to the kind of use which the creed of the present is made to serve. It will not be laid down as the doctrinal plank over which everybody must walk who comes into the communion of the Church. The Church, like every other organism, has an organic idea, and that is simple loyalty to Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. There will be but one door into that Church--Christ will be the door.
II. WHAT WILL BE THE POLITY OF THE FUTURE CHURCH? It is likely that, of the various sorts of ecclesiastical machinery, each of the several religious bodies will freely choose that which it likes best. Doubtless the Church will have some form of government: it will not be a holy mob; lawlessness will not be regarded as the supreme good, in Church or in State. In whatever ecclesiastical mould the Church of the future may be cast, there will be no mean sectarianism in existence then. The various families of Christians will dwell as happily together as well-bred families now do in society. Though there be diversities of form in the future, there will be real and thorough intercommunion and cooperation among Christians of all names, and nothing will be permitted to hold apart those who follow the same Leader and travel the same road.
III. WHAT KIND OF WORK WILL BE DONE BY THE CHURCH OF THE FUTURE? It will have many ways of working that the Church of the present has not dreamed of. The field is the world, Christ has told us; and in that better day the Church will have learned to occupy the field.
1. Paul said that as a preacher of the Gospel he magnified his office. There is no office more honourable. But it must not be inferred that there is no other Way of preaching the Gospel except the formal utterance of religious truth, in the presence of a congregation. The truth will be disseminated, in that time, in many other ways. For though the living voice is the best instrument for the proclamation of the truth, so far as it will reach, it cannot reach very far. The art of printing has been given to the world since that day; and by that invention the whole business of instructing and influencing men has been revolutionised. The Church has already appropriated this agency; and it is doubtless true that it will be employed in the future more effectively than in the past. Neither will the range of teaching be so narrow as it has sometimes been in the past. To apply the ethical rule of the New Testament to the conduct of individuals, and to the relations of men in society, will be the constant obligation of the pulpit. Out of Zion must go forth the law by which parents, children, neighbours, citizens, workmen, masters, teachers, pupils, benefactors, beneficiaries, shall guide their behaviour. Science, long the nightmare of the theologians, will no more trouble their dreams; it will be understood that there can be no conflict between truths; that physical science has its facts and laws, and spiritual science its facts and laws; that these are diverse but not contradictory, and that the one is just as positive and knowable as the other. The unfriendliness now existing between the scientists and the theologians will exist no longer, because both parties will have learned wisdom.
2. But the work of teaching will not be the only work to which the Church of the future will address itself. Large and wise enterprises for the welfare of men will be set on foot; many of the instrumentalities now in use will continue to be employed, under modified forms, and many new ones will be devised. It will be understood that the law of the Church is simply this, Let us do good to all men as we have opportunity. (Washington Gladden, D. D.)
The magnet which draws the nations
The Church is established on the top of the mountain, and all nations are flowing unto it. Yes, flowing up hill! Yes, up the mountain side! When I was a boy I said, That is false rhetoric, a mistake--flowing to the top of the mountain; it cannot be. I went to the workshop of a friend, and I saw in the dust a parcel of steel filings. And he had a magnet, and, as he drew it near to the steel filings, they were attracted to it and kissed the magnet. Then I said, Give me a magnet large enough, place it on the mountain top, and it will draw all the nations unto it. That magnet is the Lord Jesus Christ, for He said, If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto Me. (Bp. M. Simpson, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary1892 · Public DomainOn vv2, 4, 5Isa_2:2. And it shall come to pass in the…
THE FUTURE TRIUMPHS OF THE GOSPEL
Isa_2:2. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and all nations shall flow unto it.
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This poetic imagery delineates the final and universal prevalence of religion. Christianity is a temple majestic and conspicuous, and all nations crowd its courts in united adoration. There are many interesting indications that this prophecy is soon to be fulfilled, such as—
I. The political aspect of the globe. The vast political changes that have taken place during the last four centuries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America have all been favourable to the extension of Christianity. The area of Christian knowledge and influence has been steadily extending [505]
[505] All the might of the world is now on the side of Christianity. Those barbarous, inchoate powers which still cling to heathenism are already trembling before the advancing strides of the Christian nations; Christian just enough to rouse all their energies and to make them intensely ambitious, and on the alert to increase their own dominion, without having learned Christianity’s highest lesson, the lesson of love.
Even that heathenism which seems to have some power is only waiting for its time of decay. In vast, undisturbed forests, whose interlacing branches exclude the light, moisture is generated, and rills, fed by marshes and quiet pools, unite to form running rivers. But let the trees be cut down, and the ground be laid open to the sun, and the swamps will dry up, and the rivers run no more. So is it with the Brahmins, and all the effete teachers of heathenism. As long as the dense shadows of ignorance brood over the people, they will possess some little trickling power; but let the light of knowledge shine in upon the masses, and the channels of their influence will dry up and be forgotten.—Beecher.
II. The progress of civilisation and of the arts. A few years ago is required the painful labour of years to copy a Bible, and the wealth of a prince to purchase one: now the art of printing scatters the Word of God like autumn leaves, and it is found in the humblest dwelling. Then none could read but the learned few; now knowledge is becoming like the sunlight, everywhere diffused. War has long been one of the greatest obstacles in the way of human improvement; now various causes are operating to render it less frequent, such as
(1) the rapid extension of piety, carrying with it the principles of peace;
(2) the extension of enlightened views of national policy;
(3) the transference of power from kings and nobles to the people, the victims of war, who will become its powerful opponents;
(4) the invention of terrible engines of destruction, which will tend to deter nations from plunging into war. Slavery, too, is rapidly disappearing from the earth. The wonderful facilities of intercommunication which now exist are weakening and effacing national prejudices. All these causes are hastening on the promised millennium.
III. The present state of the sciences. This statement seems to be contradicted by the attitude of many students of science towards Christianity. But we must remember that all the sciences in their infancy have been arrayed as hostile to scriptural truth—astronomy, geology, physiology, chronology; but one by one each of these sciences, as it developed and attained maturity, has passed over to the side of Christianity, and has powerfully helped to build up what it feebly and impotently laboured to destroy. That which hath been is that which shall be. In science the cause of revealed truth will continue to find one of her most ready and efficient helpers.
IV. The past achievements of Christianity foreshadow its eventful and perfect triumph. The hostility of earth has marshalled every possible power, in every possible combination, against Christianity—the persecution of political power, the arguments of philosophy, satire, learning, poetry, wealth—and all in vain. The past triumphs of the religion of Christ show that it possesses an inherent energy which must inevitably make it triumphant over the world. The mighty influence which swept away the gods of Greece and Rome will not be baffled by the mud-idols of India.
V. The triumphant advances Christianity is now making indicate its universal extension. Application.—What are you doing to hasten this certain and glorious triumph?—J. S. C. Abbott, American National Preacher, xvii. 169–176.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield1917 · Public DomainOn v2that the mountain
that the mountain
A mountain, in Scripture symbolism, means a kingdom Dan 2:35; Rev 13:1; Rev 17:9-11.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv3–5General Information:
General Information:
Isaiah speaks to the people of Judah in the form of a poem. (See: Parallelism)
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Jacob, so he may teach ... and we may walk
Another possible meaning is "Jacob. He will teach ... and we will walk"
he may teach us some of his ways, and we may walk in his paths
The words "ways" and "paths" are metaphors for the way a person lives. If your language has only one word for the ground on which people walk, you may combine these phrases. AT: "he may teach us his will so that we may obey him" (See: Parallelism and Metaphor)
For out of Zion will go the law, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem
These phrases mean the same thing. Isaiah was emphasizing that all nations will understand that the truth is found in Jerusalem. AT: "People in Zion will teach God's law, and people in Jerusalem will teach the word of Yahweh" (See: Parallelism)
For out of Zion will go the law
"For the law will go out from Zion." Isaiah speaks as if the law were something like a river that moves without people doing anything. AT: "Those to whom they teach the law will go out from Zion" or "Yahweh will proclaim his law from Zion" (See: Metaphor)
the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem
"the word of Yahweh will go out from Jerusalem." Isaiah speaks as if the word of Yahweh were something like a river that moves without people doing anything. You can make clear the understood information. AT: "Those to whom they teach the word of Yahweh will go out from Jerusalem" or "Yahweh will proclaim his word from Jerusalem" (See: Metaphor and Ellipsis)
Tyndale Open Study Notes2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0On vv2–52:2-4 God’s gracious salvation would one day extend beyond…
2:2-4 God’s gracious salvation would one day extend beyond Israel and Judah. This would prompt the nations to come to Zion, not in battle but to be blessed there and live by the rules of God’s kingdom. Isaiah encouraged Judah to look at the benefits that the nations would enjoy. He wanted to stimulate the people of Judah (2:5) to jealousy and provoke them to follow the Lord so that they would not be left out in that day. This section is repeated almost verbatim in Micah 4:1-3.
2:2 In the Old Testament, the expression the last days is a general reference to the future era (see Jer 49:39; Ezek 38:16; Hos 3:5); in the New Testament, it is used to refer to the period that began with the coming of the Lord Jesus (Heb 1:2) and more specifically to the period immediately preceding the end of the present age (2 Pet 3:3). • The mountain of the Lord’s house referred to the Temple Mount. This location symbolized God’s glorious exaltation (see Isa 6:1) and his kingdom on earth. Isaiah’s focus on God’s exalted and supreme kingship flows out of his famous vision of God (ch 6). • Far from being a narrow nationalistic dream, Isaiah’s prophetic hope extended beyond Judah and Jerusalem to include people from all over the world.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv2–5 In an evident place to be seen and discerned.
In an evident place to be seen and discerned.
The decree and ordinance of God, touching the restoration of the Church, which is chiefly meant of the time of Christ.
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When the kingdom of Christ shall be enlarged by the preaching of the doctrine. Here also is declared the zeal of the children of God, when they are called.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv2–5 Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in…
Isa 2:2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, [that] the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
Ver. 2. And it shall come to pass, &c.] {See Trapp on "Mic 4:1"} where we shall find that that prophet hath the same words with this αυτολεξει. So hath Obadiah the same with Jeremiah, St Mark with St Matthew, St Jude with St Peter, the blessed Virgin in her Magnificat with holy Hannah in her Canticle, &c.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv2–5 And; or, now, as this particle is rendered, 1Sa…
And; or, now, as this particle is rendered, 1Sa 9:1; Ezr 1:1, &c.
In the last days; in the times of the Messias or the gospel, as the generality both of Jewish and Christian writers understand it, and as may further appear both from the use of this phrase in this sense, Jer 48:47; 49:39; Eze 38:8,16; Da 10:14; Hos 3:5; Act 2:17; Heb 1:2; 1Jo 2:18, and from the conversion of the Gentiles here promised, which was not to be till that time; and from the nature of the thing, for this really was the last time and state of the church in the world; the Jewish pedagogy was to be abolished, but Christ’s institutions were to continue to the end of the world.
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The mountain of the Lord’s house; the temple of the Lord which is upon Mount Moriah; which yet is not to be understood literally of that material temple, but mystically of the church of God, as appears from the next following words, which will not admit of a literal interpretation; and from the flowing of all nations to it, which was not to that temple, nor indeed was fulfilled till that temple was destroyed; and from the frequent use of this metaphor, the temple, or the house of the Lord, concerning the Christian church, both in the Old and the New Testament. Shall be exalted above the hills; shall be placed and settled in a most conspicuous and glorious manner, being advanced above all other churches and kingdoms in the world. All nations, those Gentiles, whom you now despise, and judge to be abhorred and quite forsaken by God, shall flow unto it, shall come in great abundance, and with great eagerness, like a river, as the word signifies.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv2–5 And it shall come to pass in the last…
And it shall come to pass in the last days,.... The days of the Messiah, as Aben Ezra rightly interprets it; and it is a rule laid down by Kimchi and Ben Melech, that wherever the last days are mentioned, the days of the Messiah are intended. The days of the Messiah commenced in the latter part of the Old Testament dispensation, or Jewish world, towards the close of their civil and church state, at the end of which he was to come, Hab 2:3 and accordingly did, which is called the end of the world, and the last days; that is, of that state, Heb 1:2 and ushered in the world to come, or Gospel dispensation, which is properly the days of the Messiah, reaching from his first to his second coming; the first of which were the times of John the Baptist, Christ and his apostles; the latter days of that dispensation take in the rise and reign of antichrist, Ti1 4:1 the last days of it are those which bring in the perilous times, the spiritual reign of Christ, and the destruction of antichrist, and which will precede the personal coming of Christ, Ti2 3:1 and these are the days here referred to.
That the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains; by "the mountain" of the Lord's house is meant, not Mount Moriah, on which the temple was built, as Kimchi interprets it; nor the temple itself, as the Targum; though in the last days of it, and at the first coming of the Messiah, that had a greater glory than ever it had before, through the personal presence of Christ in it; through the effusion of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles there, on the day of Pentecost; and through the Gospel being first preached here by Christ and his apostles, from whence it went forth into all the world, as is afterwards predicted it should; but the kingdom of Christ, which is his church, is here designed; called "the Lord's house", because of his building, and where he dwells, and which he will at this time beautify and glorify; the materials of it are lively stones, or true believers; laid on Christ the foundation, into which there is no right entrance but through faith in him, who is the door, and where is plenty of provisions; the pillars and beams of it are the ministers of the Gospel, and its windows are the ordinances: here Christ is as a Son over his own house; he is the Master of it, the High Priest and Prophet in it; and his servants are the stewards of it, to give to everyone their portion; and happy are they that have a name and a place in it: and it is called "the mountain", in allusion to Mount Zion, on which the temple stood; because of its immovableness, being secured in the everlasting and electing love of God, and in the unalterable covenant of grace, founded on the Rock Christ, and guarded by the mighty power of God. This is "established in the top of the mountains"; in Christ, who is higher than the kings of the earth, signified by mountains, Rev 17:9 who is the Head of all principality and power; not in their first head, or in themselves, is the establishment of the saints, but in Christ, Co2 1:21 he is the stability of their persons, of their grace, and of their life, spiritual and eternal. Here it seems to denote the superiority of the kingdom and interest of Christ to all civil and religious states; the settlement and security of it; its standing above them, and continuance when they shall be no more, even all antichristian states, both Papal, Pagan, and Mahometan, Rev 16:19.
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and shall be exalted above the hills; Mount Zion is above Mount Sinai, or the Gospel dispensation is preferable to the legal one. It is an observation of Jarchi, that it shall be exalted by a greater sign or miracle that shall be done in it than was done in Sinai, Carmel, and Tabor; the law was given on Sinai, and many wonders wrought; but on Zion the Messiah himself appeared, and his Gospel was published, and miracles wrought by him. And in the latter day, when Christ, and he alone, shall be exalted, as he will at the time this prophecy refers to, Isa 2:11 the church will be exalted; the glory of the Lord will be risen upon her; the interest of Christ will exceed all other interests; his religion will be the prevailing one; the kingdoms of this world will become his; and his dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the rivers to the end of the earth. This may also denote the visibility of the kingdom and church of Christ; it will be as a city on a hill; and however obscure the church is now, being in the wilderness, it will at this time be visible to all:
and all nations shall flow unto it; that is, many out of all nations shall be converted, and come freely and willingly to join themselves to the church of Christ; they shall come in great numbers, in company together, and that continually, like flowing streams; they shall first flow to the Lord, and to his goodness, and then to his church and ordinances; see Isa 60:4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv2–5 In the last days - In the times of…
In the last days - In the times of the Messiah. For Christ's institutions were to continue to the end of the world. The mountain - The temple of the Lord which is upon mount Moriah; which yet is not to be understood literally of that material temple, but mystically of the church of God; as appears from the flowing of all nations to it, which was not to that temple, nor indeed was fulfilled 'till that temple was destroyed. Exalted - Shall be placed and settled in a most conspicuous and glorious manner, being advanced above all other churches and kingdoms.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv2–4 Verse 2. In the last days - "In the…
Verse 2. In the last days - "In the latter days"] "Wherever the latter times are mentioned in Scripture, the days of the Messiah are always meant," says Kimchi on this place: and, in regard to this place, nothing can be more clear and certain. And the mountain of the Lord's house, says the same author, is Mount Moriah, on which the temple was built. The prophet Micah, Mic 4:1-4, has repeated this prophecy of the establishment of the kingdom of Christ, and of its progress to universality and perfection, in the same words, with little and hardly any material variation: for as he did not begin to prophesy till Jotham's time, and this seems to be one of the first of Isaiah's prophecies, I suppose Micah to have taken it from hence. The variations, as I said, are of no great importance.
Isa 2:2. הוא hu, after ונשא venissa, a word of some emphasis, may be supplied from Micah, if dropped in Isaiah. An ancient MS. has it here in the margin. It has in like manner been lost in Isa 53:4, (see note on the place, See Clarke on Isa 53:4) and in Ps 22:29, where it is supplied by the Syriac, and Septuagint. Instead of כל הגוים col haggoyim, all the nations, Micah has only עמים ammim, peoples; where the Syriac has כל עמים col ammim, all peoples, as probably it ought to be.
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Isa 2:3. For the second אל el, read ואל veel, seventeen MSS., one of my own, ancient, two editions, the Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac, Chaldee, and so Micah, Mic 4:2.
Isa 2:4. Micah adds עד רחק ad rachok, afar off, which the Syriac also reads in this parallel place of Isaiah. It is also to be observed that Micah has improved the passage by adding a verse, or sentence, for imagery and expression worthy even of the elegance of Isaiah: -
"And they shall sit every man under his vine,
And under his fig tree, and none shall affright them:
For the mouth of JEHOVAH, God of hosts, hath spoken it."
The description of well established peace, by the image of "beating their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks," is very poetical. The Roman poets have employed the same image, Martial, xiv. 34. "Falx ex ense."
"Pax me certa ducis placidos curvavit in usus:
Agricolae nunc sum; militis ante fui."
"Sweet peace has transformed me. I was once the property of the soldier, and am now the property of the husbandman."
The prophet Joel, Joe 3:10, hath reversed it, and applied it to war prevailing over peace: -
"Beat your ploughshares into swords,
And your pruning-hooks into spears."
And so likewise the Roman poets: -
________________ Non ullus aratro
Dignus honos: squalent abductis arva colonis,
Et curvae rigidum falces conflantur in ensem.
Virg., Georg. i. 506.
"Agriculture has now no honour: the husbandmen being taken away to the wars, the fields are overgrown with weeds, and the crooked sickles are straightened into swords."
Bella diu tenuere viros: erat aptior ensis
Vomere: cedebat taurus arator equo
Sarcula cessabant; versique in pila ligones;
Factaque de rastri pondere cassis erat.
Ovid, Fast. i. 697.
"War has lasted long, and the sword is preferred to the plough. The bull has given place to the war-horse; the weeding-hooks to pikes; and the harrow-pins have been manufactured into helmets."
The prophet Ezekiel, Eze 17:22-24, has presignified the same great event with equal clearness, though in a more abstruse form, in an allegory; from an image, suggested by the former part of the prophecy, happily introduced, and well pursued: -
"Thus saith the Lord JEHOVAH:
I myself will take from the shoot of the lofty cedar,
Even a tender scion from the top of his scions will I
pluck off:
And I myself will plant it on a mountain high and
eminent.
On the lofty mountain of Israel will I plant it;
And it shall exalt its branch, and bring forth fruit,
And it shall become a majestic cedar:
And under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing;
In the shadow of its branches shall they dwell:
And all the trees of the field shall know,
That I JEHOVAH have brought low the high tree;
Have exalted the low tree;
Have dried up the green tree;
And have made the dry tree to flourish:
I JEHOVAH have spoken it, and will do it."
The word ונתתי venathatti, in this passage, Eze 17:22, as the sentence now stands, appears incapable of being reduced to any proper construction or sense. None of the ancient versions acknowledge it, except Theodotion, and the Vulgate; and all but the latter vary very much from the present reading of this clause. Houbigant's correction of the passage, by reading instead of ונתתי venathatti, ויונקת veyoneketh, and a tender scion - which is not very unlike it, perhaps better ויונק veyonek, with which the adjective רך rach will agree without alteration - is ingenious and probable; and I have adopted it in the above translation. - L.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv2–5 Isa 2:2. And — Or rather, now, it shall…
Isa 2:2. And — Or rather, now, it shall come to pass in the last days — The times of the Messiah, which are always spoken of by the prophets as the last days, because they are the last times and state of the church, Christ’s institutions being to continue to the end of the world. See Joe 2:28, compared with Act 2:17; Mic 4:1, compared with Heb 1:1; 1Pe 1:20. The Jews, it must be observed, divided the times or succession of the world into three ages or periods: the first, before the law; the second, under the law; the third, under the Messiah: which they justly considered as the last dispensation, designed of God to remain till the consummation of all things. “Accordingly St. Paul tells us, that Christ appeared επι συντελεια των αιωνων, at the consummation of the ages, or several periods of the world, Heb 9:26; and, speaking of his own times, saith, τελη των αιωνων, the ends of the world, or conclusion of the ages, are come, 1Co 10:11. The mountain of the Lord’s house — Mount Moriah, on which the Lord’s house stood, or rather, the Lord’s house upon that mount, shall be established upon the top of the mountains — Shall be raised above, be rendered more conspicuous than, and shall be preferred before, all other mountains on which houses are built, and altars erected and dedicated to any god or gods. The prophet speaks figuratively. He means, that the worship of the true God should be established on the ruins of idolatry, that the true religion should swallow up all false religions, and the church of God, typified by the temple at Jerusalem, become most eminent and conspicuous, as a city on a high mountain: and shall be exalted above the hills — Above all churches, states, and kingdoms in the world, and all that is excellent and glorious therein. The stone cut out of the mountain, without hands, shall become itself a mountain, and shall fill the whole earth, Dan 2:34-35. And all nations — Even the Gentile nations; shall flow unto it — Shall come in great abundance and with great eagerness to embrace the true religion, and become members of the true church, like broad streams, or mighty rivers, flowing swiftly and impetuously toward the ocean, as the word נהרי, here used, signifies. Now, it is well known, this was not the case with respect to the Jewish Church at Jerusalem, or the worship there established. It never happened, during the ages that intervened between the time of Isaiah and the destruction of their city and temple, and the dispersion of their nation by the Romans, that their religion was so exalted, or made such great account of, by any nations remote or near, as is here expressed: much less did whole nations flow unto them, or unite themselves with them in the service of God, and in church fellowship. But this prophecy has been in a great measure fulfilled with regard to the Christian Church, which has so drawn to it the greater part of the civilized nations, that it has far, very far, surpassed all other religious institutions, whether Jewish, heathen, or Mohammedan: and when the last of the four kingdoms, spoken of Dan 2:35; Dan 2:40-45; Dan 7:19-27, shall be destroyed, and thereby all obstructions removed, it shall be fully and perfectly accomplished, and the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the Most High. For the Messiah shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth: yea, all kings shall fall down before him, and all nations shall serve him, Psa 72:8; Psa 72:11.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2–5 In the last days - הימים באחרית be'achărı̂yth hāyâmı̂ym.…
In the last days - הימים באחרית be'achărı̂yth hāyâmı̂ym. In the “after” days; in the “futurity” of days; that is, in the time to come. This is an expression that often occurs in the Old Testament. It does not of itself refer to any “particular” period, and especially not, as our translation would seem to indicate, to the end of the world. The expression properly denotes “only future time” in general. But the prophets were accustomed to concentrate all their hopes on the coming of the Messiah. They saw his advent as giving character, and sublimity, and happiness to all coming times. Hence, the expression came to denote, by way of eminence, the times of the Messiah, and is frequently used in the New Testament, as well as the Old, to designate those times; see Act 2:17; compare Joe 2:28; Heb 1:2; 1Pe 1:5, 1Pe 1:20; 1Jo 2:18; Gen 49:1; Mic 4:1; Deu 4:30; Jer 48:47; Dan 11:28.
The expressions which follow are figurative, and cannot well be interpreted as relating to any other events than the times of the Messiah. They refer to that future period, then remote, which would constitute the “last” dispensation of things in this world - the “last” time - the period, however long it might be, in which the affairs of the world would be closed. The patriarchal times had passed away; the dispensation under the Mosaic economy would pass away; the times of the Messiah would be the “last” times, or the last dispensation, under which the affairs of the world would be consummated. Thus the phrase is evidently used in the New Testament, as denoting the “last” time, though without implying that that time would be short. It might be longer than “all” the previous periods put together, but it would be the “last” economy, and under that economy, or “in” that time, the world would be destroyed, Christ would come to judgment, the dead would be raised, and the affairs of the world would be wound up. The apostles, by the use of this phrase, never intimate that the time would be short, or that the day of judgment was near, but only that “in” that time the great events of the world’s history would be consummated and closed; compare 2Th 2:1-5. This prophecy occurs in Micah Mic 4:1-5 with scarcely any variation. It is not known whether Isaiah made use of Micah, or Micah of Isaiah, or both of an older and well-known prophecy. Hengstenberg (“Chris.” i., pp. 289, 290) supposes that Isaiah copied from Micah, and suggests the following reasons:
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1. The prediction of Isaiah is disconnected with what goes before, and yet begins with the copulative ו (v), “and.” In Micah, on the contrary, it is connected with what precedes and follows.
2. In the discourses of the prophets, the promise usually follows the threatening. This order is observed by Micah; in Isaiah, on the contrary, the promise contained in the passage precedes the threatening, and another promise follows. Many of the older theologians supposed that the passages were communicated alike by the Holy Spirit to both writers. But there is no improbability in supposing that Isaiah may have availed himself of language used by Micah in describing the same event.
The mountain of the Lord’s house - The temple was built on mount Moriah, which was hence called the mountain of the Lord’s house. The temple, or the mountain on which it was reared, would be the object which would express the public worship of the true God. And hence, to say that that should be elevated higher than all other hills, or mountains, means, that the worship of the true God would become an object so conspicuous as to be seen by all nations; and so conspicuous that all nations would forsake other objects and places of worship, being attracted by the glory of the worship of the true God.
Shall be established - Shall be fixed, rendered permanent.
In the top of the mountains - To be in the top of the mountains, would be to be “conspicuous,” or seen from afar. In other words, the true religion would be made known to all people.
Shall flow unto it - This is a figurative expression, denoting that they would be converted to the true religion. It indicates that they would come in multitudes, like the flowing of a mighty river. The idea of the “flowing” of the nations, or of the movement of many people toward an object like a broad stream, is one that is very grand and sublime; compare Psa 65:7. This cannot be understood of any period previous to the establishment of the gospel. At no time of the Jewish history did any events occur that would be a complete fulfillment of this prophecy. The expressions evidently refer to that period elsewhere often predicted by this prophet Isa 11:10; Isa 42:1, Isa 42:6; Isa 49:22; Isa 54:3; Isa 60:3, Isa 60:5, Isa 60:10; Isa 62:2; Isa 66:12, Isa 66:19, when “the Gentiles” would be brought to the knowledge of the true religion. In Isa 66:12, there occurs a passage remarkably similar, and which may serve to explain this:
‘Behold I will extend peace to her (to Zion) as a river;
And the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream.’
Under the Messiah, through the preaching of the apostles and by the spread of the gospel, this prophecy was to receive its full accomplishment.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv2–5 Days. The whole time of the new law, from…
Days. The whole time of the new law, from the coming of Christ till the end of the world, is called in the Scripture the last days; because no other age, or time shall come after it, but only eternity. (Challoner) --- It is therefore styled the last hour, 1 John ii. (Worthington) --- Mountains. This shews the perpetual visibility of the Church of Christ: for a mountain upon the top of mountains cannot be hid. (Challoner) --- This evidently regards the Church, Matthew v. (Worthington) --- The Jews can never shew the fulfillment of this prophecy in any material temple. Micheas (iv. 1.) copies this text.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On vv2, 5 B.—The first prophetic lamp, which in the light of…
B.—The first prophetic lamp, which in the light of the divine eminence that shall finally appear, makes known the things falsely eminent of the present time
Isa_2:2 to Isa_4:1
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1. The First Prophetic Lamp
Isa_2:2-4
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days,
That the mountain of the Lord’s house
Shall be established1 in the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all 2nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many 3people shall go and say,
Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
And he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths:
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations,
And shall 4rebuke many people:
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares,
And their spears into 5pruning hooks:
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
Neither shall they learn war any more.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
It is now admitted by almost all expositors that this passage is borrowed from Micah. It is old orthodox opinion that the passage may be original as well with Isaiah as with Micah. This view occurs in Abarbanel, with the additional notion that the passage is indeed older in Isaiah, but taken from Isaiah, not by Micah himself, but that it was brought to him in the way of inspiration from the older prophet. (Micha visionem suam enarravit illis verbis, quœ tunc ex Jesaia ori ipsius erant indita). That the passage is original with Isaiah and borrowed from him by Micah is maintained by Calmet, Beckhaus (Integr. d. proph. Schr. d. Alten Bundes, 1798), Umbreit. Some recent expositors (Koppe, Rosenmueller, Hitzig, Maurer. Ewald), are of the opinion that our passage is the expression of a third person, from whom Isa. and Micah have drawn in common. Hitzig and Ewald even indicate Joel as the third person, and Joel 4:10 as the source of our text. If there were an expression of essentially the same import in any older prophet, this hypothesis might have some ground. But such a passage is not to be found. Joel 4:10 contains in fact precisely the opposite. For there Israel is summoned to forge its mattocks into swords, and its pruning hooks into spears, for a war of destruction against the heathen. In as much as a third place from which both may have drawn, is actually non-existent, this hypothesis is in itself superfluous and null. The question can only be, which of the two contemporaries has drawn from the other? And there everything favors the view that Micah is original. In the first place the form of the text in both points that way. For the text of Isaiah, although in the main sounding the same, has still some modifications that characterize it as a free citation, drawn, not from the manuscript original, but from memory. “All nations shall flow unto it,” Isa_2:2, certainly comes from the harder, “people shall flow unto it,” Mic_4:1, and not the reverse. And if Isa_2:4 is compared with Mic_4:3, the unusual עֲצֻמִים, strong, and the still more unusual עַד־רָחוֹק afar off, certainly do not make the impression of being additions. Rather the language of Isaiah. “And he shall judge among the nations, and rebuke many people,” appears as an abbreviation that reproduces only what is essential. In the second place the passage in Micah stands in the closest connection with what precedes. For with the threatening prophecy that for the sake of Judah’s sins “Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places öf the forests,” Mic_3:12, the promise is connected…by way of contrast, that this desolation of the divine mount shall be superseded by a wonderful glory (comp. Caspari, Micah der Morasthite s. 444 sqq.). It is most intimately connected with this that וְהָיָה, Mic_4:1, has a motive in what goes before, whereas, Isa_51:2 it has no motive, and is without example in so abrupt a position (comp. Delitzsch). In the third place the passage in Isaiah appears, in reference to what follows, as a motto, or a torso, prefixed theme-like, whereas in Micah it forms a well-rounded whole with two following verses. Hengstenberg is wrong when he refers the words Mic_4:4 to the Israelites. The heathen, too, according to Isa_2:2-3 are Israelites, and thereby partakers of the promise given to Israel (Lev_26:5). For (such is evidently the meaning of Isa_2:5), while Israel holds to its God forever as the rightful one, the heathen shall hold to their gods, only for a season, viz., until the revolution announced, Isa_2:1, takes place. The imperfect ילכו, ver 5 a. is therefore not future, but signifies continuance in the present. At present the prophet would say, all people walk after their gods, but they will not do this forever as Israel. For, Isa_2:1-3, he had expressly announced that all heathen shall flow to the mountain of Jehovah. As, therefore, Isa_2:4 completed the all-comprehensive portrait of peace in the old theocratic sense, according to passages like Lev_26:5; 1Ki_4:25, Isa_2:5 assigns the reason for the glorious promise made in Isa_2:1-4. Israel has already now the true way, therefore it needs only to persevere on its way. But the heathen, that are now in the false way, will one time forsake this false way and turn to the right way. The same construction proceeds, and the Isa_2:1-5 appear completely as one work from one mould. In the fourth place, the characteristics of the language in several respects bear the decided impress of Micah. The expression “in the last days,” occurs in Isaiah as in Micah, only in this one place. The expression הר בית י׳ is an evident connection with הר הבית Mic_3:12, a designation that occurs only here, therefore is peculiar to Micah. 2Ch_33:15 הַר בית י׳ occurs again for a special reason, and possibly with reference to our passage. נכון only here in both Isaiah and Micah: likewise נִשָּׂא ּבראשׂ הה׳ in Micah only here: in Isaiah three times beside, evidently occasioned by our text in Isa_2:2 : see Isa_2:12-14 : beside these Isa_6:1; Isa_52:13; Isa_57:7; Isa_57:15.—נָהָר with the meaning confluere only here in Isaiah and Micah.—The expression גוים רבים does not occur in Isaiah except Isa_2:2; on the other hand in Micah twice; here and 4:11, (comp. the remark on עמים רבים at Isa_2:3). Later prophets, following Micah’s example, make use of it, especially Ezek. (Eze_3:6; Eze_27:33; Eze_32:3; Eze_32:9-10. etc.). הר יהוה only here in Micah; and also in Isaiah only once beside, Isa_30:29.—אלהי יעקב in Isaiah and Micah only here. Isa. always says אלהי ישׂראל, once מֶלֶןְ יעקב (Isa_41:21); twice אֲבִיד יעקב (Isa_49:26; Isa_60:16). יורנו מדרכיו in both prophets only here (comp. Mic_3:11; Isa_28:9; Isa_28:26). Likewise נלכה בא׳.—The pairing of Zion and Jerusalem occurs in Micah in 3, 4, relatively often;Mic_3:10; Mic_3:12; Mic_4:2; Mic_4:8. But in Isaiah, too, it occurs often; Isa_4:3-4; Isa_10:12; Isa_10:32; Isa_24:23; Isa_30:19; Isa_31:9; Isa_33:20; Isa_37:22; Isa_37:32; Isa_41:27; Isa_52:1-2; Isa_62:1; Isa_64:9.—עַמִּים רַבִּים occurs in Isaiah in only one other place, Isa_17:12. whereas it occurs in Micah four times: Mic_4:3; Mic_4:13; Mic_5:6; Micah 5:27.—The use of רַבִּים and עצומים together does not occur again in Micah; on the other hand once in Isa_53:12. The singular גוי עצום once in Isa_60:22. The words עד־רחוק are wanting in Isaiah. In fact they occur only here. כתת in Micah again Isa_1:7; in Isa_24:12; Isa_30:14. Plural of חרב in Isaiah only Isa_21:15.—אּתִּים only here and Joel 4:10. חנית nowhere in Isaiah.—מזמרות in Isaiah again Isa_18:5. The other words have no specific importance. The following expressions, therefore are decidedly peculiar to Micah: 1) הַר בֵּית י׳; 2) גוֹים רַבִּים; 3) עַמִּים רַבִּים; 4) אלהי יעקב; for Isa. constantly says, אלהי ישראל, and יעקר is generally a favorite expression of Micah, which he uses eleven times (comp. Casp. Mic. d. Mor. ss. 412, 444). Only once in Micah and Isaiah, and that in our passage, do the expressions occur; נָהַר בְּרֹאשׁ הֶהָרִים ,נָכוֹן ,באחרית הימים, confluere, נֵלְכָה בְאֹדְחֹתָיו ,יוֹרֵנוּ מִדְּרָכָיִו, At most נִשָּׂא and the use of רַבִּים and עֲצוּמִים remind us of Isaiah’s style. But it is to be considered that owing to the difference in the size of the books, a single occurrence in Micah has relatively much more weight in settling the usus loquendi.
Isa_2:2. This beginning of the discourse with וְהָיָה is unexampled. As is well known, several books begin with וַיְהִי, (Josh., Judges, 1 Sam., 2 Sam., Ezek., Jonah, Neh.). But nowhere except here does והיה stand at the beginning of a discourse without a point of support given in what precedes. We recognize in that, as shown above, a proof that Isaiah took the words, Isa_2:2-4, from Mic_4:1-4 as the basis of his discourse. Unmoved, fixed‘ Such is the meaning of נָכוֹן, comp. בַּיִת נָכוֹן ,כִּסֵּא נָכוֹן 2Sa_7:16; 2Sa_7:26; 1Ki_2:45; Psa_93:2. נָהַר is probably denom. from נָהָר, and does not occur again in Isaiah in the sense of “flowing.” For וְנָהַרְתְּ Isa_60:5, comes from another root, kindred to נוּר, comp. Psa_34:6. The word occurs in Jer_31:12; Jer_51:44, with the meaning of “flowing, streaming,” but also only in regard to nations.
Isa_2:4. שָׁפַט with בֵּין is found again in Isa. only Isa_5:3. הוֹכִיחַ is a juridical term as well as שָׁפַט. The fundamental meaning is “εὐθύνω,” “make right, straight,” and corresponds to our “richten und sclichten.” Comp. Isa_11:3-4. In the latter place we find the construction with לְ (direct causative Hiphil). Comp. Job_16:21; Job_9:33; Gen_31:37. אִתִּים, which, as already remarked, excepting here occurs only Mic_4:3 and Joel 4:10. is, doubtless, radically related to אֵתים ,אֵת, which occurs 1Sa_13:20-21. The first the LXX translate in all cases by ἄροτρα, the Vulgate by aratra (in Joel) or vomeres (in Isa. and Mich.); the latter the LXX translates σκεῦος, Vulgate, ligo. It is uncertain whether the distinction between אֵתִים and אִתִּים is only to be referred to the Masoretic pointing, or to a real etymological difference. In the latter case it is not agreed whether the roots of the words in question are עוּט–אוּת, from which עֵט, style, “engrave, draw,” thence אוֹת ,אֵת, not. acc., or אָנָה, from which on the one hand, is אֳנִי, ship=σκεῦος on the other hand את ,אֵנֶת, or still another root.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. At the end of days shall the mountain of the house of Jehovah be higher than all mountains, and all peoples shall flow to it, (Isa_2:2). They shall encourage themselves to walk thither in order to be instructed in the law of Jehovah. For the law going forth from Zion shall be acknowledged as the right lamp of truth (Isa_2:3). Then shall all strife among nations be decided by the application of this law, and therefore, so to speak, by the Lord Himself, so that there shall be no more war, but rather weapons of war, and warlike exercises, shall cease.
2. And it shall come to pass … from Jerusalem.
Isa_2:2-3. אחרית הימים, last days, which Isaiah never uses, is a relative conception, but always of eschatological significance, whence the LXX correctly translate it by “ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις,” or by “ἐπ’ ἐσχάτου τῶν ἡμερῶν,” or by “ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν.” It is therefore not = in the time following, but = in the last time. Yet it is to be remarked herewith, that, as Oehler says: “Also the nearer future is set in the light of the last development of the divine kingdom.” Comp. the admirable exposition of this by Oehler, Herzog’sR. Encycl. XVII. S. 653.—In this last time now shall the mountain of the house of Jehovah (comp. Mic_3:12) for all time stand unmoved on the top of the mountains, and be exalted above all hills. The mountains are the protuberances of the earth, in which, so to speak, is embodied its effort upwards, its longing after heaven. Hence the mountains also appear especially adapted as places for the revelation of divinity, and as places of worship for men adoring the divinity. (What is great generally, in contrast with little human works, is conceived of as divine work, compare הַרְרֵי־אֵלPsa_36:7; Psa_68:16, אַרְזֵ־אֵלPsa_80:11, עִיר גְדֹלָה לֵאלֹהִיםJon_3:3). But there are mountains of God in a narrower sense; thus Horeb is called Mount of God, Exo_3:1; Exo_18:5; and Sinai, Num_10:33. But above all the mountain of the temple, to which per synecdochen the name of Zion is given, is called the “Mount of God,” the “holy mountain of God,” Psa_2:6; Psa_3:5; Psa_24:3, etc.;Jer_31:23; Joe_2:1; Joe_3:17, etc. But the idols compete with the Holy God for possession of the mountains. For the high places of the mountains are also consecrated by preference to their worship, so that Israel is often reproached with practising fornication with the idols on every high mountain, 1Ki_14:23; 2Ki_17:10; Isa_57:7; Isa_65:7; Jer_2:20; Jer_3:6; Jer_17:2; Jer_50:6; Eze_6:2-3; Hos_4:13. But the Scripture recognizes still another rivalry between the mountains. Psa_68:16 speaks of the basalt mountains of Bashan with their many pinnacles that look down superciliously upon the lowly and inconsiderable Mount Zion. All these rivalries shall come to an end. It is debated, how does the prophet conceive of the exalting of Mount Zion over the others? Many have supposed he conceives of Mount Zion as piled up over the others, (aliis montibus veluti superimpositum,Vitr.), or thus, that “the high places run together toward it, which thus towers over them, seem to bear it on their heads” (Hofmann,Weisz. u. Erf. II. p. 101). But, comparing other passages, it seems to me probable that Isaiah would say: there will be in general no mountain on earth except Mount Zion alone. All will have become plain; only the mount of God shall be still a mountain. One God, one mountain. If, for example, we consider the words below, Isa_2:12-17 the prophet says there that divine judgment shall go forth upon all that is high in the world, and all human loftiness shall be humbled, that “the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” Just so, too, we read Isa_40:4, “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight and the rough places plain.” When hills and vallies disappear, the land becomes even. To be sure, it seems as if 40 treats only of a level road for the approaching king. But this level road is prepared for the Lord precisely and only thereby, that in all the land, all high places shall disappear upon which idols could be worshipped. Zechariah expresses still more clearly the thought that the sole dominion of the Lord is conditioned on the restoration of a complete plain in the land. He says, Isa_14:9-10. “And the Lord shall be king over all the land; in that day shall be oneLord, and His name one. All the land shall turn to lowness from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; But this itself shall be lifted up, and shall abide in its place,” etc. It may be objected to this explanation that Isa_2:2, the presence of mountains and hills is in fact presupposed, because it says, “at the top of the mountains,” and “higher than the hills.” But must the prophets in the places cited above, have thought of the restoration of a plain in a mathematical sense? Certainly not. The notion of a plain is relative. There shall, indeed, remain therefore, mountains and hills, but in comparison with the mountain of the Lord, they shall no more deserve these names; they shall appear as plains.
From this results that בראשׁ is not=upon the head (this must be expressed by עַל רֹאשׁ, comp. Exo_34:2. 1Sa_26:13; Isa_30:17) but=at the top or head (comp. Amo_6:7; Deu_20:9; 1Sa_9:22; 1Ki_21:9; 1Ki_21:12). This latter however, cannot mean that the mountain of the Lord shall have the other mountains behind it, but under itself. Without doubt “the mountain of the house of the Lord,” and the הַר מְרוֹם יִשְׂרָאֵל and הַר גַּבֹהּ of Ezekiel are identical, (Eze_17:22 sq.; Eze_20:40, Eze_34:14; Eze_40:2).
This high mountain shall be exactly the opposite of that “tower whose top may reach unto heaven” Gen_11:4, which, being a self-willed structure by die hands of insolent men, separated mankind. For our divine mountain, a work of God, reunites mankind again. They all see it in its glory that is radiant over all things, and recognize it not only as the source of their salvation, but also as the centre of their unity. Therefore they flow from all sides to it. These “Many people,” i.e., countless nations, which are essentially the same as the “all nations” mentioned before, shall mutually encourage one another “to go up,” (the solemn word for religious journies, comp. Caspari,Micha, p. 140), for which a fourfold object is named: the mountain of Jehovah; on the mountain the house of the God of Jacob; in the house the instruction out of the ways of God (the ways of God are conceived of as the source of the instruction, comp. Isa_47:13; Psa_94:12); and, in consequence of this instruction, the walking in the paths of God. Only the words from “Come ye” to “his paths” contain the language of the nations. The following phrase “for out of Zion,” gives the reason that shall determine the nations to such discourse and conduct. תּוֹרָה, law, is neither the (Sinaitic) law, for it must then read חַתּוֹרָה, nor the law of the king ruling in Zion. For what goes forth from Zion is just what the nations seek. They do not seek a political chief, however, but one that will teach them the truth, תּוֹרָה is therefore to be taken in the sense of the preceding יֹרֵנוּ, he will teach us. It is therefore primarily doctrine, instruction in general, but which immediately is limited as דְּבָד י׳word of the Jehovah. But shall the nations, turn toward Zion only because “law” goes forth from thence? Did not then, even in the Prophet’s time and before that, law go out from Zion; and did the nations let themselves be determined by that to migrate to Zion? We shall then need to construe “law” and “word of the Lord” in a pregnant sense: that which deserves the name of divine doctrine in the highest and completest sense, therefore the absolute doctrine, which alone truly satisfies and therefore also irresistibly draws all men. This doctrine, i.e., the gospel of Jesus Christ is, true enough, gone forth out of Jerusalem, and may be called the Zionitic Tora, in contrast with the Sinaitic. (Comp. Delitzschin loc.). Therefore that “preaching repentance and remission of sins in the name of Christ to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem,” Luk_24:47, is the beginning of the fulfilment of our prophecy. Comp. Zec_8:20 sqq.
3. And he shall judge—learn war any more.
Isa_2:4. The consequences of this divine instruction, sought and received by the nations, shall be, that the nations shall order their affairs and compose their judicial processes according to the mind of him that has taught them. So shall God appear as that one who judges between the nations and awards a (judicial) sentence. The Spirit of God that lives in His word is a Spirit of love and of peace. The God of peace sanctifies, therefore, the nations through and through (1Th_5:23) so that they no more confront one another in the sense and spirit of the brute power of this world, but in the mind and spirit of the Kingdom of God. They are altogether children of God, brothers, and are become one great family. War ceases; the implements of war become superfluous; they shall be forged over into the instruments of peace. The exercises at arms, by which men in peace prepare for war, fall of themselves away. The meaning “plowshare” evidently corresponds best to the context, in which the contrast between agriculture and war is the fundamental idea; at the same time it may be remarked that a scythe, mattock, or hoe, does not need to be forged over again to serve for arms, Joe_3:10.—The מַזְמֵרָה (Isa_18:5) is the vine-dresser’s knife. A lance head may easily be made out of it. It is remarkable, that excepting this place, Isaiah, who speaks so much of war, uses, none of the words that in Hebrew mean “spear, lance.”
As regards the fulfilling of our prophecy, the Prophet himself says that it shall follow in the last time. If it now began a long time ago; if especially the appearance of the Lord in the flesh, and the founding of His kingdom and the preaching of the gospel among all nations be an element of that fulfilment, yet it is by no means a closed up transaction. What it shall yet bring about we know not. If many, especially Jewish expositors have taken the words too coarsely, and outwardly, so, on the other hand, we must guard against a one-sided spiritualizing. Certainly the prophets do not think of heaven. Plows and pruning hooks have as little to do with heaven, as swords and spears. And what has the high place of Mount Zion to do in heaven? Therefore our passage speaks for the view that one time, and that, too, here on this earth, the Lord shall appropriate the kingdom, (Isa_60:21; Mat_5:5), suppress the world kingdoms and bring about a condition of peace and glory. That then what is outward shall conform to what is inward, is certain, even though we must confess our ignorance in regard to the ways and means of the realization in particulars.
[Regarding the question of Isa_2:2-4 being original to Isa. or Micah, J. A. Alexander says: “The verbal variations may be best explained, however, by supposing that they both adopted a traditional prediction current among the people in their day, or, that both received the words directly from the Holy Spirit. So long as we have reason to regard both places as authentic and inspired, it matters little what is the literary history of either.”
Barnes says: “But there is no improbability in supposing that Isa., may have availed himself of language, used by Micah in describing the same event.”
At Isa_2:2. “Instead of saying, in modern phraseology, that the church, as a society, shall become conspicuous and attract all nations, he represents the mountain upon which the temple stood as being raised and fixed above the other mountains, so as to be visible in all directions.”—J. A. A.
Isa_2:4. “Volney states that the Syrian plow is often nothing but the branch of a tree, cut below a bifurcation, and used without wheels. The plowshare is a piece of iron, broad but not large, which tips the end of the shaft. So much does it resemble the short sword used by the ancient warriors, that it may with very little trouble, be converted into that deadly weapon; and when the work of destruction is over, reduced again to its former shape.”—Barnes.]
[So we have seen it—ploughing on Mount Zion.—M. W. J.]
Footnotes:
[1]Or, prepared.
[2]peoples.
[3]nations.
[4]award sentence.
[5]Or, scythes.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–5 Same as Mic 4:1. As Micah prophesied in Jotham's…
Same as Mic 4:1. As Micah prophesied in Jotham's reign, and Isaiah in Uzziah's, Micah rests on Isaiah, whom he confirms: not vice versa. HENGSTENBERG on slight grounds makes Mic 4:1 the original.
last days--that is, Messiah's: especially the days yet to come, to which all prophecy hastens, when "the house of the God of Jacob," namely, at Jerusalem, shall be the center to which the converted nations shall flock together (Mat 13:32; Luk 2:31-32; Act 1:6-7); where "the kingdom" of Israel is regarded as certain and the time alone uncertain (Psa 68:15-16; Psa 72:8, Psa 72:11).
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mountain of the Lord's house . . . in the top, &c.--the temple on Mount Moriah: type of the Gospel, beginning at Jerusalem, and, like an object set on the highest hill, made so conspicuous that all nations are attracted to it.
flow--as a broad stream (Isa 66:12).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv2–5 2-4. The section begins with a consoling message respecting…
2-4. The section begins with a consoling message respecting a coming Messianic period. The language has some appearance of being a borrowed prophecy. Mic_4:1-4 has the same. As to which is the original author, or whether both quoted from an older prophet, commentators differ. It is generally agreed that Isaiah delivered these words in Uzziah’s time, consequently before 758 B.C. of our chronology. Micah began in the reign of Jotham, (Mic_1:1,) and Jeremiah, says Micah, (Jer_26:18,) gave a certain prophecy, found in Mic_3:12, (just one verse preceding this passage in question,) in the reign of Hezekiah. These facts sufficiently indicate that Isaiah was prior to Micah in the use of this passage.
2. In the last days — Literally, in the end, or latter part, of the days; the entering upon the Messianic period, including even its onward, indefinite continuance. Such is the sense of this prophetic formula of “the last days.”
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The mountain of the Lord’s house — Generally used to designate Mount Zion, though Moriah was the mount on which the temple stood. Purified Jerusalem, as a whole, was the type of the glorious Church of Christ.
Shall be established — That is, permanently settled.
In the top of the mountains — So that its view shall overlook all hills, or hitherto dominating mountains, around. The image, here, is of converted Gentile nations. Zion shall be superior.
And all nations shall flow unto it — The attractive power of the Church shall draw the nations ever upward to it.
Joh_12:20.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–4 2. And it shall come to pass] This formula…
2. And it shall come to pass] This formula (so common in continuous discourse) nowhere else introduces a prophetic oration (Eze_38:10 is not really an exception), and shews that the passage has been detached from its original context. in the last days] Better, in the after-days (Cheyne) or “latter days” (R.V.), lit. “in the sequel of the days.” The phrase in itself denotes simply the (remote) future, and is so used in Gen_49:1; Num_24:14; Deu_4:30; Deu_31:29. An exact Assyrian parallel to this use (akhrat yumi) is given by Cheyne and Delitzsch. By the prophets the expression is often specialised in an eschatological sense, as in Hos_3:5; Eze_38:16 (cf. Isa_2:8), and probably Jer_48:47; Jer_49:39, where it means (as here) the final age of the world’s history following the establishment of the kingdom of God. In Jer_23:20; Jer_30:24, however, the vaguer sense is more probable.
the mountain of the Lord’s house] the Temple mount, which is also the seat of the Messiah’s government. The phrase occurs in the parallel passage in Micah, also in Mic_3:12 (“mount of the house”); 1Ma_16:20 (“mount of the temple”). In the next verse it is resolved into the two members of a parallelism: “mountain of Jehovah” and “house of the God of Jacob.” established in the top of …] Better as R.V. at the head of … (cf. 1Sa_9:22; Amo_6:7); although the translation “as the chief of the mountains” would also be admissible (Davidson, Synt. § 101 R, 1 a.). A miraculous physical elevation of Zion may possibly be thought of (Eze_40:2; Zec_14:10); but the idea (seriously entertained by some) that Zion is to be literally set on the top of the other hills is too grotesque to be attributed to any prophet, save under compulsion. In this passage a metaphorical exaltation, in respect of political and religious importance, seems to satisfy all the requirements both of syntax and exegesis (cf. Psa_68:15 f.).
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all (the) nations shall flow] Properly “shall stream,” a verb only used figuratively of the movement of masses of men to great centres of intercourse like Babylon (Jer_31:12; Jer_51:44). Instead of “all the nations” Micah has (in harmony with Isa_2:3 f.) simply “peoples,” which probably preserves the original text. The universality of the true religion is in either case implied; and the bare suggestion is perhaps more effective than an explicit assertion would be.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv2–5 (2) It shall come to pass in the last…
(2) It shall come to pass in the last days.—The three verses that follow are found in almost identical form in Mic_4:1-3, with the addition of a verse (Mic_4:4) which describes the prosperity of Judah—every man sitting “under his vine and his fig-tree,” as in the days of Solomon. Whether (1) Isaiah borrowed from Micah, or (2) Micah from Isaiah, or (3) both from some earlier prophet, or (4) whether each received an independent yet identical revelation, is a problem which we have no adequate data for solving. Micah prophesied, like Isaiah, under Ahaz, Jotham, and Hezekiah, and so either may have heard it from the other. On the other hand, the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem, on which these verses follow, in Mic_3:12, appears from Jer_26:18 to have been spoken in the days of Hezekiah. On the whole, (3) seems to have most to commend it. (See Introduction.)
For “in the last days” read latter or after days; the idea of the Hebrew words, as in Gen_49:1; Num_24:14, being that of remoteness rather than finality. For the most part (Deu_4:30; Deu_31:29) they point to the distant future of the true King, to the time of the Messiah.
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The mountain of the Lord’s house.—The prophet’s vision of the far-off days sees, as it were, a transfigured and glorified Jerusalem. Zion, with the Temple, was to be no longer surrounded by hills as high as, or higher than, itself (Psa_125:2), scorned by other mountains (Psa_68:16-17); but was to be to Israel as a Sinai or a Lebanon, as a Mount Meru, or an Olympus, “an exceeding high mountain” (Eze_40:2), whose physical elevation should answer to its spiritual. (Comp. Zec_14:10.) So in that vision of the future, the waters of Shiloah, that went softly, were to become a broad and rushing river (Isa_33:21; Eze_47:3-12). So, when men had been taught by experience that this ideal was to be realised in no Jerusalem or earth, the seer of Patmos saw a yet more transcendent vision of the glories of the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev_21:10 to Rev_22:5), and yet even these were but types and figures of divine and ineffable realities.
All nations shall flow unto it.—Better, all the nations—i.e., the heathen as distinct from Israel. The prophet sees and welcomes the approach of pilgrims from all regions of the earth to the new sanctuary. Thus early in his work was Isaiah (half unconsciously as to the manner in which his vision was to be realised) the prophet of a universal religion, of which the truths of Judaism were the centre, and of a catholic Church. In the admission of proselytes, commemorated in Psalms 87 (probably written about this time), we may see what may either have suggested the prophecy, or have seemed as the first-fruits of its fulfilment.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv3–4 Many people; rather, many peoples. Shall go; or, set…
Many people; rather, many peoples. Shall go; or, set forth. The prophet means to represent the nations as encouraging one another on the way. There is no jealousy among them, for the "mountain" can hold them all. He will teach us. The nations feel their ignorance of God, and their need of "teaching." God alone can teach them concerning himself; (Rom_11:33, 34 1Co_2:10, 1Co_2:11) and "he will teach" them, either directly, as the Incarnate Son, or indirectly through those whom he has appointed to be "teachers". (1Co_12:28) Of his ways; i.e. "some of his ways," not "all of them;" for at present "we know in part" only, (1Co_13:9) and the greater portion of his ways are "past finding out". (Rom_11:33) The "ways" here spoken of are, no doubt, rules for the conduct of life, which are practically inexhaustible. God, however, will teach every man, who honestly seeks to learn, enough to enable him to "walk in his paths." Out of Zion shall go forth the Law; rather, instruction, or teaching. The word (torah) is without the article. The instruction intended is that of the Church of God.
HOMILIES BY W.M. STATHAM Ver. 3. Real religious revival
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"Many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob." Here is the tide of national feeling, no longer on the ebb, but on the flow. God is "to teach them his ways, and they are to walk in his paths;" for they have found out that pleasure gained by sin is peace bartered. Elevation of the truest kind is to be theirs now. This is the image of their uplifted state. They are to go up to the mountain of the Lord"s house the consecrated height of holiness and peace.
I THERE IS SPONTANEITY OF LIFE. "Come, let us go." It is no mere fashion, or custom, or compulsion of obedience. Life always says, "Come." I read delight here. For what we enjoy we invite others to see. When we ascend to the mountain-top, and see the winding river, like a streak of silver, and the village-dotted plains, we cry "Come!" to others, that they too may delight in the loveliness of the scene. So an earnest Christian not only says "Come!" because of the urgency of the salvation, but also because of the beauty and blessedness of religion. "Oh taste and see," he says, "that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
II THERE IS SACRED FELLOWSHIP. "Let us go up." For religion is intensified in its experiences by mutual faith and joy. The interaction of mind on mind and heart upon heart in a great congregation is wonderful. "Let us go up." And beautiful were those spectacles in Hebrew history, when the pilgrims went to tabernacle or temple. "Thither the tribes go up," The festal caravans met each other from distant parts, as they merged at last into one common road to time-beloved Jerusalem. At the Feasts of Pentecost and Passover, as in the days of our Savior, the interest felt in these upgoings to Jerusalem was both human and Divine. Old friends met again, whilst youths and maidens set eyes for the first time on the city and temple of their fathers. On their way they sang the songs of Zion, till in noblest worship the gathered tribes lifted up their praise to the Lord God of Israel.
III THERE IS SUBLIME PROPHECY. "Many shall go," Yes, and in these Christian days, Greek and Jew, bond and flee, have been united in one common song of deliverance. Missionary societies have founded Churches and schools on well-nigh every shore. "Many shall corns." Verily, unto Christ shall the gathering of the people be. "All nations shall call him blessed." How verified the words have been! "For out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. W.M.S.
The attractions of the gospel Church.
The earthly Jerusalem, which was thought of as a mountain surrounded by mountains, but superior to them all, is in the prophet"s mind, and it gives form to his thought of the Gospel times the setting up of the Christian Church, and the planting of the Christian religion in the world. Christianity shall then be the "mountain of the Lord"s house," or the "Lord"s mountain house," exalted above all other religions, and made the rendezvous of all the spiritual seed of Abraham. "The prophet sees the Church permanently placed in a conspicuous position, so as to be a source of attraction to surrounding nations. To express this idea, he makes use of terms which are strictly applicable only to the local habitation of the Church under the old economy. Instead of saying, in modern phraseology, that the Church, as a society, shall become conspicuous and attract all nations, he represents the mountain upon which the temple stood as being raised and fixed above the other mountains, so as to be visible in all directions" (J. A. Alexander).
T.K. Cheyne notices an "old belief in Eastern Asia that there was a mountain reaching from earth to heaven, on the summit of which was the dwelling of the gods. The prophet is, perhaps, alluding to this belief, which he recognizes as true in substance, though attached by the heathen to a wrong locality." The text may be illustrated by the custom of the Israelites to journey from all parts of the country for the yearly feasts. Keeping the figure of the prophet, we observe
I THE GOSPEL CHURCH IS LIKE A MOUNTAIN, Illustrate from the conspicuous position of Jerusalem, or of Safed. A mountain rises up out of the plain; so the gospel Church is right in the midst of the world and the people. A mountain towers up above the plain, within sight of all; and so the gospel Church is such a striking and impressive thing that all eyes must be turned to it. Men cannot be blind to it; men dare not ignore it. Like the mountain, it is an indestructible fact, of which men must take account. The buildings erected for its worship are the symbols of itself; in every village, town, and city, the church tower and cathedral spire rise above the buildings of the people, well in everybody"s sight. Show that however men may think to dispel the so-called myths that have gathered round the historic Christ, they must deal with this mountain-fact, the gospel Church exists; it must have had a source; it must have a mission at the heart of it. Surely it is the witness of the truth of Christ.
II THE GOSPEL CHURCH IS FIGURED AS ON THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAINS, Other religions, other social and philanthropic schemes for the elevation of the race, may be figured as mountains. But let them all be gathered together, and it will be found that Christianity towers high above them all. Its origin, its character, its provisions, make it the most conspicuous, the most important of them all. Comparisons may be instituted
(1) with man-made religions, paganism, Buddhism, etc.; and
(2) with previously given Divine religions, such as patriarchism, Mosaism, etc. The points of superiority are such as these:
1. Revelation of God to man under the figure of Father.
2. Manifestation of God in the person of his Son as a fellow-man.
3. Redemption of man by the intervention of Divine love.
4. Perfect provision for the needs of man, as a spiritual being.
5. Adequate and final mastery of all man"s moral foes and evils.
Show that other religions touch some of man"s needs. Christianity is at the "top of the mountains," because it reaches them all, and deals with them efficiently.
III THE GOSPEL CHURCH ATTRACTING ALL NATIONS. They will be drawn, not forced into it. One shall tell another of it. One shall invite another to journey to it. They shall flow to it as streams flow to the sea. "There is an Eastern fable of a great mountain of lodestone, out in the middle of the sea, that attracted, to their destruction, all the ships that came near it. This mountain of the Lord"s house is a great spiritual magnet, and it draws souls, not to destruction, but to everlasting life" (Dr. Edmond). Illustrate
(1) from the various nations attracted by the preaching of the early Church;
(2) from the power of the preached gospel in various heathen lands now;
(3) from its proved fitness to meet the needs of all sinners and all sufferers. Jesus said, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv2–5 And it shall come to pass in the last…
Isa_2:2-4
And it shall come to pass in the last days
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Isaiahs description of the last days
The description of the last days--which in the Hebrew begins, And it hath come to pass . . . the mountainof Jehovahs house shall be established, etc.
is an instance of the use of the perfect tense to express the certain future. Its explanation seems to be that the structure of such a passage as that before us is imaginative, not logical--a picture, not a statement. The speaker completely projects himself into the last days; he is there, he finds them come; he looks about him to see what is actually going on, and sees that the mountain of Jehovahs house is about to be--still in process of being--established at the head of the mountains; he looks again, and the nations have already arrived at the place prepared for them, yet so freshly that they are still calling one another on; and as they come up they find that the King they seek is already there, and has effected some of His judgments and decisions before they arrive for their, turn. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)
An epitome of Isaiahs vision
(verses 2-4):--Isaiah, rapt into future times, sees the throne of the Lord of Israel established in sovereignty over all the nations of the earth, and they becoming willing subjects to Him, and friendly citizens to each other. The nations attain to true liberty, for they come to submit themselves to the righteous laws and institutions, and to the wise and gracious word and direction of that King whose service is perfect freedom; and to true brotherhood, for they leave their old enmities and conflicts, and make the same Lord their Judge and Umpire and Reconciler. And all this, not by some newly invented device of the nations, some new result of their own civilisation, but by the carrying out of the old original purpose and plan of God, that His chosen people of the Jews should be the ministers of these good things, and that in them should all nations of the earth be blessed,--that out of Zion should go forth the law, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem. This is the vocation of the Hebrew people. This, says the prophet, is the key to all our duties as a nation, this is the master light to guide us to right action. (Sir E. Strachey, Bart.)
The supremacy of Mount Zion
Transport yourselves for a moment to the foot of Mount Zion. As you stand there, you observe that it is but a very little hill. Bashan is far loftier, and Carmel and Sharon outvie it. As for Lebanon, Zion is but a little hillock compared with it. If you think for a moment of the Alps, or of the loftier Andes, or of the yet mightier Himalayas, this Mount Zion seems to be a very little hill, a mere molehill, insignificant, despicable, and obscure. Stand there for a moment, until the Spirit of God touches your eye, and you shall see this hill begin to grow. Up it mounts, with the temple on its summit, till it outreaches Tabor. Onward it grows, till Carmel, with its perpetual green, is left behind, and Salmon, with its everlasting snow sinks before it. Onward still it grows, till the snowy peaks of Lebanon are eclipsed. Still onward mounts the hill, drawing with its mighty roots other mountains and hills into its fabric; and onward it rises, till piercing the clouds it reaches above the Alps; and onwards still, till the Himalayas seem to be sucked into its bowels, and the greatest mountains of the earth appear to be but as the roots that strike out from the side of the eternal hill; and there it rises till you can scarcely see the top, as infinitely above all the higher mountains of the world as they are above the valleys Have you caught the idea, and do you see there afar off upon the lofty top, not everlasting snows, but a pure crystal table land, crowned with a gorgeous city, the metropolis of God, the royal palace of Jesus the King? The sun is eclipsed by the light which shines from the top of this mountain; the moon ceases from her brightness, for there is now no night: but this one hill, lifted up on high, illuminates the atmosphere, and the nations of them that are saved are walking in the light thereof. The hill of Zion hath now outsoared all others, and all the mountains and hills of the earth are become as nothing before her. This is the magnificent picture of the text. I do not know that in all the compass of poetry there is an idea so massive and stupendous as this--a mountain heaving, expanding, swelling, growing, till all the high hills become absorbed, and that which was but a little rising ground before, becomes a hill the top whereof teacheth to the seventh heavens. Now we have here a picture of what the Church is to be. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A vision of the latter day glories
Of old, the Church was like Mount Zion, a very little hill. What saw the nations of the earth when they looked upon it? A humble Man with twelve disciples. But that little hill grew, and some thousands were baptized in the name of Christ; it grew again and became mighty. But still, compared with the colossal systems of idolatry, she is but small. The Hindoo and the Chinese turn to our religion, and say, It is an infant of yesterday; ours is the religion of ages. The Easterns compare Christianity to some miasma that creeps along the fenny lowlands, but their systems they imagine to be like me Alps, outsoaring the heavens in height. Ah, but we reply to this, Your mountain crumbles and your hill dissolves, but our hill of Zion has been growing, and strange to say, it has life within its bowels, and grow on it shall, grow on it must, till all the systems of idolatry shall become less than nothing before it. Such is the destiny of our Church, she is to be an all-conquering Church, rising above every competitor. The Church will be like a high mountain, for she will be--
1. Preeminently conspicuous.
2. Awful and venerable in her grandeur.
3. The day is coming when the Church of God shall have absolute supremacy.
The Church of Christ now has to fight for her existence; but the day shall come when she shall be so mighty that there shall be nought left to compote with her. How is this to be done? There are three things which will ensure the growth of the Church.
1. The individual exertion of every Christian.
2. We may expect more.
The fact is, that the Church, though a mountain, is a volcano--not one that spouts fire, but that hath fire within her; and this inward fire of living truth, and living grace, expands her side, and lifts her crest, and upwards she must tower, for truth is mighty, and it must prevail--grace is mighty, and must conquer--Christ is mighty, and He must be King of kings. Thus there is something more than the individual exertions of the Church; there is a something within her that must make her grow, till she overtops the highest mountains.
3. But the great hope of the Church is the second advent of Christ. When He shall come, then shall the mountain of the Lords house be exalted above the hills. We must fight on day by day and hour by hour; and when we think the battle is almost decided against us, He shall come, the Prince of the kings of the earth. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
All nations shall flow unto it
Observe the figure. It does not say they shall come to it, but they shall flow unto it.
1. It implies, first, their number. Now it is but the pouring out of water from the bucket; then it shall be as the rolling of the cataract from the hillside.
2. Their spontaneity. They are to come willingly to Christ; not to be driven, not to be pumped up, not to be forced to it, but to be brought up by the Word of the Lord, to pay Him willing homage. Just as the river naturally flows downhill by no other force than that which is its nature, so shall the grace of God be so mightily given to the sons of men, that no acts of parliament, no state churches, no armies will be used to make a forced conversion.
3. But yet again, this represents the power of the work of conversion. They shall flow to it. Imagine an idiot endeavouring to stop the river Thames. The secularist may rise up and say, Oh, why be converted to this fanatical religion? Look to the things of time. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The mountain of the Lords house
The text calls our attention--
I. TO A PERIOD OF TIME WHEN THE EVENTS OF WHICH IT SPEAKS ARE TO OCCUR. The last days. The phrase means, generally, the age of the Messiah; and is thus understood by both Jewish and Christian commentators. The apostle has put this meaning beyond all doubt. God, who spake in times past unto the fathers, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.
1. The expression intimates, that the dispensations which the prophets of the Old Testament lived, were but preparatory to one of complete perfection. To the future all these ancient holy men were ever looking. The patriarchal was succeeded by the Mosaic age. Prophet came after prophet; but all were looking forward. All things around them, and before them, were typical shadowy.
2. The emphasis which the of last days, intimates, also, the views they had of the complete efficiency of that religious system which the Messiah was to introduce. On that age all their hopes of the recovery of a world they saw sinking around them rested; and in the contemplation of this efficient plan of redeeming love, they mitigated their sorrows. They felt that the world needed a more efficient system, and they saw it descend with Messiah from heaven.
3. The days of the Messiah were regarded by the ancient Church as the last days, because in them all the great purposes of God were to be developed and completed.
II. TO THE STATE OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF GOD IN THE LAST DAYS. The mountain of the Lords house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. Some have considered this as a prediction of the actual rebuilding of the temple, and the restoration of the political and church-state of the Jews, in the close of the latter days of the times of the Messiah. Such an interpretation, if allowed, would not at all interfere with that in which all agree, that, whatever else the prediction may signify, it sets forth, under figures taken from the Levitical institutions, the future state of the general Church of Christ. For the principle which leads to such an interpretation, we have no less authority than that of the apostle Paul, who uniformly considers the temple, its priests, and its ritual, as types of heavenly things; and in one well-known passage, makes use of them to characterise the true Church of Christ. But ye are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. The mountain of the Lords house is no longer covered with ruins, but established in the top of the hills. We learn from it--
1. That the Church shall be restored to evangelical order and beauty: it shall be as Mount Zion.
(1) Zion was the place of sacrifice. And in the last days the true sacrifice shall be exhibited here.
(2) Mount Zion was the throne of majesty. And in coming to the evangelical Zion we come to God as the universal Sovereign and Judge. In the latter days Gospel law will shine there as brightly as Gospel grace.
(3) Zion was the mountain of holiness. And in these glorious clays holy shall all they be who name the name of Christ.
(4) Zion was the special residence of God. On the day of Pentecost He took possession of the Church; but in the latter days there shall be special manifestations of His presence in richer displays of vital power. To this state we are ever to labour to bring the Church, avoiding, ourselves, all that is inconsistent with truth in doctrine and holiness in life. For the richer effusions of grace we are earnestly to pray.
2. In this state the Church shall be distinguished by its zeal. Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. So it was in the best estate of the Jewish Church. The Gospel is to be preached in all nations; and till you send forth the law they will not say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord. We thus see the connection between the best state of the Church and this holy zeal. All history proves it.
III. TO CERTAIN SPECIAL OPERATIONS OF GOD BY WHICH THE EFFORTS OF HIS RESTORED CHURCH TO BLESS AND SAVE THE WORLD SHALL BE RENDERED EFFECTUAL. Without God, not all the efforts of the Church, even in her best state, can be effectual.
1. He shall judge among the nations. The word judge is not always used in its purely judicial sense, but in that of government,--the exercise of regal power both in mercy and judgment; and in this sense we here take it. He shall so order the affairs of the world, that opportunities shall be afforded to His Church to exert herself for its benefit. And thus is He judging among the nations in our own day.
2. It is a part of the regal office to show mercy; and thus, too, shall He judge among the nations. This He shall do by taking off those judicial desertions which, as a punishment for unfaithfulness, He has inflicted. He shall judge among the nations. He shall do this judicially, yet not for destruction, but correction. Then are two sorts of judgments; judgments of wrath, and judgments of mercy. When grace is given with judgments, then do they become corrective and salutary.
3. It is, therefore, added, and shall rebuke many people; or, according to Lowths translation, work conviction among them. And may we not hope that this is approaching? Even while waiting for the glorious period described and promised in the preceding prophecy, the Church is called to walk in the light of the Lord (Isa_2:5).
1. Walk by this light of truth yourselves.
2. Set the glory of these splendid scenes before you, and let them encourage you to increasing exertions for the spread of truth, holiness, and love throughout the earth. (Richard Watson.)
The glorious exaltation and enlargement of Church
I. THE GLORY AND EXALTATION. The mountain of the Lords house shall be established, etc.
II. THE ENLARGEMENT. All nations shall flow unto it.
III. THE PROSPERITY of the Church begins to be described in Isa_2:4. (J. Mede, B. D.)
The Churchs visibility and glory
There are--
I. TIMES WHEN THE CHURCH IS VISIBLE BUT NOT GLORIOUS.
II. TIMES WHEN IT IS NEITHER VISIBLE NOR GLORIOUS.
III. TIMES WHEN IT IS TO BE BOTH VISIBLE AND GLORIOUS. (J. Mede, B. D.)
The mountain of the Lords house
I. THE PERIOD REFERRED TO. The reference is not to the Gospel era as a whole, but to an advanced period of it, even the time of the great millennial prosperity. The golden age of the Greeks and Romans was the past, but our golden age is yet to come.
II. THE CHEERING TRUTH DECLARED. The mountain, etc. Often has Zion languished, but she is to become a praise in the whole earth. In this striking figure two things are embraced--
1. Elevated position.
2. Permanent duration.
III. THE GENERAL INTEREST AWAKENED. We have here--
1. The invitation given. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.
2. The considerations by which it is enforced. And He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. It is the seat of Divine instruction on the one hand, and the centre of holy influence on the other.
IV. THE HAPPY RESULTS DECLARED (verse 4). This is--
1. A consummation most devoutly to be desired.
2. Absolutely certain in its realisation. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares.
3. The means whereby it win be accomplished. By God judging or ruling among the nations, and rebuking or working conviction among them. (Anon.)
The future glory and amplitude of the Church
1. The Gospel dispensation was designed to supersede that which was given by the hand of Moses; it was to be exalted above this hill.
2. The Gospel also was destined to triumph over all those corrupt systems of religion which have ever been received among men.
3. The assertion before us is also understood as a prophecy relative to the fulness of the Church when the Jews shall be called in. This important event is foretold by the sacred writers. (S. Ramsey, M. A.)
Isaiahs wideness of view
Consider what that prediction meant in Isaiahs time. He lived within well-defined boundaries and limitations: the Jew was not a great man in the sense of including within his personal aspirations all classes, conditions, and estates of men; left to himself he could allow the Gentiles to die by thousands daily without shedding a tear upon their fallen bodies; he lived amongst his own people; it was enough for him that the Jews were happy, for the Gentiles were but dogs. Here is a new view of human nature, great enlargement of spiritual boundaries. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Church of the future--Goethe and Isaiah
It is quite the fashion in these days for those who do not believe in the Christian religion to bestow on it their patronage. The Bible is full of delusion and falsehood, but they regard it, on the whole, as a book that deserves notice; parts of it are almost as good as the Rig-Veda. The Church has been the handmaid of bigotry and superstition, yet they find in the history of the Church some passages that are inspiring. Jesus of Nazareth was a teacher in whose doctrine they find many things to set right; yet, so rich were His contributions to ethical science that they feel themselves justified in bestowing on Him a qualified approval. This fashion of patronising Christianity may have been set by Goethe. Into that temple of the future which he describes in his Tale, the little hut of the fisherman, by which he symbolises Christianity, was graciously admitted. This little hut had, indeed, been wonderfully transfigured. By virtue of the Lamp locked up in it [the light of reason] the hut had been converted from the inside to the outside into solid silver. Ere long, too, its form changed; for the noble metal shook aside the accidental shape of planks, posts and beams, and stretched itself out into a noble case of beaten, ornamented workmanship. Thus a fair little temple stood erected in the middle of the large one; or, if you will, an altar worthy of the temple. This is Goethes view of the Church of the future. He has been magnanimous enough to provide a niche for it in the perfected temple of the Great Hereafter; it is to serve as a pretty decoration of that grand structure, as a dainty bit of bric-a-brac. About twenty five centuries before Goethes day another poet, dwelling somewhere in the fastnesses of Syria, had visions of the future in form and colour quite unlike this of the German philosopher. In Isaiahs sight of the latter day, the Church of God is not merely a feature--it furnishes the outline, it fills the whole field of vision. It is not merely a trait of the picture--it is the picture. Instead of putting the Church into a niche in the templeof the future, to be kept there as a kind of heirloom--a well-preserved antique curiosity--Isaiah insists that the Church in the temple, and that all stores and forces of good are to be gathered into it, to celebrate its empire and to decorate its triumph. The mountain of the Lords house, the typical Zion on which the spiritual Church is builded, is to be exalted above all other eminences. Toward that all eyes shall turn; toward that all paths shall lead; toward that shall journey with joy all pilgrim feet. For the heralds of its progress, for the missionaries of its glad tidings it shall have many nations; it shall give to all the world the ruling law and the informing word. This is Isaiahs view of the Church of the future. When twenty-five centuries more shall have passed it will be easier to tell whether the Hebrew or the German was the better seer. (Washington Gladden, D. D.)
The Church of the future
Isaiah shows us the Church of the future only in outline; the great fact which he gives us is that in the last days the spiritual Jerusalem shall gather into itself all the kingdoms of the world and all the glory of them. It may be possible for us in some indistinct way to fill in this outline; to imagine, if we cannot prophesy, what the scope and character of the future Church shall be.
I. WILL IT HAVE A CREED? A creed is only a statement, more or less elaborate, of the facts and principles of religion accepted by those who adhere to it. Religion is not wholly an affair of the emotions; it involves the apprehension of truth. In the future, as in the past, this truth must be stated, in order to be apprehended. A mans creed is what he believes; and there must be creeds as long as there are believers. It is probable, however, that the creeds may be considerably modified as the years pass. Certainly they have been undergoing modifications, continually, through the centuries gone by. It must be remembered, however, that the changes through which theological science has been passing have been changes of spirit rather than of substance, of form more than of fact. The essential truth remains. The great changes in theology are moral changes. Theology is constantly becoming less materialistic and more ethical. This progress will continue through the future. The creed of the future will contain, I have no doubt, the same essential truth that is found in the creeds of the present; but there may be considerable difference in the phrasing of it, and in the point of view from which it is approached.
1. Men will believe in the future in an infinite personal God, the Creator, the Ruler, the Father of men. The abstract, impersonal Force to which Agnosticism leads us has no relation to that which is deepest in man, and can have none. Christ bade us love the Lord our God with all our heart and mind and soul. Can any man ever be perfectly happy until he has found some Being whom he can love in this way? Must not the Being who is worthy to be loved in this way be both perfect and infinite? And is it possible for a man to love with heart and mind and soul, any being, however vast or powerful, that has neither heart nor mind nor soul?
2. Concerning the mode of the Divine existence, men will learn in the future to speak more modestly than they have spoken in the past. It will become more and more evident that it is not possible to put the infinite into terms of the finite. There is the doctrine of the Trinity; there is truth in it, or under it; but can anyone put that truth into propositions that shall be definite and not contradictory?
3. II one may judge the future by the past there is no reason to fear that the person of Jesus Christ will be less commanding in the Church of the future than it is in the Church of the present.
4. The fact of sin will not be denied by the Church of the future. Doubtless organisation and circumstance will be taken into the account in estimating human conduct; but the power of the human will to control the natural tendencies, to release itself from entangling circumstances, and to lay hold on the Divine grace by which it may overcome sin, will also be clearly understood. The supremacy of the moral nature will be vindicated.
5. Punishment, as conceived and represented by the Church of the future, will not be an arbitrary infliction of suffering, but the natural and inevitable consequence of disobedience to law. It will be discovered that the moral law is incorporated into the natural order, and that its sanctions are found in that order; while, in the work of redemption, God interposes by His personal and supernatural grace to save men from the consequences of their own disobedience and folly. Law is natural; grace is supernatural Transgressors will be made to see, what they now so dimly apprehend, that no effect can be more closely joined to its cause than penalty to sin.
6. Whatever the creed of the future may be, however, it will not be put to the kind of use which the creed of the present is made to serve. It will not be laid down as the doctrinal plank over which everybody must walk who comes into the communion of the Church. The Church, like every other organism, has an organic idea, and that is simple loyalty to Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church. There will be but one door into that Church--Christ will be the door.
II. WHAT WILL BE THE POLITY OF THE FUTURE CHURCH? It is likely that, of the various sorts of ecclesiastical machinery, each of the several religious bodies will freely choose that which it likes best. Doubtless the Church will have some form of government: it will not be a holy mob; lawlessness will not be regarded as the supreme good, in Church or in State. In whatever ecclesiastical mould the Church of the future may be cast, there will be no mean sectarianism in existence then. The various families of Christians will dwell as happily together as well-bred families now do in society. Though there be diversities of form in the future, there will be real and thorough intercommunion and cooperation among Christians of all names, and nothing will be permitted to hold apart those who follow the same Leader and travel the same road.
III. WHAT KIND OF WORK WILL BE DONE BY THE CHURCH OF THE FUTURE? It will have many ways of working that the Church of the present has not dreamed of. The field is the world, Christ has told us; and in that better day the Church will have learned to occupy the field.
1. Paul said that as a preacher of the Gospel he magnified his office. There is no office more honourable. But it must not be inferred that there is no other Way of preaching the Gospel except the formal utterance of religious truth, in the presence of a congregation. The truth will be disseminated, in that time, in many other ways. For though the living voice is the best instrument for the proclamation of the truth, so far as it will reach, it cannot reach very far. The art of printing has been given to the world since that day; and by that invention the whole business of instructing and influencing men has been revolutionised. The Church has already appropriated this agency; and it is doubtless true that it will be employed in the future more effectively than in the past. Neither will the range of teaching be so narrow as it has sometimes been in the past. To apply the ethical rule of the New Testament to the conduct of individuals, and to the relations of men in society, will be the constant obligation of the pulpit. Out of Zion must go forth the law by which parents, children, neighbours, citizens, workmen, masters, teachers, pupils, benefactors, beneficiaries, shall guide their behaviour. Science, long the nightmare of the theologians, will no more trouble their dreams; it will be understood that there can be no conflict between truths; that physical science has its facts and laws, and spiritual science its facts and laws; that these are diverse but not contradictory, and that the one is just as positive and knowable as the other. The unfriendliness now existing between the scientists and the theologians will exist no longer, because both parties will have learned wisdom.
2. But the work of teaching will not be the only work to which the Church of the future will address itself. Large and wise enterprises for the welfare of men will be set on foot; many of the instrumentalities now in use will continue to be employed, under modified forms, and many new ones will be devised. It will be understood that the law of the Church is simply this, Let us do good to all men as we have opportunity. (Washington Gladden, D. D.)
The magnet which draws the nations
The Church is established on the top of the mountain, and all nations are flowing unto it. Yes, flowing up hill! Yes, up the mountain side! When I was a boy I said, That is false rhetoric, a mistake--flowing to the top of the mountain; it cannot be. I went to the workshop of a friend, and I saw in the dust a parcel of steel filings. And he had a magnet, and, as he drew it near to the steel filings, they were attracted to it and kissed the magnet. Then I said, Give me a magnet large enough, place it on the mountain top, and it will draw all the nations unto it. That magnet is the Lord Jesus Christ, for He said, If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto Me. (Bp. M. Simpson, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 5 Isa_2:2. And it shall come to pass in the…
THE FUTURE TRIUMPHS OF THE GOSPEL
Isa_2:2. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and all nations shall flow unto it.
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This poetic imagery delineates the final and universal prevalence of religion. Christianity is a temple majestic and conspicuous, and all nations crowd its courts in united adoration. There are many interesting indications that this prophecy is soon to be fulfilled, such as—
I. The political aspect of the globe. The vast political changes that have taken place during the last four centuries in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America have all been favourable to the extension of Christianity. The area of Christian knowledge and influence has been steadily extending [505]
[505] All the might of the world is now on the side of Christianity. Those barbarous, inchoate powers which still cling to heathenism are already trembling before the advancing strides of the Christian nations; Christian just enough to rouse all their energies and to make them intensely ambitious, and on the alert to increase their own dominion, without having learned Christianity’s highest lesson, the lesson of love.
Even that heathenism which seems to have some power is only waiting for its time of decay. In vast, undisturbed forests, whose interlacing branches exclude the light, moisture is generated, and rills, fed by marshes and quiet pools, unite to form running rivers. But let the trees be cut down, and the ground be laid open to the sun, and the swamps will dry up, and the rivers run no more. So is it with the Brahmins, and all the effete teachers of heathenism. As long as the dense shadows of ignorance brood over the people, they will possess some little trickling power; but let the light of knowledge shine in upon the masses, and the channels of their influence will dry up and be forgotten.—Beecher.
II. The progress of civilisation and of the arts. A few years ago is required the painful labour of years to copy a Bible, and the wealth of a prince to purchase one: now the art of printing scatters the Word of God like autumn leaves, and it is found in the humblest dwelling. Then none could read but the learned few; now knowledge is becoming like the sunlight, everywhere diffused. War has long been one of the greatest obstacles in the way of human improvement; now various causes are operating to render it less frequent, such as
(1) the rapid extension of piety, carrying with it the principles of peace;
(2) the extension of enlightened views of national policy;
(3) the transference of power from kings and nobles to the people, the victims of war, who will become its powerful opponents;
(4) the invention of terrible engines of destruction, which will tend to deter nations from plunging into war. Slavery, too, is rapidly disappearing from the earth. The wonderful facilities of intercommunication which now exist are weakening and effacing national prejudices. All these causes are hastening on the promised millennium.
III. The present state of the sciences. This statement seems to be contradicted by the attitude of many students of science towards Christianity. But we must remember that all the sciences in their infancy have been arrayed as hostile to scriptural truth—astronomy, geology, physiology, chronology; but one by one each of these sciences, as it developed and attained maturity, has passed over to the side of Christianity, and has powerfully helped to build up what it feebly and impotently laboured to destroy. That which hath been is that which shall be. In science the cause of revealed truth will continue to find one of her most ready and efficient helpers.
IV. The past achievements of Christianity foreshadow its eventful and perfect triumph. The hostility of earth has marshalled every possible power, in every possible combination, against Christianity—the persecution of political power, the arguments of philosophy, satire, learning, poetry, wealth—and all in vain. The past triumphs of the religion of Christ show that it possesses an inherent energy which must inevitably make it triumphant over the world. The mighty influence which swept away the gods of Greece and Rome will not be baffled by the mud-idols of India.
V. The triumphant advances Christianity is now making indicate its universal extension. Application.—What are you doing to hasten this certain and glorious triumph?—J. S. C. Abbott, American National Preacher, xvii. 169–176.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v2 that the mountain
that the mountain
A mountain, in Scripture symbolism, means a kingdom Dan 2:35; Rev 13:1; Rev 17:9-11.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv3–5 General Information:
General Information:
Isaiah speaks to the people of Judah in the form of a poem. (See: Parallelism)
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Jacob, so he may teach ... and we may walk
Another possible meaning is "Jacob. He will teach ... and we will walk"
he may teach us some of his ways, and we may walk in his paths
The words "ways" and "paths" are metaphors for the way a person lives. If your language has only one word for the ground on which people walk, you may combine these phrases. AT: "he may teach us his will so that we may obey him" (See: Parallelism and Metaphor)
For out of Zion will go the law, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem
These phrases mean the same thing. Isaiah was emphasizing that all nations will understand that the truth is found in Jerusalem. AT: "People in Zion will teach God's law, and people in Jerusalem will teach the word of Yahweh" (See: Parallelism)
For out of Zion will go the law
"For the law will go out from Zion." Isaiah speaks as if the law were something like a river that moves without people doing anything. AT: "Those to whom they teach the law will go out from Zion" or "Yahweh will proclaim his law from Zion" (See: Metaphor)
the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem
"the word of Yahweh will go out from Jerusalem." Isaiah speaks as if the word of Yahweh were something like a river that moves without people doing anything. You can make clear the understood information. AT: "Those to whom they teach the word of Yahweh will go out from Jerusalem" or "Yahweh will proclaim his word from Jerusalem" (See: Metaphor and Ellipsis)
translationWords
people group
Yahweh
house of God
Jacob
walk
Zion
law
word of God
Jerusalem
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv2–5 2:2-4 God’s gracious salvation would one day extend beyond…
2:2-4 God’s gracious salvation would one day extend beyond Israel and Judah. This would prompt the nations to come to Zion, not in battle but to be blessed there and live by the rules of God’s kingdom. Isaiah encouraged Judah to look at the benefits that the nations would enjoy. He wanted to stimulate the people of Judah (2:5) to jealousy and provoke them to follow the Lord so that they would not be left out in that day. This section is repeated almost verbatim in Micah 4:1-3.
2:2 In the Old Testament, the expression the last days is a general reference to the future era (see Jer 49:39; Ezek 38:16; Hos 3:5); in the New Testament, it is used to refer to the period that began with the coming of the Lord Jesus (Heb 1:2) and more specifically to the period immediately preceding the end of the present age (2 Pet 3:3). • The mountain of the Lord’s house referred to the Temple Mount. This location symbolized God’s glorious exaltation (see Isa 6:1) and his kingdom on earth. Isaiah’s focus on God’s exalted and supreme kingship flows out of his famous vision of God (ch 6). • Far from being a narrow nationalistic dream, Isaiah’s prophetic hope extended beyond Judah and Jerusalem to include people from all over the world.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.