Yet you have not called on me, Jacob; but you have been weary of me, Israel.
Parallel Translations
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Yet you have not called on me, Jacob; but you have been weary of me, Israel.
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But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
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Yet thou hast not called upon Me, O Jacob, neither hast thou wearied thyself about Me, O Israel.
Cross-references (17)
Passages linked to Isaiah 43:22 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Micah 6:3 My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me!
- Malachi 3:14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God;’ and ‘What profit is it that we have followed his instructions, and that we have walked mournfully before Yahweh of Armies?
- Malachi 1:13 You say also, ‘Behold, what a weariness it is!’ and you have sniffed at it”, says Yahweh of Armies; “and you have brought that which was taken by violence, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring the offering. Should I accept this at your hand?” says Yahweh.
- Jeremiah 10:25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, and on the families that don’t call on your name; for they have devoured Jacob. Yes, they have devoured him, consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.
- James 4:2-3 You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. You ask, and don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.
- Job 21:14-15 They tell God, ‘Depart from us, for we don’t want to know about your ways. What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What profit should we have, if we pray to him?’
- Job 27:9-10 Will God hear his cry when trouble comes on him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty, and call on God at all times?
- Psalms 14:4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and don’t call on Yahweh?
- Psalms 79:6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you, on the kingdoms that don’t call on your name;
- Isaiah 64:7 There is no one who calls on your name, who stirs himself up to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have consumed us by means of our iniquities.
- Jeremiah 2:5 Yahweh says, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after worthless vanity, and have become worthless?
- Jeremiah 2:11-13 Has a nation changed its gods, which really are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doesn’t profit. “Be astonished, you heavens, at this and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate,” says Yahweh. “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and cut out cisterns for themselves: broken cisterns that can’t hold water.
- Daniel 9:13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come on us. Yet we have not entreated the favor of Yahweh our God, that we should turn from our iniquities and have discernment in your truth.
- Hosea 7:10-14 The pride of Israel testifies to his face; yet they haven’t returned to Yahweh their God, nor sought him, for all this. “Ephraim is like an easily deceived dove, without understanding. They call to Egypt. They go to Assyria. When they go, I will spread my net on them. I will bring them down like the birds of the sky. I will chastise them, as their congregation has heard. Woe to them! For they have wandered from me. Destruction to them! For they have trespassed against me. Though I would redeem them, yet they have spoken lies against me. They haven’t cried to me with their heart, but they howl on their beds. They assemble themselves for grain and new wine. They turn away from me.
- Hosea 14:1-2 Israel, return to Yahweh your God; for you have fallen because of your sin. Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Tell him, “Forgive all our sins, and accept that which is good: so we offer our lips like bulls.
- John 6:66-69 At this, many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Jesus said therefore to the twelve, “You don’t also want to go away, do you?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
- Jeremiah 2:31-32 Generation, consider Yahweh’s word. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We have broken loose. We will come to you no more?’ “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me for days without number.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Thou hast not worshipped me as thou oughtest to…
Thou hast not worshipped me as thou oughtest to have done.
Because thou hast not willingly received that which I did command thee, thou didst grieve me. Whereby he showeth that his mercies were the only cause of their deliverance, forasmuch as they had deserved the contrary.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 43:22 But thou hast not called upon me,…
Isa 43:22 But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
Ver. 22. But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob.] During the captivity they prayed not to any purpose, as Daniel also acknowledgeth: {Isa 9:13} "All this evil is come upon us, yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand thy truth." Nevertheless, of his free grace, God brought them back again.
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But thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.] Accounting my service a burden, and not a benefit. See on Mal 1:13.
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 But; or, for, as this conjunction is oft used.…
But; or, for, as this conjunction is oft used. So this may be added as a reason why God called the Gentiles to be his people, because the Jews forsook him.
Thou hast not called upon me; thou hast grossly neglected or very slightly performed the duties of my worship.
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Thou hast been weary of me; thou hast not esteemed my service to be a privilege, as in truth it is, but as a burden and bondage. Compare Mal 1:13.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain This charge (and a high charge it is which…
This charge (and a high charge it is which is here exhibited against Jacob and Israel, God's professing people) comes in here, 1. To clear God's justice in bringing them into captivity, and to vindicate that. Were they not in covenant with him? Had they not his sanctuary among them? Why then did the Lord deal thus with his land? Deu 29:24. Here is a good reason given: they had neglected God and had cast him off, and therefore he justly rejected them and gave them to the curse (Isa 43:28); and they must be brought to own this before they are prepared for deliverance; and they did so, Dan 9:5; Neh 9:33. 2. To advance God's mercy in their deliverance and to make that appear more glorious. Many things are before observed to magnify the power of God in it; but this magnifies his goodness, that he should do such great and kind things for a people that had been so very provoking to him and were now suffering the just punishment of their iniquity. The pardoning of their sin was as great an instance of God's power (for so Moses reckons it, Num 14:17, etc.) as the breaking of the yoke of their captivity. Now observe here,
I. What the sins are which they are here charged with.
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1. Omissions of the good which God had commanded; and this part of the charge is here much insisted upon. Observe how it comes in with a but; compare Isa 43:21, where God tells them what favours he had bestowed upon them and what his just expectations were from them. He had formed them for himself, intending they should show forth his praise. But they had not done so; they had frustrated God's expectations from them, and made very ill returns to him for his favours. For, (1.) They had cast off prayer: Thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob! Jacob was a man famous for prayer (Hos 12:4); his seed bore his name, but did not tread in his steps, and therefore are justly upbraided with it. God takes it ill when children degenerate from the virtue and devotion of their pious ancestors. To boast of the name of Jacob, and yet live without prayer, is to mock God and deceive ourselves. If Jacob does not call upon God, who will? (2.) They had grown weary of their religion: "Thou art Israel, the seed not only of a praying but of a prevailing father, that was a prince with God; and yet, not valuing his experiences any more than his example, thou hast been weary of me." They had been in relation to God, employed in his service and in communion with him; but they began to snuff at it, and to say, Behold, what a weariness is it! Note, Those who neglect to call upon God do in effect tell him they are weary of him and have a mind to change their Master. (3.) They grudged the expense of their devotion, and were niggardly and penurious in it. They were for a cheap religion; and in those acts of devotion that were costly they desired to be excused. They had not brought, no, not their small cattle, the lambs and kids, which God required for burnt-offerings (Isa 43:23), much less did they bring their greater cattle, pretending they could not spare them, they must have them for the maintenance of their families. So little sense had they of the greatness of God and their obligations to him that they could not find in their hearts to part with a lamb out of their flock for his honour, though he called for it and would graciously have accepted it. Sweet cane, or calamus, was used for the holy oil, incense, and perfume; but they were not willing to be at the charge of that, Isa 43:24. What they had must serve, though it was old and good for nothing; they would not buy fresh. Perhaps it was usual for devout pious persons to bring free-will incense as well as other free-will offerings; but they were not so generous, nor did they fill the altar of God, nor moisten it abundantly, as they should have done, with the fat of their sacrifices; what sacrifices they did bring were of the lean and refuse of their cattle, that had no fat in them to regale the altar with. (4.) What sacrifices they did offer they did not honour God with them, and so they were, in effect, as no sacrifices (Isa 43:23): Neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. Some of them offered their sacrifices to false gods; others, who offered them to the true God, were either careless in the manner of offering them or hypocritical in their intentions, so that they might be truly said not to honour God with them, but rather to dishonour him. (5.) That which aggravated their neglect of sacrificing was that, as God had appointed it, it was no burdensome thing; it was not a service that they had any reason at all to complain of: "I have not caused thee to serve with an offering; I have not made it a task and drudgery to you, whatever you, through the corruption of your natures, have made it yourselves. I have not wearied thee with incense." None of God's commandments are grievous, no, not those concerning sacrifice and incense. They were not more costly than might be afforded by those that lived in such a plentiful country, nor did their attendance on them require any more time than they could well spare. But that which especially forbade them to call it a wearisome service was that they were required to be cheerful and pleasant, and to rejoice before God in all their approaches to him, Deu 12:12. They had many feasts and good days, but only one day in all the year in which they were to afflict their souls. The ordinances of the ceremonial law, though, in comparison with Christ's easy yoke, they are spoken of as heavy (Act 15:10), yet, in comparison with the service that idolaters did to their false gods, they were light, and not to be called services nor found fault with as wearisome. God did not require them to sacrifice their children, as Moloch did.
2. Commissions of the evil which God had forbidden; and omissions commonly make way for commissions: Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins. When we make God's gifts the food and fuel for our lusts, and his providence the patron of our wicked projects, especially when we encourage ourselves to continue in sin because grace has abounded, then we make God to serve with our sins. Or it may denote what a grief and burden sin is to God; it not only wearies men and makes the creation groan, but it wearies my God also (Isa 7:13) and makes the Creator complain that he is grieved (Psa 95:10), that he is broken (Eze 6:9), that he is pressed with sinners as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves (Amo 2:13), and to cry out, Ah! I will ease me of my adversaries, Isa 1:24. The antithesis is observable: God had not made them to serve with their sacrifices, but they had made him to serve with their sins. The master had not tired the servants with his commands, but they had tired him with their disobedience. Those are wicked servants indeed that behave so ill to so good a Master. God is tender of our comfort, but we are careless of his honour. Let this engage us to keep close to our duty, that it is easy and reasonable, and no disparagement to us, nor too hard for us.
II. What were the aggravations of their sin, Isa 43:27. 1. That they were children of disobedience; for their first father (that is, their forefathers) had sinned; and they had not only sinned in their loins, but sinned like them. Ezra confesses this: Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass, Ezr 9:7. But their forefathers are called their first father to put us in mind of the apostasy and rebellion of our first father Adam, to which corrupt fountain we must trace up the streams of all our transgressions. 2. That they were scholars of disobedience too: for their teachers had transgressed against God, were guilty of gross scandalous sins, and the people, no doubt, would learn to do as they did. It is ill with a people when their leaders cause them to err, and their teachers, who should reform them, corrupt them.
III. What were the tokens of God's displeasure against them for their sins, Isa 43:23. He brought ruin both upon church and state. 1. The honour of their church was laid in the dust and trampled on: I have profaned the princes of the sanctuary, that is, the priests and Levites who presided with great dignity and power in the temple-service; they profaned themselves, and made themselves vile, by their enormities, and then God profaned them and made them vile, by their calamities and the contempt they fell into, Mal 2:9. 2. The honour of their state was ruined likewise: "I have given Jacob to the curse, that is, to be cursed, and hated, and abused by all their neighbours, and Israel to reproach, to be insulted, ridiculed, and triumphed over by their enemies." They reproached them perhaps for that in them that was good; they mocked at their sabbaths (Lam 1:7); but God gave them up to reproach, to correct them for what was amiss. Note, The dishonour which men at any time do us should humble us for the dishonour we have done to God; and we must bear it patiently because we suffer it justly, and must acknowledge that to us belongs confusion.
IV. What were the riches of God's mercy towards them notwithstanding (Isa 43:25): I even I, am he who notwithstanding all this blotteth out thy transgressions.
1. This gracious declaration of God's readiness to pardon sin comes in very strangely. The charge ran very high: Thou hast wearied me with thy iniquities, Isa 43:24. Now one would think it would follow: "I, even I, am he that will destroy thee, and burden myself no longer with care about thee." No, I, even I, am he that will forgive thee; as if the great God would teach us that forgiving injuries is the best way to make ourselves easy and to keep ourselves from being wearied with them. This comes in here to encourage them to repent, because there is forgiveness with God, and to show the freeness of divine mercy; where sin has been exceedingly sinful grace appears exceedingly gracious. Apply this, (1.) To the forgiving of the sins of Israel as a people, in their national capacity. When God stopped the course of threatening judgments, and saved them from utter ruin, even then when he had them under severe rebukes, then he might be said to blot out their transgressions. Though he corrected them, he was reconciled to them again, and did not cut them off from being a people. This he did many a time, till they rejected Christ and his gospel, which was a sin against the remedy, and then he would forgive them no more as a nation, but utterly destroyed them. (2.) To the forgiving of the sins of every particular believing penitent - transgressions and sins, infirmities though ever so numerous, backslidings though ever so heinous. Observe here, [1.] How the pardon is expressed; he will blot them out, as a cloud is blotted out by the beams of the sun (Isa 44:22), as a debt is blotted out not to appear against the debtor (the book is crossed as if the debt were paid, because it is pardoned upon the payment which the surety has made), or as a sentence is blotted out when it is reversed, as the curse was blotted out with the waters of jealousy, which made it of no effect to the innocent, Num 5:23. He will not remember the sin, which intimates not only that he will remit the punishment of what is past, but that it shall be no diminution to his love for the future. When God forgives he forgets. [2.] What is the ground and reason of the pardon. It is not for the sake of any thing in us, but for his own sake, for his mercies'-sake, his promise-sake, and especially for his Son's sake, and that he may himself be glorified in it. [3.] How God glories in it: I, even I, am he. He glories in it as his prerogative. None can forgive sin but God only, and he will do it; it is his settled resolution. He will do it willingly and with delight; it is his pleasure; it is his honour; so he is pleased to reckon it.
2. Those words (Isa 43:26), Put me in remembrance, may be understood either (1.) As a rebuke to a proud Pharisee, that stands upon his own justification before God, and expects to find favour for his merits and not to be beholden to free grace: "If you have any thing to say in your own justification, any thing to offer for the sake of which you should be pardoned, and not for my sake, put me in remembrance of it. I will give you leave to plead your own cause with me; declare what your merits are, that you may be justified by them:" but those who are thus challenged will be speechless. Or, (2.) As a publican. Is God thus ready to pardon sin, and, when he pardons it, will he remember it no more? Let us then put him in remembrance, mention before him those sins which he has forgiven; for they must be ever before us, to humble us, though they are pardoned, Psa 51:3. Put him in remembrance of the promises he has made to penitents, and the satisfaction his Son has made for them. Plead these with him in wrestling for pardon, and declare these things, in order that thou mayest be justified freely by his grace. This is the only way, and it is a sure way, to peace. Only acknowledge thy transgression.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of…
Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings,.... The kids and the lambs, which, according to the law, should have been brought for burnt offerings daily, morning and evening; and much less did they bring the larger cattle of burnt offerings, as oxen and bullocks. The Targum and Vulgate Latin render it, "the rams of thy burnt offerings"; the Septuagint version, "the sheep"; and the Syriac and Arabic versions, "the lambs"; and these were not brought to him, but to their idols; or, however, were not brought in a right way and manner, and from right principles, and with right views. Kimchi thinks this refers to the times of Ahaz, when the service of God ceased in the temple, and idolatry was practised at Jerusalem but it seems to respect later times, nearer the times of Christ; see Mal 1:13,
neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices; what sacrifices they did offer were not offered to God, but to their idols; or they were such as were not according to the law of God; or they were not offered up in the faith of the Messiah, nor with a true spirit of devotion, and with a sincere view to the glory of God, and in the exercise of repentance for sins; but rather as an atonement for them, and that they might go on in them with ease of mind; see Isa 1:11,
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I have not caused thee to serve with an offering; the "minchah", a meat offering or bread offering, which was a freewill offering, and they were not obliged to it; it was at their own option whether they would bring it or not, and which was not very chargeable to them:
nor wearied thee with incense; or frankincense, which was put upon the meat or bread offering; see Lev 2:1. Some understand this of all offerings in general, that they were not so many that were commanded them, as to be a burden to them; nor so expensive but that they were able to bear the charge of them, considering the fruitfulness of the land of Canaan, and especially the numerous and costly sacrifices of Heathen idolaters: and others think it has reference to the time of Israel's coming out of Egypt, and the covenant of God with them, when no mention was made of sacrifices, nor were they enjoined them, Jer 7:21.
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 For - God called to the Gentiles to be…
For - God called to the Gentiles to be his people, because the Jews forsook him. Weary - Thou hast not esteemed my service to be a privilege, but a burden and bondage.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 22. But thou hast not called upon me]…
Verse 22. But thou hast not called upon me] The connexion is: But thou, Israel, whom I have chosen, whom I have formed for myself to be my witness against the false gods of the nations; even thou hast revolted from me, hast neglected my worship, and hast been perpetually running after strange gods. The emphasis of this and the following parts of the sentence, on which the sense depends, is laid on the words ME, on MY ACCOUNT, c. The Jews were diligent in performing the external services of religion in offering prayers, incense, sacrifices, oblations; but their prayers were not offered with faith; and their oblations were made more frequently to their idols than to the God of their fathers. The Hebrew idiom excludes with a general negative, in a comparative sense, one of two objects opposed to one another: thus, "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice," Ho 6:6. "For I spoke not to your fathers, nor commanded them, concerning burnt-offerings or sacrifices; but this thing I commanded them, saying, Obey my voice," Jer 7:22-23. And the meaning of this place of Isaiah seems to be much the same with that of Amos; who however has explained at large both parts of the comparison, and specified the false service opposed to the true: -
"Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings,
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In the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
Nay, but you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch,
And Chiun, your images;
The star of your god, which you made to yourselves."
Am 5:25-26.
But thou hast been weary of me, O Israel - "Neither on my account hast thou laboured, O Israel."] For כי יגעת ki yagata, the Septuagint and Vulgate read ויגעת veyagata. - Houbigant. The negative is repeated or referred to by the conjunction ו vau; as in many other places. See Clarke on Isa 23:4.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Isa 43:22-24. But thou hast not called upon me…
Isa 43:22-24. But thou hast not called upon me — Thou hast grossly neglected, or very negligently and hypocritically performed the duties of my worship. Thou hast been weary of me — Thou hast not esteemed my service to be a privilege, as in truth it is, but as a burden and a bondage. “The connection is: But thou, Israel, whom I have chosen, whom I have formed for myself, to be my witness against the false gods of the nations; even thou hast revolted from me, hast neglected my worship, and hast been perpetually running after strange gods. The Jews were diligent in performing the external services of religion; in offering prayers, incense, sacrifices, oblations; but their prayers were not offered with faith, and their oblations were made more frequently to their idols than to the God of their fathers.” Neither hast thou honoured me — If thou didst not neglect sacrificing to me, thou didst perform that duty merely out of custom; or didst dishonour me, and pollute thy sacrifices by thy wicked life. I have not wearied thee — Or, Although I have not wearied thee, &c. Although God had not laid such heavy burdens upon them, nor required such costly offerings, as might give them cause to be weary, nor such as idolaters did freely perform in the service of their idols. Thou hast brought me no sweet cane — This was used in the making of that precious ointment, (Exo 30:34,) and for the incense, Exo 30:7. See Jer 6:20. Thou hast been niggardly in my service, when thou hast spared for no cost in the service of thine idols. Nor filled me, &c. — Thou hast not multiplied thy thank-offerings and free-will-offerings, though I have given thee sufficient occasion to do so. But thou hast made me serve, &c. — Thou hast made me to bear the load and burden of thy sins.
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 But thou hast not called upon me - The…
But thou hast not called upon me - The design of this and the following verses, is to show them that they were indebted to the divine mercy alone for their deliverance from bondage. It was not because they had been either meritorious or faithful; it was not because they had deserved these favors at his hand, for they had been a people that had been distinguished for neglecting their God. On that account, these calamities had come upon them, and their deliverance, therefore, was to be an act of mere unmerited favor.
Thou hast been weary - As a people, you have been weary of my service. They had accounted his laws grievous and oppressive; and they had groaned under what they regarded as burdensome rites and ceremonies (see Amo 8:5-6; Mal 1:13). God here refers, doubtless, to the times before the captivity, and is stating what was the general characteristic of the people.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain But--Israel, however, is not to think that these divine…
But--Israel, however, is not to think that these divine favors are due to their own piety towards God. So the believer (Tit 3:5).
but--rather, "for."
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weary of me-- (Amo 8:5-6; Mal 1:13), though "I have not wearied thee" (Isa 43:23), yet "thou hast been weary of Me."
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 22-24. Sweet cane — A “reed of fragrance,” from…
22-24. Sweet cane — A “reed of fragrance,” from which perfuming extracts and ointments are made; used also in costly offerings. It is said “sweet cane” is not to be found in Syria. Gainsaying this, I quote from my journal of route from Sinai to Hebron, date March 6, 1870: “Found to-day, sixteen hours from Beersheba, in Wady El Abriad, moist from recent rains, a very fragrant reed, resembling Andropogon calamus, but the genus and species of which are unknown. These stalks were three feet high, of last year’s growth, and very fragrant.”
The tenor of these verses does not hold well with the preceding. The writer falls back to describing Jacob in another character than that which fits him for immediate restoration. How could this have been written by an unknown prophet at the end of the exile? But it tallies completely with Isaiah, through all these prophecies. From one subject to another he often leaps to the reader’s surprise. Then there is another difficulty for anti-supernaturalistic critics. The pious Jews were forbidden to offer sacrifices elsewhere than at Jerusalem. No remedy for the critics but to mutilate, as usual, the passage, and consign it to another origin. Yet this need not be done. The break here in Isaiah’s style of address, is in this wise explainable: His spirit had glowed in view of the grand Messianic outcome which the literal deliverance from exile suggested. But he at once bethought himself how unworthy, even yet, they were for so great a mercy, and he reminded them of it to show how great a gratuity they were to share, and how low in humiliation they needed to be. Failure of proper devotion to the temple was made an illustration of Israel’s habit of unfaithfulness.
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 22. But thou hast not called upon me] To…
22. But thou hast not called upon me] To call upon Jehovah “in the day of trouble” was the first and most obvious duty of Israel (Psa_50:15), but this duty Israel has neglected. The statement is of course general; it does not exclude the existence of a believing minority which poured out its heart in prayer to God. The position of the word “me” is emphatic in the original; but the emphasis on the object throws a corresponding emphasis on the subject: “But not upon me hast thou called, Jacob”; it is I who have called thee (ch. Isa_41:9, Isa_42:6, Isa_43:1 &c.). It is foreign to the context to suppose an antithesis between Jehovah and other gods.
but thou hast been weary of me] Or, perhaps: much less hast thou wearied thyself about me (Cheyne). The translation of E.V. is possible, although the expression is not elsewhere used of being weary of a person. The other sense, however, is much to be preferred because of Isa_43:23 b, and is justified by the analogy of ch. Isa_47:12; Isa_47:15, Isa_62:8; Jos_24:13. The use of the conjunction is peculiar; the simple kî seems to have the same force as the fuller ’aph kî (as in 1Ki_8:27, “much less this house” &c.). The easiest solution might be to suppose that the ’aph has been omitted, but this is not really necessary. How Israel might have “wearied itself about” Jehovah is explained in Isa_43:23 f.
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22–28. Jehovah effects this deliverance for His own sake, not in return for any service He has received at the hands of Israel. The argument of the section is difficult to follow, especially in the part which speaks of sacrifice. Two questions present themselves: (a) does Jehovah upbraid His people with their neglect of ritual, or does He assert His own indifference to it? and (b), is the reference to the whole course of Israel’s history or merely to the period of the Exile? The answer to (b) seems determined by the consideration that if understood of the history as a whole the statement is inconsistent with fact. Although the prophet undoubtedly takes a dark view of Israel’s past religious condition (Isa_43:27), we cannot suppose that he charges it with disregard of the externals of religion. Whatever faults Israel had been guilty of, it had not been slack in the performance of ritual (see ch. Isa_1:10 ff.). Now if we limit the reference to the Exile, the idea of an implied reproach (a) must be abandoned, because the suspension of the sacrificial system was in the circumstances inevitable. In other words, the main thought here is expressed in the second half of Isa_43:23 more clearly than in the first halves of Isa_43:23-24. At the same time this hardly amounts to a repudiation of sacrifice in principle on the part of Jehovah. The truth appears to be that the prophet directs attention to the simple fact that during the Exile sacrifice had not been offered; whether Israel was to blame for this or not is immaterial to his argument. He has in his view the prevailing ideas of the time as to the normal attitude of a people to its God; and he shews how inadequate these are to explain Jehovah’s relation to Israel. The natural and proper thing was for a nation to invoke the name of its God, and to honour Him with costly and laborious rites. Israel has done none of these things, it has only burdened Jehovah with its sins; yet Jehovah proves Himself to be its God by forgiving its iniquities and undertaking its cause against its enemies.
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 (22) But thou hast not called upon me.—The startling…
(22) But thou hast not called upon me.—The startling abruptness of the complaint has led many critics to question the genuineness of these verses (22-24). Their insertion, however, by a later writer would be at least as hard to understand as their having come from the hand of the same writer as the glowing picture that precedes them. May we not find the solution of the problem in the fact that Isaiah’s experience taught him that there would be in the future, as in the past, a dark as well as a bright side to the picture? that the mercies shown to the exiles would not be according to their merits, but to God’s great goodness? The worship of the restored exiles would be as that of the people had been in his own time, meagre and unthankful. Visions of failure alternate with the glowing hope that the ideal will be realised, and this alternation constitutes the great problem of the book, as it does of all like apocalyptic intimations.
But thou hast been weary.—Better, so that thou shouldest be weary. Others render it, Much less hast thou toiled for me. Sacrifices elsewhere than in the Temple were forbidden by the Law, and the prophet does not so much blame the people for not offering these as for not compensating for their absence by the true worship of which they were the symbols.
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 Vers. 22-28. A REPROACH ADDRESSED TO CAPTIVE ISRAEL FOR…
Vers. 22-28. A REPROACH ADDRESSED TO CAPTIVE ISRAEL FOR ITS A REPROACH A PAST OMISSIONS AND SINS. The thought of Israel in the future, redeemed, restored, and "telling out God"s praise" (ver. 21), raises naturally the con-trusted thought of Israel in the present and the past, disobedient, full of shortcomings (vers. 22-24), too often guilty of overt acts of sin (vers. 24-28). While reproaching his people, and reminding them that the exile is the wellmented punishment of their past offences (vers. 27, 28), God still promises them pardon if they will appeal to his covenant of mercy (vers. 25, 26).
But thou hast not called upon me. The Jews had never been greatly given to prayer. They were a "practical" people, active, energetic, hard-working, busily employed in handicrafts, commerce, or agriculture. David and Daniel, who prayed three times a day, (Psa_55:17 Dan_6:10) were probably exceptions to the general rule. At any rate, it appears here that in the exile the nation had neglected prayer. No doubt there was a nucleus of "faithful men," who did as Daniel did. But with the mass it was otherwise. Hard toil occupied their time. Despair made dull their hearts. They looked for no alleviation of their lot, and lived on in a sort of apathy. But thou hast been weary of me ; rather, for thou hast wearied of me. Thou hast left off praying, because thou wast weary of my service.
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Vers. 22-28. The folly of self-justification before God.
Self-justification, addressed by man to God, is doubly foolish
I AS HAVING NO BASIS IN TRUTH, AND THEREFORE EASILY CONFUTED. There is no fact more certain, whether we accept the statements of Scripture as authoritative, or pin our faith on our own observation and experience, than that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God". (Rom_3:23) Each man is conscious to himself of sin, and no one claims perfection for his neighbours. The greatest saints, both of the Old Testament and the New, have shortcomings, defects, fall into actual sins. One alone is depicted without sin, and he was more than man. Human biographies are in accord. No one, whatever his admiration for his hero, claims that he was perfect. All accept the notion that the best man is simply the one who has fewest faults.
II As EXCLUDING MAN FROM THE ONLY JUSTIFICATION POSSIBLE TO HIM. God will not justify the self-righteous. He forgives those only who ask his forgiveness. Pride is a barrier which shuts men out from him, and places them on a par with the fallen angels, "to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness fee ever". (Jud_1:13) God "justifies the sinner", (Rom_4:5) but only the sinner who confesses his sin and begs for pardon. If we "go about to establish our own righteousness, and do not submit ourselves to the righteousness of God," we exclude ourselves from God"s covenant of salvation, which is made with the humble, the contrite, the self-abased, the penitent. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins". (1Jn_1:9)
Vers. 22-28. Memories of exile.
I THE FAITHLESSNESS OF THE PEOPLE. They have forgotten the covenant of their God. They have neglected one of its first duties prayer, which marks dependence; or they had prayed to other gods; or their prayers had been merely ritual and formal. And this was the less excusable as the burden of sacrifices had not laid upon them during the exile.
II THE MINDFUL MERCY OF JEHOVAH. He promises to blot out their sins; and this simply for his own sake. God can swear by none mightier; he can appeal to no principle that is higher than himself. He must be true first and above all to his nature; and next to that covenant which is the expression of his nature and of his relations to the people. Let them remember that; let them remind God of his promises, and he will not fail to respond. Although their ancestors had sinned; their leaders, the prophets and the priests and the princes, had rebelled against him, and had by him been rejected; the people are still dear to him, and must remain so while Jehovah remains Jehovah. For he is the Eternal; he changes not. Though he punishes, he will not destroy; in the midst of wrath he remembers mercy; and holds fast to the set counsels of his love, from generation to generation, despite all the fickleness of man"s fancies, opinions, and inclinations. Their endeavours to overcome his good by their evil shall be met by his mightier will to overcome their evil by his long-suffering. J.
Vers. 22-25. Righteousness, guilt, mercy.
We notice here
I THE REASONABLENESS OF GOD"S SERVICE. "I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense." God"s service is not a servitude, a slavery; nor is it a burdensome task, hard and heavy to be borne. Under the Mosaic Law, special provision was made for the poor, so that the sacrifices asked of them should be within their reach. (Lev_5:7 Lev_12:8 Lev_14:21) Women and children were excepted from certain requirements, because of their sex or their years. Various exemptions were allowed in the spirit of considerateness. There was nothing hard, rigorous, ungracious, in the Law. Nor is there in the Divine demands now made upon us. God desires indeed, he requires of us that we should yield to him our thought, our remembrance, our worship, regular, willing, spiritual; our love, our filial affection; our obedience to his precepts; our submission to his will. But there is nothing arbitrary or capricious about this demand; it is only that which grows, naturally and even necessarily, out of the intimate relation in which God stands to us and we to him. What is there less than this that we could rightly render to our Creator, our Sustainer, our bountiful Benefactor, our Father, our Redeemer? And in everything God makes full allowance for all our weakness and incapacity. He expects of us according to that which he has entrusted to us. From those to whom much is given, much will be required, etc. (see 2Co_8:12) From the very rich God will look for the talents of gold; from the very poor, small pieces of copper; from the strong man, his strength; from the weak man, his weakness.
II THE SERIOUSNESS AND THE HEINOUSNESS OF HUMAN SIN. The Divine complaint is against us all, that we have:
1. Withheld from him what is due to him. We have "not called upon" him; for we have been "weary of him." We have not brought him even our smaller offerings; we have not honoured him, as we might and should have done, in his courts. And this shortcoming is only a small part of all our sin of omission. We have all failed to render him the glory due to his Name, the reverence and the affection due to himself, the obedience and the service due to his will and to his cause. It is also against many that they have:
2. Added aggravating offences to their shortcoming; "served him with sins," "wearied him with iniquities." Many have not only refused their worship, but they have flagrantly and heinously broken his commandments; have multiplied their iniquities, and made him to write down the most grievous and shameful transgressions in his book against them.
III THE FULNESS AND FREENESS OF THE DIVINE MERCY. (Ver. 25.) For his own sake, not compelled thereto by anything which they had done or should do, but impelled by his abounding and overflowing grace, he would "blot out their transgressions" from his book of remembrance. God"s pardoning love to us, revealed in the gospel:
1. Is large and free.
(1) He forgives the most flagrant offences.
(2) He receives those who have been longest in rebellion against his rule, and have most pertinaciously resisted his overtures.
(3) He takes back those whom he forgives into his full favour and treats them with unstinted kindness. (Lu 15)
2. I s granted of his own grace, and for the sake of his own Son our Savior.
3. Is conditional on our repentance and faith. C.
Wearying of God"s worship.
This is quite a customary prophetical complaint. The idea seems to be that God noticed his people making a toil rather than a joy of his service. They kept it up, but it was evidently an irksome burden. We can understand that, during the Captivity, when removed from all the solemn associations of the temple-worship, it would be very burdensome to keep up family or public religion. Micah pleads thus, in God"s name: "O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have "I wearied thee? testify against me". (Mic_6:3) And Malachi writes thus. Ye stud also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord". (Mal_1:13) Matthew Henry suggests the signs of the people being thus weary of God"s worship.
1. They had cast off prayer.
2. They had grown weary of their religion.
3. They grudged the expense of their devotion.
4. What sacrifices they did offer, they did not honour God with them.
5. Yet God made no unreasonable or burdensome commands upon them.The two points which may be illustrated and enforced, in direct relation to the religious life of our times, are these
I MEN SOON WEARY OF GOD"S WORSHIP WHEN THE HEART GOES OUT OF IT. The worship of human beings, enslaved by the senses, must be formal, ritual, ceremonial in greater or less degrees. And these are most valuable and helpful when they are, what they should be, expressions of the soul"s love and admiration and thankfulness. Worship is blessed if there is life in it, heart in it; if it says anything, if it means anything. As a round of formalities, it is but a "weariness." It may be kept up, but only as an irksome task that must be done. So our interest in Divine worship may become a test of ourselves. If there is life in the soul there is sure to be joy in the worship.
II THE HEART GOES OUT OF THE WORSHIP WHEN WE NEGLECT THE PRIVATE CULTIVATION OF THE REGENERATE LIFE. So often men think to make up by diligence in public religion for neglect and indifference in private religion. But it can never be done. The preparation for worship is private soul-cultivation. We must bring the worship with us, or we shall never find it in the Church. Revive personal piety, and the result will at once be revived interest in Divine worship. If men neglect the house of God, it will always be found that they have "left their first love. 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 But thou hast not called upon Me, O Jacob
Isa_43:22
But thou hast not called upon Me, O Jacob
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Insincerity in religion
It is a common observation that there is very little sincerity in the world.
We are now concerned with insincerity of a deeper and more serious character,--insincerity in religion. I propose to offer some remarks which may serve to detect a mere formal profession of religion. The subject on which I shall chiefly remark is the habit and enjoyment of secret prayer.
I. MANY HAVE CONTINUED FOR A WHILE IN HABITS OF SECRET PRAYER, AND YET ARE ONLY FORMAL PROFESSORS.
II. MERE FORMAL PROFESSORS AFTER AWHILE LEAVE OFF PRAYER IN A GREAT DEGREE.
III. It is evident that these formal worshippers are utterly deceived in thinking they are converted: THIS WEARINESS IN PRAYER SHOWS THE CHANGE WAS NOT REAL. How are we to distinguish the feelings of a mere formalist from the presence of Gods renovating Spirit?
1. They have not the spirit of prayer. Theirs is not prayer suggested, inspired by Gods Holy Spirit.
2. Mere professors, being deficient in secret prayer, soon fall back again into their former sins and worldliness.
3. It is utterly impossible for you to be saved so long as you live in neglect of prayer.
(1) To neglect prayer is utterly inconsistent with the love of God, which is the element of true religion.
(2) Contrary to the fear of God. This is expressed by the opponents of Job. Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God.
(3) Utterly at variance with that holiness without which no man shall see God.
(4) Allowed negligence of prayer cannot be reconciled with the hope of dwelling with God for ever.
We offer four motives for holy perseverance in prayer.
1. It is wholly necessary for your salvation. If any man draw back, My soul hath no pleasure in him.
2. Take heed to yourselves, and be exceedingly watchful, that you may persevere in this duty, and maintain the spirit of vigorous piety. Let us never seek to shelter ourselves under mere doctrines, such as, true saints shall persevere.
3. To urge you to perseverance in the duty of secret prayer, think how much you need the help of the Spirit of God.
4. The fourth motive for perseverance in fervent prayer is, the great advantages that result from it. (W. B. Mackenzie, B. A.)
A fast sermon
There are two distinct charges--
1. A neglect of prayer.
2. Growing weary of God.
The point is this: people are at a dangerous pass when they begin to neglect prayer. Eliphaz layeth it as a heavy charge upon Job (Job_15:4): Surely thou restrainest prayer before God. When conscience is clamorous, wants pressing, and yet men cannot find the heart to go to God, it is a sad case. So the heathen are described to be the families that call not upon His name (Jer_10:25); that is, that do not acknowledge and worship Him. The workers of iniquity, of what religion soever they profess themselves to he, they call not upon the Lord (Psa_14:4). The evil of this will appear if we consider--
I. WHY THE DUTY WAS APPOINTED.
1. It is a notable part of Gods worship, or a serious calling to mind His presence and attributes. To withdraw from prayer is to withdraw from God; and to be unwilling to pray is to be unwilling to draw nigh to God, or to have any serious thoughts of His being and attributes.
2. It is a profession of our dependence.
3. It is a duty wherein the mysteries of our most holy faith are reduced to practice. There are two great mysteries in the Christian religion--the doctrine of the Trinity, and the mediation of the Son of God.
4. One special end of prayer is to nourish communion and familiarity between God and us; for it is the converse of a loving soul with God, between whom there is a mutual complacency.
5. Prayer is required to preserve in us a sense of our duty, and to keep the heart in better frame.
6. To engage our affections to heavenly things.
7. To be a means of comfort and spiritual refreshing. The soul is disburdened of trouble by this kind of utterance.
II. THE CAUSES WHY MEN NEGLECT IT.
1. Atheism is at the root. When men neglect prayer, either they believe there is no God or no providence.
2. Security.
3. Coldness in religion and weariness of God.
4. Want of peace breeds loathness and backwardness, as David hung off Psa_32:3) till he had recovered his peace.
5. Want of spiritual strength. He that hath lame joints cannot delight in exercise which is a pleasure to them that are strong. (T. Manton, D. D.)
Thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel
Weary of God
Marvellous words! We are not surprised to find God saying to us, Thou hast wearied Me; but it is astonishing that God, to His own people, should complain, Thou hast been weary of Me. We are not astonished that the creature wearies of the creature, man of man, saint of saint. This is in the very nature of things; it arises from the limitation of the creatures powers and resources: no creature can be to another what every creature wants. God in Christ alone can slake the thirst and meet the hunger of our needy souls, and it is worse than useless for men to try to take the place of God in their ministrations and relations to each other. And that God should stoop to say this is also marvellous. Many of you would be too proud to make this acknowledgment if you were placed in a similar position with respect to your fellow-creatures; but here is God reasoning with those whose hearts have wandered from Him, and saying, with all the fidelity of a father, and the pleading tenderness of a mother, Thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel. Many a parent may learn of God even in such matters as rebuke and chastisement. The power of rebuke is very intimately connected with the spirit in which it is administered; you may so rebuke a fault in a child as, by the very rebuking, to attach the child more strongly to yourself; or you may so rebuke as to increase the distance between your child and yourself, and at the same time to confirm him in his fault. Listen to Gods rebukes, and be followers of God, as dear children. The form in which this being weary of God showed itself was partly the restraint of prayer. Thou hast not called upon Me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel. It is very likely that the form of prayer was kept up; yet God says, Thou hast not called upon Me. The day was when they had called upon God first, and upon God last. But now they restrained prayer, and they tried to carry their burdens by the independent strength (and their strength was weakness) of their own shoulders; or they tried to bear their sorrows with the sympathy and assistance which their fellow-creatures and their fellow-saints could administer. God noticed this conduct of His people, and He rebuked it. And not only in the restraint of prayer was this weariness manifested, but also in the neglect of sacrifice; in indifference towards the ordinances of God, and carelessness in the worship of God; in disregard to the will of God; and also in fretful discontent under the dispensations of God (Mal_1:2.). The prophet here represents Israel as sent into captivity, and God as justifying His procedure on the ground of Israel s own spirit and conduct. It is a fault common to Gods saints.
I. THE NATURE OF THIS EVIL. We have already indicated it, but we may put it in another light. We may show it, for example, in contrast. This people, God says, have I formed for myself; they shall show forth My praise. He made us in His own image, that we might reflect Himself, and in the sight of which we might rejoice. And He made us in His own image, that we might reflect Him to each other and to other people; while, for the same object He redeems us. God, in redeeming us, forms us for Himself, that we should love Him; that we should trust Him; that we should honour Him, and that we should try to please and glorify Him. And we realise the work which our blessed Saviour has wrought for us, and which the Spirit of God is now working within us, when we are able to say, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. Now, what is it to be weary of God? It is to desire to break the connection that exists between us and God. It is to be impatient of continued connection with Him; to be tired of calling upon Him; tired of thinking of Him; tired of trusting Him; tired of waiting for Him; tired of serving Him. I know not a better illustration than that which is supplied by the first part of the parable of the Prodigal Son.
II. ITS MANIFESTATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT.
1. This weariness is first shown by formality in Divine worship.
2. It then shows itself in the outward neglect of Divine requirements. Declension begins in the heart, and shows itself first in formality, and then the steps between formality and the outward neglect of Divine requirements are not very many.
3. Then follows, not looking to God for aid and succour. The man depends more upon himself than he ought to depend, or he looks more to his fellow-creatures than he had been accustomed to look.
III. WHAT IS THE OCCASION OF THE MANIFESTATION OF THIS WEARINESS? You will generally find one of the following things--disappointed hope, the endurance of affliction, or the prosperity of the wicked.
IV. ITS CAUSES. You must be aware of the distinction between an occasion and a cause. Gods dispensations towards Pharaoh, as we are told, hardened his heart. They were the occasions of this, but the cause was not in God; neither was the cause in the dispensation of God--the cause was in Pharaoh. Unless Pharaoh had possessed a hardened heart, those dispensations of Divine providence, instead of increasing this obduracy, would have produced a totally different state of soul. The same dispensations have done it, as in the case of Nineveh; when Nineveh was threatened, Nineveh repented. The cause is to be found either in the absence of love or in the feebleness of love.
V. THE BITTER FRUITS of this weariness. God sees it; and He cannot see it without feeling it. God is angry, and He corrects; and He corrects so as to make the chastisement answer to the sin. The man has, to a certain extent, withdrawn from God, and God withdraws from the man. He deprives the man of whatever influences are still tending to promote his peace and joy and rest. And, of course, if the heart be alive, if it be a quickened heart, this state is one of great misery, until the soul is restored to God. Where there is not life, you find that the case gets worse and worse, and that very frequently men fall from this weariness into scepticism, and into atheism.
VI. THE MEANS OF PREVENTION. Ejecting the first hard thoughts of God; not yielding for a moment to indolence in the service of God; comprehension (so far as we can comprehend) of the principles, and of the general plan of the Divine Government, so as not to be expecting here that which God has given us no reason to hope for here; following Christ implicitly in the conduct of the spirit towards God; and cherishing most sacredly the influences of the Holy Spirit.
VII. When you have fallen into this evil state, WHAT IS THE CURE?
1. Full confession of the weariness. Be willing to speak of it as God speaks of it; to see it as God sees it; and to condemn it as God condemns it. Call it weariness of your merciful Father--weariness of your best and kindest friend.
2. Admission of the Divine goodness in the correction by which you are made sensible of your weariness.
3. Return to a careful observance of Gods ordinances and precepts, the obtaining of pardon, and the assurance of forgiveness. While you are in doubt about pardon with reference to this sin, you will find yourselves keeping at a distance from God. This subject is suitable for self-examination. Are there any signs of this weariness of God in you? (S. Martin.)
Weary of God
To be weary of God is to be weary of His worship and service. It is as sad a character as can be given, either of persons or of a people, to say that they are weary of God.
I. THE NATURE OF THE EVIL. Weariness in the body noteth a deficiency of strength, no more mind to work; in the soul, a falling from God, and we have no mind to His service, which is either partial or total.
1. Partial. When the heart is more alienated from God than before, and all our respects to Him grow burdensome and grievous, and the heart begins to repine at everything we do for Him (Mal_1:13; Amo_8:5).
2. Total when not only the power of religion is abated, but the very profession of it is cast off.
II. IT IS INCIDENT SOMETIMES TO PERSONS CONSIDERED IN THEIR SINGLE CAPACITY; SOMETIMES TO A PEOPLE CONSIDERED IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
1. To persons considered apart, and in their single capacity.
(1) Partly out of natural adverseness to God.
(2) Partly because of the fickleness of man.
2. It is incident to a people considered in their community.
(1) The Church of God in general.
(2) In every nation.
Usually religion is changed in a nation upon two grounds--
(a) Change of persons. When good old zealous men are gone the stage is shifted, and there cometh on a new scene of acts and actors; one generation passeth, and another cometh.
(b) Change of interests. When it is for their own interest to own God, men think they can never bind themselves fast enough to Him; but when the posture of interest is changed, God is laid aside, they grow weary of God; they deal treacherously with the Lord, and walk willingly after the commandment (Hos_5:7; Hos_5:11).
III. THE CAUSES WHY A PEOPLE GROW WEARY OF GOD. Besides those general causes, these may be added--
1. Want of love to God.
2. We are too much led by sense; and if we have not present satisfaction, we soon grow weary of religion.
3. It argueth too much love of the world, which by long importunity prevaileth with us to forsake God, and grow dead and cold in religion 2Ti_4:10).
4. It comes from indulgence to the ease of the flesh. As bodily weariness is most incident to the lazy, so is spiritual weariness to those who do not rouse up themselves.
5. Impatience of troubles, and the manifold discourage merits we meet with in the way to heaven.
IV. THE EFFECTS.
1. Boldness in sinning.
2. More coldness in duties of worship. Either it is omitted or performed perfunctorily, and in a careless, stupid manner.
3. Less care and study to please God.
V. What a sad state of soul it is appeareth--
1. By the heinousness of the sin.
(1) It is a horrible contempt of God, after trial, to fall off from God and return to our carnal pleasures and satisfactions again.
(2) It is a very senseless and unreasonable sin. God never gave you cause or occasion to grow weary of Him. He challengeth Israel: O My people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against Me (Mic_6:3).
(3) There is much ingratitude in it. He hath given much cause to the contrary.
2. The terribleness of the judgment.
(1) On nations.
(2) On Churches (Rev_2:5).
(3) For particular persons, it layeth them open to Gods severe correction Hos_5:15).
(4) For total defection. There is dreadful vengeance appointed for them that prefer the creature before God. (T. Manton, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Israel’s Salvation the Work of Jehovah’s Mercy
Israel’s Salvation the Work of Jehovah’s Mercy
v. 22. But thou hast not called upon Me, O Jacob, they had not chosen the true God; but thou hast been weary of Me, O Israel, they had in no way exerted themselves on His account, His election of them as His peculiar people rather being an act of His free love and mercy.
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v. 23. Thou hast not brought Me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings, to atone for the general condition of sinfulness and to dedicate themselves to Jehovah; neither hast thou honored Me with thy sacrifices, in order to establish and maintain the relation of dependence brought about by the mercy of God imparted in the Word. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, the unbloody sacrifice which expressed the praise of God on the part of His saints, nor wearied thee with incense, which signified the prayers of the believers. Before the Lord called the patriarchs and designated their descendants as the people sanctified to Him, they had not sought Him, His selection of Abraham and of the children of Israel being a matter of His free grace and mercy alone.
v. 24. Thou hast bought Me no sweet cane with money, the sweet-smelling plant used in preparing the sacred oil, imported at a great price, neither hast thou filled Me with the fat of thy sacrifices, never tiring themselves out in acts of worship, just as there was no merit on their part in being called into the relation of the covenant; on the contrary: but thou hast made Me to serve with thy sins, causing Him much trouble after He had accepted them into the relation of His children, thou hast wearied Me with thine iniqulties, their constant transgression of His holy Law causing Him great distress and vexation.
v. 25. I, even I, am He that blotteth out thy transgressions for Mine own sake, by an act of His boundless mercy, in order that His name might not be blasphemed among the heathen, and will not remember thy sins, this being the essence of forgiveness, that He remits the specific breach of faith as well as the general deviation from the path of His holy will.
v. 26. Put Me in remembrance, Israel reminding the Lord of His acts of mercy by a recital of the same; let us plead together, in order to establish their case, if they thought they were in a position to say anything in their own favor; declare thou, that thou mayest be justified, be established as righteous in the face of God’s accusation.
v. 27. Thy first father, the ancestor of the children of Israel, hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against Me, the very ones who should have transmitted the will of God to the people.
v. 28. Therefore, because they made themselves unworthy of the honor given them in their office, I have profaned the princes of the Sanctuary, degrading the high priests, treating them as no longer consecrated, and have given Jacob to the curse and Israel to reproaches. Israel alone was to blame for its present misfortune. The fact that the Lord intended to bring salvation was due entirely to His grace and mercy. Hos 13:9.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh continues speaking to the people of Israel.
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translationWords
call
Jacob
Israel
ewe
burnt offering
honor
sacrifice
burden
grain offering
incense
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 43:22 Israel’s history of rebellion had led them into…
43:22 Israel’s history of rebellion had led them into crisis after crisis, yet their rebellion was so great that they stubbornly refused to ask God for help. When they did pray, their wickedness often caused their prayers not to be heard (1:15).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.