Yahweh says, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for a blessing is in it:’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all.
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh says, “As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one says, ‘Don’t destroy it, for a blessing is in it:’ so I will do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all.
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Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
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Thus saith the LORD: As, when wine is found in the cluster, one saith: 'Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it'; so will I do for My servants' sakes, that I may not destroy all.
Cross-references (9)
Passages linked to Isaiah 65:8 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 9:27-29 Isaiah cries concerning Israel, “If the number of the children of Israel are as the sand of the sea, it is the remnant who will be saved; for He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth.” As Isaiah has said before, “Unless the Lord of Armies had left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom, and would have been made like Gomorrah.”
- Amos 9:8-9 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth; except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says Yahweh. “For, behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth.
- Isaiah 6:13 If there is a tenth left in it, that also will in turn be consumed, as a terebinth, and as an oak, whose stump remains when they are cut down; so the holy seed is its stock.”
- Jeremiah 30:11 For I am with you, says Yahweh, to save you; for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have scattered you, but I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.”
- Mark 13:20 Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days.
- Romans 11:5-6 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.
- Romans 11:24-26 For if you were cut out of that which is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree, how much more will these, which are the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree? For I don’t desire you to be ignorant, brothers, of this mystery, so that you won’t be wise in your own conceits, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, and so all Israel will be saved. Even as it is written, “There will come out of Zion the Deliverer, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob.
- Joel 2:14 Who knows? He may turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, even a meal offering and a drink offering to Yahweh, your God.
- Matthew 24:22 Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (21 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, it is profitable: meaning, that God will…
That is, it is profitable: meaning, that God will not destroy the faithful branches of his vineyard, when he destroyeth the rotten stocks, that is, the hypocrites.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Isa 65:8 Thus saith the LORD, As the new…
Isa 65:8 Thus saith the LORD, As the new wine is found in the cluster, and [one] saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing [is] in it: so will I do for my servants’ sakes, that I may not destroy them all.
Ver. 8. Thus saith the Lord.] This he saith in effect, I will not destroy the righteous with the wicked, but still reserve a "seed," a remnant; and this he setteth forth by a fine and fit comparison; even as the husbandman, if he find any wine in the cluster, that is, any life or sap in the vine, cutteth it not down utterly.
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So will I do for my servants’ sake.] Few though they be, even as one cluster of grapes upon a vine, yet because they are botri mustei, clusters full of new and sweet wine, full of the juice of piety, they shall be preserved.
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 These words must be conceived as a gracious answer…
These words must be conceived as a gracious answer from God to the prophet, saying as Abraham, Gen 18:23,25, or as Moses, Exo 32:11-13, pleading God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. To this God replieth that he intended no such severity, the unfaithfulness of men should not make his promise of no effect, Rom 3:3. His threatening should be made good upon the generality of this people, whose vine was of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah, Deu 32:32. But yet, as in a vineyard which is generally unfruitful, there may be some particular vine that brings forth fruit; or, as in a vine which is full of luxuriant branches that bring forth no fruit, there may be here and there a branch that bringeth forth fruit, and hath the hopes of new wine in the cluster; and as to such, the gardener bids his servant
Destroy it not, or them not, for they are fruitful; there is in them what speaketh God’s blessing, or what may be of use, and do us good.
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So (saith God)
will I do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all; either for the sake of my servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with whom I anciently made a covenant; or for my servant David’s sake; or for the sake of such as are my elect at this time amongst them: see Jer 30:11; Amo 9:1.
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 is expounded by St. Paul, Rom 11:1-5, where,…
This is expounded by St. Paul, Rom 11:1-5, where, when, upon occasion of the rejection of the Jews, it is asked, Hath God then cast away his people? he answers, No; for at this time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. This prophecy has reference to that distinguished remnant. When that hypocritical nation is to be destroyed God will separate and secure to himself some from among them; some of the Jews shall be brought to embrace the Christian faith, shall be added to the church, and so be saved. And our Saviour has told us that for the sake of these elect the days of the destruction of the Jews should be shortened, and a stop put to the desolation, which otherwise would have proceeded to such a degree that no flesh should be saved, Mat 24:22. Now,
I. This is illustrated here by a comparison, Isa 65:8. When a vine is so blasted and withered that there seems to be no sap nor life in it, and therefore the dresser of the vineyard is inclined to pluck it up or cut it down, yet, if ever so little of the juice of the grape, fit to make new wine, be found, though but in one cluster, a stander-by interposes, and says, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it; there is life in the root, and hope that yet it may become good for something. Good men are blessings to the places where they live; and sometimes God spares whole cities and nations for the sake of a few such in them. How ambitious should we be of this honor, not only to be distinguished from others, but serviceable to others!
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II. Here is a description of those that shall make up this saved saving remnant. 1. They are such as serve God. It is for my servants' sake (Isa 65:8), and they are my servants that shall dwell there, Isa 65:9. God's faithful servants, however they are looked upon, are the best friends their country has; and those who serve him do therein serve their generation. 2. They are such as seek God, make it the end of their lives to glorify God and the business of their lives to call upon him. It is for my people that have sought me. Those that seek God shall find him, and shall find him their bountiful rewarder.
III. Here is an account of the mercy God has in store for them. The remnant that shall return out of captivity shall have a happy settlement again in their own land, and that by an hereditary right, as a seed out of Jacob, in whom the family is kept up and the entail preserved, and from whom, as from the seed sown, shall spring a numerous increase; and these typify the remnant of Jacob that shall be incorporated into the gospel church by faith. 1. They shall have a good portion for themselves. They shall inherit my mountains, the holy mountains on which Jerusalem and the temple were built, or the mountains of Canaan, the land of promise, typifying the covenant of grace, which all God's servants, his elect, both inhabit and inherit; they make it their refuge, their rest and residence, so they dwell in it, are at home in it; and they have taken it to be their heritage for ever, and it shall be to them an inheritance incorruptible. God's chosen, the spiritual seed of praying Jacob, shall be the inheritors of his mountains of bliss and joy, and shall be carried safely to them through the vale of tears. 2. They shall have a green pasture for their flocks, Isa 65:10. Sharon and the valley of Achor shall again be as well replenished as ever they were with cattle. Sharon lay westward, near Joppa; Achor lay eastward, near Jordan. It is therefore intimated that they shall recover the possession of the whole land, that they shall have wherewith to stock it all, and that they shall peaceably enjoy it and there shall be none to disturb them nor make them afraid. Gospel-ordinances are the fields and valleys where the sheep of Christ shall go in and out and find pasture (Joh 10:9), and where they are made to lie down (Psa 23:2), as Israel's herds in the valley of Achor, Hos 2:15.
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 Thus saith the Lord, as the new wine is…
Thus saith the Lord, as the new wine is found in the cluster,.... Now, lest the truly godly and gracious among these people should be distressed at such denunciations of wrath and destruction, it is suggested that these few, this remnant according to the election of grace, should be saved from the general ruin; as when men are about to cut down a vine, or pluck it up, or prune the unfruitful branches of it, a single cluster of grapes is observed upon it, in which new wine is supposed to be:
and one saith, destroy it not, for a blessing is in it; one that stands by, perhaps the owner of the vine, seeing it, says to his servant, spare the vine, do not cut it down; or do not cut off the branch on which the cluster is, for there is life and sap in it, and it may grow, and bring forth much fruit:
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so will I do for my servants' sake, that I may not destroy them all; as formerly he spared Noah at the deluge; of whom the Targum paraphrases the former clause; and Lot at the burning of Sodom; and Joshua and Caleb, when all the rest that came out of Egypt perished in the wilderness; so there would be, and were, a few whom God called by his grace, among the Jews, brought to the knowledge of Christ, and into a Gospel church state in Jerusalem; and these he preserved from the destruction of it, of which they had previous warning, and were directed to Pella, where they were safe: and so, wherever the truth of grace is, such shall not be destroyed; and which is a blessing, and a blessed work in the heart of man, and is a new thing there; and, like new wine, delightful to God and man; and like wine in the cluster, all grace, and all spiritual blessings are with it; and which must be tried by afflictions, to be brought into exercise, as the cluster is pressed; and which is found but in a few, like wine in a single cluster, concerning whom the Father says, destroy them not, being loved and chosen by him; and so says the Son, being redeemed by his blood; and the same says the Spirit, being regenerated and sanctified by his grace; and such being the servants of the Lord, and partakers of his grace, he will not suffer any of them to be destroyed; but encompasses them with his favour; holds them with his right hand; suffers no enemy to do them wrong, and guards them with his power.
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 Thus, &c. - These word's may be conceived as…
Thus, &c. - These word's may be conceived as a gracious answer from God to the prophet, pleading God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. To this God replies, that he intended no such severity. His threatening should be made good upon the generality of this people. Blessing - But yet, as in a vineyard, which is generally unfruitful, there may be some vine that brings forth fruit, and has the hopes of new wine in the cluster, and as to such, the gardener bids his servant destroy it not, for there is in them what speaks God's blessing. So - So (saith God) will I do for my servants sake, that I may not destroy them all, for the sake of my servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 8. A blessing is in it] The Hebrews…
Verse 8. A blessing is in it] The Hebrews call all things which serve for food ברכה berachah, "a blessing." On this verse Kimchi remarks: "As the cluster of grapes contains, besides the juice, the bark, and the kernels, so the Israelites have, besides the just, sinners among them. Now as the cluster must not be destroyed because there is a blessing, a nutritive part in it; so Israel shall not be destroyed, because there are righteous persons in it. But as the bark and kernels are thrown away, when the wine is pressed out, so shall the sinners be purged away from among the just, and on their return from exile, shall not be permitted to enter into the land of Israel;" Eze 20:38.
For my servant's sakes - "For the sake of my servant"] It is to be observed that one of the Koningsburg MSS. collated by Lilienthal points the word עבדי abdi, singular; that is, "my servant," meaning the Messiah; and so read the Septuagint, which gives a very good sense. In two of my old MSS. it is pointed עבדי abadai, and עבדי abdi, "my servant," this confirms the above reading.
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 65:8-10. Thus saith the Lord — These words…
Isa 65:8-10. Thus saith the Lord — These words may be conceived as a gracious answer from God to the prophet, pleading God’s covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. To this God replies, that he intended no such severity as the utter destruction of the whole nation; that the unfaithfulness of men should not make his promise to the ancient patriarchs of none effect, Rom 3:3; that his threatening should be made good upon the generality of this people, whose vine was of Sodom, and of the fields of Gomorrah, Deu 32:32. As the new wine is found in the cluster, &c. — As in a vineyard, which is generally unfruitful, there may be some vine that brings forth fruit; or as in a vine that is full of luxuriant branches, that bring forth no fruit, there may be here and there a bunch that contains good grapes, and as to such, the gardener bids his servants destroy it not, for there is in them what speaks God’s blessing. So — So
(saith God) will I do for my servants’ sake, that I may not destroy them all — Namely, for the sake of my servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will bring a seed out of Jacob — A small number, which shall be as a seed, from whence others shall spring, Rom 9:27-29. And out of Judah — God further promises to bring out of Judah an inheritor of his mountains — That is, of the country of Judea, which was mountainous. God calls them his mountains, because he had chosen that country before all others. Though this may first refer to the return of the Jews out of the captivity of Babylon into their own land, yet, according to this whole prophecy, it must ultimately respect their restoration to the land of Canaan, after their conversion to Christianity. And mine elect shall inherit it — My chosen ones, namely, such as should embrace Christianity, termed by St. Paul, the election of grace, (Rom 11:5-7,) who, in consequence of repentance toward God, and faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the true Messiah, should become, with the Gentile Christians, a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, to offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks — After they are restored, as mentioned above, to their own land. Sharon was a place of great fruitfulness for pastures. It was become like a wilderness, but God here promises that it should again be a place for the flocks. And the valley of Achor a place, &c. — Achor was a valley to the north of Jericho, opposite to the town of Ai, where Achan was put to death, and which was remarkably fertile, Jos 7:26. For my people that have sought me — Lest the wicked, idolatrous Jews should apply this promise to themselves, God here limits it to the people who should seek him, that is, should turn to him in true repentance and faith, and seek his favour. That the words have the force of such a limitation appears from what follows.
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 Thus saith the Lord - This verse is designed…
Thus saith the Lord - This verse is designed to keep their minds from utter despair, and to assure them that they should not be utterly destroyed. See the analysis of the chapter.
As the new wine - The Hebrew word used here (תירושׁ tı̂yrôsh), means properly “must” or “new wine” (see the notes at Isa 24:7). The Septuagint renders it here, ὁ ῥὼξ ho rōx, a grain or berry; meaning probably a good grape. The Chaldee renders it, ‘As Noah was found pure in the generation of the deluge, and I said I would not destroy them, that I might rise up a generation from him, so will I do on account of my servants, that I may not destroy all.’ Jerome renders it, Granum - ‘A kernel,’ or berry.
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Is found in the cluster - Expositors have differed in the interpretation of this passage. The true image seems to be taken from collecting grapes when a large part of them were in some way damaged or spoiled - either by the quality of the vine, or by a bad season, or by having been gathered too early, or being suffered to remain too long in a heap. In such a case the vine-dresser would be ready to throw them away. But in the mass he would find a few that were ripe and good. While he was throwing away the mass, someone would say that a part was good, and would entreat him not to destroy it. So with the Jews. The mass was corrupt, and was to be cut off. But still a portion should be left. This is in accordance with the doctrine everywhere occurring in Isaiah and elsewhere in the Scriptures, that the whole Jewish nation should not be cut off, but that a remnant should be preserved (see the notes at Isa 6:13; compare Isa 1:9; Isa 7:3; Isa 10:21; Isa 11:11-16).
For a blessing - That which is regarded as a blessing; that is wine (compare Jdg 9:13).
So will I do - The whole nation shall not be cut off, but a remnant shall be kept and saved.
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 Whole. The good grain is preserved amid the general…
Whole. The good grain is preserved amid the general corruption. (Haydock) --- A few of the Jews were chosen to believe in Christ.
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 2. Not All Israel Shall Be Cast Off
2. Not All Israel Shall Be Cast Off
Isa_65:8-12
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8 Thus saith the Lord,
As the new wine is found in the cluster,
And one saith, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it:
So will I do for my servants’ sakes,
That I may not destroy them all.
9 And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob,
And out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains:
And mine elect shall inherit it,
And my servants shall dwell there.
10 And Sharon shall be a fold of flocks,
And the valley of Achor a place for the herds to lie down in,
For my people that have sought me.
11 7But ye are they that forsake the Lord,
That forget my holy mountain,
That prepare a table for that 89troop,
And that 10furnish the drink-offering unto that 11 number.
12 Therefore will I number you to the sword,
And ye shall all bow down to the slaughter:
Because when I called, ye did not answer;
When I spake, ye did not hear:
But did evil before mine eyes,
And did choose that wherein I delighted not.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. This section stands to the one which precedes it in the same relation (Isa_65:1-7) in which this latter stands to the prayer in 63 and 64. For as the Prophet in Isa_65:1 sqq. opposes the expectation [?] that all Israel will be saved (Isa_64:7-8), so Isa_65:8 sqq. repels the opposite error that all Israel will be cast off. This opinion might have been drawn from Isa_65:2 sqq. For there Israel is quite generally designated as a rebellious people to which the Lord spreads out His hands in vain, that provokes Him by defiant idolatry, and therefore will have to bear the whole burden of the guilt accumulated from their fathers. It might accordingly ,be supposed that Israel should be entirely cast off, and their place taken by the Gentiles (Isa_65:1). This misunderstanding the Prophet here combats. He compares Israel with a cluster of grapes on which many berries may be rotten. Is the whole cluster, therefore, cast away? No! much of the blessing of God is still therein. So for His servants’ sake the Lord will not destroy all Israel (Isa_65:8). He will yet cause to come forth from the remnant a race that will consist of the elect of the Lord, and that will possess the holy land (Isa_65:9). This will be fertile in all its parts and be fitted for excellent pasture (Isa_65:10). But they who forget the Lord and set their heart on the false gods of the land of the Exile (Isa_65:11) shall for their disobedience be extirpated (Isa_65:12).
2. Thus saith the Lord——sought me.
Isa_65:8-10. The image does not appear to me to be correctly explained when the intended antitheses are supposed to be: only stalk and husks should be destroyed, not the berries; or, only the degenerate vine or vineyard (Isa_5:4; Isa_18:5) is to be destroyed, not the grapes. For who needs to be told that he should not treat the berries as the stalk and husk, or that he should spare the grapes but destroy the vine or vineyard? Whence are grape-clusters to be had if the latter are destroyed? It seems to me that the Prophet has in his mind a bunch of grapes on which together with many bad and rotten berries, there are some good ones. One is tempted to throw away such a cluster entirely. The Prophet forbids this. [“The image really presented by the Prophet, as Vitringa clearly shows, and most later writers have admitted, is that of a good cluster, in which juice is found, while others are unripe or rotten.”—Alexander.הַתִּירוֹשׁ has the article which the Hebrew was wont to employ in comparisons. See Ges.Gr. § 109. Note 1.—D. M.]. There is a blessing in it seems to be taken in a double sense: 1) Even the smallest quantity of the noble fruit is valuable and not to be despised; 2) God can bless even the smallest quantity, i. e., He can multiply it (Joh_6:9; Joh_6:12). [The simple, obvious meaning is: A blessing is in the cluster, because new wine, which was considered a blessing (Jdg_9:13; Isa_62:8), is in it.—D. M.]. וְאָמַר is used as Isa_25:9; Isa_45:24; Isa_57:14. For His servants’ sake the Lord will not entirely destroy Israel. For these are the true Israelites. They prove that Israel is capable and worthy to continue to exist. There shall, therefore, seed (posterity) yet proceed out of Israel, that shall possess the mountains of Canaan (comp. Isa_14:25, and in a wider sense Isa_49:11). This shall be a holy seed (Isa_6:13). For only the elect of the Lord shall possess it (the land, ארץ which is ideally contained in הרי), and His servants shall dwell therein. [“My mountains is supposed by Vitringa to denote Mount Zion and Moriah, or Jerusalem as built upon them; but the later writers more correctly suppose it to describe the whole of Palestine, as being an uneven, hilly country. See the same use of the plural in Isa_14:25, and the analogous phrase, mountains of Israel, repeatedly employed by Ezekiel (Isa_36:1; Isa_36:8; Isa_38:8). … The adverb at the end of the sentence properly means thither, and is never perhaps put for there, except in cases where a change of place is previously mentioned or implied.”—Alexander.—D. M.] Isa_65:10. The land shall be fertile and glorious. Sharon shall be pasture for sheep, the valley of Achor a pasture for black cattle. Sharon is the well-known fertile plain in the west of Palestine, stretching from Caesarea northwards to Carmel (comp. on Isa_33:9; Isa_35:2). Achor is the valley in the east of the tribe of Judah, in which, according to Jos_7:24-26, Achan was stoned. This valley is further mentioned only in Jos_15:7; Hos_2:17. It must have been a stony place, for according to Jos_7:25 sq., there were there stones enough to stone Achan, together with all belonging to him, and to raise up a great heap of stones. In Hos_2:17 [E. V. 15] it is said that the valley of Achor will be unto converted and restored Israel a door of hope. This means: When Israel, returning from the Exile, shall pass through the valley of Achor, it shall be to them no more a monument of the wrath of God, which it formerly was, with its heap of stones and its stony ground; but even this valley shall be to them a door of hope, for the place shall be altered. There shall be seen in it the traces of the blessing which, according to Isa_65:20 sqq., shall be spread over the whole land. Then, according to this passage, the valley of Achor shall become a fertile pasture, even more fertile than Sharon, for sheep are content with much poorer pasture than neat-cattle (comp. Herzog) R. Enc. VI., p. 150; Si tibi lanitium curae, fuge pabula laeta.VirgilGeorg. III., 384).
3. But ye are they——delighted not. Isa_65:11-12. What in verse 8 had been denied in reference to all Israel is here affirmed in reference to a part. The wicked Israelites shall certainly perish. These are described as those that forsake Jehovah (comp. on Isa_1:28. The expression occurs further only Isa_1:24; Isa_1:28), that forget the holy mountain of Jehovah. The writer has here evidently exiles in his eye, who in a heathen land were seduced to worship the local gods of the heathen, and so forgot the worship that prevailed in their own country, and the place where their fathers worshipped God. Such forgetting must often have happened in the Exile, and have been for the faithful Israelites a subject of great grief and vexation. We see this from Psa_137:5-6 [?]. In what follows the Prophet specifies more particularly the idolatry of those apostates, while he describes them as those who “prepare a table for Gad, and fill for Meni mixed drink.” The Prophet here speaks of a cultus of which there is no mention in the history of the people before the Exile. He has evidently in his mind the so-called lectisternia. That these lectisternia were observed by the Babylonians is proved from Bar_6:26, and from Bel and the Dragon, Isa_65:11 sqq. What Herodotus (I. 181) relates of the golden table, which stood in the highest room of the temple-tower beside the κλίνημεγάλη εὖ ἐστρωμένη, seems to have reference to such a lectisternium (comp. Leyrer in Herz.R. E. 13, p. 470). As an appellative noun, גַד means fortune, good luck. As the name of a divinity, it denotes the star of fortune, of which the Babylonians had two, Jupiter and Venus (comp. DunckerGesch. des Alterth., Vol. I, p. 117; Plutarch de Is. et Osir, § 48). The Arabs named the former “Great Fortune,” and the latter “Little Fortune.” Many are disposed to connect מְנִי, which is found only here, with Μήν, Μήνη, and to understand it of the moon (comp. especially Knobelin loc.). The matter is not yet decided. מִמְסָךְ (comp. Pro_23:30, and in reference to the verb, Isa_5:22; Isa_19:14) is mixed wine, spiced wine (see on Isa_5:22). With allusion to the name מְנִי, the Lord threatens these sinners that He will number (Isa_53:12) them to the sword, and they all must bow down (Isa_10:4; Isa_44:1-2,) to be slaughtered, because they did not answer to the call of the Lord, yea, did not even hearken to His word, but did that which the Lord regarded as evil, and chose what displeased Him. For recurring expressions see Isa_66:4; Isa_56:4. The expression עשׂה הרע בעיני ו׳ occurs first in Num_32:13, then frequently in Deut, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Chron. It is found once in the Psalms (Isa_51:6), three times in Jeremiah (Jer_7:30; Jer_18:10; Jer_32:30). It occurs in Isaiah only here and Isa_66:4 (comp. Isa_38:3). What was remarked in regard to Isa_65:3-5 a applies to Isa_65:11-12. If they portray an idolatry specifically Babylonian which the Jews practised in exile, the verses are an interpolation. [Delitzsch, who is inclined to identify גַּד with Jupiter, confesses that it is only from this place in Isaiah that we know that Gad was worshipped by the Babylonians. The Babylonian Pantheon, in Rawlinson’sMonarchies, does not contain this name. The application of the name Meni is admitted to be doubtful. We could as easily connect the worship and the divinities mentioned here with Egypt, Syria, or Arabia, as with Babylonia. The Jews that fled to Egypt had their Lectisternia there (Jer_44:17-19), and the destruction with which Isaiah threatens the apostates that he has in mind, is denounced by Jeremiah against the idolatrous Jews in Egypt. Jer_44:12-14. Moreover, the Jews had their Lectistenia in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem before the captivity (Jer_7:17-18) But suppose that the worship here described by Isaiah could be proved to be distinctively and exclusively Babylonian, must the real Isaiah be supposed to be ignorant of it? Knowing the disposition of the Jews to follow the ways of the heathen around them, he could anticipate, even without Divine inspiration, that many of the captive Jews would practise the peculiar religious rites of the Babylonians. Even an anti-supernaturalist could defend the genuineness of Isa_65:11-12; much more one who believes that a true Prophet of God could utter a definite prediction. We may add that verse 13 supposes the sins mentioned in Isa_65:11-12 as the ground of the threatening which it contains, and cannot be connected immediately with Isa_65:10. Henderson, who thinks that the terms in Isa_65:11 may have been borrowed from the nomenclature of idolaters, takes Gad as meaning Fortune and Meni Fate, and applies the passage to the impenitent and worldly Jews of the restoration, who had no god but riches, and regarded human affairs as governed by fortune.—D. M.].
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Isa_65:1-2. Our Lord has said, “He that seeketh findeth” (Mat_7:8). How, then, does it come that the Jews do not find what they seek, but the heathen find what they did not seek? The Apostle Paul puts this question and answers it, Rom_9:30 sqq.; Isa_10:19 sqq.; Isa_11:7. [See also Isa_10:3]. All depends on the way in which we seek. Luther says: Quaerere fit dupliciter. Primo, secundum praescriptum verbi Dei, et sic invenitur Deus, Secundo, quaeritur nostris studiis et consiliis, et sic non invenitur.” The Jews, with exception of the ἐκλογή (Rom_11:7), sought only after their own glory and merit. They sought what satisfies the flesh. They did not suffer the spirit in the depths of their heart to speak,—the spirit which can be satisfied only by food fitted for it. The law which was given to them that they might perceive by means of it their own impotence, became a snare to them. For they perverted it, made what was of minor importance the chief matter, and then persuaded themselves that they had fulfilled it and were righteous. But the Gentiles who had not the law, had not this snare. They were not tempted to abuse the pædagogical discipline of the law. They felt simply that they were forsaken by God. Their spirit was hungry. And when for the first time God’s word in the Gospel was presented to them, then they received it the more eagerly in proportion to the poverty, wretchedness and hunger in which they had been. The Jews did not find what they sought, because they had not a spiritual, but a carnal apprehension of the law, and, like the elder brother of the prodigal son, were full, and blind for that which was needful for them. But the Gentiles found what they did not seek, because they were like the prodigal son, who was the more receptive of grace, the more he needed it, and the less claim he had to it. [There is important truth stated in the foregoing remarks. But it does not fully explain why the Lord is found of those who sought Him not. The sinner who has obtained mercy when he asks why? must have recourse to a higher cause, a cause out of himself, even free, sovereign, efficacious grace. “It is of God that showeth mercy,” Rom_9:16. “Though in after-communion God is found of those that seek Him (Pro_8:17), yet in the first conversion He is found of those that seek Him not; for therefore we love Him, because He first loved us.” Henry. D. M.].
2. On Isa_65:2. God’s long-suffering is great. He stretches out His hands the whole day and does not grow weary. What man would do this? The disobedient people contemns Him, as if He knew nothing, and could do nothing.
3. On Isa_65:2. “It is clear from this verse gratiam esse resistibilem. Christ earnestly stretched out His hands to the Jews. He would, but they would not. This doctrine the Remonstrants prove from this place, and rightly too, in Actis Synodi Dodrac. P. 3. p. 76.” Leigh. [The grace of God which is signified by His stretching out His hands can be, and is, resisted. That figurative expression denotes warning, exhorting, entreating, and was never set forth by Reformed theologians as indicating such grace as was necessarily productive of conversion. The power by which God quickens those who were dead in sins (Eph_2:5), by which He gives a new heart (Eze_36:26), by which He draws to the Son (Joh_6:44-45; Joh_6:65), is the grace which is called irresistible. The epithet is admitted on all hands to be faulty; but the grace denoted by it is, from the nature of the case, not resisted. Turrettin in treating De Vocatione et Fide thus replies to this objection, “Aliud est Deo monenti et vocanti externe resistere; Aliud est conversionem intendenti et efficaciter ac interne vocanti. Prius asseritur Isa. lxv. 2, 3. Quum dicit Propheta se expandisse totâ die manus ad populum perversum etc., non posterius. Expansio brachiorum notat quidem blandam et benevolam Dei invitationem, quâ illos extrinsecus sive Verbo, sive beneficiis alliciebat, non semel atque iterum, sed quotidie ministerio servorum suorum eos compellando. Sed non potest designate potentem et efficacem operationem, quâ brachium Domini illis revelatur qui docentur á Deo et trahuntur a Patre, etc.” Locus XV.; Quaestio VI .25.—D. M.].
4. On Isa_65:2. (Who walk after their own thoughts.)
Duc me, nec sine, me per me, Deus optime, duci.
Nam duce me pereo, te duce certus eo.
[“If our guide be our own thoughts, our way is not likely to be good; for every imagination of the thought of our hearts is only evil.” Henry. D. M.].
5. On Isa_65:3 sq. “The sweetest wine is turned into the sourest vinegar; and when God’s people apostatize from God, they are worse than the heathen (Jer_3:11).” Starke.
6. On Isa_65:5. [I am holier than thou. “A deep insight is here given us into the nature of the mysterious fascination which heathenism exercised on the Jewish people. The law humbled them at every turn with mementoes of their own sin and of God’s unapproachable holiness. Paganism freed them from this, and allowed them (in the midst of moral pollution) to cherish lofty pretensions to sanctity. The man, who had been offering incense on the mountain-top, despised the penitent who went to the temple to present ‘a broken and contrite heart.’ If Pharisaism led to a like result, it was because it, too, had emptied the law of its spiritual import, and turned its provisions into intellectual idols.” Kay. D. M.].
7. On Isa_65:6-7. “The longer God forbears, the harder He punishes at last. The greatness of the punishment compensates for the delay (Psa_50:21).” Starke after Leigh.
8. On Isa_65:8 sqq. [“This is expounded by St. Paul, Rom_11:1-5, where, when upon occasion of the rejection of the Jews, it is asked Hath God then cast away His people? He answers, no; for, at this time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. This prophecy has reference to that distinguished remnant…Our Saviour has told us that for the sake of these elect the days of the destruction of the Jews should be shortened, and a stop put to the desolation, which otherwise would have proceeded to that degree that no flesh should be saved. Mat_24:22. Henry. D. M.].
9. On Isa_65:15. The judgment which came upon Israel by the hand of the Romans, did not altogether destroy the people, but it so destroyed the Old Covenant, i.e., the Mosaic religion, that the Jews can no more observe its precepts in essential points. For no Jew knows to what tribe he belongs. Therefore, they have no priests, and, consequently, no sacrifices. The Old Covenant is now only a ruin. We see here most clearly that the Old Covenant, as it was designed only for one nation, and for one country, was to last only for a certain time. If we consider, moreover, the way in which the judgment was executed, (comp. Josephus), we can truly say that the Jews bear in themselves the mark of a curse. They bear the stamp of the divine judgment. The beginning of the judgment on the world has been executed on them as the house of God. But how comes it that the Jews have become so mighty, so insolent in the present time, and are not satisfied with remaining on the defensive in their attitude toward the Christian church, but have passed over to the offensive? This has arisen solely from Christendom having to a large extent lost the consciousness of its new name. There are many Christians who scoff at the name of Christian, and seek their honor in combating all that is called Christian. This is the preparation for the judgment on Christendom itself. If Christendom would hold fast her jewel, she would remain strong, and no one would dare to mock or to assail her. For she would then partake of the full blessing which lies in the principle of Christianity, and every one would be obliged to show respect for the fruits of this principle. But an apostate Christendom, that is ashamed of her glorious Christian name, is something more miserable than the Jews, judged though they have been, who still esteem highly their name, and what remains to them of their old religion. Thus Christendom, in so far as it denies the worth and significance of its name, is gradually reaching a condition in which it will be so ripe for the second act of the judgment on the world, that this will be longed for as a benefit. For, this apostate Christendom will be the kingdom of Antichrist, as Antichrist will manifest himself in Satanic antagonism to God by sitting in the temple of God, and pretending to be God (2Th_2:3 sqq.). [We do not quite share all the sentiments expressed in this paragraph. We are far from being so despondent as to the prospects of Christendom, and think that there is a more obvious interpretation of the prophecy quoted from 2 Thess., than that indicated.—D. M.].
10. On Isa_65:17. [If we had only the present passage to testify of new heavens and a new earth, we might say, as many good interpreters do, that the language is figurative, and indicates nothing more than a great moral and spiritual revolution. But we cannot thus explain 2Pe_3:10-13. The present earth and heavens shall pass away; (comp. Isa_51:6; Psa_102:25-26). But how can we suppose that our Prophet here refers to the new heavens and new earth, which are to succeed the destruction of the world by fire? In the verses that follow Isa_65:17, a condition of things is described which, although better than the present, is not so good as that perfectly sinless, blessed state of the redeemed, which we look for after the coming of the day of the Lord. Yet the Apostle Peter (2Pe_3:13) evidently regards the promise before us of new heavens and a new earth, as destined to receive its accomplishment after the conflagration which is to take place at the end of the world. If we had not respect to other Scriptures, and if we overlooked the use made by Peter of this passage, we should not take it literally. But we can take it literally, if we suppose that the Prophet brings together future events not according to their order in time. He sees the new heavens and new earth arise. Other scenes are disclosed to his prophetic eye of a grand and joy-inspiring nature. He announces them as future. But these scenes suppose the continued prevalence of death and labor (Isa_65:20 sqq.), which, we know from definite statements of Scripture, will not exist when the new heaven and new earth appear (comp. Rev_21:1-4). The proper view then of Isa_65:17 is to take its prediction literally, and to hold at the same time that in the following description (which is that of the millennium) future things are presented to us which are really prior, and not posterior to the promised complete renovation of heaven and earth. Nor should this surprise us, as Isaiah and the other Prophets place closely together in their pictures future things which belong to different times. They do not draw the line sharply between this world and the next. Compare Isaiah’s prophecy of the abolition of death (Isa_25:8) in connection with other events that must happen long before that state of perfect blessedness.—D. M.].
11. On Isa_65:20. [“The extension of the Gospel every where,—of its pure principles of temperance in eating and drinking, in restraining the passions, in producing calmness of mind, and in arresting war, would greatly lengthen out the life of man. The image here employed by the Prophet is more than mere poetry; it is one that is founded in reality, and is designed to convey most important truth.” Barnes. D. M.].
12. On Isa_65:24. [It occurs to me that an erroneous application is frequently made of the promise, Before they call, etc. This declaration is made in connection with the glory and blessedness of the last days. It belongs specifically to the millennium. There are, indeed, occasions when God even now seems to act according to this law. (Comp. Dan_9:23). But Paul had to pray thrice before he received the answer of the Lord (2Co_12:8). Compare the parable of the importunate widow, Luk_18:1-7. The answer to prayer may be long delayed. This is not only taught in the Bible, but is verified in Christian experience. But the time will come when the Lord will not thus try and exercise the faith of His people.—D. M.].
13. On Isa_65:25. “If the lower animals live in hostility in consequence of the sin of man, a state of peace must be restored to them along with our redemption from sin.” J. G. Mueller in Herz. R.-Encycl. xvi. p. 45. [“By the serpent in this place there seems every reason to believe that Satan, the old seducer and author of discord and misery, is meant. During the millennium he is to be subject to the lowest degradation. Compare for the force of the phrase to lick the dust, Psa_72:9; Mic_7:17. This was the original doom of the tempter, Gen_3:14, and shall be fully carried into execution. Comp. Rev_20:1-3.” Henderson. D. M.].
14. On Isa_66:1. [“Having held up in every point of view the true design, mission and vocation of the church or chosen people, its relation to the natural descendants of Abraham, the causes which required that the latter should be stripped of their peculiar privileges, and the vocation of the Gentiles as a part of the divine plan from its origin, the Prophet now addresses the apostate and unbelieving Jews at the close of the old dispensation, who, instead of preparing for the general extension of the church and the exchange of ceremonial for spiritual worship, were engaged in the rebuilding and costly decoration of the temple at Jerusalem. The pride and interest in this great public work, felt not only by the Herods but by all the Jews, is clear from incidental statements of the Scriptures (Joh_2:20; Mat_24:1), as well as from the ample and direct assertions of Josephus. That the nation should have been thus occupied precisely at the time when the Messiah came, is one of those agreements between prophecy and history, which cannot be accounted for except upon the supposition of a providential and designed assimilation.” Alexander after Vitringa. D. M.].
15. On Isa_66:1-2. What a grand view of the nature of God and of the way in which He is made known lies at the foundation of these words! God made all things. He is so great that it is an absurdity to desire to build a temple for Him. The whole universe cannot contain Him (1Ki_8:27)! But He, who contains all things and can be contained by nothing, has His greatest joy in a poor, humble human heart that fears Him. He holds it worthy of His regard, it pleases Him, He enters into it, He makes His abode in it. The wise and prudent men of science should learn hence what is chiefly necessary in order to know God. We cannot reach Him by applying force, by climbing up to Him, by attempting to take Him by storm. And if science should place ladder upon ladder upwards and downwards, she could not attain His height or His depth. But He enters of His own accord into a child-like, simple heart. He lets Himself be laid hold of by it, kept and known. It is not, therefore, by the intellect [alone] but by the heart that we can know God.
16. On Isa_66:3. He who under the Christian dispensation would retain the forms of worship of the ancient ritual of shadows would violate the fundamental laws of the new time, just as a man by killing would offend against the foundation of the moral law, or as he would by offering the blood of dogs or swine offend against the foundation of the ceremonial law. For when the body, the substance has appeared, the type must vanish. He who would retain the type along with the reality would declare the latter to be insufficient, would, therefore, found his salvation not upon God only, but also in part on his own legal performance. But God will brook no rival. He is either our All, or nothing. Christianity could tolerate animal sacrifices just as little as the Old Testament law could tolerate murder or the offering of abominable things.
17. On Isa_66:5. [“The most malignant and cruel persecutions of the friends of God have been originated under the pretext of great zeal in His service, and with a professed desire to honor His name. So it was with the Jews when they crucified the Lord Jesus. So it is expressly said it would be when His disciples would be excommunicated and put to death, Joh_16:2. So it was in fact in the persecutions excited against the apostles and early Christians. See Act_6:13-14; Act_21:28-31. So it was in all the persecutions of the Waldenses, in all the horrors of the Inquisition, in all the crimes of the Duke of Alva. So it was in the bloody reign of Mary; and so it has ever been in all ages and in all countries where Christians have been persecuted.” Barnes.—D. M.].
18. On Isa_66:10. “The idea which is presented in this verse is, that it is the duty of all who love Zion to sympathize in her joy. The true friends of God should rejoice in every real revival of religion, they should rejoice in all the success which attends the Gospel in heathen lands. And they will rejoice. It is one evidence of piety to rejoice in her joy; and they who have no joy when souls are born into the kingdom of God, when He pours down His Spirit and in a revival of religion produces changes as sudden and transforming as if the earth were suddenly to pass from the desolation of winter to the verdure and bloom of summer, or when the Gospel makes sudden and rapid advances in the heathen world, have no true evidence that they love God and His cause. They have no religion.” Barnes.—D. M.
19. On Isa_66:13. The Prophet is here completely governed by the idea that in the glorious time of the end, love, maternal love will reign. Thus He makes Zion appear as a mother who will bring forth with incredible ease and rapidity innumerable children (Isa_66:7-9). Then the Israelites are depicted as little children who suck the breasts of their mother. Further, the heathen who bring back the Israelites into their home, must do this in the same way in which mothers in the Orient are wont to carry their little children. Lastly, even to the Lord Himself maternal love is ascribed (comp. Isa_42:14; Isa_49:15), and such love as a mother manifests to her adult son. Thus the Israelites will be surrounded in that glorious time on all sides by maternal love. Maternal love will be the characteristic of that period.
20. On Isa_66:19 sqq. The Prophet describes remote things by words which are borrowed from the relations and conceptions of his own time, but which stand in strange contrast to the reality of the future which he beholds. Thus the Prophet speaks of escaped persons who go to Tarshish, Pul, Lud, Tubal, and Javan. Here he has rightly seen that a great act of judgment must have taken place. And this act of judgment must have passed on Israel, because they who escape, who go to the Gentiles to declare to them the glory of Jehovah, must plainly be Jews How accurately, in spite of the strange manner of expression, is the fact here stated that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was proclaimed to the Gentiles exactly at the time when the old theocracy was destroyed! How justly does he indicate that there was a causal connection between these events! He did not, indeed, know that the shattering of the old form was necessary in order that the eternal truth enclosed in it might be set free, and fitted for filling the whole earth. For the Old Covenant cannot exist along with the New, the Law cannot stand with equal dignity beside the Gospel. The Law must be regarded as annulled, in order that the Gospel may come into force. How remarkably strange is it, however, that he calls the Gentile nations Tarshish, Pul, Lud, etc. And how singular it sounds to be told that the Israelites shall be brought by the Gentiles to Jerusalem as an offering for Jehovah! But how accurately has he, notwithstanding, stated the fact, which, indeed, still awaits its fulfilment, that it is the conversion of the heathen world which will induce Israel to acknowledge their Saviour, and that they both shall gather round the Lord as their common centre! How strange it sounds that then priests and Levites shall be taken from the Gentiles also, and that new moon and Sabbath shall be celebrated by all flesh in the old Jewish fashion! But how accurately is the truth thereby stated that in the New Covenant there will be no more the priesthood restricted to the family of Aaron, but a higher spiritual and universal priesthood, and that, instead of the limited local place of worship of the Old Covenant, the whole earth will be a temple of the Lord! Verily the prophecy of the two last chapters of Isaiah attests a genuine prophet of Jehovah. He cannot have been an anonymous unknown person. He can have been none other than Isaiah the son of Amoz!
HOMILETICAL HINTS
1. On Isa_65:1 sq. [I. “It is here foretold that the Gentiles, who had been afar off, should be made nigh, Isa_65:1. II. It is here foretold that the Jews, who had long been a people near to God, should be cast off, and set at a distance, Isa_65:2.” Henry, III. We are informed of the cause of the rejection of the Jews. It was owing to their rebellion, waywardness and flagrant provocations, Isa_65:2 sqq.—D. M.]
2. On Isa_65:1-7. A Fast-Day Sermon. When the Evangelical Church no more holds fast what she has; when apostasy spreads more and more, and modern heathenism (Isa_65:3-5 a) gains the ascendency in her, then it can happen to her as it did to the people of Israel, and as it happened to the Church in the Orient. Her candlestick can be removed out of its place.—[By the Evangelical Church we are not to understand here the Church universal, for her perpetuity is certain. The Evangelical Church is in Germany the Protestant Church, and more particularly the Lutheran branch of it.—D. M.]
3. On Isa_65:8-10. Sermon on behalf of the mission among the Jews. Israel’s hope. 1) On what it is founded (Israel is still a berry in which drops of the divine blessing are contained); 2) To what this hope is directed (Israel’s Restoration).
4. On Isa_65:13-16. [“The blessedness of those that serve God, and the woful condition of those that rebel against him, are here set the one over against the other, that they may serve as a foil to each other. The difference of their states here lies in two things: 1) In point of comfort and satisfaction, a. God’s servants shall eat and drink; they shall have the bread of life to feed, to feast upon continually, and shall want nothing that is good for them. But those who set their hearts upon the world, and place their happiness in it, shall be hungry and thirsty, always empty, always craving. In communion with God and dependence upon Him there is full satisfaction; but in sinful pursuits there is nothing but disappointment. b. God’s servants shall rejoice and sing for joy of heart; they have constant cause for joy, and there is nothing that may be an occasion of grief to them but they have an allay sufficient for it. But, on the other hand, they that forsake the Lord shut themselves out from all true joy, for they shall be ashamed of their vain confidence in themselves, and their own righteousness, and the hopes they had built thereon. When the expectations of bliss, wherewith they had flattered themselves, are frustrated, O what confusion will fill their faces! Then shall they cry for sorrow of heart and howl for vexation of spirit. 2) In point of honor and reputation, Isa_65:15-16. The memory of the just is, and shall be, blessed; but the memory of the wicked shall rot.” Henry.—D. M.]
5. On Isa_66:1-2. Carpzov has a sermon on this text. He places it in parallel with Luk_18:9-14, and considers, 1) The rejection of spiritual pride; 2) The commendation of filial fear.
6. On Isa_66:2 Arndt, in his True Christianity I. cap. 10, comments on this text. He says among other things: “The man who will be something is the material out of which God makes nothing, yea, out of which He makes fools. But a man who will be nothing, and regards himself as nothing, is the material out of which God makes something, even glorious, wise people in His sight.”
7. On Isa_66:3. [Saurin has a sermon on this text entitled “Sur l’ Insuffisance du culte exterieur” in the eighth volume of his sermons.—D. M.]
8. On Isa_66:13. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you. “These words stand, let us consider it, 1) In the Old Testament; 2) In the heart of God always; 3) But are they realized in our experience?” Koegel in “Aus dem Vorhof ins Heiligthum, II. Bd., p. 242, 1876.
9. On Isa_66:24. The punishment of sin is twofold—inward and outward. The inward is compared with a worm that dies not; the outward with a fire that is not quenched. This worm and this fire are at work even in this life. He who is alarmed by them and hastens to Christ can now be delivered from them.—[“It is better not to fall into this fire and never to have any experience of this worm, even though, as some imagine, eternity should not be eternal, and the unquenchable fire might be quenched, and the worm that shall never die, should die, and Jesus and His apostles should not have expressed themselves quite in accordance with the compassionate taste of our time. Better, I say, is better. Save thyself and thy neighbor before the fire begins to burn, and the smoke to ascend.” Gossner.—D. M.]
Footnotes:
[7]But ye who forsake Jehovah.
[8]Gad.
[9]Gad.
[10]fill for the goddess of fortune a mingled drink.
[11]Meni.
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 new wine--as if some grapes having good wine-producing juice…
new wine--as if some grapes having good wine-producing juice in them, be found in a cluster which the vinedresser was about to throw away as bad, and one saith, &c.
blessing--that is, good wine-producing juice (compare Jdg 9:13; Joe 2:14).
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so--God will spare the godly "remnant," while the ungodly mass of the nation shall be destroyed (Isa 1:9; Isa 6:13; Isa 10:21; Isa 11:11-16).
my servants--the godly remnant. But HORSLEY, "for the sake of my servant, Messiah."
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 8. Not all are to be so served. For,…
8. Not all are to be so served. For, as an occasional cluster is ripe, and new wine (ever regarded as a blessing) is in it all the vintage season, so, in this mass of corrupted Israel is a small undefiled group, worthy to be culled out and saved. In a general way, Christ’s time and ministry are here very aptly illustrated; but that the prophet distinctly and exclusively meant this, may be venturesome to assert, unless it be viewed as perspective prophecy.
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 8. In the figure, the grape-cluster represents the nation…
8. In the figure, the grape-cluster represents the nation as a whole, including many unworthy members, the “new wine” (iîrôsh, “must”) is the spiritual kernel of the nation, here called “my servants”; and the truth taught is that for the sake of the latter “the whole” shall not be annihilated in the judgement that is to come. It is an application to new circumstances of Isaiah’s doctrine of the Remnant (ch. Isa_6:13).
The words Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it have been thought, from their rhythm, to be the first line of one of the vintage songs often referred to in Scripture (cf. Jdg_9:27; Isa_16:10; Jer_25:30; Jer_48:33, &c.). It has further been conjectured that the words “Destroy not” (’al tashḥçth) in the headings of four psalms (57, 58, 59, 75) refer to this song, naming its melody as the tune to which these Psalms were to be sung (W. R. Smith, O. T. in Jewish Church2, p. 209).
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that I may not &c.] (so as) not to destroy the whole.
8–10. In spite of the gross idolatries denounced in the preceding section there is that in Israel which makes it precious in the sight of Jehovah, and ensures for it a brilliant future.
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 (8) As the new wine . . .—Literally, the…
(8) As the new wine . . .—Literally, the must, or unfermented juice of the grape. The transition from the denunciations of the preceding verse is abrupt, and suggests the thought of an interval of time and absence of direct continuity. Possibly, however, a link may be found in the “first” of the amended translation, which prepares the way for something that is to follow. God chastens, but does not destroy.
Destroy it not . . .—The thought is that as even one fruitful cluster of grapes will lead the vine-dresser to spare an otherwise fruitless vine in the hope of a fuller blessing in the future, so Jehovah will spare a sinful nation for the twenty or the ten righteous (Gen_18:23-33). The words “destroy it not” are those which stand at the head of Psalms 57-59, as indicating the tune to which they were to be sung; and it is a natural inference that it may have been a popular vintage song, and therefore doubly apt for the prophet’s purpose. May we compare our own song of “Wood-man, spare that tree?” applied, as it has been, to the trees of ancient institutions.
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. 8-10. SALVATION PROMISED TO A REMNANT. In Isaiah,…
Vers. 8-10. SALVATION PROMISED TO A REMNANT. In Isaiah, and especially in the "Book of Consolation" (Isaiah 40-66), promises are almost always intermingled with threatenings. The threats extend to the bulk of the nation; the promises are limited to "a remnant," since a remnant only could be brought to "seek" and serve God (ver. 10). Here the announcement that a remnant would be spared is introduced by a simile from men"s treatment of their own vineyards (ver. 8).
As the new wine is found in the cluster; rather, as when new wine is found in a grape-bunch; i.e. as when even a single cluster of grapes is spied on a vine-stem, the vine-pruners say one to another, "Destroy not that stem, but spare it," so will God refrain from destroying those stocks in his vineyard, which give even a small promise of bearing good fruit. Destroy it not. The words are thought to be those of a well-known vintage-song, which is perhaps alluded to in the heading (Al-taschith) prefixed to Ps 57 Ps 58 and Ps 59. "Each of these psalms was probably sung to the air of this favourite song" (Cheyne). A blessing is in it; i.e. "a boon from God". (comp. Isa_36:16 2Ki_5:15)
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Vers. 8-10. Where sin abounds, grace yet more abounds.
The portrait of Israel in vers. 2-7 is painted in such dark colours as to suggest that it must almost necessarily be followed by the absolute renunciation of the whole nation. A people rebellious," "walking in the way that is not good," "provoking God to anger continually," given over to a sensualistic idolatry, and yet proud, piquing itself upon its elevated religious position as a participant in certain heathen mysteries (ver. 5), what can be done with such a nation of backsliders? Must not God sweep it from the earth? Certainly, if it were not for God"s abounding mercy; if the sight of a people given up to sin did not raise in him as much pity as indignation, as much compassion as resentment. After all, they are his children; they are his people; they are "all the work of his hands". (Isa_64:8) God, in his compassion, pours out his grace freely under such circumstances. He seeks among the lost, if so be that any among them may be saved. He offers his grace to them all, presses it upon them, "spreads out his hands all the day" to the rebels, entreating them to return and submit themselves, and be saved. What mercy does he show to Nineveh! Because it is "a bloody city... all full of lies and robbery", (Nah_3:1) because "their wickedness is come up before him", (Jon_1:2) therefore he goes out of his way to send his prophet to preach repentance to them. He forces his prophet to go to them; he puts his word into his prophet"s mouth, and makes that word, for the moment at any rate, effectual. Nineveh "repents at the preaching of Jonah," and, on its repentance, is "spared" for above two centuries. Israel now is spared, invited to return to Judaea, bidden to "dwell there" and "inherit it." And "a remnant" hearkens, and returns, and repents, and does the first works", (Rev_2:5) and becomes a great and flourishing and religious people.
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 Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is…
Isa_65:8
Thus saith the Lord, As the new wine is found in the cluster.
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Gods regard far the faithful remnant of His people
As one does not destroy a cluster consisting of good and bad berries, because one would also destroy the Divine blessing contained in it, so Jehovah for His servants sake will not annihilate Israel. He will not destroy all indiscriminately; the sense is not the sap along with husk and shell (Knobel, Hahn), but: the berries having good sap along with the preponderant bad berries (J. H. Michaelis, Seinecke). (F. Delitzsch, D.D.) It is an application to new circumstances of Isaiahs doctrine of the remnant (Isa_6:13). (Prof. J. Skinner, D. D.)
Destroy it not
Destroy it not
View the passage in reference to--
I. GODS ANCIENT PEOPLE, THE JEWS.
II. CITIES AND NATIONS GENERALLY.
III. THE STATE OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES.
IV. PENITENT BACK SLIDERS.
V. YOUNG INQUIRERS.
VI. THOSE WHO ARE CALLED MOST UNPROMISING CHARACTERS. (J. G.Pearsall.)
Little things
Here we have four lessons taught us by a bunch of grapes.
I. THAT GREAT GOOD MAY BE STORED IN LITTLE THINGS. A bunch of grapes is a little thing, and yet there is a blessing in it. With a heart given to Jesus, a child is a sun which cannot but shine, a fountain which cannot but send out streams, a flower which cannot but fill the air with sweetness.
II. GOD ALONE PUTS THE BLESSING INTO LITTLE THINGS. In this He displays--
1. His wisdom.
2. His omnipotence
3. His condescension and compassion.
III. LITTLE THINGS ARE TO BE SPARED FOR THIS BLESSING IN THEM. There are plenty of little things which you are apt to despise because they are little, and yet, destroy them not, says God, for a blessing is in them.
1. Your vows and resolutions.
2. Your principles.
3. Your habits.
4. Your character.
5. Your friendships.
6. Your interest in the heathen.
IV. IF THE BLESSING IS LACKING IN THEM THEY WILL BE UNDONE FOP. EVER. Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it. As if it were said, If there were no blessing in it, then it might be destroyed. It is the blessing which delivers. If there is no blessing in us, we are doomed. The unprofitable servant hid his talent in the napkin, but he could not hide himself from his masters indignation. (J. Bolton.)
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 Isa_65:8. Thus saith the Lord, Destroy it not; for…
DESTROY IT NOT
Isa_65:8. Thus saith the Lord, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it, &c.
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“Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God.” Let it not, however, be supposed that God delights to destroy men’s lives, or is capricious in the bestowment of rewards and punishments. The goodness and severity of God are not contradictions in the Divine nature, but the two halves of His perfect character (Exo_34:6-7). The burden of our text is MERCY. HOW many applications may we make of the words, “Destroy it not!” Let us view the passage in reference to—
I. GOD’S ANCIENT PEOPLE THE JEWS. The Jews at different parts of their history have resembled clusters of grapes, bruised, trodden down, and unfit for use. Yet God says to His Church, “Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it.” Do you speak of the aversion and obstinacy of Israel? Let me ask, Wherein is the heart of a Jew worse than the heart of a Gentile? Is he self-righteous, and were not you, &c.?
II. CITIES AND NATIONS GENERALLY. Let our eye gaze on this great metropolis. But shall we yield to despondence? Never, whilst there are so many righteous men and intercessors. England has a blessing, yea, is not only blessed, but is a blessing, a blessing to the nations of the earth. And may we not believe that there are many nations God will not destroy because a blessing is in them?
III. THE STATE OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. A review of the history of the Church will lead many persons to say it is the history of declension and revival. But alas! has there been no period which may be called the dark ages? Yet, even in these times of apostacy, God has had a people, and among them men and women of eminent piety, who had not defiled their garments. The text should deter us from yielding to despondency and inactivity.
IV. T. PENITENT BACKSLIDERS. The tree decays and falls, but still there may be life in the root, and new shoots may be sent up. So was it with David and Peter, who not only sighed and wept, but brought forth fruits meet for repentance, and whose latter end testified to the grace of God that was in them. I urge backsliders not to despair.
V. YOUNG INQUIRERS. The fruits of righteousness at first may be immature. Many young professors are discouraged by harsh reproof, and questioning as to sincerity; because one or two grapes in the cluster are imperfect some would throw away the whole cluster. Let me give you a word of warning as well as encouragement. Though Christ will not destroy the bruised reed, nor the tender grapes, yet many destroyers are around you. Your dangers may not be open persecution, nor some of the supposed formidable temptations, but a number of small, trivial, almost imperceptible snares,—little sins, falsely so-called. These are the little foxes that spoil the vines, for our vines have tender grapes. Be not afraid, none so gentle and loving as the great Vine-dresser, when even He comes with His pruning-knife.
VI. THOSE WHO ARE CALLED MOST UNPROMISING CHARACTERS. Have we never heard of a man of sterling piety, talent, liberality, and influence in the Church of God, who was once the most unruly and ill-disposed boy in the Sabbath-school, but who, owing to a kind and persevering teacher, received convictions and instructions that never were forgotten? Talk not of unpromising characters as hopeless. Did not John Newton seem unpromising when a captain on board a slave ship, &c. Some of the so-called unpromising characters are more hopeful than many who are “not far from the kingdom of God.” How infinitely valuable must be the soul of man! If you would not destroy a vine or cluster of grapes, how much less the soul. Will you, by indifference or unbelief, destroy your soul? The soul though fallen has a blessing in it. What encouragement is offered us. God is kinder than man, &c.—J. G. Pearsall: The Christian World, Dec. 2, 1864.
Isa_65:11-16. I. Apostate Israel and their curse. II. The true Israel and their blessing.
Isa_65:11-12. Apostacy. I. Forsakes God. II. Forgets His ordinances. III. Bestows its devotion and energies upon false objects. IV. Meets with its merited doom (vol. i. p. 67).
Isa_65:12. I. The gracious call of God. II. The impenitence of many. III. The inevitable result. (See p. 366.)—Dr. Lyth.
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.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain A Remnant Saved
A Remnant Saved
v. 8. Thus saith the Lord, in a parable setting forth His mercy upon His chosen people, As the new wine is found in the cluster, as one, upon examining imperfect, unripe grapes, still finds juice in some of the berries, and one saith, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it, a wholesale destruction would include the good with the evil, so will I do for My servants’ sakes, for those who are still in truth His children in faith, that I may not destroy them all, the wheat with the tares, Mat 13:29.
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v. 9. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, reserve to Himself out of the people taken away into the Babylonian exile the nucleus of a Church of the New Testament, and out of Judah an inheritor of My mountains, since the Messiah, the Ruler of His Church, would be a descendant of this tribe, Cf Mic 5:1; and Mine elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there, all the believers being united in the spiritual Jerusalem under the government of the Prince of Peace.
v. 10. And Sharon, the fruitful plain along the Mediterranean, shall be a fold of flocks, rich meadow-land, and the Valley of Achor, near the city of Jericho, sloping toward the Dead Sea, a place for the herds to lie down in, where caravans might find a resting-place, for My people that have sought Me, the entire section picturing the happy condition of the believers as recipients of the Lord’s blessings. But the Lord now once more turns to the apostates with a further rebuke.
v. 11. But ye are they that forsake the Lord, that forget My holy mountain, the place of His habitation, where He was worshiped, that prepare a table for that troop, for Gad, the idol of happiness and good fortune, and that furnish the drink-offering unto that number, to Meni, who may have been the corresponding goddess. The exiles had been addicted to the service of these idols during their captivity at Babylon amid had brought the idolatrous practices connected with their cult back with them to Judea, as the prophet saw in spirit.
v. 12. Therefore will I number you to the sword, deliver them to the extremity of a violent death, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter, to the slaughtering-bench instead of to the loaded banquet-table at the feast of idols; because, when I called, ye did not answer, when the Lord sought out those who ignored Him, they continued in their attitude of indifference; when I spake, ye did not hear, setting aside His Word with an utter disregard of His rights, but did evil before Mine eyes and did choose that wherein I delighted not. In other words, they proved themselves the enemies of the Lord in every way.
v. 13. Therefore, thus saith the Lord God, the all-powerful Ruler of the universe, Behold, My servants, the believers, shall eat, enjoy the fullness of God’s blessings, but ye shall be hungry; behold, My servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty; behold, My servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed, being deprived of all advantages which pertain to the children of God;
v. 14. behold, My servants shall sing for joy of heart, in the happiness which goes with the certainty of being children of a gracious Father, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, when despair takes hold of them, and shall howl for vexation of spirit, when their courage fails them altogether.
v. 15. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto My chosen, so that the Lord’s people would pronounce curses upon the name of the idolaters whenever they think of it; for the Lord God shall slay thee and call His servants by another name, so that they would no longer be obliged to bear the name of the apostates to their reproach,
v. 16. that he who blesseth himself in the earth, calling down some blessing upon his head, shall bless himself in the God of truth, literally, "in the God of Amen," in Him who fulfils all His promises to His children and executes His threats upon His enemies; and he that sweareth in the earth shall swear by the God of truth, because the former troubles are forgotten, with all the doubts which they tended to create in the hearts of the believers, and because they are hid from Mine eyes, so that they have disappeared entirely. This thought fitly introduces the next paragraph, where the new order of things is described in language which is both beautiful and majestic.
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 As when juice is found in a cluster of…
As when juice is found in a cluster of grapes
Yahweh compares the people of Israel to a cluster of grapes that still has some good juice in it. (See: Metaphor)
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when juice is found in a cluster
This can be stated in an active way. AT: "when you find juice in a cluster" (See: Active or Passive)
I will not ruin them all
This can be expressed positively. AT: "I will spare some of them who are righteous" (See: Litotes and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
grape
ruin
servant
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 65:8-16 The Lord planned to spare and reward a…
65:8-16 The Lord planned to spare and reward a remnant of righteous people.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.