Isaiah 8:14-22 sits inside this longer paragraph.
5Yahweh spoke to me yet again, saying, 6“Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah’s son; 7now therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon them the mighty flood waters of the River: the king of Assyria and all his glory. It will come up over all its channels, and go over all its banks. 8It will sweep onward into Judah. It will overflow and pass through. It will reach even to the neck. The stretching out of its wings will fill the width of your land, Immanuel. 9Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered! 10Take counsel together, and it will be brought to nothing; speak the word, and it will not stand, for God is with us.” 11For Yahweh spoke this to me with a strong hand, and instructed me not to walk in the way of this people, saying, 12“Don’t say, ‘A conspiracy!’ concerning all about which this people say, ‘A conspiracy!’ neither fear their threats, nor be terrorized. 13Yahweh of Armies is who you must respect as holy. He is the one you must fear. He is the one you must dread. 14He will be a sanctuary, but for both houses of Israel, he will be a stumbling stone and a rock that makes them fall. For the people of Jerusalem, he will be a trap and a snare. 15Many will stumble over it, fall, be broken, be snared, and be captured.”
16Wrap up the covenant. Seal the law among my disciples. 17I will wait for Yahweh, who hides his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him. 18Behold, I and the children whom Yahweh has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from Yahweh of Armies, who dwells in Mount Zion.
19When they tell you, “Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter,” shouldn’t a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? 20Turn to the law and to the covenant! If they don’t speak according to this word, surely there is no morning for them. 21They will pass through it, very distressed and hungry. It will happen that when they are hungry, they will worry, and curse by their king and by their God. They will turn their faces upward, 22and look to the earth, and see distress, darkness, and the gloom of anguish. They will be driven into thick darkness.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 He will defend you which are his elect, and…
He will defend you which are his elect, and reject all the rest, which is meant of Christ, against whom the Jews should stumble and fall, Luke 2:34; Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:7, 8.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv14–22 Isa 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary;…
Isa 8:14 And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Ver. 14. And he shall be for a sanctuary.] In quo serventur, et in lapidem, in quo firmiter stent pit: impii vero impingant, ruant et conterantur, a sanctuary of safety, a stone of stability, though to the wicked he prove otherwise - even a stone of offence to stumble them, and a snare to take them in for their hurt. Christ, as he is Piorum rupes, a rock of refuge to the godly; so he is reorum scopulas, a rock of revenge to dash in pieces the impenitent, as Valerius Maximus once said the tribunal of Lucius Cassius was. This was chiefly fulfilled in the time of the gospel. See Rom 9:23 1Pe 2:6 Mat 21:42 Act 4:11.
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But for a stone of stumbling.] Petra perditionis, to all that refuse to be ruled by him and to rely upon him; with these froward ones he will show himself froward. {Psa 18:26}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv14–22 Your sanctuary; a sure refuge to all that truly…
Your sanctuary; a sure refuge to all that truly fear him, and rely upon him.
For a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence; an occasion of sin and ruin, at whom they will take offence and stumble, so as to fall and be broken, as it is expressed, Isa 8:15.
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To both the houses of Israel; to the two royal families of Israel, largely so called; that of Judah, to wit, the house of David; and that of Ephraim: or, to the two kingdoms, that of the ten tribes, and that of the two tribes.
For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; which are distinctly mentioned, as a very observable and wonderful thing, because Jerusalem was the seat of the temple, and of God’s solemn worship, where all the means of knowledge and grace were in greatest power and plenty, where the thrones of civil and ecclesiastical judicature were established, where the most wise and learned doctors had their constant or frequent abode. And that such a place and people should reject Immanuel, or their Messiah, when he should appear, was so great and strange an occurrent, that the prediction of it was highly necessary, lest otherwise, when it came to pass, it should shake the faith of all who did believe on him; whereas now the accomplishment hereof was a notable confirmation of their faith, and an evidence that Christ was the true Messiah.
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 On v16 In these verses we have,
In these verses we have,
I. The unspeakable privilege which the people of God enjoy in having the oracles of God consigned over to them, and being entrusted with the sacred writings. That they may sanctify the Lord of hosts, may make him their fear and find him their sanctuary, bind up the testimony, Isa 8:16. Note, It is a great instance of God's care of his church and love to it that he has lodged in it the invaluable treasure of divine revelation. 1. It is a testimony and a law; not only this prophecy is so, which must therefore be preserved safely for the comfort of God's people in the approaching times of trouble and distress, but the whole word of God is so; God has attested it, and he has enjoined it. As a testimony it directs our faith; as a law it directs our practice; and we ought both to subscribe to the truths of it and to submit to the precepts of it. 2. This testimony and this law are bound up and sealed, for we are not to add to them nor diminish from them; they are a letter from God to man, folded up and sealed, a proclamation under the broad seal. The binding up and sealing of the Old Testament signified that the full explication of many of the prophecies of it was reserved for the New Testament times. Dan 12:4, Seal the book till the time of the end; but what was then bound up and sealed is now open and unsealed, and revealed unto babes, Mat 11:25. Yet with reference to the other world, and the future state, still the testimony is bound up and sealed, for we know but in part, and prophesy but in part. 3. They are lodged as a sacred deposit in the hands of the disciples of the children of the prophets and the covenant, Act 3:25. This is the good thing which is committed to them, and which they are charged with the custody of, Ti2 1:13, Ti2 1:14. Those that had prophets for their tutors must still keep close to the written word.
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II. The good use which we ought to make of this privilege. This we are taught,
1. By the prophet's own practice and resolutions, Isa 8:17, Isa 8:18. He embraced the law ad the testimony, and he had the comfort of them, in the midst of the many discouragements he met with. Note, Those ministers can best recommend the word of God to others that have themselves found the satisfaction of relying upon it. Observe,
(1.) The discouragements which the prophet laboured under. He specifies two: - [1.] The frowns of God, not so much upon himself, but upon his people, whose interests lay very near his heart: "He hides his face from the house of Jacob, and seems at present to neglect them, and lay them under the tokens of his displeasure." The prophet was himself employed in revealing God's wrath against them, and yet grieved thus for it, as one that did not desire the woeful day. If the house of Jacob forsake the God of Jacob, let it not be thought strange that he hides his face from them. [2.] The contempt and reproaches of men, not only upon himself, but upon his disciples, among whom the law and the testimony were sealed: I and the children whom the Lord has given me are for signs and wonders; we are gazed at as monsters or outlandish people, pointed at as we go along the streets. Probably the prophetical names that were given to his children were ridiculed and bantered by the profane scoffers of the town. I am as a wonder unto many, Psa 71:7. God's people are the world's wonder (Zac 3:8) for their singularity, and because they run not with them to the same excess of riot, Pe1 4:4. The prophet was herein a type of Christ; for this is quoted (Heb 2:13) to prove that believers are Christ's children: Behold, I and the children whom God has given me. Parents must look upon their children as God's gifts, his gracious gifts; Jacob did so, Gen 33:5. Ministers must look upon their converts as their children, and be tender of them accordingly (Th1 2:7), and as the children whom God has given them; for, whatever good we are instrumental of to others, it is owing to the grace of God. Christ looks upon believers as his children, whom the Father gave him (Joh 17:6), and both he and they are for signs and wonders, spoken against (Luk 2:34), every where spoken against, Act 28:22.
(2.) The encouragement he took in reference to these discouragements. [1.] He saw the hand of God in all that which was discouraging to him, and kept his eye upon that. Whatever trouble the house of Jacob is in, it comes from God's hiding his face; nay, whatever contempt was put upon him or his friends, it is from the Lord of hosts; he has bidden Shimei curse David, Job 19:13; Job 30:11. [2.] He saw God dwelling in Mount Zion, manifesting himself to his people, and ready to hear their prayers and receive their homage. Though, for the present, he hide his face from the house of Jacob, yet they know where to find him and recover the sight of him; he dwells in Mount Zion. [3.] He therefore resolved to wait upon the Lord and to look for him; to attend his motions even while he hid his face, and to expect with a humble assurance his returns in a way of mercy. Those that wait upon God by faith and prayer may look for him with hope and joy. When we have not sensible comforts we must still keep up our observance of God and obedience to him, and then wait awhile; at evening time it shall be light.
2. By the counsel and advice which he gives to his disciples, among whom the law and the testimony were sealed, to whom were committed the lively oracles.
(1.) He supposes they would be tempted, in the day of their distress, to consult those that had familiar spirits, that dealt with the devil, asked his advice, and desired to be informed by him concerning things to come, that they might take their measures accordingly. Thus Saul, when he was in straits, made his application to the witch of Endor (Sa1 28:7, Sa1 28:15), and Ahaziah to the god of Ekron, Kg2 1:2. These conjurors had strange fantastic gestures and tones: They peeped and muttered; they muffled their heads, that they could neither see nor be seen plainly, but peeped and were peeped at. Or both the words here used may refer to their voice and manner of speaking; they delivered what they had to say with a low, hollow, broken sound, scarcely articulate, and sometimes in a puling or mournful tone, like a crane, or a swallow, or a dove, Isa 38:14. They spoke not with that boldness and plainness which the prophets of the Lord spoke with, but as those who desire to amuse people rather than to instruct them; yet there were those who were so wretchedly sottish as to seek to them and to court others to do so, even the prophet's hearers, who knew better things, whom therefore the prophet warns not to say, A confederacy with such. There were express laws against this wickedness (Lev 19:31; Lev 20:27), and yet it was found in Israel, is found even in Christian nations; but let all that have any sense of religion show it, by startling at the thought of it. Get thee behind me, Satan. Dread the use of spells and charms, and consulting those that by hidden arts pretend to tell fortunes, cure diseases, or discover things lost; for this is a heinous crime, and, in effect, denies the God that is above.
(2.) He furnishes them with an answer to this temptation, puts words into their mouths. "If any go about thus to ensnare you, give them this reply: Should not a people seek to their God? What! for the living to the dead!" [1.] "Tell them it is a principle of religion that a people ought to seek unto their God; now Jehovah is our God, and therefore to him we ought to seek, and to consult with him, and not with those that have familiar spirits. All people will thus walk in the name of their God, Mic 4:5. Those that made the hosts of heaven their gods sought unto them, Jer 8:2. Should not a people under guilt, and in trouble, seek to their God for pardon and peace? Should not a people in doubt, in want, and in danger, seek to their God for direction, supply, and protection? Since the Lord is our God, and we are his people, it is certainly our duty to seek him." [2.] "Tell them it is an instance of the greatest folly in the world to seek for living men to dead idols." What can be more absurd than to seek to lifeless images for life and living comforts, or to expect that our friends that are dead should do that for us, when we deify them and pray to them, which our living friends cannot do? The dead know not any thing, nor is there with them any device or working, Ecc 9:5, Ecc 9:10. It is folly therefore for the living to make their court to them, with any expectation of relief from them. Necromancers consulted the dead, as the witch of Endor, and so proclaimed their own folly. We must live by the living, and not by the dead. What life or light can we look for from those that have no light or life themselves?
(3.) He directs them to consult the oracles of God. If the prophets that were among them did not speak directly to every case, yet they had the written word, and to that they must have recourse. Note, Those will never be drawn to consult wizards that know how to make a good use of their Bibles. Would we know how we may seek to our God, and come to the knowledge of his mind? To the law and to the testimony. There you will see what is good, and what the Lord requires of you. Make God's statutes your counsellors, and you will be counselled aright. Observe, [1.] What use we must make of the law and the testimony: we must speak according to that word, that is, we must make this our standard, conform to it, take advice from it, make our appeals to it, and in every thing be overruled and determined by it, consent to those wholesome healing words (Ti1 6:3), and speak of the things of God in the words which the Holy Ghost teaches. It is not enough to say nothing against it, but we must speak according to it. [2.] Why we must make this use of the law and the testimony: because we shall be convicted of the greatest folly imaginable if we do not. Those that concur not with the word of God do thereby evince that there is no light, no morning light (so the word is) in them; they have no right sense of things; they do not understand themselves, nor the difference between good and evil, truth and falsehood. Note, Those that reject divine revelation have not so much as human understanding; nor do those rightly admit the oracles of reason who will not admit the oracles of God. Some read it as a threatening: "If they speak not according to this word, there shall be no light to them, no good, no comfort or relief; but they shall be driven to darkness and despair;" as it follows here, Isa 8:21, Isa 8:22. What light had Saul when he consulted the witch? Sa1 28:18, Sa1 28:20. Or what light can those expect that turn away from the Father of lights?
(4.) He reads the doom of those that seek to familiar spirits and regard not God's law and testimony; there shall not only be no light to them, no comfort or prosperity, but they may expect all horror and misery, Isa 8:21, Isa 8:22. [1.] The trouble they feared shall come upon them: They shall pass through the land, or pass to and fro in the land, unfixed, unsettled, and driven from place to place by the threatening power of an invading enemy; they shall be hardly bestead whither to go for the necessary supports of life, either because the country would be so impoverished that there would be nothing to be had, or at least themselves and their friends so impoverished that there would be nothing to be had for them; so that those who used to be fed to the full shall be hungry. Note, Those that go away from God go out of the way of all good. [2.] They shall be very uneasy to themselves, by their discontent and impatience under their trouble. A good man may be in want, but then he quiets himself, and strives to make himself easy; but these people when they shall be hungry shall fret themselves, and when they have nothing to feed on their vexation shall prey upon their own spirits; for fretfulness is a sin that is its own punishment. [3.] They shall be very provoking to all about them, nay, to all above them; when they find all their measures broken, and themselves at their wits' end, they will forget all the rules of duty and decency, and will treasonably curse their king and blasphemously curse their God, and this more than in their thought and in their bedchamber, Ecc 10:20. They begin with cursing their king for managing the public affairs no better, as if the fault were his, when the best and wisest kings cannot secure success; but, when they have broken the bonds of their allegiance, no marvel if those of their religion do not hold them long: they next curse their God, curse him, and die; they quarrel with his providence, and reproach that, as if he had done them wrong. The foolishness of man perverts his way, and then his heart frets against the Lord, Pro 19:3. See what need we have to keep our mouth as with a bridle when our heart is hot within us; for the language of fretfulness is commonly very offensive. [4.] They shall abandon themselves to despair, and, which way soever they look, shall see no probability of relief. They shall look upward, but heaven shall frown upon them and look gloomy; and how can it be otherwise when they curse their God? They shall look to the earth, but what comfort can that yield to those with whom God is at war? There is nothing there but trouble, and darkness, and dimness of anguish, every thing threatening, and not one pleasant gleam, not one hopeful prospect; but they shall be driven to darkness by the violence of their own fears, which represent every thing about them black and frightful. This explains what he had said Isa 8:20, that there shall be no light to them. Those that shut their eyes against the light of God's word will justly be abandoned to darkness, and left to wander endlessly, and the sparks of their own kindling will do them no kindness.
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 On vv14–22 And he shall be for a sanctuary,.... Not the…
And he shall be for a sanctuary,.... Not the king of Assyria, as Aben Ezra, but the Lord of hosts: the Targum rightly interprets it of the word of the Lord, the essential Word; of the Messiah, who is for a sanctuary, or asylum, a place of refuge for his people in all times of distress, and who is their dwelling place in all generations; he dwells in them, and they dwell in him; and where they dwell safely and securely, peaceably and quietly, comfortably and pleasantly, and that always; he is a sanctuary to worship in, in whom they draw nigh to the Father, and offer up the sacrifices of prayer and praise, and where the glory of God is seen by them, and they have communion with him; or "for sanctification", as the Septuagint version; this Christ is to his people, Co1 1:30,
but for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of offence, to both the houses of Israel: which Jarchi interprets of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, and his company, and of Shebna and his company; but Aben Ezra much better of the kingdoms of Israel and of Judah, especially when the twelve tribes were under one form of government in Christ's time. In the Talmud (u) it is explained of the two houses of the fathers of Israel; and these are they, the head of the captivity in Babylon, and the prince in the land of Israel; and the Nazarenes, as Jerom (w) reports, apply the words to the two houses or families of Hillel and Shammai, who were two heads of schools in Jerusalem, a little before the times of Christ, and were of the sect of the Pharisees; and to whom indeed Christ was a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, as he was to the Jews in common; who were offended and stumbled at his birth and parentage, he descending from poor parents; at his education and place of bringing up; at the mean appearance of himself and his followers; at the obscurity of his kingdom, it not being of this world, nor coming with observation; at the company he kept, and the audience that attended on him; at his doctrines and miracles; and at his death, and the manner of it; see Rom 9:32.
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For a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; even the principal inhabitants of it, such as the elders of the people, priests, Scribes, and Pharisees, who sought to entangle Christ in his talk, and to ensnare him by questions they put unto him; but were themselves snared and taken, convicted, confounded, and silenced. See Mat 22:15.
(u) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 38. 1. (w) In loc.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14–22 Sanctuary - A sure refuge to all that truly…
Sanctuary - A sure refuge to all that truly fear him, and rely upon him. A stone - An occasion of sin and ruin, at whom they will take offense and stumble, so as to fall and be broken. To both - To the two kingdoms, that of the ten tribes, and that of the two tribes. Jerusalem - Which are distinctly mentioned, as a wonderful thing, because Jerusalem was the seat of the temple, and of God's solemn worship, where all the means of knowledge and grace were in greatest plenty, where the thrones of civil and ecclesiastical judicature were established, where the most wise and learned doctors had their constant abode. And that such a place and people should reject Immanuel when he should appear, was so strange an occurrence, that the prediction of it was highly necessary, lest otherwise, when it came to pass, it should shake the faith of all who did believe on him; whereas now the accomplishment hereof was a notable confirmation of their faith.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21 Verse 14. And he shall be for a sanctuary…
Verse 14. And he shall be for a sanctuary - "And he shall be unto you a sanctuary"] The word לכם lachem, unto you, absolutely necessary, as I conceive, to the sense, is lost in this place: it is preserved by the Vulgate, "et erit vobis in sanctificationem." The Septuagint have it in the singular number: εσται σοι εις ἁγιασμον, it shall be to THEE. Or else, instead of מקדש mikdash, a sanctuary, we must read מוקש mokesh, a snare, which would then be repeated without any propriety or elegance, at the end of the verse. The Chaldee reads instead of it משפט mishpat, judgment; for he renders it by פורען purean, which word frequently answers to משפט mishpat in his paraphrase. One MS. has in stead of מקדש ולאבן mikdash uleeben, להם לאבן lahem leeben, which clears the sense and construction. But the reading of the Vulgate is, I think, the best remedy to this difficulty; and is in some degree authorized by להם lahem, the reading of the MS. above mentioned.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv16, 17, 19, 20, 21 Isa 8:16. Bind up the testimony — There seems…
Isa 8:16. Bind up the testimony — There seems no doubt that the person here introduced speaking, is God the Father. By the testimony, and the law or doctrine, the prophet understands one and the same thing, as he doth also Isa 8:20, namely, the word of God, and especially that which is the main scope thereof, the doctrine of the Messiah, which, though now professed by all the Israelites, should be disowned by the generality of them, when the Messiah should come. Bind up and seal are to be understood prophetically, that is, declare and prophesy, that it shall be bound up and sealed; as Isaiah is said to make fat, and to blind, &c., Isa 6:10; and Jeremiah, to root out, and pull down, &c., Jer 1:10, when they foretel these events. Moreover, the expressions, bind up, and seal, design the same thing; and that Isaiah , 1 st, Security, as things are bound up and sealed, that they may not be lost. So he signifies, that although this doctrine should be lost among the body of the Israelites, yet it should be preserved among his disciples; and, 2d, Secrecy, as many things are bound up, or sealed, that they may be hid from the eyes of others. And so he informs them that this doctrine now was, and should be, hid, in a great measure, from all God’s people, till the accomplishment of it; and that even when it was accomplished, it should still continue to be as a secret and mystery, known, indeed, to God’s true disciples, but hid from the body of the nation, who would not see it, and therefore should be blinded by God’s just judgment, that they should not see it, as was prophesied Isa 6:9-10. By God’s disciples, Hebrew, למדי, he means those who were taught of him, as it is expressed Isa 54:13, where this very word is used; or, every one that hath heard and learned of the Father, and therefore cometh unto Christ, as it is explained, Joh 6:45.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv14–22 And he shall be for a sanctuary - The…
And he shall be for a sanctuary - The word translated sanctuary means, literally, a holy place, a consecrated place, and is usually applied to the tabernacle, or to the temple; Exo 25:8; Lev 12:4; Lev 21:12; Jer 51:51. It also means an asylum, or a refuge, to which one might flee in case of danger, and be safe; see Eze 11:16. Among all ancient nations, temples were regarded as safe places to which people might flee when pursued, and when in danger. It was deemed sacrilege to tear a man away from a temple or an altar. That the temple was so regarded among the Jews is manifest; see 1Ki 1:50; 1Ki 2:28. In allusion to this, the prophet says, that Yahweh would be a sanctuary; that is, an asylum, or refuge, to whom they should flee in times of danger, and be safe; see Psa 46:1 : ‘God is our refuge and strength;’ Pro 18:10 : ‘The name of the Loan is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.’ It is also well known that temples and altars were regarded as asyla among the Greeks and Romans. The reference here is rather to an altar, as the asylum, than to a city or temple; as, in the other member of the sentence, the same object is said to be a stone of stumbling - a figure which would not be applicable to a temple or a city.
A stone of stumbling - A stone against which one should impinge, or over which he should fall. The idea is, that none could run against a hard, rough, fixed stone, or rock, without injuring himself. So the Jews would oppose the counsels of God; instead of making him their refuge and strength, they would resist his claims and appeals, and the consequence would be their destruction. It is also to be remembered, that God is often represented in the Scriptures as a rock, a firm defense, or place of safety, to those who trust in him. But instead of their thus taking refuge in him, they would oppose themselves to this firm rock, and ruin themselves; see Deu 32:4, Deu 32:15, Deu 32:18, Deu 32:30-31, Deu 32:37; Psa 19:14; Psa 28:1; Psa 31:2, Psa 31:8; Psa 41:2; Psa 42:9. Many of the ancient Jewish commentators applied this to the Messiah. - Gesenius in loc. It is also applied to Christ in the New Testament, 1Pe 2:8.
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A rock of offence - A rock over which they should fall. The English word offence, had that meaning formerly, and retains it in our translation of the Bible.
To both the houses of Israel - To the two kingdoms of Judah and Israel; that is, to the wicked portion of them, not to those who were truly pious.
For a gin - A net, or snare, to take birds. The idea is the same as in the former part of the verse. By rejecting the counsel of God; by despising his protection, and by resisting his laws, they would be unexpectedly involved in difficulties, as birds which are caught in a snare.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 Two. The wicked of both kingdoms, (Haydock) who choose…
Two. The wicked of both kingdoms, (Haydock) who choose to revolt from God. Many of Israel were led into captivity, and the territory of Juda was laid waste. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On v16 CHAPTER Isa_8:16 to Isa_9:6
3. THE TESTAMENT OF THE PROPHET TO HIS DISCIPLES
CHAPTER Isa_8:16 to Isa_9:6
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a) Prayer and Exhortation merging into prophetic vision
CHAPTER Isa_8:16-22. (Isa_9:1)
16 BIND up the testimony,
Seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait upon the LORD,
That hideth his face from the house of Jacob,
And I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD hath given me
Are for signs and for wonders in Israel
From the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion.
19 And when they shall say unto you,
Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards
That peep, and that mutter:
Should not a people seek unto their God?
For the living to the dead?
20 To the law and to the testimony:
If they speak not according to this word,
It is because there is no light in them,
21 And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry:
And it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves,
And curse their king and their God,
And look upward.
22 And they shall look unto the earth;
And behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish;
And they shall be driven to darkness.
Isa_9:1 (23). Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation,
When at the first he lightly afflicted
The land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali,
And afterward did more grievously afflict
Her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in kGalilee of the nations.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
On Isa_8:16. תעודה beside here and Isa_8:20 occurs only Rth_4:7. The meaning is “testifying;” in the passive sense, “that which is testified,” which then may be taken in various senses. The divine will which the prophets testify to men (Exo_19:21; Exo_19:23; Deu_8:19; 1Sa_8:9; Jer_11:7; Jer_42:19; Amo_3:13, etc.) has for contents both what men ought to do and what God has resolved to do. צוֹר imper. from צָרַר constringere, colligare (Isa_11:13); חָתַם (in Isaiah again only Isa_29:11) is “to seal.”—למֻּד occurs only Isa_1:4; Isa_54:13 and Jer_2:24; Jer_13:23. It means doctus, eruditus; and is used both of spiritual and of physical relations.
On Isa_8:17-18. According to our construction it might be expected that there would be וַאֲנִי before חִכִּיתִי. But this ואני follows in Isa_8:18; for הנה אנכי does not mean “behold, I am here,” but, “behold I.” I do not deny that in itself it may mean the former. But I believe that were this the Prophet’s meaning he would have expressed it in a less mistakable form by writing הִנְנִי before אנכי or (Gen_49:16) הִנֶנִוּ. I think הנה אנכי, then, is epexegetical of the subject of חכיתי. Then is explained why this subject is not more distinctly marked by וַאֲנִי. The Prophet obtains a more emphatic prominence for it in the הנה אנכי.—אוֹה and מוֹפֶח are combined as in Deuteronomy (Deu_4:34; Deu_6:22; Deu_7:19; Deu_13:3; Deu_26:8; Deu_28:46; Deu_29:2; Deu_34:11. Comp. Isa_20:3.—מֵעִם ונו depends on אתות ומופתים. This addition is, in relation to אשׁר נתן־לי י׳, not superfluous.
On Isa_8:19. אוב means an inflated leather bottle (occurs only Job_32:19, and as a proper name Num_21:10; Num_33:43), then the distended body of the ventriloquist, and then, not only the ventriloquist himself, (1Sa_28:3; 1Sa_28:9; 2Ki_23:24; Isa_19:3; and the passage previously cited) but the pretended spirit of the dead that spoke by him (1Sa_28:7-8; Isa_29:4; 1Ch_10:13). In many of these passages it is indeed doubtful which of these two meanings the word may have; or if it does not have both. Elsewhere the word seems to mean the secret art, necromancy, divination itself (2Ki_21:6; 2Ch_33:6). The plural is always אֹבוֹת. Because this plural occurs also Job_32:19, it cannot for that reason be concluded that only women were possessed of this necromancy (בעלת אוב, 1Sa_28:7, the witch of Endor). Still it is surprising that בעל אוב (mase.) is found only in the Talmud (vid. GESEN. Thes. p. 35). יִדְּעֹנִי never occurs alone, but always joined with אוֹב. It means “the knowing one, wise one, or wizard.” DELITZSCH, very much to the point, compares δαίμων according to Plato = δαίμων, “the much knowing being.”—צִפְצֵף Pilpel, found only in Isaiah. The word primarily is used of the chirping of birds (Isa_10:14; Isa_38:14), then of the voice proceeding out of the ground (Isa_29:4).—הָגָה is likewise a word that imitates a sound (comp. ach. הchsen). As צפצף represents a high, shrill sound, so חגה does a low one; for it is used for the growling of a lion (Isa_31:4), of the rolling of the thunder (Job_37:2), of the low murmuring of the dove (Isa_38:14; Isa_59:11). It occurs again in Isa_16:7; Isa_33:18; Isa_59:3; Isa_59:13. In classic antiquity, too, we find a gentle, chirping, whispering voice ascribed to the dead. Comp. Iliad XXIII. 101, where it is said of the soul of Patroclos “ᾤχετοτετριγυῖα;” Odyss. Isa_24:5-9, where τρίζειν stridere is equally ascribed to the souls of the dead suitors and to the whirring of the bats in the dark caves. Other examples see in GESENIUS, in loc. In our passage the necromancers are said to hiss and mutter, because they imitated the voice of the dead in this fashion.—דָּרַשׁ with אֶל (elsewhere it is construed with לְ Eze_14:7, or with בְּ 1Sa_28:7, 2Ki_1:2) by reason of Deu_12:30; Deu_18:11, occurs in Isaiah three times; here, Isa_11:10; Isa_19:3; comp. Job_5:8. The preposition is perhaps to be treated as depending on the notion of “penetrating” that is contained in that of investigation.
On Isa_8:20. לתורה ו׳ is an exclamation, a sort of shout of command. But if one must have a grammatical construction, the לְ may be taken as dependent on דִּרְשׁוּ or תִּפְנוּ (comp. Lev_19:31; Lev_20:6), whereby the remark of GESENIUS (Thes. p. 728) obtains, that “אֶל praemittitur homini, לְ rei locoque.” DELITSZCH compares Jdg_7:18. לַיְחוָה וּלְגִדְעוֹן, but it is doubtful whether חֶרֶכ is not to be supplied there according to Isa_8:20.
Expositors differ extraordinarily about אס־לֹא. The explanation is grammatically quite incorrect that makes אֲשֶׁר begin the apodosis, and construes it as a particle of asseveration or of the apodosis ( = כִּי) VITRINGA, ROSENMUELLER, GESENIUS, etc.). Others (DE WETTE, MAURER, EW., HITZIG, DRECHSLER) take אס־לא as a form of adjuration: “they will say truly.” But this involves an evident contradiction. For how can he who turns to the law and testimony curse his king and God in time of need? Others (KNOBEL, DELITZSCH) take it as an interrogative particle, referring it back to הֲלֹא Isa_8:19 : “Or will not they accord in this word that are without dawn?” But from the context it appears that this is just what they will not do. I construe אס־לא simply = nisi, and begin the apodosis with ועבר Isa_9:21 (so, too, DIESTEL).—שַׁחַר (comp. Isa_19:12) occurs Isa_47:11; Isa_58:8, as figure of the dawning revelation of salvation.
On Isa_8:21. בָּהּ is referred by VITRINGA, MAURER, DELITZSCH, etc., to ארץ understood as a matter of course, Isa_8:22. But this ארץ is not so a matter of course, because it first appears after; and עָבַר cannot be said only in relation to the notion “land.” ROORDA, DRECHSLER refer it more correctly to the condition intimated by נִקְשֶׁה—.אין לא שׁחר is the ἅπ. λεγ. If קָשָׁה means durum esse, “to be hard, heavy,” then נִקְשֶׁה is “treated hard, grieved, oppressed.”—רָעֵב (Isa_9:19; Isa_29:8; Isa_32:6; Isa_44:12; Isa_58:7; Isa_58:10) adds to the notion of outward pressure that of incapacity to bear, that is occasioned by hunger. The full (Deu_32:15; Psa_78:29; Pro_30:9) has easily too much, the hungry too little strength.—Hithp. התקצף only here Kal. Isa_47:6; Isa_54:9; Isa_57:16-17; Isa_64:4; Isa_64:8.—קלל I construe with בְּ in the sense of “curse against one.” Elsewhere it is construed with the accusative, and the following בְּ signifies the higher power by which one swears, i.e., by whose mediation one imprecates evil on the object of his wrath (1Sa_17:43; 2Ki_2:24). But with that construction there would be wanting here an object of the cursing (DIESTEL). And it is much more natural that one enraged should curse the cause of his sufferings than the sufferings themselves. קלל may be construed with בְּ after the analogy of verbs that mean striving (Isa_19:2; Isa_30:32, etc.) and being angry (Deu_3:26; Psa_78:62; Gen_30:2; Gen_44:18, etc.).—On Isa_8:22. הִבִּיט Hiph. Isa_18:4; Isa_22:11; Isa_42:18; Isa_51:1-2; Isa_51:6, etc. צרה וחשׁכה, “distress and darkness,” vid. comment. on Isa 8:30.—מָעוּף caligo “obscurity,” ἄπ. λεγ.—צוקה found again Isa_30:6; Pro_1:27.—אֲפֵלָה (again Isa_58:10; Isa_59:9) is used for thick darkness, e. g., Exo_10:22.—מְנֻדַּח some take in the sense of “scared away,” so that the transition would begin here. “As to this time the nation will have been rejected, so from now on shall misfortune, as it were, be exiled” (DRECHSLER). But the words אפ׳ מ׳ are so completely co-ordinate with both the foregoing members of the sentence, and on the other hand the transition is so utterly without anything to indicate it, that this meaning cannot be satisfactory. Others (KNOBEL, DELITZSCH) explain after the analogy of Jer_23:12, as if it read וּבָֽאֲפֵלָה הוּא מְנֻדַּח, or וְהִנּוֹ בָּֽאֲפ׳ מ׳. But this also seems too artificial. The omission of the subject, when it is especially looked for on account of its generic difference from the subjects of both the foregoing members, must raise a doubt. But נָדַח has by no means only the signification “to scatter, disperse.” In Deu_20:19 it means impellers (securim), 2Sa_15:14, propellere, immittere (miseriam) Pro_7:21 depellere, “drive away; seduce.” Why then may not אפּלה מנדח mean tenebrae immissae, whereby, because the notion dispellere undoubtedly lies in the word, it may be taken in the sense of ab omni parte immissae, longe lateque diffusae? So substantially SAADIA, KOCHER. As regards the incongruity of gender, it need give no surprise. The predicate is to be construed as neuter: tenebrae immissum, expansum aliquid. It is apparent that in the three members of Isa_8:22 b reigns the law of unity in manifoldness. For evidently these three members are so far alike that in all of them the words are in pairs, and the notion of darkness recurs as the chief one. But in the first member occurs hendiadys (distress and darkness = obscuring distress, or distressing obscurity), in the second both are merged into one notion, dimness of anguish; in the third the predicate is added in an adjective, i. e., participial form.
On Isa 8:23 (Isa_9:1). I construe the words אם לא Isa_8:20 on to מנדח Isa_8:22 as a parenthesis, and refer כי לא מועף וגו׳ to לתורה ולתעודה Isa_9:20. Where law and testimony live in men’s souls, there, spite of distress (מוּצָק only here in Isaiah; comp. Job_36:16; Job_37:10), is no darkness. לֹא מוּעָף ἄπ. λεγ. notice in Mu-aph a reverse vowel pointing from Ma-uph, Isa_8:22, a play of words that reflects the contrast of thought.—לָהּ anticipates the idea of “land” contained in next clause.— כְּ—.כָּעֵת וגו is not a conjunction “as,” but a preposition, and signifies the coincidence (Isa_9:2; Gen_18:1; Gen_18:10; Gen_18:14; Gen_39:18; Jdg_2:4, etc.) = “about the first time.” This “first time” evidently extends to the dawn of the new time that begins with the Messiah; and עת האחרון “last time” coincides therefore with אחרית הימים (Isa_2:2).—קַל means levem, tenuem, exilem esse (Gen_8:11; Job_7:6; Nah_1:14; Jer_4:13, etc.,) therefore the Hiph. (again in Isaiah only, Isa_23:9) levem, exilem reddere.—אַרְצָה a poetic form of אֶרֶץ (comp. Job_34:13; Job_37:12).—והאחרון is best construed as accusative of time. It might, indeed, be taken as nominative, but elegance is against it. The same regions, that in the first clause of the verse are described as the object of the הֵקַל “degrading,” are now, in the second clause, by other divisions and names, said to be the object of הכביד, “glorifying.” [“The English version supposes a contrast that requires הֵקַל to be taken in the sense of lightly afflicting, as distinguished from הִכְבִּיד to afflict more grievously. But this distinction is unauthorized by usage.”—J. A. ALEXANDER].
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
1. I cannot help thinking that in this section we have a farewell address of the Prophet; as it were, his spiritual will. That it speaks of “disciples,” whereas there is no mention of them elsewhere, is a hint that here lies before us a written archive specially meant for them. What, then, could the Prophet have given his disciples in this written form, but something that must be valuable to them for the time, when he could no longer communicate with them by word of mouth as he could at that moment? Then, too, the prayer to the LORD, to seal in the disciples’ law and testimony, the emphatic reference to the pledges of faith given in the persons of himself and his sons, the warning against future seductions, and the reference to that which could give light and comfort in the troublous days to be expected,—all this brings me to the conviction that here we have actually the spiritual testament of Isaiah to his disciples.
2. Bind up—my disciples.
Isa_8:16. The opening words of this will connect appropriately with the LORD’S words of exhortation Isa_8:13. I have no doubt that the words Isa_8:16, are addressed to Jehovah. For only the LORD can do this binding up and sealing. The prophets might seal a book roll, or declare that the meaning of a prophecy is to be shut up till a certain time (vid.Dan_8:26; Dan_12:4; Dan_12:9; Isa_10:4; Isa_22:10; Isa_29:11; Jer_51:60 sqq. and my comment); but they cannot seal the divine revelation in the hearts of men. Moreover, in all the following verses the Prophet is the speaker, and the change from the words of God to the words of the Prophet must certainly have been more distinctly marked than by the simple וְ before חכיתי. The mention of binding up and sealing in a spiritual sense was perhaps occasioned by the actions appropriate to the real documents (vid.Jer_32:9 sqq.). Having so disposed of the writing that contained his own will, the Prophet prayed the LORD to do still better, and enclose and seal up his testament in the hearts of his disciples. For the propriety of the metaphor, vid.Pro_3:3; Pro_7:3; Jer_31:33. They are the same as “are written to life,” Isa_4:3. As primarily “the law” means the Mosaic law, which was the basis and norm of all prophetic announcements (Deu_13:1 sqq.; Deu_18:18 sqq.), and which the Prophets ever and again had to reimpress (Jer_29:19), so Isaiah must mean by “the testimony” all additional prophetic testimony, especially all threatenings and promises that referred to the future. In the prayer he makes for his disciples, he does not intend the preservation of the divine testimony unto the proper time for its revelation, but he would thereby give to themselves the only true support and comfort for the evil days to come. As, according to Isa_8:17, his faith in the word of God was his own sole comfort, so (Isa_8:20) he directs his disciples to the law and testimony, warning them against every false comfort (Isa_8:19). Though Isaiah had primarily disciples and scholars in mind, we need not suppose he was at the head of a school of prophets. What he would teach them was religious truth, not to prophesy. And thus about this group of scholars, as about a nucleus, would gather all in Jerusalem and Judah that had any heart for the spiritual jewels of Israel.
3. I will wait—in mount Zion.
Isa_8:17-18. This affords a touching insight into the personal life of the Prophet. He enforces the prayer just made by confessing that he holds fast to the LORD, and waits (vid.Isa_5:4; Isa_25:9; Isa_26:8; Isa_33:2; Isa_51:5; Isa_59:9; Isa_59:11; Isa_60:9; Isa_64:2), notwithstanding the LORD seems to have forsaken the house of Jacob (he evidently means “this people,” the fleshly Israel) and hidden His face (comp. Isa_50:6; Isa_53:3; Isa_54:8; Isa_59:2; Isa_64:6). But he does not hope alone. His children hope with him. This is significant. We know, indeed, nothing about the age of the children. That our passage follows close on Isa_8:1-4, is no proof that it originated in that period. Isaiah would hardly at that time have designated his children (plural) as companions of his faith. For Maher-shalal was hardly yet born, and this circumstance speaks rather for later composition. Isaiah knows that his children are not only children of his body, but of his spirit too. They are miraculous children, products, not only of nature, but of the divine effective power. (Rom_9:7 sqq.: Gal_4:28 sq.). Therefore, not only are his and their names prophetic, but their birth, too, is such; at least that of Maher-shalal. Thus they are by their existence as by their names אתות, signa, τύποι τοῦ μέλλοντος (Rom_5:14) “finger boards,” and מופתים, miraculous pledges of miracles. “Which Jehovah has given me;” by these words Isaiah points to the support of his hope. For why should not we hope in God who has done such wonders? Our passage, moreover, recalls the words of Jos_24:15 : “I and my house will serve the LORD”
4. And when they shall say—to the dead.
Isa_8:19. The Prophet now adds a warning against seduction to idolatrous necromancy. And does not this warning give the impression of proceeding from a man who is on the point of leaving his own, and who, before his departure, seeks to protect them against impending danger? “And when they shall say,” presents the superstition as at hand and to be dreaded. From Isa_2:6; Isa_3:2 sq., we see that various sorts of superstitious divination were practised among the Jews at that time. Such were expressly forbidden in the law. Comp. Lev_19:31; Lev_20:6; Lev_20:27; Deu_18:10-11. In all these passages אבות “familiar spirits” and ידענים “wizards” are named together, and Deu_18:11 the words דּרֵשׁ אֶל־הַמֵּתִים “necromancer” are expressly added: so that Isaiah seems to have had this passage in mind.
The second clause of the verse, “should not,” etc., is usually regarded as the reply of the believing disciples to those who tempted them [J. A. ALEXANDER]. But this seems to me unnecessary. It is primarily the answer that Isaiah himself gives, and it is to be understood that the disciples are to reply to the same effect. According to the Prophet, those seductive temptations are to be met by two arguments. First, he urges that every nation must inquire of its god as the chief disposer of its destiny. Therefore Israel onght to turn to Jehovah. It appears from this that the Prophet assumes the position that Jehovah is the national god of Israel, without challenging the existence of other gods, and that he assumes that those tempters recognize Jehovah as the proper national god. (God of the fathers). The second argument Isaiah takes from the representation of the ancients of the relation of the dead to the living. Only he that lives in the body lives really. By death he sinks deep down. Comp. FRIEDR., NAGELSBACH,Homer. Theol. VII. § 14 sqq. Nachhomer. Theol. VII. § 14 sqq. But how nearly Hebrew representations approach those of classic antiquity, may be seen from passages like Isa_14:9 sqq.; Eze_26:20 sq,; Eze_31:14 sqq.; Eze_32:17 sqq.; Eze_38:18 eq.; Psa_6:6; Psa_88:4 sqq.; Job_14:10 sqq. It is therefore folly, nonsense, to seek any help for the living among those gone down deep. Thus the words בעד וגו are to be construed interrogatively: “For the living (shall one inquire of) the dead?”
4. To the law—Galilee of the nations.
Isa_8:20-21 (Isa_9:1). Now Isaiah refers his disciples to the divine source of light and comfort, which alone can keep them upright in the impending evil days. Whoever does not find these his support, will undoubtedly be destroyed. Who shall say: “To the law and the testimony?” All that have no dawn. They are such as nowhere see in any outward relations a ray of light, that announces the day of salvation. When such see no inward comfort and support by means of God’s word, they wander oppressed and hungry, etc. As hunger smarts, it readily happens that such fall into a bitter rage and curse their king and God, thus both the heavenly and earthly government, as being to blame for their sufferings. Most expositors understand by מלכו “his king” that a divinity is meant; and only differ as to whether, according to Psa_5:3; Psa_68:25, Jehovah is meant, [so J. A. ALEXANDER and BARNES] or, according to Amo_5:26; Zep_1:5, the idols; agreeing that “king” and “God” mean the same person. But against this speaks: 1. בְּ occurring twice; 2. the following “he looks upward and to the earth he looks.” Similar blasphemy is described as a symptom of the anti-Christian time Rev_16:9; Rev_16:11; Rev_16:21.
Wherever the wretched look, above or to earth, everywhere presents itself only the mournful sight of dark distress.
About the first time,etc.
Isa 8:23 (Isa_9:1). The Prophet now intimates what sort of light shall arise to the believing from the law and testimony. He shall know from the prophecy, which the Prophet with these very words gives to his own (to which however, others still are added later), that the North of Palestine, which heretofore was little regarded compared with the South, shall attain to great honor, and become a place of great blessing to the whole land. He evidently refers to the Messianic time, and intimates that the glory of it will illuminate in an eminent way that northern region of Palestine. More particularly as to the how? and when? the Prophet does not know. If it is asked why he predicts this just here, we may see the ground for it in the fact that at that time, it was just from that northern quarter of the Ten Tribes, that great danger threatened Judah. The war with Syria and Ephraim was the occasion of this whole series of prophecies. The gaze of the Prophet is emphatically fastened on the North. What wonder if on this occasion he not only predicts the impending judgment of this northern land, but also the glory in store for it!
Zebulon was bounded on the North by Naphtali, eastward by the sea of Galilee, westward by Asher and Phœnicia (comp. Jos_19:10 sqq.). Naphtali possessed the north-east of Canaan west of Jordan, for it touched the base of Antilebanon, was bounded on the east by the sea of Galilee, on the south by Zebulon, and on the west by Asher. (Jos_19:32 sqq.). As “the way of the sea,” according to the context, must be a land inhabited by Israelites, it cannot be the coast of the Mediterranean, as some have supposed; for Phœnicians dwelt there. It can only be the coast of the יַם כִּנֶּרֶת “the sea of Chinnereth” (Num_34:11; Jos_12:3; Jos_13:27)—עבר הירדּז “bank of Jordan,” is East Jordan land. The expression, with and without “the sun-rising,” is extremely common (Gen_1:10 sq.; Num_35:14; Deu_1:1; Deu_1:5; Jos_1:14 sq.; Isa_2:10, etc.). The region named here גליל הגוים “Galilee of the nations,” (ἄπ. λεγ.), was originally called הַגָּלִיל, “the Galilee,” (the bent, the circuit, circulus, annulus, comp. כִּכָּר) and was a part of Naphtali. Comp. Jos_20:7; Jos_21:32; 1Ch_6:61; 1Ma_2:63. The region is called also אֶרֶץ הַגָּלִיל (1Ki_9:11), and הַגָּלֶילָה (2Ki_15:29).
In Jdg_1:30-33 we are told that, as elsewhere, the Canaanites were not exterminated from this region. From the nature of things, in a region so distant from the national sanctuary, the heathen element would increase more than elsewhere. The continual intercourse with neighboring heathen in war and peace, moreover, the depriving the land of its Israelite inhabitants by Tiglath-Pileser (2Ki_15:29) may have gradually given the heathen element a preponderance. From the New Testament, we know that the Jews looked down on the Galileans with a certain contempt (Joh_1:46; Joh_7:41; Joh_7:52; Act_2:7). When, Joh_7:41 the Jews questioned whether the Messiah would come out of Galilee, when they, John 9:52, asserted, too, that not even a Prophet was to come out of Galilee, it is the more remarkable that, as DELITZSCH quotes, Talmud and Midrasch say: that “the Messiah shall be revealed in Galilee, and from out Tiberias shall the redemption dawn.” But Matthew sees in the fact that Jesus “came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim” a fulfilment of our prophecy, and justly (vid.Mat_4:13 sqq.). For that the Prophet notices such special traits of the Messianic picture of the future as the ante-nuptial conception, and the going forth from Galilee will not surprise those who reflect that these special matters are no trifles, but of greatest importance, and thus in a high degree worthy of prophetic notice. For they belong essentially to that fundamental character of the plan of redemption, whereby the Redeemer and His kingdom shall rise out of the depth of humility and ignominy to honor and glory.
[J. A. ALEXANDER with HENDERSON, COCCEIUS and others regard the words Isa_9:16 as spoken to the Prophet “by God, or, as some suppose, by the Messiah, the מִּקְדָּשׁ mentioned in the foregoing verse; and likewise Isa_9:17-18, because there is no intimation of a change in the speaker, and because Heb_2:13, 5:17 is quoted as the words of the Messiah, not as an illustration, but as a proof that Christ partook of the same nature with the persons called His children. DELITZSCH and v. HOFMANN (vid. their comment on Heb_2:13), who agree in treating these words of Isa_8:16-18 as the Prophet’s, and yet recognize a typical and prophetic reference to Christ, explain the use made of this in Heb. l. c. by the canon: “it admits of no doubt that the writers of the New Testament, allow themselves to quote utterances of typical Old Testament personages concerning themselves as utterances, and words of Christ.” DELITZSCH.—TR.].
DOCTRINAL AND ETHICAL
1. On Isa_7:1. “Hierosolyma oppugnatur, etc. Jerusalem is assaulted but not conquered. The church is pressed but not oppressed.”—Foerster.
2. On Isa_7:2. “Quando ecclesia, etc. When the Church is assaulted and Christ crucified over again in His elect, Rezin and Pekah, Herod and Pilate are wont to form alliance and enter into friendly relations. There are, so to speak, the foxes of Samson, joined indeed by the tails, but their heads are disconnected.”—Foerster.—“He that believes flees not (Isa_28:16). ‘The righteous is bold as a lion’ (Pro_28:1). Hypocrites and those that trust in works (work-saints) have neither reason nor faith. Therefore they cannot by any means quiet their heart. In prosperity they are, indeed, overweening, but in adversity they fall away (Jer_17:9).” Cramer.
3. On Isa_7:9. (“If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.”) “Insignis sententia, etc. A striking sentiment that may be adapted generally to all temptation, because all earnest endeavor after anything, as you know, beguiles us in temptation. But only faith in the word of promise makes us abide and makes sure whatever we would execute. He warns Ahaz, therefore, as if he said: I now promise you by the word, it shall be that those two kings shall not hurt you. Believe this word! For if you do not, whatever you afterwards devise will deceive you: because all confidence is vain which is not supported by the word of God.”—Luther.
4. On Isa_7:10-12. “Wicked Ahaz pretends to great sanctity in abstaining from asking a sign through fear of God. Thus hypocrites are most conscientious where there is no need for it: on the other hand, when they ought to be humble, they are the most insolent. But where God commands to be bold, one must be bold. For to be obedient to the word is not tempting God. That is rather tempting God when one proposes something without having the word for it. It is, indeed, the greatest virtue to rest only in the word, and desire nothing more. But where God would add something more than the word, then it must not be thought a virtue to reject it as superfluous. We must therefore exercise such a faith in the word of God that we will not despise the helps that are given in addition to it as aids to faith. For example the Lord offers us in the gospel all that is necessary to salvation. Why then Baptism and the Lord’s Supper? Are they to be treated as superfluous? By no means. For if one believes the word he will at the same time exhibit an entire obedience toward God. We ought therefore to learn to join the sign with the word, for no man has the power to sever the two.
But do you ask: is it permitted to ask God for a sign? We have an example of this in Gideon. Answer: Although Gideon was not told of God to ask a sign, yet he did it by the impulse of the Holy Spirit, and not according to his own fancy. We must not therefore abuse his example, and must be content with the sign that is offered by the Lord. But there are extraordinary signs or miracles, like that of the text, and ordinary ones like Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Yet both have the same object and use. For as Gideon was strengthened by that miraculous event, so, too, are we strengthened by Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, although no miracle appears before our eyes.” Heim and Hoffmann after Luther. Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, also asked the Lord to show him the right wife for Isaac by means of a sign of His own choosing, (Gen_24:14).
It ought to be said that this asking a sign (opening the Bible at a venture, or any other book) does not suit Christian perfection (Heb_6:1). A Christian ought to be inwardly sensible of the divine will. He ought to content himself with the guarantees that God Himself offers. Only one must have open eyes and ears for them. This thing of demanding a sign, if it is not directly an effect of superstition (Mat_12:39; Mat_16:4; 1Co_1:22), is certainly childish, and, because it easily leads to superstitious abuses, it is dangerous.
5. On Isa_7:13. “Non caret, etc. That the Prophet calls God his God is not without a peculiar emphasis. In Zec_2:12 it is said, that whoever touches the servants of God touches the pupil of God’s eye. Whoever opposes teacher and preacher will have to deal with God in heaven or with the Lord who has put them into office.”—Foerster.
6. On Isa_7:14. “The name Immanuel is one of the most beautiful and richest in contents of all the Holy Scripture. ‘God with us’ comprises God’s entire plan of salvation with sinful humanity. In a narrower sense it means ‘God-man’ (Mat_1:23), and points to the personal union of divinity and humanity, in the double nature of the Son of God become man. Jesus Christ was a God-with-us, however, in this, that for about 33 years He dwelt among us sinners (Joh_1:11; Joh_1:14). In a deeper and wider sense still He was such by the Immanuel’s work of the atonement (2Co_5:19; 1Ti_2:3). He will also be such to every one that believes on Him by the work of regeneration and sanctification and the daily renewal of His holy and divine communion of the Spirit (Joh_17:23; Joh_17:26; Joh_14:19-21; Joh_14:23). He is such now by His high-priestly and royal administration and government for His whole Church (Mat_28:20; Heb_7:25). He will be snch in the present time of the Church in a still more glorious fashion (Joh_10:16). The entire and complete meaning of the name Immanuel, however, will only come to light in the new earth, and in the heavenly Jerusalem (Rev_21:3; Rev_21:23; Rev_22:5).”—Wilh. Fried. Roos.
Isa_8:7. On Isa_8:5 sqq. “Like boastful swimmers despise small and quiet waters, and on the other hand, for the better display of their skill, boast of the great sea and master it, but often are lost in it,—thus, too, did the hypocrites that despised the small kingdom of Judah, and bragged much and great things of the power and splendor of the kingdom of Israel and of the Syrians; such hypocrites are still to be found now-a-days—such that bear in their eye the admiranda Romae, the splendor, riches, power, ceremonies and pomp of the Romish church, and thereupon ‘set their bushel by the bigger-heap.’ It is but the devil’s temptation over again: ‘I will give all this to thee.’ ”—Cramer.—“Fons Siloa,” etc. “The fountain of Siloam, near the temple, daily reminded the Jews that Christ was coming.”—Calvin on Joh_9:7.
8. On Isa_8:10. “When the great Superlatives sit in their council chambers and have determined everything, how it ought to be, and especially how they will extinguish the gospel, then God sends the angel Gabriel to them, who must look through the window and say: nothing will come of it.”—Luther.—“Christ, who is our Immanuel, is with us by His becoming man, for us by His office of Mediator, in us by the work of His sanctification, by us by His personal, gracious presence.”—Cramer.
9. On Isa_8:14-15. Christ alone is set by God to be a stone by which we are raised up. That He is, however, an occasion of offence to many is because of their purpose, petulance and contempt (1Pe_2:8). Therefore we ought to fear lest we take offence at Him. For whoever falls on this stone will shatter to pieces (Mat_21:44).” Cramer.
10. On Isa_8:16 sqq. He warns His disciples against heathenish superstition, and exhorts them to show respect themselves always to law and testimony. “They must not think that God must answer them by visions and signs, therefore He refers them to the written word, that they may not become altogether too spiritual, like those now-a-days who cry: spirit! spirit! … Christ says, Luke 16 : They have Moses and the prophets, and again Joh_5:39 : Search the Scriptures. So Paul says, 2Ti_3:16 : The Scripture is profitable for doctrine. So says Peter, 2Pe_1:9 : We have a sure word of prophecy. It is the word that changes hearts and moves them. But revelations puff people up and make them insolent.” Heim and Hoffmann after Luther.
Chap. 9–11. On Isa_9:1 sqq. (2). “Postrema pars, etc. The latter part of chap. 8 was νομικὴ καὶ ἀπειλητική (legal and threatening) so, on the other hand, the first and best part of chap. 9 is εὐαγγελικὴ καὶ παραμυθητική, (evangelical and comforting). Thus must ever law and gospel, preaching wrath and grace, words of reproof and words of comfort, a voice of alarm and a voice of peace follow one another in the church.” Foerster.
12. On Isa_9:1 (2). Both in the Old Testament and New Testament Christ is often called light. Thus Isaiah calls Him “a light to the gentiles,” Isa_42:6; Isa_49:6. The same Prophet says: “Arise, shine (make thyself light), for thy light is come,” Isa_60:1. And again Isa_9:19 : “The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light.” In the New Testament it is principally John that makes use of this expression: “The life was the light of men,” Joh_1:4, “and the light shined in the darkness,” Joh_9:5. John was not that light, but bore testimony to the light, Joh_9:8. “That was the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” Joh_9:9. And further: “And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,” Joh_3:19. “I am the light of the world,” (Joh_8:12; Joh_9:5; comp. Joh_12:35).
13. On Isa_9:1 (2). The people that sit in darkness may be understood to comprise three grades. First, the inhabitants of Zebulon and Naphtali are called so (Isaiah 8:23), for the Prophet’s gaze is fixed first on that region lying in the extreme end of Palestine, which was neighbor to the heathen and mixed with them, and on this account was held in low esteem by the dwellers in Judah. The night that spreads over Israel in general is darkest there. But all Israel partakes of this night, therefore all Israel, too, may be understood, as among the people sitting in darkness. Finally, no one can deny that this night extends over the borders of Israel to the whole human race. For far as men dwell extends the night which Christ, as light of the world, came to dispel, Luk_1:76 sqq.
14. On Isa_9:5 (6). Many lay stress on the notion “child,” inasmuch as they see in that the reason for the reign of peace spoken of afterwards. It is not said a man, a king, a giant is given to us. But this is erroneous. For the child does not remain a child. He becomes a man: and the six names that are ascribed to Him and also the things predicted of His kingdom apply to Him, not as a child, but as a man. That His birth as a child is made prominent, has its reason in this, that thereby His relation to human kind should be designated as an organic one. He does not enter into humanity as a man, i.e. as one whose origin was outside of it, but He was born from it, and especially from the race of David. He is Son of man and Son of David. He is a natural offshoot, but also the crowning bloom of both. Precisely because He was to be conceived, carried and born of a human mother, and indeed of a virgin, this prophecy belongs here as the completion and definition of the two prophetic pictures Isa_7:10 sqq.; Isa_8:1 sqq.—“He came down from heaven for the sake of us men, and for our bliss (1Ti_1:15; Luk_2:7). For our advantage: for He undertook not for the seed of angels, but for the seed of Abraham (Heb_2:16). Not sold to us by God out of great love, but given (Rom_5:15; Joh_3:16). Therefore every one ought to make an application of the word ‘to us’ to himself, and to learn to say: this child was given to me, conceived for me, born to me.”—Cramer.—“Cur oportuit, etc. Why did it become the Redeemer of human kind to be not merely man nor merely God, but God and man conjoined or θεάνθρωπον? Anselm replies briefly, indeed, but pithily: Deum qui posset, hominem, qui deberet.” Foerster.
15. On Isa_9:5 (6). “You must not suppose here that He is to be named and called according to His person, as one usually calls another by his name; but these are names that one must preach, praise and celebrate on account of His act, works and office.” Luther.
16. On Isa_9:6. “Verba pauca, etc. A few words, but to be esteemed great, not for their number but for their weight.” Augustine. “Admirabilis in, etc. Wonderful in birth, counsellor in what He preaches, God in working, strong in suffering, father of the world to come in resurrection, Prince of peace in bliss perpetual.” Bernard of Clairvaux. In reference to “a child is born,” and “a son is given,” Joh. Cocceius remarks in his Heb. Lex. s. v. יֶלֶד: “respectu, etc., in respect to His human nature He is said to be born, and in respect to His divine nature and eternal generation not indeed born, but given, as, Joh_3:16, it reads God gave His only begotten Son.”
“In the application of this language all depends on the words is born to us, is given to us.” The angels are, in this matter, far from being as blessed as we are. They do not say: To us a Saviour is born this day, but; to you. As long as we do not regard Christ as ours, so long we shall have little joy in Him. But when we know Him as our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption, as a gift that our heavenly Father designed for us, we will appropriate Him to ourselves in humble faith, and take possession of all His redeeming effects that He has acquired. For giving and taking go together. The Son is given to us; we must in faith receive Him.” J. J. Rambach, Betracht. über das Ev. Esaj., Halle, 1724.
On Isa_9:6 (7). “The government is on His shoulders.” “It is further shown how Christ differs in this respect from worldly kings. They remove from themselves the burden of government and lay it on the shoulders of the privy counsellors. But He does not lay His dominion as a burden on any other; He needs no prime minister and vicegerent to help Him bear the burden of administration, but He bears all by the word of His power as He to whom all things are given of the Father. Therefore He says to the house of Jacob (Isa_46:3 sq.): Hearken unto me ye who were laid on my shoulders from your mothers’ womb. I will carry you to old age. I will do it, I will lift, and carry and deliver,—on the contrary the heathen must bear and lift up their idols, (Isa_46:1; Isa_46:7).”—Rambach. “In the first place we must keep in mind His first name: He is called Wonderful. This name affects all the following.” “All is wonderful that belongs to this king: wonderfully does He counsel and comfort; wonderfully He helps to acquire and conquer, and all this in suffering and want of strength. (Luther, Jen. germ. Tom. III. Fol. 184 b.). ” “He uses weakness as a means of subduing all things to Himself. A wretched reed, a crown of thorns and an infamous cross, are the weapons of this almighty God, by means of which He achieves such great things. In the second place, He was a hero and conqueror in that just by death, He robbed him of his might who had the power of death, i.e., the devil (Heb_2:14); in that He, like Samson, buried His enemies with Himself, yea, became poison to death itself, and a plague to hell (Hos_13:14) and more gloriously resumed His life so freely laid down, which none of the greatest heroes can emulate.”—Rambach.
17. On Isa_9:18 (19) sqq. True friendship can never exist among the wicked. For every one loves only himself. Therefore they are enemies one of another; and they are in any case friends to each other, only as long as it concerns making war on a third party.
Isaiah 10-18. On Isa_10:4. (Comp. the same expression in chap. 10). God’s quiver is well filled. If one arrow does not attain His object, He takes another, and so on, until the rights of God, and justice have conquered.
19. On Isa_10:5-7. “God works through men in a threefold way. First, we all live, move and have our being in Him, in that all activity is an outflow of His power. Then, He uses the services of the wicked so that they mutually destroy each other, or He chastises His people by their hand. Of this sort the Prophet speaks here. In the third place, by governing His people by the Spirit of sanctification: and this takes place only in the elect.”—Heim and Hoffmann.
20. On Isa_10:5 sqq. “Ad hunc, etc. Such places are to be turned to uses of comfort. Although the objects of temptation vary and enemies differ, yet the effects are the same, and the same spirit works in the pious. We are therefore to learn not to regard the power of the enemy nor our own weakness, but to look steadily and simply into the word, that will assuredly establish our minds that they despair not, but expect help of God. For God will not subdue our enemies, either spiritual or corporal, by might and power, but by weakness, as says the text: my strength is made perfect in weakness.” (2Co_12:9).—Luther.
21. On Isa_10:15. “Efficacia agendi penes Deum est, homines ministerium tantum praebent. Quare nunc sibilo suo se illos evocaturum minabatur (cap. Isa_5:26; Isa_7:18); nunc instar sagenae sibi fore ad irretiendos, nunc mallei instar ad feriendos Israelitas. Sed praecipue tum declaravit, quod non sit otiosus in illis, dum Sennacherib securim vocat, quae ad secandum manu sua et destinata fuit et impacta. Non male alicubi Augustinus ita definit, quod ipsi peccant, eorum esse; quod peccando hoc vel illud agant, ex virtute Dei esse, tenebras prout visum est dividentis (De praedest Sanctt.).”—Calvin Inst. II. 4, 4.
22. On Isa_10:20-27. “In time of need one ought to look back to the earlier great deliverances of the children of God, as to the deliverance of Israel out of Egypt, or later, from the hand of the Midianites. Israel shall again grow out of the yoke.”—Diedrich.
Isaiah 11-23. On Isa_11:4. “The staff of His mouth.” “Evidence that the kingdom of Christ will not be like an earthly kingdom, but consist in the power of the word and of the sacraments; not in leathern, golden or silver girdles, but in girdles of righteousness and faith.”—Cramer.
24. On Isa_11:10 sqq. If the Prophet honors the heathen in saying that they will come to Christ before Israel, he may be the more readily believed, when Isa_11:11 sqq., he gives the assurance that the return out of the first, the Egyptian exile, shall be succeeded by a return out of the second, the Assyrian exile, (taking this word in the wider sense of Isaiah). It is manifest that the return that took place under Zerubbabel and Ezra was only an imperfect beginning of that promised return. For according to our passage this second return can only take place after the Messiah has appeared. Farthermore, all Israelites that belong to “the remnant of Israel,” in whatever land they may dwell, shall take part in it. It will be, therefore, a universal, not a partial return. If now the Prophet paints this return too with the colors of the present (Isa_11:13 sqq.), still that is no reason for questioning the reality of the matter. Israel will certainly not disappear, but arise to view in the church of the new covenant. But if the nation is to be known among the nations as a whole, though no more as a hostile contrast, but in fraternal harmony, why then shall not the land, too, assume a like position among the lands? But the nation can neither assume its place among nations, nor the land its place among lands, if they are not both united: the people Israel in the land of their fathers.
25. On Isaiah 11 “We may here recall briefly the older, so-called spiritual interpretation. Isa_11:1-5 were understood of Christ’s prophetic office that He exercised in the days of His flesh, then of the overthrow of the Roman Empire and of Antichrist, who was taken to be the Pope. But the most thorough-going of those old expositors must acknowledge, at Isa_11:4, that the Antichrist is not yet enough overthrown, and must be yet more overthrown. If such is the state of the case, then this interpretation is certainly false, for Isa_11:4 describes not a gradual judgment, but one accomplished at once. There have been many Antichrists, and among the Popes too, but the genuine Antichrist described 2 Thessalonians 2, is yet to be expected, and also the fulfillment of Isa_11:4 of our chapter. Thereby is proved at the same time that the peaceful state of things in the brute world and the return of the Jews to their native land are still things of the future, for they must happen in that period when the Antichristian world, and its head shall be judged by Christ. But then, too, the dwelling together of tame and wild beasts is not the entrance of the heathen into the church, to which they were heretofore hostile, and the return of the Jews is not the conversion of a small part of Israel that took place at Pentecost and after. The miracles and signs too, contained in Isa_11:15-16 did not take place then. We see just here how one must do violence to the word if he will not take it as it stands. But if we take it as we have done, then the whole chapter belongs to the doctrine of hope (Hoffnungslehre) of the Scripture, and constitutes an important member of it. The Lord procures right and room for His church. He overthrows the world-kingdom, together with Antichrist. He makes of the remnant of Israel a congregation of believers filled with the Spirit, to whom He is near in an unusual way, and from it causes His knowledge to go out into all the world. He creates peace in the restless creatures, and shows us here in advance what more glorious things we may look for in the new earth. He presents to the world a church which, united in itself, unmolested by neighbors, stands under God’s mighty protection. All these facts are parts of a chain of hope that must be valuable and dear to our hearts. The light of this future illumines the obscurity of the present; the comfort of that day makes the heart fresh.” Weber, der Prophet Jesaja, 1875.
Chap. 12–26. On Isa_12:4 sq. “These will not be the works of the New Testament: sacrificing and slaying, and make pilgrimage to Jerusalem and to the Holy Sepulchre, but praising God and giving thanks, preaching and hearing, believing with the heart and confessing with the mouth. For to praise our God is good; such praise is pleasant and lovely” (Psa_147:1). Cramer.
27. On Chap. 12 “With these words conclude the prophetic discourses on Immanuel. Through what obscurity of history have we not had to go, until we came to the bright light of the kingdom of Christ! How Israel and the nations had to pass through the fire of judgment before the sun arises in Israel and the entire gentile world is illumined! It is the, same way that every Christian has to travel. In and through the fire we become blessed. Much must be burnt up in us, before we press to the full knowledge of God and of His Son, before we become entirely one with Him, entirely glad and joyful in Him. Israel was brought up and is still brought up for glory, and we too. O that our end too were such a psalm of praise as this psalm!” Weber, Der Pr. Jes. 1875.
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv14–21 sanctuary--inviolable asylum, like the altar of the temple (Kg1…
sanctuary--inviolable asylum, like the altar of the temple (Kg1 1:50; Kg1 2:28; Eze 11:16; compare Pro 18:10); namely, to those who fear and trust in Him.
but . . . offence--that is, a rock over which they should fall to their hurt; namely those who would not believe.
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both . . . houses--Israel and Judah. Here again the prophecy expands beyond the temporary application in Ahaz' time. The very stone, Immanuel, which would have been a sanctuary on belief, becomes a fatal stumbling-block through unbelief. Jesus Christ refers to this in Mat 21:44. (Compare Deu 32:4, Deu 32:15, Deu 32:18, Deu 32:30-31, Deu 32:37; Dan 2:34; Rom 9:33; Pe1 2:8).
gin--trap, in which birds are unexpectedly caught (Luk 21:35; Th1 5:2). So at the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 14, 15. He shall be for a sanctuary —…
14, 15. He shall be for a sanctuary — The context and its scope require this word to mean here, refuge, place of safety — a figure for the MESSIAH himself.
Stone of stumbling — A stone against which one dangerously strikes; over which, too, it is perilous for one to fall. Similar is the meaning of the next phrase.
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A gin — The figure is changed — a trap — to express another side to the peril of Israel and Judah in neglecting to make Jehovah their absolute trust.
Many among them — Many, by the invasion which the Assyrian shall make. The repetition, here, of figures synonymous as to meaning is to be regarded as a strong poetic emphasis, and by such emphasis certainty of peril to unbelieving Israel and Judah is intended.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–22 14. To those who obey this admonition, Jehovah shall…
14. To those who obey this admonition, Jehovah shall be for a sanctuary; to all others a stumbling-stone. This contrast would certainly be clearer if (with the Targ. and Vulg.) we might insert “to you” after “shall be.” But the want of these words hardly justifies us in changing the text, or even in translating “He will shew Himself a holy object,” in the sense explained by the remainder of the verse. Although it is doubtful if the word is ever used for “asylum,” yet the sanctuary was in fact an asylum (Exo_21:14; 1Ki_1:50; 1Ki_2:28; 1Ki_2:30), and there is no great improbability in supposing that that idea is expressed here.
Two figures are used to set forth the threatening side of Jehovah’s relation to both the houses of Israel: the stone against which one heedlessly stumbles to one’s own destruction; and the snare in which a wild animal is caught unawares. Jehovah is a secret and sudden danger to those who walk in blind unbelief. Cf. Psa_18:26.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv14–21 (14) And he shall be for a sanctuary .…
(14) And he shall be for a sanctuary . . .—Literally, he shall become a hallowed thing, with the implied thought as in Eze_11:16, that the sanctuary is also an asylum (1Ki_1:50; 1Ki_2:28). In that sanctuary, in the presence of Jehovah, there was a refuge from all terror, the answer to all misgivings (Psa_73:17).
But for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence . . .—The words have become so familiar to us through their Christian application (Mat_21:44; Rom_9:33; 1Pe_2:8) that we find it hard to measure their force and meaning as they came from Isaiah’s lips. Are the contrasted clauses connected by any common link of imagery? To enter into fellowship with Jehovah, is to enter into the sanctuary. He who stands on the stone which forms the threshold of that sanctuary, has gained an asylum. But to do that requires the clear vision of faith. He who walks blindly (Isa_6:10; Joh_11:10), without faith, may stumble on that very stone of the threshold, and what was safety and life for others, might for him bring pain and shame. He might be there sorely bruised (Mat_21:44) like the wild animals taken in a trap (synonyms are heaped one upon another to increase the force of the imagery), till a helper came to release him. So, Isaiah says, was Jehovah “to both the houses of Israel” (the phrase is peculiar, and implies a hope of the restored unity of the nation’s life) in their self-chosen blindness. So St. Peter says, even the head corner-stone is to those who “stumble at the word, being disobedient” a “stone of stumbling and a rock of offence” (1Pe_2:8). It lies in the nature of the case that the fall is not necessarily final and irretrievable. Men may be braised, but not “ground to powder;” may “stumble” so that they may rise again (Mat_21:44; Luk_2:34; Rom_11:11).
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv14–22 He shall be for a Sanctuary. (comp. Eze_11:16, "Yet…
He shall be for a Sanctuary. (comp. Eze_11:16, "Yet will I be to them as a little Sanctuary A sanctuary is "a refuge", (Psa_90:1 Psa_91:9) and something more. It is a holy refuge, a place which is a refuge because of its holiness. Its material counterpart in the Mosaic system is, not "the city of refuge," but the altar. (1Ki_1:50 1Ki_2:28) Both the houses of Israel; i.e. "the two reigning houses of Samaria and Judaea," both of which were Israelite. Both the "houses" would ultimately forsake Jehovah, and find in him a "Snare" and a "Rock of offense.
God"s twofold relations with men.
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To some, a "Sanctuary;" to others. a "Rock of offense." For the Christian form of the same truth, comp. 2Co_2:1, 2Co_2:6. "To the one we are the savor of death unto death, and to the other the savor of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?" God is to men as men are to him, (Psa_18:25, Psa_18:26) But is this saying anything strange? Surely it is the secret of good motherhood and fatherhood. They who order their households well are wisely responsive to the various states of the children, adapting and adjusting conduct to the dispositions and circumstances of each member of the home. No skillful parent treats all the children alike, and differing modes of treatment are no indications of varying degrees of love. He who loves us all must deal with each upon his perfect understanding of each one. He must be, he had better be, a "Rock of offense" to some. To the trustful child he can be a "Sanctuary;" but to the willful child he must be a Severity. His dealings will, at first, cause offense. There is a very deep and searching truth indicated here, which may be illustrated from God"s dealings with his people, and with individuals from among his people, through all the ages. It is that a man may compel God to be otherwise towards him than he would be. The passage which clearly states this, and will be a key to many other passages and illustrations, is the following: "Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God". (Eze_18:23) It is difficult to realize, but it is not beyond belief, that the same infinite goodness makes God both a "Sanctuary" and a "Rock of offence." In very grave measures sometimes we feel in overwhelming measures the responsibilities of our life-issues, and even the character of Divine relations with us, rests upon ourselves. After the willful ones, hurrying to their doom, God, hastening, pleads thus: "Why will ye die? O house of Israel, why will ye die? R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 And He shall be for a sanctuary
Isa_8:14
And He shall be for a sanctuary
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Sanctuary in God
I suppose that what all of us mourn over most in a bustling age, is a loss of sacredness in life.
We have no wish to secure the false-sacred--that which is merely ascetic; nor that which is merely solemn-sacred--the dull monotony of darkened church or gloomy retreat. We naturally say, if this is Gods world; if civil and civic duties, social and relative responsibilities, are all God-ordained ones, it is likely, at least, that here, we may be able to secure a heavenly citizenship amid earthly cares and customs. God will not call us to the wear and worry, the strain and temptation, of a life in the world, and leave our souls without sacred home and spiritual retreat in Himself. How often this idea recurs in the sacred writings. God is our refuge and rest--our hiding place, our dwelling place.
I. THE SACREDNESS THAT A REVERENT HEART DESIRES. Our Lord lived and worked amongst men, dined with the Pharisee, dwelt with the quiet family at Bethany, consecrated the marriage feast, and went to the publicans home. We, too, may secure sacredness for our lives.
II. THE SACREDNESS THAT MAKES SANCTUARY IN GOD HIMSELF. This is so beautiful: He shall be for a sanctuary. He whom wicked men dread and flee from--flee from, indeed, because He is a sanctuary; for, as of old, darkness cannot dwell with light, nor irreverence with reverence, nor mammon worship with devotion to God. We may carry very bad hearts into very beautiful places. Place is easily made unsacred. But the Divine nature must be spiritual Into fellowship with God there can enter nothing that is false or worldly or vile.
1. Sanctuary in a person. Yes; for even here, in this dim sphere of earthly friendship, our best sanctuaries, apart from our Saviour Himself, have been those who bear His likeness, and who do His will. If asked where the fountains of our reverence have been best nourished, and where the noble thoughts that make us men indeed, have been most wondrously fed, we should think of friends that have received us into the sanctuary of their love and friendship, and helped to diminish the dross of our character and to brighten the gold of our faith.
2. We abide in Him who says, I am He that liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore. And if by His own Divine nature He is a sanctuary, He is so by experience too. He has been tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. He suffered, being tempted.
III. THE SACREDNESS OF ALL THE FUTURE DAYS. He shall be. Names vary concerning what God is to suit need and experience. We translate the want, and then Gods name is translated to meet it. I am hungry, He is Bread; I am thirsty, He is Water; I am faint, He is Wine; I am heated in the way, He is a Rock Shadow in the weary land. We can suppose, therefore, that the word sanctuary meets special wants. Life is not always a seeking for a refuge, but it is so especially at certain times and in strange and desolate experiences. In 1 ooking forward, therefore, ourselves to lifes future seasons, we see what the soul within us cannot do in itself, and what nature can never perfectly be to any of us. Christ, and He alone, will be now and forever--a sanctuary.
IV. THE SACREDNESS OF PERSONAL LIFE IN GOD. We cannot say, as mediaevalism said, Enter the Church and be saved. We want to obey Gods sweet will--to seek more and more for union with Himself through Christ Jesus. (W. M. Statham.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv14, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21 Isa_8:14. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but…
GOD OUR REFUGE, OR OUR RUIN
Isa_8:14. And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling, &c.
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In God “we live, and move, and have our being.” We cannot be independent of, or indifferent to, Him, as we can in regard to some of our fellow-men. There can be no neutrality between Him and us. We must be obedient or disobedient to Him, and therefore we must find in Him our refuge or our ruin—our helper or our destroyer. That this vast truth may be received into our minds, let us take it somewhat in detail.
I. We have to do with God in Nature. It is His world we live in; and all its substances and forces are things which He hath made, and intends to be used according to His plans. Nay, He acts in them [857] and in them He is willing to be our ally, but not our slave. We cannot use Him to carry into effect our whims and fancies, as the old magicians were said to use the genii supposed to be under their control. God is of one mind, He changeth not; what is called “the uniformity of the laws of nature” is one manifestation of His unchangeableness; and that unchangeableness is most merciful (H. E. I. 3156, 3157, 3173–3177). If we fall in with His laws of nature, all nature is on our side; wind and tide then combine to bear us into our desired haven; but if we will not do so, the very stones of the field will be in league against us (Job_5:23; H. E. I. 3172, 4612) [860] E.g., gravitation. If a builder comply with the demands of this great law, it will give stability to his structure; but if not, from the very moment they are departed from, it will begin to pull down the hut or the palace he has builded. So with all the other substances and forces by which we are surrounded; they are for us or against us: there is no neutrality possible.
[857] “He this flowery carpet made,
[860] Man, as the minister and interpreter of nature, does and understands as much as his observations on the order of nature, either with regard to things or the mind, permit him, and neither knows nor is capable of more.… Nature is only subdued by submission.—Bacon.
Made this earth on which we tread.
God refreshes in the air,
Covers with the clothes we wear,
Feeds us with the food we eat,
Cheers us by His light and heat,
Makes His sun on us to shine:
All our blessings are divine!”
—C. Wesley.
II. We have to do with God in Providence. Not only are we in this world, but, whether we like or not, we are under His government. He has laid down laws for our guidance, as communities and as individuals. These laws are vast and comprehensive; they cover every realm of activity and relationship of life; it is impossible for us to find ourselves in any place or circumstances in which some of them are not in force. If we obey them, they will be our helpers; if we disobey them, they will be our destroyers: obey one, and all others stand ready to befriend us; disobey one, and more manifestly all others become hostile to us. Illustrate—
1. Communities. The law of frugality. The law of freedom of exchange. The supreme law for every nation is, that God shall be acknowledged as the supreme ruler, His will done, His protection sought and trusted in. It was this law that Ahaz and his people were setting at defiance (chap. 7), and God forewarned them that He would not stand idly by and see it broken (chap. Isa_7:17-20). If any nation commit itself to a godless policy, it may achieve a transient triumph thereby (Isa_8:6), but disaster is inevitable (Isa_8:7). It may be delayed, but it is only that it may come in more awful form. United States of America: their maintenance of slavery when England abolished it, and their civil war.
2. Individuals. The comprehensive law (Mat_7:12): if a man obey it, the very constitution of society fights for him; if he disobey it, that same constitution fights against him. From God, as the God of Providence, we cannot escape; we must have to do with Him as friend or foe. Those men who deliberately put Him out of their thoughts and plans find it so: just when they seem to themselves to be triumphing in their godless courses, they stumble against Him unawares. They are snared and taken in the great retributive laws of His universe.
III. We have to do with God in Redemption. In Christ, God is revealed, and therefore we are not to be surprised when we see this great Old Testament truth conspicuously illustrated in Him. In the New Testament we are distinctly taught that neutrality in regard to Christ is impossible (Mat_12:30; 2Co_2:16; Mat_22:37-44). Not to accept His salvation, is to reject it; not to submit to His authority, is to rebel against it. We cannot choose whether we will have to do with Christ or not! All that we can decide is the nature of the relationship that shall subsist between us. We can make Him our sanctuary, and then all blessing is ours; or we can refuse to do this, and then He becomes to us a stumbling-block and a snare. Not as the result of any vindictive action on His part, but as the inevitable result of the working of our own nature and of the constitution of the universe.
1. The phrase, “Gospel-hardened,” represents a terrible reality (H. E. I. 2439–2442).
2. By our rejection of Christ, and consequent rebellion against His authority, we put ourselves on the side of those powers of evil which He is pledged to destroy, and then His very Almightiness, which would have insured our salvation, becomes our ruin, just as the very same force of wind and wave, which would carry a vessel rightly steered into the desired haven, hurls it when wrongly steered as a miserable wreck on the rocks outside.
Thus, in all the realms of life, we must have God with us or against us; and if God be against us, we have cause to lament that He is God—a being whom we cannot resist, from whom we cannot escape. Therefore,
1. Let us recognise what the realities of our position are. Let us not go on to eternal ruin through ignorance or heedlessness.
2. Let us make God our “sanctuary.” We may do this. He invites us to do it. Having done it, everything in Him that otherwise would terrify us will be to us a cause of joy (Rom_5:11).
THE STONE OF STUMBLING
Isa_8:14. And He shall be for … a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel.
This prophecy refers to our Lord Jesus Christ, and it has had a threefold fulfilment. It was fulfilled—
1. In His own personal history. When He was made manifest to Israel He was so contrary to their conceptions of what the Messiah would be—in the lowliness of His condition, in the spirituality of the kingdom He set up, and, above all, in the ignominiousness of the death He accomplished at Jerusalem,—that they “stumbled at” and rejected Him.
2. In the experience of His disciples in all ages. In them He has been again despised and rejected. This He foresaw and predicted (Joh_15:18-21, &c.). In the world there is an irreconcilable hatred of Christ as He reappears in His people (Gal_4:28-29).
3. In the hostility which faithful preaching has always created. The preaching of the Gospel is the preaching of Christ (Act_5:42; 1Co_1:23; 2Co_4:5). The great evangelical doctrines all centre in and flow from “Christ and Him crucified,” and can never be clearly and faithfully proclaimed without awakening the dis gust and enmity of the carnal heart. They necessarily humble sinful men, and they hate to be humbled. The offence of the cross is not yet ceased; multitudes still stumble at the truth, being disobedient.
1. How sad that Christ should be an offence and a stumbling-stone to a single soul! That His Word, which is sufficient for all the purposes of salvation, should become to any “the savour of death unto death”!
2. How terrible, and earnestly to be shunned, is that unbelief which thus reverses the design of God’s greatest mercies!
3. Whatever others may do, let us, with penitent and thankful hearts, make Christ our “sanctuary.”—Manuscript Sermon.
SANCTUARY IN GOD
Isa_8:14. And He shall be for a sanctuary.
Not a few mourn, in the midst of a busy, bustling age, a loss of sacredness in life. Not the false “sacred”—that which is merely ascetic separation from life and duty; nor that which is merely solemn “sacred”—the dull heavy monotony of gloominess.
We naturally say that if this is God’s world, if civil and civic duties, social responsibilities, are God-ordained, it is likely, at least, that here we may be able to secure a heavenly citizenship amid earthly cares and customs. This is exactly what God reveals in the text. Sanctuary, He says, is not in mere place; not in separation from manly duty: I open up my very nature to you. How often this idea recurs in the Scriptures! God is our refuge and rest, our hiding-place, our dwelling-place.
I. THE SACREDNESS THAT A REVERENT HEARTDESIRES. Something within us asserts its dignity when society is frivolous and gay, and when the routine of life brings us into association with lives where the light even of conscience burns low, when the reverent wonder that filled even Pagan hearts has given place to scientific explanations of every spiritual function. When we are brought into contact with all this, then it is that we find how the high tides of the world cover the little green knolls of devotion, and sweep away alike the altar of prayer and the harp of praise. In all earnest natures there comes, at times, resentment at all this. We believe the divinity within us. We believe the high call of seer and prophet to nobler ends; we believe, above all, that Lord of life and light who tells us that the life is more than meat, and who fed His own life by the mountain prayer and the garden solitude. We should seek to secure the sacredness we feel we need, not in morbid methods, but in ways that are human, and ways that are Divine because they are human. Christ lived and worked amongst men. We, too, may secure sacredness for our lives; we may carry in our mien and breathe in our converse the springs of hope and faith and love which flow still from Zion’s sacred hill.
II. THE SACREDNESS THAT MAKES SANCTUARY IN GOD HIMSELF. “He shall be for a sanctuary.” He whom wicked men dread and flee from; for, as of old, darkness cannot dwell with light, nor irreverence with reverence, nor mammon-worship with devotion to God. We may carry very bad hearts into very beautiful places. Place is easily made unsacred, but into fellowship with God there can enter nothing that is false, or worldly, or vile. “Sanctuary in a person?” Yes; for even here, in this dim sphere of earthly friendship, our best sanctuaries, apart from Christ, have been men and women,—those who bear His likeness, and who do His will. “Sanctuaries?” Yes; for with them we are ashamed of unworthy motive, of impure thought, of unsacred aim. Take Christ with you, and every place is sacred. This is our living sanctuary; we abide in Him who says, “I am He that liveth, and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.” And if by His own Divine nature He is a sanctuary, He is also by experience too. How much the human sanctuary of friendship is beautified when there is oneness of feeling about the battle and burden of life! Is it nothing, then, that when we speak of sanctuary in Christ we should mean “sympathy,” all that belongs to a brother born for adversity—to Him who, as a “Man of Sorrows,” was “acquainted with grief” (Isa_63:9)? We know indeed but little of the realities of religion unless we have found such a living sanctuary in Christ Jesus the Lord (H. E. I. 968–975).
III. THE SACREDNESS OF ALL THE FUTURE DAYS. “He shall be.” Names vary in interpreting what God is to suit need and experience. We translate the want, and then God’s name is translated to meet it. I am hungry—He is Bread; thirsty—He is water, &c. The word “sanctuary” meets special wants. Life is not always a seeking for a refuge, but it is so especially at certain times and in strange and desolate experiences. We are alone in a strange city. The child must leave home to teach, to toil, to live; the weakness will come which presages decline and death; the soul does feel that some lights are lost to faith and that others are growing dim. He shall be for a sanctuary. Let the hours come: He will come too. Who can make retreat into his own heart and find perfect sanctuary there? Christ alone could do that. We cannot. Nature cannot afford us the sanctuary we need; she has healthy anodynes of atmosphere that afford us deep and quiet retreats, but sanctuary, in the highest sense, she has not. Christ, and He alone, will be now and for ever a sanctuary (H. E. I. 2378–2387).
IV. THE SACREDNESS OF PERSONAL LIFE IN GOD. We can have no safety or rest in Churches as such. They are helpful; they are houses of fellowship and centres of usefulness. But we cannot say, as Mediævalism said, “Enter the Church and be saved.” The soul’s relation to God is personal and individual. Whether the relation of faith is real, vital, each soul can attest for itself; and that living relationship is all that can ever make life sacred to any man. When the life is hid with Christ in God, all is well, for all is sacred; and nothing that He has created us to do or to enjoy is common or unclean. So may God help us to keep a sacred life which finds sanctuary in the Saviour, until we find it where there is no temple, but where there is sanctuary in God (Rev_21:22-23).—W. M. Statham: Christian World Pulpit, vol. xvii. pp. 131–133.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v18 The primary application here is to the two sons…
signs
The primary application here is to the two sons of Isaiah, Maher-shalal-hash-baz= "haste ye, haste ye to the spoil," a "sign" of the coming judgment of the captivity of Judah; Shear-jashub= "a remnant shall return," a "sign" of the return of a remnant of Judah at the end of the seventy years, Jer 25:11; Jer 25:12; Dan 9:2. The larger and final reference is to our Lord Heb 2:13; Heb 2:14.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v16 Warning Against False Testimony
Warning Against False Testimony
v. 16. Bind up the testimony, so the Lord says to Immanuel, the Messiah, or directly to Isaiah, seal the Law among My disciples, so that the Word of the Lord is sealed and kept safe through the power of the Savior exerted through the Gospel message.
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v. 17. And I will wait upon the Lord, so Immanuel—or the prophet—calls out in cheerful confidence, that hideth His face from the house of Jacob, by rejecting the great mass of unbelievers among the people, and I will look for Him, trusting in the riches of His mercy, in the certainty of the salvation of His chosen people.
v. 18. Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given Me, all those who have accepted the Messiah in true faith, who belong to the elect of the Lord, are for signs and for wonders in Israel, placed before the eyes of all men, of the whole world, as a remarkable evidence of God’s love, from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion. Jesus, through His Word, as proclaimed by the mouth of His servants, gains those whom the Father has given Him and will, on the Last Day, present this entire host to the Father in the temple of heaven. Cf Heb 2:13. We are kept by the power of God, through faith, unto salvation. The prophet now adds a strong warning against necromancy and spiritism.
v. 19. And when they, the unbelieving people, shall say unto you, in endeavoring to coax the faithful away from the truth of the revealed Word, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, asserting that they possess the ability of interviewing departed souls, and unto wizards that peep and that mutter, said of the murmuring noises made in imitation of the shades in the realm of death and of the whispering of magical formulas which they claimed to have received from disembodied spirits, just as the modern tribe of spiritists does: Should not a people, so the Lord indignantly asks, seek unto their God? turning to Him for counsel and assistance in every emergency in life, for the living to the dead? How can men be so foolish as to seek help from the dead? as the spiritists insist that they are quoting the spirits of the departed. Over against this blasphemous foolishness the Lord places His urgent summons:
v. 20. To the Law and to the testimony! Turn to the Word and the promises of the Lord alone; trust in His Gospel, in the glorious assurance of salvation contained therein; make the clear exposition of His Word the one guide of your lives! If they, the unbelieving majority, speak not according to this word, if they do not join in this call and invitation nor heed its summons, it is because there is no light in them, the dawn of salvation will not arise for them. He who sets aside, ignores, rejects, the Word of God destroys himself, has no hope for time and for eternity.
v. 21. And they, the unbelievers, shall pass through it, walking about in the land, hardly bestead, oppressed both from within and without, and hungry, in the very depths of misery; and it shall come to pass that when they shall be hungry, in the midst of tribulation besetting them on every hand, they shall fret themselves, be filled with a helpless rage, and curse their King and their God, blaspheming the Lord and His Messiah, and look upward.
v. 22. And they shall look unto the earth, seeking alleviation and deliverance from their affliction, and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish, not one ray of relief and salvation penetrating the night of their suffering; and they shall be driven to darkness, cast out into utter darkness. Such is the punishment of God upon the unbelievers, upon those who reject the Messiah, even here on earth; how much more terrible, then, will the condemnation of eternity be into which the present punishment will merge!
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 On vv14, 16, 19, 21 General Information:
General Information:
Isaiah continues the indirect quote of Yahweh that began in Isaiah 8:11-13. It can be translated as a direct quote with Yahweh speaking in the first person. (See: Direct and Indirect Quotations and Pronouns)
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He will become a sanctuary
The word "sanctuary" is a metaphor for Yahweh keeping his people safe and protecting them. AT: "He will protect them when they go to him" (See: Metaphor)
he will be a stone of striking, and a rock of stumbling
The words "stone of striking" and "rock of stumbling" are both metaphors for Yahweh harming his people. Some translate "striking" and "stumbling" as "stumbling" and "falling"; others translate as "offense" and "stumbling." AT: "he will harm his people, like a stone against which people strike their feet and stumble, and like a rock that causes people to fall down" (See: Doublet and Metaphor)
he will be a trap and a snare to the people of Jerusalem
The words "trap" and "snare" mean almost the same thing and emphasize that when Yahweh decides to punish the people of Jerusalem they will not be able to escape. AT: "he will trap the people of Jerusalem so they cannot escape him" (See: Doublet)
trap
a device that catches a bird in a net or basket
snare
a trap that catches and holds an animal's leg or nose
Many will stumble over it and fall and be broken, and be ensnared and captured
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Many people will stumble over the stone, and when they fall they will not get up. And many people will step into the trap, and they will not be able to get out" (See: Active or Passive)
ensnared and captured
These two words mean basically the same thing and emphasize that they will be caught in the trap. (See: Doublet)
translationWords
sanctuary
house
Israel
Jerusalem
stumble
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 8:14 He will keep you safe (literally he will…
8:14 He will keep you safe (literally he will be a sanctuary): God is a place of refuge. • stone . . . stumble . . . rock . . . fall: By trusting Assyria rather than God, the people of Jerusalem would find themselves in a trap and a snare as the Assyrians turned against them. For those who trust in the Lord, however, he is faithful and strong (28:16; see Ps 118:22-23; Luke 2:34; Rom 9:32-33; 1 Pet 2:6-8).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.