The Lord said to me, "Take a large tablet, and write on it with a man's pen, 'For Maher Shalal Hash Baz;'
KJV
Moreover the LORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man’s pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.
Commentary
Commentary
This chapter, and the four next that follow it (to chap. xiii.) are all
one continued discourse or sermon, the scope of which is to show the
great destruction that should now shortly be brought upon the kingdom
of Israel, and the great disturbance that should be given to the
kingdom of Judah by the king of Assyria, and that both were for their
sins; but rich provision is made of comfort for those that feared God
in those dark times, referring especially to the days of the Messiah.
In this chapter we have,
I. A prophecy of the destruction of the confederate kingdoms of Syria
and Israel by the king of Assyria, ver. 1-4 .
II. Of the desolations that should be made by that proud victorious
prince in the land of Israel and Judah, ver. 5-8 .
III. Great encouragement given to the people of God in the midst of
those distractions; they are assured,
1. That the enemies shall not gain their point against them, ver. 9, 10 .
2. That if they kept up the fear of God, and kept down the fear of
man, they should find God their refuge
( ver. 11-14 ),
and while others stumbled, and fell into despair, they should be
enabled to wait on God, and should see themselves reserved for better
times, ver. 15-18 .
Lastly, He gives a necessary caution to all, at their peril, not to
consult with familiar spirits, for they would thereby throw themselves
into despair, but to keep close to the word of God, ver. 19-22 .
And these counsels and these comforts will still be of use to us in
time of trouble.
1 Moreover the L ORD said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and
write in it with a man's pen concerning Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
2 And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the
priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah.
3 And I went unto the prophetess; and she conceived, and bare a
son. Then said the L ORD to me, Call his name
Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father,
and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria
shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.
5 The L ORD spake also unto me again, saying,
6 Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that
go softly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son;
7 Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the
waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria,
and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels,
and go over all his banks:
8 And he shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go
over, he shall reach even to the neck; and the stretching out
of his wings shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
In these verses we have a prophecy of the successes of the king of
Assyria against Damascus, Samaria, and Judah, that the two former
should be laid waste by him, and the last greatly frightened. Here we
have,
I. Orders given to the prophet to write this prophecy, and publish it
to be seen and read of all men, and to leave it upon record, that when
the thing came to pass they might know that God had sent him; for that
was one end of prophecy, John xiv. 29 .
He must take a great roll, which would contain those five
chapters fairly written in words at length; and he must write in it all
that he had foretold concerning the king of Assyria's invading the
country; he must write it with a man's pen, in the usual way and
style of writing, so as that it might be legible and intelligible by
all. See Hab. ii. 2 , Write the vision, and make it plain. Those that speak and write
of the things of God should avoid obscurity, and study to speak and
write so as to be understood, 1 Cor. xiv. 19 .
Those that write for men should write with a man's pen, and not covet
the pen or tongue of angels. And forasmuch as it is usual to put some
short, but significant comprehensive title before books that are
published, the prophet is directed to call his book Maher-shalal-hash-baz--Make speed to the spoil, hasten to the
prey, intimating that the Assyrian army should come upon them with
great speed and make great spoil. By this title the substance and
meaning of the book would be enquired after by those that heard of it,
and remembered by those that had read it or heard it read. It is
sometimes a good help to memory to put much matter in few words, which
serve as handles by which we take hold of more.
II. The care of the prophet to get this record well attested
( v. 2 ): I took unto me faithful witnesses to record; he wrote the
prophecy in their sight and presence, and made them subscribe their
names to it, that they might be ready, if afterwards there should be
occasion, to make oath of it, that the prophet had so long before
foretold the descent which the Assyrians made upon that country. He
names his witnesses for the greater certainty, that they might be
appealed to by any. They were two in number (for out of the mouth of
two witnesses shall every word be established ); one was Uriah the
priest; he is mentioned in the story of Ahaz, but for none of his good
deeds, for he humoured Ahaz with an idolatrous altar
( 2 Kings xvi. 10, 11 );
however, at this time, no exception lay against him, being a faithful
witness. See what full satisfaction the prophets took care to give to
all persons concerned of the sincerity of their intentions, that we
might know with a full assurance the certainty of the things wherein
we have been instructed, and that we have not followed
cunningly-devised fables.
III. The making of the title of his book the name of his child, that it
might be the more taken notice of and the more effectually perpetuated, v. 3 .
His wife (because the wife of a prophet) is called the
prophetess; she conceived and bore a son, another son, who
must carry a sermon in his name, as the former had done
( ch. vii. 3 ),
but with this difference, that spoke mercy, Shear-jashub--The remnant
shall return; but, that being slighted, this speaks judgment, Maher-shalal-hash-baz--In making speed to the spoil he shall
hasten, or he has hastened, to the prey. The prophecy is
doubled, even in this one name, for the thing was certain. I will
hasten my word, Jer. i. 12 .
Every time the child was called by his name, or any part of it, it
would serve as a memorandum of the judgments approaching. Note, It is
good for us often to put ourselves in mind of the changes and troubles
we are liable to in this world, and which perhaps are at the door. When
we look with pleasure on our children it should be with the allay of
this thought, We know not what they are yet reserved for.
IV. The prophecy itself, which explains this mystical name.
1. That Syria and Israel, who were now in confederacy against Judah,
should in a very little time become an easy prey to the king of Assyria
and his victorious army
( v. 4 ):
" Before the child, now newly born and named, shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and My mother " (which are usually
some of the first things that children know and some of the first words
that children speak), that is, "in about a year or two, the riches
of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, those cities that are now so
secure themselves and so formidable to their neighbours, shall be
taken away before the king of Assyria, who shall plunder both city
and country, and send the best effects of both into his own land, to
enrich that, and as trophies of his victory." Note, Those that spoil
others must expect to be themselves spoiled
( ch. xxxiii. 1 );
for the Lord is righteous, and those that are troublesome shall be
troubled.
2. That forasmuch as there were many in Judah that were secretly in the
interests of Syria and Israel, and were disaffected to the house of
David, God would chastise them also by the king of Assyria, who should
create a great deal of vexation to Judah, as was foretold, ch. vii. 17 .
Observe,
(1.) What was the sin of the discontented party in Judah
( v. 6 ): This people, whom the prophet here speaks to, refuse the
waters of Shiloah that go softly, despise their own country and the
government of it, and love to run it down, because it does not make so
great a figure, and so great a noise, in the world, as some other kings
and kingdoms do. They refuse the comforts which God's prophets offer
them from the word of God, speaking to them in a still small voice, and
make nothing of them; but they rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's
son, who were the enemies of their country, and were now actually
invading it; they cried them up as brave men, magnified their policies
and strength, applauded their conduct, were well pleased with their
successes, and were hearty well-wishers to their designs, and resolved
to desert and go over to them. Such vipers does many a state foster in
its bosom, that eat its bread, and yet adhere to its enemies, and are
ready to quit its interests if they but seem to totter.
(2.) The judgment which God would bring upon them for this sin. The
same king of Assyria that should lay Ephraim and Syria waste should be
a scourge and terror to those of their party in Judah, v. 7, 8 .
Because they refuse the waters of Shiloah, and will not
accommodate themselves to the government God has set over them, but are
uneasy under it, therefore the Lord brings upon them the waters of
the river, strong and many, the river Euphrates. They slighted the
land of Judah, because it had no river to boast of comparable to that;
the river at Jerusalem was a very inconsiderable one. "Well," says God,
"if you be such admirers of Euphrates, you shall have enough of it; the
king of Assyria, whose country lies upon that river, shall come with
his glory, with his great army, which you cry up as his glory,
despising your own king because he cannot bring such an army as that
into the field; God shall bring that army upon you." If we value men,
if we over-value them, for their worldly wealth and power, it is just
with God to make them thereby a scourge to us. It is used as an
argument against magnifying rich men that rich men oppress us, Jam. ii. 3, 5 .
Let us be best pleased with the waters of Shiloah, that go softly, for
rapid streams are dangerous. It is threatened that the Assyrian army
should break in upon them like a deluge, or inundation of waters,
bearing down all before it, should come up over all his channels, and
overflow all his banks. It would be to no purpose to oppose or
withstand them. Sennacherib and his army should pass through Judah, and
meet with so little resistance that it should look more like a march
through the country than a descent upon it. He shall reach even to
the neck, that is, he shall advance so far as to lay siege to
Jerusalem, the head of the kingdom, and nothing but that shall be kept
out of his hands; for that was the holy city. Note, In the greatest
deluge of trouble God can and will keep the head of his people above
water, and so preserve their comforts and spiritual lives; the waters
that come into their souls may reach to the neck
( Ps. lxix. 1 ),
but there shall their proud waves be stayed. And here is another
comfortable intimation that though the stretching out of the wings of
the Assyrian, that bird of prey, though the right and left wing of his
army, should fill the breadth of the land of Judah, yet still it was
Immanuel's land. It is thy land, O Immanuel! It was to be
Christ's land; for there he was to be born, and live, and preach, and
work miracles. He was Zion's King, and therefore had a peculiar
interest in and concern for that land. Note, The lands that Immanuel
owns for his, as he does all those lands that own him, though they may
be deluged, shall not be destroyed; for, when the enemy shall come
in like a flood, Immanuel shall secure his own, and shall lift
up a standard against him, ch. lix. 19 .
9 Associate yourselves, O ye people, and ye shall be broken in
pieces; and give ear, all ye of far countries: gird yourselves,
and ye shall be broken in pieces; gird yourselves, and ye shall
be broken in pieces.
10 Take counsel together, and it shall come to nought; speak
the word, and it shall not stand: for God is with us.
11 For the L ORD spake thus to me with a strong hand, and
instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people,
saying,
12 Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people
shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be
afraid.
13 Sanctify the L ORD of hosts himself; and let him be your
fear, and let him be your dread.
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.
15 And many among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken,
and be snared, and be taken.
The prophet here returns to speak of the present distress that Ahaz and
his court and kingdom were in upon account of the threatening
confederacy of the ten tribes and the Syrians against them. And in
these verses,
I. He triumphs over the invading enemies, and, in effect, sets them at
defiance, and bids them do their worst
( v. 9, 10 ):
" O you people, you of far countries, give ear to what the
prophet says to you in God's name."
1. "We doubt not but you will now make your utmost efforts against
Judah and Jerusalem. You associate yourselves in a strict
alliance. You gird yourselves, and again you gird
yourselves; you prepare for action; you address yourselves to it
with resolution; you gird on your swords; you gird up your loins. You
animate and encourage yourselves and one another with all the
considerations you can think of: you take counsel together, call
councils of war, and all heads are at work about the proper methods for
making yourselves masters of the land of Judah. You speak the
word; you come to resolutions concerning it, and are not always
deliberating; you determine what to do, and are very confident of the
success of it, that the matter will be accomplished with a word's
speaking." Note, It is with a great deal of policy, resolution, and
assurance, that the church's enemies carry on their designs against it;
and abundance of pains they take to roll a stone that will certainly
return upon them.
2. "This is to let you know that all your efforts will be ineffectual.
You cannot, you shall not, gain your point, nor carry the day: You
shall be broken in pieces. Though you associate yourselves, though
you gird yourselves, though you proceed with all the policy and
precaution imaginable, yet, I tell you again and again, all your
projects shall be baffled, you shall be broken in pieces. Nay,
not only shall your attempts be ruined, but your attempts shall be your
ruin; you shall be broken by those designs you have formed against
Jerusalem: Your counsels shall come to nought; for there is no
wisdom nor counsel against the Lord. Your resolves will not be put in
execution; they shall not stand. You speak the word, but who is he
that saith, and it cometh to pass, if the Lord commandeth it not? What sets up itself against God, and his cause and counsel, cannot
stand, but must inevitably fall. For God is with us " (this
refers to the name of Immanuel--God with us ); "the Messiah is to
be born among us, and a people designed for such an honour cannot be
given up to utter ruin. We have now the special presence of God with us
in his temple, his oracles, his promises, and these are our defence.
God is with us; he is on our side, to take our part and fight for us;
and, if God be for us, who can be against us? " Thus does the
daughter of Zion despise them.
II. He comforts and encourages the people of God with the same comforts
and encouragements which he himself had received. The attempt made upon
them was very formidable; the house of David, the court and royal
family, were at their wits' end
( ch. vii. 2 ),
and then no marvel if the people were in a consternation. Now,
1. The prophet tells us how he was himself taught of God not to give
way to such amazing fears as the people were disturbed with, nor to run
into the same measures with them
( v. 11 ):
" The Lord spoke to me with a strong hand not to walk in the way of
this people, not to say as they say nor do as they do, not to
entertain the same frightful apprehensions of things nor to approve of
their projects of making peace upon any terms, or calling in the help
of the Assyrians." God instructed the prophet not to go down the
stream. Note,
(1.) There is a proneness in the best of men to be frightened at
threatening clouds, especially when fears are epidemic. We are all too
apt to walk in the way of the people we live among, though it be not a
good way.
(2.) Those whom God loves and owns he will instruct and enable to swim
against the stream of common corruptions, particularly of common fears.
He will find ways to teach his own people not to walk in the way of
other people, but in a sober singularity.
(3.) Corruption is sometimes so active in the hearts even of good men
that they have need to be taught their duty with a strong hand, and it
is God's prerogative to teach so, for he only can give an understanding
and overpower the contradiction of unbelief and prejudice. He can teach
the heart; and herein none teaches like him.
(4.) Those that are to teach others have need to be themselves well
instructed in their duty, and then they teach most powerfully when they
teach experimentally. The word that comes from the heart is most likely
to reach to the heart; and what we are ourselves by the grace of God
instructed in we should, as we are able, teach others also.
(1.) He cautions them against a sinful fear, v. 12 .
It seems it was the way of this people at this time, and fear is
catching. He whose heart fails him makes his brethren's heart to fail,
like his heart
( Deut. xx. 8 );
therefore Say you not, A confederacy, to all those to whom this
people shall say, A confederacy; that is,
[1.] "Be not associated with them in the confederacies they are
projecting and forecasting for. Do not join with those that, for the
securing of themselves, are for making a league with the Assyrians,
through unbelief, and distrust of God and their cause. Do not come into
any such confederacy." Note, It concerns us, in time of trouble, to
watch against all such fears as put us upon taking any indirect courses
for our own security.
[2.] "Be not afraid of the confederacies they frighten themselves and
one another with. Do not distress yourselves with the apprehension of a
confederacy upon every thing that stirs, nor, when any little thing is
amiss, cry out presently, There is a plot, a plot. When they talk what
dismal news there is, Syria is joined with Ephraim, what will
become of us? must we fight, or must we flee, or must we yield? do not
you fear their fear: Be not afraid of the signs of heaven, as
the heathen are, Jer. x. 2 .
Be not afraid of evil tidings on earth, but let your hearts be fixed.
Fear not that which they fear, nor be afraid as they are. Be not put
into such a fright as causes trembling and shaking;" so the word
signifies. Note, When the church's enemies have sinful confederacies on
foot the church's friends should watch against the sinful fears of
those confederacies.
(2.) He advises them to a gracious religious fear: But sanctify the
Lord of hosts himself, v. 13 .
Note, The believing fear of God is a special preservative against the
disquieting fear of man; see 1 Pet. iii. 14, 15 ,
where this is quoted, and applied to suffering Christians.
[1.] We must look upon God as the Lord of hosts, that has all power in
his hand and all creatures at his beck.
[2.] We must sanctify him accordingly, give him the glory due to that
name, and behave towards him as those that believe him to be a holy
God.
[3.] We must make him our fear, the object of our fear, and make him
our dread, keep up a reverence of his providence and stand in awe of
his sovereignty, be afraid of his displeasure and silently acquiesce in
all his disposals. Were we but duly affected with the greatness and
glory of God, we should see the pomp of our enemies eclipsed and
clouded, and all their power restrained and under check; see Neh. iv. 14 .
Those that are afraid of the reproach of men forget the Lord their
Maker, ch. li. 12, 13 .
Compare Luke xii. 4, 5 .
(3.) He assures them of a holy security and serenity of mind in so
doing
( v. 14 ):
" He shall be for a sanctuary; make him your fear, and you shall
find him your hope, your help, your defence, and your mighty deliverer.
He will sanctify and preserve you. He will be for a sanctuary,"
[1.] "To make you holy. He will be your sanctification;" so some read
it. If we sanctify God by our praises, he will sanctify us by his
grace.
[2.] "To make you easy. He will be your sanctuary," to which you may
flee for safety, and where you are privileged form all the arrests of
fear; you shall find an inviolable refuge and security in him, and see
yourselves our of the reach of danger. Those that truly fear God shall
not need to fear any evil.
III. He threatens the ruin of the ungodly and unbelieving, both in
Judah and Israel. They have no part nor lot in the foregoing comforts;
that God who will be a sanctuary to those who trust in him will be a
stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, to those who leave these
waters of Shiloah, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliah's son, ( v. 6 ),
who make the creature their fear and their hope, v. 14, 15 .
The prophet foresees that the greatest part of both the houses of
Israel would not sanctify the Lord of hosts, and to them he
would be for a gin and a snare; he would be a terror to them, as
he would be a support and stay to those that trusted in him. Instead of
profiting by the word of God, they should be offended at it; and the
providences of God, instead of leading them to him, would drive them
from him. What was a savour of life unto life to others would be a
savour of death unto death to them. "So that many among them shall
stumble and fall; they shall fall both into sin and into ruin; they
shall fall by the sword, shall be taken prisoners, and go into
captivity." Note, If the things of God be an offence to us, they will
be an undoing to us. Some apply this to the unbelieving Jews, who
rejected Christ, and to whom he became a stone of stumbling; for the
apostle quotes this scripture with application to all those who
persisted in their unbelief of the gospel of Christ
( 1 Pet. ii. 8 );
to them he is a rock of offence, because, being disobedient to the
word, they stumble at it.
16 Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.
17 And I will wait upon the L ORD , that hideth his face from the
house of Jacob, and I will look for him.
18 Behold, I and the children whom the L ORD hath given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the L ORD 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.
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, v. 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. xii. 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, Matt. xi. 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, Acts iii. 25 .
This is the good thing which is committed to them, and which they are
charged with the custody of, 2 Tim. i. 13, 14 .
Those that had prophets for their tutors must still keep close to the
written word.
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, v. 17, 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, Ps. lxxi. 7 .
God's people are the world's wonder
( Zech. iii. 8 )
for their singularity, and because they run not with them to the same
excess of riot, 1 Pet. iv. 4 .
The prophet was herein a type of Christ; for this is quoted
( Heb. ii. 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. xxxiii. 5 .
Ministers must look upon their converts as their children, and be
tender of them accordingly
( 1 Thess. ii. 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
( John xvii. 6 ),
and both he and they are for signs and wonders, spoken against
( Luke ii. 34 ),
every where spoken against, Acts xxviii. 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 xix. 13; xxx. 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
( 1 Sam. xxviii. 7, 15 ),
and Ahaziah to the god of Ekron, 2 Kings i. 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, ch. xxxviii. 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. xix. 31; xx. 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. iv. 5 .
Those that made the hosts of heaven their gods sought unto them, Jer. viii. 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, Eccl. ix. 5, 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
( 1 Tim. vi. 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, v. 21, 22 .
What light had Saul when he consulted the witch? 1 Sam. xxviii. 18, 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, v. 21, 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, Eccl. x. 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, Prov. xix. 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 v. 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.
INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 8
This chapter contains a confirmation of the sudden destruction of the kingdoms of Syria and Israel, by another sign; a threatening to those that gloried in the kings of those nations, with an invasion of their land by the Assyrian monarch; a sarcastic address to those that joined in confederacy against Judah; some directions and instructions to the people of God; and some prophecies concerning the Messiah, and the miserable estate of the Jews, that should reject him and his Gospel. The sign given is a son of the Prophet Isaiah, whom his wife conceived and bore, and whose name was written with a man's pen, Mahershalalhashbaz, of which there were witnesses, whose names are mentioned; and it is predicted, that before this child should have knowledge to call his father and mother, Damascus and Samaria, the chief cities of Syria and Israel, would be taken and spoiled by the king of Assyria, Isa 8:1 who would invade, the land of Israel, and even pass through the land of Judah, as a chastisement not only of the Israelites that rejoiced in Rezin and Remaliah's son, the kings of Syria and Israel; but also of those Jews who chose to be under them, or neglected the promise of God, and applied to Assyria for help, Isa 8:5 and then both the people of Israel and of Syria are addressed, in a sarcastic way, to associate and take counsel together, when they should be broke to pieces, and their counsel come to nought, Isa 8:9 and the prophet being instructed by the Lord how to behave among the people of the Jews, advises them not to join with them whose cry was a confederacy with Assyria, nor to be afraid of the two kings that were come up against them, but to sanctify the Lord of hosts, and trust in him, and make him the object of their fear and dread, Isa 8:11 which is enforced from the consideration of what the Lord, who is no other than the Messiah, would be, both to his own people, and to his enemies; to the one a sanctuary, and to the other a stone of stumbling, a rock of offence, a trap, and a snare, Isa 8:14 then follows an instruction to the prophet to take care of the Gospel of Christ, and communicate it to his disciples, Isa 8:16 upon which the prophet determines to keep waiting and looking for his coming, who at present was hidden from the people of God, Isa 8:17 wherefore the Messiah is introduced, as presenting himself and his children to the prophet's view, which would be for signs and wonders in Israel, gazed at and reproached, Isa 8:18 and then the folly and vanity of seeking counsel of the Scribes and Pharisees, when Christ should be come in the flesh, is exposed; whose Gospel should be attended to, and not those dark and blind guides, Isa 8:19 and the chapter is concluded with the wretched condition of the Jews that called Jesus accursed; they should pass through the land, and find no food; and look into it, and see nothing but darkness and misery, Isa 8:21.
Ver. 1. Moreover the Lord said unto me,.... This is another prophecy, confirming the same thing that was promised in the preceding chapter Isa 7:1; namely, safety to the Jews from the two kings of and , which combined against them:
take thee a great roll; or volume, a writing book, a roll of parchment, in which form the ancients used to write, Ps 40:7. The Targum renders it, a "table"; a writing table, such an one as Zacharias called for, Lu 1:63 and this was to be a "great" or large one, because much was to be written in it; or what was to be written was to be written in large letters:
and write in it with a man's pen; such as men usually write with; and in such a style and language as may be easily understood by men, even though unlearned; and so clearly and plainly, that he that runs may read; and so the Targum,
"write in it a clear writing;''
very plain, and explicit, and legible:
concerning Mahershalalhashbaz; a son of the prophet Isaiah, so called, Isa 8:3 whose name was very significant, and was given him on purpose to express the sudden destruction of the enemies of Judah. The Targum renders it,
"hasten to seize the prey, and to take away the spoil.''
Some translate it, "in hastening the prey, the spoiler hastens"; perhaps it may be better rendered, "hasten to the spoil, hasten to the prey"; as if the words were spoken to the Assyrian monarch, to hasten to the spoil of Damascus and Samaria; and the repetition of the same thing in different words may have respect to the spoils of both, see Isa 8:4 and for the greater confirmation of the thing. Gussetius has a very peculiar fancy about the sense of this text; he observes that jrx, rendered a "pen", signifies some hollow vessel, in which things were put; and supposes that it here designs a man's chest, or some such thing, in which garments might be laid up and reserved: and
Nwylg, is the singular of a word used in Isa 3:23, for some sort of luxurious garments wore by women; so that, upon the whole, the reading and sense of the words are, that the prophet is bid to take a large garment of the above sort, and write upon it, putting it into the chest. This for Mahershalalhashbaz; signifying it was to lie there till this child was born; and intimating hereby, that the women, far from battle, would be spoiled of their soft and precious garments, as well as the men be slain in war {m}, though this is more tolerable than the fancy of Huetius {n}, that the whole is an euphemism, in modest terms, expressing the prophet's coition with his wife.
{m} Vid. Comment. Ebr. p. 286. {n} Demonstr. Evangel. prop. 7. parag. 15. p. 352.
Isaiah 8:2
Ver. 2. And I took unto me faithful witnesses to record,.... Not his marriage, nor the birth of his son, nor the name he gave him, but the prophecy written in the roll, concerning the spoiling of Syria and Israel, in a very short time; that so, when it came to pass, it might be a clear and certain point that it had been foretold by him:
Uriah the priest; of whom mention is made in 2Ki 16:10 which some object to, because he proved a wicked man, and obeyed the king's command, contrary to the law of God, in building an altar according to the form of one at Damascus; but to this it is replied, that it was before this happened that Isaiah took him to be a witness; and besides, because of the authority of his office, and his familiarity with Ahaz, he must be allowed to be a proper and pertinent person to bear testimony in this case. Some indeed, and so the Jewish commentators, Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, would have Uriah the prophet meant, who prophesied in the times of Jehoiakim, and was slain by him,
Jer 26:20 to which it is objected, that he was no priest, as this was and, besides, was not born at this time; it was a hundred and forty years after that he lived:
and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah; this was Zechariah the prophet, as the Targum, and all the Jewish writers, say {o}; who lived in the times of Darius, which was two hundred and forty years after this; but most likely this Zechariah is he who was Ahaz's wife's father, 2Ki 18:2 or rather, as Vitringa thinks, Zechariah a Levite, a son of Asaph, 2Ch 29:13 though there are some learned men {p}, who think the two prophets Uriah and Zechariah are meant, though then unborn; who prophesied of the like or same things as Isaiah did; and so were faithful witnesses of his prophecy, as of the calamities that should come on the land, the restitution of it to its former fruitfulness, and the coming of the Messiah; nor is the observation of Abarbinel to be despised, taken from the ancient Jews, that these are the words, not of the prophet, but of God himself; as also that they are to be read in the future tense, "and I will take to me", &c.
{o} T. Bab. Maccot, fol. 24. 2. {p} Cocceius, Witsius, Miscel. Sacr. tom. 1. l. 1. c. 20. sect. 8, 9, 10.
Isaiah 8:3
Ver. 3. And I went unto the prophetess,.... His wife, so called; not because she prophesied, but because she was the wife of a prophet; and besides, the birth of her son later mentioned, and his name, had in them the nature of a prophecy. The phrase of going unto her is an euphemism, a modest way of expressing the conjugal debt:
and she conceived and bare a son; which Jarchi would have the same with Immanuel in Isa 7:14 but this is a later prophecy, and a distinct one from that; and not only the names of the children are different, but the mothers also; the one a virgin, the other the prophet's wife.
Then said the Lord to me, call his name Mahershalalhashbaz: of the signification of this name, See Gill on "Isa 8:1". Kimchi thinks that his name did not consist of these four words, only of two of them; and that he was sometimes called "Mahershalal", and sometimes "Hashbaz": both signifying the same thing. Some think that all this was done only in a vision, and not in reality, to declare and confirm what follows; though by that it seems rather to be a real fact.
Isaiah 8:4
Ver. 4. For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, my father, and my mother,.... Which are commonly the first words children learn to say; and so it signifies that what follows should happen in a year or two; as it did:
the riches of Damascus, and the spoil of Samaria, shall be taken away before the king of Assyria; or, "he shall take away the riches" {q}, &c.; not the child, unless he is considered as the sign of taking them away; but the soldier, put for the whole Assyrian army, which carried off the riches and spoil of these places, in the presence, and by the order, of the king of Assyria; the first of these, namely, Damascus, the metropolis of Syria, with its riches, wealth, and army, were taken and carried away by Tilgathpilneser, king of Assyria, within the time here mentioned, 2Ki 16:9 but the latter, Samaria, the metropolis of the kingdom of Israel, was not taken and spoiled until the sixth year of Hezekiah, and ninth of Hoshea, 2Ki 17:6 but because the prophecy began to be fulfilled, and was fulfilled in part, within the time mentioned, the whole is attributed to it; though it should be observed, that before this, after Pekah the son of Remaliah was slain, and Hoshea reigned in his stead, the king of Assyria came up against him, and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents; which may be called the spoil of Samaria, 2Ki 17:3.
{q} lyx ta avy "asportabit, opulentiam----servus regis Assyriae", Junius & Tremellius "auferet opes----is [qui stet] coram facie regis Assyriae", Piscator.
Isaiah 8:5
Ver. 5. The Lord spake also unto me again,.... In the same prophecy, or in another; the Targum is,
"the Word of the Lord added to speak with me again;''
but rather Jehovah the Father, or the Spirit of the Lord, is meant, since the Person speaking is distinguished from Immanuel, Isa 8:8:
saying; as follows:
Isaiah 8:6
Ver. 6. Forasmuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah, that go softly,.... The same with Siloam, Joh 9:7 and so it is called in the Septuagint version here; and the word here used signifies "sent", as it is there interpreted. Jarchi says it is a fountain, whose name was Gihon and Shiloah; see 1Ki 1:33 concerning which Jerom yet writes,
"Siloam is a fountain at the foot of Mount Sion, which does not send forth water continually, but on certain times and days; and comes through the hollow places of the earth, and caves of a hard rock, with a great noise; of which we especially cannot doubt, who dwell in this province.''
This was a small current of water, which moved softly and slowly, and not with a rapid motion, as some rivers do; to which the kingdom of the house of David is compared, because of its easy and gentle government; as the Targum, which paraphrases the words thus,
"because this people loathed the kingdom of the house of David which ruled them quietly, as the waters of Shiloah which flow softly;''
or because of the weakness of it in the days of Ahaz, it had not strength to oppose their enemies, as Kimchi suggests; now the ten tribes despised the house of David, and departed from it, and continued in their revolt, and had that government in contempt, as well as the religion of it. , the temple, and the worship of God in it, may be meant by the waters of Shiloah; it being usual to name places by the rivers that are near them.
And rejoice in Rezin, and in Remaliah's son: in Rezin king of ; and in Pekah, the son of Remaliah, king of . Perhaps respect may be had to later times, to the times of the Messiah, when the Jews would despise his government, and reject him as King; though he is the Prince of peace, and his government the most quiet and peaceable one, and he the Shiloah, the sent of God, and declare they had no other king but Caesar.
Isaiah 8:7
Ver. 7. Now therefore the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many,.... Alluding to the river Euphrates, which ran by Babylon, which was a large river, full of water, and had a rapid torrent, and so is opposed to Shiloah and its waters; and these waters are explained as follows:
[even] the king of Assyria, and all his glory; his army, which was his glory, in which he gloried, and by which he got himself honour and glory. It is usual for mighty kings, kingdoms, and armies, to be signified by such waters, for their multitude and strength; see
Re 17:1:
and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks; that is, either of the land of Ephraim or Israel, and overflow the borders thereof, run over all the whole land, and possess its fortified towns and cities. The Targum is,
"therefore behold the Lord shall bring, and cause to ascend upon them, the army of the people, who are many, as the waters of a river, strong and mighty, the king of Assyria, and his army; and he shall come up upon all his rivers, and shall go upon all his banks;''
or rather "its own" {r} channels and banks, as it may be rendered; and so denotes, that the king of Assyria, and his army, should pass the Euphrates, and come out of their own land, and subdue the adjacent kingdoms and territories, and particularly the land of Judah, as follows.
{r} wytwdg-wyqypa lk "omnes alvcos suos----ripas suas", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius.
Isaiah 8:8
Ver. 8. And he shall pass through ,.... That is, the king of Assyria, compared to a river of mighty waters; who should not only run over and possess the land of Israel, or the ten tribes, but should enter into Judea, and pass through it, as a chastisement for not trusting in the Lord, but sending to Assyria for help; who instead of helping, distressed them in the times of Ahaz, even Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria, 2Ch 28:20:
he shall overflow, and go over; the whole land of Judea, as Sennacherib king of Assyria did in Hezekiah's time:
he shall reach [even] to the neck; that is, to Jerusalem: the whole land is compared to a body, of which Jerusalem was the head; the Assyrian army, comparable to the waters of a great river, overflowed the whole land, took all the fenced cities of Judah, and came up even to Jerusalem, so that the whole was in great danger of being drowned and destroyed; as a man is, when the waters are come up to his neck; see 2Ki 18:13:
and the stretching out of his wings, the wings of the Assyrian army,
shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel; Judea, called Immanuel's land, because he was to be born there, and converse and die there; and this is particularly mentioned, to show that, though this land should be overrun by the Assyrians, yet not destroyed, until Immanuel, the son of the virgin, was born here. The Targum is,
"and he shall pass through the land of the house of as an overflowing torrent, unto shall he come; and the people of his army shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.''
Isaiah 8:9
Ver. 9. Associate yourselves, O ye people,.... Both of Syria and Israel, whose two kings were confederate against Judah:
and ye shall be broken in pieces; as the kingdom of Syria was by Tilgathpilneser quickly after this, 2Ki 16:9 and the kingdom of Ephraim or Israel by Shalmaneser, 2Ki 17:6:
and give ear, all ye of far countries; the Assyrians, and the nations that belonged to them, who were more remote from Judea:
gird yourselves; for a long and tedious march, and for war; it may signify the putting on of their whole armour; for, as Pausanius {s} says, the ancients used to call putting on of armour, girding:
and ye shall be broken in pieces: as the Assyrian army was, which came up against Jerusalem in Hezekiah's time, 2Ki 19:35:
gird yourselves, and ye shall be broken in pieces; this is repeated for confirmation sake, to denote the certainty of it.
{s} Boeotica sive, l. 9. p. 567.
Isaiah 8:10
Ver. 10. Take counsel together,.... As Rezin king of Syria, and Remaliah's son, did against Judah, Isa 7:5:
it shall come to nought; for, though they came up against it, they could not overcome it, 2Ki 16:5:
speak the word; what they intended, resolved upon, and determined to do; this is the issue of their counsels:
and it shall not stand; See Gill on "Isa 7:7":
for God is with us; which is the interpretation of the name "Immanuel": and which shows that the reason why the consultations and resolutions of the enemies of Judah could not take place, so as to destroy it, was because Immanuel, the virgin's son, was to be born in it.
Isaiah 8:11
Ver. 11. For the Lord spake thus to me with a strong hand,.... In the strength of prophecy, as the Targum explains it; and so all the Jews' interpreters understand it of prophecy, as in Eze 1:3: or, "the Lord spake thus to me, when he took (me) by the hand" {t}; as parents or masters take hold of the hands of children, while they are advising and instructing them, as expressive of their great affection for them; and when they would retain them with them, or restrain them from doing amiss:
and instructed me that I should not walk in the way of this people: or join with them in desiring and seeking for the help of the king of Assyria, against Rezin and Remaliah's son; or in being willing to surrender up into their hands:
saying; as follows:
{t} dyh tqzxb "apprehensione manus", Piscator; "cum manu me apprehenderit", Tigurine version.
Isaiah 8:12
Ver. 12. Say ye not, a confederacy,.... With the king of Assyria, or any other; do not cry it up as a right thing, and express pleasure and satisfaction in it, and encourage others to come into it, and vote for it, and declare an approbation of it; or a "rebellion", as the Targum, that is, against Ahaz; and so deliver up the kingdom of the house of David into the hands of its enemies:
to all [them] to whom this people shall say, a confederacy: who either were for entering into an alliance with the Assyrian monarch, and sending for him to help; or were for joining with their enemies, to the subversion of the present government. Jarchi interprets this of Shebna the Scribe, and his company; who, as he suggests, conspired against Hezekiah, and secretly made an agreement with Sennacherib king of Assyria; but the former sense is best:
neither fear their fear, nor be afraid: let not the same fear possess you as does them, on account of Syria and Israel combining together against Judah; nor be afraid of their two kings, as they were; since there was nothing to fear from them; it being impossible that the kingdom of Judah should fail until Shiloh came, or Immanuel was born of a virgin in it; nor does it become the people of God, and especially his prophets and ministers, to be afraid of men; since the fear of men brings a snare. See 1Pe 3:14.
Isaiah 8:13
Ver. 13. Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself,.... Christ, Immanuel, God with us, the Lord of the armies above and below, of angels and of men, God over all, the true Jehovah, who is sanctified by his people, when they declare him to be so; as the Targum paraphrases it,
"the Lord of hosts, him shall ye say is holy;''
for they cannot make him so, nor can he receive any holiness from them, nor does he need any; but they celebrate the perfection of his holiness, and ascribe it to him; yea, they sanctify him, by ascribing their holiness to him; by looking to him as their sanctification, and by deriving and expecting every degree and measure of holiness from him, to complete theirs; by exercising faith upon him, and showing a regard to his commands and ordinances:
and [let] him [be] your fear, and [let] him [be] your dread; that is, the object of fear and dread; not of a servile fear and dread, but of a holy reverence and godly fear; such a fear as is the grace of the covenant, which flows from the goodness of God, and has that for its object, and is influenced by it; see Ho 3:5 where the same Lord, Messiah, David the king, is meant, as here. See 1Pe 3:15.
Isaiah 8:14
Ver. 14. 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, 1Co 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 Ro 9:32.
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
Mt 22:15.
{u} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 38. 1. {w} In loc.
Isaiah 8:15
Ver. 15. And many among them,.... Not all, though the greater part; for Christ was set for the falling and rising of many in Israel, Lu 2:34:
shall stumble, and fall, and be broken: stumble at Christ, the stumbling stone; fall by unbelief into other sins and punishment, and be broken in pieces by this stone, Mt 21:44:
and be snared, and be taken; and so die in their sins, and perish eternally. The allusion is to birds being taken in a snare or trap, or with bird lime, and therein or thereby held and detained.
Isaiah 8:16
Ver. 16. Bind up the testimony,.... These are not the words of the prophet, as Kimchi thinks, but of the Lord to the prophet, and are part of that instruction given him, Isa 8:11. By "the testimony" is meant the word of prophecy delivered to him; particularly that evangelical part of it respecting Immanuel, who was to be born of a virgin, and would be for a sanctuary to them that believe in him, and a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, to unbelievers; so the Gospel is called the testimony of Christ, it bearing witness of his person, office, and grace, 2Ti 1:8 and "binding" denotes care of it, as something valuable, that it be not lost, but committed to the trust faithful men, called disciples of Christ in the next clause, in allusion to the binding up of money, or anything of value, in bundles, to be laid up and preserved, Ge 42:35 so the Targum,
"O prophet, keep the testimony:''
seal the law among my disciples: the disciples of Christ, the faithful of that day, and of after times, to whom this prophecy, and the "doctrine" in it, which the word "law" signifies, even the doctrine of Christ, should be transmitted or communicated, which is meant by "sealing" of it; not hiding it from them, but signifying, that while it was a sealed book, a hidden doctrine, and delivered in parables to others, it should be made known to them, and sealed and laid up by them among their treasure, and be so esteemed of; as the Gospel, the doctrine of grace, is, by the true disciples and followers of Christ; who are such as are taught of God, have learned of the Father, who continue in the word and doctrine of Christ, love his people, take up the cross and follow him, and bring forth fruit to the glory of his heavenly Father, Joh 6:45.
Isaiah 8:17
Ver. 17. And I will wait upon the Lord,.... Or "for the Lord" {x}; for the coming of Christ, the Immanuel, who would be a sanctuary to some, and a stone of stumbling to others, and whose doctrine in the meanwhile would be bound up and sealed; faith in, and expectation of the Messiah's coming, are often signified by waiting for him,
Isa 25:9:
that hideth his face from the house of Jacob; to whom the promise of him was made, from whom he should descend, to whom he should be sent, and whom he would redeem. This is not to be understood of his deserting of his people, and withdrawing his gracious presence from them, to show his displeasure at them, and resentment of their conduct, which is sometimes the sense of this phrase; but as descriptive of Christ before his assumption of human nature, when he was "Deus absconditus", the hidden God, as some render the words in
Isa 45:15 until he was manifest in the flesh; and which is therefore called his "appearing", 2Ti 1:10:
and I will look for him; the prophet here speaks in his own person, and in the person of the church who in that, and in succeeding ages, as well as before, were looking by faith for the coming of Christ, and redemption by him, Lu 2:38 though some understand this of Christ, expressing his satisfaction in the few disciples he had among the Jews, and determining to wait for the accomplishment of divine promises hereafter, when he should have a larger number; the Lord for the present hiding his face from the Jewish nation, and giving them to a spirit of judicial blindness; which sense well agrees with what goes before, and follows after.
{x} hwhyl ytykxw "praestolabor Dominum", Montanus; "expectabo Dominum", V. L.
Isaiah 8:18
Ver. 18. Behold, I, and the children whom the Lord hath given me,.... These are the words of Christ, as is clear from Heb 2:13 who, upon the prophet's declaring his resolution to look and wait for him, presents himself and his children to him, as if he was actually come, or else continues his discourse from the preceding verse; for these are not the words of the prophet, speaking of himself and his natural children, Shearjashub and Mahershalalhashbaz; nor of his spiritual children, his disciples, called sometimes the sons of the prophets; but of Christ, who has a seed, a spiritual offspring, to whom he stands in the relation of a father, Isa 9:6 and who are given him of God, in the covenant of grace; for whose sake he partook of flesh and blood, and died to gather them together, being scattered abroad; and redeemed them, that they might receive the adoption of children; and who, being regenerated, believe in him: these were from eternity given unto him, to be his seed and offspring, his spouse, his sheep, his portion, and inheritance; in virtue of which they are brought unto him, and received by him in time in effectual calling; which gift of them to Christ is an instance of the Father's love to him, and of distinguishing grace to them.
[Are] for signs and wonders in Israel; not the prophet and his natural children; though it is true that he himself was for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and Ethiopia, Isa 20:3 and his children, Shearjashub and Mahershalalhashbaz, were signs in their very names, as well as actions, of the future deliverance of Judah from its enemies; but Christ and his spiritual children: Christ the Immanuel, the son of the virgin, is "for a sign", given by the Lord himself, even of the same deliverance, Isa 7:14 and a sign of the love of God to his people, and of his care of them, and regard unto them; and a sign that should be spoken against, as he was in his person, office, doctrines, and miracles, by the unbelieving Jews, Lu 2:34
and for wonders: his name being wonderful; his person, as God man, wonderful; his love to his people wonderful; his works and actions, doctrines and miracles, life and death, being wonderful;
See Gill on "Isa 9:6" and so his children and people are "for signs and wonders"; they are like Joshua's fellows, men wondered at,
See Gill on "Zec 3:8"; they are a wonder to themselves, that such sinful and unworthy creatures should partake of so much grace; they are a wonder to angels, that they should be chosen, redeemed, and called; and they are a wonder to Christ, who admires his own grace in them; and they are a wonder to the men of the world, a spectacle, a gazingstock to them, and are reproached by them; and all this is
from the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth in Mount Zion; Christ, as man and Mediator, is from him, and all that befall him is according to his determination, will, and pleasure; his children, and their being children, and given to him; and whatsoever they have, and whatsoever they meet with, and befall them, is all from the Lord; and this may serve to comfort them, that "the Lord of hosts", of armies in heaven and in earth, is for them, and on their side, and therefore need not fear any that shall be against them; and that he "dwelleth in Mount Zion", the church, which he has chosen for his rest, and where he will dwell for ever, and so will never leave nor forsake his people.
Isaiah 8:19
Ver. 19. And when they shall say unto you,.... These are the words of Christ continued, as making his appearance in Israel; and are an address to his people among them, even to his children, disciples, and followers, advising them what they should do, when those among whom they dwelt should press them to
seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards, that peep, and that mutter; meaning the Scribes and Pharisees, the doctors among the Jews, who sat in Moses's chair, and who were very much given to sorcery, and the magic art, and used enchantments, which were performed by "muttering"; hence we read of muttering over a wound for the healing of it; and muttering over serpents and scorpions at the driving of them away {y}; and of such a Rabbi muttering in the name of such an one {z}; and of such and such a doctor skilled in wonders or miraculous operations: See Gill on "Mt 24:24" yea, even such as were chosen into the sanhedrim, or great council, were to be skilled in the arts of soothsayers, diviners, and wizards, and the like, that they might know how to judge them {a}; now the Jews would have had the disciples of Christ to have applied to these men to direct their judgments in religious affairs, and be determined by them concerning the Messiah and other things:
should not a people seek unto their God? "to" Christ, who is the Lord God omniscient and omnipotent, who knows all things, and whose name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Angel of the great council; and who is able to give the best counsel and direction in matters of moment and consequence, and able to do everything for his people they stand in need of; and who being present with them, God manifest in the flesh, it would be egregious folly to apply to any other, and especially such as are here described; see Joh 6:68:
for the living to the dead? that is, should men seek to such who are no other than dead men, for the sake or on the account of such who are living? The disciples of Christ, the children that God had given him, were quickened and made alive by the grace of God, had principles of grace and spiritual life implanted in them, had passed from death to life, lived by faith on Christ, lived holy lives, and were heirs of eternal life; and therefore it does not become them, nor any of them, to consult persons dead in trespasses and sins, who knew no more, and were no more capable of judging of spiritual things, than dead men are. See 1Co 2:14.
{y} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 101. 1. {z} T. Hieros. Avoda Zara, fol. 40. 4. {a} Maimon. Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 1.
Isaiah 8:20
Ver. 20. To the law, and to the testimony,.... Kimchi takes this to be an oath, "by the law, and by the testimony", it is so and so; but Aben Ezra observes there is no instance of this kind in Scripture; it is a direction of Christ's to his disciples, to attend to the writings of Moses and the prophets, to search the Scriptures, as in Joh 5:39 and particularly what is before said in this prophecy concerning himself, the same is meant as on Isa 8:16.
if they speak not according to this word; this sure word of prophecy, to which men do well to take heed, as to a light shining in a dark place, it being the rule of faith and practice, a lamp to the feet, and a light to the path:
[it is] because [there is] no light in them; that is, in them that speak not according to it, meaning the Scribes and Pharisees; who, rejecting the written word, set up the traditions of the elders above it, and taught the people to walk according to them; and so were, as our Lord says, "blind leaders of the blind", Mt 15:14 or the words may be read, "if not"; if they will not regard the Scriptures, and the evangelical doctrine in them, and the testimony they give concerning Christ; "let them speak according to this word"; or instruction, and counsel, they have from the Scribes and Pharisees: "in which there is no light" {b}; but the darkness of ignorance, infidelity, superstition, and will worship; or "no morning"; but a night of Jewish darkness, even though the sun of righteousness was risen, and the dayspring from on high had visited the earth; yet they had received no light and knowledge from him, which was their condemnation, Joh 1:4 Joh 3:19 or thus, "to the law, and to the testimony, though they may say after this manner, there is no light in it" {c}; in the law and testimony, preferring the traditions, decisions, and determinations of their doctors above it. Noldhius {d} renders the words thus, "seeing they speak not according to this word, certainly they shall have no morning"; that is, seeing the seducers and false teachers, in the preceding verse Isa 8:19, speak not according to the word of God, and testimony of Jesus, they shall have no morning of light and joy, of grace and comfort, or any spiritual felicity; Christ will be no morning to them, but they will continue in their dark, benighted, and miserable condition, described in the following verse.
{b} wrmay al Ma "sin minus, dicant secundum verbum istud, cui mon est aurora", Piscator. So Sanctius. {c} "Licet ipsi dicent, in verbis legis, nihil lucis esse", Oleaster in Bootius. {d} Ebr. Part. . p. 374. No. 1302.
Isaiah 8:21
Ver. 21. And they shall pass through it,.... The land, as the Targum and Kimchi supply it; that is, the land of , as Aben Ezra interprets it. Here begins an account of the punishment that should be inflicted on the Jews, for their neglect of the prophecies of the Old Testament, and their rejection of the Messiah:
hardly bestead and hungry; put to the greatest difficulty to get food to eat, and famishing for want of it; which some understand of the time when Sennacherib's army was before Jerusalem, as Aben Ezra; but it seems better, with others, to refer it to the times of Zedekiah, when there was a sore famine, Jer 52:6 though best of all to the besieging of Jerusalem, by the Romans, and the times preceding it,
Mt 24:7 and it may also be applied to the famine of hearing the word before that, when the Gospel, the kingdom of heaven, was taken from them, for their contempt of it:
and it shall come to pass, when they shall be hungry: either in a temporal sense, having no food for their bodies; or in a mystical sense, being hungry often and earnestly desirous of the coming of their vainly expected Messiah, as a temporal Saviour of them:
they shall fret themselves; for want of food for their bodies, to satisfy their hunger; or because their Messiah does not come to help them:
and curse their King, and their God; the true Messiah, who is the King of Israel, and God manifest in the flesh; whom the unbelieving Jews called accursed, and blasphemed:
and look upwards; to heaven, for the coming of another Messiah, but in vain; or for food to eat.
Isaiah 8:22
Ver. 22. And they shall look unto the earth,.... As persons in distress, upwards and downwards, backwards and forwards, on the right hand and on the left, particularly into the land of Judea; a land that used to flow with milk and honey, a land of light, plenty, and prosperity:
and behold trouble and darkness; adversity, and miseries of all kinds, expressed by a variety of words; and even words fail to express the tribulation of these times, which were such as were not from the beginning of the world, Mt 24:22:
dimness of anguish; or "fleeing from affliction" {e}, multitudes everywhere fleeing from one place to another, to avoid the calamities coming upon them, Mt 24:16:
and [they shall be] driven to darkness; when they endeavour to escape one calamity, they shall be driven and fall into another; the whole land shall be full of nothing else.
{e} Pwem a Pwe "volare", Forerius.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
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