Chapter XXXII
rifices to Moloch by Are ; hence a place of burning (2 Kings 23.10; Jeremiah 7.31). Latterly Ge-hinnom or Gehenna,
Ver. 1-20. Messiah's Kingdom; Desolations, to bs SUCCKEHED BY LA-STING PeACE, THE SPIllIT HAVINS BEEN Poured out. The times of purity and happiness which shall follow the defeat of the -lemies of Jehovah's people (t). 1-8). Tlie period of wratli t><!fore tliat happy state (t). 9-14). The assurance of the final prosperity of the Cliurch Is repeated (v. 16-20). 1. king-not Hczeklah,
i. e., rnllcy of Hinnom,, was the receptacle of the refuse of the city, to consume which fires were constantly burning. Hence it came to express hell, the place of torment. In tlie former sense it was a fit place to symliolize the funeral pyre of th Assyrian army (not that It actually perished there); one Hebrews did not burn, but burled 4C4
ILLUSTRATIONS OP ANCIENT MANNERS AND CUSTOMS.
GOATS TREADING IN THE GRAIN, WHEN SOWN IN THE FIELD, AFTER THE WATER HAS SUBSIDED.
Wilkinson, Tbmiil, near the Pyramids. Is. ixxii. 20.
BEARDS OF MODERN ORIENTALS.
BEARDS.
Egyptian, from Wilkinson, (top row.) Of other natloni, from Rosseliui and Layard. Lev. xix. 37,
I%c Blesainqs of Christ's Kingdom. ISAIAH XXXIII. The Enemies of Zion Threalenta,.
tlie mound), the term applied specially to the declivity on the east of Zion, surrounded with its own wall (2 ClironIcles 27. 3 ; 33. 11 ; 2 Kings 5. 24), and furnished with " towers" (or watch-towers), perhaps referred to here (Nehemiah
who was already on the throne, whereas a/«<ure time is contemplated.' If lie be meant at all, it can only be as a type of Messiah the King, to whom alone the language is
fully applicable (HoseaS. 3; Zechariah 9.9; seech. 11.3-5,
3. 26, 27). for evei-—limited by thee, "until," etc., next verse,/o/- a long time. 15. This can only partially apply to the spiritual revival in Hezekiah's time ; its full accomplishment belongs to the Christian dispensation, first at Pentecost (Joel 2. 28; Acts 2. 17), perfectly in coming times (Psalm 104. 30; Ezekiel 30. 26 ; 39. 29; Zechariah 12. 10), when the Spirit shall be poured on Israel, and through it on tl;e Gentiles (Micah 5. 7). wilderness . . . fruitful iield . . . forest—when Judea, so long waste, shall be populous and
notes). The kingdom shall be transferred from the worldkings, who have exercised their power against God, instead of for God, to the rightful King of kings (Ezekiel
21.27; Daniel 7. 13, 14). princes—subordinate; referring to all in authority under Christ in the coming kingdom on earth, e. g., the apostles, (Sic. (Luke 22. 30; 1 Corinthians
6. 2; 2 Timothy 2. 12; Eevelation 2. 2(i, 27 ; 3. 21). 2. a man —Rather, the man, Christ [Lowth]; it is as "the Son of man" He is to reign, as it was as Son of man He suffered (Matthew 26. 64; John 5. 27; 19.5). Not as Maukeb explains, " every one of the princes shall be," <feo. rivers—as refreshing as water and the cool shade are to the heated traveller
fruitful, and the land of the enemies of God shall be desolate. Or, " the field, now fruitful, shall be but as a barren forest in comparison with what it shall be then" (cli. 29.
17). The barren shall become fruitful by regeneration; those already regenerate shall bring forth fruits in such abundance that their former life shall seem but as a wilderness where no fruits were. [Queen Elizabeth's Bible.] 16. judgment^justice. wilderness—then reclaimed, fruitful field—then become more fruitful (v.
(ch. 35. 6, 7 ; 41. 18). 3. t5»em that see—the seers or prophets, them that hear—the people under instruction (ch. 35. 5, 6). 4. rash— Rather, the hasty; contrast "shall not make haste" (ch. 28. 10); the reckless who will not take time to weigh religious truth aright. Or else, the well-instructed. [HOKSLKY.] stammerers—those who speak confusedly on Divine things (cf. Exodus 4. 10-12; Jeremiah 1. 6; Matthew
15); tlius "wilderness" and "fruitful field" include the xvhole land of Judea. 17. work—the etl'ect (Proverbs 14.
10. 19, 20). Or, rather, those drunken scorners who in stamnfering style imitated Isaiah's warnings to mock them [Mauker] (ch. 28. 7-11, 13, 14, 22 ; 29. 20;) in this view, trans-
34 ; James 3. 18). peace—internal and external. 18. sure
. . . quiet—free from fear of invasion 19. Lit., " But it shall hail with coming down of the forest, and in lowness shall the city (Nineveh) be brought low, i. e., humbled." The "hail" is Jehovah's wrathful visitation (ch. 30. 30; 28.
late, "speak uprightly" (agreeably to the Divine law); not as English Version, referring to the distinctness of articu-
lation, plainly. 5. vile—rather,/ooi [Lowth] ; t. e., ungodly (Psalm 14. 1 ; 74. 18). liberal—rather, noble-minded, churl —rather, fraudulent. [Gesenius.> bountiful—religiously. The atheistic churl, who envies tlie believer his hope "full of immortality," shall no longer beheld as a patriot struggling for the emancipation of mankind from super-
2. 17). The " forest" is the Assyrian host, dense as the trees of a forest (ch. 10. 18, 19, 33, 34 ; Zechariah 11. 2). 30. Whilst the enemy shall be brought " low," tlie Jews sliall cultivate their land in undisturbed prosperity, all waters—well-watered places (ch. 30. 2.5). The Hebrew translation, " beside," ought rather to be translated, " upon" (Ecclesiastes 11. 1), where the meaning is, "Cast thy seed upon the waters when the river overflows its banks; the seed will sink into the mud and will spring up when the waters subside, and you will find it after many days in a rich harvest." Before sowing, they send oxen, Ac, into the water to tread the ground for sowing. c;astalio thinks there is an allusion to the Mosaic precept, not to plough with an ox and ass together, mystically implying tliat the Jew was to have no intercourse with Gentiles; the Gospel abolishes this distinction (Colossians 3. 11); thus the sense here is. Blessed are ye that sow the gospel, seed without distinction of race in the teachers or the taught. But there is no need of supposing tliat the ox. and ass here are j/oi-ed together; they are probably " sent forth" separately, as in ch. 30. 24.
stition. [HoRSLEY.] 6. vile . . . villainy—rather, "the (irreligious) fool—(his) folly." will speak—rather, present; for (so far is the "fool" from deserving the epithet " noble-minded") the fool speakelh folly and worketh, <tc. hypocrisy rather, profligaey. [Horsley.] error impiety,
pei-verse arguments, hungry—spiritually (Matthew 5. 6). 7. churl the fraudulerU ; this verse refers to the last clause of v. 5; as v. 6 referred to its first clause, speaketh right—pleadoth a just cause (ch. 29. 21); spiritually, "the poor man's cause" is the Divine doctrine, his rule of faith and practice. 8. liberal—rather, noble-minded, stand shall be approved under the government of the righteous King. 9-30. Address to the women of Jerusalem who troubled themselves little about the political signs of the times, but lived a life of self-indulgence (ch. 3. 16-23); the failure of food through the devastations of the enemy is here foretold, being what was most likely to alTect them as mothers of families, heretofore accustomed to every luxury. ViTKiNGA understands " women—daughters" as the cities and villages of Judea (Ezekiel 16). See Amos 6.
CHAPTEE XXXIII.
Ver. 1-24. The liAST of Isaiah's Prqj-hecies a9 to Sennacherib's Overthrow iv. 19). Ver. 1, 8, 9, describe the ASs.yrian spoiler; strong as he is, he shall fall before Jehovah who is stronger {v. 2-6, 10-12). The time is tho autumn of 713 b. c. 1. and thou—t. e.. Though thou wast not spoiled—though thou wast not dealt treacherously with {Note, ch. 24. 16), thy spoiling and treachery are therefore without excuse, being unprovoked, cease-- When God has let thee do thy worst, in execution of His plans, thine own turn shall come (cf. ch. 10. 12; 14. 2; Habakkuk 2. 8; Revelation 13. 10). 3. us ; we . . . theilr
1. 10. Many days and years—rather, la little more than a year. [Maurer.] Lit., Days upon a year (so ch. 29). 1. vintage shall fall—through the arrival of the Assyrian invader. As the wheat harvest is omitted, Isaiah must look for the invasion in the summer or autumn of 714 b. c, when the wheat would have been secured already, and the later fruit "gathering," and vintage would be still in danger. 11. strip you—of your gay clothing. {JVdte, ch.
2. ) ISJ. lament for teats—rather, shall smite on their breasts In lamentation "for thy pleasant fields" (Nahum 2. 7). [Maurer.] "Teats" in English Version is used for fertile lands, which, like breasts, nourish life. The transition from "ye" to " they" (v. 11, 12) is frequent. 13. (Ch. 5. 6;
. . . our—He speaks interceding for His people, separating himself in thought for a moment from them, and immediately returns to his natural Identification with them in the word our. every morning—each day as it dawns, especially during our danger, as the parallel "time of trouble" shows. 3. the tumult—the approach of Jehovah is likened to an advancing thunder-storm (ch. 29. 6; 30. 27^, which is His voice (Revelation 1. 16), causing the people to "flee." nations—the Assyrian levies. *. The invaders' "spoil" shall be left behind by them In their flight, and the Jews shall gather It, caterpillar—rather, the ivingless locust; as it gathers; the Hebrew word for "gathers" is properly used of the gathering of the fruits of harvest (ch. 32. 10). running to and ftrny—lu., in gathering har-
7. 23.) houses of joy—pleasure-houses outside of Jerusa-. lem. not Jerusalem Itself, but other cities destroyed by' Sennacherib in his march (ch. 7. 20-2.5). However, the prophecy, in its full accomplishment, refers to the utter desolation of Judea and its capital by Rome, and subsequently, previous to the second coming of the King (Psalm 118. 26; Luke 13. 35; 19. 38); "the joyous city" is in this view Jerusalem (ch. 22. 2). 141. palaces—mo.st applicable to Jerusalem [Note, v. 13). multitude . . . left—the twisy din of the city, i. e., the city with its noisy multitude shall lie foD-saken. [Maurkk.] fort«—rather, Ophel (t. e., 30
The Privileges of the Godly. ISAIAH XXXIV. Judqments on Idumea,
vesl-frnits. he—ratlier, the}/, them—rather, it, i. e., the prey. C. wisdom—sacred ; i.e., piety, thy—Hezekiah's
mentions, among the Assyrian in.scrlptions, "a pair ol scales for weighing the spoils." connted . . . towers he whose duty it was to reconnoitre and report the strengtli of the city to be besieged. 19. fierce people—the Assyrians shall not be allowed to enter Jerusalem (2 Kings
or rather, Judea's. "His" refers to the same; sucli clianges from the pronoun possessive of the second person to that of the third are common in Hebreiv poetry, treasure—not so mucli material wealth as piety shall constitute the riches of the nation (Proverbs 10.
19.32). Or, tliou shalt not any longer see fierce enemies threatening thee as previously; such as the Assyrians^ Romans, and the last Anticliristian host that is yet to assail Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 28. 49, 50; Jeremiah 5. 15; Zechariali 14.2). stammering—barbarous; so "deeper,"
22; 15. 16.) 7-9. From tlie vision of future glory Isaiah returns to the disastrous present; the grief of " the valiant ones" (parallel to, and identical with, "the ambassadors of peace") men of rank, sent with presents to sue for peace, but standing " without" the enemy's camp, their suit being rejected (2 Kings 18. 14, 18, 37). The highways deserted through fear, the cities insulted, the lands devastated, cry— (Ch. 15. 4.) 8. broken . . . covenant when Sennacherib invaded Judea, Hezekiah paid him a large sum to leave the land ; Sennacherib received the money and yet sent his army against Jerusalem (2 Kings
&c.,i. e., unintelligible. The Assyrian tongue differed only in dialect from the Hebrew, but in tlie As.syrian levies were many of non-Semitic race and language, as the Medes, Elamites, Ac. (Note ch. 28. 11). 20. solemnitiessolemn assemblies at the great feasts (Notes ch. 30.29; Psalm 42. 4 ; 48. 12). not . . . ta,ken down . . . removed —image from captives " removed " from their land (ch. 36.
17). There sliall be no more "taking away" to an enemy's land. Or else, from nomad livers in shifting tents. The saints, wlio sojourned once in tabernacles as pilgrims, shall have a " building of God—eternal in the heavens" (2 Corinthians 5. 1; Hebrews 11. 9, 10; cf. ch. &1. 2). stakesdriven into the ground; to these the "cords" were fastened. Christ's Church shall never fall (Matthew 16. 18). So individual believers (Revelation 3. 12). 21. there—viz.. In Jerusalem, will be . . . rivers—Jehovah will be as a broad river surrounding our city (cf. ch. 19. 6; Nahnra 3.
18. 14, 17). despised—make slight of as unable to resist him (ch. 10. 9; 36. 19); easily captures them. 9. (Ch. 24.4.) Lebanon—personified ; the allusion may be to the Assyrian cutting down its choice trees (ch. 14. 8 ; 37. 24). Sharon —soutli of Carmel, along the Mediterranean, proverbial for fertility (ch. 35. 2). Bashan—afterwards called Batanea
(ch. 2. 13). fmits—rather, understand leaves; they lie as desolate as in winter. 10. The sight of His people's misery arouses Jehovah ; He has let the enemy to go far enough. I—emphatic; God Himself will do what man could not. 11. Ye-r-The enemy, conceive chaff—(Ch. 26.
8), and this, too, a river of sucli a kind as no ship of wai can pass (cf. ch. 26. 1). Jerusalem had not the advantage of a river; Jehovah will be as one to it, affording all the advantages, without a#y of the disadvantages of one. galley with oars—war-vessels of a long shape, and propelled by oars; merchant-vessels were broader and carried sail, gallant—same Hebrew word as for "glorious," previously; mighty will suit both places; a ship of war is meant. No "mighty vessel" will dare to pass where the "mighty Lord " stands as our defence. 22. L,ord—thrice repeated, as often : the Trinity (Numbers 6. 24-26). judge
18; 59.4.) yonr breath—rather, your own spirit of anger and ambition [MAUKER](ch. 30. 28). 12. (Ch. 9. 19; Amos 2.
1.) Perhaps alluding to their being about to be burnt on the funeral pyre (ch.30. 33). thorns—the wicked (2 Samuel
23.6,7). 13. far off—distant nations, near—the Jews and adjoining peoples (ch. 49. 1). 14. sinners In Zion—false professors of religion among the elect people (Matthew
22. 12). hypocrites — rather, the profane; the abandoned. [HoRSLEY.] Tvho, *c. — If Jehovah's wrath could thus consume such a host in one night, who could abide it, if continued for ever (Mark 9. 46-48) ? Fire is a common image for the Divine judgments (ch. 29. 6; 30. 30). among ns —If such awful judgments have fallen on those who knew not the true God, how infinitely worse shall fall on us who, amidst religious privileges and profession, sin against God (Luke 12. 47, 48; James 4. 17)? 15. In contrast to the trembling "sinners in Zion" (v. 14), the righteous shall be secure amidst all Judgments ; they are described according to the Old Testament stand-point of righteousness (Psalm 15. 2; 24. 4). stoppeth . . . ears . . . eyes— " Rejoiceth not in iniquity" (1 Corinthians 13. 6; contrast ch.
. . . lawgiver . . . king—perfect ideal of the theocracy, to be realized under Messiah alone; the judicial, legislative, and administrative functions as king to be exercised by Him in person (ch. 11. 4; 32. 1; James 4. 12). 23. tackIlngs—continuing the allegory in v. 21, he compares the enemies' host to a war-galley which is deprived of the tacklings or cords by which the mast is sustained and the sail is spread ; and which therefore is sure to be wrecked on "the broad river" {v. 21), and become the prey of Israel, they—the tacklings, "hold not firm thebaseof the mast." tlien—when the Assyrian host shall have been discom-
fited. Hezekiah had given Sennacherib three hundred talents of silver, and thirty of gold (2 Kings 18. 14-16), and had stripped the temple of its gold to give it to him ; this treasure was probably part of the prey found in the foe's camp. After the invasion, Hezekiah had so mucli wealth that he made an improper display of it (2 Kings 20. 13-15); this wealth, probably, was in part got from the Assyrian, the lame—even the most feeble shall spoil the Assyrian camp (cf. ch. 35. 6 ; 2 Samuel 5. 6). 24. sick—Smith thinks the allusion is to the beginning of the pestilence by which the Assyrians were destroyed, and which, while sparing the righteous, affected some within the city ("sinners in Zion"), it may have been the sickness that visited Hezekiah (ch. 38). In the Jerusalem to come there shall be no "sickness," because there will be no " iniquity," it being forgiven (Psalm 103. 3). The latter clause of the verse contains the cause of the former (Mark 2. 5-9).
29. 20 ; Psalm 10. 3 ; Romans 1. 32). The senses are avenues for the entrance of sin (Psalm 119. 37). 16. on highheights inaccessible to the foe (ch. 26. 1). bread . . . waters—image from the expected siege by Sennacherib; however besieged by trials without, the godly shall have literal and spiritual food, as God sees good for them (ch.
41. 17 ; P.salm .37. 25 ; 34. 10; 132. 15). 17. Thine—The saints', king in . . . beaiity—not as now, Hezekiah in sackcloth, oppressed by the enemy, but King Messiah (ch. 32. 1) "in
His beauty" (Song of Solomon .5. 10, 16; Revelation 4. 3). land very far off—rather, the land in its remotest extent (no
longer pent up as Hezekiah was with the siege); see Margin. For Jerusalem is made the scene of the king's glory
{v. 20, Ac), and it could not be said to be "very far off," unless the far-off land be heaven, the Jerusalem above, •which is to follow the earthly reign of Messiah at literal Jerusalem (ch. 65. 17-19; Jeremiah 3. 17; Revelation 21.1,2,
JO). IS. meditate—on the "terror" caused by the enemy, ibut now past, where, <fcc.—the language of the Jews exulting over their escape from danger, sci-lbe—who enrolled Ihe army [Maurer]; or, who prescribed the tribute to lie i)!iid [Rosenmuller]; or, who kept an account of the spoil. "The principal scribe of the host" (2 Kings 25. 19; Jeremiah 52. 25). The Assyrian records are free from the oxMggerations of Egyptian records. Two scribes are seen in every Assyrian bas-relief, writing down the various objects brought to them, the heads of the slain, prisoners, cattle, slieep, Ac. receiver— a/arj;i/i, weigher. Layard 466