Isaiah 66

Isa 66:1-24.

THE

HUMBLE

COMFORTED, THE

UNGODLY

CONDEMNED, AT THE

LORD'S

APPEARING:

JERUSALEM

MADE A

JOY ON

EARTH.

This closing chapter is the summary of Isaiah's prophecies as to the

last days, hence the similarity of its sentiments with what went before.

1. heaven . . . throne . . . where is

. . . house . . . ye build--The same sentiment

is expressed, as a precautionary proviso for the majesty of God in

deigning to own any earthly temple as His, as if He could be

circumscribed by space

(1Ki 8:27)

in inaugurating the temple of stone; next, as to the temple of the Holy

Ghost

(Ac 7:48, 49);

lastly here, as to "the tabernacle of God with men"

(Isa 2:2, 3;

Eze 43:4, 7;

Re 21:3).

where--rather, "what is this house that ye are building, &c.--what

place is this for My rest?" [VITRINGA].

2. have been--namely, made by Me. Or, absolutely, were things

made; and therefore belong to Me, the Creator

[JEROME].

look--have regard.

poor--humble

(Isa 57:15).

trembleth at . . . word--

(2Ki 22:11, 19;

Ezr 9:4).

The spiritual temple of the heart, though not superseding the outward

place of worship, is God's favorite dwelling

(Joh 14:23).

In the final state in heaven there shall be "no temple," but "the Lord

God" Himself

(Re 21:22).

3. God loathes even the sacrifices of the wicked

(Isa 1:11;

Pr 15:8; 28:9).

is as if--LOWTH not so well omits these words: "He that killeth an

ox (presently after) murders a man" (as in

Eze 23:39).

But the omission in the Hebrew of "is as if"--increases the

force of the comparison. Human victims were often offered by the

heathen.

dog's neck--an abomination according to the Jewish law

(De 23:18);

perhaps made so, because dogs were venerated in Egypt. He does not honor

this abomination by using the word "sacrifice," but uses the degrading

term, "cut off a dog's neck"

(Ex 13:13; 34:20).

Dogs as unclean are associated with swine

(Mt 7:6;

2Pe 2:22).

oblation--unbloody: in antithesis to "swine's blood"

(Isa 65:4).

burneth--Hebrew, "he who offereth as a memorial oblation"

(Le 2:2).

they have chosen--opposed to the two first clauses of

Isa 66:4:

"as they have chosen their own ways, &c., so I will choose

their delusions.

4. delusions--

(2Th 2:11),

answering to "their own ways"

(Isa 66:3;

so

Pr 1:31).

However, the Hebrew means rather "vexations," "calamities,"

which also the parallelism to "fears" requires; "choose their

calamities" means, "choose the calamities which they thought to escape

their fears--the things they feared, to avert which their idolatrous

"abominations"

(Isa 66:3)

were practised.

I called . . . none . . .

answer--(See on

Isa 65:12;

Isa 65:24;

Jer 7:13).

did . . . chose--not only did the evil deed,

but did it deliberately as a matter of choice

(Ro 1:32).

"They chose that in which I delighted not"; therefore,

"I will choose" that in which they delight not, the

"calamities" and "fears" which they were most anxious to avert.

before mine eyes--(See on

Isa 65:3).

5. tremble at . . . word--the same persons as in

Isa 66:2,

the believing few among the Jews.

cast you out for my name's sake--excommunicate, as if too polluted

to worship with them

(Isa 65:5).

So in Christ's first sojourn on earth

(Mt 10:22;

Joh 9:22, 34; 16:2; 15:21).

So it shall be again in the last times, when the believing shall be few

(Lu 18:8).

Let the Lord be glorified--the mocking challenge of the persecutors,

as if their violence towards you was from zeal for God. "Let the Lord

show Himself glorious," namely, by manifesting Himself in your behalf; as the parallelism to, "He shall appear to your joy," requires (as

in

Isa 5:19;

compare

Isa 28:15; 57:4).

So again Christ on the cross

(Mt 27:42, 43).

appear to your joy--giving you "joy" instead of your "rebuke"

(Isa 25:8, 9).

6. God, from Jerusalem and His "temple," shall take vengeance on the

enemy

(Eze 43:1-8;

Zec 12:2, 3; 14:3, 19-21).

The abrupt language of this verse marks the suddenness with which God

destroys the hostile Gentile host outside: as

Isa 66:5

refers to the confounding of the unbelieving Jews.

voice of noise--that is, the Lord's loud-sounding voice

(Ps 68:33; 29:3-9;

1Th 4:16).

7. she--Zion.

Before . . . travailed . . . brought forth--The accession of numbers,

and of prosperity to her, shall be sudden beyond all expectation and

unattended with painful effort

(Isa 54:1, 4, 5).

Contrast with this case of the future Jewish Church the

travail-pains of the Christian Church in bringing forth

"a man child"

(Re 12:2, 5).

A man child's birth is in the East a matter of special joy, while that

of a female is not so; therefore, it here means the manly sons

of the restored Jewish Church, the singular being used collectively for

the plural: or the many sons being regarded as one under

Messiah, who shall then be manifested as their one representative

Head.

8. earth--rather, to suit the parallelism, "is a country (put

for the people in it) brought forth in one day?"

[LOWTH]. In

English Version it means, The earth brings forth its productions

gradually, not in one day

(Mr 4:28).

at once--In this case, contrary to the usual growth of the nations

for--rather, "is a nation born at once, that Zion has, so soon

as she travailed, brought forth?" [MAURER].

9. cause to bring forth, and shut--rather, "Shall I who beget, restrain the birth?"

[LOWTH],

(Isa 37:3;

Ho 13:13);

that is, Shall I who have begun, not finish My work of restoring

Israel?

(1Sa 3:12;

Ro 11:1;

Php 1:6).

shut--(compare

Re 3:7, 8).

10. love . . . mourn for her--

(Ps 102:14, 17, 20; 122:6).

11. suck--

(Isa 60:5, 16; 61:6; 49:23).

abundance--Hebrew, "the ray-like flow of her opulence," that

is, with the milk spouting out from her full breasts (answering to the

parallel, "breast of her consolations") in ray-like streams

[GESENIUS].

12. extend--I will turn peace (prosperity) upon her, like a

river turned in its course

[GESENIUS]. Or, "I will spread peace

over her as an overflowing river"

[BARNES],

(Isa 48:18).

flowing stream--as the Nile by its overflow fertilizes the whole of

Egypt.

borne upon . . .

sides--(See on

Isa 60:4).

her . . . her--If "ye" refers to the Jews, translate, "ye shall be

borne upon their sides . . . their knees," namely, those of the

Gentiles, as in

Isa 49:22;

and as "suck"

(Isa 60:16)

refers to the Jews sucking the Gentile wealth. However,

English Version gives a good sense: The Jews, and all who love

Jehovah

(Isa 66:10),

"shall suck, and be borne" by her as a mother.

13. mother--

(Isa 49:15).

comforteth--

(Isa 40:1, 2).

14. bones--which once were "dried up" by the "fire" of God's wrath

(La 1:13),

shall live again

(Pr 3:8; 15:30;

Eze 37:1,

&c.).

flourish . . . herb--

(Ro 11:15-24).

known toward--manifested in behalf of.

15.

(Isa 9:5;

Ps 50:3;

Hab 3:5;

2Th 1:8;

2Pe 3:7).

chariots . . . whirlwind--

(Jer 4:13).

render--as the Hebrew elsewhere

(Job 9:13;

Ps 78:38)

means to "allay" or "stay wrath." MAURER

translates it so here: He stays His anger with nothing but

fury," &c.; nothing short of pouring out all His fiery fury will

satisfy His wrath.

fury--"burning heat"

[LOWTH], to which the parallel, "flames of

fire," answers.

16. Rather, "With fire will Jehovah judge, and with His sword

(He will judge) all flesh." The parallelism and collocation of the

Hebrew words favor this

(Isa 65:12).

all flesh--that is, all who are the objects of His wrath. The

godly shall be hidden by the Lord in a place of safety away from the

scene of judgment

(Isa 26:20, 21;

Ps 31:20;

1Th 4:16, 17).

17. in . . . gardens--Hebrew and the Septuagint rather require,

"for (entering into) gardens," namely, to sacrifice there

[MAURER].

behind one tree--rather, "following one," that is, some idol or other,

which, from contempt, he does not name

[MAURER].

VITRINGA, &c., think

the Hebrew for "one," Ahhadh, to be the name of the god; called

Adad (meaning One) in Syria (compare

Ac 17:23).

The idol's power was represented by inclined rays, as of the sun

shining on the earth. GESENIUS translates,

"following one," namely, Hierophant ("priest"), who led the rest

in performing the sacred rites.

in . . . midst--namely, of the garden

(see on

Isa 65:3, 4).

mouse--legally unclean

(Le 11:29)

because it was an idol to the heathen (see on

Isa 37:36;

1Sa 6:4).

Translate, "the field mouse," or "dormouse" [BOCHART]. The Pharisees with their self-righteous

purifications, and all mere formalists, are included in the same

condemnation, described in language taken from the idolatries prevalent

in Isaiah's times.

18. know--not in the Hebrew. Rather, understand the words by

aposiopesis; it is usual in threats to leave the persons threatened to

supply the hiatus from their own fears, owing to conscious guilt: "For

I . . . their works and thoughts," &c.; namely, will punish

[MAURER].

it shall come--the time is come that I will, &c.

[MAURER].

gather . . . nations--against Jerusalem, where the ungodly Jews

shall perish; and then the Lord at last shall fight for Jerusalem

against those nations: and the survivors

(Isa 66:19)

shall "see God's glory"

(Zec 12:8, 9; 14:1-3, 9).

tongues--which have been many owing to sin, being confounded at

Babel, but which shall again be one in Christ

(Da 7:14;

Zep 3:9;

Re 7:9, 10).

19. sign--a banner on a high place, to indicate the place of

meeting for the dispersed Jewish exiles, preparatory to their return to

their land

(Isa 5:26; 11:12; 62:10).

those that escape of them--the Gentile survivors spared by God

(see on

Isa 66:18;

Zec 14:16).

Isa 2:2, 3;

Mic 5:7; and

Zec 14:16-19

represent it, not that the Jews go as missionaries to the Gentiles, but

that the Gentiles come up to Jerusalem to learn the Lord's ways there.

Tarshish--Tartessus in Spain, in the west.

Pul--east and north of Africa: probably the same as

Philœ, an island in the Nile, called by the Egyptians

Pilak, that is, the border country, being between Egypt and

Ethiopia [BOCHART].

Lud--the Libyans of Africa

(Ge 10:13),

Ludim being son of Mizraim (Egypt): an Ethiopian people famous as

bowmen

(Jer 46:9):

employed as mercenaries by Tyre and Egypt

(Eze 27:10; 30:5).

Tubal--Tibarenians, in Asia Minor, south of the Caucasus,

between the Black Sea and Araxes. Or, the Iberians [JOSEPHUS]. Italy [JEROME].

Javan--the Greeks; called Ionians, including all the descendants

of Javan, both in Greece and in Asia Minor

(Ge 10:2-4).

my glory . . . Gentiles--

(Mal 1:11).

20. they--the Gentiles

(Isa 66:19).

bring . . . your brethren--the Jews, back to the Holy Land

(Isa 49:22).

It cannot mean the mere entrance of the Jews into the Christian Church;

for such an entrance would be by faith, not upon "horses,

litters, and mules" [HOUBIGANT]. "Offering" is

metaphorical, as in

Ro 15:16.

horses--not much used by the Jews. The Gentiles are here represented

as using their modes of conveyance to "bring" the Jews to Jerusalem.

chariots--as these are not found in Oriental caravans, translate,

"vehicles," namely, borne, not drawn on wheels.

litters--covered sedans for the rich.

upon swift beasts--dromedaries: from Hebrew root, "to dance,"

from their bounding motion, often accelerated by music

[BOCHART].

Panniers were thrown across the dromedaries' back for poorer women

[HORSLEY].

21. of them--the Gentiles.

priests . . . Levites--for spiritual worship: enjoying the direct

access to God which was formerly enjoyed by the ministers of the temple

alone

(1Pe 2:9;

Re 1:6).

22.

(Isa 65:17;

2Pe 3:13;

Re 21:1).

23. Literally, "As often as the new moon (shall be) in its own new

moon," that is, every month

(Zec 14:16).

sabbath--which is therefore perpetually obligatory on earth.

all flesh--

(Ps 65:2; 72:11).

before me--at Jerusalem

(Jer 3:16, 17).

24. go forth, and look--as the Israelites looked at the carcasses of

the Egyptians destroyed at the Red Sea

(Ex 14:30;

compare

Isa 26:14-19;

Ps 58:10; 49:14;

Mal 4:1-3).

carcasses, &c.--

(Isa 66:16),

those slain by the Lord in the last great battle near Jerusalem

(Zec 12:2-9; 14:2-4);

type of the final destruction of all sinners.

worm . . . not die--

(Mr 9:44, 46, 48).

Image of hell, from bodies left unburied in the valley of Hinnom

(whence comes Gehenna, or "hell"), south of Jerusalem, where a

perpetual fire was kept to consume the refuse thrown there

(Isa 30:33).

It shall not be inconsistent with true love for the godly to look with

satisfaction on God's vengeance on the wicked

(Re 14:10).

May God bless this Commentary, and especially its solemn close, to His

glory, and to the edification of the writer and the readers of it, for

Jesus' sake!

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